Chapter 13
Troy
“Holy shit!” Rhett’s voice hit a pitch I’d never heard from him before.
His eyes were wide as saucers, the massive pink donut box clutched in his hands like he’d forgotten it existed.
“She agreed to a threesome?” The raw hope and excitement in his face might have been comical if my heart hadn’t been racing.
Leave it to Rhett to walk in on an innocent hug and immediately leap to the filthiest possible conclusion.
Aimee jerked away from me, her face flaming red. “What? No! That’s not—”
Something twisted in my gut at Rhett’s eager expression. The way his eyes darted between Aimee and me made it clear how excited he was, but setting him straight felt like kicking a puppy. A very horny puppy.
“I was comforting her, not propositioning her,” I said.
“Oh,” Rhett said, his entire body deflating like a balloon with a slow leak. His shoulders slumped, his smile faded, and even his hair drooped. “Right. Yeah. That makes more sense.” He set the donut box on the counter with a defeated thud.
I couldn’t stand seeing him look so crushed, even if his disappointment was over something completely ridiculous.
I crossed the kitchen and took his face in my hands, pressing my lips against his in a hello kiss that tasted like early morning air and maple sugar.
His response was immediate, his body perking up as he leaned into me, his hands on my bare waist.
“Good morning to you too.” His usual cockiness was already returning. “Nice abs.”
“I know,” I teased, stepping back and giving him an exaggerated flex. “You’re not the only one who can thirst-trap around here.”
Rhett’s eyes trailed down my body appreciatively before he turned to Aimee with a sheepish grin. “Sorry for the, uh, misunderstanding. I saw you in Troy’s arms and my brain short-circuited.”
Aimee laughed, her embarrassment fading. “At least buy a girl breakfast first before assuming she’s up for your sexual escapades.”
“I did!” Rhett gestured to the massive box of donuts with exaggerated offense. “Pink Pony’s finest! I stood in line for forty-five minutes for these babies.”
The wounded puppy-dog look on his face as he glanced longingly between Aimee and me was too much. I caught myself wondering if there was something—anything—we could do to put that eager spark back in his eyes.
“Maybe we could do a little something,” I said, the words spilling out before I’d fully thought them through. “To make up for crushing your hopes so spectacularly.”
Rhett’s eyes widened. “Like what?”
“I don’t know,” I backpedaled. “Nothing crazy. Just... something fun?”
A slow, dangerous grin spread across Rhett’s face, the kind that always meant trouble. “I dare you and Aimee to kiss.”
The words hung in the air between us, charged. I glanced at Aimee, whose eyebrows had shot up, but whose lips were twitching suspiciously close to a smile.
“What is it with you and dares?” I asked Rhett, heart hammering against my ribs.
“Hey, our first kiss was on a dare from Aimee,” Rhett pointed out, waggling his eyebrows. “And that turned out pretty fucking fantastic, didn’t it?”
The memory of that kiss flashed hot through my body—the way Rhett had melted against me, the soft sounds he’d made, how everything had changed between us in an instant.
Aimee laughed, breaking the tension. “He’s got a point. Fair’s fair.”
My mouth went dry. I looked at her—really looked at her—standing there in sleep shorts and one of my old t-shirts, her blonde hair in a messy bun, her blue eyes bright with challenge.
She was gorgeous. I’d always known it, always felt the pull toward her, even while respecting the invisible boundaries that kept her firmly in the “off-limits” category.
But something held me back. Not a lack of desire—fuck, I wanted to kiss her—but a knot of fear deep in my chest.
Aimee’s smile faltered as she registered my hesitation. “It’s okay,” she said softly. “You don’t have to. I know this is... complicated.”
“It’s not that,” I said quickly, hating the flicker of hurt in her eyes. “It’s not that I don’t want to.”
“Then what is it?” she asked.
I glanced at Rhett, who was watching me with curiosity rather than impatience, and something broke open inside me. The words tumbled out before I could stop them.
