Two weeks before Thanksgiving, Seth and Kaden had half of the light display up. Seth was in a great mood. He’d accompanied Kaden to the doctor two days earlier. Apparently Leah’s rabid insistence on vitamins, supplements, and a healthy diet were paying off. Kaden was still dying, nothing had changed there, but his test results hadn’t declined from the last visit.
The oncologist was still noncommittal concerning a time frame, other than to offer a guesstimate of at least six months, probably longer, and two years wasn’t looking impossible at this rate.
Two years! Seth knew it was stupid to latch on to that, but he did anyway.
He spent several nights a week in their bed. Sometimes Leah came to his room and spent a little alone time with him before going to spend the night with Kaden. As weird as it was, Seth now understood Kaden’s point of view. He rarely felt jealous, and subdued his sometimes envious pangs with the thought that it was only right and fair she spend time alone with Kaden. Sometimes he found himself insisting she spend the time alone with Kade.
Making love to her was beyond description. And even when it was the three of them together, there were plenty of nights it was vanilla—as vanilla as it could be in a ménage.
Leah also seemed to need fewer trips to the playroom, something that greatly relieved Kaden.
Although Seth had to admit he was growing more comfortable taking the leading role in their private scenes. He’d taken Leah to the club twice more, and two more times the three of them went.
Seth was outside with Kaden, trying to set up another set of lighted animals, when Leah walked out with two glasses of iced tea. The men gratefully took a break, sitting in the shade. Even for a Florida November, the day was unusually hot, and they’d quickly shed their shirts as the heat built.
Kaden noticed her look first. “What?”
“Hmm?”
“I know that look, babe. What’s on your mind?”
Leah plopped down in the grass in front of them. She reached out and traced Kaden’s tattoo with her finger. “I was thinking.”
After a minute he shook his head. “Seth, I think we’ll need the singletail to get this out of her.”
She laughed. “No. Okay. Fine.” She took a deep breath and dropped her gaze to the ground. “It’d be nice if you both had one.” Then she lifted her eyes to Seth.
He wasn’t following her. “Huh?”
“I know you said you didn’t want me to get you anything for Christmas, but…” She didn’t finish.
Kaden looked at Seth and laughed. “Ah. I see. She wants a matching set.”
Seth had worried that was what she meant. “Oh.”
“I mean,” she quickly said, “if you don’t want to, I understand. It’s okay. I shouldn’t have mentioned it. I’m sorry.” She’d started to stand, but he grabbed her hand.
“I hate needles.”
She looked at him. “I know,” she softly said. “It’s okay if you don’t want to.”
Seth studied her green eyes, finally nodded. “You guys might have to carry me out of there if I faint, but okay. I’ll do it, babe.”
* * * *
That was how, two days later, Seth found himself seated in a tattoo parlor in Sarasota. It was the same place Leah and Kaden had gotten theirs.
He hoped they kept a barf bucket close by.
Kaden smiled. “I can’t believe you were in the Army and never got a tattoo.”
“I can’t believe you’re an attorney and you aren’t a slimy asshole.”
Leah laughed. “Touché.”
Seth gripped her hand a little tighter as the tattoo artist began inking the design. Seth had learned the circular motif was called a “triskelion” and was the unofficial symbol of BDSM practitioners.
“I do appreciate this, Seth,” Leah whispered.
“Make sure you show me,” he managed through gritted teeth.
“Man up,” Kaden teased. “Don’t be a pussy.”
“Fuck you.”
“Not in your wildest dreams, dude.”
Seth tried not to watch what the tattoo artist did. It hurt like a sonofabitch. He admitted it—while he was good with pain, he sucked with needles, which was why he never got inked before.
Kaden, a smile on his face, sat near the end of the table. “Just be thankful I didn’t let her talk me into the other one she wanted me to have.”
“I don’t want to know.”
He grinned. “No, you don’t.”
Leah pouted. “It would have looked so neat.”
