Julián met his gaze, seeming unconcerned that Chris couldn’t formulate a rational response, and continued. “I wouldn’t be opposed to a ménage but there would need to be a very high degree of trust between me and the man I’d be willing to share a woman with. And I would not be interested in more than sharing the woman. Peter is in love with Jordan in the same way he’s in love with Tracy. But that’s not how it works for me.”
“Your brother is bisexual.”
“Yes. I’m not passing judgment. That’s just not me.” He chuckled wryly and added, “I don’t find your ass attractive at all.”
Normally, Julián’s humor would earn him a middle finger or some other acknowledgment but right then he needed to be clear on what Julian was suggesting more than he needed to by snarky. “Julián, what are you getting at?”
“If I let you into the relationship—make it a ménage—what do you bring to the table?”
Chris blinked a couple of times as Julián’s words registered. “What the fuck—what do you mean?”
Julián seemed amused by his shock. “If I were to include you in our relationship, what would you do for her?”
“Julián, she can barely stand to talk to me, much less be around me. What’s the point in even asking?”
Looking out at the horses grazing nearby in the windswept pasture, Julián nodded in agreement. “You definitely get a reaction out of her, based on what little she told me about your meeting. Were you pushing her buttons on purpose?”
Disgusted with himself, Chris let out a sigh. “I was trying to curb that but you know pushing buttons is practically in my DNA. I seemed to find every one of hers earlier.”
“I could tell. But there was more to what happened at Divine Drip than what she was saying. Something about her responses to you made me curious. And then there was just a few minutes ago with you in the den. I could practically read your mind in your expression. So I’m gonna ask again. What can you bring to this relationship?”
Chris could just imagine what he’d bring. Strife. Fear. Uncertainty. Dissatisfaction. He doubted he could make Gwen happy long-term. But with Julián in the mix, he stood a better chance than he did on his own. Julián could serve as a buffer, help to even out Chris’s failings. Maybe Gwen would be understanding.
He’d heard that one of the ladies that owned Discretion over in Morehead was part of a threesome, and one of the guys was just as likely to pick at her and push her buttons as he was to kiss her. They made it work because the other guy in the relationship was smooth, and balanced the bickering out. It could work like that for him with Gwen and Julián.
“Just tell me what you feel for her based on your meeting, Chris. You’re overthinking this.”
He couldn’t even look at Julián as he let it all out, knowing that Julián loved the same woman he was talking about, and had for quite some time. “All I did was look in her eyes and I was hooked. I couldn’t even move at first. Her voice sent an electrical current through my body, only it felt good. Damned good in fact. She kept glaring and cussing at me and I just wanted to kiss her. I felt like dirt when I realized she’d hurt her elbow on my truck. I hate that I intimidated her. She’d hardly let me touch her but I wanted to hold her and protect her so she’d never be scared, or tired, or hurt ever again. I guess I slipped into my comfort zone when I was teasing her but the truth is I just wanted to take her someplace safe and quiet, and hold her and look into her eyes.” He could go on and on but it all boiled down to one thing. The lump grew in his throat. “I just want to make her happy. I just want to love her.”
He looked over at Julián and was taken aback by the smile on his face. “That’s what I saw in your eyes when you were looking at her. I’ll let you in but you have to curb the urge to pick at her. She hates that.”
“I can do that. Will you help me out, if you see me going there?”
“I’ll try, man, but it’s up to you to change those habits. That’s all it is.”
Yeah, a lifetime of bad habits. But with Julián in the mix, he stood a better chance of not fucking up. “Thank you.”
“She’s coming home with us tonight after Grace’s party.”
Chris gulped hard. “Seriously?” He braced himself. “Don’t worry, I won’t horn in on y’all. This is gonna be a lot for her to take in all at once anyway—wait. Does she know that you and I are talking?”
Holy shit!
“No. She has no idea. I want to ease her into things gradually. For now, she sets the pace on anything that happens. Anything at all. But that doesn’t mean keeping your feelings for her hidden. She needs to know how you truly feel, so you’ll have to let your guard down.” Julián gave him a significant look. “It’s gonna mean showing your feelings for her when others are around tonight.”
