Third One

by Roe Horvat

  Luke’s eyes widened. “Can I try?” he blurted. “Now?”

  Another wave, a tsunami of need. Marcus didn’t wait for another question. He rolled and rose on all fours, exposing his ass. His hard cock twitched, so he dug his fingers into the covers, his nails cutting into the fabric until it hurt.

  “Whatever you want,” he said. And he meant it. Whatever Luke wanted to do to him, Marcus would offer his body, his mind, his soul.

  “Oh wow,” Luke mumbled. The bed dipped, mattress groaning, as Luke moved around. He felt Liam watching them. Luke’s hands caressed his ass cheeks. A kiss on his taint made him suck in a breath. Another kiss on his hole. His cock twitched. Then a careful lick over his skin and another.

  “Oh, baby.” Marcus heard himself say. Because it was Luke. One more lick. Firm and warm, back and forth, a circle over his exposed hole. Another unsure kiss. Then bolder, lingering. Marcus felt his muscles relax; his hole had softened already, just from anticipation. The tip of Luke’s tongue teased his opening, pushed, and relented again, pushed some more. Luke moaned right into Marcus’s skin. As if he’d just awoken with a new wave of passion, he grabbed Marcus’s ass cheeks, fingers digging into the muscle, and he licked inside Marcus’s hole. He stayed there, wiggled his tongue, and then he pushed in and out a few times, humming softly. The tendrils grew and spread from Marcus’s ring into his taint and balls, into his cock, all the way to the tip, then into his underbelly. Luke was tongue-fucking him like he’d done it a hundred times before, and Marcus lost control of the sounds he made.

  He felt a palm on his cheek. He noticed the scent… Liam. Oh yes, fuck my face. C’mon. He opened his mouth and took in Liam’s cock, blind and grateful, and Liam slid inside, insistent. Yes. With Luke’s mouth on his ass and Liam’s cock in his mouth, Marcus was as close to paradise as he’d ever been.

  Finally.

  He was rewarded for his patience. Every minute of his earlier restraint now fueled his lust until he shook with it, overheated and overstimulated and weightless.

  “Milk his gland with two fingers, and he’ll come for you,” Liam said.

  Not yet! I could do this forever, please! Not yet! But Marcus could only whimper wordlessly when the tongue disappeared, and so did the cock from his mouth. He whined with the loss. He heard a drawer open and shut, and then they were back. Liam’s cock slid back home, and Marcus hummed gratefully around it. He sucked with force, drinking in the taste of Liam’s precome. Luke’s slick fingers teased his hole, circling it before they forced into him, gliding directly over his gland. Marcus could have yelled from the pleasure, but the cock in his mouth gagged him. He moaned around it and tightened his grip on the covers, rocking back onto Luke’s fingers.

  “Oh fuck,” Luke groaned. “He’s so hot. I don’t know how it’s even possible, but I’m hard again.”

  “Fuck him.”

  “What?”

  “He’s dying for you. Fuck him. Now.”

  “But?”

  “We’re safe. And I know you are too. Just fuck him.”

  Marcus didn’t stop sucking on Liam’s cock. It was as if the conversation was happening somewhere else, in another room. The fingers in his ass slowed, hesitating, and he tried to rock back more to impale himself on them. Saliva pooled in his mouth, and he struggled to swallow around Liam’s cock. Two palms on his face, stroking. The fingers slid out from his ass, but he felt a kiss on his opening again. A gentle, lingering kiss.

  His brain was numb. He didn’t know what was happening. He didn’t expect anything. He was alive in the moment, and he could only keep himself steady enough so he could suck on the beloved cock in his mouth and hope that something, anything, would fill his hole any second now. Empty! I’m empty. Can’t… Can’t!

  Luke’s cock breached him, and the world burst into color. He didn’t see a thing, but he felt the colors. He sensed them all around him, saturating his skin, drugging his nerve endings.

  He moaned gratefully, and the cock sunk in deeper. Oh heavens, the relief. The hardness moved out, reminding his body of its gut-clenching need, only to sink back in and bring the relief stronger and stronger.

  “Harder. He needs you.”

  “Marcus…”

  “Love, you have both of us now, you greedy thing.”

