Come Alive

by Madelynne Ellis

  ‘We agreed to her terms, Luthor.’

  ‘Terms that seem to keep on changing.’

  Xane touched his face, but the caress wasn’t enough to even begin to soothe his sudden irritation.

  ‘So you’re not up for christening one of these sofas, then?’

  Xane swiftly withdrew his hand and shook his head, making the long strands of his hair sway. ‘Not funny.’

  ‘It wasn’t a joke. I want you, and there’s no one around right now for us to disturb, and it’s not like we can save it until we’re alone in our room because we don’t have a room. You and Dani have a room, and I have a berth in a shed that I have to share with Rock Giant, who appears to have decided I’m the new punch bag.’

  ‘Luthor, I’m not going to go back on my word.’

  Luthor grasped the decorative belt that was looped obliquely around Xane’s hips, and jerked him forward so there was barely an inch of space between them. ‘I never asked you to. You’ve a mobile phone, don’t you? Call her. Ask her permission.’

  ‘That’s not such a good plan.’

  ‘Isn’t it?’

  The man wanted him. Desire burned in the black hearts of Xane’s surprisingly contact-lens-free eyes. His muscles were tensed, but tellingly, despite his protest, Xane didn’t attempt to widen the gap between them, or dislodge Luthor’s hold on his belt.

  ‘Why isn’t it, Xane? You’re not going to be asking for anything she didn’t agree to, and if she feels the need to watch, then she has only to sprint across the grass and she can drink down her fill of us.’

  ‘Don’t press me to do this.’

  The way Xane was staring at his mouth almost moved him to throw caution and promises to the wind and kiss him as if his life depended on it. Xane Geist wanted him. And being wanted by him … it was something. More than a few people had fainted over the mere possibility of catching this man’s attention.

  ‘You don’t want this? You’re not interested in the offer?’ He smiled. Apparently that was all it really took to capture Xane’s interest. Or maybe it was the promise of sexual intimacy that went with it. Either way, it was like catnip. Xane was suddenly raising his hands, grabbing him, holding him, tilting his head so that they were so close he could taste the other man’s breath. ‘Call her, Xane, or don’t call her. I don’t mind which, but at least acknowledge this is what you want.’

  Xane licked his lips, leaving a delicious smear of moisture over them.

  God, it’d be so easy just to lean in and taste him. ‘Another time. Not tonight.’

  ‘Right now. Let’s break the ice.’

  ‘Don’t,’ he pleaded, in a way that made it sound like he wanted Luthor to do the exact opposite.

  Still holding on to Xane’s belt, Luthor stuck his thumb out so that it made contact with the low-slung denim clinging to Xane’s narrow hips. It was such an incredibly small movement, yet it left Xane gasping for air. He shifted, obviously uncomfortable.

  Luthor didn’t need to look down to know his teasing had produced the desired effect. He knew it from the lightning flashes of pain and desire forking across Xane’s pupils.

  Here was a man whose unapologetic animal magnetism entranced crowds of thousands, whose acceptance of his own sexuality and needs was so overt that it was almost contagious, and yet he was locked into a stalemate of his own creation. Horny and erect and completely willing – if there wasn’t just a small matter of his genuine love for his girlfriend, which was slamming the brakes on him doing anything.

  ‘Just call and ask her, Xane.’

  A tiny, almost imperceptible stroke of Luthor’s finger made a line of sweat rise across Xane’s brow.

  ‘No. I won’t hurt her, Luthor. She’s not ready for this.’

  ‘I’m not trying to hurt her. I’m perfectly happy for her to join us.’

  Xane’s muscles shook with tension. Luthor adjusted his stance so that his loins rubbed against Xane’s trapped erection. Xane’s hand fisted in the front of Luthor’s shirt, so that they were nose to nose, almost lip to lip, and their heated breaths mingling in the inch of space between their open mouths.

  ‘I understand that she’s scared, but there’s no threat to her here. We both know that, because we both want the same things. The only way the three of us are ever going to achieve happiness together is if we push beyond our comfort zones.’

