Chapter Five
Ty had barely stepped through the door of Dale’s suite after a quick shower, before the smell of garlic and cream sauce wrapped around him like a damn hug. His stomach growled audibly, and Dale smirked from the stove, wooden spoon in hand.
“Perfect timing, soldier,” Dale said, nodding toward the counter. “Dinner’s just about done.”
Oren was already seated at the breakfast bar, a beer in one hand, his other drumming restlessly against his thigh.
He looked good. Too good. Jeans, snug t-shirt, damp hair curling at the edges like he’d just showered.
But Ty saw it immediately—tightness in his shoulders, the distracted way he stared at the floor between sips.
“Hey,” Ty greeted, crossing to him, brushing his fingers against Oren’s wrist.
Oren gave him a brief smile, one that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Hey.”
Ty didn’t let it go right away. He gave Oren’s wrist a gentle squeeze, holding his gaze. “You say you’re okay, but I don’t think you are. What’s up?” he asked, voice low, just for them.
Oren hesitated, then nodded once. “I’m fine physically, I promise you. I do need to talk to you both about something, but I’d like to do it later. After dinner.” He glanced at Dale. “I know you noticed something, too.”
“Yeah,” Dale admitted, voice soft. “You looked a little stressed. I figured you’d talk when you were ready.”
Ty’s brow furrowed, not ready to let it go. “But you will talk to us about it after dinner?”
Oren reached out, took Ty’s hand, and gave it a light squeeze. “Yeah, I promise. Right now, I just want to enjoy being here. With the two of you.” He leaned in and pressed a kiss to Ty’s cheek, lingering for a moment.
Ty held his eyes a beat longer, then leaned in, brushing a kiss to Oren’s temple before turning to Dale. He crossed the space and planted a firm kiss on his mouth, grinning at the flare of heat in the other man’s eyes.
“Dinner smells amazing.”
“Tastes even better,” Dale said. “Now sit. Salad’s on the table. Pasta will be ready in two.”
They ate around the coffee table in the living space again, the fire crackling in front of them.
Oren sat on the floor with his back to the hearth, Dale on the couch, Ty sprawled in the armchair.
It was domestic and warm, and for a few minutes they just talked—about work, about some idiot who’d clogged the showers with sand at the gym, about the things that happened in their day. It was normal, and it was nice.
But Ty noticed the way Dale kept going quiet for short spells, and the way Oren kept not meeting his eyes. They were both hanging on to something.
Just as he was about to ask what the hell was going on, Dale set his fork down and cleared his throat. “We need to talk about this morning.”
Ty sat up a little straighter.
“Marsh and Bateman flagged something. Drones—small fast ones. Picked up on surveillance loops over the last few weeks. It’s not random. They think that there is someone tracking one of us or someone here.”
Ty’s mind instantly went to Oren. His gut tightened.
If someone was coming after him, they were already too close.
But that was ridiculous. He and Oren had only been on the Ridge for about a month and a half.
They had nothing to do with the missions the Pathfinders had been on in the past. Well, except for what happened with the Colonel who came looking for Eli.
“Could it be tied to Eli?” he asked. “Some old loose end?”
Dale shook his head. “Marsh doesn’t think so.
Said he’d tied everything off clean after the Colonel died.
He’s thorough, and when it comes to Eli, that man would leave nothing to chance.
” Ty appreciated that, because he felt the same way about Dale and Oren.
“This feels different. Closer. More ... intentional, and not overly military.”
Oren frowned, curiosity overtaking whatever was taking his focus before. “What does that mean—not overly military?”
Dale shifted, crossing his arms. “The drones we’re picking up, they’re not military-grade.
They’re more commercial—off-the-shelf types with standard software.
Not something a state-run or, hell, even an independently run op would use.
It’s almost like someone’s trying not to draw attention but still wants eyes on us. ”
Ty’s brow furrowed deeper. “So, what, we tighten up?” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Internal checks. Patrol rotations. Use our own people only. Keep the outside contractors to daylight hours.”
“And comb through all security logs,” Oren added. “See if we’ve got any other anomalies—missing equipment, unscheduled entries.”
