by Marie Carnay
But the nights. Oh, my. Thorne’s hands running over her skin. Cannon’s tongue flicking against her ear. She never knew sex could be so primal. Intense. With two men turning her on, she could let herself go. Live her fantasies. Be that girl.
She stepped up to Thorne and wrapped her arms around his back. It might have been Cannon who kissed her that first night, but Thorne had opened her heart. Shown her she could care for two men and never doubt herself.
He spun around in her embrace and bent to kiss her. His lips melted into hers and the whirlwind of emotions she’d felt the past week bubbled up to the surface. She wanted to be with them for more than a fling. Way more.
His hands skated down her sides, slinking over her hips and back up under her shirt. How could she ever get enough of his muscled grip? His kisses hot on her lips and neck. His kindness. And Cannon…god…the two of them together.
Brianna groaned and clawed at Thorne’s jeans. She wanted him inside her. Right there in the middle of the forest. She yanked the button open and tugged his zipper down. Slipping under his boxer briefs, she stroked his cock. Hot and hard in her hand. Velvet-coated steel.
She fell to her knees and shoved his pants down. His cock bobbed in the air and she smiled. Opening wide, she caught it on an upswing, taking him deep. Mmm. She’d gotten used to his size so fast. Now she loved it.
How he filled her mouth, stretched her pussy. Made her moan. Wetness soaked her folds and she squirmed in the fallen leaves and dirt. If only Cannon were there too. Then they’d really have some fun.
Over and over she bobbed her head, coating his shaft with her saliva, using her hands to stroke the parts her lips and tongue couldn’t reach. Thorne shuddered above her and grabbed her by the shoulders, pushing her back.
“I want to come inside you. Not down your throat.” He pulled her up and turned her around.
Foil tore and in seconds he was there, shoving up her skirt and tugging her panties to the side.
His fingers swiped across her sex and he groaned in appreciation. “You’re so wet for me. I thought you only dripped for Cannon.”
Brianna smiled and reached behind her, squeezing his ass as he stroked her sex. “It’s for you too. Fuck me Thorne, right now.”
He grabbed her by the waist, picking her whole body up off the ground and stumbling toward the nearest tree. “Brace yourself.”
She did his bidding, reaching up and gripping the trunk with her hands as Thorne positioned himself. As she inhaled, he thrust, burying himself balls-deep in an instant. Brianna grunted as his force shoved her forward and she locked her arms to keep from falling.
Oh, god. He’d stretched her and filled her and taken her over with a single rock of his hips. He pulled back until only his tip remained inside and thrust again. Filling her and drawing out a moan. “Harder, Thorne. Fuck me harder.”
With a growl in her ear, he complied, slamming into her harder than ever, rocking her whole body forward and back. Mmm. Yes. She loved it when he took over. When he used his size and strength to dominate and control. She could have been a rag doll—a tiny scrap of a thing compared to him.
Everything she’d missed with other men—all the passion and heat—it was right there in the middle of the woods. Wrapped up in two men she couldn’t get enough of. Thorne shoved his hand beneath her panties and between her folds. He flicked her clit—hard taps again and again—and she almost howled.
So good. So damn good. He rocked into her even harder and she came. Her orgasm hitting so hard her legs shook, her grip on the tree faltered and Thorne had to wrap his arm around her to keep her upright.
As her body clutched his cock, he came too. Pumping into the condom and moaning soft and low in her ear. “Mmm. Brianna.”
After a few moments, he pulled back, slipping out of her and tugging her panties back over her ass. He kissed her shoulder as she turned around. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I should have waited until we got back. Not taken you out here…in the woods.”
Brianna swatted Thorne on the arm. “Don’t be ridiculous. I wanted that as much as you. More, maybe.”
Thorne laughed and shook his head. “How did we ever get so lucky?”
“I don’t watch where I’m going?”
