by Mari Carr
She rolled her eyes. “How do you two do that?”
He frowned. “Do what?”
“Always know when something is wrong?”
Shaw chuckled and shrugged. “You’re not exactly hard to read, Keri. Plus, I watched you grow up. I’ve had years to study your moods.”
“I didn’t think you and Max even noticed me much when I lived here. I mean, I was just a kid and you two were always busy working or hitting the bars and chasing…”
Her voice trailed off. Shaw’s grin grew. “Chasing anything in a skirt?”
She nodded.
“I guess I paid closer attention to you than even I realized. I’ve missed having you around these last few years.”
She leaned forward, initiating a kiss. Shaw loved how at ease she was with them. A lifetime as friends had forged a trust between them that he’d never shared with another woman. Never shared with anyone other than Max.
The thought sent a pang through his chest and Shaw pulled back.
Keri looked at him intently. “Now it’s my turn. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he said too hastily. Reality was clawing at his chest, trying to fight its way out. She deserved to know about him and Max. “I mean—”
Max cut him off before Shaw could finish. “Hell yeah, there’s something wrong. It’s been three hours since either of us has been inside that pretty little body of yours.”
Shaw forced a lighthearted smile, not missing the uneasy tone in Max’s voice. Max rolled over toward the nightstand and lit a candle. They kept candles in most rooms since it wasn’t unusual for the power to go out from time to time.
The candlelight provided romantic lighting. It also allowed him to see Max’s face more clearly. His friend was definitely trying to keep him from telling Keri about them. He clenched his jaw in frustration and felt a twinge of pain he didn’t want to admit, even to himself. They’d always described their relationship as friends with benefits. Problem was, while Shaw did miss the added companionship of a woman, his feelings for Max apparently ran deeper than he’d realized. Shaw’s emotions became perfectly clear when he faced the possibility of losing his longtime lover.
He wanted Keri with all his heart, but he still needed Max too.
Max reached for Keri, kissing her deeply. Shaw licked his lips and wished he was the recipient of that touch. What would Max do if he leaned in and took over, kissing both Keri and Max into oblivion?
After several moments, Max moved away. His gaze met Shaw’s. Shaw sucked in a deep breath at the silent pleading in his friend’s eyes. Max knew what he wanted but still held Shaw back.
A kernel of anger sprouted. Shaw narrowed his eyes, acknowledging Max’s request. His friend might deny them this pleasure tonight, but come hell or high water, there would be a reckoning tomorrow. Max better have a good fucking explanation for keeping their secret from Keri, and God help Shaw if it was any of his current suspicions.
“You ready to notch up the play a little?” Max asked.
Keri shivered, though Shaw knew it wasn’t in fear, but anticipation. The image forced a genuine smile from his lips. There would be time to deal with Max in the morning. Tonight was about Keri and about wrapping her up in their velvet ties tight enough that she’d never want to leave. He’d simply never get enough of her, or of this.
“What did you have in mind?” she asked.
Max pushed himself up, back resting against the headboard. “I was thinking maybe you could wrap those pretty lips of yours around my cock while Shaw takes you from behind.”
Keri sat up quickly, eagerly. Shaw chuckled. She was nothing if not enthusiastic. It was clear she’d been through a bit of a dry spell as far as sex was concerned. Truth be told, Shaw hadn’t had a warm, willing woman in his bed in far too long, and he was ready to love Ms. Shields right down to the tips of her pretty little toes.
She straddled Max’s legs and crawled forward until their lips touched. Max put his hands in her hair, holding her tightly. Shaw wasn’t sure, but he thought he detected the slightest tremble in Max’s hands as he reached for her. Obviously Shaw wasn’t the only one deeply affected by the night’s events. Shaw watched his best friend and his best girl kiss for several minutes, letting the image of their tongues tangling drive his arousal higher. He wasn’t sure what it said about him that he enjoyed watching, but damn if he wasn’t harder than a fence post right now.