“Hey, I never made you get your clit pierced, so don’t go playing the pouty card on me, little girl.”
Seth tried not to shudder. “You guys are gonna make me faint. If I don’t puke first.”
Kaden used his foot to nudge the garbage can a little closer to Seth.
Several hours later, he had a design identical to Kaden’s. After getting instructions on how to properly care for it while it healed, he turned to Leah. “I wouldn’t have done this for anyone but you.”
She smiled and stood up on her toes and kissed him. “I know. And I love you for it.”
Well, damn. That was more than enough to make the pain worth it.
“Now I have another request,” she said.
Kaden turned. “What’s that, sweetheart?”
“Can I get my masters’ names added to my design?”
Seth couldn’t read Kaden’s expression. After a long moment, his friend nodded. “It’s all right with me.” He looked at Seth.
Seth shrugged. “Okay.”
She told the tattoo artist what she wanted and lay down on the table while he traced a design on her lower back with a pen. She looked at it in the mirror and nodded. “Perfect.”
Seth closed his eyes and didn’t watch. He sat next to Kaden, each of them holding one of her hands. When it was done, she jumped up to look at it in the mirror. Kaden’s name gracefully curved over the top of the triskelion, and Seth’s below it.
“Thank you!” She kissed Kaden, then Seth. She drew them both close and dropped her voice. “Now there will never be a question who my masters are,” she whispered to them.
Despite his queasy stomach, Seth nodded. “All right. Can we go now? Before I barf all over the place?”
“Wuss,” Kaden chided.
“Yeah, and proud of it.”
After the bandage came off later, Leah was after Seth every couple of hours with the moisturizer lotion recommended by the tattoo parlor.
“Gee, Mom. I’m a big boy now,” he playfully groused.
“Shut up. You don’t want to have problems with it.”
He wouldn’t deny she took damn good care of him. He sat on the end of his bed while she finished applying yet another round. He pulled her into his lap. “I meant it when I said I wouldn’t have done this for anyone but you.”
She put her arms around him. “I know.”
He kissed her, enjoying the feel of her body against him. “So the right woman was under my nose all this time, hmm?”
“Yeah.” She ran her fingers through his hair, smoothing it. “I prayed you’d eventually figure it out.”
He captured her hand in his and brought it to his lips. “Seriously.” He took a deep breath. “I can’t share you with anyone else but Kaden. I mean that. You know that, right?”
Her smile broadened. “I know. And I’m not sharing you with anyone.”
“You’re okay with that?”
“I’m really okay with that.” Her face saddened a little, but he recognized it as a newer expression she’d worn lately, one that meant she was dealing okay with her emotions and didn’t need a trip to the playroom. “I just wish the three of us could have a lot more time together.”
“I’m sorry I was an idiot for so long.”
That brought her back. She smiled again. “But you’re mine now, and I love you.”
Chapter Sixteen
“I hope we don’t get FPL climbing up our asses over this,” Seth groused as he looked over the
sketches and worked on his final calculations. “We might need to rent a generator.”
Kaden shrugged. “Whatever we need to do.”
“I think it’s safe to say you’ve outdone yourself this year.”
“That was the plan, man.” Kaden’s satisfied smile couldn’t be denied a reply.
Thanksgiving was in five days. The first of Kaden and Leah’s dinners would be held the evening after next, a small, private dinner for some of Kaden’s closest staff at his office. Seth had thought about going to his brother’s house to leave them alone. Leah nearly burst into tears when he broached the subject.
“You can’t go!”
“Honey, you don’t need me in the way.”
“I need you here!”
He hugged her, calming her. “Okay, I’ll stay. Calm down.” His brother and sister-in-law were coming to the house for Thanksgiving dinner, along with some other family and close friends. The three of them had finally broken the full news to them, as well as Kaden’s brother, about why Seth was living with them. Not in total detail, leaving out the BDSM stuff, of course. Seth was surprised they took it as well as they did.
