by Watts, Mia
Ben studied the tree line. Probably wondering where Gibbs had gone. He smiled on Gibbs’ behalf. If he only knew he had a chance with the DNR officer of his dreams.
“He likes you,” Duncan said.
“Who?
“Gibbs.”
“Or he’s doing what he thinks it’ll take to get me to let go of his hare.”
Duncan snorted. “That grip he had on yours was pretty intense. Nearly came in my pants.”
Ben looked sharply at him.
“What? It was hot.” Duncan stepped closer. “I remember what kissing you feels like. I’m pretty sure you have his head spinning just like you had mine. Besides, it’s clear to me that you two could have a pretty good thing going.”
Ben’s eyebrow lifted. “Wow, you’re really heaping it up.”
“But you want to see him again, don’t you?”
“Yeah,” Ben answered quietly.
“So remove some of the intensity and take me up on that foursome offer. I’ll be trying to hook up with Charlie, while you get to know Gibbs. All of Gibbs, including the open relationship we all have.”
“You and Charlie are a couple?”
“Yup, uh-huh. He and I are like this,” Ben explained with more fantasy than truth.
“I thought you were looking for excuses to hook up with him,” Ben challenged.
“I am. We are. It’s really complicated. There’s a lot of tail chasing going on,” Duncan hurried to explain. “I chase his tail. He lets me. We all jump into the sack together and work out our demons. Gibbs would be the odd man out if Charlie and I hooked up regularly.”
“Is Gibbs coming back?” Ben asked carefully.
“Probably not.”
Ben dropped his eyes to the porch. When he lifted them again, he looked resigned. “I’ll take you in to see your hare, but he’s staying with me.”
“I just need him to know he’ll be all right,” Duncan agreed.
Ben shook his head. “You boys have an odd relationship with your pet.”
Duncan smirked. “I’m close to my boys, and we’re all close to our animal. It’s like a commune of lu-urve.”
Ben laughed, shook his head. “Okay, c’mon. He’s inside.”
“But you said—”
“Whatever it took to get you off the scent. He’s with me. I had a feeling you three would try to come back tonight and collect him.”
“Breaking and entering? Us?” Duncan tried to make it sound absurd, but Ben had totally called that one.
Ben didn’t comment, just ushered him in, leading him down the hallway to the master bedroom. Beyond that, a master bath beckoned with bright lighting. Ben took him that way. Tucked around the corner in an open closet sat the cage.
“Hey buddy,” Duncan said cheerfully. “Bet you thought we’d forgotten about you. We haven’t, we’re just working out the details with Ben.”
Duncan stuck his fingers in the cage. Charlie opened his mouth like he planned on biting. Duncan yanked his fingers away in plenty of time.
Duncan tried to laugh it off. “None of that, big boy. That’s what got you into this mess. Ben has to hold you for ten days because we don’t have rabies vaccination records for you.”
“Why are you explaining all this to a hare?” Ben asked.
“He’s a very aware bunny,” Duncan explained. “He understands.”
Charlie growled.
“Who doesn’t like to be called a bunny,” Ben noted. He bent down, to peer into the cage. “Huh,” he muttered by Duncan’s shoulder. “He does seem to be responding like he understands. I think he’s pissed off at you.”
“Me? I’m not the one who collared and caged him,” Duncan defended.
When Ben looked at Duncan, their noses came within an inch of touching.
“Is it wrong that I really want to kiss you right now?” Duncan asked.
“Sloppy seconds?” Ben asked.
“Could be sloppy fourths if you wanted.”
“And then what, Duncan? Four guys get it on? Wouldn’t that mess up the potential for something with Gibbs?”
Duncan smiled. He smiled wider when Ben’s gaze dropped to his lips thoughtfully. “No. We’re a package deal. You two can break off, but Charlie and I are always up for some joint play. No jealousy and no commitments outside of a two person relationship. Think of it as the spice of variety, a true friends-with-benefits package while you get your man all to yourself.”
“Is that what you and Charlie do?” Ben asked.
Charlie made a snuffling sound like a strangled cough. Duncan recognized it as disbelief. He’d have to explain this part later. Like after he explained to Charlie that maybe he did want something personal with him.
