19
“You don’t have to do this, Sheriff.” Ally
glanced behind her as Rob followed her into the kitchen. “When you
said you were going to keep a close eye on my house, I didn’t think
you meant this close.”
“I’m just going to walk through the
rooms with you to make sure everything is secure, and then I’ll
leave, okay?”
“I was just about to go to
bed.”
His measured blue gaze swept over her.
“So I see. By the way, that’s my T-shirt.”
“I’ll wash it and give it back to
you.”
“Whatever.” He sounded way too calm and
reassuring for her liking, but she couldn’t deny that it was kind
of comforting to have an officer of the law looking out for her on
such a personal basis. She waited by the table until he moved past
her, the scent of his lemon aftershave a tantalizing breath
away.
“Do you do this for all the town’s
citizenship?”
“If I can. Spring Falls is a small
town.”
He kept moving up the central hallway
and stopped at each closed door to open it and survey the contents
of the room. By the time they came to her bedroom, Ally was right
behind him. She reached for the door at the same moment he
did.
“I think I can take it from here,
Sheriff.”
As she opened the door, something
clattered against the glass. The next moment she found herself
pinned under Rob’s weight on the bed. She managed to look up to see
that one of the windows was slightly ajar.
“Rob, get off me. It was just the blind
banging against the window.” He didn’t move, and she shivered as he
buried his face in the crook of her neck and simply breathed her
in. “Rob . . .”
He placed both his palms on the bed on
either side of her and levered himself away as if he were doing a
push-up. “I don’t want to get off you. I want to take off my belt
and use it to tie your wrists together and secure them on the
headboard. Then I want to fuck you until you beg me not to
stop.”
Ally tried not to breathe as she
imagined him doing what he suggested and found her body responding
despite her best efforts to remain still.
He bent his head and nipped her throat,
his voice a low, rough sound that barely reached her ear. “You’d
let me, wouldn’t you? I bet you’re wet now just thinking about
it.”
He shifted his stance and climbed off
the bed. Before she could roll over, his knee drove between her
thighs, spreading her legs. His fingers drifted over her wet core,
and he sighed her name. “Yeah, you’re wet. I could fuck you right
now without any foreplay and you’d take me easily.”
He stepped away from the bed. Ally
rolled over onto her back and stared up at him. He met her gaze,
his own somber. “But that’s not going to work, is it? I can’t keep
you tied up and naked all the time. I can’t make everything right
with sex.” He nodded to her. “Good night, Ally. Call me if there
are any problems.”
Long after he’d gone, Ally still stared
at the door, her mouth open and her emotions in a riot. Rob had
backed off even though he’d known he’d won, that she wanted him
despite everything. Ally curled up into a ball. Had he tried to
show her that he now understood the difference between binding her
to him with sex and allowing her to make that choice with her head
and her heart?
Ally punched her pillow. “Damn you, Rob
Ward.” She didn’t want to believe that he’d meant it, because if he
understood that, then he really did own her, and there was no
reason for her to hate him at all.
Jackson paused at the entrance to the
family room and stared down at Rob. His house buddy lay stretched
out on the couch, wearing a pair of tight white boxers, a bottle of
beer in one hand, watching baseball on TV.
“You okay, Rob?”
There was no answer, and Jackson
abandoned the doorway and came farther into the room. At least
three empty bottles lay on the carpet, and Jackson breathed in the
seductive smell of alcohol and imagined the beer sliding down his
throat. He pushed that dangerous thought away. “Are you
drunk?”
“Not drunk enough.”
Jackson sat on the other end of the
couch right up close to Rob’s bare feet. “Four’s enough. You’ve got
to work tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah, at six, but I don’t think I’ll
be able to sleep, so I might as well get wasted first and then walk
it off.”
“Why won’t you sleep?”
Rob took another swig of beer. “Because
I just walked out on Ally, and I’m so fucking horny I can’t see
straight.”
“Ally hates your guts.”
