by Tate James
Zed's arms came around me from behind, hugging me to his chest as he kissed my shoulder, soothing the raging storm of emotions erupting within me.
"Dare, baby," he murmured. "Just take a breath. I know this isn't ideal, but I fucking swear to you I'm okay with this. I'm okay with them. They make you happy like I've never seen you before. I wasn't able to do that for you. It wasn't until Gumdrop came along that the light went back on in your eyes, and I couldn't be more grateful to him for that."
My heart thumped hard against my chest, aching, but his words calmed me. I sighed, leaning my head back against his chest. "You're okay with it?" I repeated, skeptical as hell.
Zed huffed a small laugh. "Maybe that's an exaggeration. But if sharing you with them means I get you... then that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. I can work through my jealousy shit. Sounds like Lucas might need to as well."
My lips curled into a wry smile as he kissed my neck again, his lips hot against my damp skin. "I want so badly to believe you, Zed," I whispered, my voice hoarse. Of the three of them, he was the one I could least see accepting the polyamorous lifestyle. He was too controlled. Cass had the growly alpha-male shit going, but he was a hell of a lot more relaxed when it came to sex.
"Let me prove it to you," Zed murmured back. "Please. Let me show you that I can play nice, given the right motivation."
Turning around in his embrace, I placed a hand on his cheek and gave him a soft smile. "Zed..." I already felt like the worst kind of asshole for blowing up on this topic so soon after we’d crossed the line into relationship territory. I'd just hit the gas and sent us from zero to a hundred in three seconds flat.
"Please," he whispered again, kissing my palm. "At least let me try."
Shit. How could I say no? Especially when that was what I so desperately wanted. Needed. If Zed was willing to try, who was I to push back?
Licking my broken, throbbing lower lip, I drew a deep inhale through my nose, nervousness making me feel lightheaded and stupid. Indicating for him to follow, I left my room and padded softly down the carpeted corridor to Lucas's room.
His door was open, but he was lying on his bed with headphones on and his eyes shut. As I drew closer, I could hear the steady beat of music from his headphones, and I smiled. He'd been so determined to give us privacy that he was drowning out our voices... also probably not wanting to hear it if things turned sexual.
I paused right next to the bed, and his thick lashes fluttered open. For a second, he looked confused, then he tugged his headphones off and sat up.
"Hey, is everything okay?" he asked, concern rippling through his expression as he looked from me—still in my towel—to Zed, who loomed in the doorway like a storm cloud.
I bit my lip, already losing my nerve, then instantly regretted that movement because it hurt. "Yeah. Yes. I just..." I cringed, screwing up my nose and hating how awkward this was making me feel. "Zed wants to prove a point."
Lucas took a moment, then understanding dawned and a grin tugged at his lips. "Shit. This is going to end up with me getting punched, isn't it?"
I groaned. "I really hope not."
Leaning back on his hands, he gave a short laugh. His gaze flicked over Zed, then returned to me filled with mischief. "I'm game."
My breath hissed from between my teeth, and I winced. "This is such a bad idea." But I still leaned down and brought my lips to Lucas's in a tentative kiss. My back prickled with the knowledge of Zed standing there watching. I'd kissed Lucas and Cass plenty of times in front of him, but this was different. So freaking different.
Lucas kissed me back skillfully, but kept his hands braced against the mattress behind him, allowing me to take control and set the pace.
After a few moments, paranoia made me pull away and glance over at Zed for a reaction. His expression was shuttered, his jaw tight as he folded his arms and leaned his shoulder into the doorframe. When I met his eyes, he just cocked a brow as if to say, see? Totally fine.
Lucas must have seen it, too, because he snorted a laugh and the next thing I knew, his hands were under my towel as he pulled me to straddle his lap. I gave a small gasp as his lips captured mine once more, the sting of my injury still hot and fresh, then moaned into his kiss as he devoured my mouth. His strong hands held me tight against him, grinding me down on his hard dick and making me quiver in response.
I knew what he was doing. He was putting on a show to really push Zed's control. I didn't think either of us really expected Zed to let us get far, but Lucas sure as shit wasn't backing down from the challenge. With a quick tug, my towel dropped away, and I caught the sound of Zed's sharp inhale.
