Room at the Edge (31 page)

Liam got off the bed and stripped the covers off them with a sweep of his hand. Austin shivered, his bare skin exposed, and curled up against Jay, his eyes reproachful, but Liam gave him a heartless grin. “Get naked, Jay,” he ordered, undoing the buttons on his shirt. “I want to fuck you both.”

The blunt declaration of intent wasn’t romantic, but it got them moving.

Jay stripped off his clothes and dropped them to the floor—Liam made a mental note to remind him to pick them up later—and hopped back into bed, running a greedy hand over Austin’s bare skin as they both watched Liam finish undressing.

“Can I kiss him, Sir?” Austin asked, then corrected himself. “May I?”

“Yes, but then I want you over here, near the edge of the bed.” Liam finished undressing, then moved to pick up the lube and stood watching as the two of them kissed. Jay was fully hard, his long, dark hair falling loose over his shoulders, and his hand was on Austin’s cock, slowly working it.

Austin moaned when Jay’s mouth moved down to his nipple. “Stop,” he gasped out, and to Liam’s surprise Jay obeyed, sitting up.

“Where do you want us, Sir?”

“I want Austin down here.” Liam tugged at Austin’s ankle, indicating he should move to the edge of the bed. “No, all the way down. Like you were sitting on the bed, only then lie back.” The mattress was quite tall, and there was a padded feather bed on top of it, the end result such that he should be able to fuck Austin while standing, or at least bracing an arm on the bed.

“You’re going to do him standing up?” Jay sounded intrigued. “What about me, Sir?”

“Maybe you I tie to the bed, gagged, so that all you can do is watch us. Dress you up with some nice, tight clamps and a cock ring so you don’t get bored waiting.”

Jay reached down to grip his cock at that, his lips parting on a gasp, his eyes sliding half-closed. Clearly the idea had some appeal. If Liam hadn’t got a firm picture in his head of how he wanted them, he might have let Jay suffer like that, helpless, aroused, and growing desperate for a touch, a glance… God, how responsive would Jay be when it was his turn? His cockhead would be sleeked wetly, his balls tight, his bruised, swollen nipples dark against the metal.

“Or maybe you get to kneel behind Austin, yes, like that, and when I’m in him, you can put your mouth to use sucking him.”

Jay smiled at him, again with that disconcerting gleam that seemed to say he knew every fantasy Liam had and was only waiting for an order to fulfill them.

Austin tilted his head back, staring up at Jay. He put his feet flat on the bed, opening for Liam without a trace of self-consciousness. Liam let some lube drip onto his fingers and slid them along the cleft of Austin’s arse, slicking the bare skin behind his balls before working his finger inside Austin’s hole. The tight, hot clench made him wonder, not for the first time, how it would feel to be on the receiving end of a fucking. There was no doubt that Austin and Jay enjoyed it.

Jay leaned forward, his hair brushing Austin’s stomach, his hands planted on either side of Austin’s hips, and placed a kiss not on Austin’s cock, but Liam’s. The light, deferential kiss spoke to the Dom in Liam. He wanted to wrap his hand painfully tight in Jay’s hair and hold him still, take his mouth with deep, slow thrusts until Jay was choking on Liam’s cock, breathless, at his mercy. Jay gave him an appealing glance from under his lashes. “Before you go inside him? May I? Please, Sir?”

Saying no would have taken up an ounce of the control Liam planned to have another use for. He nodded and threaded his fingers through Jay’s hair as Jay’s lips took him in, soft and wet over the head of his prick and then firmer, with suction, along his shaft. Christ. Liam let himself tug Jay’s hair until he knew it had to hurt, although Jay’s response to the pain was the expected moan of pleasure. “Good boy,” he said, and Jay moaned again, taking him deeper.

It would have been amazing to continue, to come in Jay’s willing mouth, but if there was a chance of Liam actually being able to fuck both of them, he couldn’t come now. Instead he reluctantly pulled Jay’s head back and ran a rough thumb over Jay’s lower lip after releasing him.

Jay licked his lip, a slow swipe of his tongue covering every place Liam’s thumb had caressed.

“Well?” Liam raised his eyebrows.

Graceful, strong, his cock bobbing, untouched, inches from Austin’s resolutely closed mouth, Jay murmured a thank-you.

