Hunks, Hammers, and Happily Ever Afters

by Cari Quinn

  Keep it light.

  “It’s from climbing all the fricking ladders Max is too afraid to climb,” Noah flung the towel over his shoulder, not at all ashamed of the cock proud and heavy bouncing off his belly. He leaned against the door way and grinned. “Yeah, I heard you admiring my ass.”

  His gaze settled on Max’s erection thrusting from the nest of dark hair. Mine. Mine and Hayley’s, he amended. Noah changed his focus from that beautiful cock to seek Max’s face, and found Max’s gaze, an expression of awe, and lust, and maybe a touch of fear too. Oh buddy, you have absolutely nothing to be afraid of, not here in this room with me. I will never let anything bad happen to you.

  Originally he’d figured Hayley would lie down, Max would cover her, and he’d be the top bread in the sandwich, but now he wanted to be able to see Max’s eyes when he finally filled his ass. He needed to make sure Max wasn’t going to freak out. He needed to make sure Max wouldn’t bolt. That Max found as much pleasure as he knew he would.

  “We’re going to do this almost the same as we did last night. Hayley, you’re going to ride Max, but instead of me being buried in your ass, tonight I’ll be in Max’s.” Once Max was comfortable at the end of the bed, his knees spread wide, Noah grabbed a pillow, wrapped the towel around it, then bent over Max, and caught his mouth again. He stroked Max’s lips with his tongue, murmuring how he was going to make it good and to trust him again. “Lift your hips, Max.”

  He’d intended to stay in that position as he slid the pillow beneath Max but the change of position stroked Max’s cock over Noah’s belly and along his sternum, making Noah’s breath stutter. He eased back, afraid he’d have to choke his dick into submission again.

  Hayley took the pillow from him and slid it into position. “Noah? Are you all right?”

  He dragged his gaze away from Max and focused on her. Her hair was tangled around her shoulders, her lips were swollen from their kisses, her breasts still bore evidence of stubble-burn though whether from last night or this morning, he wasn’t sure. But she’d never looked more beautiful to him. Mine.

  None of this would have happened if she hadn’t set the wheels of this amazing journey in motion. Mine and Max’s.

  He banded an arm around her waist and drew her against him, kissing her, nibbling at her neck, sucking hard enough that it would leave a mark. A proclamation of she is ours for the world to see.

  He squeezed her behind and growled, “Climb up on the bed and straddle Max, sweet cheeks.”

  Hayley grinned and quickly obeyed. Their mutual groans as she lowered herself on Max’s shaft shot straight to his cock. His balls tightened painfully with each inch Max’s cock disappeared into her glistening cleft.

  Unable to wait another second, he popped the top on the lube and smeared a long line onto the condom, then more onto his fingers. “Be prepared for Max to jump,” he said softly to Hayley.

  Max not only jumped but he swore too as Noah spread the cool liquid around Max’s puckered hole. Swore again, louder this time, when Noah pressed the tip of his finger against it. “Just breathe, buddy.”

  Buddy didn’t sound right, but what the hell did he call him in this situation? Sweetie? Definitely not Baby. Max would punch his fucking nose until you could follow it like a road map to Florida. Or until it stuck out the back of his head.

  “Kiss him, will ya? Distract him.”

  He added more lube, and one finger made it to the knuckle. Max immediately tightened around the digit. After more lube and a second finger stretching the opening, Max’s protests changed pitch, from fuck that hurts to fuck I’m going to come.

  Hayley continued to murmur to Max, kissing him, undulating her hips drawing his gaze once again to where their bodies joined. His cock wept at the tip, wanting to feel the pleasure he knew Max felt.

  Soon.

  He compared the stretched opening to his cock, and, with a frown, added a third finger for good measure.

  “Oh fuck.” Max practically bucked Hayley off before she could center herself and slam down over his shaft. Which caused another round of bucking, and a severe ache in Noah’s balls.

  He withdrew his fingers and positioned his cock at Max’s entrance, and eased his way in. And bit back his own line of curses as Max’s ass closed around his shaft. Heaven, pure, fucking, heaven. Only when Max’s moans quietened, and he was buried balls deep in Max’s ass did Noah dare hook Max’s legs around his arms, which opened him up further, let him get deeper.

