“Withstand the power of the ring? Bull-fucking-shit.” Seth took a long swig of his beer, then slammed the bottle on the plastic tabletop. “You lack the willpower.”
“Fuck you, man. My willpower is rock solid. I’m telling you, I wouldn’t even need to keep it on a chain around my neck. I could be wearing the ring on my finger and make it all the way to Mordor without letting the evil consume me.”
“What the hell are y’all talking about?” Jackson voiced the demand from the middle of the heated pool, where he stood with water up to his waist and a beer bottle in hand, his sunglasses shielding his whiskey-brown eyes.
“Lord of the Rings,” Seth called over his shoulder. “McCoy thinks he can make the entire journey without giving in to the ring’s power. Which he can’t.”
“This discussion ain’t interesting.” Jackson waded over to the deck surrounding the rectangular pool behind Cash’s low-rise building. He set his bottle on the concrete, then illustrated his disinterest by diving away and proceeding to swim underwater laps.
Dylan couldn’t say he cared much about this inane debate, either, but he’d been using the time to gather up his courage. He’d planned on telling his buddies about him and Claire today. And about Claire and Aidan. And maybe about him and Aidan, depending on how they reacted to the first two bombs.
He figured it was time to be honest with everyone, especially now that his mom knew the truth. Well, only the Claire part, anyway.
And Chris. Yup, Chris knew too, yet in the four days since his and Claire’s visit home, Dylan hadn’t received a single phone call, text or email from his older brother about the matter.
He supposed he could always make the first move, but the anger he’d harbored ever since the wedding fiasco had been steadily growing like a tumor in his gut. Maybe he was being immature, but he was tired of being the good guy, the fixer, the one who had to extend the olive branch all the time.
He might have screwed up by getting involved with his brother’s ex, but Chris had screwed up too. And just once, Dylan wanted his brother to be the one who apologized first.
“There’s really only one person here who’d be affected by the ring, and I’m sorry to inform you, but that’s you, buddy.”
Dylan looked over at Cash, who was pointing an accusatory finger at their resident smartass.
“Me?” Seth was agape. “You think I lack the power of will?”
“No, but I think that out of all of us, you have the weakest moral code.” Cash smiled smugly. “You’re all about fucking and fighting and doing whatever you please. The ring would eat you alive, bro.”
Seth flipped Cash the bird. “I’m a married man, asshole. Trust me, if I can endure an entire day at Bed Bath & Beyond picking out shower curtains, then I can surely trudge through Middle Earth and drop a piece of metal into a fire pit.”
Cash immediately objected. “The ring brings out your darkness, and you, my friend, are as dark as—”
“Oh sweet baby Jesus, can we please, please, please stop talking about this?” Dylan burst out. “I’ve been listening to this insanity for twenty minutes and I can’t take it anymore. Why is this even a topic of discussion?”
Cash offered a sheepish look. “Jen and I had a Lord of the Rings marathon yesterday.”
“Well, that’s nine hours of your life down the drain,” came Jackson’s drawl. Dripping wet, he climbed out of the pool and rejoined the group. As he dried himself off with a striped blue towel, the Texan turned to Dylan with a grateful look. “The world owes you a debt of gratitude for puttin’ an end to this nonsense.”
Dylan grinned. “My pleasure.”
Jackson dragged one of the white lounge chairs closer to the table, then stretched out on it with his hands propped behind his damp head. “Oh, and hey, is that mighty fine redhead still staying at your place? And if so, is she still hookin’ up with Aidan?”
There it was, an opening so wide he’d be a total chicken-shit if he didn’t walk through it.
Taking a breath, Dylan ran one finger over the trail of condensation on his Bud Light bottle, then glanced around the table. “I actually wanted to talk to you guys about that. I’m…uh, kinda seeing Claire now.”
Three sets of eyebrows soared.
“You poached her right out of Aidan’s arms?” Seth demanded. “That’s harsh, man.”
“And she almost married your brother,” Cash reminded him with a frown. “Doesn’t that break not only guy code, but brother code?”