  There were hands on his face, his back, in his hair. But it was as if he felt them less, as if there was a thin layer of air between him and the rest of the world. He didn’t even feel the bed under his palms and knees. He only felt those cocks, those hard thrusts. He was impaled from both sides. They could tear him apart, and he’d die a glorious death. Luke. This was Luke moving inside him.

  “Luke, kiss me when you come,” Liam said, his voice strained. Marcus made a noise in response to the thought. He wanted Luke’s seed inside him. He wanted Luke to come while kissing Liam. Harder. Fuck me harder. Yes, you’re so good for me. I love you. I love you both. And now I have you both. Give yourself to me. Be mine. More. Deeper. More… more…

  Liam’s come flooded his mouth, the familiar taste, home and passion, and all the glorious dirty things they had ever done together… and now Luke. Luke, who moved in and out of Marcus’s hole, drilling into him, and Marcus wanted to yell from the joy. But he swallowed instead, and then he caught fire. The rest of Liam’s come ran down his chin as he wailed, so close to orgasm it hurt. It hurt so good.

  “Kiss me!” Luke demanded.

  Yes, come inside me, my love. I’m here for you. I’ll always be here for you. Give yourself to me. Give yourself to us. More… more…

  When Marcus came, his ass pulsing and come spraying out of his neglected cock, he stayed weirdly focused, his mind clear. He felt Luke’s cock harden even more, the harsh jabs into his body growing in force, prolonging his orgasm, and then Luke stilled, so deep inside Marcus could cry with joy and pain. His cock twitched with aftershocks as he felt Luke pulse inside him and heard the muffled groans. Marcus nuzzled Liam’s groin, feeling Liam’s fingers tangle in his hair. He waited, stuffed full and content, and his whole body twitched from the strain on his nerve endings.

  Luke’s lips on his back… Luke circled his hips, the movement soothing Marcus’s hole. He slid out and petted Marcus’s opening. Marcus felt the come trickle out, and he reached back and ran his fingers over his hole, smearing it in his crease. Ah, muscle memory, perfect. He could still feel Luke inside.

  “God, that was so good,” he mumbled. His jaw ached. He couldn’t wait to do it again. Luke and Liam could take turns fucking him, or they could… Fuck, they could finally do it. Two cocks in my ass.

  “Marcus,” Luke whispered behind him. His voice didn’t sound right.

  Luke? Torn out of the fantasy, Marcus rose on his knees and turned. His sex-muddled mind hiccupped and restarted at the sight.

  Luke looked wrecked. His eyes were red and glassy, his lips parted, and his skin was blotchy with beard burn from Liam. He stared as if pleading for help. He needed gentleness and reassurance, and Marcus just sat here perving out like a moron. Shit.

  “Come here,” Marcus whispered as he caught Luke in his arms and kissed him deeply, pouring all his love into the kiss. Liam knee-walked closer and sat next to them, then wrapped his arms around them both. In the afterglow, Marcus couldn’t control his words. “This is a dream come true for me. Love you…” Was it too soon? Maybe. But they already knew. Should Marcus wait with declarations until Liam could say the same? Yet there was so much of it inside Marcus, the love just spilled over, and he didn’t know what to do with it as it poured out of him—through his palms as he caressed and soothed, his eyes as he blinked away the wetness, his mouth as he babbled. “I can still feel you inside me.” He found Liam’s mouth and kissed him. “I can taste you.” Luke hid his face in the crook between Marcus’s neck and shoulder.

  From the corner of his eye, Marcus saw Luke grab Liam’s hand where it lay on his shoulder and squeeze hard. The small action, one of many that day, made Marcus believe in what they were doing. It
wasn’t just a dream anymore, a wild, silly fantasy. They had a real chance. Marcus’s heart danced in his chest.

  Luke was theirs. He belonged with them. And Marcus’s still horny brain conjured images of what they could do, what they would do together. Flashes of skin, with drops of come caught on chest hair, Luke’s stretched hole, glistening, tight around Marcus’s fingers, Luke’s swollen lips closing around the tip of Marcus’s cock, around Liam’s cock, Luke’s whole body laid bare, on his hands and knees, in the middle of their bed, piercing blue eyes begging them to touch him, Luke’s face contorted with orgasm, looming above Marcus—he would come in Marcus’s body again, shaking and shouting, his cock lodged in Marcus’s aching hole. Marcus would squeeze his inner muscles tight to keep the gorgeous cock inside, to feel it pulse. And Liam would fuck Luke from behind at the same time, lock him in endless, unbearable pleasure, making their bodies explode with life…