  “Oh fuck, oh fuck, that feels so...” Max got quiet and still, but inside his body seized Noah’s cock, his muscles rippling in a dangerous rhythm, teasing his oversensitive head.

  Shit, he was going to come and they’d hardly begun. “Hayley, move. You’re in charge now. You set the pace.”

  It was awkward at first, as he and Hayley coordinated their rhythm, but finally they found their grove.

  If they did this again, he’d hook Max’s legs over his shoulder, or around his waist or something, freeing him to play with Hayley’s breasts, or better yet, wrap his arms around her waist and control her movements, and that way control all three of their pleasure. But for now the sensation of Hayley’s ass slapping his groin on her backward rock, and Max’s balls slapping his shaft each time he withdrew, he was ready to blow his fucking load with each stroke. It was all he could do to just hang on and ride it out.

  “Max, touch me,” Hayley begged. Max twisted slightly as he slipped a hand between them, which pressed Noah’s cock harder against Max’s prostate.

  He could tell the moment Max reached Hayley’s clit, as Max’s body clamped down around his shaft, his hips lifting, his free hand slapping the bed covers as if seeking something to hold onto.

  Max’s eyes lost focus, practically rolled back in his head, before they scrunched closed, his head kicking back, his chest arching off the covers. “Fuck. She’s coming. Oh fuck, it’s too much, too much...Oh fuck, holy fuck, yes.” Max’s entire body bucked, every muscle in his body tightening around Noah’s cock.

  Noah couldn’t hold off. He dug his fingers into Max’s thighs and held on for the ride, each jerk of Max’s hips milking him until he was drained.

  His legs trembling, he slumped over Hayley, his cock slipping from Max’s ass.

  His legs trembling, his mind whirling, Noah slipped out of Max and crawled onto the bed beside him. Max stared up at him, his eyes dark, his expression filled with wonder, and, if he was honest, a little confusion. Noah lowered his head and kissed him, keeping it light, though he wasn’t sure whether it was to reassure Max or to prove to himself that what had just happened was real.

  He sought Hayley’s mouth next. It was her touch, her lips on his, her fingers curling in his hair, her palm flattened on his chest, that settled him, that proved it wasn’t a dream. He might have started this weekend thinking he was fulfilling her fantasy but she and Max had just fulfilled his.

  .

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Hayley awoke clinging to one side of the unfamiliar bed, something heavy on one leg and some deep rhythmic sound. She cracked open an eye and peered at the offending trespasser to discover Max’s head resting on her thigh, the rest of him sprawled diagonally across the mattress, snoring.

  His face was relaxed, looking younger than she’d ever seen him before.

  She glanced around, looking for Noah, realizing the sun had moved, no longer casting bright streamers through the room.

  Noah sat in a blue wingchair by the window, his legs stretched out and crossed at the ankle, his hair tousled, and completely, confidently naked. And supremely pleased with himself. “Hey there, sleepy head.”

  She scrubbed her hands over her face and twisted in an effort to find an alarm clock, but couldn’t. “What time is it?”

  “Nearly four o’clock.”

  She inched out from under Max and dashed to the bathroom to quickly take care of Mother Nature’s demands. It wasn’t until she returned to the bedroom that she noticed the giant white maple lea
f painted over the bed. And the Maple Leaf memorabilia, including a Gilmour jersey, holding a place of pride in a replica locker. Even the ceiling light was a replica of the Maple Leaf scoreboard. “Wow. Talk about a—” teenaged boy’s room “—real man cave.”

  Noah chuckled, though there was softness in his eyes. “He’s always been a sucker for the underdog.”

  “Hey, true fans stick by their team, no matter what,” Max mumbled from the bed. “Their time will come.”

  Hayley wandered over to the drafting table in the corner. She stroked the petals of the daisies, smiling at the blooms as they bobbed and nodded at her touch.

  “Noah bought them for you.” Max had rolled onto his side and was watching her, his expression wary. “I, uh, hadn’t even thought of flowers. I was more worried about...well, condoms and stuff.”