Finally, Max pushed Keri away with a quick kiss on the end of her nose. “Suck my cock, sunshine.” Then he added a word Shaw had never heard him utter with another woman. “Please.” The tone of his plea was the last bit of proof Shaw needed. His friend was falling hard and fast for Keri.
Shit, they both were. Shaw tried to be happy about that fact, but until Keri knew everything and Max came clean about the reasons for his reticence, Shaw wouldn’t let himself believe in a happy ending.
Keri moved down until her lips were poised at the head of Max’s hard-on. Before she took his cock into her mouth, she turned to look at Shaw. “Come inside me.”
Shaw’s chest tightened at her request, overcome as he was with pride and desire. She wanted him.
He raised his hand reflexively when something shiny flew toward him. He caught the condom Max tossed at him.
Keri giggled at their antics, but the sound was cut off by Max’s groan when she engulfed the head of his cock in her mouth.
“Goddamn, Keri,” Max said, his hands tangling her long, blonde tresses. Shaw figured they were a matched set, the three of them. Keri’s light hair, pale skin and blue eyes perfect complements to their chestnut hair, dark coloring and brown eyes.
Shaw placed his hands gently around her waist, in awe of her courage once more. She was a tiny thing, not much more than five foot five. He was impressed by her willingness to put herself in the hands of two men who had her by almost a foot and a hundred pounds each. They would definitely need to take care not to hurt her. While he enjoyed Max’s rough touch in bed, he’d make certain his friend didn’t employ it against their girl. He flashed Max a warning glance when his friend pushed Keri’s head down against his flesh.
“Take me deeper, sunshine. Let me feel the back of your throat.”
Max’s fingers tightened in her hair. Shaw started to take his friend to task, but Keri squirmed in response, halting his words. Curiosity struck and he reached out to touch her pussy. Sure enough, she was soaking wet. Unable to resist, Shaw pushed two fingers into her tight warmth.
Max’s hands tugged her hair harder, and Shaw felt Keri’s inner muscles clench against his fingers. He looked up and caught Max’s smug grin. His friend understood his concern. Max pushed her deeper onto his cock and, sure enough, Shaw felt more of her body’s juices gush over his fingers. Christ. The idea that Keri would welcome their stronger advances left Shaw feeling light-headed. He thrust his fingers inside her, harder than he normally would. Keri groaned, arching her back, inviting him deeper. He began to move in unison with her motions on Max’s cock.
Max’s head rested against the headboard, his tan face flushed. Shaw grinned. Apparently Keri gave one hell of a blowjob. Shaw couldn’t wait until it was his cock in her mouth.
When her pussy tightened and Shaw felt her coming orgasm, he retreated, removing his hand from her completely. Keri’s hands fisted in the sheets beside Max and, though she didn’t speak, Shaw could sense her frustration.
Max had suggested they notch up the play, and Keri’s willing submission to their advances encouraged him. He pressed one of his fingers, dripping with her body’s arousal, against her anus. Keri froze, shivering slightly.
Max’s eyes rested on where Shaw’s hand lingered. The eagerness in his friend’s gaze told him Shaw had hit on one of Max’s fantasy as well. Though they’d never taken a woman at the same time, it was a dream they’d discussed on more than a few occasions.
Max pulled Keri away from his cock. “Shaw’s going to fuck your ass with his finger while you suck me. Remember, Keri, you can alwa
ys say no.”
Shaw wished he could see her face, perturbed by his limited view of her back. Was she afraid? Excited?
“I want that,” she said, her voice husky with need.
“You’re incredible, Keri,” Max said, allowing her to bend forward to engulf his cock once more. “I’m glad you’re here.”
Shaw ran his hand along her lower back and ass, caressing her soft skin. “So am I,” he added.
Max looked at Shaw. “Make it good for her,” he whispered.
Shaw nodded, accepting the importance of this act. He grinned when Keri wiggled her ass invitingly. Before he could consider his response, he placed a light smack on her right cheek.
She stilled beneath him, but Max’s groan answered his curiosity. “Jesus,” Max said. “Do that again. She’s a wildcat.”
