THIRDS Beyond the Books Volume 2 Read online

  “So what’s a s’moregasm?” Sloane asked warily, his expression turning to one of horror when Dex continued to stick marshmallows on his stick.

  “It’s a s’more, but with chocolate chip cookies instead of graham crackers and triple stacked, double the marshmallows and chocolate, dipped in chocolate.”

  Sloane stared at Dex. “I… don’t even know what to say to that.”

  “Funny, that’s usually my reaction to most things he does,” Tony said, chuckling when Dex arched an eyebrow at him.

  “Thanks, Dad.”

  Tony put his hands up. “I just call ’em like I see ’em.”

  It was a perfect night. The sky was filled with stars, the temperature was cool enough for sweaters but not too cold, the fire was roaring, and he had his boys with him. He tried not to get too damn sappy over it. Seemed like only yesterday he was chasing Cael around the house, trying to get him to put his diaper back on and telling Dex a pizza supreme did not count as a healthy meal of the four food groups. Wait, now that he thought about it, the pizza was last week.

  Dex finished making his stacked S’more and showed it to Sloane. “Look how beautiful it is.”

  “Um….” Sloane leaned away from it like he might pile on the calories just by being near it. “I don’t think so.”

  “Eat it,” Dex insisted.

  Sloane laughed, then stopped. “No, seriously. I’m not eating that.”

  Tony crossed his legs at the ankles and folded his arms over his chest to make himself more comfortable. This should be fun.

  “Come on. You haven’t lived until you’ve had a S’moregasm.”

  Dex made cooing and lovey-dovey murmurs in his attempt to get Sloane to eat the giant S’moregasm. He really wished Dex would stop calling it that.

  Tony grimaced. Where the hell did he come up with this stuff? An image of John came to mind, and Tony’s expression softened. He used to ask John that question all the time when he came up with one of his oddball names for something. The guy had been all kinds of weird. Man, how he missed John. Especially on nights like this. Tony would never regret raising his boys, and as much as it would have broken his heart to give them up, he would have done it in a heartbeat if it meant having Gina and John back, here with their little boy. Cael had just been a baby, but his parents had sacrificed themselves to save him. That said enough.

  “Oh my God!”

  Sloane’s cry startled Tony out of his thoughts. He sat up, for a second worrying Sloane was about to have some kind of fit or something.

  “This is amazing!”

  “Son, you scared the hell out of me,” Tony scolded.

  “Sorry,” Sloane murmured through a mouthful of S’more. He turned to Dex, talking with his mouth full. “This is so good.”

  “I told you,” Dex replied smugly as he started constructing one for himself. “I’ll corrupt you yet.”

  Ash let out a snort. “Too late.”

  Sloane gave Ash a shove. “Hey.”

  “Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Ash told Sloane as he roasted himself a couple of marshmallows. “You look like your dork boyfriend when you do that.”

  Sloane flipped him off before giving him another shove. Ash shoved him back. Oh, boy. Didn’t matter how old, how big, how dangerous, boys would always be boys, Human and Therian alike. Tony watched in amusement as Sloane finished chewing before launching himself at Ash. The two tussled on the floor, roughhousing like a couple of kids. Soon Cael joined in as referee, though he was clearly biased. Dex dropped himself next to Tony, bumping into him playfully.

  “What were you thinking about earlier?”

  Tony held back a smile. Just like John, joker on the outside, while inside sharp and keenly aware of everything and everyone around him. It was one of a number of qualities that made Dex a damned good agent, even when he was taking stupid risks.

  “I was just thinking of your dad.”

  “Oh?” Dex sat forward, his elbows on his knees as he watched Tony.

  “Yeah, your dad would come up with the weirdest phrases. He always had me and your mom in stitches. I don’t know where he came up with half the things he said.”

  Dex laughed. “Guess that particular gene runs deep.”

  “Yeah. Well, that’s not the only thing you got from him.” Tony threw his arm around Dex’s shoulders and pulled him in for a one-armed hug. “You’re just like him. He was a good man.”

  Dex smiled at him, little creases forming at the corners of his bright blue eyes. “True. Or maybe I’m a good man because you raised me to be one.”

