15

It was a month later when Tom introduced me to Jake.

Jake was the son of one of Tom’s former army buddies. Over time, Tom had become a mentor and friend to Jake. The young man had gone into service and a month later, terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center. Jake went overseas within weeks. Tom had worried about him constantly, and confessed that he breathed a sigh of relief when Jake first called him several weeks ago, safe and sound somewhere in Georgia, and announced that he and Uncle Sam had finally parted ways for good.

‘He’s home. He won’t be going back,’ Tom said. ‘I can’t tell you how relieved I am.’

‘Jake helped you quite a bit,’ I said softly, remembering those nights when Tom cried over the phone to his friend.

‘He helped me understand,’ Tom admitted.

‘I’m grateful for him,’ I said, and we smiled at each other.

‘I want you to meet him,’ Tom said. ‘Why don’t we have him over for dinner?’

Since Tom and I had reconciled after my trip to the islands, he had become much more open about introducing me to his friends. He seemed almost eager, as though he wanted to show me off. I was learning that Tom inspired loyalty everywhere he went. Those who knew him couldn’t help but love him.

‘You find out when he can get here,’ I said, ‘and I’ll cook whatever he wants.’

‘Tonight?’

I laughed at his eagerness, then headed for the kitchen to figure out what to make for dinner.

Jake pulled into the drive at six sharp. By the time I got to the door to greet him, Tom was already vaulting off the porch. Jake turned and smiled at Tom, and I was surprised by how young he was. He couldn’t have been more than 25.

The men embraced in the driveway with lots of back slapping and hand shaking. I smiled at them from the porch, waiting out their reunion. Jake reached into the car and pulled out a small wooden box, which he handed to Tom. He also pulled out a clutch of wildflowers.

Jake approached me with a broad smile and good manners.

‘Good evening, ma’am,’ he said, and held out the flowers. ‘I’m so glad to meet the woman who settled Tom down. These are for you.’

I was instantly charmed. His eyes were deep brown and seemed to take in everything with one glance. His hair was too long, shaggy now that he didn’t have a military barber to keep it trimmed. He was clean shaven, with just the slightest hint of five o’clock shadow. He looked at turns like a young man and then like a much older one, depending on the way the light touched him, and I wondered if that was a result of the things he had seen over the last few years. But his smile was infectious, his openness a delight.

Tom followed Jake into the house. I had rarely seen him so relaxed and happy. The men stood in the living room and Jake encouraged Tom to open the box. ‘You’re going to love it,’ he said, and smiled at me proudly.

Tom lifted the lid. For a long moment, he said nothing. There were tears in his eyes when he lifted the hatchet to the light and turned it over in his hands, studying every side of it. Light glinted from the sharp edge. The handle was inscribed with some small sentiment that made Tom laugh out loud.

‘I saw that and for some reason, I thought of your flintlock rifle,’ Jake said.

Tom was nodding before the sentence was finished. ‘Damn straight. It’s perfect. Thank you, man.’ Tom reached out and Jake took a step, and they embraced in the living room while I watched.

‘Thank God you’re safe,’ Tom said quietly.

Jake clapped him on the shoulder and a look was exchanged between them, the kind of look that said they understood where the other had been, and that coming home safe was something neither of them had expected. It was the kind of look I only saw when Tom was talking about the military.

I loved watching this new side of Tom with his friend. Over the last several weeks, the gentleness in Tom had slowly edged out the anger. He wasn’t just different with me; he was different with everyone. I liked this new man, who wasn’t afraid of the things he felt.

The men wandered the house as I worked with dinner. Roast leg of lamb, asparagus and broccoli, and all the trimmings I could manage to fit into the oven. It was going to be a huge dinner, with leftovers that would probably last for days. Tom had assured me Jake would eat more than his share. ‘He’s a growing boy,’ Tom said.

I had no idea how true that was until I watched Jake eat dinner. The man could put it away as though he was a bottomless pit. We sat at the kitchen table and talked over wine. Oil lamps burned in the center of the table, making the setting intimate but not romantic. Jake closed his eyes with the first bite and leaned back in his chair.

