Kincaid slowly ran his hands up under my skirt, tugging at my lace panties.
I groaned, rocking myself along his erection.
“Need a condom,” he whispered.
I nodded, reaching for my purse. I pulled one out and grinned. “Ronin put this in there a week ago, for just in case. That man is a planner.”
Kincaid laughed before he kissed me again, and we kept moving, rocking into one another. I undid his belt, and both of us moved to pull his pants down to his knees. Then he sheathed himself, and I met his gaze, my hand on his shoulder. When he placed himself at my entrance, I slowly, ever so slowly, rotated my hips and lowered myself onto him. He filled me to the point that it was almost too much, and I let out a shuddering breath, needing a moment. He was so deep this way, and it took me a bit to breathe. And then he was kissing me again, his hands on my body as he slowly brought me closer to the edge. When we moved, him thrusting up, me pushing down onto him in the perfect rhythm, I panted, needing more. He played with my breasts before flicking my clit, and then I came, rocking on him, forgetting everything but him and Ronin and what we could be.
Kincaid kept moving, and then he came hard, biting my shoulder as he grunted with his orgasm.
I held onto him, both of us shaking, still partially clothed, and then a pointed cough behind us pulled me out of my thoughts. I looked over my shoulder and grinned.
Ronin leaned against the doorway, shaking his head. “I’m glad I didn’t invite Aaron in after he dropped off your car,” Ronin said softly.
“Hi, husband,” I whispered, not feeling the least bit self-conscious.
Ronin closed the door with a click behind him and strode over to us.
“Do you mind if I join?” my husband asked.
And then Kincaid and I, without saying a word, held up our hands, and the connection snapped into place.
Chapter 8
Ronin
Me: Are you enjoying your trip?
Kincaid: It’s a fun project. I should be back in town in the next couple of days. Julia said that you guys were planning on a movie night?
I smiled as I looked down at my phone. I felt so domestic talking to Kincaid like this. I didn’t know where he fit in my relationship with Julia, or in any part of our lives, but we were taking it as slowly as we could, trying to figure out where we were. At least that’s what I hoped. In my fears, I imagined Kincaid walking away again, deciding that this was too much for him and that he didn’t want to deal with this. Or Julia saying that it was the same for her and she needed space. I wasn’t even sure I was allowing myself to think about what I wanted other than acknowledging that I was happy. I was happy with Julia, had always been. She brought out the best in me. But it was as if something had clicked when Kincaid arrived. And not just the anger and betrayal I felt when he first showed up and I thought that he had left because I did something wrong. Alexis had cheated, had left us both long before she’d broken her promises to us. When Kincaid had left without a word soon after, I thought it had been my fault. I hadn’t known he’d been pulled away and hurt in the process.
I still wasn’t sure what the answers were, or what we would accomplish, but I hoped that we would find a way to make this work—if that’s what the three of us wanted.
Kincaid: I’m headed out on assignment. In the mood to get this portrait done, and that means we are headed out to the wilderness. I’ll have my phone on me, but kiss Julia for me.
I grinned, shaking my head.
Me: I can do that. Then you can come and do it yourself.
Kincaid: I can do that.
There were no goodbyes, no professing our feelings. I didn’t think we were there yet, and frankly, I didn’t know what I felt. I was glad that he didn’t say anything.
“You were smiling for a moment, and now you’re frowning.” I looked up from my chair at Marcus’s words, piles of paper all around me, and shook my head.
“Oh, I’m fine. Just thinking.”
“Was that Kincaid or Julia?” Marcus asked, a small smile on his face.
I snorted. “You know, I guess I was a little nosy when it came to your relationship with Bristol. I deserve you needling me about my life.”
Marcus rolled his eyes. “Yes, because my asking a single question is needling. I’ve been very restrained when it comes to your love life.”
“And I appreciate that,” I said honestly. “Mostly because I have no idea what I’m doing, and I’m hoping to hell I don’t screw things up.
“If you need to talk, I’m here. Really, any of us are.”
“I like how you say ‘us’ as if you’re a Montgomery.” I laughed.
“They do just take you in, don’t they?” Marcus smiled. “My sisters and their husbands are good for listening, too. If you need advice on anything.”
“Julia and I have been married for a while. I think I’ve got this down.”
Marcus threw back his head and laughed, though it wasn’t too loud seeing as we were in a library, after all. “Those are famous last words. Nobody ever knows what they’re doing when it comes to marriage. We’re all figuring it out one day at a time. That’s what makes it fun.”
“You know, that scares me, but I understand it.”
“You’re off by the way, it’s after five. Go home to your wife. Or Kincaid. Or both. Look at you.”
I resisted the urge to flip him off. We might have been in the back of the library, but anyone could walk by at any moment, and that’s all we needed, a book club member seeing us flipping each other off and acting like kids rather than librarians with degrees.
“Kincaid’s out on a project. I am going home to my wife.”
“I will be doing the same in an hour. Have a good night, Ronin. It’s good to see you smiling and happy. Just don’t let that frown come back.”