  Tony blinked at him. It took him a second to snap himself out of it. With a sniff, he gave Dex a playful bump with his shoulder in thanks. Maybe it was because Dex spent most of his time joking and teasing, that when he said something like that, it always took Tony by surprise and struck a deep chord inside him, leaving him speechless.

  The others were still tumbling around on the grass, wrestling, and punching each other like schoolboys. Tony’s heart swelled at Dex’s words. “Thanks, son.”

  “Any time. Now if you’ll excuse me, I got me some Felid butt to school.”

  Tony glanced over at Ash and Sloane, who had each other in headlocks. “Good luck with that. Remember we have limited first aid supplies and have to be back to work on Monday.”

  “Got it, Sarge.”

  Dex gave Tony a salute and a wink before heading over to his brawling boyfriend. Something told Tony he should get the first aid kit ready. Whatever was about to happen, there’d be some bruising and possible bleeding. Dex threw himself on Ash’s back with a battle cry in Sloane’s honor.

  “Now where’d I put those Therian-strength antiseptic wipes?” Tony stood and made for his tent where the first aid kit was. This was going to be a long night. Maybe their annual family camping trip had changed somewhat with Sloane and Ash, but Tony was starting to like the idea of their little family growing. He smiled at the thought.

  Prompt #43: How about a scene with Letty and Rosa, talking about their team perhaps? I mean, I adore the guys and always look forward to reading about them, but how about something with these great women, as it’s so pleasant to find good female roles in mm fiction.

  “YOU’RE SO full of it,” Letty said, laughing when Rosa gave her the finger. “You did not see it coming.”

  Rosa let out an indelicate snort as she tossed the soccer ball at the group of impatient Felids in the middle of the grassy field, their tails twitching in their eagerness to get back to their game. Dex came swooping in and gave the ball a kick before Ash could get his paws on it. Letty cringed. That boy just never learned.

  Ash let out a roar, and Dex yelped, taking off with Ash on his heels as Calvin kicked the soccer ball and carried on playing, ignoring Dex, who whizzed by cursing at Calvin for not coming to his aid.

  “I’ll get right on it!” Calvin called out over his shoulder. “Soon as I make this goal.”

  “Bastard!”

  Ash leaped, and Dex let out a shriek before he dropped and rolled under the huge lion Therian, then darted off in the opposite direction with Ash chasing him.

  “Dex is getting pretty good at dodging Ash,” Letty mused. Then again, her partner didn’t have his claws out, which said a lot. Maybe no one else noticed, but Letty did. Ash rarely put in the minimal effort it took to retract his claws. His thought process was usually that if someone wasn’t smart enough to avoid getting scratched then they deserved what they got. His claws were only ever retracted with those he cared about. Letty couldn’t help her smile. Looked like Dex had finally managed to burrow his way into Ash’s tiny circle of trust.

  “I had an idea,” Rosa insisted, dropping onto her butt in the grass.

  Letty rolled her eyes. If there was one thing Rosa hated, it was being wrong. It’s like stubbornness was a requirement to be in Destructive Delta.

  Letty had known for ages that her teammates were getting involved with each other. It was a weird sort of intuition. Shame she could
n’t use that same intuition for her own relationships. Rosa, however, had been oblivious. At least until that first karaoke night with Dex singing his ’80s songs at Sloane. Then even Rosa suspected those two were boning each other.

  “Girl, please. You had no clue.”

  “Because that asshole kept telling me I was wrong!” Rosa fumed.

  Letty laughed. “It’s your own fault for believing him. I mean, come on. It’s Ash.”

  The ball came bouncing over, followed by a chirping, bouncing Cael. He nuzzled Rosa’s face, making her laugh. Cael threw himself onto his back, paws in the air, looking for a belly rub. Rosa obliged before Letty could warn her.

  “Damn it, Rosa. Now the rest of them are—”

  Letty didn’t even get the rest out before Sloane, Ash, and Hobbs came bounding over. You rubbed one belly, you had to rub them all. You never got that with bear Therian agents. Oh no, just the giant housecats.

  Ash chuffed and bumped his big furry head against Letty’s.

  “What do I look like, your personal cat scratcher?”

