Gas or Ass

by Eden Connor

  “Condoms,” I managed to say.

  Colt slid open a drawer in the front of the coffee table, exposing a box of Trojans.

  Instead of feeling grateful he was prepared to protect me, I felt a stab of jealousy, wondering why they were in such a convenient spot, and noting the box had been opened.

  But he swept the stupid twinge away by unfastening his jeans. His cock wasn’t hard and it didn’t look so massive and powerful now. Just a bundle of soft tissue, really. Nothing to tear my life apart, nor my body.

  While he lounged on the couch, slowly stroking his cock to attention, Caine punished my nipples. His cock was fully hard and pressed against my bare buttocks, but my eyes were fastened on Colt.

  Even when Caine pressed his lips to the side of my neck, my body processed them as Colt’s lips. Veins stood out around his shaft now, peeking between his fingers. The lamp turned the hair on his chest and groin into threads of gold. I swallowed hard, realizing that his cock was thicker than my wrist. I tried to decide if there was any way I could take all of him without ripping in two.

  Colt slipped the wet fingertip into me, thrusting hard and fast, but not deep. “Makes our baby sister wet when we touch her, Caine.”

  “I hear that.” I doubted Caine meant he’d heard Colt’s words, given the small, squishing sounds Colt’s finger made. My cheeks heated, but my body heated more. “Such a dirty girl.” His lips were at my ear and his voice seemed hoarse. He dropped a hand to massage my clit in his demanding way. I never felt the loss, because Colt replaced his fingers on my nipple with his own.

  “Show Colt how much you wish that was his cock.”

  “Goddamn,” Colt muttered when I tightened around his finger.

  “Who needs to be fucked?” Caine demanded.

  “I do.” But I didn’t. What they were doing was fine, thank you very much.

  “C’mere.” Colt slid back and patted the cushion on either side of his thighs. Caine dropped his hands. Every cell in my body hummed as I climbed onto Colt’s lap, placing my knees beside his hips. He swept his hands up my spine, tugging me against his chest. My heart did something stupid when he pressed his lips to mine, but I was helpless to stop the feeling that swept though me. I reveled in the soft velvet of his tongue, in the width and hardness of his chest, in the way he drove his fingers through my hair and held me still, so he could take control.

  I couldn’t stop thinking that their kisses weren’t anything like the fumbling, tentative sort of kiss I’d grown to loathe. This was a kiss from a man who knew what he was doing and it turned me to quivering jelly, a mindless amoeba, waiting to be taken.

  His cock was a throbbing rod against my belly. I both feared the moment he’d slide it inside me, and at the same time, longed to get that moment of truth behind me. This thing between us was about sex and speed, nothing else. I couldn’t drive fast enough to hold him to me that way, and I knew better than to think he’d fall for me.

  Except, I hadn’t expected his kisses to be so damn tender. That illogical organ inside my chest went haywire every time he pulled away to stare into my eyes, only to nip my lips until they stung and delve inside my mouth again. I’d expected him to rush through this part, eager to get to the main event, but Colt kissed me like we had the rest of our lives to reach the next step.

  That was my excuse for the stupid thing I did next, anyway. Because Colt kissed me like a lover, I gave him my heart. He didn’t have to know, I reasoned, in the odd moments when he gave me time to breathe. I’d just love him in secret.

  I knew love wasn’t something I could start and stop, that the emotion wouldn’t respond to logic, or just be one of the things I didn’t take with me to college, but I figured someone had to be the first guy to break my heart, and right then, it was okay with me if that guy was Colt.

  Lost in the tumble of emotions and snatches of thought, I forgot about Caine, until I heard something rip and looked over my shoulder to see him peeling a condom out of the packet. I gave Colt a pleading look.

  “Baby girl, it’s killing me that it has to be this way.” Colt cradled my face and stared into my eyes. “But I’ll be damned if I’ll hurt you. This is how I’m gonna protect you, okay? Caine’ll stretch you out a bit, and hopefully, then you can take me.”

  He shoved a hand between our bodies, breaking the seal formed by our sweat. He found my opening, wet his fingertip, and withdrew. He cut a look at Caine, and I felt that brother back off, until Colt’s expert caresses had me writhing so hard, I no longer cared whose cock went into me, as long as someone’s did.

