Stable Hill

by Jodi Payne

  He tried to touch and kiss them, to return some of the sweet sensation they were giving him, but they kept him off-balance. He was distracted and confused by whose hands were where, whose mouth was on his, and he was consumed by the constant heightening of his own arousal.

  “Upstairs,” one of them whispered. As if they shared a mind, they moved together, bound by tangled fingers, bumping hips and elbows, trading kisses, and leaving behind a chaotic mess of clothing on the living room floor.

  At the top of the steps, he lingered for a moment by the door to his old bedroom, the room his father had given to Russ, but Russ herded him forward. Jeffrey went ahead of them and yanked the covers off a big bed in his parents’ old room. A bed he’d never seen before.

  “Whoa.”

  He didn’t get to say much more than that. Russ leaned in again, openmouthed, offering. He took Russ by the back of the neck and kissed him deeply, sweeping tongue over tongue. Russ’s return kiss was laced with an affection Oscar recognized from their kiss that night in the kitchen. He didn’t understand it, really, but his heart wanted it, needed it as much as his body did.

  “Mmm. You two kiss like tomorrow isn’t going to happen.” Jeffrey ran his hands over Oscar’s chest, rolling and lightly pinching one nipple and then the other. Russ reached down and cupped his balls in one hand, and Oscar groaned.

  God, it felt so good.

  It had been so long.

  Jeffrey nudged Russ and cut in, kissing Russ quickly, then took Oscar’s mouth himself. Jeffrey’s kiss was hot and hungry, not in a hurry but not holding back the level of his own need either. Jeffrey put a hand on Russ’s shoulder and leaned on it, a gentle directive that sent Russ down to kneeling again.

  Just that move, the anticipation, made Oscar moan again and his cock stretch. “Yes,” he said, his voice breathy and garbled by Jeffrey’s mouth. He felt Russ’s tongue run up and over the skin on either side of his balls, and then Russ drew them in, one at a time, massaging them with a talented tongue.

  He and Jeffrey kissed forever. Minutes, hours—he had no way of knowing. They tasted and tested each other, took control and gave it up, asking and telling. Oscar had never learned so much from a kiss before. But when Russ finally took his full length into a hot mouth, Oscar tossed his head back with a gasp, the wet heat something he’d missed more than he’d understood.

  “Russ. Fuck.” He mumbled words of praise and scratched his fingers through Russ’s hair.

  Russ moaned around him, held his balls in one hand, licked and kissed and swallowed him deep, making him pant and his thighs tremble. Jeffrey was all hands and teeth, biting his earlobe, his neck, his nipple.

  “Oh. God.”

  Russ stood, and Jeffrey herded Oscar to the bed and onto his back, where Russ picked up where they’d left off. Oscar stayed lost in it, his cock stiff and his need rising steadily until the attention became erratic. He looked up to find Jeffrey standing behind Russ, fingering Russ’s ass.

  “Oh. Mmm.” Russ’s eyes rolled back. Such a goner.

  Jeffrey’s grin was filthy and betrayed everything the man was thinking. Oscar licked his lips as their eyes met again, only this time he wasn’t nervous or hesitant. He just grinned right back.

  Jeffrey slapped Russ’s ass and headed around to the nightstand. Oscar pushed Russ onto his back, staying to one side to be out of Jeffrey’s way, and licked up the length of Russ’s cock.

  “Fuck. Oscar!”

  Oscar went after him, sucking hard, stroking the line behind the man’s balls with two fingers. Russ arched and moaned.

  “Oh, look at you, Russ.” Jeffrey stood at the end of the bed, rolled on a rubber, and fingered Russ, making Russ howl and groan. “You like that?”

  “Fuck. Fuck!”

  Oscar pulled off Russ and kissed him instead as Jeffrey slowly eased that hefty cock inside. Russ clung to Oscar, panting and moaning, and Oscar watched as the two of them put on a very impressive show. Jeffrey had a lovely strong rhythm, and Russ was no complacent bottom.

  Oscar found himself watching them, listening, as he alternated between touching them and pumping his own erection.