“I’m scared,” I admitted, my voice rougher than I expected. “I’m scared that once you kiss her, once you have both of us... you’ll realize you don’t need me anymore. That I was just a stepping stone to get to her.”
The confession hung in the air, raw and vulnerable in a way I rarely allowed myself to be. Rhett’s expression shifted from confusion to understanding to something so tender it made my chest ache.
“Troy.” He moved toward me, taking my face in his hands the way I’d held his moments ago. “Is that what you’ve been worried about?”
I couldn’t speak, nodded, feeling foolish but unable to deny the fear that had been gnawing at me since that first kiss.
“Listen to me,” Rhett said, his eyes locked on mine with an intensity that stole my breath.
“I want Aimee. I won’t lie about that. But I’m falling so fucking hard for you, Troy.
You’re not a stepping stone or a placeholder or an experiment.
You’re my boyfriend. I could never leave you for anyone—not even her. ”
My heart stuttered. “Boyfriend?”
“Yes, boyfriend.” The word landed with the weight of a declaration.
Something tight and painful in my chest finally let go. I pulled him close, crushing my lips against his, pouring everything I couldn’t say into the kiss. This wasn’t like our playful kisses or even our heated ones. This was deeper, more desperate, a claiming and a promise all at once.
I tasted donuts on his tongue, felt the scratch of his morning stubble against my skin. Every sensation screaming mine, mine, mine. And for the first time, I believed he felt the same way about me.
When we finally broke apart, both breathing hard, Rhett’s eyes were dark with desire, his lips red and slightly swollen. “Believe me now?” A hint of his usual cockiness had returned, though his voice was unsteady.
“Getting there.” My own voice was equally wrecked. “Might need more convincing later.”
Rhett grinned. “Happy to oblige. Repeatedly.”
Aimee cleared her throat and took a step back, her eyes darting between us like she was intruding on a private moment.
“I should give you guys some space.” She turned to leave the kitchen.
Her fingers trailed along the countertop as if she needed something to ground herself, and I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the subtle curve of her back in my too-big t-shirt, the way it hung off one shoulder revealing a tantalizing glimpse of smooth skin.
“I thought you offered me a kiss,” I called after her, my voice lower than I’d intended.
She froze mid-step, and I saw the slight stiffening of her shoulders, the way her breath caught.
“I’ll do anything to make my boyfriend happy,” I added, the word “boyfriend” still new and exhilarating on my tongue.
“Jesus, Troy.” Rhett’s eyes went wide. “That’s the first time you’ve called me your boyfriend, and it sounds so fucking sexy coming from your lips.”
I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face. “Get used to it, boyfriend.”
Aimee turned back, hesitation giving way to boldness in her expression. “Well, you did kiss when I dared you. It’s only fair.”
She crossed the space between us with measured steps, each one deliberate, her gaze never leaving mine. When she reached me, she didn’t wait for me to bend down. Instead, she rose onto her tiptoes, one hand sliding up my chest to curl around the back of my neck, pulling me down to meet her.
The first touch of her lips against mine hit like a jolt—soft yet purposeful. For a split second, I froze, overwhelmed by the reality of her mouth on mine after so many months of wondering. Then I was kissing her back, my hands on her waist, pulling her against me.
What started as tentative exploration quickly ignited into something fierce and hungry.
Aimee moaned into my mouth—a sound so sexy it made my cock twitch—and suddenly she was devouring me, her tongue sliding against mine, her body pressing closer.
Her fingers tangled in my hair, nails scraping lightly against my scalp in a way that made my scalp tingle.
I groaned as she tugged on my bottom lip with her teeth, a move so unexpectedly aggressive it made my head spin. My hands slid down to her hips, lifting her slightly, feeling the softness of her body contrasting with the firmness of mine.
Just when I thought I might combust from the heat between us, she pulled back, her chest rising and falling with rapid breaths, lips swollen and pink. “That was probably a mistake.” Her eyes betrayed her, dark with desire, locked on my mouth like she was already craving more.
