8. Zeke
Few things had ever felt so incredible, so immediately right, as when I kissed Micah. He curled into my arms like he belonged there, and I knew then that I’d fight to the death for a chance at a life with these two men. Connor caught my gaze, and I could practically feel his happiness like it was my own.
“We should sleep out here by the fire where it’s warmer,” I said. “We can make a bed on the pullout couch.” I dragged my fingertips up and down Micah’s back. He practically purred, and his body relaxed into mine.
“Are you trying to get me into bed already?” Micah asked, sounding amused.
“Is it working?” I asked him.
“Probably.” Micah laughed.
I tried not to think about the lack of power or the raging storm outside. Instead, I pressed a kiss to Micah’s forehead then gently pried him off of me, encouraging him into Connor’s arms.
“I’ll get the blankets and stuff from the bedroom so we can make a bed out here.” I got to my feet.
“We can help,” Connor offered.
“You can help by keeping Micah warm.” I winked at Connor and went to the room to gather the blankets and pillows. I wanted to get us into bed so we could stuff Micah between us and hold him and show him how this could work with all three of us.
Going forward, we’d need to discuss the dynamics of our relationship and how we wanted things to work. But for tonight, we could go on instinct and enjoy each other”s presence. We could openly admire Micah because he knew how we felt now. With our desire no longer a secret, we could act on it.
Tonight, I wanted nothing more than the opportunity to hold him. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to have sex with him. God, I wanted it more than I wanted oxygen, but I also wanted things to work between us. If we had to take it slow, I was more than willing to do that.
Determined to make one trip, I gathered up the blankets and pillows. My arms were full of linens and I even had a blanket draped around my shoulders when I returned to the main living area. Connor and Micah had shoved the furniture back and had gotten as far as unfolding the sofa bed. Connor had Micah pinned to the mattress, and they were almost kissing. I could see the tiniest gap of space between them.
Micah caught sight of me, and his face turned bright red. He looked guilty, like I’d caught him doing something he shouldn’t.
“If you want to make out with our boyfriend, you should definitely know that he loves it when you play with the hair at the back of his head.”
Connor looked at me and pretended to scowl. “Are you giving away all my secrets?”
“Just the fun ones.” I dropped the stack of bedding on them, smiling when they broke into laughter. Connor tossed the blankets off them but grabbed hold of a pillow. He turned his attention to me and I took a step back, lifting my hands in surrender.
“Now, now, babe, behave. What kind of example are you setting for our new boyfriend?”
Connor stood, and while my attention was on him, Micah grabbed a pillow and flung it at me. It hit me in the face and dropped to my feet. The room was dead silent for a half a second, then I quickly bent to pick the pillow up. Connor thumped me on the back with his pillow, all of us devolving into laughter.
I grabbed the pillow off the floor and brought it up, thwacking Connor with it a couple times before turning my attention to Micah. He scooted away from me, grinning from ear to ear.
“Hey, I didn’t throw the pillow at you. I threw it to you. There’s a difference. I was helping.”
I looked at Connor and arched an eyebrow. “What do you think?”
“I think that he’s either lying, or he chose sides.” Connor looked at me with a devastatingly handsome smile.
“Clearly he needs to be punished.” I gripped the pillow tighter.
“Now, guys, don’t be too hasty.” Micah tried to reason with us, but it was too late. I tossed my pillow aside and jumped onto the bed, landing near Micah. I made short work of straddling him and pinning him down.
Micah tried to escape. Well, sort of. If thrusting his hips up, grinding his dick into my ass, was trying to escape, then yes, that’s what he was attempting. He gave a half-hearted try at breaking out of my grip, but he was laughing too hard to truly struggle. Connor had stretched out on the bed next to us, his arms folded behind his head, propping him up.
Micah gave one more attempt at escape before going boneless underneath me. “You’ve caught me, now what do you plan to do with me?”
I swore I could see his heart beat through his shirt. “I’d actually planned to make up the bed and stick you in the middle and hold you all night.”
“After the naked hot tub, and the heart-pouring, and the kissing, and watching you lick marshmallow of your fingers, you’re going to tuck me into bed and cuddle me? That’s it?” Micah looked flabbergasted.
“What did you have in mind?” Connor asked, rolling onto his side to face Micah.
“I’m so horny I can’t see straight. I’ve got the men of my dreams in bed with me. What do you think I want?” Micah took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “But I understand if we’re not ready for all that yet. This relationship is like, what, five minutes old?”
I leaned down and pressed my lips against Micah’s. “Happy five-minute anniversary,” I said, not pulling away so I could kiss him again.
