Raising The Bar

Wicked Warrens - 3

by

Marie Harte

Chapter One

Dylan Warren paced outside the government complex and shivered in the cold December wind. Even in Augusta, Georgia, winters could get a bit chilly.

I can do this. It’s nothing but a thing. No one has to know.

After taking a deep breath, he let it out and entered the building, all the while cursing himself for letting Derrick take advantage of his generosity. How could he have forgotten for even a second that his twin was the Warren brother who never lost a bet?

Because of Derrick, the freakin’ Bears—who couldn’t seem to win a game—and his own stupidity, Dylan found himself doing something he hadn’t done in twenty years. God, I am too old for this shit. As he entered the narrow corridor leading to professional suicide, he tugged at the raggedy sweater that passed for Derrick’s Sunday best and swore again, clutching the handful of papers he’d memorized last night.

A gift for total recall was the only thing going in his favor today. He had a meeting with his mother later that he’d been dreading. As he waited in the quiet lobby of the planner’s office, he tried not to dwell on what might go wrong with Derrick’s stupid scheme. He had a hard enough time living up to his mother’s estimable reputation without getting caught playing dress-up. Christ, if Dr. Barbara Ann Warren got wind of this, he’d never hear the end of it. But then, that might be preferable to hearing about—

“Derrick Warren?” A prim older woman who looked like she walked with a stick up her ass stood in the doorway to his left and stared down her nose at him. The dreaded secretary, Marly Bennett. Derrick had warned him that the woman ate contractors like candy.

“Yes, ma’am?” He gave her his best grin, and her frown turned into a tight-lipped line.

“Ms. Wielder will see you now.”

“Thank you.” As he drew closer, he stopped and sniffed. “I hope you don’t think this too forward, but you smell wonderful. You’re wearing Vintage, aren’t you?”

She blinked at him. “Why yes, I am.” The woman looked old enough to be his grandmother, but the warm smile she gave him told him she appreciated his noticing. At least the old Warren charm hadn’t disappeared along with his good sense.

He entered the office and found the city planner, Natalie Wielder, waiting impatiently at her desk. He stepped forward and held out a hand. “Ms. Wielder.”

She shook it and gestured for him to sit. “Mr. Warren.” She blew out a breath. “Cut the crap, Derrick. You’re late.” Apparently she and Derrick were on a first-name basis. One more thing his idiot brother hadn’t told him.

He frowned. “I was told the appointment was for noon.”

“Try eleven forty-five. You’re lucky you’re good-looking or Marly would have tossed you out on your ass. She has a thing for younger men, you know,” Natalie added with a smirk.

Friggin’ Derrick and his suck-ass ability to remember details—like what time the meeting started. “Sorry. I must have written it down wrong.”

“Whatever.” Natalie waved aside his apology. “You know Harper.”

No, he didn’t. Dylan forced himself to hold it together as he glanced over his shoulder at the man leaning against the wall, his thick forearms crossed over a broad chest. He had sandy hair and dark brown eyes and was dressed in a flannel shirt, jeans and work boots. A faint reference to Harper somebody came to mind. Derrick had been bitching about something…blah, blah, blah, and Harper fixed it.

Dylan nodded to the man. “Harper.” The guy had long eyelashes, a tanned complexion and really large biceps. He was handsome, ruggedly so. And not someone Derrick would ever find sexually attractive. Dylan, on the other hand…

“Derrick.” Harper’s eyes narrowed as he looked Dylan over, but he said nothing more.

“Give me the papers, Derrick. Derrick?” Natalie raised her voice.

Dylan turned away from Harper and his chocolaty brown eyes and handed her the report he’d been carrying. “Sorry. Been a long day.”

“And it’s only noon,” Natalie jeered. She studied the notes, reading through Derrick’s presentation, giving him a moment to compose himself.

A good thing, because Dylan found himself rattled. Derrick had given him the bare bones about today’s meeting. A necessary evil to clinch the new city development deal. Derrick had already been given the green light. He saw today as a mere formality. Yet Dylan considered the meeting anything but.

Natalie Wielder treated him with barely concealed disdain. He’d already been late. And holy shit, but this Harper guy stunned him. Dylan had particular tastes in his sexual partners. He was a professional, dated professionals, and liked men and women equally. He cared less about pedigree and looks than about a person’s inner character, probably because he’d grown up trying to figure out what made people tick.

But his reaction to Harper alarmed him, because he didn’t normally grow breathless around…well, anyone. He chalked up his nerves to the threat of being exposed as a fraud and did his best to focus.

Natalie asked Dylan questions about the bid, and he answered them easily enough. He concentrated on being Derrick, aware his brother was counting on him. Sydney had finally put his brother out of his misery and moved in with him, and Derrick planned to capitalize on his good fortune with a weekend of unbridled sex. The lucky bastard.

If only the Bears had made that final field goal, Dylan wouldn’t have lost that stupid bet. Then Derrick would have had to postpone his trip to Charleston. Derrick would have answered all of Natalie’s questions. And Derrick wouldn’t have to ignore an unwelcome attraction to the tall, brooding Harper.

Natalie asked Dylan a few more questions before turning her attention to the hunky guy in flannel.

She said his name twice, and Dylan belatedly realized Harper had been watching him instead of paying attention to her. Hell.

Harper blinked. “Sorry, Nat. What’s that?”

She gave him an odd look. “You sure you got enough sleep last night? You’re as off as Derrick today.”

“Thanks a lot,” Dylan muttered.

Harper shook his head. “Just… Nothing.”

“Good. These figures are the same ones we discussed two weeks ago, so I’m glad we’re still tracking on budget. But what about the additional buildings near the new civic center? How are we on that project?” She included Dylan in her question, and he didn’t know what to say. Derrick hadn’t mentioned anything about some civic center buildings. What the hell had happened to Answer questions from the report, accept the job, and shake the barracuda’s hand for me. It’s all just a lot of red tape. I’ve already got the job?

“Hmm, the civic center. Let me think.” How to bluff his way out of this one?

Harper spoke. “I can’t answer for Derrick, but I’d say we’re square. No issues on our initial groundwork for the new government offices.”

Dylan coughed. “Yeah, what he said.” That sounded like something Derrick would say.

Natalie nodded. “Okay. Then, Derrick? We’re good. You’ve got the project. I’ll see you in two weeks for an update. Friday at eleven forty-five.”

He smiled, relieved this farce was over. “Sure thing. Great. Thanks.” He stood to leave.

“So has Sydney found me a house yet? I like her. I’m still not sure how you ended up with her, though.” Natalie gave him a baleful once-over, and had Dylan not been playing a part, he’d have enjoyed her seeming immunity to Derrick’s allure.

“Sydney’s great.” She made his brother happy, and for that, Dylan loved her. It didn’t hurt that she also happened to be as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside. Yet another great future sister-in-law to add to the family. “I don’t know about your house. She tells me to keep my big nose out of her business.” He’d overheard her tell Derrick to butt out several times. No lie there.

Natalie chuckled, and now that the stress of the meeting had faded, Dylan could see the woman had nice eyes. She was a little too businesslike for his taste, but he appreciated her quick mind and wide smile.

“I like your girlfriend. Tell her I’ll call her soon.”

“I will.” He turned, only to bump into Harper, and his entire body locked up.

“I’ll walk you out,” Harper said smoothly, his voice deeper than Dylan’s. Husky, sexy. And totally off limits for heterosexual Derrick.

Dylan took a step back and quirked a grin. “Sure thing, man. See you, Natalie.” Shit. He had to get away from this place and back to his office to change. He checked his watch. He had less than an hour before he had to meet his mother. It wouldn’t be good form to be late to lunch, dressed in Derrick’s attempt at business casual. Besides, he needed to don some metaphorical armor—his business dress and sports coat—because he had a bad feeling he knew what she wanted to tell him.

They left the office, and Dylan waved to Marly, who winked back at him.

He exited the building and had nearly reached his brother’s green SUV when Harper put a hand on his arm.

“Yeah?” Dylan asked gruffly as he turned and nearly bumped into Harper again. The man stood too close, caging Dylan between the vehicle and his body.

Harper smiled, and a sly expression passed over his face as he gave Dylan a less-than-subtle once-over. “You must be Dylan. Uncanny. You guys are identical.”

“Dude, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Dylan snorted and ignored the sweat beading on his brow despite the cold. Hell, he had a few patients who worked in the mayor’s office. If word of today got out, his reputation would take a serious hit. Grown men didn’t swap places with their sex-obsessed twins. “Gotta go. I’ll see you—”

“Tell you what. Why don’t we go back inside and ask Natalie what she thinks? Maybe you could tell her all about the faculties project we didn’t get to in the meeting.” Harper folded his arms across his chest and waited. He didn’t look amused.

“Oh, uh, that project.” Dylan shrugged. “I agree with you. We’re on the same page, man. Don’t sweat it.”

Harper raised a brow. “That’s odd, because the faculties project doesn’t exist. I just made that up.”

“I knew that. I was messing with you.” Dylan needed to leave. Now. “You going to move or what, Harper?”

“What’s my last name?”

“Dumbass?”

Harper chuckled and stepped closer. They stood practically on top of each other, and Dylan swallowed hard. “Yeah, and there’s that,” Harper murmured with what sounded like satisfaction.

“What?”

Harper licked his lips. “That. In all the time I’ve known Derrick, he’s never looked at my mouth like he wants to fuck it.”

Dylan flushed. He tried to back away and found himself ass-up against the SUV. “I’m not sure what you mean. I, ah—”

“Come on. I know you’re not Derrick.”

Dylan groaned, because damn if he could stop thinking about fucking Harper’s mouth. So not professional, and worlds away from his brother’s personality. “It was that obvious I wasn’t Derrick?”

“Not to anyone who doesn’t really know him. I pay attention to the details. Your brother is a lot more fidgety than you. Too much nervous energy. And he’s never worn a watch. Ever. The guy is not obsessed with time.”

“Hell.” Dylan hadn’t thought anyone would notice. He went nowhere without his watch. Unlike his twin, he’d been born punctual. Two minutes before Derrick, in fact. “You’re not going to mention this to Natalie, are you?”

“Not if you explain it to me.” Harper didn’t move.

“You’re in my personal space.”

“I know.” That smoldering look Dylan couldn’t ignore.

He coughed and hoped Harper wouldn’t notice the erection he didn’t think the jeans masked.

So of course Harper backed up a pace and glanced at his crotch before meeting Dylan’s gaze with a smirk. “So what’s it going to be? I go in and tell Natalie you and Derrick are swapping places? It took Derrick a long time to get in her good graces. If she thinks she’s been played, she won’t like that. She’ll probably pull the deal. Or you can explain it right now.”

“I can’t.”

Harper turned to go, and Dylan grabbed his arm. “Wait! Okay? I lost a bet. I’d explain further, but I literally can’t tell you now, because I have a business appointment I can’t miss in another…” he looked at his watch, “…forty minutes that’s all the way across town. Unlike Derrick, I’m always on time. And I can’t miss this. I promise to tell you all about it later.”

Harper pursed his lips. “Hmm. Later, huh? Over dinner?”

“Sure. Yes. Dinner.” Whatever he wanted. Dylan had to go.

“Give me your number.” Harper pulled out his cell phone.

Dylan rattled off his phone number and Harper punched in the numbers.

“I’ll text you directions to the place,” Harper murmured. “It’s on the Hill, a nice place I think you’ll like…Doctor Warren.”

“Hell. You know who I am.” Great. Dylan could envision his clients, who came to him to help them solve their problems, learning that he’d swapped places with his brother to fool the city planner. What a wonderful note to put on his résumé. Immature? Check. Idiotic? Double check.

“I always look into the people Natalie hires. We’re all about avoiding scandal.”

Dylan suddenly recalled the last mayor’s abrupt exit from office, when several unapproved drains on the city’s budget had come under fire. Rumors of escort services and questionable use of government funds came to mind.

Harper added, “You Warrens are pretty popular in social circles and especially with this administration since you’ve done so much work for the city. Your brothers have a reputation. Gage is almost as bad as the, and I quote, ‘sexy Warren twins’.”

Dylan sighed. “Text me the directions and I’ll be there. Six okay?”

“Fine. See you then, Doc.” Harper left whistling, and Dylan decided that, bet or no bet, he planned on punching his brother as soon as the moron returned from his weekend away.

Conscious of losing valuable time, Dylan hurried into his brother’s SUV, now wondering why they’d bothered to swap their vehicles in the first place. He pulled out of the lot and drove in a hurry to his office. There, he changed into true business casual—khaki slacks, a button-down shirt, dress shoes, and his favorite cologne. He grabbed a sports coat from the coat rack, donned it, and hastened back into the SUV, now confident in his professional armor.

Twenty minutes later, after scrounging for a parking spot, he entered The Green Man, his mother’s favorite restaurant, and allowed the host to escort him to her table, expecting to find her alone.

“Dylan.” James Kincaid, his mother’s partner and the reason for Dylan’s constant headache, smiled up at him.

“You’re right on time.” His mother smiled as well and accepted his kiss on her cheek.

“James. Mom.” He should have known better than to think she’d make the meeting easy on him. Then again, perhaps with James present, she wouldn’t pester Dylan about his lack of a social life. “Although, this is a working lunch. Should I say Doctors Kincaid and Warren?”

“Now, Dylan. This is a friendly lunch.” James shook his head.

Who the hell had asked him to speak? Dylan cocked a brow. “Friendly?” How friendly are you with my mother, asshole? Dylan had been dreading this meeting for weeks, pretty sure the vibe he’d been getting from James and his mother meant more than business.

“Dylan.” His mother shot him a warning frown, then eased her lips into a smile when she looked at James. A man several years her junior. Her partner, for God’s sake. “Well, James? Should we tell him?”

Oh no. Please. Anything but that he’d have to call James “Dad”.

James cleared his throat. It annoyed Dylan that the guy looked closer to Dylan’s age than his mother’s, though he knew James to be in his early fifties. Bright blue eyes, black hair that had only recently begun to gray, and a muscular frame held James in good stead with the ladies, or so his mother’s secretary seemed to think. Diane knew everything about everything, and she loved dishing to Dylan during his visits.

James nodded to Dylan’s mother, and she said, “We’d love for you to join us, Dylan. James and I have been talking. We want to cut back on the work we have. Time to start enjoying retirement.”

Dylan frowned. He hadn’t expected that. The relief he should have felt, that his mother wasn’t going to profess her undying love for James, slid under worry. “Retirement? You’re ready to quit the practice?” He knew his mother had money, but not enough that she’d leave a lucrative job so soon. He thought she enjoyed her work.

“No.” James shook his head. Then, to Dylan’s dismay, the other shoe dropped. James covered Barbara’s hand. In front of Dylan. “Your mother and I are seeing each other. We want to start enjoying ourselves more, and we thought you’d be the perfect man to step in. We’ve been talking about bringing someone in for a while, to free up our hours.”

“You’re stellar with your patients, and there’s no one we’d trust more,” his mother said kindly.

What was all this we nonsense? Dylan didn’t often swear, but between his brother and mother, he felt more than ready to curse a blue streak. He deliberately clamped down on his emotions, conscious of the way his mother and James were watching him.

Considering he’d known this was coming, he should have been better prepared to handle the news. He’d analyzed his growing hostility toward James, knew he had issues concerning his own relationship with his mother that he transferred to James, but he hadn’t yet resolved his feelings. Though his father had been dead for over ten years, he still seemed like such a large presence in Barbara’s life.

Dylan cleared his throat and forced a smile. “I’ll have to take some time to consider joining you. I do appreciate the offer, I hope you know.” He swallowed a large mouthful of water and decided to ignore their being a couple for now. “I have my own patients at the hospital, but I’ve been toying with the idea of branching out on my own.”

He couldn’t look away from their joined hands. Especially when James stroked Barbara’s with his thumb.

Jealousy ate at Dylan like a cancer, shocking in its ferocity. Jealousy? Was that it? He didn’t like another man taking the role he’d assumed when his father had passed? Dylan did his best to keep a calm expression and took another large sip of water.

“Dylan?” his mother asked softly.

Saved by an arriving waiter, he brought himself back under control while everyone ordered. The waiter left, and he spoke before he could reconsider his answer, separating business from personal concerns. “Joining you would be a smart move for my career. You already have an established clientele. Many of whom would view me as an extension of you, Mom, to ease the transfer of cases. I’ll also have several who will follow me into the practice, I’d think. On the surface, it seems like a no-brainer. But I’ll think on it, if you don’t mind.”

“I would expect nothing less.” Barbara’s eyes sparkled with joy.

“Terrific.” James slapped him on the back, and Dylan smiled through gritted teeth.

Swear to God, he calls me “Son” and I’ll lose it.

Thankfully, his mother turned the conversation toward his younger brother’s pending nuptials. Gage and Hailey made a terrific couple, and his heart lightened at the thought of being an uncle someday. At the rate those two went at it, he figured he didn’t have long to wait. The waiter brought their food, and they ate while discussing Derrick as well.

“And Sydney. I am so grateful that your brother finally brought home someone I like.” Barbara blew out a breath.

James nodded. “Beautiful girl. Good thing she’s not like her mother.”

Barbara frowned. “Isabel Fields has a lot of issues. I’ve seen her since that last time she was in town, and she’s been calling regularly. But I don’t mind saying I’d like for you to talk to her the next time, Dylan. Tell me what you think.”

“Hell no.” He snorted. “Sydney’s mom is a handful. She tried to seduce Derrick and James the last time we all got together. I think I’m next on her hit list.” He stifled a smirk when his mother scowled at James.

“Not my fault.” James held up his hands in surrender. “I tried to steer clear of her, Barb. But you saw her.”

“True. Isabel equates sex with love and thinks the more men she has fawning all over her, the better her self-worth. You could see that within minutes of meeting her.”

Dylan’s poor brother had one hell of a mother-in-law coming his way. But Sydney didn’t seem to like her mother that much. He figured they might see her once a year. Holidays, maybe. He flashed a side glance at James.

He liked James well enough. The guy had been his mother’s partner for a good fifteen years, and the two had known each other for even longer. He was a decent man, a terrific psychiatrist and had great business sense. He and Dylan often sniped at each other, but with mutual respect, and even admiration on Dylan’s part. But really, James Kincaid—Barbara’s new boyfriend? The woman was nearing sixty. She shouldn’t have the time or energy for a new man in her life. What the hell did she need James for when she had three sons who loved her like crazy?

“What about you, Dylan?” Barbara asked.

He blinked. “Excuse me?”

“When will you be bringing someone home?”

James had the audacity to chime in. “Someone you’ve dated for longer than a month?”

Before Dylan could give the man the set-down he deserved, the waiter returned to clear some plates. Dylan glanced at his watch, and when the waiter left, pushed out his chair and stood. “I’m sorry, but I have to get back to work. We ran later than I’d anticipated.” He took out his wallet and tossed a few bills on the table. “This should cover lunch and a tip. I’ll talk to you later, Mom.” He gritted his teeth but delivered a professional-sounding, “James.” He nodded and left before he could show himself for the immature, unprofessional fraud he’d turned out to be. “Physician, heal thyself” came to mind. If only I friggin’ could.

“Well, that didn’t go well.” James sighed.

Barbara worried. “I knew he’d have a problem with us. Maybe we should have waited until we brought him on board with the business before springing our relationship on him. Dylan’s always been about the practice first and foremost, and he’s not great with change.”

She loved all her sons, but Barbara had always had a special relationship with Dylan. The oldest and still her baby. He’d always wanted to help, always stayed by her side while Derrick and Gage played with their father, mimicking Andrew. Dylan had been her little man, her constant shadow.

And now, not so little. She fretted about his lack of commitment. He flitted from woman to man, not settling on anyone, always seeming a breath away from happiness.

“He’s not a kid, Barb. Dylan’s thirty-seven now. He should be able to handle his mother dating.” James kissed her cheek. “God knows it’s taken me a lifetime to work up the courage to ask you out.”

She smiled at him. “I’m glad you did.” Their relationship was still so new, a rare affection blossoming into the love she’d unknowingly nurtured for James through the years. After experiencing such a pure and lasting relationship with Andrew, she’d never thought to find love again, content to take care of her sons, to occasionally date and to work at her practice until she had grandchildren to play with.

And then James, the man she’d worked side by side with for years, had forced her to look at him in a new light. As a man, not just a friend. A special person to spend evenings with. To kiss. To make love with.

She sighed and gripped his hand tighter. “I don’t want this to end.”

“It won’t.” He sounded so confident. “I’ve loved you for far too long to let your little boy get in our way.”

She snorted with laughter. “My little boy looked like he wanted to knock you on your ass, James Kincaid.”

“And don’t I know it.” James grimaced. “Don’t worry. I’ll talk to him later. Man to man. He loves you and wants you happy, Barb.”

“You make me happy.” She sighed. “I just wish all my sons could feel this. Gage has Hailey. Derrick has Sydney. But I worry about Dylan. He’s too much like me. It’s hard for us stubborn Warrens to open ourselves to love, sometimes. The risk of getting hurt can be overwhelming.”

“Don’t I know it.” James refused to let go of her hand. “You have no idea how hard it’s been to stop comparing myself to Andrew. Hell, even I loved the guy. He was larger than life and had such a big heart.”

“And he’d love the fact that you and I are together.” Barbara smiled through tears. “I do love you, James.”

“Oh, honey. I love you too.” He kissed her, and she was so full of affection she didn’t know what to do with it. “Don’t worry about Dylan. I’m sure once he’s had time to adjust to us, as well as coming to the practice, he’ll love the idea as much as we do. Besides, he is your son. Giving him the majority of the business should appeal to his need to control.”

She laughed. “Are you saying I’m bossy?”

“Hell yeah.” He smiled, satisfaction clear in his sky-blue eyes. “But I wouldn’t have you any other way.”

Chapter Two

Harper sat in his truck, wondering if the sexy doctor would stand him up. He didn’t think he’d ever forget that look Dylan had first shot him. That same speculative glance Harper had once wasted on Derrick, before he’d understood the man to be unavailable. Unfortunate, because everything about Derrick appealed to Harper.

The guy liked sports, had a great sense of humor and the greenest eyes that Harper had ever seen. Harper didn’t go for muscle-bound jocks, though he liked manly men. Derrick had looks, personality and a good head on his shoulders. The guy was a gifted architect.

And he liked women.

Harper did too, on occasion. But he had a feeling Derrick would never swing his way. Dylan, on the other hand… He’d known Derrick had two brothers. Harper had met Gage a while ago. Gage and Derrick owned WCC—Warren Construction Company. They’d all worked on a few of the same projects before coming together to design the new city buildings under Natalie’s supervision. But Dylan had remained a stranger, a name on paper. The other brother who wore Derrick’s face. Who would have guessed the Warren twins could look so alike but be so different?

Dylan had a calm confidence about him that attracted attention. Handsome and refined, he made Harper want to tie him up, to plumb his depths and see what really made a man that fine tick.

To see Dylan regarding him with mutual attraction had floored him. So hell yeah he’d blackmailed the guy into dinner.

A glance at the large plantation house on the outskirts of town made him smile. Harper couldn’t wait to introduce Dylan to the club, a fine dining experience that promised so much more than good food and drink.

A familiar green SUV pulled up alongside him, and then the real Dylan Warren exited the truck and shut the door. Dylan wore tan pants, a white button-down shirt and a navy blue sports coat. For this Dr. Warren, Harper would gladly lie down on a couch and confess his deepest secrets. Truth be told, he didn’t have a lot of drama. No skeletons, and he’d happily come out of the closet years ago to supportive parents.

He wondered if Dylan could say the same.

Leaving the truck, Harper approached Dylan and held out his hand. “Harper Reynolds.”

“Dylan Warren.”

They shook, and that spark of attraction grew into a blaze of need. One, Harper was happy to say, that seemed to affect the doc as well. Nodding to the back double doors of the covered porch, Harper silently led Dylan up the stairs and through them. They stopped at a small podium, where a tall, handsome man attired much like Dylan waited.

Dylan seemed absorbed by the regal furnishings all around them. Antique ceiling tiles, original wainscoting and hardwood floors polished to a fine sheen lent the place an air of nobility. The perfect setting for the doc, apparently, who seemed to let go of the starch holding his shoulders so stiff.

“Hey, Tony. I have a guest tonight.” Harper stepped closer to Dylan and put a hand on his shoulder, and Dylan tensed again. Harper deliberately leaned in and let his breath brush Dylan’s ear. “We’ll start at the bar, I think.”

Tony smiled. “Good choice. Freddy’s on tonight. You know she makes a mean mojito.”

Freddy Thompson—a hot little blond bartender with big blue eyes who worked most nights. He’d been dying to get his hands on her for months, pretty much like everyone else in the place. He’d had a thing for her since he’d become a club member, but he’d been so busy with work that he hadn’t had the time to make a play for anyone. The opportunity to see Dylan again had been too great to ignore. But to see Freddy working on the exact night he’d come in? Maybe Fate had smiled on him twice in one day.

Harper grinned. “Sign the form and follow me, Doc.”

“Form?”

Tony handed Dylan a clipboard and pen, and explained about the nondisclosure agreement. Part of what had drawn Harper to the place was that what happened at the club, stayed at the club.

Dylan frowned at him, then read the form and signed it. After handing it back to Tony, he followed Harper into a dimly lit room crowded with diners. Tables littered the floor, while a long bar took up the far wall. Patrons Harper recognized, and a few he didn’t, gave them a second look. Used to it, and not sure why people found his rough looks attractive, he ignored it.

He had an urge to put his hand on Dylan though, signifying to one and all that the hot doc belonged with him. But he didn’t want to press his luck. Not yet.

“I didn’t know this place existed. That paperwork was weird, but this is nice. I like it.” Dylan paused. “I take it you come here a lot.” He sat with Harper at one end of the long, polished bar.

