Chapter 21

All good things had to come to an end, Francesco thought and shivered while Mouse caressed his back, tracing an invisible line along his spine and pushing playfully between his ass cheeks. He had ended up sleeping in the same bed with both of them, although Mouse had a room all to himself. The honeymoon was way too short, and they had actually had just one week to themselves. It wasn’t enough and made it all too painfully clear to Francesco that he didn’t want Mouse to go back to his unit. He had an idea to ask Karl if there was anything they could do to keep the redhead with them, but he knew that his husband didn’t call the shots anyway.

“That plane is already waiting for us,” Francesco whispered. He had heard the metal bird landing. It wasn’t a regular flight, of course, but that didn’t mean that they could leave the crew to wait for them indefinitely.

“So, honeymoon’s over, right?” Mouse quipped and slapped Francesco’s ass before getting out of bed.

He was completely naked and stretched, allowing Francesco to admire his muscled back and buttocks, as well as the back of his hard as rock hammies. Mouse had used to be lean and fast during their time on the island, but now he had grown into a full man. Army life agreed with him, and Francesco wondered if it was fair to even ask the redhead to settle with them for a life in the suburbs. Somehow, it didn’t fit him. Mouse was made for a life of action, whether it was hunting in the woods or sucking dick in the army.

Karl shifted, and Francesco knew that he wasn’t sleeping anymore. “Come on, stop pretending. I know you’re awake.”

Karl opened his eyes and stared at him.

“What?” Francesco asked. “Something on my face?”

Karl licked his thumb and brushed it along Francesco’s cheek. “A bit of cum from yesterday.”

Francesco swatted his hand away. “Shut up, fucker. I washed.”

Karl caught his neck swiftly just to prove how easy it was for him to do that. Francesco swallowed but enjoyed the firmness of Karl’s thumb against the base of his neck. It was all right to leave him in control, and not somebody else.

“Are you into some BDSM shit so early in the morning?” Mouse asked. He rubbed his crotch in a gesture that left nothing to the imagination.

Karl let go of him with obvious reluctance. “We need to get up. Time to get back to the shitty real world.”

Francesco hadn’t known Karl to be so open about what bothered him, but it was clear that he didn’t harbor any illusion that their life would be all wine and roses from now on. He didn’t either. Somewhere, back home, whatever that was, Don lurked in the shadows, and Francesco doubted the man would be fine with leaving them alone to build a life for themselves.

That meant that he needed to brace for impact or get smart already and start searching for stuff that would be bad enough to bring the asshole down. Actually, he didn’t care about that; the asshole was Karl’s dad. As much as Francesco hated to admit it, he was family now. He would be satisfied with having enough ammo for mutual assured destruction so that he didn’t have to live in fear of Don’s blackmail all the time.

Until then, however, there were other things he needed to do. Like get out of bed and prepare for their flight. Their luggage was put together already by the dutiful personnel. Oddly enough, after their little orgy, Mack had kept out of the way. At first, Francesco thought the guy quit or something, but he saw him from a distance, carrying some dishes. He had waved at him but got no acknowledgment back and Francesco had wondered what the fuck that was about.

They were barely dressed and shaved when an energetic knock on the door let them know that their vacation was, indeed, over.

“Come in,” Karl said loudly as the man in charge that he was.

Morgan opened the door but didn’t step inside. He stood there and examined them briefly. “Good morning. Are you ready to fly back?”

What a change from what had happened when they left the island, he and Mouse both having been tracked down and forced into that chopper. Now, they were invited politely to board and go willingly into a world where different kinds of dangers lay.

Karl took Francesco by the shoulder. “Yeah. Just give us a moment.”

Morgan nodded curtly and closed the door.

Karl hooked his other arm over Mouse’s shoulders and brought them all together for a group hug. “Listen here, fuckers,” he said in a half-serious, half-playful tone. “We’re going to have times like this again.”

Francesco was moved. He hadn’t expected Karl to be the one with initiative here and even want Mouse with them. Yeah, things must have happened during those years he hadn’t heard from either of them. Why they still kept it a secret, he didn’t get it. Maybe they did have a bone to pick with him, still, both of them, and Francesco couldn’t say that he blamed them for it. Their relationship was pretty fucked up to begin with.

“Don’t forget about us, whore,” Karl told Mouse and kissed him on the lips. In his mouth, that word didn’t mean anything. Or better said, it meant that he was fine with Mouse. “Come on, you two, kiss now. Once we’re on that plane, you won’t be able to do it.”

Francesco hung onto Mouse as he took him in his arms and kissed him as hard and as desperate as he could manage without breaking the other’s bones. The redhead caressed his hair and for a few moments after they pulled away, they stared into each other’s eyes. “I’ll find my way back to you two, fuckers,” he said in a tender voice. “Now let’s go. We’ll have other times like this, I’m sure,” he added, repeating Karl’s words.

Francesco said nothing as Morgan chauffeured them to their new house. He stared out the window, taking in the new surroundings. Karl could say whatever, that was the fucking suburbs. Would they really fit in with that kind of neighborhood?

The car turned a side narrow street that began to climb. The manicured lawns and tacky McMansions were left behind, while tall trees lined the road on both sides. So that was what Karl meant to say by them having a bit of a more secluded place to themselves.