What happened to those assassins in America hadn’t made any sense either, but at least they’d been treated with some level of care. Fuck, the grown assassins were paid handsomely to do a job, one they’d been trained for, but that wasn’t Nico and Teilo’s experience.
And who was the dark man Teilo spoke of that paid for them to kill? Who had taken that money? Where had it gone? The council? Ben’s mind thrummed as his gut churned at the very idea they paid him with his mate’s blood money.
“Why are you tensing? Don’t you like the cuddles?” Teilo asked, sounding very uncertain.
Ben glanced sideways, looking to reassure him, and realized how close they were. Their lips were mere centimeters apart. He could taste the sweetness of Teilo’s breath from the juice he’d drunk before they’d come to the beach.
Teilo’s pupils dilated, and his chest shuddered on the next exhale. “You smell so good,” he whispered.
The body on the other side of him shifted closer and Ben struggled not to give in to what Teilo’s eyes were offering when it came with naivety. “So do you,” Ben answered honestly. He glanced at Nico. “As do you.”
A shiver ran through Nico, and his gaze dipped to Ben’s lips. Nico licked his own, and Ben groaned. His thoughts flying all over the place with how he craved to touch the way he wanted to. “I really want to kiss you… both of you.”
“Like the kiss Nico gives me on my head?”
Teilo’s innocent question drove a spike of lust so strong, at what he was saying, to Ben’s groin he thought his shorts would rip apart at the seams with how hard he was.
Ben met Teilo’s innocent gaze. “No,” he rasped past his tight throat and dry mouth.
“Oh.” Teilo’s head tilted to the side, and he looked around Ben at Nico with a questioning look.
Nico shifted to come and kneel in front of them. His eyes were flashing his cat. “What kisses? Are they mate’s kisses?”
Ben nodded jerkily. God, this was so hard when Nico was scrutinizing him, and Ben couldn’t figure out if what he was picking up was good or bad. Patience, yep. It turned out that wasn’t one of his strong suits with these two.
Nico’s hand came up and cupped Teilo’s cheek, then Ben’s. He encouraged both of them to look at each other.
Ben went with it.
“Kiss Teilo like a mate. I need to see how it’s done.”
To the Fates!
The demand made his cock throb. Teilo got an excited look in his eyes, the way he had when looking at the sea. That was all it took. Ben came forward. Nico’s hand remained on his skin, connecting the three of them as his mouth touched Teilo’s. A mere brush of lips stole his breath and caused a delicious whimper from Teilo. His eyes were wide, dilated pupils ate at the color as he didn’t move.
Ben exhaled, inhaled, and pressed his lips a little firmer against Teilo’s. The next whimper came through parted lips. Ben gently stroked his tongue over the seam of Teilo’s lips, savoring his sweetness.
Fingers held on tighter to his cheek and the sounds of ragged breathing next to his ear suggested Nico was inches closer. When Ben eased back, Teilo wore a wistful expression. His lips remained parted, with flushed cheeks and unfocused eyes.
“My turn,” Nico muttered. He came up and released Ben’s cheek to take hold of both of Teilo’s. His mouth hovered for a moment. Then he was following what Ben had just done.
God, they looked so beautiful together. Their blond hair gleamed in the fading sun. Their chests touched as Teilo came up and clung to Nico. Ben, though not a part of the kiss, didn’t feel excluded. Fuck no. He felt privileged to witness this moment between them.
Nico’s chest was heaving when he let go of Teilo. Before Ben could smile, Nico dragged him up against his body. His mouth, tasting of Teilo, pressed against Ben’s. His lips parted at the touch of Nico’s tongue, and he used his willpower to hold back the desire that burned through him at the tentative kiss that was seduction like no other.
When Nico pulled back, his eyes blazed with need and… confusion. The latter Ben understood came from the lack of experience that was evident in the kiss. It didn’t make it any less brutal to the throbbing arousal pulsing through him.
To give them all a moment, Ben got up and brushed off the clinging sand with shaking hands. “I think I’ll see what there is in the freezer to make some dinner. It’s been a few hours since you last ate.” He eyed their bare chests. “You still need some fattening up.”
Neither man spoke. Nico nodded slowly as his hand came up to touch his lips.
Oh, boy! “Erm… you stay here and finish watching the sunset.”
“Okay,” Teilo answered, settling back onto the sand, not looking at either man. His scent giving away how aroused he’d become.
Ben hesitated, then walked off up to the house. The sound of muffled voices following him. At the door he glanced over his shoulder at the now two men huddled staring at the sea, a breath shuddered out of him.
One taste of them and Ben could not compare the feelings running through him to anything he’d experienced before. He touched his own buzzing lips. They’d enjoyed the kissing, that was good. If kissing was all they were open to right now, it would be more than enough if it meant they accepted him, trusted him.
