Katrina’s voice was soft. “No. She was the victim of Dietz’s power play, and you had no control over what he did. You couldn’t have known his plans. He was good at putting on his mask of respectability when it suited him.”
“If anything, it’s
Michael cut that bullshit off. “If I can’t claim fault, neither can you. We both know the reason you turned down the position back then was because I broke your heart by marrying Maggie. You couldn’t stand the thought of working side by side with me after what I’d done, and I didn’t blame you. By the time I knew I’d screwed up, it was too late. Or I believed it was. I didn’t know what to do to fix things between us.”
“What are you saying?” his friend asked.
“I loved Maggie as a friend, but not like you should love your wife — like she’s your next heartbeat. Like you can’t breathe without her. She deserved to be loved like that, and I took that chance from her,” he said wretchedly. “I was selfish, and she paid for loving me. So did you.”
“Michael, if Dietz had never hatched his plan and Maggie was alive, do you think you would still be married to her?” Bastian watched him carefully, as though waiting for his friend to realize something.
And when it came to him, the answer was simple.
“No,” he said. It was like a curtain opening, showing the future behind door number three, had it ever been opened. After her death, he’d never paused to follow his relationship with her to its logical conclusion. “We couldn’t make each other happy. We wouldn’t have stayed together.”
Bastian leaned over him, palm skimming up to his chest to rest in the center. “You see? She would’ve been free to find her special person and be happy, and I have no doubt it would have happened. Dietz is the one who took away her future, not you.”
He considered that, and eventually gave in. “My brain knows that, but it’s hard to let go of the guilt. I’ve carried it so long, I’m not sure how.”
“By letting us love you,” Katrina said. “What happened isn’t your fault and you can’t change any of it. Let go and embrace what you have now.”
“And what you have now is pretty darned good.” Bastian gave him a small smile, full of hope.
Michael glanced between them, a strange feeling building in his chest, right underneath Bastian’s hand. The glow spread and seemed to envelop the three of them, vibrating with promise. And something more.
They were so beautiful, inside and out. He was a damned lucky man to be presented with a second chance, and he’d be a fool to let it pass by. “Touch me. Don’t let me go.”
“We’ve got you,” Bastian whispered.
And then he bent and lowered his lips to Michael’s, muffling his “mmmph” of surprise. He stiffened at first, then gradually gave way to the expert mouth claiming his. Bastian’s lips were soft but firm, his tongue probing gently, seeking entrance. Michael didn’t think twice, opening for him to allow the other man to taste and explore. He’d never dreamed it could feel so right, or that he could be aroused by kissing his best friend and be eager to do more. Much more.
But it was better than good, and he returned the kiss, their tongues dueling, Bastian enjoying his friend’s spicy taste. The musky smell of his cologne, manly and clean, teased Michael’s nose. His strong, hard muscles pressed Michael into the mattress. His cock responded, filled, wanting in on the action. He didn’t want the kiss to end and when it did, he and Bastian were panting, proof of the other man’s arousal rubbing against his thigh.
“My God, that was hot,” Katrina said.
Bastian chuckled and reached around to playfully slap her on the ass. “Skin, honey? Pretty please?”
“Michael first. I want to drive him crazy until he begs for mercy.”
“Mmm, let’s make him scream. Does he know what he’s gotten into, I wonder?”
“He’ll find out soon enough.”
Bastian started on the buttons of his shirt while Katrina pulled off his shoes and socks, then went to work on his pants. Michael raised his hips to allow her to whisk down the pants and underwear, and then shrugged off the shirt. In all his naked glory, he’d never felt so exposed… and despite the number of lovers he’d had, never so excited.
The evidence jutted from between his thighs, flushed and hard. Irrefutable. No more hiding from the truth. His search for completion and the endless loneliness was done, but he had to hold it to himself a bit longer. Savor it like a decadent secret and let it sink in that this was real, not some product of his fevered dreams.
But even in his dreams he’d never conjured two mouths — one male, one female — nibbling his skin. Working together, they teased his nipples with teeth and tongues, shooting little bolts of joy to his nerve endings. After a few moments they moved south, nipped his ribs and belly. He squirmed, urging them to get to the prize, and Katrina laughed.
“Patience, big guy.”
Was she kidding? He needed more. Burying his hands in their hair, he grumbled and nudged them lower still, making his wishes clear. Playfully they complied, nipping his hip bones, the hollow of his groin.
And finally, two hot tongues twirled around his cock, starting at the leaking tip. They fought over the little droplet, but he wasn’t sure who was the winner, or that he cared. Hissing between his teeth, he stabbed the air with his cock, unable to help thrusting as they gave him a thorough tongue bath from head to root. Then Katrina swallowed his entire shaft, pretty lips working it, head bobbing. Bastian settled between his legs and mouthed his balls, sucking in one, then the other.
They were driving him insane and he loved every second, but he could hold out against the delicious assault for only so long. “I’m going to come too fast if you two don’t let up.”
Bastian raised his head. “I have an idea. Katrina, lie on your back so our man can eat that pretty pussy. I’m going to be occupied with something else.” He leered at Michael.
“Like what?” He wasn’t sure whether to be scared.
“You’ll see. Just go with it,” his friend encouraged.
He arched a brow. “All right. You heard the man, pretty lady.”
His lovers undressed and he drank in their long limbs and toned bodies. The swell of Katrina’s creamy breasts, trim hips, and long thighs. The glistening pussy awaiting his attention. Bastian’s nicely muscled chest, lean torso, strong thighs, and the thick, eager cock straining and full with heavy balls underneath.
Bastian suddenly appeared a bit anxious. “Like what you see?”
“I do,” he said without hesitation. “I thought I’d feel weird about being with you this way, but I don’t.”
His anxiety drained away. “It’s called making love. You can say it, you know.”
“Making love.” There. He’d tested it and the sky hadn’t fallen. “I’ve fucked plenty, but I can’t recall when I’ve made love to anyone. Until you two.”
Katrina crawled in and lay beside him, opening her arms. He went into them, pressing close, kissing her deeply. He liked how her breasts pushed into his chest and decided to show his appreciation. Moving lower, he plucked one to a peak with his fingers while suckling the other. She arched into him, practically purring.
After he’d plumped them to attention, he moved down her belly to the warm, damp place between her thighs. Crouching, he licked the slick lips of her pussy, getting every drop of dewy moisture. With two fingers, he opened her and probed into her channel, giving her a good tongue fucking. Grabbing his hair, she squirmed and whimpered her appreciation, especially when he shifted his attention to her clit.
A hand patted his rear. “Up on your knees,” Bastian ordered. “I’m going to show some love to this fine ass like I’ve been dying to do for ages.”
He did as he was told, too goddamned horny to be alarmed. He was in this for the long haul, so he figured why worry about something that was sure to be pleasurable? He knew Bastian would never hurt him. He trusted his friend implicitly, and that realization was very freeing.
As he continued to eat their woman’s cunt, his ass cheeks were spread, making him feel shy and more than a little vulnerable. No matter his level of trust, he was still not prepared for the questing tongue that circled his hole — or the jolt of lust it inspired, rocketing to every limb.
“This okay?” Bastian asked.
“Y-yes. Jesus Christ, I’ve never…” He had no words to put to what his lover was doing.
Bastian chuckled. “It’s called rimming, and it’s extremely enjoyable. For both parties.”
