Relay for Life (12 page)

They slept for two days. When Andrew blinked open his eyes as the sun infiltrated his bedroom on the third day, he knew two things absolutely. One, he really needed to piss, and two, he really liked waking up between Marcel and Matthew’s big hulking frames.
I am a lucky guy.
He managed to crawl over his lovers and stumble to the bathroom. He flicked on the light and looked at himself in the mirror. He was a bit thinner than when he’d left, but he wasn’t all that worse for the wear. It was his insides that felt like they’d been put through a meat grinder.

He did his business, washed his hands, brushed his teeth, then returned to the warm bed that was filled with the men he’d recently taken as lovers. He technically didn’t know Matthew very well and had only known Marcel as a friend before this, but once someone walked through a hell with him, he figured he knew them better than he knew anyone. In his experience, someone’s true character always came out in a stressful situation. Matthew and Marcel were golden.

He climbed back between them, and they finally stirred. “Hmm,” Marcel greeted. “Good morning.” His voice was roughened from sleep, and it was a sexy sound.

“Morning.” He pressed a kiss to Marcel’s mouth. “I almost thought I dreamed everything that had happened.”
“I had good dreams, but waking up is better,” Marcel rumbled. “Matthew? You awake?”
“I am now,” Matthew murmured. “What time is it?”
“No idea. I don’t have a clock in here,” Andrew said. He glanced at the window. “Early though. Maybe eight? I haven’t checked my phone this morning.”
Matthew groaned. “God, I’m stiff. How long we been sleeping?”
Andrew turned his head to give Matthew a good morning kiss as well. “Two days at least. I woke up once or twice and checked my phone.”
“You feeling okay?” Marcel asked, squeezing his hip from behind him.
Andrew rested his head against Matthew’s naked pectoral muscle, embarrassment swirling through his chest. He swallowed. “Yeah. I’m fine. I’m calm now that I’m home. It’s just crowds that mess me up.” They deserved the truth. He hadn’t told anyone before, had never trusted anyone with his past. “A crowd of infected surrounding me with no way to get out just compounded the emotion.” He sighed and closed his eyes. “When I was younger, there was an outbreak in my sector. My parents and I were running from them with a crowd of people, and when a Necro popped out of a side street, everyone panicked. The infected didn’t kill my parents. The crowd did. They were trampled while I ran ahead. The authorities told me afterward that they were still alive when the UMF arrived on the scene but later died of their injuries. I’ve been freaked by crowds ever since.” He trembled as he spoke, the memory threatening to swamp him again. He didn’t want to think about it. He didn’t want to relive it anymore.
Matthew’s eyes met his. “I’m sorry for your loss.” He paused. “You didn’t owe us an explanation.”
“I wanted to tell you,” Andrew said. “I wanted you both to know why I get messed up sometimes. After everything, I figured you had earned the right to know.”
“Have you ever gone to counseling about it?” Marcel asked.
He shook his head. “No. I don’t want to, either. I know what the cause is. I deal with it all right most times.”
“I get that,” Matthew said. “After my last field mission, they ordered me to have a psych evaluation, and I told them to shove it. What happened fucked with my head, but no amount of talking about it with some stranger who didn’t know me was going to fix it.”
Andrew rolled over so he was on his stomach and looked up at Matthew. “What happened?”
Matthew hesitated a second before he spoke. “It’s not a pretty story.”
“Neither was mine.” Andrew didn’t want to press, but he also didn’t want Matthew to think that he couldn’t handle it.
Matthew stared at the ceiling. “I don’t really want to talk about it yet. It’s a heavy topic to discuss before coffee.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”
“No way, love. It’s fine. I’m just not ready yet. Give me a little time, hmm?”
Andrew smiled. “No problem. How about I make us some coffee and I order out for breakfast?”
“I can go grab some food from the diner you like down the street really quick,” Marcel offered. “I can be back in less time than it takes to call around for a breakfast place that delivers.”
Unreasoning fear doused his insides.
No
. “Don’t go.” He knew it was irrational, but he felt it all the same. He didn’t want Marcel to leave him. Something could happen to him.
“Hey,” Marcel said, cupping his cheek. “Matthew will be here.”
He swallowed. “I don’t want you to go.”
“We have to try to get back to a semblance of normal. We’re in a safe zone, and we need to eat.” Marcel petted him gently. “You’re not the only one stuck in that mindset. I need to walk outside, see people.” He chuckled a little self-deprecatingly. “Even when we got back to civilization, all I saw were field agents and Deadzone employees. I need to remember what the real world is like.”
Andrew considered him. “You’re one of those ‘face your fears’ kind of guys, aren’t you?”
Marcel nodded. “Yeah.”
He admired the trait, even if he didn’t share it. “If you have to.”
Matthew squeezed his ass. “Hey, no guilt trips, run kid.”
