“There is something about you, Tessa. And I see why Locke likes you.” His eyes slowly roamed down her body. “And why he’s desperate to make you scream.” When he looked back at her face, his head tilted a little. “I see you’re trying to make sense of all this. I wouldn’t waste my time if I were you. And please don’t try to assign me to a neat little box tied up with a bow, that would totally piss me off.”
“A box?” Now that the first words were out, it was like her system was rolling again. “A box would mean I’m judging you, which I’m not. What threw me off was … why he was with you and then with me… I’m just trying to understand.”
For a long time, Gage remained still, his attention solely on her, probably debating how much he should or shouldn’t reveal, until he finally shrugged.
“Locke and I have been friends for as long as I can remember. We both lived in a world I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. No one to trust, death and blood following our every step. We grew up, fought, and survived with only each other to rely on. I would use the word brothers, but I’m certain that the word would make you cringe after what you saw. But we are brothers, if not by blood, by loyalty. How it led to that, I don’t know. What I can say is that when we were stretched almost to breaking point, we turned to each other. You can call it comfort, experimentation, fooling around, I don’t fucking care. I know for a fact that I’m not attracted to men, but I would drop on my knees for Locke, or take a bullet for him.”
Tessa swallowed hard, and as he spoke, the words made a strange kind of sense, even if she didn’t completely understand that kind of bond.
“And me for you, brother.”
Tessa almost jumped off the bed at the sound of Locke’s voice behind her. How he’d managed to sneak up on them, she didn’t know, but Gage must have seen him and still, he kept talking.
“Even when we aren’t trying to survive, there’s a lot in this world that doesn’t make sense, that has no explanation. Whatever there is between me and Locke, it’s there if we need it. So, when I heard you scream, Tessa, when Locke gave you what I suspect was one earth-shattering orgasm, I didn’t feel jealousy, although I wish I could have seen it. One thing Locke and I have never shared is a woman.”
The air was so charged, so heavy with both men so close, Tessa had trouble drawing a breath. Despite the pleasure earlier, her body hummed at the thought of them. Together, with her. It was so weird and so strong, she didn’t recognize herself. And more than the two powerful men in the room, it frightened her. Slowly, she moved from the bed.
“I don’t have a clear head. I don’t know… I don’t know how to answer.” Both men were immobile for a moment, their attention on her.
Locke spoke first, his voice low and soothing as she moved toward the bedroom door. “Everything that happens here is your choice apart from the rules. I’ve never forced myself on a woman. Neither has Gage. I want you to feel safe here and free to do what you want.”
She had almost left the room when his final words made her look back at him.
“Sometimes the cage is not about the walls, but about the mind, Tessa.”