  In the morning, Marcus would wake up first this time, sore and content. He would wait for a few minutes, watching them sleep wrapped in each other’s arms, and then he’d get up noiselessly. He’d set the table for three, put in some laundry, pick some fresh vegetables from the garden, and when he’d hear the sound of the shower, he’d make coffee for them, Liam’s strong with milk, and black for Luke. Liam would want to go running, and maybe Marcus and Luke could dance, just for fun. They had to do grocery shopping later, and Liam had a package to pick up at the post office. Luke would want to help with making dinner, and Liam would take the laptop with him to the kitchen so he could do his evening planning but stay in the room with them. They’d talk and banter and kiss. And they’d feel as if Luke already had a fixed place in their home. As if they were a family.

  Marcus fell asleep imagining.

  He woke up feeling a little cold and sat up in confusion. He was alone. With a second breath, panic gripped him. A noise from the bathroom made his heart restart, and he exhaled. It was okay. Luke and Liam were here. But when the door opened, only Liam emerged. Marcus didn’t have to form a question. Liam could read his face clearly, just like Marcus read his.

  “He’s downstairs. We need to talk,” Liam said.

  “Shit.”

  “Shh. It’s all good. I think he was awake most of the night, but he pretended to be asleep so I wouldn’t notice. I confronted him about it. But it’s okay. He’s just overwhelmed.”

  “Shit. Fuck. Shit!” Liam’s calm only aggravated Marcus more.

  “Wait!”

  Marcus hopped off the bed, dodging Liam’s outstretched hand, and ran to the bathroom to pee. He washed his hands and dragged some boxers on, noticing they were Liam’s. Whatever. In a minute, he was halfway down the stairs. Liam followed on his heels.

  “Marcus,” he whispered. “Calm down. He needs space. Let him breathe, please.”

  Marcus flashed him a look. Nope, no breathing space. He knew Luke. The man would invent some crazy tragic reasons why they shouldn’t be together and go off to plague himself. No. Absolutely not. Letting Luke think was a dangerous thing. He had had enough pain, and it was Marcus’s job to prevent Luke from getting hurt ever again. Even if it meant protecting Luke from Luke himself.

  “Luke!” he called from the foot of the stairs.

  “Marcus.” Liam sighed behind him, his tone disappointed.

  “You don’t know him!” Marcus hissed back. “Luke!” he called again.

  He had no idea how to stop what he feared was happening, but he had to do something. They had made love yesterday. It was love, right? True and solid. They made love, and it was real. Luke couldn’t leave now. Not after last night. They were bound together.

  Oh god, if Luke left now, after Marcus and Liam opened their hearts to him, how could they go back? I’d lose Liam too. The clarity of that particular thought made Marcus nauseous.

  He strode by the empty kitchen and into the living room. Behind the glass wall, he saw Luke sitting on one of the patio chairs, looking away into the garden, a mug of coffee in his hands. His long legs outstretched, his feet reached into the morning sun. The rest of him was sheltered in the shadow. He had Liam’s pajama pants on and Liam’s white T-shirt. Seeing the clothes calmed Marcus somewhat. Irrational, but still, tucked in Liam’s things, Luke looked like he belonged with them.

  “Luke,” Marcus said as he tugged the sliding glass door open. Luke turned his head and smiled softly.

  Marcus knew that expression. Shit. He shook his head.

  “Please don’t,” he said. “You are not leaving.”

  Luke closed his eyes and exhaled, looking away again. Marcus felt Liam’s presence behind him, heard the rustle of clothes, the tired sigh.

  “You both forget it. No. Yesterday was perfect. We are perfect. I’m not letting you two existentialist morons ruin it.”

  Luke chuckled, but it sounded worn. He put the half-empty mug of coffee on the table and stood, turning to Marcus. He had deep circles under his eyes and seemed pale despite the suntan. Damn, the boy needed caring. He needed love, not go off and lose even more sleep over stupid self-doubts! Marcus braced himself in the door. He was being childish, he knew, but they were not ripping his happiness away when he barely got a taste of it.

  “Marcus,” Luke began.

  “I said no! You’re not going anywhere.”

  “Marcus, let him explain,” Liam said softly from behind him.

