When Jack lifted away, Arden’s cheeks were scarlet and his pupils had engulfed the grey. He patted blindly at Beckett’s arm with one hand and at Jack’s chest with the other. Beckettreleased him, and Arden startled the pair of them by twisting suddenly out from between them.
He couldn’t know the danger in it. Beckett did—he reached out and grabbed Jack by the shoulders an instant before Jack could lunge after Arden.
They stared at each other. Beckett smirked.
Arden, oblivious to the byplay, said, “Now you. Please.”
Beckett aimed that cocky smile at Arden. “Yeah?” he said.
Arden nodded emphatically.
“As our duch commands,” Jack said. He tugged Beckett against his body and gave him a noisy, sucking kiss.
They both turned to look at Arden with eyebrows raised.
Arden frowned back at them.
“Something wrong?” Jack asked.
“That wasn’t romantic at all. Do it again. Softer, this time.” When they both stared at him, he added, “Please.”
Jack turned to Beckett. Beckett turned to Jack.
Leaning in, Jack laid his mouth gently to Beckett’s smile. He exerted a whisper of pressure, a mere nudge of his lips to Beckett’s, and lifted away. He caught a flash of something almost startled in Beckett’s eyes.
Oh, Jack thought.
Beckett glanced away. “How was that?” he asked Arden.
“Lovely.”
Jack couldn’t help but laugh out loud at his sincerity. He pulled Beckett close again, and said against his mouth, “Shall we show him how we usually do it?”
“Mm-hmm.” Beckett nipped at Jack’s bottom lip.
Jack set aside the teasing, he set aside the gentleness, and he showed Arden how he kissed their alpha lover.
It was a deep, harsh, tangled thing; a battle for dominance and a challenge for more.
He wound one arm around Beckett’s waist and the other around his shoulders, making Beckett growl and shove forward into it, taking hold of Jack just as firmly. Their tongues slid together, wet and demanding. Jack moved to grip Beckett’s hair, pulling the neat tie loose and holding him in place.
When he tore away, Beckett was panting as loudly as Jack was. “I can taste him on you,” he said to Jack, his voice rough. He ignored the controlling hand in his hair to lean in for a lewd lick over Jack’s fierce smile and deep into his mouth.
They were pressed together chest to chest, forehead to forehead, holding each other tightly. A small noise came from beside them. At Arden’s odd sigh, they turned in unison to look at him.
His face was bright red and his shoulders were curled forwards. He squirmed on the spot.
“How about that one?” Beckett said. “Lovely?”
“N-no.” Arden couldn’t return his gaze, or Jack’s.
“You like it, though?”
Before Beckett had even finished talking, Arden was nodding furiously, drifting closer. “It was very arou?—”
A light knock at the door preceded the appearance of Magda with the laden supper tray.
Arden sprang away as if he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t. Beckett moved out of Jack’s arms, but he did it easily and without hurry.
