Page 46 of Bound By Brielle (Crave & Cure Productions)

It’s only been five minutes but already, I swear I smell food. My stomach rumbles as I pad down the hall, spotting Lance and Aug at the stove. Lance bumps his shoulder into Aug’s as a slow smile spreads Aug’s face. They share quiet words, and Aug bumps Lance, and the two of them laugh as Lance sprinkles seasoning over whatever is steaming in the pan.

The more I get to know them, the more questions I have. I wish I could unzip them both and crawl around inside each of them, scooping out every private detail, then binge on it. I want to know everything.

“Do you both cook often?” I ask as I take a seat across from them, at the kitchen counter. My wet hair is cold down my back but heat wafts from the stove, causing my nipples to harden.

Aug looks up, his dark hair wavy and unruly from the moisture in the steam. I glance at Lance, and find his golden locks much the same—full of body. I imagine running my hands through each head of hair, gripping it by the scalp as I yank and moan.

“I do. I enjoy cooking. My ex-wife, Claire, we cooked a lot together. It was our thing, kind of,” he says, pushing food around with a wooden spatula.

“Claire is such a good cook,” Lance sighs, reaching for a bottle of sparkling water. I watch veins pop in his fist as he twists the bottle open.God that’s sexy.

“You know–” I stop and try again. “You’re close with Augustus’s ex-wife?”

“We’re very close. I consider her one of my best friends,” Lance says, producing a hunk of soft cheese from a cloth. He plates it, and begins placing crackers and fruits all around it, from a container on the counter. “You’ll like her. She’s one of—if not the—kindest person I've ever met.”

Aug nods as he tosses sliced chicken into the pan, a hearty sizzle bursting into the space between us. “She’s fantastic.”

I clear my throat before sipping the carbonated water that Lance poured and passed to me. “When did you marry her?” I ask Aug, a slight discomfort twisting my insides at the question. I hate that no matter how I word it, I feel like a schoolgirl questioning her older boyfriend about how many chicks he’s fingerbanged.

“We were college sweethearts. We got married before graduate school. Went through graduate school together—she’s a sculptor so we had the arts in common.” He bumps Lance, who gathers a package of sliced vegetables, and passes it to Aug. He tosses them in the pan and covers it, bracing both hands on the counter as his attention comes to me. “We split up after only a few years of marriage. Claire realized she couldn’t be monogamous. It just wasn't in her.”

“Did she cheat on you?” I poke, hating the flush that creeps up my neck. I sip the bubbly water, appreciating the way it makes my eyes burn.

He smiles. “No. She realized a year or so into our marriage that she loved me very much, but that she knew in her heart she had room for more. More love to give. And I couldn’t share.” He glances at Lance, smirking something so incredibly fierce that my pussy pulses behind the silk pajamas. “Ironic, no? I couldn’t be with someone who needed more partners and here I am.”

“I’d say our situation is different,” Lance amends, sipping his water. They’re both so casual tonight, Aug in black sweats wearing a zip up track jacket and Lance in his casual jeans and t-shirt. They’re both casual but sophisticated and classy. I like them this way. The way that no one else at Crave gets them. Private and casual.

“I agree,” Aug says as they corner the counter, each extending a palm to me. I slide off the barstool and the three of us plop down together on the couch.

“I’ve never been married,” Lance says, holding my gaze.

I swallow, realizing that this is the time to ask questions. “Have you been in relationships with women?” I know he’s pansexual, that much has been unearthed. But there’s more to sexuality and experience than a title. That much I know. Because I never thought I could be with two men, both sexually and emotionally, but look at me now.

He nods, skating his vast palm over my bare thigh. “Yes. My first love was a woman.”

“It didn’t work out?” I question, voice hoarse, mouth dry. My pulse is galloping through me. Getting to know them excites me. I know what it means, because you don’t invest details in a fling.

He grins. I love it when Lance grins, when his usual displeased, downturned lips tilt up, proving that he can be happy as easily as he can be grouchy. “Clearly not.”

I roll my eyes wearing a terse smile, turning my focus back to Aug. He slides his palm over my knee, gripping it. My pussy shudders, wetness seeping into the soft satin. Thank god it’s a deep eggplant color. My dripping, needy arousalshouldbe disguised.

“Have you been in love?” he asks, surprising me. I think of Noah right then, for the first time in days, maybe even weeks. I can’t help but smile at that. “What’s the beautiful smirk for?” he asks, touching the corner of my mouth where my lips curl. God I like that. I like those intimate but subtle touches.

I nod. “I have. And I was smiling because…I thought I was in love with Noah. I thought Noah was my first real, serious relationship. And now I can’t stop from grinning because I was so stupid. What I have here eclipses anything I’ve ever had before now.”

I slowly bring my eyes to Aug’s, dark and mysterious but so fucking breathtaking. “Because of you,” I say, turning to Lance. “And you.”

And right as I’m about to slide their hands up my legs and say fuck it to dinner, my phone rings. Lance breathes out a frustrated sigh and Aug removes his hand from my knee.

“Who is it?” Lance asks, his tone brimming with irritation.

I push off the couch and find my phone in my bag, digging it out to find what I suspected.

Before I can respond, two bodies are pressing into mine from behind. Aug snarls, surprising me.

I turn my gaze toward the screen and wait for them to follow as I fold my arms over my chest, ends of my wet hair getting trapped against the satin.

Aug’s facial features soften. “Quincey Parker,” he amends before he and Lance share a glance, followed by an exhale. “Your fatherhas been calling you all week, hasn’t he?”

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