  “Ah. Fuck.” Jeffrey’s eyes slammed shut, and he started to piston hard. Russ was gone, moaning almost constantly. Oscar looked at them both, as close to orgasms as they obviously were, and bent back over Russ’s straining cock and took it right down his throat.

  That set them off like fireworks. Russ cried out and bucked, coming hard, cock punching Oscar’s soft palate. Jeffrey made a strangled sound, thrusts becoming insanely erratic, and let out a shout, and that lean sculpted body was rocked by tremors.

  Oscar’s balls drew up hard and he gave them a tug.

  Russ laughed softly. “I saw that.”

  “God, the two of you.”

  “Us?” Jeffrey asked, snorting. “Us? You set us off, Oscar.” Oh, Jeffrey’s voice had dropped to this sexy purr. “Lie back.”

  When he hesitated, Russ gave him a light shove, and he fell back in the pillows. Oscar started to protest, but Jeffrey and Russ shared a kiss, and he lost his train of thought. The two men exchanged a look, Russ settled by his hips, and Jeffrey kissed Oscar so hard, he thought he might bruise. Russ teased him with a hot tongue and nimble fingers for a moment before taking Oscar’s needy cock into his mouth to suck him off. He groaned, the heavy sound muted and muffled by Jeffrey’s kiss.

  The pair of them didn’t let up until he was sweating and shaking, on the verge of his first orgasm in years that didn’t involve his own hand.

  “I… oh God gonna….” He felt like he was spinning. Flying. Blood roared in his ears and his pulse pounded in his skull. He gripped the back of Jeffrey’s neck with one hand and tugged on Russ’s hair with the other, his hips jerking hard as he shot. “Oh fuck!”

  Everything went into slow motion and he shattered into bits.

  Little pieces of his mind and heart exploded outward just beyond his reach and then slammed back into place, leaving him aching and breathless. His chest felt heavy, his eyes burned, and every breath was a struggle. He felt disoriented and lost but not afraid. He was aware of the arms holding him and the soothing voices, even if he couldn’t understand the words yet.

  The room came back slowly, and he nodded to let Jeffrey and Russ know he was okay. At least he thought he was okay. “Okay?” he managed to say, bewildered that it came out a question.

  “You’re okay, Oscar. We’re right here.”

  “It’s all good. We’ve got you.”

  The weight in his chest, the ragged breathing—to his horror, he realized he was sobbing.

  “I don’t… I can’t. S… sorry.” God, what was the matter with him? He was ruining such an incredible experience for all of them.

  “Shh. No, Oscar. There’s nothing to be sorry for.”

  “Sorry. I’m sorry. I’m—”

  “Stop it.” Jeffrey’s voice was stern, and Oscar looked up but didn’t see anything but warmth in those brown eyes. He let them ground him, bring him back to the moment. Finally he nodded.

  “It… so good, it… it hurts.”

  Jeffrey smiled at him. “Impossibly good.”

  “So good, it was unreal.” Russ kissed him gently.

  A little sound escaped Oscar, just a small release, but enough that he was suddenly back with them, his breathing deeper and his vision clear.

  “There you are.” Russ smiled.

  He tried a smile and thought he even managed something close to it. “Hi.”

  Coming back to the room whole was just as wonderful as all of that shattering had been awful. The bed was luxurious and comfortable, and he had Jeffrey close on one side and Russ warm on the other, each with arms over him.

  “So… you showed up early.” Jeffrey laughed.

  “I… did. I thought I’d try to talk to the contractors myself if I could, but they… they’d left.” Jesus, his voice sounded like he’d swallowed glass.

  “I thought for a second when you walked in th
e door that we were about to be in some very big trouble. Like, really big.”

  “I suppose if my brain hadn’t shorted out when I saw you leaning on that wall, you might have been.” Oscar laughed then too, happy to join in the fun.

  The three of them lay tangled together, kissing and touching and being lazy. Oscar still felt overwhelmed but also safe lying between them. He decided not to overthink it all right now. He was a grown man, and he was entitled to intimacy. He could enjoy this for a couple of hours.

  He hadn’t felt this good in so, so long.

