He’s so much bigger than she is. And the look of intense concentration on his face as he shifts his angle to hit a spot that makes her whimper is just as sexy as everything else happening. Her breasts shake with each heaving breath, and a light sheen of sweat dusts her skin.
I start to lean forward, but Abel gives a sharp shake of his head. “Not her mouth, Eli.”
He doesn’t need to elaborate. Not when we’re moving like two parts of a whole. Or, rather, three parts of a whole.
I slide down to settle between their thighs. Harlow makes a whimpering noise I’ve never heard before, and it feeds my fucking soul as much as this connection with Abel is right now. I drag my tongue over her clit, and she jolts so hard, Abel has to grab her hips and pin her down on his cock. So I do it again. And again.
Fuck, I lose myself in this moment, in the taste of her and him and me, all mixed together. And I’m a glutton for desire, because I dip down and give the base of Abel’s cock the same thorough treatment.
He reaches past her hip to dig his fingers into my hair and yank me back up to her clit. “You can suck my cock later, Eli. She needs another.”
Harlow gives a thready laugh. “I can’t come again.”
“You’re not done yet, sweetheart.”
I obey the unspoken command in his tone and flutter my tongue against her clit in the motion she loves above all others. She moans, but Abel holds her steady. In fact, he’s the one that starts to move, thrusting up into her in slow strokes that, combined with my mouth, have her panting and speaking in words that are barely comprehensible. Her hand joins his in my hair, and I look up her body to find her reaching back behind her head with the other to hang on to his neck.
She’s shaking, but she’s not there yet. Harlow writhes as much as she’s able. “Oh gods, that feels so fucking good.”
“You can take more, can’t you?”
“Yes,” she sobs. “I can take more.”
Abel gradually picks up his pace, while I keep mine the same. She needs the steady touch to bring this home. From the way she’s whimpering, it’s going to be one hell of an orgasm. She always gets loud with the big ones.
“More, Eli. Suck my clit. Please.”
I obey, watching her closely. My cock is already hard again, and it’s everything I can do not to fuck against the mattress like a wild thing. The need to bury myself in her, in him, is nearly overwhelming.
Not yet.
My tongue is getting tired, but I don’t give a fuck. I could do this for hours. I have done it for hours. I let my tongue and lips do what I haven’t been able to with words.
Apologize.
Start the first steps to try to make things right between us.
Fucking is only the gateway, the path to soften Harlow enough that she’ll actually listen to me instead of shutting me out. Even with that, we’re still a long way off.
With that in mind… I slow down.
22
Harlow
I can’t think. Can’t move. Can’t do more than take the pleasure that Abel and Eli deal to me in wave after wave. My toes feel like they’re permanently curled. My body is shaking, both from exertion and from the orgasm hanging just out of reach. I just need a little more. Just a little more, and I know it’ll blow the top of my head off.
But Eli is slowing down.
I yank on his hair, but he’s too strong to be moved until he’s ready to. My breath sobs out. “Eli, please. Stop teasing me.”
“Not yet,” he murmurs against my pussy.
Beneath me, Abel stills. “So it’s like that?”
“Yeah, it’s like that.”
Abel gives a rough chuckle. “In that case, time to move things along.” He lifts me and eases me off his cock, and I can’t help an involuntary sound of protest. Without his cock inside me, I feel so fucking empty, I can’t stand it.
I curse them both. “I’m so close.”
Abel kisses my temple. “Eli’s still apologizing, sweetheart. Let him do the work.” He eases out from beneath me and carefully sets me on the bed.
Eli barely pauses in eating me out, following me down and pushing my legs wider yet. He can get focused when we’re fucking, but this feels like another level entirely. Surely it’s all for show. No matter what Abel’s projecting about Eli using his mouth to apologize without words, I know Eli. There’s no way he thinks he’s wrong when it comes to how things played out. He barely looks in the past for faults, not when he’s always been so focused on the future. Plotting and planning.
That’s what this is. That’s what it has to be.