  Caine moved close again, leaning over me as I knelt. I was resting my butt on Colt’s lap, but Caine gripped my hips and made me lift.

  “Stay right there,” Caine ordered. Holding the position, I kept my eyes on Colt’s as Caine breeched my entrance and surged forward. Because Caine reached around me to grip the back of the sofa, I felt only the hand between my thighs and the one raking my hair out of my eyes—Colt’s hands.

  Colt even moved his hips, thrusting in time with Caine’s efforts. With his forearm between us, I no longer felt his cock against my belly. In a leap of imagination only a stupid girl in love for the first time could make, the one inside me became his.

  “God, look at those eyes,” Colt murmured. “So fuckin’ sexy to watch that innocence fade and see the eyes of a woman lookin’ back at me. I want to see your eyes when you come all over Caine’s cock.” His finger picked up speed, and between that touch, and the hard cock thrusting into me, I was flying.

  My befuddled brain just dubbed right over Caine’s name. Come all over my cock.

  A groan echoed in my ear and the hard shaft inside me surged so deep, I gasped and jerked my eyes open.

  “’Bout time you relaxed enough to let me in.” Caine’s voice rumbled in my ear.

  “Ow, ow.” I panted, partly because the spell was broken now.

  “Shh, shh, baby. You’re little, give it a minute. Breathe, Shelby. Just breathe,” Colt murmured and redoubled his efforts on my clit. Caine slowed, and after my initial rush of gratitude, I couldn’t decide if a slower speed made things better or worse. ‘”Don’t tense up, babe,” Colt demanded. “You might kill the man.”

  “What a way to fuckin’ go,” Caine muttered.

  “Do you know how bad I hate him right now?” Colt rubbed the end of my nose with his. I pulled away, not because I wanted to lose the contact, but because the way Caine moved in me made moving necessary. Colt dropped his head and slid his tongue across my nipple.

  “Yeah, man. She likes that,” Caine said. “Don’t stop.”

  Caine’s cock hit a spot that made my temperature soar. Everything inside me that’d been rigid moments before seemed to melt. Each measured thrust brought a new layer of heat. Sweat trickled down my sides and the pain turned to pleasure, then to unbearable pleasure, as Caine picked up speed. “Oh, God, what’s he doing?”

  “Mm, I think I found somebody’s sweet spot,” Caine muttered.

  Colt’s hand and tongue moved in tandem, working my nipple and clit and preventing any response from him. I dug my nails into Colt’s shoulders, fearing I’d fly apart without something to hold onto.

  A dark vortex whirled inside me, building and building, until the pressure seemed unbearable. I couldn’t hold on and pleasure dragged me under. My vision went dark and my arms refused to hold me. I tumbled onto Colt’s chest, gasping for air and gripped by strong contractions. Caine still moved, but he’d lost his rhythm. Colt lifted my face and seized my lips in a kiss.

  Then Caine cried out. I tensed, raking my nails down Colt’s arms in panic while his cock jerked inside me, until I remembered he’d used a condom.

  I relaxed, sinking into the widening waves of afterglow. Something warm pressed the spot between my shoulder blades and I smiled, realizing the touch was from Caine’s lips. He let his weight sag onto me, pressing me against Colt in a way I found agreeable, given the strong sensation still echoing in my channel.

&n
bsp; Colt broke our kiss. “What’cha think?”

  I thought every woman needed to try sex with two men at least once.

  “Not a chance, brother,” Caine replied, jerking me out of my reverie. “She only has a third of me, at best, and I felt bad for a long minute there, for making her take that much.” Cords of sinew and throbbing veins stood out on his arms, and those powerful limbs trembled when he pushed his body off mine. He eased out of me with a groan and staggered across the den and down the hall.

  “W-what’d he mean?” A third? I fought to shake off the sexual haze fogging my mind. I’d felt like he had a sword through my guts, before he’d hit that spot that seemed to turn muscle to hot custard. A third? I thought about watching him stroke himself the morning before and tried to reconcile that image with what I’d felt inside me. Caine couldn’t be that big, could he? He couldn’t be, because he was longer, but thinner than Colt. If what he’d said about barely being in me was true—

  Colt nipped my lower lip. “Well, babe, it means you’re petite and I’m hung like a damn horse. So, it’s gonna be a while until I can get inside you.”