“Yep.” Harper watched the play of shadows over Dylan’s face, the way the candlelight flickered and caressed his features. Dylan had incredible appeal, and he had to know it. Yet he didn’t seem arrogant or conceited, just sure of himself.

“What?”

“Just trying to figure out what makes you tick. I figure you have a leg up on me. You’re the shrink, right?”

Dylan frowned. “I’m not all that fond of shrink. You sound like my brothers.”

“Well now. I don’t want you thinking of me like a brother. Not at all.”

Dylan’s gaze swept to Harper’s mouth. A subtle flush lit Dylan’s cheeks and seemed to brighten the green of his eyes. “Trust me, I don’t think of you like a brother. I can barely handle my annoying siblings as it is. Adding you to the mix would be like throwing gasoline on a fire.”

Harper put a hand over his heart. “Harsh, Doc.”

“Call me ‘Dylan’.”

“Dylan.” Harper smiled, met and held Dylan’s gaze, then let it go. The heady rush of connection filled him, centering in his groin with a pleasurable thickness. He hadn’t felt this way in a long time—well, not since first laying eyes on Freddy.

“I need a drink,” Dylan muttered.

Dylan looked around, and Harper wasn’t surprised to see him narrow his gaze on Freddy instead of her fellow bartender. The woman looked good enough to eat. She had a slender build, short spiky blond hair, and bright blue eyes that looked almost too blue to be real. He knew for a fact she didn’t wear contacts—he’d asked.

Tonight she wore a silver cropped tank that glittered when she moved and showed off her toned shoulders and arms. When she reached high above her for a glass, he glimpsed a peek of her flat belly. A pair of black pants, boots and a silver belt completed her outfit. Freddy had her brow pierced and several tattoos on her lower back, which she’d jokingly referred to as her tramp stamps the last time they’d talked.

He liked her. She liked him. But with their work schedules, somehow they’d never quite come together.

She saw them looking at her, so she sauntered toward them and flipped a towel over her shoulder. The woman’s walk always made him wonder what she’d be like between the sheets. She had a sensual way to her that begged exploration.

“Hey, Freddy.”

“Harper.” She winked. “Who’s your friend? Don’t think I’ve seen him in here before.”

“Freddy Thompson, meet Dylan Warren.”

Dylan held out a hand and Freddy took it. To Harper, it seemed as if the world had shut down to enclose just the three of them. Freddy and Dylan locked on to one another, and he could almost feel the fireworks going off. He’d always felt chemistry with the blonde, and now she felt it with Dylan as well, a man Harper intended to get to know better. He started doing the math and fantasized about possibilities.

“So, Freddy,” Harper said in a deep voice, unable to hide his arousal. “Dylan and I are going to hang out and have a few drinks. Then I thought I’d show him around.”

“Oh?”

Harper’s celibate lifestyle the past few months was coming back to haunt him, because he found himself near two people that stirred his desire to no end. He suddenly wanted nothing more than to go upstairs and fuck them both like crazy. Where the hell had his infamous control gone?

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Yeah. Dylan’s never been here before.”

“So what is this place?” Dylan asked. “I had to sign a form just to get in. A private club, Harper mentioned.”

Freddy grinned. “It’s a place where people can hang out and do…whatever. I’m sure Harper will tell you all about it.” She glanced between the two of them, her interest obvious, yet she did nothing about it. Or maybe Harper was imagining things. “So what can I get you boys?”

They ordered beers, and she gave them two long necks and one glass and left with a wave and a smile.

She’d remembered Harper never used a glass. A good sign. Harper took a large drink, suddenly thirsty.

Dylan poured his beer into a glass, not surprising. Though Harper would have given a lot to see the man put his mouth over that bottle, he liked the sophisticated sensibility Dylan wore like a second skin. Yet another reason Dylan couldn’t pass as his twin.

Harper enjoyed the cold brew. “I don’t know about you, but I had a helluva day. Natalie was happy enough to sign off on your deal, but then I had to go mediate a bunch of other projects stalling in the city.” He sighed. “Not that I necessarily mind confrontation, but I feel like a peacemaker half the time, when I’d much rather be working with my hands.”

Dylan snorted. “You think your day had problems? I nearly got busted pretending to be my delinquent twin. I had to wear his crappy clothes, deal with your boss from hell, and then I had to meet my mother for lunch. That wouldn’t have been so bad. But I ended up dealing with her new boyfriend.” He downed the entire beer in one sitting. “I need another.”

Freddy returned to grab his empty before he could ask. “Another beer, or something else?”

“Scotch, straight. Hell, bring me two of them.”

Freddy nodded and left.

Harper studied his new friend. “Not liking your mother’s new man, eh?”

“No.” Dylan frowned. “I don’t know why the hell I’m telling you this.”

“Sure you do. You need to vent, and who am I going to tell?” Harper drank some more and studied Dylan, noting the way his brows drew close when he frowned, creating a small line between them. The way his lips pursed and looked fuller, sexier. The pulse ticked at the base of his neck, where his collared shirt parted.

“You want me to take my clothes off right here?” Dylan asked dryly.

“I wouldn’t mind. Neither would anyone else.” Harper grinned. “This private club is a place where sexual fantasy and all things taboo are accepted. Men and women play with guaranteed discretion. It’s also why the fees for membership are so high.”

Freddy returned at that moment, overhearing, and laughed at Dylan’s stunned expression. “Oh, he’s really new, isn’t he?”

“Yeah.” Harper licked his lips and took another drag on his beer.

“Like a bright, shiny new penny.” Freddy wiggled her brows at Dylan. “Enjoy your Scotch, sexy.” Freddy placed two glasses before him, grabbed another beer for Harper, then left them again to get back to customers waiting at the bar.

“A sex club in Augusta. Go figure.” Dylan took a sip of his drink. He tilted his head as he regarded Harper. “From the way you looked at me, then Freddy, I’m guessing you’re not particular about gender.” Fancy words, yet blunt enough to be understood.

“Nope. I’m just like you.” Harper waited to see if Dylan would admit it. To his satisfaction, Dylan nodded. Good. Not repressed about his sexuality, then.

“I’m bisexual.” Dylan shrugged. “Never made any bones about it if asked, though I don’t go around shouting that I’m bi from the rooftops.”

“Yeah, I get that.” Harper watched him drink, wanting to see those lips on him. Soon. He shifted on his stool to relieve the pressure on his dick. “Does Derrick give you shit for it?”

“All the time. But it’s a brother thing. He teases Gage about anything and everything too.” Dylan frowned at Harper. “You seem pretty tuned in to my brother.”

“If that’s your way of asking if I have a thing for him, the answer is no. I mean, yeah, he’s hot. Sexy, with those deep-green eyes and that fuckable mouth,” Harper answered in a gravelly voice, completely turned on by Dylan’s proximity. “But that’s just the outside package. Derrick’s more a friend. No sexual vibes there.” Harper liked that Dylan couldn’t seem to look away from his mouth.

The doc took another large swallow of alcohol before putting the glass down.

“That’s how I knew you weren’t him.” Harper scooted closer. “So how about you tell me what this morning was all about.”

Dylan groaned. “In a nutshell, I lost a bet. We wagered on a favor, which was my mistake. Derrick never loses. It’s weird, but the guy has all the luck.”

“Maybe he cheats.”

“No maybe about it.” Dylan scowled. “But he’s hard to catch. And, unfortunately, he had nothing to do with the Bears’ bad luck last weekend. Then your boss called her meeting last minute, and Derrick had already scheduled some fun time with his almost-fiancée.”

“Almost?”

Dylan smiled, and Harper’s heart raced. “He’s still working up the courage to ask her to marry him. Sydney doesn’t take any of his shit, and it’s a wonderful thing to see him dance to her tune.” They shared a laugh. “So my brother begged me to be him today. I said no, then he broke out that stupid favor I owed him. At least I’m done with it now.”

“I couldn’t figure out why you bothered me, at first. I mean, I’ve dealt with Derrick enough. I like the guy. But you weren’t right from the beginning. Being late is nothing new.” When Dylan cursed his brother, Harper grinned before continuing, “But you just gave off a different vibe. Made me sit up and take notice.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re the only one. Thanks for not telling Natalie.”

“Sure.” Harper leaned over the bar and pulled two menus free. He handed one to Dylan. “Didn’t we agree on dinner to keep my silence?”

Dylan laughed.

They ordered food and talked, both of them keeping a lazy eye on Freddy, Harper realized. “So, Dylan, can I ask you something?”

“About my practice, my brother or my sex life?”

“I don’t need psychiatric counseling, contrary to popular opinion.” Dylan chuckled at that. “Your brother, I get. Don’t be jealous, but I think his looks are sexy as hell.”

It took Dylan a moment before he flushed. “I guess I should say thank you.”

“You’re welcome. And for the record, I can appreciate his beauty and not want to do him. You, on the other hand…” Again with the pink cheeks.

Dylan swallowed audibly. “So you want to know something about my sex life. Go ahead.”

“Well, you’ve been with guys and you’ve been with women. Do you prefer one over the other? I don’t. It’s apples and oranges to me. But I’m a sucker for fruit, so go figure.”

Dylan laughed. He’d been laughing a lot tonight. Who would have guessed that Harper Reynolds could be so entertaining? Not a stereotypical building contractor more interested in beer and tits and ass than a good conversation. Harper had a keen intelligence and an eye for detail that intrigued Dylan. Like peeling back the layers of an onion, Dylan kept learning more about the man the longer they talked.

“Like you, I have no preference,” he answered Harper’s question. “It boils down to how I feel about a particular person more than what gender they are. I love the female body. It’s different, filled with curves and softer flesh. Kissing a woman is sexy, warm.” He stared at Freddy, unable to resist looking at her. That woman he wouldn’t have minded getting to know better. Then he turned back to his dining partner. “But a man is harder. Firm, hot, and the sex, if done right, can go from zero to sixty in seconds.”

“Yeah. You have a nice way with words.” Harper seemed closer, and his dark brown eyes looked hungry. “You ever been with two people before? A ménage?”

“N-no.” Dylan cleared his throat, embarrassed to have a rock-hard erection while talking to Harper at the bar, for God’s sake. “Not that I haven’t fantasized about it, but reality and recriminations could be ugly the morning after.”

Harper pulled back and frowned. “Recriminations? For what?”

“I don’t know. Two people have a hard enough time handling emotions and issues in a relationship. Then you throw in a third? Someone’s bound to feel left out at some point.”

Harper’s frown cleared and he laughed. “Man, you are way overthinking it. Imagine shoving into a warm pussy while sucking a guy off. Two sets of hands touching you everywhere. Sex on top of sex. You lying between two people set on making you come, over and over again.” Harper took another drag of beer. “I am so fucking hard right now.”

“You like to share, don’t you?” Dylan was proud of himself for not sounding as if he were strangling on his own desire. Everything Harper had said seemed drawn out of his own psyche. And, right now, he had a difficult time not imagining himself between Harper and Freddy. As if the woman would consent to a threesome with a virtual stranger.

“And that’s another thing,” Dylan added, trying to keep the conversation on an even level. More intellectual, less prurient. “Finding normal people who want to engage in something outside the norm isn’t that easy. Especially since I have to be discreet. My profession kind of dictates I not be so outwardly crazy.”

“You think a threesome is crazy? Interesting. I’d pegged you as much more liberal in your views.”

Dylan frowned. “I am. I don’t judge, and I think anyone who wants to explore himself should, without fear of reprisal.”

“Oh man. You are so sexy when you talk like that.”

Dylan blinked. “Like what?” Every time Harper looked at his mouth, Dylan grew breathless.

“Fear of reprisal? You’re better than my twelfth grade English teacher. You’re sexy and you use big words.”

Dylan shook his head. “You’re an idiot.”

“Maybe.”

Dylan lowered his voice. “Have you ever had a threesome?”

“In college. But I was too young to really appreciate it. As I grow older, though, I wonder a lot about all I missed. I’m not getting any younger, you know. A little over a year ago, I ended up joining this place. I thought I’d find like-minded people who might want to play around. And then I was hit with a ton of work.” Harper sighed. “As thankful as I am to sock the money away, work has played hell with my social life.”

“I can relate.”

“I know. That’s why I think this place could work for you.” Harper pushed his plate away and finished his beer. “Come on. Let me show you around.”

Dylan had already finished his food. He went for his wallet, but Harper stopped him by covering his hands.

“I put it on my tab. You can pay me later.”

“Okay.” Dylan looked to where Harper still had a hold on him. “You going to let me go?” It intrigued him to be smaller than someone else. Not that Dylan stood heads above all his peers, but he didn’t date larger men. He’d never wondered why, just took it as his type.

Yet with Harper, he couldn’t decide if he liked the man being larger than him or not. Because he had a feeling Harper was physically stronger as well. Harper showed every sign of being dominant, physically and mentally. What would that mean in the bedroom, where Dylan normally called the shots?

“For now, Doc.” I’ll let you go for now, he was saying. “Come on. There’s something you need to see.”

Curious, Dylan followed him from the bar, through the house—though mansion was a better description. They passed a billiards room, a closed-off smoking lounge that they thankfully avoided, an indoor pool and hot tub area, and then headed for a grand stairway guarded by a large man who nodded at Harper as they passed.

“Second floor is for members only. But don’t worry. You’re with me.” Harper continued up the stairs. They passed a number of rooms.

“How large is this place?”

Harper stopped before a door and withdrew a keycard from his back pocket. “It’s got a good forty rooms. Used to be a hotel back in the day, and they’ve since added to it. We have nearly a hundred members, but membership is by invitation only.”

They entered and Dylan asked, “So who invited you?”

But Harper didn’t answer. Just as the door closed, he slammed Dylan against the wall and kissed the breath out of him.

Dylan gasped, stunned and so turned on by Harper’s force he couldn’t breathe. He kissed Harper back, angling for dominance, and found to his shock he couldn’t manage it. Instead, Harper led. The bigger man threaded his hands through Dylan’s hair to hold him steady while he worked Dylan with his mouth.

“Fuck. You taste so good. I need you, right now. Gotta have you,” Harper muttered as he sucked at Dylan’s neck.

Dylan arched his head, baring more of his throat.

“That jacket is hot. Everything about you turns me on,” Harper admitted. He pulled back to stare into Dylan’s face. “You’re single, I’m single. I’m safe, and just talking to you tells me you’re not the type to take risks.”

“I’m with you, aren’t I?” Dylan breathed. It annoyed him to think he wasn’t a risk taker, and more, that Harper knew that much about him after such a short time together. The man seemed to have the ability to read him much too easily.

“Are you?” Harper ground his hips against Dylan’s, and Dylan moaned at the hardness rubbing against his own.

“Fuck.”

“Oh yeah. You have no idea what I want to do to you right now.”

“I think I might.” Dylan had to look up to meet Harper’s gaze. “So now what?”

“Now I call the shots. I make you come.”

Dylan’s pulse skyrocketed, from racing to nearly exploding. “How?”

“My mouth, my hands.” Harper slowly slid Dylan’s jacket off and tossed it to a nearby chair. He unbuttoned Dylan’s shirt, keeping his gaze locked on Dylan’s. “You take it or give it? Because I want inside that fine ass.”

Dylan blinked. “Um, I, well—” Then Harper kissed him again, and he lost his ability to concentrate. Before he knew it, he stood before a fully dressed Harper in nothing but his boxer briefs.

“Holy shit. You are cut.” Harper trailed his hands over Dylan’s chest and abs. He teased at the band of Dylan’s briefs, and Dylan could feel his underwear sticking to him where his slit was wet. Harper kept his gaze on Dylan’s face while he grazed the tip of Dylan’s cock.

Dylan hissed. “Why are you still dressed?”

“Uh-uh, Doc. This is my play.” Harper looked down and smiled. “You’re a big boy, aren’t you?”

Dylan groaned when Harper put his hand over him. With a gentle squeeze, he brought Dylan to his toes.

“Push ’em down. Let me see that pretty cock,” Harper whispered.

Dylan inched his briefs down and angled himself so that his underwear locked his thick shaft in place and showcased his pearling cockhead.

“I want a taste.”

“Oh fuck.” Dylan was panting, so turned on he couldn’t think. He grabbed Harper by the shirt and dragged him closer, mashing their mouths together as Harper’s fingers teased Dylan’s slit.

The angry fusing of mouths didn’t last. “Naughty boy.” Harper stood back. “Ever played with toys, Dylan?”

Dylan nodded.

“What do you like?”

Dylan would have argued that they could talk later, but Harper’s fingers went to his shirt buttons, finally. He started to take off his shirt, and bit by bit his magnificent chest was exposed. “A dildo. Clamps. A cock ring. Nothing too adventurous.”

“Mmm-hmm.”

Harper lost his shirt. Then he toed off his shoes and removed his socks. He unbuttoned his jeans but didn’t take them off, and Dylan stared at his incredible build with admiration.

“You’re pretty cut yourself.” He dragged Harper close, and instead of kissing the man, put his lips around Harper’s nipple.

“Oh shit, that’s good,” Harper groaned. Sensitive nipples. Dylan made note.

He continued to touch and stroke, learning what Harper liked as the big man let Dylan have his way. But each time Dylan drew closer to Harper’s fly, Harper stopped him.

“That’s off limits.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, oh.” Harper’s gaze turned mean, and Dylan was shocked to find himself playing the role Harper had seemingly given him with little fuss. “You need a lot of discipline. I can tell.”

“I’ve never played the submissive. Ever.”

“First time for everything, I’d think.” Harper licked his lips. “But I’m not into the lifestyle or anything. I just like to play.”

“You’re good at this game,” Dylan admitted on a groan when Harper tugged at Dylan’s briefs.

“I’m going to take a taste. I’m clean. You?”

“Yes. But I always use protection.”

“Even for blow jobs?”

Dylan opened his mouth to answer, but no words came out. Then Harper was on his knees, and Dylan’s briefs were tugged down another inch.

Chapter Three

Harper shook as he knelt, worshipping at Dylan’s feet. Good Christ, but the man was built like an Adonis. Handsome of face and form. Harper usually waited until he knew his partners well before engaging in anything questionable, but he had to taste Dylan. Now.

Just seeing that pearly white slit and that flushed cockhead exposed over the band of Dylan’s shorts set him off. The man was finer than fine. It just figured his cock would be amazing as well.

Harper lowered Dylan’s underwear, not exposing him all the way, but little by little, to prolong the pleasure. Dylan groaned and shifted, clearly needing attention. Even though Harper had been expecting a nice-sized cock for a man Dylan’s size, he was surprised at the man’s girth.

Harper didn’t wait any longer. He licked at Dylan’s slit and felt hands on his shoulders, gripping him tight. He licked again, then sucked the man’s cock between his lips.

“Yes, God yes.” Dylan moaned his name and arched his hips off the wall, pushing deeper into Harper’s mouth.

Salty, clean. Dylan smelled like sex—a compliment in Harper’s mind. The man wore designer clothing and used a soap that might as well have been an aphrodisiac. A hint of sandalwood and spice. Addicting. Harper dragged Dylan’s underwear down his legs and off, then pulled back to fully see his new lover.

A long, thick cock, a nest of trimmed dark hair, and a heavy sac. He cupped Dylan’s balls and wanted to purr with satisfaction when Dylan spread his legs wider and palmed Harper’s head.

“I want to fuck you so bad. Eat me. Suck me down. I need you. Please,” Dylan rasped, yet he didn’t push Harper to do anything. He’d said please, and he waited, trembling.

Harper had broken the man of his need to control, and for that Dylan had earned a reward. “That’s it. You need me, yes.” Harper kissed him, then sucked his balls.

“Harper. Yes. That’s it. Oh Christ. Anything you want, it’s yours. Please.”

Harper fondled Dylan’s sac and pulled his cock down. Then he took Dylan to the back of his throat in one swallow.

Dylan swore and gripped Harper by the hair.

Harper used his tongue, flicking underneath Derrick’s crown, and tasted a burst of salty fluid.

“Gonna come so hard,” Dylan moaned.

Harper bobbed over him a few times before Dylan lost it. He shouted and came, flowing down Harper’s throat like honey. Harper continued to cup and caress him, stroking his thighs and balls, running his hands back around Dylan’s tight ass. And he kept swallowing, sucking that thick, still half-hard rod as Dylan finally finished his release.

After Harper slowly withdrew, Dylan leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.

Standing, hard as a pike and hungry for more, Harper looked his lover over, gratified to find the drugged pleasure there in Dylan’s cloudy green eyes.

“You are incredible,” Dylan said hoarsely. “Now it’s your turn.”

“Anything I want, I think you said.”

Dylan straightened. “I said that?” He stared at Harper, his gaze drawing down Harper’s body to his jeans. “You need to get naked first.”

“Take them off me.”

Dylan took his time. “You’re bossy, you know that?”

“I… Oh yeah.” He blew out a breath when Dylan unbuttoned his fly, giving him some relief from the pressure. He was so hard.

Dylan pulled him out, pushing his underwear and jeans down to his thighs. “You’re a big boy yourself.” He held Harper in hand and sucked on his nipples.

Harper rocked into his touch and wrapped an arm around Dylan’s back, keeping him close. “Yeah, that’s good. Your mouth is so warm.”

Dylan continued to suck, alternating between Harper’s nipples. Then he slowly kissed his way down Harper’s body, until he knelt between Harper’s legs. With his jeans trapping his legs, Harper couldn’t spread his feet any wider. But then Dylan was running that amazing mouth across his pelvis and lower, all over his shaft. Those soft yet firm lips dragged the length of his cock.

“You’re so big,” Dylan murmured. “I like a fat cock. But yours is long too. Wonder if it’ll fit in my mouth?”

Harper groaned. “Tease.”

Dylan chuckled. He cupped Harper’s balls and nibbled at Harper’s tip. “You want my mouth, sexy?”

“More,” Harper breathed and pushed himself between Dylan’s lips. He’d never seen anything better than his cock in that man’s beautiful mouth. “Let me fuck you. Hold still.” He held Dylan’s head and shallowly thrust between his lips, making sure not to move too deep. He had no idea how far he could push Dylan, and Harper didn’t want to end this yet. Not now, tonight, or for a while to come.

He continued to thrust in and out, but when he neared his end, he withdrew. “I want you on the bed. On your hands and knees. Spread for me,” he growled between breaths.

Dylan stared up at him, his lips slick, his cheeks flushed. “I don’t know…”

“No, you don’t. But I’ll make it so good for you. Want to come again, Doc?”

Dylan opened his mouth and closed it. He seemed undecided, but a glance at Dylan’s erection told Harper the man could find satisfaction again if he let himself.

“I’ll be gentle. But it’ll sting.” Harper wouldn’t lie. Not that he had to. Dylan could see his size.

“Fuck. Okay, but you’d better lube up. No lube, no way in hell.”

Harper chuckled and took off the rest of his clothes. “I’ve got condoms and lube in the drawer.” He left to fetch them while Dylan moved to the bed and waited on his hands and knees, his ass so tight and bitable.

After putting on a condom, Harper slathered himself with lube, then moved to put some in Dylan. But that ass beckoned. He moved closer and kissed the small of Dylan’s back.

Dylan tensed. “What are you doing?”

“What I’ve been dreaming about since I saw you this morning.”

Dylan groaned, but Harper didn’t stop. He continued to kiss his way over Dylan’s cheeks and licked at his tight hole. Dylan blew out a breath as Harper licked and then shoved his tongue inside Dylan’s ass.

“Oh fuck. That’s good.”

Harper pulled back to see tight balls, and he reached under with his free hand and gripped Dylan’s thick cock. “You’ve got stamina. I like that.”

“Get inside me already,” Dylan ordered. “Or I’ll come without you.”

“Tsk, tsk.” Harper let him go, then slowly, gently, lubricated Dylan’s tight ass. “Oh yeah. You’ve been a long time without someone in here.” He paused. “You sure about this?” Why he’d even ask again, when he wanted inside Dylan like nothing else, he didn’t know. But it meant everything that Dylan not have regrets about tonight.

“Don’t make me beg.” Dylan’s growl settled the matter, and with a hoarse chuckle, Harper joined him on the bed.

He nudged Dylan’s knees farther apart, then put himself at Dylan’s hole. “I wish you could see this. Watching as I disappear inside your ass.” Harper slowly inched inside. “Push out. Tell me when it hurts.”

“You’re so big. Oh yeah. It stings. Give me more,” Dylan whispered. “Fuck, more.”

Harper didn’t want to hurt him, but he couldn’t stop himself from surging deeper. Dylan fit him like a glove, like a hot, silken sheath that would soon milk him of every drop of seed he possessed.

“Yes. That’s it. So fucking good.” Harper moaned and slid deeper still, until he couldn’t move any more. He sat like that a moment, trembling from the effort not to fuck Dylan until he came.

“You’re huge. I feel you in my throat,” Dylan moaned. “Move. Give it all to me.”

“You’re…okay?” He held Dylan’s waist, his hands clasped over the muscled flesh. A thought flashed out of nowhere, and he wondered what Freddy would think if she could see them like this. Would she be freaked? Or would she find it as arousing as he did?

“I will be. Fuck me already,” Dylan moaned.

“I hate to break it to you, but I’m in control here, Doc.” Harper slowly pulled back before pushing forward again. He rocked leisurely, gently inside Dylan, fully aware that they were joined more than physically. “You feel perfect. So damn good.” The image of himself coming inside Dylan, without a condom, made him push harder.

“Yeah. That’s—oh, yeah.” Dylan backed against him when Harper changed his angle.

Now knowing where to touch his doc, he fucked harder, aware Dylan was jerking himself off as Harper took him.

“Oh shit. I’m going to come again. Come with me, Harper. Yes, oh yes.” Dylan groaned as he clenched tight around Harper.

Unable to stop himself, Harper rammed harder and faster until his climax obliterated everything. He continued to pump, unloading into the condom as he came, whispering praise to his sexy lover. Finally the two of them stopped moving, the sounds of their heavy breathing and grunting all that could be heard.

