by Elia Winters
“Wait, my clothes will wrinkle,” Patrick protested, only half-serious, and Geoff got up off the bed.
“I’ll fold your clothes,” Geoff said. “I know you can’t focus if they’re not in a pile.”
Lori watched him do so, looking between him and Patrick, and her eyes sparkled with affection when she leaned down to kiss Patrick once more. “It’s a good thing you’ve got your husband to indulge your weirdness, because I’m not having it.”
Patrick laughed. “Fair enough.”
Lori and Patrick were adorable and sweet, and watching them laugh made something beautiful ache inside Geoff. How could he have ever worried he’d be jealous? Just the thought of the two of them together had him filled with affection…and achingly hard. The juxtaposition made him dizzy.
“I want to watch you together,” Geoff said breathlessly. He hadn’t gotten to see Patrick with Lori, not without being involved himself, and he wanted that more than he wanted to participate.
“Will you warm me up?” Lori asked Geoff, smiling.
She was so wet when he slid his fingers between her legs, he had to take a moment to catch his breath. He could watch her forever, stretched out on her back, rocking her hips up to meet Geoff’s touches as he steadily rubbed her clit. She bit her lip, stifling a moan as Patrick began to roll her nipples between his fingers.
“Fuck,” she gasped when Geoff slid two fingers inside her. She was so wet, so snug, so perfect, and he curled his fingers inside her the way she’d taught him while his thumb pressed small circles into her clit. When her muscles tensed, Geoff pulled away, withdrawing his hand despite her protests.
“I want to watch you come on Patrick’s cock,” he whispered.
Lori didn’t question, instead moving quickly to grab a condom from her purse.
Watching this process—Lori rolling a condom over Patrick’s erection, Patrick pulling her face down for another hot, desperate kiss, Lori rolling onto her back and Patrick settling between her thighs—Geoff couldn’t imagine wanting to be anywhere else than beside them, lightly stroking his cock. He would have his own turn with each of them, with both of them. Maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow, maybe each day and maybe, just maybe, for the rest of his life.
But right now, the two people he cared about most held each other close, and he could bear witness to each movement, each shift, each hitching breath and moan.
Lori arched up to meet Patrick’s thrust as he filled her, her body taking him in. She curled her toes into the sheets and bit her lip. Patrick rested his head down on hers, foreheads touching, as he caught his breath. He slid his hands beneath her shoulders, palm-up, cupping her for leverage as he took his weight on his forearms and began to move.
They were beautiful. Patrick’s long torso, his lines of muscle, his peach skin flushing with arousal and heat. Beneath him, Lori raised her hips to meet him, her brown skin gleaming with sweat, hair spread out on the pillow. With each press of Patrick’s hips, each time he slid inside her, she made a soft noise of pleasure.
“Look at you,” Geoff murmured, stroking his erection. He didn’t want to come yet, but the sight of them was as hot as taking part. He couldn’t bear not to rub his thumb over his leaking slit, pleasure sparking inside him.
“Fuck.” Patrick sounded raw and open. He kissed Lori, their lips pressing, breath mingling. “You’re gorgeous,” he told her. And then he looked over at Geoff, wordless, the ghost of a smile hovering around his mouth. “You like watching?”
Geoff smiled back. It was obvious with how hard he was, but Patrick needed to hear it, and he wanted to say it. “I love watching. I love watching you fill her up with your cock. Does he feel good, Lori? Is he doing a good job fucking you?”
“Mmm.” She smiled, glancing over at him, her expression blissful. “So good. He’s so good.”
“Is he gonna make you come?”
“Yeah.” Her voice was breathless, and she slid a hand carefully between them, searching out her clit. “I want to come on his cock.”
Patrick let out another choked moan. Dirty talk really did it for him, and Geoff was all too happy to oblige.
“Does she feel good, sweetheart?” Geoff asked. “All snug and wet around you?”
“So good.” Patrick was thrusting harder now, hips snapping forward, driving into her.
Geoff turned to Lori, who was fingering her clit, breathing heavily. “You want him to slow down? You want me to make him wait with his dick all the way in you, holding it there while you rub your clit?”
Lori smiled as Patrick gasped. “That seems so cruel.” She reached her free hand up to brush some hair from Patrick’s forehead. “Do it. Stay still for me.”
Patrick groaned, broken and desperate, and his hips shuddered to a halt. Lori began to move, agonizingly slowly, rocking her hips against Patrick while he trembled and tried to hold himself still. Geoff watched her fingers dance over her clit, rubbing back and forth dizzyingly fast even as her hips moved so slowly.
“Please.” Patrick choked out the word.
“Please what?” Lori reached one leg up to wrap around his hips, dragging him in deeper and then holding him there.
“Please let me move.”
“But you make such a good toy,” she teased. She was good at this, devastatingly good, and Geoff was stroking himself faster at the sight of it. “I’m gonna get myself right…right to the edge.” Her words were coming out shakier as she brought herself to that peak. “And then, I’m gonna let you fuck me over it.”
