Angel Without

by Rhiannon Ayers

  Amber blinked. “Say what? I didn’t do anything.”

  Riley snorted, coming up on her other side to wrap an arm over her shoulders. “You kidding? You were a knock-out, pixie. You held off five men with nothing but the sound of your voice. I’ve never been more proud of anyone in my life.”

  She shook her head in confusion, looking from one to the other. “But…”

  “No ‘buts,’” Maddox said with a chuckle. “You stood up to him. You stood up to both of them. You had the courage to stare them both down, the courage to do what you had to do to win your freedom. That took serious guts, Amber. Bravo.”

  She felt a blush creeping up her cheeks, turned her face away in embarrassment. “I don’t know if Allen would see it that way,” she admitted quietly. “I used him as a threat against my father. I don’t think he would have appreciated having his past used against Robert Whitman, just so I could be free of him.”

  “Bullshit,” Riley said with a snort. “We all know it wasn’t going to go that far. All he needed to know was that you had a credible threat to use against him. We never would have put Allen up to it. The threat itself was enough. Don’t over-think this, pixie. You won. You’re free.”

  * * * *

  Riley watched the expressions change on Amber’s face, watched confusion follow disbelief follow incredulity…and then, finally, elation. Her eyes lit up, a grin gracing her beautiful face, and damn if he didn’t want to grab her and kiss her senseless. Which he did, cupping her face and planting one right on her lips, making her giggle happily.

  Amber gave both of them a fierce hug, then gifted Maddox with a soft, sweet kiss. The breath froze in Riley’s chest when he saw that—it was the first time he’d seen her voluntarily show affection for Maddox. It made his heart hurt even as his cock stirred yet again.

  Damn. These two are going to turn me into a walking hard-on.

  Maddox led the three of them back inside the house, up the stairs, and all the way into the bedroom. Riley joined his lover, and together they removed Amber’s jeans and T-shirt before stripping down to boxers themselves. The three of them crawled into Maddox’s king-size bed, cuddling together in the center.

  Amber smiled softly, leaning over Maddox to give him a hot little kiss. Then she turned to Riley and did the same to him before settling against his chest with a soft sigh. “So. What happens now?”

  Maddox raised an eyebrow. “Whatever you want.”

  Her eyes went tear-bright. “You two. I just want you.”

  Riley squeezed her hand. “You’ve got us, pixie.”

  “Promise?” she asked softly, her face intent. “You’re really staying with us, Riley?”

  He glanced at Maddox, found the other man watching him just as intently. He felt his cheeks heat. “Yeah. I’m staying. Sorry, about before. I’ve never…cared about anyone the way I care about the two of you. Guess I got scared.”

  Maddox shifted so he was lying on one elbow, cupping the other hand around Riley’s jaw as he leaned in for a slow kiss that made Riley’s heart do a woozy backflip. He pulled back with a soft smile, running his thumb over Riley’s bottom lip. “Understandable. I’m scared, too, honestly. The two of you mean more to me than anyone. I’m terrified I’m going to fuck this up somehow, ruin the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

  Amber reached over and pulled Maddox’s hand away from Riley’s face, threading their fingers together so now all three of them were holding hands. “I’m scared, too, guys. But I think as long as we’re willing to talk to each other, we can figure things out. We tell the truth, remember? No matter how much it hurts.”

  Maddox winced a little, looking away briefly. He chuckled. “Should have known that would come back and bite me in the ass.”

  “Ooh, can I?” Riley snickered, waggling his eyebrows. Both of his lovers laughed.

  “And do I get to watch?” Amber asked, her expression mischievous.

  Maddox’s eyes turned molten as he looked back and forth between them. “Oh, you can bite,” he said in that deep, sexy rumble of his, “and you can watch. And then afterward, I’ll tie both of you to this bed and trade off fucking you, one after the other. Sound like a plan?”

  Riley groaned. Damn. Looks like it’s going to be a long night. And I can’t fucking wait.

