Submissive Assassin Book 2 (BxB)

"I don't know what's been up with her lately, but she's been super bratty these past few months."

Lucius inhaled a sharp breath from the blunt before passing it over to Dante who was seated next to him.

They had all aged.

Lucius, with a bit more wrinkles and a blond beard, had gotten much more muscular and bulkier. There were more lines across his forehead, but it only toughened his look. He had decided to take over the Hercules' troop, and spent days on end on missions that were more dangerous than he made it seem to Sarah, who panicked whenever he returned with bruises and cuts that she had to nurse.

Dante had been much more of a family man. He had gained a bit of weight, but his muscles were still a dominant feature of his physique. He had gotten a few more tattoos, one of Nate's name right underneath his collarbone, another one of their son's name across his shoulder, along with numerous other dragon ones. He had a stubble beard across his jaw, and his hair had gotten long that it reached his chest, but he always wrapped it in a bun anyway. Dante had decided to find a calm and easy office job that he only worked part-time, because he loved spending most of his time at home with Charles and Nate.

Jake had been trying to change his style by dying his hair burgundy—suggested by Lucius—and he was still getting used to it, but he got many more piercings. A nose piercing, lip piercing, a few on his ears, both cartilages on each side, and one piercing right in the center of his neck. Bronsted and Jules looked completely the same, other than a few signs of maturity across their faces as they finally grew into their features. Bronsted had gotten taller by a few inches, and Jules—who had been lifting weights with Lucius—had definitely gotten toner and much more intimidating.

As all of them aged, it seemed as though Cesar was actually getting younger; not a single wrinkle in sight, his skin as flawless and glowy to the point that it reflected from the sun, almost as glossy as his lip gloss. His only difference was that he had started dying his eyebrows silver and wore silver mascara to match his hair.

From all of them though, the one that had changed the most was Nate. He was not as clueless and lost as he used to be, neither did he have a short fuse anymore. Much calmer and reasoned as he used to be, Nate had gotten a couple inches taller, had lost a bit of weight which contributed to his high cheekbones and sharpened jawline, his eyes were no longer round and innocent as they used to be, but had gotten naturally narrower over the years. Plus, being a father had given him much more of a fatherly aura, protective over anything and everything that regarded his family. It also made him more patient and gentle, which definitely helped his relationship with Dante.

Although time had passed, they were still as close as ever, which was why they all got involved the moment anything happened to any one of them.

Or whenever Natalia did some ridiculous stunt.

"Wasn't it a few weeks ago that she got herself into a police chase for a pair of sunglasses?" Bronsted mentioned, seated on the sofa across from Lucius and Dante.

Jules, who had been focusing on a sports match on television, seated directly in front of it with a mouth full of chips, raised a finger to blurt, "I bailed her out for that one."

Nate had been slowly pacing back and forth, his arms folded while staring into space; these kids had been giving him headache after headache. "Charles was supposed to be in that car," he commented quietly.