by Opal Carew
Ian’s confession startled her, the blunt words slicing through the lazy morning and bringing her back to the past. They’d already said their apologies but words weren’t enough. They all knew that.
What the hell was she doing?
“This is so weird!” Sassy said as she put the glass down and threw her hands up.
Rafe blinked, but Ian didn’t move.
“Don’t you see that?” she asked. “We’re grown ass people taking things slow like it’s a fucking business deal and we’re not talking about what matters. What the hell are we doing here?”
Rafe stood and strode toward her. “We’re finding each other again,” he said simply.
“We’re forming a relationship,” Ian added.
“Why are we doing this? Why now? Why can’t I just quit you both?” The last part slipped out and she closed her eyes. She hadn’t meant that, not really, though it needed to be said.
Rafe cupped her face in a swift movement, the hard palms and calloused fingers tightening with great care.
“Why are we doing this?” he whispered. “Because we want to. Because we need to. We were a damn good thing ten years ago, and I know if things had been different, we would have made something of it. Can’t you feel the chemistry between the three of us? Can’t you feel the heat? We can’t ignore that just because we’re scared. That would make us fucking cowards. And you, Sassy, are not a coward.”
Ian came up from behind her like he used to do all those years ago. His hands rested on her hips while his lips slid against her ear. “I’m scared too, Sassy. I’m so scared that we’ll fuck this up again because we don’t know what we’re doing. But you know what? We’re older now. Maybe even wiser. We’re going to learn from our mistakes and be together again. It’s what I want. It’s what Rafe wants. And I hope to God it’s what you want too.”
Hadn’t she told them this was what she wanted? Because she damn well did. Just because she wanted it, didn’t mean it would be good for her.
She pulled away, needing air. She didn’t like this wishy-washy version of herself and she knew if she didn’t tell them exactly what had happened before, she couldn’t move on.
“When I left you both, I had nowhere else to go,” she started.
“Sassy…” Rafe’s pained voice forced her to shake her head.
“Let me tell you what happened first. I need to get this off my chest. Then we can move on. Because, know this, I wouldn’t be here with the both of you if I didn’t want it. But what I want and my state of mind, it seems, are two different things.”
“Then tell us, Sass,” Ian said.
“I guess I should start earlier. You both know where I came from.” God, she hated this part, but if she didn’t start there, they wouldn’t understand. She barely understood. Her men nodded. “I’m the Bordeaux princess. Or at least that’s what my dad told me growing up.” She gave a soft sigh, but it wasn’t because of fond memories. Oh no, there weren’t many good ones when it came to her father.
“I had everything I could have wanted, nice clothes, a nice house, fancy schools. We were old money.” She spat the word and risked a glance at Ian. He too came from old money and merely nodded in understanding. “I was supposed to finish high school and go to college so I could have my degree to put on a pretty gold plaque on the wall of my husband’s office like my mother had. I was supposed to marry the man my father chose for me who would have furthered his business and political plans. Then I would have two perfect children who would be raised by nannies, and I would lunch with other women of my ilk and never smile at the wrong person and never entertain an inappropriate thought.”
“That wouldn’t have been our Sassy,” Rafe interrupted and Sassy smiled.
“Damn straight.” She ran a hand through her hair and looked at a particular bright red streak. “Can you see this up in a bun or me wearing pearls?”
Ian cleared his throat. “I can picture the pearls.”
Her pussy throbbed and she held back a moan. “Don’t change the subject.”
“I’ll keep that in mind for later then.”
Damn the man.
“Anyway, I didn’t want all of that. I’d known it since I was ten, and yet I stayed there under my father’s thumb for another five years.” She closed her eyes, trying to fight off the memories. “God, I hated him. I don’t know if I do anymore since he doesn’t mean anything to me now, but I hated him then. Don’t get me wrong, he never hit me, but he would have if he thought it would’ve worked.”