Any minute now, he would snap and rip me away from Lucas, I was sure. Not that I wanted him to, it was just inevitable. Right?
Lucas's kisses moved down my neck as his hands moved to my breasts, his fingers tweaking my nipples. I arched my back, pushing into his hands with a gasp, and he gave a soft chuckle against my neck as he bit me gently. I got the distinct impression he was laughing at Zed, not me, but I had officially tossed caution to the wind.
"Lucas," I breathed when he mouthed one of my breasts, his teeth pulling at my nipple in a way that sent wave upon wave of ecstasy straight to my cunt.
"How ya doing over there, Zeddy Bear?" Lucas asked, looking up at me with pure wickedness written all over his face.
"Shut the fuck up, Gumdrop," Zed snarled back, shocking the hell out of me, "or are you getting stage fright?"
My brows hitched, but my back was to Zed, so he didn't see my surprise. Lucas just grinned wickedly as he traced his tongue around my swollen nipple.
"Babe, I feel like Zed just challenged me." He murmured it quietly but clearly didn't give a shit if Zed heard him.
I bit back a slightly delirious laugh and shook my head. "Sure sounded like it to me."
With that permission, Lucas wrapped his arms around me and flipped our positions, slamming my back into his pillows while he hooked my legs over his strong shoulders. I only got a split second to panic that I was now on full display to Zed before Lucas's tongue found my clit and my eyes rolled back.
Fucking hell, he was a quick study. My fingers threaded into his hair, my back arching as he tongued my cunt and my breath coming in heavy gasps. My lids cracked open, and I immediately locked eyes with Zed, which sent such a violent wave of arousal through me I almost came.
He'd moved from the doorway to the armchair at the foot of the bed and sat forward with his elbows braced on his knees and his eyes blazing hot with ardor. The tight lines of his jaw and bunched shoulders told me he was still warring with himself, but fuck me, he looked equally turned on.
Lucas pushed a finger into me, making me gasp and pulling my attention away from Zed once more. My fingers tightened in Lucas's hair, holding him to me and silently begging him for more. He complied, adding a second finger and making me thrash with the way his tongue played my clit.
"Shit," I gulped as the intense sensation between my thighs built higher. "Lucas, fuck, you're gonna make me come."
"Do it," Zed ordered, his voice rough and his gaze scorching. "Come on his face, baby. We all know you're capable of more than one."
My only response was a low groan because he was so right. But also hearing him tell me to come on Lucas's face ramped everything up a whole extra level.
Lucas pushed a third finger into my pussy, and I shattered. My thighs gripped his face so tight I worried he might suffocate, but I was totally helpless to let him go. He just had to ride it out with me as my back arched and my toes curled with my climax.
When my convulsions slowed and my contracted muscles started to relax, Lucas sat back on his knees with a huge smile on his face. He threw a quick glance over his shoulder at Zed, then pulled his shirt off in a smooth, one-handed stripper move. Then as I watched with bated breath, he tugged his sweatpants down and fisted his huge erection. His back was to Zed, but I had a prime view and couldn't help licking my lips eagerly.
Luca
s smirked, in his damn element, and reached out a hand to me.
"Come here, babe. Zed wants a show, I reckon that's what we can give him." He pulled me up to sitting, then swiveled around to sit on the end of the bed himself, patting his lap in invitation.
Zed hissed a breath through his teeth, shaking his head with a silent laugh, and it took me a second to realize he'd just gotten an eyeful of Lucas's secret weapon.
"I'm not even fucking surprised," he growled, shooting Lucas an accusing glare. "Of course the fucking teenage stripper has been smuggling a goddamn anaconda in his sequin G-string."
I tried not to laugh as Lucas guided me to the position he wanted me in, on my knees across his lap, but facing Zed. From this position, I would be staring straight at him as Lucas fucked me, and I had no doubt that was precisely what Lucas had intended.
