“It was a pleasure meeting you guys. We’ll have you out to California for a meet and greet. I’ll make sure Dylan’s in town. He’ll enjoy this dynamic,” Tristan said, extending a hand to Kreed then Mitch.
“Thank you for the business,”
“No, thank you guys. It’s been a great afternoon. Aaron, I’ll be in touch.” Tristan slid out the door.
Mitch followed behind him, Kreed supposed to walk him out. He reached out and shut the door behind them. Thank God he’d gotten it wrong.
“You promised no more hacking.”
“I did, but we got to talking and it was a funny idea. Safe. I didn’t think you’d mind,” Aaron said absently, moving the computer equipment around so he could get to all the pages of the contract. Kreed dropped down in the chair across from the desk, his relief strong. Aaron had no idea what had even driven him in here to interrupt them in the first place.
“I need to apologize. Skinner said Huckabee was hacked, and I know how much you dislike the guy. I thought it was you,” Kreed admitted. There was no way to know how Aaron would take his admission, or how much making up he’d need to do, but Kreed knew he needed to trust Aaron more than immediately jumping to those kinds of conclusions.
“Oh shit. I forgot about that.” Aaron turned quickly to his computer and began typing. Well, hell, he’d been spot-on after all.
“You promised me,” Kreed started, his brow furrowed.
“I know, but he’s friends with my dad, and my dad just gave him a couple of million to keep going in the race. And I really hate him, so he can spend that money fixing what I just fucked up,” Aaron answered, never looking back at him.
Kreed rolled his eyes. Those kinds of justifications were common with Aaron. A promise always came with a certain amount of leeway. Kreed scrubbed his hands over his face as he thought about the fight they were going to have, but Kreed had to go there. One slip too many would lead the Department of Justice straight to their door.
“Babe, this doesn’t fall in a gray area. Hacking Huckabee is illegal activity…” Kreed started, but Mitch busted back inside the office, cutting off his words.
“Great job, Stuart. Wilder’s impressed.” Mitch clapped his palms, rubbing his hands together. “Two contracts in one day. I want more of these kinds of days!”
“Yeah, me too. We need to work out the logistics, make sure we have enough help on stand-by,” Aaron said, leaving the keyboard, turning toward them. Kreed immediately moved his finger in a circle toward Aaron.
“Don’t stop. Fix what you did,” Kreed prompted.
“Dude! Seriously, you need to lighten up,” Aaron shot back.
“That might be the case, but you promised,” Kreed said.
“Just for the record, you two do this shit all the time. I have no idea what we’re talking about, and it’s getting old,” Mitch said, glancing between the both of them. “Get over whatever this is going on right now. We need to celebrate. The dynamic duo’s about an hour out. Cody’s off work.”
Mitch left them sitting there. Kreed tended to agree; they needed to celebrate. He rose and started heading out too. Colt and Jace were the duo, and they all had reservations for dinner. “Fix that shit, babe. You promised,” Kreed said at the door.
“It’s only because you’re so hot. You make me agree to crazy things, Sin,” Aaron said after a brief pause. Kreed didn’t move, he just stood in the doorway and smiled. He loved those words. They were still in the honeymoon phase of their relationship so little things made him all gushy on the inside. And the fact that they fucked like bunnies all the damn time had him giving in to Aaron’s whims more often than not.
“I promise. A little later, I’ll show how much I liked those words. But get out of Huckabee’s shit first. We got dinner and dancing tonight, and I don’t want to worry about men in black interrupting my grind time with you.” Kreed left the office on that note and said a small little prayer that Aaron would do as he’d asked.
“Damn it! That’s supposed to work in giving me more time. Would a lap dance sweeten the deal?” Aaron yelled and Kreed snickered. Yeah, they were settling into each other very well.
~~~
Thanksgiving
Kreed took the corner leading into the familiar San Antonio neighborhood. He’d grown up in this tight-knit community, and throughout his life he’d traveled this street more times than he could count. Yet somehow, this time everything seemed different. His entire life had changed for the better and it was all due to the amazing guy riding beside him.
“Any regrets?”
“Not a one. You?” Aaron asked from the passenger side.
Kreed never glanced over but he could feel the kid’s gaze on him.
“I don’t do regrets. I’m in. I told you that.” Kreed slowed as he turned onto the street his parents lived on. Like normal for the day, the road was packed, forcing him to slow down and navigate the drive, moving in and out of parked cars and oncoming traffic. “It was cool how you got the guy to come in and ink us today.”
“He owed me,” Aaron replied, somewhat distracted. “This neighborhood looks like one of the fake places you see on the Hallmark Channel’s Thanksgiving TV shows.”
“Yeah, I know, but it’s real. I keep telling you that families really do get together on Thanksgiving and spend the day eating and making each other totally miserable in the best possible way.”
“I just think it’s cool as shit,” Aaron added. From the corner of his eye, he watched Aaron’s eyes grow wide with excitement as he stared out the front windshield of the car.
