Bound for Keeps (Men of Honor)

by SE Jakes

  Reed didn’t need to be told twice, bent his head, kissed Shane, and Shane knew for sure Reed’s reaction to grab him was a symptom of something more than wanting sex. Unexpected in this context, but not wholly surprising, all things considered.

  It was a fierce kiss, as if Reed had just gotten home from battle and had war beating to the rhythm of his heart. Shane closed his eyes and let Reed melt against him, especially because Keith ran his hands through both men’s hair, reassuring. Like he was letting them know he was their safety net. Their anchor.

  Shane hadn’t realized that he’d ached for this. The touch, the contact. The fucking heat.

  He bucked his pelvis against Reed, couldn’t help it. His cock needed the friction, and Reed rubbed right back against it, moaning into Shane’s mouth.

  Reed shoved Shane’s pants down to his knees. Keith must’ve been helping because suddenly it was bare cock against bare cock. He groaned helplessly into Reed’s mouth.

  “Make him come,” Keith ordered Reed, who quickly captured their cocks together in his hand and began to stroke them. It made Shane’s balls tighten, his body stiffen faster than he’d thought possible.

  “Just like that first night,” Reed told him. “You did this to yourself while we watched. Wanted to touch you…but I didn’t. Couldn’t. Now I can.”

  “Please…” Shane didn’t know what he was asking for but the climax bolted through him before he could say anything more. He whimpered as the force of it drained his cock in several long, satisfying spurts of come that spattered his chest and Reed’s.

  He buried his face against Reed’s neck and breathed the man in as he recovered. When he finally pulled back, Reed was watching him with a slight grin, and yes, he looked much better than he had earlier. Keith wound a hand in the back of his head again and guided him down between Shane’s legs again.

  “Clean him up,” Keith ordered, held Reed’s hair, moving his head down as he licked Shane’s chest and stomach, cock and balls clean.

  “Jesus, I could come again just watching this,” Shane breathed. Reed’s tongue rasped over his belly and thighs, balls and cock until he was hard and squirming under the ministrations.

  “That can be arranged,” Keith told him.

  “More,” he heard himself insist, and Reed smiled, looked up at him even as he took Shane’s cock into his mouth, and just the sight of the man’s lips stretched around his cock nearly made him come immediately.

  But he wanted to have some self-control. Wanted this to last, in case it was a one-and-only scenario, needed it to play out in his fantasies over and over. And so he watched Reed suck him, felt the man’s tongue in his slit, hands on his balls…fingers digging into his hips.

  “Fuck his mouth,” Keith told Shane, and Shane shuddered and rocked his hips against Reed’s hot, wet grip. “That’s it. Harder. He likes it.”

  Judging by the happy humming, Reed absolutely did. Keith’s hand was on Reed’s hair, twined in it, and he reached out to tweak one of Shane’s nipples. Hard.

  “Fuck.” He jumped, and Reed sucked harder as the pain turned to a pleasurable zing that went from abused nipple to groin. Keith did it again and again, and Shane was helpless against Keith’s touches…and Keith knew it. Chuckled and leaned forward over Reed’s head to suck a nipple into his mouth between his teeth. He teased it with his tongue as Reed turned up the volume on the sucking and humming and the alternating soft and hard wet bites were making Shane threaten to float away.

  And he never wanted to come down. With Keith licking his nipples, Shane shot down Reed’s throat, and as his cock was milked, he didn’t remember much else when he came to on his back on the mattress. His nipples were still wet and his cock sensitive as hell but still half hard.

  Two orgasms in the space of no more than twenty minutes—he hadn’t been able to do that since he was seventeen. Maybe Keith was feeding him some kind of aphrodisiac.

  Or maybe he was just with the right men.

  “Now it’s your turn,” Keith told him, and he was guiding Shane’s head to Reed’s thighs. “That’s it baby boy, lick him clean.”

  He shuddered when Keith called him baby boy. Of course, the man noticed immediately, let out a soft chuckle.

  What else would Keith make him do? Would he find himself asking for things he wanted Keith to do?