Liam pushed Austin’s knee back, his finger still captured inside the clinging heat of Austin’s hole. He crooked it, searching Austin’s face for a reaction, smiling when he got one. “Think you can make Jay happy while he’s doing the same for you?”

The logistics would be hellishly difficult to sustain, but Liam had faith in them.

“Yes, Sir. I’ll try.”

Liam applied more lube to himself and Austin—they told him he used too much, but as far as he was concerned more was better—and replaced his finger with his cock, enjoying Austin’s throat-caught moan as his arse was filled.

“Don’t bite him.”

“Who, me?” Jay licked a wet line along the shaft of Austin’s cock and snapped his teeth a bare inch away from the head, making Austin jerk with shock, then give an indignant hiss.

Liam lunged forward, going deeply into Austin and getting close enough to lean in and slap Jay’s backside satisfyingly hard. “For that you get to come last.”

He could see the imprint of his hand on Jay’s skin as he fucked Austin, could hear the luscious, liquid sounds their mouths made as they sucked each other; the harsh, raw groans when they had to pause or risk breaking his rules, because he came first, always.

They knew that.

And tonight he was in no rush.

Chapter Seventeen

Worst day
ever.

Okay, so that was an exaggeration, but Jay wasn’t ready to admit it.

Things were actually okay; it was almost Christmas, and living with Liam had turned out better than Jay had expected even while they were still getting used to it. But he’d had to stand in Liam’s driveway and watch as Austin drove away, knowing Austin wouldn’t be home that night, and it was a shitty feeling. Even Liam’s promise that he’d provide an evening’s distraction seemed like small consolation.

Jay sighed and flipped the book he’d been not-reading to the back where the library’s due date card was and plucked it from its pocket, then used it as a bookmark. Maybe he’d go down and work on Liam’s Christmas present for a little while. There wasn’t a lot left to do—mostly fine details to finish up, and it would be nice to focus on something other than missing Austin.

“Bad book?” Liam asked from the other couch.

“No such thing,” Jay said. “I guess I’m not in a reading mood. Is it cool if I go downstairs and do some work? I’m trying to finish up a thing before Christmas.”

“Of course. Maybe tonight we can go out for dinner? We’d talked about the new Thai place.” Liam wasn’t looking up from his magazine.

“Austin really wanted to go there.”

“Well, there’s no harm in us checking it out first, is there?”

The note of impatience in the words made Jay wonder if Liam was missing Austin too, even though Liam disappeared on business trips fairly often. Maybe he was discovering it was different when you were the one left at home.

“No, I guess not.” Jay stood where he was, fidgeting, aware of a barrier between them. This was Liam. His partner, his Dom. Why couldn’t he go over to him and ask for a hug or, hell, a spanking, something to lessen his depression?

Because Liam wasn’t paying him any attention, that was why. Jay turned on his heel and left the room, not quite slamming the basement door but definitely closing it firmly.

The space downstairs felt echoingly empty, but once he’d settled down to work, he found himself relaxing. Accustomed to long, solitary hours building his dioramas, he could—almost—fool himself that Austin was upstairs, chatting with Liam or curled up on the couch watching TV.

He’d come so close to completing the dungeon scene after two hours that he was really motivated to continue. He had a list of tasks in his head, checking them off one by one. If he kept at it for another thirty minutes, it would be ready to box up.

He picked up the two figurines representing himself and Austin and made them kiss, rolling his eyes at his whimsy but grinning too. God, Liam would love this. Wouldn’t he? Jay touched the figurine of the Dom with the tip of his finger. Sternly handsome, dressed in leather and boots, he wasn’t much like Liam as far as wardrobe went, but hey, maybe Liam would take the hint. The suits he wore were hot in their own way. Liam slipping out of his jacket and tie, then rolling up his shirtsleeves neatly before picking up a flogger could make Jay’s mouth go dry with lust, but he’d cream his fucking pants if Liam ever wore leather boots.

Intent on his work, he didn’t hear the footsteps on the stairs until Liam called his name.

Startled, panicked, he leaped to his feet, knocking over a tiny pot of silver paint. “Shit! Don’t come down here!”

“Jay?”

He grabbed a piece of rag and halted the trickle of paint just before it reached the base of the diorama. “I’m okay. I’m just working on something.” Jolted out of his creative fog, upset that Liam had come close to ruining his surprise, he snapped out a terse, “Aren’t you supposed to knock?”

