Chapter Two
It wasn’t uncommon for the three of them to exist in silence together. Life felt comfortable. They didn’t have to talk. Tonight was different, though. Quest looked Dodge’s way. A small smile appeared on Dodge’s lips. They knew each other too well. They were too much alike.
“We should go out. It’s been a while since we cut loose. ”
Salem snorted at Dodge’s statement. “You two cut loose damn near every night.”
“I meant as a family. Come to the titty bar with us.”
The look Salem gave Dodge had Quest fighting back a laugh.
No one could goad Salem into shit like Dodge.
There was no way Dodge wanted to go to a strip club.
He hated anything that sexually exploited others.
“I don’t want to go to a titty bar. What if I asked you to go dancing with me at a gay club? We don’t have the same idea of fun.”
Dodge shrugged. “I’d go dancing with you. I don’t give a shit if it’s a gay club.”
“Okay. How about this?” Quest said, jumping into the conversation. “Let’s flip a coin. Heads, strip club. Tails, gay dancing.”
Salem snorted again. Quest knew that could mean anything with Salem.
Dodge dug a coin from his pocket and flipped it in the air before anyone agreed or argued. “Gay dancing, it is.” He shoved the coin back in his pocket.
Quest hid a smile. He knew damn well that coin had not come up tails. Quest stood. “Well, get your shoes. ”
Salem didn’t immediately move. He motioned at Dodge and Quest. “You’re just going to go in shorts and a tank top?”
Quest and Dodge shrugged.
With a sigh, Salem stood. “You’re right. Every guy there will take one look at you and drool no matter what you’re wearing. Let it be on your heads, then.”
Quest headed for the door before Salem thought things through and changed his mind. “I’ll drive so you two can drink. I’m still hungover from last night.”
Salem scoffed. “Since when has that stopped you?”
“Many times, I’ll have you know.” He flashed a smirk Salem’s way. “Plus, I have a feeling I’ll need to stay sober to protect you.”
Salem shook his head as they stepped into the garage. “Definitely. People will trample all over me to get to you.”
There it was. The second comment in one conversation. How could anyone resist the constant ego stroke or the hint of jealousy? Dodge held open the door of Quest’s Ram quad cab. After Salem climbed into the passenger seat, Dodge climbed into the back.
“Where am I headed, exactly?”
“The Three-Legged Cowboy is decent. ”
A chortle came from the backseat. “The Three-Legged Cowboy.”
“Hey. You boys wanted gay. We’re going gay.” The smile in his voice couldn’t be missed.
Quest fought not to laugh. Following Salem’s directions, Quest easily found the nightclub.
Neon lights lit the building like Christmas.
Music poured from the club into the parking lot.
People practically burst from the seams. Dodge jumped out and opened Salem’s door.
The pair always took care of each other.
Quest wasn’t even sure if they noticed how much each did for the other, like it was second nature.
Quest waited for the pair. They headed for the door together.
Heads turned their way. Gazes swept their bodies.
Open, hungry stares followed them as they stepped inside. Quest paid the cover charge.
They barely made it three steps inside before a guy in a leather harness blocked his path. “Hey, gorgeous. Can I buy you a drink?”
Quest motioned over his shoulder at Salem. “I’m with him.”
The guy’s leer moved past him. “What about your other friend?”
“We’re all together.”
“Mmm. Goddamn. I’d buy a ticket to that show. ”
He was about to get one. Dodge already steered them toward the dance floor and they fully intended to open Salem’s eyes and toy with his lust. The moment the music engulfed him, and they had Salem between them, it was as if everyone else vanished.
Quest’s hips moved to the music. He held Salem’s waist. His thumbs found their way beneath his shirt, caressing the bare skin above the waistband of his pants.
With his back braced against Dodge’s chest, Salem’s gaze never wavered from holding Quest’s stare.
Dodge had his forearm across Salem’s sternum and his nose buried against the side of Salem’s neck.
Smell was one of Dodge’s weaknesses. Touch was Quest’s, and Salem felt damn good beneath his hands, moving to the music.
Even in the low lighting, Quest saw the desire etching Salem’s every line.
Maybe he would never admit it, even to himself, but Salem wanted them.
Time slipped away as their bodies moved together.
Then the music slowed and the space between them ceased to exist. Dodge and Quest kept Salem pinned between them.
