The Lies That We Tell

Chapter 24

“I’ll go talk to him,” Rhyann says, moving to leave the space between Liam and me. Before she can stand, I wrap my arm tightly around her waist pulling her closer.

‘No,” I say with a sigh. “Give him a few minutes. He’s going through a lot right now and needs to process it all.”

“Dev is right, baby girl.” Liam nestles closer to her, the two of us sandwiching her in on this plush couch. “The four of us do need to talk about other stuff anyway. So let’s give him a minute to sort his mind out before we bombard him with more.”

Rhyann looks at my brother with raised eyebrows, her lips pursed as if she’s trying to figure out what he’s talking about. “He means us,” I say with a laugh. I haven’t felt this light hearted in years, not since before Gemma died. I owe it all to Rhyann, I owe it to Tate too. I know, without a doubt, I’m nothing without them. My only fear, besides their lives being in danger, is how we can make things work between us.

“What do you mean ‘us’?” she asks.

Liam laughs softly, kissing her cheek. “Rhyann, there’s no way Dev and I are giving you up. We can share you with each other. Without an issue. But Tate…” My brother lets out a long sigh. “He’s never been one to share, and I don’t know how he will handle the idea.”

Rhyann takes a deep breath, and I can feel her body tensing before she pushes her way out from between the two of us and looks in our directions, confusion all over her face. “What do you mean, share?” Her expression is unreadable, as if she’s trying to process the words that came from my brother’s lips. “Like pass me around, musical beds or some bullshit?”

“Well no,” I try not to laugh. “Unless that’s what you want.”

“Then what the fuck do you mean?” Her ears turn the cutest shade of pink. That unreadable expression morphs to confusion and then a look of frustration as she tries to process our conversation.

“So, Dev and I have shared girlfriends in the past.” Liam smiles more than he should at that confession. Discussing ex girlfriends is not the way you woo any girl into a relationship.

“And just how many girlfriends have you two had?” Rhyann bites into the soft flesh of her plump bottom lip.

“Are you jealous?” I ask laughingly.

“Fuck yes, I am!” She stands up, picking up one of the throw pillows from the couch. “What if I told you I have a slew of ex boyfriends?”

A jealous growl rumbles in my throat. “Then, I’d want names and addresses so I can castrate each and every one of them?”

Liam, with the same possessive expression as mine on his face, leans forward and smiles at her. “And we would scoop out their eyes with a dull spoon for seeing your naked body. A body that belongs to us.”

I expect her to be shocked, horrified even, by what we would do to her ex boyfriends, but a slow smile spreads across her face. “It’s a good thing the three of you ruined every other boy or man for me before anyone ever had a chance.”

Liam laughs loud and deep, reaching out and wrapping his arms around her legs. “Get over here, you brat.” Rhyann lets out a giggle as my brother pulls her back down between us.With her legs over Liam”s lap, she rests her head in mine. A happy, content smile on her face as she looks at us with more love in her eyes than any of us deserve.

“What about you and Tate?” she asks me softly, running a finger along the ridge of my jaw.

What about me and Tate? That’s a good question I’ve been asking myself since I fell asleep with him beside me last night. He was the first boy I loved, the only man I’ve ever loved, will ever love. And, even though last night he said he felt the same way, it makes my heart ache thinking about losing him before he’s even mine. “I don’t know Rhyann.” I don’t bother to hide the sadness in my voice, not from her. I’ll never keep anything from Rhyann again. I’ll never let secrets come between us again.

“Yeah, what about Tate?” Tate asks from the balcony door. The three of us were so lost in our own confessions of love for eachother that we didn’t notice when he walked back in.

“Tate,” Rhyann jumps up from the couch as though she’s been caught in the arms of a lover by her jealous boyfriend. The hairs on the back of my neck bristle as Liam goes stiff. There’s no way we will be able to share her, the three of us. There’s no way I’ll be able to have the only two people I’ve ever loved without losing one of them.

Rhyann runs to Tate and wraps her arms around his waist. Automatically, he relaxes a bit by her embrace, the closeness softening his angry features. “Well, Dev. What about me?”

“Can we all talk?” Rhyann asks, her voice shaking.

Tate looks down at her, tipping her chin up with his fingers, and kisses her lips softly. “I love you Rhyann. I made you a promise that I plan to keep, but I need to do something first.”

The dark undertones in his voice has my cock twitching under my jeans. But it’s the darkness in his silver eyes that sends chills down my spine. Liam clears his throat and stands, clearly seeing the simmering storm in his best friend’s eyes. “I think I’m gonna go call a man to see about a horse,” he laughs awkwardly before standing up.

