He wasn’t going to lie—he had experienced a pang of jealousy when he’d learned that Dylan had gotten the taste of her that Aidan had been denied, but he knew the blame was solely on his own shoulders. He’d locked them in a room with a bed and a box of condoms, for Pete’s sake. Of course they’d make good use of both once they hashed everything out.
And no matter how he felt about them hooking up, he was happy they’d finally cleared the air and worked through their crap.
Of course, he hadn’t been expecting an aching cock as a reward for his efforts.
“She wants you too, you know.” Dylan’s gruff voice interrupted his thoughts.
“I know.” Aidan sat up and ran a hand through his rumpled hair. “But she won’t be on board for this, man.”
“I think she will,” Dylan disagreed.
“She hid in your room all day and night—I’m pretty sure that’s a clear sign she’s not into it. Besides, you heard the way she described her childhood. It was all about right and wrong, Dyl. In her mind, having sex with two men isn’t right.”
There was a long beat. “Are you sure you’re not pissed at me?”
He rolled his eyes. “I’m not pissed at you.”
“Good, because you know I’d never do anything to intentionally hurt you.”
The emotion thickening Dylan’s voice caught him off-guard, elicited a rush of discomfort. He wasn’t into deep, emotional discussions, never had been, never would be. They reminded him too much of the shrink he and his father had seen for a couple of years following his mother’s death, after one of Aidan’s teachers had notified the school counselor of how withdrawn he was in school.
Fuck, he’d hated talking to that shrink. She was always prying into his head, always asking him how he “felt” about this or how he “felt” about that.
“Aid? You do know that, right?”
Even in the dark, he could see the worry glimmering in Dylan’s eyes. “Yeah, I know.”
“And I still think Claire will come around. But until then…” The mattress shifted as Dylan bridged the distance between them.
Since Aidan was sitting up, Dylan’s head was perfectly level with his crotch, and his cock instantly reacted to the other man’s proximity, thickening beneath his cotton boxers. Unlike Dylan, he didn’t sleep naked, but it wasn’t long before he wound up that way.
With his boxers out of the way, Aidan cupped the back of Dylan’s head and guided that sexy male mouth to his cock.
The first lick made him shudder.
Dylan peered up at him with a grin, his straight white teeth shining in the darkness. “Everything okay?”
“Mmm-hmmm.”
The second lick made him moan. Closing his eyes, he leaned back on the oak headboard and enjoyed the incredible sensations created by Dylan’s tongue gliding along the length of his shaft.
Dylan brought his hand into play, curling it around Aidan’s cock and pulling the skin back to expose the head, which he promptly drew into his mouth and sucked gently on.
“Mmmm. I like that,” Aidan mumbled. “Keep going slow for a bit.”
His fingers tangled in Dylan’s short hair, hips rocking restlessly as Dylan’s tongue laved his cock with long, teasing strokes. Pressure built in his balls, and he knew he wouldn’t last long at all. He’d been hard-up all week, drooling over Claire’s sweet curves with no results, and longing for Dylan’s hard muscles, also with no results. Now that his dick was finally getting some attention, the big guy was overly eager and ready to blow.
“Fuck, I love sucking your dick, man.” Dylan’s growl of pleasure vibrated through Aidan’s body, sending a jolt of electricity right to the tip of his cock.
“Okay, forget slow.” The words squeezed out of his chest. “Fast, I need it fa—”
A cell phone rang.
They both froze, then relaxed when they realized it was Aidan’s ring tone and not the one that would signal Dylan to report to the base.
“Hold that thought,” he said with a groan.
Licking his lips, Dylan lifted his head and grinned. “I dunno…I might decide I’m too tired to finish the job…”
“Hold that fucking thought.”
Ignoring Dylan’s mocking laughter, he grabbed his phone and glanced at the display. His stomach went rigid.
“Who is it?” Dylan asked.
“My dad.”