“But she’d still let me fuck
her.”
“And you know that, how?”
“Because I was just at her place and
she made it very clear that she’d let me.”
“And you walked out.”
“Yeah, because I was trying to prove a
stupid point, that it’s not just about the fucking, it’s about
everything.”
“That was very . . . noble of
you.”
Rob glared at him. “Sure.
Laugh.”
“Actually, I meant it.” Rob held
Jackson’s gaze, his blue eyes widening. Jackson’s thumb connected
with Rob’s ankle bone, and he made small soothing circles on it.
“Ally’s got herself all mixed up about this shit with her mother.
She’s so used to defending the woman that she does it
automatically.”
“And?”
Rob didn’t pull away from Jackson’s
touch, so Jackson kept it up. “And you did the right thing. You
gave her space to sort it out for herself. We all need space
sometimes.”
Rob glanced down at Jackson’s moving
fingers. “Like you’re giving me now?”
“I’m . . . a fool.” He went to move his
hand, and Rob stopped him. Jackson slowly raised his gaze to meet
Rob’s pale blue stare. “I’ve been so busy telling you and Ally to
be honest with each other that I’ve forgotten to be honest with
myself.”
“About what?”
“About you.”
Rob’s fingers tightened over his. “What
about me?”
Jackson exhaled. “How I feel about you,
and what I want to do to you when you tell me you’re
hard.”
“I thought you just fucked other guys.”
Rob cleared his throat. “I was beginning to think there was
something wrong with me.”
“I like fucking.” Jackson hesitated,
trying to find the right words. “But with you? It would be a lot
more complicated than that.”
“Because we’re buddies?”
“Because if you turned me down, I’d
lose you as my friend, and I convinced myself I’d rather not risk
it.”
“Yeah, I can see that.” Rob nodded and
took his hand away. “You should’ve seen Ally, Jackson, wearing just
my old T-shirt, her ass raised in the air, her pussy all wet . .
.”
Despite the sudden change of subject,
Jackson’s cock kicked against his cotton shorts at the salacious
image. He managed to mutter a reply. “I wish I’d been
there.”
“She’d probably have let you fuck
her.”
“I’m not sure about that.”
Rob shifted in his seat and cupped his
balls. “I’m so fucking hard, Jackson.”
Jackson glanced at Rob’s groin and then
looked away. “Yeah, I can see that.”
“Seeing as how I was so noble, I guess
you should repay me somehow.”
Jackson went still. “Like
how?”
“You could suck my cock.”
“Didn’t we just touch on this and you
brushed me off?”
“I’m not brushing you off. I’m asking
you to help me out.”
“And what about what I
said?”
“About this meaning something to you?”
Rob stroked his thumb along the hard ridge of his arousal, and
Jackson practically salivated. “I get that it’s a risk, but it’s
one I’m willing to take.” He hesitated. “It’s not as if I hadn’t
guessed how you feel. It’s just not the sort of thing a guy can
bring up in conversation, is it?”
There was a challenge in Rob’s stare
that made Jackson shake with a mixture of excitement and
dread.
“You’d let me suck your
cock?”
“Sure.”
Immediately Jackson’s shaft went from
semierect to painfully aroused. But this wasn’t about him; it was
about Rob. He surveyed Rob’s position on the couch and wanted to
moan with anticipation. He turned sideways and knelt between Rob’s
outstretched legs.
He leaned forward and kissed his way up
the growing bulge behind Rob’s white boxers. Rob groaned and his
hips rose off the couch. Jackson used his tongue to dampen the
cotton and clearly outline Rob’s thick, pulsing cock.
“Yeah, that’s fucking good,
Jackson.”
Rob was watching him, and that made
Jackson even harder. He licked Rob through the cotton again, felt
his friend’s shaft grow even more as the wet purple crown tried to
force itself out of the tight waistband.
“Nice,” Jackson murmured, and swirled
his tongue over the wetness, until Rob grabbed his hair. Jackson
slid his tongue into the slit, and Rob’s grip on his hair became
painful.
