Chapter 22 #2
But the wrongness of what he felt cast a pall over it. He’d been devastated when he learned that Blade and Scotty had slept together, and as much as he wanted to make love to her, he didn’t want Blade to hurt the way Mace did.
“Guys,” she said softly, “I love you. I don’t think I can separate who I am from who we are together.
Blade is my right arm, and Mace is my left.
” She gave an impish smile. “And I’m ambidextrous, so you are both equally important.
But right now, I feel like both arms are broken.
Time apart would mean losing them altogether. ”
“It wouldn’t be forever,” Blade said, his voice rough. Wrecked.
“I think it would be,” she whispered, agony lacing every word. “And even if we could eventually get past this, it won’t be the same. There will always be a scar.”
“If you do this with Mace,” Blade warned, “there will be two.”
Scotty’s smile was both sad and wry as she murmured, “Symmetry.”
Symmetry. Something told Mace that Ares would regret teaching his daughter that particular lesson.
Blade couldn’t believe this was happening.
Sure, he knew where Scotty was coming from. He knew she wasn’t using this as an excuse to get Mace into bed. She truly believed that by making everything fair, they could restore some balance in their relationship. Reluctantly, he had to admit that it even made some sense.
But that didn’t mean he had to like it. And it certainly didn’t mean it was the right way to go.
He swept his gaze over Scotty, his mind taking him back to the cave, her body against his as they became one. Yeah, it sounded cheesy and flowery, but they’d forged a bond that day, as if their very souls had touched. He’d have done anything for her before, but now? Now she owned him.
What he wouldn’t give to have her again, to take the time to make love to her instead of rutting like beasts in heat.
He wanted a do-over. A chance to show her how much she meant to him.
To revere her the way she deserved, wake up every nerve ending slowly with his fingers, his tongue.
He wanted to spend hours worshiping every inch of her toned, lithe body.
Fuck.
Mace had every right to be angry, didn’t he? Blade had been yearning for Scotty, and of course, Mace knew. Begrudgingly, he could admit that he got it now. He really got it.
What had happened between Blade and Scotty had saved Blade’s life, and Mace could probably get past that. Eventually. But he—rightly so—wouldn’t be able to shrug off Blade’s obvious pining for Scotty.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
He swung around to Mace. “Can I talk to you for a minute?” He gestured at the door to the backyard. “Alone?”
Scotty blocked them, fists on her hips, her freckles standing out angrily against her pale skin. “You are not taking Mace outside to beat him.”
“It’s okay, Scotty.” Mace shot Blade a warning stare as he scooted around her. “I’ll be fine.”
“If I see one drop of blood,” she shouted at their retreating backs, “I’m making a lot more of it!”
Blade would have chuckled if his mind wasn’t swirling with images of his two best friends fucking each other’s brains out. Ruthlessly, he shoved his jealousy down into the empty cavern of his chest. It could hang out with the acid reflux that was currently burning a hole in his esophagus.
Once they were out on the patio, Mace took up a watchful position next to a steel-plated pillar, folded his arms across his chest as he waited for Blade to talk. Or deck him. Which was tempting.
Blade didn’t know where to start. This was a situation he couldn’t have prepared for, and he hated navigating unknowns. Frustrated, he shoved his hand through his hair and let out a growl.
“Look,” he said gruffly. “I think you sleeping with Scotty is a bad idea.”
“No shit?”
Blade ignored that. “But I’m not going to stand in the way.”
“Okay…” Skepticism gleamed in Mace’s narrowed eyes. “Let’s assume you actually mean that. You didn’t bring me out here to say it. So where, exactly, is this going?”
Good question. This was so fucking uncomfortable.
“When I was with Scotty,” he began, pausing as he gathered his thoughts, “you know, in the cave…” He drew in a long breath.
“Things were…frantic. I’d waited for as long as I could, so…
I mean, you know how it is.” It was pain and lust and desperation all scorched around the edges by the danger of knowing you’d stepped too close to the fiery edge of death.
“What I’m saying is, I wasn’t in the right mindset to…
to make it, um, you know…good. For her.” Dammit, he sounded like an idiot.
