Vulnerable

by Tymber Dalton

  “When I gave Jesse his day collar, I was still in the hospital. That hadn’t been part of my original plans, but we all know how fickle life can be.” He opened a small box and pulled out another necklace, the same kind of chain as the one he was already wearing, but on the tag was a silver tribal fish on a blue background.

  On the back was engraved SIR, and below that, boy.

  Then he called Eva over, who Jesse realized looked confused.

  Loren handed Leo another box. He opened it and took out a similar chain. “I know we haven’t been around much but just for the record, in case anyone didn’t know, Eva is under our official protection. We’re not her Doms, but if anyone fucks with her in the bad way, we might as well be.”

  “Amen,” Tilly said with a smile.

  On her necklace hung a smaller tag, the same fish, only with a hot pink background.

  On the back, LC-JM had been engraved.

  Jesse put it around her neck.

  “When you meet a guy we can sign off on,” Leo said, “we’ll let him replace that. Until then, it’s a reminder of the fact that you’re safe with us, but that we’ll find you the right guy.”

  She looked close to tears, hugging Jesse, then Leo. “Thank you, guys.”

  “You thank us now,” Tilly joked. “You just wait.”

  * * * *

  Leo had ordered a paddle from Cali, Max, and Sean. Jesse dropped his jeans, exposing the leather jock he was wearing under them. He bent over a spanking bench, and with Leo sitting next to him in his wheelchair, he laid the paddle over Jesse’s ass.

  “Ready?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  Leo delivered ten really hard whacks across Jesse’s ass. That was all Leo could manage for now. But when he finished, Jesse dropped to his knees in front of Leo and rested his head in his lap.

  Leo couldn’t help but think about their first night playing together…which lead into their first night sleeping together.

  He held out a hand to Eva and she stepped over, taking it. “I will always love you, sweetheart. You know I will. You’re family.”

  She nodded. “I know. This is the way it’s supposed to be. But thank you for taking care of me.”

  Jesse nodded, where his head was still in Leo’s lap. “Always. We take care of family.”

  “Always,” Leo said.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  “I hate this damn thing,” Leo grumbled.

  “You might hate it, but it’s allowing you to be mobile now. You know what happens if you try to stand for too long and wear yourself out.”

  “I hate it when you use logic on me,” Leo grumbled again.

  Jesse beamed. “At least you’re here for me to use logic on,” he reminded him.

  “True. You’re awfully mouthy for a slave, you know that?”

  “Yes, and you wouldn’t want me any other way.”

  “No, I wouldn’t.” He caught Jesse’s tie in his hand and pulled him in close, kissing him. “Thank you for standing by me.”

  A knock sounded on the bedroom door before Eva pushed it open. “Are you ready, Sir? Everyone’s gathered in the backyard.”

  Jesse adjusted Leo’s tie before readjusting his own. “I think so.”

  “Then get your butt out there, Jesse,” she ordered, jerking her thumb at the door. “I’ll bring him.”

  Jesse snapped her a salute and leaned in to kiss her cheek on his way out the door, closing it behind him.

  Leo had hoped for this moment. He held out a hand to her, beckoning her over.

  “Are you really okay?” he asked when she took his hand and stepped in close.

  “Yeah.” She let out a sigh. “Who knew there was a name for this stuff all along?”

  “Yeah. Really.”

  “And Tilly and Eliza reminded me I’m their new priority.”

  He laughed. “Sorry.”

  “No, don’t be.” She smiled. “I trust them. Hey, you were the one who said something about having family dinners. Who knew it’d be a leather family?”

  He pulled her into his lap and held her for a moment. “I know this hasn’t been easy on you, and I’m sorry. I wanted to make it easy on you, not harder.”

  She draped an arm around him. “Yeah, well, listen.” She poked him in the chest. “We have a daughter to raise. You think you’re getting out of that job, think again, buster. I still have dibs on you, you know.”

  “And I still have dibs on you.”

  Their eyes met and she leaned in and kissed him.

