by Mari Carr
“Thought we were taking it slow?” Caleb sighed heavily. “Giving ourselves some time to think about it before we roll too far? Before we jump in with both feet? I don’t think it’s such a bad idea for us to take a few days to think things through. There’s a lot of history between us. A lot to lose.”
Tyson stood corrected. Caleb saw the big picture too.
“I think that’s a good idea.” Harley started up the path to the house and they followed.
Tyson revised his shower plan. Now it was just going to be quick, lonely and—given the way his cock refused to say die—cold. “Fine. Maybe after we get cleaned up, we can practice the wedding song.”
“What is it?” she asked. “You never said.”
“‘I Don’t Dance’. We’ve never played it before,” Tyson replied.
“Oh. I love that song.”
Tyson grinned. “Yeah. And it’s pretty perfect for Chas and Syd. You know how much he hates parties and being the center of attention. The fact that she talked him into a big-ass wedding instead of just eloping—which he would have gone for big time—sort of says it all. She’s got him wrapped around her finger.”
Harley’s phone had just stopped ringing when they reached the deck. She walked over to where she’d left it on the arm of the Adirondack and glanced at the screen. “Damn. Four missed calls.”
“Who from?” Caleb asked.
“One from Granddad, two from my mom, and…” She paused. “That’s weird. One from Art. He never calls me.”
Tyson opened the screen door before looking back at her. “Maybe you should call them back. See what’s happening. Might be an emergency.”
“Yeah,” she said distractedly. “I will.”
As she dialed and reclaimed her chair on the deck, he and Caleb went into the house to shower and change. He expected Caleb to continue the conversation about what came next—after all, Tyson had gone against everything they’d agreed on. But Caleb simply walked to his room.
When Tyson returned to the living room ten minutes later, Harley was now inside, but still in her damp clothes, arguing with someone on the phone.
“Listen, I don’t have to tell you a damn thing.” She pulled the phone away from her ear, her gaze flying heavenward as if she was praying for patience.
She hadn’t seen him return to the room.
“Who’s she talking to?” Caleb murmured behind him.
Tyson shrugged.
Harley placed the phone back to her ear and turned to face them, her exasperated face giving Tyson a clue.
“I’m guessing Art. He’s the only person I know who pisses her off that much.”
“That guy’s such an asshole,” Caleb said.
Harley’s tone was laced with exasperation. And anger. “Maybe you should just take a hint and back off. If she’s not answering the phone, it’s probably because she doesn’t want to talk to you. We’ve been down this road before.”
Yep. It was Art.
“No. I’m not going to tell her to call you.”
It appeared Art wasn’t finished making demands when Harley sighed and rubbed her eyes wearily. She’d left town after Johnnie’s funeral to escape the drama that constantly surrounded her family.
“It’s none of your business if she was at the barn party last night.” She paused, then gritted her teeth. “Yes, I’m perfectly aware of how I’m going to burn in hell. Thanks for the reminder.”
Tyson’s temper piqued. He wasn’t going to let Art keep using her as his whipping post, lashing out whenever her mom tried to cut and run. And he wasn’t going to let her mom keep using Harley, either. The woman was an emotional drain, constantly crying to Harley and expecting her daughter to take care of all her problems for her.
And while Art had never said any of the cruel things he knew the man lobbed in Harley’s direction in front of them, she always filled Tyson and Caleb in on the particulars. From the look on Harley’s face, the man was in a fury and chewing her out something fierce. God only knew what names he was calling her right now.
When it dragged on a second too long, Tyson walked across the room and plucked the phone out of Harley’s hand. “Art, this is Tyson Sparks. I’m only going to tell you this once, so I’m going to need you to listen good. Your marriage is your own business. Stop harassing Harley. Call her again, and you can expect a visit from me where we’ll settle this man to man.”
He tapped on the screen to end the call as Harley’s expression morphed from surprise to pure delight.
“That was sort of awesome.”
