* * *
My chest was moretender than it had been this morning. I stared at the dark living room windows instead of the TV and lay still as Vail combed his fingers through my hair. His chest was solid and warm under my head, and I nestled closer to him when he wrapped an arm around my waist. Sometimes I forgot Vail was older than me—most of the time in fact, because he could be scattered and all over the place, and he was always on the go. He had an innocent, trusting nature, and unlike Rowen or Cillian, there were no tiny lines around his eyes, unless he was really smiling, and they were younger than him, too.
He was just lucky.
But right now... I could tell he was an adultier adult. He knew I wasn’t okay, so he’d found us a comfortable spot to snuggle on the couch and hadn’t taken no for an answer. He dug his fingers in against my scalp, and I moaned. Cillian sat in the white armchair nearby, and I swore he’d taken that seat specifically so he could shoot disappointed looks at me.
“What?” I asked, after I caught him staring at me for the hundredth time.
“Ye know what. Why are ye here?”
“What do you mean?” I asked, but Vail massaged my head harder and let out a little growly noise. I couldn’t see what he was doing, but Cillian’s attention shifted and he ducked his head, resting his chin against his chest. I’d never seen him do that with anyone except Vail.
“Nothing.”
Guarding my side with my arm, I got up on my knees. Vail smiled. “Did that feel nice?” he asked, leaning forward so his feet were planted on the couch and his elbows rested on his knees. He was in a pair of black pajama pants that made his legs look extra-touchable, and his long-sleeved red shirt clung to his muscles. I let out a shaky breath.
“I’m tired. Want to come keep me company in bed?” I gave him my best smile. “I’ll make it worth your while.”
“Oh, you don’t have to bribe me.” He grinned and bit the corner of his beautiful, full lips while brushing back his dark blond hair with one hand. My heart felt warm and melty—he was easy to get along with and so handsome. Aspen and I were complicated, and I didn’t think I would survive whatever the hell was happening between me and Aspen without Vail. He let me recharge and recuperate without worrying about everything. Aspen made my insides shiver, and sometimes Vail did, too, but more and more he was home for me. A comfort. Stability. I let out a long breath.
Cillian got up from the armchair, and the bastard walked over, stuck his arm under Vail’s knees, and lifted him. Vail laughed until he was breathless as Cillian turned in a smooth move and plopped down to settle Vail on his lap.
“Hey there, firebug.”
Vail kissed Cillian’s cheek, and I could tell I’d already lost, but that didn’t make me less irritated.
“What the fuck?”
Vail frowned in my direction. “Oh yes, he did ask me to go upstairs.”
Cillian leaned back against the couch and spread out, obviously settling in. “If ye’re too tired to stay at Mount Pleasure and work over that Russian, ye best sleep, not fuck me firebug.” Cillian planted a kiss on Vail’s lips.
All I felt since I got home was defeated. Whenever Cillian and Aspen came back from torturing someone, they were riding a high—where was mine? Cillian slipped his hands down the front of Vail’s pajama pants, and he rested against Cillian’s chest with a whimper. I leaned over and pressed a kiss to Vail’s cheek, grinning when Cillian huffed in annoyance.That’s what you get, asshat.
Vail moaned and turned to let me eat at his plush lips, and by the time he was done sucking on my tongue my plan had backfired. My dick jabbed at the front of my jeans and my stomach was tight with tension.
“’M serious. Get some sleep,” Cillian said when I leaned back.
My body flushed hot from my forehead down to my toes when Vail wriggled on Cillian’s lap. What would it feel like to have Cillian’s hard dick under my ass? I shook my head. Maybe I was too fucking tired. I knew how muscular and perfect Vail’s ass was on my dick, and that’s what I should keep my focus on.
“Maybe I should go with hi—”
Cillian cut Vail off with a kiss, and I stuck my tongue out, which had Cillian chuckling for once instead of barking at me to “piss off.” I didn’t want to start a fight, though, because Vail loved Cillian as much as he loved me, and he’d probably want to finish what they’d started. He’d told me once that sometimes cocks were like desserts—he just had to get the one he wanted or he wouldn’t feel satisfied. It made a certain sort of sense now that I was... doing whatever the hell I was doing with Aspen as well as him.
Sometimes I wanted Vail.
Sometimes I wanted Aspen.
Of course, the best was when I had themboth.
Taking my life into my hands, I pecked one last kiss on Vail’s cheek, and then, to be a fuck, I pressed my lips to Cillian’s temple. He peeked at me from the corner of his eye, but I was already backing away, and his hand was full of Vail’s dick, so he couldn’t swat at me.
A half hour later, I’d managed to get through struggling out of my clothes and brushing my teeth and was under the blue comforter on my bed, my insulin pump hooked to the band of my boxers but otherwise naked. The sheets felt clean and cool, and I was just the right amount of warm. There was a shy knock at my door and it had to be Vail. He was so polite. I’d told him a million times he didn’t have to do that.
“Come in, beautiful.”
He was chuckling as he opened the door, and the sheepish smile he wore along with my blue silk robe—which I suspected would be his forever—made my stomach warmer. His hair was damp as if he’d washed off after Cillian wrecked him. I wouldn’t have cared if he hadn’t, but he was considerate. He slipped into the room and closed the door, almost like he was sneaking, then shot toward the bed. He jumped onto the comforter next to me, and I gasped as my side was jostled.