  Ironically, kissing her still felt the same as before. But missing was that spark he felt now when Jesse kissed him. It only reaffirmed to him that this had been the right choice.

  She sighed as she sat back. “I get it now,” she said. “You know I always hated it when you were right and I was wrong.”

  “I know.”

  “When you first bombed me with all of…this…I thought dammit, you’re wrong, because you are good in bed.”

  He smirked. “So I wasn’t good in bed, huh?”

  “No, you were. But I see that spark you have with him and I realize that, okay, you set the bar damned high, so that just means it’ll be an extra-special guy who can clear it. You were right that we needed to do this, even though I hate like hell that we had to.” Another soft sigh escaped her. “We weren’t on the same paths. We paralleled each other for a lot of years, but I never realized that while we were walking alongside each other, we weren’t walking together.”

  “I only want you to be happy and safe.”

  “I know. I will be. On the plus side, it means I’ll have three men helping me out with Laurel when she gets to be dating age instead of just you. I suspect we’ll need strength in numbers to scare the crap out of the boys she brings home to meet us.”

  “That’s what Aunt Tilly, Aunt Eliza, and Aunt June are for.”

  “Oh. True. Still, it’ll be nice having in-house backup.” She carefully climbed out of his lap, smoothed her dress, and stepped around behind him to push him. “Now I want you and him to be happy. Then you guys can help Tilly and Eliza find me a guy.”

  “How’d I get roped into that, again?” he teased.

  “Hey, it’s your fault I’m single, Sir.” She gently poked the back of his shoulder as he reached forward and opened the door again. “And someone mentioned something about me being under their protection. That means you get to help them by default, buster.”

  He reached back and patted her hand. “Gladly.”

  She wheeled him out to the backyard of Lucas, Leigh, and Nick’s house, where all their friends had gathered. Because of Laurel and the other kids, this was a family-friendly affair.

  He’d told his parents about this, but both of them had seemed less than impressed. They couldn’t understand why he was doing this, why he’d divorced Eva in the first place.

  So he didn’t really push for either of them to attend.

  Jesse’s family… At least Jason came, with his girlfriend.

  That was okay. The rest of their friends more than made up for the missing.

  And some “family” weren’t missed at all.

  Laurel looked adorable in her Hello Kitty dress, the basket of rose petals in her hand. “Ready, Daddy?”

  “Ready.”

  Eva locked down the wheels and Tilly stepped over to help her. With Leo holding onto their arms, he stood, taking a moment to enjoy being on his feet and able to walk.

  It still hurt. He wouldn’t deny that. But the aches and weakness he felt now were nothing compared to the agony he’d experienced upon waking up in the hospital for the first time.

  Then, he would have gladly died.

  Now, all he wanted to do was live.

  With his arms hooked through theirs—and Nick walking close behind, just in case, with the wheelchair—the three of them followed Laurel down the aisle as she sprinkled flower petals all around.

  When Leo reached where Loren stood waiting with Jesse and Keith, she said, “Dearly beloved,
we’re gathered here today in a celebration of love and life. Who gives this man away?”

  Eva looked up at him and smiled. “His daughter and I do.” She carefully placed his arm around Jesse’s, making sure he was steady on his feet before she let go. Then she kissed Leo’s cheek, and Jesse’s, and moved to stand with Noel as the matrons of honor, Laurel standing with them. Tilly slipped over behind the couple to the other side to stand with Keith for Jesse.

  Loren reached up and wiped at her eyes. “Sorry, folks. I’ve performed more of these than I can count, but this one is special for a lot of reasons. Too many to go into here. It’s a celebration of survival, not just love and life. And it’s a celebration of what love can do to bring people together and heal hearts and bodies.”

  Leo watched Tilly lean in, catch Eva’s eye, and point at her. “You’re next,” she said with a grin, cracking all of them up.

  Loren cocked her head at her. “Tilly, really? Gilo is our cut-up.”

  “I told her she could have my job today,” Gilo called out from his place in the audience, making everyone laugh.