Patrick nodded furiously. He was shaking all over with the effort of holding still, and damn, Geoff wanted him, wanted to kiss him, to fuck him.
“You’re so good,” Geoff crooned. “You look perfect like this.”
Patrick smiled, the praise probably going right to his erection. “I’m going to explode.”
“Not yet you’re not,” Lori responded, and then she threw her head back, hips pushing up into him like she couldn’t bear not to have every millimeter of his cock filling her up. And then she cried out, pulling her hand from between them. “Now,” she gasped. “Fuck me. Make me come.” Her voice broke on the last word, and Patrick’s body shuddered into action.
He thrust into her over and over like a man possessed, his hips a blur of movement. Lori arched up, both hands going around his shoulders, and cried out wordlessly. Her body spasmed, rocked with pleasure, and Patrick groaned as he continued to piston in and out. Finally, Lori sagged, her hands slipping to the bed, and Patrick buried himself all the way into her and shuddered through his release.
Geoff caught his breath. He was shaking like it was him, either the one being fucked or the one fucking, and his dick throbbed as he watched them come down from their high.
Lori kissed Patrick, pulling his face gently to hers, whispering words to him that only they could hear. This was their moment. That was all right. But then Lori reached for Geoff, cupping his head in her hand, and brought his mouth down for a kiss. Her lips were swollen and soft, her kisses languid with postorgasm relaxation, and Geoff could kiss her all day.
Lori smiled up at him and then turned to Patrick, who was recovering, rolling away to take care of the condom. “You all right, there, hon?”
Patrick looked up at the pet name, and his answering smile was sheepish. “I’m great.”
Geoff was still hard, body thrumming with need, but the need only went as far as the physical. Emotionally, he could be happy like this. He was happy for them. He was happy for all of them.
“Don’t give me that look.” Lori rolled her eyes. “You look like a sap.”
Geoff laughed. “I am a sap. I’m happy.”
Lori reached over to the nightstand and grabbed another condom, tossing it to him. “Here.”
Geoff looked down, frowning in confusion.
Lori spread her legs apart and cocked an eyebrow. “You think I’m done? I told you boys the very first night we spent together. I am a repeat kind of girl.”
Geoff’s erection pulse
d. “I thought…you two were done…”
“I’m done,” Patrick explained, stretching out on the bed.
Lori licked her lips. “And I’m not. So. Hurry up.”
Geoff laughed. He was already slicking the condom down, hands shaking a bit, although he tried to still them. “I’m not going to last long. That was…something else.”
Lori pushed him down onto his back in the middle of the bed and climbed on top of him, straddling his hips. “Then I’d better take control of this.”
Geoff’s eyes rolled back into his head as she guided him inside her. She was so wet and soft and open from her first orgasm, body yielding perfectly to his, and he couldn’t resist thrusting up the rest of the way. She rode him hard and fast, taking his cock without hesitation and driving him to the edge so quickly, he could barely think. He couldn’t control the moans and gasps slipping from his lips. This was heaven, as close to heaven as he could imagine. Lori began to rub her clit again, chasing her second climax.
Pleasure built inside Geoff, pooling low in his belly, flowing heavy and hot through his veins, rushing to overtake him until he could barely think from the need to come, to come, to come. Patrick leaned in, cupped the side of his face, and kissed him.
“Go on,” Patrick whispered against his mouth. “Come for us.”
Geoff broke. The orgasm crashed through him, and he cried out into Patrick’s mouth, fisting the sheets below him, his cock pulsing with release. Lori was still moving, still rocking her hips, until she, too, went motionless above him. Her muscles rippled all along his length, her climax milking out the last of his pleasure, until Geoff sagged back onto the bed.
Afterward, when they were cleaned up and curled together, Geoff pressed a kiss to the back of Lori’s neck. She was sandwiched between them, her body a warm, soft expanse that Geoff could not stop touching.
“I can’t believe I get to have this,” he said out loud, and she smiled.
“All of us,” Lori said, and she pressed a kiss to Patrick’s nose. “We all get to have this.”
Patrick kissed her softly, and over her hip, he took Geoff’s hand in his.
Epilogue
December
“Careful! Don’t knock the needles off!” Lori helped guide Patrick past the doorway of the apartment, wincing as he hit the doorframe with the branches of their Christmas tree.
Geoff managed the other end of the tree, which was just clearing the door. “Are you sure this is going to fit?” he asked again. “It’s a big tree.”
“I measured,” Patrick insisted.
“And you took into account the height of the stand?”
Patrick rolled his eyes. “This isn’t the first time I’ve done this, you know.”
“But it’s your first time without lofted ceilings,” Geoff pointed out.
