Lucy gave him the overnight case and placed her hand in his and stepped from the vehicle, a tentative smile on her face. “I’ll stay.”
The night sounds whispered around them, the humming of the streetlight, the distant whir of an air-conditioner cycling on and a dog barking nearby. There was also a hint of a spring shower in the air and Patrick had an errant vision of her making love to them in the rain. Not in March, though.
Beck closed her door and moved in on her other side and walked with them to the porch. Patrick opened the door and let her in, and smiled as she noticed the dimmed lights. She stood in the center of his living room and spoke in a hushed tone as he and Beck went about the house lighting candles. “It looks different.”
He was glad she noticed. The need for a clean slate had taken hold and he’d done just that all afternoon, getting rid of clutter. He’d also ditched decorative touches Elizabeth had chosen that he’d never cared for and hadn’t bothered to remove yet.
“I’ll put your overnight case in my bathroom. I’ll be right back.”
Lucy nodded, a tentative smile on her face as he left the room. After placing the case in the bathroom he returned and smiled when he saw Beck standing in the center of the room with his arms wrapped around Lucy. She nodded her head at something he whispered to her and then turned to glance at Patrick.
Patrick turned on the stereo and then joined them, coming up behind her. He brushed her thick hair over her shoulder so he could press his mouth to her shoulder. Her delicate fragrance teased his nostrils and his cock hardened as he breathed her in, a luscious combination of peaches, vanilla, and woman. He felt it when she trembled.
“Lucy, we aren’t trying to rush you.”
“You could tell?” The look in her eyes held the barest trace of guilt and he smiled.
“Tell me what you’re thinking, Lucy.”
“I still feel a bit like we’re interviewing each other. Like we’ve come to determine if a ménage is right for us. I can’t help but think that all the other ménage groups we know came together so much more…comfortably.”
Patrick glanced at Beck and saw the muscle in his jaw flex but he prudently kept his mouth shut. “Lucy, if it doesn’t feel right, we don’t move forward. As far as I’m concerned, we could sit down right now and watch television or just talk for the rest of the evening. The last thing I want is for our relationship to move forward when you’re not ready.”
“Could we?”
“What would make you feel best? Would you like to sit down and just talk for a while? Do you need to relax for a little bit while we watch television? Tell us what you need.” Beck looked at him as though he wanted to say something.
Lucy turned to Beck. “How do you feel about all of this, Beck?”
Beck looked uncomfortable at first and Patrick had to resist the urge to grin. The man was probably worried that he’d say something to piss her off but he did finally speak up.
“It took me a long time to come around to all of this, Lucy. Doesn’t make much sense to put off the inevitable. I’d just as soon hammer out a few details. Why don’t we start by sitting down on the couch?”
Lucy did exactly as he requested, sitting in the center of the couch. “What details would you like to know?”
“It seems like the two of us are at odds as much as we get along. Could you tell me why it is that you’ve put up with me all this time?”
Lucy bit her lip and let out a long slow breath. “You’re loyal.”
Beck frowned as he took a seat beside her and put his hand on her knee facing her slightly. “Loyal? How have I done anything to make you think I’m loyal?”
Patrick joined them on her other side and Lucy glanced between the two of them before replying. “I think you’re loyal because of how you treat your friends. You held on to the hope that this woman you love might come back to you, even if it was to your own detriment. When I asked Patrick to tell me about her, he told me that it needed to come from you. I have the feeling you would do the same for him. You have to be loyal in order to inspire loyalty.”
Patrick listened as she spoke and could sense an undercurrent of indignation in her tone, anytime she referred to Beck’s ex. She felt an awful lot of anger on Beck’s behalf, even though she tried to keep her tone neutral.
Beck nodded and leaned back against the couch getting comfortable. “Even though I’ve pushed you away from anything intimate, you’ve never given up and that tells me that you’re loyal, too.”
Lucy sat back on the couch appearing as though she were trying to get comfortable, too. Patrick noticed when she smoothed her hand over her abdomen and sat back up. “I’ve been accused of being too loyal at times, also to my detriment. Because I know the difference now, I want someone loyal in my life, too.”