  Laurel frowned at them all and held up a finger. “Shush,” she said. “They’re gettin’ married!”

  That made everyone burst out laughing, confounding Laurel even more.

  Leo waved her over to him, resting his hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay, sweetheart. Weddings are supposed to be fun.”

  “Okay, fine.”

  Loren had trouble getting herself under control. She kept breaking out into giggles. “If there’s anyone here today who has any objections to these two men getting married, speak now and risk the wrath of pretty much everyone in attendance, or forever hold your peace.”

  More rounds of laughter as Laurel looked around, glaring at everyone, as if daring anyone to stop things.

  Finally, after Loren stopped laughing…again…she started going through their vows.

  Leo was glad Kel and Mal were filming and taking pictures, because all he could see was Jesse’s eyes staring up at him. That was all he focused on. And when Loren had Leo repeat after her, he did, barely hearing the words.

  Jesse.

  The man who’d stood by him, fought for him, kept fighting for him, and pulled together his family in a way he never thought it could be together. Even when he’d thought it’d been torn apart…

  Jesse proved him wrong.

  They were a family. And he had no doubts Eva wouldn’t be single for long.

  “I do,” Leo said when Loren asked him if he took Jesse to be his husband.

  “Then by the power vested in me by the state of Florida, I now pronounce you husband and husband. You may smooch.”

  Leo grabbed Jesse, pulling him in for a long kiss as everyone cheered them on. “Love you, boy,” Leo whispered.

  Jesse grinned. “Love you, too, Sir.”

  Laurel grabbed Leo’s hand. “What about me?”

  Jesse scooped her up. “What about you, peanut?” He kissed her cheek.

  “That’s better.” Then he held her so she could kiss Leo’s cheek. “I have to kiss my dads. Duh.”

  The men exchanged a glance before roaring with laughter.

  Loren couldn’t contain her laughter, either. “Holy cowpucky, boys. You guys have a handful there.”

  Eva grinned. “Why do you think I insisted they move in with me?”

  * * * *

  Leo ended up back in the wheelchair shortly after, wanting to preserve his energy and keep his pain levels low ahead of that night. Lucas, Leigh, and Nick had offered up their pool house—which the wheelchair would easily fit in—as the honeymoon cottage for the night.

  As Leo fingered the wedding band on his hand, Jesse pushed him over toward the table, where the cake was ready and waiting. Once Leo was back to work as a welder, he wouldn’t be able to wear his ring. They’d purchased a stainless steel necklace, like Jesse’s day collar, for him to wear and keep his ring safely held around his neck.

  Then he could always have it on.

  When he’d been married to Eva, he’d usually left his wedding ring at home on the dresser every morning, only wearing it at night or on the weekends.

  He didn’t want to leave it behind with Jesse. Life was too damn short, and he always wanted it nearby.

  Leo also loved his friends for what they’d set up for tonight. A bunch of the women, led by Tilly, were going to take Laurel and Eva out to dinner and a movie, then back home to Eva’s to play whatever board games Laurel wanted to play until she fell asleep.

  It would keep the child and her mom occupied.

  Tilly would be spending the night with them, just in case. He’d confided enough in Tilly to let her know why he wanted someone there with Eva, even though he felt confident the worst was behind them.

  In her new role, Eva seemed more at peace with the world than Leo could ever remember seeing her. Tilly assured him she would use the time together to talk to her about the lifestyle, about her expectations, and toss around some potential matches she was already working on.

  Fine with him. He didn’t want things rushed, and knew that, now, with Eva safe, he could enjoy his new life with Jesse without guilt.

  As the afternoon wound down and guests filtered out, the “girl gang” formed. After hustling Laurel through quick good-byes that didn’t give her time to think, they departed, leaving Leo and Jesse alone, relatively speaking. Most of the other guests soon followed.

  Lucas walked over. “We’ll finish cleaning up, don’t worry. You two go enjoy the honeymoon suite.”

  Leo laced fingers with Jesse. “I want to walk there.”

  “You sure?”

  “It’s just around the pool.”