  Epilogue

  Maddox leaned against the kitchen counter, coffee cup in hand, as he stared absently out the patio doors, thinking, I can’t believe it’s really been almost a year since Amber came into our lives.

  So much had changed in so short a time. So much, in fact, that whenever he stopped to think about it, it made his head spin. If someone had told him a year ago what his life would be like now, he’d have had that person committed to a mental hospital. Yet here he was, his life completely upended, and he couldn’t be happier.

  They’d finished construction on the townhouse complex about a month ago. Now the largest branch of Street Smartz was open for business, and they were already housing about two dozen kids. When he’d originally proposed the project, Maddox had intended to turn over his townhouse to the on-site counselors and find a new place for himself. But his plans changed almost immediately. Instead of turning the operation over to some unknown person, he, Amber, and Riley had become the on-site counselors themselves. Maddox and Riley still worked with Konstruction Kings during business hours, and Amber still took care of the administrative stuff for Street Smartz. But at night, when the kids needed them most, they were always available, whether the kids just needed an adult to talk to or they needed a shoulder to cry on. Some of their stories turned Maddox’s stomach, while others made him want to weep. The fact that most of them trusted him right off the bat made him feel like a superhero, even while he admired their tenacity and willingness to survive under the harshest conditions.

  Maddox would never, not in a million years, have pegged himself as being good with teenagers. Yet now he found himself fiercely devoted to “his” kids, doing everything in his power to help them get past their problems and move on with their lives. It was, far and away, the most fulfilling job he’d ever had in his life.

  But the job was by no means the only thing he found fulfilling.

  Amber and Riley ruled his universe. They’d both moved in with him officially around the same time Street Smartz opened. Unofficially, they’d been living with him since the very first night they spent together. Maddox loved both of them desperately—he couldn’t imagine ever going back to being a bachelor again. Not after experiencing what it was like to be in love with Amber and Riley. Maddox had definitely changed, going from the determined loner he’d been before to the loving, protective Dom his lovers needed him to be—and he wouldn’t change back for all the money in the world.

  His lovers had changed, too. Amber and Riley seemed to have blossomed over the intervening months, so much so he found it hard to believe either one of them had ever been shy or introverted.

  Amber’s metamorphosis was probably the most dramatic, at least outwardly. For one thing, she no longer spoke in that breathy whisper, no longer acted as if the sound of her voice might be taken as a threat. Ever since her father set her free, she’d grown into a self-assured, self-confident woman who made his knees weak with awe of her. She’d single-handedly cleaned up the backlog of administrative tasks for Street Smartz, doing such a good job that Sidri had also hired her to work part-time for MM&M, helping the agency’s legal department deal with some of the headaches that came with advertising internationally. And the more successful she was, the more confident she became, until her presence filled every room she happened to walk into. Where before she’d acted as if she wanted to blend into the background, now she stood tall and proud, the type of woman all others strive to be. Maddox was so proud of her, his heart just burst whenever he thought about her successes. He couldn’t love her more if he tried.

  Riley’s changes were more subtle—at least, to people who didn’t know him well. As far as Amber and Maddox were concerned, he
was a whole new man. Ever since that pivotal night, when he’d confessed that his family had cast him out, he’d started opening up to them more. Maddox hadn’t realized how little he actually knew about the man before then. Somehow, Riley had always made it seem like he was sharing a lot of information, when in reality he revealed nothing at all. But ever since he came to accept that both Maddox and Amber wanted him, he’d started trusting them more, to the point where he didn’t always hide behind his smart-ass jokes. Now they could just talk to him, without fear of being shut out if he felt things were getting too personal. It was heady, knowing Riley trusted them enough to reveal his heart when he’d never trusted anyone so much before. Almost made Maddox cry tears of joy whenever he thought about it.

