Bonds of Desire (9 page)

It was heated mint this time. The flavor meshed with the lingering taste of Seth’s until she was too confused to care. She played with Tyler’s tongue, sucking it briefly before letting him take over.

Warm, wet kisses trailed down her neck, the rough scrape of Seth’s whiskers contrasting to the soft touch of his lips and gentle brush of his hair. Her blood burned and her jeans were suddenly too tight, too confining for the ache that grew to a damning need. She squirmed between their bodies, hard cocks rubbing her front and back until she didn’t know where to turn.

Gasping, she jerked back, her lips aching. She gaped at Tyler, his blue eyes full of desire. “What am I doing?” The whispered plea croaked out.

The warm, wet tip of Seth’s tongue traced the shell of her ear. She shuddered, the tremble reaching from her head to her toes. “What feels good,” Seth breathed into her ear. “What you want to do if you just let go.”

She tilted her head, giving him more room to kiss down her neck. “I don’t understand any of this.”

Seth’s hand ran down her abdomen to clasp her pussy, and Tyler swallowed her gasp when he reclaimed her mouth. The following moan burst from her chest to be muffled by Tyler’s kiss.

Instinctively, she thrust against the pressure at her throbbing clit. Seth pressed hard and sure over her jeans, teasing her need higher, but it wasn’t enough. Tyler released her mouth, her head falling back to rest on Seth’s shoulder as he spun her around so she was now facing Tyler.

Somehow, Seth maneuvered her arms until they were trapped beneath his, held back by her elbows so her chest arched out.

“You’re so beautiful,” Tyler said, his voice gravelly with desire. He swept a lock of her hair over her shoulder, trailing his fingers over her collarbone, up her neck then back to Seth to haul him in for another kiss. They were so close each small sound was like a bomb going off in her libido. “You too,” Tyler mumbled at last, his words for the other man.

This was crazy. Allie struggled, tugging on her arms and twisting her hips, the panic rising. “No,” she demanded. “Let me go.”

Immediately she was free. Tyler stepped back, her arms were released and she stumbled away—two, three steps, more, until she had the counter safely between her and the two, overwhelming men.

The marble was cold beneath her palms, hard and reaffirming. The music, which was so unobtrusive earlier, now seemed to blare through the loft. She couldn’t look at them. Her face burned just thinking about what she’d let happen. They were both so smooth, charming, handsome. Commanding. And she hated that. Didn’t she?

“Allie. It’s okay. We won’t force you.” Seth’s voice was pitched to be gentle and soothing. It didn’t work.

She puffed out a laugh. “Force me to do what?” The creamy, swirling pattern imbedded within the black marble held her focus.

“Anything,” Tyler answered.

“No.” She pushed away from the counter. Her legs were still weak but she wouldn’t let them see that. The walk to the front door was the longest ever, even though it was only ten steps away. She counted each one as her feet hit the hardwood, so she knew that fact.

“Allison.” Her name, spoken firm and gentle. An impossible mix that made her stall. “Don’t go.” Was that a command or a request? She couldn’t tell. The tone of Seth’s voice was too neutral to define. She squeezed her eyes shut, her back to them so they couldn’t see.

“We’ll be good,” Tyler added. “Don’t run from this.”

Did he mean they would be good and keep their hands off her so that the three of them would be good together? It was the second option that she was sprinting from. That little incident in the kitchen proved just how overwhelmingly good they would be.

She couldn’t do it. They’d rip her open and see everything she didn’t want to show. The risks were too high.

Without a word, she grabbed the handle of her suitcase, slipped on her sandals, opened the door and left. The grinding roll of the wheels over the floor was her answer. She didn’t look back. Simply couldn’t, or she’d change her mind.

Her heart ached, thumping too hard while contracting against her fear. Coward—a word she’d never applied to herself until now. It felt awful, but there was nothing to do about it.

Tyler would be fine. He had Seth.

And she had her job. Complete with an entire week off to stew on everything she’d passed up to get to where she was. Great.

The elevator dinged, the doors slid open seconds later and she hurried in, ready to be away. Unwanted, she stared down the hallway, half willing Seth’s door to open, for her men to come after her. But that was as stupid as thinking of them as her men.

The elevator doors slid closed, the silence her only company. She blinked, the tears taking her by surprise.
No.
No.
No.
This was right. For the best. And crying wouldn’t change it. Tears never helped, and she wouldn’t give into them now.