  “I like the flowers, they’re pretty” she said gently, “but they aren’t as important as the condoms, were they?”

  “But you deserve pretty.”

  A phone rang—the Hockey Night in Canada theme. Noah picked it up from the night table beside him and held it up for Max to see. “It’s your mom.”

  “Shit, I’ve got to take it or she’ll come over to see why I’m not picking up.” He jumped from the bed, grabbed the phone and raced into the hallway, his voice fading as he trod down the stairs. “Hey, Ma, what’s doin’?”

  Noah watched his escape with hungry eyes. “I have competition in the great ass department.”

  Hayley settled back on the bed, pulling her legs beneath her. “He’s going to be freaked out about this, isn’t he?”

  “Not as bad as he was a couple hours ago. It’s not his first time having sex with a guy—with me. It’s just his first time being the bottom. It’ll take him a while to process everything but I think he’s already more than halfway there.”

  Except it wasn’t that simple. She’d seen Max’s horror, his fear. His confusion. While Noah seemed amazingly calm. “Why am I really here, Noah? Was this whole weekend, and this especially,” she waved toward the bed, “just a way to convince him he’s attracted to you too? To force him out of the closet?”

  “If you’re asking did we use you as a shield, no. We love you, Hayley. Both of us.”

  Having her own processing problems, she leaned over the drafting table to examine the numerous framed photographs. There was one of Mr. and Mrs. Moretti when they were much younger, another of the entire family sitting in front of a Christmas tree, a teenaged Max’s arm slung over Noah’s shoulder right in the midst of them all, a half dozen of Max in a hockey uniform surrounded by a team, more than half of which had a trophy in front of them. There were school photos of his various nieces and nephews, and his sister Jackie with her arm holding hands with her wife, both women wearing beautiful red and gold wedding saris, and another of the two women holding a toddler with dark hair and big dark eyes.

  “How’s his family going to take the news about him?”

  Noah shrugged. “It’s not going to be an issue for them. Mr. and Mrs. M are already members of PFLAG. Having another LGBT kid won’t even make ‘em blink.” He frowned. “He’s lucky.”

  Before she could ask if Noah was comparing Max’s family to his own, Max bounded back in the room, his energy filling the space. “That was Ma reminding me that I promised to fix the railing on her porch next weekend. And they’re going to have another barbecue because it’s Sangita’s birthday next week, so you guys gotta come.”

  “Count me in,” Noah replied easily.

  “I gotta hit the can and then we can discuss what we do for the rest of the day, okay?”

  He tossed his phone onto the drafting table, knocking over the single framed photo sitting in the corner, and disappeared into the bathroom.

  Hayley straightened the picture then stopped. How had she not noticed this one before? It was of Max and Noah in front of Max’s M&M Construction truck, their office in the background. She lifted it to study it closer. Max was grinning directly into the camera, but Noah’s eyes were locked on Max. She let her fingertips hover over the photo, marveling at the love clear on Noah’s face. “How did he not see it all these years?”

  Noah stood behind her, stroking her shoulders. “You didn’t see it. Or you would have said something, right?” At her nod, he added, “People see what they expect to see. Max thought of me as a friend, figured that’s how I thought of him. So that’s what he saw.”

  “How could you stand it? Loving someone and knowing they’ll never love you back.”

  “But he did. Love me. Just not the way I preferred. But having him love me as a friend was infinitively better than not having him in my life at all.”

  “So,” Max rubbed his hands together. “Who’s up for binge watching some Property Brothers? I’ll make the popcorn and we can throw it at anyone who complains about the kitchen not having stainless steel appliances.”

  Because Noah was facing her, not Max, she saw him carefully school his expression. For the first time, she realized his face had been much more expressive this weekend. That the Noah she normally saw was a mask. One he’d donned now, so Max wouldn’t see his disappointment that their time together had ended.

  Maybe there was something she could do to see the real Noah again. She shook her head at Max.

  “Really? Did I once mention watching TV was part of my fantasy?” Hayley pointed at the bed. “Climb aboard, mister, I fancy a Noah sandwich this time.”