  You already did. And it felt right.

  Keith pulled him up to a tall kneeling position, gazed down at him unhurriedly and then over to Reed, who lay wantonly in front of them on the floor, legs spread, cock half hard and still big enough to make Shane sweat.

  “How can I put the two of you to the best possible use?” Keith pondered out loud. “You Army boys always need a Marine to keep you in line.”

  Reed laughed at that, and Shane marveled at the deep, rich sounds that came from a man who was in the throes of a horrible nightmare not half an hour earlier. He wanted to pull Reed close and stroke his hair, tell him that he would help to take care of him. Wanted to.

  As if they knew what Shane was thinking, both men turned to look at him. This was make or break, and Shane could walk away, not join in and neither man would hold it against him. Keith told him as much.

  But he wanted. Goddamned how he wanted more of this, of both of them.

  Keith couldn’t think of anything more perfect than having these two men at his cock. He ran his hands through their hair as they alternated licking his balls, stroking his shaft, fingering along his perineum until he groaned, threw his head back and fought the inevitable. Every once in a while, their mouths would meet and they would kiss, cheeks pressed to his cock and goddamn, he wished his cock could be in several places at once, filling both men in every possible way.

  And then Reed guided Shane’s mouth over Keith’s cock, held the back of the boy’s neck while Keith shot down his throat. Shane took him all in, hummed, and the vibrations made his cock spurt several times longer than he’d expected, especially because Reed was sucking his balls.

  Neither man stopped, and Keith wondered how fast he could come again—and as much as he loved being in Shane’s mouth, there were other things he planned on doing tonight. He eased Shane away and the younger man smiled up at him, his lips swollen, his eyes heavy-lidded with lust.

  He nodded at him, cut his glance to Reed, and Shane’s lazy smile got more intense. He watched the two men crawling on each other, first Reed on Shane, until the younger boy hooked his leg around Reed’s and flipped him so he landed on top.

  Keith pushed up on his elbows, wondering if Reed was surprised by the sudden revelation. If Reed had already known it, he hadn’t said.

  Shane wasn’t submissive, not in the way Reed was. No, Shane was, for all intents and purposes, as much of a top as Keith, as Bobby had been. It was in the way he mastered Reed in that instant, stroking him while holding him down, kissing him into submission so he could have his way with the soldier.

  And Keith was going to love watching every minute of it.

  He couldn’t have handled this position an hour ago, but now, Reed could think of nothing better than Shane’s weight on him, holding him, centering him. Shane caught a wrist in his hand and held it above Reed’s head, but he left the other free. He ran his hand through the young man’s hair, feeling the silkiness between his fingers, watching Keith over Shane’s head as he sucked a nipple hard enough to create a jolt of pure pleasure through him.

  Shane was hard again—a feat in and of itself, but it was his fingers that probed Reed, first one and then quickly moved up to two and then three. It was a burn of pleasure and pain, a finger over Reed’s prostate gave a hot throb to his cock.

  “Spread your legs more,” Shane said, an order rather than a request, and Reed did so willingly, so fucking turned on by Shane ordering him and Keith watching, ready to give orders if necessary. Both of them, making him submit.

  Both of them knowing this was more about making Reed submit to what he wanted than submitting to either man. His breath hitched thinking abou
t it, and Shane smiled down at him as he worked his fingers in and out, and Reed met him stroke for stroke, his cock dripping onto his stomach. He reached down between them to grab for it but Shane swatted his hand away.

  “I’ll tie you down if I have to,” he said, and Keith nodded in agreement, and holy hell, this was quickly becoming unbearable. Shane sucked a nipple and Reed groaned, stared over his head at Keith, who was rubbing Shane’s back.

  “Fuck him, Shane,” Keith said softly. Reed uttered a surprised huff and watched Shane.

  “Just do it,” Reed growled, which made Shane go even slower. Torturing him as his hole stretched, his body held taut as Shane twisted two fingers inside of him.

  “You’re not in charge of this one, son,” Shane told him, and Reed’s mouth opened. His entire body heated and he almost struggled. But, as if Shane knew, everything about Shane changed from the angry man he’d been just a little earlier to comforting and in charge.

