Muscling In

by Lily Harlem

  As the storm grumbled and the rain became an angry torrent against the window I peeled vegetables and made up a creamy mushroom sauce. The news was still on. I could hear the low drone of voices coming from the living room.

  After I’d put the chicken in the oven I picked up the coffee pot and went to see if Ed wanted a refill.

  I stopped in the doorway of the living room. He was fast asleep. His head was tilted back, his mouth slightly parted and his chest rising and falling softly. The bag of sweetcorn was balanced on his swollen injury.

  A smile tugged my lips. It was good he felt so relaxed in our home. That he could just fall asleep even with the TV on and a storm raging.

  I reached for a throw and lay it over his legs and halfway up his chest. He didn’t stir. Goodness only knew the extent of his exhaustion or when he’d last slept somewhere comfortable.

  I turned the volume of the news down a little but not off completely in case that disturbed him, then went back to the kitchen. I tidied up and made a whipped chocolate mousse for dessert, one of my specialities.

  The storm picked up, the loud claps of thunder relentless. Twice I glanced at Ed to see if he’d woken.

  He hadn’t.

  Eventually I heard Coben’s key in the front door. I dashed to greet him.

  He was standing dripping on the mat. The short run from car to house had managed to drench his hair and his suit jacket.

  “Bloody awful out there,” he said.

  “Shh…” I pressed my index finger to my lips and shut the door with a quiet click. “He’s sleeping. But I don’t think he’ll wake easily. He’s not stirred even with this racket going on.”

  “Likely he’s exhausted. Batteries on empty.” Coben shrugged out of his jacket and hung it on the coat stand. He tugged off his shoes. “Is he in there?”

  “Yes.” I followed Coben as he wandered into the living room.

  He stopped and stared at the sleeping Ed.

  “Just a few bruises and scrapes,” I whispered, linking my hand with Coben’s.

  He squeezed my fingers and exhaled long and slow. “Thank God for that.”

  “Yes.”

  Coben indicated the empty plate. “He’s eaten?”

  “A sandwich for now. I’ve got chicken cooking.”

  “Good.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to the top of Ed’s head.

  Ed still didn’t stir. He just continued to breathe steadily, his features relaxed and the flickering light of the TV screen dancing over him.

  Coben looked at me and smiled. “It’s a good day.”

  “It is.”

  He pulled me close and wrapped me against his damp body.

  “You’re wet,” I said quietly and smiled up at him.

  “I’ll go and get changed. Maybe he will have woken by then.”

  ****

  Five hours later Ed was still snoring gently. He’d barely moved apart from a few slight stretches of his spine as though his body ached even in his sleep.

  Coben and I were cuddled up on the sofa. Our bellies were full and I’d eventually put Ed’s meal in the fridge for him to have when he awoke, or even tomorrow.

  The news had been on again and now we were both lazily watching some quiz show that had mildly humorous guests. The storm had long since passed and the open window let in the scent of wet, warm tarmac.

  Coben yawned.

  “Shall we go to bed?” I asked softly.

  “What and leave him?” He nodded at Ed.

  “He’s a big boy. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

  Coben frowned.

  “Come on. I can’t sleep here or I’ll pay for that tomorrow. He knows where we’ll be if he wakes up.”

  Coben still didn’t look convinced.

  “He’ll be fine.” I paused. “And let’s face it, he could sleep like that for another eight hours.”

  “I suppose.”

  “Go get a warmer blanket for him and I’ll shut the window and lock up.”

  “Okay.” Coben stood.

  I busied myself in the kitchen and checked the back door was secure. I then did the same with the front door.

  As I went back into the living room to shut the window Coben was gently spreading out a cream fluffy blanket over Ed.

  For a moment it looked almost comical, these two beefy soldiers with a blanket and a soft pink chair—one sleeping, the other caring. But then the reality of it hit me. It was because of the crap they’d been through that made the gentle times all the more gentle. Coben had a better idea than most about what Ed did, what he’d have been through these last few days. It made him the ideal partner for Ed, especially if he didn’t completely crack up when Ed was away on a mission.