“I made a mess,” Dylan confessed. “I don’t think I’ve ever come so hard. Well, except for before, in your mouth.” He sounded like he was smiling.

Harper wanted to see him, to look into his eyes. He carefully withdrew and flopped beside him. “You okay?” he asked softly.

“Better than okay.” The smile Dylan gave him opened something in Harper he hadn’t felt in too long. And he didn’t want it to end.

“How about we clean up? There’s a big shower in there.” Harper glanced down at himself and sighed. “And I made my own mess.”

Dylan glanced down. “Wow. That’s a lot of come, Harper. Been a while for you too?”

“Uh, well, a few months at least. But this is pretty standard for me.”

“You’re blushing. Aren’t you cute.” Dylan laughed at him, but before he could dodge the attack, Harper pinned him to the bed.

“I was right. You do need discipline.” He left the bed and hauled Dylan behind him. “Okay, slave. Make our shower ready. Then after you clean me, maybe I’ll let you suck me off. To reward you.”

Dylan sputtered, and Harper grinned at his pique. “Slave?” Dylan muttered. “I’ll show you slave. I’ll have you begging me and moaning my name. See if I don’t.”

Oh boy, but he did.

As Freddy watched another vampire rerun on television, she wondered if Harper had nailed the hot guy he’d been with. Dealing with her attraction to Harper was bad enough. The guy he’d brought with him, Dylan something, had nearly fried her to a crisp.

Both men were big, but where Harper had that rough, bad-boy thing going for him, Dylan seemed more refined. Especially wearing nice clothes that made him look smart, professional and beyond sexy. The barbarian and the model—what she wouldn’t give to be the meat in that sandwich. She sighed. God, it had been so long since she’d had a relationship that excited her.

She turned off the TV, marveling at the incongruity of being part owner of a sex club and getting less action than her octogenarian neighbors. She admitted she was picky about her boyfriends, but it had been over two years since her relationship with Mike and Tim had ended, and a year since she and Lou had broken up, and she still hadn’t found anyone who tripped her switch. Well, not like Harper or Dylan. Someone attainable.

Those guys didn’t count. For a while she’d thought she and Harper had a mutual attraction going on. But he visited the club so infrequently she rarely saw him. And when she’d heard about his visits on the rare times she’d had a day off, she’d heard he’d hooked up with guys. The chemistry she’d seen between him and Dylan had been unmistakable.

So much for her gaydar. Yet she could too easily picture him and Dylan kissing, and her heart raced in excitement. That she’d love to see.

“I so need to get laid.”

Guys always said women had it easy. They had no idea about reality. Sure, if she wanted to catch a venereal disease or chance getting it on with a serial killer, she could easily hook up with strangers online. Most people thought that a woman in to an alternative lifestyle was either a slut or immoral. She’d had several offers from members at the club, people who actually understood that kink didn’t equal unclean, but one good thing she’d learned from her father was to keep her personal and business lives separate. One more reason not to have anything to do with Harper…or Dylan.

The club offered her steady income. Alienating paying patrons when the sex inevitably led to boredom would lose her customers. Besides that, she liked her work. She didn’t want to feel uncomfortable about seeing anyone after they broke up or they had bad sex.

She fell asleep dreaming about Harper and Dylan and woke Saturday morning to the phone ringing off the hook. “Yeah?” she growled into the receiver. Then she turned the phone around and barked again, “Yeah?”

“Easy, Freddy. It’s me.”

“Brian, get a life, would you?” Ironic, coming from her. “It’s eight o’clock on a Saturday morning. Please tell me you’re not working.”

Her brother needed to get a life even more than she did. Though he’d invested in the club to help get her business started, he remained a silent partner, making his money doing corporate investments and logistical development for big businesses. He’d recently moved back to Augusta and she couldn’t have been happier. She’d missed him when he’d left ten years ago, but she’d understood his need to escape from their father and find himself. She was still trying to figure life out after twenty-nine years and was no closer to finding the answers than Brian.

“Hey. I have things to do. A house to decorate.” He sounded way too cheerful over so menial a task. “Come over and help me.”

She moaned.

“Oh please. What are you doing right now?”

“Besides lying in bed and praying for your early demise?”

He sneered. “You have no life. Get your ass out of bed and come help me decorate my house. I’m doing a Christmas party this year, and you’re good at crap like that.”

She was. But she was even better at sleeping in and loafing—what she’d planned to do today. Though she loved her job, a girl needed her downtime.

Pouring drinks and listening to people gave her a connection to others she’d been trying to establish forever, thanks to an unavailable father. She knew her shortcomings because she’d always prided herself on being honest—especially with herself. Of course, she didn’t have to admit her issues to anyone out loud. Her secrets stayed secret.

“What do I get if I help you?” Her brother was a notorious cheapskate. At least around her.

“Breakfast?”

“That’s it?”

“Well, what else do you want?”

I want some hot, sweaty sex with men who have stars in their eyes for me. Not something she could share with her brother. “How about a really good breakfast? You have to make me French toast.”

He sighed. “Fine. Then pick up eggs and bread on the way over.” He paused. “How about some coffee and milk too? And cinnamon.”

Two hours and fifty dollars worth of groceries later, she sat with her brother at his new kitchen counter and ate the French toast she’d made. At least he’d paid for the groceries.

“You suck,” she said around a mouthful of calories she’d burn off just breathing. Some women had to worry about losing weight. She usually worried about not gaining enough.

“Yeah yeah. You’re eating, aren’t you?” He sipped his coffee. “You know, I’m still surprised I love this house. After living in condos and shitty apartments over the years, I didn’t think I’d ever want grass. But I have a yard and a pool. I like this.”

“You’re getting old.”

He laughed. “Probably.” Just five years her senior, Brian had spent the majority of his life doing what their father wanted. Then he’d seen the light and left Brian Senior behind. Freddy could have told him their father would never find anything Brian did good enough, but then, she was the bad daughter who’d chosen to live with her mother after the divorce, so what did she know?

At least she had her mother and brother in her corner. “Talked to Mom lately?” she asked.

“Yeah. She’s living it up in Paris until spring. I think Aunt Selma’s been a good influence.”

“Good. Mom gets too down in the winter. She can’t do Christmas without thinking about him.” Their father put Scrooge to shame.

“True. I still don’t understand how she can consider them friends. I’m his son, and I can’t stand the guy.”

She snorted. “Hangin’ Judge Goode. What a bastard.”

They laughed together. She almost wished she’d kept her father’s last name, so she could flaunt that a Goode owned a sex club in the judge’s own hometown. But she didn’t relish opening that can of worms. The more distance between her father and her, the better.

“You seeing anyone?” Brian asked out of the blue.

Her thoughts immediately went to Harper and Dylan. “No.”

“Me either.” He sighed. “I was hoping Sydney might… But she’s head over heels for her boyfriend. Bad timing on my part, I guess. I should have moved back earlier, before they started dating.”

“Sydney?”

“The beautiful redhead who sold me the house. Sydney Fields. She’s been a good friend and a real help since I moved here. Her boyfriend lives down the street. Nice guy, actually.”

She shrugged. “In my experience, timing is everything. If I’d been just five minutes earlier coming home last December, Lou might not have met Sarah Ann and realized how much better a girlfriend she’d make than me.” She sighed. “Is it wrong I’m happier without him, and that I still remain friends with him? Maybe I’m just a loner.”

“I guess we both are.” They stared at one another and made sad faces.

Then Brian cracked up, and she snorted and said, “We don’t do pathetic well, do we?”

Brian shook his head. “No. And though I probably shouldn’t admit this, I’m not exactly a loner. I’ve had my share of dates since being here. Just no one steady.”

“Right. Dates. That’s a euphemism for sex. Nice.” She rolled her eyes. “You’re such a guy.”

“Hey, I have needs. And too many people would talk if I introduced them to my blow-up doll girlfriend.”

She laughed. She’d been pestered too many times at the club, so for the last April Fool’s Day, she’d shown up with an inflatable man and introduced him as her true love—a joke people still talked about to this day. “Mr. Freddy was a gag.”

“For you, sure. How many women turn to plastic men for fun? But guys actually do buy dolls for sex. Ech.”

She had her trusty vibrator at home, for all the good it was doing her lately. She just hadn’t been feeling sexual in a long time. Although, seeing Harper and his new boy toy had certainly given her some dreams to think about.

“So these decorations,” she said to change the subject. No point in lusting after gay men. “What were you thinking, and am I invited to this party or what?”

He pointedly glanced from the dishes in front of her to the sink.

She frowned. “Don’t think I’m washing up after I had to make my own breakfast.”

“But I paid…”

“Brian.”

“Fine,” he huffed and walked to the fireplace, staring at the mantel.

She frowned and walked over to him to see him better. “Have you been working out? You look huge.”

He pushed up the sleeve of his henley and flexed a few times. As she’d done as a child, she grabbed on to his bicep and hung, bending her knees so as not to touch the floor.

“You sure you’re not shrinking?” he teased.

They looked enough alike to be twins. Both blond and blue-eyed, but where Brian had inherited their father’s large stature, she’d taken after their mother’s petite frame.

“Funny. Ha ha.” She let go of him and they stared at the fireplace. “How many people are you talking about for this party of yours? Because you have plenty of space to work with.”

“I was thinking local clients and friends, but more friends than business. I mean, I’ll still write it off but have fun at the same time.”

“My brother, the scourge of the IRS.”

“It’s legitimate,” he defended.

“Whatever. So you think I should buy a bunch of blow-up dolls and butt plugs—”

“For my party?” He looked horrified.

“—and throw a shindig at the club, I was going to say before you interrupted.”

He made a face. “Don’t say butt plug around me. It makes me uncomfortable.”

“Yeah, they don’t feel right, do they?”

“TMI. Seriously.”

She laughed and smacked him on the arm. “I’m just kidding. You’re such a prude. You know, you should come to the club. Expand your horizons.”

“Why don’t you?”

“I work there. I don’t mix business and pleasure. Ever.”

“Smart girl.” He tousled her hair. “Okay, squirt.” She hated that nickname. “So I’m thinking a big tree, tinsel, some lights…”

“No. Big tree, yes. No tinsel. White lights, garland. The works. I have a plan in mind.” She poked him the chest. “But don’t cheap out.”

“Shut up. Just because I refused to let you spend an extra twenty grand on fancy faucets for the club, you throw cheap in my face once a month.”

“But they were the cool curvy ones.” And she still wanted them.

He blew out a breath. “Focus, squirt. My party? I want to have it in three weeks. Well?”

They spent the weekend shopping and decorating, and Freddy had a blast. She genuinely loved her brother, and they were close enough in age and temperament to like spending time with one another. Sunday night came to a close as they stood in his driveway talking about his food budget.

“Shrimp? But if they get too warm, ew.” He wrinkled his nose.

“Don’t be silly. Have a few chilled bowls and the shrimp will be fine. Geez. I—” She watched as a silver car paused in front of his driveway.

The window rolled down, and she stared in surprise at Harper’s friend, Dylan.

“Hey man, what’s going on?” Brian moved to talk to him and his passenger. After some talk about Charleston and some B&B Brian had once stayed in, he pointed to her. “Oh, sorry. This is my sister, Freddy. Freddy, I was telling you about Sydney and her boyfriend.”

She approached, still startled to see Dylan sitting in the driver’s seat. She’d studied him and Harper together and knew she hadn’t been mistaken about their connection. Maybe they had a kink for threesomes?

“I’m Derrick.” He stuck out his hand, pretending he didn’t know her. The jerk. Some of the club members had secret lives apart from their families. She had no room to judge, but she’d thought better of Dylan, being a friend of Harper’s. She was disappointed to see him so like the many men living in the closet. “Nice to meet you,” he added with a smile.

She nodded. “You too” came out cooler than she’d liked, but she couldn’t help it. Then the thought hit. Did Harper know his new boyfriend had a girlfriend? For that matter, had Harper and Dylan hooked up? Maybe theirs was a new relationship, not yet consummated. Perhaps they hadn’t acted on their attraction and had no hold on each other. Not her business. Yet she couldn’t help wondering if she should say something to Harper when she saw him next.

After a few more words with Brian, they waved and drove a few houses down the street, then pulled into the driveway.

She stuck her hands in her pockets and said to her brother, “So that’s Derrick and Sydney, huh? They close?”

“Inseparable. You should have seen how jealous he was when he thought Sydney and I had a thing.”

“So no kinky stuff for you three at the club,” she said, half teasing. “Just neighbors and nothing more.”

“Hell no. He’d kill anyone even thinking of touching her. And, well, I’m not in to guys, but if I were, I doubt Sydney would share. She doesn’t seem the type.” He glanced at Freddy and grimaced. “I try hard not to think about other people’s sex lives. Can we talk about something else?”

She inwardly fumed. Dylan was a skunk. She’d mention this to Harper when she saw him again. And if Harper knew and didn’t care about fidelity either, she’d mentally cross him off her fantasy list too. She might be unconventional, but Freddy had some standards.

Chapter Four

Dylan had parted from Harper not knowing how to feel. They hadn’t committed to seeing each other again, but they’d spent the entire weekend together. Having sex, laughing, taking pleasure in one another’s company.

He hadn’t thought it possible, but he’d genuinely enjoyed Harper so much that he’d successfully ignored the situation with his mother and James.

Monday morning came and went as it always did. He concentrated on work and decided not to answer any of Derrick’s calls, letting his brother stew about the Friday meeting Dylan had been late to.

The days passed, during which Dylan couldn’t stop thinking about Harper and that club. He was more than curious about Freddy too. He thought he’d seen a spark between her and Harper and wanted to know if they had a history. Thoughts of Harper also prevented him from dwelling too much on his mother and James, both of whom kept surprisingly distant.

By Thursday evening, he’d ignored the family long enough that they’d finally come to him.

He let himself in to his condo, turned on the lights, and saw Derrick sitting on his couch looking annoyed. Well, tough shit.

It surprised him that it had taken a whole four days for someone to pay him a visit. Dylan understood Gage and Derrick being occupied by work and their girlfriends. But at least his mother should have checked in. Then again, she had James now, he thought with a sneer.

As soon as he thought it, he chastised himself for having the emotional maturity of a ten-year-old.

Dylan felt a deep sense of embarrassment that he still couldn’t seem to accept his mother having a steady man in her life. Hell, he’d known James for years. The guy was smart, decent and had always admired Dr. Barbara Warren. She could do much worse. Dylan loved her and should have been happy for her, but her coupling only pointed out how alone he truly was. God, was he really that selfish?

Ignoring his twin as he set down his briefcase, Dylan moved to the kitchen and poured himself a cold glass of tea. He’d come to the decision that he would join his mother’s and James’s office. It made financial sense, and it would allow him the freedom to segue into his own practice. Now he just had to learn how to deal with them.

“Hey, dickhead. I’ve been waiting for you,” Derrick fumed from the kitchen doorway.

“Oh, that’s the buzzing I’ve been hearing.” Dylan pretended fright. “You startled me. I thought I had some kind of infestation.”

“Ha ha. You’ve ignored me long enough. Now tell me. How did it go? I can’t call Natalie and ask, and I can’t seem to get ahold of Harper either.”

“Who?”

Derrick paled. “Oh shit. I forgot to mention him, didn’t I? Was he there?”

Dylan walked up to his brother and slugged him in the gut.

Derrick’s breath whooshed out and he bent over to clutch his stomach.

“That’s more like it.” Dylan felt better. “You not only gave me the wrong time for the meeting—which was at eleven forty-five, not noon—but you didn’t mention Harper. And, yeah, he was there. Luckily, he’s a decent guy and covered for us.”

“He knew we’d swapped?” Derrick wheezed.

“Yeah.” And he more than made up for it with a weekend of nonstop, amazing sex. Dylan cleared his throat. “He and I worked things out, but you owe him a big thanks. You never mentioned him before.”

Derrick winced as he straightened. “I meant to. Harper’s a great guy. He helps when Natalie gets her panties in a bunch. He’s smart too.” He frowned. “Why are you asking?”

“Because you should have told me he’d be there. As it was, I think only the fact that he respected you allowed me to get out of there in one piece. Natalie’s not that bad, but I wouldn’t want to piss her off.”

Derrick nodded. “And that secretary. Scary.”

“Marly’s actually very nice. She wears Vintage perfume, by the way. So mention it the next time you see her. Which is at eleven forty-five next Friday. Not noon.”

“You think Marly’s nice?” Derrick blinked, then smiled. “Way to go, bro.”

“You’re welcome. And we’re even.”

“Yeah yeah. Sure.” Derrick left the kitchen with Dylan and plopped down on the couch next to him. “So what’s new with you? Mom said you’ve been quiet.”

“Oh? I didn’t realize she’d noticed.”

Derrick stared at him.

“What?”

“What’s up with you and Mom? She seemed kind of weird when she asked me about you, and you’re being obnoxious.”

“I am not.”

“Yeah, you are.” Derrick glared at him. “What’s up?”

“She obviously didn’t mention James.”

“James? What about him?”

“She and he are now a couple. I guess I should have let her tell you, but I would have thought you knew.” He wondered why she hadn’t said anything. A mean, petty part of him hoped they might already have broken up.

Derrick gaped. “Mom and James? But they’ve known each other forever. Like, since before Dad died.”

Dylan winced. He didn’t like mention of their father’s passing. All of them, but their mother especially, had grieved for Andrew Warren. A beloved husband and father, he’d been all that Dylan could have ever wanted in a parent. And then, out of the blue, his heart had failed and he was gone.

“Does Gage know?” Derrick asked.

Dylan shrugged. “I didn’t want to know. I went to lunch on Friday and they told me. I guess I should be happy for them.”

Derrick didn’t seem to hear him. His shock turned him giddy, and he laughed. “Hell yeah. Mom and James. That’s perfect. Hey, remember how Mom looked at him when Sydney’s mom was at that dinner, hanging all over him? I remember thinking Mom looked jealous. She was!”

Dylan remembered that too. But he’d hoped his suspicions would prove false.

“I have to tell Gage.” Derrick giggled like a freakin’ girl.

Irritated with his brother, Dylan stood and walked to the door. “Yeah? Well tell him when you get home. I’m tired and have a long day ahead of me tomorrow.”

Derrick’s mirth faded. He stood and met Dylan at the door. “What’s up? Really?”

Dylan didn’t want to admit to being a mean-spirited snot of a son. “Nothing. I’m tired.”

“You don’t like Mom and James together. You can’t lie to me, Dylan,” Derrick said softly. “What’s wrong with them?”

“Nothing,” he blurted. “Nothing’s wrong, okay? I just need time to sort this out. Don’t tell Mom. I don’t want to hurt her. I just…let me work through it in my own way.”

“Dude, Dad’s been dead for over ten years. Don’t you think it’s time Mom lived a little?”

“She’s had plenty of dates since then.”

“But no one special, no one she really liked.”

“She’s liked plenty of guys. Mom’s attractive. I know she’s a woman besides being a mother.” So why can’t I be happy that’s she’s found someone she can really love?

Derrick goggled at him.

“What?” he snapped.

“I can’t believe Mr. Therapist is having issues with this. Dude, Mom and James. They’re perfect for each other. And I always said he had a thing for her.”

“Whatever.”

“I’m calling Gage.”

“Fine. Now get out.”

“You’re not being fair about this.”

“I said I’m handling it.” Dylan opened the door and shoved his brother into the hallway. “We’ll talk later.”

Derrick stared at him in shock. “What the fuck? Did you just throw me out?”

“Genius.” Dylan slammed the door in his face and locked it.

He heard his brother’s angry laugh, a few curses, and then nothing.

Feeling unworthy but knowing he had the right to deal with the issue as he saw fit, Dylan slunk to the couch and stretched out on it. “I need my own shrink,” he muttered, still hating the S-word.

Minutes later, a knock at the door interrupted his self-loathing.

“Go away,” he shouted to his brother.

The knocking continued.

“I said go the fuck away, Derrick,” he yelled again.

Another round of knocking.

Knowing his brother would keep pounding and no doubt involve the neighbors, he pushed himself to his feet and rushed to the door. He threw it open, intending to yank his brother back inside and give him the beating he deserved, when he saw Harper standing there with a questioning look on his face.

“Harper?”

“Hey, Doc. Problem?”

Harper took a step forward, and Dylan instinctively stepped back, out of his way. When Harper joined Dylan in the foyer and closed the door behind him, Dylan frowned. “How did you find me?”

“Public record of sale, my man. You bought this place six years ago. I know people who know people.” He paused, looking Dylan up and down. Then he grinned. “A tie? Did you know I was coming?”

Dylan snorted with laughter, immediately feeling better. “You’re an idiot.”

“Yeah, one that’s hung like a horse, remember?”

“As if I could forget.” Dylan’s body immediately responded. “Hell, come on in. Oh wait, you’re already in.”

He took Harper’s coat and hung it in the closet, doing his best not to visibly strip the man naked. Damn, but Harper could do flannel and jeans proud. “Want a beer?”

Harper walked to the coffee table and took a sip of Dylan’s tea. “This’ll do.”

“So what brings you by?”

“Wanted to see how the other half lives.” Harper grinned. “Nice digs. Figured you’d live in the uppity section of town.”

“What?”

“I’m in the building two blocks down.”

In the newly remodeled cotton mill. “Uppity? Here? That place is twice what I paid for mine.”

“Not if you know the right people. Besides, I don’t think we have one shrink in the entire building. Just a lot of well-connected schlubs.”

Dylan laughed. “Too bad. You could use a doctor.”

“Probably.” Harper drained the glass, then stuck his hands in his pockets. Unfortunately, that drew Dylan’s attention to the outline of a long, prominent erection. “I’ve got a problem, Doc.”

“Yeah?” His voice sounded scratchy.

“I can’t stop thinking about you.”

Dylan’s heart raced and gladness filled him, enough for him to admit, “I’m having the same problem.”

“Thinking about yourself all the time. Sad. But then, I could tell you’re a vain guy. All your clothes have designer labels.”

“Ass. I’m thinking about you.” Dylan confessed, “The sex was great. Incredible. Best I’ve ever had.”

“Same.”

“But, I mean, we really got along. I liked spending time with you.”

Harper’s grin faded. “Me too. And that’s kind of a problem.”

“Oh?”

“See, I’d like to take this further. Not a one-night, er, one-weekend stand. But something more. And that means experimenting more than you might be comfortable with. I thought I’d come over and lay it all on the line. You seem to be pretty okay in your own skin, so I figured, why beat around the bush? Why not flat-out ask him?”

“Ask me what?”

“First of all, were you going to call me?”

Dylan bit his lip, then decided fuck it. “Yeah. I’ve been dealing with family crap, and it’s stressing me out. I wanted to call you for sex, because with you I seem to forget everything else. Then I felt bad about the thought of using you, because I actually like you.”

Harper huffed. “Don’t sound so surprised.”

“I’m not.” He had to laugh at Harper’s pique. “Now who’s vain? My point is that I was trying to figure out why I like you so much. Because you help me forget my problems? Because you’re hung like a horse?”

“There is that.”

“Because I’d like to pursue a relationship?”

Harper sighed. “You just can’t go with a feeling, can you?”

“I wish I could. It’s the therapist in me needing to reason it all out. But you came by. So tell me. What do you think I might not be comfortable with?”

Harper sat on the couch and Dylan sat on a chair facing him. “It’s not that you can’t handle it, but will you want to try it?”

“Try what?”

“I want Freddy.”

“Freddy?” Dylan’s thoughts immediately went to the sexy blonde from the club last week.

“Yeah, the woman at the bar you couldn’t take your eyes off of,” Harper said dryly. “That Freddy. I think she’d be down for some fun, but you and I have to be on the same page before I ask her. I’ve been wanting her a long time. She’s really cool. You’d like her.”

“I liked what I saw of her. And more than her body. She seems confident, good at her job.”

“Does it matter that she bartends at a sex club?”

“No.” And it didn’t. “But what are you asking me? If I want a permanent third? A sexual fantasy made real? What?”

“I don’t know.” Harper shook his head. “Doc, you need to relax. Stop trying to get to the end of the story and enjoy the middle. You’re way too stressed.” He tsked. “Had any sex since Sunday?”

Dylan did feel tense. “No. You?” He held his breath, waiting for the answer. For days he’d wondered if he’d made more out of their weekend than was warranted. For all Dylan knew, Harper often had marathon sexcapades with strangers. Though disappointing, he couldn’t rule out the thought.

“Doc, I’ve been celibate for months before you. I don’t fuck around. One partner at a time for me. And I know we were a sudden thing, but I was hoping we could continue where we left off.” Harper rose to his feet and crossed to tower over Dylan.

He slowly unbuttoned his fly and let his jeans part to reveal a mouthwatering erection. Jesus, no underwear? “How about you take care of this for me while I do you?”

“Oh yeah.” Dylan stood, but before he could reach for Harper, Harper drew him into his arms and kissed him.

The embrace both gentled and aroused him, and Dylan responded without thinking. There was tenderness in the kiss, even as Harper stoked him to a fervent desire, rocking into him with that steely erection while seducing with his tongue.

He broke away and kissed across Dylan’s cheek to whisper in his ear, “I love kissing you. Makes me want to fuck you and hold you close at the same time. Romantic shit, and I’m not all that romantic, Doc.”

Dylan shivered, caught in lust and what felt oddly like a climb toward love. Impossible to feel such deep affection for a man he barely knew, so he rejected the idea out of hand.

He had to clear his throat to speak. “My bedroom is down the hall. And I really, really want to make you lose control just once.”

Harper growled and plunged his tongue in Dylan’s ear, and that probing erection dug into his belly. “Maybe we can use your necktie to restrain you while I fuck you until you can’t stand. How about that for control?”

