He also had napkins and wet-wipe packages in separate double-bags, and packages of chips.
As they ate, he talked more about the park, the region, things he’d seen and done here at the park, and what it was that he did for a living. He told her about the brothers being active in the Boy Scouts growing up, including earning their Eagle Scout rankings. How he’d hated the socializing part of it sometimes, but loved the structure, the outdoor activities, earning his badges, helping other Scouts.
Doing projects that helped the community.
If she’d had any remaining doubts that he wasn’t a complex, complicated, and emotional man, they were completely gone by the time they finished eating lunch.
She’d never heard him talk so long, or so passionately, in all the time they’d spent together combined.
It didn’t matter that she’d seen this man naked and trusted him with her body and safety.
Now he was letting her into his hidden inner sanctum, trusting her with his soul.
And she had to ask. “Have you ever told anyone else about all of this before?”
* * * *
Davis stared out at the lake as he pondered her question. “Do you mean about coming here to the park, or what I do for a living? Or did you mean something specific?”
“In general. Like we’re talking now. About everything we’ve discussed.”
He forced himself to stare into her eyes again. It was getting easier for him to do. Especially since he loved the way how, in this light, the darker green flecks reminded him of the color of palmetto leaves in the park, the shadows underneath them when the sun was just right.
They were beautiful.
She was beautiful.
“I’ve never brought anyone else out here like this. Kirby knows I come out here a lot but he’s not really into hiking or nature. He didn’t enjoy Scouts as much as I did but stayed for me. And I usually don’t talk to people about work. I have confidentiality agreements because of proprietary information. Usually, I only discuss some details with Kirby or my parents.”
“Why did you bring me out here today?”
He wondered if she had a deeper reason for asking that. “Why?”
She nodded.
“I meant, why are you asking me why I brought you?”
Now she seemed at a loss for words and it took her a moment to reform her question. “I would like to know why you brought me out here to show me this, and confided in me the way you have. Because it seems like you have a reason for doing it other than just to show me around. I wanted to know if you brought me here for a superficial date, or if it has deeper meaning to you.”
This felt big. It felt important.
In a way few things in his life had felt before.
The way nothing regarding another person had ever felt before.
In a good way. The kind of way that he had quickly come to realize in his life was a positive addition, and something he didn’t want to lose. That to lose it would leave him with that bad feeling he frequently got over stimuli or situations he felt uncomfortable with.
“You said you wanted to get to know me better. I realized that you are the first person I’ve ever felt comfortable enough with to let you see this side of me.”
He liked her smile. This particular smile. She had several smiles, many of them casual and polite but which never reached her eyes.
This smile, the smile she was giving him now, seemed to not only reach her eyes, but expose part of her soul to him. “You trust me?” she quietly asked.
He nodded. “I do.”
When she laid her hand on the sheet next to his, he covered it with his hand, the gesture already soothing to him.
She seemed to get him.
She took the time and energy to understand him in a way no one ever had before.
“I trust you, too,” she said. “You’re sure it’s not going to be a problem that I’m involved with both you and Kirby?”
“No, because I know that I have my limitations, and so does he. He spends a lot of time in the field on projects and when he’s not working, he likes to be home, or doing things indoors. I am—oddly enough—the opposite. I spend most of my time in my office or in a lab. I enjoy being outside in my free time. But he’s more easily able to be in social situations and can express himself in ways I don’t excel at. I’m not jealous of him because he’s my brother. It makes sense that you could have two men who could fulfill different roles for you and still be able to share you in bed. From what I’ve learned, being poly is a non-standard relationship dynamic, but it’s not objectionable as long as everyone involved agrees to it. And I agree to it because I feel there are no disadvantages to it, in our case.”
“Do you enjoy the rope play and stuff we’ve done in bed?”
“Yes. Very much. I’m not sure how good of a full-time Dom I’d be, though.”
“I don’t expect you to be a full-time Dom. I just need to know I’ll always be able to trust you and that you’ll do your best to be honest with me.”
“I won’t cheat on you,” he assured her. “I won’t lie to you. I won’t seek out others to play with. Other than Kirby, of course, I expect the same in return from you.”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“It’s not uncommon for me to come home from work and need alone time. Depending on how my day went. It’s nothing personal. Kirby said I can be rude when I do that but that’s not my intention.”
“I understand.”
“That’s another reason I’m okay with this, because Kirby isn’t like that.”
“I will ask for communication,” she said. “If you need alone time, just tell me that. Especially early on. And be patient with me when I ask you why you’re doing something or what you’re feeling. Don’t expect me to be able to read your mind or know what’s going on or force Kirby to shoulder the burden of interpreting and explaining your actions to me.”
“That’s reasonable.”
“I would like more days like today with you,” she added. “Alone time with you. Here, or doing other things.”
“Technically it’s not alone time if we’re together.” He smiled, hoping she took it as a joke.
