by Katee Robert
“Get your ass back in this bed.”
She glared, but she marched back to the bed. Instead of crawling up from the foot of the mattress in the same way she’d exited, Meg walked around to his side and climbed over him. He almost let her, too, but if she was going to be a brat, he’d be a fucking brat right back. Galen looped an arm over the small of her back, plastering her against his chest. “If you wanted sex, you should have just said so.”
“If I wanted sex, I’d be sucking your dick.” She smacked his chest. “Let me up, Galen.”
“Tell me about your book.”
She gave him a look like he was crazy. Maybe he was. “Here? Like this?” She wriggled and his body responded. It would be the easiest thing in the world right now to kiss her, to shift his grip to cup her ass and guide her to grind against his cock until she was begging for it. And, fuck, he wanted to. Something must have shown on his face, because Meg shivered. “It’s five o’clock in the morning.”
“Mmmm.” He loosened his hold on her and stroked his hand up her spine and back down again.
She licked her lips. “I hate when you do that. That sound doesn’t mean anything.” Meg shifted so her arms were on either side of his head, bringing them flush together. Yeah, this was nice. She rolled her hips a little, seeking his cock.
“Sure it does.” He reached for the lube they’d left on the nightstand and squirted some of it onto his palm. Galen urged Meg up on her hands and knees and palmed her pussy. He slid a finger in, two, and then one again, until she was ready for him. Last night had been a lot of abuse on her sweet little pussy, and he wanted her here with him right now, hot and needy and not the slightest bit uncomfortable. Galen spread the lube up to her clit, playing with her for a few seconds before impatience got the best of him. “Now.”
“Yes.” She didn’t wait for him. She grabbed his cock and guided it into her. Meg sank onto him in a smooth move, her eyes drifting shut for half a breath before she opened them, as if she didn’t want to miss this any more than he did. She planted her hands on his chest and rolled her body, fucking him slowly. “Forgive me.”
He watched the point of their joining, watched the slow slide of his cock into her pussy, the sight so good, it was almost unbearable. “There’s nothing to forgive.”
“Liar,” she breathed. Meg lifted herself until only the head of his cock was inside her and rolled her body again, fucking just that part of him. He went to reach for her hips, to stop this goddamn teasing, but she grabbed his hands, laced her fingers with his, and pushed them down to the mattress on either side of his head. He could have broken her hold without even trying, but Galen didn’t. He let her hold him down, let her tease him, let her put on a show that was only for him.
And Meg, sexy, infuriating, too-smart Meg, knew it.
She sank onto him suddenly, sheathing him completely and grinding hard. “It’s just us right now, Galen.”
Fuck, the way she said his name.
He could have pointed out that it wasn’t just them. That it never would be. That Theo lay right there next to them while she rode Galen’s cock and whispered dark things to him.
He didn’t.
He let Meg play out the dirty fantasy, and he embraced the tiniest hint of wrong. Theo wouldn’t give a fuck about Galen and Meg having sex without him any more than Galen gave a fuck about them having sex. There was jealousy, sure, but it was a small jealousy that would never fester.
In that moment, the truth didn’t matter.
This thing between them all might be complicated, but it didn’t carry the potential of dire consequences the same way everything else in his life did right now. A bruised heart was the worst he had to worry about if things went sideways with Meg.
And fuck if that wasn’t just as seductive as the way she rode his cock.
He angled his hips so she could grind her clit against his pelvic bone, and Meg wasted no time doing just that. This wasn’t the fast, angry fucking he’d walked in on between her and Theo that day back in the apartment. She was fucking Galen like they might not get another moment and she wanted to wring an orgasm out of him before the timer went off. It was sexy as fuck. Her grip spasmed on his wrists, and it took every ounce of control he had not to flip her and drive into her like an animal.
“Your cock feels so good, baby. It fills me up. I could keep riding you all day like this, riding your cock while you watch me just like that.” She leaned down and licked his bottom lip. “Sometimes the way you watch me is almost as good as fucking, Galen. Did you know that?”
Her words seduced him just as much as the tight clamp of her pussy around his cock. He wouldn’t last much longer, not with this new version of Meg whispering filthy things in his ear while she fucked him. God, this woman. Every time he thought he had her figured out, she revealed a new facet and he was intrigued all over again.
Truth be told, he never stopped being intrigued.
“I’m close, baby.” Her strokes hitched, little shudders working through her body. “I’m going to let you flip me.” Her lips brushed his again. “And then you better cover my mouth while you make me come. Theo needs his sleep.”
Fuuuuuuck.
Galen didn’t wait for permission. He rolled them. He hooked one of her thighs over his arm to spread her nice and wide for him, and then he covered her mouth with his hand. He knew what she expected—for him to drive into her—but she’d had her fun. It was time for his. Galen fucked her slowly, thoroughly, keeping up the exact same pace she’d set when she was on top. He set his teeth against her neck, against the marks left there by Theo’s mouth. “Dirty girl. You get off on doing things you think you shouldn’t.”
