by Fawkes, Sara
for.
“I did.”
She placed her hand on my thigh as I spoke, and this time I couldn’t stop the erection from
springing to life. This time, however, I didn’t care if anyone else noticed.
I only cared about Adele.
Leaning in, she pressed her lips to my ear. The damp heat of her breath on my lobe drove me wild.
“I have to apologize, too.” She pressed a finger to my lips to hush me when I started to disagree.
“Yes, I do. Because I cared what yours friends thought too. I shouldn’t have. I should have fought for
you. For us.”
Pulling back, she squeezed the muscles of my thigh, and I swallowed a groan at the touch. The grin
she gave me then was wicked.
“Dorian would tell us to live for tomorrow, not yesterday.”
I thought of the ravens that soared across her back, and finally understood their true meaning.
And Dorian was right. More than that, this felt right, curling up with Adele on a couch at a
coffeehouse to watch some music, even felt strangely right that I could still smell him on her skin.
It’s only a big deal if one of us makes it that way.
Keeping that in mind, I pulled Adele’s head down to rest on my shoulder, then settled in to watch
the show.
DORIAN
From the stage, I watched as Adele moved in close to Mal, her skin still flushed from my touch.
Something had happened to link them together again, but rather than making me jealous, I found that I
liked it.
The three of us in sync together just felt... right.
I poured myself into the show like I never had, and I knew that I was singing for Adele. God, I
couldn’t take my eyes off of her, never mind all of the scantily clad girls who ‘danced’ right in front
of the stage, showing me what they had to offer.
I didn’t want any of it. All I wanted was Adele. Every time I looked at her I got hotter, and I was
damn glad that I had my guitar strapped over my shoulders, the instrument hiding prying eyes from
seeing just what watching Adele and Mal casually touch one another was doing for me.
I was incredibly relieved when the band reached the last song. I nodded to Pax, my signal that I
was ready—he’d forgiven me for going off on him, I knew, though he probably still didn’t understand
it.
“Thanks for coming out tonight, everyone.” Clearing my throat, I grabbed the mic, pulled the stand
toward me, cast a quick look around the rest of the room.
I’d stood on a stage like this thousands of times before, but sometimes—like now—I still couldn’t
quite believe that these people were here to see us.
“I’d like to dedicate our last song of the night to someone very special. Two someones, in fact.”
Raking my hands through my hair to rid my hand of the sweat I’d worked up from being on stage in
the bright light, I cast a wicked grin around the room, heard the excitement of some of the girls, then
zeroed in on Adele.
The heat radiating between the two of us—the three of us—was palpable. Fuck, I’d just been
inside of her, and I couldn’t wait to be there again.
“So... this one is for two very special friends, one new, one old.” I saw Adele part her lips, saw her
hand stray to rest on Mal’s thigh. Mal dipped his head to press a kiss to her hair, then turned to look
me right in the eye.
I felt a jolt when I took in his measured stare.
I wasn’t going to go slapping a label on it... but, fuck yeah, the three of us together felt right.
Swallowing thickly, I forced my attention back to the show.
“Here’s our biggest hit, mates, and thank you for coming. This is Three Little Words.” Turning
from Mal and Adele, I winked at the crowd, then poured myself into the song.
Three little words are all you want to hear
You reach out for me when I’m gone
What I feel for you, when I hold you near
Three little words will never be enough.
I was singing it all for her.
When the show was over, I all but leapt off the stage—no encore tonight, I was too keyed up.
Sneaking looks at Mal and Adele—well, probably I wasn’t so sneaky—I helped the guys pack up our
gear.
I’d never wanted to be somewhere else more in my life, but the band only worked if we all did our
share.
By the time we’d loaded the van up—and I was never again going to be able to ride in that thing
without getting a hard-on—most of the crowd in the coffee shop had dispersed. It was coming up on
closing time, and most of the customers had been students who had class in the morning.
“Sure you won’t come for a pint or two?” Pax gave me a light punch in the arm. The guys were
walking to a pub a few blocks away for a post show beer or two, something that wasn’t an official
Three Little Words ritual, but that we usually did anyway.
I hesitated for a long moment before shaking my head—I knew what the guys were thinking.
I was blowing them off for a girl. A hot girl, but still just a piece of tail to their way of thinking.
And I’d known Wyatt, Levi and Pax for over ten years.
“Ah, lay off him, Pax.” Levi waggled his eyebrows at me lewdly, and I shoved lightly at his
shoulder. “Can’t you see our Dorian is in love?”
Pax smirked at me; I narrowed my eyes back. Damn it, I was usually the one in control, poking fun
at the others. Wanting Adele had completely thrown me off of my game.
“Yeah, but is he in love with the strawberry tart, or with the guy who was making goo-goo eyes at
D throughout the show?” Pax quirked an eyebrow at me, and I stared at him, caught entirely off guard.
“Goo-goo eyes?” I asked when I’d found my voice. “The fuck he was.”
