by Mia Ashlinn
Shane tightened his arms around Katie-Anne, and she curled around him like the kitten Landon called her. She smiled up at him serenely then kissed the side of his neck, momentarily stunning him with her unvarnished gesture.
Clearing his throat, Shane pretended that he had dust tickling the back of it. “No, it isn’t about just me anymore. When it involves me, it involves you and Landon.”
“Okay,” she relented. “It’s about all of us, but we are talking about you and not what happened in my past.” Lifting up, she kissed him quickly, the brush of their mouths fleeting yet still managing to be potent. “I have begun the path to healing, and I need you to join me because you need to heal as much as I do. It’s the only way we can move on with our lives.”
Landon brought Shane’s hand to his mouth. Unlocking their fingers, he flipped Shane’s hand over then kissed the palm. “She’s right. It’s time to let go of the past and pave way for the future, Shane.”
Shane’s lips twitched. “You sound like a bogus fortune teller.”
“No,” Katie-Anne disagreed. “He sounds like Svetlana. She told me something quite similar a few months back.”
“Well,” Landon murmured. “If Svetlana says it…”
She rolled her eyes before turning to Shane and asking, “Are you willing to go back with us, Shane? Will you testify so you can let it go—for us and for Kane?”
“We’ll be there with you,” Landon murmured, “every step of the way. You just have to let us in.”
In Shane’s heart, the only word that made sense for him to utter was a resounding yes. Yet his head paused. It hesitated and so did he. It was easy for him to say that he would go back and face the world he’d known as a child and just move on. But he didn’t know if he could. All he knew was that he had to try, despite his misgivings. So, taking a deep breath, he nodded his head. “I will try.”
“That’s all we can ask for,” Katie-Anne murmured then sealed her words with a kiss that wiped out everything around Shane, leaving him alone with the two people he loved most. After that, there was no more talking. They just existed without the outside world creeping in. They just loved without thoughts of the past, present, or future. And everything was all right.
Chapter 27
Sliding into the plush leather seat on Deke’s private jet, Katie-Anne sighed. This is going to be a fun trip to Florida. Over the last two weeks, a wall had slowly built between her, Shane, and Landon—the exact same wall as the one that had separated her and Shane before their marriage. Only this time around it was between Shane and Landon, too.
As the wall grew taller, Katie-Anne found that she was disturbingly unsurprised that everything had fallen apart with the circumstances around them. If she were honest with herself, she’d actually expected it. Life didn’t magically fall into place. It took hard work and unwavering commitment.
After all these years, Shane couldn’t be expected to change overnight. He couldn’t just open up completely and share every thought and feeling he had. And she got that because she was the same way.
Every day was a struggle to not hide in her shell again, especially with the void widening between her and one of the two men she allowed herself to be vulnerable with. But she couldn’t go back to that place. She couldn’t be the Ice Queen again. And she wouldn’t. She refused to be.
However, she wasn’t so sure about Shane. She didn’t know what he wanted anymore. And that scared the hell out of her. If only I knew what to do for him or say to him to fix the distance and the excruciating pain we’re all feeling. If only I could make everything all right. Yet she couldn’t because life didn’t work that way.
The sound of someone else entering the plane caught her attention and pulled her out of her melancholy musings. Looking up, she immediately spotted Shane stepping into the cabin. His nearly black eyes slid to hers, the despairing depths causing her to nearly cry out in pain. But his attention didn’t remain on her long before he dragged his gaze away from hers.
Glancing at the seat across the aisle, he stared at it for a moment before peering back over at the seat next to her. With a heartbreaking helplessness in his eyes, he cleared his throat then sat down—in the chair on the other side of the aisle. Staring off into space, he seemed to drift away from her, lost in wherever his thoughts were
A second later, Landon appeared in the doorway. Before he even took a full step inside the cabin, he spotted the empty seat next to her and cursed. Scanning the interior of the plane, he quickly found Shane and glowered at him.
As though he sensed Landon, Shane appeared to snap out of his thoughtful trance. Locking eyes, her husbands seemed to communicate silently—one frustrated and one troubled. After a moment of tense silence, Shane averted his troubled gaze.