Eli nips my thigh hard enough to make me flinch. His hazel eyes seem darker than normal, and I’m not entirely sure I can blame the shadows in the room for it. He holds my gaze as he licks the aching spot, soothing it with his tongue. “Stay with me, Harlow.”
Layers upon layers beneath those words. Or maybe I’m just a fool for this man and hearing what I desperately want to hear. They say insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome, but I can’t help the hope that blossoms in my chest. “I’m here,” I whisper.
Abel half drags me farther up the bed until I’m nearly pressed against the headboard. Eli, of course, follows me without hesitation. He shoves his tongue into my pussy as Abel moves down the bed, stroking a hand along the center of Eli’s back until he gets to his hips. A little urging, and Eli shifts up onto his knees, putting his ass in the air.
Abel squeezes Eli’s ass. “Ready?”
Eli barely lifts his head enough to say, “Yeah.”
Abel hesitates, his gaze on the back of Eli’s head between my thighs, but he finally smacks Eli’s ass. “Get your tongue out of her pussy long enough to answer a few questions.”
Eli chuckles against me, making me moan. He drags his mouth across my thigh. “What questions?”
If he could see the way Abel looks at him, I don’t know if he’d be laughing, even a little. Abel looks at Eli like he wants to tattoo his name on Eli’s very soul. It’s similar to how Abel looks at me when we’re fucking but even more intense. He squeezes Eli’s ass again, parting his cheeks. “You’ve done this recently?”
Eli finally pauses and lifts his head. “It’s not like you to be coy, Abel. If you want to ask if you can pound my ass, then fucking ask.”
Abel clenches his jaw, but it’s not in anger. It’s in barely restrained need. Fuck, he’s thought about this a lot, hasn’t he? I don’t have the breath to ask, and even if I did, I wouldn’t. This moment feels like we’re poised on the brink of something. One wrong word, one hasty action, and we’ll tumble down the wrong side and ruin everything.
“I’m going to fuck your ass, and I’m going to do it rough. Can you handle it?”
Eli’s breath shudders against my thigh. “Yes.”
I half expect Abel to question him, but he takes Eli at his word. “Harlow’s pussy is looking needy. Get to work.”
Eli doesn’t need to be told twice. He loops his arms under my legs and presses his hands to my lower stomach, holding me in place as he ravishes me with his mouth. It’s intense, but so is the way Abel watches us for a moment, a possessive little smile pulling at the edges of his lips. As if we’re his in truth and he’s pleased with how Eli’s working me.
He squirts lube onto his palm and coats his cock in lazy strokes, his gaze still on Eli eating me out. More lube on Eli’s ass, and Abel’s hand dips down. From the sound Eli makes, Abel just pushed a finger or two into his ass. I can’t see properly from my position.
And then Abel moves, fisting his cock and working into Eli’s ass in slow little thrusts. He’s watching so closely, I can’t shake the impression that he’s waiting for Eli to be proven a liar. For him to flinch or make a pained sound. I could have told him it wouldn’t happen, but Eli’s reaction speaks for itself.
He moans against my pussy and arches back, the curve of his spine achingly beautiful. It looks like he’s offering his ass up to Abel, which is exactly w
hat he’s doing. It’s so sexy, I can barely stand it, and just like that, I’m hovering on the edge of orgasm again. “Eli,” I gasp.
“Not yet.” He gentles his kisses, avoiding my clit as Abel works his cock farther into Eli’s ass.
It doesn’t take long before he’s seated to the hilt. Abel’s broad chest moves with every ragged breath, and sweat beads against his skin. I can see him shaking from restraint, or maybe I’m the one shaking because I need to come. I need it now, and Eli is playing with me. Each exhale sobs from my lips, but he doesn’t seem to give a shit. I hate edging, and I love it, and I both want him to never stop and need him to end it now.
