Eternal Brand (16 page)

Emily's cries echoed in Brand's head. The only thought in his brain was Jet's name as he began to pound into him harder, as hard as they both wanted it. Jet hovered over Emily, bracing his weight on his elbows as Brand fucked him and stroked his cock with rough jerks.

“God…baby.”

Brand almost climaxed when Jet called him baby in that deep husky voice. Somehow he held off until Jet convulsed beneath him, spilling his load all over Brand's fingers. Emily held Jet's head to her chest as he roared Brand's name. She wrapped her arms around Jet's heaving shoulders and turned her gaze on Brand.

Her green eyes watching him like that, with fathomless depths of love on display for him to see, made Brand lose his grip on sanity. He ploughed into Jet one last time and exploded in a blinding flash of ecstasy. Pure release, sheer heaven. For just that moment, his soul was all light and no shadow, and every last one of his demons was slain by what he felt.

Shaken, Brand pulled out of Jet and sat on the couch. He hoped the action looked like a choice, and not like a necessity born from his trembling knees. Jet fell to one side of Emily, keeping his head resting on her chest. Emily's and Jet's feet were intertwined, and all four of them rested on Brand's lap.

Brand studied them clinging to each other so cozily, and the sense of distance he'd felt when he first came in from outside returned.
Thank Christ for that.
The distance he understood. He needed it to survive. The unadulterated happiness, the feeling that the three of them had somehow melded souls—that was frightening.

Brand didn't believe in the soul. If he had a soul, that meant his path to hell had already been paved.
So you just had an amazing fuck, Brand. That's all.

Brand believed his own rhetoric, until he made the mistake of looking at Emily's face. She was gazing at him like he was the Taj Mahal, sunset on the Riviera and a rainstorm over the beach all rolled into one.

“I love you,” she whispered, and Brand's chest felt like it was cracking open.

Control, my ass. You have no control here, Walker.

Chapter Eighteen

Emily had been riding horses since she was a teenager. Her grandparents on her mother's side owned a cattle station in the outback, and when they'd gone out to visit as a family, Emily had been fascinated by the horses. Penny had appreciated them for the beautiful creatures they were but preferred not to ride them, and Hope had of course hated them on sight. She'd hated the outback altogether because it wasn't anywhere near the water.

So Emily's grandfather had taught Emily to ride and instilled a love for it in her that hadn't died even when he had. Emily had never forgotten those joyful years, and when she'd found Mulholland Homestead for sale four years ago, she'd quit her job as a secretary to become the owner of her dream business.

She'd been happy, if perhaps prone to the occasional bout of loneliness, before Brand came along. When he had, he'd fulfilled her in ways she hadn't thought could be surpassed. Then a month ago, Jet had entered their bed and their lives.

And fulfillment had taken on a whole new meaning.

“How long did you say this beach was?”

Emily turned to the woman on the horse beside her, a tourist from Sydney who hadn't ridden since she was in her early twenties but who had picked up the knack again quickly. “It's called Eight Mile Beach, but it's closer to nine miles, or roughly fourteen kilometers. They made a mistake with the measurements when they named it.”

The woman, whose name was Monica, gazed out at the endless blue horizon and sighed. “It's gorgeous. I'm so jealous that you get to live here year round.”

“Well, I'm lucky.”

It's what she always told the people who paid for her beach rides. They didn't want to hear that she'd had to scrape together every penny she'd had to secure the loan on Mulholland Homestead, or that she had a huge mortgage and struggled to pay the bills some months.
I'm lucky
was more pleasant conversation, and despite her mortgage, it was true.

Monica seemed to agree. “You certainly are.”

This time she wasn't looking at the ocean, but up ahead to where Brand was riding Daisy. Beside him, Jet sat astride Duke, Emily's most placid gelding, looking like he'd much rather be riding something that consumed fuel instead of hay.

She smiled to herself, thinking,
I'm luckier than you think, Monica.

“You two are married?”

Emily turned her attention back to Monica. “Brand and I? No. Not yet.”

Not yet? Why the hell did you say that? Brand hasn't asked you and he probably never will. You don't care about rings and dresses anyway.

It was true. The thought of marriage did cross her mind occasionally, mostly when someone from her family hinted that Brand ought to be making an honest woman out of her, but she'd never been that concerned about when or if it would happen. She didn't even glance at bridal magazines at the news agency.

But when someone like Monica—lithe and pretty with auburn hair that shined in the afternoon sun—looked at Brand with hunger in her eyes, Emily wondered if there was something to be said for having the title of wife.

How would that ever work now that Jet was here and Emily never wanted him to leave?