  Sloane pounced on Dex, who laughed, the two rolling around the grass and playing like a couple of schoolboys. Hobbs was the only one not looking for a scratch, mostly because he only liked his belly scratched by Cal. Those two were just adorable. Letty chuckled as Calvin used Hobbs as a pillow while simultaneously giving him scratches. The whole damned field sounded like it was filled with chainsaws from all the purring, or in Sloane, Ash, and Hobbs’s cases, Felid exhales, chuffs, and mews.

  Ash sat on Letty’s legs, and she did her best not to laugh. Her partner was such a big softy at times. Not that he would ever admit to it.

  “Get off me, cabrón. You weigh a fucking ton.”

  Ash chuffed and shook his massive mane. He was going nowhere until he got a good scratch behind the ears and ruffle of his mane. A belly scratch was out of the question. Ash was too tough for that nonsense, unless Cael was doing the belly rubbing.

  “Fine,” Letty grumbled, giving his mane a tug. “But you have to get your big ass off my legs.”

  Ash chuffed and did as she asked, coming around to sit beside her. She gave his furry face a good scratch, behind his ears, and ruffled his mane, his eyes closing to let her know he was pleased.

  “I’m glad his majesty is pleased. Now get lost. Dex is making off with your ball.”

  Ash turned his head and roared before bounding off to take after Dex and Sloane, who’d commandeered the soccer ball. Cael chirped and quickly followed. Calvin and Hobbs stayed settled where they were.

  Wait for it….

  Rosa leaned over to whisper at Letty. “Do you think those two…?”

  Letty shook her head and bit down on her lip to keep herself from laughing.

  “Fuck, seriously? I suck at this,” Rosa groaned, furiously plucking at a blade of grass as if it were to blame for her not knowing. “So who did you figure out first?”

  “Dex and Sloane for sure. I mean, the eye sex was driving me nuts. I’m pretty sure they were screwing by Dex’s first Christmas with us, if not sooner.” It had been so obvious something was going on. Sloane never lost his cool with anyone the way he did with Dex. And yeah, Dex could definitely drive someone batshit crazy, but the way Sloane reacted, it was clear to Letty he wanted Dex. It was even more obvious when their Team Leader was in his Therian form.

  “Okay, then who?” Rosa asked. “I’d wondered about Cael, but he’s always so sweet, I figured he and Ash just had one of those cutesy bromances.” She wrinkled her nose. “I never thought I’d use a word remotely connected to romance with Ash.”

  “Cael was a little more subtle, because he was always sweet with Ash. I still can’t believe it, though. I mean, I kinda figured there was more to how Ash treated Cael, but for a while, I didn’t think he’d go through with it.”

  Rosa wriggled her eyebrows. “Wonder if he’s still allergic to nuts.”

  Letty burst into laughter, startling Hobbs, who’d been dozing off. She held a hand up.

  “I’m sorry.”

  Hobbs huffed and closed his eyes. Calvin didn’t bother to stir from his comfy spot against his best friend. It was a nice day at the park. Letty was glad they all agreed to spend some time together chilling before they had to report in to work tonight. Sometimes the guys needed to have some fun in their Therian form, and the rest of them would always be there to make sure they got the PSTC they needed after. Of course it was fun for Letty and the rest of their Human teammates too. Shame the sarge wasn’t here. Speaking of….

  “I totally think the sarge is banging Sparks.”

  Rosa gasped. “Oh my God, shut up!”

  Letty shrugged. “I don’t know. I can see it, can’t you? She’s always so controlled. I bet she has a freaky side.” Letty threw her arms up and wriggled her butt. “Mm, yeah. Work it, girl.”

  “Oh my God, stop it!” Rosa laughed and pushed Letty, making her giggle. “What about that sergeant from Unit Beta? He’s been hanging around the sarge a lot lately.”

  Letty pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Oh yeah. Isn’t he Zach’s sergeant?” The man was huge, and sexy as sin.

  “I think so.”

  Letty shrugged. “Either way, the sarge needs to get him some, because dealing with this crew day in and day out, Jesus, he just might explode.”

