Chapter 19
Everly twitchedas Cruz hit the remote, sending a round of vibrations through her. When he’d mentioned them to us, I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about how she would look in them. The last few days of edging hadn’t been intentional, but with everything going on with the company and investors, there hadn’t been a free moment.
Waking up with Everly’s sexy body wedged between Kieran and me was torture. I’d started getting up early just to have time to jack off in the shower. It was a poor replacement for the real thing, though.
Tasting her this morning had been exactly what I needed. I’d been craving her since our time together at the beach, only to be interrupted or cock blocked every second since. But it felt worth it. Everly was changing both Kieran and me, and it went beyond desire. Kieran had been more confident and relaxed this week than I’d ever seen him. He’d somehow been able to harness the energy he had on stage when he performed; the thoughts in his head quieted for once.
“He’s different,” Cruz said, echoing my own thoughts. The possession I felt over Kieran had dwindled over the week as I’d watched Cruz and Everly with him. I’d been worried that Cruz would eat him up and spit him out once he was done. But so far, that hadn’t been the case, and I prayed I wouldn’t have to destroy Cruz if that ever changed… for Everly’s sake.
Yeah, because she’s the only one who likes the possessive asshole.
Distracting myself from the feelings I didn’t want to look too closely at yet, I turned to him and studied his face. His dark brown eyes were trained on Everly, enjoying how she squirmed when he set off the vibrations. But occasionally, his eyes would flick up to Kieran, and a softness would appear around the edges of his face, his lips tilting up slightly.
Me and Cruz stood in the back against the wall, Everly sitting up front at a table chatting with a few of the wives, while Kieran went over his presentation on his latest developments with his smartwatch and what he hoped to achieve with it.
“How so?” I asked, curious as to what he saw in Kieran. Cruz turned to me, his eyes meeting mine. An inferno swirled in them, and I lost myself as I waited with bated breath for his answer. It felt like it was more than just an observation.
“He’s more like he is as Phantom. He’s confident and absorbed in what he’s doing with a singular focus. Before, he often deferred to you, almost like you were a shield for him to hide behind. His strength came from your bond, but now it’s coming from himself.”
Cruz put into words what I’d been trying to decipher, twisting something in my heart. His face softened, and he reached out and slid his hand over my jaw. His thumb traced over my cheek, and I fought to close my eyes or sway into him.
“He still needs you, Meu Dengo. I don’t think that will ever change. You both give each other something only the other can. But it’s like he’s found his own story to live instead of reading someone else’s.”
“Are you ever going to tell me what that means, Gato?” I asked with a smirk to avoid the heart flutters I felt. Cruz was a dangerous addiction I didn’t know I’d be able to quit. He pushed me out of my comfort zones, taking away all the carefully laid nets I’d constructed for myself over the years.
Be in charge—no one can see how scared you are if you’re in control.
Be fun—people will want you around if they enjoy your company.
Be unflappable—show them there’s nothing that will scare you away.
Be flexible—you’ll always be included this way.
Be strong—you’ll make yourself invaluable.
Be whatever they need, and you’ll never be alone.
It was pathetic to hold on to those things all these years, but they’d worked for me so long that I didn’t know how to operate without them. Being the bastard child of a wealthy man meant I’d been surrounded by the best of everything my whole life and made to feel never worthy of it. Everyone reminded me of my shame, something I had no control over. But that didn’t matter to the other rich kids.
It wasn’t until Kieran that I found a true friend. He always believed he needed me more, but that wasn’t true at all. I probably should’ve told him that sooner, but I’d grown safe in our dynamic.
Everly had enhanced our bonds, forging us together and bringing us closer in many aspects. Everly had made me feel safe and accepted, bolstering the positive things in my life. She had become the fire in my life, heating me within and reforming me into the man I wanted to be.
But Cruz was also changing the shape of me, refining my edges like a blacksmith. He’d jumped into the fire and wasn’t afraid of the heat, thriving off the clashing of metal and applying pressure where needed. Cruz was unapologetically himself. He had to be one of the most secure people I’d ever met. He didn’t make excuses and embraced his flaws, never giving up on what he wanted.
And it seemed that now included me.
Gulping, I held his stare as his thumb pulled the corner of my lip down. Everly wasn’t the only one who’d been edged over the past few days. Cruz and I had spent time together at wine tastings and shuffleboard, smiling and schmoozing investors together like a well-oiled team. Our clothes had stayed on the whole time, but my dick hadn’t gotten the memo.
Cruz had a way of touching me every chance he could get; a simple graze as he reached across me. Picking lint off my shirt that I knew couldn’t possibly exist. Moving me out of the way of someone.
Each time he touched me, his fingers left an imprint on me and burned their presence into my body. He’d been slowly marking me as his without me even knowing it until I couldn’t possibly ignore it any longer.
