18. Riley
Riley would admit that he had been intimate with his first girlfriend while Jake was in the bed with them, but there had been a lot more underage drinking involved, and he had been a less uptight person as a teenager.
Sure, that was only five years ago, but a lot could change in five years…
“Don’t touch the underwear, they’re mine.”
“I’m not looking at the underwear, you fucking panty-snatcher! I’m looking at the bruises. You’re covered in them.”
Riley glanced away from his phone to the open bathroom where Allen and Kingston were bickering. It wasn’t the comment about the bruises that had gained his attention since he was well acquainted with the state of Kingston’s body, but the panty comment?
“Oh.” Jake sat up and shuffled his position until they were sitting shoulder to shoulder on the edge of the bed. “I think Kingston found Allen’s underwear drawer.”
Recalling how Jake and Allen met, Riley could safely assume that Allen had a lace panty collection thanks to Jake’s new obsession, but he couldn’t fathom how Kingston had come into contact with them.
What a nosy bastard.
“You’re frowning,” said Jake. He uncharacteristically poked Riley’s cheek, offering a barely-there smile. “We can leave you and Kingston alone once they’re out of the bathroom if this is too much. I would never want to pressure you into anything.”
Jake enjoyed physical touch, but he rarely initiated it. So, when he took Riley’s hand and interlocked their fingers while tightening his grip, Riley felt something inside his chest tighten painfully before releasing.
Kingston’s theory about Riley’s feelings toward Jake hadn’t been wrong; it just wasn’t an option he’d considered before. Love was a tricky emotion, and the emotions he had for Jake were many. How was he supposed to know that admiration and adoration could be interpreted in more ways than one?
When Jake had a girlfriend, Riley thought his jealousy was because he couldn’t hang out with his friend all the time. When Jake hugged him or held his hand when he needed comfort, Riley thought the butterflies were from the happiness he felt for earning Jake’s trust.
When Jake had kissed him and stolen his breath away—well, that he couldn’t explain.
Would things have been different if Riley had understood his feelings toward the kiss in that moment? Would he and Jake be together? Would he want that?
Yes. Maybe. No.
No, because having all of Jake’s attention like that would mean that he wouldn’t have spared Allen a glance the night they ran into him. Jake was nothing if not loyal and focused on his people, so Allen wouldn’t have drawn his eye with Riley in the same room.
And even with his new understanding of his feelings for Jake surfacing, Riley knew for damn sure that they weren’t a perfect match. Jake needed Allen. Jake didn’t make sense without Allen—and no amount of longing or affection would convince Riley otherwise.
“I should have known you weren’t joking all those times you promised to marry me,” Riley said softly, holding Jake’s hand tighter. “You never joke about bold statements. You’re always too damn serious, but I’m glad I laughed off the proposals.”
Jake’s head lowered, tilting at just the right angle for perfect eye contact. “You’re glad you laughed at me when you rejected me?”
Riley flushed, forgetting how literal Jake could be.
“No! You know that’s not it, jackass!” Riley swung an arm around Jake’s neck and pulled him in, bumping their foreheads together.
“I’m just happy that you and Allen are together, you know?
I’ve said this before, but you guys are soulmates.
Is it dumb for me to be glad that nothing got in the way of you finding each other? ”
He watched Jake process the words, click them into place inside his mind until he understood their meaning.
“I wasn’t the only one looking at Allen the night we met. You called him pretty,” said Jake.
Riley dropped his arm and leaned back, but Jake followed him, prolonging the contact.
“And when you brought Kingston over the first time—when he slipped into our dynamic so naturally—I wasn’t the only one thinking about kissing him.”
Jake could be intense; Riley knew this. When he wanted someone, he didn’t play games or hide his feelings; he forced himself into their space relentlessly. He was too much, too fast, which was why he had a difficult time keeping girlfriends, or friends in general.
Riley had grown up around Jake, and he thought he was immune to his overbearing intensity, but that was until it was directed at him. He felt like he couldn’t breathe when Jake grasped his jaw in the same firm touch he had used to hold his hand, anchoring Riley to him with steady strength.
“Slowly, Riles. There’s no rush. Focus on Kingston, first.”
Riley couldn’t focus on anything when Jake was looking at him like he wanted him, but thankfully, thinking of Kingston was second nature at this point.
“Are you going to kiss him, Mouse?”
Allen’s pleasant laughter was far too close, and Riley jerked his head out of Jake’s grasp, whirling to set eyes on the man.
