Thawing the Ice

by Shyla Colt

  “I hoped.” Ryan pouted.

  “Odds are against you, little one,” Casey said with a smirk.

  “We’ll see.” She narrowed her eyes, hoping for a good hand.

  The banter continued as their clothes littered the carpet. Down to her bra and panties, she pushed aside her wooden letter holder. “I yield you cheaters.” She huffed.

  “We’re not cheating, we just formed a united front,” Ryan said.

  “Well, now it’s my turn to be in control,” she said. The men exchanged a look and turned to her with eager expressions on their faces.

  She stood, enjoying being the one with the upper hand. “I think the two of you are overdressed.” The men scrambled to their feet, and shed their pants and white t-shirts. Laughter bubbled up in her throat. Awkwardness was impossible to maintain. Waking up between the two of them, she had a mini moment of freak out until Ryan pulled her close and nuzzled into her neck, stealing her anxiety. Maybe they’d been working their way toward this all along. The sight of their broad shoulders and muscular chests made her lick her lip. Honed from hunting and chopping wood, they had a panty-wetting, rugged appeal. Her core throbbed, and she walked over, trailing her fingers down their tan skin.

  Their muscles tightened, and her chest swelled with pride. I did that to them, not some floozy from a bar. The realization that her days of hiding were over hit her like a two-by-four over the head. They were hers to do what she wanted with. A purr rumbled in her chest as she explored their sculpted flesh, making her way down to the bulges in their boxer briefs. She cupped their swollen lengths, stroking down as they groaned.

  “You like that?”

  “Jesus, Lei.” Ryan’s voice wavered, giving wings to the sense of power blossoming inside her.

  “Yes.” Casey moaned.

  She coaxed them to their full lengths. “Last night was about me. Today is about you.” She slowly lowered to her knees. “Time to present your weapons, gentlemen.”

  They pulled their cocks out, and she marveled at the differences, holding each one in her hands as she worshipped their tips with her tongue, circling without taking either in her mouth. Casey was large and thick with a bulbous head turned an angry red. Ryan was slimmer and longer with a weeping mushroom tip tinged almost purple. Veins stood out on the sides and underneath. She took her time tracing each one.

  “God, Lei, you’re so good at this,” Ryan rasped.

  “Only for you two.”

  “Fuck yes. So hot,” Casey said.

  She sucked Casey into her mouth, pumping Ryan in time to her head bobs. His salty fluid flavored her mouth. She craved more. Wanting them both, she gripped them tight in each hand and alternated sucking their tips. Two sets of fingers tangled in her hair, guiding her as she continued to stroke them and take them as deep as she could manage. Moisture flooded her panties.

  “Fuck, you’re going to make us come, baby,” Ryan said.

  She hummed, willing them with her eyes to understand that’s exactly what she wanted.

  “You want that? Having us spill down your throat?” Casey whispered.

  She moaned, stroking them faster, and they bucked their hips out right, fucking her mouth in a rhythm they’d developed trading off every couple of minutes. The raw, desperate behavior had her teetering on the edge. Ryan hit the back of her throat, and she choked, then forced the unused muscles to relax. Tears rolled down her face, and the pleasure she took knowing what she did for them overrode the slight curve of learning pain. Ryan twitched and flooded her mouth with their creamy goodness. She took down every drop, stroking them until not a drop was left, and turned to Casey, repeating the process

  Chapter Three

  Leighton peered across the room and smiled at the sight of one of her two boyfriends. If someone had told her a couple of months earlier that her crushes would become an insane reality, she would’ve laughed in the person’s face. Now, it was as natural as breathing. Of course, boyfriend didn’t really begin to cover the bond they’d begun to spin. Childhood ties morphed into something more, blending, blurring, and reshaping into something far beyond what they’d hoped for in the beginning. Life up here in the isolated town was harsh, dirty, messy, and testing. However, she knew how to get along with men in small quarters. The only child to a rough-and-tumble outdoorsman, she’d perfected the art long ago.

  ”You’re thinking too hard. I can feel it.” Ryan’s voice drifted into the room from the bathroom.