“Believe me, Chris doesn’t deserve your sympathy,” Dylan muttered. “He lost that privilege when he decided to treat everyone who cares about him like horseshit.”
“Still, are you sure getting involved with her is a good idea?”
“I like her,” he said gruffly. “I like her a lot.”
“Yeah, and what does your roomie think about it? Because he and Claire looked pretty cozy on Christmas Eve,” Seth said.
“That’s the other thing I wanted to talk about.” He chose his next words carefully. “She’s still seeing Aidan.”
The confusion in the air was palpable, at least on Cash’s and Jackson’s parts. Seth, on the other hand, watched him with mocking gray eyes, a slow smile curving his mouth.
“Son of a bitch. You two are tag-teaming her.”
“Dating her,” he corrected.
“So then you don’t fuck her at the same time?” Seth challenged.
“Well, yes, but—”
“Tag-teaming.” Seth laughed in delight. “Good for you, man.”
“It’s more than sex. Aidan and I…we adore her. I can’t believe how wrong I was about her. She’s…” Embarrassment heated his cheeks. “She’s pretty damn amazing.”
He was rewarded by a whole lotta silence.
Shifting awkwardly in his chair, Dylan studied his friends’ expressions and wished one of them would say something already. But their silence dragged on, the only sounds in the air the melodic chirping of nearby birds and the soft hiss of the afternoon breeze.
It was Cash who spoke first. “You’re in love with her.”
Dylan responded with a helpless shrug. Was he? His chest did feel hot and achy whenever she was around. And when she kissed him, he got this fluttering feeling in his stomach, like…butterflies. Butterflies, for chrissake.
Shit, he really was a goner.
“How does Aidan feel about her?” Jackson asked warily.
“Same way I do.”
When the three men exchanged worried looks, Dylan experienced a prickle of paranoia. “What?”
“It’s just…how the hell is this gonna work?” Seth demanded. “She sleeps in your bed one night and Aidan’s the other, or is it a three-way every night? And when you go out in public, she holds both your hands? When you meet new people, she introduces you as her boyfriends, plural?”
“I don’t know yet, but I’m sure we’ll figure it out,” he said stiffly.
“What about marriage, kids?” Cash pressed.
“Like I said, we’ll figure it out. For now, we’re happy with the arrangement. All three of us.” Dylan sighed. “Look, I’m not asking for your approval, because this is what it is and I won’t change my mind. I just wanted to be honest with you about what’s going on, and I need your promise that you’ll treat Claire with the utmost respect when you’re around her.”
Cash looked startled. “Why wouldn’t we?”
“Because she’s involved with both of us.” He hesitated. “I don’t want you to think any less of her.”
“The only thing I think is that she’s wastin’ her time with you two losers,” Jackson said with a crooked grin. “The lady should’ve chosen me.”
With that, the Texan succeeded in lightening the mood, much to Dylan’s relief. “I’m pretty sure she made the right choice staying away from you,” he retorted. “Your good ol’ boy charm would’ve annoyed her eventually.”
“Never.” Hopping off his chair, Jackson headed toward the set of steps in the pool’s shall
ow end. “All righty, time for another dip.”
“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.” Seth took a last sip of beer and stood up. “Maybe a few laps will help me process all this.” Those gray eyes found Dylan’s. “I need you to know that I’m not judging the whole sharing-a-girlfriend thing. With that said, I really think this is gonna blow up in your face.”
“Noted.”
Seth stripped off his T-shirt and dove into the water, leaving Dylan alone with Cash.
Who immediately narrowed his eyes, lowered his voice and murmured, “There’s more to this whole arrangement, isn’t there?”
Dylan shrugged.
“You and Aidan… You’ve always been more than roommates, haven’t you?”
His hand was a little shaky as he picked up his beer. “Jen said something, huh?”
The surprise in Cash’s blue eyes didn’t look feigned. “Jen? What does she have to do with this?”
“She really didn’t tell you?” He suddenly felt like an ass for doubting Jen, who’d promised him time and again that she knew how to keep a secret, even from Cash.