“Bedroom. Now.” Dylan pushed past Harper and undressed on the way. Inside his bedroom, he turned to see Harper stripping down as well. Once naked, they moved to the bed and positioned themselves head to toe, reaching for each other at the same time.

Dylan’s mouth found Harper’s cock just as Harper fondled Dylan’s balls. With tongues and teeth, mouths and hands, they explored each other. Dylan tried to hold out, but with so much going on in his life and having Harper close when he needed him, he couldn’t last. He tried to warn Harper but could do nothing but suck harder as he pumped into his lover’s mouth.

Harper groaned and started swallowing at the same time he erupted over Dylan’s tongue. They stroked and caressed each other while coming down off their euphoric highs, and Dylan soon found himself in Harper’s arms, warm and comforted.

Harper sighed. “Hell. That’s better than booze and a good cigar after a long day of work.”

Dylan couldn’t help yawning. “You said it.”

“Tired?”

“Just enjoying my theta waves.”

“Huh?”

“Those are the brain waves that come out during intense pleasure.”

“Theta waves.” Harper chuckled. “I like brainy guys. Who knew?”

Dylan stroked Harper’s belly, smiling when the man’s muscles contracted. “What is your type, normally?”

“I don’t know. Kinky guys, I guess. Guys who don’t mind experimenting. I like it rough sometimes. And I enjoy fucking a tight ass. I’m typically the top.”

“Ever a bottom?”

“A few times,” Harper admitted. “But only because my partner really wanted to try it. Afterward, we both wanted me on top again.”

“And your girlfriends?”

“Not as many as my guy friends. I tend to attract women, at first. But I don’t play at being aggressive, Dylan. I am aggressive. Women seem to want soft and cuddly, and that’s not me.”

“And Freddy?” he asked softly.

“She’s different.” Dylan could hear it in Harper’s voice.

He felt a hint of jealousy, but mostly he experienced curiosity. Harper hadn’t gone to Freddy first. Instead he’d come to Dylan, wanting them together to take her on. What did that mean? That he put more importance on Dylan than Freddy?

Harper murmured, “She seems like a tough chick. She’s pierced, has a few tats and she doesn’t take shit from anyone at the club. Not bitchy, just sure. I like her confidence.”

“But she makes you unsure of yourself.”

“You shrinking me?”

“I told you I hate that word.” Dylan leaned up on his elbow and studied Harper, falling into his dark gaze again. “You’re a handsome man, by anyone’s standards. You’re built, successful and aren’t shy when it comes to women. So why go through me to get to Freddy?”

“Who said I’m going through you to get to her?” Harper frowned and tucked his hands behind his head, making the V of his torso that much more defined. Jesus, the guy was gorgeous. The light sprinkling of hair over his chest only increased his attractiveness. “Hey. Quit ogling me and listen.”

Dylan flushed. “Hell. Caught.”

Harper grinned. “Yeah, well, glad to know you like the look of me. ’Cause, Doc, I sure as hell like the look of you.”

“Freddy?”

Harper sighed. “I can’t explain it. I want her, and I want you, but I don’t want to screw it up. Except it’s not just that.”

Harper didn’t know how to explain what he felt to be right. “I’ve always wanted a steady partner. But I always saw myself with a guy. I’m not trying to freak you out or anything with delusions of happily ever after. I mean, we barely know each other.”

“Relax, Harper. I know what you mean.”

No, he didn’t. Because Harper wanted to keep Dylan around. Maybe on a permanent basis. And if things worked out with Freddy the way Harper hoped they might, he thought he’d keep her too. The more Harper thought about it, the more he wanted to settle down. Have kids, get married, or at least be in a committed relationship. Though Dylan had talked about a threesome as if it were a multiheaded hydra too problematic to handle, Harper wanted to make it work.

A man to satisfy him. A woman to soften him. Two people to round out the edges, not just one. It felt right to him. But he had a feeling rushing Dylan would be a huge mistake. So he’d use Dylan to get closer to Freddy, to feel her out, see if she could work with them the way he’d imagined.

“So you want us to have sex with Freddy. Together.” Dylan sounded interested. A good sign.

“And if it’s as hot as I think it will be, maybe to date her. To try things out.”

“You, me and Freddy?” Dylan asked, skeptical.

“At the least, we fuck. She’s had a relationship with two guys before. I’ve asked around, so I think she’ll be in to it. I’ve been dying to taste her pussy. You can’t tell me it wouldn’t be incredible to have me and her sucking and fucking you.” Harper closed a hand over Dylan’s rock-hard cock. “Or you and her kissing me? Both of us fucking her together? Ass and pussy, or mouth and pussy?” Oh yeah. Dylan was hard.

“You have quite an imagination.” Dylan leaned close to kiss him. And when the sly doc squeezed his hand around Harper’s shaft, he slid through the wetness gathering at Harper’s slit. “But you’d split that poor girl in two. If we take her, let me inside her poor ass.”

“I hate to break it to you, but you’re not that small. You want her ass, fine. I’m game for anything.”

Dylan rolled over him so that Harper lay on his back, Dylan on top. “You sure about that? And if I want inside your sexy ass one day?”

“For you, I’ll make an exception.” Harper returned Dylan’s kiss, needing him again. “But after we get Freddy.”

“Agreed. But if she’s not in to two guys going at it, what then? We take her in a regular ménage? No touching except through her? Or maybe she’ll just want to be with you.”

“Or you. But if she doesn’t want us both, she’s not the woman I thought she was.” Harper shook his head. “I want us all to be together, Dylan. You and me and her. If she’s right for us, she’s right for us.”

“Oh hell. I’m in. But we need to be quiet about it. It’s not about hiding who I am or anything but, hell, two partners at once is new to me. My practice thrives on discretion. And I can definitely tell you that many of my patients aren’t comfortable with their own sexuality, let alone their doctor’s.”

Harper chuckled. “I get you. Now spread those strong thighs. Better yet, why don’t you kneel over my face and let me suck that hanging fruit?”

“You and your fruit.” But Dylan didn’t argue. Now they just had to find and pin down the elusive Freddy Thompson. After Harper played with his doctor, of course.

Chapter Five

When Saturday night rolled into Sunday, Freddy figured she’d had enough. She’d covered for one of her missing bartenders on her night off, and she deserved a break. After the crowd died down and Ben took over, she’d bunk down in one of the spare rooms for the night.

Just as she finished her shift, she saw Harper sitting at a corner table with a few friends. No Dylan in sight, which made it a good time to speak with him about Derrick. As she neared the table, he turned and saw her.

He said goodbye to his friends and gave her a wide smile. “Hey, Freddy. How about we get a drink?” Harper stood and gently tugged her away, catcalls and wolf whistles sounding behind them.

The crowded dining area had been turned into a dance floor, and they had to skirt dozens of gyrating and barely clad bodies to find a quieter spot on the outskirts of the room again.

She didn’t want to have to yell to be heard, so she grabbed his hand and pulled him with her into a small supply closet down the hall.

“Hot damn,” Harper swore. “I finally get closet time with Freddy Thompson.”

“Shut up.” She laughed. Her gaze met his and she had a hard time staring without drooling. He really was one of the best-looking men she knew. She liked that rough, mean look. The big guy with a bad temper who never needed to unleash it. Or so she’d heard. She’d never seen Harper mad. Just sexy and flirty.

“So do I get to kiss you now or later?” Harper murmured and stepped closer. His hand rested on her shoulder, perilously close to her breast.

Warmth immediately flooded her sex. Freddy blew out a breath. Down, girl. You know he’s just teasing. “I need to talk to you about something serious.”

He took his hand away and his smile faded. “You okay, honey?”

“It’s not me. It’s you.”

He frowned.

“I know this isn’t my place, and I hate telling you this, but… Well, are you and Dylan an item now?”

“An item?” Harper shrugged. “I guess you could say that.”

“Then you’re a couple. Just the two of you.”

He narrowed his gaze on her and she flushed. “I know this is none of my business, but you see, a week ago I saw Dylan and his girlfriend. Together. They’re pretty chummy and I got the impression she has no idea he comes here to be with guys.”

“Really?” Harper looked stunned.

“Yeah. Sydney seems like a nice person. But—”

“Sydney? You saw him with Sydney?”

“Yes. I’m sorry, Harper. I know this isn’t my place, but so many guys around here like to play around. They’re married when it counts and gay when it doesn’t.”

“It always counts when you’re gay.” He winked, his humor unaffected.

“I’m glad you can laugh at this. I feel bad for saying anything, but I thought, if it was me, I’d want to know if my partner was unfaithful. And you’ve always struck me as a decent guy.”

“Thanks. I think.” He smiled at her.

Probably covering up that hurt with a manly show of “it doesn’t bother me, little miss”. She sighed.

“So tell me, did you talk to Dylan about this?” he asked.

“I would have. But he had the nerve to call himself ‘Derrick’ and pretend he didn’t know me. What a jerk.”

“Huh.” Harper turned away. “Would you…” He paused. “Do you think we could go to my room and talk about this? I need some space, and this closet is not it.”

“Sure thing, Harper. Your room?” He kept a room on hand on the weekends, though he hadn’t used it in a while—with the exception of last week. She liked to keep tabs on her VIP guests, and she readily admitted to paying more attention to Harper than she should have.

He nodded and let her walk him out. She looked over her shoulder at him a few times, making sure he was okay, and led him up the stairs. They entered his room and he shut the door behind them. It automatically locked, enclosing them in silence. A light flicked on in front of them, illuminating the small suite.

To her shock, Dylan stood half-dressed, leaning against the dresser.

She glanced at Harper, who didn’t seem surprised. So Harper wanted a confrontation with his lover. Well, she’d give him one.

“Dylan.” Harper nodded.

“Harper.” Dylan stared from him to Freddy with a frown on his face. “Everything okay?”

“No, everything is not okay.” She marched into his personal space and poked him. God, what a perfect chest. Barely any body hair, and so much sculpted muscle. Focus, Freddy. Focus. “I saw you, Dylan. You and your girlfriend. Or should I call you ‘Derrick’?”

He blinked and looked to Harper. “Is this for real?”

“Yep.” Harper crossed his arms. “She didn’t want to butt in, but she wanted to help me out. You’re apparently a user and a cheat.”

“You probably mean a liar and cheat, but okay.” Dylan calmly turned to her again. “Go on.”

She didn’t understand why he wanted to continue the pretense of civility, but she wouldn’t let him get away with lying to Harper. “Harper knows. You’re playing at being gay while you date your straight-laced girlfriend.”

He snorted. “If you’re talking about Sydney, I highly doubt that woman is straight-laced. She’s a wild one. Keeps Derrick hopping.”

“Do you often refer to yourself in the third person?” she asked icily, feeling for Harper, who took the opportunity to step up and stand behind her. Problem was, that put her in closer contact with Dylan. “Um, Harper?”

“Isn’t she something?” he asked Dylan and sighed. “So cute and caring, but with a hot temper. And she’s not wearing a bra. I love when she goes without, especially when she’s wearing a thin silk shirt. Like this one.” Harper put his hands around her and covered her less-than-ample chest.

Her nipples peaked as if she’d stepped into subzero weather, and she felt embarrassingly wet. “Harper, what are you doing?”

“I want you like you can’t believe.” He rubbed against her, and she felt something hard prod her lower back.

“But you’re gay.”

Dylan chuckled. “Can I explain the situation?”

“Oh, please do.” She glared at him. The cheater.

“Harper is not gay. Like me, he’s bi.”

“Mmm-hmm.” Harper nuzzled her neck and squeezed her nipples, and she couldn’t move, glued to the hot body behind her.

“Also, for the record, Derrick and I are two separate people. He’s my twin brother, and Sydney, his girlfriend, lives with him. I expect they’ll be engaged by Christmas, in another…two weeks. Oh wow, I’d better get shopping.”

“Wait. What?”

Harper nipped her ear. “You saw his twin, not Dylan. We’re both bi, and we want to make love to you tonight. Now. How about it?”

Freddy had to be dreaming.

“I think she wants it,” Dylan murmured. “Her pupils are dilated. She’s breathing fast. And her nipples are hard. Tight little beads. May I?”

Harper released one, and Dylan cupped her. “Oh, sweetheart, you’re nice and firm. I want to suck those pretty nipples. Can I?”

“B-but…”

“We want you, Freddy. Yes or no?” Dylan smiled. “But if you say yes, you have to know we’ll all be touching each other. Everywhere.”

“Oh God,” she moaned. “Am I dreaming?” Then she watched Dylan closely. “Kiss him. Right now. In front of me.”

Harper chuckled behind her, his mirth vibrating through her body. “You heard her, Doc. Plant one on me.”

Dylan shrugged. “Come here.”

Harper let go of her and circled to Dylan. She stared, wide-eyed, at the hottest kiss she’d ever seen. Dylan and Harper kissed and touched, grinding against one another. The play of light over Dylan’s arms was only slightly more appealing than seeing Harper grab his ass and hump him.

Harper let him go, both men breathing hard, and Dylan turned to her. Without asking, he took her mouth in a devastating kiss. He tasted masculine, and when he pulled back, she followed, not wanting it to end. Harper watching so closely made it that much naughtier.

“Yes or no, Freddy?” Harper rasped.

“Are you kidding me? Hell yes.”

She lost a bit of herself after that. Harper got naked. Dylan got naked. And then they both started stripping her down, touching her and petting her while they removed her shoes, socks and pants. Her panties they dragged down with agonizing slowness.

“I can’t wait,” Harper said, his voice hoarse. And then he shoved his face between her legs and licked.

“Harper.”

Dylan shook his head, his grin broad. “He’s pretty bossy in the bedroom.” Dylan stared at her mouth, then her chest and then the back of Harper’s head. “So you’ve done this before? Two guys?”

“Y-yes.” She moaned. “God, it’s been so long.”

“He has a great mouth.” Dylan licked his lips. “But mine’s better.”

Harper pulled away to say, “Bullshit,” before returning to eat her out.

Her legs shook, and she worried she’d come before they really got started. Harper and Dylan. A threesome with her fantasy team.

“Harper, let her go. She’s not completely naked yet.”

He gave her one last lick before moving back and rising to his feet. Moving behind her once more, he removed her shirt, the last piece of clothing to go, then held her waist while Dylan neared.

Dylan paid a lot of attention to her breasts, which were B-cups at best. “You’re gorgeous. And that pretty blond hair is prone to curl, hmm?” He cupped her mound, then shoved two fingers inside her, past her slick heat. “So wet,” he moaned.

“And sweet,” Harper added in a low voice. “I want to lick her until she screams.”

She wasn’t far from that now. “Guys. Please. I want… I mean, how do you want to…do this?”

Dylan and Harper looked at each other.

Then Harper said, “If you’ve had a threesome before, you’ve probably had a cock up your ass, right?”

She nodded, feeling herself blush. “But nothing as big as either one of you.” Both men were sexy and hung. It was like Christmas come early.

“Well then. We do it one of two ways. He takes your pussy while I fuck your ass,” Dylan said. “Or you suck one of us off while the other takes your pussy. Either way, we want you.” Dylan leaned close to suck her nipple, and she cried out at the pleasure. “Oh yeah, we want in you, baby. Right now.”

The doc called her “Baby”. Harper was in heaven. Freddy had reacted the way he’d thought she might. The woman had no problem with both of them together. She was in to it. In to them. Wet and sweet and sexy as hell.

He shoved his cock between her cheeks, not penetrating, just sliding against her. He wanted to ram inside her. But she was so small. She’d be so tight.

He broke out in a sweat just thinking about it. But Dylan had the floor, sucking her tits, rubbing her soft skin. His dark hair against her lighter hair, his tanned skin contrasting to her paler flesh, highlighted their differences. As Harper watched them, he felt that they belonged to him. His lovers. His partners.

Dylan kissed his way up her body and ended at her mouth. “I want inside you, Freddy. Right now, baby. Come on. Which way? How do you want us?”

She moaned. Harper pulled her ass cheeks farther apart and rubbed against her anus, stimulating her rim.

Dylan pushed her feet apart and put his cock between her legs, clamped tightly between her thighs. “She’s so wet, Harper. So fucking hot.”

“I know. I told you it would be like this.”

Freddy whispered, “I want both of you inside me. P-pussy and ass. Please, now.”

Harper didn’t need to be told twice. While Dylan continued to kiss her, he moved to the bed and lay down. “Bring her.” Then he rolled a condom on, not wanting to give her anything to think about but fucking them both.

Dylan walked her back to the bed, still kissing her. He pulled his mouth away and turned her to face Harper. Then he lifted her in his arms. “Oh, this is nice.”

She gasped but let him position her over Harper, as if she were a living doll.

It took a few moments for her to accustom herself to his size. Harper saw stars as he closed his eyes and fought for control, to not come right away inside her snug pussy.

“Jesus. She feels as tight as your ass, Dylan.”

Dylan chuckled. “Don’t lose it so soon, Mr. Macho. Or I swear you’ll never hear the end of it.” Then to make matters worse, just as Harper opened his eyes, he saw Dylan closing in fast for a kiss that melted Harper to the core.

He bucked up into Freddy while Dylan stroked with his tongue.

“That’s so sexy,” Freddy whispered.

Dylan ended the kiss with Harper and kissed Freddy. Harper watched just inches away, so lost he could barely think as he sank into her heat while she rode him. Her small gyrations grew stronger, until she was moving herself up and down over him.

Dylan drew back and stood next to the bed. “Christ, that’s sexy. I want inside you, Freddy,” Dylan said in a thick voice. “Just watching Harper’s fat cock disappear is enough to get me hard.” To Harper he said, “You’re all slick, man. She’s all over you.” Dylan leaned closer, and Harper felt his balls rolled, squeezed, and pressed by Dylan’s crafty fingers while Freddy continued to take him.

“I’m going to come,” she moaned.

“Hell.” Dylan hurried to the side table and donned a condom. He liberally covered the latex with lube, then returned to them on the bed. “Oh yeah. I’m going to put myself inside you. This is new to me, Freddy. So tell me if I hurt you.” He swore. “You have to stop moving.”

Freddy groaned. “Hurry up.”

Harper smacked her ass. “You move that pussy again and I’ll come. Be still.” He dragged her face down for a kiss and cupped her breasts, rubbing her nipples as punishment, because he knew how much she liked it, and how much she’d like to move.

“Oh yeah.” Dylan crouched behind her, moving carefully. Harper couldn’t see what happened, but by the tensing over him, he knew Dylan had started to play with her. “Easy, baby. Let me get you used to me.”

Harper kissed her some more, close to losing his mind. And then Freddy gasped into his mouth. Dylan shifted behind her, and Harper knew the doc had started to push inside her with more than his fingers.

“So tight. Yes. More, Dylan.” She made a face.

“Stop,” Harper ordered.

“Okay,” Dylan rasped. “Freddy, you okay?”

“Wait a minute. Okay, more.” She shifted over Harper, and he gritted his teeth, forcing himself not to thrust up hard.

As Dylan continued to move, Harper felt more pressure against his cock, and he groaned. “Yes. God, I need to move. Freddy, you need to come.”

“I know.”

“Not gonna be long.” Dylan swore again. “Fuck. This is amazing. You’re amazing,” he said to Freddy and kissed her shoulder. “You okay if I move?”

She nodded and stared at Harper, her blue eyes foggy with lust.

“Slowly,” Harper said.

Dylan started a rhythm that Freddy soon caught, and it didn’t take long before the three of them found their pacing. Harper let Dylan fuck her, taking the bliss as the pair shuddered over him. He reached between them to finger her clit, and the moment he touched her, Freddy cried out and clenched him tight, squeezing his cock enough that he couldn’t stop himself.

He pumped into her just as Dylan shoved hard. “I can’t stop. Coming…” Dylan groaned and stilled, emptying into her.

Harper had to move, but he couldn’t with both of them over him, stunned with pleasure. And then Freddy kissed him, Dylan pulled away, and she squirmed over Harper once more.

He groaned as his release came in one giant, torrential wave while Freddy ground over him. Dylan stroked her breasts and Harper’s chest while Harper continued to unload.

When he could think again, he looked up at the sweaty pair grinning down at him.

“So what do you have for round two?” Freddy asked.

Freddy slumped on the bed between her two new lovers and tried to catch her breath. Good Lord, but round two had made her scream. Muffled by a mouthful of thick flesh, she’d come hard all around Dylan and swallowed a very excited Harper.

Thankfully they’d had the safe sex talk before making round two a reality. A good thing, because she’d been stupid enough not to care the first time. They’d been the ones to use condoms, though she should have been the one to point that out.

What could she say? She’d been thoroughly destroyed. At this rate, she’d be walking funny tomorrow.

A huge grin warmed her from the inside out.

“What is that for?” Harper rumbled. He traced a pattern on her belly and she squirmed.

“I’m ticklish.”

“He means the smile. I’m assuming that’s a grin of unfathomable joy. I often have that effect on women,” Dylan stated in an uppity voice. Then he chuckled. “But seriously, Freddy. Are you all right? I wasn’t too rough, was I?”

“You were perfect and you know it.” She stroked Harper’s hand over her belly. “And you too, manly man.”

“I like that nickname. It suits him.” Dylan rolled to his side and put his hand next to Harper’s, completely covering her stomach. “And how about Little Miss Sexy for you? Jesus, Freddy. You about blew my mind.”

“No, she blew mine.” Harper laughed. “I knew it would be this good with you. I’ve been dying to get you into bed.”

“So what took you so long?” She stretched under them, feeling better than she had in a long time, and glanced at Harper.

“Timing wasn’t right.” Harper’s slow smile when he looked at Dylan made her feel funny. “I had to get Doc in on the picture.”

“So you two are new friends? Because I haven’t seen Dylan around here before.”

Dylan answered. “Harper caught me pretending to be my twin. Don’t ask. I lost a stupid bet. But instead of turning me in to his boss and killing a major deal for my brother, he blackmailed me into dinner. Here.”

“Nice, Harper.” She rubbed her hand over his cheek, and her stomach fluttered when he turned to kiss her palm.

“I thought so.” Harper leaned over her to kiss Dylan. “I always liked the look of Derrick, but he was missing something.”

“Oh?” Dylan asked.

“Yeah, he never looked at me the way you did, Doc.”

“Why do you call him ‘Doc’?” She wanted to know.

“Because I’m a psychiatrist. Not a shrink. I detest that word,” Dylan warned.

“He does. So I figure to use it twice a day when I talk to him,” Harper hinted.

“Twice a day, hmm?” Dylan pulled Freddy closer to him. “You didn’t call me all week.”

“I was giving you space. You’re a touchy kind of guy. I can tell.”

Freddy wondered, “So what do you think of all this?”

“I’m new to being with two people in bed, if that’s what you’re asking. But I’m not averse to trying it again.” Dylan’s smile showed even, white teeth.

“Averse.” Harper snorted. “Isn’t he cute? What do you say, Freddy? Should we show him how things are done at the club?”

“I’m shocked. I thought you were a one-man guy. Now I find out you not only like girls too, but you’re in to more than one partner. Golly, Harper. I don’t know what to say.”

“Smart ass.” He tried to reach for her, but Dylan cuddled her closer.

“Now now. Be as macho as you want, but you can’t hurt this tender morsel.”

Even Freddy had to turn to stare at him, sharing Harper’s incredulity. “Tender morsel?”

“Too much?” Dylan blinked, then burst out laughing. “If you could see your faces. Man, I haven’t had this much fun in a long time.”

“Try forever,” Harper added. “At least for me. This is what I’ve been missing,” he said in a softer voice.

Startled, Freddy turned to face him and saw the affection he couldn’t hide. For her? For Dylan? She didn’t know, but suddenly she didn’t care, because he scooted down to plant a kiss on her belly and inched his large hand south.

“Harper?”

“Hmm. Good idea. Maybe we could take turns.” Dylan moved down the bed with him.

“Oh man. I was kidding before about a round three,” she ended on a moan.

Chapter Six

Dylan walked through the crowded craft show, still not sure how they’d talked him in to attending. Freddy seemed to touch everything in the small booths set up from one end of the convention center to the other. With over a hundred vendors selling homemade wares and holiday crafts, it was like a Martha Stewart nightmare.

“You seem to be having fun.” He frowned at Harper, who was currently stuffing his face full of candied almonds.

“Man, I love these things.” He held one out to Dylan.

Dylan sighed and took the thing, not wanting to admit it did taste good. “Though I hate to assign gender roles, a craft show isn’t something I would have imagined you’d enjoy.”

Harper grinned. “I love when you get all shrinky.”

“I know you’re saying that to annoy me.”

“Yup.”

Dylan punched him in the arm.

“Ow.”

“So why are we here again?” He saw Freddy squeal over a long knit scarf and groaned. The woman had eclectic tastes, but that aquamarine would bring out the blue in her eyes.

“Because we want to spend more time with Freddy, and we both need to get some Christmas shopping done before everything in this friggin’ town is gone.” Harper looked to Freddy’s right. “Oh hey. My mom would like that.”

He left to fiddle with a Pashmina that Dylan conceded would look very nice on his own mother’s shoulders. With a groan over the fact that he’d been roped into shopping at a piddling craft show by Freddy and Harper, he reluctantly purchased the thing’s twin. Then he bought some earrings for Hailey and Sydney, a hand-carved wooden game for Gage, and a Green Bay Packers ornament for Derrick.

An hour and a half later, they sat at one of the tables eating panini and drinking eggnog. An odd combination, but he’d fallen into the holiday spirit against his will. He stared at Harper’s and Freddy’s grinning faces, knowing he had it coming. “What?”

Freddy blinked innocently. “I’m just happy to see a bigger sucker than me at these things. I can’t believe you bought more than me.”

“Me too,” Harper had to add. “I mean, I know you’ve got two brothers and your mom, but that’s a lot of presents, Dylan.”

“So what? You wanted me to get into the spirit. Well, I’m here.”

