Three

Trey buried his face in the sleeping baby’s neck and inhaled deeply. He wasn’t sure what it was about the scent of baby powder that made him feel so at peace with the world, but he could lie there on the bed with little Malcolm sleeping on his chest for hours. He pressed a kiss to the soft fluffy black hair of the perfect human Brian had created with his loving wife and rubbed the baby’s back while Malcolm slumbered, completely unaware of how cruel the world could be. It didn’t bother Trey that the reason he was babysitting his godson was so Brian could fuck Myrna senseless. Well, didn’t bother him much. He supposed new parents needed alone time more than anyone.

Ethan came out of the bathroom rubbing a towel over his short black hair. Steam from his shower billowed through the open door behind him. He stopped when his gaze landed on Trey.

“Now isn’t this homey?” he said with a twisted smile, before scanning the room. “Didn’t I hear Reagan come in?”

“She took one look at this precious baby and ran off to help that nerdy chick find something to wear after the concert.”

At the sound of Trey’s voice, Malcolm stirred, shoving a tiny fist into his mouth and sucking. Within seconds, he went still again, relaxing against Trey’s chest.

“You’d like one of those of your own, wouldn’t you?” Ethan asked, nodding toward Malcolm.

“Hell no,” he said, but his swelling heart didn’t agree. “This is enough baby time for me.”

Ethan sat on the edge of the bed next to Trey and gently stroked the soft fluff covering the baby’s head. Malcolm’s hair always stood on end no matter how much any of them tried to flatten it.

“He sure is cute,” Ethan said.

“He looks like his father.” Trey grinned down at Malcolm’s adorable sleeping face, which resembled Brian’s a little more every day.

Ethan’s hand went still on Malcolm’s head and he stood, going to an open suitcase for a shirt.

“Reagan doesn’t want kids,” Ethan said.

The hard edge to his voice made Trey squint at his broad back. Had he said something to offend him?

“I know,” Trey said quietly so he wouldn’t disturb his sleeping godson. “We don’t have any business bringing a child into the world. Not when we’re involved in such a complicated relationship.”

“I’m not stepping aside so you and Reagan can play house.” Ethan’s motions as he jerked his shirt on over his head made Trey think he was angry. Or upset. But getting Ethan to talk about his feelings was damned near impossible.

“No one asked you to step aside. I’m one hundred percent committed to both of you. Aren’t you happy?”

“Yeah,” Ethan said gruffly as he strode across the room, disappearing into the suite’s living room.

“I think something’s bothering him,” Trey said to Malcolm, who gave the fist in his mouth a few sucks before going still again. “Can I lay you in your basinet while I try to get him to talk to me?” Trey inched toward the edge of the bed and slowly rose to a sitting position. Malcolm’s face twisted in displeasure, and he released a loud cry of protest. Trey sighed in resignation and reclined back into the nest of pillows, patting Malcolm’s diaper to get him to settle again.

“Ethan,” Trey called. “Can you come here for a sec?”

After a moment, the tall dark hunk appeared in the doorframe. “What?”

“I think we need to talk—”

Ethan’s strong jaw hardened. “Later. I have somewhere I need to be right now.”

“Where?”

Ethan’s gaze flicked down to the baby cradled against Trey’s chest. “Somewhere.” He turned away.

When the suite’s door banged shut a moment later, Trey took a deep breath and released it in a frustrated huff. He slapped around the side table trying to get a hand on his cellphone without disturbing Malcolm. Finding it, he did his best to send a call with one hand. He could use some advice, and there was only one person he trusted to shoot completely straight with him.

“What do you want?” Dare answered, trying to sound annoyed, but Trey could hear the smile in his big brother’s voice.

“I’m babysitting.”

“Congratulations.”

“Everyone’s deserted me. Come keep me company.”

Dare chuckled softly. “You never could stand to be alone.”

“I’m not alone,” Trey said, still patting Malcolm’s bottom with his free hand. He just felt alone. “Malcolm doesn’t talk much, though. Not yet anyway.”