I shook my head, waved, and headed to my car. I winced as I got in, my leg bothering me. There had been a storm the night before, and I had felt like I was being stabbed with pins and needles until it passed. I hated that I still had pain after all these years. It wasn’t as bad as it used to be, but this was a life-altering and never-ending injury. I had constant doctor’s visits and fittings to ensure that I was keeping on top of things to avoid any more injuries I could possibly get. And there was no forgetting what had happened to me. No forgetting the pain or the agony or the fire. I wore a symbol of that attack every day.
Same as Kincaid did. I’d felt his scars on his back, had seen them with my own eyes. Julia and I hadn’t asked him about them because there was no need. If Kincaid ever wanted to talk about each and every one, we would be there. But we knew what had happened. And that’s all we needed to know.
I shifted in my seat and used the controls on my steering wheel to make my way home. When I pulled in, I was tired, a little cranky, and all I wanted to do was lay down on the couch, watch a movie, and rest my eyes.
It had been a long day at the library, the issues with funding and internet outages from the storm piling up. It was only during those last moments when I was texting with Julia and Kincaid that I had felt any real joy for the day.
I loved my job, but it was sometimes exhausting. While it might be something I loved to do, it wasn’t what I’d thought to do for my entire life.
I shook myself out of those melancholy thoughts and made my way inside, limping a bit since I had been standing for too long.
Julia was nowhere to be seen, but there was a candle burning, warm and inviting, as well as something in the Crock-Pot. We both worked long hours, and Julia hadn’t worked from home today, but I liked that we were figuring out how to feed each other instead of relying on pizza. However, I could have used a pizza tonight.
I got out a beer, popped the top, and took a big gulp, rolling my shoulders back. I should probably sit down, but I wanted to find my wife. I made my way to the back of the house, over the deck that we had built the year Julia moved in. She loved planting, loved gardens, and our backyard was always a work in progress. I k
new the gardens reminded her of her parents and her sister, but these were ours, not something they had made together, a thing they had kept her away from.
My hand gripped the beer bottle a little tighter, and I held back a growl. I did not need to think about her parents right now. They weren’t worth the energy.
Julia was on her hands and knees, ass in the air as she worked on one of her beds, and my dick twitched, the sight of her luscious curves right in front of me, almost too much to bear.
I held back a groan, or at least I tried. The sound escaped my mouth, and Julia looked over her shoulder, her eyes dancing with laughter.
“I should have known you would walk up as soon as I bent over.”
“It’s just an invitation for me.” I made my way down the deck’s ramp, a replacement for the stairs we’d put in a few years ago.
“I’m almost done. I made this random beef burgundy thing that I found on the internet. Hopefully, it doesn’t suck.”
I couldn’t bend down just then, so she stood up, her gaze going to my leg for an instant. She knew I was in pain, and I didn’t hide it from her. I didn’t hide anything from my wife. She pushed my hair back from my face, kissed me softly, and then took the beer from my hands. She took a long swig and grinned.
“Yummy.”
“It is. I needed it after today.”
“Bad pain day because of the storms?”
“Pretty much. And I had to be on my feet longer than I planned. I’m fine, just glad we’re relaxing tonight.”
She ran her hand over the scruff of my beard and kissed me again. “I guess I could always give you a massage.”
“With oil?”
“How much porn have you been watching recently?”
“What? I’m just saying, all that oil going everywhere, things get slippery. Hands go places.”
She snorted, handed me the beer, and leaned against me. “I need to clean up, but you go take a seat, and then we can work on that massage.”
“I don’t think I’m getting the oil, am I?”
“As you said, oil gets everywhere. But I promise you might get a happy ending if you play your cards right.”
“There she is, the love of my life.” I kissed the top of her head and took the bucket of tools from her as she handed them over, her knee pads and other gardening equipment in her hands. “The garden’s coming together.”
“It is. I have a couple of spots that I need to plant a few things in. But we can head to the nursery together when we hit the season.”
“That sounds like a plan. Kincaid was saying that he wanted to get a few stock shots of different foliage. Maybe he should come.”
“That would be fun. Very domestic,” she said carefully as we put everything away.
I handed her the beer, and she took the final swallow. I shrugged. “Maybe. I think we’re figuring this all out.”
“I like it, Ronin. I honestly don’t know if we would have gone through with our plans to find somebody else for us.”
“And then he just showed up.” And had nearly flattened me, but we were getting through it. At least, I hoped so.
“He did. And it’s scary, and yet not. I don’t know why it feels so right, even though it’s only been a few weeks.”
“We’re finding what works for us. Maybe? Because we were who we needed to be all along, but maybe who we need to be, alters as the paths around us change.”
“As long as we have each other and don’t hurt Kincaid in the process, or ourselves, I think that maybe this could work.”
Hope was a beacon in my chest, but I pushed those thoughts away, afraid of hoping too much. “Let’s just see what happens. But I like this.”
She smiled and kissed me. “Me, too. Now, I need to go get cleaned up. And you need to sit down, mister.”