“Just like me and Charlie,” Duncan nearly choked on the words, wishing they were true and wondering how Charlie was taking this discussion. Then again, there was nothing like egging Charlie on. Duncan grinned as he elaborated. “He can’t get enough of me, but we both like to spread the love around too.”
Duncan ignored the rapid thumping in the cage, the sound of Charlie’s growl.
Duncan’s gaze lingered on Ben’s. “I’d like to know what that would be like with you.”
“Jesus,” Ben muttered. “You’re good.”
“I’m honest. There isn’t enough time in this life to couch desires with awkwardness.” If only Duncan could be that forthright with Charlie.
Duncan lifted his chin, just the extension he needed to bring their mouths together.
Ben jerked back. “That’s not fair to Gibbs.”
“Gibbs has already staked his claim pretty succinctly. I’m just—blessing it with a little fun.”
“I see. You think Charlie would think of it the same way?”
“I know he would.” Duncan shrugged, looking up at Ben who’d seemed to decide that standing was a better idea. “Charlie and I understand open relationships. You will too, if you start seeing Gibbs.”
Duncan took a minute to make eye contact with Charlie. He hoped Charlie understood that they weren’t choosing to leave him behind. “Might have to tell him,” he whispered to Charlie.
Charlie answered by lifting a hind leg to scratch at the collar.
“I know, buddy. I’m working on it. Next time, don’t bite the nice DNR officer, okay?”
Charlie twisted around and flared his tail at Duncan.
“Nice. Real class move ya got there. Tell you what, I’ll grab your ass and kiss it later—after you beg nicely.”
“I don’t even want to know,” Ben muttered.
Duncan’s face heated, and he quickly rose to his feet. “He likes being talked dirty to. Makes him feel wanted.”
“So are you going to cut the crap now?” Ben asked patiently.
“What crap?”
Ben sighed, scrubbing a hand down his face. “You do realize how surreal this whole thing is don’t you? The kind of things you and Gibbs talk about—they just don’t happen.”
“That’s only half of it,” Duncan said under his breath.
“What do you mean? You mean there’s more than an unregistered, and running wild pet hare, four-way sex orgies, irregular visits to my cabin, and suddenly finding me irresistible as though holding your hare has nothing to do with all this? What kind of idiot do you take me for?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I tried to explain.”
“Right, but this whole fiasco smacks of truth?” Ben turned, walking toward the bathroom door. “Unbelievable. Well, I gotta hand it to you. You boys go all out when you want something. Tell Gibbs not to bother coming by tomorrow. I’m keeping the hare for the requisite ten days. Go home, and—” he waved his hand in the air. “Go have sex with each other. It’s gotta be less drama with three than four.”
Ben flipped off the light switch.
Duncan followed him out. “It’s not like that.”
“Sure it is.”
Duncan grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to turn. “It’s not.”
“Then explain
it to me slowly. In normal person speech.”
“Gibbs, Charlie, and I are kind of a package deal. It’s hard to explain, but it’s more than friendship. We share a unique connection. It’s why we live together.”
“I’m listening,” Ben answered, folding his arms across his chest. A regular position when talking to Duncan, it seemed.
“Every once in a while, someone comes along which makes opening up a risk worth taking.”
“Now I’m supposed to be flattered? I see where you’re going with this, Duncan. It’s stunningly convenient how this has all come about when I happen to have your hare in a cage, and you want him back. Don’t you think?”
“People meet all the time. It’s not about convenience. It’s about seeing what’s right before your eyes and grabbing hold before it’s too late,” Duncan argued. God, he’d better not mess this up for Gibbs.
“Uh huh.”
“You caught our pet. We want it back. I can admit that Gibbs and I were hoping to talk you into giving him up.” When Ben sent him an expectant look, Duncan confessed. “Okay, we went to the DNR office first. You locked the door. We looked through the windows and didn’t see him.”
“You were going to break in,” Ben concluded flatly.
“We were going to try.”
“That’s illegal. I should call the cops right now and report you for the admitted attempt.”
“But you won’t,” Duncan hoped.
“Why won’t I?”