“Take it out—put me in your
mouth.”
Jackson was more than willing to
oblige. He pulled Rob’s boxers down and off and settled between his
thighs, licking a slow, wet line down the thrusting shaft of Rob’s
cock and then nuzzling his balls.
Rob tugged on his hair again. “In your
mouth, suck me.”
Jackson levered himself onto his knees
and bore down on Rob’s cock, swallowing him deep and hard until Rob
groaned. He loved the taste and texture of Rob’s heated flesh, the
way the blood pumped so close to the surface, the urgent way Rob
thrust upward, drilling himself farther down Jackson’s
throat.
Yeah, this was everything he’d ever
dreamed of. Jackson closed his eyes and simply lived the moment; he
brought his hand up to cup Rob’s balls and massage the soft skin
between his ass and sac with his thumb. Rob groaned out some
obscenity and started thrusting upward. Jackson took it all.
Setting his teeth lightly on Rob’s flesh, he held him deep until
his friend climaxed, his come so far down Jackson’s throat that he
hardly tasted it.
“That was fucking
awesome.”
Jackson slowly released Rob’s cock from
his mouth and moved away from him, one hand rubbing over his lips
to keep that scent and taste with him when he . . .
He couldn’t speak. Jackson nodded at
Rob and got off the couch. His cock ached so bad he needed to
attend to it right now, and no way was he begging Rob to touch him.
He’d never expected this to be reciprocal.
Jackson stumbled into his bathroom and
turned on the shower. It took way too long to ease his shorts down
over his swollen shaft. The water still wasn’t that warm when he
got in, but it didn’t matter. Hell, he needed cooling down. He
braced one arm against the wall and rested his forehead against the
coolness of the tile. He grabbed the soap and stared down at his
pulsing cock. He licked his lips, tasted Rob there, and wrapped a
shaking hand around his shaft.
Rob watched Jackson disappear and
hurriedly sat up. “Hey, wait.”
But Jackson either hadn’t heard him or
didn’t want to hear him. Rob glanced down at his cock, which was
still throbbing with pleasure. Jackson’s touch hadn’t felt weird at
all; in fact, he’d fucking loved it, that strong mouth, Jackson’s
fingers on his balls. . . .
And just like that, he was hard again.
Rob got up and stormed after Jackson. He could hear the sound of
the shower going but barged right on in. Through the steamed-up
glass, he could see Jackson about to yank himself stupid. Without
allowing himself to overanalyze it, Rob stepped into the shower and
turned it off.
“I’m not good enough to touch you,
then?”
Jackson raised his dark gaze to Rob’s
face, his black hair dripping from the shower, sending rivulets of
water down over his muscled chest. “I didn’t ask for anything in
return. I just wanted to make you feel good.”
Rob looked down at Jackson’s cock. “And
if I want to play with your dick?”
Jackson tried to turn away from him,
and Rob followed him, shoving his buddy up against the shower wall.
Rob slid his hand around Jackson’s hip and wrapped his fingers
around Jackson’s shaft. It felt right in his hand. Jackson groaned
as Rob started to move his fingers, hard, sharp thrusts that made
Jackson tremble. Rob moved in closer, his erect cock pressing
against Jackson’s ass.
“God, I’m coming, Rob.”
Jackson’s hoarse shout made Rob tighten
his grip until he felt Jackson’s hot come drench his fingers. He
didn’t release Jackson, just stood there, his face buried in
Jackson’s neck while his friend panted and shook under his hands.
Yeah, it felt right, and he wanted it, wanted more. Reluctantly he
took his hand away, and Jackson stirred.
“Thanks, Rob.”
There was a note of finality in
Jackson’s tone that made Rob tense. He set his teeth on Jackson’s
ear and bit down. “We’re not done.”
“You want me to suck you
again?”
Rob circled his hips against Jackson
and heard the hiss of his breath. “How about we take this into the
bedroom? You’ve got condoms and lube, right?”
