Page 23 of Holding On to a Hero
Cole’s lips were soft at first, but they grew firmer as I pushed my tongue inside his mouth. The heat was incredible. He tasted like steak and the wine we’d had with dinner as well as his own perfect flavor.
I heard Jason say, “Fuck, yeah,” and then I felt him behind me. He put his feet outside mine and bent his knees to line his cock against the seam of my ass. I groaned into Cole’s mouth. Jason’s lips were on the back of my neck. Cole’s hands – well, someone’s hands – grabbed my hips and pushed me closer to Cole.
Suddenly Cole lifted his mouth away. I made a whining sound and blinked at him. He grinned at me and I felt Jason take a step back behind me. But before I could spend more than a thought on mourning the loss of contact, I was spun around. Now I was facing Jason, who looked down at me like he’d just been given the best present ever.
I said, “Fuck, yeah,” and reached for him. His lips met mine and our tongues slid against each other. Jason didn’t try to consume me like Cole had. He was more tender, delicate almost, with periods of exploration followed by nibbles, and then his tongue would come out to play again. But his cock. I could feel it was just as huge as Cole had told me. I couldn’t wait to see it up close. And naked.
Cole stepped up to press against my back. He licked the side of my neck and bit gently down on my earlobe. His cock was rock hard and demanding. I tipped my hips back to meet him, but that separated my cock from Jason’s, so I ended up doing a little twerk-thrust as they sandwiched me. Electricity zinged through my body, spearing my cock and balls. After an unknown amount of time I pulled back from Jason’s mouth, panting for breath.
Jason looked dazed at first, but then he focused on my face and stood up to his full height. He hugged me, and Cole embraced us both from behind me. Then they both stepped back simultaneously and, as if they’d choreographed it, each of them took one of my arms and led me through the French doors into the living room.
We sat on the couch together with me in the middle. Jason and Cole pressed against me on either side, all of us still sporting erections. I eyed our laps, all in a row, and laughed.
Jason asked, “What’s funny?” and I gestured at our cocks tenting all of our pants.
“All of us standing at attention,” I replied.
Jason and Cole chuckled, and Jason remarked, “That’s not what it was like when I was in the military.”
Cole said, “Well, you’ve told me some stories that make me beg to differ.” I laughed as Jason glared at Cole.
“It wasn’t nearly as hot as this,” he said. “That was probably the best make-out session of my life. Right up there with our first one, Cole.”
Cole nodded. “I agree. This was amazing.” He nuzzled my neck. “I can’t wait for more.” Then he pulled back. “But it was good we stopped. We haven’t finished all the talking we need to do, and I for one would like to get that over with so we can get back to the fun stuff.”
“Uh, yeah.” I took a deep breath. “I need to tell you my story.”
The tent in my lap was gone.
Chapter Sixteen
Cole
Jason and I were sitting on the couch angled toward Will with our arms around his shoulders and holding his hands. He looked like he was going to throw up or pass out, or both. I felt awful for him. I was torn between telling him he didn’t have to share his secrets and being pleased he wanted to. We’d get through whatever demons he felt he had and we’d build a relationship from there. I was trying not to jump ahead again, but I could feel it. This was meant to be.
Will looked down at our hands linked with his on each of his thighs. “I guess you probably remember from researching me that I used to live in Denver. I had my own photography business out of a studio near downtown. I did some portrait work but it was mostly events. Weddings every weekend.
“The Delmonico wedding was pretty typical. I’d met the bride and groom when they hired me, but the wedding day was the first time I’d spent any real time with them. The groom was a sweetheart. Easygoing and no complaints. The bride was…just mean. I’d run into a Bridezilla every so often, but Desiree Delmonico was the worst. She made nasty comments about everyone in the wedding party, including the groom. Including me. The maid of honor was egging her on, almost. I couldn’t understand why that nice guy would marry her. There were three other women in the bridal party. Sarah, Martina and Ashley. They were super nice to me, and I didn’t think any of them were going to be friends with Desiree after the wedding. I couldn’t wait for the day to be over.”
Will took a breath. Jason and I both rubbed his back, and I felt some raised scarring. My hand must have hesitated for a second because Will stiffened, but he went on with his story.
“The resort was on a lake, so after the ceremony we went out onto the dock to get some shots of the wedding party with the lake and the mountains in the background. It was one of those big floating docks. I’d just finished the photos of the groom and groomsmen, so they’d all gone back to shore while I got the shots of the bride and bridesmaids.”
More deep breaths. He was still staring at our hands. I scooted closer to him so I could wrap my arm around his waist, and Jason did the same from the other side.
“I didn’t see the yacht heading toward us. The groomsmen noticed it and I kind of heard them talking about someone needing to slow down, but I was concentrating on the pictures since we were running out of daylight. It wasn’t until they started to yell at us to get back to land that I looked around. But it was coming too fast.”
Jason and I were probably choking the air out of Will, as hard as we were hugging him. He continued on.
“The yacht was out of control. It was heading for the dock right where it met the shore, so all of us ran toward the lake to get out of its way. The women were—” Will gave a hiccupping sob. “The women were in these big flouncy dresses. I was the closest to the shore, and when the yacht hit, the dock lifted up and I slid down the broken pieces of wood into the lake. That’s why my back is all messed up.”
He paused and swallowed. “But at least I’m alive. When I hit the water I knocked right into the bride and the maid of honor. I managed to hang on to both of them. The girls’ dresses were pulling us down but they were mostly out of it so they didn’t fight me too much, and I was able to keep us afloat until someone came to pull us to safety.” He grimaced. “I wanted to help and go back for the others, but the people who pulled us out wouldn’t let me. None of the other women made it.”
I groaned and leaned even more into Will. “I’m so sorry, baby. That’s horrible. But you know it’s not your fault, right?”
He gave a little laugh-sob. “Most days. With a lot of therapy. But now I’m majorly screwed up. My body from the dock, and my head from being alive when the others aren’t. Oh, and because I really, really didn’t like the people I managed to save.” He shook his head. “Sarah’s mom came to see me in the hospital. She yelled at me for not saving her daughter. I couldn’t blame her.”
Jason made a shocked noise. “What? Will, you couldn’t have saved all of them. You saved the ones you were able to, which is more than a lot of people would or could do in that situation. Whether they’re good people or not is on them, not on you. I learned that in the army. You can only do the best you can in any given moment. You did that. You saved lives and you saved yourself, which to me is the most important thing.”
