Flynn, Joyee - A Zane Po' Boy [The O'Hagan Way 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour ManLove) (9 page)

“I came again,” Zane gasped in shock and from exertion. I glanced up at him, laughing at how Brian had collapsed on our mate’s stomach. He looked as happy and sated as I felt.

“Ya gave two orgasms and got two,” Brian mumbled as Zane wrapped his arms around me twin. “That be how we roll.”

“Good to know.” Zane chuckled, kissing the top of Brian’s head. It was incredibly intimate and tender. And I lay on the other side of the bed…alone. Me heart sank as again I felt as if I was the outsider or third wheel on their mating. Zane liked Brian better already. That was apparent. Just as everyone always did.

The fun was ruined for me, and I just wanted to go back to the room Isaac gave me and take a nap. Maybe after bawling me eyes out. But I had to be strong for me mate. Stay and give him what he needed, no matter the cost to me.

I had to prove I was just as good of a mate as Brian. Nothing was ever easy. And didn’t that just suck?

* * * *

Zane

A few days later I was walking the grounds with my mates. I finally felt like myself and knew soon I would be upgrading from walks into real workouts. Already I’d put some weight back on and my stomach no longer rebelled at the idea of food or blood.

I was also out of my cage, staying in a room across the hall from my mates’ rooms. We hadn’t worked up to all sleeping together yet or claiming each other, but I was happy and hopeful with the progress. Yeah, not everything was perfect, but we were working on it.

That was the important part. We all cared enough to try. I glanced over at Brian, who was walking to my left. He smiled at me impishly.

“Maybe we should take a shower when we get back and ya can fuck me into the wall,” Brian purred playfully. I was just going to readily agree to it, excited for fun especially since we’d not had sex since the first time a few days ago.

“Ya got to fuck him first and now he’s gonna fuck ya first, too?” Banning snapped, his eyes narrowed in anger. Where the
fuck
had that come from?

“I’m sorry, Banning,” Brian said, immediately backing away from me. “I not be meaning it like that.”

“Ya never do,” he grumbled and went to storm away. I grabbed his arm before he could, furious when I saw the destroyed look on Brian’s face.

“What the fuck is your problem?” I growled, giving him a little shake. “This isn’t a competition, Banning. Why are you jumping all over Brian?”

“It’s not?” he asked, turning his anger on me. “It feels that way to me. Ya both are falling in love, and I’m just the third wheel being dragged behind as an afterthought.” His voice had changed from angry to sad.

“That’s not true,” I gasped, releasing him as if he’d burned me. “How could you think that? I care about you both equally.”

“No, ya don’t,” Banning whispered, backing away slowly.

“Don’t run from this, Banning,” Brian pleaded. “Zane not be Cesar. None of this be his fault. It’s mine.”

“What are you talking about?” Something major was going on, and I couldn’t afford to be as lost as I felt.

“Nothing. Brian needs to shut his trap.” From his clenched jaws and narrowed eyes, Banning looked as if he was going to beat the shit out of his twin. Yeah, that was
so
not happening while I was around.

“Look!” I shouted, stepping in between them, making Banning focus on me. “I know something’s up between you two, so you might as well spit it out. I saw how close Shane and Sean were. You don’t treat Brian like he’s your twin. Hell, you barely act like you’re brothers. What is wrong with you?”

“Aye, it be me fault like always,” Banning replied quietly, nodding his head. “Brian be the good twin who everyone loves, and I’m just the other one.”

“It’s me fault,” Brian whispered with such pain I turned to look at him. He glanced up at me with tears in his eyes. “When I was young, I made a huge mistake that Banning never be able to forgive me for.”

“This is
not
about Cesar!” Banning shouted. His voice sounded strangled as he said the words. Not only had his voice changed, but his entire face had transformed from the calm man I was familiar with to someone wild and unhinged. It seemed almost as if my mate was on the verge of being torn apart from the pain he was feeling.

“Both of you sit down,” I said firmly but as kindly as I could while I pointed to one of the gray stone benches by the terrace decorated with various carefully placed potted plants and rocks. A bronze statue of a woman stood at the terrace’s center, the serene expression permanently carved on her face contrasting sharply with our distress. They both nodded and moved over there. I rolled my eyes when Brian sat on the one I’d pointed to and Banning took another one a few feet away. “Now who’s Cesar?”

“No one,” Banning said quickly.
Riiiight
. I turned to Brian, who bore an expression of deep despair on his face. His silver eyes, which were normally sparkling with happiness, had become almost dull. He took a shaky breath before opening his mouth to speak.

“When I was a lad, I met a man in town, a vampire named Cesar. I felt a pull to him, he smelled amazing, and I thought he be our mate. I brought Banning out to meet him, and Banning said I was mistaken, that he felt no draw to the man. I was crushed and felt stupid that I’d made a mistake. Banning left, disappointed as I was. But I stayed to have dinner with Cesar because I thought he was nice.”

“I take it he wasn’t?” I had a sinking suspicion this was going to go badly.

“No, no he wasn’t,” Brian whispered as he shook his head sadly, his eyes full of shame. “Cesar told me that not all twins shared a mate and that was just a myth. There are so few families with twins, and we didn’t know any, so I didn’t know what to believe. Me das had both had me ma as a mate, but that was all I knew. Cesar said he knew other twins and they didn’t share mates and I didn’t think he had any reason to lie. We went to bed and I was hooked. Probably because he be taking me virginity—”

I couldn’t help the growl that passed my lips. Okay, I hadn’t claimed them yet, but I didn’t like hearing about them being with other men. They were
mine
!