As a kid, Kreed believed these same neighbors were always intruding in his life, telling his parents all the bad shit he’d done. Over the years, he’d grown up and come to realize they were only watching out for him. Now that he was older, he was thankful they had always stayed in his business. His life might have taken a much different path had they not stuck their noses in where he’d thought they didn’t belong.
A smile broke out across his lips as he followed Aaron’s gaze, curious as to what could possibly cause that much awe to appear on his sexy guy’s face. They had spent just about every Sunday afternoon at his parents’ house since he’d moved back to the area, but today, the neighborhood bustled with families enjoying the holiday. Even with all the years away, nothing had changed. Some were playing football in the front yard, some gathered by their cars talking, others struggling with armloads of food.
“Should we have brought something? Everyone’s carrying in covered dishes.”
“Nah, we’re good. I promise.”
“Are you sure? This is so different than Thanksgiving with my family. I’m glad we came.” Aaron’s attention remained focused outside the car.
Happiness filled Kreed’s heart. He loved sharing these special moments with Aaron. His guy had been overly excited about this family gathering. This year the entire clan would be celebrating Thanksgiving dinner at his parents’ place. All his aunts, uncles, and cousins planned to come. Aaron was so into the idea of celebrating this holiday that it was all he’d been able to talk about for the last couple of days.
When Aaron had arranged for matching tattoos to be inked this morning, it had come as a surprise—a very sweet surprise. Paying extra to have the tattoo artist come to the house added an extra layer of thoughtfulness to his guy’s special gesture. Kreed hadn’t missed the significance of what these tattoos really meant to Aaron. Being totally vested in this relationship himself, he was more than happy to commit to those ideas. This day was very special to his church boy and now it was permanently illustrated on both of them.
“My aunts and mom will cook more food than we can ever eat,” Kreed said, pulling into the driveway and putting the car in park.
“I don’t know about that. You might not have noticed, but I like to eat,” Aaron teased as he got out of the truck then shut the door without waiting on a response. “We can bring something at Christmas, right?” he quickly added, looking at Kreed over the hood.
Kreed couldn’t help but smile at the eagerness in Aaron’s words and the excitement written all over his face. Kreed made his way around the front of the car, the slight chill in the November air skating across his skin as he walked. “You’re gonna see that there’s enough food in there for us to have leftovers until Christmas day.”
“I hope so. I was trying to remember something my grandmother always made us on holidays. It was like a homemade creamed corn. It was the best ever. Everyone loved that corn. She always made me extra and would hide it so I could take it home. When she passed, my mom never made it for us; she doesn’t cook. They have everything catered and it’s just not the same. I bet I could find that recipe. You’re pretty good in the kitchen. I think we could pull it off and make it for Christmas,” Aaron suggested, falling in step beside him as they headed up the walkway.
“We could.” Kreed motioned to his hip where they’d both put their tattoos as he took the porch steps up. “I was just thinking about getting your name added to this.”
“Really? I left that spot open on the design, just in case. I know I kinda threw all that at you with no warning. I didn’t want to push too hard,” Aaron confessed, reaching for the doorbell. He stopped suddenly, and he darted his eyes sheepishly toward Kreed. “Not that I’m rushing us.”
Kreed had one hand on the doorknob. He didn’t bother to ring the doorbell when he visited. This was his family home. But he stopped mid-motion and used his free hand to cup Aaron’s neck, drawing him in for a quick kiss. He loved those little confessions from Aaron; they caressed his heart and filled him with happiness.
Kreed’s words had caught in his throat when Aaron had shown him the design he’d chosen for them— a mystical dragon and a beautifully detailed serpent, nose to nose. The lower halves of their long, sleek bodies entwined and the upper half arched high to form a heart. The tattoo had been more than perfect in Kreed’s opinion.
“Rush us, because I’m already totally there, church boy. It’s been almost a year now and I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”
Kreed knew those had been the right words when Aaron gave him that sexy little grin—the one that always made an appearance when he liked what Kreed had to say. As soon as Aaron slid an arm around his waist and drew him closer with the promise of something a little more than the quick press of lips, the door knob was yanked out of Kreed’s hand and his mother’s bright, shiny face came into view. The kiss would have to wait for now, but he would be hustling Aaron off to his old bedroom the first chance he got.
“You’re here!” his mom exclaimed and gave them both a hug. “We’ve been waiting on you two. We need our tester, honey,” she gushed, pulling on Aaron’s arm.
Turned out his church boy had fit right into the Sinacola family. His mom and Aaron had become best buddies. She loved to cook and Aaron loved to eat—a match made in heaven. Aaron headed inside first, where his mother wrapped her arm around Aaron’s waist, cheerfully listing everything on the day’s menu as she guided him toward the kitchen. Kreed had actually forgotten how much his mother depended on Aaron’s taste buds. She swore he made her a better cook because he could taste even the smallest hints of spices, and since Aaron was pretty much a bottomless pit, he never got too full to sample another bite.
“I’m sorry we didn’t think to bring anything, Mom,” Aaron apologized, settling his arm across her shoulders as they turned the corner into the dining room where covered dishes were already lining the table. His mom pointed Kreed to the back porch.
