Page 55 of Piece Us Together

I wonder if Nolan will experience the same.

I wonder what that’s like—being the one made to squirm and endure before earning something mind-shatteringly beautiful. Two things, even. An orgasm, yes, but praise, too. They will have earned so much praise.

I look away from them at the side of the pool, wincing when my eyes catch on the clock. We need to get going. Hunter won’t like it if we’re late.

I stand, catching Nolan’s eye and tilting my head toward the door. We’ve been able to avoid any questions about where we disappear to on the weekends, but we haven’t been doing this very long and this house is full of spies and perceptive survivors. It won’t be long.

Nolan nods before turning back to Matt, saying something that makes Matt grin and shake his head. I realize I don’t know if he’s told Matt about Hunter. If he were to open up about it to anyone, it’d be Matt.

I don’t know how I feel about that—about him telling Matt. About Hunter being important enough for him to share. It makes things feel like more. Feel bigger. It makes things feel real and permanent.

It makes me itch, but I still can’t quite tell if it’s more of that anticipation or if it’s the dread of tonight being a letdown. Or if it’s the worry about the Keats situation, and nothing to do with Hunter at all. Regardless of the cause, I’m not a big fan of the sensation.Is this what Nolan feels like when he wants control taken away? What’s it like when that happens? When Hunter makes everything go quiet?

I shouldn’t want to know.

I shouldn’t think just how nice it sounds.

God, I’m such a fucking mess.

Nolan catches up to me just before I leave the shower, out of breath with an apology on his lips as we trade spots. I work on drying off with my towel as he strips out of his swimsuit and hops under the spray I hadn’t turned off. I slip out of the room before he gets to the part of his shower routine that includes cleaning himself out. The last time I watched, I got uncomfortably hard and had to spend nearly two hours with an aching cock while waiting for Hunter to allow things to get started. Even thinking about it has my cock twitching before I drag on a pair of underwear that contains the stupid thing.

I head downstairs after I’m dressed, figuring I should start the truck since it’s freezing out. I’m pulling on my jacket when I nearly run right into Jake who is coming from outside. My stomach plummets. Not even so much because of the Keats thing, as the fact that he’s definitely about to question me. It’s the daddy in him—which I no longer find quite as amusing or endearing.

“I already brought the cans out,” he tells me.

And I’m an idiot who should leap on that excuse, who should pretend I was planning on taking out the garbage before disappearing upstairs and telling Nolan to wait a few minutes until the coast is clear. Instead, I stammer the fucking truth. “Oh, no. I’m not—I’m going out, actually.”

He frowns. “At this time of night? To where?”

I roll my eyes, trying for nonchalance. “It’s not that late, old man. It’s not even eight yet.”

“It’s a small as shit town,” he points out, which…is fair. “Where is there to go at eight on a Thursday night in this place?”

Oh, you know, the house of a breathtakingly handsome dom who makes me feel like my world is burning, but makes me feel at peace about it, and can also make my boyfriend comehis fucking brains out, and me too, actually, but I’m not a submissive, don’t think I’m a submissive, and it doesn’t mean anything, he’s just a guy, a dom, nothing more, no feelings or whatever, you know?Just a guy.

Nolan saves me by rushing in, dressed in nice jeans and his favorite new sweater, his jacket already in his hands. He freezes when he sees Jake.

Jake arches an eyebrow as he takes the both of us in. “Hot date?”

Nolan looks at me, eyes wide like we’ve been caught. I force a smile. It’s not like we’re keeping our relationship secret, even if we haven’t made some grand announcement. The guys know we sleep together every night in my room, his room usually left empty except for his clothes. They’ve walked in on us kissing plenty of times, too.

It doesn’t give anything away for the two of us to be going out. There’s no hint of Hunter anywhere. That’s why I shoot for casual, shrugging before giving Jake a rueful, “Something like that.”

I grab Nolan a hat from the coat rack. He’ll need it, especially since I didn’t get the chance to warm the truck at all and his hair is wet. It reminds me of Hunter, the damn man always concerned about jackets and shit. I find myself mentioning it as I tug the hat onto Nolan’s head, hoping to sound grumbly instead of fond. “He’ll be mad if you show up without a hat.”

Nolan laughs, seeing right through me. “He cares about you too. Grab your scarf.”

I almost roll my eyes. Having a jacket and hat will be enough, I’m sure. I don’t need a damn scarf.

But the flash of Hunter’s disappointed face in my mind has me grabbing the scarf anyway.

I am so fucked.

“Look who found a hat,” is the first thing Hunter says when he opens his door for us. “Oh, wow, and ascarf.”

I frown at him, my defenses automatically clicking into place. “It’s cold. I didn’t wear it for you.”

“Of course.” He doesn’t even bother fighting his smile, just taking a step back and waving us in. “Well, since it’s cold, come on in.”