Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 81358 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81358 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Justin and Gabriel. They’d helped Kai escape his old life. Made the world think the assassin known as Ghost was dead and gone. And the man standing in front of him was free. The danger was gone.
“You’re here,” Dev whispered brokenly. “You came back.”
“And I would very much like to kiss you,” Kai murmured.
That finally made sense to Dev’s poor brain. His heart simply jumped into the driver’s seat and shoved Dev at Kai. They crashed together. Kai’s strong arms wrapped around him and his mouth captured Dev’s, just barely muffling the moan of relief and joy that rose out of him. The former assassin in his arms might look a little different, but he felt the same and his wonderful kisses tasted the same. He had his Kai.
Dev was vaguely aware of the flowers and water bottle falling to the ground so he could hold him tighter. The flowers were lovely, but Kai was so much more important. They couldn’t get close enough. Kai had returned. Given up an entire life so they could be together.
Applause suddenly permeated his senses, followed by some catcalls. There were a few shouts of, “Way to go, Dev!” Even a “Someone had a good summer break!” That sounded most like Sean. Figured.
He broke off the kiss with a chuckle but didn’t move an inch from Kai’s tight embrace. He looked up to find Kai smiling at him, unshed tears glistening in his dark eyes.
“I love you, Dev. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I am never giving you up. Not without a hell of a fight.”
“I love you, too, Kai. Or Ghost. Or whoever you are now. I will always love you.”
Grinning, Kai leaned in and nipped at his bottom lip. “My name doesn’t matter. Just call me yours and I will always find you.”
“Mine,” Dev growled, pulling Kai in for another kiss. He loved the sound of that. Kai was his. Always his.
A loud rumble reached his ears and stopped any more welcoming kisses. He reluctantly pulled away and looked around Kai to see a line of large yellow school buses approaching the parking lot. Jake was back from camp.
“Is it strange that I’m more scared now than I ever was during the past couple of weeks?” Kai mumbled.
Dev laughed, leaning into Kai, who wrapped an arm around his waist, keeping him close as if he couldn’t stand the idea of even a little space coming between them. Dev bent and picked up the flowers he’d dropped while Kai grabbed his errant water bottle. “You have nothing to worry about. You know Jake likes you.”
“Yes, but that was before I started dating his father. Do you think he’ll be upset by it? He lost Adam not that long ago.”
Dev straightened and wrapped his arm around Kai’s waist, leaning his head against his shoulder. “We’ll take it slow. Let him get adjusted to the idea.”
Closing his eyes, Dev soaked in their last moments of quiet and privacy. He sent up a prayer to anyone who might be listening to help Jake accept that his dad was dating. They would have a long talk later about how Adam would always be a part of their lives and that moving on didn’t mean that they’d stopped loving him.
The buses slowly parked and parents edged closer, waiting for their children to be released. Threading his fingers through Kai’s, Dev flashed him a wide grin as he pulled him a little closer. They stayed back far enough that they weren’t drawn into any curious chitchat. That would come soon enough. Dev wanted Kai to focus on this first moment with Jake rather than worrying about other nosy parents.
After what felt like far too long, Jake appeared in the open doorway. He paused, searching over the crowd for Dev. His sweet face lit up the moment their eyes met. Dev couldn’t stop himself from excitedly waving the hand holding the roses over his head. Letting go of Kai just wasn’t an option yet. Jake’s eyes widened even farther when he caught sight of Kai.
The boy—who looked as if he’d grown at least an inch in the past two weeks—shouted something to another child and then took off, weaving through the crowd to reach Dev. Laughter bubbled up and Dev finally released Kai, stepping forward to greet his son. His slender frame slammed into him, and Dev had to blink away a rush of tears. His son was finally home. While he was glad that Jake hadn’t been around for the danger and death, he was glad to have him home and in his arms.
“I missed you so much!” Dev said, squeezing him tight.
Jake squeezed his waist right back, face buried in his chest. “Missed you too.”
Dev laid his head on the top of Jake’s and just smiled. Everything was right in his world again. “Did you have fun?”