  “But... but.” My cheeks went hot, but I had to know. “What’s going to change?”

  He grinned. “Not me, that’s for sure. Once you get used to Caine, we might need to find another dude or two. Step you up, so to speak. You’ll loosen up, it’s just gonna be a process.”

  I had absolutely nothing to fall back on to refute the astonishing assessment. Not once in my life could I recall hearing anyone say, “He was just too big for me, so we didn’t work out.” Besides, I’d known he’d expect me to let other guys fuck me. I just wasn’t sure I could do that. But this wasn’t the time to have that debate.

  I gnawed my lower lip and eyed his swollen cock. There was a more urgent problem between us. “But what about... you?”

  He gripped my arms and shifted me onto the couch. “Yeah, my dick’s hard enough to cut diamonds. I think I’m gonna roll out and look up an old friend for some relief.”

  I shook my head, like I had water in my ears. “What?”

  He tucked his rigid cock into his jeans and carefully raised the zipper. Leaning over, he pressed a kiss to my cheek. “Think of it like humanitarian aide to the enemy, sweetheart. It sure as hell ain’t love.”

  I stared, unable to believe my eyes, but he snatched his keys off the board and just walked out the door.

  When the Corvette cranked, I was still sure he’d turn off the engine and come back in the house, grinning at the joke I didn’t find funny. But the car roared up the driveway and only the running shower broke the silence.

  I thought about crying. I wanted to cry, despite the embarrassment crying might cause if Caine heard me. But the tears refused to penetrate the numbness in my chest. There was only a voice reminding me how stupid I was to let myself forget, even for a moment, that all guys played this game. These two just played it harder than most.

  I found my room and dug for a pair of pajamas before pounding on the bathroom door. “It’s my fucking birthday, Caine. Mind saving some damn hot water?”

  The water turned off. I heard him slide the shower door open, but still wasn’t prepared when he opened the door. He swiped water from his eyes with the thumb and fingers of one hand before he looked down at me. “It’s your birthday.”

  He didn’t phrase it like a question, so I didn’t think a response was needed, but I clutched my jammies to my chest and wished like hell he’d use a towel or robe.

  “Where’s Colt?”

  “He left. Something about looking up an old friend to get some relief.” I hated the crack in my voice, but I couldn’t help it.

  “Listen, Shelby, there’s this old cat that roams around in the woods out back. She’ll get herself knocked up, and when it’s time for the kittens to come, she usually climbs under one of the cars out back to have ‘em. Dad’s tried to shoot her ass a million times, because after a day or so, she’ll just wander off and leave ‘em to die.”

  He sighed. I stared at the droplets rolling down his chest. Every time I blinked, they went in or out of focus, but I couldn’t stop blinking. “And that cat’s a better mama than what Colt has, or me either, for that matter. I think I’m better off not knowin’ mine, to be honest, because Colt’s mama sure as hell fucked that boy up.”

  The plain, heartfelt story dislodged the ice. My tears spilled over, but Caine still occupied the doorway like it was prime real estate and I was a squatter.

  “Hey, can you dance?”

  I shook my head, using my pajamas to wipe my eyes. Swallowing hard, I choked back sobs.

  “Me, neither. Tell you what. You grab a shower, and I’ll find some music, and we’ll just step on each other’s toes, okay?”

  I shook my head, just wanting to crawl under the covers and pretend this day never happened. He lifted my chin with a finger. “There’s a banana pudding in the refrigerator. I forgot all about it ‘til just now. Macy made it. And there’s ice cream. She says you eat butter pecan with your pudding, which is so fucking twisted, I gotta try—” He jerked me against his chest, wrapping one arm around my neck. “Goddammit, Shelby, please don’t cry. I’ll find somethin’ to make this up to you, I swear.”

  The offer was sweet, but toothless. I’d already figured out, counting on the Hannah brothers to mean what they said was a fool’s errand. Besides, Caine owed me nothing. He offered pleasure, nothing else, and he delivered.

  Colt was the one who’d made promises.

