34. Gabriel
GAbrIEL
Maeve walks over, flanked by Hayden and Ford like they’re her personal bodyguards. She’s flushed, and there’s not a hair out of place, but I can tell it’s not just embarrassment coloring her cheeks.
“Thank god you’re here to save me,” I mutter as they join me and I can finally extract myself from a mind-numbing discussion about baseball statistics.
I’m excellent at pretending to care about things that bore me to tears—it’s useful when dealing with international clients.
People want to feel appreciated, like they’re talking to a friend rather than just another business contact.
It’s something Ford and Hayden wisely leave to me.
Ford doesn’t exactly radiate warmth, and Hayden has trouble keeping his sarcastic comments to himself.
But I’m not at work right now, so it’s a relief to stop feigning interest and focus on people I actually care about.
Speaking of people I care about, there’s definitely something going on. None of the three are making direct eye contact with each other, but they’re all stealing glances when they think the others aren’t looking.
I open my mouth to ask if everything’s all right, but then our hostess claps her hands for attention. “All right, everyone!” she announces with a bright smile. “It’s time for the white elephant gift exchange!”
Normally I’d find it amusing to observe the social dynamics at play.
There are people who choose something generic and safe because they lack imagination, and then there are those who go for something humorous that they know will get passed around and cause a stir.
But right now, that’s the furthest thing from my mind as we filter into the main living area and arrange ourselves in a circle around the massive pile of wrapped gifts.
Maeve is pressed close to me as we settle into the circle, and I swear that underneath her usual sweet scent, I can pick up something else entirely.
What was it Ford texted Hayden and me just a few days ago? Why does my wife smell like sex?
That’s exactly the question I’d like to ask the two of them right now. Hey, care to explain why Maeve smells like sex? At a family party?
I can remember her scent so vividly, the sounds she made, the expression on her face when we got off together in that bathroom. How badly I wanted to put my tongue on her, everywhere.
I scan Maeve discretely from head to toe.
Her clothes are all in their proper place, but it’s the flush that’s giving her cheeks that telltale glow.
Her makeup seems to have been rubbed or sweated away slightly.
Same with her lips—they’re that color because they’re bitten and swollen, not because she’s wearing lipstick.
They’re small signs, things I don’t think anyone else would notice unless they were specifically looking for evidence and suspected what that evidence might reveal.
My stomach tightens with heat. I glance at Ford and Hayden. They’re positioned protectively on either side of her, which doesn’t surprise me, but they won’t look at her or at each other. Or at me, for that matter.
It’s not necessarily guilt I’m seeing. Or maybe that’s part of it.
But I think we can all admit now that we want Maeve—each of us.
We’re men accustomed to taking what we want.
I know what my own hang-ups are, why I’ve resisted Maeve for so long, and I could probably guess what Ford and Hayden’s barriers are as well.
The question is: which one of them finally gave in to temptation and took what he wanted?
I watch them, barely paying attention to the gift exchange happening around us. Everyone laughs and coos over the various presents being unwrapped. Maeve does her best to participate, but I can feel that she’s struggling to focus.
It could just be nerves. She’s obviously been anxious around all these wealthy people, feeling like she doesn’t belong. But I don’t think that’s it. She doesn’t just seem nervous—she seems distracted, her gaze going hazy as she stares off into the middle distance.
Hayden didn’t grow up with money like Ford and I did. Maybe they bonded over that shared experience. Maybe one of their usual verbal sparring matches got heated and finally escalated into something physical…
The idea of Hayden finally putting Maeve over his knee, or Maeve dropping to her knees to shut him up with her mouth, sends heat shooting down my spine.
But then again, Ford is a man who’s used to keeping everything locked down tight.
Hayden’s sharp wit and sarcastic comments give him an outlet for tension.
Ford doesn’t have the same release valve.
He might tease Maeve by stealing her food and calling her Spitfire, but by and large, Ford buries everything deep in his chest.
