by Jodi Redford
The heavy-lidded sultriness of Ty’s gaze reached deep inside Gibb, to that scary place where uncomfortable desires ruled. Heart knocking, he attempted to scoot away from temptation, but his traitorous feet remained rooted in place. Ty inched closer, until the hard ridge of his erection nudged Gibb’s hip. “Maybe it’s a really good thing.”
Perspiration trickled down Gibb’s spine. Blood rushed in his ears. He was excruciatingly aware of every breath Ty released because they seemed perfectly synchronized with his own ragged inhalations, until Gibb was certain his lungs were saturated with pure, undiluted Ty.
Without warning, Ty’s middle and index fingers tucked between the buckle and waistband of Gibb’s jeans. Gibb jolted in reaction. Unfortunately, his dick piped in with its own response—namely, a hot surge against his fly. His blood sluiced a wild zip line through his veins, chugging a familiar refrain. Danger, danger, danger.
The last time Ty had taken his teasing too far, his mouth ended up hugged around Gibb’s cock. The taunting memory refused to budge from Gibb’s mind, and he suspected Ty was all too aware of the fact.
“The Day-Glo ninja is out of the closet, and no way I’m gonna let you shove it back in there.” Ty’s fingers dipped lower, perilously close to brushing the head of Gibb’s cock. “Ain’t gonna let you pretend that kiss meant nothing. Just like I’m not gonna let you pretend that night never happened. Because it did. There’s no mistaking it, because I’ve been rehashing every second of it for the past seven years. Wondering if my memory’s faulty, or if the feel of you coming down my throat, all hot, slippery and pulsing, is as fucking incredible as I’ve made it out to be in my head.”
Gibb lost the ability to swallow properly. Or to think. No doubt that’d make Ty fucking ecstatic. “We were drunk.”
“I’m stone-cold sober right now. How ’bout you?”
Before Gibb could formulate even a half-assed response, Ty’s hand slid the extra few inches necessary to wrap around Gibb’s cock. Ty pumped him in a fluid glide that officially murdered the remaining brain cells Gibb claimed ownership of. That became apparent the second he breached the scant millimeter separating his mouth from Ty’s. His desperate moan working its way loose, he crushed Ty’s lips in a hungry, devouring kiss, his fingers cramping as they clamped the back of Ty’s neck and their tongues tangled together in a slick collision.
Holy hell. In the dimmest recesses of his mind, he acknowledged that he should be freaked the fuck out over kissing a man, whether it was Ty or not. Yeah, weird didn’t begin to describe it. And loving it as much as he did? Only complicated the situation further.
Ty’s teeth scraped Gibb’s bottom lip, shooting shivers of pleasure throughout every nerve receptor in Gibb’s body and temporarily muting the doubts raging in his head. His dick throbbed and thickened in Ty’s grip, and Ty moaned in approval before sliding his fingers through the precome glossing the tip.
“Fuck yeah. Slippery like I remember.” Ty’s next words prompted a decadent shudder through Gibb. “I want to suck every fat inch of this bad boy. Feel you shoot all hot and creamy down my throat. Right fucking now.”
“Jesus.”
Ty licked the seam of Gibb’s lips with a raunchy glide of his tongue before fumbling with Gibb’s belt. Somewhere through the crazy haze of lust, Gibb had the sense to remember they were standing in the lobby of Master Charters. Not exactly the best place to be on the receiving end of an illicit, albeit incredible blowjob courtesy of his best friend. At least not without the door closed and locked.
Gibb’s focus cruised to the entrance—and stalled on the unexpected sight of Kayla standing there with her jaw hanging to her knees.
His stomach pitched in tandem with the blood rushing from his head.
Her eyes practically overtaking her face, Kayla took a stumbling step back. “I’m sorry. I—” A red stain spread across her cheeks when Ty quickly slipped his hand from Gibb’s pants and jerked his gaze in her direction. Her loud swallow echoed in the strained silence. “I decided to take you up on your invitation of a boat ride, and… Aw hell.”
Without uttering another word, she turned and fled from the damning scene like a fire had been lit beneath her feet.
