Josh watched it all, stroking slowly, lips slightly parted.
Dylan pressed a hand into the small of her back, prompting her to bend over the couch. He trailed his hand along her behind. “God, I love watching your ass. And all of you, but this view is pretty incredible.” He slipped two fingers between her legs and dipped into her opening.
She clenched at the easy intrusion. No witty responses came to mind. Once again, he had her tongue-tied and her thoughts racing with anticipation.
He withdrew, and she heard the tear of foil.
Dylan nudged her opening with the head of his cock, then slipped inside easily. He stretched her out and filled her up.
She pressed back into his cock, wanting him buried deep.
“Fuck, you feel good.” He gripped her hips hard and withdrew almost all the way, before driving inside her again. The slow tease built rapidly to a hard pounding, as he slammed into her.
The combination of everything—the lingering touches on her skin, Josh stroking himself quickly, Dylan hammering against her—built back to the cusp of climax.
Dylan pried his fingers from her skin, to reach around. He sought out her clit again. When he brushed the tender nub, she squeezed around his shaft. He rubbed on either side.
The caress was enough to coax orgasm from her. She came hard, clenching his erection and the back of the couch.
He didn’t ease up, and she fell into the stars that danced behind her eyelids. She watched as Josh came. That she’d been his private show was enough to draw out her pleasure.
Dylan’s grunts grew shorter and more punctuated, matching his hard pace. He let out one final groan and slowed to a stop.
She didn’t want to climb down from this cloud. Up here it was amazing and warm, and her thoughts were fuzzed, and out there, she might have to choose.
For now, she was only focusing on this moment. What lay beyond was too uncertain.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Josh should have turned and walked out the instant he saw Sydney and Dylan mostly naked in the living room. A feat easier said than done, when the view was so fantastic.
When they invited him to stay, there was no way he could say no.
“Do I dare ask what I missed?” He wasn’t content to sit in his lonely seat anymore. He wanted to be part of the tangle of limbs on the couch.
He crossed the room, and Sydney scooted her legs without hesitation to make room for him. He sat and pulled her feet in to his lap.
Dylan glanced at her, brows raised in question.
Sydney shrugged. “Part of what we discussed was about him.”
Now Josh was really curious.
Dylan wrapped an arm more tightly around Sydney. “We were arguing about why it was okay for me to be friends with you but not her. Did I get that right?”
“You did.” The tiny smile on her face was the pleased, content expression Josh used to adore.
Fuck, he still did. But he didn’t like the knot that grew in his throat at Dylan’s words. He didn’t want to lose that friendship.
Or more.
What was that supposed to mean? “And the conclusion was I can watch you have sex?”
Sydney wrinkled her nose. “It sounds a lot more creepy and a lot less hot when you put it that way. I want... wanted...”
Josh could guess what she was going to say, but he didn’t dare.
“To restart from the last save point,” Dylan said.
“That’s catchy, but barely clearer. Are you going to start hanging a tie on the front door? Spending more and more time at her place?” That was the opposite of, let’s see where this goes, but Josh needed them to say it. To vocalize that it was okay for him to be a part of their relationship, and to what extent.
The casual sex was fun, even only watching. But he didn’t want to be a third wheel, and he had zero interest in being a sentient vibrator.
Dylan furrowed his brow. “Not unless that’s what you prefer.”
“I don’t have more specific words for it.” Sydney shifted her legs so more weight rested against Josh’s. “Let’s see where this goes doesn’t rule anything out.”
“But you’re still dating him.” Josh nodded at Dylan.
Sydney twisted her lips and was silent for a moment. “And you’re still living together.”
“It’s not the same.” Josh almost fumbled on the words. It wasn’t. They were roommates.
“You sure? Because friends with occasional benefits sounds similar.” Sydney held his gaze.