Lori was perfectly capable of helping, but it was more fun at this point to stand back and watch Geoff and Patrick put the tree up on their own. Their tree. In their apartment. Their very own two-bedroom place, that they’d moved into just last month after a few months of separate flats in the city. Now, this was home, the place where they were going to spend their very own first Christmas together next week.
She put on a kettle for tea as the two guys got the tree upright. They didn’t have many nights off together, now that Patrick was working as a substitute violinist for multiple shows, including the Rockettes’ Christmas Spectacular with its ridiculous performance schedule. Fortunately, they really only had to plan around Patrick’s schedule; her work with the Center was mostly during the day, and Geoff was on winter break from teaching at the university. But tonight, they’d eked out an evening together to get their tree and share some pre-holiday festivities.
Geoff insisted on doing the lights, because Patrick apparently didn’t understand “the proper ratio” for lighting a Christmas tree, which let Patrick and Lori sit together on the couch with their tea while watching Geoff meticulously drape multicolored bulbs around the branches.
Lori patted Patrick on the leg. “I finally heard back from Hannah and the guys.”
Geoff poked his head out from behind the tree. “What’s the verdict? Are they going to come?”
“Day after Christmas.” Lori nodded. “Giant Friendsmas here in the city.”
“And your mom’s still visiting on Christmas Eve?” Patrick asked.
“Yup. Christmas Eve here before heading out to see my brother.” Lori sighed. “It’s a busy holiday season.”
Patrick nodded. “And you’re all still fine with me doing the evening show on Christmas day?”
“Even better. We’re going to see it. Lori got us tickets.” Geoff bent to plug in the strand of lights, and their tree burst into color.
Patrick squeezed Lori’s hand, and then called Geoff over for a kiss. “It’s beautiful, babe.”
“Don’t rest now. We’ve got ornaments to put up.” Geoff rubbed his hands together, then frowned as his palms peeled apart. “I’m covered in sap. I’d better wash up.”
“Fresh tree means sap.” Patrick dropped a kiss on Lori’s cheek. “Come on. Everybody does ornaments. We’re a family now.”
Lori groaned dramatically, but it was all for show. She couldn’t help but smile as Patrick and Geoff started opening up boxes of ornaments, their own from Christmases past, now mixed in with the ones she’d brought with her when she moved.
Family.
This might not have been the family she envisioned a year ago, but life was an unpredictable, terrifying, beautiful ride. She wouldn’t trade this for anything.
Still smiling, she joined them in decorating their tree.
Acknowledgments
This book, like all my books, came into existence in no small part thanks to my incredible support network. My agent, the geektacular Saritza Hernandez, stayed by my side as I wrestled with the different possibilities for this book and helped me stay true to my vision, even though that meant some big scary steps forward. She is a tremendous advocate for her authors and I’m lucky to work with her.
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It feels perfect to me that the amazing Tera Cuskaden edited this final book of the Comes in Threes series, since she has supported this series since the beginning. Her willingness to dig into late-night brainstorming helped bring this dream to fruition. Her honesty and passion for this project inspired me whenever my confidence waned. A special thanks goes to the duo of Christa Desir and Manuela Velasco for super helpful copy edits. Also, Zoe York made this gorgeous cover, and I’m so grateful for her enthusiasm for the project and her prodigious skill.
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I had a whole passel of friends offering love, tough love, and valuable distractions throughout this process. A good portion of this book was written in productivity sprints with Felicia “Ray” Davin at a number of western Massachusetts coffee shops. Her presence made absurd writing deadlines seem civilized and even enjoyable. Amanda’s long-distance cheering kept me going when I couldn’t see the end in sight. Laura provided baked goods, commiseration, and calm advice when I had to be emotionally scraped off the ceiling. Crystal is always available to kick my ass or hold my hand, and knows which one I need. Chris is here for all my highs and lows with the unending confidence of someone who believes in me even when I don’t believe in myself.
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Finally, to you, the readers. In the months leading up to the RITA™ ceremony this past summer, I was awe-struck and humbled by the Romancelandia community for their support. You folks are talented, passionate, daring, persistent, and brilliant. You make me want to be a better writer, and I’m grateful every day that you choose to read my work. Thank you.
About the Author
RITA™ Award-winning author Elia Winters is a fat, tattooed, polyamorous bisexual who loves petting cats and fighting the patriarchy. She holds a Master’s degree in English Literature and teaches at a small rural high school, where she also runs the drama club. In her spare time, she is equally likely to be found playing tabletop game
s, kneading bread, cross-stitching, or binge-watching Marie Kondo. A sex educator and kink-positive feminist, Elia reviews sex toys, speaks at kink conventions, and writes geeky, kinky, cozy erotic romance. She currently lives in western Massachusetts with her loving husband and their weird pets.
Also by Elia Winters
Comes In Threes
Three-Way Split
Just Past Two
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Slices of Pi
Even Odds
Tied Score
Single Player
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Other Titles
Purely Professional
Playing Knotty
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