Liam’s footsteps had stopped. He must be waiting on the stairs, standing there halfway between the space that was theirs and the space that was supposed to be for Jay and Austin, damn it. Jay was angry. He didn’t like being interrupted, and he didn’t want to feel like his space wasn’t really his. “Excuse me?” Liam said finally.

“I thought you were supposed to knock.” Jay knew he was crossing the line by complaining, so he tried to make his voice calmer. “Just give me a minute to get this covered up. Please.”

“I’m waiting.” Liam sounded formal; that couldn’t mean anything good.

“Thank you.” Quickly Jay draped the sheet he’d been using to both hide the diorama and keep it protected from dust over the top, then moved to the foot of the stairs and looked up at Liam. “I’m sorry, Sir. I didn’t hear you coming, and I was startled. I didn’t mean to be rude.”

Liam frowned. “I’d almost think you’d been practicing.”

“Sir?”

“It was a very nice apology. I’m not sure it’s sufficient, considering, although to be fair I am supposed to knock.”

“You shouldn’t have to.” The admission wasn’t difficult to make, not when he knew it was true. “We don’t knock on the other side of the door to ask if we can come upstairs. If this is our house now, not just yours—”

“Our home,” Liam corrected, adding, “There’s a difference.”

“Yeah. Well, if it is, then there shouldn’t be knock zones. I’ll talk to Austin about it when he comes back.”

That made Jay remember that Austin wasn’t coming back tonight, at least, and the resultant pang stung like lemon juice in a paper cut.

“You’re not dealing very well with him being away, are you?” Liam asked dispassionately.

Jay ran his hand over the banister, the wood smooth and warm against his palm. No chance of splinters, not in this house. “It doesn’t happen very often. The last time was when I went to visit my parents, maybe a year ago, and it was hell for both of us. I don’t like the idea of him seeing April or driving north at this time of year.” He ran out of reasons to fret and finished with a shrug.

Liam leaned against the wall, the light behind him leaving his face shadowed. “He texted me from a gas station a few minutes ago. He’s making good time. The roads are busy but clear of snow, and he sends his love.”

“He texted you, not me?” Jay couldn’t keep the surprise from his voice, or the hurt. “Did you tell him he couldn’t talk to me or something?”

“No, it was to both of us, so I imagine if you check your phone, you’ll see it there.” Liam was being so patient with him that Jay almost wanted to push harder, just to break down the forbearance and get to the Dom.

He tugged his phone out of the pocket of his jeans, needing to see Austin’s text for himself, and discovered the battery was dead. “Oh.”

“Mm.” Liam turned to leave. “You’d better plug it in. Don’t reply until you know he’s arrived, though. I don’t approve of driving and texting.”

Jay followed Liam up the stairs, shoving his phone back in his pocket. “Austin wouldn’t do that. He says it’s just asking for something bad to happen.”

Liam waited for Jay to come through the door and close it behind him, then raised his eyebrows. “Well, you’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?”

A tingle, half apprehension, half anticipation, went through him, sharpening his senses. Oh God, he was alone with Liam. They’d talked about solo sessions, without the opportunity arising. The problem was what the odd man out did while the other two were together. It just felt too awkward to plan and execute.

But now…

“Sir?” he asked through dry lips.

“Isn’t that what you’re doing a lot of these days? Waiting for something bad to happen?”

Liam pushed him against the wall, capturing Jay’s wrists in his hands and pinning them to the wall above Jay’s head. His breath left him in a gasp, the tingle upgraded to a full-on electrical shock.

“It’s not going to,” Liam said into his ear, following it up with a bite to his earlobe that left it throbbing. “You’re safe here with me. I promise you that. But our definition of
safe
isn’t quite like other people’s, is it?”

There were words Liam expected to hear, but Jay couldn’t force them out. He tried to say “Sir,” and it emerged as a throat-caught whine, pitiful, imploring. His heart was thudding wildly, his cock rigid, a rush of blood stiffening it so quickly he was left dizzy, lost.

Liam liked to plan sessions, and for all he knew, Liam had been dreaming this up for the last few hours, but it didn’t feel structured and neat. It felt raw and dark, an assault on his senses, a challenge thrown out. He wasn’t scared, but he was still shaking. The things Liam had said he wanted to do to Jay in the past if there was nothing to hold him back… How much had been designed to arouse and tease him, no more than erotic fantasies, and if they were stripped away, what did that leave?