Helen was especially sympathetic. At one point she pulled Seth aside when they were alone. “Don’t forget that if you need a shoulder, I’m here for you.”
Seth nodded, wiping his eyes. “Yeah, thanks.”
“I know it’s unusual, but in the grand scheme of things, if it brings them both comfort to have you in their lives, then don’t worry what anyone else thinks.”
He’d always liked Helen. Not the way he liked Leah, more like a true sister. “I wish everyone was as understanding as you.”
It was one less stress on Seth’s plate. He didn’t give a shit what people he barely knew thought about him. He did care what his brother thought. He didn’t want them thinking any less of Leah for what would happen…after.
Kaden had told a few people close to him what was going on and what would happen. They were sworn to secrecy and to not shower Leah with well-meaning condolences before his death. Everyone was to go on as normal.
As normally as they could.
Seth walked the entire setup one more time, checking connections and outlet placements. They’d done limited zone tests as each section was set up but not the entire thing at once. As dusk drew close, Seth put away the sketches. “Okay, I guess we’re as ready as we’ll ever be.”
Kaden called Leah from the house. They gathered around the breaker box. Seth had wired in separate sub-boxes to handle the new circuits.
“Okay, gang. If I get electrocuted, call 911,” he joked.
He threw the switch.
The entire property lit up. Inflatables started inflating, moveable animals started moving, and the lights drove back the falling dark.
Kaden’s face lit as brightly as the yard. “Wow!” he whispered, awestruck.
Seth hung back as Kaden walked out to the driveway and surveyed the front yard area. “This is amazing!” he exclaimed. “I mean, seeing it all at once like this… You did a great job! It’s fantastic!” He enveloped Seth in a bear hug. Seth didn’t feel at all uncomfortable returning it.
“Thanks, man. It was your design.”
Kaden clapped him on the back and released him, then turned back to the display. He wiped his eyes. “It’s great, man!” He pulled Leah to him and hugged her. “What do you think?”
“I think it’s gorgeous.”
Seth hung back while Leah and Kaden walked the paths through the displays. He felt glad he could do this for them despite the sadness threatening again.
Seth walked back to the house and fired up the grill for Leah, wanting to leave them alone for a while. When they finally made it around to the back side of the house, Kaden laughed and hugged Seth again.
“It’s great, man. This is awesome. Everyone’s going to love it.”
“It’s the least I can do.”
The men relaxed on the lanai while Leah cooked dinner. “I wish we could have been doing this years ago,” Kaden softly said so Leah couldn’t hear.
Seth shrugged. “Don’t harsh the mellow, dude,” he tried to joke.
“How are you doing?”
Seth shrugged again. He really didn’t want to have this conversation now. Especially not with Leah nearby. He’d been doing pretty well. A few times he went over and cried on Helen’s shoulder to get it out of his system, trying not to burden his friends with his grief. “I just want to sit back and enjoy our hard work.”
“Your hard work.”
“You were out there with me, dude.”
“I never could have pulled this off without you, Seth. Quit the modesty bullshit. You’ve made me really happy.”
“Then let’s just sit and ponder the miracle of outdoor illumination, bro. God bless Thomas Edison and his freaking lightbulb.”
Kaden laughed and shook his head. “Okay. I’ll leave you alone.”
“Greatly appreciated.”
* * * *
Normally, Leah didn’t put up their Christmas tree until Thanksgiving weekend. This year she wanted it up in time for all their dinners.
Seth didn’t have to read between the lines to understand why.
The men helped her assemble the massive thing, nearly twelve feet tall. Once the lights were on, Leah took over the decorations. By later that evening she was almost finished. Seth had helped her put the star on and climbed up the ladder to put some ornaments toward the top.
Kaden walked in, his hands behind his back. “Looks beautiful.”
“You think so?” she asked. She hugged him. “What’s that?”
