Authors: Cassidy Browning
Tags: #Romance
“Later.” Decker knew he was overstepping his bounds, but this seemed to be important. “You can do that tomorrow. Or you can make plans with Daphne and then take half an hour to do what you need to do. But today Daphne deserves a celebration.”
Finn nodded. “Daphne does deserve a celebration. What would you like to do, sweetie?”
Daphne’s eyes twinkled between the two men. Decker felt his cock respond to her smile and forced himself to concentrate on finding the syrup. It was their celebration. He had just provided a nudge in the right direction.
“I’d like to take a drive,” she announced. “Along the coast. With my two favorite men.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Decker tried to keep his head down as he finally tucked into his breakfast.
“Please?” Daphne put a hand over his and waited until he looked up. “Please come with us.”
“Yes, please come with us,” Finn repeated, but he didn’t sound quite as enthusiastic about it. “We’d love to have you.”
* * * *
It was a glorious day. Finn’s car only sat two, and Decker’s car wasn’t a convertible, so Daphne insisted on renting one for the day. The world was a wonderful place, everything was perfect, and she wanted to drive down the coast in a convertible wearing gigantic sunglasses and a scarf around her hair like Grace Kelly. Or somebody. As long as she looked glamorous, she didn’t care who she resembled.
They left Decker’s car at the rental place and headed out in a bright
-
red Sunfire, Finn driving and her scarf whipping around her head like a bird flapping silky wings. That thought reminded her of the previous evening
,
and she smiled broadly into the wind. She couldn’t remember when she’d felt happier than she did today. Finn was happy with her, Decker had made sure she got the recognition and the reward she needed—even if it was a little childish to need a reward, she acknowledged to herself that she
did
need it. She hadn’t been joking when she’d called them her two favorite men. Finn was great at doing what needed to be done, making sure her career was on track, and getting everything organized. He was great at sex, too. Better than she would have guessed. Maybe it was all those years of refusing to let himself go there. He had a lot of pent-up fucking that needed to be let out.
So did she. She hadn’t been as virtuous as she knew he had been, but she definitely hadn’t gotten the amount of sex she’d wanted over the last few years. Now that they were indulging their desires, life seemed a hell of a lot better. She couldn’t help but wonder, though, what would happen when Decker went away. Decker seemed to be the one making sure that their lives were in balance and they stayed in tune with each other. There was a feeling of completeness with all three of them in one place, as if they belonged together somehow. She turned to give Decker a broad smile in the back seat, where he had insisted on riding, and impulsively blew him a kiss.
When Finn turned slightly, she blew him a kiss
,
too, glad to see that he didn’t seem terribly offended.
Good. Maybe soon we can have that conversation, the one where I ask him if he’d mind sharing me with another man.
She pursed her lips, wondering if it would come out as bald as that.
Can I fuck this other guy, please, Sir?
It didn’t seem possible that he, or any guy, would ever go for it. Blaze might, if she was charging and passing the money along to him.
Blaze. She would have to do something about him soon. He had disappeared as soon as the video was done. Actually as soon as his part was done, not even bothering to make sure they wouldn’t need him to redo anything. He’d snarled something at her on his way past, but she hadn’t been paying him a lot of attention lately.
She put Blaze out of her mind and concentrated on enjoying their drive. About noon they stopped at a deli and got things for lunch. There was a beach nearby, so they found their way to it and ate sitting on the sand, enjoying the feel of the sea air and each other’s company.
“This is nice. It’s so delicious not having anything to do for once!” Daphne leaned back on her elbows, watching the waves and luxuriating in how comfortable she was feeling.
Finn tipped the last of a bag of chips into his mouth. “We don’t exactly have nothing to do, Daph.”
“For today you—or at least Daphne—has nothing to do,” Decker told him, opening a bag of cookies. He popped one in his mouth then held one out in front of Daphne. She lifted herself up, arms still behind her, and took it between her lips, giggling.
“Fair enough.” Finn smiled and seemed to relax a little at Decker’s admonishment. “You were incredible last night, Daph. You deserve to be a YouTube phenomenon.”
“Yes, she does.” Decker took another cookie, passed the bag to Finn
,
and lay down next to Daphne on the sand, arms folded under his head.
Finn munched his dessert, still looking out into the horizon, humming something that Daphne realized was her new song.
“Falcon’s Fantasy,” Decker said softly from beside her.
“Falcon’s Fantasy,” Daphne repeated thoughtfully, remembering the words that had come so easily to her last night. They’d seemed brilliant at the time, but she would have been terrified that they were either nonsense or that they would slip away before she could record them. But listening to the video this morning, she was confident that they made sense and she’d be able to get them written down. It was a wonderful feeling.
“How did you do that, by the way?” Decker asked her. “If it won’t ruin the magic for me.”
“I don’t know about magic. That damn song has been evading me for months,” she told him. “I’d spent so long thinking about it that my subconscious must have been working on it for me. When I was relaxed by the endorphins
,
it just started flowing.”
“Sounds like magic to me.”
They lapsed into silence again, listening to Finn’s soft humming against the crash of the surf. Daphne thought she’d never been happier.
Decker stole occasional glances at the woman lying next to him on the sand. She was so beautiful, and last night he’d seen for himself exactly how talented she really was as well. It was one thing to watch her rehearse, but putting her on stage in front of a couple dozen strangers in nothing but body paint and feathers, forced to sing a song that wasn’t ready, was a real test. She’d come through like a true star. He’d seen her extraordinary ability to capture an audience and hold them spellbound.
