Three Is Just Enough (23 page)

Cole reached under Dalton’s damp body and hoisted him onto his shoulder in one movement. He headed toward the bathroom but stopped as he was about to enter. He turned to Tara. “You okay?”

Tara looked at him in disbelief. “Okay? You make me feel like this and then ask if I’m just okay?” She sighed with satisfaction and crumpled onto the bed. Waving her hand at them she giggled. “Yes, I’m okay. Definitely one-hundred-percent okay.”

Cole chuckled and walked through the doorway.

Dalton paced the living room, not sure what else to do. The trip to the water park a few weeks ago had brought them back together. The give and take they needed had developed, and he and Cole were careful to not forget Tara was their lover, not their roommate or live-in maid. The intimacy returned with an understanding it was okay for them to be together, or pair up. After a lot of talking, and some adjustments, Dalton thought Tara was relieved it wasn’t up to her to match the sex drive he and Cole had.

But now what he’d been dreading was happening—Cole was looking for a job. They’d talked about options, but he and Tara were several years from finishing. Since Dalton studied architecture, he also had to serve as an intern and pass a state test, so he was even further away from graduation. The thought of their little family being dismantled weighed on Dalton.

An ache grew in Dalton’s chest at the thought of losing Cole. The more he struggled with the problem, the fewer ways he found to keep the relationship together. They’d talked about a long distance situation, where they’d see Cole when they could, but their newly patched relationship was brittle as an eggshell.

Tara laid her textbook on her lap. “You’re going to wear out the floor.”

Dalton sighed and dropped into a chair. “How can you be so calm?”

Tara smiled sadly. “I’m not calm, baby. I’m trying to keep my mind off it so my stomach doesn’t tie into knots and I end up puking.”

“I hate this. I really want him to stay. I just don’t see how it can work and him be even a few hours away.”

“You know he’d really like to be up north. But we couldn’t make a living there. Not a lot of call for fashion designers or architects.”

Dalton grinned. “I could design kick ass log cabins.”

“Well, I guess I could design some hot clothing from flannel plaids.” Tara used her hands as if she was framing a camera angle, and they started laughing.

After a moment the laughter drifted away and Dalton frowned. “I don’t know what we’re going to do.”

Tara walked over to Dalton and sat in his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a gentle kiss. “Try to dial the stress back a little. It’ll be okay, we just don’t know how it’s going to go yet.”

They settled against each other in time for the door to pop open and Cole to walk into the house. With the door shut firmly behind him, he took off clothing until he was down to a single layer. He carefully hung up his coat and stowed away his boots before turning to the pair.

Dalton’s heart ripped at the expression of disappointment on Cole’s face. He knew the situation was bad for him and Tara, but it was worse for Cole. Not only was he struggling with their personal relationship, he’d wrapped his self-worth around finding a good job.

“How’d it go,” asked Dalton.

Cole shrugged and gave them a halfhearted smile. “It went fine. But they aren’t hiring. The guy said they’d keep me on file in case something comes up.”

“Well, that’s good. At least they’re interested.”

Cole shrugged and dropped into a chair. “Yeah. I guess.”

Tara pushed herself off Dalton and motioned for both of them to stay put. She was back in a few seconds holding a set of keys.

Cole sat up, his interest piqued. “What’re those?”

“Keys.”

Cole scowled. “Keys for what, my dear Tara?”

“Key’s to my boss’s cabin on Big Sandy Lake.”

“Really?”

Tara twirled the keys around her finger. “She knows how stressed we’ve been and thought we might enjoy a weekend to relax before finals.”

“Ah crap, it would be great to get in a last weekend of cross country skiing. Are the trails decent?” asked Cole.

Tara smiled and winked at Dalton before looking back at Cole. “She said it’s been cold enough this spring that there’s still a foot or so of snow on the trails.”

Cole bolted upright. “Holy crap. Come on, let’s go!”

Dalton looked at him and smiled. “Cole.”

He stopped and spun around. “Yeah?”

“It’s Wednesday.”

“Shit.”

* * * *

Cole stopped at the top of the hill. In front of him were hundreds of acres of white that the weak late winter sunshine lit up like a sequin dress on the red carpet. The pines added to the scene with their thick stoles of snow. Tara glided to a stop beside him and he looked back in time to see Dalton fall again and turn the air blue with his cursing. Once the profanity slowed, he called back to Dalton. “You okay?”