The slightest nod was her only response. He could feel her breath coming faster as her orgasm bore down on her. Galen shifted his angle so he dragged along her clit with every stroke. Yes. There. “I’ll tell you a secret, baby.” He caught her moan in the palm of his hand and kept going. She was almost there. Galen nipped her again. “Theo’s been watching us from the moment you slid that tight little pussy onto my cock.”
Meg came with a cry, and Galen couldn’t hold out any longer. He thrust into her again and again, chasing his pleasure as her pussy milked him. Finally, a small eternity later, he shifted back to her side and pressed a soft kiss to her lips.
“You…” She twisted to confirm what he already knew. Theo lay on his side, his head propped on his hand, watching them with a small smile on his face. “Theo.”
He leaned over and kissed her, and then kissed Galen. “Morning.”
Meg blushed a bright crimson, as if caught in the middle of something she’d be in trouble for. She still didn’t get it. Galen tucked her against him, her back to his front and pulled Theo closer to her other side. Theo had told her the truth. This wasn’t forever. It couldn’t be with the realities of Theo’s life.
Fuck, Galen and Theo weren’t forever.
When Theo won back his throne—and Galen would make damn sure he did—he’d have to marry and have a small herd of children, and women willing to share their husband’s bed with his best friend were few and far in between. Especially noble women. Even if they somehow won the lottery there, it wouldn’t be an equal triad. Theo and his wife would always be married, and Galen would always be the third. They’d have to take precautions to ensure that when she got knocked up, the bloodline remained uncontested.
It was fucking exhausting to even contemplate, and the probability of it happening at all was so slim, it might as well be impossible.
All they had was right now.
Theo smoothed Meg’s hair back and then ran his hand over Galen’s jaw. “You two are beautiful.”
“We’re not always going to be the three of us together,” Galen murmured in her ear. “Does it bother you that Theo and I will fuck without you sometimes?”
She shivered. “No, of course not. I might be bummed out I didn’t get to watch, but I don’t expect to be in the middle of it every time.”
“
That’s how we feel about you, princess.” Theo smiled. “Never apologize for one-on-one with either of us. We might give you shit for it, but it’s in good fun.”
She finally relaxed against them. “I don’t know the rules of this sort of thing. It’s entirely new territory for me.”
Galen stroked his hand over her hip, liking the way she fit between them. “Only one rule—open communication. You want something, you tell us. You don’t want something, you tell us. And we’ll do the same for you.”
Meg let out a slow breath. “I’ll try.”
It was better than he hoped to get.
Theo reached over them both and snagged the book Meg had dropped. He examined the cover—a shirtless man in a kilt wielding a sword and looking particularly intense. “Interesting.” He turned to the back and raised his eyebrows. “How filthy is this book, princess?”
“Very.” She said it so primly, Galen chuckled.
He kissed the back of her neck. “Are you harboring fantasies about Fabio in a kilt? Should we buy Theo a wig so we can play out this particular scenario?”
She elbowed him. “One—Fabio might have been cool back in the day, but he’s a crazy right-wing asshole now so we’ll never speak his name again. Two—if anyone is going to play Viking, it should be you in the kilt.”
“She’s right.” Theo opened the book and flipped a few pages. “I’ll be the doting husband and you’ll be the pillaging Viking she wants but can’t admit it aloud.”
The scenario skittered too closely to where Galen’s thoughts had gone just a few moments before. He wasn’t the third in this scenario. If anyone could claim the position, it would be Meg, but the lines had blurred until they ceased to exist, and he preferred it that way. The thought of Meg with Theo’s wedding band around her finger left him with a tangled mess of emotions in his chest that he didn’t know how to deal with. “That’s not what she wants, Theo.”
Meg snorted. “Please, do tell me what I want instead of asking me.”
“I don’t need to ask you, baby.” He kissed her neck again, just because she was close and he liked the taste of her on his tongue. “I know what you want. You want both Theo and I to play Viking to your village girl. You’ll run. We’ll chase you. How long do you think you can evade us before we catch you and take our reward out on your pretty pussy… and your mouth… and your tight little ass?”
She shivered and pressed her ass more firmly against him. “Okay, fine. That sounds like a lot of fun and I would one hundred percent be down for it.”
“Thought so.” Galen reached around her and ran his hand down Theo’s chest. “Now, baby, you’ve been selfish. Theo is hard and ready to fuck. Should we let him choose who he gets to take his frustration out on? Or should we choose for him?”
“You.” Meg didn’t hesitate. “I want to watch him take it out on you.”
That’s my girl.
11
Despite the early start to the day, they left the house a full hour later than Theo had planned. Fucking Galen had led all three of them to the shower and it was hardly anyone’s fault that they’d gotten distracted all over again. And then they had to hold off until Meg could file the paperwork for her deferment, which had taken yet more time.
Meg seemed to have shelved her fury at them both for the moment, but Theo had no illusions—it would arrive again. She clung too tightly to her plan for her not to resent them if they held her back for too long.
The sooner they got this fucked up situation resolved, the better for all involved.
As soon as you are reinstated, the whole thing ends.