Ty nodded. “We need to keep everyone safe. Especially those who might be targets.”
They spent the next several minutes diving deep into tactical contingencies—where they could reinforce patrol routes, which blind spots in their current surveillance setup needed plugging, and how best to reassign security detail without raising panic.
Ty tossed out ideas about staggered patrols and night shift rotations.
Oren suggested a sweep of access logs and equipment inventories.
Dale, more familiar with site logistics, offered to liaise with Marsh and Bateman to set up tighter checkpoints.
The three of them leaned into the conversation with an ease born of shared experience and mutual trust, their voices lifting with purpose.
This was their language. This they could do.
“I do have to tell you this as well,” Dale said with a huff of laughter, his smirk curling with amusement. “Bateman’s been giving me grief—real curious about the three of us. He said I look like a man that’s caught feelings.”
“Have you?” Oren asked, eyes intense.
“Caught feelings?” Dale asked, never dropping his gaze, just shifting between Oren and him. “Damn straight I have, and not ashamed to tell them. Just wish I had thought of something smart to fling back at the smug bastard.”
Ty chuckled. “Next time you see him, tell him that we’re still hashing out the logistics of who gets the middle spoon—it’s a critical position, after all.”
Dale’s grin widened. “That is fucking gold. I’ll tell him that I plan to take it on Thursdays.”
Oren laughed then, head tipping back, and Ty’s heart squeezed. God, he loved that sound.
Somehow, plates forgotten, the fire burning low, they ended up tangled on the rug.
Oren leaned back against Ty’s chest, Dale on his side, one hand tracing lazy patterns on Oren’s knee.
Kisses came slowly—first between Dale and Ty, then Dale and Oren, and finally Ty pulling Oren up to meet his mouth.
The heat simmered, built, burned, but it wasn’t about rushing. It was about anchoring, connecting, holding fast in the middle of a storm they hadn’t yet seen the worst of.
And when Dale finally murmured, “You both staying tonight?” neither Ty nor Oren hesitated.
“Fuck yes,” Oren breathed.
“Yeah,” Ty said softly, nuzzling the curve of Oren’s jaw. “We’re right where we’re supposed to be.”
Dale stood then, taking a hand from each of them, and pulled them to their feet. Wordless, he led them toward his bedroom. Ty paused in the doorway, eyes widening as he took in the massive bed—wide, long, and clearly custom-made.
“Holy shit,” he muttered. “That is the largest damn bed I have ever seen.”
Oren whistled low. “You planning on hosting orgies in here, Ricoh?”
Dale laughed. “I was hopeful,” he said with a shrug. “Had it custom made a few weeks ago.”
“Hopeful?” Ty echoed, grinning. “Man was manifesting.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Dale said, stepping back and tugging his shirt over his head. “Strip and get on the damn bed before I lose my mind.”
Ty arched a brow, his grin turning wicked as he pulled his shirt free. “You realize how explosive the three of us are going to be, right?”
Oren laughed low, heat already sparking in his eyes. “Yeah. And I’m all in.”
****
The moment the last article of clothing hit the floor, Dale took a breath and let go of every restraint he’d been holding since the second Ty and Oren had walked through his door.
“On the bed,” he ordered, voice low and firm. “Now.”
They didn’t hesitate. Ty crawled across the massive expanse first, his long body stretched out, muscles rippling.
Oren followed, glancing over his shoulder, eyes blazing with anticipation and a hint of nerves.
Dale watched the way the firelight flickered over their skin, and something primal shifted in him. He wasn’t just ready. He was ravenous.
Dale climbed up after them, settling between where Ty lay flat on his back and Oren knelt beside him. He reached out and brushed his hand down Oren’s back, then around to cup his cheek.
“Have you ever been with a man, baby?” Dale asked him, loving the sweep of color that rose in his face.
“No,” Oren said honestly, but his eyes flashed with heat. “But I sure as hell have imagined it a shit ton over the last few years.”
Dale grinned, then slid his hand around to the man’s nape and pulled him in for a kiss that spoke of ownership and promise. When they broke apart, he shifted and kissed Ty just as deeply, savoring the taste of him.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” he said when he finally lifted his lips from Ty’s.
