Love in the Dark

by 12 Book Boxed Set (epub)

  “Not that sort of investment.” Quinn stopped her before she could bite a hole in herself. Especially since he couldn’t kiss it and make it better. “What I mean is that for every year you work at the shop you get an ownership bonus. Shares in the garage.”

  “For the mechanics?” Trevon tipped his head. “Seriously?”

  “Everyone who works here gets a piece of the profits. Hell, even when I was just sweeping the floor at Hot Rods, they cut me in. We’re a family.” So it said a hell of a lot that both he and Gavyn had been willing to take Trevon in right away. There was something about him that Quinn wanted.

  For the shop, he clarified mentally. Wanted for the shop.

  Right.

  “That’s unbelievably generous.” Devra nudged Trevon in the ribs as if telling him to take the job before Quinn changed his mind.

  But he had one more thing to sweeten the deal. He couldn’t say what made him do it except that he saw in these two people some reflection of the kid he used to be. On the verge of losing it all. They clearly could use some help and he was in a position to pay it forward. Finally.

  Maybe it made him feel better about himself, or maybe he was actually doing the right thing like his brother had. But he said, “There’s a tiny home out back. My brother, the rest of the Hot Rods mechanics, Gavyn, and I built it several years ago with some help from our friends who own a construction crew. After living in it a while I had some ideas about how to improve the design for what I like and built a second one. The first one is mostly storage, and guests sometimes stay there. It’s nothing fancy, but it has all the essentials. If you help me clean it out, you’re welcome to live there.”

  He stopped himself short of saying rent free. The scared kid buried inside him reminded him how much it had meant to him to earn his keep at Hot Rods. He wasn’t trying to emasculate Trevon in front of his wife.

  “How much would the rent be?” Trevon asked.

  “Four hundred a month is probably fair. You’ll see, it’s called tiny for a reason. It’s not luxurious. But it is cozy and your commute would be pretty damn short.” Quinn smiled. “Feel free to bargain with me if you think it’s worth less.”

  “We don’t even need to see it.” Trevon looked at Devra, who nodded emphatically, making her thick hair swirl around her. “We’ll take it. The house and the job.”

  In that instant, Quinn’s suspicions that they didn’t have a lot of options were confirmed.

  Damn. What was their deal?

  Curiosity ate at him, warring with the side of his brain that screamed it was none of his damn business and that he shouldn’t get involved in their personal matters. That was going to be kind of hard with them living a hundred feet away and Trevon working with him all day, though.

  “What he means to say is thank you.” Devra hugged Trevon, squeezing the shit out of him. Quinn did his best not to be jealous. Yeah, right.

  Then she dashed toward Quinn and flung her arms around him, too. She rose up on her tiptoes while dragging him down at the same time to kiss his cheek.

  She murmured, “Thank you,” against his ear before returning to Trevon’s side.

  Trevon wrapped her in an enormous bear hug and spun her around. Her feet kicked as both of them laughed like they’d won the lotto.

  Quinn tried to keep his cock from getting fully hard, but it was no use. Thankfully, the gray jumpsuit he wore over his jeans hid a lot.

  This was going to be an awkward situation. But his male role models had taught him that doing what was right was far more important than doing what was easy and this was obviously one of those situations.

  He knew it even before Trevon lowered Devra to the ground and she buried her face in Trevon’s shirt to hide her sniffle. She knuckled moisture from the corner of her eye as stealthily as possible before beaming up at Trevon, who grinned.

  The love between them was obvious, even if they hadn’t officially kissed to seal the deal. They cared for each other deeply. Quinn could see it clearly and tried not to be too envious of their bond.

  From the doorway, Gavyn whistled. “Now that’s what we need more of around here. Welcome to the team.”

  After some congratulations and ice-breaking conversation, Quinn encouraged the couple to go take a look at the cottage that was their new home. He stayed behind with Gavyn, needing some space to absorb what had just happened as much as the couple did.

  When they’d left earshot, holding hands as they walked excitedly toward their new home, Gavyn ruffled Quinn’s hair. He said, “They needed that. You did good, kid.”