  “Okay, we really need to not be talking about our sergeant’s sex life or lack of,” Rosa muttered. As they continued to gossip and chat, Letty watched their friends and teammates frolicking and playing. It was nice, after all the shit they’d been through. They were hardly the first team to spawn relationships. At times she worried about the guys, though most of the time she was happy for them. Sloane and Dex were happy, and Ash and Cael were finally getting settled into their new roles together.

  Letty glanced over at Calvin, who was on his stomach, his head pressed against Hobbs’s as he murmured something. She remembered the training simulation where the two had been so off their game Letty had managed to shoot Cal in the leg, twice.

  Of all the guys, those two had the most to lose. Letty felt for Calvin. He and Hobbs had been best friends for years, inseparable, but that didn’t necessarily mean it would translate to a functioning relationship. She would know. Whatever was going on between them, she really hoped it worked out.

  Prompt #44: Dex as a Lamaze coach.

  WHAT A day. Sloane couldn’t wait to get in, shower, and just veg out in front of the TV with his boyfriend. Speaking of, what was his sexy little troublemaker up to? This was the third day off Dex had taken without Sloane. It wasn’t like Dex to ask for a day off without telling him. Hell, Sloane couldn’t remember the last time they’d spent a day off apart. What was going on? What wasn’t Dex telling him?

  “Dex?” Sloane hung up his jacket behind the door, curious when there was no reply. Strange. The Challenger was parked out front, and Dex’s wallet sat by his keys on the coffee table next to a stack of magazines—Wait, was that…?

  With a frown, Sloane walked over to the table. Puzzled, he picked up the top one. Parenting? Why was there a parenting magazine in the living room? He dropped his gaze to the next on the pile. Babytalk. What the hell? Sloane swallowed hard as he sifted through the stack. They were all on parenting, babies, and childbirth.

  Panic shot through Sloane, and it took everything he had not to head for the hills. “There has to be a perfectly reasonable explanation for this.” He told himself to quit being so damn melodramatic. Maybe they belonged to someone else. Was anyone they knew pregnant? He couldn’t recall. “Okay.” There was no point in overreacting. He’d just find Dex and ask. It wasn’t like Dex was thinking about kids.

  Sloane chuckled at the thought. They hadn’t even moved in together yet. His smile slipped from his face, and he found himself needing to sit down. Maybe Dex was thinking ahead. It wouldn’t be the first time. Plus, his boyfriend was great with kids. Was it really such a surprise he’d think about it?

  “Let’s not jump to conclusions.”
Sloane got to his feet and went into the kitchen. He needed a beer. “There’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for those.” He grabbed a beer from the fridge and twisted the cap off before taking a long gulp. Oh God, that felt so good.

  Feeling calmer, he headed for the stairs when he noticed the stack of books on the table. An icy chill went up his spine. Don’t look. Just keep walking. He took another long swig of his beer as he contemplated his next move. Who was he kidding? He spun on his heels. You have no one to blame but yourself. Putting his beer down on the dinner table, he picked up one of the hefty paperbacks.

  Dude, You’re Gonna Be a Dad!

  “Oh God.” It was worse than he thought. Who else would buy a book with that title? The next book was just as bad. The Guy’s Guide to Surviving Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the First Year of Fatherhood. Followed by The New Dad’s Survival Guide.

  “Nope. This is not… I can’t even…. No. Nope. Noooo.” Sloane shook his head. Was this what Dex was doing on his days off? Why hadn’t Sloane seen these before? Had Dex been hiding them? Whatever was going on, Sloane would get to the bottom of it. He’d march upstairs and tell Dex this was all way too much too soon. What the hell was going through his boyfriend’s mind? They’d gotten better at communicating, so he’d just tell Dex what was on his mind. Dex would listen. He always did.

  Fuck. What if Dex had his heart set on it? Sure, Sloane was marginally improving where kids were concerned, but they still scared the shit out of him, and babies? He didn’t even want to think about babies, with their tiny hands, and constant crying, and pooping, and needing things. Then they’d grow up and want cell phones and techy gadgets. Then they’d want to date, and holy hell, they’d turn into brooding teenagers. Teenagers! Nope.

  Sloane took the stairs two at a time, bursting through the bedroom door, his heart ready to pound out of his chest. “Dex—”