He motioned Seth over and produced a small, wrapped box. “This is for the two of you.”
Leah took the box but looked puzzled. “For me and Seth?”
Kaden nodded. “Yep. Well, open it.”
She exchanged a curious glance with Seth. He shrugged. “I don’t know, babe. He didn’t tell me.”
She opened it. Her hand flew to her mouth as she looked inside. “Oh, Kade!”
“Go ahead.”
“What is it?” Seth asked.
She handed the box to him and threw her arms around Kaden. She cried. “Thank you! It’s beautiful!”
He hugged her, stroked her back. “Hey, it’s only right, sweetie.” He kissed her forehead. “You two should have something. I want you to have this. I wanted to be the one to give it to you.”
Seth carefully lifted out the delicate, porcelain star.
In the center, in gold: Our First Christmas, Seth and Leah, followed by the year.
Seth felt himself tear up. “Thanks, man.”
Kaden gently patted Leah on the back. “Well? Go ahead and hang it.”
Seth wanted to position it toward the back of the tree. Leah wouldn’t hear of it. She positioned it near the “First Christmas” ornament she had with Kaden, and the “Our New House” ornament Seth had given them their first year in this house.
She stepped back and wiped her eyes. “There. It’s perfect.”
Seth wasn’t so sure it should be where everyone could easily see it. “Maybe we should—”
“Leave it where she wants it,” Kaden firmly said. He clapped Seth on the back and left his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “She’s right. It looks perfect there.”
Leah beamed.
Chapter Seventeen
Seth awoke Thanksgiving morning to Leah kissing him. “Here’s your coffee.” She set it on his bedside table. He’d slept alone the past couple of nights, claiming exhaustion—partly right—and because he felt guilty about all the time he was spending with Leah and Kaden in their bed.
“Thanks, babe.” He started to roll over. “What time is it?”
“Six. You said you’d help me with the turkeys.”
“Yes, I did.” Two were being traditionally roasted. A third would be deep-fried later, closer to dinnertime, since it wouldn’t take as long to cook.
“Where’s Kade?”
“I’m letting him
sleep in.” A shadowy frown flitted across her face.
“Is he okay?”
“I think he’s really tired and he’s trying to hide it.”
Seth damn well knew he was trying to hide it, because he’d seen the exhaustion in his friend’s face the night before. Yet another reason he’d opted to sleep alone, hopefully allowing Kade some well-needed rest.
Leah sat on the edge of the bed and kissed him again, this time long and lingering and stirring more than a little interest on Seth’s part. “Why don’t I take a shower with you this morning after we get the birds cooking?”
Seth smiled. “Sounds like a good plan to me.”
He met her out in the kitchen a few minutes later. Within an hour, they had the birds stuffed and in one of the large double ovens. Leah checked on Kaden, found him still asleep, and then joined Seth in his bathroom.
“Let’s make this one quick, sweetie,” Seth said, hugging her to him. “I don’t want him waking up alone and ignored.” As much as his member was now throbbing, he knew it wouldn’t take much to set him off.
“Okay.”
Seth slid down her body, kneeling before her. She leaned against the shower wall as he gripped her hips and licked her slit. She moaned, tangling her fingers in his hair.
He loved doing this for her, bringing her pleasure without an ounce of pain involved. Before long she cried out and ground her hips against him. When he knew she was finished he stood, pinned her against the wall, and easily slid his cock inside her.
“How was that,” he whispered, taking a hard stroke.
“Good,” she whimpered as she wrapped her arms around him.
Leah worked her hips in time with his. It didn’t take him long. He cupped her ass and held her as he took several last strokes, then came deep inside her.
He dropped his head to her shoulder. “I love you, babe.” He kissed her. “I love you so much.”
Leah’s smile lit his heart. “I love you, too. Will you spend tonight with us?”
“Let’s see how he feels. If he’s worn out I don’t want to disturb him. He needs his rest. Maybe a little playtime if he feels up to it.”