by Tate James
It felt strange to be the only one left wearing anything as they both descended on me completely naked. Their skin against mine felt illicit, devious in the best way. Jay’s finger trailed down my shoulder, running up and down the strap of my bra until he found where it met the band across my back. His hand traveled to the hooks and, with deliberate patience, he undid them as he pressed open-mouthed kisses against my arm. Wren’s hands found my waist, and his fingers slipping beneath the fabric of my underwear and skimming them down my legs. His soft tresses slid along the inside of my thighs.
I arched up when they pulled the remainder of my clothes away and came back more ravenous than ever. It was as though they were moving as a cooperative. Whenever one pulled away, the other descended on me—driving me out of my mind. Their mouths wreaked havoc on my system, turning my thoughts to collective mush. I shivered and shuddered under their care. Fingers found my core, tested my wetness. A condom wrapper ripped and then I was being filled.
I gasped, my eyes sliding open. When had I even closed them? A door closed in the distance, a minor noise dulled by the rage of desire encompassing me. Wren was above me, arching into me, his hips meeting mine as Jay moved up to my head. His cock was hard and swollen, bobbing against his belly. I reached out with one hand and palmed him, eliciting a groan from his throat. I wanted a lot more than that. I opened my mouth and, using my grip, pulled him to meet me. I slid my tongue over his head, sucking him in, relishing in his taste, in his smell. I closed my eyes once more and let the feelings wash over me.
Wren’s grip on my hips tightened, making me feel trapped and held down. It wasn’t a cage I was willing to leave, though. In fact, I felt as though I could be locked away in here forever and never get tired of it. I sucked Jay, licking up and down his shaft. Wren’s hands moved forward, coming down in the creases where my thighs met my pelvis. His fingers skimmed along the edges of my core and I arched up as my tongue slicked against the underside of Jay's cock and his hand tightened against the back of my neck as a rumble echoed in his throat.
Looking up, I saw that Jay had his head thrown back, the long elegant stretch of his chest and neck the only thing visible. His nipples were pebbled, and his stomach muscles tightened whenever my lips slid around the width of his cock. I released him and moved my thumb over his head as I glanced down to where Wren pumped into me. Once he caught my gaze, he grinned and slid a thumb up and over the bundle of nerves between my thighs. I gasped out loud and Jay snapped his neck down, looking at me. I moaned as he moved his cock and hips away from my hand.
His head came down across my chest and he licked one of my nipples, biting it gently before switching to the other one. Wren’s gaze remained locked on mine as I bit my lip. His thumb circled my clit and I shifted my hips again, begging without words, pleading for more. Just enough to push me over the edge. He mouthed the word, a blessed relief.
“Come,” he whispered, and with Jay’s mouth on my breasts and Wren’s cock in my core, I did. I came with lights streaming into my eyes and my lungs screaming for air. Wren stilled inside me as I clamped down on him and I felt his whole body tighten and ripple against me.
I came back to myself as he pulled away and saw Jay slide his own condom on. I reached up, my arms out, accepting him as well as he came over me. His mouth met mine in a fiery, passionate kiss. He rolled his hips and entered me in one quick glide, making me cry out and pull away from his mouth.
Jay pulled me up, having me sit astride him as he flexed his hips into me. And there I rode both of us to another incredible climax. My heart beat as fast as a hummingbird. I clutched at him, tightening my fingers around his neck as we settled again, our skin sticky with sweat.
When he tried to extract himself from me, I grumbled in protest, clenching my arms around him. “Noooooo,” I whined.
Jay chuckled. “I need to clean you up, baby,” he whispered. “I need to clean the both of us up.”
I groaned and rested my forehead against his warm shoulder. “You’ll come back?” I clarified.
“He’ll come back,” Wren answered, walking back in with a pair of briefs covering his lower half and a washcloth in his hand. I blushed. I hadn’t even realized when he’d left the room. “Until then, will I do for company?”