It earned him a giggle. “I meant without Kirby. And the other way around, too. But there will be times I’d like the three of us to spend time together.”
“Outside of bed?”
Her smile told him she also took that as the joke he’d intended it. “Yes. Outside of bed.”
“Kirby and I enjoy doing things together. We go out to eat or see movies or attend events that are mutually interesting.”
“Eventually, I’d be open to moving in together.”
He felt his breath hitch. That exquisitely rare feeling hit him, slammed into him.
The feeling of perfection.
“I would like that, too. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to spend every night together with you and him in the same bed. I think there will be nights I need to be alone, or would like to be alone with you.”
“That’s reasonable,” she said with the smile he was quickly growing so fond of he knew he’d come to hate the times he had to say good-bye to her, even for just the workday.
“There will probably be times you get aggravated at me for not understanding why you’re upset over something, or times that I inadvertently make you upset or hurt your feelings without meaning to.”
“I know.”
“I’m not trying to do it on purpose when that happens. I literally think and process things differently than you do and I don’t always stop to consider if I’m saying the best thing in the best way. I’m not saying your feelings aren’t less valid than mine, but I have a very linear way of thinking, especially if I get fixated on something.”
“Kirby’s warned me about that.”
“Don’t think you can memorize every episode of The Big Bang Theory and understand how I think, because it’s nothing like me.”
The smile again. “I understand.”
?
??I’m not a savant, and I’m not one lab accident away from being a supervillain. I do have a high IQ, but so does Kirby. I know this park because it’s been part of my life all of my life. The constellations I learned back in school, and hello, eidetic memory.”
He looked down at the sheet, where his hand still lay atop hers. He closed his fingers around her hand and gently squeezed. “I can adapt in certain ways, given enough time. But you need to understand that you have to be prepared to accept me the way I am right now, in case I can’t adapt in some ways.”
“I do.”
He met her gaze again, studying her face. He didn’t have to memorize it because it was already implanted in his brain.
He wanted to study her.
“My desired goal,” he quietly said, “is that, eventually, I would like this to be permanent. For life. Including with Kirby. If you aren’t looking for that, or willing to put up with me for that long, please be kind and be honest with me now. It takes a lot for me to make changes in my life and that’s usually not a pleasant process no matter how positive the change. I am willing to go through that process to attempt to make those changes for you.”
“What about children?”
“Are you asking that because you want children?”
“No. We appear to be putting all our cards on the table, and that’s one that needs to be discussed.”
He had to think about it for a while. During that moment, he still couldn’t pull his gaze from her face. “I don’t know. I’ve never been with someone long enough, or who I cared enough about, to have that kind of discussion. I’d have to think about it for a while and get back to you.”
“That’s a good enough answer for now,” she said. She turned her hand over, palm up against his. “At this point in my life, I could go either way. If you guys decided you wanted kids and were in agreement on it, I’d probably be okay with it. Right now, it’s not a priority for me, and I don’t expect it to become a priority.”
They stayed for another hour. He couldn’t remember a time in his life he’d felt so at ease with someone before, including Kirby or his parents.
Other than their personal conversations, it didn’t require any effort on his part to stay in the moment, stay focused, and not be bored.
He was having fun.
With another person.
With zero resentment on his part.
After touring the visitor’s center, as they made their way back to the car, he stopped and turned to her. “Are you being honest with me that you enjoyed this?”
She stepped in close. “I am being completely honest with you that I really enjoyed this time with you today. I am looking forward to coming here with you again.”
“I’ve never camped out here before. They allow camping and have cabin rentals. Would that interest you?”
“Maybe. If the weather’s right and we aren’t getting eaten alive by mosquitoes.”
Without thinking about it, he leaned in and kissed her, quickly, on the lips.
Then he turned and continued on to the car.
Chapter Fourteen
Davis drove them back to his house. It was a little before five, and Kirby’s car wasn’t in the driveway when they arrived.
“He was going to help our dad with some projects today. He should be back soon.”
Davis wouldn’t let her help unload the car or clean out the cooler. When he finished that, he joined her in the living room. “If you don’t mind, I’d like the three of us to have dinner at Sigalo’s tonight.”
This was…
This felt huge.
“That sounds very nice.”
“I don’t want to go back to the club later, though. I’d like to spend the night at your apartment. Just you and me. If that’s okay?”
She knew what a big step this was for him. Even better, they’d all been tested and had agreed that, even though they only had the HIV results back, they’d risk not using condoms. There was no reason for any of them to think they had something.
“It’s all right with me. Is it okay with Kirby?”
“I asked him and he said it was.”
This wasn’t just huge—it was monumental.
“Then that sounds like fun.”
He nodded and headed for the hallway before he stopped and turned. “Would you like to take a shower with me?”
Her heart skipped a beat. “I’d like that very much.” She grabbed her stuff and followed him into his room.