“I’d have killed him if he did,” Rafe’s voice held a dangerous edge.
Sassy smiled. “You know I can handle my own battles, sugar.”
Ian ran his finger down her arm but she didn’t pull away, liking the touch too much. “You left when you were fifteen. I remember you saying that and thinking you were too young, but now? You were way too fucking young to have to deal with any of that shit.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes. I was stupid. I was this entitled rich kid who wanted to make my own choices, so what did I do? I ran away and had to learn the hard way that my issues weren’t all that much in the grand scheme of things.”
Ian gripped her wrist and tugged her so her body was flush against his. She could feel his half-hard cock against her belly, but it was his eyes that held her. The ice and determination nearly brought her to her knees in submission.
That was something she wasn’t ready for, and she wasn’t sure she would ever be ready for it.
“Never say your problems don’t matter. Just because someone might have gone through something much worse than you, doesn’t diminish your own past. It’s not a competition, Sassy. It never had to be.”
She closed her eyes, needing to break the connection from his gaze so she wouldn’t melt at his feet. She rested her head against his chest and inhaled his musky scent.
“I met good people on the street, and they took pity on me. I learned the hard way how to take care of myself.” She pushed away her memories of the cold and hungry nights she couldn’t forget. They were part of what made her The Sassy. Without that edge, that pain, she didn’t want to think about who she might have become.
Sassy turned in Ian’s arms to face Rafe. “Then your momma found me,” she said with a smile. “I was only eighteen and living in a commune-type thing doing odd jobs to make a living and your momma took me in.”
Rafe came to her side and cupped her cheek. “I remember. You were all fire and anger and I knew we’d be best friends.”
Sassy rolled her eyes but leaned into his touch, keeping her hands on Ian. “She gave me a job at your father’s shop and I learned how to do something I was good at.”
“You always ran us better than even my mom,” Rafe teased. “She loved that you took up her role as the shop’s receptionist.”
“I loved it too,” she said warmly, remembering how she’d learned to live in a family rather than in the cold mausoleum of her childhood. “I made friends, had a full stomach for the first time in years, and learned to take care of myself without having to fight for it.” She turned to Ian. “Then you showed up at the shop with a flat tire a couple years later and I was lost.”
Ian kissed her brow and leaned back. “It always surprised me that you and Rafe were never together before I showed up.”
“She was too much a part of the family before you were there,” Rafe explained.
“He’s right. I was almost a sister at that point.”
Rafe barked out a laugh. “Oh no, baby, I wouldn’t say that. You were way too sexy, even at eighteen, for me to think of you as anything other than someone who was part of the family that I needed to stay clear away from if I wanted to stay on my mom’s good side.”
Sassy chuckled, already feeling at ease thinking of the good memories rather than dwelling on the painful ones.
Those would come eventually.
“As soon as Ian showed up, I don’t know, it was like I couldn’t hold back the attraction anymore.”
&nb
sp; “Thank God you went all in, because those couple years of living in the same house as you but having to act all good and not into you about killed me,” Sassy teased.
Ian snorted and ran his hand down her back, soothing her. His hand brushed against her ass and she had to hold herself back from jumping him. As soon as she finished what she was saying, they could move on. It didn’t make sense to leave everything unsaid where it could fester.
“Then the three of us were…us.” She sighed. “I loved it. I loved you both as a young girl and I wouldn’t have changed that year. It hurts so goddamn much to think about what happened at the end, but I wouldn’t change anything about what led us there.”
“We don’t have to lose what we had,” Rafe put in.
“No, we already lost it,” Sassy countered. “But we can try for something new. Building on the past and whatifs will only hurt us. I’m already liking the men you’ve become, and I sure as hell like who I am now. If we start again where we ended, we’d lose everything we’ve gained since.”
“I was a fucking prick to step away. I’ve said it before and I’d say it again but I think you’re tired of hearing it. I won’t walk away because of fear.” Ian gripped her chin, forcing her gaze to his. “I promise.”