  Which he hadn’t. He’d been worried but he’d stayed strong.

  Could it actually work as a long-term arrangement for us?

  The thought hit me like a punch to the stomach. Long term? Long-term threesome? Me, Coben and Ed.

  Yes, I’d toyed with the idea but only like watching a butterfly flutter past. It was transient, not really mine. But now, seeing them like this and having been in Ed’s arms earlier, kissing him, surrounded by his need and desire, it was as if the triangle of us, the three of us, had linked up.

  I could imagine it. I could see how it might just work.

  Coben hit mute on the TV but left it on, kind of like a night light for Ed. He turned to me and a flash of worry dashed over his face.

  “What?” I whispered.

  “He won’t just get up and leave, will he?”

  “No.” I shook my head.

  “You sure?”

  “Yes. He wanted to know when you’d be home, how you’d been. He wanted to see you.”

  Coben seemed suitably convinced and with one last look at Ed we went up the stairs hand in hand.

  I brushed my teeth and jumped through the shower while Coben checked a few e-mails on his laptop. Earlier I’d hoped the three of us would be tumbling into bed together, but with Ed so exhausted that wasn’t on the cards. I didn’t really mind, though. He was here. He was safe. That was what was important.

  As I dried and went through my skin care routine, Coben stepped naked into the bathroom.

  He never failed to take my breath away.

  He flicked on the shower and stepped in, holding his face up to the warm stream of water. His hair slicked back and the water caressed his body, dipping into the slope of his sternum and down his abs. His cock was at half-mast and his pubes dark and wet against his groin.

  He caught me looking. “What?” he asked, reaching for the showergel.

  “Nothing.” I grinned.

  He looked at me quizzically as he rubbed the suds over his body.

  “You’re just gorgeous that’s all.”

  “Takes one to know one.” He laughed—a lovely, light sound that told me how relieved he was that Ed was back safe.

  That we’re all under one roof.

  “I can see why Ed is so hot for you,” I said, removing my towel and hanging it up.

  “And you.” Coben rinsed away the suds before stepping from the shower. He grabbed a fresh towel and began to briskly rub himself, his gaze not moving from me.

  “He told me,” I said, applying a slick of buttery body lotion to my arms.

  “What?”

  “That he wanted me.”

  “He did?”

  “Yes and…”

  “What?”

  I looked directly at him.

  He stopped drying and a frown creased his brow. “What is it, babe?”

  “He kissed me. We kissed…I…it happened.”

  He nodded slowly. “You kissed and…?”

  “There is no and.” I stepped up to him. “We established that we both found the other desirable, very desirable, kissed and then stopped. We couldn’t, wouldn’t, do anything else without you there, Coben. That was important to both of us. You are important to both of us. So important.”

  He smiled, just a little. “And you�
�re both important to me.” He paused. “Thank you, for waiting for me. I don’t know why it’s so vital when I’ve already made the decision to let him…make love to you, but it is.”

  “We can’t always explain our emotions.”

  “I want it. I want us both to be inside you, so badly I’m walking around like a horny teenager thinking about it.” He reached down and held his cock. “But that first time, him and you, I have to be there. It’s that imagination thing. It’s harder to face than reality sometimes and I don’t want to get screwed up thinking about it afterward.”

  “You will be there. I promise.” I stepped away. “Now come to bed.”

  “I’ll just brush my teeth.” He smiled and stepped up to the sink.

  Coben and I didn’t make love. Instead we wound our limbs together and I settled my head in my favorite spot on his shoulder. The air felt lovely and fresh after the storm and a light breeze made the curtain shift slightly over the open window.

  I soon found myself lulled into a floaty dream where I was dancing through rainbows. I had a paintbrush in my hand and was drawing clouds and stars, adding more rainbows over the first. I was light and free. Coben was there, and Ed. The man I’d tattooed that day, Nick, was with his mother and so was the hostage lady, Brenda Doll, though she had no face just a quiet voice.

  “Hey,” a quiet voice said by my ear. “How are you doing, sexy?”

