August rolled to look at him, rubbing the tears from his cheeks. “I know. I trust you.” And then he reached a hand out, trailing his fingertips across Jerry’s scruffy jawline. “You would never hurt me, would you.” He didn’t phrase it like a question, but instead, a certainty. Like gravity and the sun rising in the east.
“Never,” Jerry said firmly, his eyes glassy with unshed tears.
August brought his hand down from Jerry’s face to his shoulder, brushing down his arm until he reached his hand. “Then come here and show me.” No amount of force could move a man like Jerry if he didn’t want to go, but just the barest tug from August had him following like a dog on a leash… or like a man half gone.
Jerry moved slowly, warily, as though expecting August to change his mind. But couldn’t he see the worship in his eyes? Hewas his hero, the man he’d chosen to take care of his daughter. Of course he was comfortable with him. Jerry settled on the other side of August, and it was only then, with the two of us as guardians on either side of him, that August finally allowed himself to fully relax. He gave one final sniff, then sighed. It was like he’d simply been waiting for this moment. And as I met Jerry’s eyes over August’s head… it felt like we’d been waiting for it too.
This felt right, the three of us together.
“Time for bed, Auggie,” Jerry said in a gentle command. “Mia will wake us all up far too soon, and you need your sleep.”
Neither of us dared argue with him, but I, for one, no longer felt particularly tired.
We all shuffled down the bed until we were prone, and Jerry pulled the blanket up, tucking us in, before leaning over and turning off the lamp. Instead of signaling that it was time to sleep, though, the darkness made every point of contact even more intense. August couldn’t settle, flip-flopping a few times. Every time he brushed across my crotch, I had to clench my teeth not to react.
“You’re supposed to be sleeping,” Jerry scolded, but I could hear his smile in his voice.
“I know, but I can’t get comfortable,” he whined.
Chuckling, I asked, “And what would make you comfortable?”
“Will you… hold my hand?” he asked shyly.
“Of course I will, baby,” I said. The pet name kept sneaking out, rolling so naturally off my tongue.
He searched out my hand in the dark, but not before his fingers left a path of searing heat across my abs. Fuck, after the abandoned sexy times with Jerry earlier, my body was far too ready to jump back in where we left off. I angled my hips away from him so I didn’t give him the wrong idea.
With our hands entwined, I could sense him doing the same on the other side, reaching for his alpha, and Jerry rolled on his side toward us, giving him access to whatever he wanted. Jerry and I knew what we wanted, but August was still young and in a vulnerable position. Neither of us would ever take advantage of him, especially after everything he’d been through. This was the time to let him lead the way, taking things at his own pace.
Whatever August wanted, he was going to have to learn how to ask for it.
Our omega was still fidgeting, and when he rolled my way, his breath coasted over my pec, and my nipples puckered. I could feel my pulse in my dick, and I stared up at the ceiling in the pitch dark, begging for sleep to claim me and put me out of my misery. But then I felt… Were those Auggie’s lips?
I froze, holding my breath, afraid that he’d kissed my chest, afraid that he hadn’t.
When he did it again, I let out a soft gasp, and he jerked back. “I’m sorry,” he whimpered, but he couldn’t retreat far because Jerry was there, blocking his escape. He tried to let go of my hand, but I tightened my grip.
“Don’t apologize, I was just surprised. You can… do it again, if you want.” I cringed. I hadn’t meant for it to sound like a proposition. More like… an invitation.
Jerry was quick to assure him, “You can do whatever you want, sweetheart. We’re here for you.”
“A-Anything?” he asked, curious, and I swore I could hear the gears turning as he tried to figure out just how far that extended.
“Anything,” I repeated. “You’re the boss.”
“So, you’re saying I could… kiss you?”
“Yep.”
“Both of you? And you wouldn’t get mad?”
“Not even a little.”
When he tried to extricate his hand again, this time I let him, and he rolled toward me. It was torture as he felt his way up my chest in the dark, until he found my face. He traced the contours of my features—my cheeks, over my brow ridge, down my nose—and then his breath ghosted over my lips. I stayed stock still as he gifted me with a brief chaste kiss. My hands itched to reach for him too, but I kept them to myself. The ache was worth it to let him discover his own strength again.
It was somehow worse when he rolled the other way, and I had to listen to him kissing Jerry. I wished I could watch the tender moment, but I had a very good imagination, and the rumble from our alpha’s chest got filed in my spank bank. It didn’t matter how innocent the kiss was—his restraint was hot.
At last, August lay down between us once more, the brief temptation, the assurance settling him enough to sleep. “I feel selfish, wanting both of you,” he whispered, as if the confession was easier to admit in the dark.
