Ink Enduring (Montgomery Ink #5)

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  “I, uh…I should get to work,” he said after a moment, his voice deep.

  “Yeah, me, too.” She cupped his face. “Tonight?”

  Jake nodded. “Tonight.”

  He didn’t know if tonight meant talking or something more, but it meant something. And he was sure that no matter what happened, things were going to change.

  Forever.

  “So, you ever going to tell us what’s going on in that head of yours?” Graham asked once he’d settled down on the couch next to Jake.

  After Jake had shown Maya out of his house, he’d forced himself to put all thoughts of what could be and what would happen that night out of his head so he could work. He’d have thought it would be hard to focus, but instead, it was almost as if everything going on in his mind helped his creativity. He was an artist who worked with his hands, but he needed his mind and heart in order to create.

  Apparently, having Border and Maya on his mind, even in the background, helped him. He didn’t quite know what that would mean, but he liked it.

  After he’d done some of his best work to date, he’d cleaned up and headed over to his eldest brother Graham’s home. While the Gallaghers weren’t as vast as the Montgomerys, they were still a decently sized crew. His parents had somehow raised four sons to be independent and creative in their own ways—even with all the hell that Murphy had gone through growing up with the treatments and surgeries.

  “You going to answer? Or are you going to sit there and stare blankly at the TV while it’s on mute before the game starts?”

  Jake shook himself out of his thoughts and turned to Graham. “What?”

  His brother snorted. “Dude, your mind is gone. What is going on?”

  “Yeah, you’ve been in a funk for a while now,” Owen said as he came into the room, four beers in his hands. He held out two by the necks toward Graham and Jake, who took them from him.

  “And it can’t just be about Holly,” Murphy added in. He held four boxes of pizza and a couple of containers of wings. He set them down on the coffee table and slid the bag on his wrist that held the paper plates and napkins off.

  “It’s not just Holly,” Jake said absently, staring at the food. “I don’t know if we have enough food here, guys,” he added dryly.

  Murphy shrugged. “I figured Graham could have leftovers.”

  Graham cursed under his breath. “I’m nearing forty, guys. I don’t know if I should be eating this much grease.” Even as he said it, he opened up the top box and pulled out a slice of pepperoni pizza.

  “We’re all nearing forty,” Owen said dryly.

  Jake flipped his younger brother off. “No, Graham and I are nearing it. You and Murphy are still below the halfway mark in your thirties. You can’t start bitching about the next decade until you reach the five-year mark.”

  Murphy grinned, his dimples deepening. “Yeah, well, no matter what happens, you’ll always be older than me. I’m just glad I’m getting older at all.”

  With that pronouncement, he piled a few slices and wings on his plate and sat down on the other couch in the room next to Owen.

  The other three brothers stared at each other at the casual way Murphy spoke of his mortality. Their kid brother had almost died countless times when the cancer had overtaken his body, but now he was here, alive, healthy, and making comments about the fact that he was damn lucky to be alive.

  Jake wasn’t sure what to say to that, so he quietly dumped wings on his plate with ranch and celery. He’d dig into the pizza later and continue to ignore the fact that he didn’t know what to say when it came to Murphy and his cancer.

  “So, Holly, huh?” Murphy asked around a mouthful of pizza. “You said it’s not just her.” He swallowed and took a sip of his beer, and Jake just shook his head at the way his baby brother ate. And he thought the Montgomerys could pack it away.

  “No, it’s not just Holly,” Jake repeated.

  “So, what’s it about?” Owen asked, wiping his hands on one of his many napkins. The damn man was a little OCD when it came to lists and being clean.

  “Could it be about the man you have living in your house right now?” Graham put in. “The man you used to be with, the man who used to be your best friend before he moved away? The man you refuse to talk to us about?”

  Jake let out a breath.

  “Are you worried we’ll judge?” Murphy asked, pain in his eyes. “Because we won’t. I mean, we haven’t all these years, and we aren’t going to now. Be with who you want to be with. As long as you’re happy, we’re happy.”