Freddy gripped his hand under the table. “Don’t worry, Doc. I think you’re too adorable for words.”

He glared at Harper. “Great, now you’ve got her calling me ‘Doc’ too.” He squeezed her hand, missing it when she let go.

Harper shrugged and finished his sandwich. “You going to eat that?”

The guy consumed enough for three people. Then again, with all the energy they’d expended the night before, he’d earned it.

“What’s that smirk for?” Harper asked, suspicious.

“Nothing. Here, have it. You earned it.”

“Boy, did he.” Freddy fanned herself, and her blond bangs waved over her face. She hadn’t spiked her hair after the shower they’d all shared that morning, and the flutter of that silky bob softened her face.

He and she smiled at Harper, who colored.

“Did you see that, Doc?” She smirked. “Studly blushed.”

“Keep it up and I’ll start calling you ‘Smurfette’. You got that?” Harper growled.

Dylan laughed, unable to keep his joy to himself. God, he’d had the best time today. Most likely still riding an endorphin rush from last night and earlier that morning. A holdover from the incredible pleasure he’d experienced. But he didn’t want to let it go, and he was loath to verbally label this new dynamic. So he smiled and asked what he’d been thinking since they’d left the club earlier that morning. “What’s next?”

More shopping, some decorations they had to deliver to Freddy’s brother’s house while he was out of town, and an evening of wine and dinner at Dylan’s place. He felt pride in showing off his condo, as well as a need to see his new lovers in his home. To his satisfaction, Harper and Freddy looked good sitting on his furniture, at his table, in his kitchen.

Harper could barely boil water, but Freddy was an accomplished cook. So while she and Dylan worked together on dinner, Harper set the table and cleaned up after they ate.

Their unusual unit worked perfectly. Until they had to leave.

Monday had come knocking on Sunday’s door, and they all had work the next day. Freddy apparently did more than bartend. She was part owner in the club and did a lot of behind-the-scenes administration that demanded her constant presence there. Harper had more projects—as well as Natalie—to satisfy, and Dylan had patients to see starting at eight in the morning.

“Hey, Doc, so what’s next?” Harper asked as they all stood by the door. “For the record, we’re now an item.”

Freddy blinked up at him. “That’s nice.”

She didn’t seem pleased, though. Before Dylan could say anything, Harper took her chin in his huge hand. “By we, Smurfette, I mean the three of us. No sex outside of our little threesome.”

Her breathy “oh” explained a lot. As did her joyous grin. “Sounds good to me.”

“Doc?” Harper asked.

The pair looked at him, and he could no more deny them than he could deny breathing. “Yeah yeah. Okay. No sex except with you two,” he grumbled but couldn’t help smiling.

Harper’s eyes narrowed, but he nodded. The big lug had caught what Dylan couldn’t bring himself to say. A threesome in theory was a lovely thing. In bed, in practice, it was a dream come true. But a public life of polyamory was not only unaccepted in most social circumstances, but difficult, not to mention it was illegal to marry more than one person at a time. Though why Dylan would leap so far ahead of himself he didn’t know.

Or did he? As he said goodbye to his new lovers with kisses and hugs, and shut the door behind them, he conceded that today had been better than any date he’d ever had. He’d had fun. Real enjoyment doing something he normally would never have done. He’d attended a craft show, for God’s sake. And he’d bought handmade presents.

He didn’t try to stifle a sigh as he locked up then made his way into his bedroom. After plugging his phone into its charger, he undressed and put on his pajamas, a striped designer silk that usually relaxed him. Except, as he shifted in the soft clothing, he remembered hands and lips over his body, and he grew aroused. A quick trip to the bathroom and cold water to his face didn’t help any.

Damn it all, he missed Harper and Freddy. Not just Harper. Not just Freddy. But the pair of them, together. With him.

Loneliness descended as he lay in bed. Sleep refused to come.

Then the phone buzzed. He glanced at the clock. It hadn’t even hit ten o’clock on a Sunday night and Dr. Warren lay in bed feeling sorry for himself. How pathetic. He reached for his phone to see if perhaps one of his patients had called to cancel an appointment for tomorrow. God willing, it would be his eight o’clock.

But the text he read made him smile. Relief filled him and he found himself wondering what he’d bring to Harper’s house for dinner tomorrow night. The wine Freddy liked, or the beer Harper preferred?

By the end of the week, Dylan figured he and his new lovers had spent just about every free, waking moment together. A difficult but not impossible thing, considering their schedules. Dinner at Harper’s, then Freddy’s home. Lunch together with Harper or Freddy when they could manage it. Sometimes he met with them both, and at other times separately. But though they never said it out loud, he thought they all preferred to be together.

It was odd, how connected he felt to the pair of them, and he constantly wondered if he somehow thought to compensate for his mother’s new relationship. Was he clinging to Harper and Freddy because he missed having his mother to himself? But he liked being with both of them. Not one or the other. Why then had he deliberately not spoken of his new relationship to Derrick or Gage when he’d seen them on Wednesday?

He frowned as he straightened up his office. Linda Barry often liked to lie down on his couch for her sessions, though most of his clients preferred to sit across from him at his desk and talk. Personally he thought it suited Linda’s propensity for drama, as she often felt the need to weep and insisted he use a notebook to record all of her “childhood trauma”, which mostly boiled down to jealousy over her sister’s new husband.

Just as he’d finished returning his office to the pristine condition it had been in before Linda’s visit, the phone buzzed.

He pressed a button. “Yes?”

The secretary answered. “Dr. Warren, there’s a Dr. Kincaid here to see you. He’s not on the schedule, but your next appointment isn’t until six.”

Dylan checked the time and inwardly groaned. He had two hours to kill. “That’s fine, Melissa. Send him in, please.”

James entered a few moments later and looked around. “Nice. I’ve been in here before, but it’s been a while.” He grinned. “If you worked in our space, your office would be even bigger. And you could paint it if you wanted.”

Dylan shook his head. “Subtle.” He waved to a chair across from the desk. “Have a seat.”

“Thanks.” James sat and stared at him. He didn’t speak.

Dylan refused to play mind games. He only had a few more hours before he’d agreed to meet his friends at the club. Freddy had some time off and she’d wanted to try something new with them. He couldn’t wait.

Caging the smile wanting to burst, he raised a brow at his mother’s boyfriend. He’d been working on not reacting to the man’s new title and what it might or might not represent. He had only to accept that James was indeed Barbara’s significant other. Easier said than done.

He cleared his throat. “James?”

“You seem different. More relaxed. That’s good.” James steepled his fingers under his chin as he studied Dylan.

Normally this would have irritated Dylan to no end. Now he only wanted to get James out of his office so he could prepare for his next patient. The last one of the day. “I’m sure you’re not here to analyze me. You want to know my answer about the business?”

“Yes and no.”

“I’d like to partner with you and Mom. I’ll have a few terms I’d like you to accept, but nothing major. And I’ll need some time to give notice here, maybe start in the spring?”

“That would be fine. I know your mother is beyond thrilled to have you join us.”

“And you?” Just how did James feel about him? Maybe Barbara had forced the decision on him.

“I’m more than happy to have you with us. But it would be easier for us all if you’d come clean about how you’re really feeling.” A pause. “About your mom and me, I mean.”

“Do we really need to have this discussion right now?” Dylan made a show of checking his watch. “I have a patient coming in, and I need to review his folder.”

“I think this is something you’ve been avoiding. For good reason, but it’s causing your mother distress.”

Dylan frowned. “‘For good reason’? Don’t try to psychoanalyze me, James. Just say what you want to say.” And get out went unsaid. Not the healthiest relationship to have with his new business partner, but Dylan had enough on his plate. He was really looking forward to later tonight. He didn’t want James to ruin it.

“Let’s be frank. I’ve been in love with your mother for years, but she never got over your father. I understand that. Hell, I loved him like a brother. Andrew was a special man.”

A lump grew in Dylan’s throat. He remembered his father, a man in the prime of his life. He’d always made Barbara laugh, even after she’d scolded him for leaving his shoes out or not putting his dirty clothes away. And he always had time for his sons, even the one who didn’t fit into what society wanted of him. “Yes, he was special. But he’s gone.”

“He’s dead, yes, but never gone.” James looked him in the eye. “I love your mother, Dylan. That’s the God’s honest truth. And she loves me. It’s hurting her that you’re avoiding the issue.”

“And what issue is that?” Dylan answered coldly. “You and my mother are dating. She’s a grown woman who doesn’t answer to her sons.”

“Yes. Her sons. Gage and Derrick are happy for us. They’ve expressed their pleasure with the situation, to the extent they gave us their blessing.” His eyes narrowed. “But you haven’t talked to your mother in a week and a half. This from the man who eats with her on Saturday mornings and makes it a habit to call and leave messages just to say hello?”

“I’m not tied to my mother’s apron strings, James. She’s got you now, so she doesn’t need me interfering in her life.” She doesn’t need me anymore.

James’s expression softened. “She misses you. Sure, she and I bounce ideas off each other at work and spend our evenings together, but you have a way of cutting through her bullshit. Say what you like, but she’s a lot like you. The woman has control issues.”

Dylan snorted. “Please. I’ve heard and seen you in action for years. You and she were made for each other.” Realizing what he’d said, he amended, “At work, you two fit. In a personal context, that’s not for me to say.”

“Oh?” James asked softly. “Why don’t you just admit how you feel? You don’t like us dating.”

“Dating? Is that what you call it?”

“I’d marry her tomorrow if she’d let me,” James said bluntly.

Dylan felt as if he’d been dealt a heavy blow. “Marriage?”

“Yes. That’s what two people who love each other often aspire to.” James stood. “I know I’ll never be your father. I don’t want to be. No one could ever take the place of Andrew Warren. But you and I have been friends for a long time, Dylan. I don’t understand why you can’t at least talk to me about how you feel.”

Dylan feared he’d say something he couldn’t take back, that he’d ruin his relationship with his mother, such as it was, and he wasn’t even sure what he felt. “James, all I want is my mother’s happiness.”

“Really? Then talk to her.” James shook his head. “I realize that no amount of time can ever totally erase the hurt of losing a loved one. But life goes on. Your brothers have found love. So has your mother. And maybe it’s time you did too. Maybe that would make this easier to handle.”

“What? That I go out and get laid so it’ll be okay for you to bang my mother?” Oh hell. That anger. That’s what he’d been worried about losing—his temper.

James blinked at him in shock. But Barbara’s voice was loud and clear when she answered from the doorway, “I cannot believe you’d say that to James.”

He groaned. Typical. His brothers cursed a blue streak, but she only ever heard Dylan swearing. The woman always managed to catch him with his foot in his mouth. But this time, she’d really nailed him. “Oh—hello, Mom.”

She crossed the room to stand next to James, her eyes frigid. “Do you really think all James and I have between us is sex?”

He inwardly cringed. He’d never admit it to his brothers, because he was a therapist after all, but hearing his mother mention s-e-x with James in the room made him nauseous. “I couldn’t say.” He sounded stiff, even to his own ears.

“James and I are in love. I’m sorry if that bothers you to hear.” She had tears in her eyes but never let a drop fall. “It’s been nearly eleven years without your father in my life. And I’ve missed him every single day.”

“Mom, I know.” God, if she cried, he’d lose it. “I want you to be happy.”

“No, I don’t think you do,” she said softly. “I’ve dated men since your father died. But no one stuck. James waited, and he supported me in ways I wasn’t aware of then.” She turned to smile at him. “Ways I’m only beginning to understand now. We love each other.” She turned back to Dylan. “I need to know. Do you accept us being together or not? It won’t make a difference to how I feel about him, but it will affect how you and I deal with one another. Son, I love you, but I won’t let you run my life.”

So, she’d choose her new lover over her son. Dylan clenched his jaw, trying to ignore the pain. He’d known this day would come, when his mother would no longer need him and break away. And though it had been long in coming, and he thought he’d reached the age where he could put aside petty needs of his own and support her wholeheartedly, he still couldn’t handle his feelings on the matter.

So he lied. “I only want what’s best for you, Mom. Of course, this feels sudden to me, and it’s hard to accept only because it feels so new. But I’m happy for you and James.” He included them both in the untruth. “It’s your life, after all. I’m a grown man. I can handle you being married to someone else. Dad passed years ago. He’d want you to be happy.” They were all the right words he should have said when she had first admitted her relationship with James. He wanted to mean it, every word, but a small part of himself—the hurt little boy deep inside—felt as if she’d chosen James over him.

It made little sense. The therapist inside him knew that. Yet he still couldn’t come to grips with his mother moving on and leaving him behind. Fuck. Gage had done it. Even his twin had started to pull away, spending all his time with Sydney and not Dylan. The family rarely had Saturday breakfasts at their mother’s anymore, and if they did, his brothers’ women inevitably showed. Dylan loved them, but things were so different now.

Barbara’s smile nearly undid him. “Oh, honey. I knew you just needed time to adapt. You’re not the best when it comes to dealing with change.”

An understatement, which made it so odd that he’d handled being with Harper and Freddy with ease.

She continued, “I’m so glad you said that. You don’t know how important it is that we have your approval.”

He shrugged and forced himself to sound nonchalant. “You’re a grown woman. Of course you should date whomever you see fit.”

James frowned, but Barbara smiled. “We’re talking about more than dating. Marriage, Dylan. I’ve wasted so many years already.”

“No, Barb. Not wasted. You had to give it time.” James stood and put an arm around her shoulder. He kissed her on the cheek, then turned to Dylan. “We haven’t told the others yet. We wanted you to be the first to know.”

“Marriage?” Dylan repeated like a parrot. James had mentioned it before, but his mother had confirmed it. The hurt he was experiencing became a numbness in his heart.

“Yes.” His mother nodded. “James and I want to travel, to do and see all the things we’ve wanted but never made the time to experience. If there’s anything I’ve taught you, Dylan, it’s to make the most of what you have, because you never know when it might be gone.”

Marriage. He cleared his throat. “I’m happy for you then. Congratulations.” He rounded the desk to hug his mother and shake James’s hand, not liking the man’s intense scrutiny.

He didn’t let go of the handshake until James did.

When James pulled back, he released a weary sigh. “I was worried, I’ll admit. I know how close you and your mother are. But our marriage won’t change that, Dylan.” James slapped him on the back. “I mean, hell. We’ve already been together for years at the office. Just not as a couple. Right, Barb?”

She kissed him on the cheek. “Right. Now, Dylan, I don’t want you avoiding us anymore. We’ll see you tomorrow morning for breakfast. Maybe you’ll bring a date?” she prodded.

“Maybe,” he said absently, trying to make sense of this new reality.

“Oh good.” Barbara leaned forward to buss his cheek. “Derrick said he’s going to ask Sydney to marry him on Christmas Eve. I think he’s planning a June wedding. And with Gage’s wedding in another two months, James and I need to figure out when to plan our own nuptials. We don’t want to get in the way of the boys.”

“Derrick too, huh?” Derrick, Gage, his mother. All of them. Gone.

“We’d like you to be involved,” Barbara said. “James was wondering if—”

James interrupted, “We’ve hit you with a lot today. And you have a patient coming soon. We’ll talk more later. Breakfast tomorrow, right, Dylan?”

“Right. Sure.” Dylan’s jaw hurt from so much smiling. “I’ll see you two lovebirds then.”

Barbara laughed. “That’s my boy.”

James tugged her by the hand, waved, and left with her, shutting the door behind them.

Dylan sank into his chair. He wished to hell he could talk to his mother about his strange feelings. Or better yet, confer with James. But what he might have done in the past didn’t make sense now, in this new Barbara-James stage of his life. His brothers wouldn’t understand his resentments. Hell, he wasn’t sure why he had them.

Derrick thought Dylan was being an ass, but he hadn’t yet mentioned that to Gage. If he had, the little snot would have been by to bug the crap out of him. Since Gage and Hailey were so lovey-dovey all the time, the pair liked to think of themselves as amateur cupids. Hell, they’d even talked about setting up Hailey’s single friends.

He rubbed his temples and wondered what Freddy might say about all this. Women normally had better intuition and sense when it came to relationships. Then again, Harper had a pretty tight relationship with his own family. Maybe he could help Dylan resolve his issues about his mother.

It was enough to make a grown therapist want to lie down on his own couch.

While Harper and Freddy waited for Dylan to arrive, they sat together, talking in the dungeon Freddy had specifically chosen for their play tonight.

Damn if Harper didn’t like her better every time they met. Stupid guy that he was, he couldn’t keep his mouth shut about it either. “I really like you, Freddy.”

She sat on the large bed next to him and gripped his hand. “I like you too.”

“No. I mean, I really like you.” He paused and took a chance. “I think I’m falling in love with you.”

She just stared at him.

He sighed. Always acting too soon, he knew. But hell, he had little patience. “I’ve had a thing for you for months.”

“So you’ve said.” She sounded subdued.

“But it was more than that I liked the look of you. You’re sexy, smart and funny. You make me laugh. I wanted to ask you out long before, but the timing just sucked. I got busy or you weren’t around. And then we finally got together, and it was more than I’d hoped it would be.” Harper brought her hand to his lips. “I want to be with you all the time. You and me…and Dylan.”

She blew out a breath. “Oh, Harper.”

Here it comes. The “It’s not you, it’s me” speech. All the reasons why we can’t be together.

“I feel the same about you and Dylan.”

“You do?”

She grinned. “Don’t look so stunned. Geez, why wouldn’t I like you two? You, Harper Reynolds, are one of the most popular guys at the club. Everyone wants to do you.”

“You’re so sweet,” he drawled, loving the way she flushed. Jesus, she wanted him too. He wanted to jump up and down with joy.

“I wanted you the minute I saw you. You’re sexy, handsome and a nice guy who’s not so nice in bed. I like you. You’re fun, and you’re not judgmental.” She swallowed hard. “I like sex with two men at the same time. I’ve had a steady relationship with more than one guy before. I’ve had sex with a woman. I’ve also done a lot of kinky things, and I want to do more.”

“Did I say I think I’m falling in love? No. I’m definitely in love.” He kissed her until they both panted for breath.

“Oh wow. I love when you get so hard for me.” She reached down and grabbed him through his jeans, and he hissed with pleasure. “But there’s so much more to how I feel about you than loving the killer sex. You found Dylan, and he’s a part of this. We fit. I can’t explain it. But I feel it. And it scares the shit out of me.”

He laughed. “Me too. Does that make me less of a man to admit that?”

She cupped his cheek, and a wave of tenderness filled him. “No. It makes you human.” She rubbed her hand over his chin. “My last boyfriend and I parted as friends. He bored me. The guys before him were too selfish, and we had problems making it work. Mike wanted Tim, but Tim wanted me. And then they both wanted me to choose one over the other all the time. It was crazy, and I couldn’t take it. So I ended that too.”

“My last girlfriend complained I was too pushy in bed. Apparently she only liked me to be rough with her girlfriend in the room, watching.”

“Oh, your own odd threesome.” She winked. “How adventurous.” And that was part of what he loved about Freddy. She accepted him, even encouraged him to share.

“Yeah. And the guys I palled around with after her were casual. I was horny, and they came through. But I always used a condom. Always.” He cleared his throat. “With you and Dylan, I just want to come inside you, bareback. I want that trust, all that pleasure. But I’m worried.”

“Why?”

“You and I are a lot alike. Dylan’s not. He’s more reserved.”

“I noticed that. He’s new to the lifestyle.” She frowned.

“I’m not sure he realizes it’s a lifestyle. He’s a pretty well-known doctor. What if this hurts his career? What if his family wigs out?” He frowned at her. “Will yours?”

She shrugged. “My dad is a jerk who wouldn’t accept me if I were the first female president. My mom and brother just want me to be happy. They met Mike and Tim. I admit my brother was shaken, but he didn’t make them feel unwelcome. And they know I work at a kinky club. They don’t care.”

“Nice. My parents are okay with it. I mean, the bi part of my life. I never thought about a permanent threesome. I know this seems sudden. But I just…know.”

She stared at him. “Really? I mean, I feel the same way. But will Dylan?”

“I hope to hell he does. Thing is, with our doc, we need to lead him gently. We can’t ask him, because he’ll think it to death. We have to lure him in and just keep him. So he has no choice.”

Her frown turned into a smile. “Slick. I like it. We seduce him, we love him. Then we keep him. Think we can do it?”

“Honey, between your pussy and my cock, how can we lose?”

She died laughing. “God, you’re hopeless. I was hoping you’d say something about my adorable eyes or loveable nature. That between the two of us and our strong wills, we’d have him eating out of the palms of our hands.”

“That works too. But Dylan’s a guy. Sex works wonders. Trust me.”

She kissed him again. “I do. But promise me we’ll take things slow. Dylan’s going to need to work up to our level.”

“I know.” He sighed. “I’m ready for forever right now, but our doc will need some gentling first.”

“That and a few orgasms. I think he needs to lose some of that control, don’t you?”

He grinned. “Now you’re talking.”

When Tony told Dylan where to go, he thought he’d been mistaken. Freddy wanted him to meet her in the dungeon downstairs? Admittedly curious, he jogged down the stairs, needing—no, desperate—to forget about his turbulent emotions and make love to his partners again.

Partners. With an S. He wondered how his family would feel if he showed up in the morning with both Harper and Freddy and announced that he planned to live the rest of his life as a prominent member in a threesome.

Then again, knowing his mother’s tolerance for any and all things different, she’d probably cheer him on with glowing pompoms while his brothers thanked him for giving them more fodder to fuck with him for the rest of his life.

He sighed. Not that he’d throw Harper and Freddy under the bus to get back at his mother, but the idea held appeal. It still bothered him that Barbara and James really did suit, which made his attitude about the whole matter even more wrong and juvenile.

He grimaced and knocked on the door.

“Enter.”

He felt better just hearing Freddy’s cheery voice. Opening the door, he entered a dimly lit room. Before he could get his bearings, he found himself hugged from behind, Harper’s scent enveloping him.

The click of the door closing and locking behind him sounded overloud in the otherwise silent room.

“You’re late,” Freddy said. But this Freddy wasn’t the same woman he’d fucked just yesterday. The petite bombshell had been replaced by a siren wearing black patent-leather, thigh-high boots, a corset exposing her pussy and breasts, and dark black makeup that gave her a goth-gone-sexy look. All of it gave him the hard-on from hell. Just like the one mashed against his ass.

“She’s Mistress tonight,” Harper murmured in his ear and nipped it. “And I’m Master, or Sir. Got it?”

“Oh shit. You two want to play.” Dylan started laughing, needing the relief the fantasy would give. “Why the hell not?”

Harper sighed. “Discipline is coming your way, boy.” He stripped Dylan out of his clothes while ordering him to keep his gaze fixed on Freddy—Mistress. And fixate he did. God, her tits were so firm—not large, but plump enough that he couldn’t wait to get his mouth over her rosy nipples. He wanted to cup her breasts and feast, to forget his troubles as he indulged in the sexy woman who wanted him. Because she did, and her lust and affection, no matter how light it might be, mattered.

They had so much in common. Despite his more conservative attire and her tattoos and piercing, they liked much of the same things. They hated country music, liked art and the theater, and especially liked watching Harper get off. He’d actually met her brother at the annual Halloween party thrown downtown, and he liked the guy.

Dylan didn’t mind her working at the club, because he believed her when she said she’d taken a chance on him and Harper. She really didn’t fuck around where she worked, and he could more than appreciate that. To say Harper had a thing for her was stating the obvious. But acknowledging he felt the same fascination—and, dare he say, affection—surprised him.

Harper finished stripping him naked with minimal fuss and turned Dylan around.

“Jesus.” Dylan stared at his lover’s chiseled perfection. Harper wore nothing but a pair of black leather chaps, exposing his flushed erection and that incredible set of abs.

Harper led him to a set of chains dangling from the ceiling in the corner of the room. On closer inspection, he saw chains on the floor as well. And his stiff dick grew even harder.

Harper reached around to grip him, and Dylan moaned and sagged against him.

“That’s good, boy. You’re hard. But you’re not there yet.” He dragged Dylan to the chains, and Dylan found it hard to breathe.

He, Harper and Freddy had talked about bondage, a kink he’d always wanted to try. They seemed to like it well enough. After a detailed and lengthy discussion with the pair, he’d assumed they’d one day experiment together. But to know this would be the night… His excitement made it hard to do anything but breathe.

Harper took advantage of his bemusement and proceeded to cuff him by the wrists and ankles while Freddy watched. Then Harper adjusted the slack, so that Dylan stood like a human X, his arms taut but not too tight.

“Move your hands and legs. Try to wiggle free,” Freddy ordered.

He did so and got slapped on the ass for it. “Shit.” He glared at Harper over his shoulder.

“You’re given an order, first you answer, ‘Yes, Mistress’ or ‘Yes, Sir’. Got it?”

“Yes, Sir.” Dylan clenched his ass, trying to ward off the sting, while at the same time embracing it. Oh hell, he liked it. He’d found his secret kink.

“Well?” Freddy frowned at him, and he wanted to kiss her. She was hot.

Another slap across his other buttock.

Fuck. “Yes, Mistress.” He pulled at the chains and found he couldn’t move. Damn if he wasn’t totally turned on. His feet were spread wide, his arms as well. He was helpless, at the mercy of two masters dressed in Dom gear. Man, he wanted to photograph this moment and never forget it. “Shouldn’t I have a safe word?”

“How about shrink?” Harper answered with a laugh.

“Dick.” He was loving this.

“I think our boy needs some instruction, Mistress.” Harper stroked his ass with a calloused hand. “I remember what you told us before, boy.” Harper turned to Freddy. “Perhaps the crop, Mistress?”

She nodded. “I agree.” She bent over to rummage in the chest at the foot of the bed, and Dylan groaned. She wasn’t wearing anything covering her ass, and he stared at her lovely cheeks, no doubt pushed back at him to taunt him.