“I see. I'm sure it won't be long,” Monica assured her. “He seems very attentive.”

Emily's smile felt forced now. She didn't need the woman's assurance that marriage was around the corner. She didn't need marriage full stop. She had everything she needed already.

All she had to do was hang on to it, and marriage wasn't part of that plan. Not if she wanted to keep two men around her for as long as she could convince them to stay.

“Brand and I aren't in any hurry,” Emily said, obviously not able to share the complex nature of her fledgling three-way relationship with this woman she'd just met. “We're happy.”

“Good for you.”

Monica nodded, even though Emily sensed the other woman didn't understand that point of view at all. Emily put her at maybe thirty-six or -seven and single. Marriage was apparently a priority for her. Perhaps her biological clock was ticking so loud it interrupted her sleep.

“So what about your friend?” Emily looked at Monica askance until she elaborated. “Is he married?”

“Jet?” Emily's stomach roiled. “No. He's not interested in that either. He travels a lot.”

“Boy, I wish I could travel more. This week off from work has been so fantastic. I love my job but…” Monica shrugged and cast Emily a sheepish glance. “People have been letting me know life is passing me by while I'm at the office. I think I need more adventure.”

“I see.”

“Do you want to catch up to them?”

The evident undercurrent being Monica wanted to ride next to Jet so she could chat him up. The green-eyed monster inside Emily snarled peevishly. “Actually, I think Jet has had enough riding for today. I'll let them know they can head back while we let the horses open up a bit.”

“Oh, that's fine. We can head back too.”

“I wouldn't want to shortchange you, you paid for the full experience.” Emily smiled sweetly at the woman. “And clearly Jet's not up to cantering.”

“Right.” Monica smiled tartly, evidently annoyed at finding no way to flirt with Jet without seeming desperate. “I'd better get my money's worth.”

Emily's faux-friendly expression didn't falter even as she pictured pushing Monica off her horse and letting her splash unceremoniously into the water. “You go on ahead and I'll tell them.”

Monica gave Ben's sides a squeeze, and he trotted forward, kicking up salt water and sand behind him. Monica gave Brand and Jet a wave as she passed them. Jet flashed his naturally flirtatious grin, and Monica fairly preened. By the time Emily pulled up beside Jet she was scowling.

“Don't encourage her.”

“Who?” Jet's gaze followed Emily's. “Monica?”

“Yes, Monica. Your flirt-with-no-follow-through habit can be very annoying.”

Jet arched a dark brow. “I followed through with you.”

“Well you won't with her so knock it off.”

Jet flicked a puzzled glance at Brand. “What's gotten into her?”

Brand's lips twitched knowingly. “I think Monica's interested in you.”

Jet shrugged. “I sensed that. So?”

“So Emily doesn't like it.”

Jet swung his gaze back toward Emily. “You're jealous?”

“No,” Emily denied automatically. Then she relented. “A little. Maybe.”

Jet laughed. “Oh man, that's cute.”

“Don't call me cute when I'm aggravated. Have you no sense at all?”

“Apparently not,” Brand muttered, not bothering to conceal his amusement.

“What am I supposed to say about you?” Emily continued. She pointed at Brand. “Him I can handle. I can say ‘back off he's mine'. But what am I supposed to say about you, Jet, when some hot woman tells me she's looking for adventure and wants me to facilitate an introduction?”

“She's not that hot.” Jet smiled, but Emily's frown didn't shift. So he shrugged. “You could tell her I'm gay. I don't care if people think so.”

Well, if only she'd thought of
that
a few minutes ago. It should have occurred to her to use it as a way to deflect Monica. Jet had made out with Brand, made love to him in numerous ways, but Emily just didn't think of Jet as gay. It was impossible to think it when he was as interested in what was between her legs as he was in what hung between Brand's.

“I don't want to say that,” she eventually said. “It's a lie.”

“Only half a lie,” Jet corrected. “What's the alternative? Telling the truth?”

They fell into wordless silence when Emily didn't answer. This was a problem she hadn't thought of when she'd decided to invite Jet into her relationship with Brand. She was a straight-up person who didn't enjoy lying. But in this instance the truth was only going to weird people out.

Like her family. Tonight was Penny's birthday party and Emily had invited Jet. It didn't seem right to exclude him now that they were…so deeply involved.
Maybe too deeply.
Emily's gut clenched. She couldn't bring herself to exclude Jet from the important events in her life, but she hadn't yet worked out how to explain his presence to others. Her reaction to Monica was proof of that.