And when you push a man like that past his breaking point, he snaps.
Ford snapping and showing Maeve exactly what he’s capable of, taking complete control—that’s an image my imagination won’t let go of easily.
I study both men again. Neither Ford nor Hayden will look at the other, but neither appears angry either.
If one of them had walked in on the other with Maeve, I think there would be more obvious embarrassment or maybe some irritation.
None of us is used to being jealous of the others.
I don’t want to experience jealousy or envy toward the two men I genuinely consider family.
But if one of them had Maeve while the other two of us didn’t, I think I would feel—yeah, damn it, I’d be upset, even if I didn’t want to be. It would be different if we could all?—
Oh. Of course.
The realization hits me like lightning. I glance at Ford and Hayden again, noticing the relaxed set to their shoulders that I recognize from when we were younger and hooking up regularly—just having fun, partying as hard as we worked before we sobered up and poured everything into building our company, before we all retreated behind our respective walls.
They’ve both had sex. Both of them. With Maeve.
It takes every ounce of self-control I possess to keep my expression neutral and pretend to pay attention to the white elephant game.
My mind is racing and my cock is growing hard between my legs.
God, I can imagine it so easily—the way they would handle her together.
I wonder what position they were in, whether they took turns or shared her.
The images flashing through my mind are too quick and hazy to hold on to properly, but they have my cock hardening in a way that makes me have to reach down and subtly adjust myself.
I step closer to the two men, positioning myself behind Maeve. I keep my voice low so no one around us can overhear, leaning in slightly.
“Do you three really think you’re being subtle?” I ask quietly.
All three of them go rigid.
“Don’t worry, I don’t think anyone else has noticed. I don’t think they’re even capable of figuring it out.” Nobody here knows Ford and Hayden, or Maeve, the way I do. “But you had to know I would piece it together.”
“Not. Here,” Ford mutters through a clenched jaw.
“Not here? You’re the ones who had sex in the middle of a party.”
“It wasn’t exactly planned,” Hayden says under his breath.
“How exactly did it happen?” I whisper, unable to stop myself from asking.
“Hayden interrupted me,” Maeve hisses quietly.
“You needed to be interrupted,” Hayden counters.
They quickly fill me in on the basic details—Richard’s inappropriate behavior, Hayden’s intervention, the confrontation that led to…
everything else. I’m burning to ask for more specifics.
I want to know exactly how it felt to be inside her, what sounds she made for them, every intimate detail.
But I know myself well enough to realize that if they told me right now, I’d be so turned on that everyone would notice.
And while I’m not a prude by any means, I’m aware that there are some things you simply don’t do at a family Christmas party.
I clench my jaw and force myself to pay attention to the gifts being exchanged around us. If I don’t get myself under control, I’m going to do something that will embarrass all of us.
Maeve’s eyes go wide and I see her flush return full force. “Don’t worry,” she whispers urgently. “This won’t change anything. It won’t mess up the deal—I’d never let that happen.”
“I know you wouldn’t.” Her concern doesn’t surprise me. I’ve seen how responsible Maeve is over the past two years. She may get frustrated with the demands we place on her, but she’s loyal and hardworking. I know she takes this deal seriously and genuinely wants to help us succeed.
“And it won’t happen again,” Maeve adds, still whispering.
“Why not?” I blurt out before I can stop myself.
Maeve blinks at me in surprise. “What?”
There’s sudden cheering as a woman whose name I was definitely introduced to but can’t possibly remember holds up what appears to be a novelty sex toy set—fuzzy handcuffs and a tiny flogger, the kind of gag gift that looks risqué but is actually useless in the bedroom.
Everyone laughs loudly and we join in, pretending we’re paying attention to the festivities.
Maeve’s eyes are still wide with shock, though, and I know she wants an explanation.
I swallow hard. It’s difficult to explain something when you can’t quite put your own feelings into words.
I’ve spent so long refusing to acknowledge how attracted I am to Maeve, and now it’s all rushing to the surface at once.