“Fuck no, I’m not okay. I thought this god damn cross-country ski shit was supposed to be fucking easy and fun. Well, I haven’t had one fucking easy minute and I haven’t seen shit for fun.”

Cole and Tara chuckled softly, not wanting to offend Dalton, but unable to keep from laughing at the profanity-strewn declarations as they worked their way up the valley. Now Dalton was packing the swear words so tightly together that it was hilarious. He regained his feet and climbed the last few yards with a grim look on his face. He topped the hill and looked at the trail ahead of them. His face blanched and he glared at his partners.

“Damn, if you wanted to get rid of me, there are less painful ways.”

Cole grinned and patted him on the back. “It’s not a bad hill.”

“Not bad, my ass. I’ve seen roller coasters that weren’t this hairy. Hell, the corkscrew at the water park was straighter than this.”

Tara leaned on her poles and grinned at Dalton. “You could walk it.”

Dalton scowled at Tara, turned and pushed off down the hill. They watched as one leg came flying into the air, to slam back down when his balance swung the other direction.

“You think he’ll make it to the bottom in one piece?” asked Tara.

“Not a chance in hell.”

They pushed off, locking their feet to the inside so they slowly snowplowed down the steep hill. They chuckled quietly as Dalton plunged out of sight around a snowdrift beside the cabin. A minute or two later he and Tara skied to a stop beside the porch. They released their bindings and followed Dalton inside.

Dalton struggled to pull his fleece jacket over his head and was losing the battle. By the time the jacket popped off, Dalton’s face was bright red and his mouth reduced to a small pucker.

“It’s a miracle you didn’t break something,” Cole said as he started peeling off the layers of clothes.

“I’m still not sure that last one didn’t,” grumbled Dalton.

Cole eased off the boots and then stripped out of his pants. He was down to thermals when Tara walked into the bedroom with three steaming cups of what smelled like chocolate, with a touch of something else. Cole took two of the cups and handed one to Dalton. He took a sip. The burn of alcohol and hot chocolate ran down his throat. Once it hit his stomach, warmth spread through him. He licked his lips and looked at Tara. “What did you put in it?”

“Whiskey, I thought it would warm us up.”

“Damn, that makes me forget how bad I hurt,” Dalton said.

They both turned to see Dalton taking a second big drink. Cole chuckled and shook his head. “Last time you drank didn’t go so well there, stud. Don’t suck it down too fast.”

Dalton started to reply when Tara laid her hand on his shoulder. She smiled as she took another sip. “Ready for more skiing tomorrow?”

Dalton grimaced slightly as he swallowed a mouthful the hot alcohol laced drink. “We’ll see how well your concoction works. It’s already taken an edge off the soreness. But I’m looking forward to the hot tub.” Dalton took another sip of the hot chocolate, then finished stripping. Cole licked his lips, his gaze fixed on Dalton’s soft cock as the last piece of clothing dropped to the floor. He looked at Tara, who grinned at him.

Tara walked close, wrapped an arm around Cole and kissed his cheek. “Go have fun. I’m not quite up for what you have in mind. I’ll put together something for lunch.” Tara’s hand traced along Cole’s now hard cock. “I have a feeling you’re not going to be long.”

A sigh escaped his lips and he returned Tara’s kiss. “You sure?”

She smacked Cole’s butt and shoved him toward the door. “Go. Enjoy yourself. If I change my mind I’ll come join you.”

Cole peeled off his shirt, quickly followed by his tights, and headed toward the door to the deck, his hard cock pointing the way. He glanced back and smiled when Tara wolf whistled. As he opened the door a cold breeze coiled around his body, and his nuts sucked against his crotch when he sprinted for the hot tub. Jumping over the side, he landed with a splash next to Dalton.

“Hey! Watch it,” yelped Dalton.

Cole sank to his neck in the hot water. “It’s fuckin’ cold out there.”

Dalton wiped off the droplets of water before relaxing against the jet he’d found. “Just give it a minute. It’s pretty nice in here.”

Cole moved closer to Dalton, enjoying the hot bubbling water. He let his hand glide over Dalton’s thigh. At Cole’s touch, Dalton’s eyes flew open. “What are you doing? I don’t want Tara pissed at us again.”

