Years ago, after Calvin had quit his job, turning down a senior partnership at the law firm he worked at, Graham had found himself promoted, managing not just the one restaurant, but now two locations. Emory had been leery of the change, fully aware of the barbed words his two partners exchanged with each other, Calvin reminding Graham of the vitriol that had been spewed during their marriage when it had come to issues with Calvin’s dedication to his own job.
It had all worked out, though, Emory and his millions acting as a kind of life preserver, even though neither of them had asked for one. Graham had found a new routine with his work and Calvin had picked up gardening, and then when Graham was offered a third restaurant…
That was when Emory took things into his own hands.
Graham loved running restaurants, and he was painfully good at it, but it gutted Emory and Calvin both to see Graham pouring so much of himself into something that didn’t belong to him. Emory could have bought the restaurant for Graham with his own money; he probably could have bought out the restaurant group that Graham worked for if he’d really wanted to, but that wouldn’t have made the restaurants any more Graham’s.
He’d found Bob through a stroke of good luck and he’d offered to invest, taking the financial strain off Emory, while giving Graham all of the reward. It was perfect. And now, here they were—in Vegas and ready to start the newest chapter in their lives.
Emory dressed himself, skipping underwear because he was still thinking about the desperate little grunts Calvin had been making on the phone when he’d called earlier in the day, then he collected his things and locked the room. He rode the elevator up to the top floor of the hotel, where Ornate resided.
The hotel was one of the newer ones and Ornate was as gaudy and blingy as everything else on the Strip, but unlike the other bars and clubs, this one was on the penthouse floor, a large balcony with a giant glass wall keeping the patrons safe from wind and heights, while allowing unobstructed views of the lights and the desert beyond.
It was early, but it was a Saturday. The music bumped, bass beats vibrating up through Emory’s shoes. The sun was dipping toward the horizon, and Emory’s eyes searched the crowd, finally landing on Calvin and Graham in the middle of the dance floor. Their bodies were pressed together and Graham’s hands rubbed against that spot on Calvin’s thighs that Emory so much loved to rest his cheek against after sucking him off.
Emory grabbed a beer from the bar and zigzagged his way through the crowd, coming up behind Graham and pressing in close.
“I like the way you move,” he whisper- yelled over the music.
Graham smirked, turning his head to the side and brushing his lips across Emory’s cheek.
“You can’t talk to me like that,” Graham told him. “I’m a taken man.”
“I’ll take you,” Emory suggested, snapping his teeth.
“If all goes well,” Graham continued. “I’ll be married before midnight.”
Emory choked on a swallow of beer. He slapped his hand against his chest, his skin hot to the touch. “What did you say?”
Graham and Calvin stopped their unbearably sexy gyrations and circled around him, using their broad chests to box him in.
“He wants to get married,” Calvin said, his words hot against Emory’s ear.
“I thought you two gave that up.”
“For you,” Graham reminded him.
Emory remembered the day Calvin and Graham’s divorce had been final. It was on one of his birthdays, and he still had the picture they’d taken together framed on the dresser the three of them now shared.
“Marry us,” Calvin whispered, sliding his hands around Emory’s waist and pulling him close. Graham stepped inward and their bodies were aligned, all hot, hearts beating like drums loud enough to drown out whatever shitty pop song the DJ was playing.
“Marry you,” he repeated.
“Us.”
“That’s…” Emory frowned, unsure of the words he wanted to say. He’d never lamented being unable to marry either of them.
“You hate it.” Calvin sounded nearly distraught, and Emory spun around, grabbing Calvin’s face in his hands and kissing him to stop him from saying anything else. Calvin didn’t soften, didn’t give in. Beneath Emory’s fingers, Calvin’s whole body was tense, and Emory hated himself for it.
“I love you so much,” Emory whispered against his mouth. “I love you and I love your husband.”
“He’s not my husband,” Calvin murmured. “Technically.”
“Is that how you still think of us?”