  Jake shook his head as his brothers frowned at him. “No, it’s not that. I promise. I’ve never once thought you guys, or our parents for that matter, would judge me for being with a man or a woman. Hell, you guys didn’t criticize when I was with both at the same time.”

  There, that was a good segue into what he needed to say. Because even if he wasn’t exactly sure what would happen later that night when he, Border, and Maya spoke, he felt like he needed to talk it out beforehand. And why not make that happen with his brothers, who already knew more about him than most brothers knew about their siblings. He might not always feel like he fit in since he didn’t work full-time with their business and was a lot more artistic than they were, but he’d never felt like he wasn’t wanted, wasn’t loved. They’d help him even if they just sat there and listened. The fact that he was so sure of that let him relax marginally.

  “So, what’s going on?” Graham asked, his voice calm. He was always the calmest of the bunch until he wasn’t. Then he was the one to blow up and take things down until he could right them again.

  Jake let out a breath. “It’s not just Border. It’s Maya, too.”

  Graham raised a brow while Owen snorted and Murphy grinned. “It’s about goddamn time,” Graham grumbled.

  “Fuck, yeah,” Owen put in. “The two of you should have gotten together long before this.”

  “And with Border, too?” Murphy asked, still grinning. “So you’re in a triad with two people I know you care about and damn well care about you? What’s wrong with that?”

  Hell, his brothers continued to surprise him, even when they shouldn’t have. He should have had more faith in them, but in reality, it was his lack of faith in himself that was the problem.

  “We’re still new,” Jake put in. “So new, we still need to talk about the fact that Maya and I have slept together, and yet we both know I want to be with Border, too.”

  Graham studied his face silently. “Communication is important,” he said softly. “You know I get that. It’s what fucked up my marriage.” His brother looked off in the distance, pain clear in his eyes. “Well, that and other things.”

  Jake cursed under his breath. “Shit, I’m sorry for making you think about that.”

  Graham shook his head. “I’m always going to think about what happened, Jake. What I lost, what we all lost, isn’t far from my thoughts. Every damn second of every damn day. But this isn’t about that, it’s about you.”

  Jake nodded, letting the subject of what had happened to Graham’s family drop. “The three of us are talking tonight. Putting down ground rules, or at least going over what the fuck is going on in our heads.”

  “Good,” Graham said softly. “That’s good.”

  “And you want the two of them?” Owen asked. “You want them both in a relationship? Because this isn’t just a ménage for a night, I don’t think. Right? I mean, Border and you have a long past, and you and Maya? Fuck, she’s your best friend. You can’t hurt that because you’re horny.”

  Though anger crawled up his spine at Owen’s words, he pushed it aside. Owen was only saying what needed to be said, what needed to be thought, and Jake had to be okay with that.

  “It’s not just a night,” Jake said softly. “I don’t know what it is, and that’s something the three of us are going to have to figure out together. But…but I don’t want to make it more than it is either. If I go in thinking of a solid future,
I could mess everything up before it all begins.”

  “Then don’t do that,” Murphy said, and Jake glared at him. “Wait, hear me out. Go in knowing you need to think of each other and know that you’re going to do that anyway. You’re not a callous guy. You aren’t cruel. If the three of you embark on this relationship without a clear ending, that’s fine. That’s natural, Jake. Nobody goes into a relationship knowing there will be marriage and babies in the end.” Murphy and Jake winced as Graham’s eyes clouded over. “Go in knowing you don’t want to hurt the other people in your life, and try to do your best to not only live, but live in the moment. That’s all you can do. Just be honest about it.”

  Jake sighed, his brother’s words washing over him. Murphy was right, even if Jake knew it wasn’t going to be as easy as that. With Maya especially. He knew he couldn’t screw up what he had with her because she was the reason he was who he was now. She’d been with him through thick and thin since the morning he’d walked into Montgomery Ink. They would find a way to make this work.

