Gilbert (9 page)

But a twenty-four-hour store with one lane open after midnight? That had to be hell on Earth. The cashier sure seemed to think so. He hadn’t met anyone quite that surly before.

“Almost home,” Gilbert told him. “I haven’t heard from Bae or Isaiah, so hopefully I’ll have time to clean out the garage. I’m going to have to because Bae’ll need somewhere to park his vet van.”

“I guess on the street isn’t a good idea.” Jihu was trying to picture the vehicle. Would it look like a bus or a van?

“Nah, it’d be taking up almost half the road and someone would complain, I’m sure.” Gilbert turned into the drive then and put the truck in park before shutting it off. “Let’s get these things in. Did you bring the keys Ye-sun gave you?”

“Yes.” Jihu palmed them from his pocket. “You want to get bags or baby?”

“That’s an easy one,” Gilbert said with a smile, “baby, anytime.”

Jihu chuckled and got out. Gilbert did too, then they began to gather baby and purchases, except for the box which held the bassinet. They would have to come back for that one since their hands were full.

“Who’s a happy boy?” Gilbert crooned to Daniel as he cuddled the baby. “Who’s a happy, happy, handsome boy, hm?”

Gilbert certainly seemed…besotted, Jihu couldn’t think of a better word than that. When he looked at Daniel, his entire face lit up, kind of like Jihu figured his did. Jihu’s leopard purred happily. Did he really need enhanced senses to know that Gilbert was his mate? No, of course he didn’t. His instincts were still there, still a part of him.

He didn’t need to hear more acutely, or scent more acutely, or see better, either. Everything inside him, all the primeval pieces that meshed with the modern man, knew Gilbert was it for him, and Gilbert believed the same of Jihu. And Daniel, he would grow up with two fathers who loved him dearly, and, if Gilbert was right, a very large extended family that did, too. Plus, Daniel would have siblings. It was kind of mind-boggling, actually.

In the house, Gilbert was making Daniel a bottle. “I’ll clean the garage up as soon as I get this little guy fed and to sleep.”

“Okay. I’ll help,” Jihu offered.

Gilbert peered over his shoulder at him. “Oh, no. No,
you
get to put the bassinet together, and anything else that requires reading directions. I always get impatient and wing it, and then there’s a whole different mess to fix.”

Jihu arched a brow at the handsome man. “Well, if you know that, then why don’t you stick to the directions?”

Gilbert sniffed and turned back to watch as Daniel suckled. “I consider it a personal challenge to put something together correctly without the instructions. One day I’ll do it. Just not with something that could collapse and hurt Daniel.”

“You get points for that answer, sort of,” Jihu told him. He went back outside and grabbed the box from the truck bed. As he turned around, he saw a huge thing coming down the road. He blinked as his brain processed the vehicle, which was basically either a short-ish bus or a long-ish van. With a picture of a dog and cat on the side, he noted, as it passed under a street light. “Oh.
Oh
.”

Feeling like a fool for standing and staring, Jihu pivoted then hustled inside. He smacked the edge of the box on the door way and almost cracked a rib, or at least it felt like it when he hit box bounced of the door frame and into his side. Sputtering and gasping, he ran into the kitchen and set the box down. “I think you’re too late on the garage-cleaning part.”

“What?” Gilbert asked, frowning at him. Then his eyes widened and he stood up straighter. “Oh crap. Bae said someone would text me—” Gilbert handed Daniel to Jihu then took his phone from his pocket. “Oops. It’s dead. Damn it. They’re going to need the garage to park in.”

“Go ahead, I’ve got Daniel, I can feed him then I’ll help you.” Jihu heard the rumbling of an engine outside, then silence as it was shut off. He was trying not to let his nerves get the best of him. Would Bae hate him? What if he thought Jihu was to blame for the damage done to his family?

“Don’t.”

Jihu looked up to see Gilbert still standing a few feet away. He’d been lost in his thoughts and hadn’t even noticed, how sad was that?

“Stop kicking yourself,” Gilbert scolded, “and don’t be afraid of Bae, or Isaiah. They’re great, you’ll see.”

Jihu sniffed and hoped he wasn’t blushing. “I thought you were going to clean the mess up in the garage.”

“No time,” Gilbert told him. He craned his neck and looked towards the garage.

“What the hell happened in here?”

Was that Bae? Whoever had asked had a very deep voice.

Gilbert grinned and turned the rest of his body to face the speaker. “You’ve only got yourself to blame, bro. Your puppies are evil. Cute, but evil.”