Okay, maybe he didn’t want them to define it. No reason to take anything off the table. Sydney had a friend who dated two guys. It worked fine for them, regardless of how Josh felt about Kathryn on a personal level. “All right. I’m in for this ambiguous... whatever it is. Besides, I kind of like the idea of no rules.”
Sydney and Dylan both laughed.
Josh didn’t get the joke. “What?”
“You hate not having rules.” A playful smirk danced on Sydney’s lips.
God, she was so fucking kissable. Was that allowed?
Nothing was off the table.
He leaned in and brushed his mouth over hers. Familiar sparks. A desire he thought he remembered but had completely understated.
Sydney’s gasp hummed through him, and she leaned into him, pressing more weight and hunger into the kiss.
Dylan’s growl snapped them apart.
Josh had to fight, to keep from tracing the faint sting that lingered on his lips.
“Is that a no?” Sydney leaned back into Dylan, her question tentative.
Dylan brushed her hair from her neck and licked a path up to her earlobe. Her eyelids fluttered, and she sighed.
“It’s not a no.” Dylan’s voice was muffled by her skin. “It’s more of a, Fuck, I liked watching that.”
Josh’s blood heated to scalding with need. This was going to be interesting in the best way. “Fuck, I missed you, Tink.”
Dylan traced a path down Sydney’s arm, to tangle his fingers with hers. “You’re staying here tonight.”
“Okay.” She nodded. “I didn’t come prepared for that, so I don’t have any extra clothes.”
Josh was going to push this a little more. Not too much, but enough to get a loose idea of boundaries. “Oh darn.” He kept the teasing in his sarcasm. “You might have to stroll around mostly naked for the next couple of hours.”
“Crude.” Dylan didn’t sound upset. He handed Sydney his T-shirt. “We don’t want you getting cold.”
She tugged the top over her head. It was hard to tell when she was seated, but it looked like it was barely going to cover her ass.
There was a sting of jealousy that she was in Dylan’s clothes, but the sight itself made up for it. “I was wrong.” Josh was willing to admit it in this rare case. “That’s much better than nude. Leaves just enough to the imagination and is easy to take off.”
“Not that I mind the attention. Wow, I really don’t. I almost don’t know what to do with it.” Sydney’s chuckle was playful. “But I’m not a fuck-all-night kind of girl, so if you two are going to get it on tonight, I’m the one who gets to watch next round.”
Josh gripped her fingers and kissed the tips. “I think we can behave for at least a couple of hours.”
“I guess if you two are out, so am I.” Dylan gave an exaggerated sigh, but he was smiling.
“In that case, I’m going to ruin the moment even further,” Sydney said. “What am I going to do about this patent troll thing?”
“We’ll write up a reply and hand it off to our friend.” Dylan paused with a frown. “A different friend. One who will call you back.”
Josh liked the plan, but it had a teensy, tiny, glaring flaw. “That’s a huge legal gray area.”
“We won’t be acting against our client or the firm,” Dylan said.
“Hence gray area.” Was this another of those instances that had upset Sydney before? Putting work before them? No. This was actually toeing a line, not putting in
a few extra hours at work. But Josh wanted to help, and they wouldn't handle the actual interaction, just point her in the right direction. “I’m not saying we shouldn’t. We just need to draw that line, for everyone’s safety.”
“I’m grateful for all of it. Don’t get yourselves in trouble, but thank you for everything,” Sydney said.
Dylan grinned. “Good. We’ll get you sorted in the morning.”
They tripped from one subject to another, talking long into the night. When all three of them were yawning as much as anything else, Josh did something he was reluctant to do. “We should get to bed.”
Which meant letting them vanish into Dylan’s room, because they were the couple, and Josh would go sleep alone.
“I’m good here for a little longer.” Sydney’s protest was cut short by another yawn. She blinked several times. “I promise.”
Dylan nodded. “Me too. Sleep is for the week, right?”
Josh remembered that mantra all too well, from the last several years of school. “Exactly.” This was delaying the inevitable. For now, no matter how much he wanted otherwise, he was that third wheel.