Cole leaned in and took Dalton’s earlobe between his teeth and chewed lightly. He slowly let it escape and smiled at Dalton. “She said to have fun and she’d make lunch. She might join us later.”

Dalton grabbed Cole, trying to hold him still. “Stop a minute so we can talk. I can’t think straight when you’re doing all that shit.”

Cole’s face broke into a huge grin and Dalton raised an eyebrow at him. “What?”

“I’m just fighting the urge to comment.”

“About what?”

“You thinking straight…”

Dalton looked at him for a second with a blank expression on his face, then grinned and shook his head. “Fine, smartass. So I never think
straight.
Your licking screws up me thinking bi, too.”

Cole dove in for a quick kiss and then moved back. “Honest. I think she’s okay with us having a little fun. I think Tara’s figured out that if we’re pawing on each other, we aren’t pawing on her.”

Dalton’s lips pressed tight against each other as he looked at Cole. After a few moments he relaxed and pulled Cole closer. “I can’t resist you. But if she ends up pissed at us again, you’re so going to be cut off.”

Cole floated closer, ran his hands over Dalton’s chest and flicked his finger across Dalton’s nipples. The groan from Dalton vibrated down to Cole’s crotch. “Yeah, like you can get by without me.”

Dalton wrapped his hand around Cole’s hard dick and slowly jacked it. Cole floated closer and began kissing along the edge of Dalton’s ear as his hand slid down the taut body. Dalton turned to him and kissed Cole as his hand closed around Dalton’s cock. The waves of delight rippled through Cole as his body responded.
He feels so good. I never want to be without him.

Dalton’s hand slid lower and tugged at his nuts. Cole closed his eyes and kissed along the edge of Dalton’s jaw as the bliss built. His hand slipped lower and found Cole’s hole. He teased and stroked it until Cole was close to climax. He leaned in and whispered. “I wanna eat your ass until you’re a moaning slut.”

Dalton sunk his finger deep inside his lover and started finger fucking him. The moan that resulted reverberated through the trees. His ass tightened around Dalton’s finger as he rubbed against Cole’s prostate. Cole automatically spread his legs wider, his thoughts of taking Dalton fading with the pleasure a finger inside him was generating. Dalton twisted toward him and started sucking on his neck. Soon the dual pleasures had Cole oblivious to anything other than his own pleasure. A low moan rolled from deep inside him when they disappeared.

Dalton whispered into his ear. “I want to eat your ass.”

“Ah, fuck.”

Cole lifted his steaming body from the water and lay across the deck, his legs spread wide in anticipation. Dalton’s hands slid over his ass and pried it open. A light snow began and the sparse flakes danced around them. Cole’s focus snapped to his butt when Dalton blew across his pucker. His torso relaxed onto the wooden deck. Dalton pressed his face hard against Cole’s ass and wiggled the tip of his tongue against his twitching hole.

“Oh. That’s so good, D.”

Dalton started to chuckle and then moved back. “I only rate a
D?”

Cole looked back at Dalton and grinned. “I love you. But when your tongue’s inside my ass, I can’t think.”

Dalton’s grin stretched from ear to ear. “As long as that’s it. I can live with that.”

Dalton smiled and ran his hands over Cole’s butt. “I love you, too, you know.”

Cole turned to his side and smiled back at Dalton. “I know. But right now you were kinda busy with your tongue in my butt.”

Dalton chuckled and nodded in agreement. He lifted Cole’s leg, tilted his head and was soon feasting on prime man butt. Cole shook as electrical pulses shot through him with each thrust of Dalton’s tongue. The minutes rose and fell as Cole surrendered himself to Dalton’s attention on his ass. On the crest of one of the waves, they disappeared.

Cole’s eyes popped open in search of Dalton. “Why’d you stop?”

“I thought you might like something else in there and that you might be freezing lying on the deck.”

Cole chuckled and pushed himself off the deck, realizing that his backside was getting a chill. He slipped back into the water and wrapped his arms around Dalton. “Okay, now I’m ready.”

Dalton chuckled but then glanced at their surroundings. Cole grinned and pulled his face back so they were looking at each other again. “Don’t worry, they’d have to be right beside the tub to see us. Tara’s boss had a freakin’ forest planted to keep it private. So long as you keep the screaming down, no one will know.”

Dalton splashed water at Cole, a grin permanently fixed on his face. “Alright, smart ass. You think you know me so well?”