“Didn’t recall telling you to put them in the garage,” said the man who must have been Isaiah. He stepped into view and looked almost identical to Gilbert, except he had shorter hair and an inch or so on Gilbert in height. “Hi there. You have to be Jihu. Jesus, you look like Bae.”

“Duh,” Gilbert sniped, “you and me look alike too.”

“But not Tim,” Isaiah pointed out. He zeroed in on the baby. “Oh man, can I hold him real quick? Because Bae’s gonna—”

“I’m gonna what?” Bae asked, then Jihu was staring at his half-brother, and Bae stood still, staring back at him. Jihu’s heart was hammering and his eyes burned and he didn’t know what to do.

Gilbert stepped over to him and put an arm on his shoulder. “Isaiah, Bae, this is my mate, Jihu Warren, and our son, Daniel Lee Warren.”

Jihu jerked his gaze from Bae’s at that, but Gilbert was right. Daniel was their son. They’d be together as mates until they passed to the next life. Jihu wasn’t sure how he felt about sharing Daniel, but he knew Daniel deserved all the love he could get.

“Welcome, brother,” Bae murmured, and damn it, Jihu couldn’t stop the tears from falling, or the shivering from racking him. Gilbert took Daniel and handed him to Isaiah, then Jihu was taken into Bae’s arms and hugged so tightly his fears of acceptance were squeezed right out of him. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here to help you. And there are others, more siblings who are part of us. Chul has been used in the breeding programme many times, successfully. I’m so sorry, Jihu.”

Jihu couldn’t do anything but hold on to Bae. He was grateful for Gilbert’s calming presence, for the way Gilbert caressed his back, his hair. “I’m sorry your father—”

“Our father,” Bae interjected. “I believe he found out who you were and what was being done to you. Chul was coming around, he’d admitted to me the old way was wrong. I refuse to believe he’s dead. He’s too stubborn. So is Ye-sun, the little shit.”

Then Bae was sniffling, and Jihu wasn’t alone with his tears, his brother’s fell, too.

* * * *

Later, once he had himself together, Jihu sat down with Bae while Gilbert and Isaiah cleaned the garage. They were also putting the bassinet together, which gave him time to spend with Bae. Bae was holding Daniel, smiling in a sappy way that made Jihu believe in the future Gilbert had promised him.

“He’s so adorable,” Bae murmured, touching Daniel’s nose. “And so good. He’s just sleeping away. How old is he?”

Jihu hitched a shoulder and was glad Bae wasn’t looking at him. “I’m not real sure. I was told of his birth about two weeks ago, when I was also informed I would have to participate in the breeding programme again. I said no, I’d rather die, and was countered with the threat to my son’s life. Girls are more valuable since they can carry babies, if they’re fertile.”

Bae’s eyes flashed with his fury but he kept his voice soothing, low, as he looked at Jihu and continued caressing Daniel. “Everyone is valuable, and no one should be forced to have sex. It’s rape, Jihu.”

Jihu shook his head. “I didn’t rape Daniel’s mother!” he rasped vehemently but as quietly as he could manage. “She took great delight in making me—”
Oh.

Bae nodded, sympathy clear in his expression. Jihu’s stomach turned and he pressed a hand to it, afraid he was going to puke. “Men can be raped, Jihu. I know our father was forced to breed on more than one occasion. I only just found that out a month or so ago when he told me. It was our lives used to ensure his cooperation.”

Jihu cocked his head and couldn’t help but ask. “Aren’t he and your mother a mated pair?”

“Yes. And no, mates aren’t supposed to have to breed with others, and they aren’t stimulated by them, but when the lives of those you love are on the line…”

Jihu got the point. He’d have had sex with whomever if it meant Daniel’s life. The only reason he had not been forced by Chung-Hee was because they were waiting for the female’s fertile time.

“You have to come to terms with it.”

Jihu looked up at Bae. “With what?”

Bae leant forwards and took his hand. “With the fact that you were sexually assaulted, if that’s an easier term for you to use.”

“It’s not. And I know. I didn’t—” Jihu gulped as his throat tightened. He couldn’t look at Bae now. “What man wants to admit he was assaulted, and forced to have sex with a woman? Who would believe that?”

“I do.” Bae stood, removing his hand from Jihu’s. He put Daniel in the car seat then came over to Jihu and squatted beside him. “And Gilbert does, and Isaiah, and no one who knows us, or you from here on, will doubt it. But it isn’t something you have to go shouting to the masses, unless that helps you.”