My voice sounded strangled even to my own ears. I’d known there was some kind of... energy...
between Mal and I, energy that centered on Adele. And I was an open minded guy. Musicians tended
to be, I’d found.
But having one of my friends comment on it... I wasn’t sure what to say.
“There’s a pervert in all of us, mate. Some just hide it better than others.”
I’d been poking fun at Mal when I’d said that, though I’d been half serious—I’d always believed
that society made us humans bury the sexual desires that really drove us all, just to fit into what
someone, somewhere, had once decided was normal.
But this... this wasn’t something I’d ever really thought of as being part of my own brand of kink.
And yet I couldn’t bring myself to deny anything.
Huh. That would be something to chew over later.
“Have a stubbie on me, mates.” Fishing a twenty from my pocket, I flicked it at Wyatt, who
somehow managed to catch it in his teeth. Grinning, he ushered Pax and Levi up the street, leaving me
behind.
They were my closest mates, my brothers, but I couldn’t wait for them to go.
Pushing through the back door, I returned inside, moving straight to where Mal and Adele were
still melded together on the couch. Adele handed me my phone with a sweet smile, and I found that I
was ridiculously pleased by the photo of her that was now my screen’s background.
“Hi.” Sitting on the edge of the coffee table that lay in front of them, I looked up with irritation
when Marti sidled over, an obnoxious smirk on her face.
“Everything’s cleaned up,” she said to Adele, like she’d been put out by doing the wo
rk, never
mind that Adele’s shift had been over hours ago. “Time to close up. Let’s go. In fact, why don’t we all
go out somewhere together?”
The girl laid her hand with those purple talons on my arm uninvited, the second time in two days. I
really tried my best to be patient with fans, even when they got pushier than I’d like, but I’d reached
my limit with her.
“We’ve got plans, thanks.” Shrugging away her hand, I didn’t even look her way as I spoke.
Adele was watching Marti with apparent calmness, but I was pretty sure I saw a hint of
apprehension in her eyes. I didn’t care for it.
Marti huffed out an irritable breath, gesturing at Adele.
“Well, you have to go. We’re closing.” She stuck her nose in the air. I watched Adele, fascinated at
the range of emotions playing over her face. No, I hadn’t imagined the apprehension, but she hid it
well, settling her features into a poker face.
“Make sure to flip the sign around and lock the door behind you.” Adele’s expression was
unreadable as Marti sneered, trying to stare her down.
“You can’t do that. You can’t stay here after we’re closed.” Marti fisted her hands on her hips, the
expression on her face nasty. I wondered what her deal was—I truly couldn’t see how anyone could
dislike Adele.
“You can’t, actually, but I can.” Adele was still outwardly calm, but as I looked back and forth
between the two women, I sensed a darker undercurrent, could see Adele’s fingers rubbing nervously
back and forth over the thigh of her shorts.
What the fuck was going on?
“I’m going to tell Charlie. You’re going to be out on your ass.” A speckle of spit flew from
Marti’s mouth as she spoke smugly. It landed on my arm, and I grimaced with distaste.
“You go right ahead and tell him. Charlie’s our boss,” she added in an aside to Mal and I. There
was a slight tremble in her voice, but she raised her chin proudly and continued. “He gives some
leeway to the employees that he really trusts. But if Marti tries to make trouble, I might just have to
mention the customer that she blew in the bathroom last weekend. I don’t think he’d like that at all.”
“How did you—” Marti gasped, outraged, her cheeks slowly turning a mottled shade of purple. If
this had been any other two girls, I’d have been cheering them on towards a catfight. But the more I
saw of Marti, the less I liked her.
I just wanted her to go away so I could be alone with Adele and Mal. I wasn’t going to give her
what she thought she wanted. Ever.
I didn’t fuck bitches.
Seething, Marti turned on her heel and started to stalk away. A wave of relief rolled over me.
Finally, she was getting the hint.
But just when I thought she was really going to go, she whirled back around, her fingers grasping
for the strap of her purse, pulling it tight.
Her eyes narrowed to dark, glittery beads, locking in on Adele in a way that set my nerves
humming, and not in a good way.
“You’re a slut, Adele.” Marti hissed, her eyes shooting daggers. “This whole town knows it. The
only reason these two are here with you is because they know you’ll spread your legs for anyone with
a cock.”
I was out of my seat before the bitch had even finished speaking, my fists clenched, my body
tensed. Mal was the same way beside me.
I’d never in my life hit a girl, never wanted to, but there was a first time for everything.
Frozen on the couch, Adele made a strangled sound. When I looked down, I saw pain flashing over
her features, a pain that she seemed to be struggling to repress.
Marti saw it too, and smirked.
“Have you told your... men... here what you did two years ago, Adele?” The girl’s nature went far
beyond that of bitch, I saw then. She was fucking vicious.
“Don’t go talking about things you have no clue about, Marti.” Adele’s voice was deadly calm, but
I was close enough to see the wildness in her eyes.
