Knowing he’d be taken care of, I turned my attention to Brooks. He was half asleep with a small smile on his face.
“Hey, sweetheart, let’s get you cleaned up, yeah?”
Brooks’s eyes fluttered open. “Cuddles?”
“Yes, there will be plenty of cuddles. In the bath.”
“Okay,” he slurred, sounding a little loopy. “Bedtime cuddles too, right?”
Laughing, I kissed him before pushing his sweat-matted hair out of his face.
“Yes, baby boy, all the cuddles you could possibly handle.”
His face scrunched up adorably. “I can handle them allllll.”
That was true. My boy was a cuddle slut. Instead of answering, I picked him up and met the others in the adjoining bathroom.
The tub was halfway filled, aromatic bubbles covering the water. The whole bathroom smelled like lavender and vanilla, Brooks’s favorite combo. Maverick had Skye sitting on the bathroom counter as he wiped up some of the excess cum on his abs. He was whispering something to him that had Skye smiling and nodding along.
I placed Brooks next to him, and immediately Skye reached for his hand, holding it tightly.
My core warmed, as I loved to see them together and the bond that they shared. My eyes found Wes’s where he and Diego were standing a little off to the side, checking in. Most days he could stay for the aftercare with us, but there were still some times he preferred the privacy after a scene, so Wes always spent some time seeing where Diego’s headspace was.
I guess today was one of those days that he needed some space because once the tub was filled, the two of them started their goodbyes. Wes squeezed Skye’s arm affectionately and then kissed Brooks’s cheek. “Bye, boys. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of that. It was special.”
“And hot,” Skye added, sounding a little more like himself.
“Very, very, hot.” Brooks, on the other hand, was still riding his high. He always stayed in subspace for a long time after big scenes.
Brooks and Diego had one of their unspoken conversations, and then he and Wes left, leaving Mav and me alone to get the boys into the tub. They automatically drifted to the middle, knees up and legs intertwined, so we had room to slot in. I climbed in behind Skye, Maverick behind Brooks. Skye sank into me, his head lulling sleepily against my shoulder.
I ran my hands up and down his arms. “How’re you doing, babe?”
He tilted his head back enough to smile at me. “Good. So good.”
Brooks’s eyes were half closed as he relaxed from Maverick’s touch as he watched him. “And you, Brooks? Are you okay?” I got a thumbs-up and a sleepy grin. Good enough.
We washed the boys and ourselves in between lazy kisses and lots of cuddles. By the time we were done, I was a prune and the boys were a puddle of loose limbs. We managed to get them dry and all of us dressed in loose shorts. Even though the boys weren’t home, it became a habit to be dressed out in the main areas.
Maverick, the bastard, smirked at me and then walked up to Brooks. “C’mon, brat, hop on.” He turned around, offering him a piggyback. Brooks’s face lit up.
“Oh, this is awesome.” He jumped up with a sudden bout of energy and wrapped his legs and arms around Mav. Brooks kissed his ear, Mav grunted, and then they took off.
“Want a piggyback too?” I asked Skye skeptically.
Thankfully, he took pity on me and my old-man back and held out a hand. “Nah, I can walk, Boss. Hold my hand?”
“Gladly.”
We made it to the bedroom, where Mav and Brooks were already snuggled. Skye happily jumped in with them. Eventually, we would need to get up and eat something at the very least, but that could wait.
Now, I snuggled in behind Skye. I reached over his body so that my arm covered Brooks as well. Maverick took my hand.
I was struck by how profound the moment was. It was simple aftercare, something we’d done hundreds of times and would do hundreds more, but nothing felt righter than when we were here, cuddled in bed together, relaxed and sated and happy. The only thing that would make it better would be if Wes and Diego joined us. Maybe I could convince them to come in later. Diego usually couldn’t sleep with all of us in the bed, but we had a smaller, full-sized mattress off to the side . . . .
I drifted off thinking about how fortunate and in love I was.
EPILOGUE TWO
