“I know.” She paused and then blurted it out because she needed to say it. “It was a really, really good kiss. If he’d kissed me like that six months ago, we’d be happily together right now. He’s quite a dumbass for a man who looks as good as he does.” Jules chewed her lip a moment and then just said it. “I’m afraid Gideon will think the same thing about his kisses and they’ll get sick of me. It’s stupid and petty and I can’t stop thinking about it.”
Gillian made one of her polite little growls of annoyance. “He’s a fool for waiting so long. As for the kiss? I’m glad. I mean, I figured it was. You two, well, there’s years and years of built-up stuff between you. But back to the threesome thing. I don’t think this is about them both secretly being totally gay and then they’ll find out and dump you. I can understand why you’d worry. But they both want you. I’m telling you the total truth when I say I’ve watched Cal watch you for years. He’s in love with you, Jules. Not with anyone else. Same with Gideon.”
“So you think I should give it a try? The, um, threesome thing? I mean, we didn’t make rules. It’s not like it has to be all double penetration all the time or anything. Or any.” She shuddered. “That just seems sticky and messy and not entirely pleasant for the person who is being stuffed full of cock.”
Gillian blushed and then laughed so hard she started to choke.
“I’m with you on that. So why not, you know, have a conversation with Gideon and Cal about this? You can’t avoid them forever. They’re pretty alpha dudes. They’re only going to be patient so long before they come to track you down.”
“I asked them for some space and some time. They left me alone for a day.” She laughed. “In the four days since there’ve been several phone messages. The last one was Cal telling me he was going to hunt me down if I didn’t stop ignoring him.”
“He’s adorable for a boy with so much cheek.” Gillian winked.
Yes. He was. And yes, she needed to confront this whole thing like a big girl.
• • •
Cal showed up at the farmhouse on Friday. Patrick led him though the house to the kitchen where Gideon had been making a pot of tea.
“I’ll bring this through in a bit. I’m just letting it steep.” Gideon spoke to Patrick, who snorted.
“I have plans, boy. I’ll see you later on.”
“You’re driving?” Gideon had been trying to wean his grandfather away from driving, at least on the city streets instead of on their land.
“No. I’m off to Ernesto’s place. His daughter should be here any moment to pick me up. She’s a pretty one. Don’t wait up.”
Gideon watched out the window until a car pulled up and then his father got in and left. Then he turned back to Cal.
“Have you heard from her?” Meaning Jules. He’d called and left voice mails but she hadn’t responded.
“No.” Cal’s expression was as frustrated as Gideon felt.
“Have some tea. There’s a fresh pot.”
But then his phone rang. Her number. Gideon picked it up quickly and hoped he didn’t sound as forlorn as he felt. The time away from Jules had only convinced him of how right they were for each other. He’d missed her like crazy.
“Will you be around later? I wanted to talk to you.”
“Can I come to you? Or do you want to come out here? Granddad’s gone and I’m in the big house with a pot of tea. And Cal, he just showed up here, but I can make him leave if that’s what you want.”
Cal flipped him off, but Gideon knew he’d leave if that’s what he thought was best for Jules. Despite the idiocy of that kiss in the alley, it was totally clear to him that Cal adored Jules.
“No, that’s fine. I have to lock up and then I’ll be over.” She hung up.
“She’s coming over. She didn’t say you had to go so I guess you can stay.”
Gideon put one of his grandmother’s cozies on the pot to keep it warm. It would only take Jules about five minutes to get there if she avoided the after-high-school traffic.
“Before she arrives, one last time. Do you really want to share her with me?”
“I want her in my life. You’re not going anywhere and I’d rather have you in my relationship than outside it, working to break it apart. It’s not optimal, but I can live with it. You’re all right to look at.”
“So you’re really into men too?” Cal looked dubious and it pissed Gideon off. He’d said so already.
“When I was in New York—this was about a year after my divorce—I was with a man. It was unexpected. But not regrettable. I find the older I get, the better able I am to accept that my sexual identity isn’t so easy to put into labeled slots. I like who I like.” He shrugged.
“Hm. Have you had a cock in your ass? How bi are you then?”
He spun and got in Cal’s face. “I’ve had my cock in an ass. I’ve had a cock in my mouth. I’ve enjoyed the person the cock was attached to. Is that bi enough for you? Do you have a checklist? Do I only pass if I get a certain number of gay points?”
Cal grimaced. “Okay, I admit it, I was being an asshole.”
“And still I didn’t punch you.”
“You do love her.”
“I do. And if having you in our life instead of just outside it makes her happy, I’ll do it.” He shrugged. “We should wait to hear what she thinks.”
Cal sighed. “What if I don’t want to share?”
“Then I’ll fight you for her. Not with my fists, but with everything I am. I don’t lose.” Gideon wanted to be sure Cal realized that while he was totally amenable to sharing his bed with the other man, he wasn’t going to let Jules go. It was share or back off.
“Neither do I.”
“So you can see how difficult things would be. She’d be the loser in the end because no matter which one she chooses, she’d miss the other. I don’t want that. I don’t want to come into her life and force her to cut off people she cares about. No one wins in that scenario, even if she’s with me. I don’t want her to be unhappy.”
