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CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
Family
“You look happy,” Hudson remarks as I step into his flat. I can hear chatter coming from inside the living room and recognise the deep rumble of Bryce’s laughter.
“Yeah?” I reply, not giving up the reason why. I don’t want to share what happened between Beast and me just yet, and especially not in front of the others. They’ll only take the piss. Max loves to joke about everything and Cal is always trying to find ways to wind me up.
“Beast finally let you out of his clutches then?” Hudson asks with a knowing smile.
I shrug. “He had stuff to do.”
Hudson trails behind me as I walk towards the living room. “With your dad?”
“Yep. Him and a few of the others are going to The Crib Club tonight. Carter’s doing business there.”
“Business at The Crib Club? Sounds like my kind of business,” Bryce says from his position on the sofa as I step into the living room. He grins at me, winking in that flirtatious way of his. Next to him Max snorts with laughter.
“Yeah, you wish. The women in that club are way out of your league, bro!”
Cal smirks. “Mate, Bryce could pull Jennifer Lopez if he wanted. Have you seen the size of his dick?”
“Wait, you’ve seen Bryce’s dick?” Hudson pulls a face that makes us all laugh.
“Are you kidding me? Nearly every time he’s over here he’s walking around the flat fucking naked. It’s hard to miss.”
“Ever heard of averting your eyes?” Hudson says, looking affronted.
“I never thought you were a prude,” I say, poking him in the rib and grinning mercilessly. “You should see the fighters at Tales, they’re always talking about their dicks or comparing sizes.”
“And that’s why you’re the only female member. You’re a cock hoarder,” Max says, and the three of them burst out laughing.
“Yep. Love a cock or twelve,” I reply, grinning. “Unlike Hud here, who’s clearly affronted by a nice big dick.”
“Shut the hell up! I just don’t want to look at my brother’s dick, or hear about how well hung he is either. He’s barely a fucking adult.”
“Mate, have you seen the hair covering my body? I’m more adult than you are,” Bryce says, lifting his t-shirt to show us the rug covering his chest. Fuck, heishairy.
We all crack up laughing and before long I’m squished on the sofa between Bryce and Hudson, whilst Max and Cal sit on the two-seater opposite us. For the next hour or so we all eat pizza, down a couple of bottles of beer and watch some mindless trash tv. I’ve always felt comfortable in the presence of Hudson and his brothers, Max and Bryce. They kind of come as a package deal. If you’re friends with one, you’re friends with the other two. They may not be brothers by blood, but the bond they have from growing up in the same care home is much stronger than many I’ve seen. Cal is their very good friend, but he doesn’t fit in their tight-knit threesome in quite the same way. Not that it makes them care for him any less, just differently.
When it’s pushing eleven o’clock, Cal jumps up. “I gotta head off. Are you coming?” he asks Max and Bryce who’re both fighting over the last slice of now cold pizza.
“Yeah, you should get back to the children’s home before they send someone over to drag your arses back there,” Hudson says, gathering up the empty boxes and nudging Bryce’s leg to give him room to pass.
“We’ve literally got a few weeks left until we’re eighteen and can leave. Why do they care whether we stay out past our curfew?” Max asks, running a hand through his blonde hair. He’s cute to look at, all four of the boys are, but none hold a candle to Beast. I bite down on a smile, remembering the conversation we had earlier.
Hudson notices, narrowing his eyes at me and giving me a look that says he’ll find out what’s making me smile just as soon as everyone leaves. “Because, Max, I don’t need to give those nosy arseholes in social services any more of a reason to give me a hard time, not when we’re so close to being together at long last.”
“Ah, you make it sound so romantic,” Cal jokes, grinning.
“Are you jealous?” Bryce retorts, standing.
He’s so tall that he looks way older than his almost eighteen years, that and the fact he is covered in more hair than the three of them put together. If I wasn’t so hung up on another man, he’d be tempting. There’s nothing more attractive than a manly man, in my opinion. I guess that’s why I’m so drawn to Beast, because he’s most definitely an alpha male, that’s for damn sure.
“Jealous of you three fuckwits? Nah. I’m good,” Cal replies, but this time his smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes. Hudson frowns.
“Hey, Cal, you know our home is your home, right? We’ve said all along you can be a Freed just like us,” he says, gripping his arm and making him wait.
“Yeah, I know,” Cal nods, placing his hand over Hudson’s and gripping it briefly. “But I’ve got a family still and whilst they might not be the best it wouldn’t feel right taking on another name. You understand where I’m coming from, yeah?”
