Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
PENELOPE
The first thing I notice is warmth.
Not the usual soft, generic kind from my comforter and mattress, but heavy, solid heat pressed against both sides of my body.
There’s weight at my back, a chest along my spine, a steady breath against the back of my neck.
In front of me, an arm lies over my waist, hand resting just above my belly button, fingers relaxed but possessive.
I blink my eyes open.
Gideon’s the first thing in focus.
He’s right in front of me, close enough that I can see the tiny scar under his jaw, the one I have kissed exactly twice.
His lashes are darker than his hair, his mouth soft and not in his usual flat line of control.
He looks a little younger like this, which is ridiculous because he’s still older than me and still terrifying when he wants to be.
Behind me, Silas shifts, and I know it’s him before his arm even tightens.
There’s a certain weight to his hold—firm, claiming, careful.
He pulls me closer, my hips tucked against his, his chest rising slowly and warm along my back.
His beard grazes the top of my hair, a rough little reminder of exactly who’s there.
I’m completely surrounded. Gideon in front. Silas behind. Their legs tangled with mine under the blanket. I’m the center of a very specific universe, and my body is aware of it before my brain fully wakes up.
I lie there for a minute and just feel it.
Their warmth. Their weight. The way my body fits between theirs as though we’ve done this a thousand times and not just one very chaotic night after an engagement party from hell.
Once the hazy sweetness wears off enough for my brain to boot back up, I register something else.
They are both breathing like they’re asleep. Too evenly. Too carefully.
“Stop pretending,” I murmur, my voice rough from sleep. “I know you’re both awake.”
Gideon’s lips twitch.
His eyes open. “Morning,” he says, voice rough in a way that doesn’t help my blood pressure.
Behind me, Silas makes a soft sound, a half laugh in his chest. “You caught us.”
I shift a little to look back at him over my shoulder. He’s already watching me, eyes warm, hair mussed from sleep. It makes him look softer, except there’s nothing soft about the way he’s looking at me.
“You two always cuddle hostages,” I ask, “or am I special?”
Gideon hums. “You’re special.”
Silas’ arm tightens again. “And not a hostage. You asked us to stay.”
I did. Last night feels like a fever dream, but that part’s clear. The party. The reveal. The car ride with my admission spilling out of my mouth. Them undressing me with careful hands. A glass of water. Their bodies on either side of me while my brain finally shut down.
I should feel embarrassed. Or trapped. Instead, I feel safe in a way that unsettles me more than anything else.
I try to roll onto my back and underestimate how little space there is. I end up more tangled, chest almost flush with Gideon’s, Silas pressed tighter along my spine. My knee slides between Gideon’s legs, and I feel the very clear evidence that I’m not the only one having a reaction to this setup.
His breath stutters.
Silas’ hand spreads wider over my stomach, anchoring me. “Careful,” he murmurs.
The warning prickles over my skin.
“Why?” I ask, feigning innocence. “Is there a problem?”
“Several,” Gideon says. His gaze drops to my mouth. “All of them wearing your face.”
Heat climbs up my neck. “That is very poetic for this early.”
“I’m dangerously sober,” he says. “It makes me worse.”
I look up at him through my lashes. Something reckless awakens inside me. The sadness from yesterday is still there, the shock and confusion too, but under all of it is this bright, defiant thread that wants to feel something good while everything else is a mess.
“Then do something foolish,” I say.
His eyes darken.
For a second he hesitates, like he’s waiting to make sure I mean it. I let my hand slide up his chest, fingers curling in the thick of his chest hair, and that’s all it takes.
He closes the distance and kisses me.
It’s not gentle, not at first. His mouth claims mine, his hand slides up to cradle the back of my head.
My lips part on a gasp, and he takes advantage, tongue sweeping in like he’s been thinking about this all night, which honestly he probably has because same.
I kiss him back, clutching him, letting myself lean into his control. It feels so easy to give to him.
Behind me, Silas’ breath gets rougher against my neck. His fingers flex against my stomach. I can feel him, hard and solid against the curve of my ass, and the knowledge sends a pulse of heat through me so strong I almost break the kiss with Gideon.
