Cowboy Heat

by Mari Carr

  “You ready to talk or you plan on running off like a coward again?” Shaw asked.

  Max closed his eyes and sighed. When he opened them, he found Shaw smirking and it prodded the smartass in him. “You call me a coward again and the only one of us who’ll be running is you, from me when I beat your ass.”

  Shaw’s grin grew. “You might try,” he taunted.

  Max felt like a fool for staying away the past few days. They were best friends. Hell, more than that, they were lovers. Regardless of the issues facing them, Max had been wrong to hide, stupid to refuse to stick around and talk it out. He owed Shaw more respect than that.

  Taking a deep breath, he plunged in.

  “I was wrong. About Keri. We should have told her about us.”

  Shaw nodded and rubbed his hand over his face. The movement drew Max’s attention to the dark circles under his friend’s eyes. Clearly Shaw hadn’t been sleeping either.

  “Why didn’t you want to tell her?”

  Max shrugged. He’d considered his answer to that question all damn weekend. Now faced with it, he found his words failing. “A lot of reasons,” he finally replied.

  Shaw grabbed a chair at the kitchen table and sat down. “Tell me a few of them.”

  Max leaned against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. His mind whirled over what to say first. “I was worried she’d freak out. Demand that we take her home.”

  Shaw narrowed his eyes in annoyance. “So you are a fucking coward. Don’t you think she deserved the chance to make that call right from the beginning…without us hiding the truth?”

  Max nodded. “Like I said, I was wrong.”

  Shaw massaged his temple wearily, his tone calmer when he spoke again. “After spending Friday night with her, I don’t think she’d freak. She seems pretty liberal-minded to me. I mean, she took to the threesome idea like a fish takes to water.”

  Max shrugged. “Keri’s awesome. There’s no doubt about that. But it’s a far cry from a woman experimenting sexually with two friends to a woman entering a relationship with two bisexual men.”

  “Yeah. That’s true. But I still don’t think it’s an issue.” Shaw sighed and gestured for him to continue. “You said you had a lot of reasons for keeping the secret. I hope to hell the rest of them aren’t as dimwitted as that one.”

  “That date with her was different. I knew it the whole time we were in the bar. Usually we pick up a woman, flirt a bit, try to keep things casual, even though the whole time I’m feeling an edge of discomfort, unease. With every other woman we’ve ever shared, I felt like I was trying too hard. Nothing felt forced with Keri. Everything clicked into place. I could be myself with her.”

  Shaw nodded but he didn’t reply right away. “I felt that too, which is exactly why we should have been upfront with her. I know we’ve never had sex with each other in front of another woman, but I really feel like Keri would have understood.”

  “I shouldn’t have pushed away from you the other night.”

  “Why did you?” Shaw asked.

  Max shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  Shaw rose angrily. “Bullshit. Why don’t you stop tiptoeing around the truth, Max? Did you want to kiss me or not?”

  Max nodded.

  “Then why didn’t you?”

  Max’s temper exploded. He was riding on empty. Frustrated. Tired. “Because it wasn’t just the experience with Keri that was different!”

  Shaw raised his hands, confusion written on his face. “What the fuck does that mean?”

  “I wanted to kiss you. I wanted to make love to you.”

  Shaw didn’t move, just stared at him. “So?”

  “So, I’ve never wanted to do that before.”

  “Max. We fuck all the time.”

  Max shook his head. “You’re not listening to me. I wanted to…” He paused and licked his lips. His mouth was suddenly dry and his heart was racing. “I wanted to make love to you.”

  Shaw paused, his shoulders slumping as he expelled a long breath. Max forced himself to remain quiet. He refused to break the silence with backtracking or false denials, even though his head was screaming at him to abort, pull out now.

  Finally Shaw moved. He took a step closer and then another. He didn’t stop until he was standing right in front of Max.

  “I wouldn’t have minded.”

  Max blinked twice, trying to make sure he’d heard Shaw correctly. “You wouldn’t have?”

  Shaw shook his head. He bent forward slowly and pressed his lips to Max’s, proving the truth of his statement, not with words but with action. Max returned the kiss. For the first time, neither of them fought for dominance or to prove their strength. They simply touched, shared, gave.

