Levi shrugged out of his jacket, draping it over a chair without looking away. “Hey now, Ro. What’s all this? Come here, babe.”
Roland went willingly, folding into his arms, his face pressed to the broad plane of Levi’s chest. The steady beat of Levi’s heart beneath his ear eased something in him, but not enough. Not yet.
“I’m worried about her,” he said, voice low and rough.
Levi held him closer, one big hand rubbing slow circles between his shoulder blades. “I know.”
Roland’s fingers clenched in the back of Levi’s shirt. “She’s trying so hard. Fuck, she’s so brave, Levi. She’s letting herself lean on us, bit by bit. But I can feel it. There’s still something she’s holding back. Something she’s scared to let us see. Not tomention that she was reaching out to Nanny J about counseling. I don’t know how to help her.”
Levi tipped Roland’s chin up, thumb brushing the edge of his jaw, the touch light but grounding. “Ro. Youarehelping. Just by being here. By being you.”
“But what if it’s not enough?” What ifhewasn’t enough?
Levi’s brow furrowed, but his voice stayed soft. “Babe. I know it feels like this should move fast. We’re used to that, in this life. Fuck, I had you practically living with me after our first weekend together. When it clicks, it clicks. But think about it. We’ve known her for what? A week? Two? And of that time we’ve been courting her for no more than three days. In that time, she’s had her world turned upside down. She trusted the wrong man, got hurt, landed in a foreign country, in a place she doesn’t know, with people she’s only just met. And yet, she’s already trying to trust us.”
Roland’s breath hitched.
“She’s letting us in,” Levi went on, “as much as she can. And she’ll let us in more. But it’s gonna take time. There’s no shortcut, Ro. No magic fix. We just have to love her, be steady and patient, and be here when she’s ready.”
Roland looked at him, really looked as he let Levi’s words penetrate. He watched the man who always kept him steady, who always saw him. And the rush of love was so fierce it almost knocked him breathless.
“I don’t deserve you,” Roland whispered.
Levi’s mouth curved, soft and sure. “You got me anyway.”
It was their usual tease, as both men firmly believed that neither of them deserved the other, so instead of constantly bickering over who had it better, they turned it around to make it healthier. Happier.
The kiss that followed wasn’t hurried. It wasn’t a clash of mouths or a desperate scramble. It was slow, deep, a promisein itself. Roland felt Levi’s fingers slide into his hair, felt the warmth of his hand at his back, anchoring him. He tasted salt, his own tears, maybe, or the shared ache between them.
And under it all, heat slowly stirred. As it always would when he held Levi in his embrace.
Roland’s hands found the hem of Levi’s shirt, sliding beneath to the warm skin of his waist, tracing the lines of muscle he knew by heart. Levi made a low sound, pulling him closer, until their bodies met fully, chest to chest, hip to hip.
Roland’s breath shuddered out. “Can you see it?” His voice was rough, his heart pounding. “What it will be like? When she’s ours? Truly ours?”
Levi’s eyes darkened, his hand firm at Roland’s hip. “I think about it every damn minute.”
Roland let the fantasy unfurl between them. The three of them together, Sydney safe between them, loved, cherished, their girl in every way that mattered.
Levi kissed him again, deeper this time, with more reverence. When they finally parted, their foreheads rested together, breathing the same air, hearts beating in sync.
“Do you think she’d like it, being tucked between the two of us? Both of us filling her at the same time?” Roland asked, pressing the aching bulge of his erection against that of his partner’s.
“Fuck, Ro. Keep talking dirty to me, and I’ll have to take you to the bedroom and show you how much I like it.” Levi dug his face into Roland’s neck, biting down on the sensitive skin there, drawing a long moan from him.
“She also hasn’t shied away from us kissing, or touching. I bet our naughty Little would like to watch me go down on you. Watch as I let you fuck my face,” Roland teased as Levi grabbed his ass and ground back against him.
“That’s it,” Levi growled as he grabbed Roland’s hand and pulled him to the bedroom they shared. “Time for you to put your money where your mouth is.”
Roland laughed, the sound hoarse and hungry. “I feel like you’re not paying attention, lover boy. I was kind of hoping for something else in my mouth.”
That time, Levi’s only response was to unbuckle his belt and push Roland down onto his knees.
Within mere moments he had his aching erection out, the bulbous head of his cock red and tipped with the first showings of pre-cum.
Roland didn’t tease.
In one movement he took Levi’s thick cock in his mouth, the musky taste of him making Roland moan.
