Page 26 of Surrendering the Skies

He leaned toward Adele. “You’re sure about this?” he asked softly.

“Yes.” She laid her hand on top of his. “Geneva didn’t give me all the explicit details, of course, since we were in a restaurant, but the little she did tell me was more than enough to spark my curiosity.”

He rubbed the back of his head. “I don’t want anything to change between the two of us, though.”

“It won’t.”

This time when Ash stood, Geneva didn’t try to stop him. “We don’t need to be present for this conversation,” he said. “We’ll go check out the contents of your kitchen and see if we can find some dessert.”

“Actually,” Geneva said, rising to stand beside him, “we’ll go wait in the bedroom. If you don’t come join us in a few minutes, we’ll make our way back downstairs. No pressure, no hard feelings either way.”

She led Ash out of the room and toward the staircase before he could answer. Memories of all the times she’d ascended those same steps, anticipation simmering beneath her skin, resurfaced. Even if she couldn’t have Marcus herself, she thought, Adele’s proposal was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

Inside the bedroom, a short burst of laughter emanated from Ash’s chest. “What did yousayto her?” he asked, grinning.

“You heard her. I didn’t think I revealed much, but apparently, I underestimated myself.”

“A rarity.” He looked past her, toward the doorway. “Do you really think they’ll be coming up?”

She considered the question. “Yeah, I do.” She grabbed the waistband of Ash’s pants and yanked him toward her, their bodies colliding. “So, you’d better make it a good show if you ever want the chance to do this again.”

His smile widened. “You got it.”

Geneva guided his head downward and pressed her lips to his. She was tempted to keep him to herself for the night, but she relished the idea of recapturing some of what she’d been missing. Letting go of him, she walked across the room to where a plush armchair stood in the corner and pushed it closer to the bed. She returned for the matching footstool and, after placing it several feet away from the chair, sat down on it to wait.

Footsteps approached from the hallway. Marcus popped his head into the room first, with Adele close behind. “Hi,” he said sheepishly.

Geneva swiveled to face them. “Hi, yourself.”

He led Adele to the armchair. Once she sat and smoothed down her skirt, he leaned over, bracing his palms on either armrest. “If, at any point, you want this to stop, just say the word and we will.”

She kissed his cheek, letting her lips linger near his ear for a moment. “Have fun,” she said, settling back in her seat.

Marcus straightened and stood halfway between the chair and the bed. He looked around the room and turned up his palms in a helpless shrug, laughing. “So…what now?”

Ash stepped closer to him and touched his shoulder. “You know, if you’re not completely sold on this idea, we don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”

“No, I…” He covered Ash’s hand with his own and exhaled. “I want to.” The next words came out in little more than a murmur. “I wantyou.”

“Good.” Closing the remaining gap between them, he brushed the fine black strands of hair away from Marcus’s eyes. “I needed to hear it.”

Their lips met, tentatively at first. After the initial hesitancy, Ash cupped both sides of his face and slipped his tongue into the other man’s mouth. Marcus gripped his wrists and returned the kiss with fervor. The slight tremble in his knees sent a similar shiver rippling over Geneva’s skin. She ached to wrap her arms around both of them but settled for watching them enjoy each other.

One of Ash’s hands slid down Marcus’s back, holding him in place as he pressed against him. Marcus shuddered, his hips rolling forward. He looped his arms around his waist, yet the embrace was short-lived.

Ash broke the kiss and traced the top button of Marcus’s shirt with one finger. Glancing sideways at Adele, he smirked. “Want to help out?”

She shook her head, eyes wide and curls bobbing. “No, thanks. I’m fine where I am.”

“Fair enough.”

Before unfastening the closure, Ash spun him around by his shoulders so they faced the two women. As he undid the buttons from behind with painstaking care, his tongue traced a line up and down the edge of Marcus’s ear. He tugged at his earlobe with his teeth as he pulled the two halves of his shirt away, inching backward for only as long as it took to remove the garment and fling it aside.

Marcus’s eyes closed and his lips parted as a pair of strong hands roamed over his exposed chest and stomach. Ash hovered near the top of his waistband but then jerked him backward, slamming their bodies together. A strained groan escaped Marcus’s mouth, and Geneva had no trouble imagining how he must have felt with Ash’s solid erection trapped between them.

Ash undid the button of Marcus’s pants and dragged the zipper down, its scratch echoing in the room. After pushing them halfway down his legs, he snaked his hand down the front of his snug briefs. The thin fabric did little to camouflage his movements, and he stroked the length of Marcus’s bulging cock. “I missed you,” he murmured near his ear as his hand glided back and forth. “Did you miss me?”

His head tilted back. “Mm-hmm.”

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