  A big, hot body settled next to mine. I was already snuggled against Coben and as I lifted from my dream there was one word on my lips. “Ed.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Ed,” I repeated, shifting in Coben’s arms.

  He kissed my cheek, his chin scratching my flesh. “You left me sleeping.”

  “You looked like you needed it.”

  “Yeah, I always need sleep after a mission.” He stroked his hand over my hair. “Sorry to be a party pooper.”

  “We were happy to wait for you.” I smiled up at his shadowy outline.

  “Edward.” Coben half sat. “Fuck, I can’t tell you how relieved I was when Sian text to say you were home.”

  Ed also sat and he reached over me to draw Coben into a tight embrace.

  Light from a street lamp flitted over them, highlighting their defined muscles.

  “Home?” Ed repeated.

  “Yeah back in the UK.” He paused. “Here, in our home.”

  Ed pressed a soft kiss to Coben’s lips. It quickly intensified, became urgent and breathy.

  “Damn, I can’t tell you how good it is to be here,” Ed said, breaking the kiss and looking down at me. His gaze dipped to my breasts, exposed now the sheet had slipped. “With you both.”

  Coben slid his hand over my right breast, cupped the flesh, then tweaked my nipple.

  I squirmed a little, enjoying the slight discomfort.

  Ed reached out and hovered his hand over my left breast.

  I held my breath as a wave of longing went through me—longing for Ed to put his hands on me too. I wanted them both. I craved the sensation of two men touching me at the same time. Desiring me, wanting me, adoring me.

  But not just any two men. These two men.

  Ed looked at Coben.

  Coben’s attention went from his own hand, to Ed’s poised over my breast, then up to Ed’s face. He gave a slight nod.

  Ed looked at me and rested his hand over my flesh.

  I breathed out, long and slow. This was my time. My time with Ed and my time with Coben.

  Ed’s warm hand squeezed my breast the same way Coben’s was. My hard nipples were trapped. I felt so consumed already by the two big men looming over me. How would I feel when…?

  “Coben.” I gasped.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  “Yes.” I arched my spine. “Fuck I want you both…”

  “We know,” Ed said. He leaned down and caught my mouth with his.

  I kissed him back, our tongues sliding against each other as my legs and body continued to be cushioned between them. Ed tasted rich and masculine, his facial hair so different to the feel of Coben’s softly shaven skin.

  My breasts were still being caressed, my nipples tweaked. I groaned and felt moisture in my pussy. Surely it would happen now, this grand fantasy.

  Ed sat again.

  He was breathing fast and sporting an impressive erection.

  Oh God, can I really fit that and Coben’s cock inside of me?

  Yes.

  Ed licked his lips and turned to Coben. “She’s so fucking amazing.”

  “I know.” Coben swept his hand down my belly, dipped into my navel, then fluffed his fingers through my strip of pubic hair.

  Ed watched him and sank his teeth into his bottom lip.

  “Every little bit of her is amazing,” Coben said. “Open up, babe.”

  I did as he’d asked and parted my thighs. I was warm and wet, my folds slick.

  Coben slid his fingers over my clit. Something he’d done a thousand times but with Ed watching it felt new again.

  “Yeah, she’s ready for us,” Coben said, slipping into my entrance. “Fuck yeah, Sian, you’re so damn sexy and ready for it.”

  “I know.” I pushed down onto his invasion, greedy for more. “I want it. I want you both.”

  Coben pulled his fingers from me.

  I groaned in frustration.

  “Taste her,” he said to Ed, holding his fingers between their faces.

  “With pleasure.” Ed set his attention on Coben’s fingers. He drew them into him mouth and sucked, his cheeks hollowing as he made an appreciative sound.

  My heart pounded against my rib cage and my head spun with longing. Was I really witnessing this?

  “Good, eh?” Coben said, pulling his fingers from Ed’s mouth.

  “Yeah.” Ed tipped forward and kissed Coben, sharing my flavor.

  I reached down and rubbed my clit. I was shaking with need. These guys were so damn sexy, everything I wanted and more.