"Ah, don't be jealous, Zeddy Bear," Lucas teased as he coaxed me to lift up on my knees so he could get his huge cock lined up. "It's not about the size of the boat, it's the motion of the ocean." His tip engaged with my pussy, and he returned his hands to my waist, pulling me down onto his length while my brain short-circuited and my whole body quaked. The sounds that escaped me were borderline embarrassing, but I was past the point of controlling that shit.
Lucas guided me up and down a couple of times, penetrating deeper into my cunt with each stroke, and Zed's eyes remained glued to that point of entry like someone had just hit his pause button.
When Lucas eventually got his whole dick inside me, I was panting and whimpering, my fingernails clutching his abs behind my ass, and he gave a throaty laugh.
"Then again, maybe boat size helps too," he added, and Zed's scowl darkened. He didn't say anything back, though, just shifted his position in the armchair as Lucas gripped my waist and encouraged me to ride him.
So I did. Flexing my thighs, I pushed up and down, bouncing on his huge cock and locking eyes with Zed every two seconds. It was insane and such an incredible turn on. I wanted Zed to join us. I wanted his hands on me and his cock in my—
"Shit," Zed muttered with a pained groan, sitting back in the chair and letting his knees fall to the sides. His pants were so tight the fabric looked like it wanted to tear, and I couldn't help but stare. Then I licked my puffy lips, and Zed cursed again under his breath.
"Just get it out, Zeddy Bear," Lucas taunted. "Show Hayden how bad you want her. Unless you have stage fright?"
Zed glared daggers past me at Lucas, but I nodded my encouragement, totally lost in the heady euphoria of really great dick.
At my nod, though, Zed's glare shifted back to my cunt, and the way Lucas's dick slid in and out of me unapologetically. He swiped a hand over his face, then loosened his pants and freed his straining erection.
He palmed it, and I let out a moan of appreciation, my pace faltering in Lucas's lap. To give me a break, Lucas stilled with his dick deep inside me and reached around with his long fingers to play with my clit.
I shuddered with new waves of arousal but didn't take my eyes from Zed's proud cock for even a second. He stroked it up and down with long movements, his own eyes locked on my pussy. On the way Lucas was working me over.
"Zed," I panted when it was all becoming too damn much. "Zed, come here."
His gaze snapped back up to my eyes, his brows raised and his hand still on his dick. "Dare..."
"Please," I gasped, writhing on Lucas's lap. "Please, I need to taste you."
Those were the magic words. Zed jerked to his feet, closing the short gap to where Lucas and I were performing on the end of the bed. His hand stroked over my hair, gently, lovingly, and I reached out to wrap my fingers around his shaft.
At that first touch of my hand, he inhaled sharply, but when I leaned forward and ran my tongue around his tip, he leaned into me.
Lucas grunted and lay back onto the mattress, spreading his legs to push mine wider until I was balanced on my knees with my hands gripping Zed's waist. My aching lips closed around Zed's crown, sucking and tasting the salty sweetness of his pre-cum as he groaned.
A moment later, Zed's fingers threaded into my hair, holding me gently as I took him deeper into my throat. Lucas started moving beneath me, fucking me from below, and it was pushing me into a frenzy. I needed more... but I was in such a precariously balanced position I didn't know how to get it.
Lucas always seemed to read my damn mind, though.
"Harder," he snapped at Zed as his own fingers gripped my ass tight enough to bruise.
"What?" Zed snarled back.
Lucas gave a low chuckle. "She wants it harder," he elaborated. "I can tell. Get rough."
Zed's grip on my hair immediately released, but I gripped his hips tighter, pulling him closer and peering up with wide eyes.
"Fuck," he hissed, looking down at me. "Seriously?"
Lucas slammed up into me, making me jolt in the best way. "Seriously, bro. Fuck her throat and pull her damn hair."
I shuddered with an intense wave of pre-climax. Lucas knew me so well already. Zed arched a brow, but when I dug my nails into his skin, he groaned and tightened his fingers in my hair.
"Yes, Boss," he muttered, holding my gaze as he said it, then did as he was told.
It was all I could do to just hold on for the damn ride as Lucas fucked me hard from underneath and Zed pummeled my throat, his grip on my hair holding my head in just the right position, then occasionally forcing me to take him so deep I thought I couldn't breathe.