  Chapter Twelve

  “YES, I’LL need to talk to my client, but I think that’s exactly what he’ll want to do.” Score. Jeffrey pumped a fist in the air. “You can start right away?” He’d finally found Oscar a contractor.

  “Yeah, I can slot you in Monday, if you like. Have the job done in a couple of days.”

  “Perfect. I’ll text you in a bit with the go-ahead.”

  “Thanks for the rec, Jeff.”

  “Always a pleasure working with you, Mark.” Jeffrey hung up the phone with a grin. Always a pleasure.

  Speaking of pleasures, now he needed to give that client a call. His client, turned one-night stand, turned someone he couldn’t get his mind off of. He’d had dozens upon dozens of one-nighters over the years, and he rarely gave men a second thought, let alone a second date. Russ was one rare exception, and now Oscar had left quite an impression too.

  Start with looks, right? Oscar was a tall silver fox. The man was business casual, not outdoorsy like Russ, and not a suit-and-tie guy like himself either. Jeffrey thought Oscar was probably in the mid- to late-thirties range. The man’s bright blue eyes had a depth that called to him in a way he hadn’t felt before. Of course he’d had infatuations. In fact he’d have put Russ in that category until very recently. But this was something else. Something more.

  He wanted to get to know Oscar better, and that feeling hadn’t just started up when Oscar walked in on him and Russ. It had started several nights ago at dinner with Oscar and his family. That had been an experience he’d never had before, all of that domestic stuff. He’d stayed for Rose’s lasagna because he liked Rose and because Oscar had the potential to become an important client. But that’s not what made him hang around to help with the table and the dishes.

  That had been Oscar himself.

  Because that was personal and this was business, this was one of those phone calls that had the potential to go sideways. But he refused to overthink it. He made the call, waiting to see what kind of reception he got.

  “Hello, Jeffrey.” Oscar’s voice was smooth and deep and gave him absolutely nothing to go on.

  “Hey, Oscar. Got a minute?”

  “I do. Hang on, let me go somewhere I can talk.”

  Ah. He smiled because that told him what he needed to know. He waited patiently for Oscar to get back to him.

  “Back, sorry. I needed to get to my office. What’s up?”

  “Well, I have business and pleasure. What are you up for first?”

  “Business.”

  Oh. Damn.

  “Okay. I just got off the phone with the contractor. It’s pretty good news. The only thing that he really thinks you need to address before listing is the roof in the functioning horse barn. The southern end looks like it took some damage from something—tree branch, bad weather, hard to say. It needs repair. There is water leaking in, and that’s what’s causing exposure of the foundation in that corner. He says repairing the roof and then shoring up that corner should do it.”

  “And that’s in the budget I gave you?”

  “Yes, well within. I still think you should paint the house inside and out.”

  “Yeah, I know. It’s overdue on the outside and not exactly neutral inside. I was thinking about taking some time off and doing it with Russ.”

  He laughed. He could think of much better ways to spend his vacation time. “Better you than me.”

  “Asshole. Is that it? Just the roof?”

  “And paint.”

  “Great. Done. Can we move on to the personal part of the conversation? I think I’ll like it better.”

  Oh, he did like the sarcastic side of Oscar. “Hell yes. I want to see you.”

  “Yeah. I… I want to see you too.”

  He smiled. “And by see you, I mean—”

  “I know what you mean.”

  “When?”

  “Tonight. Can I come to your place? It might be late. After dinner.”

  Should he bring up Russ? Oscar hadn’t. “Of course. Too many girls in your house, huh?”

  “Many too many. Text me your address.”

  “Text me when you’re on your way.”

  “Deal. See you later.”

  “Right, I—”

  Oscar had hung up. He looked at his phone. “I’m looking forward to it.” Wow. Someone was hot to trot. Suited him just fine.

  He opened up the MLS and started working on the listing for the farm. With the roof repairs on the schedule and painting planned, he could go ahead and start showing.

  RUSS TILTED his head back and let the hot spray rain down over his face and shoulders. God, that felt good. He’d spent a very long day checking the fences, and he was tired. He didn’t mind the work so much, except that it was slow going. He liked being out there with Angel in the sunshine and the chilly weather.