Tyson’s anger hadn’t abated. “I don’t like the way he yells at you, Harley. If he calls again, let it go to voice mail. Under no circumstances should you answer the phone.”
Harley narrowed her eyes as she studied him curiously.
“I mean it, Harley. Don’t answer the phone.”
Tyson noticed Caleb had dropped down on the couch, his feet resting on the coffee table, crossed at the ankles.
“What?” Tyson asked when they both continued to look at him like he’d suddenly sprouted an extra head.
“Don’t look at me,” Caleb said when Tyson’s gaze returned to him. “I’m just here for the show.”
“Show?” Tyson asked.
Harley laughed softly. “Part of me thinks I should be a little pissed off at you for this overly macho routine, but the truth is, it’s super hot.”
Caleb dropped his feet to the floor and leaned up at that. “Oh yeah? You think that’s hot? Because, sugar, I got alpha moves that would knock your socks off.”
Tyson blew out an exasperated breath. “Y’all just made me dial it back. I took that damn cold shower so I could sit here without a raging hard-on in my pants. So which is it? Time-out or forge on?”
Harley bit her lower lip. “Sorry. I think it’s still a time-out. Truth is, I’m kind of worried about my mom. Not sure where she is.”
“Did you call her?” Caleb asked.
She nodded. “Yeah. She didn’t answer. Neither did Granddad. After last night, I’m not sure what to think.”
Tyson gave her phone back to her. “What happened last night?”
“I found my dad in Johnnie’s room.”
“You told us that.” Tyson had attributed her silence in the car on the way home to the fact she was missing her brother. Apparently she hadn’t been the only one in the family to feel his absence.
“My mom was with him.”
Caleb’s brows flew up. “Seriously? But they don’t speak.”
“Ever,” Harley said. “I know. She was crying and he was comforting her.”
Tyson wasn’t sure what to make of that information. Harley’s parents had divorced when they were all in tenth grade, and as far as Tyson knew, they hadn’t said more than fifty words to each other since. “Wow.”
“I think I might head out to the farm just to—”
Her phone rang before she could finish her sentence.
“It’s her.” Harley answered the phone. “Hey, Mom. Where are you? Why? Um…okay. I won’t say anything. Yeah. Okay. Bye.”
“Where is she?” Tyson asked.
“At the farm. She spent the night in my room. She asked me not to tell Art.”
Caleb stood up and took her hand. “You okay with that?”
Harley gave him a funny look. “I guess. I can’t think of why I wouldn’t be. It’s just really weird.”
“There’s a lot of that going around,” Caleb said as he tugged her toward him for a hug, and then he placed a kiss on the top of her head.
She lifted her head from Caleb’s chest so she could see his face. “Like this?”
Caleb sighed. “Nothing about this is weird, which actually makes it the weirdest thing of all.”
She giggled. “Yeah. You’re right. So, I’m just going to add this new development with my parents to the list of things I’m rolling with. Get your instruments, boys. We need to practice for a wedding.”
Chapter Seven
Caleb rubbed
Harley’s feet as she lay between him and Tyson on the couch. It was Friday night after a long damn week. His dad had a bad reaction to some new medication on Tuesday, so Caleb had spent two nights at his parents’ house helping his mom out. Tyson had gotten a call in the middle of the night to deliver a baby on Wednesday, and between visits to the bank to sort out a loan for her new business and to the farm to visit her mom—who was still there, Harley hadn’t been home much either.
While Caleb had been grateful for the time to consider what was happening between them, he could have used a little less of it. Between stressing out over his dad’s health and the whole should we/shouldn’t we wrangling, he’d also spent one too many nights trying to imagine the actual logistics.
Tyson and Harley could joke all they wanted about that “we’re not orgy guys” thing, but the idea of taking off his clothes and crawling into a bed naked with Harley and Tyson was damn intimidating. He didn’t question his skills—he was probably overly confident when it came to his moves in the bedroom. But that didn’t mean he wanted to perform them in front of another guy. Even if it was just Tyson.