Shaw placed another spank on the opposite cheek, harder this time. Max’s head flew back against the headboard, making a loud bang. Shaw chuckled. They were gonna have to pad every inch of the room at this rate or else they’d all have brain damage.
Shaw struck Keri three more times, each blow building in intensity. She was panting around Max’s cock, and his friend looked like he was close to biting off his tongue in an attempt not to come too soon.
Shaw pushed three digits back inside her pussy, relishing the abundance of arousal there. Coating his fingers, he pulled out once more, returning with one finger at the entrance to her ass. Slowly he inched the finger inside her tight hole. Keri’s inability to hide her thoughts and feelings wasn’t restricted to her facial expressions. Every twitch and twitter of her body told him exactly how much she liked this. Soon he began to thrust his finger in and out of her ass and Keri met him, blow for blow.
Max was groaning, cursing, muttering every sweet nothing Shaw had ever heard as Keri continued to suck his friend’s cock. Finally, Max cried uncle.
“Jesus, man. Fuck her. Do it now because I’m not gonna make it much longer.”
Shaw pulled his finger out and quickly donned the condom. He didn’t bother to go slow and easy this time. Keri and Max were definitely way beyond the need for special care or kid gloves. Keri was squirming, seeking out his cock while Max white-knuckled the sheets beneath him, his eyes closed, his face scrunched up in excruciating pleasure-pain.
Shaw slammed inside her pussy, driving to the hilt in one thrust. Keri screamed around Max’s cock. At the sound of her voice, Shaw released the reins on his normal restraint, giving in to the demands of his body.
He pounded into her flesh, relishing her moans.
“Holy fuck,” Max called out loudly. Shaw continued to move into Keri’s body, his gaze mesmerized by the vision of Max as he came. He loved the sight of his friend’s hard-chiseled jaw clenched in pleasure, and Shaw could almost taste the salty essence of Max’s come.
Shaw continued to move, pushing Keri higher. She released Max’s cock, coming almost immediately, but Shaw wanted more. He needed more. From her. From Max. From this. He started to reach for Max, desperate for his friend’s lips on his.
Max moved forward, inched closer. The look in Max’s eyes told Shaw he wanted him too. Their lips nearly touched, Shaw could feel the heat from his friend’s rapid breathing.
Then Max stopped, froze. Shaw continued to thrust into Keri’s pussy as she trembled beneath him, oblivious to the drama unfolding above her. Max’s face closed down and he sighed heavily. Shaking his head, Max leaned against the headboard, looking shaken, shell-shocked.
Shaw felt like he’d been slapped.
Closing his eyes, he pushed Max from his mind, refusing to acknowledge anything except the incredible, loving woman beneath him. As her second orgasm hit her, he gave himself up to the sensations—and it was Keri’s name on his lips when he came.
Max lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, as the sounds of Keri’s and Shaw’s deep, even breathing filled the silent night.
He’d fucked up everything. Shaw had insisted outside the bar that they come clean with Keri about their relationship, but Max panicked. He’d put too much importance on the outcome of this evening and he’d made a bad fucking call. Christ, talk about failing Relationships 101. At his age, he should know better, but he’d known going into the date that he wanted too much. The past few years with Shaw had been great, but until Keri had arrived on the scene, he hadn’t realized how much was missing.
He’d hurt Shaw tonight by rebuffing him. Shaw had always been content to follow Max’s lead. Always counted on him to do the right thing. His friend was laid-back, with an easygoing approach to life that Max had always envied. He wished he could take things in stride, let the cards fall where they may. Unfortunately, he’d never been able to loosen up his take-charge attitude.
However, now, for the first time in his life, he felt completely out of control. His head was pounding and his stomach was in knots. Shaw had been right. They should have been upfront with Keri from the beginning.
Now that things had progressed to this level, Max was worried about her response to their omission. Tonight had turned out so much better than he’d hoped. It had been special, amazing. He was falling fast and hard for Keri. Christ, tonight had only been their first date, yet Max was already envisioning a future for the three of them.
The three of them…
Would Keri be angry when she discovered they’d kept the truth about their relationship a secret? Or worse—would she be disgusted by their bisexuality?