  He actually liked work. No lie. He was at his best with a lot to do and busy hands. Without them, he spent too much time in his own head. Of course, busy didn’t stop him from thinking too hard. He was in a fantastic mood, but he’d been preoccupied with thoughts about Oscar and Jeffrey all day. Especially Oscar, who’d been such a surprise.

  He was still working out it all out in his head, but it sure was a fun time. Oscar’s heated kisses had been everything he’d hoped they would be, just exactly what he needed. He could still feel Oscar’s mouth on his dick too, sure and hot and not taking no for an answer. Fuck.

  But sharpest in Russ’s mind was the look on Oscar’s face when he came. Oscar had disappeared at first, kind of blank and faraway, but then he got this look like his whole world had turned upside down, then suddenly righted itself again. And when Oscar opened his eyes, he’d looked right at Russ.

  Right into his soul. He felt it; he was sure of it. Or pretty sure. Fuck, he really wanted it to be true. He’d had a little thing for Oscar before, but he had it bad now. There was no denying it.

  He got out of the shower and toweled off, then headed back to his room. He’d been using the shower in the master bedroom since Jonas passed, because it was so much bigger and more comfortable than the one that in the hall with the little tub, which was technically his. He walked through the room and past the big bed, smiling at it. He’d stripped it and washed the sheets, and now it was clean and calling him.

  Did he have to sleep in that single bed when this one was right here? Oscar didn’t seem to have any problem with the three of them using the room. Maybe… maybe he could move into this one. Then if Oscar wanted to come over, it wouldn’t be weird; it would just be his room. And Jeff, of course. Jeff was so hot it made him stupid. He literally had a hard time keeping his hands off Jeff.

  He was making supper when his phone rang, and he smiled at it, a warm anticipation making him tingle.

  “Hi, Oscar.”

  “Hey, you.”

  He blushed, his smile even wider. “I’m glad you called.”

  “I wanted to check in, you know? Last night was… pretty mind-blowing for me.”

  “You were amazing. Beautiful, Oscar.”

  “Listen, I’m sorry I took off on you the other night after dinner. I didn’t know what I was feeling, what I should do. I’m still trying to sort it out.”

  “Because of Emmett?”

  There was a long pause, and he was starting to think he’d said the wrong thing, but then Oscar sighed in his ear. “Yeah. Emmett. And whether that was…. I wasn’t sure why I….” Oscar sighed again.
“Sorry. This is hard. I guess I didn’t know whether it was you I wanted in that moment or if I just wanted. I didn’t know if I was ready, and that scared me.”

  “I understand—”

  “And now… I wasn’t sure whether I could handle one lover, you know? And now you and Jeffrey…. It’s a lot. I need to figure it out.”

  “I don’t think we need to make decisions, Oscar.” He hadn’t asked Jeff’s permission, but now that they were…. It was definitely time to come clean. “Jeff and I… well, you should know that’s not new.”

  “What? It’s not?”

  “We didn’t have a thing, like anything real. I met him in a bar a couple of months ago, and we’ve hooked up a few times.”

  “A couple of months ago? Why didn’t you—oh. Never mind. It wasn’t any of my business I guess, was it?”

  “That’s kind of how we saw it.” That was a relief. Seemed like Oscar got it.

  “No, you’re right. So… wait. Are you two—”

  “A couple? Not before, but I guess I don’t know now. I think it’s okay not to know. I mean, I’m open. I think we should stay open.”

  “Yeah, that’s pretty much what I’m thinking.”

  “I just want to see you again.”

  “I do too, Russ. That’s really why I was calling. I don’t know what the right way to handle this is, but I feel like I should be honest. If we all stay honest, then at least we… well. I wanted you to know that I’m going over to Jeffrey’s later.”

  Going to Jeff’s. And it didn’t sound like he was invited. Oscar’s words felt like a punch to the gut. “Oh.”

  “I want to spend some time with him and also some time with you, you know? I want to understand what I’m feeling. I think we all should.”

  Wow. How did Oscar make something that hurt so much sound so reasonable? “You could both come here.” That would make sense too, right?

  “Yes, we could. But I need a little…. I want to figure out where I stand with each of you. Can I come over tomorrow night?”