Page 125 of The Holy Grail
“Do you … meditate?” Jules asked, trying to picture him in the lotus position and chanting, or whatever it was people did when meditating.
“No, I take baths.”
“You take baths?”
Evan gave her a long look. “Yes. They relax me, and while I’m in the hot water relaxing, I focus on my thoughts and releasing tension or anxiety. Stuff like that. I usually have a candle or two lit, and—”
“You take baths with candles?”
“Of course. Who wants to take a bath with bright overhead lights blinding you? Not me, that’s for damn sure, because it totally destroys the mood.” He gave her another long look. “Now what?”
“It’s just that I’ve known very few men whodotake baths—with or without candles, I’m not sure—and it’s usually not for relaxation purposes. Like David, for example. When he takes a bath, it’s with Paige, so they can get up to some fuckery.”
“Well, I’ve taken baths for fuckery purposes, too, but usually I just take them to relax.”
She turned to Malcom. “Do you ever take baths to relax? Or engage in fuckery?”
Shaking his head, he replied, “No, I haven’t, which is probably weird.”
“It’s a shame is what it is,” Evan said. “And I’m going to change that.”
“We’regoing to change that,” Jules corrected him.
“You’re right.We’regoing to change that,” he repeated softly, before adding, “We’re going to change a lot of things, actually, starting right now.”
“Oh?” Jules looked curious at that, then taken aback as Evan snaked a hand around her neck and pulled her toward him, until she was only a few inches away. The feel of her skin under his fingers was warm and smooth, a promise of what her body would feel like under his, and he took a brief second to be thankful one of his dreams was in front of him, for the taking.
“Yes. I’ve wanted to kiss you since the night we met, and I’m not waiting any longer,” he murmured, brushing a few loose strands of burnished red hair away from her face and gazing into her dark blue eyes, while Malcom silently watched. This was the moment when everything would change—for better or worse—and when Jules tilted her head up, Evan didn’t hesitate to press his mouth to hers.
Her lips were plump, deliciously so, and he couldn’t help the soft moan that escaped as she kissed him back in earnest. Their lips crashed together, then retreated, sometimes with finesse, sometimes not, and when her lips parted beneath his, he eased his tongue into her mouth to tangle with hers in a seductive dance.
She tasted like red wine and a hint of marinara sauce, but that was peripheral to the way she was making his heart race, his blood flow hot in his veins, as his senses became overwhelmed with all things Jules; even the smell of her lavender scented shampoo was affecting him.
His goddamn knees were actually weak.
When they finally pulled back, both were breathing a little heavily, eyes locked on one another. They were wearing identical expressions made up ofWhoaandThat was incredibleand finishing withI knew it!
Slowly, as they remembered they weren’t alone, Evan and Jules both turned toward Malcom, who appeared slightly shocked himself.
He’d been expecting to feel jealousy as he watched them kiss, not arousal. They looked so good together, and the visual of their mouths meeting, the glimpses of their tongues, and the soft sounds they made had Malcom’s blood thrumming in his veins. He couldn’t help but wonder to himself what it would be like to watch them when they were naked, but he immediately knew it wouldn’t be like watching Evan with Gwen, and Malcom couldn’t wait to see it.
As well as being a closet bisexual, was he also a closet voyeur?
With Jules and Evan still looking at him, Malcom realized Evan was waiting … waiting to see if Malcom would make the first move and come over for a kiss. He knew this was an important moment, knew Evan needed Malcom to step up and make a claim. So, as Jules stepped a little to the side, he took her place in front of Evan and put both hands on his face.
The coarse scruff of a man’s beard under Malcom’s palms was totally foreign to him, and yet, still felt right. As did the fact they were almost eye-to-eye, and even though Evan’s features were slightly blurry up close, his expression of anticipation and desire was clear as day.
With heart pounding and every inch of his skin tingling, Malcom leaned in, and for the first time in his life … kissed a man.
It was one of the scariest things he’d ever done, and yet, also one of the easiest.
Evan’s lips were more firm than Jules’, his stubble also adding a whole new element to the kiss, and Malcom groaned, welcoming the unfamiliar burn against his own clean-shaven skin. A second later, he felt the thrust of Evan’s tongue and then Malcom replied in kind, kissing with more roughness than skill as he immersed himself in the moment—one he never thought he’d experience.
It was almost overwhelming to feel another man’s body pressed against his own, from strong thighs to a solid chest, to muscular arms holding him in place. Not to mention, the sexual awareness of a hard cock lined up with his own.
Even as he reveled in the physicality of the moment, as well as the invigorating aspect of it, he was also bombarded with the taste of Evan’s mouth, the scent of his skin, the texture of his hair, and the male sounds of approval that rumbled softly from his throat. It was everything Malcom imagined it would be, and more. In a way, it was kind of like meeting the other half of himself for the first time, as that part of him came to the surface, and the sense of being complete almost made him lightheaded.
When he pulled away from Evan, it was to find Jules standing beside them, obviously having enjoyed a front-row seat to the show. There was a split second when Malcom was worried he’d see distaste—or even revulsion—on her face, but there was neither. Her eyes were bright, her cheeks flushed, and as she wrapped her arms around the two men and enfolded the three of them into a crowded hug, she smiled.
