“You shouldn’t be.” Wyatt kept his attention on Fiona.
Wyatt and Parker together were oxygen and gasoline. And so help her, she craved being consumed by the flames. “I’ll take care of myself if you two are still going at it,” she said.
“As much as I’d like to see that... Maybe next time.” Every time Wyatt summoned that wolfish grin of his, want pulsed between her thighs. He bumped her shoulder, coaxing her to sit on the bed and pulled a condom from the trifold wallet in his back pocket. Then he unbuckled his belt and undid his slacks. The line of his erection was distinct through his boxer briefs.
She pouted—that seemed to get her a good reaction. Then again, a lot of what she was doing was based on how he responded. Her first playful jab had been tentative, but the way Wyatt dove into this, with zero hesitation, made her bolder.
“What?” he asked.
She would be disappointed that misbehaving didn’t get her spanked, but this was fun as well. She looked at Parker. “You’re too far away. I want a taste.”
Parker shed his jeans, knelt next to her, settled a hand on her cheek, and brushed his lips over hers. This was different than the other day. The desperation was sweeter. More sincere.
Wyatt nudged her shoulder again, and she took the hint, and lay on the mattress. Parker kissed a trail along her jaw, down her neck, over her collarbone, and to her breast. He worked her free from her bra and flicked his tongue over a nipple. She gasped and arched her back, pressing into his mouth.
Fiona didn’t know if she wanted to watch him suck and nibble on the swollen pink nub, or pay attention to Wyatt, who rolled the condom on and fisted his cock.
Wyatt wedged her legs apart with his knee and dragged her to the edge of the bed. The friction of the comforter against her skin made her gasp.
He positioned himself at her entrance and thrust in without further warning. The way his cock stretched her out tingled over every inch of her, and she clenched her toes to keep the feeling from escaping.
Wyatt built to a steady pace, pulling most of the way out before plunging inside her again. Parker alternated between licking and nibbling, while he massaged her other breast.
She reached between Parker’s legs, to grab his shaft, and pumped. He groaned against her skin and sucked harder. She lost track of the sensations as they blurred into each other, making her head float and filling her with fissures of pleasure. She didn’t realize how hard and fast she was stroking Parker, until he pulled from her grip.
“Jesus, Red. I can’t...” His voice was a breathy groan. He replaced her grip with his own, rubbing his shaft and grunting until he spilled on her stomach in thick, white spurts.
Her arousal surged, and she hovered on the edge of release. When Wyatt sought out her clit, teasing with his thumb while he pounded inside her, it was like he pressed a button. She came hard, clenching around him and grinding into him, wanting to ride the wave for as long as possible.
The way he gripped her thigh made her think he was close too. He dug his fingers in, tight enough she hoped he’d leave marks. His groans kept time with his thrusts, until he let out a long cry and shuddered against her.
For a moment the only sound in the room was the three of them catching their breath. Nothing else reached Fiona’s ears. Then she heard a rustling noise. She watched, half-lost in bliss, as Parker grabbed a handful of tissues from the box by the bed and wiped her stomach clean. Wyatt stripped off the condom, wrapped it up, and tossed it in the trash.
He collapsed beside her and pulled her into him. It felt natural to curl up against him, with him mostly clothed. Parker lay behind her and draped an arm over her waist, his breath hot on the back of her neck.
The antipathy was gone, leaving a fuzzy glow in its place. Fiona wanted to climb into this feeling and live in it. Too bad her brain wouldn’t let her. What was the appropriate protocol now? Did they tell Wyatt, thanks, see you around, and leave it at that? Did she and Parker backpedal to the stilted interactions they hadn’t finished muddling through?
She didn’t want that. If this was just sex, that was fine. The twinge in her chest disagreed, but that was post-coital denial. She was good doing with benefits when it came to Parker.
Her phone chimed with the opening notes of “We Are Family.” Talk about awkward timing.
“Leave it.” Parker held her more tightly.
She pushed past reluctance and sat up. “I can’t. It’s Nick.”
“Nick?” Wyatt asked.
