by Sami Lee
“Em…” He uttered her name as though in protest, but at the same time he lifted his arms, enabling her to remove his shirt. Why was he objecting anyway? Hadn’t he just decided to take a risk, to stay and steal time with Emily and Brand?
Was it because now that the decision had been made, there was something in Emily’s touch, in Brand’s watchful gaze, that scorched him? Last night had been hot, but it had happened spontaneously. None of them had known how long it would last or where it would lead. This was deliberate.
This seared him from the outside in.
Emily kissed a trail over his bared skin, taking her time to tongue each of his nipples in the process. When she headed south, toward his abs, he sucked in a breath that made them bunch under her lips.
“Em…”
Jet thought for a moment it was he who’d whispered her name, but he recognized Brand’s voice, the way it turned thick and raspy when he was aroused. Jet turned his head to see Brand now sitting on the end of the bed, his arms hooked over the timber frame. The pose looked casual, but there was nothing casual about Brand’s eyes. Nothing casual about the bulge that had formed in the front of his jeans.
Brand’s gaze locked on Jet’s while he spoke to Emily. “Take out his cock, Em. I know you want to play with it.”
Fuck. Jet couldn’t move or breathe as Emily hastened to do Brand’s bidding. She’d said before she didn’t need Brand’s permission, but his instruction made her hands move fast and fumble in their eagerness. Jet helped her with his fly, because Christ, he’d never wanted a woman’s mouth on him more in his life.
“She can do it.” Brand’s statement was forged in steel. “You put your hands behind your head and leave her to it.”
Following his order seemed as natural as breathing. Between the two of them Brand had always been the top, and while outside the bedroom Jet had never hesitated to tell Brand to fuck off when he tried to get bossy, in the bedroom it had been a different story. Jet kept his eyes on Brand’s as he locked his hands behind his head.
Emily finally released his cock from the confines of denim and cotton. Her hot breath kissed him, making his staff swell and stretch. When she wrapped her hand around it, Jet issued a muttered curse.
But Brand stopped her before she could take him in. “Not yet. I need to see how much you want Jet. Show me why you want him to stay.” His gaze slid over her. “Take off that shirt.”
Jet tore his eyes off Brand to watch as Emily’s trembling fingers started working the buttons of the flannel. She revealed her skin inch by inch, until all the buttons of the garment were open. Then she peeled it off to reveal the high, round globes of her breasts, their crests a puckered, dusky pink as tasty looking as ripe berries.
Jet had seen her naked last night, but somehow in the morning light she was even more exquisite. Jet’s fingers unlinked as he instinctively reached for her.
“Don’t.”
Brand’s rapid-fire demand made Jet freeze. “Fuck, Brand. She’s too beautiful.”
“I know how beautiful she is. But touch her and you’ll be using your hand to get off instead of her mouth.”
Biting back a groan, Jet put his hands together behind his head once more. This time he linked them tightly to remind himself to resist temptation. He wanted to touch Emily so bad his fingers itched, but he wanted her mouth on him more. And he had to follow Brand’s orders, because that had always gotten him hot.
Emily watched Jet do as he was told. The surprise in her green irises was obvious. Jet deduced that Brand had never been bossy with her. Commanding and very male, yes. But bossy and totally alpha, no. Jet wondered if she was already regretting asking him to stay.
But then he looked down and saw how hard her nipples were, how rapidly she was breathing. She was turned on to the point of desperation. Her voice was breathy with need. “Brand, please. I want him to touch me.”
Brand shifted onto his knees and used them to scoot close to Emily. He reached for one rounded breast and molded it in his hand. “How about me? Will I do?”
“God.” Emily arched into his touch. Her eyes drifted closed and her head fell back on his shoulder. “I need you.”
“But you want Jet to stay because you need him too. Is that it?”
Emily lifted her head, tilting it so she could see Brand’s face and he could see hers. “No. I want him. I like him. I’m turned on by him. But you need him.”