He glanced at her delicate face. Her soft hair was spread out on the pillow, and he idly wondered if the sweet scent of her perfume would linger on the sheets tomorrow. He reached over to brush a strand of hair away from her eyes. She sighed deeply and he smiled.
Even as a girl, Keri had possessed a no-nonsense approach to the world, which he’d admired. She’d always held a little piece of his heart. Tonight, she’d staked a larger claim.
Shaw rolled over, his arm drifting over Keri, nuzzling her closer in his sleep. Max had never spent the night in Shaw’s bed. Never slept the entire night with his best friend. Typically, after a night of rough sex, Max would stagger back to his own room and his cold bed. It was easier to control his relationship with Shaw if he held his emotions at bay. He sighed as he considered what those emotions entailed.
Love. He was in love with Shaw. Perhaps he’d always felt that way, but he’d never allowed himself to admit it. Now, as he felt himself falling for Keri, he realized the same feelings she inspired in him already resided there in regards to Shaw.
He wasn’t sure what to do with that information. He’d never let Shaw think of their relationship as anything more than a means to an end, a scratch to the itch.
Shaw’s face as they’d taken Keri flashed through Max’s mind. His friend had been angry at him for pulling away, and Max knew the day of reckoning had arrived. Control be damned. It was time Max adopted a bit of Keri and Shaw’s attitude toward life and started reaching for what he wanted. Tomorrow he’d come clean. With both of them.
As he looked at the couple lying next to him, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he wanted to stay in this bed. Every night.
And he wanted to share it with both of them.
Chapter 5
Max came in from the yard and headed to the sink to wash his hands. Closing his eyes, he tried to ward off the headache hovering, ready to attack.
He and Shaw had woken up Saturday morning and made love to Keri once more. They’d both promised to call her and they’d reiterated their desire to continue to date her. He could still recall the taste of her lips from the kiss she’d given him when they’d dropped her off at Mockingbird Ranch. Fortune had smiled on them, as Brody had been away from the main house when they’d arrived. Though the reprieve was temporary, Max was grateful he hadn’t been forced to face Keri’s too-perceptive uncle before he got his feelings under control.
Unfortunately, Keri had an emergency come up with one of her clients—some sort of website issue—and she’d been busy for the last two days.
Max was anxious to see her again, determined to prove to himself that Friday night hadn’t been a fluke. That it had been as amazing as he’d believed.
He glanced at the clock. It was nearly lunchtime on Monday. Most of their hands were out in one of the far pastures doing some much-needed fence work. They’d packed their lunches, so they wouldn’t return for several hours. He’d stayed behind to work on the farm-use truck, but so far the entire morning had been a bust. Damn thing still wouldn’t start. It didn’t help that he couldn’t seem to focus on actually fixing the problem. He spent the better part of an hour changing spark plugs, only to realize they were new and not in need of replacement.
So far, he’d also avoided having any serious conversation with Shaw. His resolve to speak his mind had wavered by the time the sun rose on Saturday and, since then, he’d found a million excuses to work his ass off away from the house—and away from his best friend.
How the hell could he tell Shaw he was in love with him? What if Shaw didn’t feel the same way? What if he was happy with the sex-and-companionship deal?
He knew Shaw felt the same overwhelming attraction to Keri, but they hadn’t discussed that issue either. Max had worked late the past two days, not coming in until he was sure Shaw was asleep. Then he’d dragged himself to his empty bed, tossing and turning all night until he thought he would go crazy.
“Hey, stranger.”
Max looked up to discover Shaw leaning against the kitchen counter. He’d been so engrossed in his own thoughts, he hadn’t even heard him walk in.
“Hey,” Max returned. “Thought you were working on the fence with the other guys.”
Shaw shrugged. “They’re making good progress. I wanted to check on Lucy. She threw a shoe the other day and I’m worried she might have hurt herself.”
Max nodded. Lucy was the oldest, most beat-up horse in the state of Texas, but Shaw adored her. Doted on the animal. Max dreaded the day the old girl up and died. He knew Shaw wouldn’t take her death well.