Emory sighed and dropped his forehead against Calvin’s shoulder. Graham’s arms came around them both, his chin landing just above Emory’s shoulder blade.
“We should go,” Graham suggested.
Calvin’s hand came down and he laced their fingers together, leading a sorrowful Emory through the crowd and to the elevator banks. They rode down to their room in silence, and Emory didn’t dare look up, even when the door clicked shut behind him.
“Emory.” Graham pulled him to the bed and pushed him down, then he knelt at Emory’s feet and waited for him to look.
Looking at Graham was harder than he expected, as if there was a weight the size of his own doubt and insecurity resting on the top of his dead and stopping him.
“Everything is good,” he said softly, blinking, then becoming annoyed his eyelashes were sticking together.
“Is it?”
“I mean, everything is good the way it is. I’ve never wanted…never wanted more.”
“But you think of him and me as still being married,” Calvin said from the other side of the room. He rested against the dresser with his arms folded over his broad chest. Emory managed a look at him, noticing for the first time how unbearably handsome Calvin looked in burgundy and silver.
“You know you wore that color on our first date?” he asked.
Calvin looked down his nose, plucking the material of his shirt away from his stomach and letting it fall back. “Did I?”
Emory nodded. “And khaki pants.”
“I’m glad you threw away all his khaki,” Graham said, and Emory turned his attention to him.
Finally.
“You didn’t answer,” Calvin interrupted.
“I’ve always…I don’t know. I mean, I know you’ve not been married since we’ve been together. I know you finalized the divorce, but I’ve always thought of you as husbands.”
“As each other’s husband, or yours?”
Emory bit his bottom lip between his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut, pressing the pads of his fingers against his eyelids until he saw stars. He hadn’t ever put much thought into it, one way or the other. Calvin and Graham were husbands and they were together, and Emory didn’t know if he’d ever thought of himself as a third leg in this husband triangle, but even if he had or hadn’t, he didn’t feel like he’d been missing out on anything.
He shrugged.
Graham stood up, his knees cracking as he straightened to his full height. He walked away from Emory, and Emory tried to pretend his heart didn’t skip a beat. He studied Graham’s back as he talked to Calvin with hushed tones and quick glances. He was antsy, his legs suddenly feeling like they had enough energy to run a full marathon.
He drummed the tips of his fingers against the space between his upper lip and his nostrils, and then Graham and Calvin turned toward him, hands joined and expressions wary.
“I don’t know how it’s gone on so long, but we’ve obviously failed you,” Graham squeezed Calvin’s hand, but his stare was focused on Emory.
“No.” Emory frowned, pulling his long legs onto the bed so he sat cross-legged. “It’s not, it’s not like that.”
Calvin moved. He shouldered his way in front of Graham and shoved Emory onto his back. He climbed up, one thick thigh on either side of Emory’s slim legs, and he pressed the heels of his hands against Emory’s chest to hold him down. Emory’s nostrils flared and Calvin jerked his ha
nds, pushing harder, more insistent.
“How can you say that?” he asked softly, well aware of the hurt that showed on his face. “After all this time?”
“I’ve just always…ever since I found out the two of you were married, I’ve always thought of you as being married.”
“But you’ve never thought of yourself as being part of that?” Graham asked from behind him. “Even though Calvin and I divorced?”
“It’s ridiculous, I know.” Emory closed his eyes, and Calvin chewed on the inside of his cheek as he watched the lines around Emory’s mouth deepen as he slipped into a frown.
“That’s why we wanted to do this.” Calvin lowered himself down so his chest pressed against Emory’s and he could mouth his words against the warm shell of Emory’s ear. “Because Graham and I are nothing without you. It doesn’t matter that he and I had a past before you. We had no future without you.”
“You know I would marry you,” Emory whispered.
“Then what?”
“You just put me on the spot, boss.”
“It was him.” Calvin smiled, and Emory’s muscles relaxed. “He has a habit of that.”
“Stop whispering about me,” Graham grumbled.
