Should she ask?
She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head at her line of thinking. What the hell? Since when was a man the boss of her?
She opened her eyes and studied that man as his trim, muscular body pushed and pulled like the midnight tide, his dark fingers digging into Trevor’s hips.
Up to now, she’d been fine with every order Damon had given. While Trevor craved that relinquishment of control, allowing Damon to dictate their relationship in and out of bed, Mac wasn’t so sure she was ready to allow Damon to rule her life. And maybe never would be. But in bed, so far at least... it had been worth it.
Watching the men wasn’t like watching porn stars on screen who were only doing a job. No, the two of them together were more like a ballet with two male leads. The give and take, the flex of muscles, the coordinated movements, along with the sounds of pleasure rising between them like the symphony of an orchestra. It was a dance, a very old, familiar dance, recently rediscovered and currently enjoyed. Not only by them, but by her.
She was fortunate to watch something so beautiful, so moving, but also something that got her blood rushing, boiling. The orgasm she had earlier was only the appetizer. She hoped to be able to enjoy the meal as well.
However, until she was asked to join them, she wouldn’t.
She would remain in the chair and watch, while waiting for the invitation.
No, he wouldn’t ask... He would demand.
His deep voice would tell her to “come.”
And a few minutes later, that was exactly what she heard.
Chapter 19
Damon was late. He informed Mac and Trevor he would meet them at the Ward’s house as soon as he could.
He introduced himself to Gryffin Ward upon the man opening the door.
“I figured out who you were as soon as I opened the door,” Gryff said with a laugh.
Damon shrugged and smiled. “It’s probably not often you have another threesome showing up for dinner.”
“You might be surprised,” was all he said. “Gryffin Ward.” He held out his hand.
Damon took it and gave it a firm shake.
Gryff stepped back and swept a hand toward the interior in invitation. “A pilot, I’m told.”
“Yes. And that’s why I’m late.”
“Nothing wrong with working hard to provide for your family.”
Damon opened his mouth to tell the man that he didn’t have a family, but quickly shut it. Maybe the man assumed that Damon was living with Trevor and Mac and they were a family unit.
He wasn’t sure just how much the Wards knew of their situation. “I assumed MacKenzie’s friend explained why we wanted to meet with you.”
“You mean my sister?” Gryff asked with another deep laugh as he walked down the hallway that led from the large foyer. “Gia said a lot of things, but most of it I tuned out. However, when I saw Mac at Grae’s house, I had given her an open invitation to come to dinner. That invitation includes her partners.”
Her partners.
They stepped into a living room with a huge stone fireplace. He spotted Trevor sitting on a leather couch close to Mac, who was leaning into him, one hand on his thigh.
Appearing very cozy.
Without him.
Damon tamped down the odd feeling that was attempting to rise. This would not work if there was any type of jealousy, he reminded himself. He didn’t need the Wards to tell him that.
He stepped behind them, placing one hand on Trevor’s shoulder and the other on Mac’s.
That didn’t go unnoticed by the others in the room. But for some reason, Damon felt the need to establish who belonged to whom.
“My apologies. One of my flights was delayed. It screwed up my whole schedule.” He leaned in between the two and pressed a kiss to Mac’s temple first, then one to Trevor’s. As he straightened, he repeated, “I’m sorry I’m late,” to a beautiful woman sitting across the room in a man’s lap. A man who seemed to be the exact opposite of well put-together, refined Gryffin Ward.
Gryff waved a dismissing hand. “It’s fine. What Trey made for dinner will keep. Please, have a seat and I’ll get you a glass of wine. Or would beer be better?”
“A beer would be perfect.”
After Gryff disappeared, the man in the chair tapped the woman’s hip and she rose and crossed the room with her hand out. “Rayne Jordan.”
He was surprised how firm her handshake was. “Damon Brooks.”
The man approached next with his hand extended. “Trey Holloway.”
As Damon clasped it, he said, “I thought you looked familiar.”