When I came, it was the kind of orgasm the poets would have written masterpieces about. Filthy, dirty masterpieces. Zed finished himself into my throat with some rough thrusts, filling my whole damn mouth with his cock as a trickle of blood ran down my chin from my broken lip.
Lucas only lasted a fraction of a second longer, like he was trying to prove something himself, then exploded inside me with gasping moans.
Boneless and aching, I collapsed off Lucas and swiped a hand over my sweaty forehead as I blinked up at Zed, who was tucking his dick back into his pants.
"Alright. You win." My statement was a hoarse croak, but Zed heard me, nonetheless. His smirk was pure victory as he leaned down to kiss me soundly.
"Did you expect anything less?"
30
Breakfast the next morning was a surreal sort of experience. The guys let me sleep in, and when I dragged my aching body down to the kitchen, I found Zed plating up smashed avocado on seeded toast with a perfectly poached egg on top.
Lucas was at the island with his textbooks spread out in front of him and was reading out a question that my brain was far too foggy to even comprehend. Zed understood, though, shooting back an answer as casually as if they'd been doing this all morning.
"What are you guys doing?" I asked with a yawn, tucking my arms around myself. My split lip was throbbing, but hopefully that was just it healing itself up. I’d dabbed it with antiseptic cream and knew from experience that lip cuts healed crazy fast anyway.
"Gumdrop has exams coming up," Zed replied, leaning down to kiss me softly before continuing with his task.
Lucas gave me a grin. "Zed was helping me study, but I feel pretty confident with this one." He closed the textbook he'd been reading from and moved it to the pile at his side.
I swung my gaze between the two of them, feeling like I'd just woken up in some weird kind of reverse Stepford Wives situation. They were way too freaking comfortable. Was this what happened to dudes after they shared a girl in bed, like some kind of magical bro bond?
I peered at the thick spines of the books Lucas had been using and gave him a curious look. "Those seem like advanced subjects for high school."
Zed snorted a laugh, and Lucas shrugged. "I took a couple of extra online courses," he admitted, and I vaguely remembered him mentioning something about it to me before.
"Gumdrop is studying emergency medicine, Boss," Zed told me with an arched brow and something strangely close to respect in his eyes when he nodded to Lucas. "Tell her why."
; Lucas gave me a sheepish look. "I need a practical skill to become a more useful member of Team Hades, and, uh, no offense but you guys all kinds of suck at first aid. Which, given how often you all get hurt? Is a bit worrying."
My lips parted in surprise. He wasn't totally wrong, but… "I do not suck at first aid," I protested. "I patch Zed up all the time."
Lucas bit back a smile. "Well... anyway, it seems like a skill gap in our crew, and I thought I could fill it. I was studying for my normal school classes anyway." He gave a shrug like it made no difference to add an online EMT program to his existing coursework.
Zed placed a plate of food down in front of Lucas, then slid one across to me and nodded to the empty seat I was standing near. I slid my butt onto the stool and accepted the cutlery Zed passed across.
"Did you know Gumdrop wants to go to medical school?" Zed asked casually as he set about making coffees.
I swiveled in my seat to peer at Lucas curiously. "No, I didn't. Since when? And when did you two become such good friends?"
Lucas arched a smile at me as he took a bite of his breakfast. "Um, it was a recent idea. You were the one who actually got me thinking about it when you suggested becoming a psychologist. But I think I want to do more practical medicine, at least to start off. Zed got Dallas to forge me a GED so I could enroll in the EMT program early."
"Also, we're not suddenly friends," Zed corrected, passing a coffee to me. "But I decided to ask some questions and get to know the Gumdrop."
Lucas rolled his eyes. "He interrogated me, Hayden. It was brutal."
Zed gave an easy smile as he leaned his elbows on the counter opposite us. "You're not bleeding; it wasn't an interrogation. Besides, I wanted to clear the suspicion that Lucas was older than he seems."
I lowered one brow. "I didn't realize you were serious about that."
"When it comes to your safety? Always. But with Lucas's cooperation I found enough of a paper and photo trail to verify his story." Zed met my eyes, unapologetic.