  “Just because you strive to think as little as possible, doesn’t mean I’m trying to attempt rocket science,” she said, swinging her legs off the side of the bed.

  “Mmhmm.” Ryan paused in the middle of shaving and glanced at her. “So, what were you thinking about?” The set of his jaw and his narrowed eyes told her he’d never let it go.

  “Dad,” she admitted.

  “Yeah, and that’s not heavy.” Sarcasm dripped from every word.

  “Shut up, Ry.”

  He winked and turned back to the mirror. The water stopped in the shower, and the curtain pulled back to reveal the bronze Greek god they referred to as Case. She licked her lips and skimmed her gaze down to his chest. More than just tall, he was big, solid, and sculpted in all the right places.

  “You keep looking at me like that and we won’t make it out of here.” Casey’s gravel-filled voice went straight to her center. Another pair of underwear soaked with one sentence. She rubbed her thighs together to relieve the pressure and mentally counted to ten. Now is not the time.

  ”And you know Dad doesn’t like to wait,” Ryan said.

  Leighton smiled as she thought of the gruff father figure they had dinner with every Sunday. After her father’s death, Steve had become a stickler for seeing her weekly. He took up the banner her father had laid down effortlessly. There would always be an empty spot no man could every truly fill, but the Boyer men did a damn good job of patching up most of the space. She forced her eyes away from temptation and nodded. “I think he suspects something’s up.” She hadn’t missed the appraising looks the older gentleman had sent her way recently. She nibbled the inside of her cheek, unsure how Robert Boyer would take their relationship.

  “You think?” Casey snorted. “You and Ry practically start fires when you’re in the same room together.” He walked over to the dresser and pulled out clothing.

  “Whoa, don’t exclude yourself from that, chief. You get a case of puppy dog eyes and stare intensely like a sick cow,” Ryan said, never turning his attention from the mirror.

  The teasing made her smile. “Does it bother you?” she asked softly. “That he might know we’re seeing each other?” Their time together had been amazing, but they’d yet to come out and tell anyone.

  “No.” Ryan snorted. “Why would it?”

  “Because.” She shrugged, and tugged at the loose thread on a navy blue waffle-weave blanket.

  “Because what?” Casey asked, turning to face her. His towel hung precariously on his hips. Casey was like a fucking bloodhound, sniffing out self-doubt threatening to rise. She loved herself, and thought her size fourteen body was beautiful, yet, every now and then, insecurity born from a life without a female figure to guide her reared its ugly head. At times, she questioned her femininity.

  ”We don’t want anyone to know, right?” she said.

  “I don’t really care who knows, and I get the feeling that’s not what this is about,” Casey said.

  Damn you and your ability to always read between the lines.

  “You getting tired of us?” Ryan asked. His voice sounded lighthearted, but she knew him better.

  “God, no.” She shook her head. “I’m happy.”

  “But?” Casey pressed her harder, standing in front of her.

  “You’re you, and I’m…not.” Her stomach knotted. Being together behind closed doors and coming out in the open was apples and oranges. They’d be dissected, and she knew just what would be said.

  “Please don’t make me get a headache try
ing to decode your girly shit. Spell it out for me, Pulver.”

  “Jesus, Ryan, tact.” Casey rolled his eyes.

  “We’re just different in so many ways.” She sighed.

  “Is this about you being black?” Ryan rested his razor on the sink. She smiled at his half foamed face.

  “No.”

  “Good, because it doesn’t bother us in the least,” Casey said.

  “I like my hot chocolate.” Ryan smirked.

  Casey shook his head. “So ,what is it , Leighton?”

  “You don’t see yourselves the way others do. Outside looking in, we don’t match well.”

  “Says who?” The deadly tone of Ryan’s voice set off a red flag.

  “No one—disengage kill switch.” Her protective figures in school, the habit had never fully been broken. If someone said something off collar, Ryan and Casey would make them regret it. “I’m just having a why are you with me moment.”

  “I don’t know why you’re so harsh on yourself.” Casey shook his head. ”Makes me want to find the fucker who dicked with your head and beat some sense into him.”

  Unease skittered in her head. “If it’s any consolation, he’s long gone from around here.”

