Sunset Hearts (20 page)

Alan broadly smiled. “I got a pair for me, too!”

“Oh,
hell
no.”

Alan’s smile faltered. “Please? For me?”

Daphne still had her arms around him and poked him, hard, in the ribs where Alan couldn’t see her do it. “Please?” she said, winking at him.

He rolled his eyes and sighed again. “All right, fine. But I’m not wearing them right now. It’s still two weeks until Christmas. I have my pride.”

* * * *

Feeling guilty she couldn’t afford any gifts, she made the men promise not to buy her anything. Jerald understood and agreed, even though from his reaction he’d obviously wanted to get her something. Alan appeared hurt by her insistence.

“We’ll give you money, sweetie,” he said. “Seriously. We want to spoil you rotten!”

She climbed into his lap, where he sat on the sofa, and draped her arms around his neck. “You already spoil me rotten,” she gently assured him. “Do you know what Paulie gave me last year for Christmas?”

Alan frowned and shook his head.

“He gave me a diamond necklace. He took great pains to tell me how much it cost. And he took great pains to tell everyone else how much it cost, too, when he took me places and people commented on it. By the third week I had it, I was sick of hearing about it.”

“What happened to it?”

“I left it at the condo when we left for the trip. I didn’t want to risk losing the damn thing. He gave me lots of expensive jewelry and gifts. But do you know the one thing he never gave me?”

He shook his head.

Daphne leaned in and kissed him, long and slow, sweetly, sensuously. When she lifted her lips from his, she looked deep into his big, brown eyes. She whispered, “He never made me feel the way you two make me feel. Loved. Cherished. Safe. That’s all I want this Christmas.” She snuggled against his chest as they stared at the tree. Jerald was due home any minute and the smell of the roast she’d made for dinner filled the air.

“We just want to spoil you,” he softly repeated.

“You have, and you do. Tell you what. Next Christmas, our first Christmas in our new house, we can go all-out nuts. Okay? But this is the first Christmas I’ve had in a long time where I won’t be alone or feel like I’m basically alone. To me, that’s the best gift I could ever hope for.”

He nuzzled the top of her head. “All right.”

* * * *

Christmas Eve, the three of them cuddled together on the couch to watch movies and drink eggnog. Alan wore his Santa hat and boxers.

Jerald begrudgingly wore his boxers, too.

“Ooh, I like this,” Daphne said as her fingers snaked through the fly opening in the front of Jerald’s shorts. “Easy access.”

He arched an eyebrow at her. “Keep going. Don’t let me stop you.”

“See?” Alan practically crowed. “Now aren’t you glad I got these?”

Jerald rolled his eyes, but Daphne didn’t miss his playful smirk. She’d quickly grown used to Jerald’s tough guy exterior now that she knew the sweet, passionate man hiding behind the thick walls. She rolled off the couch and knelt between Jerald’s knees. He spread his legs, allowing her better access.

She tugged his elastic waistband down until she could reach his now stiff cock. When she slipped it between her lips, he threw his head back and worked his hips in time with her movements.

Alan leaned in and kissed him. “Jesus, I love watching her go down on you,” he hoarsely said.

She reached over and grabbed Alan’s crotch through his boxers and found him ready for action. He didn’t need any further encouragement. He climbed off the couch and disappeared down the hall, returning a moment later. Without making her move, Alan lifted her T-shirt and pulled her panties down.

“Are you wet for me, baby?” he asked as he pressed two fingers between her legs.

Of course she was, she felt her thighs slick with her juices already, just from what she’d been doing to Jerald.

Jerald wrapped her hair around his hands and lifted his head to watch Alan don a condom and slide his cock inside her pussy. “Holy fuck,” Jerald grunted. “Damn, that’s hot.”

For her part, Daphne had lost herself in the sensation of having them both together like that, enjoyed belonging to them at the same time, connected as one sexually charged being. Alan pumped his cock into her, his hands holding her hips in place. In this position, he could take her deep and hard and stroke pleasurable places inside her his cock normally didn’t reach.

She used one hand to palm Jerald’s sac, feeling the contrast of coarse hair and soft, warm skin, stroking the base of his cock with her other as her lips and tongue worked on the head. Each time he rewarded her with another taste of his salty pre-come she fought the urge to moan and wildly suck him hard and fast. She didn’t want the moment to end.

Daphne rested her cheek against his rock hard thigh as she sucked him deep into her mouth. From his reaction, she knew he was close.

Alan sensed it too. He slowed his thrusts and reached around her to finger her clit. “Come on, baby. Don’t tease me.”

As close as she already was, it didn’t take but a few strokes from his hand to bring her over. Her eyes dropped closed as she deep-throated Jerald, triggering his climax. Ropes of hot, tangy come shot down her throat as Alan picked up the pace of his thrusts to catch up with them. He pulled out almost immediately, leaning over to kiss her back before he disappeared to the bathroom again.

