She crossed her arms. “I can listen from here. Thank you.”
“But you’re not. Listening, that is.” Gavin rested a palm at the small of her back and nudged her further into the room.
She wanted to sink into the gesture. To focus on how good the spark and warmth felt, searing through her shirt. The need snapped inside, freeing raw confusion and setting loose feelings she thought she’d dealt with. “You’re right. I’m not. Because the last time I offered either of you my friendship, you”—she looked at Aaron—“pushed me aside at the end of the night so you could suck face with a stranger, to ignore your misery.” She turned to Gavin. “And you tried to use me as a fuck toy, to drown out your pain.”
She snapped her jaw shut, and dug deep to find calm. “I shouldn’t have said that. And it’s another reason I can’t stay.”
“You meant it, though.” Gavin moved back to stand next to Aaron. “And you have every right to be upset.”
“We’re both sorry,” Aaron said.
‘I know you are. I heard it the first ten times you told me. That’s fine. I’ll get over it. But I’m not going to let it happen again.” That was why she was here, though—to repair the bond she shared with them. It hurt when she thought about it. Ached from her toes to her fingertips. “I’m happy you’re making things better between you. But I’m not—”
Gavin studied her, sympathy and apology in his eyes. “Not what?”
She shook her head. “You don’t get to know that.” That she wanted to be a part of what they had. That she hated being so close but not able to touch it.
“I’ll go first, then.” Gavin grasped her fingers, led her to the couch, and prompted her to sit. He knelt at her feet, never letting go of her hand. “If you don’t like what I have to say, you can tell me to go to hell, and I’ll accept that and look for the ferryman.”
She wanted to tell him no, but that fucking hope clawed at her insides again, stealing her words.
“I’m sorry for what I did to you.” Gavin held her gaze. “I wasn’t... All right, at the time I would have used you. I didn’t see it that way because I can’t see my life—our lives—without you. That’s a lousy excuse for treating you the way I did, but that afternoon at the center, I wasn’t thinking of it as a throw-away moment, because in my head, you were already a part of us. Which was an assumption I should have put more thought into, but I couldn’t picture the alternative, so I didn’t consider there was one.”
“In other words, you thought you’d make up with Aaron and I’d be there at your beck and call, for random playtime, when things got back to normal?” Cynthia meant the question to be flat, but bitterness lined her tone.
“No. Nothing like that.” Aaron sat next to her, keeping some distance between them. Those few inches felt like a gaping chasm. “We don’t want you as some sort of side dish. We want this to be an equal, three-way relationship. The kind of thing where you’re part of our lives and us.”
Cynthia swore her heart was breaking and swelling at the same time, and she didn’t know how to reconcile that the two feelings. How did they go from an apology to this?
“But only if you want the same thing,” Gavin said.
“Thanks for taking my opinion into consideration.” Sarcasm filled her voice. She didn’t want to sound upset, but the walls she’d built to keep them out didn’t want to be broken down.
Gavin smiled. “Always. If you say you’re not interested in a three-way relationship, we respect that. I love you. Aaron loves you. We hope you feel the same. But if you don’t...”
“Of course I do.” The words tore free without her permission, rocking inside her with how true they were. “I love you both, and it fucking hurts to hide it, God damn it.”
Gavin rose and kissed her. A brush of the lips, so soft, she leaned in for more. He chuckled and nipped at her bottom lip. Something inside her shattered, and she expected the ache to be worse, but instead, it vanished. Her heart soared.
“Now, will you stay for dinner?” Aaron gripped her hand and kissed her fingertips.
She nodded. “What are we having?” Her question came out husky.
Gavin moved to sit on her other side. He drew his lips along her ear, and pleasant chills raced down her spine. “You,” he whispered.
It was a simple word, but it sent her pulse screaming through her veins and need dancing over her skin. “I didn’t realize I was on the menu.”
“Aren’t you?” Aaron asked.
“Okay.” A girl could get addicted to this kind of attention. Fortunately, it seemed she wasn’t the only one who wanted that. “What did you have in mind?”
