“What’s funny?” Rich asked, his tone thick with accusation.
“Your husband.”
He made a grunting noise in the back of his throat and Kevin’s back arched under the pressure of Rich’s shoes.
“Speaking of him,” he said, dragging his feet away from Kevin’s spine. I could see imprints from the sharp lines of the heels of his shoes gouged into Kevin’s pale skin. “I should get home.”
“No.” I suggested, reaching out and patting a hand against Rich’s thigh. He paused and looked down at me with a frown.
“No?” The way he said the word gave me the distinct feeling it wasn’t something he heard a lot.
“I haven’t seen you in weeks. Let’s have dinner.”
“Did my troublesome husband put you up to this?” Rich settled back into the couch, but didn’t return his feet to Kevin’s back.
“You love him.”
“He’s too young for me.” He tipped his head back and closed his eyes. “I can’t keep up.”
I had no doubt that the difference in Rich’s and Sam’s ages would manifest itself eventually. Sam was barely drinking age, if that, but Rich was fit, a decade or so older than me, and he took good care of himself. For now he had no issues keeping up with his much younger husband.
“What is he plotting, do you think?” Ronan asked, exhaling loudly, his stare focused on Kevin and not us.
“Something that will get him in trouble,” Rich answered.
He probably wasn’t wrong. Sam was obedient, but he liked to push boundaries. It was one of the things I liked the most about him. He worshiped Rich, but he wasn’t scared of him.
“Did you want to go grab drinks? There’s that tapas place downtown that opened after Thanksgiving,” I suggested.
Kevin grunted. He was the one who’d wanted to try the tapas place.
“I think they have their own tables,” Ronan said conversationally. “We don’t need to bring our own.”
Kevin’s shoulders tensed and he dropped his chin closer to his chest. The carpet beneath him was soaked with a growing pool of spit, but I recognized his despondent arousal. It had become my go-to.
“It would be wrong to go without Kevin,” I said, offering him the sympathy he deserved.
Ronan pursed his lips.
“You’re probably right,” he agreed. “Why don’t the two of you go ahead and we’ll meet you there?”
Rich made a disappointed noise. “I was hoping to watch.”
Ronan sucked in a breath through his teeth and bobbed his head side to side before pushing away from the entertainment center. He moved quickly and the side of his foot landed on the back of Kevin’s head before I had time to register he’d moved closer. He pushed Kevin down, his cheek landing in the puddle of spit with a rough groan. Ronan pushed harder and Kevin’s arms gave out, collapsing under the pressure as Ronan ground his face into the carpet.
“I didn’t plan on having an audience for the end part,” Ronan said, trading his foot for his hand. He dragged Kevin’s face back and forth across the carpet before hauling him up and shoving three fingers into his mouth as far as they could go.
Kevin’s face was flushed and every muscle in his body tense and hard as Ronan choked him with half his hand.
“It’s fine if you want to listen,” he finally said.
“I’m good.” I stood up, hoping the slight bulge between my legs wasn’t glaringly apparent.
“Listening is no fun,” Rich agreed.
“Then we’ll meet you there,” Ronan said. “Don’t worry, this won’t take long.”
“You’re nothing if not efficient,” Rich said as he rose and we both made our way to the door.
