Page 66 of Of Pranks and Passion

He blanched at that and snatched the coat away from me. “Don’t you dare.”

Barking out a laugh, I threw my arm around his neck. We were meeting the guys at The Hideout soon, but I didn't want Gary freezing his ass off on the walk home, so I took him back to my place first. When he slipped on the jacket, I felt that possessive part of me warm at the sight of him. Technically, I only wore it once to appease the family. But it was still mine, and I liked Gary in my stuff.

Dragging him closer by the front of the jacket, I dipped my head to nip at his chin. “We should be late.”

Gary’s laugh was carefree, and he didn’t try that hard to push me away. “Caveman. I thought you didn’t like this jacket.”

“I like it on you. But you’re right. It’d look better on the floor.”

I tried to shove it off his shoulders, but he wriggled free and darted away, laughing his ass off as he dodged around furniture. I liked playing with him, so I never said no to a chase. Besides, the more often we did this, the faster he found ways to get out of tight spots. It was good training. At least, that was the excuse I was using today.

He kept things between us to give himself an edge, but he misjudged when I feigned going around the back of the couch, darting towards me instead of away. He saw his mistake the minute I came around the same side as him, and he tried to spin around, but he wasn’t fast enough, and he squeaked that adorable sound when I tackled him onto the cushions.

“Got you,” I murmured in his ear. He shivered, still wriggling, but he wasn’t fighting that hard to escape me. He liked being caught. I liked catching him. I ground my dick against his ass, grinning as he pushed back to meet me.

I was going to strip him and take him on the couch, but the front door opened and my annoying brother poked his head into the condo, his eyes covered. At least he was smart enough to do that.

“Is everyone decent? I don’t want to meet my future brother-in-law while my brother is inside him.”

Gary’s gasp was horrified, and he was quick to bury his face into the couch cushions to hide. Chuckling, I tossed the hood over his head and pushed to my feet, glaring at Jayden when he peeked through his fingers.

“Oh good. You’re dressed.”

“What are you doing here?”

Striding inside, he beckoned me and pulled me into a hug. I grunted, but put up with it, and when he released me, I raised my eyebrow at him, giving him the hurry up and spit it out look.

“I texted you and told you I was coming by,” he said, grinning at me. “Are you forgetting things already? Might be time for an alternative career choice if it’s addling your brain, little brother.”

I scoffed and shoved him, but he only laughed. Asshole.

Jayden’s gaze shifted to Gary, who was sitting on the floor, still mostly hidden by my jacket. His face almost matched the color of the jacket, which was fun. I wondered what I’d have to do to get him to match it completely.

“You must be Gary. I’m Jayden, the favorite brother. Nice to meet you.” He offered Gary a hand, and when Gary accepted, Jayden pulled him to his feet and tugged him into a hug. A muscle ticked in my jaw, but I kept my opinions to myself. Jayden would keep messing with me if he thought it annoyed me.

Gary looked a little shell-shocked after Jayden released him. He wasn’t used to decent family members. I snagged his hood, pulling him backwards and threw my arm around his neck. It was a comfortable position, and Gary never argued with it.

“So. Dinner?” Jayden prompted.

“We’re supposed to meet the guys at The Hideout,” I said, grabbing my own jacket from the counter where I’d tossed it earlier. Black, not bright red, because I knew how to shop for clothes.

Jayden wrinkled his nose. “Nah. I want to grill my future brother-in-law. We need to be close if we’re gonna convince the ‘rents that you’ve been seeing him long enough to propose.”

I frowned. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Jayden shook his head, giving me a look that said I was an idiot. “This is why we need a game plan. Mom and Dad won’t just accept an engagement after a few months of being together. Not without proof that you’re head over heels and not being manipulated. You’ve always done things your own way and that’ll work in your favor, but if you want them to think you’re serious, you need to have done the things that matter, like introducing him to your favorite brother.”

Gary’s brows were drawn together tightly, his frown deep. “How many siblings do you have?”

Pointing at Gary, Jayden raised his eyebrows at me. “Your fiancé should know that. Honestly, your boyfriend probably should’ve known that. Do you seriously not talk about us?”

I shrugged. “Hadn’t come up.”

It wasn’t like I didn’t care about my family. I just didn’t bring them up in conversation regularly. I had other shit to deal with. Like getting Gary more confident for finals. I wasn’t worried about them, but he was studying for hours every night. It was interrupting our sexy time. It’d been two days since we lasthooked up, and it was driving me nuts. Jayden interrupting us only put me in a worse mood.

“See? We need to cover the basics so your beau won’t be thrown to the wolves with no background information. So tell your friends you’ll see them later. We’re going out. I’m thinking sushi.”

Gary shook his head quickly. “Easton doesn’t like sushi. It has to be cooked if he’s going to eat fish.”

---