“Ah, I found it.” She stood with what looked like a riding crop in her hand. Then she crossed to him and stroked the felt tip over his cock.

It felt like soft fingers trailing over his shaft, and he tried to increase the friction by arching into it.

She ran it over him, under him, and across his sac, and he swore as she flicked the soft fabric tip over his belly. God, he wanted to come. He needed it.

“I think our boy needs to be filled, Master Harper.”

“Yes, Mistress,” Dylan agreed readily.

She lightly slapped the crop over his dick and he nearly spilled. “I was talking to your master.”

“Yes, Mistress,” he said on a groan.

And then Harper was there, prodding his ass cheeks apart and slicking a good bit of lube over him. In him.

“Please, Harper. Master Harper,” he hurried to correct himself. “God, I need you.” You, not this. A slip of the tongue? No, just the truth.

Harper didn’t answer, but he did push something thick inside Dylan’s ass. He gripped Dylan’s waist and grunted as he continued to wedge a thick cock inside Dylan’s passage. At their angle, it was uncomfortable, and yet it felt amazing with Freddy watching and stroking Dylan’s dick with that crop.

He panted with desire as Harper filled him up and then started fucking him in earnest.

“He’s full. Needing to release, hmm, boy?” Freddy asked, her voice husky and her eyes bright with desire as she watched him.

“Yes, Mistress. God, I fucking need you,” he moaned and closed his eyes.

She smacked his cock and he swore. “Watch me, boy. Don’t close your eyes.”

Harper continued to pound into him, and then Freddy leaned closer and licked Dylan’s belly. He clamped down on Harper, unable to help himself.

Harper groaned. “Do that again.”

Not sure if Harper had spoken to Freddy or himself, Dylan answered, “Yes, Sir,” and clenched him again.

Freddy continued to lick, and she moved down. And down. Until her clever tongue slid over his cock and she took him inside her mouth.

“Please, Mistress. Fuck, I’m going to come. Oh yeah.” He swore if she hadn’t ordered him to watch her, his eyes would have rolled up into his head. He tugged on the chains at his wrists and ankles, but he couldn’t move, and that powerlessness aroused him unbearably.

He was at their mercy. Their hungry, carnal mercy.

She pulled away from him and nuzzled his groin, rubbing her cheek against him. “Shall I suck you some more, boy? Shall I let you come down my throat?”

Harper’s hands gripped his waist hard enough to bruise, and he stopped thrusting. “Answer her.”

“Yes, Mistress. Yes, Sir. Let me come, please.”

“That was pretty, boy. Or should I say, slave?” Freddy put her mouth around his cock before he could answer, and he jerked forward just as Harper pushed him.

Before Dylan could breathe, a huge rush of ecstasy tore through him, and he cried out as he came down her throat.

Harper continued to pump furiously while Dylan’s orgasm owned him.

And then Harper jerked and swore and left a mess inside Dylan, one that started trickling out his ass and down his thigh as Harper thrust in and out again. No condom.

Dylan clenched harder and moaned, “Yes, inside me. Oh God.”

Harper grunted and finally withdrew. He left, only to return to join Freddy in front of Dylan. He had a rag and was cleaning his dick, that big, naked stalk of flesh still half-hard and pearling at the tip. Pushing Freddy to her hands and knees, he knelt behind her and donned a condom.

“She’s mine,” Harper growled, and with a slow, deliberate pace, he slid inside her. “Watch as I fuck her pussy. She’s all mine, boy.” He worked Freddy over while she touched herself, and Dylan watched them without blinking, thoroughly turned on as his lovers fucked while wearing those sexy getups. His own personal fantasy played out in front of him.

When Harper came again, Freddy came with him. Both cried out and shook, and Dylan wanted nothing more than to join them, hard once more.

They left to clean up and returned still in costume. They smiled and laughed with one another, but when they rejoined him, they no longer looked amused.

“You need discipline, boy, don’t you think?” Harper asked.

“Yes, Sir.”

“And you need us to instill it, don’t you?” Freddy asked softly.

Not just anyone could make him feel this way. Even if he’d been sexually starved enough to consider letting someone else chain him up, he’d have balked at that “yes Sir, no Sir” crap. Dylan didn’t kowtow to anyone. At least, no one apart from Harper and Freddy. With these two, Dylan’s heart filled and stayed full.

“Yeah, I do. I need you. Both of you.” More than he could say.

Freddy must have seen what she needed to, because she nodded to Harper, and he released Dylan from his chains.

Then they led Dylan to the bed.

“Ah, don’t I get to clean up?” he asked, aware of Harper’s seed dripping down his legs. He should have felt alarmed or even messy, but instead he felt claimed. A sense of belonging to these two special people, at a confusing time in his life when nothing else seemed to make sense.

“No,” Harper and Freddy answered at the same time and nudged him toward the bed. He fell into it gratefully and waited for them to join him. Harper leaned over him, looked him over, then nodded. Freddy did the same. Then they crept into bed with him and started petting him.

To his surprise, his lids grew heavy, and the drain of the day took its toll. “I’m not a damn dog.”

Freddy laughed. “No, you’re not, are you? Though I wouldn’t mind you in a collar.”

Harper groaned. “Oh man. I was just starting to settle down. You’ve got me hard again. The doc in a collar. A dream come true.”

Dylan grinned and closed his eyes, comforted and at peace.

Some time later, he felt pure pleasure between his legs. A firm mouth sucked him deep, and he knew Harper sat between his legs and pleasured him. Freddy ran kisses over his face and settled on his mouth. And while Harper took him to new heights of desire, Freddy eased the lonely hollow in his chest, caressing and caring without words.

He moaned his climax and soon after drifted into sleep again, aware of warm bodies caging him once more.

Freddy sighed and stared down at the men she’d come to love, impossible as it was to believe. Harper was everything she’d once thought and more. Giving, caring, arousing. Watching him take Dylan had been an experience in pleasure. He was so selfless, so thoughtful.

He held Dylan tight, as if, like her, he feared losing their doc, as she now thought of him. Dylan had seemed tense when he’d entered the room, as if the weight of the world sat on his shoulders. She knew he came from a tight-knit family, and that lately he’d been having some problems with them. But that was all he’d say, and like Harper, she understood some of what he must be going through.

When Brian had moved away years ago, she’d been devastated. He was her best friend, her confidant. And the one person who truly knew what emotional hell her father had put her through growing up. Their mother still, unfathomably, loved the judge. Why? Freddy and Brian couldn’t say. Oh, their father was handsome, but he was so cold. So bitter and domineering. An asshole of the first order, a man more in to himself and his social status than his family.

With Brian Senior, appearances always came first. No doubt he’d love Dylan and despise Harper. Dylan had class, money, looks and an academic mindset. Harper worked with his hands in a blue-collar world. No matter that he had a college degree and had risen swiftly through the ranks to become the city planner’s right-hand man. Or that he’d owned and sold his own construction companies not once, but twice, and made a tidy profit both times. All Brian Senior would see was what the public noted. And God forbid anyone realize Freddy loved two men.

She still couldn’t get over that. In love with Harper, she could see. She’d known him for a long time, and the sex between them put everything into perspective. He didn’t judge. He knew about her and liked what he knew. No, loved what he knew. With Dylan, however, she was taking a huge chance.

He was new to the world of the misunderstood. Although him being open about his bisexuality gave her high hopes, having more than one partner was still a big deal. Not many would accept it. Hell, could he accept it? She still worried that he considered her a plaything. With Harper he seemed to have started a real relationship. Although they all got on so well together, she knew tough times remained ahead. But how to deal with them when Dylan still hadn’t opened up about how he felt?

And why should he? The rational side of her mind cautioned that she and Harper had moved too fast, too soon. They barely knew Dylan. But they did know him. His wants and dreams, how he loved his family. He hated to lose at anything, so allowing them the ability to control him tonight had been a big deal.

The next step in hers and Harper’s courtship would be to introduce him to their families. But wasn’t that rushing it? For that matter, would Dylan ever show them off to his family? And what about the problems he was having with his mother? Would he tell her about them? Harper had mentioned Dylan was going through some stuff, but Dylan hadn’t said boo about it.

She sighed and stared at the bedside clock, wishing she could get to sleep.

It seemed as though her wish had come true just as Dylan shook her awake.

“Hmm?”

He kissed her, then kissed Harper. “I have to go. Family crap. But I’ll be back soon. I’ll call you.” He left before she could think to detain him.

She tried to dodge the hands reaching for her and instead was mashed against a strong chest. “Harper?” Oh man, morning breath. She closed her mouth.

“Don’t move,” Harper murmured in a drowsy voice. “Yeah, just spread wide.” He moved her completely on top of him and angled her over his thick cock, then pulled her down.

Dewy soft, she accepted him all the way in. The slow, steady coupling increased in pace as Harper rocked her hips over him. She sat up and looked down at deep, dark eyes filled with love.

“That’s it, baby. Ride me. Oh yeah. Just like that.” He continued to glide in and out as she moved, until she slammed herself over him, needing more. His thumb found her clit, and he rubbed her into an explosive orgasm, joining her soon after.

When she caught her breath again, it was to the realization that he’d come in her without a condom for the first time.

“Fuck. Your pussy is golden.” He groaned and shifted, and she still felt him thick and full inside her. “Oh damn. I’m sorry, baby. I came in you, didn’t I?”

She just stared at him. “You don’t sound sorry.”

His naughty grin warmed her. “I’m not. Not at all. I like being inside you without barriers.”

“Me too.”

“But I should have asked.” He paused. “Any chance I just made a little Harper?”

She swore he sounded hopeful. “Sorry, no. I’m on birth control.”

“Too bad. I’ll have to try harder next time. I know I can get through if I fuck you hard enough.”

She snickered and leaned over him, listening to his racing heart. The thought of having a baby with Harper or Dylan gave her warm fuzzies, another sign she knew she had it bad for both men. Then she said what he hadn’t. “He left us.”

“To go to his family.” Harper blew out a breath and stroked her hair. “Remember. He’s new to this. We have to take it slow.”

“I hate slow.”

“Slow sucks.”

“Sucks ass.”

He paused. “I wish you’d suck ass.”

She pulled one of his chest hairs and grinned at his wince. “Back at ya.” Except her joke had her flat on her back in no time. She shrieked. “I didn’t mean now, you Neanderthal.”

He laughed. “Well, you should have said so.” He pushed a lock of her hair from her eyes. “How about we get cleaned up and go back to my place? You can cook me something. I’m starving.”

“Men,” she grumbled, feeling better about life, even if it felt like Dylan had deserted them. “When will you people learn to cook for yourselves?”

They showered, cleaned up the place and left the dungeon behind. The weather had turned nice, and though cool, the sunny sky invited love and laughter. A sense that all things were possible if one believed it badly enough.

Freddy promised to cook Harper a great big breakfast of pancakes and bacon, leading the lamb back to the slaughter. Or rather, to her brother’s house to introduce him. The last time they’d been by to drop off decorations, Brian hadn’t been home. He’d be home this morning.

“Oh man. Freddy, you could have warned me.” Harper ran a hand through his sandy hair, and she liked that he looked like he needed a cut and hadn’t shaved. Harper wore mean like a shadow, even if he was a great big teddy bear. So it was no surprise that when she introduced him to Brian, Brian seemed skeptical.

“Seriously? You’re not one of the bouncers at the club, are you?” Brian stood in the doorway of his house and studied the two of them. “The last time she introduced me to her new ‘boyfriend’ he wasn’t real. Just a big dude that smiled a lot and tried to act like he could handle her. I’m still not sure if the Mohawk and piercings were real or just an affectation.”

“Jeff, right?” Harper shook his head. “Freddy. Really.”

“Well, Brian was riding my ass about having a boyfriend, and Jeff owed me money.”

Harper cringed. “That’s even worse. You had to pay him?”

“See what I mean? She’s cute but pathetic. Come on in,” Brian invited.

Freddy grinned. It was a sign Brian might actually like Harper—he’d let him inside.

While Harper bragged about the breakfast Freddy had promised him, Brian made subtle hints about her cooking for him too. Then somehow the two of them started talking about mutual acquaintances, and Freddy made a huge platter of pancakes, bacon and a pot of coffee.

Brian dug into his food with gusto. “The Warrens. Yeah, I know them. Derrick lives down the street. He’s a funny guy. Has a thing going on with the woman who sold me this house. I met Dylan once. Maybe. It’s hard to tell them apart, you know? The younger brother, Gage, is pretty decent too.”

As they made small talk, Freddy soaked up information about Dylan like a sponge, and she thought Harper was as well.

When the men had finished the last bite of pancakes, Brian leaned back and sighed. “That was amazing. Thanks, sis. So, Harper. Tell me, does Dylan know you two are planning to adopt him?”

Harper and Freddy froze.

“Brian, it’s not like that,” she tried, and her brother groaned.

“Oh man. You two have the dopiest expressions on your faces. All those questions about Dylan Warren. I’m not stupid. Now I have to deal with another weird ménage thing involving my little sister. Ew. Please. Shoot me now.”

Harper’s frown turned into a large grin. “You know, I like your brother.” He winked at her. “Too bad he’s not single. Or is he?” he put enough innuendo in is to have her brother reeling and sputtering.

Harper cracked up laughing.

“Oh, relax, Brian. Us pervs don’t have room for more than three people in bed. And you couldn’t pay me to even think about you naked. Ugh.”

“Please. I just ate,” Harper begged and wiped at his eyes. “Brother and sister love has its place, but never in the bedroom. Now, Brian, how about you run down everything you know about the Warrens again. Because your sister and I need to be well prepared to hunt our scared psychiatrist down. Consider it Freddy’s early Christmas present.”

Brian glanced from her to Harper. “So you’re really keeping this one, eh? Why haven’t I heard his name before?”

“Because I don’t tell you everything. I’ve known Harper for a year. Now be nice or I’ll sic him on you. And notice, Harper’s huge.”

“I’ve been told I’m a Neanderthal,” Harper added.

“So I see. Fine. I’ll share what little I know.” Brian paused. “But I could get you more info…for a small trade.”

“What’s that?” she asked.

“A favor for a favor. Just remember, when I call you on it, you have to do it.”

Harper pursed his lips. “I don’t know. As I recall, Dylan got himself in trouble promising that very thing.”

But Freddy wanted Dylan, and she’d use any means necessary, fair or foul. Besides, just what could Brian ask that would be so hard to fulfill? “Done.”

Harper groaned. “Oh man. Somehow I just know you’re going to regret that.”

Chapter Seven

Dylan had showered and dressed in casual slacks and a sweater for this morning’s breakfast. He wondered if he still had that been-fucked-hard look he’d worn while shaving, but he didn’t think so. He’d practiced shaking it off.

Good Christ, he’d let Harper and Freddy tie him up and give him orgasms that had blown his mind. He knew better than to equate lust with love, but he couldn’t stop smiling whenever he pictured a mop of golden hair and blue eyes, or brown eyes and Harper’s firm, wide smile. Warmth filled him from head to toe.

He knocked on the back door of his mother’s house.

“Come in.” Gage’s voice.

He pushed through and saw Derrick and Gage glaring at each other, but no sign of anyone else.

“Where are all the sexy women? James? Mom?”

Derrick shrugged. “Hailey and Sydney had plans with Faith this morning. I don’t know where James is, but Mom just ran out to grab more coffee. I mean, the woman invited us here. Why wouldn’t she be prepared? I’m deeply, deeply hurt.”

“Dumb ass. She’s been busy with James. So she forgot.” Gage turned to Dylan. “I offered to get some, but she wanted to go.”

“Since when are you the good son?” Derrick sneered. “Suck-up.”

“Hey. I’ve been her favorite forever. I’m the youngest, and I didn’t give her nearly the same problems you idiots did growing up. The friggin’ Warren twins had a reputation all through school.” Gage included Dylan in his frown. “A bad one. You made my life hell. I had to be extra good just to get by.”

At that, Dylan joined Derrick at the kitchen island. Strength in numbers. “Gimme a break. Your grades sucked and you had more detentions than both of us combined. If it wasn’t for that golden quarterback’s arm, you might have become the degenerate Mom and Dad feared.”

They both blinked at him in surprise.

“What? You both know it’s true.”

Derrick frowned. “You mentioned Dad. You never talk about him.”

“Never.” Gage nodded. “And on that note, before Mom gets back, you want to tell us what the hell crawled up your ass and died?”

“Excuse me?”

“I hate that superior tone,” Derrick muttered. “Give it up. Gage and I have been talking. We want to know why you don’t like Mom and James together.”

“I do.”

“Liar.” Derrick didn’t bother hiding his disbelief.

Dylan thought, Why the hell not admit it? Derrick knew how he felt in any case. He never could keep the truth from his twin. “Fine. I don’t. I hate the thought of Mom together with James, and I hate myself for feeling that way.”

“But why?” Gage sounded confused. “James is family. He’s a great guy.”

“Except for his taste in football. Dickhead actually hates the Bears.” Derrick sighed. “But yeah, he’s good for Mom. They’re both shrinks—”

“Professionals,” Dylan corrected.

“They like the same things, have the same friends—hell, they deal with your attitude all the time and haven’t moved out of the state. What’s not to like? The guy has money and isn’t a loser. We know he’s not after Mom for any other reason than that he likes her. What gives, moron?”

Barbara waited outside the back door with her grocery bag in one hand, holding her breath. She’d made it a habit to eavesdrop on the boys because it was generally the only way she learned the truth about half the things she wished she’d never known about. Some things she acted on, and she got a kick out of surprising Dylan when he least expected it. Her oldest had a potty mouth on him, one he rarely shared with her.

Even though he’d said he was happy for her and James, neither she nor James had really believed it. But Dylan was stubborn. He wouldn’t talk to her and apparently hadn’t shared with his brothers.

She peered through a crack in the door and saw her handsome sons, so big and strong. So successful. Gage, owner of the construction firm Andrew had started. Derrick, his partner and an amazing architect. And Dylan, the apple of her eye, an amazing psychiatrist with an exceptional ability to help others.

Her son, always giving and rarely taking for himself.

“Fuck if I know, Derrick.” Dylan sighed. “I like James. I respect him. He’s a hell of a therapist, like Mom. He’s intelligent, nice, successful. But it’s like…”

“Like he’s taking Dad’s place?” Gage offered. “Even though Dad’s been gone for a long time, he’s always here, you know? And if James is suddenly in the picture, maybe you’re feeling like Mom’s forgetting him.”

Dylan and Derrick stared at Gage in astonishment. Barbara held a hand over her mouth to stifle her own gasp. Who would have thought the truth would spill from her youngest, normally the least perceptive of the group?

“That was actually insightful.” Dylan blinked. “Oh my God. Did you suddenly develop a brain under all that muscle?”

“I think Hailey cut down on his steroids, so now he’s able to think. That or all the sex he’s been having has enabled him to focus on something other than tits and ass.” Derrick laughed at him.

Gage glared. “Funny, dickhead. You should talk. I swear, we’re lucky you didn’t bend Sydney over the table the last time we met Mom for breakfast. Jesus. Can’t you save it for when you’re home alone?”

“Me? What about—”

“Derrick, can it.” Dylan blew out a breath. “The fact is, Gage might be right. I’ve been trying to deal with my fucked-up emotions. I’m pretty good at this therapy gig, you know.”

“So you say,” Gage said.

“All the time,” Derrick added.

Dylan scowled at them both, and Barbara’s heart raced. He reminded her so much of Andrew right then. “You guys always used to hang with Dad, and I was with Mom. Then Dad died, and you two seemed to adjust easier than Mom and I did.”

Derrick considered him. “That’s true. I remember how quiet you were at the beginning. It took you a while to deal.” Derrick had played a huge part in bringing Dylan back to normalcy.

“Mom was worse,” Dylan admitted. “She used to cry every night. She had bad dreams and lost all that weight. And her hair turned white. She used dye to cover it, but I knew.”

Dylan had never told her that he’d known of her struggles, not in eleven years.

“No shit?” Gage looked stunned.

“The guys she dated were a cover, so she’d appear normal, as if she were getting over him. But none of them mattered, at least, not in those first few years. Mom gave up on a life outside of us,” Dylan said quietly. “And I guess I was a selfish bastard, because I let her. I knew what she was doing, and I never pushed her.”

Oh Dylan.

“Come on, bro. Mom’s Mom.” Derrick shook his head. “She does nothing she doesn’t want to do. Besides, James has been by her side all this time. She never dated him though, did she? Not until now.”

“The bastard waited, bided his time, then pounced.” Gage grinned. “Smart guy.”

“Yeah, well, maybe that’s what’s been so hard.” Dylan seemed to be talking to himself. Reasoning it out. “Mom healed herself. She found love, and she grabbed on to it. And now she doesn’t need me so much anymore.”

“That’s stupid.” Derrick poked Dylan in the chest.

“Ow.”

Gage frowned. “If that hurt, you really should start working out. I mean, that’s Derrick poking you.”

“Shut up, baby.” Derrick flipped him off.

“Asshole.”

“My point,” Derrick emphasized, “is that Mom wants you with her. She asked you to join her firm.”

“Practice,” Dylan corrected.

“Whatever. She trusts you enough to link your names together professionally. And you know how anal retentive she is about work.”

“Amen to that,” Gage said.

“Yes, but that’s a professional decision, not a personal one.”

“Bullshit.”

She wanted to go in there and hug Derrick for saying what she hadn’t—and that was her burden to bear. But, honestly, Dylan kept secrets so close to his chest. She’d never realized he might feel so responsible for her. But she should have known. Oh, and now I’m thinking like my idiot son, taking on guilt for things I couldn’t control.

Derrick continued riding Dylan. “Mom loves you. You’re her favorite.”

“I am not.”

“Yeah, you are,” Gage retorted. “Well, only in certain instances. Like the head-shrink crap.”

“Okay, maybe favorite is the wrong word.” Derrick shrugged. “But you guys have so much in common. You talk all the time on the phone. A grown man and his mother. And you’re not some stupid momma’s boy, I know. You guys actually like each other. I just don’t get why you can’t tell her this.”

“Because I feel stupid. I should have worked through this already.”

“Dude, just because you’re a therapist doesn’t mean you know everything.” Gage snorted. “You really do have a massive ego, don’t you?”

Dylan told Gage to do something anatomically impossible, to which Gage only laughed.

“Well, genius brother of mine, let me take it one step farther,” Derrick said.

“That’s further.” Dylan raised a brow, but a corner of his mouth had quirked up.

Derrick talked over him. “Gage is engaged to Hailey. I’m with Sydney—”

“You mean she’s stuck with you,” Dylan interrupted. “Poor woman.”

“Let him finish, Dr. Dork.” Gage slapped him in the back of the head and Dylan put him in a headlock.

Derrick continued as if the pair weren’t in danger of knocking Barbara’s favorite vase off the counter as they wrestled. But she stopped herself from going inside, needing her son to finish his point. She admitted she was impressed. Derrick had to have been listening to her all those years he pretended to disdain therapy. He was good. “—and now Mom has James. You’re all left out.”

Dylan stopped moving, and Gage twisted out of his hold and punched him in the gut.

“Damn it.” Dylan glared at Gage, but his features eased as he stared at his twin. “My God. You’re actually pretty good at this.”

“Well, thank Sydney. She’s fucked up about her mother, and it takes a lot of work to keep on top of that redhead, let me tell you.”

They all grinned. They loved Sydney, but her mother annoyed the piss out of them all. Barbara included.

“So you think that everyone finding love and moving on is making me confront my own past guilt and feelings of responsibility toward Mom?”

“Um, yeah. That’s what I just said.” Derrick scratched his head. “I think.”

Dylan sighed. “I have to agree. I keep telling myself to accept her moving on. And hell, next month it’ll have been eleven years. I don’t want her living like a nun. But none of the others measured up to Dad. And I think…” he scrubbed his face, “…I think James does.”

“Yeah, that’s what I was saying.” Derrick nodded. “So I’m right. You’re lonely, desperate and acting out like a friggin’ four-year-old. Grow the fuck up and deal. How’s that for advice?”

Expecting Dylan to go for Derrick’s jugular, Barbara put a hand on the door. But Dylan shocked her by laughing.

“Okay. I’ll take your advice.” He included Gage in his mirth. “Just promise me you won’t try your hand at psychiatry. I don’t think I could handle the competition.”

Derrick preened. “Why thank you, Dr. Dork. Now tell me. You need help getting laid? Because maybe that will get your ass out of Mom’s business.”

“Oh my Lord. Derrick Warren. Watch that mouth.”

Dylan and his brothers started as their mother pushed through the kitchen door wearing a huge frown.

“Ha! For once she didn’t catch me saying it.” Dylan high-fived Gage, and the pair of them gave Derrick wicked grins when he flushed bright red.

“Oh, ah, hey, Mom. You’re back early.” He took the bag from her and hurried to the counter with it.

She rubbed her hands together. “Well, I see you’ve done absolutely nothing while I was gone.” She sighed. “Guess I’ll get the eggs and bacon on.” She moved to Dylan and kissed him on the cheek as if they hadn’t been distant from one another at all. “Good to see you, Dylan.”

“You too, Mom,” he said softly, meaning it. “So where is James?” She remained quiet, and he groaned. “He’s not here because I’m an ass, is that it?”

“Truth hurts.” Gage shook his head.

“Well, he thought it might be nice if just the four of us spent some time together. We’re always being tugged this way and that with our new families, and I miss having my boys to myself.”

Derrick’s eyes narrowed. “Did you say something to Sydney and Hailey about this?”

She shrugged. “When Hailey suggested she might skip our breakfast today, I merely mentioned she might want to take Sydney as well, to give me a chance to reconnect with my boys. I also might have used you as an excuse, Dylan. You have been difficult lately.”

“Great.” Now I’m the pathetic loser who can’t adjust to Mommy getting a boyfriend. And, oh man, I deserve it.