Never. She’d been ten years old, maybe nine, the last time she’d really cried. Her oldest brother had sat her down and told her then that if she wanted to survive in a man’s world, she couldn’t be weak. Even then she’d understood what he’d been telling her.

Their mother, love her as Allie did, was always the subservient woman to their father. Their religious beliefs were so Dark Ages that Allie had sworn she’d never be pinned within that role. No matter how it was disguised.

Convictions firmly in place, the trip to her car was one of the loneliest walks she’d ever made.

Chapter Eleven

“Fuck.” The low curse from Tyler summed it up nicely, and Seth agreed completely. “That wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“Which part?” Seth agreed with him, but only on the Allie-running part. The rest had been too perfect to describe. He scrubbed a hand over his brow before shoving his hair away from his face.

Tyler shuffled away. “All of it?”

“No.” Seth spun around at the question in the words. The need to stop the other man from running pumped in his chest. “It wasn’t wrong.”

Tyler wouldn’t look at him. He concentrated on the floor, his bangs dusting down to hide his eyes. “I pushed too hard.” He shook his head, his fists punching his lean hips. “This is stupid.”

“No. It’s not.” Seth stepped in front of Tyler to block his escape. It only took a light nudge on Tyler’s chin to get the man to look at him. There was pain in Tyler’s eyes, the kind that took years to build. “I wasn’t playing earlier. Not before Allie arrived or while she was here.”

He held the long, searching look, the wait excruciating. Like normal, Tyler gave no clue to his thoughts. But damn, Seth didn’t want to lose him too. There was something here. Something he hadn’t reached for in forever and now, he couldn’t let it go.

“I want you, Tyler.” The admission twisted in his stomach and wrapped up to his chest. It was too much honesty too soon. But it had to be said if he wanted to get through to the man.

Tyler jerked his chin away, his lips pressing into a firm line of rejection. “Right. Like you’d really want a whore like me. I told you, my ass is out of order.”

There is was, that defensive gruffness meant to push everyone away. Seth got that. But hell if he was accepting it. He stepped into Tyler’s space, their chest bumping. The low growl that came from Tyler sounded like the warning rumble of a caged animal preparing to fight.

Adrenaline rushed through Seth, the challenge pumping him up as little else did. He cupped the back of Tyler’s head, an action that had soothed Tyler in the past, but not this time. The shove to Seth’s chest was a violent punch, nailing him in the ribs.

“No!” The single word rang sharp and final through the kitchen. Seth staggered back, both surprised and shocked at the venom that flew from Tyler. “I won’t bow to you just because you feel like playing with a new pet for a while.” He stepped forward, his arms pulled back in attack, preparing to hit Seth for a second time.

“I wouldn’t do that,” Seth warned, holding his ground. The residual throb from Tyler’s hit radiated from his chest as two jabs of rejection.

Tyler paused, a snarl contorting his face. “Why not? You’re gonna throw me out anyway.”

“No. I’m not.” Seth stared him down, his own anger held in check behind a crumbling wall of control. “But you’re pushing to make it happen. You don’t want to leave, so instead you’re pushing to make me do it for you.”

There was a moment of tense indecision, the internal struggle flashing across Tyler’s face in one of the few displays of unguarded emotion Seth had seen from the man. Confusion, distrust, longing were all there. Tyler started to lower his arms and Seth eased back, relief rushing through him to loosen his muscles.

In a quick flip of action, Tyler reeled back, arm cocked, lip curled. “Fuck you.”

That did it.

“I don’t think so.” Seth had had it. He was done dancing between Tyler and Allie and Deklan and Jake and whoever wanted something from him. This shit was not happening. Not in his home.

He grabbed Tyler’s wrist right before it nailed his face and forced it upward, the momentum in his favor. He lunged forward, and Tyler stumbled back. Seth used that advantage to spin Tyler around, the pantry door jarring in its frame as he thrust the man against it.

Tyler struggled, resisting every move. The air was punctuated with low curses from both of them as they wrestled for control. Finally, Seth had Tyler pinned to the door, his arms stretched over his head. The wood bit into Seth’s knuckles where he held Tyler’s wrists. He chugged deep breaths of air, searching for the calm that usually kept him grounded.

“Let. Me. Go.” Tyler kicked back, just missing Seth’s knee.

Fucking...shit. “Stop it,” Seth growled. He rammed his leg between Tyler’s, his knee holding tight and close to the tender sack of Tyler’s nuts. He pressed up just enough to get the man to still.