  “We’ll see.” This had the potential to be amazing or a disaster for the shop and for him personally. He could only hope it turned out for the best.

  “You had a thing for him right away, didn’t you?” Gavyn asked quietly.

  “Doesn’t matter.”

  “She’s a good match for him.” Gavyn grunted. “Both sexy, and sort of sweet. Very corruptible. They seem like…exactly your type.”

  Quinn wasn’t sure he could have pinpointed what his type was. At least not until he’d met Trevon and Devra. Now he admitted to himself that Gavyn was right.

  He spun and kicked his toolbox, his boot leaving a dent in the side of the red metal.

  “What the hell are you going to do about that mess?” Gavyn asked.

  “Absolutely nothing.” Quinn waved his hands. “I don’t fuck around with people’s relationships. You know that.”

  “Too bad. They’re both smoking hot and seemed to be staring at you plenty when they thought they could get away with it.” Gavyn shrugged. “You never know what they’re into.”

  “That’s their business. And their problem.” Quinn slammed his toolbox closed, then threw his dirty rag in the hamper. “I’m going over to Hot Rods for a couple hours.”

  Hanging out with his brother and the close-knit gang of mechanics would remind him how precious those sorts of bonds were and why he absolutely couldn’t do anything to ruin the one Devra and Trevon had forged between them.

  “Good plan. I heard Ms. Brown was making her famous barbeque chicken mac and cheese for dinner.”

  As if he needed another reason to duck out for a while. Quinn couldn’t resist Ms. Brown’s cooking. “You coming?”

  “Hell yes.” Gavyn and Quinn were on their bikes and halfway to Hot Rods before Quinn realized he probably should have told Trevon and Devra where he was going and when he’d be back. It would be weird to get in the habit of having other people around, though it could be good, too.

  He debated turning around to tell them but then wondered if they’d be busy christening the tiny house. It was damn uncomfortable to ride his motorcycle with a full-on boner, so he left them to their own devices and concentrated on the delicious meal waiting for him instead.

  It would have to be enough to satisfy him, for now.

  7

  For all of the fifteen glorious minutes it took for everyone to gather around the picnic tables under the pavilion the Powertools crew had built the Hot Rods for Christmas last year and pile their plates with ooey-gooey carbs, Quinn was distracted from the Mr. and Mrs. Russell situation developing at home. He should have realized his nosey-ass family wouldn’t leave him alone for long, though.

  “So, tell us more about this guy you rescued earlier.” Carver, his brother’s husband, accented his demand with the roll he held in his hand, about to stuff in his face.

  “His name is Trevon. He rides an antique 1938 Indian Chief that’s in need of a new distributor, and just about every other part on it.” Quinn tried to keep a straight face as he very intentionally avoided telling them how gorgeous the man—and his wife—were. “But he fixed it himself while I was taking care of my afternoon schedule. In fact, he did such a good job of it that Gavyn told me to hire him. So I did. He’s moving into my original tiny home. I guess that means we’re neighbors.”

  His next bite of Ms. Brown’s famous barbeque chicken mac and cheese got stuck in his throat. He took an enormous
pull from the glass of ice water in front of him, draining the whole thing.

  “Whoa.” Tom nodded from the head of the table. “That’s great news. You two have been working your asses off lately. Alanso, too. It’s time to expand. I’ve been saying that for over a year now.”

  While there were plenty of murmurs of agreement and heads nodded, these people knew him far too well to let him get away with such a clinical description. Even the mention of a rare vehicle wasn’t enough to keep them from lasering in on his private life. Most times he didn’t mind.

  Today…well, he was still a little bitter.

  “Is that going to be messy?” Roman wondered. Figured his brother would get to the point. He was too intuitive for his own good sometimes. Or maybe they were more similar than he realized sometimes.

  “Being a mechanic usually is.” Quinn shrugged, hoping they’d take the hint. He didn’t want to talk about it.

  “Quit that shit.” Holden plopped down on his other side. “It’s not like you to be evasive when it comes to people you want. What’s up?”