“Her brother.” Parker sat as well. He stripped off his shirt and handed it to Fiona. It was a silly gesture, since her top was only a few feet away, but that didn’t stop her from pulling it on. The cotton smelled like him and wrapped her in warmth. She tried to be subtle about inhaling as she grabbed her phone.
911. Call me now.
Her gut sank when she read Nick’s message. “Shit.”
“Everything all right?” Wyatt propped himself up on his elbows.
She shook her head and called Nick. She had to turn away from the pair on the bed, or she wouldn’t be able to focus on the conversation.
“You got my message,” Nick answered.
“Yeah. What’s up?”
Wyatt wandered into the bathroom, and she heard water running.
“The app is crashing hard. It’s not system-wide, but I can’t keep it stable.”
Shit-fuck-God-damn-it. “Give me ten minutes to get set up and remote in, and I’ll call you back.”
“Awesome. Thank you, Red.”
Her brother’s use of the nickname sent discomfort crawling over her.
Wyatt stepped back into the room, zipping up his slacks, as she was hanging up. She looked between Parker and him. “I have to take care of this.” And finish getting dressed. And shower. She’d prefer it happen in a different order, but the last one had to wait.
“Don’t let things get awkward between us.” Wyatt’s voice was firm. “We had fun. Fuck—we had a lot of fun.” Everything had changed, but he made it sound so simple.
“So... um...” She wasn’t sure what to say next.
“Parker and I are going to head out—”
“We are?” Parker looked at him, surprised.
“—so you can fix whatever this is,” Wyatt continued as if he hadn’t been interrupted.
The two of them alone together sounded like a bad idea, given how irritated Parker was with Wyatt before the sex, but she didn’t have time to argue. She yanked on her jeans, reluctant to surrender Parker’s shirt. He grabbed a fresh one from his luggage.
She hid a smile. “Play nice?”
“I’m not great at nice.” Wyatt said.
Parker rolled his eyes. “We’ll behave. Call me if you need help or when you’re finished.”
“Thanks.” She dug out her laptop as the men left. It didn’t take her long to tether to her phone and log in remotely to the network. She dialed Nick up again and put him on speaker. “Bring me up to speed.”
“The plugin you wrote for location tracking is glitching, and I can’t figure it out.” Nick’s tone radiated stress.
She’d tested the hell out of that component. It was their most stable piece. “Glitching, how? Why? What did you do?”
“I... uh... tweaked something, and it freaked out.”
She scrubbed her face, a sigh escaping through her fingers. Despite the critical nature of the situation, snippets of her fling—tryst? Experimentation?—with Parker and Wyatt teased her thoughts. She squeezed her legs together and forced herself to focus on the crisis. “I’m syncing with source control now. What did you change?”
“It’s a feature Grammie’s asked us to implement. It centers around the contract language for being filmed with Parker and getting a customer’s approval. I can’t pull it, but I also can’t figure out how to make it work with what you had in place.”
A string of foul words lingered on the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed them. “Let’s patch it.”
PARKER FLUCTUATED BETWEEN trying to wrap hi
s head around what just happened, and wanting to enjoy the moment without needing to rationalize it.
“How long have you been doing the videos?” Wyatt asked.
And this guy—what the actual, ever-living fuck? He was arrogant. Irritating. Sexy as hell. And now he and Parker were buddies? “The filming itself? I’ve had a camera attached to my hand since I was in my teens. The travel blogging—earning a living at it, etcetera—five or so years.”
“You’re good. And lucky. You seem to have found your calling in life.”
They were walking side by side toward a restaurant a few blocks away, that Wyatt insisted was worth the visit.
Parker was tired of letting his thoughts ramble with no answers. “I need to know, what are we doing?”
“Going for a beer. Giving Fiona a chance to work in peace. I’m not sure what kind of answer you’re looking for.”
“You’ve been pushy and aggravating since we met,” Parker said. “And now we fuck, sort of? And we’re best pals?”