“What?”
“You don’t want me to fuck
you?”
Jackson gave a strained laugh. “Hell,
I’ve always wanted you to fuck
me.”
“Then what’s the problem?” Rob nuzzled
Jackson’s throat. “I want it; you want it—let’s do
it.”
Rob followed Jackson back into his
bedroom and waited as his friend found what they needed. He was
hard again, and the thought of having Jackson like this suddenly
seemed as natural as having Ally. Why hadn’t he understood this
before? That the three of them were meant to be together in every
way possible.
Jackson glanced up at him, his
expression still a mixture of anticipation and fear. “Are you sure,
Rob? It’s okay if you change your—”
Rob climbed onto the bed and put his
hand over Jackson’s mouth. “Stop talking and get on your hands and
knees.” For a moment, Rob wondered if Jackson would rebel against
his less-than-conciliatory tone.
Rob knelt behind Jackson and smoothed
his hands over the curve of Jackson’s spine, over the indentations
of his hard abs and the tight muscles of his ass. He stroked
Jackson between the legs from his balls to the pucker of his ass,
until Jackson lifted his hips in supplication. Rob took a moment to
slide a condom over his erect cock.
“God, Rob.”
Rob lubed up his fingers and slid the
first one deep into Jackson’s ass. He used his other hand to locate
Jackson’s dick and lightly stroked the wet tip. “You like that,
Jackson? You want more?”
“Yeah.”
Rob smiled as he added another finger,
keeping his touch on the crown of Jackson’s cock so light that he
could almost feel Jackson’s frustration. He moved his fingers back
and forth, easing his way deeper inside, watching Jackson as
carefully as he watched Ally when they fucked. He was in charge of
their pleasure, and he’d make damn sure they got what they
wanted—when he wanted to give it to them.
“More, Rob.”
“What’s the rush, Jackson? Maybe I want
to make it last all night. Maybe I’ll push my cock deep inside you
and just stay put until you are begging me to fuck you.” He added
two more fingers and held them still inside Jackson. “Maybe I’ll
make you come and come until you’re screaming for it, and you’ll
let me take you so fucking hard you’ll be sore for
weeks.”
Jackson shuddered and arched his back.
Rob circled his finger in the wetness pouring out of the slit of
Jackson’s cock. “You want it hard like that, Jackson? Like Ally
does?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah? Is that all you’ve got for me?”
Rob took his hand off Jackson’s cock and wrapped it around the base
of his own shaft. “How about a please?”
“Rob . . . fuck me—please. I
need—”
Rob pulled his fingers out of Jackson’s
ass and shoved his cock all the way in, making Jackson groan his
name. He pulled almost all the way out and then with one thrust of
his hips, went deep again. He closed his eyes and pounded into
Jackson’s ass, fumbling a hand around to Jackson’s dick and pumping
that in time to his urgent thrusts.
It was amazing. He didn’t need to worry
about crushing Jackson. His friend was well able to take everything
Rob wanted to give him. And he wanted to fuck him hard, to make up
for all the wasted years, all the wasted time when they could’ve
been doing this together.
Jackson’s come spilled over Rob’s
fingers and set off an answering spasm in Rob’s balls that had him
climaxing long and hard. Fireworks dazzled behind his closed eyes,
and he slumped over Jackson, bringing his friend down to the bed
with him. Rob inhaled the combined scent of satisfied lust, condom,
lube, and sweat and smiled against Jackson’s shoulder.
After a long time, he licked a slow,
wet path along the edge of Jackson’s ear. “That was
awesome.”
Jackson shivered at his caress.
“Yeah.”
“Back to saying nothing, then?” Rob bit
down on Jackson’s earlobe and eased his cock free of Jackson’s
tight passage. “Let’s get cleaned up.”
They showered together, keeping it
short and to the point. Neither of them bothered to dress again.
