Page 65 of Hooked On Them

Emboldened, I leaned in closer to Nora. “I think I missed a spot.” I closed the distance between us until my lips brushed the corner of her mouth in a not-quite kiss.

She froze for a heartbeat, then turned her face slightly until our lips aligned. The kiss was soft at first, like savoring the last bite of dessert, but when she didn’t pull away, I deepened it, cradling her face with my hand.

When we broke apart, her cheeks were flushed, eyes sparkling in the string lights. “That was almost better than the cheesecake.”

I chuckled, glancing at Miles. His expression was complex with arousal warring against frustration. “Your turn, Captain. Unless you’re here to watch?”

“Carter!” Nora smacked my arm, but I could hear the underlying current of anticipation in her voice.

Miles set his fork down with deliberate care, like he was resisting the urge to stab me in the eye with it. “Is that what this is? Some kind of game?”

I leaned back in my chair. “Not a game. More like... an exploration of possibilities.” I gestured between the three of us, watching his expression shift from wariness to something more complex. “Unless you’re afraid of what you might discover?”

He stood up, pacing to the edge of the terrace. The city lights outlined his impressive frame, tension pouring from every line of his body. “This is a bad idea.”

Nora bit her lip and started to stand, but I stopped her. I was pretty sure if it was only the two of them, he’d have no hesitations. His problem was me being involved.

I moved to stand beside him, just close enough that our shoulders almost touched. “Look, I know you want her.” I kept my voice low enough that Nora couldn’t hear. “I’ve seen the way you look at her when you think no one’s watching. And she wants you too.”

Miles’s jaw worked. “It’s complicated.”

“Only because you’re making it complicated.” I turned to face him fully, leaning my arm on the railing. “We both want her. She seems interested in both of us. Where’s the problem?”

“The problem is that this is supposed to be fake. Taking it any further is only going to end in disaster.” His voice dropped to a hiss. “She’s pregnant with my best friend’s baby. A best friend who I think wants her more than he’ll admit. I can’t do this to him.”

“He’s doing it to himself by not being here and allowing you to take his place.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “If she didn’t want this, she wouldn’t be here right now.”

“And when Dominic gets his head out of his ass and decides to step in?”

I shrugged. “It’s up to Nora to decide who she wants and if that includes one, two, or three of us.”

“Three of us is unreal.” His fingers tightened on the railing, his knuckles going white. The thing I’d noticed about Miles was that he always needed to analyze everything to death. Sometimes the best things in life were a bit unhinged, like buying into a sports franchise on a whim or pursuing a woman who was pregnant with another man’s baby.

“Not really when you really think about it.” Maybe it didn’t faze me since I knew several polyamorous people. Birds of a feather really did flock together.

Before he could respond, I heard the scrape of a chair behind us. Nora appeared at my side, looking between us with a mix of confusion and determination. “If you two are discussing me, I’d prefer to be included in the conversation.”

Miles ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t think this is a good idea. It will only complicate things.”

The silence that followed felt endless, broken only by the distant hum of traffic and the soft rustle of wind through my potted plants.

Nora sighed and squeezed into the space between me and Miles. “I’m worried about that too, but if there’s anything I’ve learned in my life, it’s that if you want something, you have to go for it. Life is too short to ignore what you want.”

“But Dominic…” Miles looked pained, and even I started to briefly doubt myself.

She put her hand on his arm. “Dominic agreed to this. Were we a bit hasty and impulsive? Probably. But both of us were scared, and fear leads to rash decisions. I know we said this was fake, but really, is a fake relationship where two people are attracted to each other ever really fake?”

“You’re attracted to me?” Miles turned to face her, cupping her cheek.

She pressed her lips to his, answering his question without words. He remained frozen for a second; then his arms came around her, pulling her close as he returned the kiss with a hunger that spoke of long-suppressed desire.

I should have felt jealous watching them kiss since that’s what society told me I was supposed to feel. But seeing Miles finally let go of his control and the way Nora melted into him stirred something deeper, more primal than simple possessiveness.

The yearning that flooded through me was unlike anything I’d experienced before. There was no greater feeling in the world than seeing Nora happy and taken care of, her whole body softening with contentment. And the revelation hit me square in the chest: it didn’t have to just be by me.

Maybe that made me weird. Maybe that made me different. But I’d never been one to color inside the lines anyway.

When they broke apart, Nora turned to me. “I don’t know where this will ultimately lead. You understand that, right?”

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