Chapter 26
Twenty-Six
N erine
I stared out my bedroom window, utterly exhausted from the day. Two months since Andraius’s death. No. Two months since the bastard had attacked me and I killed him. I had a new life. But in a sense, it was my old life. One I’d wanted and didn’t want. Not without Papa and Linus.
Then again, if I thought about it. Papa would have had to pass for me to get the title anyway.
What the hell was wrong with me? My emotions were getting the better of me.
Mama told me I was being moody today, but I’d chalked it up to the nerves about the meeting with the families.
Anyway, my bitchy side helped me.
“What are you thinking about so hard?” Xander came into the bedroom holding a crate of some kind and set it on the floor.
“Today. It feels—” I paused. “Surreal. I’m in the seat. I get to be bitchy, and no one says anything.”
“No, they say it. You just shut it down.”
“What now?” I studied him, and a crease formed between his brows.
“I’m not following.”
“What happens now?”
Theo walked in, his intense gray gaze on me. “You tell us. Do you still have the urge to run away? Do you want your freedom from this life? Can you live without us?”
“No,” I answered without hesitation.
Both men prowled in my direction, one slow step at a time. It almost gave me the sensation of being cornered and hunted. My skin prickled, and my heart felt as if it skipped a beat.
Xander rubbed his jaw. “Are you sure there aren’t more lingering thoughts about leaving us?”
“I’m here to stay.”
“Does that mean you’re ours forever?” Theo stalked closer.
Arousal pooled between my legs, and my nipples tightened into hard, stiff peaks. My skin burned for their touch. The pull of these men was all-consuming, and I wanted more.
“I’ve always been yours.” When they were near, I set my palms on the center of their chests. “But I have a question.”
“And that is?” Theo slid a hand along my waist.
“Do the two of you belong to each other?”
Theo and Xander locked eyes. The emotions passing over their faces brought tears to my eyes.
“It’s time to forgive, Theo,” I whispered.
He remained quiet, continuing to stare at Xander.
After a few moments, he said, “After you decided it was over, I had absolutely no one. You have no idea what it feels like to be so fucking alone in the world, when everyone else is surrounded by people who give a damn about them.”
“I’m so s?—”
“Let me finish,” Theo cut Xander off. “In one night, I lost everyone I loved. And then I became a traitor to everything I valued to stay alive. It destroyed a piece of me. I had to fucking build a new life on a different continent, pretending to be someone I was never born to be. It isn’t something a person can get over with a simple sorry.”
“Are you ever going to forgive me?”
I heard the longing in Xander’s voice, and it broke my heart. I wanted to fix this for them so much, but I couldn’t. This was something they had to do.
“I did that months ago. Just the way you are made it easy to forgive you and fall back into our friendship.”
“But not what we were before?” Xander asked.
Theo shook his head before glancing at me and cupping my cheek. “We love Nerine. Focusing on her was safer.”
“You mean less complicated,” Xander interjected. “You wanted to avoid getting hurt again. I get it. You didn’t trust me not to let you down again.”
“Could I expect anything else, when the only person I could rely on for the last five years was myself?” Theo shifted his focus to Xander, a crease forming between his brows. “You were my business partner, nothing more.”
Xander moved toward him as if ready to shove him. “Are you kidding me right now? I was there, but you made it business. It was like talking to a stranger half the time. You did that, not me.”
“Calm down, both of you.” I stepped between them, trying my best to push them apart and failing. “For all that’s holy, you’re supposed to talk this out, not fight.”
“He needs a punch in the face for thinking I wasn’t there.” Xander’s temper was at ten out of ten, and at this moment there was no reasoning with him.
“You destroyed us and expected me to call you and say ‘Hey, life sucks pretending to be the dipshit’s lackey. Want to talk?’ Not a fucking chance.”
And of course, Theo decided to use his calm-as-fuck voice to antagonize Xander. It annoyed the hell out of me when he used it during arguments with me, so I could only imagine how Xander would take it in this state.
“So you chose to screw as many people as possible while you worked your way through Europe wheeling and dealing?”
A calculating smile touched Theo’s lips, that made me want to clock him, too. “Oh, so you’re jealous that I fucked someone other than you. Interesting. From what I know, you did the same.”