  “Please, Marcus, I’m not leaving,” Luke implored.

  Marcus eyed him suspiciously. He knew something was going on. He could see it in both his men’s faces.

  “I talked to Liam this morning. He understands.”

  “Liam!” Marcus exclaimed and swiveled around in the doorway, accidentally smacking his hand on the frame. The shock of pain in his knuckles wasn’t enough to curb his anxiety. Liam hung his head, the traitor.

  “I only need a day or two, okay?” Luke said quietly from behind him. Marcus squeezed his eyes shut, but he made himself listen, even though the words felt like glass shards in his path and the three of them were barefoot. “This has been…like a dream. An insane, gorgeous, way-too-intense dream. I have never felt like this. I’m bursting with joy one minute and shaking with dread another. Please, Marcus, try to understand. I need to process this.”

  “You just said you’re not leaving,” Marcus forced out.

  “I’m not. Not in the way you think.”

  “But you are going away.”

  “Love, it’s been barely thirty-six hours,” Liam said. “Let him at least get used to the thought.”

  “You don’t know him like I do!” Marcus pointed a finger at Liam’s chest. Liam didn’t understand. “If he leaves now, he might never come back. He will build up some bullshit horror castle in his head and…”

  “You have to let him do whatever he needs to do, Marcus,” Liam countered.

  “He wants to beat himself up! And no way am I letting him do it!”

  “Marcus, you’re overreacting. Calm down.”

  Oh no, Liam did not! Marcus felt the heat climb up his face and heard his voice rise. “No one ever, in the whole history of mankind, has ever calmed down after being told to calm down. So stop fucking telling me to calm down all the fucking time!”

  “Guys…”

  Marcus registered Luke’s voice somewhere in the back of his head, but in his panic, he didn’t pay any attention to it.

  “You can’t decide this for him,” Liam said, voice soothing.

  The hell I can’t! “You don’t love him like I do!” Marcus exclaimed, and Liam winced. Marcus heard the echo of what he’d said out loud rebound back to him. He said that to Liam. With Luke listening. He wavered and stepped back. He wanted Liam to love Luke like he did. Shit. He wanted to slap himself. “Oh shit, I’m sorry,” he mumbled. Damn his stupid mouth. “I’m so sorry.”

  Liam was just looking at him with sad eyes.

  “Guys!” Luke’s voice cut through the air. “You’re talking about me like I’m not here.”

  Marcus realized
he was being a complete idiot. On multiple levels. “I’m sorry,” he repeated and reached out for Luke. Luke caught his hand.

  “You two just turned my life upside down in one day. I only need to…get used to the idea,” Luke said haltingly, squeezing Marcus’s hand tight, eyes flitting between Liam and Marcus. “I’ll call tomorrow night, I promise.”

  “Come for dinner tomorrow night?” Marcus heard himself ask. He clenched his jaw. Please, let me have some sort of control. I need to know you’ll come back. Please.

  Luke closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. “Yes. I’ll be here tomorrow.”

  “Thank you,” Marcus muttered and tugged Luke closer. Luke kissed him back, earnest and gentle.

  When their lips parted, Marcus searched Luke’s gaze for clues, desperate for assurance. He found love, an abundance of it. Luke loved him; Marcus knew. But was love enough?

  Then Luke turned toward Liam, and Marcus waited anxiously to see how they would say good-bye. It was Luke who made the first move. He ran a hand down the side of Liam’s face, nails scraping through the dark beard before he leaned in and closed his lips around Liam’s. Marcus watched them kiss with burning eyes.

  “I’m just going to change,” Luke said quietly and turned away, going back into the house with his head down.

  “He’ll come back,” Liam whispered.

  “You can’t know that,” Marcus said, his voice wavering.

  “He will.”

  Thirteen

  Luke

  It was strange being on his own again. He’d spent just two days surrounded by warmth. He barely remembered a moment when Liam or Marcus hadn’t been there, constantly touching him.

  Looking around his quiet, empty apartment, Luke felt something had changed. But the room was the same. Same four white walls, with the plug holes from the old shelf he took down but hadn’t come around to repairing. The same faded gray sofa, the same armchair Adam used to sit in curled up every morning and hugging his cup of coffee. Everything was the same, yet the difference felt striking. Luke realized the change was in him.