Page 37 of Embraced in Ink
No one knew exactly what to think when it came to him and Bristol, and considering that he was right there with them, he was glad for the reprieve. “Hey, next time you should bring your friend, Ronin, over,” Liam said as they finished up and cleaned the equipment.
Marcus frowned. “Maybe. He doesn’t like to go out much.”
“Well, we won’t force him into working out with us. Maybe when we go out and see a game or something?”
“Yeah, he might like that. He’s a good guy, but sometimes, I feel like he hides away in the book stacks.”
“You do the same occasionally, but Bristol always brings you out.”
Marcus was silent while he waited for Liam to continue, but he didn’t.
“You’re not going to ask?”
“I don’t know if I need to ask anything. I trust my sister, and I trust you.”
They were both silent for a moment, and Marcus was grateful that the others were in the kitchen setting up stuff for dinner.
“Nevertheless, if you hurt her, I’ll end you. And not only in a book, though that will likely happen, too. We joke that she’s our baby sister, but that’s the truth. She puts herself out into the world, not simply her music but also her soul, and she needs a safe place to come home to. You’ve always been that safe place, but if you damage that, if you harm her in any way, her body, her soul, her heart? It’s over. I don’t know how the two of you started this relationship, but I see the way she looks at you, and the way you look at her. There’s something there, so I’m not going to say anything about the fact that we didn’t know ahead of time. Because that wasn’t for us to know. All I do know is that she’s always been yours, just like you’ve always been hers. So, don’t fuck it up.”
Marcus swallowed hard.
“She’s my best friend, Liam,” Marcus said—it was the only thing he could.
“I know. Like Arden’s mine.”
The others walked into the room at that moment, and they didn’t need to say anything else. Marcus picked up his glass of water instead of the beer that he wasn’t in the mood for anymore, and then they went back to talking about sports. Of course, as soon as they did, Ethan spoke up.
“Okay, I heard part of what Liam was saying, but I’m going to talk now, too,” the other man said, and Lincoln pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Oh God, please don’t.”
“Don’t worry, love of my life, I’m not an asshole.”
Aaron coughed into his fist, and Ethan flipped his brother off.
“All I’m going to say is, welcome to the family.” Ethan held up his glass, and Marcus swallowed hard, giving the other men a nod.
“Thanks.”
“And if you fuck with our sister, we’ll fuck with you.”
Marcus burst out laughing with the rest of them because Ethan looked so sweet and innocent as he said the words.
Lincoln groaned and covered his face with his hands. “Seriously?” he mumbled into his palms.
“Seriously.”
“You guys weren’t this bad to me when I joined,” Lincoln said, lowering his hands.
“But you were taking Ethan off their hands. Bristol is their precious baby sister, remember?” Marcus said deadpan, and Ethan’s mouth dropped.
“I can’t believe you said that,” Ethan said and then burst out laughing with the rest of them.
Aaron looked between them, shaking his head. “You know, I might be the youngest, but I didn’t think I’d be the last one standing.”
Marcus frowned. “What do you mean?”
“The last single Montgomery. I mean, what is Boulder going to do without us? I guess I’m just going to have to carry the load and make sure that everyone knows that there is still a young, sexy, Montgomery left in waiting.”