Travis stilled, and Jacques snapped his face toward mine. They were both taller and broader than me. Usually that gave me comfort, but tonight it gave me a thrill.
“Sorry, what?” Jacques asked, his brow furrowed.
He flicked his gaze to Travis, and I realized how rigid he was. Gone was the relaxed, fun-loving puppy, and in its place was a wary man who was waiting on tenterhooks for my response.
“I….” I bit my lip, panic rushing through me.
I’d said the wrong thing. I knew it. But I couldn’t give up. I needed to show them. I acted on instinct and reached up to turn Travis’s face to mine. I brushed my lips over his, lingering before I slowly pulled away. I blinked my eyes open, not even realizing I’d closed them, and Travis shifted his hold on me, running his hand down my back and wrapping his arm around my waist. He pulled me tighter against him, and his nostrils flared as he sucked in a breath.
“Both of you,” I whispered again before I turned to Jacques and shrugged. “I—”
“Your room,” Travis ordered, and Jacques snapped his mouth shut and spun on his heels, speed walking in the direction they’d come from.
Travis dragged me along with him, never once letting me go. I hadn’t had any idea how much of a turn-on it could be to be manhandled like that.
eight
Rusty – Then
Whenwereachedthefrat house, Jacques pushed open the door, and we grunted hellos to the brothers in the main room as we dashed up the stairs to the first level.
We were at the door to our bedroom within seconds. After tumbling through it, we stripped off our outer gear before we all stilled. I looked from Jacques to Travis and back again, suddenly unsure of what I should do. My chest was heaving, my pulse pounding in my veins. I was lightheaded, dizzy with lust. Nerves stole what little confidence I’d built up. When I’d seen Jacques and Travis come in, they tore each other’s clothes off, getting naked as fast as humanly possible. Should I do the same?
Jacques stepped close, crowding my personal space, and I breathed him in. The scent of ozone clung to his skin for hours after he’d been on the ice. But there was something else underlying it that was as smooth as chocolate and rich like beautifully roasted coffee. Travis stood shoulder to shoulder with him. But even though they were taller, it didn’t feel like they weren’t standing over me—not with the way Travis reached for my hand, interlacing our fingers.
“Did you hear us?” Jacques asked quietly, a vulnerability in his voice that I hated hearing.
“Yes,” I admitted and squeezed Travis’s hand to stop him from pulling away. “I wasn’t eavesdropping—at least, I didn’t mean to—but some nights I’ve still been awake when you got home, and on others you woke me up. Last night….” I swallowed and dropped my gaze. “Last night I watched.”
“You just laid there while we fucked?” Jacques asked, shock coloring his tone.
“What should I have done?” I looked to Travis, but he was focused on Jacques.
With his free hand, he reached out and squeezed Jacques’s hip. But Jacques pulled back, turning away from both of us. He ran his fingers through his hair and exhaled heavily, his sigh loud in the silence of the room.
“I’m sorry. I know I betrayed your trust by pretending to be asleep.”
“Are you doing this to get back at us for talking about you?” Jacques asked, then turned to me and continued. “Is it a practical joke?”
“No.” I shook my head and held out my hands, palms up, trying to convince him I was being genuine. I would never do that.
“I’m sorry we spoke about you like that,” Jacques admitted quietly. “We shouldn’t have done that.”
“You don’t need to apologize,” I said. I’d wanted to strip off my clothes and theirs, then make all three of us come. Looked like we needed to talk first.
I sat down on my bed, elbows on my thighs and clasped hands between my knees. I stared at the floor, gathering the courage to open up to them. I’d never get the words out if I had to say it looking in their eyes.
Travis sat next to me, his arm stretched behind him, close enough that it was as if he had his arm around me. Jacques stood, his arms crossed over his chest and his stance wary.
“I’ve never had sex before,” I mumbled. “I’ve never even been kissed. Travis… that was my first kiss.”
“How?” he asked gently with zero judgement in his voice.
Jacques uncrossed his arms and pulled up his chair, sitting opposite me.
Travis added, “You’re gorgeous. Shy, yeah, but….”
I dropped my head into my hands. Talking about this stuff sucked.