  Maddox sighed, closing his eyes for a moment before taking another sip of his coffee. They were starting a new construction project this morning, which meant that he and Riley would be away from Amber for most of the day. After months of being able to see each other any time they wanted, no matter what time of day it might be, it was definitely going to take some getting used to. Still, he knew they’d find their rhythm with this new schedule. They might have to forgo their habit of taking long lunches—which Riley had dubbed “Fuck Feasts,” since they usually involved Maddox fucking one or both of them before allowing them to eat—but they would find a way to make up for it.

  We’re all still young, right? Not like we need a whole lot of sleep. The thought made him grin.

  “Good morning,” Amber said, padding into the kitchen still wearing her pajamas. Lord in heaven, she looked sexy wearing that tiny black tank top over a pair of black-and-pink plaid shorts. Maddox’s cock stirred in his jeans, and he cursed the fact he needed to leave soon.

  “Morning,” he replied, admiring the way those little shorts hugged her ass as she raised up on her tiptoes to reach a coffee mug in the top cabinet. She poured for herself, splashed a healthy dose of milk and a heaping spoonful of sugar into the cup, then settled against the counter next to him with a little sigh of contentment. Maddox wrapped his free arm around her shoulders and leaned down for a kiss on her temple. She looked up at him with a sweet smile.

  “So you guys are going to Downtown today?” she asked him, taking a sip.

  He nodded. “The permits you got us go into effect today. We can start tearing down that apartment building now. Me and Riley are going up there today to start planning things out, so that when the guys join us tomorrow we’ll have a plan in place. If he ever gets his ass in gear, that is.”

  She gave him a cute little half smile. “He was getting out of the shower when I was coming down the stairs. He’ll be ready to go any minute.”

  Maddox set his cup down on the kitchen island, then wrapped his hands around Amber’s waist and hoisted her up onto the counter next to the coffee pot. He settled himself between her knees, running his fingers through her hair before kissing her softly. “We’ll miss you today,” he told her in a gruff whisper. “It’s not going to be the same, knowing you’re not there with us.”

  She settled her arms around his neck. “I’ll miss you guys, too. But you have your work, and I have mine.”

  “What’s on your schedule today?”

  Amber gave him a soft smile, though her eyes were sad. “Buddy asked me to come up with a protocol handbook for new counselors. So we can avoid what happened in Galveston last month.”

  Maddox grimaced. God, that had been such a tragedy. One of the counselors at the Galveston shelter had decided—on her own, without consulting anyone, not even the kid in question—to tell the parents of one of the runaways where he was staying. The boy’s father had shown up at the shelter wielding a shotgun, and had threatened to kill everyone in the building unless his son agreed to come with him. The police had been called, but by the time they arrived, the man had already taken off with his son.

  The boy was found dead the next morning. Gunshot to the head. His father was going to prison for the rest of his life, so there was some justice. Still, none of them could help thinking they could have saved that boy’s life if that former employee hadn’t taken it upon herself to intervene. When questioned, the tearful ex-counselor had said she’d just been trying to do the right thing, that the boy had told her his home life hadn’t been all that bad and that he’d run away on a whim. It never occurred to her he might be lying to avoid discussing painful things from his past. Instead of looking deeper, she’d taken him at his word, never dreaming he might have something far more sinister to hide.

  Her decision had cost the boy his life, not to mention ruined the reputation of the Galveston shelter. None of the kids who had been staying there before that fateful night had returned. They’d tried to get the word out that the counselor had been fired, but the damage was done. Now Allen, Sidri, and Tatum were in discussions with the Galveston mayor about converting the property into a homeless shelter for the city. It would still be used to help people in need, but it would no longer be part of Street Smartz. It was, far and away, their biggest failure to date.

  So Maddox could understand Buddy’s request for a counselors’ handbook. And Amber would know exactly how to word it, what with her psychology background and her knowledge of business practices. Hopefully, the new policies would prevent another such tragedy from happening.

  They could only hope.

  Maddox pressed his forehead to Amber’s, closing his eyes while he held her tight. “Important work,” he told her seriously. “Doesn’t mean we won’t miss you today.”