He pushed the thought away. He spent enough time borrowing trouble without adding more to the balance. They had right now, and right now would have to be enough. Once things untangled, he and Galen would go back to Thalania and Meg would resume her life in New York with the major difference of financial status. He hadn’t told her that he’d made a deposit to her personal account, because she’d just yell at him all over again. Money wouldn’t give her back the time she’d lost or eliminate the memory of the fear she’d experienced because of Dorian’s men, but it would give her a freedom he suspected she’d never had before. She could hate him for that gift if she wanted, but she’d damn well keep it.
Theo glanced at Galen as the climbed into the car. “You found the backup files?”
“I found a place that might have the backup files.” Galen held the door open for Meg and then took the driver’s seat. “My German is rusty and we had to go around a few times, but the secretary claims that the fire didn’t destroy all the records, just their copies of them.”
Thank fuck.
Meg leaned forward. “If this is out of line, let me know, but… what records are we trying to track down?”
Theo and Galen exchanged a look. They hadn’t exactly decided whether or not to loop Meg in on all the details. Galen shrugged, leaving it up to him. He sat back. If she was involved enough to be in danger, she was involved enough to know the plan. “I was stripped of my rank because my uncle claims that my mother was still married to her ex when she and my father got married and got pregnant with me. While there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that I’m Teddy’s son, rather than her ex’s, the marriage wasn’t legal and so I’m not legitimate. With those considerations in play, I cannot be King of Thalania.”
Fuck if it didn’t still hurt to say it aloud. There were times during his teenage years where Theo wanted nothing more than to run away and leave the country to sink or swim without him. To hand off the responsibility that weighted his every step. To just be a normal civilian who worried about normal civilian things.
He’d made his peace with being the next King of Thalania in his early twenties, and he’d spent the next ten years learning everything he could from his father to be the best king possible. The one his people deserved. The weight never decreased, but he learned to bear it without complaint.
And Phillip had taken it all away.
Meg reached out and touched his bicep. “He waited until after your father passed, right? So there was no way for him to formally adopt you and make the whole thing legal.”
Smart girl. He nodded. “It was a brilliant play.”
“Not brilliant enough,” Galen muttered. “He faked it. There’s no way he didn’t fake it.”
“The marriage certificate dates hold up.” His mother had married an American, and he and Galen had tracked down the records and had them verified. There was no record of a divorce, and there should have been within the same state where they were married. For there to be no record meant it had never happened.
Which meant Phillip was right.
Meg gave his arm a squeeze. “So that’s why you’re in Germany—the birth certificate.”
“Yes. It was the one item missing from Phillip’s presentation that dethroned me before I had a chance to actually be on the throne. He’s not the kind of man to leave a loophole for someone to walk through, so there had to be a reason he chose not to include it.” A long shot for the record books, but at this point long shots was the only thing they had left.
“Hard to get a birth certificate from a burned-down clinic.”
“And yet that’s exactly what we’re going to do.” No guarantee that the backup records would hold the information he sought, but Theo wouldn’t leave Germany without at least trying. He stared out the windshield as Galen guided them down the winding road. Trees practically blocked out the gloomy skies that promised rain later in the day. Despite that, it was a beautiful area and he relaxed back into his seat. “If this doesn’t work, we’ll just have to set out to seduce Meg into marrying us.”
She let loose a satisfying squeak. “That’s not funny.”
“Who’s joking?”
“You are, you asshole,” Meg hissed. She smacked him, hard enough to sting. “You can’t say stuff like that, Theo. I know what this is. We all know what this is. Don’t pretend like it’s something else. It’s too cruel.”
He opened
his mouth to contradict her, but Galen gave a slight shake of his head. Fine, then. Theo ran his hand through his hair. “I’m hurt you don’t want to keep us, princess.”
“Wanting something has nothing to do with the reality.”
He knew what she’d say next—a long list of their theoretical differences, starting with the number in his bank account. To Meg, his finances mattered more than anything she might share between them. It was interesting that she’d looked to Galen to help during that first argument. Theo could have been petty as fuck and told her that Galen’s holdings were double his own. He’d lost a lot when Phillip stripped him of his titles, all the money and properties, except what he’d had in his personal accounts. It was only because he’d enjoyed playing the stock market and was more than passably good at it that he had anything to his name at all.
Galen was still titled. He had two residences in Thalania—one in the capital Ranei, and one in the middle of his holdings, which included three towns and a small city, all of which he collected an income from in the percentage of a small tax. All of it could be stripped from him, but they’d already made arrangements to combat that eventuality.
Not to mention Galen had trusted Theo to invest his money for over a decade. He was wealthy even without any of his connections to Thalania.
Theo couldn’t tell Meg any of that. She saw a kindred spirit in Galen, someone who stood in Theo’s shadow or some shit. And they saw him as the heir apparent, the one who would reclaim his throne and leave them both behind in different ways.
He didn’t have an answer for that.
He didn’t have an answer for a lot of things right now.
So Theo let the conversation fade into silence, rather than spark into an argument that would ruin the flickering happiness they’d claimed for their own. It wasn’t forever, but it didn’t have to be. He had to be content with that.
When have I ever been content leaving something I wanted behind?