“Honey, can you please go out there and help your dad with the turkey? He got a new deep fryer at the Home Depot and it’s got more bells and whistles than his old one. It even has a remote that he can’t figure out. I don’t know why they have to make things so complicated nowadays. You really need to get out there so we don’t end up with a crispy turkey that’s raw on the inside.” Kreed laughed at that, remembering the past. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time. He loved those memories. He looked through the house onto the back porch where he could see several men gathered around a large, steaming pot.
“Sure,” he said absently, glancing back at Aaron, who’d become so completely engrossed with the desserts, he’d stopped paying any attention to him. His mom had a giant smile on her face as she watched Aaron take a finger and swipe it over some icing as he started talking again about wanting to bring creamed corn to Christmas dinner.
God, he loved the way Aaron always surprised him—simple things like asking to make the corn for Kreed’s family at Christmas or how Aaron made his mother’s smile a little brighter by just hanging out in the kitchen. Sweet unexpected moments like those seemed to happen about a hundred times a day, which made him love Aaron even more. His whole world revolved completely around that one man. Thank God Aaron had given him a chance.
Kreed kept walking, heading toward the back where the men had gathered. He was more than happy to help his father fry the bird, seeing as how it was his favorite Thanksgiving tradition. Well, that and ending his meal with a big slice of sweet potato pie and whipped cream. Kreed smiled at the idea of starting new traditions with Aaron, because if things went the way he planned, their next Thanksgiving would be celebrated with family and friends, creamed corn and all, at his and Aaron’s new place.
The End
Note to Readers: Although this is the end of the Nice Guys Novels, don’t despair. We love these characters as much as you do, so be on the lookout for them to show up in other works as well.
About this Author
Best Selling Author Kindle Alexander is an innovative writer, and a genre-crosser who writes classic fantasy, romance, suspense, and erotica.
Send a quick email and let me know what you thought of Full Disclosure to [email protected]. For more information on future works and links, check out my website at www.kindlealexander.com. Come friend me on all the major social networking sites.
Books by Kindle Alexander
What did you think of Full Domain? Email us at [email protected]. We would love to hear from you.
If you enjoyed Full Domain, then you won't want to miss Kindle Alexander's bestselling novels:
Closet Confession
Secret
Full Disclosure
Always
Double Full
The Current Between Us
Texas Pride
Up in Arms
Closet Confession
This version includes Bonus Scenes adding an additional ten thousand words to this edition. Closet Confession was previously released in the Night Shift Anthology.
Dr. Derek Babineaux is intelligent, dedicated, and one of the best ER physicians in the fast-paced world of critical care at Tulane Medical in New Orleans. Always on top of his game, he's thrown off balance when the newest medical staff member finally unleashes his hidden desires.
Justin Delacroix's job at the inner city's busiest hospital might be just what he needs to ease back into civilian life after a long stint in the military. High-performing shifts make working as a trauma nurse at TMC the perfect way to utilize his skills and quick reaction times. There's only one problem, his attraction for one sexy ER doctor is off the charts, but he has his reasons for not returning Dr. Baby's night shift advances. Or maybe he doesn't.
Learn the Secret
Tristan Wilder, self-made millionaire and devastatingly handsome CEO of Wilder-Nation is on the verge of a very lucrative buyout. With tough negotiations ahead, he's armed with his acquisition pitch, ready to launch the deal of a lifetime. There’s just one glitch. The last thing he expects is to fall for the hot business owner he's trying to sway.
Dylan Reeves, computer science engineer and founder of the very successful social media site, Secret, is faced with a life-altering decision. A devoted family man with three kids and a wife, Dylan has been living a secret for years. Fiercely loyal to his convictions, his boundaries blur after meeting the striking owner of the corporation interested in acquiring his company
. For the first time in his life, reckless desire consumes him when the gorgeous computer mogul makes an offer he can't refuse.
“INSPIRING, HONEST, BRAVE, RELEVANT—A MUST READ!!!”
~ Natasha is a Book Junkie
“This is a powerful story and truly one of Kindle Alexander’s best books.”
~ Beyond the Valley of the Books
“Secret tells the story of men who are mature enough to value integrity over pleasure and know that loving each other means caring about the others priorities.” ~Indie Bookshelf
Meet Deputy Mitch Knox in Full Disclosure
Deputy United States Marshal Mitch Knox apprehends fugitives for a living. His calm, cool, collected attitude and devastatingly handsome good looks earn him a well-deserved bad boy reputation, both in the field and out. While away on an assignment, he blows off some steam at a notorious Dallas nightclub. Solving the case that has plagued him for months takes a sudden backseat to finding out all there is to know about the gorgeous, shy blond sitting alone at the bar.
Texas State Trooper Cody Turner is moving up the ranks, well on his way to his dream of being a Texas Ranger. While on a two-week mandatory vacation, he plans to relax and help out on his family’s farm. Mitch is the last distraction Cody needs, but the tatted up temptation that walks into the bar and steals his baseball cap is too hard to ignore.
Full Domain (A Nice Guys Novel Book 3) Page 42