The only thing that alleviated that anxiety was when he recalled watching Harley and Tyson kiss. He sure as hell didn’t have the same hang-ups when it came to playing voyeur. He liked watching them. A lot.
He sighed.
“Okay,” Harley said, her gaze moving from the TV to his face. “What’s wrong? That’s the third heavy sigh in the last ten minutes.”
Caleb frowned. He hadn’t meant to give himself away. “Sorry.”
“I thought everything was better with your dad?” Harley’s head was resting in Tyson’s lap and his friend was playing with her hair absentmindedly.
That was another thing wreaking havoc on him. There had been a definite shift in the physical dynamics between them since Harley had moved in. They stole kisses whenever they could, and in the rare moments when they were all together—like now—the distance between them shrank.
Tyson paused the old movie they’d selected from Netflix. “Thought that new medicine was working?”
“It is,” Caleb said. “I was actually thinking about something else.”
Tyson gave him a crooked grin. “Guess I don’t have to ask what.”
“And that’s what’s making you sigh?” Harley asked. “Us? Honest, Cal, if you think we shouldn’t venture into the deep end, then we won’t. I don’t want a couple of kisses to ruin a lifetime of friendship.”
She’d misinterpreted his anxiety. His problem wasn’t that he didn’t want to be with her. He wanted her so fucking much it was distracting him from everything else.
“I don’t want to ruin it either.” Caleb grasped her hands and pulled her up until she was sitting between them, her legs still lying over his lap. He cupped her cheeks, pulling her lips toward his.
It was physically impossible to be so close and not kiss her. Harley didn’t hold back either. Their lips opened, their tongues touched. Her hands held tightly to his shoulders as he deepened the kiss.
When they parted, he placed his forehead against hers. “My head tells me this is wrong, but…”
“But it doesn’t feel wrong,” she finished when he realized he wasn’t making this easier for any of them.
He shook his head. “No, it doesn’t.”
And just like that, everything shifted. Apparently, they’d run out of excuses.
Tyson moved behind Harley, reaching for the hem of her T-shirt. He tugged the cotton over her head.
“What do you have against bras?” Caleb asked, grinning widely.
“I yanked it off as soon as I got home. Always do. Is that a complaint?”
Caleb shook his head as he cupped one of her bare breasts. She was soft and sweet and purred like a kitten in his arms. “Not at all.”
Tyson ran his lips along the side of Harley’s neck as she looked at Caleb with such desire, such intense need, it took his breath away, fueled his own.
“Whose bedroom?” Caleb had run through the logistics enough to know he didn’t even want to try to make this work on the couch the first time.
“Mine’s closer and the bed’s bigger,” Tyson said as he stood and helped Harley off Caleb’s lap. The two of them headed down the hallway, but Caleb didn’t move.
Instead, he took a second to suck in some much-needed air. His cock was thick and throbbing. He was ready for this. Too ready.
But while they’d kissed and talked, none of them had truly turned the corner, had started down a path with no hope of returning.
Right now, at this moment, they could call a halt and things could return to normal. Friends forever. Platonic roommates.
After tonight?
Well…
After tonight, everything would change.
“Caleb,” Harley called from down the hall.
He stood up, grinning as he walked toward Tyson’s room. After too many years of living up to other people’s expectations, tonight Caleb was doing something that was just for him. Taking something that he wanted more than anything in his life.
Tonight, he wasn’t just going to turn the corner. He was going to cross the bridge, set fire to it, and then leave the damn country.
Tyson and Harley were standing inside the doorway to his friend’s bedroom. They were kissing, Tyson’s hands cupping her breasts, squeezing them gently.
Caleb leaned on the doorjamb, content to watch as his own arousal, his own hunger grew.
Harley grasped the bottom of Tyson’s T-shirt, pulling it off him, her fingers drifting along his chest.
Tyson continued to kiss her, his hands moving, stroking every inch of her he could reach.