“Only after I learned about you.”
Okay, this was getting ridiculous and completely off-track. They were both fucking around with everyone.
Assholes.
“The one who needs to be angry about this particular situation is the one who is trying to keep us from beating the hell out of each other.”
“Do not bring me into this mess.” I blew out a breath and used my arms to push them as far apart as I could. When that didn’t work, I dug my nails into their chests, and they shifted.
“Fucking idiots. Now I know why it sucks to be the mediator.”
Both of their attentions homed in on me. I looked between them, feeling the calm in the energy between them.
“It does, doesn’t it, Angel?” Theo asked. “I do it for a living. And he does it on the regular with us.”
“It’s utterly exhausting when you two go at it,” Xander added, and Theo’s gaze lifted to his, something passing between them that I couldn’t understand.
“Both of you have to let go of the past or this isn’t going to work.” They continued to stare at each other, not saying anything. “Answer this, did the love die?”
“Of course not.” Xander released a frustrated breath. “I’ve never hidden how I felt from either of you. He’s the one who needs to answer the question.”
After a few moments, Theo said, “No, it didn’t die.”
Then as if I was watching in slow motion, Theo reached across me, grabbed Xander’s shirt, pulled him in his direction, and brought their mouths together. I shifted just as their bodies collided.
The kiss was no way near soft or gentle, more on the lines of devouring. It was an exploration of mouths, biting and tasting, while hands roamed and touched.
The sounds they made, especially the groans shot deep into my core, igniting my arousal to a fever pitch.
They were beautiful together, something I’d waited to see.
Xander fisted Theo’s hair, releasing a delicious feral sound as Theo stroked him through his pants.
They broke the kiss, pausing, taking each other in. Their faces flushed, their breaths unsteady, and their hard, thick cocks pressing along the inseams of their pants.
My pussy spasmed, making me slide to the floor as the urge to touch myself pushed at the back of my mind.
I was the voyeur in this. A spectator with a vested interest in the participants. And when they came to me after, it would be the three of us, not the two of them with only me.
They reached for each other again, pulling at each other’s clothes. First shirts and then belts and pants.
When they were naked, it was like seeing two Greek gods before me, bodies so different, yet absolutely perfect. And those fucking cocks of theirs, long, hard, pointing past their navels, and dripping with precum.
God, I wanted so desperately to touch them, be on my knees before them.
Theo lifted his hand and took hold of Xander’s jaw, gripping it. “You piss me off. Don’t ever make stupid fucking decisions like that again.”
“I’ve learned my lesson.”
Theo slid his palm to Xander’s shoulder and pushed, and immediately he lowered, his face right in front of Theo’s large cock.
“You know what to do.”
“You’re an asshole.” Xander’s tattooed hand wrapped around Theo and pumped up and down, creating a steady rhythm.
From as far as I could remember, Theo took the lead in our dynamic. He was the dominant one, no matter if Xander was a bulldozer enforcer in the outside world. However, there was always this game of push and pull. It added to the arousal, the intensity.
“I am who I am. Plus, you still obey my orders.” Theo cupped Xander’s head, tugging him forward, then ordered, “Make me come.”
Xander opened his mouth, taking Theo as far back as he could. I moaned, unable to help myself, seeing the way they lost themselves in the pleasure. My nipples beaded and my clit throbbed.
They held gazes, completely focused on each other.
Dear God, these men were going to kill me with the sounds coming from their lips.
I slid my fingers between my legs and past the gusset of my soaked underwear. Circling my clit, round and round, I tried to find relief.
That’s when Xander cupped Theo’s balls and a guttural cry came from Theo’s lips.
I knew that face. He was close, oh so close.
Theo fisted Xander’s hair and took control of the pace, something hard and relentless.
I stroked myself more, plunging my finger into my sopping pussy. Watching Theo’s orgasm build added to my climb to the peak.
“Don’t you dare do it, Angel. It’s not your turn,” Theo commanded at the moment the first spasms ignited in my body. “Now watch Xander take my cum.”
I wanted to weep. I ached so much.
“Xander, what the fu—” Theo clenched his jaw, and his hips pumped erratically as he came. “You asked for it. Swallow every fucking drop.”