With a grumbled, “Son of a bitch couldn’t even sit with us,” Landon crossed over to her and plopped down into the seat Shane had refused. He buckled his belt with quick and efficient fingers then reached for her. Clasping her hand in his, he held on tight as though she were his lifeline. I guess I am. And he’s mine.
Squeezing his hand reassuringly, she forced a smile to her face. “It’s all right. We can talk, if you want.”
“No, that’s okay,” he replied with a sigh, “I just need to hold you, if that’s okay.”
A real smile bloomed on her face—the first one in days—and she leaned over to rest her head on his wide shoulder. “Always,” she murmured.
* * * *
Today had been the longest day of Shane’s life. First he’d endured the plane ride from Hell where his spouses had clung to each other while he sat alone, wishing that he was holding them and knowing that he’d been the one who’d pushed them away in the first place. Then he’d checked into the hotel with Katie-Anne and Landon. Only he’d chosen to rent a two-bedroom suite for appearance sake which had hurt his spouses’ feelings, particularly Katie-Anne who was bothered by the fact that she couldn’t acknowledge her love or relationship with Landon.
Now, here he was, walking down the wet street with Katie-Anne and Landon in the Florida town he’d spent the first twelve years of his life in. And he was exhausted from the never-ending nights filled with turbulent dreams and tormenting nightmares. And he was miserable because he felt disconnected from himself, as well as his lovers. And, frankly, he was pissed off at the whole fucking world.
“Are you all right?” Katie-Anne asked Shane in a small voice, and his heart squeezed. Over the last fourteen days, he’d shut himself off from everybody, including Katie-Anne and Landon, despite his promise to them and his desperate attempts otherwise. He knew it, and he hated himself for it. However, he had no clue how to fix it. He had no clue how to fix anything.
“I’m fine,” Shane replied tersely then felt bad for his rudeness and added, “Are you okay, little one?”
Katie-Anne winced, her eyes darting away from Shane and going straight to Landon. Extending her hand toward her other husband, she paused then frowned as though remembering she wasn’t supposed to show her feelings for him. With a despairing sigh, she lowered her hand.
Cursing himself over and over for causing distance between his spouses, Shane forced himself to smile and pretend everything was okay. “Why don’t we go to the movies? I’ve always wanted to neck in the back of the movie theater.” Neck? Shit, I sound like a teenage boy from the good old days.
Landon choked but remained mute. He strolled through the darkness, on the other side of Katie-Anne, whistling a depressing tune. His partner hadn’t touched Katie-Anne since their plane landed a few hours ago, and it appeared as though it was getting to him. Shit, I think it’s wearing on all of us.
Since Katie-Anne wore Shane’s ring, it wasn’t like she or Landon could display any level of intimacy or affection. Her permanent frown showed how hard it was on her, as well. Of course, his lack of attention probably wasn’t helping a damn thing. But, when he looked at her, he saw how he’d done exactly what he would have been expected to do, if he’d remained here all tho
se years ago. He fit the stereotype he hated to a perfect T, and that was all he could think about.
Shane had a profitable business. Granted, it was no conglomerate, but it was financially sound. He had a beautiful, blueblood wife who adored him. And, lucky for him, he loved her, too. He had a social set. Okay, they weren’t exactly the type of people these snobs would associate with. But, he had a tight-knit group of people he spent time with and did things with. They were a twisted clique without all of the two-faced elitist bullshit.
Those three aspects were the social trinity in this godforsaken town, and he met them all. Not perfectly, but that didn’t matter. He still met them. Because I’m fucked up like that. I just had to go and do what was expected of me. Rebel, my ass.
Katie-Anne sighed. The clicking of her high heels against the pavement stopped. She turned to Shane and said, “Look, I know this is hard on you, but it’s hard on us to. Stop closing us out. Please.”
“I don’t know if I can,” Shane answered truthfully, probably too honestly, but his wife’s plea cut him to the core. “Shit, Katie-Anne, I promised not to do this, and I don’t go back on promises. But I don’t know how to stop myself from pulling away.” He heaved a harsh and uneven breath. “I just can’t. My mind is a million shades of fucked the hell up right now.”