  “Fucking Gordon!” Ryan’s bellow shook the room. “I knew that asshole wasn’t good enough for you.”

  Casey sank down on the bed beside her. “You’re beautiful, Leighton. Tall, strong, curvy, and even better—intelligent and damn competent. We never wanted a Barbie. Those girls in the bars were fillers to take the edge off. What we want from you is a hell of a lot more permanent.”

  “More cushion for the pushing, Pulver,” Ryan said, wiggling his eyebrows.

  “Really, Ryan.” Casey hissed.

  Pacified, she giggled.

  “What?” Clean-shaven, Ryan set the razor down on the sink and walked out of the bathroom. “Look, Leighton. You want to lose weight, stay the same, put on more, I’m good. Long as you don’t lose that ass, or those amazing tits. They’re kind of my kryptonite.” He winked.

  “I’ll keep that in mind, Ry.”

  “Okay, so we’re telling Dad tonight then?” Ryan looked at Casey.

  The leapfrogging Ryan’s brain did had her dizzy. “Wait, what?” she said.

  “That’s what you want, right? More validity?” Ryan lifted his eyebrows and frowned.

  “I…yeah, I guess.”

  “Done.” Ryan shrugged and walked over to the closet to pick out clothing.

  She turned to Casey, who grinned. “Smart guy, my big brother.”

  “I always forgot what a massive brain he hides behind that sarcastic tongue of his.”

  “You weren’t complaining about it last night when I had it buried inside you,” Ryan said.

  “Maybe I did and you couldn’t hear me. I was sitting on your face.”

  “Burn,” Casey called, laughing.

  “Pretty good, Lei. I’m glad to see you’re learning more from me than sexual skills.” Ryan glanced over his shoulder and winked.

  “Smart ass.” She scowled.

  “Don’t be mad, Lei, my little Hawaiian flower.”

  “Oh God.” She rolled her eyes, but couldn’t hold back the smile that rose. He’d been the one to coin the nickname Lei. Three years older, he hadn’t been able to say Leighton when she was born. It’d always been a special thing between the two of them.

  “Dude, you’re so hokey sometimes.” Casey snickered.

  “Really? Mr. Sensitive?” Ryan returned to dressing.

  “Fuck you.” Casey stood from the bed and did the same.

  Nervous about seeing their father for the first time she could remember, Leighton smoothed down her plaid shirt and prayed he wouldn’t be completely disgusted. Losing another father right now would be too much.

  ***

  “Come on you, guys, staring at the house won’t do us any good,” Ryan said, opening the door of the truck and hopping down. She followed after him, taking his hand as she jumped the last few feet. It’d snowed on their way over, and the ground was slippery. Carefully, they made their way up the wooden stairs to the one-story home the boys had grown up in. They knocked on the door, and Steve answered with a huge grin.

  “It’s good to see you guys. I hoped you’d get in here before the next storm hit,” he said. He stepped back and let them enter. They stomped their feet on the floor, loosening the lingering snow, and began to unlace their boots.

  “Hey, Pop,” Ryan said as they lined their shoes by the door to contain the watery mess that would form as the snow melted.

  “Hey, Dad,” Casey said, offering a smile as they stepped onto the carpet.

  “Steve,” Leighton said, offering up a smile.

  “What’s new, kids? I got some meat and potatoes ready to go in the Crockpot for supper.”

  They all looked at one another and paused.

  “What? Cat got your tongue?” Steve frowned.

  “Nope. It’s pretty much the same old, Pop,” Ryan said.

  Leighton breathed easier. Springing this on him first thing didn’t seem like the best way to go.

  “Yeah, I know the Lodge is doing well. I want to know about what happens when you head home. Lei, honey, are they treating you well at the homestead?” He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and led her into the dining area.

  “They’re behaving themselves quite admirably.”

  “Good. I’d hate to have to kick their asses.”

  She laughed.

  “That’s the smile I wanted to see. How are the tiny tykes?”

  Her heart lightened, and a silly smirk appeared. Her fifth graders were her pride and joy. Being part of a small school allowed her to watch them grow.

  “Excellent. We’re gearing up for Valentine’s Day, it’s adorable.”