“I’m glad you didn’t. Because I can’t imagine missing out on you.” Thorne wrapped his arm around her and nodded at the way back to the cabin. “Let’s go home, huh?”
Brianna nodded and pulled away to grab her things. Home. She’d had an incredible orgasm minutes before, but one word brought reality crashing back. Home is exactly where she needed to go. But not the cabin. Her real home back in Charlotte.
She couldn’t pretend much longer. A stabbing ache echoed through her gut. If they didn’t want more than a tryst, then she would have to go back alone. Before she fell any harder for them both.
Thorne snapped the gun case shut and turned to her. “You ready?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
Thorne took the lead, walking through the forest like a tracker. Soft, quiet despite his size. Brianna mimicked him. Stepping where he stepped, trying to silence the nagging thoughts inside her head. They arrived all too soon.
“Is Cannon still out?”
“Yeah. He’ll be gone all day. Fishing down at the river.”
“I see.” Brianna dropped her bag and cleared her throat. She needed to know. She couldn’t pretend anymore. “Thorne?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re going back in a few days, right?”
“Where?”
“Charlotte. Back to the city. Your real life.”
He turned and frowned. His blue eyes clouded over as he stared at her. “Yeah. Why?”
She stepped toward him and reached for his hand. “What if I said I don’t want this to end when we got back? What if I want to be together—all three of us? I have a condo in the heart of downtown. It’s not huge, but it’s close to your bar. We could live there. Together.”
Thorne pulled his hand out of hers and turned away. “A condo in the middle of town?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“No. I can’t, Brianna.”
“Why not?” She reached for him, running her hands over his massive shoulders as he sighed.
“I see how you look at Cannon. You two should be together. Forget about me.”
Brianna frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m a third wheel. I know that.”
“Excuse me?” Heat flooded her cheeks and she crossed her arms over her chest. “How can you think that?”
“I thought it was obvious.”
“So all that just now out in the woods? Me coming so hard I could barely stand? That’s what? Not good enough for you?”
He turned back to her and shook his head. “You’re beyond good enough for me. But once we get home…”
“What? Then I’m a dirty little secret?”
“No. Then I’m a complication. You deserve acceptance. Love. Not strange looks and hard questions.”
“I don’t care about any of that. So what if people talk. I care about you, Thorne. You and Cannon.”
“That’s what Mandy said too. But she almost wrecked our business. Tore us apart.”
“I’m not Mandy. I won’t walk away from this. From us.”
He ran his hand through his hair and focused on the floor. “I’m sorry, Brianna. I can’t put Cannon through that again.”
Brianna swallowed and stepped back. She couldn’t believe he was being so stubborn. So irrational. Not after what they’d shared. “I see. And what about Cannon? What if he wants this too?”
“He’s a big boy. He can make his own choices.”
She huffed and shook her head. “So you’d push away the two people who care about you the most because of what? Fear?”
“You don’t understand.”
“Yes, Thorne, I do. Do you know how many times I tried to leave my ex? He’d put me down, tell me I was worthless. Fat. Stupid. And I’d grab my keys
and go. But then he’d call…apologize. And I’d run back. Like a dog with my tail between my legs.”
Brianna stomped up to him and palmed his chest.
“I kept going back because I was afraid, Thorne. Afraid that he was right and I was all those horrible things. Afraid that I’d be alone.”
The muscles in his jaw ticked, but Thorne refused to look her in the eye. “You’re stronger than that. You deserve better.”
“Damn right I do. And you know who showed me that? You and Cannon. You don’t have to be afraid. Take a chance on us.”
Thorne closed his eyes and Brianna waited. Say yes. Please.
“I’m sorry.”
She stepped back and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. “Fine. Be that way. But you’re missing out, Thorne. On something special.”
Looking out the window, she made up her mind. If Thorne couldn’t see the potential, she wouldn’t force it. She’d leave. Get on with her life. She walked over to her pack and bent down. “Tell Cannon I said goodbye, okay?”