“It won’t.” Jihu couldn’t imagine. He knew Gilbert was aware of what happened, but Gilbert hadn’t pushed it like Bae was pushing it. Not that Bae was being obnoxious, he was just voicing the truth and using terms Jihu had avoided applying to himself. “I don’t think I can do…that…with anyone.”

Bae canted his head to the side in a move so familiar Jihu smiled. “Can’t have sex? But I can smell you and Gilbert.”

Well, Jihu knew what Bae meant and his cheeks burned but he forged on, “No, I mean yes, we…he…ugh!” He slapped his forehead. “I mean, I can’t do that to him, I don’t think. I want to, and he wants me to, but—”

“But you never have to do anything you’re not comfortable with,” Gilbert said from the doorway. Jihu squeaked and almost fell out of his seat.

“You could have warned me,” he told Bae. “Just because I can’t use my enhanced senses doesn’t mean you aren’t using yours.”

“I didn’t know yours were on the fritz,” Bae said, “why didn’t anyone tell me? What the hell is going on with that?”

Jihu held up a hand before Bae could keep ranting. He stood and walked to Gilbert. “I’m sorry. I just started talking to Bae and—”

Gilbert brushed a chaste kiss over his lips. “It’s fine. Talk away, I’d never ask you to keep anything from your brother. I can assure you Isaiah and I already had a nice talk about how hot and amazing our mates are.” He kissed Jihu again, this time applying more pressure and licking Jihu’s lips. “And I told you, nothing you’re not comfortable with, ever. I’ll wait as long as you need me to, but I do hope you’ll feel free to mark me any time at all.”

And just that quick, Jihu’s cock grew erect. He wanted to mark Gilbert, to bite him and claim him, even if he wasn’t fucking him when he did it. “Okay.” Jihu only said that one word, but he knew Gilbert felt his arousal. God, Isaiah could probably even smell it out in the garage. Jihu ducked his head and plastered himself to Gilbert’s front.

“I think we’ll head to bed. It’s almost three and we all need to rest.”

“Rest?” Bae repeated. Jihu pressed his hot cheek to Gilbert’s chest. “Just make sure you do actually get some sleep. I need to check with Aubrey and make sure she will come get the pups tomorrow instead of us dropping them off, then I’m going to try all the numbers I have again. If I can’t reach anyone, we’ll have to discuss the next step. Goodnight, Jihu, Gilbert.”

“’Night,” Gilbert said. Jihu mumbled the same then Isaiah came into the house carrying the bassinet.

“Got it together for the little man,” he said proudly. “I get the best uncle award.”

“Do not,” Bae retorted. “I offered to put it together—”

Isaiah waved him off and winked. “Ah, but then I wouldn’t get to claim the best uncle award, would I?”

“Ass,” Bae said with a snicker.

“Yup,” Isaiah agreed. “I’ll just put him in it.”

“I’ll put him in it.” Bae darted around Isaiah as Isaiah hollered that he was a cheater and took off too.

Jihu finally dislodged himself and chuckled. “I think they’re going to have lots of fun with Daniel.”

“Oh yeah,” Gilbert agreed. “He’s going to be spoiled rotten.”

Jihu didn’t think Gilbert was joking.

Chapter Eight

Waking up to a crying baby was a new experience for Gilbert. He might adjust to it given time, but Bae swooped in and ran off with Daniel, saying he’d keep him until morning. Gilbert assumed Bae had found nothing out about his family. He’d had a pinched, worried look to him when he’d got Daniel, but when he looked at his nephew, Bae had relaxed and all but glowed as he cooed over Daniel.

When the sun streaming through a crack in the shades woke Gilbert again, he groaned and reached for Jihu. For such a small man, he put out a lot of body heat. Gilbert would never need a blanket with Jihu snuggled to him at night.

“Mmm, morning,” Jihu rasped. Then his eyes shot wide open and he sat up. “Daniel?”

“Bae has him, he’s fine.” Gilbert tugged on Jihu’s wrist. “C’mere and wake me up properly.”

“And that would be how?” Jihu asked. But before Gilbert could answer, Jihu was sliding down his body. “Like this?”

Well, Gilbert’s cock was damn sure wide awake. “Yeah, I mean, I meant a kiss but—aw fuck!” Jihu kissed the tip of his dick and tongued the slit. “God damn, do it, baby.”

Jihu had certainly learnt this part quickly. When they’d finally got to bed, assured Daniel was safe in his bassinet after his uncles had fussed over him for a while, Jihu had asked if he could suck Gilbert’s dick.

Like any man would say no to such a request.

“You wanna sixty-nine again?” Gilbert gritted out as he reached for Jihu’s hair.