  He shook his head. “Always knew you’d make a wonderful teacher. Thought we might lose you after college, though. Life here isn’t for everyone. Glad you stuck around.” He patted her back and pulled out a chair at the massive oak table he’d made with his bare hands. “Boys, set the table and I’ll serve up dinner.”

  “Wait, why doesn’t she have to help?” Ryan asked.

  “Because she’s a guest, numbnuts.” Steve sighed. ”It’s like they forget their manners.”

  “No, that excuse died years ago. She’s family.” Casey said, giving her a smile.

  Steve paused and glanced at the three of them. “Hmm.” He shook his head and walked to the crock pot as they moved to the cabinets and removed dishes.

  ***

  Ryan waited until the dinner was almost over to broach the topic of their shift in relationship.

  “So, Pop, we did want to talk you about something.”

  “Sorta figured. You had the secretive vibe rolling off you. Last time you came by like that, you bought a house. I’m hoping this will be less dramatic.”

  “That depends on how you take it,” Casey said.

  “Well, shit, lay it on me boys.”

  “We’re seeing Leighton,” Ryan said. He glanced over to see her cringe and hold her breath.

  “I’m sorry.” His dad tilted his head. “You are, or Casey is?”

  “Both of us, Dad,” Casey said.

  Steve turned to Leighton. “And you’re okay with this?”

  “Yes, are you?” she asked. Her voice shook, and Ryan’s heart ached for her.

  “I figured eventually one of you would get your head out of your ass and realize what’s been right in front of you all these years. I never imagined it’d be both of you at the same time.” He shook his head.

  “You’re not going to rip us a new one?” Ryan asked skeptically.

  “What for? I figure what a man does behind his own closed doors is his business. Besides, you can’t get any better than Lei. And she knows all about your bullshit. If saddling herself with you makes her happy, I’m all for it.” Steve grabbed her hand. “You going to whip them into shape, darling?”

  “I don’t know. I’ll try, but i
t might be too late for that.” Lei winked.

  His dad laughed, and the tense moment was killed.

  “Were you kids actually worried about what I’d say?” His dad furrowed his brow.

  “A little bit,” Ryan said.

  “Yeah.” Casey nodded.

  “At my age, not much gets my goat up.” He shrugged. “Who wants dessert?”

  Ryan glanced down and beamed. He’d never appreciated his father mother than this moment. He glanced back up. “What did you make, Pop?”

  “Apple cobbler. Had to get rid of the apples I had leftover before they went bad. No way was I going to let them go bad. Prices are steep these days.”

  “Yeah, they are,” Ryan agreed.

  Still riding high off the victory, they decided to head down to the local tavern for a few drinks before bed. The sooner they let others know she was off the market, the better. With her laid-back attitude, she had no clue how attractive and desirable she was among the men in town. She was one of the good girls they all wanted to settle down with after they sowed their oats. They walked in, and he winced at the bleached blonde seated at the bar. Mary Jo, the last woman he’d slept with before a relationship with Lei became a reality. He shot a panicked glance at his brother. Casey lifted his eyebrows, and he gestured toward her with his head. Casey followed his line of vision and winced.

  “Why don’t we take a seat in the back?” Ryan said, wrapping his arm around Lei’s waist.

  “Okay—”

  “Ryan.” The high-pitched squeal made him want to bang his head against the wall. The ghost of commitment free ass was about to haunt him. Mary Jo slid of her barstool and hurried over to them. The heels of her boots clicked against the wood floor.

  “I haven’t seen you here in ages, honey. Where’ve you been hiding?” She pressed her large breast into his arm and batted her mascara-coated lashes. With her bright red nails, coupled with the war paint on her face, she was the exact opposite of Leighton.

  “Hey, Jo.” Ryan took a step back from her and pulled Lei closer. “I haven’t been hiding. I was exactly where I wanted to be.” He fixed her with a hard stare. Jo’s jaw dropped. She swayed back like she’d been hit.

  “Are you kidding me?” Her blue eyes narrowed and she gave Leighton a death glare. A sneer turned her pouty pink slips into a twisted version of a doll’s mouth.