  But I couldn’t just stand here blubbering like a baby. I tried to pull myself together. “They make these things called towels, just so folks can dry off after a shower. And your big brother routine would work better if you had on pants, Caine.”

  “Yeah? Dad used to yell at us for usin’ so many, so we just quit usin’ any.” He scrubbed his chin in my hair. “Pants, huh? Girl, you know that just ain’t us.”

  I couldn’t help it. I snickered.

  Relief washed over his face. “Atta girl. While you take your cold shower, I’ll dish up some pudding.” He raked his hand through his short waves. “I’d say we’d do each others’ hair, but yours looks fine and mine just won’t hold a damn curl.”

  I was laughing for real by now. “But since it’s you, I’ll let you hold the remote, and you can even torture me with the Hallmark Channel, long as you don’t hold it against me if I laugh at the sad parts.”

  Somewhere along the line, Caine had held down a relationship, and she’d taught him a thing or two. Still, he was trying so hard, I felt bad for making him feel bad. “You’d just be tearing that Barracuda apart in your head the whole time. But, since you’re hell-bent on babysitting, I’ll shower, you dish up the pudding. Put the ice cream right on top of mine. Then, you can tell me about the ‘Cuda. Why it’s so special.”

  His eyes weren’t black. They were blue, just so dark, they seemed black, unless the light hit them just right. Or unless he smiled and they lit up, like they did when he talked about that car until I gave up on Colt coming back and reminded Caine I had school the next day, so he let me go to bed and I finally got my crying jag out of the way.

  Chapter Nine

  “Goddammit, there’s the motor home.” Colt muted the sound on the television.

  I strained, but heard nothing. “You’re just trying to get me off your lap. I’m not sitting on the damn loveseat. Watching TV from over there hurts my neck.”

  “I’m tellin’ you, they’re home a day early.” He popped my bare hip with the back of his fingers. I drew circles in the air around one ear, rolling my eyes at Caine. Then I heard the whine of an unfamiliar engine.

  “Shit. He’s right.” I jerked upright. My elbow dug into the spot behind Caine’s knee, making him bark with pain. I gave him my best innocent look and scrambled off the couch.

  Their laughter followed me down the hall as I raced to my room. “You better look around to see if we left something that’ll set Mom off,” I yelled, grabbing a pair of jeans off
the hanger. “She’d make a good FBI agent.”

  “Girl, you ain’t seen Colt lie yet,” Caine drawled. “He could leave a condom under your mama’s pillow and convince her she’d ordered a balloon bouquet.”

  We were still laughing when they came through the door. My mom took a step inside and looked from me to Colt to Caine. Just seeing her face after Caine’s remark set me off laughing again.

  “See, Macy? I told you they’d be fine.” Dale tipped his baseball cap off his forehead and raked his nails across his forehead.

  I got my laughter under control and hurried to give Mom a hug, but scowled at my stepfather. “Dale, do you know what happens when someone flushes all three toilets while someone else is busy using up all the hot water?”

  “Uh, can’t say I do, Shelby.” His brows drew together.

  “Well, I can,” Colt drawled. “All that’s left is damn hot water. I need a Band-Aid in an unmentionable place. Too bad they don’t make ‘em that big. Macy, you oughta be ashamed, raising such a mean kid.”

  Dale laughed until he had tears in his eyes, but I figured most of his amusement was relief.

  “They dangled me off the deck by my feet!” I huffed. “On the high end!”

  “What’d you steal?” Dale asked with a big grin. “I mean, they were shakin’ out your pockets, right?”

  “Nothing! I don’t steal.”

  “So, I’ll bite,” Dale said, exchanging a glance with Mom. “Boys, why’d you dangle Shelby off the deck by her heels?”

  “Well.” Caine crossed his feet on top of the coffee table. “One of Colt’s friends asked if she was a screamer. How else could we know, Dad?”

  Mom’s mouth rounded. I tensed, because this was the real test. Either she’d complain about the sexual innuendo and ruin the newfound camaraderie, or, as Caine said, she’d pull that stick out of her ass and get with the program. I knew he was right. If she let them get away with comments like this, she’d be more likely to overlook any questionable interactions she might see between my stepbrothers and me.