“Whatever you say, ma’am.” I reached around and grabbed her butt. “As long as you take care of me later.”
“I always take care of you, darling. That’s what makes me the best.” She left a smacking kiss on my lips before heading into the house. I followed her, shaking my head. I wasn’t quite sure how I’d gotten so lucky, but I knew I was beyond fortunate to have her in my life.
I needed to decide what to do about Kincaid. Or perhaps, wait for him to do the decision making.
After Julia’s shower, we sat down in the living room, my leg propped up, and we ate dinner, laughed, and just talked about work.
“That business trip’s coming up.” I went through my mental calendar.
“Yep. Maybe it’ll give you and Kincaid some time alone.”
I gave her a wry smile. “Maybe.”
“Ronin.” She paused. “Is it okay that Kincaid and I were together? I mean, you said so, but I don’t know. I don’t want to mess things up.”
I set down my empty plate and gripped her hand. “Everything we’re doing is right. We’re talking about it, making rational decisions. We’re in a relationship—the three of us. That means we pair off. Just because Kincaid and I haven’t yet doesn’t mean we won’t in the future. Things have to be right. Organic.”
“And you and Kincaid have enough history that being alone together is something that’s going to take time.”
A sharp pain slid into me for the barest moment before it faded away. “You’re right. But we’ll figure it out. No matter what, I’m always yours.”
“Same here. But I want to make sure the two of you are happy, as well. And not just surrounding me.” I opened my mouth to say something, but she pressed her finger to my lips. “I know you tell me all the time that I am the center, but you’re allowed to be in the center, too.”
I leaned over and brushed my lips against hers, pulling her hand down between us.
She smiled and kissed me harder.
“How about that massage?” I whispered.
“We can do that.” She rubbed her hands down my back and then tugged at my shirt. We were still sitting on the couch, her doing most of the moving because I was settled. And when she deepened the kiss, I groaned, my hands sliding up her shirt. I cupped her breasts, the heavy mounds overfilling my palms.
“I love your tits,” I whispered.
“They are pretty fabulous.” She laughed before she kissed me again. Hungry, I pushed at her slightly, and then stood up, taking my crutch with me.
“Come on. I want you in the bedroom. All spread out before me so I can feast.”
She blushed and led the way, her hips swaying with enough movement that my cock pressed hard against my pants, my mouth watering.
“Damn,” I whispered.
She made her way to the bed and crawled away from me, her ass still in the air. And then she sat in the middle, her knees in front of her, and she bit her lip.
“What did you say about feasting?” she asked.
I groaned and moved to the bed, both of us careful not to move too fast. And then I was tugging off her clothes, her doing the same to mine. I glided my body down hers, lapping and licking, nibbling on her skin. And when I was situated between her legs, I spread her so I could see her wetness before I blew cool air over her. She moaned, cupping her breasts, and I lapped at her, sucking and licking. I speared her with two fingers, and she arched, my name on her lips as she came. Just a single touch, and she came.
“Trigger happy,” I mumbled against her heat and continued eating my fill.
“Ronin,” she whispered.
“That’s it, say my name. Keep going.”
She came again, a beautiful blush suffusing her skin.
I shifted so I was above her, her legs bracing me for support, and then I met her gaze and slid deep inside. She was warm and tight and gripped me like a glove. I had to hold my breath, trying not to come. Then I leaned over her and began to move. She held me, both of us leisurely moving against each other. This was not routine, but it was known. A new pleasurable sensation wrapped in memory.
This was the woman I loved, the one I had fallen for years ago. We had grown together, finding our p
eaks and valleys, discovering our hopes and dreams.
When she came again, I couldn’t help but follow, my control lost. I pounded into her as I came, my mouth on hers. And then we rolled over, her straddling me so I took the pressure off my good leg.
She continued rocking on me as we both shook with release. I held her close, knowing that this was the woman I loved more than anything.
Our lives might be changing, we may have allowed Kincaid into our circle, and perhaps into our future, but this was still my touchstone. My center.
My Julia.
And I hoped to hell that what we were doing wouldn’t force me to lose the one thing in my life I treasured most.
Chapter 9
Kincaid
“I should’ve worn a tie,” I mumbled.
Julia snorted beside me before she ran her hands down my front. I groaned, and she raised a brow.
“You don’t need a tie. We’re going to Ronin’s family’s house. They are anything but formal. You know them.”
I shook my head, then took her hand in mine before I kissed her palm. Her eyes widened for a second before she gave me a sweet smile.
“I knew them years ago. That doesn’t mean I know them now.”
“That might be true, but they remember you. Ronin said so.”
“Do they remember the fact that I was an asshole?” I grumbled.
“Maybe, but we all have our pasts, and Ronin’s family is amazing. They’re going to love you.”
I shook my head and then moved away from Julia, mostly because if I didn’t, I was likely to bend her over the couch and have my way with her. After all, she was wearing a very easy-to-access dress. It practically begged me to ruck up that skirt and slide between those luscious curves.
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