I let Jay lean back and I nodded. Jay rolled off the bed as Wren moved forward, handing me the washcloth. With it, I cleaned myself and Wren took it from me again—tossing it at Jay as he came back from, I assumed, the bathroom. Jay rolled his eyes and took it—and the discarded clothing from earlier and deposited it all in a pile by the door before joining us on the bed.
I curled up between the two of them, sighing as exhaustion tugged at my consciousness. “Wait,” I said, my mind already bleary with sleep, “whose room is this? Will we—”
“It’s mine,” Wren answered. “Don’t worry. You can sleep, sweetheart.”
It was like he could read my mind. I nodded and slid back down into the sheets, cuddling between the two men, feeling high on some strange warmth in my chest. Whatever it was, it felt like home.
12
I woke up in a groggy half-awake, half-still asleep manner. The way my body was acting, it was obvious I hadn’t gotten nearly enough sleep and I couldn’t see any light peaking over the tops of the walls or through the windows. I assumed that meant it was still night time. I rolled slightly against a massive obstacle. Overly warm and sequestered between two muscular chests, I finally realized exactly where I was.
To be honest, it was the best fucking way to wake up and, had I been given half a choice, I probably would have remained between them indefinitely. Or at least until they woke up and we could perform the same magic feats as earlier all over again. My bladder, however, was not on board with the plan.
I scooted down, moving under the sheets, sliding past their knees and calves until I slid out from under the covers at the end of the bed. Without clothes on, the house was a bit chilly. I crossed my arms over my chest, ducked down and snatched up one of the guys’ previously discarded shirts. I pulled it on before heading out into the hallway.
I found the bathroom and afterwards, headed to my own room to dress. I walked into the hallway and headed for the front door, wondering if Preston was still in the clinic. If he’d been up all night. If he’d heard any news from the rangers.
The night was almost cold as I walked into it. I didn’t even realize how used to the heat I’d gotten that when the sun went down and the cool air overtook me, it was quite a shock. Another shock was seeing that Preston had indeed stayed up. And it looked like he was prepping to leave. As he shut the trunk of the Jeep and circled around it, I jogged towards him.
“Where are you going?” I called out.
Preston froze, his hand on the handle of the driver’s side door. “Go back inside, Jen.”
I paused at the tone in his voice. “Has something happened? What is it?”
He didn’t look at me. “Just go back inside,” he repeated. “Stay with Jay and Wren and I’ll see you in the morning.” He jerked the vehicle door open.
“Oh, no you don’t.” I stomped towards him and slid between him and the seat. “You’re not leaving again without an explanation. What’s going on?”
Preston’s ocean blue eyes pinned me back, the glare in them so bright I felt compelled to look away. I was startled by the amount of emotion swirling in the depths of his irises, like giant monsoon waves crashing against one another. My heart leaped in my chest and then took off running as he moved closer until we were only a hair’s breadth away from each other.
“I don’t know why you were sent here to torment me, Jen…” His words were slow, almost melodic, soothing, and calming. The words, themselves, though were anything but. They were jagged rocks cutting into my consciousness.
“What are you talking about?” And like a latch clicking shut, I realized. “You saw?” I asked. My mind rewinds. I had heard a door closing and with Jay and Wren’s hands on me, my attention focused on them—i
t hadn’t been them.
He shook his head. “I didn’t, but I heard. I knew you were…seeing them, but—”
“And you’re mad about that?” I was shocked. Taking a step back, bumping into the door of the Jeep, I shook my head. “Have you forgotten who ruined this in the first place?” I gestured with emphasis between us. Preston’s gaze sharpened, but before he could speak, I was already talking again. “No,” I snapped. “You don’t get to have an opinion. I didn’t come here—all the way to South Africa—to see you. I didn’t even know you would be here.”
“I know that!” he shouted, his face flushing. It was the first time I had seen him so worked up since I had shown up on his clinic doorstep. “I just—I’m not fucking mad at you. I have no fucking right to be, I know that. The universe must be torturing me.”
