Common Areas, page 17
I almost hated to stop him, but…
“Can we sleep together?” My question made him pause. “All of us?”
Tyler looked over a shoulder, despite the tiredness he still managed a flirty grin. “If I weren’t so fucking beat I’d say shit yeah. But I’m not up to any hanky-panky tonight, Puddin’.”
“That’s not what she meant.” Patton rolled his eyes and turned to me. “I think the three of us can squeeze into my bed.” He waved Tyler further up the stairs.
The three of us trudged upstairs in a row, taking turns with bathroom routines and getting assistance from the resident nurse when the aches became too much. I didn’t relax until the three of us were piled into Patton’s bed, underwear the only thing that separated us. I laid against Tyler’s chest and Patton was draped against my back. I was comfortable and safe.
“Let’s not repeat the events that led us to this moment,” Tyler complained as he hitched one of my legs up around his hips. “This would be a great thing to enjoy if my head didn’t hurt so fuckin’ much.”
“Always another day,” Patton murmured as he traced his fingers over my shoulder. “Right?”
I hummed an affirmative, finding something on each of them to hold on to. I ended up tangling my arm with Patton’s and holding onto Tyler’s hand. There was only one piece our puzzle missing. It wouldn’t be long before Chase found his way home, I hoped.
28
Patton was only able to plead off one day to nurse the rest of the house. After that, it was a case of the battered helping the battered. We spent the majority of the time sprawled on the couch, piled up with no regard to how it might seem to anyone that walked in. I was rested against Chase’s shoulder and I had a leg thrown over Tyler’s thigh. I was in a state of comfort with a little bit of a drowsiness from the medication I was on.
It was somewhere through the haze that a memory jumped out. “So, construction, huh?”
The chest next to me rumbled as he hummed, “What?”
“It feels like everything from that night went by so easily,” I murmured. “I expected some kind of issues, something other than the band-aid.” I glanced at the ace bandage wrapped around the chest beside me. He was shirtless because if he was going to be lazy. “Didn’t even call a lawyer.” I narrowed my eyes at the television, no longer able to make sense of the sports recap I was being forced to watch.
Another downside to living with men.
“You were a victim,” Tyler commented sleepily from beside me. “It was so obvious.”
“What makes you think I had something to do with that?” Chase’s arm came around me, jostling me only slightly. His hand came to rest on my waist. The shifting distracted me only slightly as his hand found skin and it traced patterns as if it would banish the memory from the forefront of my mind.
“I saw them talking to you.” I looked up at him, his expression was blank but his eyes penetrated me. “You know someone that owns a gun shop, they knew you.” I sat up a little bit, despite the protest in my chest. “Are you a cop?”
He was still, the only sign that he had heard me was a slight tick in his jaw. Something I wouldn’t have thought anything of if it weren’t for the fact that I had asked him a pointed question.
“Was only a matter of time that she figured it out,” Tyler said, a quick glance to him showed that he had his head rested back against the couch.
“I thought you weren’t able to hear anything,” Chase’s remark didn’t have any accusation behind it. It was a simple observation.
“Am I in trouble?” I shot back.
“Why would you be?” Tyler sounded irritated by the question.
“No.” Chase rolled his eyes and tugged me back down against him. “It was a need to know basis.” His voice dipped low. “You didn’t need to know until jackass started up. I just thought when we filed the report it’d be done.”
“He said he was going to take her back,” Tyler murmured, his hand was on my knee and it squeezed. “The best part of that was the fact that when he tried,” he turned his head towards me and grinned at me, “you fuckin’ shot him.”
“The real question here,” Chase said gently. “Is am I in trouble?”
“Only if it means more secrets.” I doubted I could walk away from the three of them. Not after everything, not after they were such important keys that led to my survival. I looked up at him, “You know so much about me, maybe I get to learn more about you.”
“Conversation like this just makes me wonder if we can fuck in the shape that we’re in now.” I turned to see Tyler pull his phone from a pocket. He typed at it with one hand, the fact that my phone and Chase’s vibrated on the coffee table told me what Tyler was up to. “I mean, put her on top and go slow,” he murmured as he went. “Maybe from behind so you don’t strain something,” he said to Chase. Our phones lit up once again, Tyler’s groan was answer enough as to what Patton had said. “Well, the nurse doesn’t wanna help. Time to check out Web MD to see if I can get some action, too.”
I started to laugh until Chase turned me towards him for a kiss.
Epilogue
One of the benefits of working in a law firm was that I had a massive discount on legal help. Matt was by my side with Chase when I pressed charges on Jeff. I didn’t have to see him, but the record against him was only so much. He ended up getting a year with anger management.
I wasn’t afraid, and I decided that if I had gotten this far since leaving him I wasn’t going to be afraid anymore. I just wish I had been able to see it in myself instead of having someone point it out to me.
