As his other brothers came to Keyes, Dev stepped back, giving Keyes his moment. His best friend was sorely missed and needed to know.
Dev craned his neck to catch a glimpse of Cash, because it had been over thirty seconds since the last time he looked. This time he had a brain blip. His body and mind went numb at the sight. Cash hadn’t moved. He was just so goddamn pretty it confused Dev’s brain function.
What he wanted more than anything else was a situation where Cash and he were traveling to this funeral together. The girls would ride in their backseat. Keyes and his guy driving behind them.
He stared at Cash, knowing that he’d been a fool for not begging the agent to commit to a lifetime with him. If Cash quit his job, he didn’t have to leave Dallas. He could support Cash until some local job hired him. Hell, Cash never needed to work again as far as he was concerned.
The pretty picture made his heart ache, wanting him to end the madness.
Without any sort of plan, Dev spontaneously started back to Cash. His strides filled with purpose. He saw the stiffening of Cash’s shoulders from an otherwise unaffected man to watching his approach. And goddamn, if that sexy as fuck line between his guy’s brows didn’t become more pronounced.
Dev came to within a foot of Cash, straightening his spine as he stared intently at the man.
“What?” Cash asked. “I don’t think Keyes’ll have any trouble. He texted me for times so he didn’t linger longer than necessary.”
“I don’t care about that,” Dev said boldly then retreated. “If he does, you’re gonna need to take care of it before you quit. I suspect his old man isn’t really at home waitin’ for him. He seems pretty fuckin’ protective. You might need to figure out where he is and keep an eye on him.”
“I’ve been in touch with Alec too,” Cash said. “He’ll be at the funeral with me and the girls. I’ve let Shanna know.”
Okay, good. Even better.
Dev’s thoughts raced. Cash did what he always did for Dev, looking out for him and everyone he held dear. Dev lifted a finger to stop Cash from saying anything more.
Did he truly plan to commit? A vow so special he’d never given it to another?
Cash meant everything to Dev. The sun and moon set around this guy. Jeez, he was so in love. He wasn’t sure he could survive if Cash actually planned to leave him. The thought made his heart ache in desperation, picking up its beat, steadily building on the frantic thoughts running through his mind.
Oh shit.
Cash went to open his mouth. Dev extended his hand this time, stopping him from speaking. He had to get through this, and goddamn, he wasn’t afraid of anything except the power this man had over him.
“I was wrong to wait. When I figured that out, I began to doubt myself. Then I didn’t know how to fuckin’ say it because I waited so long. So you need to know that I do love you. Like Ireallylove you. I don’t want you to leave me when this is done.” Dev cleared his throat to keep his voice from breaking. He looked away, fighting the emotion threatening to overwhelm him. “I figure you’re my person.”
Cash stared at him, his eyes narrowing behind the sunglasses. His head gave a small shake, maybe as if he hadn’t heard Dev correctly. Dev’s brows dropped together. Was his confession confusing? He thought through the words he said, his crazy head making it hard to think straight.
“I tried to say I love you and I have this whole time.” Dev’s hand swiped through the air, driving the point home. “Like from the beginnin’ I was into you in that bindin’ sort of way. From the very beginning. I was gripped since the moment I saw you on my porch the first day you moved in. Since way before you said it to me. But I got sideways when you tackled me in your apartment. And I’m a motherfucker. I’m sorry for not sayin’ it sooner.”
“You’re not a motherfucker. Not at all. You’re a good man that’s been put in a bad situation,” Cash said evenly, calmly. “I felt the same way about you from that first day. You became the only part of this whole thing that mattered to me. For me, it was from the first handshake we had when you made me hold the heavy end of the sofa on the stairs when I moved in.”
“Yeah, me too,” Dev said, his heart calming. Tingles raced across his skin at the devotion he gave and got in return. “So stay here in Dallas with me. Don’t leave when the case is over. I love you. The girls are crazy about you. Let’s figure shit out.”
“Okay,” Cash said, barely moving or showing any outward signs of the huge commitment he just agreed to.
Fuck, the guy made such a pretty picture and was so goddam functional.
“Thank you,” Dev said, full of appreciation for the effort Cash made to keep them together. “I don’t know if you’ll believe this or not, but I’ve never told another adult that I love ’em. Not even Tena.”
“I believe you,” Cash said, the edge of his lip twitching as if he fought the smile trying to form. “You’re a terrible liar. When you make it believable, I know it’s the truth. Go get this over with so we can talk without the local, state, and federal authorities watching every move we make and Joe recording it all. You’ve made me wait an intolerable amount of time to hear what you just said, and now I have to wait again.”
His inner deviant was proud of the loving aggravation in his guy’s tone.
Dev turned away only to do a full circle, coming back to Cash. He stepped in, lifting a hand. Cash didn’t catch his move fast enough before he ruffled Cash’s styled hair, bringing a few front pieces down on his forehead.
Cash instantly lifted a hand to push the strands back off his face. Dev knocked his love’s arm away. “Leave it. I like it like that. I can barely take my eyes off you, and it’ll help me get through the next couple of hours to see you so pretty and knowing how badly you’d like to have your hair pushed back in place.”
Cash left his hair alone and nodded.
“Oh hell, fuck it.” Dev stepped in, his body going flush against Cash for the world to see. He captured Cash’s lips, giving him a chaste but heated kiss. “Tell me again. You agree, right?”
