Page 97 of Possession

“I’ll always accept gifts,” Mason said.

“Such a brownnoser.”

Mason shoved at him with his elbow just as they both lifted the tops off their boxes. Vinnie’s breath stuttered in his lungs, and he gently set the top aside before reverently running his fingers over the leather inside. It was folded, so he could only see the front of the vest and the little patch on the left-hand side with his name. He picked it up and turned it over.

Across the shoulders read the words “Property of,” and then along the bottom, in big, bold letters, was Tomas’s name.

He blinked back the sting in his eyes and glanced over to find Mason was still staring at the front of his vest, tears trickling down his cheeks.

“Aw, come here, changuito,” Tomas said gruffly, and Mason launched himself into Tomas’s arms. “You too, gatito.”

Vinnie gingerly set his vest aside and crawled over, pressing his front to Mason’s back, grateful when Tomas wrapped his arms around them both.

“I don’t know why I’m so surprised,” Mason said, voice muffled against Tomas’s chest. “It’s not like I haven’t seen Ollie and the others wearing theirs. I just wasn’t expecting it right at this moment.”

“Me either,” Vinnie said softly.

“It was time,” Tomas said easily, touching the back of both of their heads with gentle fingers. “It didn’t seem right to ask you to move in with me when you didn’t have your Property vests.”

They jerked their heads up and stared at Tomas.

“Move in with you,” Vinnie said, eyebrows shooting up his forehead. “Are you crazy?”

Mason swung an elbow back at him. “Shut up. Don’t ruin this for us.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to,” Vinnie said quickly. “It’s just…”

What was it? Why was he trying to ruin such a good thing?

He shook his head. “I can’t come up with a good reason why we shouldn’t.”

Tomas beamed at him, rubbing his thumb over Vinnie’s cheekbone. “That’s because there isn’t one. You two belong here with me.”

All of the tension in Vinnie’s body melted away. It was true. They definitely did.

“Shit, that stings,” Vinnie grunted, doing his best not to move.

“You should try having it on your ass,” Mason said in a tight voice from the next stall over.

It had taken all of three days for Ollie to talk them into getting tattoos to go with their vests, which was how Vinnie found himself trying not to squirm as Knuckles stabbed him repeatedly in the chest. Viper was working on Mason’s ass ten feet away, while CJ and Ollie were sitting on the counter next to Knuckles’s space, watching with amusement.

Vinnie had decided to get his right over his heart, and he and Mason had agreed that they would get three overlapping hearts to represent them and Tomas between the arched wordsProperty ofand Tomas’s name underneath.

He just hadn’t accounted for how much it would hurt.

“You’re doing great,” Knuckles said, shooting him a reassuring smile. “Way better than those two babies over there.” He tilted his head toward where CJ and Ollie were sitting next to each other, looking at something on Ollie’s phone.

At Knuckles’s disparaging remarks, CJ looked over at him with a glare. “We’ve talked about this, Knuckles. You’re supposed to be working on your bedside manner.”

Vinnie decided it was in his best interest to stand up for the man since he was permanently inking his body. “I think your bedside manner is terrific.”

Knuckles winked at him and then threw a fake scowl at CJ. “See, I don’t need to change anything about myself. I’m perfect.”

Vinnie exchanged a glance with CJ and Ollie, and then the three of them started laughing. Knuckles dutifully waited, holding his tattoo machine away from Vinnie’s body until he stopped shaking.

It didn’t take long before they were finished. Knuckles wiped him clean, then covered the tattoo with a clear film.

“Looks tight, man,” Knuckles said, offering his gloved fist.

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