Cal ran his hands through his hair, sending it into a disarray that still managed to look gorgeous.
“I guess we wait to hear what she has to say then.” Cal sipped his tea and slumped into a nearby chair.
11
She arrived and went straight up the steps. Not bothering to knock, she went in, making enough noise to let them know she’d arrived. She found them sitting in the front room sipping tea and pretending to be casual. She dropped her bag on the bench near the door and moved to the fireplace.
Gideon stood and moved to her, pulling her into a hug. She went willingly, pressing her ear against his chest, listening to the heartbeat she’d missed so much over the last days.
He dipped his head down for a brush of his lips against hers. “I’m glad to see you.”
She nodded. “Me too.” Jules sucked in a deep breath and stood taller. Time to be a big girl. “Let’s just say I was on board with this sharing thing. How do you envision this working?”
“I’m going to return the question. How do you envision it working?” Gideon paused a moment. “I want you to set the boundaries here. If that’s what you want. Only if that’s what you want. Cal and I don’t want you to make choices you aren’t totally behind.”
“Well, do you want—what—separate date nights?”
“I want you however you want to give yourself to me.”
“This isn’t helping.” She turned to Cal. “And you?”
“I want to fuck you, Jules. I want to see you naked as the sun rises. I want to lick you in all the parts I’ve dreamed about for years. I want to wake up next to you and I don’t care that it’s only Wednesday and Friday, or that on your other side there’ll be Gideon. I want you. I’m sorry this was sprung on you the way it was. I’m not sorry I kissed you and I’m not sorry I finally worked up the nerve to make my move. But I put you in a bad place and that I do regret.”
She rolled her eyes. If she did this, she needed to do so knowing what a
handful these two were going to be. Cal as her lover would not be as easy to blow off and be amused by when he got entitled.
“So if I said I want you both to fuck me, you’d be on board?”
Gideon laughed then. “Honey, you know I’m on board for fucking you any time.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
He nodded. “You’re right. I want you. I’m on board. We can make it work no matter what you choose. Unless it’s not me and then I’m going to be really bratty about that. I can’t lie.”
Jules repressed her smile. Incorrigible, the two of them.
“Cal, you’re not the one who proposed this whole sharing thing. What do you think?”
“I think I’d rather be doing it than talking about it. We’ve talked about it. We’re all adults. Gideon and I want you, you clearly want us both. So let’s do it. I’m going insane not touching you. After finally making that move I’m impatient.”
She narrowed her gaze on him and then to Gideon. “If we do this, it’s got to be exclusive to the three of us. No fucking anyone else. No kisses in alleys. None of that. No other men, no other women.”
Cal got up and approached them and her heart skipped a beat. “That’s entirely fair. As if I’d be interested in anyone else.” He snorted. “I want you, Jules.”
Gideon was on her other side, touching her. She turned and he smiled. Every part of her saluted with joy.
“And you?”
“I’m with Cal. Totally reasonable.” He nuzzled her neck and she moaned.
“Not here. If Patrick came back . . .”
Cal kissed her temple and spoke into her ear. “My house then. I have a king bed, a full fridge and a great security system.” Cal held a hand out. Gideon took her other hand and she took Cal’s and they headed out.
• • •
Her hands shook she was so damned nervous. She, Juliet Lamprey, the person people thought was bold and decisive, was having a nervous fit over a threesome with two of the hottest men she’d ever seen. Two men she loved. Two men who had declared their love for her.
She was glad she drove over alone. Both men had invited her to ride along with them, but she needed the time to get herself together. So she turned her music up loud and drove, pretending she wasn’t looking at Gideon in her rearview, or that Cal wasn’t looking at her through his.
This was fantasyland. Now, she wasn’t opposed to handsome princes, especially when they wanted to have sex with her. But her favorite place had always been Adventureland. Which, she supposed, was also where she was headed.
This made her laugh. And then she realized Cal would see it and it made her laugh harder.
She just needed to deal with it. She’d tried, at first, to pretend it away. To go to sleep and wake up and go to work and not remember she had this thing to deal with. But when she went to sleep it was alone. And she woke up alone and instead of talking to Gideon daily she didn’t talk to him at all and Cal didn’t come over either and she was miserable.
Thank goodness Gillian had shown up and made her confront it all.
Cal’s house was just ahead and she followed him up the hill to his garage. He opened the door and she saw the imperious flick of his hand where he indicated she take the second, empty spot so she could park out of the elements. He always did that. She knew to keep her warm and dry. He was bossy though. Which probably meant he’d rock her world in bed.
The giggles surfaced again and she managed to wrestle them back under control by the time Gideon opened her door and she got out.
“I missed you.” He said this softly, right before he kissed her and she melted into his touch as she always did. He tasted so right, so perfect.
Cal closed the garage door and approached, his hand out. She took it and he stayed in place, pulling her to him. His kiss wasn’t slow and lazy like Gideon’s had been. He was so intense; his mouth on hers demanded a response, which she was happy to provide. His tongue slid in like it was meant to be there and she sucked it, delighting in the way he straightened with a growl, hauling her even closer.