‘Wow,’ he breathed.

I smiled at him, and he blushed. ‘I’m a bachelor. Fast food is usually what’s on the menu.’

‘There’s plenty. Eat as much as you want, and we’ll send some home with you for later.’

I watched Jake while he ate. His body was long and lanky, a contrast to Tom’s built and solid frame. Every time he smiled, he flashed perfect teeth. The men talked about everything from cars to guns to families. When the conversation turned to me, Jake asked intelligent questions that made it clear he was really interested in getting to know everything about me. Tom watched me with love in his eyes.

‘She’s the best thing that ever happened to me,’ Tom praised.

‘I believe it,’ Jake said.

I blushed. They both laughed.

Then Jake asked for seconds.

Later we stood on the porch, talking while the sun went down. The men had beers in their hands, and I was finishing up a glass of wine. Jake smoked a cigarette while standing a short distance away, politely keeping the smoke from blowing in our direction. I watched him as he smoked, the way he held the cigarette between his fingers as if it was an extension of him, the way he chased every drag with a sip of beer.

Jake was shorter than Tom. I noted this with interest as they stood side by side in front of me, talking as though I were not there at all. I didn’t mind that in the least. It was good to watch Tom get so lost in conversation.

When I turned to go to the kitchen, both men noticed. Tom grabbed at my hand. ‘Where are you going?’ he protested.

‘I’m going to clean up while you guys talk out here.’

A strange look passed between the two – if I had blinked, I would have missed it.

‘Stay,’ Tom said. ‘We want you to stay.’

The pressure on my wrist did not go away. Tom pulled me back against him and sipped his beer. The condensation from the bottle dripped onto my shoulder and seeped through my blouse. Tom kissed the spot. Then he kissed my neck. I tilted my head to make it easier for him.

Jake watched every motion. He didn’t try to hide his interest. He slowly drank his beer while he stared at the place where Tom’s lips met my skin. I looked right back at him. My interest in him had to be the wine, I thought. There was no other explanation. He was simply a kind sweet man, and he was Tom’s friend. It was safe to think he was drop-dead gorgeous, wasn’t it?

Tom carefully set his beer on the porch railing. His hands slid down my arms. He held my wrists firmly by my sides.

Jake took a step forwards, watching my eyes all the while. The silence became awkward. Tom nuzzled my neck, seemingly oblivious to everything else.

Jake tipped up the bottle and drained the last of his beer. He twirled the bottle in his fingers and let it drop to the porch floor. There was a dull thud, then the clattering sound of glass rolling across wide floorboards. Tom didn’t even flinch.

Jake stepped right up to me. He ran his hand into my hair. Tom’s hands tightened on my wrists, but he didn’t make a single move to stop Jake. It suddenly dawned on me what was happening – and then all thought seemed to cease, because Jake was pressing his lips to mine, kissing me softly while Tom held me.

Tom’s lips slipped up to my ear. ‘Do you like him?’ he asked.

My mind raced wildly as Jake pulled away. He gave me that smile, only this time there was a rakishness to it that spoke volumes. So much for the innocence he projected. I wasn’t sure what to say to Tom, or how to act, or even if I should kiss Jake back. Surely Tom was giving me permission if he was just letting it happen like this.

But was it a test? Did this have something to do with what happened on the island?

Tom bit down gently on my earlobe. Jake kissed me again, more urgently this time. I learned exactly what Tom wanted when I took a chance and opened my lips, kissed Jake back as he slipped his tongue into my mouth. Tom groaned in approval.

‘Good girl,’ he murmured.

My amazement was quickly turning to arousal. The rush that sank through my body was much more than the wine. Tom’s body was hard against me, his hands like steel bands around my wrists, holding me still for whatever Jake might want to do. Jake himself wasn’t shy about what he wanted – he kissed me until we were both breathless, and all the while his hands were trailing all over my body. Those hands finally stopped at the buttons of my blouse.

‘Tell him to do it,’ Tom whispered into my ear. He was watching every move.