Jerald pulled her up to the couch with him, cuddled against his side as he stroked her hair and kissed her.

She could easily lose herself in his eyes. It amazed her how one moment he could emotionally seem as hard as stone, then the next like this, open and vulnerable to her.

“I love you so much, baby,” he whispered as he wrapped a strand of hair around his finger. “Merry Christmas.”

She reached up and stroked his cheek. “Merry Christmas, tough guy.”

Alan returned from the bathroom and cuddled on their other side. “Maybe next year I’ll tie a bunch of mistletoe to my cock. Get me a little more action.”

The other two looked at him and burst out laughing. “You don’t need to resort to that to get my lips on your cock,” she teased.

He leaned back and pulled his Santa hat down over his eyes. He wore a smug look. “I don’t know.”

“You just got laid, you greedy bastard,” Jerald teased. “What more do you want?”

“Been a while since I’ve been in the middle.”

Daphne caught Jerald’s gaze. She didn’t miss how he rolled his eyes. He prompted her to stand up, then he hooked an arm around Alan and dragged him down into his lap. “Since when did you become a high maintenance kind of man?” Jerald playfully growled as he leaned in and kissed him.

Alan wrapped his arms around Jerald’s neck and kissed him back. “I am not high maintenance,” he argued once Jerald lifted his head. “I’m just really enjoying having you around like this.” He pulled his hat away from his eyes. “I’m wondering what I’d have to do to talk you into retiring.”

Daphne had settled on Alan’s other side, his legs draped across her lap as he lay across Jerald. She watched Jerald’s face transform from playful to guarded.

“We don’t need to talk about that right now,” he grunted as he released Alan and leaned back against the couch.

Alan started to argue, but Daphne reached out and patted his thigh, derailing him. “Why don’t we head for bed? We’ve got to get up early to cook that bird in the morning.”

Jerald headed for the bedroom while Daphne helped Alan turn off the lights and gather their eggnog cups. She touched his arm and whispered, “Give the tough guy a break. One battle at a time. Let’s get through my trial and then work on him about retirement.”

Alan smiled. “You’ve been paying attention.”

She kissed him. “You’re a good teacher.”

* * * *

She awoke first the next morning. When she tried to slip out of bed from where she was snuggled between the two men, Alan grabbed her and hauled her back to him.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he mumbled.

“To start the coffee. And then the turkey.”

“Who you calling turkey?” Jerald grumbled as he rolled over. He draped an arm around her, effectively pinning her between them.

“Merry Christmas, guys. Now let me make the coffee.”

They wouldn’t let her go and stilled her movements by taking turns kissing her. Eventually she quit fighting them and didn’t notice that when Jerald wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him, Alan climbed out of bed. She did notice his return a few minutes later, when he held out his hands to her.

“Come on.”

“What?” She had just really started getting into the idea of staying in bed.

He took her hands in his. “Come on. I want to show you something.” He’d also put his Santa hat on.

She couldn’t miss his playful look. “What’d you do?”

“Come on. Close your eyes.”

She pulled on a bathrobe and let the two men lead her to the living room.

Alan stepped behind her and rested his hands on her hips. “Okay,” he whispered in her ear. “Open them.”

The space under the tree was filled with presents.

Stunned, she stared as her eyes filled with tears. “I thought we agreed—”

“Now, don’t do panicking,” Jerald teased. He sat in front of the tree. “We didn’t spend any money. Well, except on wrapping paper.”

Alan sat by the tree and pulled her into his lap as Jerald handed her a large box. “Here. Open this one first. This one’s from me.”

She couldn’t help but notice how light the box was. Still shocked, and feeling guilty she hadn’t bought them anything, she unwrapped it. Inside, she found a small piece of colorful scrapbook paper, with Jerald’s neat handwriting.

“Coupon for a one-hour foot rub,” she read.

The corners of Alan’s eyes crinkled in amusement. “Okay, so he spent money on that paper, too.”

She laughed and leaned forward to hug him. “Thank you.”

Now realizing what they’d done, she was able to throw herself into the festivities. Every present was for her, and they ranged from “coupons” to computer print-outs of things the guys would have liked to have bought her, like jewelry and clothes.

Jerald handed her the last one, smaller than the rest. “This one’s from me and Alan.”

Inside lay a small, heart-shaped piece of paper. On it, they’d printed one word:
Us
.

Alan nibbled the side of her neck. “We’re yours forever, sweetie,” he said.

Her vision blurred again as tears filled her eyes. Jerald leaned in and kissed her. “Forever,” he softly echoed.

“I love you guys,” she whispered. “I love you so much.”