Damn, she was gutsy. Challenging Brand while he was in this mood was dangerous, but her gaze didn’t waver even as Brand’s grew chilly. Reminding Brand that he had vulnerabilities when he had no desire to recognize them was a hell of a brave move. Admiration swelled within him. A smile tickled his lips.
And this woman liked him. Of all the things she’d said, that was the one that made his heart go pitty-pat. Damn. He liked her too. A lot. So much he knew he could easily fall for her if he stayed. Was he crazy to agree to this?
“Down on your hands and knees, Emily,” Brand said, his voice rough, no-nonsense. Today was not the day he would admit to needing anyone. “Get ready to swallow some cock.”
Jet figured he was totally and completely crazy. But by God, there was no way he could leave. His pulse leapt into overdrive when Emily got herself into position in front of him. He didn’t know what was sexier—watching her arch into Brand’s touch as he played with her breasts or seeing her on all fours, her ass in the air and her mouth only inches from his cock.
Or watching Brand take off his shirt with jerky movements. His body was so damn fine. All muscle and sinew and light dusting of hair in intriguing places. Jet’s erection strained, both from the sight of Brand disrobing and from the sensation of hot breath fanning over his swollen cock head.
Brand dragged his gaze away from Emily’s ass to Jet’s face as he lowered his fly. Jet stared, his throat dry, as Brand lowered his jeans and let his thick staff bob out. Jet longed to take hold of Emily’s head and ease his cock into her mouth because watching Brand reveal himself was that arousing. One touch of Emily’s lips and the sight of Brand’s naked form in the illuminating light of morning would probably be enough to make him come.
He kept his hands locked tight behind his head because being at Brand’s beck and call was more satisfying than taking what he wanted would have been. He’d always been vulnerable to Brand in this way. Brand was the only man who’d ever gotten away with it.
Back on his knees behind Emily, Brand reached between her legs. Jet heard the faint sucking sounds as he penetrated her wet pussy with his fingers. “So fucking wet. Ready to be fucked front and back.”
“God, yes.” Emily rocked her hips, pushing back onto Brand’s fingers.
“Do it then. Take Jet’s cock in your mouth, Emily. Do it slow.”
From the first touch of her lips, Jet knew slow was going to kill him. Her tongue was a hot wet glide, her mouth a slick fist that wrapped around him. Letting out a groan, Jet rocked his hips, seeking a greater depth.
“Don’t move, Jet. Don’t you dare fuck her mouth until she’s ready.”
“Jesus. Fuck.”
A hundred other swear words went through Jet’s head as he forced himself to halt his movements. He didn’t want to overwhelm Emily. He couldn’t deny Brand anything. His cock hummed as Emily moaned, with appreciation or frustration he couldn’t tell. But a second later she started sucking him in earnest, working her head up and down and hollowing her cheeks. Jet could do nothing but stand there and enjoy.
And try not to faint.
“That’s it, sweetheart. You’re doing great.” Brand was gazing at the juncture of Emily’s thighs, at the opening of her body as it moved back and forth, mere millimeters from his cock. Jet watched his expression, saw the iron control melt into something more soft and malleable. “You make me need to take you so bad.”
He slipped inside her then, his eyes closed in surrender as h
e found rapture in her hot depths. In that moment, Jet saw it. The vulnerability, the weakness. There was a spot inside Brand that hadn’t grown calloused from all his rough experiences. Somewhere inside him it was there, and only Emily could access it.
Emily had told him Brand needed the freedom of being his complete self and that only Jet could help him with that. Jet saw now that Emily was just as vital to Brand, yet in a different way. If they came at him from those different angles…
God, could this really work? Could the love of two people somehow make Brand whole?
All coherent thought left him a second later when Brand drove inside Emily again, harder this time. The action thrust her forward, forcing more of Jet’s cock into her mouth. Jet’s hands clenched into fists against his skull. His mind blanked as Emily relaxed her throat and somehow managed to take him all in, over and over. Jet stood stock-still, unable to move now, not merely unwilling because of Brand’s direction. He was stunned by the glorious sensations.