“Quit your moping. I’m on my way.”

The call ended in his ear.

Trey scooted off the bed so he could let Dare into the room when he arrived. Malcolm didn’t appreciate the shift in position. Startled, his tiny hands flew open, and again he wailed a protest. Trey lifted him so his head was nestled against his neck and bounced slightly. The weird thing was, Trey didn’t like babies with the exception of this baby. This baby was precious to him. He still thought Brian and Myrna were dumb for picking him as Malcolm’s godfather and trusting him to care for their little one, but it warmed his heart to have a tiny perfect person completely dependent on him. That didn’t mean he wanted a kid of his own.

The moment Dare arrived, he claimed Malcolm for himself, scooping the baby out of Trey’s arms and holding him in the crook of one arm. “Is he hungry? Wet? Does he need to burp?”

“I didn’t call you to take over babysitting duties,” Trey said. “The two of us are doing just fine.”

Dare’s green-eyed gaze settled on Trey’s eyes. “Well, something is bothering you. You only call me when something’s not right.”

“That’s not true.”

Dare snorted on a laugh. “Yeah it is. So what is it this time?”

Trey considered arguing—maybe he just wanted to chill with his brother for a little while—but it was no use. Dare was right. Something was bothering him, and he had called his big brother to help him sort through his troubles.

“Ethan.”

“Ah, Mr. Tall Dark and Broody. Is he acting all jealous of Brian again?”

“I don’t know. We were talking about having babies.”

Dare chuckled and stroked Malcolm’s ruddy cheek. “Well, that should defy all laws of biology.”

“We were actually talking about not having babies. With Reagan, obviously. I don’t have the right equipment to carry one. And then he got pissed for no reason and left.”

“You had to have said or done something to set him off.”

“All I said was Malcolm looks like his father, and then he said Reagan doesn’t want kids and that he’s not stepping aside so we can play house—whatever that means—then he said he had somewhere to be and left.”

“He seems to be feeling left out.”

“I don’t know why. We all try to stay on equal footing.”

“Maybe that’s where your trouble lies. Maybe he doesn’t feel special to you. Maybe he feels like an accessory to Reagan, like the only reason you care about him is because Reagan allows him—and only him—to be included in your relationship. Maybe he feels you’re just using him for sex.”

“It’s not like that at all,” Trey insisted.

“I’m no expert on polyamorous relationships.”

“Me neither.” Trey raked his hands through his hair and flopped down on the sofa while Dare paced from sofa to windows humming softly to Malcolm.

“Honestly,” Dare said after a moment. “I think he’s simply jealous of Brian. He probably thinks you want what Brian has—wife and son. Or maybe he thinks that you want to be Brian’s wife.”

Trey lifted a pillow from the sofa, prepared to launch it at his brother, but thought better of it when he remembered Dare was holding Malcolm. He clutched the pillow between his hands and pulled it against his belly. “I don’t want a regular wife-and-kids lifestyle. Not ever. I’ve told him and Reagan I don’t want that. I’m so content and happy in this relationship. I don’t know how to make them feel the way I do. They both seem to be struggling.”

“Reagan too?”

Trey nodded. “At least I know what her issues are. She talks to me. Ethan? Ethan never wants to discuss anything emotional.”

“That’s because he’s a guy.”

“I’m a guy,” Trey pointed out.

“A weird one.”

Trey threatened to flatten him with the pillow.

“Hey,” Dare said, lifting his infant shield. “Drop your weapon. Baby on board.”

“I’m not weird.”

“You love three people with all your heart.”

“Two,” Trey corrected.

Dare leveled him with a challenging stare. “Three.”

Trey hugged the pillow against his chest again. “I don’t love Brian anymore.”

“Right. But I don’t doubt you could simultaneously love five people with all your heart. Or ten. And that’s weird, Trey.”

“Everyone knows I’m a man whore. Sed was one before Jessica, but no one gives him grief about it.”