“Jen knew that you and Aidan…?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, she didn’t say a word about it to me.” Cash hesitated. “So you swing both ways, huh?”
Dylan shot a discreet look at the pool, but Jackson and Seth were too busy racing each other to the deep end to pay him and Cash any attention.
“Yes,” he said in a quiet voice.
“Huh.” Cash nodded. “Cool.”
Cool?
That was it?
Dylan smothered a laugh and had to wonder why he’d bothered stressing about this conversation in the first place. He should’ve known his buddies would support him no matter what.
“Oh, and BTW, that night when I…” Dylan lowered his voice even further “…sucked you off…I wasn’t playing out some secret fantasy I’d been harboring about you. It was definitely a spur-of-the-moment thing, and more for Jen’s benefit than mine.”
“So, what, you tolerated having my dick in your mouth to please my girlfriend? Asshole.”
Dylan burst out laughing. “Are you seriously offended that I’m not into you in that way?”
“Well, why aren’t you?” Cash raised both eyebrows in defiance. “I’m way hotter than Aidan, I’ve known you longer. Oh, and I’m a generous lover. What’s not to like about that?”
“I honestly don’t know if you’re fucking with me right now.”
Cash broke out in a grin. “Mostly fucking with you.”
“Mostly?”
“Hey, you know I have a sensitive ego, bro. It needs stroking every now and then.”
“Uh-huh. I’m sure it’s your ego that needs stroking.”
“And look,” Cash added, his tone going somber, “I know it’s easy to brush off whatever Seth says because he’s such a smartass, but I think he’s got a point. You need to be careful, really know what you’re getting into before you commit to this. You know, dip your toe in the water before diving in. Check under the hood before you buy the car. Lick that little taste spoon at the ice cream parlor before ordering two scoops. Um, read the fine print before—”
“Holy shit, I get the point!”
“Hey D-Man, is McCoy bothering you?” Seth called from the pool.
“Yeah, but I can take him,” Dylan called back.
“You sure? Because I’d be more than happy to kick his ass for you. My punching bag at home doesn’t always let me release all my aggression, so I have no problem bashing his pretty face in.”
Cash grinned. “And that is why he’d never make it to Mordor.”
Dylan strode into the condo an hour later to find Claire and Aidan tangled together on the couch. Claire was on her back with her arms twined around his neck and her mouth glued to his, while a bare-chested Aidan lay on top of her, trim hips moving sensually as he ground his pelvis into hers.
Dylan watched in amusement for a moment, then cleared his throat.
Both their heads swiveled in his direction, their eyes hazy with passion.
“Am I interrupting something?” he asked politely.
Claire offered a sheepish grin. “We got bored waiting for you.”
“I can see that.”
“You joining us or what?” Aidan lifted one eyebrow.
“You know what? I think I wanna watch for a bit.”
Unzipping his fly, he headed for the armchair and twisted it around so he had a better view of the couch. He yanked his surf shorts down his hips, sat bare-assed on the chair and wasted no time fisting his hardening dick.
He gave his erection a few lazy strokes and waited for Claire and Aidan to resume fooling around, but they were just lying there watching him.
“Where’s my show?” he taunted.
“Hear that, baby? We’re the entertainment.” Aidan dipped his head to kiss her, then glanced back at Dylan with mocking eyes. “Since this is apparently all for you, why don’t you tell us what you wanna see?”
Dylan licked his lips. “I want Claire to suck your cock.”
“What do you think?” Aidan asked her. “Should we give him what he wants?”
“Yes,” she said in a breathy voice. She wiggled out from underneath Aidan’s powerful body. “Take your pants off and get on your back, baby.”
Laughing, Aidan shucked his black track pants and got comfortable, half-sitting, half-lying down with his head resting on the arm of the couch. His cock jutted out, long and hard and demanding attention.
“Get him nice and wet with your mouth, and then wrap your fingers around the base,” Dylan ordered, his gaze finding Claire’s. “I want you to jack him off. Slowly.”
Her lips parted sexily as she bent down to take Aidan’s cock in her mouth. Her head bobbed a few times, summoning a deep groan from Aidan, who gave an upward thrust, trying to stay lodged in the warm recess of her mouth.