Clothing rustled, and then Graham was there, between them. His hands snaked between their bodies and Calvin and Graham both inhaled sharp breaths, Graham’s hands circling around their cocks at the same time.
“I don’t need Elvis to tell me either of you is my husband.”
Calvin knew Graham was speaking, but the words were lost as pleasure flooded his brain.One of them undid his zipper and then hot fingers grabbed him again. His hands slipped off Emory’s shoulders, landing on the mattress, and as his back arched, his cock dragged along Emory’s, already hard and ready.
“You’re both stubborn,” Graham grunted, and Calvin realized he was naked. “This ends now. I’m not doing this again. Take off your clothes. Both of you.”
The frown lines around Emory’s mouth faded and a small laugh puffed out of his mouth. With shaking hands, he undid the buttons of his shirt and pushed around Calvin so he could sit up. He shrugged out of his shirt and shimmied out of his pants. Emory’s cock slapped against his stomach. Calvin undressed, and they both turned expectant expressions toward Graham, who still had on his slacks.
Graham dropped lube beside Calvin’s hand and stepped back.
“Make love to your husband,” Graham said, his voice rough and jagged. “To my husband.”
Emory’s cheeks turned red and he blinked slowly, and when his eyes opened, his stare was trained on Calvin.
“Emory, do it the way you know he likes,” Graham instructed.
“And how do I like?” Calvin chuckled, reaching for the lube.
“Like this,” Emory answered. He snaked his hand around the back of Calvin’s neck and hauled him down, crashing their mouths together. Emory swallowed Calvin’s surprised noise and kissed him until Calvin forgot what he was there to do. Emory spread his legs, opening himself, and Calvin’s cock slipped between the warm crevice of Emory’s cheeks. Calvin loved it, loved this, this feeling, this man.
He fumbled with the lube, but Graham was there, taking the bottle from him and squirting some into his palm. He reached down and swirled his fingers around Emory’s hole, slipping in with ease.
“I prepped earlier.” Emory arched off the bed, his muscles clenching around Calvin’s fingers. “I got ready for you. I’m ready.”
Emory slanted their mouths back together because that was what Calvin liked, so Calvin gave Emory what he liked—an ass full of dick. Behind them, Graham grunted approvingly. Emory’s arms wrapped around Calvin’s back and held him. His fingers were warm, though his touch felt desperate, and Calvin buried himself as deep as he could, as if that would offer Emory any of the reassurance he’d needed, but never asked for.
“I’m so in love with you,” he whispered against Emory’s ear. “You’re as much mine as he is. Fuck. Please know that.”
“I do, I just…”
“Make room,” Graham’s voice came quietly from behind them, and Calvin wasn’t sure how Graham meant for him to move until he felt Emory open up as his legs spread wider, and then Graham’s heat was behind him, a teasing finger against his own hole. “Now I’m going to make love to both of my husbands, the way they like.”
Graham’s slick cock pressed against his rim, stretching him with excruciating slowness. His body jerked, and when Graham seated himself, he pumped his hips, pushing Calvin that much deeper into Emory’s body.
“The two of you,” Emory murmured, his eyes squeezed closed.
Graham pulled one of Emory’s hands away from Calvin’s back and lifted it to his mouth. He pressed kisses against Emory’s fingertips, then started to move. The position had Calvin feeling overwhelmed, over loved, and completely fucking consumed.
There were no words exchanged, just hot breaths and moans between them. Graham’s weight behind him and inside of him stretched him open, pushing him into Emory, who had yet to open his eyes since he’d closed them. Calvin brushed Emory’s hair out of his face, fingertips resting against his temple.
“Look at me,” he whispered.
Emory’s lashes fluttered, but didn’t give way.
“Us,” Graham grunted, his cock swelling. “Look at us.”
Emory finally opened his eyes. Behind Calvin, Graham stilled. His exhales puffed against Calvin’s ear, and Emory blinked up, looking at him until his eyes pooled with tears that spilled down the sides of his face. Graham still didn’t move, but Calvin heard him swallow, and Emory cried more, a muffled sob ripping out of his throat.
