Time stood still. Pleasant goosebumps rose up Everett’s arms, and he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. The air was charged with their chemistry, and every breath he took internalized that feeling and spread it through his body.
He believed what he said. He believed every word. Jayne had fought for everything he had in life, but now that he’d found them, he could finally relax. If it took Everett the rest of his life, he’d make sure that Jayne was happy, and that the Biernackis were safe.
Jayne’s eyelids dipped, and without speaking a word, he came closer and kissed Everett. His touch was charged, and Everett, taken by surprise, moaned into his mouth and returned his affection, craving more.
Take,Everett’s mind urged.Take, claim, cherish.
Caleb had given him his blessing, and Everett knew if he didn’t act, he’d lose his chance to show Jayne that he was serious. Eager to show Jayne that he meant what he said, he slid his hand down Jayne’s side, then drew it inward toward Jayne’s fly. Before his fingers could so much as brush the button of Jayne’s pants, Jayne grasped his wrist and stopped him, ending the kiss at the same time. “No.”
“No?” Everett immediately stopped. Wasn’t it what Jayne wanted? He searched Jayne’s face for clues.
Jayne smiled apologetically. “Yeah, no. You didn’t mishear. There’s nothing I’d like more right now than for you to take me on this couch like the filthy degenerate you are, but I can’t.Wecan’t. Caleb didn’t okay this.”
“He did,” Everett countered. “We discussed it this morning, and—”
Jayne shook his head, cutting Everett off. “If he okayed it with you, that’s great, but a change to the relationship that’s this big needs to be okayed by all of us together, in person. It’s not that I don’t trust you, I just love what we have together too much to ever want to risk it.”
Whatever disappointment Everett should have felt was buried by respect and admiration for the man in his arms.
Jayne cared.
His heart, while battered, was still strong, and it was willing to be brave not only for himself, but for Caleb and Everett, too.
“What’s going on?” Jayne asked suspiciously. “It looks like you’re thinking again. Are you upset with me?”
Everett shook his head. “No.”
“Then what is it?”
“I’m thinking about how much I admire you,” Everett admitted. “And how lucky I am to have found someone who cares about Caleb as much as I do.”
Jayne’s cheeks turned scarlet. “Compersion.”
“What?”
“Compersion,” Jayne repeated. He waved his phone at Everett as if doing so would explain the mystery. “I read about it online while researching how to keep a poly relationship healthy and happy. It’s the opposite of jealousy—when you feel joy because you see your partners finding joy with each other.”
“Compersion, huh?” Everett scratched the back of his head. “I’ve never heard of it before, but, yeah, that’s pretty close to how I feel.”
“If that blew your mind, wait until I introduce you to fluid bonding.” Jayne eased himself off the couch with a smirk and kissed the corner of Everett’s lips. “But we’ll do that after I go through my next heat and get back on my SubQ.”
Everett narrowed his eyes. “SubQ? Is that another poly term, or…?”
“Nah, that’s doctor-speak.” Jayne winked, but no matter how casually he acted, the energy that sparked and sizzled between them wasn’t fizzling. Unable to help himself, Everett glanced at Jayne’s crotch and noticed how his fly was tenting. Everett wasn’t the only one who’d wanted to take things further. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll get there when we get there, okay? For now, I think I need to go take a cold shower. You should probably do the same.” Jayne crossed his foot behind his ankle and waved noncommittally at Everett’s crotch. “One day, once all of us are on the same page, I’m going to rock your world, Langston—but for tonight, you’ll have to rock it on your own.”
A sinful shiver shot up Everett’s spine. “Langston? Did you pick that up from Caleb?”
Jayne shrugged, then took a few lively steps back, headed toward the guest bathroom. “Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t. Maybe it’ll stay one of life’s great mysteries, like why the dryer only eats your favorite socks, or how glitter got all over the bedroom.” Jayne paused, coming to a stop. “Okay, so maybe that last one isn’t so much of a mystery—I may, at one time, have drunkenly dumped glitter all over the blades of a ceiling fan so I could turn it on and experience what it’s like to live in a snow globe, but that’s beside the point, right?”
Everett slid his hands into his pockets and looked Jayne over, unable to keep himself from smiling. While his heart didn’t race, each steady thump was sturdy in a way it had only ever been when he was with Caleb. “Right.”
“So, mystery.” Jayne wiggled his fingers and took another step back, bumping into a side table in the process. He looked over his shoulder and stepped around it deftly, then returned his attention to Everett. While Everett couldn’t guarantee it, he was almost certain that Jayne wasn’t putting distance between them because he was uncomfortable with Everett’s advances—he was doing it because he’d be too tempted if he stayed close. “But even though I’ll take some of my secrets to the grave, I can tell you this: knowing you and Caleb makes me feel like I’m changing, too.”
Then, with a look that said more than a few words ever could, Jayne met Everett’s eyes, smiled, and turned to leave. Everett watched him go.
The plans he and Caleb had made wouldn’t come to pass, but it didn’t matter. After all, sex was easy.
Commitment?
