Chapter 12
THREE’S A CROWD
Johnny
Three minutes before Taylor entered the bedroom, Johnny had been sitting in his boxers at the end of the bed, staring at himself in the full-length mirror.
He was an idiot. A total twat if ever he’d seen one.
He’d thought that when the two omegas had appeared at the bar he’d found a simple solution.
Have sex. Get the horrifically repressed tension out of his body, and maybe kill his feelings for Taylor just a little bit in the process.
It was stupid, and he knew it was stupid because no matter how much sex he had it just made the hollow, empty feeling in his chest even worse.
It’d started off just fine with Theo. He’d thrown himself into the omega’s obvious attention, kissed him, held him, scented him in the corner of that tacky VIP booth. He had been doing a pretty good job of not looking at Taylor, because if he’d looked the illusion would have been broken.
Well, now it was.
It had been well and truly fucking shattered when he’d heard Taylor and Emily laugh and the sofa creak and he’d lost his hard-on faster than a horse around a racetrack. That had been embarrassing, especially when Theo had looked at him with so much sympathy.
“It happens sometimes,” Theo had said, sliding Johnny’s completely soft cock back into his boxers.
Caught in a moment of embarrassment, aborted horniness, and the realisation that having sex with Theo was going to solve absolutely nothing, had made his lips loose, and he’d spilled it all.
He’d told him every last mortifying detail of his one-sided feelings, which had been really stupid, because Theo could have easily laughed in his face, marched into the living room and told Taylor everything.
But Theo, bless his heart, had sat beside him with his hand on his shoulder and listened. Then he’d smiled, got up from the bed, pressed his ear against the door and cracked it open.
He’d chuckled and said, “Looks like you’re not the only one with stage fright.”
Johnny’s eyebrows had shot up. “What do you mean?”
“They’re watching TV and playing with my cat. Actually, I think Em’s fallen asleep.”
Johnny had laughed softly and shaken his head, feeling insanely guilty about the relief that washed over him. Theo had winced as he shut the door, then turned and run a hand through Johnny’s hair. “Why don’t we ask him to join us? You said you’d played together before?”
Johnny rubbed his face and held up a hand. “We didn’t play together. We were just… in the same room.”
Theo laughed. “And the same body. Come on, why not? I’m horny, you were horny up until five minutes ago and Emily’s asleep.”
“Definitely not,” Johnny replied.
“Why? What’s the worst that can happen?”
“I bite your hand off the second you touch him?”
Because if being in love with Taylor had taught him anything, it was that holding his feet to the fire was the quickest path to getting burned.
Theo rolled his eyes. “I might not know you that well, but you don’t strike me as the type to physically assault someone during sex.” He grinned. “Not without permission. Besides, I won’t do anything with him unless you’re okay with it. And if you really don’t like it, we’ll stop.”
Johnny sighed, rubbing his feet together. “It’s not my place to give permission. He can do whatever he wants, and so can you. It’s me that’s the issue.”
Theo made a noise in the back of his throat and cupped Johnny’s face. “You are so stinking cute, you know that?”
Johnny gave a weak smile and looked at the floor. “I think you mean pathetic.”
“It’s not pathetic,” he whispered, pressing a thumb under Johnny’s chin. “What is pathetic is how hard I am despite the guy I’m meant to be fucking telling me he’s in love with the person in the next room. That’s pathetic.”
Johnny couldn’t help but laugh at that.
“Or I can just get myself off in the bathroom, but honestly I’d rather have sex.” Theo shrugged.
“It’s your flat. You could just tell us to leave.”
Theo canted his head, looking thoughtful. “I could, but I think I’ve just discovered a new kink.”
“And what’s that?”
“Being sandwiched between two smoking hot alphas whilst they fuck out their feelings. You know, I always thought I’d make an excellent sex therapist.”
Johnny ran a hand down his face. It was a terrible idea, but he couldn’t ignore the quickening of his heart. His wolf was saying yes, yes, yes! But his head was saying, No, you fucking moron!
But then he heard the sofa creak again and the sound of Taylor’s voice as he cooed at what Johnny presumed was Theo’s cat. Something softened in Johnny’s chest, and before he could stop himself he said, “You make a compelling case.”
Theo grinned, wrapping his arms around Johnny’s neck. “So is that a yes?”
Sighing, Johnny looked up into Theo’s brown eyes. “Just… don’t push it, yeah?”
“I shall be the very embodiment of gentle persuasion.”