“Shit.” Crash course in social etiquette. Note to self—keep your trap shut.
“Yeah, exactly. And even then, we have to bear in mind that she fully intends to get back on the circuit come March, and she’s likely to view anything between us as temporary. We’ll have to allow that and just hope for the best. Hope that we don’t both…”
“Get our hearts crushed?”
“Good way of putting it,” Julián said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Remember the other day at the jewelry store, when I was trying to pick out a gift for her?”
“Yeah.” Chris smiled, thankful for the reminder that Julián faced uncertainty too. He was as much at risk for a broken heart as Chris was.
“You asked if there was a chance I might never see her face-to-face again and if I could lose my chance at letting her know how I feel. That applies to both of us now. This is our chance, starting now.” Julián looked one hundred percent sure of that fact. Chris felt trepidation but he drew strength from Julián’s certainty.
“I don’t want to fuck things up between the two of you.”
“Something tells me—my gut, I guess—that she’ll be even happier if it’s the three of us.”
Chris ran his hand through his short black hair and leaned forward. “You’re sure?”
“I’m sure. There’s something else you should know. You need to take this as a sincere warning, okay?” The look on Julián’s face was dead serious.
“Damn. Okay. What is it?”
“I’ve seen you sneak up and tickle the women in your family, to get a reaction, you know?”
“Oh yeah. They love it,” Chris said with a chuckle, thinking of the last time he made his older sister, Alessia, squeal. He only did that to women he really felt close to and cared a lot about.
Julián smiled and rolled his eyes. “I kind of doubt that. But do not pull that shit on Gwen. She’s been on the road for ten years and knows how to defend herself. I’ve seen her bust a guy’s nose so badly he needed surgery, just for doing that very thing—sneaking up from behind and grabbing her—to surprise her. She felt terrible but he deserved it for startling her. Seriously. Don’t do that. She’ll hand you your nuts, after she’s smashed them. Plus, I honestly don’t think ladies appreciate that very much.”
“No? Okay. I’ll remember that. No goosing, either?”
Julián rolled his eyes again in disgust. “Were you listening?”
“Sorry. No tickling. No goosing. And soon…no talking.”
“And when the urge to be cute or tease comes over you just stop and do whatever the opposite of that is.”
Second-guessing himself all night didn’t sound like fun, and that must’ve shown on his face.
“Chris, I used to smoke two packs a day. I used to be an adrenaline junkie. I thrived on conflict and chaos on Wall Street.”
Chris’s jaw nearly hit the floor as he stared at his friend, the absolute epitome of the laid-back North American cowboy. “What the fuck?”
Laughter burst from his friend and he reclined in the chair as he nodded his head. “See? People can change. Yeah. I had a talent for making money with a brokerage firm and eventually started a venture capitalist consortium. That’s when I
discovered I had a talent for making the fucking big bucks.”
Chris raised an eyebrow. “Still got that dough?”
Julián gave him a sideways grin. “You could say I’m comfy.”
“That’s why you don’t head to town to cash your paycheck first thing every week. Why you let them sit for days before you deposit them.”
“All of it is safe in investments. I make a comfortable living. My point here, though, is that while I was good at making money, I’d developed some really bad habits. Bad eating habits. Barely sleeping. Poor choices in friendships. I wound up in the hospital on a couple of occasions with angina. Doctors finally told me that I had to change my life or die. Lemme tell you, that’s a wake-up call to get when you’re twenty-five fucking years old.”
“Holy shit. What did you do?”
“I left New York that week. Took a sabbatical and tried to find myself. Returned to the ‘bosom’ of my family and embraced my Hispanic heritage. In the process, I rediscovered a second gift I had, one I’d originally rejected when I went away to college. My talent with horses. I hit the rodeo circuit. That’s where I met Angel and Joaquin.”
“I always wondered, but you seemed pretty closemouthed about your past. I got that, so never asked.”