Wyatt glanced at him. “You’ve been aggravated with me since we met; that’s different. I think best pals is a bit of a stretch.” They reached a building with a brick face, a glass door painted black, and the words Brew Pub etched on a tiny plaque. It was the only indicator there was an establishment here.
Wyatt held the door, and Parker shoved down the surge of masculinity and brushed past him. The inside of the place was as nondescript as the outside. Wooden tables and chairs. Dark booths with high-backed leather benches. Brick walls. No art or kitschy decorations.
“You were listening, weren’t you? To that conversation we had on the way to the hotel? Not only thinking about your dick?” Wyatt said the last bit as they reached the host podium. The host looked surprised at the language, but Wyatt didn’t flinch. “Booth. Two.”
Parker held his reply until they were seated and didn’t have an audience. While he didn’t have a problem going off in public about most topics, there were some things people shouldn’t be subjected to unless they volunteered. “You mean the bullshit about it just being sex? The laundry list of things you said to piss me off? Which part was I supposed to hear?”
Wyatt gave a short laugh. “You were paying attention. It wasn’t bullshit. And you’re cute when you’re annoyed.”
Parker swallowed an irritated retort. “What was it, then?”
“It was genuine. I don’t understand why the two of you would let something like sex, especially with each other, drive a wedge between you.”
Their waitress interrupted, and Parker ordered a Coke. He needed mental clarity to have this conversation, and alcohol wouldn’t help.
Wyatt ordered an oatmeal ale. “And bring us some of that queso you guys make. Extra chips.” He looked at Parker. “No reason to hit up the local places if you don’t try the specialties.”
“Great. Thanks for the tip.” Parker couldn’t keep the sarcasm from his voice. That was one of his things when it came to his channel.
Wyatt leaned in when the waitress was gone, resting his forearms on the table. “As I was saying—what’s the big deal?”
Parker didn’t think he could put it into works if this guy didn’t already get it. “It changed things.”
“So? She’s still Fiona, right?”
“Yes...”
“You’re either okay with the casual sex, or you’re not. But if you’re not, don’t lie to yourself and say you are just because you want help getting off.” Wyatt sighed. “Fine. I’ll stop talking the standard lines for a minute. The two of you have a connection. I saw it the first night we met. It’s... I can’t describe it, but I’m not trying to step on your toes or break up your friendship.”
“Then what are you doing?”
“Helping you drop a few inhibitions, to keep them from getting in your way.”
Parker snorted. “So this is an altruistic act on your part.”
“Fuck that. Everything I do is selfish. I got laid. If I’m lucky, I get to be part of that self-discovery process again.”
Parker rolled his eyes. “Noble of you.”
“Anything but. We covered that.” Wyatt smiled at the waitress when she returned with their drinks and chips, and took a slow sip of his beer before setting it aside. “Whatever the two of you have going on, you’ve ignored it for so long, anything you do is going to feel out of place. You radiate sexual tension, and you have to ease into exploring it.”
Parker couldn’t believe he was getting relationship advice about his best friend from a guy they met in a hotel bar, whom Parker just watched...
He shook the thought aside, because it brought images with it images guaranteed to distract him. “And you’re part of that easing.”
“I was today. I wouldn’t complain about another round.”
Of course he wouldn’t. No wonder this guy was in sales—he talked a fantastic pitch. The problem—or maybe it wasn’t a problem at all—was Parker liked what Wyatt was selling. A Round Two or Three? And a chance to find out what Parker and Fiona might be? That was a hard thing to say no to.
Chapter Sixteen
“What happens if one of us falls for you?”
Wyatt was surprised Parker phrased the question that way. This entire conversation was odd, though. He still wasn’t sure why he’d coaxed Parker into heading out with him. Logic said it was the Grammie’s contract. Part of the game. Getting to know the other half of his prey.
There were easier, less draining ways to do that. He might enjoy Parker’s company, but trying to drill this concept of no-strings is okay with your best friend was getting repetitive.
“It won’t happen,” Wyatt said.
“Why not?”
He had to explain this? It was all but painted on the walls. “Fiona is keeping me around because it makes you jealous.” And because she had an inner sex-kitten, mewling for attention. “I’m not your type, and I’m not looking to get attached.”