In the daylight, it looked relatively tidy, although she could see how their weekly cleaning service probably kept him from descending into a mire of his own making. He left the bedroom door open, she noticed, so she didn’t close it. He started undressing, dropping all his clothes into a hamper by the walk-in closet door before he headed into the bathroom.
She couldn’t help but let her eyes wander up and down his backside. The guy was gorgeous. Both brothers were. Lucky for her they hadn’t been hooked by someone before she met them. Davis stood three inches taller than Kirby, and lean, his skin slightly paler in tone. His soft, straight brown hair was about the same shade as his brown eyes, and only a couple of grey hairs were sprinkled here and there. He kept it trimmed a little on the short side in a nondescript style. Likely very easy to take care of, for him.
Pulling her shirt over her head, she kicked off her sneakers and quickly shed the rest of her clothes. She’d be damned if she’d turn this invitation down.
Davis was a man of contradictions. While she understood what a big deal this was for him, outwardly he appeared nonchalant.
As nonchalant as Davis ever acted.
He’d already stepped into the shower and had the water running by the time she joined him in there. This was the larger of the house’s two bathrooms, and had a large shower-soaking tub combination.
“Would you like me to scrub your back for you?” he asked.
“Yes.” She handed him the washcloth and he soaped it up and tentatively started on her right shoulder. “You’re not hurting me.”
He seemed to gain confidence, moving slowly, eventually leaning in and kissing her right ear, making her heart flutter.
“Do you want to do my back?” he whispered.
For a man who claimed he wasn’t an expert in relationships, he sure seemed to find his way directly to her clit. “Yes, Sir.” She took the washcloth from him.
* * * *
Davis turned around and she tentatively started firm, slow strokes against his left shoulder. He rested his forehead against the tile, closing his eyes as his cock started inflating.
“Is that okay?” she asked.
“That’s wonderful, thank you.”
As she worked down his back, she rested her left hand on his left hip, and he reached down, clasping it and pulling her hand around to his front where he wrapped her fingers around his cock.
He reached back with his right arm and pulled her body against his. She dropped the washcloth and pressed her hand against his chest. Warm water flowed down his skin as he got used to feeling her there, enjoying it in a way he hadn’t enjoyed anything before.
Fighting the urge to rock his hips against her hand and explode right there, he slowly jacked his cock with her hand. “Like that,” he said. “That’s perfect.”
She kissed his back, laying her head against him as he closed his eyes and savored the pleasure. After a few minutes, he stopped her and turned, staring down into her green eyes. Recalling the books he’d read, he reached up behind her, grabbing her hair firmly.
“Does that hurt?”
She smiled. “No. You can take a tighter grip if you want to.”
He did, enjoying the soft gasp she made. “Like that?”
“Yes.”
He leaned in and kissed her, slowly, tasting and savoring it. “Yes, what?” he whispered.
“Yes, Sir.”
It was like something inside of him lit up, a bank of secret switches all tripped at once. She trusted him.
He kissed her again,
harder this time, enjoying the way she tasted, the way she responded to him—everything about her.
Using a little pressure, he eased her down to her knees, his cock now throbbing and hard. She needed no extra instructions, her mouth already open as she leaned in to swallow his shaft.
Holding her head, he slowly thrust, taking his time and holding back, wanting to explode inside her pussy, not her mouth. Not this time. What he wanted to do was make her come first, preferably more than once to make her happy, before he took his own pleasure.
After a few minutes of that, he pulled his cock from her mouth and urged her to her feet again. The delicious glazed look in her eyes twisted his heart, made his pulse race.
He turned her around. “Hands against the wall.”
She did, and he stepped behind her, his cock rubbing along the seam of her ass as he folded his body around hers. With his left hand he cupped her left breast. His right sought and found her clit, sliding his first and second fingers down along either side of it.
A moan escaped her. He started playing with her clit, wiggling his fingers back and forth on either side of her clit, slowly at first then speeding up as her body responded. With his left hand, he started rolling her nipple between his fingers, increasing her moans.
Her hips rocked against him, wriggling, trying to get him to fuck her. So he released her breast and lined his cock up, slowly sliding it inside her wet pussy as a louder moan rolled through her. His hand returned to her left breast. Now her pussy fluttered around his cock, her body under his control.
“Come for me,” he said. “I want to feel you come on my cock.”
His left hand moved to her right breast and he started tweaking that nipple. He thought maybe he’d have to change tactics when she suddenly let out a cry, bucking her hips back against him as her pussy contracted around his cock.
He smiled. “Good girl. Now give me another one.”
* * * *
Mel wasn’t sure exactly what he was doing with his fingers on her clit, but she was damn sure going to have to find out and make sure he did it again at some point. Between him playing with her nipples, and then filling her with his cock, it shoved her over the edge and hard.