  ‘She needs time. She’s still dealing with the idea of the two of us being together.’

  ‘I think she’s trying to bury her head in the sand and is hoping the problem will just go away. I guess you didn’t notice how she acted on the boat ride over. She did her level best not to look at me. And for two people who are supposed to be friends, we exchanged a shockingly poor version of a hello.’

  ‘Nerves,’ Xane muttered in her defence. ‘This whole situation scares the shit out of her. You don’t understand what she’s come from. How all this plays on her deepest fears. If I … we push this thing too hard, then she’ll run. I won’t risk losing her, Luthor. She means too much and it’s come too close to that once already.’

  Luthor let his gaze drop to an inch right of his thumb tip. ‘So what’s the plan – suffer in silence and hope for a miracle?’

  ‘I don’t see any other way.’

  Luthor shook his head sadly. ‘Then this is going to get fucking painful.’ He squeezed the tip of Xane’s cock, then turned and took the same way out the rest of the guys had taken. There didn’t seem much point in staying.

  He made it as far as the entrance before Xane caught up with him.

  ‘I’ll talk to her.’

  ‘You should. You should definitely do that.’

  ‘Luthor.’ Xane spun him so that they were facing again. ‘This isn’t easy. Please don’t be a bastard about it.’

  ‘I’m not trying to be. I just feel as if we’ve moved backwards in the time we’ve spent apart. We’re back to her making appalled faces at me because I openly admit I want a piece of you.’

  ‘That’s not how it is.’

  Luthor pressed his open palm against the still prominent swell of Xane’s erection, making the other man hiss. His eyes briefly closed before snapping open again.

  ‘It’s exactly how it is. I want to fuck you, Xane. I want to bend you over the nearest goddamned piece of furniture and fuck you until we’re both exhausted and it hurts to move. I’ve waited so damned long that it makes me half-crazy just being this near to you. I don’t want to rip your world apart, so I’ll try and hold myself in check, but at some point down the line I’m not going to care whether Dani approves or not any more.’

  ‘I love her,’ Xane whispered, the statement so soft it caressed Luthor’s lips as evocatively as any kiss. Luthor swallowed the sensation, along with the choking feel of gathering tears. ‘What about me?’ he wanted to ask, but didn’t. ‘Don’t you care about me?’

  The questions must have been written across his face, for Xane bent forward and captured him, sliding one hand behind his neck and another around his back. The kiss shook Luthor to the core. It was over too quick, but there was a promise interwoven with the clash of their tongues. A promise of better times to come, and feelings that sat beyond the range of even the most desperate declarations of affection.

  ‘Give it time, Luthor. You’ll get what you want. I promise you that.’

  Another kiss, that’s what he wanted, and a body to slide into bed beside. He held Xane tight, stole several more illicit kisses and got higher and higher on every one.

  ‘No,’ Xane insisted, eventually shoving him away. ‘We have to do this without being dicks about it.’

  They stared at one another, mouths open, both breathing hard. ‘Who’s going to know if I suck your dick right here and now?’

  Xane swallowed so that his Adam’s apple bobbed. ‘I will, and then she will because I’ll tell her. A promise is a promise, Luthor. We’ll have our time soon, and when it comes, I definitely won’t be turning down the offer of a blowjob.’

  If only
promises came with a timescale attached.

  For now, he guessed the prospect of planting lip prints all over Xane’s rock-hard cock would have to sustain him.

  He gave Xane’s shaft another friendly squeeze, then backed up. ‘’Night, Xane. If you change your mind in the small hours, you know where to find me.’

  ‘Chickensville. Let’s hope I can tell the difference between your arse and Paul’s in the dark.’

  ‘Maybe aim for the tackle instead.’

  A warm chuckle wormed its way out of Xane’s throat. ‘Good suggestion. There’s no mistaking donkey dick.’

  ‘Are you implying I’m not packing much?’

  ‘Your dick is fucking perfect. I don’t let just anyone slide into me, you know.’

  ‘Wish I believed that.’

  ‘Believe it.’ Xane held up several fingers, and regarded him soberly. ‘I can count the times on one … two hands.’

