Page 62 of The Princess

“Not a chance.” Damon grinned and ate another almost-stale pretzel before pushing the dish away. “I don’t know why I eat those. They’re not even good.”

“They’re better if you’re loaded,” Spencer said, taking a sip of his beer.

“I have to say, I think you took the whole ‘I’m seeing your brother, and your brother’s best friend’ thing better than I’d anticipated.”

That earned him a shrug from Jonah. “Nash isn’t my business, and Taylor seems happy. Beyond that, I don’t really care. Maybe it makes me a bad brother. I’m probably supposed to growl and beat my chest like an angry gorilla, but I have enough on my plate with my students and keeping track of this one.” Jonah leaned against Spencer.

“I don’t think you’re a bad brother.”

“I’m not protective like Colby is.”

“That doesn’t make him better than you. It makes him bossier and a bigger pain in the ass, if you ask me. It’s not like you’re not there for them when they need you, or that you don’t support them. You just don’t live in their pockets. Besides, look where being intrusive and protective got Colby.” Damon nudged Jonah’s drink toward him, urging him to have a sip. “Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“I tell him that all the time,” Spencer said. “Maybe he’ll listen when it comes from someone else.”

“Not a chance.” Jonah laughed, picking up his drink. “You’re both biased.” He drained the rest and then set his glass back down. “I don’t know about you two, but this week has felt like a fucking eternity and I’m ready for bed. I feel so fucking old saying that, but here we are. In a few years, we’ll all be grumpy old men.”

“Speak for yourself. I have a gorgeous young boyfriend to keep me fit as a fiddle.”

Jonah wrinkled his nose. “Please don’t ever say that again.”

It was tempting to torment Jonah with innuendo, but he had the feeling that Jonah was not in the mood for his bullshit. Damon pulled out his wallet and tucked a couple of bills under a glass for the server. They always paid for their own food or drink, but they took turns on who left the tip and even though it wasn’t his turn, he paid the tip anyway. Jonah and Spencer didn’t argue with him about it, but Damon did catch Spencer leaving a couple bills of his own on his way out.

Jonah paused outside the doors and took a deep breath. “Smells like snow.” He huddled in closer to Spencer.

“It’s not even Halloween yet,” Damon protested. He wasn’t overly fond of winter.

“It won’t stay.” Jonah let Spencer tuck him close. “Tell me how the surprise goes, will you?”

Damon nodded. “I will. Have your people call my people and we’ll do lunch.” Damon shot them a smile before peeling off in the opposite direction to where he’d parked. Jonah was right; it did smell like snow. Damon shoved his hands into his pockets to keep them warm on the short jaunt to his car. He couldn’t wait to get home and huddle up with his men.

He didn’t like the strife that lingered between Taylor and Colby, but he definitely hadn’t minded having Taylor around more often. It felt perfect. Like it was meant to be.

Damon crossed his fingers and sent a wish out into the universe.

CHAPTER 28

TAYLOR

Taylor arrived at Nash’s apartment expecting him and Damon to be there. They said they planned to have dinner with him, and he’d assumed they were eating in because they hadn’t specified otherwise.

“Nash? Damon?” Taylor toed out of his shoes and padded through the silent apartment. There was no sign of them in the living room so Taylor went down the hallway. The bedroom was empty, but the bed was made and on top of the dark blue bedding was a crisp white envelope with Taylor’s name scrawled across it in fancy penmanship. Clearly the work of Damon. Taylor would recognize Nash’s chicken scratch anywhere.

Furrowing his brow, he crossed the room and picked up the envelope. Flipping it over, he found a fancy wax seal. He let out a low whistle and gently popped the seal free. Taylor had no way of knowing what to expect, but he definitely didn’t expect an invitation.

“You are cordially invited to unit 414 at 6:30 pm. Your hosts request that you shower and do something pretty with your makeup. Everything else is taken care of.”

Taylor looked at the clock and yelped. He’d stopped in to check on Mickey after work and had run late. It left him less than an hour to shower and do something with his face.

Most of his belongings were still in his apartment, but he’d been avoiding it. Mickey, though still sick, was taking good care of his plants and Taylor had stopped in to see if he needed anything. He’d also taken the opportunity to sneak over a few more items from his wardrobe.

There wasn’t a lot of time to ponder what he should wear or how he should do his makeup. And despite the urge, there definitely wasn’t time to jerk off in the shower. His dick protested that fact, but he had a feeling that he’d only suffer for a little while.

Taylor was still new to the whole makeup routine thing, so he kept it simple. A bit of eyeliner. Some glittery shadow. Mascara instead of fake lashes because he still took forever trying to apply those. He swore you had to be half sorcerer to get it right. He smeared on a quick coat of lip stain and scrunched his curls with mousse.

Taylor slid into a pair of silky black panties that hugged his cock and held everything tight against his body. After dressing in a pair of nice jeans and a shimmery silver blouse, Taylor gave himself a onceover in the mirror before taking the elevator up to the fourth floor.

His nerves made his hand shake when he lifted his fist to knock. There was no way for him to know what was happening on the other side of that door. It was all very mysterious of them.

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