She noticed he’d tacked on the qualifier to his not walking away, and she put that back for later. None of them were talking marriage, babies and commitment. At least she certainly wasn’t.
“One thing I will say though is that if I hadn’t left, if I hadn’t been forced to move on, I wouldn’t have found Midnight Ink.” She stepped away from Ian and Rafe and looked down at the ink on her arms. “I had only a few small ones when I met you and now I’m inked all over. I love it. I love my job and who I get to help daily. I love the family that I’ve made. So yes, what happened sucked. God, that’s not even a good word for it. What happened shattered everything I thought I had and needed, but I grew up because of it. Each step I’ve taken has made me stronger and made me…Sassy. I love who I am, boys, and I’m not going to change that. What I will say though is this, who I am needs the two of you.” At least for right now. She couldn’t think beyond that or it would be too much.
Ian growled slightly and moved closer, Rafe on his tail. “This ink?” His finger traced her arm again and a shudder ripped through her at the promise of what was to come. “I want to see it all over. I want to see everything, Sassy. I want everything. That might make me a selfish man, but remember, I’m a Steele. I’m used to getting what I want.”
Rafe’s hand went down her back and cupped her ass. She moaned and rocked into him. “I might not be a Steele, but I know what I want too. I want you both. What happened is in the past and we’re here now. We’re going to move on together. You get me?”
She turned to face him and nodded. Oh yeah, she got him.
“Now you know where I’m at and where I’ve been,” she said, knowing their time for talking was drawing to a close.
Thank God.
With a wicked grin, she took Ian’s tie in one hand, and gripped Rafe’s shirt in the other. “I think it’s time for talking to be over. I’m not in the mood to go out today. Do you two have a better idea?”
She looked between the two men as their gazes heated and a little growl escaped.
“Oh yeah,” Ian whispered.
“Oh, fuck yeah,” Rafe growled.
This is what she wanted right then. Them. Her. No clothes. And a night filled with just the right amount of passion.
This.
Chapter Five
Sassy licked her lips, loving the way both men’s eyes darkened as their breathing became ragged. It had always been like this, hot, heady, and ready for anything. Her nipples tightened and her stomach fluttered thinking about what was to come. With two men, she never knew who would go first and set the stage.
Both Ian and Rafe had always been dominant in bed, but not Doms in the same sense that her friend’s men were. They knew how she wanted it and gave it to her…after a tease or two. What she didn’t know was which man would take charge first.
Ian and Rafe glanced at each other, as if having an unspoken conversation—hopefully deciding on what she’d just been thinking about. Rafe nodded and Sassy sucked in a breath as Ian took two steps toward her and reached around her head, wrapping her long hair around his fist three times.
She panted as he pulled, letting her head fall back so she could stare at him, wanting more.
“Mine,” he whispered, then crushed his mouth to hers.
She moaned as his lips pressed against hers, his teeth nipping at them. She opened for him, his tongue tangling with hers. He tasted of mint and coffee, the taste mingling with her own. He tugged on her hair again, the sharp sting shooting right to her pussy.
“Don’t forget me,” Rafe said, his voice husky.
Ian pulled his lips from her and tugged on her hair again, this time forcing her gaze to Rafe. The act of Ian controlling her kiss with Rafe made her want to come right there. She loved it when they went all badass with her…and with each other.
Rafe cupped her face, then gently lowered his head. His kiss was soft, tempting, where Ian’s had been fire and heat—so different from the personas both men showed the world. She closed her eyes, tasting his dark sweetness as she rocked into him and Ian at the same time, their bodies so close to her and each other, making it easy.
Ian pulled her away and brought his lips to hers again. She licked his lips and nibbled, loving the way both men’s tastes mixed on her tongue, the heady combination reminding her that she’d missed this, that she’d craved this.