I hesitated.

‘Right now,’ Tom ordered.

‘Please,’ I said, and Tom chuckled.

Jake flicked open one button at a time, watching my eyes. When the shirt was undone, Jake took both sides in his hands and spread it open. He took his time and let his eyes wander my body. The heat of my blush rose to my face and made my skin tingle.

Jake slid my bra straps down my shoulders. Tom kissed the places where the straps had been. Jake pushed my bra down until my breasts were free. My nipples stood out proudly, betraying how turned on I really was. Jake watched my face as he caught my nipples between his fingertips and rolled them around.

I moaned and leaned back harder into Tom. His erection was evident. It pressed up against me, straining in his jeans. Jake squeezed harder as Tom watched.

Suddenly Jake bent his head. His brushed one nipple and then his lips closed over the other one. The sensation was foreign – he didn’t do it the way Tom did. Jake swirled his tongue around my nipple and sucked harder with each stroke. Then he scraped his teeth across the swollen tip. I was shaking and on the verge of whimpering by the time he finished with both of them. He looked up at me with a wicked grin and, for the first time in a long while, he looked over my shoulder at Tom.

‘Do you want her?’ Tom asked Jake, and my knees went weak.

Jake looked down at me. The polite gentleman was completely gone, replaced by a wild reckless man who didn’t give a damn for propriety.

‘Hell, yes.’

Without another word, Tom pushed me towards the door. My breasts gently swayed as I walked. My nipples were straining against the night air.

The door thumped behind us. Tom led me to the spare bedroom. I stood very still as he unsnapped my jeans and pulled them down my legs. Soon I was naked, and Tom was still fully clothed. Climbing onto the bed, Tom rested against the headboard and pulled me up against him, so that my back was pressed against his chest, his legs were cradling me. His cock was hard as a rock inside his jeans.

‘Tom?’ I asked once, and he shushed me with a fingertip over my lips.

‘You know the safe word.’

I nodded.

‘Trust me, Kelley.’

Jake watched us from the doorway.

Tom slid his hands down my thighs. He cupped my knees. Then he slid his hands up, pushing my thighs apart, until my legs were spread wide. I was lying there in front of Jake, naked and open and waiting.

The message was unmistakable. Tom was offering me to him.

‘Damn,’ Jake said in a rush as he let out the breath he had been holding.

Tom kissed my ear.

‘She likes it deep,’ Tom said. ‘Isn’t that right, Kelley?’

The heat of desire flooded me. Every inch of my body was alive.

Jake studied me as he walked to the bed. He stripped his shirt over his head. Every motion looked sexual. Jake slid his jeans down and hesitated before he removed his boxers. His cock was already poking through the slit in the front. My mouth started to water as I looked at it.

‘You want that cock in you. Don’t you?’ Tom asked me.

I didn’t answer, so he lifted one hand to my face and turned me to look at him.

‘Do you want it?’ he asked again.

‘Yes,’ I whispered.

‘Louder.’

‘Yes, Tom. Yes.’

‘Tell him.’

I looked at Jake. He was naked and stroking his cock slowly with first one hand, then the other. Tom’s hand tightened in my hair.

‘Tell him, dammit.’

I poured out the confession. ‘I want you to fuck me,’ I said, looking directly at Jake. ‘I want your cock as deep in me as you can go.’

Jake groaned aloud. He squeezed his cock hard. Tom’s hands slid up and he squeezed my nipples. They were sensitive from what Jake had done to them on the porch, and Tom’s touch made me gasp aloud. He chuckled against my neck, an almost sinister sound. Jake climbed onto the end of the bed and Tom ground his erection against my ass.

Jake crawled up between my legs. He kissed me. Tom squeezed my nipples harder, until I cried out against Jake’s mouth. Jake’s dick was hot against my thigh. Tom was breathing hard as he let go of my nipples and cupped my knees in his hands. He pulled my legs wide apart.

‘Fuck her,’ Tom said.