  “I want you,” Shaw growled.

  Max reached down to unbutton Shaw’s pants, his fingers working rapidly to release his friend from the constraining denim.

  Shaw followed suit. Together they stripped away their clothing, kissing and caressing each step of the way. It seemed that their confession had fueled their desires. It didn’t help that they’d been celibate the past two days. Max felt as if his cock would burst.

  Once they were naked, Shaw pulled him closer again and kissed him the way Max had always dreamed of being kissed by his friend. It was a touch fraught with emotion and understanding.

  When Shaw took a step back, Max took a deep breath. He’d never felt so overwhelmed with need. “I want you inside me.”

  “Lube’s in the bathroom.” Max looked around the kitchen but Shaw shook his head. “Forget it. Oil’s not safe. Lube or spit.”

  Max grinned and dropped to his knees. Shaw hissed when Max took him into his mouth. Licking his lover’s cock from balls to tip, Max took care to make sure Shaw’s cock was very, very wet.

  “Jesus,” Shaw muttered. “This isn’t the way I wanted to do this, Max.”

  Max stood slowly. “You’ve taken my ass a thousand times, Shaw.”

  Shaw shrugged, and Max fought not to laugh at the disappointment in his friend’s face. “Maybe so, but I wanted this time to be special.”

  Max laughed, pulling Shaw closer and kissing him. “Every time with you is special. I love you, man.”

  Shaw rested his forehead against Max’s. “Turn around.”

  Max pivoted, gripping the edge of the kitchen counter as he bent over. In the past, they’d always used lube. He glanced over his shoulder and watched the same thought cross Shaw’s face.

  “Do it,” Max prodded.

  Shaw stuck two fingers in his mouth, licking them, getting them wet. He pushed them into Max’s anus, working for several moments, loosening the muscles of Max’s ass before pulling out and replacing his fingers with his cock.

  Max gritted his teeth at the slight pinch as Shaw slowly worked his way in. When he was seated to the hilt, they both released a deep breath.

  Shaw leaned forward and placed a soft kiss in the center of Max’s shoulder blades. “You ready?”

  Max nodded. “Fuck yeah.”

  Shaw began to move in and out, slowly at first, but then he built up the speed and strength of his thrusts. Max trembled when Shaw’s hand reached around his waist, gripping his cock tightly.

  Max reveled in the feeling of being taken by this man he’d spent a lifetime loving, even as the image of Keri’s face flashed before his eyes. He never would have admitted his feelings for Shaw if Keri hadn’t reappeared, making him yearn for a future full of love and happiness. As Shaw moved behind him, driving him to the peak, Max realized they’d been living a half-life, all the time waiting for the glue that would bond them together forever. Keri was the answer to a prayer.

  Shaw’s grip on his cock tightened, and Max knew he was a goner. When he heard Shaw’s cry of release and felt the first hot spurt of come fill his ass, he gave himself up to the moment.

  For several minutes they panted heavily, but neither of them moved to separate. They were connected now. And not just physically.

 
Finally Shaw withdrew, drawing his hand gently down Max’s back. Max rose and turned, pulling Shaw toward him for a kiss.

  “Shower?” Shaw suggested.

  Max nodded, giving his friend, his lover, a small smile. “Sounds great.”

  Thirty minutes later they were back in the kitchen, clean and fully dressed, eating lunch. Shaw gave him a rueful look as they finished up the last of their sandwiches. “We’ve fucked up royally with Keri. You know that, right?”

  Max nodded. “Yeah. I know. I should have listened to you.”

  Shaw ran his hand through his still-damp hair. “You’re right. You should have.”

  “You know, I didn’t exactly hear you kicking up a fuss. If you felt so strongly about it, you should have demanded that we tell her. You should have put your damn foot down.”

  “Yeah, right,” Shaw replied. “You’re not exactly the easiest guy to dissuade, Max. I think it has something to do with the fact you think you’re always fucking right.”

  Max chuckled. “Hey, bro. What can I say? I was born with—”

  Shaw silenced him with what Max suspected was intended to be a quick, hard kiss. However, somewhere along the line, it evolved into a long, hot one that woke up Max’s sated cock with style.