“Yes, because it’s all about you.” I rolled my eyes and planted my hands on my hips. “I accepted Wren’s offer of a date, and then Jay’s. We’re adults and we have an understanding. It’s casual. They’ve done nothing to lead me to the conclusion that we are in any way serious. Unlike some people,” I made the dig with bite in my tone, “they can be honest.”
“I never lied to you, Jen.”
“Not with your words,” I said, “but you sure as fuck didn’t tell me that you’d be leaving the next day and you sure as fuck didn’t tell me that you never wanted to talk to me again.”
“Did you try calling me?” he snapped.
I stopped and stuttered, shocked by the question. “I—I…” Had I? It had been so long, I couldn’t remember.
“I didn’t change my cell number,” he stated. “I had to go for orientation. I’d been accepted. It was an obligation. I thought you’d call. I left you a note.”
“You left me a note saying goodbye!” I shrieked. “I took that to mean we were done, you were gone, and it was over.”
“I never said that.”
“So, what?” I shook my head. “You want me to believe that the only reason we haven’t been together in the last six years—that we haven’t even talked—is because I misunderstood you? What about you? Why didn’t you call me?”
“I thought you needed time,” he insisted, his face a mask of confusion. "I asked Katie to tell you—"
"My college roommate, Katie?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I left the note, but I figured that might not be enough."
"You're damn right it wasn’t enough," I muttered.
He sighed. "Will you let me finish?"
I gestured for him to continue.
He closed his eyes and leaned his head back, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Why do I have a feeling that there's been a massive misunderstanding?"
"Because if there has—"
"—which there obviously must be—"
I ignored his interruption and continued, "Then that makes both of us the asses in this situation."
A moment of awkward silence stretched between us. He released the bridge of his nose and looked back down, making eye contact as heat shimmered through my spine. I turned my eyes away.
"It...I mean, Katie hated me...I thought you knew?"
I saw the locks of his hair slap over his forehead out of the corner of my eyes as he shook his head. "She said she'd talk to you and when you never called me, I thought...”
I groaned. "I can't fucking believe this." A misunderstanding? That's what had me practically off the relationship market for six years? I ran a hand through my hair and turned away from him, pacing down the side of the Jeep.
"Jen." At my name, I turned around, mouth open—ready to lay into him. A misunderstanding of this magnitude was just fucking ridiculous. We had both grown up and grown apart. It was obvious that things had changed. I wasn't ready to just be with him again. Even if things were casual between Jay and Wren, I owed it to them to see this through. To make sure that there were no misunderstandings. But when I turned back to Preston, I didn't get a chance to say a damn word. His hands found my arms and held me steady as his mouth descended and his lips slammed into mine.
The kiss rocketed down to my core and shot back up through my arteries, flaming away all inhibitions. Some people say that kissing an old lover is like falling back into the past. This wasn’t anything like that, it was like diving headfirst into the past passion that had exploded between us and left my virginity and my heart in tatters. This. This was why six years of my life had been spent mourning the loss of him. I closed my eyes and melted into the touch of him, weak against his onslaught. All thought fleeing at the first sign of weakness, and I had to admit it: I was weak around him. My knees buckled and one of his arms wove around my back, holding me up, pressing me against his lean chest. I remembered the feel of his skin under my fingertips. The soft, silken whispers against my own skin that had made me shiver in the darkness of my dorm room. How it all felt so close and far away at the same moment, I couldn't comprehend.
But when he pulled away, and his eyes glittered under the South African night sky, I blinked up at him wondering how I could ever let him go again. Wondering if I was being stupid. If he would let me go.
"I want to stay," he whispered, bending to lick at the seam of my mouth. I groaned against him. "But I have to go."
"W-what?" My brain couldn't think, couldn't comprehend, I was so intent and focused on his tongue as it slid between my lips and twined with my own, I didn't know how to think. “Where are you going?” I asked when our mouths separated once more and I could draw in a breath, along with coherent thought.