“Isn’t it like three in the morning in Chicago?”
“Yes.” Without giving Dylan a chance to respond, he clicked the talk button and raised the phone to his ear.
“What’s wrong?” he asked in lieu of greeting.
A tired laugh rippled over the line, easing some of his panic. “Nothing’s wrong. I know it’s late, but I had something to discuss with you. Did I wake you?”
“No, I was up.” He slid off the bed and reached for his boxers. He balanced the phone on his shoulder so he could slip them on, then signaled to Dylan that he’d be right back.
The SEAL rolled onto his back with a resigned look in his eyes.
Aidan knew it bugged his roommate that he took his father’s calls in private, but his relationship with his dad was weighed down with so much past sorrow that he preferred to keep that part of his life to himself.
He drifted into the living room and sank onto the couch. “What’s going on?” he asked his father.
“I wanted to talk to you about the holidays.”
“At three o’clock in the morning?”
“I couldn’t sleep. The firm’s trying to land the commission to design the new World Bank headquarters. I’ve been pulling quite a few all-nighters working on the proposal.”
“I’m sure they’ll love whatever you show them.” And he totally meant that—the shadows that surrounded Tim Rhodes had never tainted his professional life. Aidan’s father was one of the most prominent architects in the country.
“I hope so.” His dad sounded distracted for a moment, and there was a shuffling of papers on the line. “Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I’ll be out of town from the twenty-third until January fourth. Ronnie and I decided to fly to Switzerland to do some skiing.”
Aidan swallowed his disappointment. How shocking. His dad was bailing on the holidays, the way he did every year.
At the same time, he couldn’t bring himself to begrudge his father’s decision to run away. Ever since Aidan’s mom died, Christmas in the Rhodes household had been a wretched, miserable affair. Besides, it was nice to hear that Dad was still dating the same woman Aidan had met when he’d flown in for a visit in the spring.
“So you’re still seeing Veronica, huh? How’s that going?”
“It’s good,” his father admitted. “It’s…easy. Comfortable.”
“That’s the way relationships should be, no?”
“Yes. Yes, they should.” Tim cleared his throat. “I’m sorry to do this to you last-minute, son. Do you have friends you can spend the holidays with? Your roommate’s family, maybe?”
“Yeah, I’ve got options,” he said vaguely. “Don’t worry about it. Just go on your trip and have fun on the slopes.”
“I plan to.” His father sounded relieved. “You’re not upset?”
“No, of course not.” The lie slid out smooth as cream, having been perfected over the years.
“All right, good. Well… I’ll let you get to sleep. I’ll email you from Zurich if I get the chance. Happy holidays, Aidan.”
“Happy holidays, Dad.”
He hung up and dropped the phone on the cushion beside him, breathing through the overwhelming sadness that clogged his throat.
“Your dad is ditching you for the holidays?”
He jumped at the sound of Claire’s voice, swiveling his head in the direction it had come from. Sure enough, she was standing behind the large opening in the wall separating the living room from the kitchen.
“What are you doing up?” he asked, getting to his feet.
“I was hungry.”
He headed
into the kitchen and spotted the sandwich fixings on the counter. “Well, of course you are,” he said pointedly. “You didn’t join us for dinner.”
Even in the shadows, he could see her blushing. “I wasn’t hungry then. I am now.” She cleared her throat. “Anyway, I’m sorry for eavesdropping. I didn’t do it on purpose. You just came in and started talking before I could announce myself, and then I didn’t want to interrupt.”
“It’s okay.” He propped his hip against the counter and watched as she resumed the task of preparing a turkey and ham sandwich.
“So your dad is going skiing?” she prompted. “I heard you say something about the slopes.”
“Yeah, he’s heading to Switzerland for a couple of weeks, so I’ll be spending Christmas here. With who, I have no clue yet.”