Chapter Seven
What in the world was I just looking at? Panting, Kayla tried to catch her breath during her frantic race-walk toward the marina’s parking lot and silently groaned at her own stupid question. Duh, clearly two men on the verge of getting it on. Not too difficult to put a finger on that one. But…Gibb and Ty? Never in a million years would she have seen that coming.
If you hadn’t blown your cover, you might have really seen a lot coming. In vivid, Technicolor detail. Okay, entirely inappropriate thought. Her cheeks burning, she sped up her pace.
“Kayla!”
Her mortification escalated at the sound of Gibb’s shout behind her. Yeah, she’d known the odds of escaping without any embarrassing confrontations were slim to none, but the delusion had been fantastic to cling to the few meager minutes it’d lasted. Sucking in a deep, fortifying gulp of oxygen, she dragged to a halt and slowly pivoted. Gibb wasn’t the only one headed toward her. Ty kept an even lope right beside him.
Oh God. Facing both of them right now was more than she could handle. Especially with her brain overflowing with the wicked images of them kissing like they wanted to eat each other alive. Ty’s hand had been down Gibb’s pants. His pants! Didn’t take much to determine he hadn’t been looking for loose change in there.
Her memory possessed the incredibly ill timing to conjure the recollection of Gibb’s erection rubbing against her while he’d kissed the living daylights out of her yesterday. He’d been as turned on then as what she’d witnessed in action mere minutes ago.
But he sure didn’t look like he was on the verge of leaving Ty high and dry. She winced at her inner voice’s depressingly astute observation.
Clutching her terrycloth beach bag like it might miraculously expand into a size big enough for her to crawl into and hide, she waited for the two men to haul up short in front of her. She was mollified to note their expressions matched the scalding embarrassment swirling inside her.
For what she swore were the longest ten seconds of her life, the three of them stood staring dumbly at everything but each other. Finally Gibb cleared his throat and looked her in the eye. “Kay, what you saw—”
She shook her head vigorously enough to prompt a pain in her temple. “No need to explain. Really. What you guys do behind closed doors is certainly none of my business.”
“Only the door wasn’t closed,” Ty said before giving a lopsided smile. “Which means we do owe you an explanation, since I’m willin’ to bet we kinda blew your mind back there.”
Welcome to the world’s biggest understatement. “Maybe a little.”
“Why don’t we take this conversation inside the shop?” Pensiveness continued to hover over Gibb, leaving her with the certainty that he was convinced she’d refuse the request and would instead run off again.
The realization that he was possibly worried what she thought of him tugged at her, effectively muting her own private drama regarding the situation. She was all too aware of how it felt to be judged. To live under the constant pressure of disappointing those she loved. Never in a million years would she treat him that way.
Without saying a word, she took his hand in hers and squeezed it. A hefty portion of the anxiousness ebbed from him. His eyes conveying his relief, he twined their fingers together and led the way back to Master Charters. Ty fell in step on her other side and crooked his arm around her shoulders. Her pulse slowly eased back to normal. For a moment she was even able to fool herself that her world hadn’t tumbled off its axis.
That changed the second they stepped into the lobby, and the reminder of what she’d seen clubbed her upside the head with the subtle impetus of a two-by-four. Hot, sinful snapshots paraded across her mental big screen, making it impossible for her to meet Ty’s and Gibb’s gazes again. Unc
ertain what to do with herself and the prickly heat crawling beneath her skin, she rubbed her forearms and tried to look anywhere but at Gibb and Ty. A large saltwater aquarium in the corner offered a prime distraction, until she noticed that a couple of the pufferfish were getting extra frisky with each other. Good God. Maybe it’s something in the water.
A weary breath gusted from Gibb, drawing her focus away from the fish tank. “I don’t know where to begin. Hell, I’m at a loss to explain all of…” he waved toward the table where he and Ty had been locked in their erotic embrace, “…that.”
Once again, his obvious anxiety banished her own awkwardness to the back burner. “I already told you none of this is necessary. You and Ty being lovers is…well, it’s great.” She grimaced at her overenthusiastic cheeriness. Oh Lord, I sounded like Tony the Tiger. Sexy man-on-man action, even better than Frosted Flakes. There’s a slogan for ya.
Pushing aside her chagrin, she noticed Gibb’s complexion had mottled into a darker shade of crimson.