  She smiled, caressing his jaw before sealing their lips together. Maddox groaned into her mouth as the kiss got hotter, making his cock twitch in his jeans. You’d think with all the sex they’d been having, none of them would have the energy for more than once a day. Yet Maddox found himself fighting back a hard-on every time he was in the same room as his lovers, whether it had been hours since they had sex or just minutes. The two of them flipped his switch so hard, it was a wonder he could function at all outside the bedroom.

  Not that his lovers were complaining. They were just as horny as Maddox was, and they were more than happy to take advantage of any opportunity to be together they could find. And for Maddox, knowing they were just as hot for each other as they were for him only heightened his arousal. He could watch the two of them fuck for hours—had, in fact, spent an entire day doing just that, watching instead of participating. He’d been so hot by the end, he’d tied both of them to the bed and traded off fucking them for the rest of the night. And throughout it all, his lovers had praised him, clamoring for more.

  It was a heady experience, knowing how much they wanted him, knowing how much they loved it when he took control. With them, he could be his true self, could be the Dom he’d always been inside, without fear of going too far.

  Nothing he did was wrong in their eyes. For that and that alone, he would love them until the day he died.

  Maddox growled into Amber’s mouth, spearing his fingers through her hair while he held her still. The sweet taste mainlined sugar straight to his bloodstream, making his heart pound erratically. Amber hummed her pleasure against his lips, kissing him back for all she was worth, content to follow his lead as he massaged her tongue with his. He was just starting to think about ripping those tiny shorts off her body and burying his cock balls-deep inside her when Riley’s voice filled the silence.

  “Goddamn, I love watching you two together.”

  Maddox released Amber’s lips and threw a look over his shoulder. Riley stood in the kitchen entryway, looking too fucking gorgeous in his work shirt and jeans, his thumbs hooked in his front pockets. His aqua eyes were full of appreciative lust, his mouth set in a small smile as he took in the scene before him.

  Riley shook his head mockingly. “I was about to ask if you were ready to go, but I don’t think you’d be answering the question the way I intended.”

  Maddox grinned, then took a step away from Amber and crooked his finger in a come-hither gesture toward Riley. The othe
r man moved instantly, striding across the kitchen so those sexy-as-fuck jeans hugged every line in his muscular thighs. Maddox slid his fingers through Riley’s belt loops the moment the man got close enough and turned him so his back was to Amber’s front, with both of them now between her splayed thighs. Amber immediately pulled the back of Riley’s shirt untucked, running her hands all over his back while she started kissing the side of his neck. Riley groaned appreciatively as Maddox took a step forward, mashing their chests together so that Riley was sandwiched between him and Amber. Then he claimed the man’s lips on a hot, soul-searing kiss.

  God, he would never get enough of this. His lovers couldn’t be more different, and Maddox simply reveled in it. Amber was so tiny and delicate, her natural flavor reminiscent of sugar cookies touched with a hint of vanilla. Her scent always reminded him of freshly-washed linens on a warm spring day, all light and airy and simply mouth-watering. Riley’s taste was darker, savory rather than sweet, with hints of chocolate and cinnamon. There was a wildness to his scent, as of the deep woods or secluded meadows, both mysterious and intriguing. Experienced separately, they were both utterly addictive. Combined, they were the very definition of the word “ambrosia.”

  Maddox growled against Riley’s lips, kissing him harder, pinning him against the counter between Amber’s knees. Riley whimpered, his fingers digging into Maddox’s bicep on one side and Amber’s thigh on the other. Maddox’s cock was a steel bar in his jeans, throbbing with the need to fuck both of his lovers senseless.

  He was reaching for the button on Riley’s jeans when the doorbell rang.

  Maddox pulled away with a curse, shooting a scowl toward the front door. “The hell could that be? It’s not even seven.”

  Riley cleared his throat, his lips kiss-bruised, cheeks flushed. “Probably some of the kids. We did say we’d take them to school, if they decided they wanted to enroll. Maybe a few of them decided to take us up on it.”