“I told her you were having a hard time with me and James. But that’s not the case anymore is it?” She beamed at him, and he had the uneasy feeling she’d overheard them. Then she added, “Because after our meeting in your office, you assured me that’s no longer an issue. Is it?”

The whole kitchen seemed to come to a standstill.

Dylan knew he had to let go—of the guilt, the selfish need, and, most importantly, the hurt that his mother might choose another over his father. The living needed to love, not wallow in memories of the dead. Sure she’d always care for his father. But Andrew couldn’t hold her or hug her or kiss her. Not here, not now.

“No, Mom. I’m glad you’re happy. James is a good man.” He didn’t like the glossy sheen in her eyes, or the sudden burning behind his own. So he coughed and slapped Derrick on the back of the head.

“What the hell, man?”

“I just wanted to show how I’d express my disdain for someone not worthy of Mom’s affection. I’d never do that to James, even if he does hate the Bears.”

Derrick started to go for his throat when their mother made a hum of disapproval. They separated as if scalded by hot water.

“Excellent. Everyone’s happy. My boys are in love…” She took the eggs and bacon from the refrigerator and tossed the bag of coffee beans to Dylan. “Let me rephrase that. Gage is engaged. Derrick is working on proposing to Sydney. And Dylan…where are you right now? In a relationship?”

“Boy, girl or other?” Gage taunted.

“Don’t tease our bisexually minded brother, Gage,” Derrick said with a huge amount of insincerity. “It’s not about gender, it’s all about the person inside,” he said, quoting one of the many instances Dylan had set him straight.

“Derrick, behave.” Their mother tried hard not to laugh.

“Et tu, Barbara?” Dylan tried to project pain into his voice. But thoughts of his partners had him smiling.

“Oh man. Bro is getting some.” Gage stared, wide-eyed. Then, realizing what he’d said, he amended, “Er, ah, I mean, Dylan’s dating, apparently.”

“Girl or boy?” Derrick just had to know. The idiot thought it funny to poke fun at Dylan’s lifestyle. Since he only did it out of brotherly love, Dylan didn’t much mind. But it would be fun to really throw him a curve.

“Both.”

Everyone tried to laugh it off while he ground beans and prepared the coffee. While it brewed, he leaned against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest, wondering what they might think if they knew the truth. A truth he had no intention of hiding.

Derrick was the first to realize Dylan wasn’t kidding. “Oh. My. God.”

“Wait a minute.” Gage frowned, staring from Derrick to Dylan. “Both meaning…both?”

They all turned to see Barbara gaping.

“Problem, Mother?” Dylan smirked.

“N-no problem.” She cleared her throat, blushed, and then narrowed her gaze. “Are you screwing with us?”

“Sounds to me like he’s screwing with an us, but it ain’t, us us.” Gage shook his head.

“Oh yeah, that made sense.” Derrick huffed. “So. Who is it?”

“You really want to know?” Dylan asked.

“I do.” Barbara nodded emphatically. “And just to be clear, is this some way of getting back at me and James? An immature way of responding to a relationship you don’t approve of by trying to find one I’ll object to?”

“Do you object?” Dylan was curious.

His mother’s smirk reminded him of his own. He really did take after her. “Not at all. Love is an emotion to be shared, regardless of gender or number. So long as everyone is accepting and legally of age.”

“So telling you I’ve fallen in love with Hailey’s niece and the neighbor’s sixteen-year-old babysitter would be wrong?”

“Holy shit.” Derrick gaped.

“Jesus, Derrick. Be a little more gullible, why don’t you.” Gage chuckled. “Good one, Dylan. Hailey doesn’t have a niece.”

Derrick scowled. “You may be handsome, but you’re not funny.”

“And yet I retain my intellect and superiority over my younger brothers.” It annoyed the crap out of Derrick when Dylan reminded him of their two-minute difference in age. Stupid, but he’d take what he could get. “How upsetting that must be, to always linger in my shadow.”

Gage and Barbara laughed at that, as Derrick grudgingly acknowledged Dylan’s sally.

They ate breakfast together, and Dylan felt as if nothing had changed while everything had changed. Gage was no longer the uncouth jock who couldn’t deal with women. Derrick had matured enough emotionally to fall for a female his equal, one who had more going for her than a nice body. And his mother had moved beyond her grief and safe little world to find love with a man who’d always been there for her.

Dylan, oddly enough, realized he’d been the last to come to the table. He, a therapist who had helped many see the error in their ways, had been blind to his own discontent and the reasons behind it.

The meal wound down. Gage left to pick up Hailey, since her car was in the shop. An excuse to be with her, since her friends could have driven her home, but the family let it pass. It was nice to see him so in love with a woman Dylan approved of.

Just as Derrick made his excuse to leave, Dylan decided to have a little fun with him.

“You know, when you asked me if I was dating earlier, I wasn’t lying.”

Derrick stared at him. Barbara continued to sip her coffee and wait.

“You don’t mean…” Derrick tapered off.

“Yep. Both.” Dylan grinned and held out his cup toward his mother. “More coffee, Mom?”

Chapter Eight

Derrick just watched him.

Dylan smiled. “Their names are Harper and Freddy.”

Derrick’s eyes grew wider. “Two dudes?”

“No. Freddy’s a girl. A beautiful woman.” Dylan sighed. He hoped she and Harper hadn’t been too upset with him for ditching them this morning. But he’d been late for breakfast, and he’d needed to settle the disquiet inside him for too long.

“Wait.” Derrick sounded strangled. “You said Harper. My Harper?”

Barbara gasped. “Derrick? Is there something you want to tell me?”

Apparently comprehending how possessive he’d sounded, Derrick stuttered a denial while Dylan nearly fell off his stool laughing. It took the slamming of a door to calm him down.

“Wh-where did he go?” He had to wipe tears from his eyes. My Harper. He couldn’t wait to tell Harper and Freddy about this.

“He’s in the bathroom,” his mother said wryly. “He said you made him sick. Now, care to explain?”

Dylan calmed down and sat across from her, comforted by the familiar. Despite all that had changed in their lives, he felt secure, sitting across from his mother at the kitchen island, discussing life and the foibles that came with living.

“I met Harper thanks to Derrick.” He grinned, not quite wanting to share the particulars with her. “Needless to say, the two knew each other before I came into the picture. But not the way you might be thinking. They were associates, working together because of WCC.” The construction company.

“Oh.”

“You sound relieved.”

“I am.” She glared at him. “Do you know how worried I’ve been that Derrick will mess up the good thing he’s got going with Sydney? If he’d cheated on the girl, I’d string him up by his toes.”

Derrick returned, much calmer than he’d been. He sat with them and pursed his lips.

Dylan sighed. “Say what you need to say.”

“So…you’re an orgy guy now?”

Barbara shook her head and groaned.

“You’re such a dick. Sorry, Mom, but it’s true,” Dylan muttered. “Call it what you will, but Harper and Freddy are terrific people.” Dylan turned to his mother. “And Harper is really handsome. Big, muscular, a good head on his shoulders.”

Derrick made gagging sounds.

“And Freddy?” Barbara’s eyes twinkled.

“She comes up to my chest. A petite little thing with big blue eyes. Her eyebrow is pierced, she has a few tattoos and she works at a sex club in town.”

“Augusta has a sex club? What, like a strip club?” Now Derrick sounded interested.

His mother shook her head. “No. The club is a sophisticated place on the outside of town.”

He and Derrick stared at her.

She blushed. “What? I haven’t always been just your mother, you know.”

“Anyhow,” Dylan hurried, wanting to stop that train of thought before it took off, “I met them and we sort of clicked. I don’t just mean physically either.”

“God. TMI.” Yet Derrick sat there without blinking. “So you like this pair. What do they think about you?”

Remembering last night, he grinned. “They like me just fine.”

“Oh man. My brother, the porn star.”

“Stop it, Derrick.” Barbara had to work at not smiling, Dylan noticed. “You’re serious about them? How long has this been going on?”

“Not long.” He’d always felt better after talking things out with his mother, so he turned to Derrick and said, “Get out.”

“What? Now? No way.”

“I need to talk to Mom. Privately.”

Derrick opened his mouth, but Barbara beat him to it. “Derrick, let me and your brother talk.”

“Well, fine. But don’t think I won’t get answers later,” Derrick warned. He kissed their mother on the cheek, slugged Dylan on the arm, then left.

Dylan plunged in. “About James… I’m sorry.”

Barbara smiled. “Don’t be. It was a long time coming, I think.”

He groaned. “Hell. You were listening, before. I knew it.”

“I was. Oh, Dylan. Why didn’t you ever tell me any of that? Sweetie, I’m supposed to be here for you, not the other way around.”

His hostility and fear completely melted away in the face of her forgiveness, and Dylan fought back tears, annoyed with himself for losing control of his emotions. He had to cough to clear his throat. “I guess I never knew, or never wanted to look that hard at myself. I’ve tried to deal with the idea of you and James for months. I saw the way you two looked at each other. But I wanted you for myself.” He groaned. “That is so Oedipal.”

She grinned. “Yes, dear. But you realized the truth without my help. You’re so smart, son. I’m prouder than you know that you’ll be joining us. James loves you too, Dylan. It hurts him to think you don’t respect him.”

“I do.” Dylan knew he’d have to talk to James and explain things. “I just had to work it out for myself.”

They held hands for a moment, the love so strong and pure Dylan knew without question he’d always have a place in his mother’s heart, no matter what. “Mom?”

“Yes?”

“How did you know? With Dad, I mean. And James.”

Her grin widened. “My, my. I’ve been waiting to have this talk with you. Do you realize that in all the time you’ve been dating, you’ve never once asked me that?”

He flushed. “I’m asking now.”

“So you are.” She studied him before answering, “I met your father on a Tuesday, and by Monday of the next week we married.”

“What? I knew it was sudden, but you never told us it was that fast.”

“Are you kidding? With as mercurial as you boys were, I didn’t want you doing what I’d done and thinking it okay because Mom did it first. Your father and I just knew. It was instant. My heart raced, my blood thundered in my ears and I kissed him before he knew what to do with me.”

“Go Mom.” Dylan laughed. “Dad never could say no to you, could he?”

“Nope. We always meshed. People like to say if you can’t argue, you have no spark. But, Dylan, your father and I always loved each other, and we rarely had disagreements. There was always passion, always love, but the respect countered our differences enough that we just…flowed.

“Now, James is a different story. I thought he was handsome when I first met him, but I never looked at anyone the way I did at your father. When Andrew died, a part of me died with him. I’m sorry it took me so long to bounce back. I loved him with my whole heart, and I never thought I’d recover enough to love anyone else that way. Sure, I dated. I had needs.”

“Mom.”

She huffed. “Well, I did. I do. But through it all, James was always there. He had his share of failed relationships. We discussed, talked, and argued about lots of things. We have so much in common and so many ideas about life that aren’t always the same. The important things we agree on, but the minutia challenges us. And that spark makes life with him interesting.”

“But how could you know right away with Dad and not with James?”

“I couldn’t look past my grief. And I don’t know. I can’t explain it, but one day, I saw James differently. He didn’t do anything other than be himself, but I noticed the care he’d always given me, and it meant something more.”

Dylan wondered… “You saw Isabel Fields, a beautiful woman looking half her age, hanging all over him at the house. You were jealous.”

“I was. I wanted to maul her,” his mother growled. “And God help me, but I still do when she flirts with him, even over the phone. But James loves me. He always has, and that’s why his other relationships didn’t work. He was trying to substitute other women for me.” She patted her hair. “That kind of affection went straight to my head…as soon as I accepted that it was okay to love him back.”

“That must have been hard.”

“It has been. For years I had feelings for him I refused to acknowledge. It wasn’t until recently that I’ve acted on them. But let me tell you, when you love someone, the physical and emotional aspects of mating are magical.” She smiled slyly. “But I don’t think I have to tell you that.”

“No, you don’t.” He pushed his cup aside. “I can’t believe I can fall in love like that. And with two different people? Harper was just…Harper. With him it started with chemistry. But it ended up so much more. And Freddy was his idea. We both noticed her, though he’s known her for a lot longer. But, Mom, she’s like this little fairy in leather that you want to hug as much as you want to, ah…” Realizing what he’d almost admitted, he stopped himself.

She laughed. “I get the picture.”

“But they’re two people. Being bi isn’t a choice for me. It just is.”

“Understood.”

“But loving two people at the same time? Society can barely handle gays. What about two partners? And there’s the practice to consider.”

“Can you pick one of them over the other?” she asked.

“I’ve tried. But it’s like they’re joined in my brain.” In my heart. “I don’t want to choose.”

“Maybe you won’t have to. It’s a new relationship. Perhaps it’s just sex. If not for you, then for them.”

A tough position to think about, but he had to concede she might be right. “Maybe.”

“Would you hide them if you could? If they told you tomorrow that they loved you and wanted to be with you, would you take them as they are and just hide the relationship?”

He shook his head before he’d fully thought it out. “I couldn’t. It isn’t right.” He’d never tried to hide being bi, even when he’d known it might cause problems with his friends and family. Some of his friends he’d lost, but his family had stuck by him. And they were what mattered.

“Then there’s your answer.” She seemed to approve. “We are as we’re made, Dylan. You shouldn’t have to hide loving someone. You’re not doing anything wrong or violating consent, are you? Are Harper and Freddy over the age of eighteen?”

“I was kidding before.”

“Of course they are. And they must be lovely people if you feel so deeply for them in so little time. So maybe you come out about your partners and you lose business. What’s worth more in life? Love or money?”

“Hey, it’s your business too. Unless you want me to stay at the hospital?”

“No. I want you with us. James does too. This is one area we won’t compromise on, honey. Love is a beautiful thing, not something to squander. Only you can know how you truly feel about them. Trust your heart, your instincts.”

“And take a risk?” he voiced his own inner criticism. “Harper doesn’t think I’m a risk taker.”

“You aren’t.”

“Gee, Mom. Do you need a minute to think about it?”

“Nope. You, my son, aren’t a fan of change. Hence your problem with James.”

He flushed. “I know, but that’s personal.”

“No, dear. You’ve never been one to like change. It takes you a while to adapt. You’re open-minded but stubborn.”

“And who do I get that from, I wonder?”

“Your father,” she deadpanned, and they laughed. “Derrick has always been the risk taker, while you sat back and protected yourself behind thick walls of confidence and surety. Do you want my advice with Harper and Freddy?”

“Yes.”

“If you truly love them, take the risk. Imagine life without them, and if you really love them, you’ll feel miserable being alone. I married your father after a week of knowing him, and I’d do it all over again, even with the knowledge that I’d lose him too soon.”

“And James?”

She smiled. “My only regret is that I took too long to see what was right in front of me. Don’t be afraid to love. You might get hurt, but you might find joy to last a lifetime. Be strong, Dylan. Make the right choice—for you.”

Wednesday afternoon, Harper finished up at the construction site after a heavy argument with the crew leader. The guy had lagged so long that he’d cost them extra time and money on some rental equipment. Now they strained the budget—shit Harper didn’t stand for, but the guy was new. After jacking the asshole off his feet and dangling him like a rag doll, he’d seen the light and called his guys back in to finish the job.

The others gave him a wide berth as he returned to his truck and answered Natalie’s calls. He yessed her to death, ignored her snippy comments about his attitude, and texted Freddy about dinner at her place. A dinner they’d be having alone again, without Dylan.

While Harper understood Dylan’s need to take some time and deal with some work issues, he had a feeling the guy was using work to avoid them. And it hurt. Especially because Freddy felt it too.

But, really, could he complain? He hadn’t told Dylan how he felt, and neither had Freddy. They played at being a unit, a monogamous threesome. But, hell, for all Dylan knew, this was a regular thing for two members of the club.

Harper returned to his office and finished filing some paperwork he’d been putting off for a while. Then he called his mother. After telling her about the new loves of his life, he felt better. She was excited to meet them.

It never failed to amaze him how lucky he’d been with family. A mother and father who supported a bisexual kid in the Deep South. Miracle number one. That his mother couldn’t wait to meet Harper’s new partners was miracle two. Of course, he had to break the news to his father. But the old man still couldn’t get over all the headway Harper had made with Natalie, whom he considered to be a shark in women’s clothing.

That and the investments he’d made with his construction sales had more than made up for his weird love life. He loved his dad, but the truth was, his father liked the finer things in life. And if it took a bit of cash to buy his father’s support and happiness, Harper was all for it. He knew his dad loved him regardless, but the cash didn’t hurt.

He finished his work and drove to Freddy’s by six. On the way, he thought about all they’d learned from Brian. Things Dylan should have told them but hadn’t.

The Warrens were a tight family, well thought of in Augusta. Dr. Barbara Warren had a prestigious practice on the Hill that had been serving the city’s upper class for years. WCC, Derrick and Gage’s baby, was still in the black and doing big business, thanks to their tie to the city’s new development deal. Derrick had recently won a state award for his designs, and Gage had a rep for being one of those rare miracles in the world—an honest contractor.

Harper grinned. He’d already known most of that about Gage and Derrick. But he’d also learned that Gage was engaged to a sexy blonde named Hailey, and Hailey’s best friend, Sydney, was soon to be Mrs. Derrick Warren. She was just waiting on her slow man to pop the question.

Poor Derrick.

Harper chuckled, walked to Freddy’s door and knocked.

“Come on in, Harper,” she called through the door.

Dylan’s reputation as an exceptional doctor, sought-after bachelor and all-around stud anyone would be lucky to have came as no surprise. But the guy wasn’t available anymore, and it bugged the shit out of Harper that he couldn’t say anything about it.

“Long day?” Freddy asked from the kitchen.

He went straight to her, lifted her off her feet and kissed her until neither of them could breathe.

“Oh wow. Long day.” She laughed and shoved a hank of blond hair from her eyes. She had such a powerful personality, it always amused him to tower over her. He ran a light finger over her brow piercing, thinking her so damn sexy.

“I nearly strangled a guy. But he’s finishing the work he should have had done three days ago, so it’s all good.”

“Ah, okay.” She stirred something that smelled amazing. “Well, I hired a new guy to run the cleaning staff. I had to let Manny go. He was doing the maids instead of making them do their work.”

“Bummer.”

“Yeah.” She sighed. “So you’re really okay with me owning the place, right?”

“I’m fine with it as long as you’re not personally servicing the clientele. I like having a rich girlfriend.”

She elbowed him in the belly. “Yeah right. From what I hear, you’re Richie Rich. I’m just a poor perverted tramp trying to earn a living.”

“I don’t know that I’d say poor. Perverted and trampy, sure, but those tats cost money.”

“Jerk.” She laughed, and then her expression sobered. “Heard from Dylan?”

“No.” He hated her crestfallen look. “Honey, maybe we should tell him how we feel. He might not think it’s anything serious. And, hell, it hasn’t been that long that we’ve been lovers.” A week and a half maybe? Yet long enough for Harper to know he’d found true love.

“But it feels like forever.”

“Yeah.” He kissed her. “I know the doc. He has to think everything through to the nth degree. He’s probably unsure about us, and he’s new to three people in a relationship. You still love him, right?”

“Yeah. Though I couldn’t tell you why.”

“I can. He’s thoughtful, usually. Gentle and rough, has a big fucking cock and he makes you laugh with that dry sense of humor.”

“He’s really handsome,” she added. “He likes us, and for a fussy guy, he never judges. Man, I hate that I love him. You, I get. Him, I have to ask myself, why?”

“He’ll be worth it. You’ll see.” Harper kept saying that. He just hoped they wouldn’t be disappointed in the long run. “I talked to my mom today.”

“Oh?”

“She wants to meet you. I’m just warning you. She really wants grandkids. I think she’s already impregnated you. And with my brother and sister taking their time, it’s up to me to perpetuate the line. Just sayin’.”

“No pressure or anything.” She glared at him.

And that pixie anger made him laugh.

“If you tell me I’m cute when I’m mad, I swear I’ll spit in your soup.”

He bit his lip, but he didn’t fool her.

“Oh shut up and eat. Then you can take me in the back room and make me see stars.”

He reacted as she’d no doubt known he would. Instead of waiting, he lifted her to the counter and unbuttoned his jeans. Then he worked her pants and panties off and got down to business.

After he had her crying out his name, then cursing it for screwing in the kitchen right before dinner, he heard his phone chime.

“Hell. Be right back. It might be Natalie.” He darted after the phone in the closet, where he’d hung his coat. Except they both knew he couldn’t care less about Natalie’s call. They were waiting to hear from Dylan.

He checked his messages and found one from Brian. He returned to the kitchen with a smile he didn’t have to force. Much. “My invite to your brother’s party on Friday.”

Freddy’s smile was just as fake. “Oh good. We’ll go and have a good time.”

“Yeah.”

He wondered how long it would take her to stop waiting on Dylan and go after the man. Apparently, at least another few days. Brian had invited Dylan to the party as well. They’d have to wait and see.

“Waiting sucks,” he said.

“Sucks ass,” she replied. By the look in her eye, she remembered the last time they’d had a similar conversation, because she added, “So fuck it. I’m done waiting. Grab your coat and let’s go.”

Chapter Nine

Dylan sighed. He never saw patients in his own home, but Faith was different. A good friend of both Sydney and Hailey—his future sisters-in-law—Faith had been dragged, almost kicking and screaming, to see him the first time. She absolutely refused to step foot in a “shrink’s office” ever again, especially after her breakup with Dr. Jeremy Pichter. The fact that Pichter was an orthopedic surgeon and not a psychiatrist meant little to Faith. She saw “doctor” and had a miniseizure.

But after their fifth session together, he saw real progress.

“I absolutely refuse to be used again.”

“Good.” He nodded. “And why did you allow yourself to feel that way, do you think?”

“I didn’t realize he’d been using me. It was more like I was using him.” She sounded guilty.

“No, Faith. Own it. Why did you allow him to take control of you like that?”

“Because I’m a poor, white-trash girl from the wrong side of the tracks. Literally.” She laughed, but not with the bitterness she’d used the first few times she’d come in. “I thought he was better than me because he had money. I let him talk down to me and cheat on me because I wasn’t any good.”

Wasn’t—past tense. Progress. Dylan nodded. “But…?”

“But he’s a piece of shit. I’m a strong, successful woman in a leadership position. I make my own money. I don’t need it from anyone else. And I don’t need a man in my life.”

“Very good. But do you want a man in your life? Just because you’re strong and successful in one part of your life doesn’t mean you have to be in every aspect of it. You can want a man but not need a man. That doesn’t make you weak, it makes you human.”

“Oh? What about you, Dr. Warren?”

He smiled. “If I wasn’t your doctor, and I wasn’t already in love, I’d ask you out myself.”

“Oh, uh, that wasn’t what I meant.” Faith turned the loveliest shade of pink when embarrassed. She had long light-brown hair pulled back behind her ears. Deep-green eyes flashed with emotion, and her lips had a natural fullness and shape to them that invited naughty thoughts. To say nothing of her frame. Slender yet curved in all the right places. He might be a doctor, but he was a man as well. He had no doubt that Faith remained single because she wanted to be. Any man in his right mind would snap her up in a heartbeat.

“What I meant was, are you human, Dylan? I don’t see you dating. But you said you’re in love. Interesting.” She wiggled her brows at him.

“I’m the doctor.” He sighed. “Just whom have you been talking with about my love life? My bet—Sydney. She has a big mouth.”

“Actually, it was Hailey.” Faith grinned. “But I don’t deny it. Sydney’s a loudmouth for sure.” She took a moment before continuing. “You know, at first I thought you were full of crap. But Hailey and Sydney convinced me you were good. And you’re nice to look at, so I figured, if it doesn’t work, I at least get an hour of eye candy.”

“Thanks, Faith,” he said dryly.

She smiled. “But you know what the hell you’re talking about. I feel better about myself and my choices.”

“We all make mistakes. That’s how we learn.”

“Yes. And I’ve learned that I have a bad habit of making the same mistakes, over and over. I’m going to take a break from men.”

“You’ve been doing that for several months. Don’t feel that you have to become a hermit to overcome your bad choices. You have to at least allow yourself to encounter the problem, so you’ll know how to avoid it. How else will you know if you’ve grown?”

“I get that. But for now, I’m happier being alone, living with myself.”

“That’s a healthy attitude.” He smiled. “You’re really coming along, Faith.”

“Yes, I am. Did I tell you about my promotion?”

Faith talked about work and a few colleagues she’d had issues with. They discussed ways to handle tricky feelings. But she avoided talking about her family. He’d delve into that the next time they met.

“Oh hell. I’m over again, aren’t I?”

“Time is up, I’m afraid. Next time?”

“After the New Year. I’ll call you to set up an appointment. I really appreciate you seeing me here, Dylan. I know this is unusual.”

“For a friend of Hailey and Sydney, nothing is too unusual.” He grinned.

She laughed and walked with him to the door. She’d opened it but needed help with her coat. So he was holding it for her while she laughed at a joke he’d made at Gage’s expense.

“Oh, I’m sorry. You’re busy?” an icy voice asked.

He paused, his hands on Faith’s shoulders as she settled into her coat. “Freddy? Harper?”

Freddy had been overly polite, and he had a bad feeling.

“See you, Dylan. Thanks again.” Faith waved, smiled at Freddy and Harper, and walked down the hallway.

Harper and Freddy just stood there, staring after her. No doubt suspecting the worst.

Dylan’s palms felt clammy. God, he’d missed these two. So much. His mother’s words had stayed with him long after he’d left last Saturday’s breakfast. Things with Harper and Freddy had gone too fast for him, so he’d used work as an excuse to get some space.

But with each minute apart from them—forcing himself time after time not to call or text, to let them be—misery filled his waking hours. He missed Freddy’s laugh, Harper’s stern looks. The pair teasing him, warming him.