“This is entirely different from having multiple sex partners, Trey. You are in love—deeply in love—with several people. Most of us don’t—can’t—function that way. That’s why you’re weird. It’s second nature to you. You don’t struggle with it or even question it. It’s just part of who you are.”

Trey hauled himself off the couch and reached for Malcolm. Dare had doted on the baby enough. It was Trey’s turn to cuddle with the little guy.

“I called you over here to make me feel better, not worse,” Trey said as he shifted Malcolm out of Dare’s arms and into his own.

Dare laid a hand on Trey’s head just as he had a thousand times in the past when Trey had come to him seeking advice or approval or just to be around someone he knew would be in his corner no matter what.

“Your open heart is a gift, Trey. It killed me watching you struggle to keep it shut all those years while you waited for Brian to come around. You’re finally discovering what you needed all along, and I’m glad for you.”

Trey’s heart swelled up into his throat. That was what he needed to hear from Dare. Why he’d called him here. He could always count on Dare to say exactly the right thing and make him feel like he could rise above anything trying to pull him down.

“But it’s still weird,” Dare added with a laugh and slapped him in the side of the head.

“Gee, thanks.”

“Not that you should change. Just realize not everyone can function the way you do. Maybe it’s okay for Reagan and Ethan to struggle with this relationship. It means they’re willing to fight for it, right, even if it’s not easy for them. They want it.”

Trey had a lot to think on. He didn’t know if Dare was right, but his opinions made sense to Trey. Maybe he could somehow help Reagan and Ethan. He wanted them both to be happy. He loved them both so much. He didn’t know if he would survive letting someone else he loved go the way he’d let Brian go. That was Trey’s struggle. Not loving more than one person—that was easy for him. Letting go? That was damned near impossible.

“Feel better?” Dare asked.

Trey shrugged. “I guess.”

“I should have become a shrink,” he said. “If I charged you every time you came looking for advice, I’d be a millionaire.”

“You are a millionaire,” Trey said with a grin.

“Oh yeah. You got anything to drink around here?”

Trey was glad Dare was sticking around to keep him company. He really didn’t like to be alone.

“Check the fridge. Just don’t drink any of the milk. It’s Myrna’s.”

“You sure Malcolm won’t share?”

Dare turned and laughed when he saw what must’ve been a look of disgust on Trey’s face. Just thinking about consuming Myrna’s breast milk made him want to hurl.

When Malcolm’s parents came to collect him about an hour later, he’d been changed, fed, burped, bathed, and redressed after a spit-up incident, and thoroughly spoiled by both Mills brothers.

“You two should adopt,” Myrna declared as she took her son in her arms and snuggled him close, kissing his neck until he giggled.

“Babies are easy,” Dare said. “When Malcolm’s two, Trey will have to watch him on his own. I don’t deal with tantrums.”

“You deal with Trey’s tantrums all the time,” Myrna said, elbowing Trey to show she was teasing.

“I can only handle one toddler at a time,” Dare said.

Letting Dare’s barb pass, Trey turned to Brian. “Did you finally get her out of your system?” Brian had been complaining about his limited sex life for days and had jumped on the idea of Trey babysitting for a few hours.

“She’ll never be out of my system,” Brian said. “But I do feel loads better. What do I owe you?”

In the past, Trey would have teased him about owing him sexual favors, but they’d moved beyond that. Trey had let him go. Mostly. He refused to flirt with Brian, no matter how natural it felt to do so.

“You don’t owe me anything,” Trey said. “Malcolm’s a good baby. I don’t mind watching him.”

“I figured Reagan would help you babysit,” Myrna said.

“Last I heard, she’s with Toni, trying to convince her to wear a corset to an after-party.”

Dare laughed. “Logan will shit a brick if any of her considerable cleavage is showing. I guess I’ll have to make his life miserable tonight by flirting with her.”

“You’re deliciously evil,” Myrna said, her face flushed as she looked Dare over from head to foot. So even women recently fucked by Brian “Master” Sinclair were not impervious to his big brother’s charm.

