Finn Again (The Finn Factor Book 5) (7 page)

He must have said something right, because one minute he was getting knots in his stomach, and the next Ken was climbing into his lap and savaging his mouth. Brady moaned and wrapped his arms around him. He wasn’t sure what he’d said, but he didn’t care anymore.

Ken pulled back, panting. “Our family doesn’t get to give you a bachelor party.”

Brady flinched. “What?”

“When I ask you to marry me,” Ken began, rocking his hips seductively against Brady. “And you say yes? Our plans won’t include separate bachelor parties and big receptions. We don’t have to be that traditional. Right?”

“Right,” Brady murmured absently, then stared at Ken, startled. “When you ask me to marry you?”

“And you say yes.”

His throat felt tight. “So, this is a plan you have? You’ve thought about it a lot?”

“To be honest, the ban on strippers just happened last night.” Ken shook his head. “I know, it’s unexpected. I’m in clubs where people walk around naked most of the time when I do demos. Naked is my favorite clothing trend next to rope. But,” He shrugged. “Those fireman bugged me. I wanted to drive down there, tie you up and drag you home.”

When I ask you to marry me.
“Interesting.”

“Isn’t it?”

Brady scowled. Was he trying to be cute? “Did you have a timeline in mind for this proposal?”

Ken licked his lower lip, distracting him. “Well, it won’t be Christmas. Your cousin made sure of that.”

Fucking Owen
. Brady lifted Ken enough to pull off his towel before pressing him down against his uncovered erection. “Makes sense. So, New Year’s then?”

Ken hummed thoughtfully, rubbing and rocking until Brady swore under his breath. “Ken?”

“I’m thinking. We’re still tying up a few loose ends on our last project, and we do have those single Finns to take care of.”

Was he serious? “So your plan is to wait until every problem is solved and every single Finn hooks up before popping the question? Even Younger and James?”

“And Seamus. It would be good incentive. And you’d have plenty of time to work on that positive response I’m expecting.” Ken lowered his head to Brady’s neck, scraping his teeth along the tense tendons. Was he smiling?

“Is this your sadistic side popping out? Another way to tie me up in knots?”

“Definitely.”

He wasn’t denying it. Brady picked him up, getting to his feet with ease. “Are you done here?”

“It’s going to take a half an hour for the—”

“So yes.”

Brady didn’t let Ken catch his eye as he carried him back to the loft and into the brightly decorated living room. He knew he was surprised when Brady dropped him on the couch and stepped away. Knew he’d been expecting him to head straight for the bedroom for round four.

But there were other things on his mind.

When I ask you to marry me…

Naked and still fully aroused, he walked over to the Christmas tree and bent down to find the package he’d wrapped last week. The one he’d hidden underneath all the rectangular clothing boxes that Ken had teased were, “Just black t-shirts, because that’s all you wear.”

So many thoughts were swirling in his head when he picked it up. How he’d almost lost it when Ken pushed him away for his own good. How wrong he’d been about the kind of person the wealthy and unapologetically kinky Master Tanaka was, and what he wanted from a man. About how many times he’d been thankful that he was only the best man, because Finn weddings were insane.

“Not that I don’t like the view, Marine, but you’re not supposed to be shaking the presents. That’s our rule.” Ken sounded hesitant. Curious.

Brady stood and moved to the couch, pulling Ken easily onto his large lap as soon as he sat down and handing him the small box. “Here.”

“But Brady—”

“You gave
me
an early Christmas present,” he insisted, noticing how dry his mouth was and how loudly his heart was thrumming in his ears. “It’s only fair.”

He watched Ken in silence as he carefully undid the wrapping paper. When he opened the box, they both stared at the contents in silence. It was a ring. A wide titanium band delicately engraved with an image of a koi fish swimming around a dragon. Brady had taken a picture of Ken’s back tattoo a few months ago for the jeweler. It seemed like a great idea at the time. The perfect gift for the man who had everything. A symbol to show him how serious Brady was about their relationship, in a way Ken couldn’t help but understand.

