She should be happy, right? She still had Kane. She could still work something out with him, even if Bruce left her, couldn’t she? Yet, they’d both felt Bruce’s loss in that public bathroom. They’d both wanted him to be there, and that scared her. That thinking
meant
something. She’d been avoiding the meaning for the past several days, but with Bruce possibly leaving, it forced her to examine it now.
She didn’t want to. She wanted things to go on the way they had been. Indefinitely. No commitments, but no end either. Was that possible?
It had been several minutes since she’d said anything. Bruce carefully took her glass away and set it down. He stood in front of her, bracketing her against the kitchen countertop. “Talk to me,” he begged softly.
She tried to smile when he lifted her chin, but her lips felt twisted.
“What is it?” he asked, sounding more alarmed.
“It’s over.”
His face took on a strange cast. Like he understood what she meant but was pretending not to. “The case? Yes, it’s over. You found the artifacts and the thief. You were amazing.”
Willow blinked back the fine sheen of tears that clouded her vision. “The case is over, so you’re leaving. You’ll be going back to faery.”
Relief flooded his features, and he smiled slightly. “Oh. Is that it?”
A fire poker stabbed her heart. “Is that
it
?” she repeated incredulously. But what did she expect him to say? The boundaries of their relationship had been clear from the beginning. No strings. So why did it feel like watching him walk out the door and back to faery would require a lot of cutting?
She swallowed hard.
Bruce kissed her. With a quiet sob, she rose up and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Don’t go,” she whispered.
Bruce pulled back, his gaze intense as he studied her. “What?”
Oh, God. He was going to push her away, leave her. Why couldn’t she keep her mouth shut?
“Nothing,” she said quickly.
“No, it’s not,” Kane said from the kitchen doorway. His look encouraged her.
“Kane,” she whispered. She looked between the two men.
“I called Sage. He told me you were here, upset,” Kane explained. Kane turned to Bruce. “I think it’s time you came clean.”
“About what?” she asked confused.
Kane lifted his eyebrows.
Bruce grinned. “I was about to before you stormed in all knight and shining armor-y.” His grin transferred to Willow. “You don’t want me to go,” he began. “I don’t want to leave.”
Were they talking about the same thing? She barely knew her own mind when it came to Bruce and Kane.
Bruce seemed to think the explaining was finished. Kane seemed to disagree.
“All of it, Bruce. Everything she needs to hear.”
Willow’s attention returned to Bruce. She looked up at him expectantly. Butterflies erupted in her tummy. Kane’s tone promised good news.
“I haven’t been myself since I met you,” Bruce murmured. “I haven’t wanted to be with anyone but you, so I quit seeing other women. I haven’t been with a faery woman either. I just have no interest when she isn’t you.” He turned a sheepish smile on Kane. “Well, except you
and
Kane together.”
“So you want to keep seeing me? Us?” Willow asked.
“Yeah. I want to see a lot more of you two.”
Kane walked up beside them. “Me too. I’m new at this kind of relationship, this three person thing. I’m especially not completely comfortable with some of my reactions to Bruce, but there’s something here we need to explore.”
For all the confessions her men were giving, they were tiptoeing around the full picture. She could feel it. And for once, she no longer wanted to sit in the dark and close her eyes to the feelings she was having. If Kane meant it, then she had nothing to fear. She’d already told Bruce she didn’t want him to leave. That was half the battle.
The rest of it appeared like it was up to her to say. Bolstered by the fact that both men were here and
trying
to spout out feelings, Willow took a fortifying breath. If she was wrong, she’d lick her wounds later and pray the pain ended quickly.
“Bruce, don’t go back to faery. Just because the case is over doesn’t mean we have to be. I don’t want to lose you. Kane, you can be a domineering asshole, but I can’t get enough of you. You,” she fought the urge to cover up her feelings.
If for once in her life she’d say it like it was, before she lost the words to her pride.
“You challenge me. I’m not good at saying how I feel, or admitting it to myself. If I never say it, then I never have to know when I’ve lost it.”
Kane dragged his thumb along her lower lip. “You’re afraid of giving up control to something as unpredictable as emotion.”
“Yes,” she said, grateful that he’d explained it better than she could have. “If I let the way I feel take over, and you two didn’t return it…”
“You have to trust that we’ll be here to catch you,” Kane said.
“And that we feel as strongly about you as you do about us. We’d be giving up control too,” Bruce added.
“No, it not that,” she was frustrated with herself.
Even now, in the guise of saying what she meant, she still protected her heart. Peace washed over her.
That
was it. Her heart, not control. Control was a technical word that shielded the truth. Her heart was what she feared. She looked at her men, hoping they’d see and understand how difficult this was for her. Maybe then, they’d all cut through the crap and actually have a place to begin.
“I think I’m falling in love with you,” she admitted. Her ears rang and her face heated as the words finally came out. “With both of you, and the idea of letting either of you go, hurts. Do we have a chance to see where this thing will go? Do either of you think you could be in a relationship with three people?”
“You know I can,” Bruce assured her. “You’re sexy. Kane’s hot. I’d do you both.”
Willow swatted his chest. “Bruce, I’m serious.”
He caught her hand. “I really haven’t been with anyone else. You of all people know how unusual that is for my kind. I love you. I would have told you sooner if I thought you’d give me half a chance to stay with you. Considering how you feel about most faeries, I didn’t think you would.”
Willow smiled through renewed tears. Had it really been this easy the whole time? All she’d needed to do was tell him? “What about you, Kane? A threesome means Bruce will always be a part of us. Would you accept that?”