Irritation flickered through him. “I’m not.”
“You are,” Matthew corrected. “However, I know you’re not trying to be manipulative. He feels guilty enough as is. Before you get your feathers further ruffled, look at him.”
Reluctantly, Andrew did as he bid. He raised his eyes to Marcel and saw the look of guilt an instant before he smoothed over his expression. He winced.
Yeah. Okay. I’m acting like a brat
. “Sorry, Mar.”
“It’s okay, baby,” he said, looking relieved. He rolled out of bed and stretched, his beautiful body elongating in a long, lean line. “I’ll be back before you know it.” He paused. “Er, well, I guess I’ll have to wear my field wear. Matthew, can you order us some clothes while I’m gone?”
Matthew nodded. “Of course I can. You just go on to the store, and I’ll take care of the clothes and our run kid while you’re gone.” Andrew liked the warm reassurance in his tones. They worked as a team even if they weren’t in the wilds anymore.
He smiled at Marcel as he dressed. “Thanks for going and getting some food.” He would make up for his slip into selfishness when Marcel got back. Lust sparked for the first time in days.
Oh yes
. Matthew winked at him. It seemed he wasn’t the only one whose mind was returning to sex now that they had rested.
“Hmm, you two are plotting something evil.” Marcel smiled. He didn’t seem all that terribly worried about it.
“You’ll love it,” Matthew promised, not missing a beat.
Marcel grinned. “I’m sure.” He gave them both a kiss before turning to collect the keys for the transport. “Do I need a password on the way in?”
“You’ll be asked to verify your identity. Just use the password and your I.D. code to access the building,” Andrew said.
“What’s the password again?”
“Triad.”
“Right.” He didn’t even glance up as he made his way across the floor, opened the door, and left. He looked like a guy on a mission. Andrew couldn’t help the way he felt like he couldn’t breathe as soon as he was out of his sight.
“Easy, Andrew,” Matthew said, pulling him back into his embrace. “He’ll be fine.” He looked at Andrew like he was considering something.
“What?” Andrew asked.
“You have a lot of phobias, love. Do you ever get tired of being controlled by them?”
Andrew felt a familiar well of embarrassment surface in the pit of his stomach. “Um, well, sure.” He heard the alert sound for the front door. Marcel had left. He swallowed. “I’m not that bad. I mean, I control it all right.”
“I’m not trying to be insulting.”
“Trying or not, you’re succeeding,” Andrew said. “Let me up.”
Matthew squeezed him tight. “I’m sorry.” He kissed his cheek and released him. “Forgive me?”
Andrew sighed. “Of course. It’s all right.” He rolled out of bed.
“So you want to grab a shower before Marcel gets back with breakfast?” Matthew asked, clearly seeking a subject change.
“I think I will. Are you going to express order those clothes?”
Matthew grabbed his phone and brought up the net screen. “Doing it now.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to say that the shower had room for the both of them, but he decided against it. Maybe they needed a little separation. Maybe he was being too clingy. Both field agents needed to know he wasn’t some wilting flower. He had been living on his own, dealing on his own, since he was a child. He didn’t need them, though he wanted them.
He turned and made his way into the bathroom, the lights flickering to life as he crossed the threshold. They were motion activated. He looked at himself in the mirror and wondered if they could even make this work in the “real” world, as Marcel had put it. When they’d had nothing to lose, it had seemed like nothing to fall into bed and a little bit in love with the two of them. However, the relationship was far from simple. It wasn’t like Jim and Jason who had brought a third man into their relationship at their mutual desire. They were all relative strangers, and none of them had seriously considered a three-way relationship.
Can we do this
? He turned from the mirror before walking over to the shower unit and programming the temperature.
“Hey, Andrew?” Matthew asked from the doorway.
Andrew looked over his shoulder. “Yeah?”
Matthew shifted from foot to foot. “This is weird huh? Being back here?”
“A little. Everything seemed easier there.” As strange a concept as it was, it was easier to put away normal concerns in a war zone than when they were in the safes.
Matthew nodded. “So…about this date?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you think that maybe we could all order some take-out and watch a movie tonight? You know, to see how things go.”
Andrew smiled. “I’d like that. How about you come in here and shower with me?” He brushed off his earlier idea of proving his independence by showering by himself. There was no point in closing himself off now.
“Yeah?” Matthew looked relieved. “I didn’t want to seem…”
Andrew’s lips twitched. “Clingy?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Get in,” he said, laughing. He should’ve known that Matthew wouldn’t be judging him. Matthew and Marcel had been nothing but accepting of him.
He climbed into the shower and was immediately ensconced in the welcoming warmth of the steam bath. He’d had his bathrooms specially designed to be warm, welcoming, and completely surrounding. It had two showerheads and a special marble that heated so no one had to sit on a cold seat when they wanted to just breathe in the steam.
