Fox
“Five…four…three…two…one…Happy New Year!”
The ball dropped on the television screen, and Fox immediately ducked his head to steal a kiss from Colin, only to find himself almost getting brained by Dane as his brother tried to do the exact same thing at the exact same moment.
“Dude,” Dane said mildly, his subdued version of censure.
Colin let out a small laugh, his brows raised high. “I’ve never seen you two so uncoordinated. Should I be worried about what this bodes for the new year?”
After a shared glance with Dane, Fox stole his kiss after all, licking the taste of champagne off Colin’s lips. “The only thing you need to worry about are all the orgasms we’re going to be wringing from you, little lamb,” he murmured.
“I’m surprised you two don’t bump heads more often.” Jay’s cheery voice interrupted their moment, the little vampire chiming in from his perch on Alexei’s lap over on the other couch. “Doesn’t it get tricky with three people?” He leaned forward, too eager by half, his gray eyes lit up with interest.“Howdoesit work, avoiding accidental touching? Do you plan ahead of time? Talk it out? Draw up diagrams?”
Fox resisted—just barely—the urge to flip him off. He sneered instead. “Is this your way of telling usyourmate requires diagrams to fuck you?”
“Noooo,” Jay said slowly, as if seriously considering the issue. “But there is the occasional nude portrait involved. Just for fun though.”
Fox filed that away in his things-he-had-never-needed-to-know drawer and snuck another kiss from Colin, whispering, “Your little friend is way too interested in our sex life.”
Jay put the bottle of champagne he’d begun to sip from down on the coffee table, shooting Fox a glare. “His little friend canhearyou. And I’m like that with everyone—you’re not special.”
Except Jay was clearly curious how things worked among the three of themspecifically. Fox would have pointed that out, but he was trying to play nice. Colin was having a good time tonight—it was obvious in the relaxed splay of his muscles, the surprisingly sweet smiles he was doling out left and right, and the easy laughs Jay especially was coaxing from him.
Fox wasn’t going to be the one to ruin it, especially when he was already at a disadvantage as the resident asshole. As their trio had spent more time in Hyde Park, Dane and Alexei had started to get on weirdly well, which meant Dane now had Jay’s unwavering approval.
It was only Fox the little weirdo still glared at.
Still, Fox couldn’t help letting out one tiny complaint. “Why didn’t we go out again?” he asked, a whine leaching into his voice as he brushed his thumb against Colin’s neck. “We could be grinding on the dance floor right now.”
Last time they’d done that—when they’d celebrated Halloween in Phoenix—Colin had let Fox jerk him off on a crowded, sex-filled dance floor. It had been fuckingamazing.There was nothing in the world like watching Colin writhe and gasp in Dane’s arms while Fox worked him over mercilessly, their broad bodies sheltering him from any curious gazes.
Fox shifted in his seat. Fuck. He wanted to do that again. Like, immediately.
But instead, they were at Jay and Alexei’s Hyde Park apartment, snuggled in on separate couches, watching the damn ball drop like they were eighty years old. They were each about two bottles of champagne deep—Jay had claimed he wanted to find out exactly how much it took to get himself tipsy—and Jay kept burping delicately, letting out a quiet “excuse me” each time.
Fox might have acknowledged it was kind of cute, if not for the massive grudge he still held against the little vampire and his…history with Colin.
Namely that Jay had been the first one to taste their mate’s blood.
Although, Fox had to admit—these two kept a cozy-as-fuck apartment. There was warm lighting, a billion blankets on every surface, and four different cats lounging on two different cat trees. Something about the place always had Colin relaxing more than usual, letting his guard drop lower than he normally did around anyone other than the twins themselves.
Colin rolled his head to give Fox a look. He was slouched down between Fox and Dane, his long legs extended to rest on the coffee table, Fox’s arm around him and Dane’s hand on his thigh. “I already told you—I never go out for New Year’s. The vibes are always off. It’s always way too crowded or expensive, and people are feeling all weird and pressured to be some better version of themselves next year. I’d rather be here with you guys.”
Dane pressed a kiss to Colin’s blue hair. “Feeling’s mutual, baby.” And then he shot a fuckingwinkat Fox as Colin smiled lazily, snuggling his head into Dane’s shoulder.
Damn it, Dane was winning tonight. Not that it was usually a competition between them. But with Jay here—Colin’s so-called “bestie”—it kind of felt like one.
“You don’t do resolutions, Colin?” Jay asked, after another discreet burp.
Colin shrugged. “Not really my thing.”
“Mm.”
Jay looked weirdly disappointed, and Alexei nudged him. “Go on, sweetheart. You can still tell him yours.”
Jay perked up immediately, like he’d only been waiting for permission. “I’ve signed up to volunteer with the local blood drive,” he said, almost shyly. “I’m going to do my part to offset all the blood we’ve taken from hospitals over the years.”
Colin nodded, a small smile on his lips. “That’s super thoughtful, short stack.”