“The fuck?” Rhyann gawks as Tate leaves her embrace and begins talking to me.

“No, Liam. Stay. I need both you and Rhyann to hear whatever your brother has to say to me.” Tate looks from Lima to me, our eyes locking as I continue to sit on the couch, challenging his dominance with my own dark stare. “So, Devon, what about Tate?”

“He’s an overbearing dickwad,” I say in a flat tone, not once blinking as Tate gets closer.

“True. What else?” He takes the first step down onto the sunken floor.

“He thinks he always has to be in control of every situation. It’s fucking annoying as hell.” If my cock were any harder it’d break through the denim that covers it.

“Debatable,” This time there’s a hint of a smile on his otherwise stoic features. “What. Else?”

Tate stands just inches away, towering over me. Not one to be out dominated by anyone, I stand and meet his intense gaze. “As much as he drives me utterly insane, I fucking love him, and I need him. As much as I need the woman we both love”

Tate doesn’t say anything, he just stares at me, his face a stone carving of contemplation. I fight the tears welling up, refusing to back down. I’ve said what I need to say, no more lies, no more secrets. If he still refuses to accept me as I am, accept the fact that Rhyann loves us both, then that burden falls on his shoulders. I watch in slow motion as Tate lifts his right arm. Bracing myself for his fist to connect with my face, I close my eyes. I’ll take the pain of his fist if that’s all I’m going to get from him. At least then I’ll have my answer. In the brief moment that follows, I think back on the things we said last night.

‘I lied to you when I said I didn’t remember that night in San Diego.’ he said sadly.

‘No shit.’ I couldn’t bring myself to look at him. The only reason I came back was because Rhyann begged me to, and right now she’s in the other room fucking my twin brother as if they’re the only people here.‘Why are you telling me this now?’ I ask him.

‘Because, I’m tired of lying to you.’ The sorrow in his voice makes my heart ache for the young, confused boy I was back then. ‘I’m tired of questioning and hating myself for what happened that night.’

‘Why the fuck would you hate yourself?’ I don’t know why I asked, I know that self loathing. That hatred and denial, but I need to hear him say it, I need him to tell me he feels the same way about me.

‘Because I hurt you, I hurt my best friend. I hurt the man I’ve been in love with and lying to myself about it since that day.’ There it is. The confession I wanted and feared at the same time. His words stab me in the gut, they leave an invisible would to mirror the stitches on his side. I look into his eyes now, seeing tears glistening in those steely grey orbs. I want to reach out, wipe them away, kiss his trembling lips, but I’m afraid if I do, he’ll run. This will all come crumbling down and turn into a pile of shit at my feet. ‘But I don’t know if I can do it, Dev. I can’t lose Rhyann again, and it’s killing me because I know we will all have to make a choice.”

I sigh knowing exactly what he means. The same fears have been running through my mind since last night. Liam and I have always been able to share, maybe it’s a twin thing, I don’t know. But asking Rhyann to share herself, asking Tate to share her with us, it’s unfair to them both.

But his fist never comes. The sound of knuckles cracking bone doesn’t echo through the room. I don’t feel the searing pain of my jaw being busted by Tate”s powerful fist. Instead, his hand grips the back of my neck, fingers digging into the length of muscle running down my sides, and hot lips crash against mine. Stubble from two days without shaving scrapes against my chin as my nostrils fill with the scent of sweet berries, citrus and the hint of spicy clover as Tate kisses me. in front of both Rhyann and Liam. The room begins to spin as his tongue lashes across my lips, begging me to open for him. Now I see why, in those dumb ass Romcoms, when the guy and girl kiss the camera circles around, making it look as though the world is spinning around them. That’s what it feels like. Time stands still for us, while the rest of the world whirls by. My lips part for him on their own, tasting the tang of juniper berries from the gin he was just drinking. Our tongues tangle and war for dominance between our lips, leaving us both breathless before I find the strength to pull away. The darkness in his eyes is replaced by a heated desire that leaves me craving more than just his kiss when I look at him.

“That was fucking hot!” Liam exclaims, breaking the seductive spell Tate”s kiss put over me. When I look past Tate to glare at my brother, he’s got Rhyann wrapped lovingly in his arms as they both watch us with tender smiles.

“Now that that’s settled,” Tate says with a devious smile. “There’s the matter of punishment.”

“You can fuck right off if—” Tate cuts me off with a short laugh and a wink before he turns to Rhyann.