The way Theo worked the last of his release out using Xander’s mouth seemed brutal and cruel. But Xander seemed to enjoy it, as if he spurred it on with whatever he’d done.
Theo pulled out of Xander’s mouth, his cock still semi-hard, even after an orgasm. Xander’s, on the other hand, looked as if it was about to explode at any second. Veins bulged from the sides and the flared bulbous head seemed to pour out precum.
“On the bed.” Theo motioned with his head.
Xander stood. “I get on my knees for you, and you can’t do the same for me.”
“Later. Right now, she wants a show. Let’s give it to her.”
They both looked in my direction.
“I can’t argue with that decision,” Xander responded.
The back of my throat burned. I loved these men so much. It was etched deep into my soul.
“Come on, Angel.” Theo offered me his hand. “You’ll want an up-close-and-personal view of this.”
“I can see perfectly fine from here.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “The only reason you want me close by is to keep me from taking care of myself.”
“That, too.”
Rising to my feet, I strolled toward him. His pupils darkened as I neared, and a shiver slid down my spine. The ache deep inside my pussy now seemed to pulsate in painful waves. It was a constant reminder of my unquenched desire.
Taking hold of my fingers, he brought them to his lips, kissing my knuckles. “Settle him on the bed, Angel.”
“You’re a tease, Theo Nephus.”
I led Xander to the bed, pushing him onto his back. His cock strained toward his belly, thick and hard, arousal coating his skin. I wanted to lick it off. I wanted to taste him.
But this was all Theo and Xander’s show.
The second I shifted, a wicked light entered Xander’s eyes, and he clutched my hair in a tight grip, pulling me to him and covering his lips with mine.
I tasted both Theo and him on my tongue. It was a heady mix that pushed my need higher and higher.
Xander gasped and arched, breaking away.
Theo fisted Xander’s cock, pumping it from root to tip. His stormy gray gaze locked with mine, and a devious smile touched the corner of his lips.
“I didn’t say you could kiss her.”
Through gritted teeth, Xander said, “You didn’t say I couldn’t kiss her either.”
Theo’s grip tightened, making Xander hiss.
“Sit back and enjoy the show,” Theo told me. “Your turn will come soon enough.”
I scooted back against the pillow, watching the way Theo’s hand moved up and down. My pussy clenched, and my nipples pebbled. Moaning, I cupped my breast, desperate for some relief.
“Remove your hands.”
The order had me frowning. “You can’t be serious.”
“Do you want to come?”
The challenge had my heartbeat accelerating.
“Asshole,” I muttered as I curled my fingers into fists and held them by my sides. “Well, get on with it.”
Theo ignored me, his attention homing in on Xander before he moved closer to him without releasing his movements on Xander’s cock. The way they stared at each other was hot as hell.
Theo leaned down and slid his tongue along Xander’s neck, then followed it with bites that had him arching. Theo licked, sucked, and bit a trail down Xander’s shoulders and chest. Goosebumps broke out over Xander’s skin the second Theo scraped his teeth over his nipples. Xander’s arms shook as he held them to his sides. They had these rules between them.
Xander’s cock wept with precum, covering Theo’s hand as he kept up the steady rhythm meant to torment.
Theo’s game.
He loved to hold us on the edge, leave us right near the cusp of going over, until he was ready for us to come.
I ached so badly just watching them, and Theo wasn’t even touching me. I could only imagine how Xander felt.
Theo lifted his head and raised an eyebrow as if he’d heard my thoughts.
Bastard.
He slid lower, adjusting himself between Xander’s knees. He lowered and then engulfed Xander’s cock.
“Fuck,” Xander cried out, his eyes clenched tight and the veins along his neck bulging.
Whatever Theo was doing to him with his tongue and mouth, Xander was in bliss. It was as if he could barely breathe.
Watching these men together overwhelmed the senses. They brought forth an indescribable level of arousal.
I pressed my tights together, but it only made the ache worse.
Theo lifted his head, holding Xander’s eyes, and commanded, “Come,” before taking him deep again.
In the next few seconds, Xander jerked, bucking his hips up, and groaned as his orgasm washed over him.
These two were fucking beautiful.