What had happened two years ago? Was that Adele’s big secret?
Part of me wanted Marti to go on. The other part of me wanted to punch her in the face.
“Should I tell them, Adele? They should probably know what a whore you are—”
I didn’t get a chance to see whether I would or wouldn’t hit a girl, because Adele was out of her
seat and across the room before either Mal or I could even move. The change in her was electric. I
watched, slightly awed, as the sweet girl I’d gotten to know in the last few days turned into a scary as
hell volcano goddess before our very eyes.
I thought she might actually pull back and deck Marti right on the girl’s pointy little chin. Instead
she grabbed two handfuls of her co-workers’ long, dark hair, and yanked until they were face to face,
nose to nose.
“You don’t ever call me a slut. Do you hear me?” Adele’s voice was calm, but the kind of deadly
undercurrent that told me Marti’s name calling had released a torrent of hidden pain.
“You can call me a bitch. You can call me a cunt. But you do not call me a slut.” Exercising what
must have been extreme control, Adele released her grip on the other girl’s hair.
Marti stared, her mouth hanging open. Adele tapped a finger underneath it, ever so helpfully
closing it for her.
“You also might want to think twice before perpetuating rumors that you know bullshit about. And
I’m going to tell you this, though I don’t think you’ll hear it. Calling other woman sluts and whores
does nothing but take away from the power of every woman, including you.” Adele stood straight, and
I thought she looked like a queen. “Now get the fuck out of here, and I won’t tell Charlie about any of
this. Though I’m sure he’ll find out who you truly are soon enough.”
With wide eyes, Marti did as Adele told her to, scurrying to the front door. There was a blast of
cold air as she slid outside.
The yowl of a cat cut through the night before we heard the key turning in the lock, followed by a
startled shriek. A strangled bark of laughter escaped from my throat as I imagined Humper the cat
taking a liking to Marti’s pointy toed shoes.
Casting a sidelong glance at Mal, my brittle amusement subsided. I saw everything I was feeling
mirrored on his face. We stayed silent, waiting as Adele sucked in great lungfuls of air, then slowly
turned around.
“I suppose you’re going to ask what the fuck that was all about?” Rather than sounding angry, she
seemed resigned, and the look on her face just about broke my heart. Mal and I moved as one, me at
her back, Mal at her front, holding her close, cocooning her in a protective shell.
The tangle of limbs felt right. It felt exciting. And when I looked into Mal’s eyes, I could tell that
he felt that way, too.
“You don’t have to tell us anything unless you want to.” Bending his neck, Mal pressed a kiss to
Adele’s lips. I think it was meant to be short and sweet, to offer her support, but she latched on to him
like she was drowning, kissing him back with pent up heat.
As I watched, I felt fire licking along my veins. I’d had a few threesomes—I was in a band, after
all—but they’d always been with two other girls.
I’d never thought about being with one woman and a man. But this was the woman...
/> And it was fucking hot.
Adele broke away from the kiss, and as she did she groaned. I groaned, too, because as she moved
her sweet ass pressed back into the cock that was suddenly paying a hell of a lot of attention.
“You guys are killing me.” Reaching behind her, she wrapped her arm around my neck, brought
me down for a kiss too. Her open mouth invited me to sink right in, to meet the thrusts of her velvety
tongue with my own. I could taste Mal on her, his masculine flavor mingling with her sweetness, and
it made me come undone.
When Adele pulled away, all three of us were breathing heavily.
“I haven’t even looked at a man in two years.” Her voice sounded thick, and she cleared her throat
before continuing. “Haven’t wanted to. But then the two of you come around, and you both make me
feel so safe. So alive.” She looked at Mal, then at me, and her eyes shone with emotion.
“I should be thrilled that you both want me. But I can’t, because logically I know that one day I’m
going to have to choose. And turning away from one of you is going to break my heart.”
Inhaling deeply, she looked down at the floor.
I looked at Mal.
He looked at me.
We were both thinking the exact same thing, I knew it. I nodded at him, indicating with my head
that he be the one to say it.
He had the history with her, and of the two of us he was steadier, more mature. It would sound
more serious, more real coming from him.
Tucking my fingers beneath Adele’s chin, I lifted her face, positioned her so that she had to look
into Mal’s eyes, which looked nearly navy in the dim light of the closed coffee shop.
Mal pushed his glasses up his nose, looked at me, then looked down at Adele. As he did I saw
everything that I felt reflected in his gaze.
“Adele.” His voice was serious, steady—the voice I knew he would one day use in a courtroom to
make his point.
“Adele. What if you didn’t have to choose?”
Chapter Eleven
MAL
I couldn’t believe that those words had actually come out of my mouth. But even as Adele looked up
at me like I’d lost my ever-loving mind, the notion settled down in my chest, and I knew that it was
right.
“What do you mean?” Her brow furrowed with suspicion.
I hated whatever had made her so wary.