  “It’s messy as fuck, okay? Trevon is married. He brought his wife with him.” He might as well save them some time and spill all the beans. “She’s also gorgeous and, obviously, equally off limits.”

  “Ouch.” Holden put his arm around Quinn’s shoulder and squeezed before returning his attention to his dinner.

  “Yeah.” Quinn dropped his head back. There was no reason not to come clean. Between all of them, they might as well have been the fucking Scooby-Doo gang. They found out everything eventually. “I was planning on making a move before I knew that little factoid.”

  “Oops.” Kaelyn, Bryce’s wife, wrung her hands. “Are you freaking out about that? I mean, Bryce told me nothing happened on the ride back to town. Just because you thought about it doesn’t mean you crossed any lines.”

  “No. And I won’t with either of them, now that I know. I’m capable of keeping my hands, and other parts, to myself.” Quinn had no doubts about that. He’d nearly fucked up a close personal relationship once before, when he’d been young and foolish. He wasn’t about to let his dick get him in that kind of a mess again.

  “But he’s going to be working with you. If there’s an attraction…” Sally tried to warn him. She should know. She had worked at Hot Rods with Eli and Alanso, her two husbands, for years before they’d gone from friends to lovers. Being near them daily without showing them how she felt had tortured her. And them.

  But that was different. Quinn had barely met Trevon and Devra. He didn’t even know them. It was just a physical attraction, that’s all. Not love. Simple lust.

  “There was a spark, sure.” He adjusted himself—both the way he was sitting and his junk, which was uncomfortably riled despite the lecture he’d given himself a hundred times in the past several hours. “That doesn’t mean I have to do something about it. I’m not sixteen anymore. I know better.”

  “Not every situation is black and white,” Nola pointed out. Her husband, Kaige, nodded in agreement without pausing his fork-to-mouth motion.

  “You’re grown enough now to understand life isn’t always simple.” Roman knocked his shoulder into his little brother’s. “Hell, you had to learn that early. So maybe this time you need to go slow, careful, and navigate the situation with finesse instead of a sledgehammer. Maybe the results will be different.”

  “Nah. They’re married. A couple. They don’t need any intruders. That’s that.” Quinn dropped his head in his hands, his food suddenly unappealing.

  “Is it?” Sally’s caustic tone drew his gaze. Uh-oh. What had he said?

  Quinn mentally rewound his words. Oh. Right.

  “Tell that to Eli. I mean, technically I’m married to Alanso. That doesn’t mean shit.” Sally glared. “I love them both equally. More every day. Although that’s not how things started between us all, that’s how it is now. They hooked up first. Don’t you dare tell me I should have been satisfied that they were happy and walked away from them when I knew how much better we could be as a threesome.”

  “Technically….” Alanso said, his Cuban accent intentionally heavy. “You did. Well, you drove really fast, crying to the Powertools. But I wasn’t about to let you escape that easily. Sometimes you have to fight for what you really want. Besides, without you, Eli and I never would have lasted. We weren’t complete until you came into our lives…and our bed.”

  Sally smacked him and looked over at Nova and Nola’s daughter, Ambrose, who didn’t seem to notice the grown up talk as she chatted with her grandmother, Ms. Brown, about her friends at daycare.

  “Guys. You’re getting ahead of yourselves here.” Quinn rolled his eyes. “I’ve known them for all of a day. Yeah, they’re both smoking hot. And yeah, there was definitely some sexy vibes going on, but that’s nothing like knowing someone for years and realizing they’re your life partner.”

  “It has to start somewhere,” Gavyn said, shocking the hell out of Quinn, who figured the Hot Rides owner would want none of this drama impacting business. “I was there. What I saw today was…kind of magical. You three clicked right away. And I don’t think you were the only one noticing the possibilities. Being close-minded and shutting people out when they need you is, in principle, equally as bad as coming between two people who would suffer from your interference.”

  “If I could do it all over again, I’d never wait so long to act on what every bit of my soul was telling me to do.” Eli grimaced. “It’s the biggest regret of my life that I didn’t take action sooner. Think of all the time I wasted. It makes me sick.”