When he’d picked it up he’d had second thoughts because, well, it looked like a wedding ring, and he wasn’t sure Ken would go for that yet. It wasn’t something Brady let himself hope for back when he was serving in the military. In his heart, he’d never believed someone would want him enough to make that kind of commitment. He’d gone back and forth about it until he’d finally wrapped it and put it under the tree so he wouldn’t be tempted to take the damn thing back to the store.

Ken wasn’t moving. Wasn’t looking away from the ring or making a sound. It made Brady nervous. “It’s—do you see the design? You told me that to you it meant becoming more than you were yesterday. Moving forward.”

Ken reached for the ring and placed it on the tip of his forefinger, turning it so it glinted in the light. Brady couldn’t stand the silence. “That’s how I feel. With you, I’m more than I was. The nightmares are rare now. I’m not living in limbo or beating myself up about the past. I have my moments and I know I’m not perfect, but I’m happy. I wake up and you’re there and…”

Silence. Shit had he gone too far? “I know it’s early days and I wasn’t sure—it doesn’t have to mean—”

Ken gripped his face and kissed him. It was a soft kiss. Tender. It made Brady breathless. “So that’s a yes?” he demanded, pinning Brady with his bright golden gaze.

“I thought you wanted to wait.”

Ken made a sound of impatience. “Will you marry me, Brady Finn? I need to hear you say the word.”

“Yes.” Brady’s smile was impossible to conceal.
He liked the ring.
“After we tie up our loose ends and single Finns.”

Ken maneuvered him onto his back on the couch and straddled Brady’s calves. “I wasn’t married to that timeline.”

Married. Jesus. Brady bit his lip when Ken lowered his head and planted an open-mouthed kiss on his cock. “It’ll be an incentive. Your words.”

“You think I need it?” Before he could answer Ken was taking all of him down his throat and moaning against his sensitive flesh.

“Fuck.” Brady gripped the back of Ken’s head and pumped his hips up off the couch. “God, that’s the sexiest damn…” His words trailed off as he raised his head to watch. If he was trying to suck him into submission it was working.

What Tanaka did with his mouth and the muscles in his throat was unfair. It made Brady want to beg. He’d do anything. Anything Ken wanted as long as he didn’t stop. When he paused to lick Brady’s shaft lightly he dug his fingers into Ken’s scalp and threw one calf over his shoulder, trapping him. “Don’t tease,” he rasped. “I need you.”

Ken instantly relaxed his throat and let Brady take the lead, groaning in pleasure as if he couldn’t get enough.
The son of a bitch wants to marry me
, Brady couldn’t help the amazement he felt at that thought.

When wet fingers slid inside Brady’s ass, stretching him and pushing against his prostate he let out a strangled cry. “Don’t stop.”
Don’t ever stop.

One more thrust and he was shouting Ken’s name and shuddering with the power of his release. He felt soft lips kiss his damp tip, his stomach and then his chest, and he loosened his hold on Ken’s head long enough to wrap him in his arms as he draped himself across Brady’s quaking body.

After his heart rate returned to normal and he could breathe again, Ken wriggled in his arms and he smiled. “I’m glad you liked that present, because the only other thing I got you was rope.”

Ken laughed softly. “I have a lot of rope, Brady.”

“And I have a lot of black shirts. We’ll be more creative next year.”

Ken lifted his head, his expression difficult to read. “Every year from now on. I’m part of your family now.”

“Yes.”

“You agreed to marry me.”

Brady smiled. “Yes.”

“With you, I’m more than I was.”

God, this man had his heart. He nodded, for a minute too choked up to speak.

“But I can’t come with you to Owen’s tonight.”

Brady frowned at the sudden change in topic. “Why the hell not?”

“I’m Team Jeremy.” Ken shrugged helplessly. “It’s not a very big team. He’s an adopted Finn with no extended family of his own, so we have that in common. Plus he asked if I’d protect him from Little Finn and Tasha. Apparently they know exactly how to manipulate him and he’s too distracted to resist.”