  “Thought I’d stop you there before you said something really stupid.”

  “Works for me. I may have to make it a habit to say inane things.”

  They laughed.

  “I loved making love with you,” Max admitted. He wasn’t sure where that confession had come from, but after spending a lifetime hiding the truth, it felt good to be able to say it aloud.

  Shaw grinned. “Me too.” Then he sighed, though Max could see how much his confession had pleased Shaw. “Still doesn’t resolve the issue with Keri. I mean, if it’s not my fault and it’s not yours, then who are we blaming?”

  “I guess it’s Keri’s fault,” Max joked.

  “You shouldn’t blame someone if they aren’t around to defend themselves.”

  Keri’s voice took them both unaware.

  They turned and found her standing just inside the doorway. Max felt a kernel of panic emerge in his gut. How long had she been there? How much had she seen? Heard?

  She smiled ruefully. “Guess you didn’t hear my car when I pulled up.”

  “Keri,” Shaw said, rising quickly and walking toward her.

  Keri halted him, raising her hand and shaking her head. “I’m not gonna run away in horror, if that’s what you’re expecting.”

  Max ran a hand through his hair and tried to ignore the fact it was trembling. “Keri. We can explain.”

  She walked into the kitchen, grabbing a chair at the table and sitting down next to him. “I’m sure you can. And you will. But I get to go first. You owe me.”

  Shaw joined them, claiming the chair on the other side of her. They’d deceived her. Kept her in the dark about something she had the right to know. Both of them had alluded to hopes for a relationship, but they’d failed to tell her the whole plan. She had every right to rake them over the coals, and Max wouldn’t blame her if she wanted to take a few swings at them as well.

  “You’re right,” Shaw said. “Hit us with your best shot.”

  Max glanced at Shaw, saw the understanding in his best friend’s face. Max felt guilty for causing this. Shaw had wanted to tell Keri, wanted to come clean at the start. He’d let both of them down.

  “You held back the other night,” she started.

  Max nodded. “It was my fault, Keri. Shaw wanted to—”

  Keri interrupted him. “Regardless of what Shaw wanted, he followed your lead. Therefore, both of you will pay the price.”

  Max was surprised by her comment. “Pay how?”

  “I wanna see what you were hiding from me.”

  Shaw leaned closer at her request. “You wanna see? You mean you want to watch me and Max having…us getting—”

  Keri smirked. “Having sex? Getting laid? Fucking?” She shook her head. “No. I want to see what Max mentioned. I want to watch the two of you make love.”

  The silence in the room was deafening.

  As always, Shaw broke it. He pushed his chair back, the wood scraping along the floor loudly. Rising, he reached out for Keri’s hand and then for Max’s.

  “Fine. Let’s go.”

  * * *

  Keri accepted Shaw’s hand and wondered what the hell she was thinking. She’d finished her work on her project only an hour earlier. She’d considered calling to invite them both to dinner but changed her mind at the last minute. It had been two days since she’d had the most amazing sex of her life and her body overruled her brain, demanding that she seek out more. Immediately. Deciding to surprise them, she’d hopped in her car on a whim.

  The front door had been open, and she’d considered knocking until she’d heard raised voices coming from the kitchen. Practical Keri told her to turn around and go home. Wild Keri gave in to sheer curiosity. She couldn’t recall ever seeing Max and Shaw argue, so the fact they were doing so now worried her. Her first concern had been that they were fighting over her. That was the fear that prompted her to walk to the kitchen. If they’d changed their minds about her, she wanted to know now. She wasn’t going to waste another four years of her life living in denial about her lovers’ feelings.

  By the time she reached the kitchen, her stomach was in knots. What if they didn’t want to continue seeing her? She realized losing Shaw and Max would hurt a thousand times more than her breakup with John. How had they captured her heart so quickly?

  The answer came to her in an instant. They’d always owned a piece of her heart.

  She walked into the kitchen in time to see them share a kiss. Shock froze her in place—then she wondered if she’d ever seen a more beautiful sight. But she’d been completely blown away to hear Max confess to making love with Shaw.