Micah laughed at me, but not for long. As I deepened the kiss, slanting our mouths together, Connor’s hand ran down my back, and then, judging from the way Micah writhed beneath me, he’d moved on to touching him instead. I pulled away, curious about how Micah would look when he was being pleasured.
His eyes were clamped shut, and his mouth hung open in a gasp. He tilted his head back and moaned as Connor’s hand found its way up Micah’s shirt.
“He’s breathtaking, isn’t he?” Connor asked, continuing his exploration of Micah’s body.
Micah groaned, this time looking embarrassed. “Someone touching my fucking nipple shouldn’t feel so fucking good, but I haven’t had sex in an eternity.”
“Are you asking for that?” I dragged my hands down his chest, lightly digging my fingers in. Micah arched underneath my touch, glorious in the fire’s dim glow. “We can go at your pace. Fast. Slow. It doesn’t matter. Whatever you need, Micah. We’ll give it to you.”
Micah’s laugh was musical. I almost cringed at how cliche I sounded, but it was the truth. Micah underneath me, laughing and happy, was far more than I’d ever dreamed of having. I didn’t know how we were going to navigate things going forward, but I knew Micah was worth every bit of effort to make it work.
“What if I don’t know what I want?”
“Do you trust us?” My mouth was suddenly bone dry, filled with cotton. I wasn’t the kind to get nervous about sex, but more than anything, I didn’t want to rush Micah into something none of us were ready for.
“I trust you.”
Tension bled out of me at those words. Needing a minute to get myself together, I brushed a quick kiss against the corner of his mouth, then climbed off of him.
“I’m going to stoke the fire and make sure we have enough wood in the back to get us through the night. The two of you can make the bed, then get comfortable.” I dragged my gaze down Micah’s body. “Clothing optional.”
“Is he always this bossy?” Micah asked. The sofa bed squeaked when Micah climbed off.
“We take turns,” Connor said. I let them chat while I busied myself with the fire. Careful not to singe my fingers or get the fire burning too hot, I added another piece of wood. A quick trip to the back door confirmed that there was more than enough wood inside to make it through the night. Connor had also checked the supply on the back deck when we’d arrived. The firewood was truthfully a ploy to give myself a minute to get my head under control.
All my life, whenever I wanted something, I went after it. I tended to jump into things without looking first, and sometimes that meant I learned lessons the hard way. I didn’t want Micah to be a lesson. Raking my hands down my face, I took a deep breath and returned to the living area in time to see Connor and Micah slip under the blankets. Micah had left his briefs on, but because Connor wasn’t wearing any, he left his sleep pants on.
I followed their lead, silently grateful for some direction, and stripped my top off. I climbed into bed next to Micah. He’d already snuggled down into Connor’s arms, his back pressed to Connor’s chest, but it was him who reached for me.
“Come closer,” Micah said, tugging on my arm and settling his hand on my hip as I complied. “You said you’d keep me warm.” He bit his lower lip, and it made me want to kiss him. But that wasn’t a new feeling. What was new was my ability to act on that compulsion.
“We will,” I said, sliding forward until our legs were tangled and we were nose-to-nose. I could feel the hesitation when he tentatively slid his hand up my side. “Whatever you want, Micah.”
“Okay,” Micah whispered.
Connor caught my gaze and winked. His expression was relaxed, happy and excited all at once as he peppered Micah’s bare shoulder with kisses. Micah’s eyes fluttered shut, and I burned the image of the two of them together into my brain so I could recall it whenever I wanted. I’d never seen anything I liked more.
I felt a bone-deep sense of right when Micah’s hand found mine and he dragged it to his face to kiss the palm of my hand. We’d tried before to bring someone in, but we never found anyone we felt we meshed with equally. We thought it would happen eventually, but it never did.
I’d always felt like the other person wanted Connor more than they wanted me. Like they’d put up with my presence to be in Connor’s. But Micah didn’t bring out those feelings in me. Maybe it was because we’d both known Micah for the same amount of time. Maybe it was because he looked at me with the same amount of interest as he did Connor, but I wasn’t getting the vibe that he wanted one more than the other. I believed with my whole heart that he wanted us both equally.
“Zeke?” Micah kissed the palm of my hand again, then turned it over and kissed my knuckles.
“Yeah?”
“You’re thinking too much.”
I huffed out a quiet laugh. “Guilty as charged, but I can’t seem to stop.”
“I can think of a way.” Micah slid his hand into my hair and drew me into a kiss. I hadn’t expected him to charge ahead and take control the way he did, but it was so fucking hot my bones wanted to melt. I was powerless under his spell, and I never wanted to leave.