Dalton sucked off the sticky glaze from his fingers with a soft smirk. “I like you bossy.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Troy huffed loudly. “Don’t say that, we’ll never hear the end of it.” He leaned forwards, licking off the rib sauce from Dalton’s lips before turning to look at Liam. “So, this no sex thing, it’s going to be difficult with us being so close.”
“I didn’t say a total ban. I just said we needed to be sure. I'm thinking after a few days of high level intense bonding, we’ll be sure. You're closing Living Ink for a few days.”
“I am?” Troy lifted a brow.
“Yes, you are, and I'm calling in a few days holiday from work. Dalton here is okay work-wise. So, let’s sort out this whole ménage thing and see how it will work.” With that, Liam tucked into his chicken curry and egg fried rice, watching them both eat their food with smiles playing on their lips.
Dalton reached under the breakfast bar and took hold of Liam’s knee, unknowingly sharing the exact same response with Troy on Liam’s other side.
Liam grinned and felt a wave of heat pass through him. He’d never felt this content before, and he was prepared to fight hard to keep them together. No matter what, Dalton and Troy were his, and he was always keen to look after those who he held closest to his heart.
He’d give up everything he had, every possession he owned, his bike, the loft, Aspire, he’d give up everyone else and just be content with sharing his life with just these two men at his side.
Nothing was more important than having who he loved beside him, comforting and supporting him. He’d never felt this level of security and love. He needed it, craved it, was desperate for it.
Dalton and Troy were his family. The only family he needed, and who he’d spent a lifetime searching for.
Chapter 38
Dalton had only ever shared a bed with Kelly, and that took months and months while they were actually dating to happen, and before that they’d been friends for years, so looking down at the now huge bed, comprising of a double and the spare single Liam just dragged in, Dalton felt more than a bit of hesitation. Part of him still wanted to go back to his place, but as soon as Liam declared his plan of action, he felt comfortable with it, longed for it.
What did he have at his old place, but an empty house full of bad memories from their separation and a cold, lonely bed to climb into. Dalton smiled as Troy’s almost naked body connected to his back, comforting arms running around his waist and hot lips pressing a tender kiss on his shoulder. Troy felt like him, Dalton was sure of it, or at least he seemed to be more in tune with Dalton’s hesitation. Liam knew it was right. Probably in their hearts, Dalton and Troy did too, but they didn’t have the unwavering confidence and steely determination Liam did about it, and now the moment for bed had come, Dalton’s hesitation hit all-time high.
“If this is too much, we don’t have to do it, you know?” Troy sighed against his shoulder.
Dalton considered how it would feel not having him close tonight and shook his head. He wasn’t going to listen to the fear, he was going with the warm feeling filling his whole body at the thought of having two people holding him and sharing his personal space. “This is all just very new, and I don’t mean you being men, it’s just the whole jumping into bed thingy. It’s personal, sleeping together. That’s something I struggled with before and it took months to happen. I'm not… I don’t have the, erm, experience you two have of sharing your bed like this.”
“I may have had other men in my bed, but I’ve never considered it special, not like this moment. This is a big deal for me. I've never had two men in bed either, so that’s a big change, and you, well, I wanted to take things slow and I even though I was desperate to move on, I’d hoped this wouldn’t be happening for a while.”
“And Liam?” Dalton turned, brushing a fingertip down Troy’s jaw.
“Well, we’ve shared my bed before, non-sexually, but it’s not new having him beside me while I sleep. Obviously this feels very different from the other times, but having him close by has always comforted me.”
Dalton smiled. These two had been blind to how they felt for so long. He felt somehow in the middle of them being together, and despite how much he craved them both, there was a fear they would move on alone later.
Dalton could only cling onto them for as long he could, and he was going to make the most out of his time with them before it happened. If they did work as a ménage, Dalton would have to try hard to keep up with the years they experienced as friends before him, and that would be no easy thing. Men had fallen to the wayside plenty of times before he appeared in their lives, but he hoped he wouldn’t be one of them.