  Coben noticed me touching myself. “Ah, ah, I don’t think so.” He caught my wrist. “Not when you have two willing men here to service your every need.”

  “So get servicing,” I replied, pouting and shutting my eyes in frustration.

  Ed chuckled. “She always so demanding?”

  “I’m afraid so.” Coben smiled indulgently at me, then dipped his head and flicked his tongue over my clit.

  I thrust my hips up for more and pressed my head into the pillow. “Please.”

  Coben suckled my clit into his mouth. He was touching me too, rubbing my entrance, pushing into my pussy.

  I opened my eyes. Ed was still massaging my breast. His other hand was between my legs. They were both touching me, easing into me. Coben was working my clit.

  “Oh God,” I murmured. Already a steady pulse was throbbing in my clit. The need to climb to release was building.

  The filling sensation increased. “Fuck, she’s tight,” Ed murmured.

  “It’ll be fine.” Coben kissed upward, over my belly and to my right nipple. He caught it between his teeth and tugged.

  “Coben.” I gasped, running my fingers into his hair.

  “Mmm.”

  “Oh God…” Ed had worked three fingers into me and it felt amazing to have him seated inside me.

  I stared at Coben. “You handling it?”

  “Babe, you’re spectacular.”

  I smiled, then exhaled as an overwhelming urge to thrust onto Ed’s hand came over me. I wanted to come…soon.

  “Hey,” Ed said, pulling out. “You’ve gotta wait for us, you know.”

  “So get started.”

  Ed looked at Coben. His jaw tensed as he swept his damp fingers over Coben’s hair. “Permission,” he said. “To fuck your wife.”

  Coben smiled. “Granted.”

  Ed leaned in and kissed him, then ducked and kissed me.

  I clung to his shoulders, became lost in the dark taste of him, the wideness of his body, the heat of his skin.

  Suddenly I w
as on top of him. He’d rolled us over so I was straddling him the way I had been in the kitchen when he’d been sitting on the chair. “Ed!”

  “Like this.” He reached down and gripped his cock. “Sit on me, ride me, baby.”

  “Yes.”

  Coben was at my side, his arm around my waist. “Allow me,” he said, nudging Ed’s hand away.

  “With pleasure.” Ed reached for my breasts and cupped them in both of his palms.

  Coben held Ed’s cock upright. “Take him, sit down and take him all the way.”

  My entrance was wet and pliant and as Coben directed Ed’s cock in the first inch I knew it was going to feel amazing. He was wide and thick but no more than Coben was.

  “That’s it,” Coben whispered in my ear. “Take him, like that. When he’s in I’m going to fuck your ass, like I did last night. You’ll love that, both of us in you, fucking you, taking you to one hell of an orgasm. We’ll hold you tight.” He applied pressure to my waist, urging me down. “You’ll never forget it, neither will we.”

  I wanted to say that I hoped it would be the first of many times, but I didn’t. My mouth was stuck in an O as Ed’s thick shaft went higher and higher into me. The dense filling was sublime and I held my breath as I took him to full depth.

  Coben rubbed my clit in a gentle up-and-down movement. “Good?”

  “Yes.” I gasped, gripping Ed’s wrists.

  He let out a long, low groan and twitched his hips, sinking just a tiny bit more. “Fuck it’s been a while and I’ve been thinking about this for days, being in you, Sian.”

  “Keep your control, soldier,” Coben said.

  He moved away from me and I shifted. My clit came into contact with Ed’s body.

  “Come here.” He tugged me down. “I need to kiss you.”

  I didn’t object and happily allowed his tongue to slip into my mouth as our lips did a gentle dance.

  He cupped my ass cheeks, his hands so big I felt completely covered by them. As he pulled my buttocks apart a cool swipe of lube slid over my anus.

  “Ahh…” I tensed as Coben repeated the action.

  “Got to get you lubed up,” Coben said. “Relax, babe.”

  “Mmm…” It wasn’t going to be easy. I was tense, primed for a fast and furious ride to satisfaction.