His cock pressed into her belly. And then she realized it was real. She was actually and truly going to have sex with Gideon and Cal. At the same time. Good lord.
Cal spoke, his lips still against hers. “Come on inside or I’m going to eat your pussy right here in the garage and it’s too cold for that.”
She swallowed hard. Gideon leaned in and licked over her mouth, stealing what little breath she’d managed to get back.
She followed them both, each man holding one of her hands, and she wasn’t sure if she was comforted or constrained and then she thought, well, sometimes it’s both and that was okay too. Why not? Since she was going insane and all and about to embark on a three-way with her boyfriend and best friend who she’d fantasized about for a good seventeen years.
“Are you cold?” Cal entered the house and tossed his coat on a chair. She snorted and picked it up, hanging it on a nearby peg. Gideon put his next to it and took her coat and bag, hanging them as well.
“I’m . . . um. Not cold. Thank you.”
Cal stalked to her, backing her into Gideon. “Are you nervous? After all these years, baby? I finally get to touch you the ways I’ve dreamed of and you’re nervous?”
She nodded.
“All you need to do is tell me to stop and I will.”
He was so close. Gideon’s chest rose and fell at her back, his strength holding her up.
She managed another shaky nod. And watched as Cal slowly unbuttoned her cardigan, spreading it and exposing the soft camisole just beneath. Her belly button peeked out at the waist and he slid a fingertip around and then inside. Just a ghost of a touch but her knees nearly buckled at how good it felt.
“Come on.” He stepped back and indicated they go upstairs where his bedroom was.
She wondered if it was too early for a drink.
And then forgot about it as Gideon paused just inside Cal’s door and pulled his sweatshirt off. She moved to him, needing to touch all that skin. She kissed over his chest, pausing to lick each nipple.
She turned to catch Cal watching, his hand unzipping his jeans. “I knew it would be hot.”
“What?” He made it hard to think clearly. Jules could only think in giant capital letters about how hot this whole thing was.
“The two of you together. All that golden hair and skin.” Cal shoved his jeans down and stepped from them.
She licked her lips and thought about licking his abs instead.
“Why did you leave your underwear on?” Though he looked like a super hot, real-life underwear ad. But instead of Times Square, he was right there and she was about to touch all of him.
He laughed then and Gideon pulled her cardigan off and came around behind her, reaching to unzip her jeans, exposing bright red panties.
“I was just trying to take it slow but . . .” He tipped his head toward her.
Gideon pulled the camisole up and off, leaving her in a bra.
Cal pulled his underwear off and fell to his knees before her, pulling her jeans and panties down.
He leaned in and breathed deep before pressing a kiss to her pussy, leaving her shivering.
“Well now.” He got to his feet and she watched, unable not to. Cal Whaley was absolutely gorgeous. His hair was dark, but long on top so it always made him look as if he were up to something. Normally at work he had product in it, she knew. But he’d had his fingers in it, most likely as they were talking. One rakish lock had fallen over his forehead. His eyes were blue, fringed by dark lashes.
Acres of taut, olive-toned skin. She’d seen him in shorts and swim trunks. So she knew what he had lurking beneath his clothes. But this . . . Well, fantasy had nothing on reality. His cock was fat and meaty and it set her heart pounding.
His legs were long and powerful, particularly his very muscled thighs. A high, tight and toned ass. He had great arms and hands.
“You’re giving me a complex just staring at me w
ithout a comment.”
She smiled, her fingers still tangled with Gideon’s. “I’m glad I had never seen you naked until now. I don’t think I could have taken it.”
He smiled, the worry gone. “I can say the same thing. Though I have seen you in a bikini and from that I have a general idea of how amazing you look naked. But there you stand all stingy with your bra still on. Gideon, have a heart and set those tits free.”
She looked down as Gideon’s palms slid around her waist from behind, and then up to cup her breasts before popping the catch. The bra slid open, her breasts free until he caught them in his palms again.
Cal sighed. “You’re so much more than I imagined.” He approached slowly, his gaze darting to Gideon’s every once in a while to be sure everyone was on the same page. She liked that even as it sort of drove her nuts because she wanted to just jump in and have sex with them right then.
He touched her nipple and it stood for him. “Once you wore this dress. Flowers all over it, one of those numbers you wear all summer long. But it was slightly sheer and you had this other thing on underneath. But the shadow of your nipples, Christ. All day long I kept seeing them and thinking about you. Wondering.” He bent his head and flicked his tongue against the nipple where his fingers had been and she gasped.
“You taste good.” He grinned up at her and then straightened.
“Gideon isn’t naked.” She turned and looked up into his face and felt better when she didn’t see any shadows in his gaze. Just Gideon looking at her as if she were the finest thing ever.
“I am so lucky,” she said, meaning it totally.
He gave her a smile as he came around her body to face her. “That I’m not naked?”
She tugged on his beard and then while she kissed her way over his chest, got his jeans opened up and off, along with his shorts and socks, until they all stood there totally naked.
She looked back and forth between them. “Wow.”
Cal grinned. “Yeah.”
“I want you on the bed.” Gideon nodded toward the very large bed she’d only fantasized about fucking Cal in a few million times.