“Ty and I aren’t lovers, Kay,” he said, his voice strangled.
“You’re not?” Okay, now she was thoroughly confused. “Then what was…that?” She copied Gibb’s earlier move and gestured to the table.
Ty grunted. “Seven years of avoidance exploding on impact.”
She bounced her focus between both men and blurted out the most unintelligent response she could think of. “Huh?” Yeah, right now that was all the brilliance her brain could muster.
Gibb scrubbed a hand along his nape, his face turning ten shades of red. “Ty and I shared an encounter awhile back and—”
“In non-bullshit speak, that means he blew his load when I sucked him off seven years ago, and we’re just now getting around to talking about it.”
“Jesus Christ.” Gibb appeared on the verge of rupturing every blood vessel in his head. “Could you be any less tactful?”
“Screw tact. Hasn’t done a damn bit of good anyway. Now the ninja’s out of the closet, no point pussyfooting over the subject. We’re all adults here, right?” Ty glanced at her, and she nodded automatically. He returned his attention to Gibb and cocked an eyebrow.
Gibb’s mouth tightened. “Yeah, I can see how systematically banging every woman you could immediately afterwards was the pinnacle of adult behavior.”
A tic twitched near Ty’s eye. “How did I know you were gonna bring that up?” He huffed out an angry breath. “I admit it, I reacted badly. Does it mean I have to pay a penalty for my stupid-ass behavior the rest of my life?”
Gibb averted his gaze, a guilty flush creeping along his neck. “No, you don’t. I won’t give you a hard time about it anymore.” With his attention still riveted on the opposite wall, he failed to observe the obvious relief blooming across Ty’s features. But Kayla saw it, as well as the unmistakable flash fire of hunger that ignited in Ty’s eyes whenever he looked at Gibb.
That raw, unshielded glimpse of desire stirred equal amounts of heat and embarrassment through her blood. Suddenly feeling like the odd woman out, she inched toward the exit. “I’ll, uh, leave you two to finish this alone.”
Both Ty and Gibb jerked their stares in her direction. Ty frowned. “But we’re taking you on the boat.”
It took massive effort, but she somehow managed not to dwell on how scandalously sexual his pronouncement had sounded. Yeah, in my dreams. “Don’t worry about it. Clearly there’s stuff you two need to work on here, and I wouldn’t want to be a third wheel.”
Ty strode to her and cupped her cheeks in his big hands. “Kay, you could never be a third wheel.”
She gaped at him, completely ensnared by his compelling gaze. Something flared to life in his whiskey-hued irises. Something that went a whole lot deeper than the sultry flirtation that typically exuded from him. It took precisely two heartbeats to recognize what she was looking at. The consuming I-want-to-eat-you-up-in-one-lusty-bite stare he’d leveled on Gibb earlier was now centered on her.
She gulped. Ty’s attention beelined to her mouth and remained fused there for an endless moment. The fingers he’d locked around her face tightened almost imperceptibly, and a low, carnal sound rolled from the depths of his chest.
“Aw, shit.” The words ripped from Gibb a second before Ty’s hand sifted through Kayla’s hair, tipping her face toward him. The growl that broke from Ty was borderline animalistic and sexier than hell. The next instant his lips captured hers.
There was no gentle teasing in the kiss. Just full-on ravishment with a chaser of liquid sin. His tongue swept over the edges of her teeth and then delved deeper—a wet, slick assault on her senses coaxing her to give in fully to the devastating skill of his mouth. She went willingly. Eagerly. Her nipples tightened, and her knees wobbled. Convinced she was about to melt into an unrecognizable puddle, she dropped her bag to the floor and clutched at Ty’s bare shoulders.
Good God. If she kept ending up on the receiving end of kisses like his and Gibb’s, her brain would be complete putty.
But damn, what a way to go. Giving a breathless moan, she slipped an arm around Ty’s waist, relishing the silky shift of his muscles beneath his warm skin. He palmed a handful of her left butt cheek and squeezed, earning her gasp.
Gibb cleared his throat with a gruff cough. “Bailey is going to fucking kill you.”