Jake slowly slid his cock into me. I cried out as he touched me, then moaned as he impaled me. He was shorter than Tom but thicker, just enough to notice. Jake buried his head in my shoulder while Tom whispered in the other ear.

‘Do you like the way he feels? Do you like that cock in you?’

I bucked up against Jake. His words were in my other ear, a counterpoint to Tom’s:

‘Your pussy is so sweet – so tight – damn, you’re so wet.’

Jake kissed me while he fucked me. I already knew he loved to kiss, and I obliged, letting my tongue dance with his while Tom watched. I ran my hands into Jake’s hair. It was thick and lush, soft under my fingers. I ran my fingertips down his chest and both men moaned in approval.

Jake pushed closer to me, until our bodies were touching almost everywhere we could, and he fucked me with deep and short strokes, getting the most out of every one of them. He was gliding right across my clit each time, and the orgasm was upon me before I knew it, before I could utter even a whimper of warning. I shuddered and Jake stopped kissing me long enough to murmur against my lips.

‘Naughty,’ he said, as he felt my pussy clenching around his cock.

Tom grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled my head back, breaking the kiss. He turned my face to his and kissed me himself. I expected something hard and demanding, like Jake’s thrusts had become. Instead it was gentle and careful. It was the perfect contrast – the hard fuck and the sweet kiss, from two very different men who wanted very much the same thing.

Jake slowed down and watched me kiss Tom. Then he growled a warning, low in his throat: ‘Where do you want it, baby?’

‘Where?’

‘Where do you want my come?’

I groaned in anticipation. Much to my surprise, so did Tom. He thrust up behind me, pushing me harder into Jake. I watched Jake’s eyes as he plunged deep and gave up asking. He suddenly didn’t care where I wanted him to come, because he was too far gone.

Watching him come was as much of a thrill as watching Tom do it. I reveled in the differences. Jake closed his eyes in the beginning, to savor that first rush – as it faded, he opened his eyes and looked right at me. He bit his lip and moaned deeply. He shuddered once, and the sexy sight of that was enough to make me moan right along with him.

‘I know you like the way that feels,’ Tom whispered into my ear.

I tore my eyes away from Jake and turned to Tom for a kiss. His manner was incredibly loving even as he thrust up from under me, his erection so hard it had to be painful.

‘Is it your turn yet?’ I asked breathlessly.

Tom climbed out from under me. I lay on the bed with Jake, who couldn’t keep his hands to himself. He was touching everywhere he could reach. He couldn’t stop kissing, either. I finally had to beg for some room to breathe, and Jake laughed as Tom climbed back on the bed, naked this time. He crawled up between my spread legs. I reached for him and welcomed him in.

Jake lay beside us and watched everything. Tom thrust hard that first time, and with a shock I realized what he was feeling – I was entirely wet, dripping with both my juices and the remnants of what Jake left in me. I locked my legs around his waist.

‘Do you like what I did to her?’ Jake asked. ‘Did you like watching me fuck her?’

Tom answered by going over the edge of control. He thrust into me so hard the bed shook. Jake watched and stroked himself and occasionally encouraged us, but he mostly kept silent. He watched as though he was learning from everything we did.

Tom was almost at the edge when Jake spoke: ‘Did I get her wet enough for you?’

That’s what it took to send Tom to an orgasm that almost knocked him unconscious.

I watched them in the aftermath. They sat side-by-side on the bed and shared a cigarette. I watched the smoke curl up towards the ceiling in the dim light of the bedside lamp. They didn’t speak at all. After long moments of comfortable silence, Jake knelt up and turned to me. His cock was rock hard. Tom looked back at me and smiled.

‘Where do you want this?’ Jake asked. He was looking at me, but the question was directed at Tom. Tom watched me for a while.

‘Suck him,’ he finally said.

I crawled over the bed towards Jake. He looked down at me with that smile that was no longer innocent at all. I teased the hell out of him, trying to get the most out of every small flicker of my tongue, every small nip of my teeth. Jake stroked himself as I worked my way around his hand, licking his fingers and his shaft and the head of his cock, until he grabbed a handful of my hair and shoved himself deeper into my mouth.