“Okay.” Rayne lifted a hand. “Let’s get this over with quickly. Super Bowl Champion. MVP of the game. Former star quarterback for the Boston Bulldogs. Now that’s settled, there’s no need to talk football, thank you.” When Trey opened his mouth, Rayne covered it with her hand, shaking her head. “No football tonight. That’s not why they’re here.”
“I love football,” Trevor said from the couch.
“Not tonight you don’t. You’re welcome to come over another time if you want to see the ring, the video and whatever else Trey kisses goodnight before bed. But tonight, we have more interesting things to talk about.”
Damon wisely kept his mouth shut as Trey began to protest but appeared to change his mind and hold his words when the woman arched an eyebrow at him.
Damon swore he heard a whip cracking. He pinned his lips together to hide his grin.
Gryff returned with a pint glass of amber beer and handed it to Damon. “Why don’t we move into the dining room? We can talk over dinner.” He glanced at his... Damon wasn’t sure what Trey Holloway was to Gryff. He tried to remember what they said on TV. His lover? Husband? Partner? “T, let’s you and I go into the kitchen and bring out dinner while Rayne gets everyone settled at the table.”
Damon’s eyes slid from Rayne to Trey to Gryff. For a minute, he thought Rayne might be the dominant in the relationship, but now he was beginning to wonder.
While the two men disappeared, Rayne, who reminded him of a voluptuous pin-up model with auburn hair—nowhere near as red as Mac’s—led them through the living room into a dining room with a long table already set.
He was surprised to see no chairs at either end of the table. The settings were placed three and three down the long sides.
Rayne must have caught his surprised look. “When it’s just the three of us, it doesn’t matter. When we have guests, especially another threesome, this is how I set it. Where everyone is equal. I always sit in between Trey and Gryff. Mac will sit between you and Trevor.”
Her words were not left to interpretation. That was exactly how she wanted them to sit.
“How often do you entertain other threesomes?”
“Often. Especially between Gryff’s brother, Grae, and Trey’s sister, Liv, who is in a polyamory relationship with one of our senior attorneys and our firm’s private investigator.”
“Have I been living under a rock? I had no idea how common this was.”
Rayne shrugged. “Please, everyone sit. The boys will bring in the dishes soon.” As Mac and Trevor took their seats, with Mac in a center chair, Rayne turned back to Damon. “It’s more common than you’d think. Normally, it’s not out in the open. However, Trey’s still in the public eye, even though he has retired from the NFL, so we couldn’t hide it. Eli, Grant and Olivia tend to keep their relationship quiet as much as possible. Grae, Connor and Paige,” Rayne lifted a shoulder. “Honestly, I don’t think they care who knows. Logan, who is Paige’s bother, and his partners, Ty and Quinn are out. It’s hard to hide it once you have children and the children end up, one,” she lifted a finger, “not the same skin tone as their siblings and two, in school. Especially when three parents of a child show up at a teacher-parent conference. And they’re not the only triads we know. If you know anything about football, you’ve heard of ‘Long Arm’ Landis.”
Damn, was there a threesome club the
y needed to join? To pay dues to?
“Yes, he hooked up with a fellow player, right? Cole Dixon. But I thought they were gay?”
Rayne shook her head. “Bi. Both of them. Their wife Eve just had their second child.”
Their second child.
Their child.
Rayne laughed and took a seat in the center chair across from Mac. “That’s just the triads we know personally. I’m sure there are plenty out there we don’t know. Foursomes, even. Polyamory is more wide-spread than most realize. But like any typical relationship, it takes work.”
Gryff, with Trey on his heels, entered the dining room carrying large bowls and plates full of food.
As they placed them in the center of the table, Gryff said, “To be honest, I fought this relationship. I wanted Rayne, but Trey was a loose cannon. An out of control football player I didn’t want to get involved with, especially in my line of work since I’m a high-profile defense attorney. And I wasn’t even into men.”
“You were into me.” Trey reminded him.
