Page 31 of Pieces of You

He nodded once. “Yeah. But…yeah.” He blew out a breath and deflated. “It’s rough. I can’t explain it, but it was like a part of me died when we learned he was taken.” He swallowed, and his gaze dropped to his lap. “I can barely say his name without falling apart.”

One thing was clear. More feelings were involved than I’d originally thought.

I reached out and put my hand on his. “Do you love him?”

He made a face and weighed his response. “Not in the traditional sense. It’s hard to explain. Weirdly, when I went on a ramble before they were off to San Diego, River was the first one who was like…‘I get it.’ It’s…almost like a brother thing.” He scratched his jaw and squinted at nothing. “Ty is my world. He’s the love of my life. Everything I feel about him and our marriage, I can put into words. Same with the relationship we have with Macklin and Walker. There’s care and affection, friendship—even love, to a degree, and a deep connection. With Shay, it feels… I mean, there’s attraction, of course. Between all of us. We have core kinks that bring us together for some fucking fantastic play.”

I could totally see that. Reese and Ty had formed a friendship pretty instantly once Ty and Lane had joined our community a few years ago. They were both batshit and hedonistic but had built their brand of craziness on a foundation of knowledge and safety. They’d created a comfort zone in which they could go wild and bring mayhem to their partners.

“If I believed such a thing, I’d say Shay and I were separated at birth,” Lane said quietly. Then he chuckled a little and shook his head. “I know it sounds bizarre.”

“It doesn’t.” Not to my ears. If soul mates were a concept, why not soul friends and soul brothers?

We didn’t have to understand every bond in order to believe it was real.

“There was something about him that drew me in from the first time we met—down in Florida,” Lane admitted. “I was so focused on Ty at the time that I didn’t think much of it.” He paused. “It was Ty who brought it up. He and Reese started talking about us possibly playing together, which we’ve floated several times in the past. Like, without making actual plans. A down-the-road kind of thing.”

I nodded in understanding. It was, after all, how Kingsley and I had become aware of their dynamic eventually. They’d watched me top Lane and Shay. The scene had been fairly nonsexual—but packed with energy and desire, nonetheless. A heady experience.

“I’d imagine that made you look at Shay with new eyes,” I said.

“Heh. Yeah, you could say that. Then one night, River was tipsy, and he had an idea, he said—and things snowballed from there.”

I grinned.

I wasn’t gonna push for details. It felt like Lane needed to talk, so I was just gonna listen.

The next breath deflated him again, and he scrubbed his hands over his face. “I need him to come home like fucking yesterday.”

I gave his knee a gentle squeeze. “Have you talked to his brothers?”

He nodded. “Almost every day since they got back from San Diego. Ty and I pick them up in the afternoon, and we walk Shay’s dogs together.”

Oh. I didn’t know that. But I was sure TJ and Levi appreciated it.

“If there’s anything you need, please let me know,” I murmured. “If you need help with the dogs, if you want distractions, maybe a movie night…? Whatever.”

He bobbed his head and looked down.

Fuck, I hoped the wait was over soon.

Lucas Carter

To me, it felt like time stood still, but to Greer…? Jesus Christ, they’d truly hit the ground running. New York to LA, LA to Colombia—I didn’t know which city—and then straight out into the rainforest and the hiding spot of a drug cartel. That was where the updates had stopped, and Greer had been gone from Virginia for roughly forty-eight hours. He must be exhausted.

It was a quiet night out on the patio, yet it didn’t feel calm or peaceful. Nobody said much, but I’d guess our blood pressure was up there as if we’d gorged on steak and fries. At a rave.

Tate and Kingsley decided to get rid of some energy by doing laps in the pool. Lane was making sure everyone had written at least once in the notebook. I had probably made six or seven entries. Ty was sitting comfortably on one of the low couches, but his eyes were fixed on Lane. Macklin and Walker sat there too, picking at their late-night snacks.

Macklin truly couldn’t stop cooking food. Thankfully, he’d returned to making things we actually enjoyed. Even if our appetites weren’t the best.

Noa, KC, Lucian, Cam, Nathan, Ash, James, Jordan, Colt, and Kit…they sat scattered about with their screens of preference.

Every now and then, people glanced over at Colt. He’d politely requested a bit of space so he could focus on his laptop, so I had no idea what he was doing over there. He had a table to himself.

Hmpf.

We needed an update.