  Somehow.

  His brothers sat in silence for a moment more before Graham reached for the remote to turn the sound on.

  “The game’s about to start,” he mumbled.

  Jake nodded, relieved they were there for him even if he didn’t know what to say. He started on his now only warm wings and sipped at his beer. He’d be okay, they all would. Because no matter what happened, he couldn’t lose Border again, and he damn sure couldn’t lose Maya.

  They’d figure this out.

  They had to.

  Chapter Eleven

  Maya’s hands were shaking. Thankfully, she wasn’t working on her client’s tattoo anymore, but hell, her hands never shook. Of course, she’d never been in quite this position before. The word position just made her think of sex because her brain was evidently on a constant dirty loop and she couldn’t get the thought of Border and Jake fucking out of her mind.

  Not that she wanted that out of her mind.

  And as soon as she thought that, she imagined herself between them and below them, and maybe over them if there was a position that did that.

  Apparently, she didn’t know much about threesome positions, but she had a feeling she’d find out.

  And soon.

  While some part of her wanted to run away and hide with a bottle of tequila, she rolled her shoulders and put her hand on Jake’s front door. She could do this. Maybe.

  Jake opened the door before she could knock or use her key, and she sighed. Guess she would be doing this tonight. It was partly her idea, after all.

  “You look like you could either use a drink or a pair of running shoes,” Jake said dryly, and she snorted.

  She met his gaze, and at once knew she was in the right place, in the right time, and doing the right thing. “I don’t need the shoes. I’m not running anywhere.” She paused at the bright look in his eyes. Though I could probably use the drink.”

  Jake held out a hand, and she took it, their palms coming together with a spark of energy she couldn’t quite name. This was her Jake, the man she’d known for so long he was another part of her, and yet this was a new Jake, as well. This Jake was a man she would know more tonight and would learn as time ceased standing still for the two of them.

  For the three of them.

  “I have tequila,” Jake said dryly. “But no cotton candy.”

  “Why the hell would you ruin perfectly nice tequila with cotton candy,” Border asked from behind Jake.

  Maya pushed her way through to the living room and put her hands on her hips, letting go of Jake’s hand in the process. He closed the door behind them, and the heat of him on her back did something pleasant to her insides. But first, she had this stranger to deal with. This stranger who wasn’t quite a stranger and someone she knew would be part of her life in some fashion for the time being and maybe, hopefully, for a long time to come.

  “Don’t knock it ‘til you try it,” Maya said smoothly. She raised her brow, knowing her piercing there looked sexy when she did it. Jake had told her once when they’d been drinking, though she’d brushed it off as nothing at the time. Not anymore. “In fact, don’t knock a lot of things before you try them.”

  Border shook his head, a grin tugging on his lips. “You sure are something, Maya Montgomery.”

  “You say that as if you know me,” she said with a smile. People usually thought they knew who she was once they caught sight of the ink and piercings. Add in the fact that she cursed like a sailor and stood up for those she loved with a bluntness that had gotten her into trouble a time or two, and people saw what they needed to see.

  She was more than the Montgomery with the foul mouth.

  Jake saw that, and hopefully, Border would, too.

  “I want to get to know you,” Border responded, his gaze never leaving her.

  The heat between them ignited, and she had to keep herself from panting. She didn’t know this man beyond what Jake had told her, and yet she wanted to know more. Needed to know more.

  Jake moved from behind her and went to the kitchen. With the way the house was set up, without having to leave the living room and Border’s presence, she could see Jake as he pulled out the tequila and shot glasses.

  “While I said I wanted a drink,” she put in, “I think we all need clear heads if we’re going to talk.”

  Jake nodded as he walked in and set the glasses and bottle on the table. “One shot to warm us up. Think of it as a toast. Then we’ll drink more if we want. But I think we need to do something to start this so it’s not awkward as shit.”

