Protecting Braden (Custos Securities Series Book 2)

by Luna, David

  Cade brought Braden out of his musings. “I’m needed over at the warehouses tomorrow. I’m meeting with the foreman to make sure we’re on schedule with warehouse one. They’re pushing hard to get our building done with construction in less than four months. They better be, for the amount we’re paying them. Warehouse two will be several weeks behind. After that, the interior designers will come in and outfit each floor. I know you took on our home as your project and you wanted to keep it a surprise, but in light of what happened, would you prefer I take over?”

  The horror was clear on Braden’s face. Cade waved his idea away. “I can see by the look on your face that’s not what you want. I was just trying to help minimize the stress for you, that’s all.”

  Braden gazed up at Cade. “Z, creating our home from scratch, choosing things that I think will make you happy and make you feel at home, that’s not stressful, that’s exciting for me. I want to make a home for you, I want you to walk into our space and feel like you can’t imagine living anywhere else.”

  “I’m sure I’ll love it. I’m glad it’s not stressful for you.”

  Braden grinned. “Maya and I are having a blast. Having a business with my best friend has put stress on our friendship. I think we’ve been pretty good at keeping our friendship strong through it all, but having this extra time with her, doing this project, has really brought us back to where we were in college.”

  Cade leaned down, pushed Braden’s hair back and kissed him softly. “I’m glad you’re enjoying it. I can tell she’s happy to be spending time with you as well.”

  Braden nodded and reached up to rub his hand over Cade’s stubbled face. “I’m so grateful to you for handing over the responsibility to me for so many reasons. Being in the hospital for the last two weeks has been hell, any way you look at it. I’ve so been looking forward to getting back to it. Please don’t think I’m not up for it, I’ll make it work.”

  Cade smiled. “That’s all you need to say. I’ll leave you to it. I just wanted to make the offer, in case you were feeling overwhelmed.”

  Braden snuggled down into Cade’s arms and nuzzled his neck. Cade kissed the top of his head. “So, what do you think about taking a vacation with me, once you’re all healed, and once we’ve gotten the warehouses completed? I’m focused on the construction and Coop is going to be focused on the move and our people. Once the buildings are done, I’ve let him know that you and I are going to need some time.”

  Braden grinned, still tucked into Cade, his voice muffled. “You did?”

  Cade chuckled, kissed his head again. “I did. By then, both you and Nana should have your new employee fully trained. Maybe a week or two somewhere would be possible.”

  Braden eased himself out from under Cade so he could look him in the eyes. The smile that lit his face was one Cade hadn’t ever seen before and he knew he’d make it his new mission to see it more often. He smiled back at Braden. “Now that’s a smile I want to see every day. Tell me where you’d like me to take us, Braden. We can do anything. Go anywhere. Tell me what you need, and I’ll make it happen.”

  Braden tucked himself back into the protective embrace of his lover and began to talk. They were awake for several more hours as they discussed all of the places they wanted to travel together, all of the things they wanted to do.

  They talked about eventually getting married and having a family. Braden admitted that when they had kids he’d want to continue at the bakery with a shortened work schedule. That way he could take care of their children but still maintain his part of the business.

  Cade expressed his happiness at Braden’s desires to be so involved in their children’s daily lives, but assured him that he wanted Braden to be able to maintain his independence and the happiness the café brought to his life. They finally fell into an exhausted sleep, both of them feeling excited and hopeful for their future for the first time.

  It had been an eventful four months since Braden had come home from the hospital. He thought about all that had happened since that time, as he did one final walk through of his new home. He collapsed into one of their new, very comfortable, padded leather counter stools lining the back of the enormous kitchen island. Maya slid a glass of wine across the countertop. “Braden, indulge with me for a moment, even though you rarely ever drink. I think you could use some liquid courage. Raise your glass with me in a toast to all we’ve accomplished in the last several months. Everything is perfect.”

  Braden grinned. “We have accomplished a lot, haven’t we?”