Julián shrugged. “I did well on Wall Street but it’s not a happy time in my life that I want to talk a lot about. I guess I was a cowboy, of sorts, there too. Riding the venture capital bronco. Making a name for myself. Riding roughshod over people too, including a lot of women, for which I’m not proud. Comparatively, rodeo was easy. The angina went away. I’ve never had another episode since I left New York and I like who I am now.”
“So, I guess what you’re telling me is that I should suck it up and make the big changes too?”
“Pretty much.”
“I’m gonna open my mouth and insert my foot. You know that, right?”
Looking very amused, Julián replied, “I’m counting on it. Have to get my jollies somehow.”
Chris laughed with him and landed a punch with his meaty fist on Julián’s shoulder that had him whimpering in pained laughter until they heard the front door open.
The woman of his dreams walked out onto the front porch, looking left and right. Her long, soft, golden blonde hair flowed in waves around her as she moved. Her smile as she located them at the end of the porch made fizzy things happen in his chest as she walked in their direction, sexy hips swinging. She centered her gaze on Julián at first but then looked at Chris and smiled. His brain filled with static.
Just smile. Don’t talk. Don’t pop off. Just sit here and smile and look socially acceptable. Say nada.
Chris watched Julián, praying for pointers by example and making mental notes. His smile was warm, and as she came close, he reached out for her as though he just expected she’d come to him. Chris was dumbfounded when she did and even more surprised when he smoothly directed her into his lap and she went willingly like she’d done it every day.
Julián, you are one smooth motherfucker. Call me Grasshopper.
Chapter Seven
“Thank you,” Gwen said as she took the goblet of white wine that Grace Warner offered her that evening. She gazed into Julián’s smoldering brown eyes as she brought the glass to his beer bottle and tapped lightly. “Cheers.”
He replied in kind and shared the toast, pressing the beer bottle to his lips for a sip as he watched her drink from her wine. His cock was as hard as a rock beneath her ass, where she sat on his lap on the couch in the Warners’ living room.
Chris Potter sat right next to them, uncharacteristically quiet, as far as she could tell, having known him only a short time. Including him, she tipped her glass gently against his beer bottle and drank a silent, full-eye-contact toast with him as well.
He’d been quiet since she’d come out of the den and gone in search of Julián earlier that afternoon. If she asked him a direct question, he answered her but offered nothing in the way of cuteness, teasing, or otherwise irritating behavior. She found that she almost, but not quite, missed the bluster. She did notice that he never seemed to stray far from her and Julián, almost orbiting. Rather than irritating her, she found that she liked him there. She was tempted to reach out and touch him, casually letting him know that she enjoyed his company and felt comfortable with him there.
Grace returned to the living room with two more glasses and handed one to Rosemary Garner, who sat on the couch opposite of them, flanked by her men, Wes and Evan Garner. “Sparkling grape juice for you, sweetie,” Grace said with a smile.
She handed the other wineglass to Jayne Carter, who sat reclining against her husband Seth’s chest on the hearth rug next to the fireplace. Jayne looked radiant as she held her son, Toby’s hands and he toddled around them, crawling over their legs. He grabbed hold of Seth’s long-sleeved T-shirt and pulled up on shaky legs with a babyish chuckle. His action stretched the neck of Seth’s shirt, revealing intricate monochromatic tattoos below the neckline and one shoulder. Gwen was intrigued but said nothing, wondering if she’d ever have the guts to get a tattoo. When Toby began eyeing the decorations on Grace’s Christmas tree just a few feet away, Jayne held out a plush toy to Toby which he happily went after instead.
Rosemary giggled and then groaned, drawing Gwen’s attention as she rubbed her abdomen with her palm. Wes and Evan placed their big hands on either side of her burgeoning belly and Evan grunted. “Damn, Rosie, did that hurt you? He feels like he’s wrestling in there.”
Rosemary smirked and shook her head. “Or she could be dancing. No, it doesn’t hurt. Just feels really weird. Oh—then she does that and pirouettes on my bladder. Gotta go,” she said as she struggled a little like an overturned turtle to rise from the couch. Evan quickly stood and helped her rise, taking her glass from her.