“If that’s a mistake, I want to make all the wrong choices,” I said, my voice rough with need.
Rhett cleared his throat behind us, a sound that was half laugh, half groan. “Can I have a turn?” His voice was surprisingly polite despite the hunger in his eyes. “Please?”
Aimee’s gaze shifted over my shoulder to Rhett, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. “Well, since you asked so nicely.” She stepped around me.
I turned to watch as Rhett moved toward her, his movements slow and purposeful, like he’d been waiting for this moment for years and didn’t want to rush a second of it. He cradled her face in his hands with a tenderness that made my chest ache, his thumbs brushing her cheeks before he leaned in.
Holy fuck. Watching Rhett kiss Aimee was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen in my life.
Where our kiss had been a sudden explosion of heat, theirs started slow and built like a fire carefully tended.
His mouth moved over hers with deliberate care, coaxing rather than demanding.
One of his hands slid into her hair, releasing it from the messy bun so it cascaded down her back in golden waves.
I couldn’t look away as his other hand traced down her spine, pressing her closer, the contrast of his large frame against her smaller one making my cock throb with need. When she made a small, needy sound in the back of her throat and wound her arms around his neck, I almost lost it.
They pulled apart, breathing hard, and Aimee turned her flushed face toward me.
Her lips were red and glistening, her pupils blown wide.
Without thinking, I stepped forward, drawn to her.
This time when I kissed her, it was deeper, more possessive.
I tasted Rhett on her tongue, and the combination of them both was intoxicating.
Rhett moved behind her, his hands sliding around her waist as he pressed against her back. His mouth settled on the curve where her neck met her shoulder, and she gasped into my kiss, her body arching between us.
We took turns, trading kisses—my mouth on Rhett’s while Aimee’s lips explored his jaw, Rhett kissing Aimee deeply while my hands roamed her body, Aimee turning to capture my lips again as Rhett watched, his eyes hot and hungry. It was a dance with no choreography, instinct and desire guiding us.
“Gorgeous,” I murmured against Aimee’s ear as she pressed back against Rhett, her head falling onto his shoulder while my fingers traced the outline of her breast through the thin t-shirt. “So fucking gorgeous. Both of you.”
Her eyes fluttered open, meeting mine, pupils so dilated they nearly swallowed the blue. “We shouldn’t.” Her body contradicted her words, pressing into my touch.
“Do you want to take this further?” I asked, my fingers pausing their exploration. “Because we want you, Aims. But only if you want this too.”
She blinked, something uncertain crossing her features even as desire flushed her cheeks. “It would be stupid,” she said, her voice breathy. “People make impulsive, high-risk decisions after traumatic experiences to try to gain a sense of control. It’s textbook psychology.”
Rhett’s laughter rumbled against her back, his arms tightening around her waist. “Good thing we’re not high risk at all.” He pressed a kiss to the side of her neck. “We’re Rhett and Troy, the most low-risk guys you know.”
“Plus,” I added, tracing my thumb across her lower lip, “you’ve known us for ages. This isn’t exactly a stranger in a bar.”
Aimee looked between us, her expression thoughtful despite the desire evident in her flushed skin and rapid breathing. I could practically see her brilliant mind working, weighing options, considering consequences. I watched the decision settle in her eyes—a surrender, a leap of faith.
“You know what?” A slow smile spread across her face. “Fuck it. Sure.”
My heart nearly stopped. Those three simple words—"Fuck it. Sure"—might have been the sexiest thing I’d ever heard. I glanced at Rhett over her shoulder, seeing my own shock and arousal mirrored in his expression.
“Wait,” I said, needing to be absolutely certain. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
Aimee’s smile turned wicked as she reached out, one hand sliding up my chest while the other reached back to tangle in Rhett’s hair. “I’m saying take me to bed, firefighters.”