Allen waved, wearing a smug smile that made it clear he knew exactly what kind of reaction he was getting for his teasing. For some reason, he was only dressed in one of Jake’s oversized T-shirts, the hem hanging loose and long enough to brush his knees as he shifted his weight.
Riley couldn’t tell if Allen had bothered putting anything on underneath it or not, and the casual way he sauntered toward them suggested he either didn’t care—or very much wanted Riley to wonder.
Kingston followed behind Allen, like he was trying to hide his bulk behind the smaller man, even though that was impossible. He had taken off his shirt but was still wearing his sweats, and he stared intently at the top of Allen’s head until they stopped beside Riley and Jake.
“Sorry,” said Allen. “Kingston stole a pair of my panties, and he was reluctant to leave them behind. I didn’t want them to get lost in the throes of passion.”
Kingston scoffed loudly, and Riley felt his lip twitch.
“There are no throes of passion here, pipsqueak. This is the most awkward boner I think I’ve ever had, and that includes the time I made a set of tits out of Play-Doh and enjoyed squishing them too much.”
Allen shot a look of disgust at him over his shoulder, but then quickly shook Kingston’s words off and brought them back on task. “Okay, what would make this easier for everyone? Or should we just let you two get started and then step in if needed?”
“No, come on.” Kingston took Allen’s hand and walked him around the bed to the other side. “Let Mouse talk his buddy through the prepping part. I need a soft pillow to use.”
The soft pillow, as Riley quickly discovered, was Allen’s smooth thighs.
He felt his mouth go dry as he watched Kingston drag Allen onto the bed and crawl on top of him, sliding in between his legs as if he belonged there.
He set his cheek down on one of Allen’s legs and gave an indignant huff, nuzzling his head into Allen’s stomach.
It could have been friendly snuggling in any other circumstance, but then Kingston ran his hands up Allen’s bare thighs and under his shirt, bunching up the material enough to show a glimpse of the blue lace of his underwear.
Allen leaned back against the pillowed headboard, looking content as he scratched his nails through Kingston’s white-blond hair. “Hey, don’t you at least want to give Riles a kiss before he shoves his fingers in your ass?”
Riley wanted to do both things. Right now. In whatever order.
“Are you kidding me? Kissing him means more bruises, and if I get any more, someone from the team is eventually going to call for a wellness check on me.”
Riley agreed, and he had tried to stop marking Kingston in visible places, but the guy had a biteable, sexy neck. Keeping his teeth off it was hard.
Allen sighed and looked toward Riley before stopping on Jake. “What are the boundaries? Are we just watching and acting as cheerleaders? Because, no offence, I’m definitely going to get hard with his face in my damn lap.”
Jake shrugged, but stopped halfway through the motion. “It’s whatever they want. I’ll be talking to Riley, but you can do what you’re comfortable with. I don’t have any hard limits this time besides someone fucking you.”
This time?
Riley was still trying to decipher Jake’s meaning when Allen turned on him, expecting to hear an answer.
“Uh—I—” Riley swept his hand through his hair, needing to see better even though the lamplight lit the space just fine. “I don’t care if you like, jerk off or anything—but I want to keep him to myself for a bit longer.”
It wasn’t the most articulate sentence, but Allen smiled and nodded, seemingly understanding.
“Got it. Come on his face, not in his mouth,” he chirped.
Riley dropped his head into his hands, feeling the skin of his cheeks burning against his palms. Kingston and Jake were chuckling, and that was fine because Riley needed the chuckling, or he was going to panic.
A hand swatted his leg, prompting Riley to peek through his fingers at Jake, who gestured for him to get onto the bed. There was no point in prolonging what they all wanted, especially when his cock was on board, so Riley stripped the rest of his clothes and climbed on.
He wasn’t going to let Kingston get away with not kissing him, so the first thing he did was drag him out of Allen’s lap and flip him, slotting himself between Sloan’s muscled thighs.
Riley soaked up his scowling face before diving in for the kiss, hooking a thumb between gritted teeth and prying them open to make way for his tongue.
Kingston’s angry squirming and muffled curses were a warning to keep his thumb where it was or risk getting bitten—something he had learned through trial and error many times before.
Kissing Kingston with his head still in Allen’s lap wasn’t as weird as he thought it might be, and having Allen there gave Kingston something better to hold onto that wasn’t Riley’s tender skin.