Abel gives a few slow pumps and then reaches around Eli’s hip. From the way Eli jerks, Abel just wrapped his fist around his cock. My suspicion is confirmed by the fierce grin on Abel’s face. “Seems like your mouth isn’t doing the job, friend.”
Eli presses his forehead to my stomach. He’s breathing just as hard as we are. “Can’t promise I won’t come the second I get inside Harlow. Your cock feels good, Abel. Too fucking good.”
“Mmm.” Abel’s muscles tense in another slow thrust. “Hold out until she comes.”
I shove my sweaty hair off my forehead with a shaking hand. “Do I get a say in this?”
“Do you want Eli’s cock, sweetheart?” Abel’s big hands grip Eli’s hips. “Do you want him to fill you up while I fuck his ass?”
Desire nearly shoves me over the edge all on its own. I have to take two ragged breaths before I can form an answer. “Yes.”
“Thought so.” He keeps up that slow thrusting. “You feel too good to stop fucking, Eli. Figure it out.”
I barely have a chance to register the words when Eli rears up and grabs my hips. He drags me down the mattress, wedging one arm beneath the small of my back and lifting me up in a practiced move that has his cock pressing against my entrance. He shoves into me, drawing a little shriek from my lips. “Oh fuck, that feels good.”
And then Abel plants his fists on either side of our hips, sinking deeper into Eli, which causes Eli to sink deeper into me, and it feels even better. Eli curses against my throat. “If you don’t stop—”
“Not until she comes,” Abel repeats.
He was just playing around before, testing Eli’s ability to take him entirely. He’s not playing around now. His face takes on an expression of utter concentration, and then he starts fucking Eli in earnest. Long, rough strokes that have Eli’s whole body rocking against mine. It creates a grinding kind of fuck that has me biting back a moan. Their combined weight keeps my hips pinned to the mattress, and not being able to do more than take it makes the whole thing hotter.
We don’t speak. There’s no need for words. The only sounds in the room are our harshly commingled breathing and the wet, slick sounds of the best kind of sex.
My orgasm catches me by surprise. One moment I’m kissing Eli’s shoulder, his neck, his jaw, and the next, my entire body clenches and pleasure nearly makes me black out. I think I scream, the sound muffled against Eli’s skin.
He curses, and then his hands are on my ass, moving us as much as he’s able to in our current position. With a muffled grunt, he follows me over the edge, and I swear I can feel him fill me up with his come.
Abel simply keeps fucking him. Each rough stroke has us shifting against each other and draws out the pleasure until it’s nearly unbearable. My muscles are liquid. It’s all I can do to cling to Eli through it. And then Abel’s fingers lace through mine on both of Eli’s shoulders, and his thrusts lose their rhythm. He extracts one hand in time to pull out and come across Eli’s back, and then he slumps down next to us, his fingers still tangled with mine.
I whimper as Eli eases out of me a few moments later. I’m going to be sore tomorrow, but I can’t bring myself to regret it. This was too perfect. I can’t let myself hope it means something, but there’s a strange feeling coursing through me, as if my body is too large for my skin.
This is what it could be like. If we worked together instead of fought each other every step of the way. This seamless give and take between the three of us, nearly perfectly balanced in a way that isn’t quite accomplished with only two.
I’m afraid to hope that it means anything at all.
But… I suddenly want it to.
I don’t quite have sensation back in my legs when Abel hauls both of us into the shower. We clean off quickly, but there’s no salvaging the sheets. It feels like far too much effort to change them, but Eli and Abel don’t seem to need my help. They strip the bed and change the sheets quickly.
No one’s speaking, as if we’re determined to preserve the peace as long as possible. They haul me into bed between them, but I don’t miss the way, their hands linger against each other’s on my skin. Then Eli shuts off the light.
I expect to lie awake. I’m not used to sleeping next to someone anymore, and having both of them in bed with me…
I don’t know what I think about that. I fall asleep before I can come to any conclusions.
