Just the Messenger (14 page)

“Touch yourself, Marco,” Gene whispered into his ear before easing back up to his knees. “Come for me.”

The speed and pressure of Gene’s cock within him increased, and Marco closed his eyes. He wrapped his hand around his throbbing erection and stroked himself in time to the rhythm inside of him.

“Open your eyes, dammit,” Gene bit out.

Marco obeyed, and the sight of his lover bent over in pleasure pushed him past the edge into ecstasy. Rope after rope shot out of him, covering Gene’s chest and his own abdomen.

Gene followed him, bellowing his approval as his thrusts gained intensity. He rammed the agent across the floor, and Marco felt the rug burn on his skin, only adding to the pleasurable climax. When Gene was completely spent, he fell atop Marco, laying delicate kisses over the man’s cheekbones.

Neither moved, too comfortable and sated to face reality. Marco let his fingertips graze across Gene’s strong back, cherishing the man’s weight on him. After several minutes, Gene rolled off and padded to the bathroom to clean up, tousling Marco’s hair as he went by.

When it was Marco’s turn, he rinsed off slowly, savoring the feel of the other man on his skin, the scent and taste of him lingering. By the time he emerged from the bathroom, Gene was dressed and on the phone. The businessman covered the mouthpiece.

“Get dressed,” he said to Marco. “Let’s get coffee. I have a…proposal for you.”

Chapter Eleven

Grace looked around her disheveled apartment in disgust. She only had three more days to pack up all her stuff and move it…somewhere. It was her own fault for waiting until the last minute. When she’d gotten the call from Hardy Photography—not from Gene, but from some random office worker—telling her she had to vacate and that the business was relocating without her, she’d been crushed. She’d kept waiting for Gene to call her to explain, but after a week and a half, she knew it wouldn’t happen.

Marco had offered to put her up for a while until she could find her own place. Her old apartment had been re-rented, and while Hardy’s had graciously moved her in cost-free, it looked as if she were on her own for the exit. Her severance pay was enough to easily cover the costs and put down a payment in rent for a new place even in the city, so she couldn’t really complain.

Gene
had
taken care of her, he’d just stepped back while doing so. And “stepping back” was an understatement. She hadn’t heard from the man at all. The lack of communication had wounded more than her ego. Her heart was full to bursting with sorrow, and the worst of it was, even Marco couldn’t help.

In fact, she felt even more guilty every time they went out because, while she knew she loved the IIB agent, she was coming to realize that alone, he wasn’t enough. And that made her a bad person. At least in her mind. What kind of woman wasn’t satisfied with a beautiful, kind, caring man at her side…one she was head-over-heels for, at that? She tossed her robe haphazardly over a chair and considered therapy. Obviously she was too messed up to thrive in normal society.

She studied what was left of her wardrobe, trying to figure out an appropriate outfit for breaking up with someone. She and Marco had only been serious for the month after they’d returned from Colombia, anyway, but it felt more severe because of all they had been through. Her limbs were heavy as she picked out a little red number. She and Marco really were perfect for each other, but with the shadow of Gene Hardy over them, it would never work. Marco didn’t deserve to have only half of her heart. She picked out black leggings and ballerina flats to wear with it. She’d rather not be taller than Marco when she told him the news.

She wandered into the kitchen to pour herself a glass of wine. Maybe she’d move out of the city. Get a fresh start, like Gene was. She hadn’t asked where the company was going. If Gene had wanted her to know, he would have told her. If he had wanted her at all, he would have talked to her at least once, for any reason. But he hadn’t.

Maybe she’d go to North Carolina. She had a sister there, with a family. Maybe she could watch the kids for a while for room and board while she looked for another job. Of course, what kind of job could you get with ‘just the messenger’ on your resume? She could perhaps be a secretary, or go back to school for her teaching certificate. Maybe she’d finish her degree in library science and actually make money in that career path.

She had to admit, as she took a sip of the dry chardonnay, it all sounded dreadfully boring. But she needed to restart, and she needed to do it without a loving man by her side whom she didn’t deserve. And she needed to do it out of the umbrella-like reach of Gene Hardy, too.

Maybe she could just forget.

A knock sounded at the door. She straightened her shoulders and hardened her resolve. She’d do it right now, she thought. Before dinner. No need to draw it out, plus it would be very tacky to do it in public, and Marco would know right away that something was wrong. He’d badger it out of her before the evening had ended. She blinked back tears and opened the door.

She looked so beautiful and understated, standing in the backlit corridor leading to her full apartment. Despite the flats that put her four inches below him, she came off as elegant and poised, a woman truly in command. Actually, she looked determined, steely even. Gene hoped to talk her out of whatever it was she was about to say. He was ready to take a leap, and he’d convinced Marco to do it with him. He hadn’t expected Grace to be a problem.

As he stepped to the forefront, he felt a shift in her. Her eyes widened, and her delicious mouth opened just a bit, as if she had to fight to keep it from widening to an “o”. He allowed his mind to chuckle. He couldn’t begrudge her the reaction. He wouldn’t have expected him, either.

“Hello,” she said in a barely audible tone. “Please, come in. I was expecting Marco. He should be here shortly.”

“Oh, no, I’m here now,” Marco’s voice rang out from behind Gene’s left shoulder as the man walked into view.

He passed Gene, handing him a bouquet in a subtle gesture, before sweeping into the room, taking Grace with him by draping his muscled arm around her shoulders and steering her into the living room. Gene followed, his heart jumping in his chest. Nerves and objections shouted at him from within.

Are you crazy? You can’t do this. It will never work. And even if she says yes, then what? Then you’re stuck with her and Marco, both. You can’t even make a commitment to one person; you think you can do it for two? You’re out of your mind.