Love and pride swelled inside him. Ken Tanaka was a good man. His man. “You should add Trick to the team,” he offered helpfully. “He didn’t come to either bachelor party and I’m sure Jen would appreciate the gesture.”

Ken kissed his chin. “Good idea. And since I’ll be there anyway, maybe Stephen can give me a few hints about what Seamus might be looking for in a love match.”

“So it begins,” Brady said, laughing. “Let’s start with someone who isn’t a pregnant damsel in distress, and go from there. Seamus deserves to be taken care of for once. And adventure. He needs a little adventure in his life.” The kind this man gave him every day.

Ken’s grin was the definition of trouble. “I think I have an idea.”

Trick had just gotten the strangest phone call from Tanaka. He smiled as he walked down the second floor hallway toward the staircase. Team Jeremy, huh? As long as he wasn’t forced to eat the cream-filled penis cake Jen told him about, he was up for anything.

He supposed that meant he was officially a member of the club now. Maybe they’d make more t-shirts, because the name Finn wasn’t seen enough in this town. Finn’s pub. Finn Construction. Billboards that read, “Vote for Senator Finn.” If he hadn’t fallen in love with one and grown up with another, it would probably be irritating.

It was still, on occasion, irritating.

He chuckled and picked up his pace. Jen was Team Jeremy too. She already had an overnight bag packed for the pre-wedding slumber party at Stephen’s. There’d been room for everyone to come here, but Stephen wanted his wife to stay in her own bed as long as possible. They were all doing their part to include Jeremy’s closest friend and his
best woman
—as Tasha love being called—in every aspect of the planning. And she was definitely enjoying herself. Tanaka had told him about the pub full of exotic dancers she’d sent for Owen.

He was glad Declan had decided to stay home to oversee the workmen. But he always had something to oversee lately, and
of course
he was having something built specifically for the occasion. The good professor had flown in a damn chocolatier and a wedding designer. Not a planner. A
designer
. Which was another word for way too expensive for Trick to think about.

He’d tried to tell him Owen had only agreed to get married here because he had a media wall that took up half the giant living room—but once Declan started there was no stopping him. He’d spoken to Jeremy and Ellen Finn, Jen’s mother, about his ideas, and a wedding monster was created that someone was eventually going to have to slay or Trick’s happy family might never get their home back.

At least she was talking to Declan now. Nothing soothed a mother’s heart like a professional wedding designer. Mrs. Finn still couldn’t look Trick in the eye. But then, even if he weren’t the other slice of bread in the Little Finn sandwich, he wouldn’t be a mother’s dream come true. An ex-con with tatted sleeves and a seedy job that was anything but nine-to-five. Trick Dunham might be old friends with Stephen, and he might have been a good choice to watch out for her daughter, but he wasn’t husband material. 

Professor Kelley was.

He could let himself get hung up on it, but there was no point in denying the truth. Hell, even Declan had taken it for granted that he was the better option—financially speaking—and he’d been right. They’d talked about it more than once, though never with Jen. Jennifer Finn was a beautiful, smart and independent woman who’d been overprotected by her brothers and would no doubt kick both their asses if she found out her men were secretly conspiring to make sure she was always taken care of. But there was no way it wasn’t going to happen. They had to take care of her. Needed to protect her. She was too precious to both of them, and their instincts when it came to her couldn’t be denied. Since Declan had more money than he would ever be able to spend, the problem was easy to solve. Jen would take his name and the multiple bank accounts and real estate that came with it. End of story.

It didn’t bug him. It
shouldn’t
bug him. Trick knew those two were crazy about him. Just as wild for him as they were for each other. He wouldn’t have brought them all together if he hadn’t been sure of it from the start. Twisted as it probably sounded to the outside world, the three of them fit. Trick had never felt so wholly satisfied. Not even when he and Declan were first together. Jen was always the missing piece. He’d realized it when following her stopped being a job and became his obsession. And even then he’d been aware that she wasn’t his alone. She was meant to be Declan’s too. The fiery, strong-willed redhead who loved seeing her two men together nearly as much as she loved joining them was their match in every way. She filled Declan’s lonely life with love and gave Trick his first real home.