“Take off her pants,” Caleb demanded.
Tyson released Harley’s lips, his hands gripping her waist when it appeared she’d take a step away.
Both of them looked at him, questioningly. His tardiness coming to the room had been noticed. Clearly they thought he was still hesitant.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
“Take off her pants, Ty. Now.”
The concern in Tyson’s gaze cleared as he stepped behind Harley, giving Caleb an unobstructed view of their soon-to-be lover.
Harley started to lift her hands to cover her breasts, uncharacteristically shy under his intense scrutiny.
He shook his head, just once, and she found her confidence once more and let her hands fall to her sides again.
Tyson worked the elastic of her lounge pants over her hips. It was instantly obvious it wasn’t just the bra she’d shed earlier.
“No panties,” Caleb remarked with a grin.
She shrugged unapologetically.
The cotton pants dropped to the floor once they cleared her hips and she kicked them off.
“Goddamn. You’re so beautiful, love.”
Harley hadn’t blushed at her nudity, but her cheeks went pink at Caleb’s praise. Then he considered something he hadn’t thought of before.
“How long has it been for you, Harley?”
There hadn’t been anyone at home since she’d broken up with Juan years earlier. But that didn’t mean she hadn’t met someone in Florida.
Then she confirmed what he already knew. “Not since Juan.”
“Jesus,” Tyson muttered. “Talk about diving off the deep end. No sex in years and now…”
“I’m a champ when it comes to masturbating,” she joked.
Caleb laughed. Tyson didn’t. He also didn’t say what they were all thinking. She was going from cold turkey to ménage in the blink of an eye.
“We’ll go slow,” Tyson whispered against her neck.
While his friend couldn’t see Harley’s unspoken response to that comment, Caleb had a front row seat to her expressions.
She didn’t want slow. If anything, the abstinence was taking its toll on her.
“Or,” Caleb said, walking to stand in front of her. “We’ll go hard and fast and kinky as hell. Preference?”
She laughed breath
lessly. “What you said sounds good.”
Tyson lifted his head, glancing at Caleb’s face. His friend instantly understood he’d misread her needs. “Get on the bed, Harley.”
Caleb took the time to enjoy the view of her ass as she climbed into the middle of Tyson’s king-size mattress. Even with the large bed, they’d be a tight fit. Neither he nor Tyson were small men.
If Tyson was feeling any of the same reticence that had been lingering in Caleb’s mind all week, he didn’t show it. His lounge pants joined Harley’s on the floor within seconds, and then Tyson was beside her on the mattress, kissing her once more.
While he enjoyed the show, Caleb figured it was time to catch the hell up. He stripped quickly and climbed onto the bed on the opposite side.
When the mattress sank under his weight, Tyson released her, so she could turn and give him some of those oh-so-sweet kisses.
Caleb closed his eyes, savoring the feeling of her hands on his shoulders, and her soft mews whenever he deepened the kiss, or when…
Caleb’s eyelids slid open as he pulled away briefly. Tyson’s hands had slipped around her, cupping her breasts, toying with the nipples. Caleb watched Tyson play with her, observed her response to the touches—sometimes soft, sometimes a bit rougher.
Everything in his life fell into place.
God, now that he was here, it seemed so damn obvious.
He’d been in love with Harley forever and he didn’t even realize it. What’s more, he loved Tyson too. He craved his friend’s presence in the bed as much as he longed to bury himself deep inside Harley’s body.
Caleb reached lower, rubbing just one finger between her legs, seeking her clit.
Harley gasped softly, then spread her legs apart, granting him easier access. The motion was the equivalent to firing a starter’s pistol at the beginning of a race.
Tyson gently pressed Harley to her back between them. As Caleb ran his fingers along her slit, Tyson leaned closer, sucking one of her nipples into his mouth.
Harley’s hips tilted toward his touch, silently demanding more. He wasn’t about to refuse that request. Caleb slid two fingers inside. She was warm, tight, wet. Perfect.