He was about to turn around and run, but Marco caught his eye as the smaller man placed Grace on the sofa. Marco gave him a bright smile and an encouraging nod. It was as if he knew exactly what Gene was thinking.

After making sure Grace was comfortable, Marco strode over and gave him a hug. “You can do this,” he whispered. “She’ll say yes. And if in six months this isn’t working, well, we all wish each other goodbye.”

Gene nodded, his mouth drawn in a tight, nervous line. Marco was right. It wasn’t as if their decision tonight was set in stone. There would be an out. There was always an out. If Gene could skip town on the IIB, he could certainly escape from his two lovers. What scared him was the inner knowledge that he wouldn’t want to.

Marco took the flowers from him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek for fortification. He flourished the bouquet toward the girl with much fanfare, essentially giving Gene no choice but to move forward.

“My dear,” Marco said, “I realize this is…unexpected, but I’ve been talking to our old friend Gene, and he has something he’d like to say to you.”

Marco stepped back, a confident look on his face, and Gene envied his calm. Marco was suddenly so sure of everything. Gene wished he felt so secure about relationships. The truth was, he avoided them because he was sure he sucked at them. In relationships, you had to put other people first. That was why Marco was so good at them.
You put other people first, too.
Marco’s words at the coffee shop rang back to him.
You pass it off like you’re an uncaring, bottom-line kind of guy, but that’s just not true. You have strong ethics and morals, and I’ve yet to see you do something that didn’t greatly benefit someone in need. Yeah, you get paid. So what? It doesn’t mean you aren’t helping people. You can do this. If you want to.

Gene wanted to. He would.

He got down on one knee.

“Graciela Merced,” he said, looking her in the eyes, losing himself in the swirling depths as they widened. He heard her intake of breath before clearing his throat. Then he jumped off the ledge. “Will you marry us?”

The question was met with silence. Gene didn’t move. It was as if the moment had been suspended in time, and the words clung to the air. His lungs refused to breathe in as he tried to read her face. Surprise, tenderness…terror? Lord knew, that was what he was feeling.

Marco shifted on his right, and Gene realized the man had gone down to one knee, as well.

Finally, Grace spoke. “Marry…you?” she asked Gene.

He could only nod, the words dying in his throat.

She turned to Marco. “And…you?”

Gene turned to see Marco smiling.

“Yes. Will you marry us?” the man asked, as if it were the most normal proposal in the world.

“I…I wasn’t expecting this.”

“Neither were we,” Marco admitted.

Thank God for Marco. The man had all the answers. Gene, for the first time in his life, was rendered completely speechless.

“I don’t know what to say.”

Marco got to his feet. Gene stayed frozen on the spot and watched the man take Grace’s free hand and kiss it.

“Yes, you do.” Marco waited, but nothing came from Grace.

Gene’s blood raced.

“So say it,” Marco prodded.

Grace looked back and forth between them, her glances quickening with each head turn.

“Okay,” she said slowly, pronouncing the word deliberately, as if stalling for more time. “Yes. I will marry you.” She gazed at Gene. “And you.”

Gene felt as if an ocean wave had crashed into him, and he wobbled on his knees. He didn’t know what he had expected…laughter maybe, or a straight out no, or maybe tears, but he’d never expected a yes to their ridiculous proposal.

“On one condition,” Grace added.

He braced himself.

“Get up off your knees and come kiss me.”

Marco beat him to the kiss, and by the time Gene rose to meet Grace’s lips, the slightly spicy flavor of the other man tinged them. And they tasted divine.

Overcome by powerful emotion, Gene turned to the IIB agent when the kiss ended, and delved his tongue into the younger man’s mouth. The heat and desire there flared Gene’s already engorged cock, as his mind took in that this was actually happening. The three of them, together, not just one time, but forever.

He heard a feminine moan and realized that Grace was watching them. Without breaking contact with Marco, he gestured her to come over, then ran his fingers up the other man’s chest to the collar of his shirt. He broke off the kiss to press his face into the younger man’s neck, inhaling the slight cinnamon scent of his cologne. Marco’s fingers were in his hair, so when he felt a hand touching his erection, he startled.

There was sultry Grace, on her knees just beside the two men. She stared up at him, her darkly tinted eyes mesmerizing in their depth and beauty.
Is it okay?
she seemed to be asking.

“Dear God, yes,” he said aloud.

She moved to his belt buckle, undoing it quickly while Marco reached around him and pulled up his shirt. Then the other man undressed himself, and Grace murmured her disapproval, rising and leaving Gene half-clothed.

“Oh, no, my dear,” she said. “The first time you two fucked me, you changed my world. Let me do the same for you.”

With that, she dropped Marco’s pants for him and bent quickly, taking the man’s dick in her mouth. Gene hardened impossibly more as he watched the gorgeous woman deep-throat his lover, one thrust, two, three. She pulled off with a pop and directed the IIB agent back to the sofa. Marco’s length glistened in the low living room light, a tantalizing invitation. Gene felt a shiver start from his ass. It had been ages since he’d allowed himself to be taken by a man. Gene Hardy was a person of control and dominance. But tonight, it seemed all the barriers would break.

Grace pumped Marco’s length with her left hand, and Gene watched her thumb circle the head with each upward movement, his own cock straining for relief at the sight. She knelt between the two men and motioned for Gene to remove his pants, which he did quickly. The feel of the plush material of the couch on his backside tickled and comforted him, intensifying the sensations that ripped through him when Grace took him into her hot, welcoming mouth.

Her tongue swirled around his base as she went as deep as she could go, her wide eyes looking right up at him, as if begging him to come right there. He shuddered, forcing himself not to push into her, to let her do this at her own pace. The blissful suction released, and he let out a soft groan of protest, but cut it off in a gasp as she enclosed his cock in her fist, holding firmly, and blew feathery kisses up his length.