He had another chance, though. An opportunity to earn Sydney’s friendship again, even if it wasn’t more, and he was going to reach for that for all he was worth.
JOSH’S NECK SCREAMED in protest at the angle he’d slept on it, forcing him awake. He pried his eyelids open, his body sending mixed signals of pleasure and pain.
A warm weight pressed against him. Partly Sydney’s and partly Dylan’s.
They’d fallen asleep on the couch, in an awkward jumble. Fuck, he’d missed waking up with her bare skin next to his. The entire night lingered fresh in his thoughts. He’d known he wasn’t over Sydney, but spending this kind of time with her was a reminder of just how much he missed her company.
And things were getting back to normal with Dylan. That was nice. A few days of not speaking was too much for Josh.
He couldn’t get up without disturbing them, but he needed to be in a different position. He extracted himself as carefully as possible, not surprised when both of them moaned and stirred.
Josh left them to find their own consciousness. He took a quick shower with the water on as cold as he could stand. He needed to keep his head clear, until he knew how this morning would play out after last night.
He ventured back into the living room, to catch the tail end of Dylan talking.
“...home, pack an overnight back, and we’ll pick you up in an hour for breakfast.”
They were making plans for their weekend. We’ll... that implied Josh was a part of those plans. He liked that. “What if I don’t want to go for breakfast?” He couldn’t help teasing.
Sydney glanced at him over her shoulder, mouth twisted. “Who are you, and what have you done with Josh?”
He struggled to keep his expression straight. “Maybe I’ve changed. A guy can’t stay a diner-omelet junkie his entire life.”
“Maybe not, but you haven’t given it up yet,” Dylan said.
Josh’s smirk broke through. “Yeah, all right. I’m in.”
They sent Sydney on her way, and Dylan vanished into his room.
Thank God Josh didn’t have anything pressing today. He was focused intently on what happened last night. The sex. The words exchanged. What it all meant...
And the question that had nagged him for the last week, that he hadn’t been able to resolve with Dylan avoiding him—what was going on with him and Dylan? Things were awfully rocky, for not letting this come between them.
Dwelling on things without talking them through wouldn’t get Josh anywhere. Despite his arguments against helping Sydney with this patent-troll bullshit, he’d already looked things over with her. It would take ten minutes to type up a basic letter to the opposing party, and then he could hand it off to her.
Josh was wrapping up, when he heard doors opening from the direction of Dylan’s bedroom. He padded to the room and leaned against the doorframe.
Dylan was pulling on a shirt. It was always an incredible sight.
“Are we good?” Josh asked.
Dylan grabbed a pair of socks from his drawer. “I don’t know. We’re not the same as we were a week ago.”
Josh tempered his irritation. On the one hand, he hadn’t done anything to Dylan. His actions three years ago shouldn’t impact their lives now.
Then again, Josh had pulled that bullshit with Sydney the first night they were back together, and if he were in Dylan’s shoes, he’d be furious to see someone else trying to force Sydney out of his life.
“Thank you for sticking with me,” Josh said. “I won’t make you or Sydney regret it.”
Dylan finally paused to look at him. “That’s what I’m banking on. No third chances.”
Josh didn’t care for the ultimatum, but there wasn’t a lot of room for argument. “All right.”
“Cool. So, last night. Hot, right?”
Except for the part where Josh was an outside observer. He didn’t have an issue with watching; it was that there was no other option that he was wavering on. “Superhot.”
“Gotta go get Sydney. Meet you there.” Dylan clapped Josh on the shoulder as he brushed by.
How long was Josh willing to play third wheel, to figure this out?
Longer than a weekend. But only for Sydney... and Dylan.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Dylan liked intertwining his fingers with Sydney’s as he drove them to the diner. A light and constant thrum flowed between them.