“My holiday plans are up in the air too,” she confessed. “Chris and I were supposed to spend Christmas in Paris—that was the last stop on our honeymoon. And since I was supposed to be gone, my parents booked a twelve-day cruise, and now my mom is freaking out and threatening to cancel their trip. I spoke to her earlier and tried to talk her out of it, but I don’t know if I was persuasive enough.”
“Would it be so bad if they stayed in town?”
“Honestly? I’m not feeling very festive. I’d rather they enjoy themselves in the Bahamas.”
“What about you?”
She shrugged, then sat on a stool and took a bite of her sandwich. “I’ll figure something out.”
“You could spend the holidays with me.” The words popped out before he could stop them.
Claire’s gaze flew to his. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah. I mean, you’ve still got another two weeks off, so it’s not like you have to rush back to San Francisco. Dylan and I are doing Christmas Eve with friends, and you can join us for that, and I’m assuming he’s heading home right after dinner to see his mom, so you and I can keep each other company on Christmas Day.”
“You really want me to stay for another two weeks?” She sounded troubled.
“Why not? You already know I like having you around.”
“Yeah, but that was before…” She trailed off, averted her gaze, and focused on eating her sandwich.
“Before what?” When she didn’t answer, he chuckled. “Before you had sex with Dylan, you mean?”
She lifted her head. “He told you.”
“Yes.”
“And you’re not upset?”
“No.”
“Did he tell you the rest?”
“About his mom’s financial troubles? Yeah. Fucking sucks, huh?”
“It does. I’m glad he told you. But…I was referring to the other rest.”
Aidan raised his eyebrows. “The other rest?”
“You know, what he asked me.” She set her sandwich on her plate and reached for the OJ carton on the counter. As she poured herself a glass, she kept her head down, and kept talking. “He told me about how the two of you like to, um, you know, sleep with the same woman.”
“We do,” he confirmed with a nod.
“And that you guys want…um…you want me, I guess.”
“We do,” he said again.
She paused, and he didn’t push her. From this point on, the situation was delicate. He couldn’t bulldoze his way to results the way he’d done earlier by throwing Claire and Dylan together. It was time to proceed with extreme caution.
Which was pretty damn difficult to do when he wanted Claire McKinley more than he wanted his next breath.
She looked so beautiful tonight, the shadows dancing around her face and the light from the stove clock catching in her long hair. She’d left it loose and cascading down her shoulders, those wavy red tresses practically begging his fingers to stroke them. She was wearing the same pajamas she’d worn all week, a pair of plaid pants and a pink tank top that outlined her braless breasts.
“For Pete’s sake, you and Dylan have perfected seductive looks to a T.” Her weary voice alerted him to the fact that he’d totally been caught ogling her tits.
“I’m sorry?”
“Are you asking or telling?”
“Both?”
A reluctant smile stretched across her face, but it didn’t stay there for long. “I’ve been thinking about Dylan’s proposition all night,” she started carefully.
A burst of disappointment went off in his chest. That was not the tone of a woman who was about to make him a happy man.
“But you’re going to have to pass,” he finished.
“I…can’t.”
He nodded. “All right then.”
“You don’t understand. I’m…damn it, I’m attracted to you, Aidan.”
As she said the words, her eyes focused on his bare chest, and the lustful appreciation glimmering in her expression did wonders for his ego.
Her gaze abruptly moved to his face. “But I’m attracted to Dylan too—obviously, otherwise I wouldn’t have slept with him. But two men at once? I can’t be that woman. And don’t get me started on the sleeping-with-Dylan part. I literally got out of a relationship less than a week ago—with his brother. What kind of woman sleeps with her ex-fiancé’s brother?”
Her hand shook as she brought her glass to her lips and gulped down some juice.
Hating to see her in distress, Aidan rounded the counter, took the glass from her and placed it on the counter. Then he cupped her chin with both hands and fixed her with a serious look.