  “Oh, speaking of the pool,” Lucas said. “We’re going to shut all the blinds and keep the TV on.” He smiled. “The pool and hot tub are all yours tonight, I promise.”

  Leo made sure his wheels were locked and carefully stood. “Thank you for everything. For this, for your help with Eva before.”

  Lucas shrugged. “It’s called paying it forward. We were damn lucky. So I like to help out where I can.”

  Jesse followed close behind Leo with the wheelchair, just in case. When they reached the door, Leo opened it, stepping aside.

  Leo pointed at the wheelchair. “Sit.”

  “What?”

  “I said sit. I can’t carry your ass across the threshold but I can damn sure push it.”

  Jesse chuckled and sat in it, unlocking the wheels as Leo got behind him and pushed. Once inside, he locked the door behind them. “You know what I want?”

  “What?”

  “A naked boy on his knees in front of me.”

  Jesse only hesitated a moment before he jumped up from the wheelchair and started stripping. Seconds later, he knelt on the floor in front of Leo, his forehead resting on Leo’s shoes.

  “Good boy,” Leo softly cooed. “Such a good boy for me.”

  Few things in life excited Leo more than the rounded curve of his boy’s spine that flowed into the seam of his perfectly biteable, spankable ass.

  He didn’t want a long, drawn-out scene tonight. He was still easily tired and in pain. A far cry from three months ago after the accident, but he’d learned to pace himself. Last night, his boy had gotten a good spanking.

  Tonight, he’d get his fucking.

  “Go wait for me in the bedroom,” Leo told him. “On the bed, on all fours.”

  Jesse jumped up to do it.

  He waited until he knew Jesse couldn’t see him to retrieve his special wedding present for Jesse.

  He’d enlisted Tilly’s help for this, having it delivered to her house, where she kept it for him, sneaking it here so it’d be ready and waiting.

  He got the hand-tooled matching leather collar and cuffs from the drawer in the entertainment center. They looked even better than the picture Tilly sent him when they’d arrived. He’d had the initials LJCM entwined on the collar with a Celtic knot design. The knot design was repeated on the wrist
and ankle cuffs.

  Jesse and Leo would both be changing their names. They’d be Leo Cooke-Morrow and Jesse Cooke-Morrow. He’d had one last private conversation with Eva last week, to ensure she was all right and offer her the chance to change her last name, too, if she wanted. She’d opted to stay with Cooke as her last name instead of reverting to her maiden name.

  He couldn’t blame her. Not after what she’d been through. But had she wanted to add Jesse’s last name to hers, he wouldn’t have minded. They were a family. They would always be a family, and whatever poor bastard Tilly eventually found for Eva would have one hell of a crucible to run through before he made it to the bonus round that would allow him to join their family.

  Their pack.

  In fact, it had—ironically—been Laurel who’d dubbed their family a “pack” after watching a special on the wolves of Yellowstone and their extended family structure. She’d declared that their home was a pack, too, and ran around making ah-oooh wolf noises.

  She just thought her parents were laughing at her.

  They were also laughing at the fact that Laurel had accidentally hit upon the perfect descriptor for their unusual family unit. They weren’t poly, and they weren’t a leather family in the technical sense of the term.

  Pack seemed to fit them best.

  Leo walked into the bedroom and laid the collar and cuffs down at the end of the bed by Jesse’s feet, where the man couldn’t see them. He reached out and stroked Jesse’s ass before removing his tuxedo jacket.

  “My good boy,” Leo said. “Officially my boy. Legally my boy. I think I fell in love with you that first night we spent together.”

  “Me, too, Sir,” Jesse said, the first slurrings of subspace already creeping into his tone.

  Once he was naked, Leo started buckling the ankle cuffs around Jesse’s legs. Then the wrist cuffs.

  He watched as Jesse glanced down at his wrists before Leo grabbed a hank of hair and pulled his head up and back.

  He rubbed his cheek against Jesse’s. “You can look at them later, boy,” he said.

  “Yes, Sir.”