“Be right back,” she murmured before kissing him and then making a kissie-face at Wes who winked back at her and said, “We’ll save your spot, baby.”
As she waddled from the room, Gwen turned to Evan and asked, “When is the baby due?”
“Doctor Emma says first week in February.”
“I take it you opted to not find out if it’s a boy or girl yet?” Julián asked as he stroked Gwen’s thigh in a manner that sent warm flutters straight to her girlie parts and made light conversation difficult to pay attention to.
Evan shook his head. “We wanted to, but Rosemary decided she’d rather be surprised. What Rosie wants, Rosie gets.” Gwen noticed he said that with a certain amount of satisfaction. The three of them made a ménage look so easy.
The conversation carried on around them, and Gwen realized that she was actually having fun. She’d thought she’d be too tired to enjoy Christmas Eve at Grace’s but the truth was that she was having a great time. She felt encapsulated in a happy, warm bubble, sitting with Julián and Chris on the couch. The exhaustion had even abated some, thanks to her nap earlier.
She couldn’t believe that she’d conked out like that, but she’d felt better after two hours in Julián’s arms than she had after six hours in her bunk the night before. She attributed that to being in a safe place and being held by someone she was beginning to feel very secure with.
It was a cold, hard fact that when she left in March, it would be with a heavy, possibly broken, heart.
She pushed the thought from her mind and drained the rest of the wine from her glass. Wanting more, she shifted carefully in Julián’s lap, enjoying the feel of that hardness that was meant for her. Julián steadied her at her hips as he continued his conversation with Wes and Evan, and she accepted Chris’s hand when he helped her to rise. The simple contact sent a tingle through her.
It was just the touch of his hand. He didn’t even need to rise. A kind gesture. She looked down at his hand, still holding hers, and then into his eyes. She smiled when she saw the familiar twinkle there. All he did was smile back and release her hand as she took several steps toward the kitchen. Maybe it was the wine making her horny but
his touch had seemed more than a courtesy. He hadn’t said anything to her but his gentleness had spoken to her nonetheless.
She came to a stop at the kitchen island, when she caught sight of Grace and Teresa standing side by side against the kitchen counter. They were watching her with satisfied grins on their faces, exchanging a casual high five.
Grace pushed off from the counter. “What can I get for you, Gwen? More wine?”
“Sure,” she replied, handing Grace the glass. “What are you two looking so self-satisfied over?”
Teresa sipped her sparkling grape juice and giggled as Grace poured Gwen’s refill. “Grace, you sure this stuff is nonalcoholic? I’m feeling very giggly.”
Grace handed Gwen her glass and chuckled. “No alcohol for you or Rosemary tonight. I’ll bet what you’re feeling is all the loooooove in the air tonight. People in love, having babies, getting married…falling in love. It’s all the pheromones, I’ll bet.”
“Who’s getting married?” Gwen asked as she took another sip, wondering if Grace was right. There was something warm and fuzzy about the night and her general mood.
Grace smiled. “Remember Camilla O’Neal from The Dancing Pony?”
“Of course.”
“She’s marrying Quinten Parks tomorrow morning, and then Ethan is performing her bonding ceremony with Quinten and Ben Lawrence right afterward.”
“Ben and Quinten? That’s fantastic news! I had no idea.”
“They’re pretty discreet,” Teresa said. “Camilla’s new club, The Twisted Bull, just opened up about a week ago in Morehead. They’re flying out to a mountaintop retreat in Colorado for their honeymoon right after the ceremony.”
“That’s not the only news, though. Camilla recently found out she’s an heiress and that she’s expecting twins.”
“Holy mackerel! That girl’s been busy since the last time I saw her.” Gwen leaned back against the kitchen island opposite of the two women as they took up their earlier positions facing the living room, watching all the activity. “So what were you two talking about earlier, looking like you’d both won a wager?”
Tangled in Divine [Divine Creek Ranch 14] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 9