“You didn’t do anything wrong. You can’t help who you’re attracted to. Dylan just happens to be Chris’s brother. Big deal. You and Chris aren’t married—you aren’t even together anymore.”
“It’s still crossing a line.”
“Who drew the line?” he countered. “Because it looks to me that the line is exactly where it should be, and you’re on the right side of it. Chris, on the other hand? He crossed a line by running out on your wedding without having the decency to talk to you, and now that bastard is lying on a beach and enjoying what was supposed to be your honeymoon. If you want to play who’s-the-asshole, then he’s the clear winner.”
Her soft laughter echoed in the kitchen. He loved the way she laughed, and he loved that he had the power to bring a twinkle to her eyes when seconds ago she’d looked beaten.
“Fine, he’s the asshole,” she relented. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m not comfortable with…you know, with what you guys want from me.”
He traced the seam of her lips with his finger, felt her mouth tremble beneath his touch. “Does it make you uncomfortable, or does it scare you because you’re actually tempted to do it?”
She looked flustered. “I…I just can’t. Please don’t push me on this.”
“I would never, ever push you into something you didn’t want.” He searched her gaze. “Do you believe me?”
She nodded. Without hesitation, which spoke volumes about the trust she had in him. The notion warmed his heart.
“Dylan won’t push, either. We’re the kind of guys who are fully aware that no means no.”
To his surprise, Claire suddenly reached out and touched him. Her fingers stroked his cheek, and he sagged into her touch, oddly comforted by it.
“You are pretty damn amazing, you know that?” she murmured.
He swallowed. “So are you.”
Their gazes collided and held. Tension gathered in the air, slowly transforming into awareness the longer they stared at each other. Aidan’s chest felt hot, tight with excruciating need. His cock hardened, except this time it was all for Claire.
“I want to kiss you,” he said gruffly.
Her eyes widened, hand dropping from his face. “Aidan…”
“One kiss.” He let out a ragged breath. “Give me one taste, sweetheart.”
“It’s not a good idea,” she whispered.
“No, but I’m still asking for it.”
She got very quiet, but her gaze was still locked with his, and just when the silence dragged on a little t
oo long, just when he thought she would shoot him down, she said, “Okay.”
He didn’t waste a single second. He lowered his head and took possession of her mouth, kissing her hungrily, desperately, days and days of pent-up need spilling over and turning him into a greedy bastard who wanted to do nothing but take, take, take.
Claire’s little moan of pleasure got his blood going, fueled the urgency flowing through his veins. He angled his head and deepened the kiss. Thrust his tongue between her parted lips and explored her mouth, purposefully, thoroughly, needing to remember what she tasted like in case he never got this opportunity again.
He memorized every detail. She tasted like orange juice and toothpaste. Smelled like lavender. Felt like heaven with her full breasts pressed against his bare chest.
The last thing he wanted to do was wrench his mouth from her soft, full lips, but he’d asked for only one kiss, and he was a man of his word.
Breathing hard, he broke the kiss and edged backward.
Claire’s breathing was just as labored as his, her big brown eyes glazed and shining with passion. “Aidan…” Her voice quivered. “I wish I could be who you and Dylan want me to be.”
He smiled. “You are. You’re exactly who you should be, sweetheart.”
She blinked in surprise.
“And don’t worry,” he went on. “Dylan and I will be perfect gentlemen from this point on. Like I said, we won’t push.”
“No?” she said doubtfully. “Then why am I anticipating a seduction attempt or two?”
“I promise you, we won’t try to seduce you.” With that said, he headed for the doorway, then paused, unable to resist a few flirtatious parting words. “Unless you ask us to.”
11
“That is the saddest excuse for a tree I’ve ever seen,” Dylan declared in disgust.
Next to him, Aidan voiced his agreement, then turned to Claire. “Come on, McKinley, you can’t expect us to buy this tree.”
Out of Uniform Box Set: Books 4-6 plus 2 Bonus Novellas Page 41