Gavin settled a palm on her cheek, turning her face to him, and kissed her. When she parted her mouth, he slid his tongue along her bottom lip, then inside. Aaron moved her hair aside and nipped the back of her neck. This was better than sex, and they were barely making out on the couch. But the intimacy of it—the security and promise in each touch and caress—lit up her senses.
Gavin broke away to look her in the eye, forcing her to focus on him despite the series of licks Aaron trailed along her jaw and ear. “I want to watch the two of you finish what I interrupted at the club,” Gavin said.
Cynthia hesitated at the nudge of memory. A bitter end to a night that started off so well. “You remember that?”
“It’s a curse. I don’t forget any of it. Awesome string of learning experiences, though.” He grinned. “But onto better things. Is that a yes?” He stood and pulled her to her feet.
“Sure.”
Aaron gripped her hips and pressed against her back. His erection dug into her ass. “Don’t sound so enthusiastic,” he teased.
She smirked. “I’m saving the moans of excitement and ecstasy for the bedroom.”
“Are you?” Gavin worked his fingers down the front of her blouse, undoing buttons along the way.
Aaron glided his hands up her bare stomach when her shirt fell open. He cupped her breasts and teased her nipples through fabric, tracing light circles, then closing in to pinch and tug.
She groaned and leaned back into him. “Or there are plenty of happy sounds to go around,” she managed. When she stepped out of her shoes and kicked them away, she shrank a few inches. Aaron unclasped her bra and slid that and her shirt down her shoulders, to fall at her feet. When his hands met her bare skin, fresh desire spilled in her gut and traveled lower, to pool between her legs.
He took her hand and spun her to face him. He tangled his fingers in her hair and held her head captive, to claim her mouth. She needed more. To be closer. She lost track of who stripped off what in the blur of limbs and kisses and clothes falling away, until she molded her nude body to Aaron’s, marveling at the intensity of skin-on-skin contact.
He nipped at her bottom lip, teasing, following the line until he kissed her hard and hungrily. Gavin slid against her back, moving his hands up her chest when she broke the kiss with Aaron.
Gavin sought out the raised nubs on her breasts and rolled them between his fingers, as he sucked on the sensitive skin where her shoulder met her neck.
Aaron slipped his fingers between her legs, sliding easily along her slit. He held her gaze while he honed in on her clit, and she couldn’t hold back her whimper. It wasn’t just the physical sensations pushing her toward climax. The who was as arousing as what they did to her. The moment was more real and more ethereal than anything she’d experienced before. It tugged at her soul and crushed her doubt.
She was safe here. And desired. And she would offer them both the same in return. It was all perfect.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
THE COMBINATION OF Aaron stroking her and Gavin pinching and kissing pulled Cynthia to the edge, but didn’t tip her over. When Gavin bit her shoulder, the sharp sting sent her spiraling into climax. She bucked her hips, not sure if she wanted to be closer to Aaron’s touch or pull away from it. Her head swam, like it might float away.
As orgasm ebbed, her legs felt like rubber bands,
and she was grateful both men held her upright.
Aaron wrapped an arm around her waist and lowered his mouth to her ear. “Now you can use whatever you were saving for the bedroom.”
Cynthia’s chuckle was weak, but she looked forward to what came next. She let herself be led down the hall, and Aaron lowered her onto the bed. He leaned over her to grab a condom from the nightstand drawer, and rolled it on.
When he nudged her opening with the head of his cock, she thrust her hips toward him, and he inched back with a smirk. He brushed a strand of hair from her face. “I’m memorizing the moment. How incredible you look. How amazing this all is.”
“All right.” A new wave of heat flushed her skin.
He eased into her an inch at a time, spreading her and drawing a long moan. When he was buried to the hilt, he slid out just as slowly, then entered her again. She didn’t know if she wanted to beg him to hurry or savor the slow build that tingled in her nerves.