“You were never with men before Trey?” Mac asked with surprise. “Honestly, I had no idea either you or Grae were even bisexual. It wasn’t something Gia ever mentioned. Not that she had a reason to bring it up.”
Trey settled into the chair to Rayne’s left and put an arm around her shoulders. “Don’t let him fool you, he was, he just kept it secret.”
Gryff sat to Rayne’s right in the seat across from Damon. “In college, I... It doesn’t matter now. I love T. And these two were stubborn enough to make me see what we could have together. I’m glad they opened my eyes. Now I wouldn’t have it any other way. We’re bonded and unbreakable, even though I sometimes still want to strangle him.”
Trey lifted his hand from Rayne’s shoulder and touched Gryff’s, teasing, “You love me.”
Gryff sighed and grabbed the plate of ham in front of him. “I just said I did.” He jabbed a piece with a fork and plunked it on his plate before passing it across the table to Damon. “Like Rayne said, it takes work. Most couples have their moments, but add a third person into the mix...”
“Yeah, but the sex is hot,” Trey said.
“That it is,” Trevor agreed at the other end of the table.
“I’m not talking about sex. Normal day-to-day stuff. Household finances. Laundry. Groceries.” Gryff cleared his throat and gave Trey a pointed look. “Someone forgetting to take out the garbage.”
Rayne scooped some roasted potatoes onto her plate. “And then sometimes it’s two against one when it comes to a disagreement...” She shook her head and passed the dish to Gryff.
“You three work together, too. That must be difficult. Never getting a break from each other?” Mac asked, grabbing a roll from a basket being passed.
“Yes, however, we own a large law firm, so it’s not like we’re breathing down each other’s neck. We’re busy since we each have our own cases,” Rayne said. She patted Gryff lightly on his back. “Though, Gryff is the boss and doesn’t take many cases anymore. He does all the boss-like things since he enjoys being bossy.”
Gryff leaned over and whispered something into Rayne’s ear that the rest of them couldn’t hear. Though Damon could pretty much guess what it pertained to, especially when they both smiled.
“Any plans for kids?” Trevor asked, after scooching a little in his seat.
Damon looked past Mac to Trevor. Did Trevor want kids? That was something they never discussed in the past. But...
His gaze landed on Mac who kept her gaze carefully on her plate. With Mac in the picture, kids could be a possibility in the future.
He sat back in his chair as that possibility hit him.
Did he want kids? He was in his late thirties now and had a career in which he wasn’t always home. Did he want to become a father this late in the game?
Trevor and Mac were younger than him. And there would be three adults raising children instead of just two...
“I want babies,” Trey said. “Especially after seeing Reed and Rylie. If Rayne could duplicate those exact results, it would be perfect.”
“First of all, there is no way I want to carry or push out twins,” Rayne said. “Second, I have a career.”
“We could set up a daycare at the firm for all the employees,” Gryff suggested.
Rayne’s head twisted toward him. “What?”
“Well, with Liv about to give birth any day, she brought up that idea.”
“I never said I wanted kids,” Rayne mumbled under her breath. She glanced around the table. “And now is not the time for that kind of discussion.”
“Okay. So talk of football and kids are now verboten,” Trey said and shoved a forkful of ham into his mouth. “But I vote for knocking up Rayne soon.”
“T,” Gryff growled. “We’ll discuss it another time.”
“Sorry,” Mac said. “We didn’t mean to cause any problems.”
“You’re not. But you just saw firsthand how it can be two against one,” Rayne told her. “I have a feeling I’ll be outvoted on this issue.”
“We’ll talk about it another time,” Gryff said again, more firmly.
“Yes, Boss,” Rayne said, grabbing her glass of wine and taking a long sip.
Boss. Damon studied Gryff. He was definitely the dominant in their relationship. But he could pretty well guess that neither Rayne or Trey were very submissive.
In fact, Trey seemed like a handful. He’d had a bad rep when he was playing football since he seemed to always be in some sort of trouble.