“It’s a gift.” Dare slapped Trey on the shoulder in farewell. “See you backstage later?”

“I’ll be around.”

The suite emptied of visitors all at once, and Trey found himself alone. He settled on the sofa in front of the TV with a beer and lasted all of five minutes before he retrieved his phone and called Ethan.

“They baby’s gone,” he said when Ethan answered. “It’s safe to come home now.”

“Is Reagan back?”

“Not yet.”

“I’ll be there in a while. I still have a few things I need to take care of.”

“Are you avoiding me?” Trey asked, trying not to feel hurt. Failing at that.

“Of course not.”

“It feels like you’re avoiding me.”

“I’m not. I just need to think things through, and when I’m with you, I can’t keep my head on straight.”

“My brother said I need to try to understand why you’re struggling with our relationship. Make me understand, Ethan.”

“You talked to your brother about us?”

Trey shrugged even though Ethan couldn’t see the gesture. “Yeah. Why wouldn’t I?” Ethan was quiet for so long, Trey started to think the call had disconnected. “Ethan?”

“I’ll see you later.”

The call ended, and Trey dropped his phone on the sofa cushion beside him. He tilted his head back and rubbed his face with both hands to scrub the hurt from his expression. Maybe Reagan could get through to Ethan. She’d known him a lot longer than Trey had. He wondered if she’d be pissed if he interrupted her good time with her gal pals. He supposed he could let the situation rest, but he didn’t want miscommunication to tear them apart. And if any one of them was unhappy in the relationship, none of them could be happy in the relationship.

“Are you still babysitting?” Reagan asked when she answered his call.

“I figured that’s why you left again as soon as you got back from shopping. Malcolm is perfect. How could you not want to hold him?”

“It’s not Malcolm, it’s me. I’ve never been around a baby before. I don’t understand how you figure out what they want. All they do is cry.”

“The best way to figure out what they want is to be around a baby. You just go down their comfort checklist, fixing potential problems until they stop crying. It’s not that hard. It’s just troubleshooting.”

“It’s not a skill I need or want to learn,” Reagan said.

Trey sighed. He was sure Reagan would love Malcolm as much as he did if she’d just stick around when he was in the room. “His parents came to pick him up a few minutes ago.”

“In that case, I hope both you and Ethan are hard and ready. I’ve been thinking about being the saucy meat in your manwich all afternoon.”

Lust stirred low in Trey’s belly. He’d very much like to be a part of that manwich, but without Ethan, he and Reagan would be an open-faced sandwich at best.

“Ethan isn’t here. He left right after his shower. I called him, but I can’t convince him to return. Does he have something against babies too?”

“He loves babies,” Reagan said.

“Maybe you can talk to him. Find out what’s eating at him and let me know so I can fix it.”

“Ethan gets that way sometimes,” she said, not sounding the least bit concerned. “He needs alone time to sort things out.”

Trey had a hard time wrapping his head around that tendency. He supposed not every guy had an older brother as caring and understanding as Dare, but without someone to talk to, how in the hell did you get out of your own head long enough to see the real issue? Wouldn’t that drive a person crazy?

“Does that work for him?” Trey asked.

Reagan chuckled. “No, not really, but that’s just the way he is. You might as well accept it.”

Perhaps Trey had to accept that quality in his lover, but he wouldn’t accept the possibility of losing Ethan because he kept whatever was bothering him locked inside.

“Maybe he’ll come home if you call him,” Trey said.

“I’ll try, but you might be making me fly solo, so you’d better put in your tongue stud.”

At least he had one partner who told him exactly what she wanted.

“I’m on it,” he said.

“Love you,” she said.

“Love you too.”

“And Ethan loves you.”

Trey would rather hear it from the man himself, but her assertion made him feel a little better. “I’ll try to remember that.”

Ten minutes later, Trey was lounging naked in bed and using his teeth to play with the stud in his tongue—he loved the way bar felt inside his piercing when he tugged at it. The suite door crashed open, and he heard sounds that made his cock throb with excitement—desperate kissing, ragged breathing, the rustle of clothing being shed, a thud against a wall, a gasp of surprise, Reagan’s moan of pleasure, Ethan’s answering groan, and the rhythmic pounding of flesh in flesh. What the fuck?