But Claire was very good at following instructions. As Aidan grumbled in disappointment, she released him with a wet popping sound and curled her delicate fingers around his saliva-slick shaft.
“That’s it, nice and slow.” Dylan voiced his encouragement as her small fist began moving up and down that hard cock.
He stroked himself idly, his attention glued to the scene before him. When he realized Claire still had a shirt on, he frowned in disapproval. “Lose the T-shirt. I wanna see your tits bouncing around while you work him.”
Heat sizzled in her eyes, telling him she liked the husky commands he was issuing. Without delay, she took off her shirt and removed her sports bra.
Dylan admired her full, perky breasts, the cherry-red nipples that turned into two puckered buds the moment they were exposed to the air. He loved her breasts, the sweet little sounds she made when he suckled them.
Claire reached for Aidan’s dick and picked up where she’d left off, jerking him off in a slow rhythm. Aidan lay there at her mercy, moaning softly, hips moving in a desperate attempt to increase the tempo.
“He wants you to go faster, but you’re not gonna, okay, honey? He pretends he doesn’t like the teasing, but he fucking loves it.”
Claire’s lips parted again and her tongue came out to moisten her bottom lip. Her face was flushed. So were her breasts, their rosy hue telling him she was beyond turned on.
He tugged harder on his own dick, loving the way her tits swayed from the movement of her arm, loving the impatient growling sounds escaping from Aidan’s throat.
“Give him your mouth now, but just suck the tip. Fuck, yeah, like that. No, don’t let him go any deeper.”
The sight of Claire’s lips stretched around the engorged head sent a bolt of lightning to Dylan’s balls. Groaning, he fisted his erection and squeezed, enjoying the little shockwaves that sizzled through his veins.
“Keep sucking, just like that, honey. Just a little bit longer, and…now use your hand again.”
Aidan’s eyes flew open. “You fucking bastard.”
Claire’s soft lau
ghter echoed in the room, and Dylan couldn’t help a chuckle of his own. “My show, remember?”
As Aidan cursed them both, Claire went back to pumping his cock, until Dylan ordered her to blow him again. This time he let her wrap her fist around the shaft while she tormented Aidan’s cockhead with feather-light licks.
“Oh, sweet Jesus,” Aidan croaked. “You’re killing me.”
Dylan decided it was time to take pity on the other man, who was clearly nearing the point of pain. “All right, honey, suck him hard and fast now.”
Claire eagerly got to work, and Dylan’s mouth promptly flooded with saliva. She looked so damn hot, her cheeks hollowing as she sucked Aidan off, her red ponytail swishing from the fervent up-and-down motion of her head.
His own cock was ready to burst, bringing on a hoarse expletive. “Put a condom on him and ride his cock, Claire,” Dylan ordered. “Ride his fucking cock.”
Her eyelids fluttered open, her arm snapping out with purpose to grab the strip of condoms sitting on the coffee table. She had Aidan sheathed in no time, and then she was wiggling out of her shorts and panties, and impaling herself on that hard cock.
Three groans of pleasure filled the room the second Claire seated herself fully. Dylan could swear he felt the tight clasp of her pussy clutching his own dick like a vise.
“Uh-uh,” he chided when she began to move. “Too fast. Slow it down.”
Aidan made a sound of sheer agony. “Goddammit, man. I’m dying here.”
With a mocking laugh, Dylan walked over to the couch. “You’re complaining too much.” He grinned. “Here, maybe this will shut you up.”
Without warning, he grabbed Aidan by the hair and pushed his cock into the other man’s mouth.
Aidan’s moan vibrated along his shaft, and when he glanced over, he saw Claire’s eyes burning with excitement.
His lips curved into a smile. “You love seeing us suck each other off, don’t you, honey?”
She nodded wordlessly.
“Good, now keep riding our boy.”
The hot suction around his cock combined with Claire’s little squeaks of pleasure as she rode Aidan was enough to short-circuit his brain. It wasn’t long before the only thought he was capable of producing was go, go, go.