I took the phone and carefully placed it on the table so it wouldn’t wake him, but the second I turned away from the couch toleave, a hand curled around my wrist. I stifled my cry of fear as my eyes connected with Memphis’s and even though I couldn’t really see his face, I had no doubt what he was thinking.
“You’re not leaving,” was all he said and before I could even speak, he sat up and flipped on the lamp next to the couch. I couldn’t resist the urge to check the floor to make sure it was clear. Memphis used my momentary distraction to tug me down until I was sitting next to him, my hip pressed against his muscular thigh.
“I’ll call a cab to take me to my fathers’ apartment – they have a secure parking garage and there’s a security guard on duty. I’ll have him walk me to the apartment. It’s perfectly safe.”
“That’s not why you aren’t leaving,” Memphis murmured and then he ran his fingers through his hair.
I waited for him to say more, but he didn’t. It was at least a full minute before he spoke again.
“Tristan, would you do something for me and not ask me why?” Memphis whispered, his voice sounding hoarse and uneven. I was stunned to see his eyes shimmering with tears.
“Yes,” I said softly. “Anything,” I added as I resisted the urge to touch him.
“Would you let me hold you for a little while?”
His vulnerability made my heart hurt. “Yes,” I managed to get out. I wanted to suggest that we go to the bedroom and lay down with Brennan, but I suspected Memphis was so incredibly raw that he needed someone in this very moment and even the smallest delay would have caused him to call the whole thing off. I had no doubt that if it had been Brennan sitting here, he would have reached out to him.
Memphis wiped at his eyes and then maneuvered himself so that he was lying on his side behind me. I toed off my shoes and laid down next to him, my back to his front, and I felt his arms wrap around me. His lips pressed against the spot where my neck met my shoulder, but they just held there. He didn’t try to kiss me or touch me in a sexual way. I wasn’t sure what to do with my hands so I covered the hand he had pressed against my stomach with one handand held on with the other to the forearm that was wrapped around my shoulders.
He didn’t speak or move. There wasn’t a sound, but I knew he wasn’t sleeping because his hold on me was too tight.
And then I felt it.
Warm, wet liquid sliding down my neck and over the hollow of my collarbone and disappearing into the fabric of my shirt collar.
There were no sobs to accompany the tears and in some ways I knew that was worse. But I didn’t say anything. I just held on to him until I felt the moisture dry up and Memphis relaxed his hold on me a little bit. And as I lay there in his arms, his breathing evening out as he finally found some peace in the darkness of sleep, an idea began to take shape in my head.
I’d been so focused on giving Brennan what he needed that I hadn’t even considered what Memphis might need. Maybe he didn’t just need Brennan. Maybe his wounds ran so deep that it would take more to heal them. More love, more passion, more everything.
Maybe BrennanandI were the more he needed.
Maybe between us, we would be all Memphis ever needed.
It was a long time before I finally fell asleep because I had a hell of a lot of maybes to think through. But I knew one thing for sure. Come morning, I wasn’t going anywhere.
I wokeup to the sensation of my hair being brushed off my forehead. I knew it was well beyond time to get my hair cut, but Brennan and Memphis seemed to like playing with it so I figured I’d leave it for a while longer. Give them any excuse to touch me.
I expected it to be Memphis who was toying with my hair because I could still feel his big, warm body at my back, but it turned out to be Brennan who was crouching next to the couch. As soon as I opened my eyes, he put his finger to his lips, indicating I should remain quiet. Memphis hadn’t stirred at all so I guessed he was still asleep. Apprehension went through me that Brennan might not be thrilled to see me lying in his lover’s arms, but there was noanger or irritation in his expression as he stared at me and continued to touch me. His fingers made their way down to my lips and he teased first the top one and then the bottom one. Thankfully, he didn’t torment me too much since there was nothing I could do in response without waking Memphis. The second he pulled his hand away, he leaned forward and kissed me softly. I wanted more and opened my mouth invitingly and while he took me up on my offer, his tongue mated with mine for just a few brief seconds before he pulled back.
A soft smile graced his lips as he pushed my hair back off my forehead again before standing. I couldn’t see where he went, but I sensed him going back to the bedroom. It was light outside, but I had a feeling it was early. I managed to crane my neck to see the clock by the television and saw that it was just after five in the morning. Memphis had only been asleep for a few hours. Since it wasn’t enough, I settled myself against him, though I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep. I had too much to think about and since I didn’t need to take my medicine for a few more hours, I had some time to try to work through things in my head.
But Memphis had other ideas because he began to stir behind me. My body drew up tight when I felt his morning erection nudging me. I didn’t move because I wasn’t sure if Memphis was going to drift off to sleep again or just get up and pretend last night hadn’t happened.
I was wrong on both counts because after a few moments, Memphis rolled me on my back so that he could look at me.
“Morning,” I whispered and I couldn’t stop myself from reaching up to stroke the line of his jaw with my finger. He had a bit of a five o’clock shadow going on and it was sexy as hell.
Memphis didn’t respond to me; he just stared at me and then his fingers brushed my temple. I wanted badly to know what he was thinking, but when he lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me softly, I didn’t care so much. I expected the kiss to be brief, but when his tongue sought entry, I gladly opened for him. My body thrummed with energy as his tongue explored my mouth. My cock had already been hard, but it became downright painful asMemphis played with my mouth, giving me teasing kisses that just weren’t quite enough.
I grabbed him by the neck when he tried to pull away from me, but he wasn’t trying to end the kiss. No, all he did was shift so that he could pin my body beneath his. I automatically spread my legs to make room for him and as soon as his weight settled on top of me, his mouth captured mine in a deep, drugging kiss that had me moaning and trying to rub my dick against his so I could get some relief.
“So sweet,” Memphis said softly as he nipped at my lips and then sought out the sensitive skin behind my ear. His hands were stroking up and down my sides, lifting my shirt a little bit each time until my stomach was exposed.
“Memphis,” I said on a groan as his hand settled on my belly. As good as it felt, it wasn’t what I needed.
Another mind numbing kiss had me squirming desperately and I reached for his shirt. My fingers were shaking too badly to manage the buttons, so I slipped my hands beneath it and marveled over the warmth of his skin. I hadn’t been able to touch either Brennan or Memphis much the night before, so I was like a kid in a candy store for the first time. I let my fingers explore every ridge and curve of his muscled chest before moving my hands to his back. His muscles bunched and rippled beneath my touch and I heard him groan when I let my hands slip beneath the back waistband of his pants. I only got to feel his crease for a second before he was on me like a wild man. His mouth never left mine as he began tugging at first my pants, then his. My cock jumped when his fingers brushed over it, but all he did was jerk my pants down. I instinctively lifted my hips so he could get them off my ass, but with my legs spread, that wasn’t happening. Memphis lifted off of me long enough to pull my pants all the way off and then he pressed down on me again. His need was clear because there was little finesse or patience in the way he handled me. It should have frightened me, but it didn’t. I doubted anything he wanted to do to me would have scared me enough to ask him to stop.
Memphis had just gotten his hand around my cock when hefroze and I looked up at his face to see his eyes looking towards the bedroom. I knew instantly what he was looking at – or who rather – and I closed my eyes as fear came over me. I saw all my plans going up in smoke even as Memphis released his hold on my dick and lifted off of me so that he was kneeling between my legs. I was too horrified by what I had allowed to happen to even think to move or cover myself and I watched as Brennan appeared in my peripheral vision. He had only a towel wrapped around his waist and his hair was wet.