“You really will say anything to get laid.”
“Only if it’s true.” Lying didn’t serve any purpose in the long run, when it came to sex. Covering the deception was more effort than the getting off was worth. “This afternoon was more fun than I’ve had in a long time.”
“It was good.” Parker grabbed a chip and dipped it in queso, then nibbled on it. “So’s this. Wow. Not the same kind of wow, but this is good.”
That was the point. “Are we on the same page now, or do you want to continue the third degree?” Wyatt asked.
“I still think you’re hiding something. And I don’t suspect no-strings with Fiona is going to be as easy as you make it sound. But I see where you’re coming from. Though, that might be the afterglow speaking for me.”
“How magnanimous of you.” Wyatt drained his beer and waved down the waitress for another.
“It’s too bad finding a way to kick up my rankings for the competition doesn’t come with this kind of detailed instruction.” Parker seemed to be speaking as much to himself as anyone.
The rapid shift in topic knocked Wyatt’s brain off balance. “Why can’t it?” That was the wrong question. What did he mean to say? He tossed Parker’s musing with his own.
Parker twisted his mouth in amusement. “It’s a family rated channel and competition. I don’t think diagrams and charts about no-commitment sex will fly with the censors.”
“You’re losing me. Or I’m losing you.” Gears turned. “Your contract with Grammie’s—what kind of exclusivity does it have? As in, can you only film their food?”
Parker studied him. “I’m not allowed to show their competition, but they don’t care if I’m eating somewhere else. I had to put that in the contract, or I wouldn’t be able to do anything else.”
“Does your footage of their deliveries have to be live?” What the fuck was he doing? Helping the competition do a better job at sealing the deal? No. This was about keeping himself in their lives.
Parker shook his head. “It just has to appear in at least one of my clips every week da
y. And I haven’t taken advantage of the rest of the contract because we’ve been in these tiny little cities that don’t have a lot of local color.”
“You’re serious.” Wyatt stared at him in disbelief. “You’ve devoured half a bowl of local color while we’ve been talking.” He nodded at the queso. “So limit your delivery footage to big events—weddings, parties, catered things. Then do what you’d normally do, but in these smaller cities.”
“There’s a problem with that.” Despite the words, there was no argument in Parker’s voice. “When I do those clips of the local dives and amazing hotspots in other places, I have time to scout out the locations. I’m not in this to wreck anyone, so I’d rather go someplace good. I don’t have that kind of freedom with my schedule right now.”
“The places I could show you in these small little towns no one thinks are worth visiting...” Wyatt would make Parker a list, but he wanted to be an in-person tour guide.
“Yeah. That’d be convenient.”
He couldn’t tell where Parker’s sarcasm was directed. “Don’t suppose you’ll be in Philadelphia anytime soon.” He knew the answer as well as he’d known exactly who Nick was. No reason to tip his hand.
“No.” Parker shook his head. “We’re going to Maryland next.” He frowned. “Wait. There’s a Grammie’s hub in Chadds Ford, outside Philadelphia, isn’t there?”
There was. It was the only reason for Wyatt to go there. “You tell me. You’re their cameraman.”
“There is. It’s one of our later stops. I bet we could rearrange our schedule. Fiona’s looking forward to seeing the place, so she won’t complain about getting there sooner. If you were willing to show us the town and whatever else you thought we’d enjoy...”
This was easier than Wyatt expected. “I could do that. You’d have to promise to keep me off camera.”
“I gotta know—why the camera phobia?”
“I don’t care if you film me. Hell, if that’s your kink...” Wyatt shook the thought aside. “It’s a job thing. There are rules around sponsorship. As in, we can’t do anything that carries the tiniest whiff of endorsement. Since all your videos are sponsored, I’m not willing to risk being disciplined over that.” It was a half-truth, and a good reminder that the clock was ticking until someone saw Wyatt in the footage from earlier. He was grateful the information wasn’t part of the call from Nick.
Red Hunted_An MFM Ménage Romance Page 11
