Page 51 of Oddly Fine

“Beckett?” Riley asked.

“Everyone else was busy,” Gill replied with a pained grimace.

Riley chuckled and kissed Gill on the cheek, and their boss—an unmoveable fucking giant—all but melted against his husband.

“Go home,” Riley told them with a smile.

That was all they needed to hear, as both jumped up and headed for the door.

“And thank you both for your help,” Riley said warmly. “It was a shit show, but the kids told me you kept them safe. They’re not scared—they’re excited—and that—” Riley struggled to express his feelings, but Hayes understood exactly how he felt.

In the midst of all that chaos and fear, they’d managed to create a sense of comfort and excitement for the triplets. From having been on the other side in his youth, Hayes completely understood the importance of having your children feel secure rather than frightened. After all—Hayes had been scared shitless of the world in general until he’d picked up and aimed a gun for the first time—and if that wasn’t the most fucked up thing for a kid to experience, he didn’t know what was.

“So we’re not fired?” Becket asked with a tentative smile.

“Not today,” Gill confirmed, rolling his eyes at Beckett while continuing to hold Riley tightly.

As it turned out, the gash on Beckett’s forearm required 14 stitches and he got stabbed in the arm with his first rabies vaccine. Thank God Hayes had finally convinced him to get medical attention. By the time they made it back to their condo, it was late morning, and both of them were severely sleep deprived.

“Let’s add it to the list,” Beckett said, as he laid down on the bed next to Hayes. They were both too tired to do anything other than sleep, but they still needed the comfort of skin-on-skin contact to fall asleep.

“The list?” Hayes asked groggily as he began to drift off.

“Of things that can potentially kills us—” Beckett mumbled sleepily. “Mothers-in-law, add it—” he instructed, breaking off as a giant yawn almost unhinged his jaw.

“What about raccoons?” Hayes asked with an amused snort.

Beckett shook his head. “Momma Raccoon’s actions were totally justified. I’d have done the same things she did,” he declared, like the raccoon was on trial and he was pleading for its innocence. “Just mothers-in-law,” he repeated emphatically.

And yeah—Hayes surely tucked away that snippet of information before falling asleep.

Yup.

Sure he did.

Chapter 9

Had you asked either of them when their anniversary was, they’d have shrugged and pretended to have no idea. After all, they hadn’t exactly followed the traditional path of courtship. They’d fucked first, refused to talk about it, and then pretended that everything was all well and good for months before Beckett had finally called Hayes his boyfriend and made it official. The only thing they knew for certain was that the previous Christmas had been a major turning point for them. They hadn’t talked about their relationship over Christmas, but Hayes had gone to bat for Beckett’s family without a second thought. Their relationship had most definitely changed by the time they’d returned to their condo from the ensuing chaos of celebrating the holidays with the Théraults.

While the Théraults usually got together at Christmas, they’d celebrated the holiday earlier than usual this year because everyone gathered to attend Jackson’s store opening in November, which meant Beckett and Hayes were spending Christmas at their condo this year. Neither one of them minded, as they weren’t all that sentimental or old fashioned about how they spent their time during the holiday season.

Beckett woke to the mingled scents of fried bacon and freshly brewed coffee, their bedroom bathed in sunlight, and a hand gently rubbing his back.

“Morning,” Hayes greeted him with a shy smile Beckett only ever saw when his partner had done something romantic and was feeling self-conscious.

“Hmmm—morning,” Beckett replied, his voice rough with sleep.

Hayes had one knee on the bed, leaning slightly over Beckett, as he began to lightly trace random designs on his skin.

“Breakfast is ready,” Hayes said, leaning forward and kissing Beckett tenderly. He began to pull away, but Beckett wasn’t nearly satisfied with that quick peck. Faster than his sleep-addled brain could process, he’d grabbed Hayes around the waist and spun him around to lie flat on his back on the bed. It was Beckett’s turn to lean over Hayes, smiling devilishly.

“Is anything cooking on the stove?” Beckett asked and started kissing Hayes’ neck. The retired SEAL looked baffled for a second before shaking his head. The tips of his ears were turning pink with desire and Beckett wanted to bite them.

“Good,” Beckett mumbled against Hayes’ skin. “Would you like your first Christmas present of the day?” he asked, still peppering the side of Hayes’ neck with kisses. Most were soft, and quick, while he lingered on others, sucking the skin gently. Never hard enough to leave a mark—at least not where anyone could see—but enough to make Hayes squirm with desire.

“Please,” he said, increasingly turned on.

“Good,” Beckett replied, planting a big, sloppy kiss on Hayes’ lips. Then, he rolled completely off the bed, leaving Hayes looking confused and hard enough to hammer nails.