“What about the legal stuff? Marriage? Children?” Damon asked Gryff. Since there were three lawyers sitting across the table, it couldn’t hurt to ask, in case things went in that direction.
“Polygamy is still illegal. But everyone we know has had a commitment ceremony with rings and declaring their love and loyalty to one another. While it’s a good idea if at least two of the three get legally married, it’s not required. It just makes things a bit easier when it comes to certain legal issues,” Rayne said. “Logan and Quinn are legally married and as much as Logan and Ty are both fathers to their children, the DNA donor is listed on the birth certificates.”
“The DNA donor?” Trevor asked, frowning.
“Right, so if it’s your sperm who makes the baby with Mac, then you’re legally listed as the father on the birth certificate. If it’s Damon, then he’s listed,” Trey clarified. “But no matter what the birth certificate says, the children are raised by both fathers and their mother. They try to avoid all other distinction, like which baby came from whose sperm.”
“Connor and Paige were already married when they met Grae. Eli and Grant were already married when they met Trey’s sister, Liv. They also recently had a small commitment ceremony,” Gryff said.
“To bond them together in their hearts,” Rayne added with a small smile.
“Which of the three of you are married?” Mac asked them.
“None. We had a commitment ceremony, exchanged rings and vows, and that was it. We all made that decision together. None of us wanted to choose who married whom,” Rayne answered.
“What about...” Mac’s face turned a bright shade of red. “What about when...”
Damon reached under the table and squeezed her knee. Her hand covered his and squeezed back.
“I think she’s trying to ask about sex,” Trevor said. “Are there issues when the three of you aren’t together? Do you wait? If you don’t wait and it’s just two of you, does that create any issues? Or doesn’t it matter?”
“Since none of us travel for work like Grae and Connor, we try to always include the three of us, but it’s not always possible. Also, sometimes someone can be in a snit,” Gryff glanced down the table at Trey, “and Rayne and I will go upstairs early. Though, when that happens, someone gets out of his snit pretty damn quickly when he realizes what he’s missing out on.” He laughed. “But, seriously, sometimes it does happen. Someone is working late or is too exhausted or sick. None o
f us has a problem with the other two being intimate without us.” Gryff lifted a finger. “As long as it isn’t an ongoing thing. Intimacy is very important between the three of us. And every other threesome we know. While there’s more to a relationship than just sex and intimacy, it’s definitely an important part of the glue that binds us together.”
“Communication in and out of bed is important, too,” Rayne added, taking another sip of wine. “If something is bothering us, we talk about it. We don’t let it fester. If we’re going to have an argument—we are lawyers, after all—then it’s better just to get it out, get it over with and not go to bed angry or let something eat at us.”
“Do you all sleep in the same bed or do you keep separate rooms for nights when you need a break?” Damon asked.
“Same room, same bed, always. We wouldn’t want it any differently. I suggest if this is all new to you, you do the same.”
“You must have a pretty big bed,” Trevor said.
“It’s custom made.” Gryff’s eyes met Damon’s. “I’ll give you the guy’s name. He’s made a few.”
Did Gryff assume that Damon would be making all the decisions, or most of them, in his relationship with Trevor and Mac? Or was it obvious?
Damon gave him a little chin lift. “I’d appreciate that. We’ll need it.” He flipped his hand over and Mac intertwined her slender fingers with his.
“Do you three already live together?” Trey asked.
“No, not yet. Trevor and I had in the past, but we’ve only...” Damon let that drift off, not wanting to get into the dirty details.
“They just rekindled their relationship,” Mac finished for him. “It just so happened to be around the same time Damon and I met.”
Damon noticed Gryff carefully studying Mac as he stated, “They have history.”
“Yes,” Mac answered, ignoring Gryff’s intense stare.
While Gryff was only looking out for Mac since they knew each other for a long time, still... The way he said that made Damon bristle. It was in a tone that questioned Mac’s decision. Or at least indicated that Mac should be cautious.
A Daring Journey: The Dare Menage Series, Book 6 Page 22