Almost.
When I finally do pull back for air, a soft, helpless sound escapes my throat.
“Good morning, Angel,” Silas murmurs against my hair.
I huff. “You didn’t get a turn yet.”
“True,” he says.
Gideon smirks. “I can share.”
“Of course you can,” I murmur, feeling bold and irritable and turned on all at once. I shift again, rolling my hips just a little, and both of them react enough that I feel it.
Two sharp inhales, one at my neck, one against my mouth.
“Penelope,” Gideon warns.
“Yes?” I ask, trying not to sound smug.
“Stop wiggling,” Silas says behind me.
I absolutely do not stop.
This time when I move, I do it slowly and deliberately.
Pelvis rocking back against Silas, forward against Gideon’s thigh.
My breath catches because I’m not made of stone and also because this is insane.
I shouldn’t be doing this. I should be freaking out about step titles and bloodlines and all the ways this could go to hell.
Instead, I’m sandwiched between two men I very much want, and my body is voting strongly in favor of bad decisions.
“Penelope,” Gideon repeats. His hand closes around my hip, trying to still me. “You’re not thinking clearly.”
“I’m thinking very clearly,” I counter. “I’m thinking about kissing you again.”
“You can kiss me,” he says. “Just stop grinding like that.”
I smile sweetly, lean in, and kiss him while I rock my hips again.
He groans into my mouth.
Silas swears quietly against my neck, his restraint starting to fray. His hand slides from my stomach to my waist, thumb pressing into the dip there. His teeth graze my shoulder, and I shiver.
“Angel,” he says softly, warning wrapped in affection. “We don’t have to do this now.”
“I know,” I say against Gideon’s lips. “I want to.”
There’s a beat of silence, a whole conversation happening over my head between the two of them, in a way I’m starting to recognize. Best friends talking without words, weighing risks, checking in with each other, checking on me.
Then Gideon pulls back just enough to look me dead in the eye.
“You sure?” he asks. “You’re not just reacting to last night?”
“Last night sucked,” I say honestly. “This doesn’t. I don’t want to spend the whole day scared and miserable. I want this. I want you.” I swallow. “Both of you.”
Something in his gaze softens, then steels.
“Then you have us,” he says.
I sit up as best I can and pull my shirt over my head, tossing it to the floor and rubbing my hands up my torso to my tits, squeezing them. Both men watch me with rapt attention.
I push the blanket back and get on all fours. My tiny sleep shorts cling to my hips, bunched and barely hanging on.
Beside me, Gideon shifts—hooking his thumbs into the waistband of his briefs and shoving them down his thighs in one impatient motion. His cock springs free, thick and ready. I wrap my hand around him and stroke slowly, savoring the way his lips part, how his eyes go dark and heavy.
Then I let him go and crawl toward Silas.
Silas is already moving, pushing his own underwear off his hips and kicking them free before I even reach him. He sits back against the pillows, hard and waiting, eyes locked on me.
One hand slides up the back of my thigh, gripping hard enough to make me gasp, and his other hooks into the waistband of my shorts.
“Off,” he murmurs, voice rough, command vibrating through me.
He drags the shorts down slowly, all the way to my knees, then my ankles, and tosses them aside. Now, there’s nothing between us. His hands return to my ass, kneading once, like he’s appreciating the view.
I dip down, sliding Silas into my mouth and taking him as far as I can, once… twice… before popping off and giving the same to Gideon.
Silas shifts closer to him, and I suck Gideon’s cock while I stroke Silas. With one hand wrapped around the base of his shaft, I bob up and down. Gideon folds his hands behind his head with a deep groan, neck flexing, watching my lips glide along him.
I release him and move to Silas again, kissing and sucking on his balls while my fist works Gideon.
Silas’ eyes are closed as he enjoys my mouth on him. I don’t let him enjoy it for long before I’m back sucking Gideon. Silas gets up on his knees and sticks three fingers in his mouth before reaching behind me and strumming my clit.
I arch, moaning around Gideon’s cock. Silas drags his middle finger from my ass to my clit, teasing me with a slick stroke, before dipping into my pussy. He curls it just right as he pulls out, hitting my spot so perfectly I choke on a breath.