“I’ll tell you when you’ve earned it, Meu Dengo. When I know you’re ready.”
“I’m ready,” I blurted, my cheeks heating at the admission.
Cruz smirked like I’d walked right into the lion’s den. At the beginning of this trip, I’d told him I was the king of the jungle, but it was clear who I really was. I think Everly had been right with Timon for Kieran, but wrong about me being a trash panda. Clearly, I was the warthog and Cruz, the lion.
Whether or not he was Simba or Scar was still to be decided.
“It’s cute that you think you get to decide that.” He leaned forward and nipped my lip between his teeth. “You’ll be ready when I say you are. Understand, Meu Dengo?”
The challenge in his eyes sent shivers through me. I’d never given control to someone before, and I didn’t think I’d want to. But Cruz’s energy dwarfed mine, promising safety, security, and release. It was the release that intrigued me the most.
“You want to play, Gato? Okay, let’s play.” Maybe I should take a page out of Everly’s book and tease the hot asshole until he caved. Sounded like fun.
Instead of letting him initiate the touch, I started my own teasing onslaught as the day progressed. Pressing my ass into him when I turned to the waiter. Leaning against him and brushing his cock when I reached for something on the table. Letting my hand linger on his arm, thigh, and butt any time I could as we walked from one thing to the next. I even stole the remote from his pocket and used it on Everly at lunch; her silent orgasm at the table was enough to make my cock hard.
But through it all, Cruz only smirked like he thought I was a misbehaving toddler having a cute tantrum. Kieran had watched us at lunch, his eyes heated, the only indication that what I was doing had some effect. The sexual tension between Cruz and me was thick, and I’d become desperate for some response from him—both sexually and emotionally. Being vulnerable didn’t come naturally to me, and it scared me more than I wanted to admit.
Taking a seat in the back row of the small theater, I slumped down in my chair and rested my head on my hand. I was pouting, and I knew it, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself. I’d never been denied so much in my life, and it was upsetting. A video started on the screen, and I knew I couldn’t sit there and listen. If Cruz didn’t want me, I’d do something else.
Standing, I made my way toward the exit when an arm reached out and gripped me, pulling me into a door I hadn’t seen. The room was dark, the projector playing the video the only light. There wasn’t much in the room, just a monitor, chair, and projector across the front and a cot along the back.
Cruz stood before me; his body inches from mine as he hovered over me. His pupils were blown as he stared down at me, his arm braced over my head on the door.
“Giving up already, Meu Dengo? I thought you wanted to play?” he purred, his lower half pressing into mine. Anger surged in me, feeling like he’d led me on all day. I narrowed my eyes, and my jaw clenched as I pushed back against him.
“There’s your fire. You’re so quick to burn but then retreat when something doesn’t catch fire. I’m not like the others who use you, Meu Dengo. I’m not going to flame out and flutter away like ashes.”
“What are you then? Because you seem like one of those ready-to-go logs that burn bright and hot instantly but are full of chemicals and bad for you.”
“So needy,” he growled, nipping my lip again. I’d never been called that in my life, and I hated how he saw the truth of everything I did—my need to feel accepted and valued, to feel loved.
“The only thing bad for you is your own fear, Meu Dengo. I’m an eternal flame, and I’m not going anywhere. So accept that and beg because that’s the only way you’re getting anything from me.”
I swallowed, my breath quickening as wanton need pumped through me. I’d never wanted to give in so badly before. The release his eyes promised was calling to me, and I didn’t have it in me to ignore it any longer. Cruz was right. He’d been nothing but solid, waiting for me to drop my act with him. If I ran away, if I gave up, then I’d be the one proving to myself I didn’t believe I was worth it.
Me. Not anyone else.
What was it Everly had said? It was the perfect time for a healthy girl era. Maybe I needed to take a page from her book. Time to put my heart out there. If Kieran and Everly could do it, then so could I.
“Please, Gato,” I begged, my eyes sparking with desire. “I need you to take care of me.”
Cruz’s mouth crashed into mine, desire and lust filling me fully as he took control of the kiss and led me where I precisely needed to be. Every neuron in my brain fired as all the nerve endings exploded in my body as I gave way to the tight restraint I held. Cruz held me firmly, keeping his promise to hold his ground and give me the support I needed.
“More. Please. I’m begging.”
“Hearing you beg is the sexiest thing, Meu Dengo. I’m so hard at the thought of taking your sweet little ass. But first, I need to prep you. I have a present for you. Turn around.”
Quicker than I thought I could move, I’d turned around and dropped my shorts, so ready for whatever Cruz had for me. My cock was possibly the hardest it had ever been, leaking at the thought of this man touching it. He growled into my neck, licking the skin and then sucking it between his teeth before letting it go. His hands smoothed over my bare skin, and he squeezed my ass.