He shouldn’t be okay with the arrangement last night. Logic and a lifetime of living in reality said, if he kept seeing Sydney and let Josh be a part of their relationship, it would end badly.
There should be reservations. He should hesitate.
It all felt all right, though. Would that change if they continued? If he found himself in the same place Josh was last night—watching?
Desire lit along his skin at the thought of sitting back and observing while Josh and Sydney fucked.
He shoved the image aside. If he lingered on the thought too long, he’d be fighting an uncomfortable erection.
He and Sydney reached their destination. As he joined her on the sidewalk, his hand found hers again with little thought.
“I haven’t been here in ages.” Sydney’s voice was soft.
Dylan wasn’t surprised. He and Josh came here all the time. It was Josh’s favorite place. “They have new menus.”
“Did they add anything good?”
“They didn’t add anything. They just printed new menus.”
She laughed, and her posture relaxed. “At least I know what I’m getting, then.”
Inside, Josh waved from the booth in the back of the dining room.
“New upholstery, too.” Sydney bounced once as she slid into the seat. “I barely recognize the place.”
As Dylan took the spot next to her, Josh passed his phone across the table. “I drafted you a response letter, for the Cease and Desist,” Josh said.
“My hero.” Sydney pretended to swoon. “Email it to me? Or this friend of yours? And thank you.”
That almost made Dylan jealous. What happened to all the protests? But even with that thought, he was happier that Sydney was getting what she needed and Josh was involved.
Was that weird or normal?
Dylan didn’t know anymore. He wanted this to be what it was. Could he have that?
“I’ve been wondering something.” Sydney angled herself in her seat, one leg on the bench, so she was turned between them. Her leg pressed against Dylan’s. “How do you go from roommates to, Be my plus one at this important dinner?”
Josh shrugged. “We just did.”
“No. There has to be more to it than that.”
“You did know he was into girls and guys?” Dylan rested a hand on her calf.
Her smile came easily. “That was part of what made the threesome idea more fun. But there has to be a story to it. You know I love a good st
ory.”
“There’s really not.” Josh leaned back as Mel, the waitress, brought them coffee and water. “I told her we all wanted our usual.”
Mel looked at Sydney. “Lovely to see you again, dear. We missed you.”
“I missed you too. And the usual is great.”
Mel made sure they were set, and walked away.
“I’ll give.” Dylan prepared his coffee and took a tentative sip. Perfect. “There’s technically a story, but it’s not the kind of thing that brings audiences to their knees in laughter or tears. He needed a date for some event Laurie set him up for, and didn’t want to go.”
Josh leaned in. “Dylan said, I’ll go. That ought to ruffle some feathers. And I liked the sound of it.”
“Which led to, You know what else would raise eyebrows? If we slept together.” Sydney watched them over the top of her mug as she sipped her coffee.
Dylan liked the amusement in her voice. “Not quite. That was more like, I was horny, he was horny, and it happened more than once.” The explanation sounded too casual. Like a brush off. But it was the truth.
So why did Dylan wish there was more to it?
“You need to work on your storytelling skills,” Sydney said. “Try this on for size. The strong, handsome warrior had suffered a long, hard day of work. His bones were weary—”
“And his bone needed attention.” Josh smirked.
Sydney rolled her eyes and shook her head, but her smile never wavered. “Not what I was going for. You didn’t want to tell the story before. Have you changed your mind?”
“He hasn’t,” Dylan said. “I’d rather hear your version.”
“Because your bone needs attention?” Sydney leaned back in her seat.
Dylan followed her gaze to Mel, who had just arrived with their food. Kitchen-sink omelet for Josh, chocolate-chip pancakes for Dylan, and apparently a grilled-cheese sandwich for Sydney.
“My bone got attention.” Dylan was sparse with the syrup, but glad there was a lot of butter for his pancakes. “I’m cocky enough to believe I can have the same again, whether or not Josh spins his Beavis and Butthead version of our sex life.”
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