My mouth stays focused on pleasing Gideon; his thighs tense, his breath stutters, his praise turns filthy.
I barely register Silas shifting further down until his hands grab my ass cheeks, spreading them open and then his tongue is on my tight star, licking, teasing, eating me like he’s starving, while Gideon murmurs filth about how good I look taking him so deep.
“You like Silas eating you, baby? His tongue feel good on your body?"
I can’t answer with a mouthful of cock, so I moan and nod as best I can.
Silas stops his feast, and once again runs two fingers up and down my tiny nub. He doesn’t let up until I’m whimpering around Gideon’s cock, and then and only then does he grab my right ankle and pull me toward his side of the bed so that my ass is easier for him to access.
Instantly, I arch my back even more so that I look like a cat stretching in the sun, only I want his cock and not UV light. He positions his tip at my pussy and pushes into me slowly.
His hands grab my waist right at the arch, and he pulls me backward onto him over and over again. My body claps against his pelvis as he fucks me, and I glide up and down Gideon’s shaft at the same pace.
I look up at Gideon, and he’s smiling, watching me suck his dick as his best friend fucks me.
“You look even prettier than I thought you would like this. Fuck, it’s better than I imagined.”
I hum around him, and he groans. Silas, meanwhile, picks up the pace, pistoning inside of me like a madman.
He reaches up and sets a hand on my head, holding me down on Gideon’s cock.
I gag and try to suck in air, but it’s useless.
I’m just a toy for them to play with, a pretty thing to share, and I love it.
Gideon opens his mouth, and a jumble of nonsensical words comes out.
Silas lets go of my head, and I pop off Gideon’s cock, gasping for air, but my hand takes over his loss of my throat.
The man behind me slaps my ass, grunting, and I know he’s close.
I rock back into him hard and fast, helping him reach his orgasm.
He slams into me one…two…three more times before I feel him still and rope after rope of hot cum fill my pussy.
I don’t get to relax for long before he’s pulling out of me, tapping my leg, and bossing me around.
“Now it’s my best friend's turn, Angel. Ride that thick cock that you’ve gotten good and warmed up.”
I straddle Gideon reverse cowgirl style and sink down onto him. His cock pushes Silas’ cum back inside of me, which I’m sure has Silas preening. I roll my hips, riding him. He sets his hands on either side of my hips, just holding me as I move back and forth.
Silas stands on the bed, his dick still hard and covered in a mix of his cum and my juices.
“Clean me up, Angel. You made the mess.”
He holds his cock by his balls, and I open my mouth.
He slides inside and wraps a hand in my hair, forcing me to take more and more of his dick.
Gideon takes over, slamming up into me as I focus on cleaning every ounce of our mixed essence from Silas.
I cry out as I feel my own orgasm fast approaching.
Gideon is hitting the perfect spot inside me, and knowing I’m licking the remnants of our fucking from Silas is filthy and doing things to me I didn’t know were possible.
The fire in my belly burns hotter as I cry out and my pussy clamps down around Gideon.
I scream my release, Silas smacking his dick against my lips and Gideon finding his own release amidst the chaos.
His dick twitches inside of me, and I can feel his seed coating me, filling me up. Just as I come down from my high and my heart begins to beat at its normal rhythm, Gideon pulls from my pussy, pushes my thighs apart and dives forward, sucking and licking my clit like a man possessed.
It takes less than two minutes for another orgasm to build and explode out of me. I can feel myself squirt and he hums, enjoying every moment of the dirty shit he’s doing to me.
He looks up from between my thighs, smirking. “I knew I’d get you to squirt. Who knew I just needed my best friend’s help?”
I nudge him with my foot. “Shush, you.”
Silas leans down and kisses me. “Throuple, full steam ahead.”
I cackle, and Gideon calls him out. “Hey, that's my line.”
“I stole it.”
“Please don’t ever say that again.” I shake my head as I move off the bed and head to the bathroom to clean up.
“We’ll start breakfast, Angel,” Silas calls as I shut the door on them and look at myself in the mirror.
“What the hell did I just do?”