“You got yourself out of a bad situation,” Patton said one night when both Tyler and I were curled up in his bed. “You didn’t stay. So many don’t get out.” His hand brushed along the length of my back as he spoke. “So many end up six feet under because they didn’t realize how strong they are. They let the piece of shit that’s killing them slowly brainwash them.” He pressed a kiss against my brow. “Except you. You got out.”
“We…” sleep clung to Tyler’s voice, and he nuzzled into the back of my neck. “We are so lucky that you did.”
I lived with fear seated in the back of my mind for so long I was so ready to let it go. I was so ready to accept this new path, this new balance, and adventure.
Six months after all of this began I finally had enough confidence to believe Patton’s words. I’d saved myself. The men in my life just helped seal the deal.
***
“Lease is up.” Chase had a pot of coffee brewing, something that had woken me up and had me untangling myself from Patton to pursue. “I’ll have another agreement written up if you need it.” He paused then using the act of pouring himself a mug as a distraction. “Unless you’re ready to move on.”
He was giving me an out. I didn’t fight the heady feeling it gave me. I got a mug from the cabinet and made sure to invade his space as I went to get coffee of my own. I took the time to shake off sleep and consider the best course of action.
“Can you write up another lease?”
He looked relieved as he sipped at his black coffee. He gave me a nod and went to fish out the creamer from the fridge for me.
“Any idea how long you want it for?” he asked it carefully, setting his own mug on the counter as he came up behind me. “Wanna go for a year this time? Or do you think it’d be a better idea if we keep it on a six-month basis?”
That was telling. He either didn’t expect this to work for that long, or he was just being careful. I frowned a little at that, giving my coffee a little stir after splashing in a generous helping of creamer.
“How about until you get tired of me?”
Chase made a noise from behind me, something that was probably supposed to be a hum but it vibrated through me like a growl. “Don’t bother with a lease you mean? Because I doubt that anyone here is going to get tired of you.” He shoved the mess of bedhead I had onto one shoulder and teased the skin of the other with a fingertip. “The real question here should be how long you can take all of us.”
While there had been plenty of moments where I had adjusted to two of the men in my life at once I hadn’t crossed the line where I had all three of them at once. My heartbeat kicked up, and I spared him a glance, seeing his lowered lids. Was he thinking the same thing? My tongue swept out to wet my lips.
“The only way I know how to figure that out is to test it.”
I knew where Patton was at, he was still snoozing. Tyler had come in late, and a quick glance at the clock on the microwave suggested it might be a little early to wake him. Tough I didn’t think he would complain about the reasoning if this went down that route.
“I feel like, maybe,” his breath swept along my skin then I felt the brush of his tongue, “we should see.” His voice was low, affecting me just as much as his mouth was teasing me.
“Are you telling me to wake everyone else up?” I took a breath, trying to ease myself down so I didn’t gasp the rest of what I needed to say. “After the long night Tyler had, do you really want to wake him up?”
“Mention sex,” his paused to scrape his teeth against me, making my breath caught, “and you. He won’t complain.”
My hands took hold of the counter as my knees began to weaken as he worked his way up my neck. His lips and teeth were like throwing a match on gasoline, I was wide awake and on fire. I didn’t even get a drink of coffee.
The coffee was like a trap. I didn’t realize that until I heard a door open. I glanced up toward the second story landing to see Patton lumbering in the direction of the bathroom. I took another breath that came out in a moan as hands came from behind me to cup my breasts through the thin camisole I had slept in. Patton stopped at the door to look down at us, seeing Chase reach under the fabric to palm up one breast.
“I thought common areas were supposed to be off limits,” Patton said, though his voice didn’t sound offended.
“It’ll end up in my room,” Chase promised, and I felt him pull me back against him. “You coming down?”
“That an invitation?” Patton sounded unsure, despite the fact that our living arrangements had worked with few issues for the last six months. For some reason there still seemed to be some issue when it came to the two of them. Even after I ended up between Chase and Tyler.
Was there still some jealousy?
“Yes,” I breathed in answer to Patton, followed by a distracted moan as Chase’s mouth found my ear.
The stance Patton had relaxed, and he went into the bathroom to tend to his morning needs. Soon, he was down the stairs. Whatever misgivings were there before were forgotten in favor of lust. Patton usually wasn’t one to turn down sex, bad days not considered. He wedged himself between the counter and me, cupping my face and bringing me up so that he could kiss me hungrily.
I tasted toothpaste, and I hummed at the consideration he took. My Patton was always putting others first. It made my heart swell and, depending on the context, other things throb. Now, as his tongue swept along mine and his hips rocked mine back into Chase’s, I appreciated the fact that he woke up.
Fingers tangled in my hair and tugged, forcing my neck at an angle that Chase wanted. It broke the kiss with Patton, who only made a noise of irritation before he started trailing down the column of my neck. Two mouths made easy work of trans-versing my flesh, hitting every tender part that made me shiver and moan. I tried my best to return the favor, finding Patton’s hardening cock in his boxers so that he felt the fervor they were putting me in.