The mattress shifted with the weight of a new body, and Gavin knelt next to her. He’d shed his clothes as well. He lowered his head to her nipple and sucked hard. The contrast in sensations between her legs and her chest jolted new senses to life. He worked his hand lower, to tease her sensitive clit, not letting up on his attention to her chest.
She reached for Gavin, needing something to grip. Wanting more. How was that possible with so much already going on? She found his shaft and stroked. His groan vibrating against her skin was as enticing as his touch.
Each time Aaron thrust deep inside her, he struck something, and her body pinged with need.
Cynthia pulled Gavin’s mouth to hers, feeling greedy and not at all bad about it. She kissed him, branding the moment into her mind. “I want to taste you,” she said.
He gave her the cocky grin she adored, and moved to kneel next to her head. He fisted his cock and stroked, and she flicked out her tongue to glide along the head and rod.
“Fuck. You’re gorgeous, Cyn.” Aaron’s voice was strained.
She felt more dirty than anything, but in all the best ways. Orgasm lunged forward this time, not dragging out, and she screamed when she came, clenching around Aaron’s cock. He continued to pound into her. She clenched the sheets in her fists until her knuckles ached, and rode the climax that tore through her.
Through the haze that fogged her thoughts, she heard Gavin grunt. A moment later, sticky, wet fluid spurted across her face and chest.
Aaron gripped her thighs, slamming against her in stuttered bursts. Despite the condom, she swore she felt him spill inside. He continued to hammer for several seconds, before he slowed to a stop.
This wasn’t just perfect. If there was a word that meant better than perfect, it described now. This arrangement. This pocket of belonging she’d discovered.
After she cleaned up, Cynthia lay in bed next to Gavin, Aaron on his other side. She could stay in this moment forever, even if that wasn’t at all practical or realistic. But she didn’t think she’d be forgetting it any time soon.
“I really do love you both,” she murmured against Gavin’s chest. She raised her head enough to look him in the eye. “And if you say I know, I’ll...” She trailed off, not sure what kind of threat she could make.
“I don’t have to. You said it for me.”
She looked at Aaron, who was watching the exchange. “You don’t have anything to add?” she asked in a teasing tone.
“NOW THAT YOU’RE HERE, settled, and comfortable, you’re staying for a while, I assume,” Aaron said.
He lay on his back, head on Gavin’s arm. Cynthia was on Gavin’s other side, curled up against him. If Aaron had seen Cyn this comfortable with Gavin a month ago, when she was just a fling, he would have wondered what she had that Aaron didn’t. Now, he didn’t want to take her place; he needed her here. He loved Gavin completely, but Cynthia offered a new type of balance and stability. One he didn’t want to imagine going without.
Cynthia arched her brows. “A while is a bit vague. Are you thinking one hour? Four? Overnight?”
“All of the hours.” Gavin kissed her forehead, and she lay down again.
“I was going to start with the weekend.” Aaron paused, as Gavin’s suggestion settled into his head and refused to budge. “But now that he mentioned it...”
Cynthia reached across Gavin’s chest to tangle her fingers with Aaron’s. “I am getting sick of the view from my motel room.”
“Sick of the view. Perfect reason to leave it behind and move in with a couple of random guys.” Aaron kept the teasing in his words.
She laughed. “Random? Yeah, I suppose that’s accurate, but not the way you’re implying. I meant what I said a few weeks ago. There’s something between us—all of us—that makes me feel like I’ve known you forever. It’s pleasant.”
“Bah.” Gavin spat out the sound. “Pleasant is such a tame word. Limp. Weak. Seventy-degree weather with a light breeze is pleasant. Vanilla ice cream is pleasant. You, my dear, and this entire affair, are fucking incredible.”
Aaron sat so he could see them both better. “I have to agree with that. And the suggestion of having you here full time. So, yeah. Move in with us?”
“I don’t know.” Despite her sigh and flat expression, mischief danced in Cynthia’s eyes. “I mean, what if hiring Gavin doesn’t work out? Then I’ll have to replace him. Things will be awkward at home, and you’ll both resent me.”
