Which was why he wasn’t entirely certain of his own motivations when he dipped forward, planting a quick kiss on Ryan’s slack lips, and said, “I’m heading out to the garden to check on our boy.”
Ryan closed his mouth and blinked rapidly. Art hoped he hadn’t broken his man’s brain by alluding to the throuple situation staring them in the face. He wasn’t sure if Ryan had come around to the idea yet.
Graeme was nowhere in the same universe of the idea of making a consensual threesome. Art kept that in mind as he left Ryan to his work and wandered out to the garden. Just as Janice had said, Graeme had stripped to the waist, even though the day was typically overcast, and was more than a little dirty and sweaty. The sight of him slamming his shovel into the ground to dig out turf in one of the marked-out sections of the developing walking garden was enough to make it uncomfortable for Art to walk the last few yards over to him.
“I can’t decide which of you needs a blow job to relax more,” he opened his conversation with Graeme, who had been too focused to see him coming. After Graeme jumped and twisted to face him, he added, “You’re both wound tighter than super tightly wound things.”
“Art,” Graeme said breathlessly, smiling and wiping his sweaty forehead with the back of his gardening glove, which just smeared more dirt near his golden, sweat-matted hair.
God, he wanted to bend Graeme over a barrel and fuck him so hard! Then he wanted to encourage the green young man to go all power-top on his arse.
“How is our little garden-slash-excavation site coming along?” he asked, sauntering the last few feet up to Graeme with a wicked grin.
“It’s—”
As Graeme started to answer, Art swiped a finger across Graeme’s sweat-glittering chest then sucked on his finger. He really wasn’t a fan of the taste of sweat, but he was all on board with the shocked look that came to Graeme’s eyes and the twitch of movement in Graeme’s work trousers.
“I…er…the garden…um….” Graeme was completely flustered, and Art loved it. “Everything’s coming along nicely,” he finally managed to push out, voice hoarse.
Art laughed. “You’re so easy to tease, love,” he said, stepping flush against Graeme, snaking his hand around to grab the back of his trousers’ waistband, and planting a kiss on Graeme’s startled lips.
He was more than a little surprised when Graeme kissed him back, seemingly on instinct. Even Ryan hadn’t done that when he’d surprised him with a kiss just minutes before. Graeme seemed ready to throw himself into things.
Until he wasn’t.
“Uh, oh, I’m sorry,” he said, jerking back and squirming self-consciously. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Why not?” Art asked with a shrug, making eyes at Graeme to let him know he could do more.
“It’s not…we’re not…Ryan….”
Art’s smile widened. “Love, I think you and I and he all know where this is heading.”
Graeme looked at him like a deer caught unawares. Which was proof that he wasn’t quite there yet.
“By any chance have you found anything in your digging that might add to a particularly juicy and exciting write-up I plan to put together for my head of department?” he asked, deliberately stepping back, both physically and figuratively. “Dean Renfer called me into his office to sit in his naughty chair this morning. And let me tell you, it’s not the kind of naughty chair I like.”
“Oh,” Graeme said, blinking. He worked his mouth wordlessly for a few seconds before flinching slightly, his whole demeanor changing. “Actually, yes.”
He put his shovel down and headed over to the far end of the garden plot, where the ruins stood. Graeme’s original design had been altered to give Art plenty of space for his excavation. Those plans now also took the ruins into consideration and made them a feature of that part of the garden. At least, in theory. It would take some time for Art to complete his work, and to be honest, whether the university agreed or not, he was going to drag that work out as long as possible, but once it was done, that section of the garden would be planted around the ruins.
The southeastern corner of the gamekeeper’s cottage had been completely uncovered in the last few weeks. Art had found mostly charred boards and rubble in that corner. Sitting atop the rough, worn foundation stones was a rather pretty brooch.
As Graeme bent to pick it up, Art shamelessly leered at the generous curve of his backside. He did it in such a way that Graeme would notice exactly what he was staring at when he straightened and turned to offer him the brooch.
Their eyes met. Art grinned heatedly at him. Graeme blushed and gave Art the sweetest, shiest smile of interest he’d ever seen.They were definitely moving along in their dance, that much was certain.
“I don’t know if it was lost in the fire or at some other time,” Graeme said, stepping closer to Art to hand the brooch over. “It’s pretty, though.”
“Yes,” Art said, joining his hand with Graeme’s around the brooch instead of taking it entirely. He stared deep into Graeme’s eyes and said, “It’s very pretty indeed.”
Graeme gulped slightly, his gaze slipping from Art’s eyes to his lips. He licked his own lips, seeming to waver with indecision.
“I know you and Ryan were intimate in Cornwall,” Art said, low and husky, and surprisingly clean, considering the words he wanted to use. “I feel terribly left out,” he finished.
Graeme made a sound and leaned in, like he was going to kiss Art, but Ryan’s sudden call of “Who wants to go into London with me?” from the other side of the garden broke the two of them apart.
It was a testament to where they were all heading that Ryan didn’t react outwardly to the fact that Art and Graeme were so obviously getting it on. At least in a small way. Art stepped back and grinned at him as if to say, “You’re not the only one who can tease our boy”.