She heard him turn around and glanced up at him. She’d never forget the anguish in his eyes. But she couldn’t stay.
“You’re leaving? Now?”
“There isn’t any point in staying, is there? I have to go home, Thorne. My mother’s got to be worried sick. I have a job. Bills. I can’t just play pretend here forever.”
“I can’t believe you’d just walk out. Leave us. We can drive you back. Your ankle isn’t a hundred percent. Don’t be a martyr.”
“You won’t change your mind?”
“No.”
“Then I’ll be whatever I damn well please.” Brianna turned away and set about packing her things. She shoved everything into her bag and changed into hiking gear. All the while refusing to look at Thorne. He stood in the kitchen area, watching her but not saying a word.
When she’d finished, she bent down, tugged her pack onto her shoulders and finally looked him in the eye. “If you change your mind, you know where to find me.”
He nodded. “I’m sorry, Brianna.”
“Me too.”
She turned and walked out the door without another word.
* * *
Cannon bounded through the forest with a line full of trout. He couldn’t believe how happy Brianna made him. How she took their depressed, going through the motions twosome, and gave them hope. Comfort.
She’d turned their whole life upside down in a week and he’d never been more alive.
“Hey, guys, check out all this fish! It’s crazy!” Cannon busted into the cabin and stuttered to a stop.
“Where’s Brianna?”
“Gone.” Thorne sat at the kitchen table with a fifth of scotch and a mug.
“What? Like out for a walk or something?”
“No. She left. Went back home.”
Cannon dropped the fish on the floor. “Without saying goodbye? I don’t believe you.”
Thorne took a sip from his mug and glanced at Cannon.
Oh, no. “What the hell did you do?”
“She asked me to come with her. She wanted us all to move into her condo. I said no.”
“Why?” Cannon walked up to Thorne, white hot rage pumping through his veins. He couldn’t have. “Why the hell would you do that?”
“Because last time we tried that, it almost ruined our business. Mandy and her big mouth. Screaming at the top of her lungs, interrupting our staff meeting. Shouting that we took advantage of her. Tag teamed her like a pair of animals. She almost got us arrested. Or did you forget?”
“Brianna’s not Mandy.”
“Not out here with no one to see and no one to judge. But back home? How do you know? We can’t risk the bar, Can. It’d be the end of us. We’d have nothing.”
“So you made the decision for both of us?”
“No. You can go chase her down if you want. She can’t be that far away.”
“You let her backpack out of here? With her ankle? She’s liable to fall again. Get hurt.”
“She wouldn’t wait. I wasn’t going to force her to stay.”
Cannon couldn’t believe it. His best friend. The man he’d opened up to. Shared the most intimate parts of himself with and let himself…almost love. He balled his hands into fists. “I thought we were in this together. All three of us.”
“I couldn’t risk it. I’m sorry.”
Fuck that shit. Thorne wasn’t going to shut him out. Not now. Not after all they’d shared. Cannon stormed forward and shoved the man as hard as he could. Thorne flew backward, crashing to the floor and splintering the chair.
He cursed and hauled himself up in time for Cannon to launch himself again, this time hitting him square in the chest. “You ruined it! You asshole! How could you do that!”
Cannon climbed on top of Thorne and swung in a blind fury, knuckles connecting with the big man’s jaw in a sickening crunch. “I fucking love her! And you let her go!”
“I’m sorry!” Thorne groaned as he held up his hand.
Cannon pulled back to swing again.
“Stop! I love her too.”
Fist high in the air, Cannon paused. “Then why?”
“Because I…I don’t know. I guess…I’m afraid.”
Cannon slid off Thorne and sat on the floor. “What are you talking about?”
Pulling himself up to a sitting position, Thorne wiped a splatter of blood off his cheek. “You’re the only one who’s ever stuck around, Can. Everyone else always leaves. Mandy. All my other exes. What if we go back and Brianna realizes she made a mistake? That she doesn’t want us?”