“Oren, we need to make sure you’re ready to take one of us.
We are not small, and neither of us would hurt you for anything.
So, you’re going to take Ty tonight after you get him ready.
And I’m going to watch every fucking second of it. ”
Oren bit his bottom lip, smirked, then nodded. “Well, sure, I can most definitely handle that.”
Ty groaned, his cock visibly twitching at the words. “Jesus. You two are going to kill me.”
Dale smirked. “As the saying goes, what a way to go.”
He grabbed the lube from the nightstand and handed it to Oren, then leaned back against the headboard, stroking himself slowly as Oren leaned over Ty, kissing him softly at first, then deeper, hungrier. Ty moaned into his mouth, hips lifting, body already strung tight.
Oren trailed kisses down Ty’s neck, over his chest, pausing to lave at his nipples until Ty was panting beneath him. Then he moved lower, positioning himself between Ty’s thighs. With one hand he slicked his fingers, the other reaching to firmly grip Ty’s cock, stroking solidly from base to tip.
Ty let out a shaky breath. “Fuck.”
Oren looked back up at Dale, with a confident smirk. “I think he likes my touch.”
Ty groaned. “I fucking love it and you know it.”
Dale gave a slow nod. “There’s your answer. Let him feel you.”
Dale could tell that Oren’s fingers were gentle but firm, one sliding in with ease, then two as he continued to shuttle his hand up and down their lover’s cock. Ty groaned, gripping the sheets as Oren worked him open, kissing the inside of his thigh between every stroke.
Dale watched, his breath catching at the sight. “Look at him,” he murmured. “So perfect like this. You feel that heat wrapped around your fingers, Oren? Imagine your cock in there. Imagine what he’s going to feel like squeezing down around you.”
“Fuck,” Oren growled, biting against Ty’s thigh gently. “Tell me if I’m not doing this right, Ty,” he looked up and winked at the man whose world he was about to rock. Ty half laughed, half groaned. “Love, if you did it any better, you really will kill me.”
Oren groaned, pushed up and forward, mouth capturing Ty’s in a brief hot kiss that was all teeth and tongue and promise.
“Please,” Ty rasped when Oren pulled back, eyes wild. “I need—fuck, I need something.”
“You’ll get it,” Dale said, voice like velvet-covered steel. “But not yet.”
He moved, positioning himself near Ty’s head. “Suck me, soldier. Show Oren what that mouth can do.”
Ty obeyed instantly, mouth opening to take Dale deep, lips sliding down with practiced hunger. Dale hissed and buried his hand in Ty’s hair.
“Good boy,” he praised. “That’s it. Oren, now.”
Oren lined himself up, his cock slick with lube, and pushed in slowly, carefully. Ty moaned around Dale, the sound vibrating down his shaft.
Dale’s head tipped back. “Jesus, that’s it. Goddamn, watching you fuck him ... it’s everything. You see how he takes you? How he sucks harder when you slam into him?”
Oren groaned. “He’s so fucking tight. I can feel him all around me.”
“Yeah, he does like that,” Dale said, breath catching as Ty swallowed him down again. “Ride him. Let me see how you lose yourself in him.”
Oren began to thrust harder, his hand moving up and down Ty’s cock as Ty responded with deep moans and relentless suction, the room filling with the sounds of breath and pleasure and heat.
Dale watched them, his own orgasm coiling tight, but he held back, savoring the sight of the two men he wanted more than anything.
Ty’s body trembled, a deep groan tearing from his throat as his climax surged.
Oren watched, awestruck, as ropes of semen erupted from the tip of Ty’s cock, splashing across his chest and stomach.
The sheer intensity of it triggered something in Oren.
With a shout, he slammed his hips forward, buried deep inside Ty, and let go, groaning as he spilled himself inside his lover.
The vibration of Ty’s moan, still muffled by Dale’s cock, was the final spark. Dale’s body tensed, and with a hoarse cry, he came hard, hips jerking, buried in the heat of Ty’s mouth as he lost himself in the abyss of rapture.
But they weren’t done.
The night stretched on, and they didn’t stop until they were all shaking, wrung out, and clinging to each other like the world might fall apart without their touch