“So worth it,” Ty murmured before intoxicating Kayla with another round of drugging kisses. He sucked her bottom lip between his teeth, and a responding beat pulsed in her clit, spurring a whimper from her. Ty pulled back slightly, his hand still massaging her ass through the thin twill of her shorts. His pupils were dilated and loaded with one hundred degrees of pure sin. “Now what were you saying about being a third wheel?”
“I…” she swallowed, her focus glued to those sexy, masculine lips that were way too ridiculously skilled at short-circuiting her brain, “…have no idea.”
Ty chuckled, but a hasty glance in Gibb’s direction revealed his mouth was set in a grim line. Despite that, his gaze held a fierce conflagration of heat, as if watching her and Ty kissing had massively turned him on. A quick scan of the impressive bulge denting his fly confirmed the possibility. He clenched his jaw and glared at Ty. “If you have one iota of sense, you’ll promise me you’ve gotten that out of your system now and won’t repeat it.”
“You tell me. Did kissing Kay one lousy time satisfy you? Or do you want a helluva lot more?”
Gibb’s intense stare swept her, spiking her heart rate by several chaotic beats.
Another smoky chuckle fell from Ty. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. So the way I see it, we’ve got ourselves a dilemma here. Either the three of us keep dancing around the issue, pretending we don’t want each other and suffering for it.” Ty’s fingertips skated enticing figure eights along her spine, increasing the heavy ache between her legs. “Or we say fuck what everyone else thinks, and see where this takes us.”
Gibb’s expression remained stony. “There’s no way in hell you’re suggesting what I think you are.”
“Mama always said the polite thing to do is share.” The wicked sparkle in Ty’s eyes thoroughly contradicted his innocent smile.
A grunt snuck from Gibb. “Somehow I doubt your mom was referring to a threesome.” He shifted his focus to Kayla. “One of us needs to be the voice of reason. Tell him this is a moronic idea. That you have no damn interest in pursuing this disaster in the making.” Although he’d made it sound like Ty was the one who required convincing, the dark desperation in Gibb’s pleading stare hinted he needed it just as much. Maybe more.
Every ounce of logic she possessed acknowledged the truth in Gibb’s assertion. If she gave in to her desire to be with him and Ty—a fantasy she’d barely given herself permission to weave during a solo session with her vibrator, for God’s sake—she’d potentially be driving a huge wedge between her and Bailey. That prospect made her chest feel like it was pinned under a ton of bricks. Plus, knowing Bailey, there was the very real possibility that she would ki
ll Ty. “I’d feel terrible if I created a problem between you and Bail.”
Ty offered Kayla a reassuring squeeze on her hip. “Remember what I said about tuning out what everyone else has to say on the matter? That goes double for my sister.”
Kayla chewed her lip, her thoughts veering to Bailey’s words from earlier. Remembering her best friend’s adamancy about not giving in to Ty, Kayla winced. “She won’t be happy about me getting involved with you guys.”
Ty stroked her arm gently. “Kay, what we do is none of my sister’s business. I’d be more than happy to remind her of that, but if it makes you feel better keeping this strictly between you, me and Gibb, we can do that too.”
Guilt percolated inside her, adding to her uncertainty. There’d never been any lies or secrets between her and Bailey. “I…I need some time to process this.”
Rough exhalations broke from Ty and Gibb. Their expressions gave nothing away, making it impossible to tell if their reactions were prompted by disappointment or relief that she hadn’t immediately shot down Ty’s insane proposal.
A threesome. Good Lord. It was so…so…
Exciting.
Her skin flushed. Okay, there was no denying that the idea of being with Ty and Gibb made her tremble in all the right places.
Ty cupped her nape and leaned down to brush her lips with a lingering kiss that recruited a new troop of goose bumps. His fingertips danced seductively down the slope of her neck. “Take all the time you need. In the meantime, I promised you that boat ride. Still up for it?”
Everything inside her longed to give in, and not only in regards to the boat trip.
God. Aching to be with two men. At the same time. It was precisely the sort of perversions Jeremy had accused her of. That her mother condemned her for writing about. No doubt they’d label her a world-class whore for even considering the proposition of being with Ty and Gibb.
If you’re going to be accused of trampy behavior, why not make it real and enjoy every naughty minute you can with them? Her pulse sped up as the incredibly tempting and scandalous enticement whispered through her mind.