She turned her head and caught him looking before he could pretend he’d been scanning the horizon. Their eyes met and held for a moment. Then she was leaning over and pressing her lips against his
,
and the world turned upside down.
Their arms did not touch, and he resisted the urge to pull her the few inches it would take to get her underneath him. She was opening her lips
,
and his tongue instinctively did what she’d invited it to
.
I
t pushed into her mouth and explored.
She responded, her own tongue meeting his in a way that was at once sweet and bold. Time stopped and an eternity went past while he drowned in her nearness and the pure joy of kissing her.
Then she pulled back
,
and they both turned to look at Finn. He had stiffened, staring at them, his face a picture of shock and dismay.
Without a word, Daphne reached up and pulled Finn’s head to hers. She continued to pull until he was lying back on the sand next to her and she was sandwiched between them. Decker groaned softly to himself as he watched her refusal to let Finn pull away from what was undoubtedly an uncomfortable situation for him. Daphne had been sleeping in his bed, and no one in the house could have any doubts that they’d been sexually active. Emphasis on active. Daphne was not subtle, in lovemaking or in anything else, and he’d thought it might kill him listening to the sounds of their passion night after night, knowing she wasn’t his
,
too. He wouldn’t have minded sharing or being part of their exuberant sessions, but he was pretty sure Finn wasn’t open to that kind of thing—which was understandable when you hadn’t been around that situation before and had a woman like Daphne to yourself.
What she’d meant by kissing him he didn’t know. She’d flirted with him, but he’d thought that was mostly to make Finn jealous. Now he wasn’t sure.
When she pulled away from Finn, she turned back to Decker.
Finn sat up. “Oh, no. Not without a discussion. What’s going on?”
Daphne sighed. “Nothing can ever be easy. Okay.” She sat up cross
-
legged on the sand
,
and Decker followed her lead, shifting so that they were in a circle.
“I love you.” Daphne reached over and took Finn’s hand, gazing fondly and seriously at him. “But I want both of you.”
Finn swallowed and looked at Decker. “Are you sure you don’t just want him?”
Decker chuckled. “I think she’s demonstrated that she wants you
,
too. Don’t be paranoid. Let’s talk about this.”
“Really, Finn,” Daphne said, exasperated. “Haven’t I already proved that I want and need you?”
Finn turned back to the ocean and was very still. Daphne watched him carefully. Decker thought she was trying to gauge his reaction. She shouldn’t have expected Finn to turn cartwheels at the idea of her wanting someone else, but she obviously wasn’t quite sure what to do with his silence.
“Honey,” Daphne said finally. “You know this doesn’t mean that I love you any less, right? It’s just that sometimes—sometimes—”
“Sometimes we need different things from different people,” Decker provided. “Listen, Finn. I don’t want to step into any place I’m not welcome. If you aren’t comfortable with the idea of polyamory, then we won’t take it any further.”
“I don’t think ‘comfortable’ is the word I would choose right now. I don’t know how I feel about it, other than confused and conflicted,” Finn said finally. “On the surface it should be a logical thing. I mean, I’ve seen how well it works for Allie and her guys. I can even understand that Daphne probably doesn’t get everything she needs from me, and that you would be great for her. Hell, look at what you’ve already done for her. For us, if I’m honest about it. I just—it’s not easy to wrap my head around, you know?”
“But you’ll try, won’t you? You’ll think about it?” Daphne leaned forward even more, stroking his cheek.
“What if I say no, I can’t deal with it?”
She sat back, regarding him sadly. “I don’t know. I guess we’ll have to drive off that bridge when we come to it.”
“Finn, let me ask you a question.” Decker paused until he received a reluctant nod. “What do you know about polyamory?”
“Just what I’ve seen with Allie and her guys. Oh, and that if I let Daphne do this that everyone will know I’m not enough of a man for her.”
“Who would say that?” Daphne was sputtering in her indignation. “Of course you’re enough of a man for any woman. My wanting Decker
,
too
,
isn’t about that at all.”
“Slow down a minute, both of you, please.” Decker held up a hand. “Daphne, it is true that some narrow-minded people, like Blaze for example, will say things like that. It’s not true, of course, but bigots and idiots do exist.”
Finn finally turned and looked at both of them. “See. I told you.”
Decker raised his eyebrows. “So you’re saying any minority group should just roll over and die because some people make ignorant comments?”
Finn hesitated. “Of course not. But this is different.”
“Not really. Sexual orientation or relationship dynamics are every bit as much a minority group as any other. Just look at the trouble the GL
B
T community has had in the fight for the right to get married.”
“Okay,” Finn said slowly. “I see your point. But—”
“There will always be ‘buts,’ my friend. Now let me explain a few of the reasons this might be good for us all.”
“I’m listening,” Finn said after a moment.
“There are many benefits to being poly,” Decker began. “With more adults in a household, there is extra stability, earning power, emotional support
,
and resources in general. It’s a challenging thing, there’s no doubt of that. But if everybody can be adults and respect each other’s needs, it’s possible to get beyond that, to understand that because your partner loves someone else, it doesn’t mean they don’t love you. Of course it isn’t for everybody, but there’s no reason it can’t work if everybody is willing to put in some effort.”
“That sounds perfectly logical,” Finn said. “But I have the feeling it’s not that black and white in real life.”
Decker smiled. “Of course not. Nothing ever is, is it? It’s hard to convince yourself of the reasonableness of the situation when your emotions are involved. One of the worst enemies we all have is the thought, ‘You made me feel bad.’ When you learn to stop blaming other people for your own reactions, relationships get much easier.”
“What about you? Have you done this before?” Daphne asked suddenly.