What if someone at tonight's party showed an interest in him? Would they believe the very macho Brand had a platonic gay friend? And could she lie that blatantly to her family?

She was no closer to a solution when a seagull flew above them, his squawk jolting Emily out of her thoughts. Monica was up ahead, walking Ben through the water, probably wondering what was taking so long. Emily took a deep breath and reminded herself to do what she had to do. She had that mortgage to think about.

“I told Monica you two would head home while we go for a short canter. I'll see you back at the house.”

“We can wait for you,” Brand said.

Emily narrowed her eyes at him. Were his lips twitching again? Lord save her from Brandon Walker in a rare and ill-timed playful mood. “Don't tease me, Brand. You have to go back, Jet's ass is no doubt killing him by now.”

“Massage it better for me later?”

Emily sent Jet a withering look. “Get Brand to massage it. You're gay, aren't you?”

Emily turned her horse and gave her a motivating kick. She set off down the beach, too annoyed to do anything but ignore the way Jet shouted after her.

“Moody thing isn't she?”

Brand turned away from the sight of Emily riding up the beach to glance at Jet. He smiled. “She can be. But she's worth it.”

“I know. I see that.”

The way Jet's gaze followed Emily up the beach, the smile that played with his lips, made Brand's belly clench. He knew that look. It was the same look he was certain he wore when Emily did something that confounded him but made him love her at the same time.

Jet was falling hard for Emily. The knowledge stole the levity from Brand's mood. He'd thought he was the only one struggling with the emotional side of this, but it looked like he'd been wrong. First Emily was jealous and now…

Was Emily falling in love with Jet, too?

If this thing was mutual, Jet was never going to be able to leave her. Brand hadn't been able to, and he had every reason to go. He should have shot through ages ago because he'd always known Emily deserved better than him. Someone like Jet.

“Are we going to have to address this issue of what to tell people about us? Think of an explanation she'll be happy with?”

Brand figured they didn't need to address the issue at all. This was
supposed
to be a temporary situation. Hell. Was Jet starting to think permanent? “Nope. I think this is one of those times where she won't want us to fix the problem, just listen to her while she talks about it.”

“Well, that's frustrating.”

“Tell me about it. Welcome to living with a woman.”

“I guess I forgot what it was like.”

Brand turned Daisy around, reminding Jet with his actions how to make Duke do the same thing. Jet's commands weren't exactly firm, but Duke was a docile old thing. He turned on cue, sending Brand a look as if to say,
Is this guy for real?

The horse's mocking aside, Brand thought Jet was doing a pretty good job for his first ride. Jet had that way about him—a sense of adventure mixed with a natural capability that made him deft at most things.

Like living with him and Emily. He'd slotted into their lives like he'd always belonged there.

And he'll slip right back out as easily as he slid in when the time comes.

Jet had to leave. Emily was too traditional a girl to carry on with two men in some kind of bizarre happy-ever-after. She wouldn't do it, and Brand would never ask her to put up with the inevitable judgment of narrow-minded people that would come with it. Emily deserved to be part of a normal, happy couple. She ought to be someone's wife.

But not yours, right? You can't ask her to marry you because you have nothing to offer.

Hating the chill that infiltrated his heart at the thought, Brand focused on what Jet had said before they'd turned around. “You lived with a woman before?”

“Sure. Had a girlfriend at uni. We were pretty serious. I thought we'd do the whole thing—marriage, kids, a house and a minivan.”

Brand couldn't picture it—Jet living in the suburbs, some everyday ordinary life. “What happened?”

“She didn't want that. At least not with me.” At Brand's questioning expression, Jet elaborated. “She didn't trust me. She thought the whole bisexual thing meant I couldn't be faithful, maybe that I was actually gay and I'd one day come out and leave her for a man.”

“That's bullshit.” Brand had never met a more faithful man than Jet.

Jet shrugged and let the subject drop. “What about you? Have you ever lived with anyone before Emily?”

Brand gazed out at the horizon, the endless cobalt ocean meeting the cornflower-blue sky. “I was in the army. Didn't make relationships easy.”

“Convenient.”

Brand turned back to face Jet. “You trying to say something?”

Jet returned Brand's challenging stare. “The army was always your excuse not to have a relationship, Brand. Not the real reason.”

Fuck.
Jet Durante could be such a shit sometimes. He'd spent the last month doing every damn thing Brand said, making him hard on the outside and frighteningly soft in parts of his insides he didn't want to recognize. Now the bastard sends in the artillery. “It was what it was. No point overanalyzing it.”

“You would say that. You're the one who leaves. It's always the ones left behind that lie awake at night wishing they knew why.”