Trey leaped from the bed and stopped in the doorway to stare. He wasn’t sure if watching the pair fuck like animals against the foyer wall should turn him on, but the feelings suddenly churning through his chest and gut had little to do with arousal. Shock? Betrayal? Jealousy? He wasn’t sure what he was experiencing.

Reagan’s eyes flicked open, and her gaze met his. “Trey,” she said breathlessly.

“Does he want some of this too?” Ethan said, his voice harsh.

Well, he had, but now he wasn’t so sure.

“Oh, right there, Ethan,” Reagan moaned. “Fuck me harder.” Her fingernails dug into his shoulders and her back arched, banging her head against the wall. She cried out as she came, her eyes rolled back and her face contorted in a familiar expression of bliss. Ethan kissed her harshly and then pulled out, letting her slide down the wall to kneel at his feet. He fisted his hand in her hair, and she lifted her head, still breathing hard.

“Suck it.”

Her motions were desperate as her hand circled his cock and she directed the head between her parted lips. She drew him deep, sucking hard, her gaze cast upward as if she were asking for Ethan’s approval.

Trey’s own cock was now so hard, it began to throb. He did want that. Wanted to be coerced. Fucked. Completely dominated. He loved a strong man at his back, holding him down, taking what he wanted.

Ethan turned his head and pinned Trey with a heated stare. Trey’s feet rooted to the floor as Ethan pulled free of Reagan’s mouth and stepped back. Ethan never took his eyes off Trey as he kicked off his shoes and removed his jeans. The predatory look on Ethan’s face made Trey’s pulse race. Something inside Trey wanted to run, but the rest of him wanted to be caught and devoured. As Ethan stalked him, coming ever closer, Trey’s heart thudded faster and faster, his ass ached, wanting to be filled, and his soul cried out for the man who made him feel this way.

“Ethan,” he whispered just as Ethan’s hand tangled in his hair and jerked his head back.

The hungry, punishing kiss seared Trey’s lips and stole his breath. He wanted to wrap his arms around Ethan, tug his hard body against his own, but his muscles wouldn’t cooperate. Trey was being taken, and he had no power to resist. He could feel himself moving backward toward the bed, but it was as if he were a puppet whose strings were controlled by another.

“You’re mine,” Ethan said against his lips.

“Yes.” Usually Trey would protest and remind Ethan that he was both his and Reagan’s, but at that moment he’d have been a liar. He was Ethan’s, only Ethan’s. Just as moments before, while she’d been fucked against the wall, Reagan had been only Ethan’s. Perhaps this was the dynamic Ethan needed to feel complete. As Ethan’s hard cock brushed against Trey’s, all Trey’s thoughts evaporated. All but one.

“Take me,” he groaned against Ethan’s lips.

Ethan turned him abruptly and planted a hand between Trey’s shoulders, pressing down to bend him over the bed. Trey was vaguely aware of Ethan dipping his fingers into the open tub of lube on the nightstand, and then with one hard thrust, he was filled from behind. Trey pushed his hands against the mattress so he didn’t collapse face first into the bed. He groaned at the pleasure and the beauty of Ethan’s perfect domination. And then he gasped when Ethan’s strong hand wrapped around his throat, palm pressing firmly against his windpipe, fingers digging into the artery on his neck.

“Do you still think of him when I fuck you?” Ethan asked, his deep voice a harsh growl.

Already light-headed, Trey had no idea who he was talking about. “What?” he croaked, struggling to draw air.

Ethan’s thrusts were harsh and rapid. Trey’s eyes rolled back as pre-cum dripped freely from his cock. He shuddered when a warm tongue licked at his tip. He glanced down to find Reagan had crawled up on the bed and settled onto her back. The contrast of Reagan’s gentleness and Ethan’s cruelty had him out of his head with excitement.