He’d expected that he’d see them at Brian’s party on Friday, but he hadn’t intended to wait that long. He’d planned to pick up some flowers and beer, and court his lovers slowly. Tomorrow night at the club. He’d already arranged with Tony’s help to reserve the dungeon, unbeknownst to them.

But the pair looked less than pleased with him.

“Oh hell. Come on in and yell at me.” He turned and entered, curious to see how they’d deal with this discussion. Freddy looked spitting mad. Harper had no expression, which couldn’t bode well. Hadn’t Dylan said three personalities would be hard to handle in a complicated relationship like theirs? Yet now he wanted desperately to be wrong.

“Who was she?” Freddy burst out, rounding on him like a terrier going for his throat. Which she might have lunged for if she’d been any taller. Instead, she poked him in the chest.

“Déjà vu,” he murmured, recalling the night she’d torn into him about Sydney.

Harper, on the other hand, stood against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. Even in jeans and a sweatshirt, the man stole Dylan’s breath away. Harper’s uncompromising solidity, combined with Freddy’s passionate, affectionate nature, brought joy and verve to Dylan’s previously unfulfilling social life.

“Long story or short story?”

“Keep it short, Doc. I’m feeling the need to discipline you again,” Harper said softly.

Oh man. Dylan’s already rising erection turned rock-hard stiff. Trying to hold on to the upper hand, he sat on the couch and crossed a leg over his knee to hide his response. “Faith Sumner is a client of mine.”

“Yeah right. In your house?” Freddy clearly had little give in her. The spitfire. But instead of being annoyed with her for not trusting him, Dylan liked her jealousy, that she cared that much to show it.

“You’re right. I don’t normally entertain clients in my house.”

“Entertain?” Harper rumbled.

“Poor choice of words,” Dylan said quickly. “I meant, I don’t see clients at home. But she’s a special case.”

“I’ll bet.” Freddy fumed. “Those breasts and long brown hair were sure special, weren’t they, Harper?”

He just stared at Dylan, looking mean.

“Are you guys really jealous?” Dylan didn’t mean to grin, but he couldn’t help it. They were acting very possessive, more than just lovers wronged, but people who hurt, who felt betrayed.

“It’s not funny, dickhead.” Harper stepped closer, Freddy at his side. “We said we’re a unit. We’ve been giving you space. Letting you… But maybe it doesn’t matter now.”

“It sure the hell does.” Dylan remained seated, pleased to be in control of the situation. They had feelings for him that went deeper than sex. He could see it, all but taste it. “Faith is good friends with Hailey and Sydney, my brothers’ girlfriends. She’s all messed up about… Well, she’s a patient of mine who refused to see a doctor. Any kind of doctor. Because she’s practically Hailey’s best friend, I agreed to see her here.”

Harper frowned.

“Go ahead. Feel free to ask my brothers about it. They know.” Dylan shrugged and smiled. “Yes, Faith is attractive. But she’s not either of you. Even if she were, I’d never date a patient of mine. That’s unethical.”

Freddy glared at him, mollified more than a little, but not wanting to show it. He sounded way too happy about being caught. “Well, that’s one problem nailed down. The other would be why you’ve been avoiding us.”

His smile didn’t disappear. If anything, it deepened.

She didn’t know what to make of the gooey look he was giving her, but Harper seemed much more relaxed than he’d been.

“Come here, Freddy,” Dylan ordered.

She remained standing, though Harper stepped a fraction closer.

“Or not.” Dylan sighed. “Okay. I confess I used work as an excuse to get some distance. I’m told I’m not good with change. I had a long-overdue conversation with my mother and worked things out. I’ve had a hard time understanding she needed to move on. And maybe I do too.”

“Move on?” From them? Freddy panicked but did her best not to show it. She knew she shouldn’t have risked her heart on the prissy, handsome, sexy-as-sin doctor.

“Yeah. I was too wrapped up in protecting my mother. I had to do some real soul-searching to see why I’ve had so much trouble connecting to partners all my life.” He shook his head. “I was so hurt when my dad died. Seeing my mom so wounded, it made me want to close down. To never know that kind of pain.”

Freddy felt for him. She really did, but that didn’t mean she wanted him to just move on with his life.

“But I realized I hadn’t allowed myself to really love anyone else either. Until Harper and his big, brutish body cornered me in a parking lot. Then the lunk blackmailed me into dinner and took sinful advantage of my body.”

Harper started to smile. Freddy’s heart raced.

“And he did me the biggest favor ever by pushing me past my boundaries and forcing me to take a risk. Freddy, you are by far the sexiest woman I’ve ever made love to in my life. You’re the only one I want, baby. I’m sorry I avoided you guys. I had to think.”

“That’s okay, Doc.” Harper sounded hoarse. “We had to think too.”

Dylan seemed to tense, and she realized Harper had been right. They’d been thick as thieves planning on ways to keep Dylan that they’d never considered just asking him to stay, telling him how much he meant to them.

“Freddy?” Harper asked.

“No, you tell him.”

“Tell me what?” Dylan asked, too quiet.

“We’re keeping you,” Harper blurted.

Dylan blinked. “Say that again?”

Harper scowled, and he looked mean enough to make her cringe. But the worry in his deep-brown eyes touched her.

“What the big man means is that, impossible as it seems, we love you. You’re ours. Even if you don’t know it yet. For some bigwig doctor, you’re not that bright.”

Dylan jumped to his feet and hugged them both so tight she had to squirm, for fear of being crushed. “Not bright, my ass! I love you two too. Two too. Ha.”

He sounded punch-drunk, but Freddy was beyond caring. “What?” she squeaked.

Dylan swooped down and kissed her, and she felt like a feather, light on her feet.

Then she realized Dylan had her in his arms as he carried her down the hallway.

“Why do I have the feeling that I was the only one suffering while you two carried on without me?” Dylan asked moments later, trying to sound stern but coming off as an aroused lover. He had a hard-on and his gaze couldn’t seem to stay off Harper’s now-naked chest or her pert nipples.

“I couldn’t let her suffer, Doc,” Harper excused. “Not when I knew you’d be coming back to us after you overthought everything. Told you, Freddy.”

She giggled, actually giggled, then sighed when Dylan kissed her again. He left her to kiss Harper, and she quickly got naked, in love and in lust with her lovers.

Harper groaned and pulled Dylan’s hips closer. Freddy moved behind Dylan, sandwiching him between them.

“That’s right, Dylan. In fact, Harper just fucked me on the kitchen counter in my house. He was so big, so thick. And he came hard inside me.”

Dylan groaned and reached behind him, only to feel her naked waist.

He turned in a heartbeat and kissed her, feeling her breasts and lingering on her nipples. He had a thing for her chest, and it didn’t surprise her when he laid her back on his bed and sucked her nipples into taut little beads.

“Fuck. I want you two so much. Been so hard without you,” he moaned.

Behind him, Harper finished taking off his clothes. Then he started stripping Dylan.

“I’d say you’re hard with us, right now,” Freddy teased and reached between them to graze his arousal. “Let us have you, Dylan. Right now.”

“And tomorrow,” Harper added, pulling at Dylan’s pants.

“And the next day.” Freddy had listened to Harper’s concerns about Dylan. She knew what he’d said to be true. She and Harper might have some experience with a true ménage, but Dylan was a newbie. They’d need to go easy on him.

But not tonight.

Dylan’s breath caught and she grinned. “Tell me, Doc. What’s he doing?”

“Shit. He just parted my ass, now he’s rimming me. Sticking those fat fingers into me.”

Underneath him, Freddy moaned and writhed, her nipples so friggin’ tight. Dylan stopped talking and sucked harder. The man just loved her firm, feminine body and Harper’s strong, muscular frame—or so he’d continually told them before leaving them.

“Need to fuck you,” Harper growled. “Your ass is mine tonight.” Harper had been so good, waiting. Letting Freddy take control. God, she loved him so much.

“And your cock is mine,” Freddy promised Dylan, her heart ablaze when he pulled back and looked down at her. “We missed you, Doc.”

He blinked to clear the tears misting his vision. She liked that, so much. “Not more than I missed you two. I wanted to chalk up these intense feelings as lingering effects from the newness of it all. The incredible sex. Hell, just being around you pretty people is reason enough to want more. But, Jesus, I missed you so much. Harper’s actually a funny guy.” He groaned. “When he’s not driving me out of my mind. Lube me already. I’m not going to take long to come. Not with these tits and that cunt under me,” he rasped and licked his lips. Oh, the dirty talk. He’s crazy in lust. “Freddy, you are without a doubt my every dream come true in a woman. I want to lick your tats with my tongue. I want to fuck your ass, your pussy, that mouth…”

“Yes. My mouth. I think that’s exactly what you need.”

Harper pulled him back and she scooted out from under him. She stood on the bed and spread her thighs. “Why don’t we start with a treat? You two can take turns.” She fingered her folds and spread them for her men, showing them her hard clit.

Dylan didn’t wait. He latched on to her and sucked and stroked. Then he stopped and Harper took over. Lingering caresses on her thighs and ass thrilled her, but no more than the love in their eyes when they watched her rise to rapture.

She came with Dylan’s mouth over her and Harper’s fingers inside her.

“You cheated,” she accused them when she could breathe again. Harper just grinned at her, and she vowed to make him pay. “Harper, in that chair. Get yourself nice and slick.”

“Yes, Mistress,” he intoned. “She has a thing for control, man,” he said to Dylan. “It’s so hot. She really gets into it.”

“The boots. Has she worn them again?” Dylan asked in a rough voice. His cock was so thick and flushed. Her poor man needed relief.

“Oh yeah.” Harper licked his lips. “Hell. Hold on.” He spun Dylan to face him and dropped to his knees. Then his mouth was over Dylan, and he was blowing him with loud sucking moans.

Dylan closed his eyes, and she was painfully aroused by the sound of his desperate moans.

“Harper, not yet,” Freddy insisted.

“You’re a cruel, cruel woman.” Dylan swore when Harper left him hanging, literally. His cock bobbed and was bigger than Freddy had ever seen it. “I swear, you look at me wrong, I’ll come,” Dylan threatened, sweating.

Harper laughed and sat in the chair she’d nodded to. The thing was big enough to seat him and Dylan. She saw him lube himself nice and slick, then she led Dylan by the hand to his side.

“Sit on him, facing me.”

Dylan’s breathing increased, and the pleasure on his face nearly did her in. He looked so excited, so incredibly beautiful, caught in the forefront of bliss.

With Harper’s and her help, Dylan poised over Harper’s thick cock. Freddy gripped the base of Harper’s cock, loving the feel of him so slick. And then Dylan worked himself over Harper, sliding slowly down that fat shaft, his back to Harper’s front.

“Jesus. So good.” Harper groaned and gripped Dylan’s hips, easing him down.

Dylan was moaning, pleading to give Freddy anything she wanted if only she’d let him come. And then she gave him what he wanted. As Harper slowly controlled Dylan’s movements up and down his shaft, Freddy grazed Harper’s balls.

He shoved up into Dylan so hard Dylan cried out. She spotted the small burst of seed jetting from Dylan’s slit and knew he’d nearly reached his peak.

“I love you, Dylan.” She put her hands on his thighs and took him into her mouth just as Harper cried out and came.

And Dylan was with him. He filled her mouth and her heart, a rush of pleasure that tasted like the perfect mix of desire and ecstasy. Awash in the scent and feel of her lovers, she sucked Dylan and licked him clean, then nuzzled Harper’s balls and stroked his thighs until he stiffened again and moaned.

“Harper, you’re impressive,” she purred.

Dylan lay limply, and she scooted closer to him to hug him tight. She smothered him against Harper, but he didn’t seem to mind. Sprawled over Harper, his ass still speared by that thick shaft, and replete with his own orgasm, Dylan’s angelic smile had her falling in love with him all over again.

“This won’t be easy,” he said without opening his eyes. “I’m sure to annoy you both at some point in our lives.”

“Oh, I’m sure of that,” Harper said on a groan. “But, man, you can do whatever you want if you let me tap this ass. You too, Freddy. Ass or pussy, your choice.”

“Try her mouth. She’s got a wicked tongue,” Dylan rasped.

“True.” Harper and Freddy slowly worked together to pull Dylan up and off of Harper.

Dylan wobbled, but Freddy caught him.

“Bathroom,” she and Harper said as one.

Dylan’s shower was big enough to fit the three of them, if not comfortably, at least without them being plastered against the walls.

After a quick shower together, they moved once more to his bed and slumped into it together. “I love you guys so much,” Dylan said on a sigh.

“Me too, Doc,” she and Harper said at the same time. They laughed.

“You’re bound to think too hard about shit,” Harper warned.

“And I’m a really perky morning person,” she admitted. Both men groaned. “But I’ll try not to be too cheery before nine a.m. How’s that?”

Harper answered, “That will work. But I have to tell you, this living arrangement isn’t going to work. I want to be with you guys more.”

“Me too.”

“Yeah,” Dylan agreed and snuggled closer to Harper and Freddy. He lifted her to lie on top of him, so that Harper and he could stroke her together. They had to throw off the comforter because the guys gave off too much heat. “But I know this agent that could help us find the perfect house. I have family connections, so I’ll make sure she doesn’t rob us on commission.”

Harper chuckled. “Sounds good to me. Freddy? You okay with finding a place together? I mean, this is pretty sudden.”

“I don’t care where we live, as long as it’s together. And FYI, we’re going to take it slow with marriage and babies and stuff.”

Both men stiffened. “Babies?” Dylan asked.

“Not yet.” She snickered at the pair. “But someday I’d like a kid or two. Or three.”

“I like three. Just think. You could have twins.” Dylan grinned.

“Um, Freddy?” Harper sounded apologetic. “My mom was a twin. So I guess that ups the odds.”

“Forget I mentioned babies.” The guys had the nerve to laugh. “But something we need to discuss. Dylan? Do you want us to keep quiet about our relationship? Harper and I are okay with going public, but we don’t want to put added stress on you.”

“No. I’m good. We don’t need to wear a sign or anything. But I’m not going to hide how I feel about you two.” He paused. “My mom wants to meet you both. And I’m sorry to say, she’s rabid about grandkids.”

“You told her about us?” Harper asked, stunned.

“Yep. Derrick knows too.” Dylan burst out laughing. “Shit. I almost forgot.” He explained the conversation about “My Harper”, and Harper cracked up.

“I’m missing something.” Freddy kissed Dylan’s chin.

“You’ll see. I have an invite to a party this Friday, and my brothers have been invited as well.

Freddy cackled with glee. “Oh yes. We have to meet your brothers at my brother’s party. I think my father might be there too.”

“You want us to meet him?”

Harper snorted. “I think she wants us to freak him the hell out. From what I’ve heard about the great Judge Goode, I’m inclined to freak away.”

“Wait. Judge Goode?” Dylan stared hard at Freddy. “Oh shit. You’re that Fredericka. No wonder I feel like I’ve known you forever.” He started laughing again.

It took Freddy a moment to understand. “My father is one of your patients?”

“Not anymore.”

Harper kissed him, which stopped Dylan from laughing. And then the whispers and pleas for more turned hot and heavy again, and the three of them loved one another into the night.

Chapter Ten

Brian glared at his sister, and Harper knew all was right with the world. Only a few days after their make-up, and it was as if he, Freddy and Dylan had never parted. They alternated their nights at each other’s houses, but he couldn’t wait until they were finally living together, in their own place.

They continued to work out the kinks in their relationship, though the mundane day-to-day chores had pretty much evened themselves out. Dylan and Freddy took turns cooking. Harper had dish duty, though Dylan’s attention to detail when cooking bordered on OCD. Freddy made a mess, plain and simple. But, man, could she cook.

He smiled at her, watching her talk with animated gestures to her brother. Together they looked enough alike to be twins themselves.

“She’s just…ours.” Dylan sighed.

“Yeah. Such a pain the ass, but lovable.”

“I thought that was your description.” Dylan leaned closer to whisper, “You know, for Christmas I thought we could give Freddy a show. Maybe I fuck your ass really slow, and we let her watch. She’s dying to film us.”

“No way in hell.” Harper pulled back to glare at him. “The filming part, I mean.”

Dylan’s smile widened. “Sure thing, handsome. No cameras.” He leaned closer and added, “Or condoms.”

Harper groaned. “Cut it out, Doc. We’re in public and I’m sporting wood. Oh shit, is that Derrick coming over here?”

Dylan chuckled and moved to stand in front of Harper. The dick.

“You know I’m gonna make you pay for that.”

“I can’t wait.” Dylan waved at his brother. Brothers. Gage appeared behind Derrick and stared with narrowed eyes at Harper.

Derrick stopped and shook his head. “Harper. I expected better than this from you.”

Gage snorted with laughter and stuck out a hand. “Hey, Harper. What’s shakin’?”

“Your brother,” Harper answered. “He’s afraid of me. And he should be.”

To his delight, Dylan flushed. “Shut up.”

Derrick laughed. “Did you see that, Gage? Dr. Dork just blushed.”

“Dr. Dork? Really?” Dylan asked, annoyed. Then his expression cleared. “I’m sorry, Derrick. I would introduce you, but I remember you already know my partner. I believe you called him, and I quote, ‘My Harper’. Did you tell Sydney about that?”

Derrick turned as red as Dylan had been. So cute, these twins. “I did not.”

Dylan shook his head. “So possessive. Harper, I think he has a crush.”

“Fuck you.” Derrick glared.

Gage rolled his eyes. “Stellar comeback, bro. Man. And you call me the moron. So, Harper, what did you think of Malley’s proposal for the Riverwalk?”

Harper chatted with Gage for a few moments while keeping his eye on Dylan and Freddy. Dylan and Derrick stood together and talked, and more than one person ran an admiring gaze over the pair.

So fucking hot, his doc. He noticed Freddy’s mirth and her brother’s dismay and nodded at Dylan, grabbing his attention.

An older, distinguished man approached Brian Goode, and Harper and Dylan left the Warrens to support their woman.

“Hey, Dad.” Freddy gave her father an overbright smile, not in the least chastised by his stern countenance.

Brian sighed. “Judge. I didn’t think you’d show.”

“Of course I would, son. I’m here to tender my support.”

Was her brother running for office? Harper shot a glance at Freddy, who was now standing behind her father. She pretended to be hanging herself, and both he and Dylan coughed to hide laughter. Her father turned and she stopped herself in time, looking like an angel.

Even Brian had a grin on his face when his father turned back around.

Then Judge Goode seemed to realize Dylan and Harper were standing close by. He frowned at Harper, but recognized Dylan. “Dr. Warren. You know my son?”

Harper waited for it. Dylan might have said he didn’t want to hide, but he had a touch of reserve about him. And Judge Goode was obviously someone with ties in the community.

But Dylan didn’t skip a beat. He pulled Freddy into his arms and kissed her on the mouth. “Actually, Judge, I’m in love with your daughter.”

The judge seemed to straighten, a gleam of approval on his face. “What a pleasant surprise—”

Then Dylan turned and kissed Harper flush on the mouth. “And this is Harper, the man we love.”

The Judge just stared at them in horror. Brian merely looked on, waiting for the drama to end. The room had gone suspiciously quiet. The judge turned on his heel and left the party.

“What?” Dylan turned to Brian. “Was it something I said?”

Freddy and Brian shared a glance, then laughed. Dylan’s brothers neared with their prospective wives, and more introductions were made. The party got into full swing, and Harper received congratulations and pats on the back from more than just the Warrens, but from Freddy’s and his friends as well. For all that Augusta had a large population, it was a small town at heart. Rumors would swirl, and soon everyone would know just how tight Harper, Dylan and Freddy were.

Things wouldn’t always be easy. The bigots were sure to show their faces, sooner or later. But with Dylan and Freddy by his side, Harper had everything he needed. And then he heard those famous last words…

“Hey, Freddy,” Brian said softly, “I’m calling in that favor.”

Dylan waited until Harper and Freddy were immersed in conversation with Brian before he slipped into the crowd to find James. He’d spotted his mother just seconds ago, and James wouldn’t be far behind. He and Barbara had promised to put in an appearance before disappearing. They planned to spend the night and Christmas Eve somewhere special, just the two of them. But Christmas would be spent at Derrick and Sydney’s house just a few doors down. It appeared that not only would Freddy and Harper join them, but Brian too.

“Love me, love my family,” he muttered, repeating what Freddy had said to him before they’d arrived. Truth be told, he liked Brian. Her father…he’d never respected the judge, but the man paid on time. And, God, he had issues to resolve. Did he.

Now dating Freddy, Dylan had considered it a conflict of interest and requested the judge call him, so he could explain why the man should see another therapist. Judge Goode hadn’t called him back yet. But after tonight, Dylan didn’t think he’d call at all. It made him wonder if he’d have a problem keeping other patients in the future. Then he realized he didn’t give a fuck.

“Dylan?” James ran in to him by the buffet.

“Hi, James.” He barreled into his apology. “I know Mom spoke with you about our conversation last week.”

James nodded. “She did.”

“This isn’t exactly the place for this, but I want you to know I’m sorry if you felt slighted by anything I did or said. I really respect you, and I want you and Mom to be nothing but happy.”

“As happy as you are? I like your new partners.” James laughed and drew Dylan in for a hug.

One Dylan finally was able to return wholeheartedly.

“You’ve come a long way…son.” James laughed at the look on Dylan’s face. “Sorry. Couldn’t help myself.”

“Ha ha.” Dylan grinned. “I had that coming, I admit.”

“Yes, you did.” James groaned. “Oh hell. Your mother has that look on her face. She warned me to play nice with you boys.”

“You know we hate when you call us that.”

“I know.”

He said it so smoothly that Dylan had to laugh. “You’re on fire tonight, aren’t you?”

“I am. It’s Christmas, and I’m going to spend it with the woman I love. What could be better?”

Dylan turned to see Harper and Freddy waving at him to come over. “What indeed?” Then his mother joined the pair, and he hurried over to save his lovers. God forbid Barbara started talking about sex and the dynamics of a threesome. He wouldn’t put it past her to ask them questions. Perhaps they could subject themselves to a study for a piece on family dynamics, the alternative lifestyle choice. That or she’d mention babies. The woman had grandkids on the brain lately.

Derrick stopped him before he could rescue his partners. “No, no. Harper and Freddy can handle it. Sydney and Hailey had to run the gauntlet too.”

They watched as Harper lifted his mother in a huge hug and twirled her around.

“Man. He’s already got her. And now your little woman. Ah, the big eyes, the cute blond bangs shaking, trembling in fear…” Derrick swore. “That was way too easy. Now she’s heading this way. Shit.”

Dylan latched on to his brother’s sweater and refused to let go. “Wait a minute. Is it just me, or does Hailey seem a little happier lately, like she’s going to bust?”

“No.”

Dylan sighed. “You’re so slow. She’s not drinking, genius. Big breasts, a little bump in her belly, no booze?”

“Oh. Right. Is she?” Derrick gaped at Hailey and Gage standing together. Their baby brother had his hand on her belly, and he had the softest look on his face.

“We shouldn’t. This is a big deal.” Derrick paused. He and Dylan shared the same thought. Twin magic.

Dylan shrugged. “You do the honors. I have two hot lovers to handle.”

“Ew. TMI.” Derrick grabbed him in a hug. “But go for it. She’s hot, and he’s pretty okay for a dude.”

“Yeah, but he’s my Harper.”

“Ass.” Derrick grinned. Their mother reached them, but before she could give Dylan the third degree, Dylan heard the words Hailey and baby.

Like a slingshot, Barbara rolled around Derrick and zeroed in on Gage and Hailey.

He and Derrick shared a silent high-five, and then he found his lovers waiting for him. As they left the party, he stopped each of them under the mistletoe and kissed them with all the love he had in his heart.

“Yeah, back at ya, Doc,” Harper growled.

“I am so happy.” Freddy beamed. “This kiss, the party, that look on my father’s face when you showed the world you love us.” She had a mean streak, his Freddy. “Even this stupid favor for Brian can’t bring me down.”

He frowned. “Favor?”

Harper groaned. “Don’t ask. Just be thankful she doesn’t have a twin to switch places with.”

“Oh, come on, Harper. It’s a simple enough thing.” She gave Dylan a sly look. “I need Faith’s phone number.”

“For what?”

“Never you mind. I’m happy. You’re happy. Harper’s happy. It’s about time Brian had something to smile about.”

Dylan paused. “Brian and Faith?”

“Why not?” Freddy’s eyes narrowed. “You saving her for someone better?”

Behind her, Harper shook his head and put his fingers to his temple, to mimic shooting himself.

“I see you, Harper.”

“No way. Not unless you have eyes in the back of your head.”

“Fine.” Dylan hugged his little spitfire. “Brian can have her number. But I’m her therapist, and I can’t give out her personal information. You can get it from Sydney or Hailey.”

“Okay.” She relaxed, then nibbled her way up his neck. He leaned down and she whispered into his ear, “Now can we go home so I can watch you fuck Harper all night long?”

“And into tomorrow. Sure thing, Freddy.” He straightened, and they both stared at Harper.

He groaned. “Oh hell. My ass is on the line, isn’t it? Only for you, Doc.” He grabbed Freddy and threw her over his shoulder. She squealed with laughter and grabbed his ass. Then Harper kissed Dylan, a promise of the future. Of sexy tomorrows filled with love and laughter. And really hot sex. “Just remember, payback’s a bitch.”

“And her name is Freddy,” their little blonde added.

“She bit my ass,” Harper growled and tickled her into submission.

Dylan swore he heard sleigh bells in the air. For him, Christmas had come early. He’d taken the risk, raised the bar, and set himself higher on a path toward acceptance and love. He’d treasure every minute of it. Especially since he had a feeling Harper meant it when he said payback was a bitch.

Thirty-six hours later, tied to his bed and suffering Harper’s wrath while Freddy kissed him all over, he grinned and confessed, “But it was so worth it.”

Content

Raising The Bar
Wicked Warrens - 3
by
Marie Harte

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten