I rose from the couch in an instant, pulling him into my arms. “You will always be perfect to me. Doyouunderstand?” I growled the words at him, our faces close. “I don’t care what you look like or what you wear or how many countries you’ve been to. I fell in love with you when you were a scrawny kid with bloody knees and a crush on my girlfriend. And I love you still.”
His eyes slid closed, the smallest of smiles turning up the corners of his lush mouth. “I love you, too,” he whispered, leaning his forehead against mine for long moments. When he drew back, he reached a hand out in Gabi’s direction. She took it without hesitation as she joined our circle. I wrapped one of my arms around Gabi’s waist, the other still around Connor.
“Gabi,” Connor murmured, “I’ve loved you my whole life. I’ve never been as happy as I am right now, with the two of you by my side.”
“I love you, Connor.” She cuddled in close to his chest as they kissed, enraptured with each other.
Watching them together, my heart swelled until it felt damned near ready to burst. I’d waited so long for this, dreamed of it since I was eighteen years old. The three of us, in love and happy.
Their kisses deepened, taking on more urgency, and I leaned forward to place a kiss on the curve of Gabi’s neck before doing the same to Connor. I didn’t want to interrupt them, but the need to have them both naked beneath my hands overwhelmed me, and finally I searched out one of Connor’s hands before doing the same to Gabi. When I tugged them towards the bed, they didn’t resist, nor did they release each other. I removed their clothing and they parted barely long enough for me to tug Gabi’s t-shirt over her head. Once they were naked, their bodies came together in a clash of heat. They were beautiful, sensual and erotic, every lustful fantasy and romantic wish I’d ever had. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to be there with them.
I put my lips close to Gabi’s ear and whispered, “Lie down on the bed.”
With a low moan, she complied. Pulling away from Connor’s kiss, she eased down onto the bed until she stretched out with her head on the pillow, her dark hair fanning across the white cotton. Connor joined her, his hips cradled between her spread thighs. I knew the moment he entered her. She gasped, her head thrown back, her mouth open. Connor swore under his breath, burying his face in the curve of Gabi’s neck, his body tense. Then, he began to move, his hips rolling in slow undulations. Gabi rose to meet him, her arms circling his back, fingernails raking lightly across his skin.
I could have come so easily in that moment, from nothing more than watching them. I wasn’t even touching my aching dick and already I could feel the pressure in my balls, begging for release. The sight of them was that fucking hot. I closed my eyes, taking a few steadying breaths before I grabbed the bottle of lube from the bedside table and climbed onto the bed behind Connor.
Flicking open the lid, I poured a generous line of the cool substance onto my middle finger before I reached out to slide it between Connor’s arse cheeks. Finding his entrance, I grazed the length of my finger back and forth over the opening. Connor hissed as he reared back against my finger, searching for more of my touch. I gave him what he wanted, sliding inside his body as far as I could go. After a short pause, he moved forward once more, pulling most of the way off my finger as he sank into Gabi’s body. She sighed in pleasure, her hips lifting off the bed to meet him.
Scooting forward a little further, I nudged his knees wider. Gabi lifted her legs to allow him more room and when my gaze lifted to her face, I saw her watching me with eager, hungry eyes. As we stared at each other, I applied more lube to my throbbing erection, trying not to stroke too hard for fear this would be over before it began.
I withdrew my finger from Connor’s greedy hole and he keened his displeasure, only to shout out in relief when I replaced it with my hard dick. My whole body shuddered with the need for restraint as I eased inside his body. I tried to go slow, allow him time to adjust, but the way he pushed back at me, his muscles clenching tight, made it impossible. Within moments I bottomed out, my balls slapping against him in mind-numbing pleasure. It was the first time I’d made love to Connor bareback and I’d never been so grateful the three of us had already had all the necessary conversations. My body shook with the need to claim this man who owned half of my heart, as he gave himself to the woman who owned the other half.
Connor began to move again and before long we managed to find a sweet spot, where he could drag himself off my hard length while sliding deep inside Gabi’s body, only to reverse in the other direction.
Harsh whimpers began to fall from Gabi’s lips. “Fuck yes, again.” When Connor next thrust into her, I pushed forward into him, so our combined weight hit Gabi’s core at once. “Oh fuck,” she wailed. “More.”
We did it again, and then again, and we must have been nailing her g-spot because her words quickly became garbled nonsense and then she came apart beneath us. Connor and I quickened our rhythm, our movements becoming frenzied as we neared completion. Connor’s arse clamped down on my dick as he came, forcing me to follow.
Finally, we collapsed onto the bed, a sweaty mess of sated bodies and smiling faces. I held them both close as they went back to sleep. They were mine now and I would go to the ends of the earth to keep them safe.
TWENTY-SEVEN
______
CONNOR
The phone call from my agent came almost two months later. We hadn’t spoken much, as I’d only been working occasionally. Most of the time we communicated by text or email, so the fact she called to speak with me in person made my gut clench. I wasn’t sure if dread or relief caused the reaction.
After a brief greeting, she launched into her usual spiel. “You will not believe the job I’ve got lined up for you,” she began. “I know you’ve been keen to stick with jobs in and around Brisbane for the time being, but this offer is too good to pass up. You’ve been off the radar for seven months, Clay.” A faint shudder went through me at the name. “If you want to stay relevant you need to get back to work,” she continued. “This job will ensure you have a career to come back to.”
She was right. I couldn’t continue to laze around Brisbane not doing anything. Not only because it had started to send me stir crazy. If I didn’t get my face back in the limelight soon, my career would be over. The world would forget about Clay and my seat at the table would be given to a man more interested in being there. It was now or never.
“Where, when and how long?” I asked, ignoring the way my body curled in on itself as I sat on the couch.
“Melbourne,” she said quickly. “You’d need to fly down Sunday night. I know it’s short notice, but the job itself is only for a few days.” She went on to lay out the details. A new chain of menswear stores was opening around Australia. They wanted a signature face for their catalogue, as well as a series of ads for billboards, magazines and storefronts. “This is exactly what you need to get you back on your feet.” There was a short pause, before she added, “Seven months is a long time in this industry, Clay, you know that. I had to pull strings to get you this opportunity. You need to say yes.”
“All right,” I said, deciding on the spot. “I’ll do it.” It was short-term, would keep me in the game, and be a boost for my bank account. My agent had sucked at stepping in when I needed help, but she excelled at getting a good price for my hide. For the moment, that’s all I wanted from her.
“That’s my boy.” I could hear the smile in her voice at my easy acceptance. “We’ll have you back on top of your game before you know it. Autumn in Milan. Spring in London. It will be like you were never away.”
A familiar knot had formed in my stomach by the time we hung up, the threads pulling tighter with each shallow breath I took. Did I want to go back to that life? Travelling most of the year, working constantly, being surrounded by people but having no one I could count on. Did I want to put myself at risk of a relapse if I couldn’t handle the pressure?
I also had Gabi and Law to think about. Did I want to be separated from them for long stretches at a time? These months we’d spent together had been the happiest of my life. Did I want to give up the life we’d been building to go back to one where I’d been rewarded for hurting myself?
Taking some deep breaths, I tried to put it all into perspective. Taking one job did not have to mean going back to the same life I used to live. Once I completed this job my agent would have three more lined up and ready to go. But, unlike most models, I was in the enviable position of having already earned enough money that I could afford to be picky about which jobs I accepted.
That hadn’t been true when I’d first started out and each dollar counted. I’d worked my arse off for every opportunity I’d been given. Later in my career, the idea of complaining about working too much had seemed ungrateful, or like bragging. So, I’d never said anything.