“Don’t we have to try?”
“I want to. But I know how much Mandy hurt you. Can you go through that again?”
“For Brianna? Yeah.”
“What if we get back to town and she bails?”
“I’d never do that.”
Cannon turned as Brianna walked into the cabin. She sidestepped the pile of fish and dropped her pack on the floor.
“You came back.”
“I’m sorry. I tried to go. But I—I can’t.” She crouched in front of both men. “I love you both too much to say goodbye.”
Thorne rushed her, wrapping her up in a hug as Cannon watched. “I’m sorry I let you leave. I should have agreed. Not pushed you away.”
“I know why you didn’t.” She pulled back and looked at Thorne. “But I meant it. I won’t run. Even if it gets tough. Even if no one understands. I’m in this for the long haul.”
Cannon smiled. He didn’t know what the two of them did to deserve a woman like Brianna, but he wasn’t letting Thorne’s fear get in the way. No way was he giving up on the three of them finding happiness.
He slid over to her and brushed the hair from her face. “I’m in too. And so is Thorne. Even if he’s too stubborn to admit it.”
“I’m not stubborn. Just…cautious.”
Brianna smiled and leaned into Thorne, kissing him on the lips. He winced and pulled away, pressing the back of his hand to his swollen lip.
“What happened to your face?”
“I might have had something to do with that.” Cannon held up his swelling, bloodied hand.
“Oh my god. Did you two fight over me?” Her eyes went wide and she flicked her gaze back and forth at Cannon and Thorne.
“Maybe.” Cannon shrugged and Brianna shook her head.
“I’ve never had anyone fight over me before. It’s so…sexy.”
Cannon grinned. “You’ve never had two men madly in love with you before, either.” he reached up and pulled her close, planting a soft kiss on her lips.
Everything he’d hoped for with Mandy and thought he’d never have again was right there, sitting on the floor of the cabin. He couldn’t wait to go back home and make Brianna a part of his real life. It didn’t scare him in the slightest. “I never thought I’d have a chance to be this happy again, Brianna. And you made that happen. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. But enough talking.” She s
tood up and walked into the kitchen. “I’m getting ice for both of you. It looks like you need it.”
5
Three Months Later
“So this is it. What do you think?” Brianna walked in and clasped her hands in front of her. “There’s a view of the nature preserve out the back, and we’d only have one neighbor.”
Cannon walked in and smiled. She really did consider everything. A tree-filled view from the floor-to-ceiling windows. Stone exterior, wood floors. As close to the cabin as she could get, but with all the comforts of town. “How’d you find this place?”
Brianna blushed. “I’ve been working with a realtor. She sent me the listing and I scheduled a showing right away.”
“I can see why.” Even the furnishings worked—oversized leather couches, simple rugs, panoramic photographs of forests on the walls. Too bad they were someone else’s. “It’s perfect. And there haven’t been any other offers?”
“Nope.”
Cannon caught Thorne’s eye. “What do you think?”
Thorne walked past him and stared out the windows at the nature preserve, but stayed silent. Damn. Cannon hoped his best friend would love it. They’d been spending too many nights away from Brianna.
After the fight, she’d laid it all out. She needed to go back to work, see her mother and her friends. They needed to get back to the bar. But she demanded they try a real relationship. All three of them.
So as strange as it sounded, they’d dated. Going out to dinner when their schedules meshed, chatting while they worked at the bar. The occasional night in bed. But between their business and her photography, it’d been sporadic and unsatisfying.
Despite the limited time, Cannon fell for Brianna more every day. And Thorne…they’d never been closer. So when their lease came up for renewal, he floated the idea of moving in together. Buying a house. Brianna had jumped at the opportunity and there they were.
Looking around, he understood why she’d been so excited. She’d found a place they could call home together. Every single day. Thorne just needed to agree.