The side of Brian’s lips curved up in a smirk as he continued. “I didn’t tell Banning I was still seeing Cesar.” I glanced over at Banning, whose lips were drawn in to a thin line. He wasn’t looking at Brian, instead focusing on something in the distance, but I knew he was listening. I turned my attention back to Brian.

“After a month of being with him, he talked me into mating. I brought him home to meet our parents and they freaked out. They knew the truth, but I was too young and stupid to listen. I thought I was in love, and why would they want to take that from me? Cesar asked me to leave me family. Banning begged me not to do it, but I packed a bag and walked out the door.”

“Oh,” I whispered, glancing at Banning. Things were starting to make a lot more sense at why Banning was so closed off and a little snippy at times.

“Aye,
oh
.” Brian chuckled bitterly as he looked away from me and picked at a small hole in his jeans. “I was waiting for Cesar to pack outside of his home. His neighbor and lover came over. I saw them embrace through the window and start kissing. Then the man asked if Cesar had been able to pull it off and get me to give up me family. It seems he’d had a thing for Banning, but since they weren’t mates, Banning wouldn’t hear of dating someone.

“I guess they were both really into twins and figured if they both got one of us, they’d eventually get us both to play with. I fell for it. Banning didn’t.”

“What did you do?” I asked gently, squatting down in front of him, so I could meet his gaze.

“I went home.” He shrugged as he made efforts to look anywhere but at Banning or me. “I didn’t talk to anyone for a while, worked the farm, and eventually apologized for not listening to me family like I should have. But by then, the damage be done. Banning never forgave me.”

“That’s
not
true,” Banning said firmly, finally turning his head to look at his brother, his tone filled with annoyance. “I forgave ya the moment ya came home. Ya couldn’t have known Cesar was playing you. I didn’t even remember the guy who wanted me. They were nuts, Brian. It not be ya fault.”

“I know ya say that, but ya never were the same with me. I’ve been trying for over six hundred years to make it up to you—”

“I never asked ya to!” Banning shouted, jumping to his feet. “I never asked ya to act like the martyr, always doing whatever I want to try and make up for Cesar.”

“Bullshit,” Brian growled as he shot to his feet as well, knocking me back on my ass onto the hard stone. “Ya never looked at me the same after that. Ya have to let it go, Banning. I’ve more than paid me dues for me crimes! I was eighteen. I was young and stupid. I’m sorry I hurt ya, okay? I’m so fucking sorry. I would do anything to undo what I did, but I can’t. Ya have to forgive me!”

“Ya want to know why things were never the same?” Banning shouted as he shoved Brian hard in the chest. “Because of
ya
! Ya stopped talking to me like we used to. Ya were poor little Brian, who got hurt by the big bad world. Poor, sweet Brian got misled. Everyone was so worried about how it affected ya that I was just an afterthought. When
I
be the one ya walked away from!

“Ya the sweet one, the one everyone loves. Hell, even when people call us, ya be first. Brian and Banning. Brian and Banning. Aye, Brian, and okay, guess we’ll have to take Banning. Ya left
me
and yet I wasn’t the good one everyone loved. Ya didn’t trust me! And ya never acted like ya did after when I was right! Ya need advice or to talk, ya go to Fergus. Ya spent six hundred years acting like the wounded party when ya the one who caused it!

“Ya the one who never acted like things were before. Ya acted like I be the mean, older, demanding brother, and ya poor baby Brian.” He glanced over at me. “And now we meet our mate and ya still be the favorite.” His eyes filled up with tears, immediately overflowing. He wiped them away angrily with his balled-up fists. “I still just be an afterthought. Ya gonna leave me all over again. I’m that easy to be tossed aside.”

“Banning, that’s not true,” I whispered as I stood and pulled him in my arms, ignoring his struggles. “I can’t speak for Brian or how he feels, which you should know since you share the bond, but I can’t lose you. You both mean the exact same to me. It’s just been harder to fall for you because you’ve been behind this wall. I didn’t know if it was me or why you had such a hard shell. It makes sense now.”

“It does?” Banning asked, his eyes revealing the hope my words brought him. Suddenly he stilled his movements and tilted his head so he could see me better. I nodded, giving him a quick kiss, and ran my fingers through his hair. “What now?”

“You have to let go what happened.” The hope in Banning’s eyes disappeared and they filled with such rage I was surprised he didn’t combust.

“Of course ya being on his side,” he snarled and shoved me hard enough to move me away. Damn, my little mates were strong. He got about three feet away before I dove and knocked him to the ground.

“I’m
not
taking sides,” I said as I straddled him and pinned his arms down. He might be strong, but I was a well-trained warrior and was bigger. He wouldn’t get away from me if I didn’t want him to. Banning had caught me off guard before. I wouldn’t make that same mistake. “You
both
need to work on this. But you haven’t let it go. I can see why Brian doesn’t go to talk to you when he needs it. I have trouble talking with you because of this wall, this shell.”

I turned to glance at Brian, still pinning Banning down. “And you need to stop walking on eggshells around him. You fucked up. It was
six hundred
years ago. Move the fuck on. He’s your twin and you guys both act more like strangers. Stop apologizing or feeling bad for what you did and learn who your twin is as a man now. Neither of you are snot-nosed teenagers anymore. You’re adults who are twins and love each other. Act like it.”

“Ya not be on his side,” Banning whispered in awe.

“No, I’m Switzerland here,” I said gently, looking back down at him. “Well, not really because obviously I’m getting involved and have an opinion. And I have a stake in the outcome. But I think you’re both equally at fault.”