“I am jealous,” I say, but that’s not quite right either.
Normally if Ford or Hayden were interested in a woman, I’d gracefully step aside. Plenty of fish in the sea and all that. But not this time. I don’t want to back down.
I don’t want my best friends to miss out, though, either.
I care about Ford and Hayden deeply. I don’t want to take Maeve away from them. I just want to have her as well.
Taking a deep breath, I let slip the words that float up from somewhere deep in my mind.
Dangerous words, especially in such a public setting.
But everyone’s busy with the gift exchange, stealing presents from one another, laughing and joking.
Nobody’s paying the slightest attention to our little group.
“I missed out the first time,” I murmur to Maeve, daring to lean in closer so I’m certain she hears me. “I don’t want to miss out on the second.”
Maeve looks like she might faint. “You mean…”
She glances at Ford and Hayden. I know they’ve heard every word, but they don’t say anything, making it clear they’re going to let Maeve make this decision herself.
“I want to watch them fuck you,” I clarify quietly. “Together.”
This close to her, I can smell her berry and vanilla scent and pick up the telltale signs of arousal in her expression. She looks exactly like she did when I caught her in the bathroom, her cheeks flushed so prettily.
I turn her so she’s facing forward and place my hand on the small of her back, allowing me to lean in and whisper directly in her ear. “You dirty girl. Were you thinking of more than just me that day in the bathroom?”
Maeve swallows hard, leaning back against me a little. “Yes,” she whispers finally.
I love how torn she seems between her deliciously filthy desires and her natural modesty. I’m confident we can work on that second part. She shouldn’t feel ashamed of what she wants. What she wants is incredibly sexy, and she should have the confidence to ask for it.
Ford and Hayden both go still. I can practically see the gears turning behind their eyes, processing what Maeve just admitted. My own mind is racing as well.
I don’t want them to have Maeve without me.
But I also don’t want to take her away from them.
It wouldn’t feel right to deprive my two closest friends of something—or someone—they want.
I want them to be happy, damn it. I just also want to be happy myself.
I want to explore Maeve’s gorgeous body, hear her cries and moans, bring her to the heights of pleasure.
“Sounds to me,” I continue quietly, angling my head so I’m addressing all three of them while keeping my back to the crowd, “that we have something of an opportunity here.”
“An opportunity,” Hayden repeats, a hint of curiosity in his tone, as if I’m about to propose some insane business venture.
“We’re all here for the holidays. And Maeve is not currently employed as our assistant. Aren’t the holidays meant for having fun? So let’s have fun. Let’s do what we want, no strings attached.”
I watch all three of them as I speak. There’s shock on every face initially, but then I see their surprise replaced by contemplation. Ford’s lips curve upward a little, and Hayden’s eyes glint.
Then they both look at Maeve.
I follow their gazes, agreeing with their unspoken decision: this has to be her choice.
We’re all powerful men with money and influence.
We’re accustomed to taking what we want when we want it.
But we won’t push her into anything. All three of us, the intensity of our personalities, the baggage we all carry…
she might decide it’s not worth the potential complications.
Maeve lifts her chin and a determined look enters her eyes. A hungry one too. The moment I see that expression, a grin tugs at my lips, because I’m pretty sure I know what she’s about to say.
“Yes,” she murmurs. “I do want that.”
“Good girl.”
My grin widens, my entire body thrumming with excitement. I haven’t felt this alive, this electrified, since—well, I honestly can’t remember when.
“Gabriel?” Someone says my name, cutting through my thoughts. “I believe it’s your turn to choose something.”
“Right. Of course.”
I glance back at Maeve as I select my gift from the pile. Her cheeks are flushed again and she’s staring at me with what could easily be mistaken for excitement about the present I’m about to unwrap, but I know is really anticipation for what we’re about to do together. The pact we just made.
Oh yes. This is going to be a hell of a lot of fun .