  ‘Then I’ll count myself privileged.’

  ‘You do that.’

  ‘I already do.’

  Chapter 6

  Xane left the recording studio and wandered along the shore. The sun had finally set and he had to pick his way carefully along the unfamiliar path. It hurt like hell to walk away. Seriously, walking away from an offer of sex that he actually wanted ran counter to his natural programming. However, it was the only sensible option if he ever wanted things to work out between the three of them. And, if he was being honest, he seriously doubted Dani was ever going to agree to a genuine ménage à trois relationship. She had too many physical and emotional hangups, and any attraction she might feel towards Luthor she was doing her damnedest to bury.

  In a way her lack of interest in the other man pleased him. After what he’d gone through with Elspeth and Steve, it was a relief to know his girlfriend only had eyes for him. If he was being entirely honest, he had major doubts about the idea of her and Luthor ever getting it on. Hypocritical, much, and he knew it, but justifiably. The announcement of Elspeth and Steve’s marriage still filled his mouth with a bitter taste, despite knowing there’d been no happily-ever-after because Steve was gone.

  Gone, and he felt the loss far more deeply than he let on. He and Steve had been friends … close friends … the best of friends since they were kids. That loss sometimes felt like losing an arm. He knew that the guys, Ash and Spook, still thought this thing he had with Dani and Luthor was really just a rebound relationship. It wasn’t. Leastways, he didn’t believe it to be, and he had actually thought about it. What convinced him were his physical responses. Dani – he still couldn’t get enough of her after – what was it now? Over six months? And Luthor’s efforts still had him packing dynamite while he was contemplating all this shit.

  He let his feet come to a natural rest on the jetty. The water of the lake was smooth and inky. Xane considered taking a plunge and working off his agitation with a swim. Even the most stubborn erection could usually be felled by a dunk in some icy water. On the other hand, considering what his luck had been like recently, did he really want to risk being caught by a hidden current?

  Having decided against the risk, Xane turned towards the house and opted for the most obvious course for any man in his current position. He went to find his girlfriend.

  Xane entered the building via the veranda and spotted Dani through the window, sitting in the open-plan living room, curled up on one of the huge squishy leather sofas, sporting a pair of his thick socks with her cute summer dress. Ginny was similarly posed beside her and the two were supping what he suspected was hot chocolate with all the extras.

  Awkward.

  He’d been banking on Dani being alone, and in their bedroom. If he walked in now and ushered her down the hall, he was going to look like a goddamned caveman. Then again, there were worse things than being labelled an alpha jerk, like extreme oxygen deprivation to the brain, which was currently a major risk because of the dynamite in his pants.

  Irritably, he tried to adjust his jeans so that the back of the zip wasn’t biting the entire length of his cock. The attempt was a complete failure, leaving him with only one option – to let it all hang out.

  Well, not exactly hang out … but less pressure and expansion space were critical.

  He busted open his fly.

  Jeezus, the relief!

  The kiss of the cool night air was pure fucking bliss. Xane gave himself a comforting squeeze, making his cock buck in pleasure and a shiver zap down to his toes. Luthor’s mouth around him would have been pure fucking magic. He licked his lips at the thought. Of course, sliding into Dani would be equally glorious.

  He tugged his T-shirt down so that he wasn’t going to flash anyone and then stepped inside.

  What did it matter if Ginny thought he was a caveman? She was hooked up with Ash, the man who until recently routinely screwed three different women a night.

  He swaggered across to them and presented himself. ‘Mind if I steal you away?’ he asked Dani.

  She peeped up at him, plump lips parted, and her eyes widened to the size of saucers. ‘God, Xane!’ She clamped her hand over her mouth, as she stared, not at him, but the impression of his cock clearly visible through his T-shirt. Seems he’d forgotten to take into account the fact that the bloody thing was near skin-tight. ‘That’s obscene.’

  ‘Take him to bed,’ Ginny cackled, waving Dani towards him. ‘Do it before I’m tempted to take a bite.’

  ‘Ginny!’ Dani screeched, hopping up off the sofa.