  Keri was confused about the men’s feelings for each other and for her, but that emotion was overruled by righteous indignation. They’d kept a pretty big damn secret. And there was a foolish part of her that thought if she could simply see for herself, she’d know where they all stood. Know if there was room in this house, in this relationship, for her.

  She wasn’t sure where she was getting the courage to take such a risk, but some weird instinct told her this was the right thing to do. What all of them needed to do.

  Shaw led them to the bedroom and, despite her anxiety, she was besieged with anticipation. Watching the two men kiss had been a major turn-on. Who knew wild Keri had such kinky tastes?

  They stepped into the same room where they’d spent countless hours exploring each other’s bodies three nights before, and another thought occurred to her.

  “Whose bedroom is this?” she asked.

  Shaw squeezed her hand. “Mine.” Then he shook his head. “No. Actually, it’s not anymore. Now it’s ours.”

  He looked at her as he spoke, and Keri wondered if his comment was directed at her. “Ours?”

  He nodded. “Yours. Mine. Max’s. Ours.”

  Leave it to Shaw to wipe away so many of her fears with just four words. She smiled, blinking against the tears threatening to fall. Her heart wanted to believe him, her body wanted to climb into his arms and never let go, but she’d loved and lost before. She’d felt the pain of a broken heart. Before she could accept his words at face value, she needed more.

  Max, ever the caretaker, stepped closer, cupping her cheek in his large, calloused hand. “You sure about this, sunshine?”

  She nodded, turning to place a soft kiss on his palm. She’d never been surer of anything. “You’re stalling,” she said, prompting Shaw’s loud laughter. The cowboy had taught her from an early age that laughter was the best medicine. Using humor helped to dispel some of the tension ebbing its way through her body.

  “Your poker face sucks, sweetheart,” Shaw said. “But if it’s proof you want, well then, I guess we can’t keep our girl waiting, Max. She’s an impatient little thi
ng.”

  He’d seen through her. For some foolish reason that fact made her feel better. Though she’d been gone for years, Shaw and Max knew her. They saw inside her soul and they recognized the girl who used to reside there. The one who wanted a second chance at happiness and love.

  Max’s smile grew and Keri’s breath caught. Had she ever seen such a genuine, true smile on his face? She wasn’t sure she had. The realization of exactly how much Max had been hiding—not just from her but from everyone—rocked her a bit. Today, for the first time, she was seeing the real Max Lennin. And he was stunning.

  She moved to the chair, gesturing regally toward the bed. “Any day now.” She wasn’t sure where she was finding the audacity to speak to them so, but something about her cowboys brought out a side of her very few had ever seen. She felt confident, beautiful, sure of herself.

  Shaw shook his head, his grin not dimming. “Oh darlin’, you go ahead and enjoy this little bit of power for now. Because I can assure you, once our penance is paid, you are definitely gonna do a bit of paying up as well.”

  Practical Keri vanished with his taunt, banished forever, as wicked Keri claimed her throne. “Promises, promises.”

  Max rubbed his hands together in anticipation. “We’re gonna tie you to this bed and we’re never going to let you go. That’s a pledge you can count on.”

  His vow penetrated her lonely heart, filling it with warmth and music, and she prayed it was true. There was nothing she wanted more than to revel in this moment forever.

  “I look forward to it.” Her mind drifted back to what she’d seen in the kitchen. She knew exactly what her heart’s desire was at this moment. “Kiss each other again.”

  Shaw didn’t hesitate, didn’t waver. He simply walked to Max and pulled his friend’s face toward his own. Keri stared in silent wonder until her sudden light-headedness reminded her to take a breath. Max and Shaw didn’t hold anything back as their lips and tongues tangled, touched, took.

  For the first time in her memory, Max’s patience ran out first. He pushed away from Shaw, grasping his friend’s T-shirt and pulling it over his head. Keri licked her lips. She freaking loved Shaw’s rock-hard abs and muscular arms. She wiggled in the chair, trying to send a bit of relief to her very needy girlie parts. Never a fan of porno movies, she decided she might have to reconsider that stance. There was something very potent, amazingly hot about watching the two men she cared for loving each other.