As Dalton calmed, he was able to take in how beautiful Troy looked in the soft light. It captured the ink work covering his body, and Dalton took time out to trace a soft touch over the lines flowing down his arm. He’d only ever touched that part of him, and as his gaze flowed lower, Dalton continued his tender movements down Troy’s back, noticing how Troy’s breathing picked up and how his skin broke out in goosebumps. He smiled, looking into Troy’s eyes, seeking silent approval and getting it instantly before he continued down the colourful dragon covering his hip.
“I need a lot of time to touch every single line on your body. I want to kiss and lick my way down you, memorise every part of this beautiful work you have all over you.”
Troy took his hand and kissed him gently, those pulses of energy building too high for them to ignore anymore. “You'll have time.” Troy deepened the kiss, holding Dalton to him as they both connected in a hiss of sparks and jolts. “Fuck!” Troy stepped back an inch, breathing hard, Dalton hating and needing the separation at the same time.
“Like you said, we have time.” Dalton smiled before claiming one last gentle moment with Troy in his arms.
They’d only just separated when Liam made his way into the room, freshly showered, boxer shorts clinging to his sexy, broad body as he cast a quick glance over them both standing at the edge of the bed, both turned on. He seemed to enjoy running into them looking that way because his smile widened and he took a longer look over them both as he made his way past. “You not in there yet? It’s been half an hour.” He laid on the bed, patting the free space and smirking. “I won't bite.”
Troy took hold of Dalton’s hand, edging him closer and watching as he gingerly sat on the edge. He wasn’t sure where he should be. In the middle? On the edge with Troy in the middle?
Finally, Troy and Liam made up his mind up for him. Liam slid a heavy arm around his waist and pulled him into the middle while Troy climbed onto the other side, and Dalton found himself lying on his back with both of them hovering nearby.
“Comfy?” Liam whispered against his earlobe, sending jolts of searing hot waves through every inch of Dalton’s body.
“We don’t have to do anything.” Troy made sure he kept a good two inches from his body, and Dalton was kind of happy about it because having Liam’s hot flesh pressing up against his other side and knowing how much electricity passed when Troy touched him, it would have meant an overload.
“You still worried about us pushing you too far, Dee, even after our talk?”
Dalton knew they’d agreed to just sleep, to hold and bond, but that was discussed outside of the bed, and now they were in it… Dalton wasn’t at all sure he could keep up his end of the bargain. “I'm not worried about you two, it’s more… me.” It had been too long without sex for this not to be an issue, and with the constant teasing between them, things were getting to a breaking point for Dalton.
Liam and Troy chuckled, each of them reaching out to him, two hands running over his chest, both very different. Each had rougher ones than Dalton was used to on his body, both sporting callouses from their work. Their hands were bigger, firmer, their touches deeper, but as Dalton lay there, he could tell Troy’s more cautious, less dominant touch. Liam moved over him like he was laying claim and staking out new territory, whereas Troy was considerate, questioning, like he wasn’t supposed to be there and was waiting to get caught out doing something naughty.
Dalton noticed Liam was watching Troy, and he turned to look at the dark-haired, captivating man beside him, gently reaching over and caressing the ink work on his arm. Liam turned on his side, gently encouraging Dalton to do the same, both of them taking hold of Troy and sliding him against Dalton’s chest.
Troy blushed, Dalton was sure of it even in the dim light and his olive skin tone. Liam noticed too because he chuckled, waiting to make sure Troy was okay before removing his hand and resting it on Dalton’s hip.
The room blinked into darkness, only lit by the moon, and all three seemed to move closer, the darkness hiding any trepidation or shyness and their bodies intermingling, legs crisscrossing, arms and hands connecting and the heat comforting them into a more relaxed state.
It seemed like sleep wasn’t going to happen. How could it when Dalton had so many thoughts running around his head? So many needs, so many questions. But as he lay back in Liam’s arms, feeling his mouth spreading soft kisses on his shoulders, knowing he and Troy were holding hands, the weight of their arms resting on his hips and Troy’s head on his chest, soft breaths and the scent of him encasing Dalton with every breath he took, he closed his eyes and felt every muscle in his tense body just floating away.