  ‘What? I haven’t had a decent shag in weeks, and from what I’ve heard, he not only looks pretty, he knows what to do with it too.’

  Scarlet heat suffused his lover’s cheeks.

  ‘Don’t let Ash catch you talking like that,’ Xane said.

  Ginny blew him a kiss. ‘He’s safely in bed. Besides, he knows I’m all bluster, and in any case, from what I’ve heard, he’s sucked it.’ She cast his dick a contemplative glance.

  ‘What?’ Dani croaked, as her eyes almost bugged right out of their sockets.

  ‘Ash talked a ton in his sleep while he was in the hospital. It was very enlightening.’

  Somehow Xane doubted Ash would see it that way. He preferred not to talk about their indiscretion, as he chose to refer to it.

  ‘You sucked off Ash?’ Dani accused him the moment the bedroom door closed behind them, bringing Xane’s dash towards the bed to an abrupt halt. ‘When?’

  ‘Hey.’ He backtracked to her side, and clasped her hands in his. ‘It’s not anything you didn’t already know. As for when, ages ago.’ He didn’t point out that Ginny had actually said Ash had sucked him, not the other way around.

  ‘Then why was he’

  ‘Talking about me in his sleep? I don’t know, Dani. He was drugged and confused, most likely. Or maybe he secretly still has the hots for me, what does it matter?’

  ‘Did he want you? Is that how you ended up sleeping together?’

  He could see where this train of thought was going, along the pathway of more suspicion, another man she’d best be on her guard about.

  Xane let go of her hands to gather his hair back off his face. ‘No. I just said that because …’ He shook his head. It’d been a stupid remark meant to defuse the tension, nothing more. ‘Dani, it was just one of those things between Ash and I. It was never serious. He doesn’t have any sort of secret crush on me. It was a case of I was bored and horny and he was bored and horny. Our dates skipped out on us, and it just happened. We fucked. We passed out and walked away the next morning. No big deal.’

  Except to her it was. The numerous frown lines etched around her eyes made that clear.

  ‘Was it before or after rehab?’

  ‘Dani …’ He considered, mentally turning back the clock. ‘Way before. OK? Can we forget about Ash and my scintillating sexual history now and concentrate on the present?’ And the snake in his pants that required some desperate attention.

  He pulled off his T-shirt to give her a look at what he had for her.
The sight of his erection poking up from between the open fly of his jeans certainly drew her gaze, and thankfully washed away some of the sadness from her expression.

  ‘Oh, my. That does look as if it needs immediate attention. Best you take everything off, so there are no restrictions.’

  One of the things that constantly entertained him about her was that despite her continued twitchiness about stripping off herself, she was forever trying to peel off his clothing.

  Seriously, give her any excuse.

  Her gaze devoured him as he stood up, having lost the jeans. Xane rubbed the taut flesh of his abs before tugging his nipple rings. He had to keep his hands busy somehow, since, if he touched his cock, he wasn’t going to be able to stop.

  ‘God, Xane!’ She reached out and captured him, small delicate hands brushing along his length with hideously featherlight touches. ‘What exactly inspired this?’ Her thumb grazed the tip of him, capturing a bead of precome. It was just as well he couldn’t speak at that moment, for he doubted she’d like the answer.

  ‘Oh, baby, you’re really desperate, aren’t you?’

  Total understatement. Not that he saw that as a reason to be selfish. Pleasure was always most intoxicating when it was mutual.

  He lifted her, about-turned and lowered her onto the bed. His body covered her, his hips and cock finding the perfect grooves to make them both sweat.

  ‘Dani. Oh, fuck! Dani.’ Raining kisses down on her face, her neck and breasts wasn’t nearly enough to quieten the beast. Unfastening the thousand million tiny buttons on the front of her dress required patience and dexterity he no longer possessed. Thank God, she came to his help.

  Once that was dealt with and pushed down to her waist, where her skirt was now bunched up, Xane slipped a hand beneath her back and dealt with her bra. Yes, he did it one-handed. It was an art worth mastering.