“Look at how good you’re rewarded when you follow directions, Meu Dengo. There’s only room for one brat in this quad, and we both know Everly has that market covered. I don’t expect you to become submissive entirely, Jace. That’s not you. You almost have as much big dick energy as me. But when we’re together, just the two of us, that’s when you can submit. I’ll take care of you, Meu Dengo. I promise.”
“I trust you, Gato. Truly, I want this. I never knew how much I needed it until you threatened to bottom me.”
He chuckled, his hands reaching around to stroke me. My eyes fluttered closed as I let out a breathy moan. My legs shook as I pressed my hands into the door to keep myself upright. He kept placing kisses on my neck, occasionally sucking the area and then moving on to a new spot.
When I first felt the cold liquid on my backside, I tensed until I realized what it was. Cruz cooed in my ear, squeezing my cock and returning my focus to the pleasure coursing through me. His finger pressed in, the sensation unexpected as he stretched me, pumping in shallowly at first until I opened up more. By the time he’d inserted a second finger, my balls were drawing up tight as tingles raced up my spine. When he hit that magic button inside me, I was done for, my orgasm cresting over me, and I came so hard my legs gave out. It was only Cruz’s body pressing into mine that kept me standing.
“Porra, Meu Dengo. Te adoro,” Cruz whispered, his mouth kissing me between words. “You’re so free when you submit to me, Jace. It was so beautiful to watch. Thank you.”
His words had been soft, but I picked up on some of their meaning.
“Isn’t porra cum?” I asked, my brain offline for the moment. Cruz chuckled, his lips smiling against my skin.
“It can be, or like, a softer version of fuck. You decide how I use it.”
He pulled back, and I realized there was pressure now in my ass as the blood returned to my brain. I tensed and then moaned as I connected the dots of what it was.
“You put a plug in me,” I gasped, my cock already hardening at the thought.
“It’s how you’ll be ready for me later. Plus, I owed you a punishment.”
“Punishment?” I asked, turning and finding him ready with something to clean me up. He was so gentle and caring that it brought a tear to my eye. Had I ever been cared for so delicately before? I knew Kieran cared for me, and we looked after one another, but it didn’t feel the same. This was intentional, his soul showing mine that I mattered. It was almost as good as the orgasm.
Once I was cleaned and we were both dressed, I remembered I’d asked him a question he hadn’t answered. I opened the door and stepped out, finding the theater empty. Oops. It looked like we’d missed the video. Glancing back at Cruz, I lifted my eyebrow.
“How was that punishment?” I asked again.
“That wasn’t. This is.” The plug in my ass vibrated, making my knees buckle as every nerve ending lit up. I braced my hand against the wall as my eyes rolled back.
“Fuck,” I cursed, panting.
“Did you really think Everly’s was the only toy I had? It’s time to show you what being mine entails.”
With those parting words, he winked and sauntered off, heading into the group of people like he hadn’t just given me a mind-blowing orgasm seconds ago. He wrapped his arm around Everly, a smile on his face and completely at ease with himself. She had Buns with her, and the two of them talked while playing with the dog. Kieran handed Cruz a drink, spotting me over his shoulder.
When I didn’t move toward them, he headed to me with a curious look. I took in the difference in Kieran as he walked to me, his body more relaxed and confident. This week with Everly and Cruz had been good for him.
“Everything okay, Jace?” he asked.
“Yeah. Things couldn’t be better. Are you happy, Kier?”
He nodded, his smile transforming his whole face. “Yeah. Things feel complete now. Everly is everything. I feel like a man around her,” he admitted.
“And Cruz?” I asked, curious.
Kieran tilted his head in thought. “He makes me feel safe, kinda like you. I haven’t gotten to know him too much yet, but I like how he takes care of all of us. Why?”
“I feel the same. But I also feel?—”
“More?” he asked, giving me a soft smile. His blue eyes held understanding.
“Yeah.” I gulped as I nodded.
“And you’re worried how I’ll feel about it?”
“When did you get so intuitive?” I asked. “But yes. We always talked about a woman, but we never said anything about bringing another man into our dynamic.”
“I have no problem with Cruz. I know he’s a package deal with Everly, and I can see how you two connect in a way we don’t. Though I’m not sure if I’ll want anything with him. Is that okay?”
I stepped forward and cupped Kier’s jaw. “Of course, baby. You don’t have to do anything you’re not wanting. You know this. I just wanted to ensure you were okay with me and him.”
“I am. I think he’s good for you, Jace.”
Yeah, me too.
Kieran squeezed my shoulder before heading back to the other two, where he sat down with them and created the picture-perfect scene I longed to capture. Except now I yearned to be part of it and not just a spectator.
That epiphany hit me full force, making everything come into high-definition
They were my future—the three people I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.
No more being what I thought other people wanted me to be. It was time to step out from behind the camera and fully engage.