“I admit it’s not easy getting over some of the things I’ve always believed about myself. One of those being, I don’t dig dudes.” He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully as he looked at Bruce. “Bruce is different. Maybe it’s the faery in him, or maybe it’s just who he is.”
“But?” Willow prompted.
Kane’s face turned ruddy. “I’m interested. He’s hot, I like having you between the two of us, and while I’m not yet comfortable with a lot of guy on guy stuff, I really got off on kissing him.”
Willow blinked. “You kissed? When did this happen?”
“At my office. Bruce came to tell me to get a grip because you liked me and he’d never seen you give over to someone before.”
To her amazement, Kane cupped the back of Bruce’s head and planted a deep tonguing kiss on him. When they broke, Kane was breathing heavily. “Plus he tastes good.”
Willow grinned. “You don’t know the half of it.
All
of him tastes good.”
Kane’s blush deepened. “That’s gonna take some time.”
“But you’ll try?” Willow asked.
“Yeah.” He laughed. “I look forward to it, albeit a bit nervously.”
Bruce reached around and grabbed Kane’s ass. “Don’t worry, babe. I’ll take it slow until you want it.”
With a happy squeal, Willow wrapped an arm around both men’s necks and hugged them close. “We’re really going to make this work?”
“Uh huh,” Kane said, nuzzling her neck.
“I’ll bring him around. Haven’t met anyone who could resist me yet.” Bruce winked at her. “Although, I almost believed I’d met the woman who would break my heart.”
“Not a chance,” she murmured sincerely.
Epilogue
Sixteen Months Later…
Kane climbed out of bed and turned on the shower. Fortunately, he’d caught the alarm a minute before it had gone off. Bruce and Willow had looked too peaceful to disturb. Kane smiled thinking about how much had changed in the past year.
Moving in had been the first step. His apartment hadn’t been all that great anyway, but here, it felt like home. Second had been adjusting to the feelings of not just one extra person, but two. That had been a challenge.
So had living with faeries. One still occasionally changed forms. It would be anyone’s guess as to what she’d become next. The other did various magical things from time to time. Like creating a floral and vine veranda with swing by waving his hands through the grass. That had been on their one year anniversary together. But everyone had their quirks. His lovers were magical. He’d come to appreciate that about them, just as they seemed to appreciate his absolute lack of magic.
The glass shower door opened, and Bruce stepped into the steam filled space.
“Good morning,” Kane said.
Bruce took the soap and lathered up. “Good morning,” he answered, though his voice had dropped low and seductive.
One thing Kane never got over, when Bruce wanted something, the smallest inflection could set off a riot of interest in him. After Bruce lathered himself, he worked the soap over Kane.
“I’m already clean,” Kane protested, feeling no little anxiety that Bruce’s hands were on him. Kane had gotten comfortable with some things in the bedroom, but one on one set off alarms in Kane’s head.
“Guess you’ll have to get clean again.”
Kane’s cock stiffened. Bruce moved closer, his slick hands running down Kane’s torso, his black eyes locked on Kane’s.
“Is this part of my getting used to cock therapy?” Kane joked.
“Could be. Or it could be that I’m horny and I want you.”
Kane smiled nervously. “Take it easy on me, okay?”
“I don’t think so.” Bruce shoved him backward to the cold tile wall. “I think I’ve taken it too easy on you. It’s time you diversified your palate.”
Bruce took Kane’s hand and wrapped his fingers around Bruce’s cock. Kane’s pent up breath came out in a rush. He had to admit, Bruce felt good. He was smooth and glided easily in his palm. He wasn’t sure he liked being dominated though.
Kane kissed him, defensively. He wasn’t expecting the soaped hand on his own cock. It stole his thunder and replaced it with a long shuddering groan.
Cold air blasted them, and they broke apart.
“Don’t stop on my account.”
Willow pointedly put several condoms on the shower caddy, then stepped under the spray, letting the water spill down her naked body. Bruce’s cock was forgotten in light of Willow’s glistening, wet body and proudly lifted nipples.
Kane pulled her ass against his cock. Bruce stepped around to the front. He lifted her legs and hooked them over Kane’s arms. Kane was confused for a moment until he saw the direction Bruce was going. Bruce pulled the shower head down, switching the nozzle from spray to massage.
Kane chuckled as Willow yelped in surprise, her eyes riveted on the shower head. Kane pulled her legs farther apart. Bruce flitted the shower spray up and down her thighs as he took her nipple into his mouth.
Then pulling off and draping the hose over her leg, Bruce peeled open a condom. Kane bit back a groan as Bruce slowly rolled it over Kane’s cock, taking time to stroke him, weigh his balls in Bruce’s palm.
Using soap and, from the sounds Willow made, dexterous finger work, Bruce prepared Willow, then guided Kane’s cock into her ass. She was tight and the combination of Bruce’s hand still on him, and Willow’s clenching muscles around the tip of his dick felt like heaven.
He fixated on Bruce sliding a condom over himself and when Bruce caught him watching, he jacked himself a few times, before teasing Willow’s wide open slit with his tip.
Kane lowered her onto his cock. She made a soft sound and dropped her head back on his shoulder.
“What a wakeup call,” she breathed.
Bruce, too, slid home inside her bared cunt, then picking up the shower nozzle, aimed the massaging spray on her clit. She screamed, grasping one hand in Kane’s hair behind her, the other on Bruce’s shoulder for support.
Kane was already primed and he needed little encouragement to fuck her senseless.
Willow squirmed, held open for a double fucking and the hot water stimulation of her clit was almost more than she could stand. Bruce moved it on and off that sensitive spot, but her body adjusted to the intensity too easily, demanding more whether it be pain, pleasure, or both.
“Keep it there,” she told Bruce.