  Maya lifted her glass and nodded. “I’ve never seen a more beautiful home. We’ve done a really fan-fucking-tastic job. He’s gonna love it. Cooper told me that he still has no clue that you’ve already had his things packed up and moved here. Siobhan and Rowan helped you incorporate some of his favorite pieces, and I know that will make him happy. You’re turning a page tonight, and I know for a fact that really good things are waiting for you two.”

  Braden smiled across the island at his best friend. He couldn’t agree more. The home that he and Maya had created for the new beginning of his lifetime with Cade was nothing short of perfection. Everything they could think of to make their place a home was incorporated. He wanted it to be beautiful, but mostly he wanted it to be warm and inviting. He didn’t want a museum or a modern show place, he wanted dark, warm colors, deep cushions and soft textures.

  He wanted Cade to be able to come home from a long day and collapse into his favorite leather chair that was well loved but still beautiful. He wanted a place where Cade could bring employees and clients alike. He wanted a home that was perfect for entertaining and yet comfortable enough to lounge around in pajamas all day. He wanted a place that would transition from a home for two, to a home for more, as they welcomed children into their lives. It seemed like an impossible dream, ticking off all of those boxes, but with Maya’s help, and even the help of Rowan, Siobhan and Nana, they’d done it.

  Braden was dressed in one of Cade’s favorite outfits and smiled when he thought back to the time less than a month ago when he’d come out of their bedroom wearing it and had been dragged right back into it. The result was almost every item of clothing on the floor, glasses removed, his bowtie being used as a makeshift blindfold, the belt wrapped around his wrists, which were then held over his head by Cade as he’d ravished Braden, and their dinner reservations being pushed back a couple of hours.

  From their very first time together, Cade had assumed control of Braden, sexually. It was an organic need they both had and felt completely natural between them. Braden blushed when thinking about the first time they’d seriously discussed bringing a bit of power exchange into their bedroom.

  After their first conversation at the beginning of their relationship about Cade taking control and allowing Braden to break free of the burdens that stress had always heaped upon him, Braden had thought a lot about how he felt about relinquishing control and realized that the more he thought about it and naturally allowed Cade to take that control, the more he needed and craved it.

  They’d discussed what they both wanted out of it and they both knew that they’d never be into any type of master/slave relationship, but that they were both very interested to see where in the BDSM spectrum they fell. They both figured they’d basically be figuring things out together, slowly, to see what worked for them. Braden wanted to hand over a lot of his control when it came to things that stressed him. He also wanted to be able to let Cade push his boundaries sexually.

  Cade had asked him if he’d wanted to take it as far as writing up a contract between them, that doing things that way would ensure that they covered all of Braden’s hard and soft limits and that Cade wouldn’t push Braden further than he was willing to go. Braden had refused and stated emphatically that the only contract he wanted between them was a marriage contract, sometime in their future. Cade’s eyes had gotten heated at Braden’s admission and they’d kissed passionately before they’d gotten back to their discussio
n.

  Cade had pushed a bit more, telling him that it didn’t have to be like a typical contract that those practicing BDSM would use. They could make it up as they went, adding to it, removing things, and making it theirs. Cade wanted to ensure that Braden felt safe and secure in the fact that he would always take his limits seriously and keep Braden’s safety his number one priority. Braden still refused, stating that it didn’t feel right for something impersonal like that to be between them. That it may be right for some couples, but for them, it didn’t feel natural to him.

  Cade had acquiesced regarding the contract, but when the subject of safewords came up, Cade was adamant that they have something in place for Braden and when Braden couldn’t think of what he’d want to use, Cade suggested the typical green, yellow, and red. Their play was never going to be hardcore, and Cade would never physically hurt Braden but he would definitely push his boundaries. Both orgasm denial and sensory play could be extremely intense, and Cade knew that Braden may find himself needing to safeword.