  Sally hugged Eli. “We’re together now. That’s what matters.”

  “All I’m saying is that both Bryce and Gavyn noticed something special. They’ve seen you with plenty of your fuck buddies and never mentioned it to me before.” Roman bumped his forearm into Quinn’s gently. “We want you to be happy and this was the first time they’ve seen you smile like that in far too long.”

  “No one’s going to be smiling if this goes bad,” Quinn grumbled, afraid to hope that the Hot Rods were right. What were the odds that he’d found exactly the two people he’d been searching for since he realized he was bi and that it might take more than one partner to satisfy him?

  “You’re right, little bro.” Roman squeezed Quinn’s shoulder. The touch didn’t bother him because he trusted his brother to the bone. Roman would never hurt him. And the tender reminder made Quinn pay extra attention to the advice he was about to impart. He only wanted to help. “It’s too soon to know anything yet. But sometimes you have to gamble to win. So all we’re trying to say is keep your heart open and listen to what it tells you.”

  “That’s some good advice right there.” Tom nodded and pointed with his fork. He wrapped his arm around Ms. Brown and pulled her toward him so he could plant a loud smack on her cheek. “We raised some damn fine kids, Willie.”

  “We have indeed.” She angled her face to kiss Tom more deeply on the lips.

  Ambrose shrieked, “Ick. Gramma and Gramps. Not at the dinner table.”

  Quinn cracked up along with the rest of the gang. Then he took a deep breath for the first time since Trevon had dropped the Devra bomb on him. They were right. Things would work out as they should. They always did. But how rough would the road be between here and there?

  8

  The next few days passed quietly as they settled into their new routines. After Quinn got home from the Hot Rods family dinner, he helped Trevon and Devra make the cottage next door to his livable again. They worked together, moving all the stuff he’d had stored over there to the garage, dusted everything, turned on the water, and made sure the air conditioning was working. He brought over some spare sheets and pillows so they’d have fresh bedding and tried not to think about what they’d be doing on his linens.

  He didn’t ask where they’d been staying, but it was clear they needed a roof over their heads as much as Trevon had needed the job at Hot Rides.

&n
bsp; Devra made no mention of her work situation or how she’d get there from their location on the outskirts of town, so he didn’t pry. He figured they’d tell him more about themselves in time, if they felt like it. Honestly, learning details was risky. The danger was he’d like them more and more instead of less and less.

  Quinn couldn’t afford to grow feelings for either of them. Lusting after them was bad enough in these close quarters.

  He’d spent his evenings trying not to spy on them from his favorite place to sit and read on his back porch. But they were hard to ignore. Their bursts of laughter couldn’t be contained in the small space. They often drew his wistful gaze. And when he saw them in the soft glow of the living room lamp as they engaged in late-night discussions on the sofa, it made him wonder what they were talking about.

  He wasn’t sure if it was a blessing or a curse that he hadn’t seen them touching in a non-platonic way. No kissing, no cuddling, no…nothing. Maybe they were more discreet than he was, especially with Trevon’s boss so close, but he didn’t get the sense that was true.

  Sometimes they seemed more like best friends and perfect roommates than the lovers he knew they were. Damn, if they didn’t make him envious.

  Just like all the other happy couples, or trios, or whatever matchups in his life. He’d spent so long as the odd one out, he might not know what to do if he was ever included inside the bright circle of a relationship himself. Maybe he should get a cat or a dog. Then at least he’d have someone to take care of, and talk to, and pet.

  Not the worst idea he’d ever had.

  Quinn set down his tools and rested his back up against a support pole nearby as he debated a trip to the animal shelter after work. It was either that or prowl around the bars again tonight, and he couldn’t imagine that satisfying his cravings. He glanced over at Trevon, who was in the middle of a tune-up. Quinn would actually get out of here at a reasonable time this evening. But where would he go? What would he do?

  No other guy was going to hold the same appeal as the one bent over that engine, his fingers working magic on the shiny metal. His pants were riding low on his waist, exposing the very top edge of his tight ass and the curves that kept them from pooling around his ankles. Not that Quinn would mind if that were to happen.