‘Yeah,’ Tom breathed. ‘That’s what she needs. She likes being taken.’

‘Does she, now?’

I lay on my back, for the better angle, to take him deeper. He pushed relentlessly forwards. I swallowed on his cock, taking him in deeper. Jake groaned when he touched the back of my throat.

Tom was standing beside the bed by then, stroking his own cock as he watched me deep-throat Jake. I was too busy swallowing what Jake was giving me – I didn’t notice what Tom was doing until he slammed into me with one long thrust. My pussy was so wet he slid in without any resistance whatsoever.

‘Fuck, yes,’ Tom groaned.

He fucked me with long smooth strokes. He pulled my legs up over his shoulders. Soon he and Jake were in a rhythm that took them both in deep at the same time. I was being speared at both ends. Jake grabbed my breasts and squeezed my nipples. Tom touched everywhere else but especially my clit. The fuck was rough and the deep-throating got even rougher as Jake got closer to an orgasm.

I knew from his moans that Jake was getting close. Tom did, too. He reached up to touch my throat, that same reverent touch that was always so possessive, and I realized what he could feel: the thrusts of Jake’s cock as he slid in and out of my mouth. The fact of that was enough to set me off. I bucked and moaned and struggled against them both as the orgasm rushed up hard and fast.

Jake came at the same time. I was surprised by the hot flow of his come down my throat – it was so much more than I had expected.

‘Swallow,’ Tom demanded.

I did as I was told. Jake held his cock deep in my mouth, cutting off my air, until the last drops were gone. When he pulled out I sucked in a deep breath and looked at Tom.

I opened my mouth and let him see what was left. I let him watch me swallow it.

‘Oh, fuck,’ Tom cried out, and came hard with the next thrust.

I was exhausted. I needed rest. Somehow, I knew I wouldn’t get much. Jake was showing no signs of leaving, and Tom was showing no signs of asking him to go. But I did get a brief respite when Jake went to get a shower.

When we were alone, Tom took me into his arms. I curled against him gratefully.

‘Are you OK?’ he asked.

‘Yes.’ I really was. I thought for a moment as I listened to the shower start.

‘I considered using the safe word,’ I confessed.

Tom surprised me when he said, ‘So did I.’

‘When?’

‘When we were lying on the bed. Before anything had really gone too far.’

‘I thought about it then, too.’

‘Why didn’t you?’

‘I wanted to give it to you. Why didn’t you?’

Tom smiled and kissed my nose. ‘Same reason.’

‘We’re really quite the pair, aren’t we?’

Tom laughed and cuddled me closer. I laid my head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat.

‘Tommy?’

Tom laughed. ‘Who’s Tommy?’

‘Are you really OK with all this?’

He sighed and ran his fingers through my hair. ‘Yes.’

‘Why?

‘Because it’s my choice,’ Tom said, almost defiantly. I closed my eyes against the pain I heard in his voice, that same edge that crept in at the most inopportune and unexpected moments. ‘It’s my decision. It’s something we are doing together, not separate.’

We lay in silence and listened to the water running in Jake’s shower.

‘I’m sorry,’ I said, and wondered how many more times I would have to say those words before there was no reason left to say them.

‘You’re long forgiven, baby girl. But I won’t forgive you for calling me Tommy.’

I smiled against his chest and twirled my fingers through the tiny black and gray hairs I found there. His hand in my hair was gentle. I was almost asleep when Jake came back into the room and spoke quietly to Tom.

‘Tom, man – I’ll leave if you guys want me to.’

‘No. No way. You stay here.’

‘Where do you want me to crash?’

‘Right here.’

I was surprised at that. I looked up at Tom and he patted my thigh.

‘Move over and give Jake some room, baby.’

That’s how I wound up with both men in bed with me, Tom on one side and Jake on the other. I fell asleep with the feeling of Tom’s breath on my forehead and Jake’s breath on my back. It certainly wasn’t something I had ever imagined happening in my lifetime, but here it was, and it felt absolutely right.

I felt closer to Tom than ever.