  When Braden admitted that he’d often fantasized about being tied up and blindfolded and then teased, lightly spanked, and thoroughly fucked, Cade expressed his concerns about that being a trigger. He also suggested discussing the issues with Gabe. Braden remembered being embarrassed beyond belief when he’d brought it up at their next session. Though he needn’t have been, as strangely enough, Gabe hadn’t batted an eye and had told them that they should ease into it, but that he didn’t feel as if it would be an issue, as they both had complete trust in each other.

  Gabe had suggested before bringing in any type of restraints, that they begin with Cade telling Braden to hold onto the headboard and not move. If that presented no issues, they should move on to Cade holding Braden’s wrists. From there they could test out some light restraints that Braden could get himself out of, if he needed to, and so on. He had also said that until they were at the point where tying Braden up was no issue for him at all, they should stay away from blindfolds. He had said that it would be important to keep a visual connection, at first, so that if Braden got nervous or started to panic, he’d be able to look Cade in the eyes and be grounded.

  Frankly, the ease of Gabe’s suggestions and the understanding of their dynamic had Cade thinking it wasn’t Gabe’s first discussion of the BDSM lifestyle. He’d provided them with insightful advice and a breadth of knowledge someone outside of the lifestyle wouldn’t have. Braden eventually admitted that Cade’s suspicion that Gabe was in the lifestyle, and quite possibly a Dom, was probably correct.

  Having spoken to Gabe, both of them felt more comfortable that everything they’d been doing and the things they wanted to try together weren’t out of the question because of Braden’s past. In fact, the results of testing Braden’s boundaries had catapulted their love making from amazing to something neither of them could even begin to describe, completely obliterating their preconceived notions of what intimacy between a couple could become.

  Cade was able to exercise his need to take control and dominate his lover, and Braden was finally able to allow himself to submit fully to someone he trusted with his life. What they had both been surprised to discover was that instead of Cade’s act of restraining Braden making him panic, Braden was able to replace all of the bad memories of Eric forcefully restraining him with new ones that involved Braden having the power to choose to willingly and eagerly submit to Cade. Neither of them could have foreseen that being the case, but they were both immensely happy that’s how it turned out.

  They’d grown immeasurably closer and Braden was grateful that Cade had trusted in his strength enough to bring up the issue of control so early on in their relationship. If Cade hadn’t had that insight into Braden and that type of trust in him, and vice versa, he knew that they wouldn’t be where they were in their relationship today. He looked up from his wine glass, a small smile on his face, and glanced at his best friend.

  A knowing look passed over her face. “Where’d you go, just then?”

  Braden blushed again. “You really don’t want to know.”

  She laughed at that. “Oh, I don’t know, two of the most beautiful men I’ve ever met, doing naughty things to each other in bed? I seem to be surrounded by sexy as fuck homosexual men. Do you think I haven’t read my fair share of M/M romance? Come on!”

  Braden’s jaw dropped and he just stared at his best friend in shock. “That’s a thing?”

  That made her laugh even harder. “Oh, it’s a thing all right. But, more on that later, it’s almost time for the big reveal.”

  Braden shook his head. “Nope. No more on that later. No more.”

  Maya snorted indelicately and tossed back the remainder of her wine. She washed out their glasses, put them into the stainless steel dishwasher and headed to the elevator. She hugged Braden like she wouldn’t see him for a month, told him she loved him and then hit the button. When the elevator arrived she stepped in and waved goodbye, blowing him kisses as the doors shut, calling out, “Good luck, Bray!”

  He started to fidget and unrolled the sleeves of his button up shirt. He then rolled them back up and paced as he waited for Cade to arrive and walk through their new home for the very first time. He looked at his watch and realized he only had a few more minutes. He took another look around and by the time he was done, he heard the elevator ding. He raced toward the doors, wanting to meet Cade there and see his first reaction.