23
Harlow
I wake up plastered to Abel’s chest with Eli’s weight at my back. Late morning light presses against the sheer curtains covering the windows. The temptation to close my eyes and simply go back to sleep is almost too much to ignore. I have no business feeling safe sandwiched between these two, but I can’t shake the certainty that, no matter what else is true, they would both put themselves between me and danger without hesitation. Not to mention, for a few hours, I saw how things could have been between Abel and Eli. An unbeatable team, their strengths perfectly complementing each other.
I never questioned Eli’s father’s coup. No matter what I think of Abel, I know what the faction was like under his father’s rule. So many suffered because he didn’t give a fuck about anyone who couldn’t further his own interests. Which compromised most of us.
But now, I have to wonder… What would have happened if Abel had been allowed to take over, if Eli and he were allowed to mature into a team that would tackle any challenge that came at them?
The thought makes me sad, and I’m not quite sure why. I try not to worry about what could have been. My life is what it is, and that’s what I have to work with. Worrying about some fantasy version of it and the choices I would make there is a recipe for even more unhappiness. Asking these men to do the same is something I won’t do.
But it still makes my chest ache.
I start to slide out from between them. Abel rolls easily onto his back, his face relaxed in what appears to be sleep. I don’t trust that for a second. He’s the type to burst into wakefulness at the slightest sound, and he sure as hell doesn’t trust us enough to allow this kind of deep sleep. Which means he’s intentionally giving me space.
I don’t understand this man. I don’t get how he can hold such violence and such thoughtfulness within him at the same time. I certainly can’t figure out how he’s come to mean so much to me in such a short time. I want to blame the sex, and it’s certainly playing a part, but it’s more than that. He gives me space to expand. He trusts me to take care of things for our faction. He insists on seeing parts of me that no one else bothers to.
It’s terrifying. I both love it and hate it.
Padding to the bathroom feels a little like running away. It’s nowhere near far enough to clear my head, but closing the door between me and the men allows me to take my first full breath since we all climbed into that bed together.
Feeling strangely numb, I turn on the shower and wait as steam slowly fills the room. I’m not even surprised when the door open behinds me, but when I turn to look, it’s not who I expect.
Eli shuts the door behind him and leans against it. He looks tired and deliciously rumpled, and I can’t help but think of how many mornings we started like this. We let each other so close, but somehow we never covered that last little distance, the important part that would cement us together forever. I’ve never felt the loss as keenly as I do now. Gods, we
fucked this up so thoroughly. I can’t pretend it’s all his fault, though. It took two of us to get to this place.
I can’t quite dredge up a smile. “Is the truce over so soon?”
He doesn’t move. “I never wanted to hurt you. Trust that if you trust nothing else.”
The messed up part? I do. I might have doubted so much, but I don’t doubt Eli’s love for me. Or at least the love he used to feel. No doubt it’s ground to dust now, no matter what he claims. “I never meant to hurt you, either. Not really. Intentions are nice, but they don’t really change actions and words.”
“I know.” He sighs and leans his head back against the door. He’s got whisker burn on his neck, and there’s a trail of little bruises up his inner thighs from my and Abel’s mouth. He looks like some kind of golden god who’s tumbled down to earth for a little pleasure. If only our lives were that simple.
I wait, but he doesn’t say anything else. No reason to feel disappointment. Last night might have felt earth-shattering for me, but it doesn’t mean it changed anything. I can’t afford to stumble, no matter how the ground moves beneath my feet.
To distract myself from the way everything suddenly hurts, I turn and walk into the shower. I’m not even surprised when he follows me in. Of course he does. Eli closes the distance between us, backing me against the cool tile, but he doesn’t touch me. “You’re only half right, though. Words don’t mean anything. Only actions do.”
I lift my chin. “Thank you for the reminder. I definitely wouldn’t have thought of that on my own.” I hate that I can’t help holding all the words he’s said in the last twenty-four hours up against this truth. I love you. I won’t let you go. I’m sorry. They might cut me to the quick, but they’re barely worth the air he uses to expend them.
Abel: A Sabine Valley Novel Page 16