“Do you still think of Brian when I fuck you?” Ethan asked.

Who the hell was Brian?

“No. Only you. Ethan.”

Ethan’s hold on his throat loosened, and Trey took a deep breath. Though he was still dizzy, his vision cleared and the beautiful sight of Reagan’s pussy came into focus. She’d positioned herself for a little sixty-nine action, and who was he to deny her? Bending over her, he drew the stud in his tongue over her swollen clit. She moaned, her breath hot against the wet tip of his cock. His licks became more fervent as Ethan’s pounding cock and Reagan’s gentle sucking drew him closer and closer to orgasm. His groans must have tipped off Ethan to his impending release, because Ethan reached between Trey’s legs and cupped his balls, giving them a cruel but oddly delightful squeeze.

“Don’t let go,” Ethan demanded. “Not until I fill your ass with my cum.”

Trey swallowed a protest and tightened his ass to squeeze the cock thrusting into him.

“My, aren’t you bossy this evening?” Reagan said. Her arm shifted, and Ethan suddenly went still. His breath hitched, and he let go of Trey’s balls. His other hand slid lightly down Trey’s back until it gently grasped his hip. Ethan’s harsh thrusts slowed, becoming the deep, churning penetrations that made it impossible for Trey to hold back his orgasm. He exploded, cum erupting from him in vigorous pulses, splattering over Reagan’s chest. But he hadn’t disobeyed Ethan’s demand by much. Ethan’s cock popped free, and Trey shuddered at the feel of Ethan’s cum bathing his asshole before Ethan pushed inside again and filled him as he’d promised.

Concerned that Reagan hadn’t gotten her fair share, Trey slid two fingers into her soaked pussy and flicked her clit with the stud in his tongue. Within seconds she was screaming, her slick passage rhythmically squeezing his fingers as she found release.

Trey crawled up on the bed and collapsed next to Reagan, his face squashed into the mattress. He smiled weakly when Ethan dropped beside him and pulled him solidly against him, back to belly, and warmed Trey’s cheek with gasping breaths.

“I’m sorry I was so rough with you,” Ethan whispered after his breathing had calmed and his heart was no longer trying to thud itself through his breastbone. “It’s just . . . I don’t know.”

“I like it,” Trey admitted, “when you’re rough with me. It makes me feel utterly desired.”

“You are. I’m not sure I show my feelings to you the right way. You’re so good at it and I . . . I don’t think you understand how much you mean to me.”

Trey relaxed against him, all the hurt and confusion from earlier flowing free of his body.

“I love you, Ethan,” Trey said. “Don’t ever doubt it.”

“And me?” Reagan said from somewhere near Trey’s feet. He chuckled softly. She was always so afraid they’d forget about her. As if that was possible.

“Come here.” Trey held his arms out, and she crawled up the bed to settle in his embrace. “I love you as well.” He kissed the back of her head.

They lay that way, wrapped in a cocoon of love and physical exhaustion until Sed came pounding on their door an hour later.

“It’s time to go to the arena, Trey,” he yelled through the door. “Get your ass downstairs.”

“I hear you,” Trey shouted, but he didn’t move from his comfortable spot between the loves of his life.

“We should go,” Ethan said, pressing his face and several kisses into the back of Trey’s neck.

“Yep,” Reagan agreed, drawing Trey’s arms more securely around her waist.

“In a minute,” Trey murmured, his eyelids heavy as he fought sleep. It took Sed trying to rattle the hinges off the door to get Trey out of bed.

He jerked open the door to Sed’s angry face. Sed blinked—squeezing his lids tightly shut—when he took in Trey’s state of undress.

“Can I help you?” Trey asked.

Sed stared at the wall beside the open suite door. “We’re going to be late. Get dressed and meet us downstairs.”

“I’ll be down in a minute. I need to shower. I have cum dripping out of my ass.”

Trey chuckled when Sed grimaced and shuddered.

“Next time I’ll send Brian after him,” Sed said under his breath as he turned and walked away.