  Border smiled fully then. “It’s going to be awkward as shit at first no matter what.”

  Maya snorted and moved toward them, letting her hips sway as she did so. She had curves and knew how to use them. Usually, she swayed no matter how she walked though with the size of her damn hips. Tonight, however, tonight she wanted to use them to her advantage. These men were so much bigger than her and seemed to fill the room with just their presence, so she needed to work what she had so she was on equal footing. There would be no other way to go about it. She refused to be the one they passed between each other, the one they looked over and disregarded.

  She was Maya Montgomery, and she would not be ignored.

  And now that she’d gone all Fatal Attraction in her mind, it was time to take the next step before she fucked it all up.

  Maya deftly poured three shots and hand them out. She raised her glass and looked them both in the eye. “To not fucking this up and seeing where we go.”

  The guys’ lips tilted upward at that, and the three of them threw their heads back to take the shot. The tequila was a smooth burn down her throat, and she purred at the taste. There was a reason this was her favorite liquor.

  When she let her head fall back down, she had to swallow hard at the looks on Jake’s and Border’s faces.

  “What?” she asked, her voice husky.

  Border licked his lips, and she pressed her legs together since her clit seemed to take that moment to start throbbing in time with the beat of her rapid pulse. If she’d had it pierced as it had been before, she’d have probably come right then from his look alone.

  Okay, then.

  Border shrugged at her, not looking relaxed at all, even if he was trying to be. “You look fucking sexy taking a shot like that. I just don’t know how Jake has kept his hands off you for so long.”

  She just shook her head and sank into the couch behind her. That left the guys standing near the other couch, but they didn’t sit down; instead, they prowled toward her, coming in on either side of her. Because she wanted to see their faces, she wiggled back until she could lean her back on the couch and cross her legs underneath her. The guys sat at the edge of the couch and turned so the three of them faced one another.

  “Jake and I are best friends,” she started, then held up her hands when both men opened their mouths to speak. “Let me say my piece, and then each of you can. Then we’ll
continue to talk until we’re talked out. After that, we’ll either fall on to each other like heathens and fuck until we’re exhausted or take our leave because it’s too much. That sound okay?”

  She had to press her lips together as the guys’ gazes met over her. There was nothing sexier than two men who wanted each other looking at one another. And when they turned that same look on her?

  Maya Montgomery was one lucky bitch.

  She cleared her throat. “Jake and I have already slept together. Maybe we should have waited to talk more, but we didn’t. Instead, we did it, and I don’t want to quit sleeping with my best friend.” She looked at Jake, who smiled at her with such emotion, she had to blink back tears. Damn man for knowing her inside and out. He just got her. “I told Jake, and you Border since apparently the phone was on speaker at the time, that I think the two of you should be together, as well.” She sighed, this was the complicated part.

  “We waited for you, Maya,” Border added softly.

  “I know you did. I’m thankful even if I’m a little sad that you two had to wait for me. Or, at least wait for each other. I don’t know. That’s why we’re talking. This is going to get complicated. Because I want Jake.”

  “I want you too, Maya.”

  She reached out and gripped Jake’s hand. “And Jake, you want Border.”

  Jake nodded and reached out for Border’s hand.

  Border gripped it and clenched his jaw. “I want Jake, too.” He turned and met Maya’s gaze. When he held out his hand, Maya blinked. “And I want you, too.”

  She looked down at his hand, and Jake squeezed hers. “You don’t know me.”

  “I don’t have to,” Border bit out. “I want you, damn it. I don’t know why it’s coming on so quickly, but maybe it’s not. Jake’s talked about you for fucking years, Maya. So I don’t think this is overnight. I came back to town for my job, which I’ll talk to you about later, but I didn’t come back just for that. I came back to see Jake. To see what he wanted and to see what I’d missed out on by leaving. And I came back to see this Maya Montgomery Jake talked about so often. I didn’t just come back for Jake, Maya. I think I came back for you, too.”