  Gratitude flashed in Noah’s eyes. He stood, then sweeping one arm to the side, and clasping the other to his chest, he bowed like one of the old fashioned swashbucklers. “As you wish.”

  Which completely melted her.

  Until he straightened, and he grinned. “Anything for you, sweet cheeks.”

  She swatted his ass. “Call me sweet cheeks one more time and you won’t be able to sit on yours for a couple of days.”

  His grin widened. “Promises, promises.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Max yawned and picked up the coffee Noah slid across the counter. He eyed the breakfast bar stool but chose to lean against the edge of the counter instead.

  “I hurt you,” Noah said quietly, hitching one hip on the island beside him. “I should have taken it easier on you.”

  “You didn’t hear me complaining, did you?”

  Noah chuckled. “Not unless fuck, holy fuck, yes was some secret code for a complaint.”

  “Nope.” He eyed Noah. “How come you’re not sitting either? Did I hurt you?” They all knew nothing they’d done after he’d returned from his mother’s phone call was about Hayley’s fantasy anymore. Especially when he’d ended up buried balls deep in Noah’s ass while Hayley blew Noah’s dick.

  “Let’s say you got a little over-enthusiastic. You need to go a little slower next time you jam that fucking big rod of yours in my ass. Not that I’m complaining or anything.” Noah brushed a kiss over his cheek as he placed his mug in the sink. If he ever smelled Noah’s cologne anywhere in the future, he’d immediately remember this moment. There’d been something more than simple lust in Noah’s face when they’d both been in Hayley the second time. More than love too. It had been pure happiness, even relief. They’d ended up falling asleep until almost midnight. He’d woken to the three of them sprawled together, Noah spooning Hayley, Hayley spooning him.

  “Sorry, I’ll take it easier next time.” Next time. Yeah, there would be a next time. Holy shit. He still hadn’t wrapped his head around that turn of events. Yet, it had felt so freaking right, so freaking good.

  The shower turned on overhead. Hayley was up. He’d been blessed when he met her. Blessed when he’d met Noah too. And now they were in his life, he couldn’t imagine life without them. Either of them.

  “I don’t want her to leave,” Max admitted.

  “I don’t either.”

  “What if this is our only shot with her? What if we...” Turned her off now she’s actually seen us fuck. What woman would want to commit to two men who
were into each other. Could she honestly believe they could love her too?

  “I thought about that all night.”

  “So what are we going to do?

  “We convince her to stay with both of us.”

  Max blinked. Noah made it sound so simple, but despite staying awake staring at the ceiling for two nights, it was beyond him. “How do we do that?”

  “I have no idea. But we can’t pressure her. We have to let her choose whether she wants to stay or go, and we have to honor her choice.”

  They fell silent as Hayley’s ankles appeared on the landing. Max soaked up the sight of her bare feet, and trim ankles. She wore one of his M&M construction T-shirts—it was big enough that she could wear it like a dress, and a pair of his board shorts—she’d cinched the string waist band into a bow. A bolt of need burned in his gut. He wanted this woman. And he’d do anything to have it be long-term, to have her as a part of his future.

  Her bright smile when she spotted them at the breakfast bar warmed him, encouraged him. Noah was right. They needed to be smart when approaching her about making this permanent.

  “I just remembered I’m meeting my stager at the place on De Grassi in an hour, but I only have my bridesmaid’s dress. I hope you don’t mind me borrowing your clothes. I’ll wash them and give them back to you tomorrow.”

  Noah shrugged. “I’ve seen people out in worse. Plus it’s a construction site, right? So you don’t have to be all dressed up like for the Bay Street types.”

  “Bay Street.” She scrunched her eyes closed. “I totally for—I have a meeting with my lawyer about closing the deal on that place out by Bluffer’s Park down at the TD Center at noon. I can’t go down there dressed like this. I normally keep a track bag with a change of clothes in my car but—“

  “But your car is back at your place,” Noah completed.

  “Exactly. I know it’s a lot to ask but if I give you the keys could you guys run out to my place and drive my car to the house? It would make it so much easier.”

  “We could run up to your house,” Max said slowly. “But if you leave it to Noah and I, we’ll pack your whole wardrobe and move you in with us.”