As it turned out, Taylor didn’t require much persuading at all, because after only a handful of minutes he followed Theo into the bedroom.
The dim glow from the street lamps shone through the thin curtains, bathing the room in a yellowy light.
It bounced off Taylor’s hair, making him look almost golden.
Johnny let out a breath and leant back. The bed was covered in blankets despite the time of year, and he buried his fingers between them to hide how tightly he was balling his fists.
Theo let go of Taylor’s hand and shut the door, the sound of the lock clicking into place making Johnny’s bones rattle.
He watched with twisting uncertainty as Taylor kicked off his shoes before turning and nudging Johnny’s knees apart. He stood between them, looking down at Johnny with hard scepticism. “You good?” he said, his shins touching the edge of Theo’s mattress.
Johnny swallowed, throat like sandpaper. “Yeah,” he replied.
It was easier to look up at Taylor in the darkened room, where he couldn’t make out the minute details of his face, the subtle changes in his expression or any flicker of disgust. But he could see his eyes.
They were so beautiful, all bright amber in the lamplight, and fuck, Johnny wished Taylor could see himself through his eyes.
The smattering of freckles across his top lip, the way the corners of his mouth crinkled when he laughed, the scars across his knuckles.
All of it.
As the seconds ticked away, the hardness in Taylor’s gaze turned to concern, his lip twitching as he said, “We’re leaving.”
He went to step away, but Johnny sat up and grabbed his wrist. His heart was thumping so hard everyone in the room could probably hear it. “I don’t want to,” he whispered, which was only half-true.
Taylor ran his tongue over his teeth, turning his hand so their fingertips touched. “You sure? Because you look like you want to.” He flicked his eyes towards Theo. “No offence.”
Theo stayed quiet, but Johnny could tell he was watching them from the corner of the room.
“I’m sure,” Johnny replied, letting his fingers brush down Taylor’s palm before falling back onto the bed.
Taylor’s gaze trailed over him—over his face and chest, lingering over the scar beneath Johnny’s right collarbone from where Clementine had tripped down some steps as a toddler and he’d dived after her.
It made Johnny’s cock stiff, being the focus of Taylor’s unchecked attention, but he found he didn’t have the energy to hide it.
Taylor’s eyes stuck on Johnny’s obvious erection, mouth forming a soft O as he tilted his head. Johnny’s cock pushed up, his white underwear making the shape of it even more pronounced.
There was an audible click in Taylor’s throat as he swallowed, and another when he popped open the top button of his shirt. A muscle in Johnny’s thigh twitched as he undid another, and another until all the buttons were undone and the light caught the pale hairs across his chest.
Johnny wanted to lean forwards and rub his face through those hairs. He wanted to dip his tongue into his belly button and bite the soft skin between his hip and groin.
There was a soft gasp from the corner of the room, making them both blink. Johnny caught sight of Theo in the reflection of the mirror. His hands were clasped tightly over his mouth.
Taylor gave the omega a lopsided smile and held out a hand. “Sorry,” he said, gesturing for Theo to join them.
“Are you sure?” Theo whispered, slowly taking it and letting himself be pulled between Taylor’s arms. That made Johnny’s stomach clench, a soft growl escaping his throat, but just as he was about to look away he felt a soft pressure on his bottom lip. Taylor was touching it with his thumb.
“You coming?” he asked, holding his gaze.
Johnny let out a quiet breath. “Yeah.”
Grinning, Theo grabbed Johnny’s hand and pulled him to his feet. He ran his hands over both their chests, pressing his fingertips into Johnny’s abs and sliding them beneath Taylor’s shirt to push it off. It fell to the floor with a soft pat.
Pulling them together by their waistbands, he made them stand shoulder to shoulder, the hairs on Johnny’s arms standing on end as he watched Theo pop open Taylor’s shorts.
Theo glanced up at him, and Johnny nodded slightly before he slid them down Taylor’s thighs and flung them somewhere in the room.
Theo took off his jeans and dropped to his knees, staring up at them with wide eyes and damp lips. He ran his hands up the insides of both their thighs, stopping at the waistbands of their underwear.
“Can I?” he said, looking at Johnny but tugging at Taylor’s boxers. Johnny nodded, brushing a hand through Theo’s hair.
He pulled both of their underwear down, and Johnny heard Taylor’s cock slap against his stomach. The scent of Theo’s arousal flooded the room, making Johnny’s dick stiffen even more.
“Damn,” Theo said, dipping his tongue into the valley of Johnny’s hip. “What is a boy to do with so much cock?”