While Geoffrey had developed a thing for Sven months before hiring him, it wasn’t until Sven started protecting Geoffrey from a violent stalker that they finally got together.
And the rest, as they say, was history.
There was something in the fucking water at Ward Security. It seemed like they were dropping like flies as fast as Rowe and Andrei could hire new bodyguards. And Seth had zero plans to join their ranks.
A boyfriend. Settling down into domestic life with someone was not a part of his grand plan.
Ward Security was just a pit stop. After college, he joined Ward as a security agent. The job gave him a chance to travel the world, meet some interesting people, learn some new skills, and gain some valuable experience.
His ultimate goal was to return home to Bridgeport, Connecticut and take over running his father’s very successful jiu-jitsu training center.
Yeah, okay…maybe his original plan had him returning to Bridgeport last year, but Rowe had needed him for some jobs. He couldn’t leave his boss shorthanded like that.
And well, Sven, Royce, Dom, Garrett, and so many of the other employees at Ward had become close friends over the past few years. He had a comfortable, good life in Cincinnati. He wasn’t in any rush to leave them.
It didn’t hurt that the pay was really good as well.
His father wasn’t exactly banging down his door to drag him back to Connecticut. That man never stopped moving or doing. He was still overseeing classes, competitions, and running the business just as he had been for the past couple of decades. It wasn’t like he was waiting on Seth to return just so he could retire; his dad planned to keep going for at least another ten years.
But even with all that, Seth was not in the market for a boyfriend. Who the hell would want to pack up and move to Connecticut with him?
Oh no, he loved his free and easy life. No drama. No stress at the end of the day. If he wanted to pick up and leave Cincinnati, there was nothing holding him back.
“But really…” Dom started again, nudging him with his elbow. “Royce said you dragged into the gym this morning looking like dog shit while wearing a shit-eating grin.”
“Nice image, idiot,” Seth said with a roll of his eyes.
But he couldn’t deny it. Last night with Liam had stretched way later than he’d expected, but it had been damn hard to crawl out of that man’s bed. So fucking amazing.
So, yeah, Seth had looked like death after only a few hours of sleep, but Liam had been worth the sleepless night.
“If you weren’t out with us, where were you?” Dom kept prodding. The man was absolutely incorrigible, but Seth was still smiling.
“Don’t worry about it,” he mumbled, directing his gaze to the crowd of people milling around them.
“You hooked up!”
Seth smacked him on the shoulder while shushing him. Abe’s shoulders were shaking like he was trying hard to suppress his laughter.
“Say it a little louder next time. I think there are some people on the other side of the river who didn’t hear you,” Seth complained.
“Sorry,” Dom muttered, though he didn’t sound remorseful in the least. “You know if you were looking to hook up, you could have come out with us. We’d have loved to see you work your magic.”
“I prefer not to work in front of an audience,” Seth grumbled.
Not that he’d had to work all that much magic on Liam. It was just one of those serendipitous moments where they were attracted to each other and looking for the same thing—a string-free fuck.
“You gonna see him again?” Dom inquired.
Seth’s mouth fell open and he gawked at his friend. “Has it been so long that you’ve forgotten the definition of a hookup? No, of course I’m not. We had a good time together for one night, and that was it.”
Dom shrugged, completely unbothered by Seth’s tone. “A hookup is nice, I guess. It’s even better when you can go home to that slice of awesomeness and sexiness night after night.” He grinned at Abe, and the older man smiled back.
“So I’ve been told. Frequently. Not everyone feels the need to be tied down.” Seth winced and looked over at Abe. “No offense, Abe.”
Abe chuckled. “None taken. A relationship isn’t for everyone. You’ve got to do what’s right for you.”
Dom scoffed and wrapped his arm around Abe’s shoulders, pulling him closer. “Whatever.”
Luckily, Dom decided to redirect their conversation to other things like recent jobs and random stuff happening around the city. Summer was just kicking off, and the concert season was looking to be fantastic. Not the easiest thing to plan for since Seth never knew when he was going to be on a long-term assignment or a trip out of town, but he usually managed to grab tickets to a few fun events before colder weather reclaimed the area.