Gavin snorted. “You’re not going to find anyone better than me. But it doesn’t matter, because if that’s what’s holding you back, I won’t take the job in the first place.”
“I promise I was kidding.” Cynthia’s pleading tone cracked, and she giggled. “I’m done pretending at this point that I can keep work separate from the two of you, but it doesn’t matter. I want to be in your lives. So yes. I’d love to live here with you.”
“Of course you would.” Gavin was smug.
Aaron shook his head. “What he means to say is, Thank God. Because it wouldn’t feel right any other way.” He leaned over Gavin, to kiss Cyn. Warmth and completeness danced over Aaron’s skin. He never in a thousand years would have crafted a story that ended like this, because it was too implausible. But it was also exactly what he wanted. Gavin, Cynthia—they were what he wanted in his life. They could deal with the rest, however it worked out, as long as he had them.
Epilogue
NINE MONTHS LATER
Gavin’s pulse hammered in his ears, and his heart lodged in his throat at the sight of the red carpet. The fans lining it. The stars strolling down. It had been years since he stepped foot on something like that. It was a silly thing, when he forced himself to think about it. A cheap, temporary piece of rug, special only because of its color and location.
He didn’t understand why this movie was getting so much fanfare, for a premier screening. Aaron’s agent insisted—multiple times—this was bigger than Gavin wanted to admit. Huge enough that, once a studio had the screenplay, they fast-tracked casting and production to get the movie out there while there was still buzz around it.
“Hey. You all right?” Aaron’s question dragged Gavin’s attention back to the inside of the car. Aaron reached across the aisle of the back seat and squeezed his hand.
Gavin nodded. “Glad I’m not out there.” He looked at Cynthia, whose wide-eyed gaze was fixed through the window.
“So many people.” Awe filled her voice. “To see a movie about the two of you.” She looked stunning in a blue evening dress that matched her eyes and hugged her figure. She’d fit in on the carpet.
“Eh.” Gavin kissed her bare shoulder. “Maybe sixty percent about us. I hear from a reliable source that the rest is utter fiction.”
The driver inched along with traffic. When he rounded the corner and the crowds dipped into the background, Gavin managed to grasp a sense of calm again. He might be coping better with his response to the crowds these days, but he wasn’t ready to test his resolve by diving into the middle of it.
; Fortunately, since the invitation to the screening was Aaron’s, and most of the cameras and fans were there for the actors, the three got to skip the fanfare out front and slip into the theater through the back entrance. Technically, Gavin and Cynthia could have dressed down and blended in better. However, Cynthia was so excited to attend an actual Hollywood premier, he insisted they go all out, appearance-wise.
A moment later, they stepped from the car. No one was back here except drivers parking in rows of black, shiny, luxury cars. Gavin wrapped an arm around Cynthia’s waist, intertwined his fingers with Aaron’s, and led them inside. An usher seated them near the front, on the outside aisle.
For the next hour or so, they watched everyone else trickle in and take their seats.
Aaron’s agent negotiated an almost unheard-of deal, getting Aaron say in the revision process and putting him on set during filming. Which meant Gavin and Cynthia had met most of the cast and crew as well. Unknown actors were cast in the lead roles, and Gavin was great with that. He was only mildly surprised to find out they were fans. His shock came in discovering they still admired him after reading the screenplay.
The theater lights flickered, and the director stepped in front of the screen, to a round of applause. He waited until the noise died down. “Evening, everyone. Thank you, for coming. I was prompted to say a few words, but I’m not going to use all my time, because I’m not the reason you’re here. We’re fortunate enough to have in our audience tonight, two people who lived this story.”
Gavin’s stomach dropped into his shoes, and his mouth went dry.
“So tonight”—the director continued, blissfully unaware of the impact his words were having—“I want to introduce you to Aaron Birch, the screenplay writer and one of the key reasons we’re able to bring you this movie.”
The tension in Gavin’s neck evaporated, and he clapped Aaron on the back when his partner stood. Aaron gave him a sheepish smile, before making his way to the stage.
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