“Open your eyes.”
Jet opened them to see Brand there behind Emily, his hips thrusting as he fucked her. His cock was buried deep inside her, his hands were on her hips, holding her in place. But his eyes…his eyes were on Jet.
“Fuck Emily’s mouth now. Come for me.”
Jet needed no further urging. He barely needed to thrust his hips a few times before his balls exploded. The heat burned his shaft, leaving his body and spilling into Emily’s, all the way into the back of her throat. She moaned as she swallowed his offering, her body gyrating between his and Brand’s. Jet watched, enraptured and entranced, as she moved sinuously between them, her smooth curves writhing in an ecstatic dance too lovely to turn away from.
But when Brand released himself too, Jet had to see it. He studied Brand’s face as he pounded into Emily. He threw his head back as he gave in to orgasm with guttural sounds that seemed ripped right from his throat.
It was all so incredible. So astonishing in its beauty. Jet could barely breathe, although he’d climaxed first and should have been the first to regain his equilibrium. He somehow managed to extricate himself from Emily’s mouth, dimly aware that maybe she was having trouble breathing for different reasons. He brought his hands down from behind his head to cradle hers. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “Brilliant.”
“Did you… Hell. I’m not even sure if you came.”
She laughed like his question was silly. “Duh, I came. Dork.”
Jet laughed too, and in the process his oxygen levels somehow improved. “That’s great then. Glad someone took care of that.”
“Brand always takes care of me.”
She smiled serenely, content in the knowledge of Brand’s love, as he gathered her up against his body, her back to his front. He wrapped his strong arms around her waist, and she slid one hand around Brand’s nape, pulling him in for an intimate kiss. For a moment, Jet was on the outer, and as beautiful as Brand and Emily were to watch, he knew watching wasn’t enough for him. He wanted in, and there was no guarantee Brand would allow that, or that Emily would want it after the novelty of three-way sex wore off for her.
But the second the concerns entered his mind, Emily turned to him and extended her hand. Jet slipped his fingers through hers and allowed her to tug him onto the bed. She offered her lips, and he took them, tasting Brand’s kiss and his own essence on her tongue.
Emily drew back and looked at him. “You enjoyed making love that way, didn’t you?”
“What’s not to enjoy?”
She smiled. “I don’t just mean getting a blow job.”
Jet’s gaze flicked to Brand’s. Brand was watching him steadily, the knowledge already in his eyes. Jet tilted his lips. “Yeah, I kinda dig it when Brand gets dominating.”
“Me too,” Emily sighed.
Brand continued to stare at Jet. “Now that we have that settled, you two should know that if we do this thing—this thing with the thee of us—we do it my way. Is that going to be a problem?”
“No.”
“No.”
Emily giggled because they’d both answered in unison. “Jinx.”
Jet grinned and bopped her on the nose. “You’re freakin’ adorable, Emily Irving.”
Emily parodied a put-upon sigh. “I get that all the time.”
“Christ,” Brand muttered. “You two are going to make this difficult for me.”
“No we won’t sweetie, we promise.” Emily ruffled Brand’s hair—as much as you could ruffle a crew cut. “It’s going to be fun.”
“Fun is for later. Right now we have chores, so get out of bed and get dressed before you start turning me on again.” Brand flicked a meaningful gaze over Jet’s nakedness. “Both of you.”
Jet’s blood warmed at Brand’s appraisal, and his chest expanded when he caught Emily’s eye and saw the joy and hopefulness in her expression. Damn, but it was contagious. She made him believe this was possible, that this might actually work. Jet couldn’t stem his smile. This time when they spoke in unison, they did it intentionally, with an air of exaggerated subservience.
“Yes, Brand.”
“Yes, Brand.”
Brand groaned and got off the bed, giving Emily’s butt a reproachful pat on the way. “You’re going to make it hell for me.”
He sounded cranky, but Jet didn’t miss the way Brand’s lips had twitched before he’d turned away.