The deep, panting rush of their breath cut through the air, competing with the drum of the music. Seth grappled with the feral beast that had escaped, trying to rein it in before he lost complete control.

The muscles down the entire length of Tyler’s body were held in tense resistance. His biceps bulged, the definition striking and powerful when matched with the rounded firmness of his shoulders and lats.

Son of a bitch
. Seth had been mindful enough to keep from touching the man’s back, but apparently that hadn’t mattered. The tender strips of torn flesh that marred Tyler’s back had broken open in their struggle. Fresh beads of blood pooled bright red and angry in spots.

The disgust sunk hard and cruel in Seth’s stomach. He’d never found pleasure in hurting someone and this was no different. There was no enjoyment here, no rush of power or ache of desire. But instinct told him this is what Tyler understood. Seth vowed he’d change that, if the man gave him the chance.

The scant inches that separated them were both too close and too far away. He tilted his head and nipped the tender lobe of Tyler’s ear, the bite not even close to gentle. “Fucking act like an animal and I’ll treat you like one. But I won’t kick you out.”

Tyler turned his head away, the back of his hair swiping over Seth’s face. Oh, he did not just do that. Seth jammed his knee up higher until he could feel Tyler’s balls defined on his leg as he pressed his point home.

Tyler shifted, pushed back and finally groaned when he couldn’t get away. “Fuck. Stop.”

“I bet your back burns like a motherfucker,” Seth prodded, pushing home that Tyler’s actions had only hurt himself. “Was it worth it?”

“Fuck you.” The put-off was low, grumbled more than spoken. Tyler struggled one more time, tugging on his wrists without success before he sagged forward, his stiff hold of resistance going slack as his forehead thumped against the door. His back heaved, each breath coming across like a gulp of acceptance. Or was it defeat?

Seth loosened his hold on Tyler’s wrists and dropped his leg to the floor. Cautiously, he brought Tyler’s arms down to his sides, watching for any hint of return fight. But there was only a deep resignation that nailed Seth harder than Tyler’s fists had.

“Hey.” He nudged Tyler around, forcing him to turn. He cupped Tyler’s face, his heart clenching at the flash of despair that was quickly hidden behind flat indifference. This wasn’t what he wanted.

How many times would he hurt this man? He should let him go now, while he still could. There was nothing for them. Not if Tyler didn’t trust him.

And not if he couldn’t trust himself.

“Look at me, Tyler.” The low command worked, something he hadn’t been sure would. There was so much said in Tyler’s eyes. The anger had faded to leave a spark of defiance, doubt, fear and even desire. He brushed his thumb down the line of Tyler’s jaw, only a bare hint of stubble hindering the smooth surface. “I said you could leave whenever you wanted, and that still holds. But you won’t disrespect me with your actions, words or manipulative ploys while you’re here. Your games don’t work with me.”

Tyler swallowed. His jaw flexed and bulged under Seth’s thumb as he stared Seth down. “I don’t understand what you want from me.”

“Nothing.” Which was completely true. “And everything. Accept that you deserve better. You asked for this, now have the courage to see it through.”

Tyler squeezed his eyes closed before quickly opening them again. Seth smiled, the warmth of Tyler’s compliance filling him with renewed hope.

“I don’t have much to give.” Tyler glanced away, then back again. “Let alone anything you’d want.”

Like that, Seth wanted nothing more than to prove the man wrong. Tyler had bared his insecurities, cracking open the door he kept tightly closed. The Dom in Seth roared with approval. To be given that small bit of insight was like a fresh spark to the flame that smoldered in him for this man. This submissive who didn’t trust enough to let go.

Seth slid his hand around to the back of Tyler’s neck, prepared to stop if the man objected. It was a silent test, one that held so many answers. Tyler inhaled, his shoulders rounding back before going slack.

“Stay,” Seth said around his relief. “And I’ll prove to you just how wrong you are about that.” Suddenly everything was on the line. It didn’t seem like much externally, but internally, he was a jumbled mess.

Want, need, desire—it all circled together to hold off the dark edge of doubt. It was a cloud he lived with every day but had learned to hide. Now though, it was right there, filling the empty spaces with its vicious menace. His lungs constricted until it was impossible to breathe. A cold sweat rose on his skin, chilling him to the bone. No one ever needed him enough to stick around. Not his father or mother, or even Deklan and Jake.

But maybe, just maybe, Tyler would stay.

The naked honesty in Tyler’s eyes was like a sucker punch to Seth’s rising hope. “I don’t know if I can.”