Jackson paused as they reached his bed, and Rob punched him in the
arm. “I’m not leaving yet. You might not want to talk, but for
once, I do.”
He climbed into the bed next to Jackson
and lay on his back, one arm cradling his head.
“What is there to say, Rob? I know you
fucked me because you couldn’t have Ally.”
Rob sighed. “And I knew you were going
to say that. I fucked you because I wanted to. I’ve always wanted
to, but I didn’t want to make things even more complicated than
they already were.”
Jackson rolled up on one elbow so that
Rob could see his face. “What the hell does that
mean?”
“Look, that night I found you and Ally
together? Things kind of fell into place. First off, I was mad at
her but I wasn’t really surprised. Then I was mad at you, and that
scared me half to death. I kind of knew you wanted her as much as I
did, but I didn’t know I wanted you.”
“I just thought you were mad for the
usual reasons. No one wants his best friend fucking his girl,”
Jackson answered him, his voice low and rough in the darkness. “I
got involved with Susan for all the wrong
reasons, and I think she was starting to figure that out. Finding
me in bed with Ally made it all too clear for her, and she couldn’t
take it.”
“She sure was livid.”
Jackson sighed. “That night when she
found us together? She was fucking furious with me and determined
to move on.” He paused and his voice cracked. “I could never
understand why the next thing she did was go jump off a bridge as
if I’d destroyed her.”
Rob reached out and put a comforting
hand on Jackson’s shoulder. “We were all kids. How else were we
supposed to handle it? It’s easy to look back and say I should have
realized that I could have you both, that we could all have each
other and just sort it out from there, but none of us were capable
of making those kinds of sexual decisions then, were
we?”
“No.” Jackson cleared his throat. “It
wasn’t all Ally’s fault, you know.”
“What wasn’t?”
“Her ending up in my bed. I took
advantage of her.”
“I know you did.” Rob grimaced. “It
just took me too damn long to work it out.”
“Ally was all messed up because of
something else that happened, Rob. She decided she wasn’t good
enough for you and that I was her way out. And I didn’t try and
change her mind. I just took the opportunity and ran with it. I was
jealous of your relationship, and I wanted to see what you’d
do.”
Jackson shifted restlessly on the
sheets. “I’m not proud of myself. I let Ally take all the heat and
then ran away myself. What a fucking loser.”
As he thought it through, Rob continued
to rub his fingers over Jackson’s muscled biceps. He’d always
wondered what had driven Ally into Jackson’s arms, always feared
deep in his heart that his sexual aggression had caused it, that
that was why he’d lost his two best friends.
“And I thought it was all about me. I
was so sure I was the center of the universe in those
days.”
Jackson shrugged. “Don’t we all at that
age?”
“No, I mean I thought Ally hated me and
I didn’t know why.”
Jackson stroked Rob’s unshaven face.
“She didn’t hate you. She doesn’t hate you. Don’t beat yourself up.
We were all too busy dealing with our own issues to see the big
picture. We were just kids.”
Emotion crashed over Rob, and he turned
his face into Jackson’s hand and kissed Jackson’s palm, heard his
friend’s soft curse. Very slowly he moved his lips again and sucked
Jackson’s thumb, felt his own cock jerk in response. “I want to
suck your dick.”
Jackson’s low laugh warmed him. “You
think I’m going to say no?”
Rob took a deep breath. “And then I
want you to fuck me.”
Jackson stroked his cheek. “You don’t
have to do that.”
“Yeah, I do. I want to. If we get Ally
back, I want us all on equal footing. We all get to fuck whoever we
want.”
“And if we don’t get Ally
back?”
“Shit, I can’t even think about
that.”
Jackson hesitated. “This can end right now. I’d never stop you from finding
another woman.”
“You’re a lot more patient than I
am.”
“I’ve had a lot of
practice.”
Rob sat up. “I haven’t and I want it
all, you—Ally, and me together at last.” He leaned into Jackson and
found his friend’s cock already erect. “Now tell me how you like
it.”