Chapter Fifteen
“There you go Duke, some nice fresh hay for you.”
Brand stroked the old gelding’s flank, and the horse quivered with appreciation. But as Brand made to exit the stall, Duke let out a loud snort and nudged his shoulder, as though to remind him of something he’d forgotten.
“What’s up, you crotchety old fart?” Brand withdrew the carrot he’d been keeping in his back pocket and waved it. “Looking for this?”
Duke drew his lips back to reveal his teeth as he stretched his neck. Brand held the carrot just out of reach, making the old horse walk for his snack. Duke snorted again, unimpressed with the game. He walked forward anyway, and Brand chuckled as he gave him the carrot, stroking the white blaze on Duke’s forehead while the horse chomped away.
Horses were simple creatures. If you treated them well they were loyal. Even an ornery old beast like Duke would perform to specifications for a carrot. Too bad people were not so straightforward.
Emily had surprised the heck out of him when she’d suggested Jet stay with them while he worked on his assignment, surprised him so completely he hadn’t been able to think of a way to say no—which he was pretty sure he should have done instead of indulging in more three-way sex the minute she brought the subject up. And continuing to indulge in it night after night until more than a week had passed, until the situation had become complicated.
The sex was one thing. There was no denying it was a wicked temptation, one that any hot-blooded bisexual male would want to explore. That apparently Emily wanted to explore too, and Brand was more than okay with that. The way Emily responded when she was with him and Jet together was wild, and Brand was glad he could give her that, that he could make her happy.
He’d never been confident that he’d made her completely happy on his own. He’d always been aware that there was more she wanted from him, more he couldn’t seem to give her. More that he knew he could never give her because she wanted what was buried deep inside of him where it was dark and dank and desperate. He was afraid that if he opened up to her fully, she’d recoil from what he revealed.
But in the week that Jet had been sharing their bed, that expectant look had been chased out of Emily’s eyes, overwhelmed by a new and eager passion that consumed her. She was enjoying herself immensely, and that long-familiar constriction in Brand’s chest, the one caused by the guilt that he wasn’t giving Emily enough, had eased.
“Em said I’d find you ou
t here.”
Brand’s stomach flipped as he turned toward the stable entrance and saw Jet standing there, his body a shadowy outline against the late-afternoon sunshine. Brand’s chest grew tight all over again, like his ribs were crowding his lungs.
And there’s the reason nothing is as straightforward as it could be. While the problem of fulfilling Emily’s needs had been resolving itself, a new issue had cropped up—Brand’s feelings for Jet and the fact they were as out-of-control as ever.
“Just getting the horses ready for the night.” Brand was relieved his voice sounded normal. “What’s Em cooking up in there?”
“Butter chicken, complete with naan bread and homemade mango chutney. I swear that woman is a frustrated gourmet.”
“You’re not so bad yourself.” Brand thought of the Mexican feast Jet had made them a couple of nights ago.
Jet shrugged. “I can throw things together so it looks impressive. It’s more flair than skill.”
Brand thought he had plenty of both, and for a moment he felt a sharp pang of regret for all that he’d missed with this man because he’d run from a potential relationship, thinking himself inadequate. He was still inadequate if truth be told, still not relationship material. Not for a man like Jet, who knew him so well and demanded so damn much.
He could manage with Emily—just. She was too soft and sweet to point out his failings, and somehow that allowed him to get away with not addressing them. Guilt assailed him at the thought, and a nasty inner voice taunted him. You’ll never be good enough for her.
“Anyway, she sent me out to let you know dinner will be in an hour.”
“Thanks.” This time the rasp was in his voice because his throat had grown taut. Jet was bound to read something into it, so Brand set about distracting him. “Why don’t you come in and help with Daisy?”
“No thanks. I’m good here.”
Brand shot him a look. He realized Jet hadn’t advanced into the stables at all, that he hadn’t come into the stables once in the week he’d been here. “Don’t tell me you’re still afraid of horses?”