  He put a hand on the back of Reed’s neck. Put his face down so they were forehead to forehead, murmured against Reed’s lips, “Just breathe, Reed. Just breathe and stay with me.”

  Reed did as Shane asked.

  His thighs opened, and Shane pressed inside him. The pain and pleasure happened together, wrapped up in a hot rush as Shane’s cock filled him, even as he held Reed’s wrists to the floor above his head. His hips rocked, and Reed wrapped his legs around Shane’s waist in order to drive him in faster. He half expected Shane—or Keith—to stop him from doing so but neither man was in any position to give orders. They were all caught up in the moment, Keith stroking himself, Shane’s cock hitting Reed’s gland, and Reed came first, crying out hoarsely, even as Shane buried his face in Reed’s neck and held him in place until he came as well.

  Finally, he released Reed’s wrists and Reed brought his hands around Shane’s back, dropped his legs away, and finally, he was officially back home.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Reed went to sleep, his breaths easy, especially because he was half wound around both men, in the middle of the bed. Keith and Shane both propped on their elbows and pillows, neither man remotely ready for sleep.

  Besides, Shane had a feeling that Keith wanted to stay up anyway and make sure Reed was past the point of having flashbacks, for tonight at least. And although he wanted to ask about them, he wasn’t sure if he was ready to know why. He still had his own to deal with. Maybe he was shouldering too much.

  But he had noted something else…on Keith’s inner thigh. Cigarette burns that matched Shane’s, and he thought about how quickly he’d dismissed Keith’s understanding the night the man had seen Shane’s. In actuality, he’d been freaked that Keith might think everything he’d told them was a lie, but so far, Shane got the sense that Keith wanted to believe him, so he did.

  Push it all down for now, Shane, he told himself. No good could come of the truth.

  “He seems content,” Shane said finally, breaking the easy silence, and Keith smiled, especially as Reed curled and nuzzled against his chest. “He needed this. You.”

  “Reed thinks that he needs me way more than I need him. He doesn’t realize how badly I needed him too. Always,” Keith said quietly, and Shane waited patiently, which was something he figured Reed never really did.

  Keith seemed to appreciate it. “I loved Bobby. We had a certain kind of relationship. We didn’t have to talk about the foster-home shit because we both lived it. Or at least, I thought we didn’t have to. But my experience and Bobby’s were pretty far apart.”

  “I saw your burns too.”

  “I figured.” Shane put a flat palm on Keith’s chest and Keith put a hand over it. “It was a long time ago. I don’t have nightmares about it, but it surfaces for me sometimes.”

  “And you told Reed about it.”

  “Not at first, but once I realized that his assholeishness was all smoke and mirrors, I did. He was so ashamed that he was having the flashbacks and the nightmares. He felt weak—and men like him don’t do well feeling that way, you know? He can take on the world as a soldier, save people as a doctor, but inside…” Keith trailed off, and Shane recalled Reed’s terror.

  Reed, who now slept like a baby next to them. Shane marveled how open these men were. Amazing really, that Keith could tell Shane this when he couldn’t be sure if Reed was hearing it.

  He wanted to stay a part of these men so badly it hurt. But for now, he concentrated on Keith and his story, because he wanted to know every last thing about them, for better or for worse.

  “It’s not like Bobby wouldn’t have been sympathetic. I just didn’t like worrying him about anything. And I’d pushed it down for forever anyway. But when Reed started to struggle, it all came to the forefront for me.”

  There was pain etched on Keith’s face. He was struggling with it, whether to air it out in the open or keep it buried. At this point, it appeared there were few secrets between the men, any and all boundaries breaking down quickly, thanks to proximity and growing feelings.

  When you love someone, it’s impossible to hide anything from them for very long, Kyle used to say. Apparently, Keith felt that Shane would figure it out sooner rather than later.