Chase was a little harder to get to, given that his hips were firmly planted against my ass. The only thing I could do was reach back and cup one cheek of his ass.
His chuckled against my ear, “Gonna have to wait for sleeping beauty before we can take this further.” His fingers twisted one of the stiffened nipples drawing a louder noise from me. “Gotta make more noise to get him to wake up.”
“Ty?” Patton asked, his voice was muffled against my collar. “I can get her to make noise.”
I felt him grin as he started to shift down my form, making me lose grip on his erection. He had my pajama bottoms down around my ankles, and he got comfortable on his knees once he had my panties in a pile. He hefted one leg onto his shoulder and Chase gave him a hand by lifting up the other leg, taking on my weight.
I bit a lip to keep from protesting the position, it left me with only option: hold on. I couldn’t reciprocate anything that was done to me.
“Don’t button that up,” Chase growled in my ear as Patton began to nuzzle his nose between my lower lips. “We want Ty up and fucking you, too. So make some noise, or you’re going to offend Patty.”
Patton growled at the nickname and leveled a notable glare at the man behind me. My toes curled as he focused on me, using his tongue and teeth to find my clit. While I hadn’t been attempting to hold in moans, it wasn’t something I was going to be capable of doing anyhow when two fingers pressed into me.
Chase had been staging this. I realized it as soon as he shifted to catch my mouth with his. While it could have been just a spur-of-the-moment idea, I doubted it. He was wearing basketball shorts and was shirtless to display his tattoos. He was the perfect picture of temptation, and I readily fell for it. I just didn’t know that he had intended for it to involve all three of them.
As the months progressed after Jeff, things fell further into place. The four of us had begun to adapt to the lifestyle that Tyler had suggested. It seemed so surprisingly easy with the way the three men easily got along with one another. They coordinated time so that no one felt shorted. With Tyler’s and Patton’s willingness to share moments together, it had given me plenty of time to adjust to sex with two men, plenty of time to experiment with ways it was orchestrated.
Plenty of time to feel how good it could be.
The three of them at once should’ve been intimidating. I should have been afraid. But when I spied Tyler’s sleep mushed hair at the banister, I felt my heart rate pick up. The already roaring excitement from being between Chase and Patton deafened everything else.
“Are you rubbin’ shit in?” Tyler yawned broadly, staying on the second landing instead of coming downstairs.
“Tryin’.” Patton’s voice was muffled against me. But the vibrations of his voice certainly did a number on me.
“A bed might help,” was Tyler’s grumbled response. “Normally, if you’re gonna fuck her in the kitchen, you throw her up on the counter. What’s the deal, man?”
“Waiting on you,” I managed to choke out as the fingers in me hooked upward to hit just the right spot. My legs flailed, and I rocked back against Chase. “Please!” It came out just as strangled.
Tyler’s head tilted to one side and his expression turned intrigued. He made his way downstairs, but he didn’t come to me. He went to Chase’s door and shoved the door open. “Gonna have to fuck her in bed, so I have somewhere nice to pass out when we’re done.”
Chase hefted me up a little higher, and Patton’s fingers slipped from me. I was carried quickly into the offered room, amazed by the willingness of all three of them to do this.
“Have you talked about this before?” I questioned, raising an eyebrow at Tyler.
“After that time we got out of the hospital.” He grinned at me. “Chase was into it.” He shucked his clothes in an afterthought and then went to Chase’s bedside table to rifle in a drawer for condoms. “Who goes where boys?”
“We could take turns,” Patton offered. He hovered in the doorway, his erection tenting his boxers, and his eyes were so dark that the brown looked black.
“Yeah.” Chase set me on the bed gently, taking the time to help me out of the camisole I had slept in. “But you don’t get to tap the back door.”
“What?” Patton looked confused. “Why not?”
“Because she’s going to want to be able to sit down later,” Tyler deadpanned as he came to me with a grin. “Guy doesn’t realize the heat he’s packing.”
Patton protested a little more, but he came to the bed and knelt at the end of it. Despite the protests, he took a hold of my hips and tugged me to the edge so he could take up where he left off. His face went between my thighs without argument and didn’t give me any sort of warning before his lips closed around my clit.
I arched my back and flopped back on Chase’s bed, it seemed that I was going to have to sit and wait while they decided who would do what first. Any arguments that went on between Chase and Tyler was overshadowed by the skill of Patton’s tongue and fingers.
The other two men didn’t come back to my attention until a hand threaded through my hair and a cock was pressed to my lips. I glanced upward in a daze as I opened my mouth and took it in, meeting Chase’s gaze. His eyes narrowed as he took control of me, forcing me to hold still with the grip in my hair. He slowly began to thrust his cock as far down my throat as it could go. It choked me at first, before I relaxed, but I was soothed by the steadiness of his shifting hips and the playful swirl of Patton’s tongue in my pussy.