“It was Scotty’s first time, and it wasn’t what she deserved.
” He scrubbed his hand over his face and looked down at the stamped concrete pad, letting out a curse after a few pounding heartbeats. “You need to make it right.”
Mace stared in disbelief, and when he spoke, his low voice dripped with doubt. “Are you saying that you want me to—”
“Show her how it should be.” Jealousy made Blade’s words sharper than they should have been, but Mace didn’t seem to notice.
“Damn,” Mace breathed. “I don’t know what to say.”
Blade jabbed a finger at him. “Nothing freaky.”
“Freaky?”
“Come on,” Blade said. “You know how you are.”
“I’m not sure if I should be offended or not.” Mace’s voice was both droll and amused, almost like he was back to his usual self.
“There’s nothing wrong with your assortment of toys and…tools, but they have a time and place.”
“And you don’t think Scotty strapped into my sex swing is the right time or place?”
“Don’t.” The sudden vision created by Mace’s words made Blade growl with a combination of lust and anger. “I’m not in the mood.”
“Hey, man.” A rare note of contrition bled into Mace’s voice. “I would never hurt or disrespect her. You know that, right?”
They locked gazes, and as lit up as Blade was at the situation, he trusted Mace. Trusted him with his life. And with Scotty.
“I know.”
There was a strained pause as Mace searched Blade’s face, getting a bead on his emotions. Blade wished him luck with that, because they were all over the place. “And you know I don’t want to hurt or disrespect you, either.”
“Yeah,” Blade croaked.
Mace moved closer and lightly dropped his hand on Blade’s shoulder. “If you truly don’t want me to do this, I won’t.”
A comforting, warm sensation spread through Blade’s chest. Their friendship had never been tested until now…and Mace was trying to make it right. “Seriously?”
“Yeah.”
Relief filled him, and for a long moment, Blade considered taking Mace up on that.
But man, what a selfish, greedy move. He wanted Scotty for himself, even while knowing that she wasn’t his and never would be.
She couldn’t be. All he would ever have was one small piece of her. One frantic but amazing night of bliss.
How could he justify keeping Mace from having the same?
He couldn’t. Blade loved Mace and Scotty too much to say no to something that might set them all right. And once it was over, they never had to think about it again.
He just had to get through those couple of hours of knowing what was happening in Mace’s bedroom.
Closing his eyes, he shook his head. “I want you to do it. Just…don’t tell me about it, okay? No details.”
“Me?” Mace said lightly. “I never kiss and tell.”
Blade rolled his eyes. “You always kiss and tell.”
“Only when things get kinky.”
“And I repeat, you always kiss and tell.”
Before Mace could think of a comeback, the door opened, and Scotty poked her head outside. “Everything okay?”
Mace and Blade nodded in unison. “We’re good,” they both said, and Blade felt a rush of relief. They were already falling back into sync.
“For real,” Blade added.
He didn’t like the glint of doubt in Scotty’s eyes.
For this to work, the three of them had to be all-in.
Mace’s mother had always touted the power of the mindset, the idea that one could manifest their wishes through positive energy and action.
Of course, she’d been a Memitim, a guardian angel for those deemed critical to the future—for good or bad—so she was full of light and sparkles and cheery affirmations.
But Idess’s father was also the Grim Reaper, so when she wasn’t unicorns and rainbows, she was fire and fury. Mace had gotten a touch of that. Slow to anger but scorched-earth vengeance in an instant.
“Thank gods.” She stepped out. “I’m meeting my sister and Raika, so I’m gonna go.” She grinned, the first genuine one he’d seen since Alaska. And he knew they were doing the right thing. “I’m glad we talked. See ya!”
They watched her take off, and then Mace punched Blade in the shoulder. “Wanna play some old-school GTA?”
He shrugged. “Sure.” Getting some aggression out with Grand Theft Auto sounded good. Plus, he could beat Mace about half the time. “We should invite Crux too.”
“You go get him. I’ll make some popcorn.”
Sounded good. Finally, something sounded good.