“That may have been the impetus for coming here, but that’s not what I saw on Gibbs’ face. That’s not what you saw either, when he walked away pissed off because I asked him to leave you.”
“You looked for the hare when you went to the bathroom, didn’t you?” Ben accused, changing the subject.
“I did.”
“I knew that’s why you took so long. I just had more respect for you than thinking you’d set me up for seduction with your roommate. But you tossed that impression in the trash when you came out and suggested a four-way.”
“Why? Because you can’t believe that the prospect of having sex with you doesn’t turn me on?” Duncan protested loudly. “That Gibbs doesn’t want you, in particular?”
“It occurred to me,” Ben answered.
Duncan pulled Ben’s wrist, freeing his arm. He brought Ben’s hand flush against Duncan’s hard cock. “Still think so?”
Ben’s expression changed suddenly from complacent to pissed. He shoved Duncan against the wall, still cupping his engorged cock. “This is bullshit. All of it. You want your animal back. You’re being a whiney baby about getting him. Judging from this,” he said, squeezing Duncan’s cock deliciously. “I’d say there may be some jealousy at work, too.”
“Jealousy? That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it? A year ago at the Spring Festival I kissed you. I thought I’d really screwed up. A guy like you wouldn’t possibly go for me, or other guys at all. Turns out, I was wrong. You know what else I was wrong about?”
“No,” Duncan growled, trying not to think about the pressure on his cock, or the way Ben absently rubbed the length while he practically yelled in Duncan’s face.
“I was wrong to think that you were my type. I never would have guessed that it would be Gibbs who really gets me going.”
“Now I’m calling bullshit,” Duncan whispered seductively.
Duncan grabbed Ben and hauled him tight to his body. With a subtle flex of his hips, Ben’s hand trapped between them, Duncan was left with no doubt about Ben’s level of interest.
“I’d say I rev your boat, too. In a foursome, that’s an asset,” he said grinning at Ben.
Ben untrapped his hand, planting it on the wall beside Duncan’s head. Apparently, Duncan had left him speechless, because words fell away in favor of quick, heated breaths.
Duncan tried for a kiss, but Ben stayed just out of reach. Their bodies warred with each other for breath. Duncan’s chest expanded on an inhale, as Ben exhaled, giving him room. Duncan tried again, with a teasing snap of his teeth near Ben’s lips. Ben didn’t flinch, and Duncan’s teeth grazed within a whisper of Ben’s mouth.
“You’re still not getting your pet,” Ben murmured.
“Then will you please let him out of the cage, and remove his collar tomorrow night? Just one night, hopping free in your bathroom. I’ll pay for the damn radio collar.”
Ben’s gaze darted between Duncan’s eyes. Ben’s brow furrowed slightly with confusion. Slowly, he nodded. “I promise to think about it.”
Duncan glanced down the hallway toward Ben’s room, thinking of Charlie stuck in a cage overnight and the risk of keeping him collared right up until the last minute. If it had been Duncan, he’d be scared shitless.
Ben must’ve misunderstood the direction of his thoughts. “I’m not taking you to bed tonight, Duncan.”
Duncan decided to let Ben believe that’s what he’d been thinking. “Not tonight, but tomorrow night, right? With Gibbs, and hopefully Charlie.”
Ben opened his mouth as though to say something, but nothing came out.
Duncan flexed his hips. This time when he leaned in, he got the kiss he was after. “Say yes,” Duncan insisted when their lips parted.
“That’s insane.”
“Say yes,” Duncan repeated. Please say yes. Don’t fucking hurt Gibbs.
He flipped Ben so his back now pressed the wall instead of Duncan’s. Once there, he ravaged Ben’s mouth. He sucked Ben’s bottom lip, nipping it with his teeth, then soothing it with a quick flick of his tongue. Duncan leaned heavy on Ben’s chest, deliberately hindering his ability to breathe freely.
Ben scratched Duncan’s back and opened his lips wider, battling Duncan’s tongue for dominance.
Duncan let up a little. “Say yes, Ben.” He ducked to the right, sucking open-mouthed kisses where Ben’s neck met his shoulder. “Say it.”
Breath shuddered from Ben. “Yes.”