“Make my husband come,” Graham whispered.
Emory tightened his inner muscles around Calvin’s cock just as Calvin shifted, pumping his hips forward. He fucked himself on Graham’s cock while fucking Emory with his own, and he realized in that moment, at Graham’s instruction, they’d both begun to move, taking the command as their own.
“Fuck,” Graham exhaled, straightening and making room for Calvin to really move between them, so he did.
Emory reached for him, his tongue spearing into Calvin’s mouth. Their teeth clashed, the kiss quickly turning desperate as each of them worked to get the other off. Behind Calvin, Graham’s cock thickened, pulsing inside of him. Hot jets of cum painted the depths of his channel, the sensation of being filled pushing him to do the same to Emory. A choked cry fell out of his throat, landing against Emory’s lips. He shoved a hand between them to get Emory the rest of the way there, finding his cock already sticky with his release.
Calvin collapsed forward, using his hips and his knees to hold as much of his weight as he could, and he became aware of hands on him, but he didn’t know if they were Graham’s or Emory’s, and he imagined…that was the point.
Graham was thankful to be back in Edgewood. He hoped the return to normalcy would bring things back to center for the three of them, and while he didn’t see any more hints of discomfort or concern from Emory, he wasn’t convinced. He hadn’t noticed them in the first place, and he worried he was falling back into the same sort of thing that had sent his marriage with Calvin into a state of disrepair.
Emory was in the shower, Calvin was in the kitchen, and Graham stood in front of their shared dresser. His and Calvin’s old wedding rings were loose on his pointer finger and he looped the pad of his finger against his thumb, sliding the rings back and forth. The metal clinked softly, and when the door to the bathroom opened, he stilled, clutching the rings in the palm of his hand.
He listened to Emory’s soft footfalls across the carpet, and then Emory was beside him, and he was naked. Graham held Emory’s stare in the mirror, not turning away first.
“You know, I never thought I’d get married,” Emory said quietly.
“There was a time I never thought I could.”
Emory winced, and Graham held out his fist. Emory raised his palm and Graham dropped the rings. Emory’s coloring was paler
than his and Calvin’s, the gold shining like an actual treasure against his skin.
“There was a time…” He cleared his throat. “There was a time when these meant everything.”
“Do they not now?”
“You’ve put it into perspective.” Graham plucked the rings from Emory’s grasp and set them down on the dresser.
“How so?”
“I’ve loved Calvin for so long.” Graham swallowed, turning his attention to Emory’s actual face, not his reflection. Something crashed in the kitchen, and Calvin cursed loud enough for them both to hear it in the bedroom. Emory smiled and dipped his chin, looking shy, which was hilarious to Graham since Emory was naked and still wet from his shower.
“Those rings didn’t change how much I loved him. On or off, before or after. I’ll never not love him, and I’ll never not love you.”
“Is it important to you, though?” Emory grimaced. “I feel like I ruined things in Vegas by not jumping at the idea of it.”
“I thought it was,” he admitted, tipping Emory’s chin up. “But I think maybe I’m old, and it’s not as important as it used to be.”
“Don’t do that.” Emory stepped closer and slipped his arms around Graham’s waist, resting his cheek against Graham’s chest. “Don’t downplay it.”
“It was a bad idea,” Graham said.
“Stop,” Emory groaned, pressing their mouths together and kissing Graham into silence. “I have to send some files to Bob, but you need to promise me you’re not going to keep over thinking this.”
“You know I can’t do that.” He shrugged helplessly.
“I’m going to find a way to make this right,” Emory vowed.
“It’s already right,” Graham assured him. “It’s perfect.”
Emory rolled his eyes and hip-checked Graham out of the way so he could get a pair of underwear out of the dresser. He dressed quickly and left Graham alone, staring at the rings and his own reflection.
Secrets in Edgewood: The Complete Series Page 72