Both men took turns kissing her, their hands roaming her back, cupping her ass. She got lost in the moment, not knowing how much time had passed before they both pulled away and turned to each other.
No matter how hot it was to have them kiss her, it made her hotter to watch these two men go at each other. Their moans echoed in the kitchen as their kiss deepened. As rough as they were with her sometimes, they were so much more demanding with each other.
Hot. As. Hell.
She licked her lips again, watching and feeling part of their heat even if no one was touching her. Well, if they weren’t going to touch her…
Her fingers brushed her nipples and she gasped, the sensation of that gentle brush rocking her. Damn, she was turned on and knew they had a hell of a lot more to do before she’d be sated.
She cupped her breasts, palming the large mounds while pinching her nipples. Her body swayed as she rubbed her legs together, needing the friction so she could come. If she could have just a little orgasm, she’d be able to go slow with her men.
As if they’d heard her thoughts, Rafe and Ian pulled away from each other and faced her.
“Trying to make yourself come without us?” Ian asked, his voice deep with need, his lips wet and swollen from their kisses.
“We should be taking better care of you, cariña,” Rafe rumbled, his honey eyes dark with intent and promise.
Ian tilted his head. “Since she’s been playing with herself, maybe we should let her continue. She doesn’t need us, does she?”
She narrowed his eyes. “Hey, stop it with the I’m a bastard motif, sugar. You know I can make myself come but right now I want both of you to do it for me. It’s only right.”
Ian grinned but she wasn’t sure she was about to get what she wanted. He always made her wait until it was the best possible. So while she hated him while she was squirming, she loved him when he filled her.
Tricky bastard.
“What do you want, Sassy?” Ian asked.
She licked her lips and glanced down at his erection tenting his pants then saw the matching one in Rafe’s. As much as she wanted to come right there, what she really wanted was to taste her men.
“You,” she whispered.
Ian grinned and Rafe chuckled. “On your knees, baby.” He held out his hand and she placed her own in it as she knelt down in front of him.
Her breath quic
kened as she undid Ian’s belt and undid his pants. While some women might hate it, she loved sucking cock. She loved having the power even though Ian and Rafe usually set the pace for her. She was the one giving them pleasure, and just the thought of it made her wet as hell.
Because when she was done with them, they’d reciprocate in the best way imaginable.
As quickly as possible, she pulled down his boxer briefs enough so she could grip his cock. He filled her hand, hot, hard, and ready for her mouth. Not wanting to leave Rafe out, she pressed a kiss to Ian’s cock, then undid Rafe’s pants.
Ian pulled at her hair, fisting it as he had before while Rafe held her shoulder. She pulled Rafe out of his pants and licked the crown while she wrapped her hand around the base of Ian’s shaft.
She hadn’t had a threesome since she’d been with Ian and Rafe, but the dexterity it took to pleasure them both at the same time apparently had never gone away.
With one last wink at her men, she got down to business, licking up Rafe’s length, before doing the same to Ian’s. Both men moaned and she smiled before sucking on the head of Ian’s cock, letting her tongue brush the seam. He bucked into her mouth and she put her hand on his hip to keep him steady. She pulled away slightly to look up at him.
“Let me taste you both first before you fuck my mouth.”
“I love that dirty mouth of yours,” Rafe said and she rolled her eyes.
She went back to what she was doing and licked the drop of pre-cum on the tip of Ian’s dick before doing the same to Rafe’s. She held both of their cocks in her hands and she gripped them hard, rolling her wrists slightly as she pulled upward so she could glide along their lengths. Ian’s dick was slightly longer with a curve to the left that hit a spot right inside her that used to make her eyes cross when he fucked her hard. Rafe’s was thicker and stretched her in a sexy as fuck way whenever he pushed that meaty cock inside of her.
Damn, she’d missed these two.
Rafe cupped her cheek and grinned. “Let me watch you take Ian, Sass. Then you can have me. I love it when you suck on his balls when you go down on him.”