“Good boy,” Duncan murmured. He pushed up, smiling down into Ben’s dazed face. Yeah, Ben might protest, but he definitely liked the attention he’d gotten tonight. And Gibbs had picked well. Ben was going to fit in just fine. “See ya tomorrow, then.”
Chapter Eight
Gibbs waited for Duncan to leave. In typical Duncan style, he tore out of the drive without looking back. No doubt he’d assumed Gibbs had flown off to join him at home. He would. Later. But after he’d seen that kiss Duncan had given Ben, and Ben’s reaction, Gibbs had been hard pressed to sit still and let it happen. Leaving wasn’t going to be an option. Not until he’d cleared up a few things.
Ben had walked to the porch steps, hands on his hips, as he stared off in the direction Duncan had gone. He lifted his face toward the trees. Gibbs took that as a hopeful sign. That Duncan’s kiss was already forgotten, and looking for owl-Gibbs had taken importance.
Gibbs couldn’t qualify his exact feelings. They were something between sheer panic at losing the little bit of headway he’d made with Ben, and desperation for Ben to know exactly how much Gibbs wanted him.
Not as one of a foursome, although that was definitely a reality given Gibbs’ current arrangement, but as Gibbs’ partner within the arrangement. His.
Gibbs pushed his way through the edge of the woods, and into the clearing where Ben’s house sat. He met Ben’s startled gaze and held it as Gibbs continued his purpose-filled walk to the porch, up the steps, planted his hands on Ben’s chest, and backed him up against the house.
Gibbs’ heart was pounding, but so was Ben’s. He could feel it beneath his palm.
“Gibbs? I thought you—”
He didn’t give Ben time to finish that thought. Gibbs body-pressed Ben to the siding, and in his own desperate need to tell Ben exactly how he felt, Gibbs kissed him roughly. He felt, as much as heard, Ben’s muffled surprise. He cupped the side of Ben’s face to tilt it to a more accessible angle.
Ben moved his head easily, and Gibbs took full advantage of the unspoken permission. Ben clutche
d Gibbs’ shirt at his sides. It wasn’t just a kiss Gibbs wanted, and the sooner he made that clear, the better off they’d be. He wanted all of Ben, and he wanted him first.
Ending the kiss, Gibbs remained in Ben’s space. He took Ben’s wrists and lifted them over his head, holding them in place with one hand. The other he calmly rested on Ben’s chest, giving him a moment to object.
Ben licked his lips. His gaze darted from Gibbs’ eyes to his mouth and back again. The silence, burdened with their heavy breathing, stretched between them.
Finally Gibbs dragged his hand down. He watched each shift of thought and emotion in Ben’s eyes, like it told a story similar to the one Gibbs couldn’t bring himself to say out loud.
I want you, too.
Touch me more.
Make love to me.
Gibbs just prayed he was reading him right. The slight widening of Ben’s eyes, the flare of his nostrils, the way his chin tilted upward ever so slightly as Gibbs reached Ben’s waistband. Ben could pull away at any time. Gibbs held his arms up but Ben was strong enough to easily break the hold. And there was the absence of words, too. He could tell Gibbs to stop, but he didn’t.
Gibbs lifted an eyebrow, silently questioning Ben if this was acceptable. When the tip of Ben’s tongue passed over his bottom lip, Gibbs unbuttoned Ben’s pants.
“Moving kind of fast,” Ben breathed.
Normally, Gibbs would have slowed down, or asked if he needed to take his time. Tonight, Gibbs wasn’t asking. He was taking as long as Ben was going to allow it. Given the fact that he hadn’t stopped him, Gibbs decided that was all the permission he needed.
“It would be fast if we hadn’t already gone down this path,” Gibbs reminded him.
Ben nodded. “In the woods. Last year. It was you.”
“You called me Duncan. Maybe you want Duncan inside you.”
Conflict flitted over Ben’s features.
“You can want him. Hell, I do. But this time, you’re mine. I want you to remember that it’s me. I want you calling for my cum.”
“I’ll remember.” Ben’s words hitched, as Gibbs reached inside Ben’s pants. He took hold of Ben’s thick, warm shaft.
“Say it,” Gibbs prompted.