  Keith felt himself hesitate, but knew this could be the best thing for all of them. They obviously had chemistry, and it seemed like they had even more. It was time to put up or shut up. “I don’t remember my mother. According to what I pieced together, she was young—too young—and she dropped me off at a convent when I was a couple of years old. I didn’t know my own name, never mind my birthday, so they kind of estimated. Got me cleaned up, checked out—I was pretty dehydrated. Underweight. Sick. But I was young enough that getting adopted should’ve been a breeze.”

  But it hadn’t been. For whatever reason, adoption hadn’t been in the cards. And he’d remained at the orphanage and things had been okay when he’d been three and four and five. Even six. But then came the series of foster homes, with their endless array of too many kids, too little food, hand-me-downs and abuses, both big and small. He’d hated every minute of them. Ran away as much as he could, because he’d actually preferred living on the streets most of the time.

  “The last home…I was fourteen. Hadn’t shot up yet. Barely got enough food to keep me going and I had anger, but not a lot of muscle. “There were two sixteen-year-olds in the house. They’d been there for a year. They kind of ran the place, because the foster mother was barely there.”

  “It was just about the money for her,” Shane said angrily. Keith nodded. It wasn’t fair to paint all foster families with that brush, but the kids who were tough to place…well, they were tough to place, and CSE couldn’t afford to get picky about them.

  “One night, they came into my room. I hadn’t said anything about being gay but…they saw me, followed me one night when I went with this guy. He paid me for a blowjob and fed me and gave me money. So these guys…they took the money.”

  His voice was almost ready to give out, and he stopped. Shane’s eyes looked wet but he didn’t say anything, wouldn’t have pushed Keith further. Which meant he had to go on. “They took the money. And that pissed me off but that would’ve been fine. But they didn’t leave. Locked the door. Held me down…”

  His breath was shaky and he couldn’t finish now, saw the scene unfold and didn’t want to fight off a panic attack. There had been one too many in this house tonight.

  “You were raped, Keith.”

  Keith shrugged, like it didn’t matter, but fuck it all, of course it did. Shane bent down and kissed him lightly, then traced Keith’s lips with a finger. “You’re so fucking strong—Reed and I know that. But you don’t always have to be with us.”

  “I know that. I like to be. I just want you to know what you’re getting. You might think that Reed’s the most fucked-up one of this group, but—”

  “You’re the most quietly fucked up,” Shane finished.

  “Brat.”

  “Yeah. Your brat, though.”

 
“Yeah,” Keith echoed as Reed’s hand snaked across his chest and landed on top of Shane and Keith’s. It remained there even as Reed snored lightly. The three of them, connected.

  “I can be there for you, Keith. Whatever, however you need it. Even when you think you don’t,” Shane told him.

  “I can’t believe I shared that with you. Fifteen years with Bobby, and I could never…” He paused, caught his breath. “I don’t know why I thought he might not be able to handle it.”

  “Maybe he couldn’t have. Sometimes, we tell people things because we think they want to know, but we’re really doing it for ourselves.”

  “So I was selfish by telling you.”

  “Yeah. But I like that kind of selfishness.”

  Reed was still in a peacefully deep sleep between them. Keith covered him with a blanket, and he and Shane moved closer to him, neither one remotely tired. Or maybe they were just waiting up to guard Reed from his nightmares.

  Either way, it was comfortable. Easier than Shane ever thought something like this could be. “He seems better,” he commented.

  “He’s getting there.”

  “He’s lucky to have you.”

  “You helped, Shane. More than you know.”

  Shane nodded, then asked, “What happened to him?”

  Keith glanced at Reed. “You really want to know?”

  “No, but I need to.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Reed heard the men on either side of him, and even though he knew he couldn’t stop the dream from coming full force, he was safe between them. They would rescue him when it got too bad. But one thing about this dream, it always had to run its course.

  And he felt his body go stiff, straight, mimicking what happened to him during that horrible time, locked inside a literal box of coffin-like proportions, a vent cut out above his mouth, covered with enough mesh so he couldn’t tell night from day. All six of them, plus seven hours, fifty-three minutes and twenty-nine seconds before the lid was lifted and a member of his Delta Team stared down at him with tears in his eyes.