“You can,” she responded with equal candidness, “but you won’t.”
“Maybe we’re all trying too hard,” Landon murmured, playing the peacekeeper as always. “Could we just attempt to have a normal night together? This is supposed to be a date. It is Saturday night.”
Katie-Anne eyed Shane, and he shifted his attention away. Her penetrating stare made him uncomfortable, more than he wanted to admit. So instead, he focused on Landon. As luck would have it, Landon studiously ignored him, watching Katie-Anne carefully.
With a sigh, Katie-Anne shrugged. “Whatever. I’ll try, if he will,” she said, pointing straight at Shane’s chest.
“I can do that,” Shane replied to her as he grasped her cold hand in his. The feel of her icy fingers brushing against his caused him to shiver. “Your hands are freezing, little one.”
“Well, if someone would warm me up, I wouldn’t have to worry about that,” she replied cheekily, but there was a distinct tremble in her voice. And he wanted to take it away. He wanted to take all the bad away from her, and from Landon, but he couldn’t. So he would try his damnedest to make tonight into a nice evening out, even though he would rather be anywhere but in this town.
“I know I can do that,” he told her then jerked her body against his side. Wrapping his arm around her slender waist, he rested his hand on the sexy curve of her hips. “If you want to see a movie, I know the perfect place to go. And, when we’re done, I guarantee you will be sweating.”
Landon grunted. Instantly, Shane shot his gaze to his husband and felt his stomach drop. The shattered expression on Landon’s face and the pain hovering over him as though it were a cloud preparing to rain evoked a stream of profanities from Shane’s lips. I’m a motherfucking ass clown. How can I do this to him? And Katie-Anne.
If they went to the movie, Shane was going to force Landon to suffer through a couple of hours where he couldn’t touch either of them, but he could listen and watch. That wasn’t fair to him. Hell, it wasn’t fair to any of them.
“Land—” Katie-Anne said, but Landon cut her a dirty look. Instead of backing down, their woman stubbornly jutted her chin out. “Don’t give me that look. I was going to say that I will not go in there if I cannot touch you. You are my husband, too. Damn it.”
Shaking his head, Landon growled, “No. That will only make things worse.” He pinned Shane with a glare that was hotter than the one he’d given Katie-Anne. “It will give him the chance to give this town the finger. He wants to show everyone how he is nothing like them. Well, that’ll do it. I can hear people talking about the perverted McCullough boy and his two bitches now.”
“So what?” Shane snapped. “I don’t get it. Why does it fucking matter to you?”
Landon ground to an unexpected halt, falling behind them. “Because I want all of you, asshole, and so does our wife.”
Shane’s heart iced over as his fury lodged deep inside his soul. “What does that have to do with any of this? You two have all of me, dumbass.”
Katie-Anne snorted.
Landon laughed, sounding way too bitter for Shane’s liking. “No, I don’t. The Shane Jacobs that I know is hiding from his husband and wife. The real Shane Jacobs is putting on a show for this town and pretending to be something he is damn well not to prove that he didn’t become like one of them.”
Frowning, Landon said, “I won’t have all of you until you move past this shit. I’m so tired of this. You need to face your fucking past, Shane. It isn’t going to go away.”
“Are you going to walk away, if I don’t face it?”
Landon snorted. “God, I wish I could, but I’m a glutton for punishment. For some stupid ass reason, I love you. And, as I have told Katie-Anne repeatedly, love doesn’t run.” Sliding his fingers through his thick blond hair, he shrugged. “I guess we are fucking stuck together until you work through all this horseshit with us.”
“Don’t sound so damn thrilled about it,” Shane snapped.
“I’m not fucking happy about it,” Landon retorted. “Who would be?”
“Then leave,” Shane blurted out unexpectedly, the horrifying words popping out before he had a chance to control or censure himself.