  When the doors opened, Braden was floored. He’d only ever seen Cade in jeans or his sexy tactical pants. His man stood before him in a bespoke suit that screamed sophisticated elegance, and yet, he wasn’t wearing a tie and the shirt had the first two buttons undone, revealing one of his tattoos, high on his chest. The jacket fit him like a second skin and it too was unbuttoned. His hands were in his pockets, causing Braden’s gaze to travel down his long frame.

  He took in the elegant silver belt buckle with the McCade crest etched into it. His pants were straight legged, flat front and pin striped, like the jacket, and ended at the perfect length to show off a pair of Hugo Boss Chelsea dress boots. He heard a growl and looked up to see Cade devouring him with his eyes. “I can’t believe you wore that. Are you trying to kill me? The last time you wore it, you could hardly walk after what I did to you, and we nearly didn’t make it to our delayed dinner reservations.”

  Braden blushed. “I wanted everything to be perfect. Zavier, I’ve never seen you dressed up before. God, you’re the most gorgeous thing I’ve laid eyes on.”

  They continued to consume each other with their hot gazes. Braden had no clue who stepped forward first, but all of a sudden they were in each other’s arms and kissing each other like they’d been separated for months, not hours. When they finally broke apart, Cade lowered his forehead to Braden’s and they stood there gazing at each other, breathing heavily. Braden smiled. “Do you want to see our new home, Z?”

  “More than anything, baby.”

  Braden leaned up to kiss Cade one more time and then stepped back. He watched as Cade lifted his gaze and took a long look around. The stunned look on his face worried Braden and his heart started to beat wildly in his chest. Cade put his hand out and Braden grabbed it in his as Cade moved them deeper into their home.

  Braden had stayed true to his first suggestion, to bring more light in with bigger windows and to keep everything on this lower level open concept. There was only one internal erected wall and it was more of an eight-foot-wide column that went from floor to ceiling to the left of the elevator, separating a living room area and a family room area, that contained a double-sided, six-by-six foot fireplace with a gorgeous piece of artwork above it on the living room side and a mammoth flat screen television on the family room side.

  The whole place was wired with surround sound and Custos had outfitted the place with their state of the art security system. Braden was still in awe of the electronics around their home that were all synced to an app that they could control on their phones, tablets, or computers.
The fact that he could turn on his security system, turn down the heat, turn off the lights, turn on the video cameras and check the security status of every room from his phone, anywhere he may be, just blew his mind. They walked around to each section of the huge space, divided into living room, family room, dining room, and kitchen.

  Cade paused at his favorite chair that Braden had placed in their family room and touched the soft leather. His grip on Braden’s hand tightened by a fraction, but that’s the only reaction Braden could decipher. He led them toward the kitchen and admitted to Cade that he’d created his dream kitchen so that he could do everything he wanted to be able to do, not only at work, but at home as well.

  They moved to the dining area and Cade seemed to admire the huge dining table he’d had commissioned, big enough to seat everyone in their families. His nerves got the best of him. “Um, we can change anything you don’t like. We were actually able to build in four rooms upstairs in the lofted area. You have an office up there, and there are a couple spare bedrooms, and then our master suite. Do you… Um, do you want to go up and look?”

  Cade looked down at him with a very serious expression on his face and nodded. Braden led the way to the switchback staircase that was behind the dining area. Braden had a small guest bathroom added under the staircase as well to minimize the disruption of their open living space on the main floor. Cade still hadn’t said a word and Braden’s anxiety was spiking as time ticked by. When they reached the top of the stairs, Braden led them to Cade’s office that Cooper had outfitted, knowing what he’d need. Braden then led him through the guest bedrooms. “There’s space to grow our family here, when the time is right. I thought you’d like that.”

  Cade raised their joined hands to his lips and kissed Braden’s fingers but still said nothing. When they reached their bedroom and Cade had looked at everything there, Braden turned to face him at the foot of their bed. Nearly in tears from anxiety, Braden whispered brokenly, “Say something. Anything. Please. Do you hate it, love it, something in between? Your silence is killing me right now.”