“This is gorgeous,” Matthew complimented. “It’s big enough for two easily.”
“But not three,” Andrew said. “I’ve been looking for an excuse to update. The unit adjacent to mine is vacant. I wonder if I could buy it and make a roman bath sort of area. Or better yet, expand my garden. I’d love to mash the two and make a pool area in my garden.” He loved redoing his place. Nothing was original to when he moved in. Every instance he had significant time off from races, he expanded or redid his existing spaces.
Matthew laughed. “This place is pretty massive as is. What are you going to do with all that room by yourself?”
“Maybe I won’t be by myself,” he said. “Maybe I’ll have to have enough room for a family.” He tilted his head back into the spray and let the warm water caress his scalp. He’d never really thought about bringing anyone here, living with anyone else. He was naturally a very private person, and he imagined he was harder to live with than most. But it was easy to see Marcel and Matthew fitting in here.
That seemed to give Matthew pause. “So I haven’t blown it yet?”
“No way.”
“Good.” He wrapped his arms around Andrew’s waist and stepped forward until their bodies aligned perfectly. His naked body rubbed against Andrew as the water cascaded around them, and Andrew couldn’t help but respond to the touch. His cock hardened. Considering how little sexual contact he’d had prior to the run, he was getting downright spoiled by this amount of attention.
“Hey, Marcel’s not here.” Was it okay to do sexual stuff without Marcel being there?
Matthew chuckled. “Well, we’ll have to treat him when he gets back from the store. Don’t worry. Between the two of us, we should be able to make him feel far from left out.” He kissed the place where his neck met his shoulder. “Do you think we could manage it?”
“Yes,” Andrew breathed. “I think we can manage.”
Matthew turned him around so his chest was exposed to the spray. He rubbed his cock against the swell of Andrew’s ass while his hands kneaded his shoulders before circling around to tease his nipples. Andrew gasped, his head falling back against Matthew’s shoulder.
He wasn’t sure how long Marcel had been standing there, watching them. But the level of need in his voice told him that he’d been there long enough to be aroused by the sight. The familiar tones of his other lover twisted his arousal deeper. “You’ll need slick for this,” Marcel rumbled.
“Hmmm, you’re so right. Bring some in with you,” Matthew said, nibbling the curve of Andrew’s neck.
“Not enough room in there.”
Matthew raised his head. “Not enough to bathe but plenty to fuck, Marcel.”
Apparently he didn’t need convincing, because there was no further argument. A very naked Marcel stepped into the shower. He must’ve ditched his clothes when he’d first stumbled across them and that was just fine with Andrew. Almost instantly Andrew settled into his skin, a sense of rightness filling him. Matthew pinched his nipples, and he groaned, his dick jerking.
“I love that sound,” Marcel said, his voice a low growl.
Matthew’s hand ghosted down to circle his prick. “Bet he feels even better wrapped around your dick. How do you feel about a little appetizer before breakfast, Andrew?”
“Hell yes,” Andrew gasped, arching into his grip.
“Good,” Matthew said. “Marcel, get in front of him and lean against the wall. We’ll put our beauty’s mouth to good use.”
Andrew enjoyed being a vessel for their pleasure.
I could really get used to this
. He let Matthew pull him back so Marcel could maneuver in front of him.
Yeah. I definitely need to expand my bathroom
. He bent at the waist through the water and sucked the head of his lover’s cock in without preamble. Shock crossed his face an instant before he groaned. Almost instantly the salty taste of pre-cum filled his mouth.
“God, Andy,” Marcel rumbled. “Give me a second will you?”
He smirked around the dick in his mouth.
Not on your life
. He may have been the one getting fucked, but he was far from helpless against his two hunky field agents. Matthew’s hand came down on his backside with a crack. He wiggled his ass as the sting invaded his body. He definitely didn’t mind the slight pain.
Matthew chuckled. “Ooh, he’s getting saucy.”
“Hmm, I don’t mind,” Marcel said. Andrew decided to ignore the both of them and instead turned his attention to driving them both insane with his body. He bobbed harder on Marcel’s cock and tilted his hips up in a way that hopefully tempted Matthew to do more than tease him with his hands. Maybe later they’d get around to exploring his toy chest that he had shoved under his bed. Lonely nights and front door delivery had given him quite the collection of things to play with. The idea made his already-aching cock drip more pre-cum.
Matthew finally gave into his unspoken wishes and sank slickcovered fingers into his heat. He gasped with his mouth full, arching back into the motion. Marcel groaned above him. The steam from the shower was all around them now, blanketing the world in a soft, white fog and muffling the sounds of their pleasure while the water cascaded down from the two showerheads. Matthew fucked him with his fingers for a while before he seemed to reach the end of his patience. He spread Andrew’s cheeks and sank into his ass with one deep, hard thrust.