The loud music didn’t hide the way their breathing got more ragged by the second.
Quest touched his mouth to Salem’s ear. “See? Straight club. Gay club. It doesn’t matter where we go. It’ll always just be us. Are you ready to go home?”
He felt Salem nod.
Quest grabbed Salem’s hand and headed for the door.
He dodged men without looking their way and played deaf all the way to the truck.
Quest wasn’t joking. All hours of the day.
Seven days a week. It was only the three of them.
Salem had never asked why Quest drank so much or why Dodge continually got high.
They had spent three years in hell, trying to find their footing while simultaneously knowing exactly where they were meant to be.
It was frustrating and draining. Salem had the hardest shell of anyone he had ever met.
The time had come, though. Dodge’s patience was gone.
Salem had to face the truth. It had always been them.
Salem couldn’t breathe. He needed space.
The way Quest had stared at him on that dance floor and the way Dodge’s lips had kept skimming his neck.
Damn. It was like ants crawled all over his skin, driving him crazy with the need to act.
He just hadn’t decided what that action would be quite yet, but he knew damn well it would blow his life to pieces .
The ride home was made in silence. He might have run for the safety of his bedroom, if Dodge hadn’t started talking and acting as if nothing happened.
“Get your pajamas on and meet us in Quest’s room. It’s time to play Two Dares.”
“Oh, Jesus. Should I ask?”
Quest looked his way. A too-satisfied smile stretched his lips. “Probably, but you’re playing nonetheless. It’s our latest release.”
Fuck. Salem couldn’t say no. One reason the pair of stepsons had never left each other was they worked together.
They created card games that were hugely successful.
Most people thought they just partied on their inheritance.
Truthfully, they had made a fortune by simply brainstorming together nonstop.
They created various party games, drinking games, and even a few family-friendly ones.
Two Dares didn’t sound like kids should be playing.
Quest was right, though. No matter how badly Salem wanted to run, he wouldn’t.
He would support his boys through every venture.
They meant too much to him for him to ever let them down.
If that meant gritting his teeth through their substantial charms, that was what he would do.
Tomorrow, he would find a way to distance himself.
Maybe he should just fuck the sexy lawyer.
That was all this was. He had gone too long without someone warming his bed.
Now he desperately wanted to set his life on fire.
“All right. Give me a few.”
“Don’t take long. I’ll come after you. You’ll end up over my shoulder.”
“And across my lap,” Quest added to Dodge’s threat. His words were almost too quiet to understand.
Salem wasn’t sure if he hoped he’d heard correctly or not.
Either way, he hurried to the safety of his bedroom and quickly found a pair of soft pajama pants and a T-shirt.
Dodge one hundred percent would barge in and throw Salem over his shoulder if he didn’t get there as fast as Dodge expected.
And Quest… well, Salem didn’t know about his warning.
Salem had to climb the stairs to the second floor of their three-story beach home to get to Quest’s bedroom.
While JD had been a spry ninety, he still needed a main-floor master.
Light flooded into the darkened hallway from Quest’s open bedroom door.
He peeked inside. Dodge was on his side, wearing workout shorts and a tank top with armholes so wide, they showed off his chest. Quest sat on the other side of a box of cards on the bed.
He was dressed the same. Salem ambled inside.
Two heads turned his way. One blond and the other dark.
Both had amazing eyes. Salem’s stomach quivered.
Tonight wasn’t a good night for this. Then they smiled, equally excited to see him, and they became his puppies again.
His favorite humans. Salem’s shoulders relaxed.
He climbed on the bed. “So, how does this work?”
Quest passed him a bottle of wine. “First, drink.”
Salem turned the bottle up and took a swig before passing it back. “That’s not good. Sounds like you think I’ll need fortification.”
Dodge laughed .
Quest set the bottle on the bedside table. “Nah. You just look like you need to loosen up a hair to enjoy yourself.”
Dodge spoke up. “For the game, you just draw a card and read aloud the two options. You have to do one. After you do, you put the card at the back of the deck. If you choose to do neither, you keep the card. The first person to keep three cards is out. So on and so forth until one player is left standing.”
That didn’t sound terrible. “Okay. Who goes first?”
“Whoever is oldest goes first. Then clockwise.”