Katie-Anne gasped, but Shane’s rushed words ran over top of her sudden intake of air. “Oh shit, Landon,” Shane said. “I’m sor—”
Shane didn’t have a chance to finish his statement because Landon stormed right up to him and, grabbing him by the collar, pushed him up against the glass store window behind them. The thud of his back hitting the glass and the grunt he made didn’t even register in his shocked mind. “Landon, what the fuck is wrong with you? I didn’t mean it, and you know it.”
“You want to know what the hell is wrong with me? Well, I’ll show you what the hell is wrong with me,” Landon snarled then slammed his lips to Shane’s, not giving him time to take a breath or make a move before thrusting his tongue inside his mouth.
The authority in Landon’s tone didn’t sit well with Shane, and he found the need to dominate rising inside of him. Rather than subdue his lust-filled urges, Shane flipped his and Landon’s bodies around, propelling his husband’s back into the glass. Pushing Landon’s tongue back in his own mouth, Shane plundered inside, controlling their kiss with the pure dominance boiling inside of him, threatening to run over him and everyone in his path.
In return, Landon gave his mouth to Shane. He met Shane’s tongue, touch for touch, clash for clash.
Katie-Anne’s dainty hand caressed the back of Shane’s head, surprising him and making him jump slightly. Her floral scent filled his nostrils, and it caused his lust, and his rage, to launch to the stars. He turned his unrestrained passion to the man at his lips, ravaging his mouth without compunction.
Shane circled Landon’s tongue. He slid his tongue against Landon’s velvety one. Then he tangled them together, twisting them and twining them. Landon groaned gutturally, which spurred Shane on, but not nearly as much as the brush of soft, feminine lips against his earlobe.
“I’ve always heard that angry sex is the best kind,” Katie-Anne murmured, her sweet voice sounding stern, almost clinical. She nibbled on his ear, her tongue coming out to play with the lobe. “You’re pissed. I’m pissed. Landon’s pissed. You two get the caveman dominance sex out of your system. Then I can tell you exactly what I think of you and this whole damn situation. We should be able to squeeze in my angry fuck before bedtime.”
Shivering as her teeth grazed his flesh, Shane pulled back to warn her of what was to come for her, but she stopped him. Using her hand, she restricted his movements, keeping his mouth on Landon’s. The strength she exerted stunned him momentarily, and Landon took advantage
of his distraction.
Using the grip he had on Shane’s sweater, Landon hauled him around until his back hit the glass a second time. Obviously anticipating Landon’s actions, Katie-Anne moved out of their way. But, before Shane could recover his breath, Landon turned on him once again, assaulting his mouth and giving him exactly what they both wanted—an X-rated war.
Their erotic battle turned feral, and he forgot all about Katie-Anne’s attempt at topping from bottom. There would be time for that later.
Shane and Landon both went crazy, fighting with everything they had. Katie-Anne kept them going as she whispered earthy words to them. “Fight him, Landon. Give him hell,” she said. “He deserves it for being such a high-handed prick.”
Shane grunted, but Landon still held strong, not releasing his hold in the slightest.
“Are you going to take this from him, Shane?” Katie-Anne whispered as she moved behind Landon, pressing all their bodies close together. “Push him until he can’t take anymore then make him surrender to you.”
Shane and Landon groaned simultaneously into each other’s mouth. But, still, neither released the other’s. Their kiss just kept going. Their fight kept building toward its peak.
“I dare you to fuck him right here,” she murmured. “That would be the ultimate show of dominance. If you don’t care what the town thinks of us, then bend him over and ram your big cock inside his ass. That’ll show everyone in this town what a big badass my husband is.”
Son of a motherfucking bitch. I’m going to wear her ass out later.
Unable to hold on any longer, Shane let the beast inside him loose. His hands came up, and he ran his fingers through Landon’s blonde hair roughly, not stopping when his fingers snagged in the strands. He just pushed right through, which didn’t seem to bother Landon whose hands came up also.
Landon cupped his face, but it wasn’t sweet, and it wasn’t loving. This was raw. This was power. His hands were so strong against Shane’s skin that it was approaching painful. But, God, Shane loved it. Landon seemed to, too, if his rumbling chest were an indication.