Preston looked away from me and I narrowed my gaze on him, glancing back to the Jeep. “What were you packing up?” I asked.
With his hands still on my arms, he pushed me back. “You should go back inside.”
“Wait, you didn’t—I mean, we haven’t finished talking, Preston. We need to figure this out.” The kiss had been amazing, but our conversation was nowhere near over. We needed to include Jay and Wren in this as well. Figure out what we were doing. I needed to figure out what the hell I was doing.
“We’ll talk about this in the morning,” Preston promised, grabbing the open door of the Jeep and sliding inside.
“Where are you going?” I repeated, confusion and dread sinking to the pit of my stomach. Instead of answering, he shut the door and leaned out the open window smacking another kiss on my startled lips. “You can’t just kiss me when you don’t want to answer.” I stomped my foot and glared at him. “Really…” I stared at him, worry blooming sharp and heavy in me. “What are you—”
“I’ll be back,” he said, cutting me off. “Go back inside with Jay and Wren.” I stepped back as the Jeep revved to life and glanced to the side. “And Jen?” I looked back at him. “For what it’s worth, I was stupid and young and made assumptions. I didn’t think you were as into me as I was you and if I get back okay, I promise we’ll work it out. If that means I have to share you with Jay and Wren, it’ll be okay.”
“Get back okay?”
But he wasn’t listening. He pressed the gas and the Jeep reversed, spinning in the dirt beneath its wheels. The taillights gleamed an ominous red down the road. I knew whatever he was going to do wasn’t at all good.
“Wake up!” I yelled as I re-entered the house. I threw open Wren’s bedroom door and strode inside, hands on my hips. “We have to go.”
Wren and Jay both sat up, bleary-eyed and confused. I reached down, scrambling for their clothes and started throwing things at them. Pants. Shirts. Shoes. Forget the socks, we didn’t have time.
“What’s going on?” Jay mumbled as he hopped on one foot, pulling his pants up one leg at a time.
I bit my lip, crossing my arms over my chest. “Preston just went off to only God knows where and I’m worried.”
Wren stuck his head out of the neck of his shirt and pulled it over his rippling abdomen. “Went where?” he asked, still blinking the sleep from his eyes.
“I told you,” I said, “I don’t know. But it can’t be anywhere good. I have a bad feelin
g.”
“Did the rangers call back?” Jay asked, pulling his shirt on as well as Wren grabbed a pair of pants from the items I’d thrown at them and slid them on, buttoning them at his waist.
“I don’t know, he didn’t say.”
Wren and Jay exchanged a look, then Jay grabbed his phone from the remainder of the discarded pile of my own clothes on the floor and checked it. “What?” I asked, unfolding my arms and stepping forward. “If you know something, tell me.”
“It’s still way too early for them to be showing up if they were on their way,” Jay said.
“What does that mean?”
“It means Preston probably didn’t wait around to hear back from them,” Wren answered in a dry tone, rubbing a hand down his face. “Shit.”
“He went after the poachers?” I clarified. “Didn’t he say it was dangerous?” My tone took on a high pitched note.
“Yes, he fucking did—the idiot,” Wren said.
“Let’s go get him before he does something stupid,” Jay said.
As the two of them made their way out of the room, grabbing their boots and tugging them on, I followed.
“I’m coming with you,” I said.
I fully expected to have to fight my way into the car with them, but Wren nodded to Jay and grabbed my arm, sliding his fingers down to tangle with mine.
“You stay in the car, no matter what you hear or see, got it?”
I wasn’t sure what he meant by that—I dreaded whatever he meant by that—but I nodded anyway, afraid that if I fought him then they might actually leave me behind. I climbed into the backseat of one of the extra vehicles behind the house while Wren got into the front passenger seat and Jay got into the driver’s seat.
“Do you have a gun?” Jay asked.
Wren checked the compartment under his seat and pulled out a handgun. I watched, wide-eyed, as he checked the clip and then nodded. “It’s good.”
“There should be a shotgun or two in the back. Jen, can you look back and check?”
