Kate Sherwood - Dark Horse 01 - Dark Horse (56 page)

When he goes back in the bedroom, Jeff has his shirt off and is stretched on the bed beside Evan, leaning over him and kissing him gently while his hand plays along Evan’s ribs. The love between them is almost palpable to Dan, and he feels like an outsider, an intruder. Then Jeff looks up and sees him watching. “Isn’t he sweet like this, Dan? All fucked-out and relaxed?”

Dan looks at him a little sadly. “Yeah, he’s beautiful.” He smiles, but he suddenly feels naked, and he heads over to where his pants are bundled at the end of the bed. “So, uh… obviously I’m happy to help if you actually want to do something with that,” and he nods at Jeff’s erection. “But if you’re just fading into slow-motion cuddle mode, maybe I’ll head out. I’ve got a lot of stuff to do tomorrow, and it’s getting late.”

Evan half sits up, propping himself up on his elbows. “Nah, man, you should stick around! We’ll wake the old man up.”

 

Jeff looks a little worried, but he tries to sound relaxed. “Or put me to sleep… either way, you should stay, Dan. It’s a big bed. Lots of room.” “Oh, no, thanks. I’ve gotten pretty used to sleeping alone. And, like I said, I’ve got stuff to do tomorrow.”

 

Evan runs his hand down to Jeff’s groin. “Stuff that’s more important than this?”

 

“No, like I said, if… you know, it just seemed like you were settling down for the night.” Yeah, this is awkward.

“Come here, Dan,” Jeff murmurs, and Dan squirms. He’s already at the foot of the bed, how much closer does Jeff want him to get? He shuffles forward, holding his jeans in front of him like some sort of unattached loin cloth. He wonders if he looks as stupid as he feels. Jeff looks at him for a long moment, and then he smiles tenderly. “Dan, am I still allowed to direct?”

Dan doesn’t think that’s a good idea. “You’re allowed to suggest….”

Jeff nods slowly. “Okay, then. Here’s my suggestion. My request.” Dan nods, and Jeff continues. “I’d like it if you’d climb back up on the bed and kiss me while Evan sucks me off. Does that sound like something you might do?”

Dan laughs a little nervously. “Kiss you? Yeah, I think I could handle it.” Jeff and Evan just look at him expectantly, so Dan walks around to the other side of the bed. He sets his jeans down carefully, making sure he won’t have to fumble around to find them later, and then he climbs onto the bed and stretches out along Jeff’s body. Jeff smiles contentedly and gives Dan a sloppy kiss, and then Evan leans over Jeff’s chest and joins in. It doesn’t really work very well, and it ends up being more like two people kissing while one person randomly licks their faces or something, but… it’s a good thought.

Then Evan eases down Jeff’s body, trailing kisses along the way, and Dan can feel Jeff lift his hips to let Evan work his pants down. Dan honestly can’t believe it took this long to get them all naked. He’s lying on his side, with his torso leaning over Jeff, and he brings his top leg over Jeff’s thigh, pulling out to bring Jeff’s legs apart. Evan murmurs his approval, and then Dan feels Jeff gasp and figures that Evan must have gotten to work. He looks down, and Jeff lifts his head up so he can watch, too, and it really is a beautiful sight. Evan’s moving slow and concentrating hard, and he might not be getting Jeff quite as deep as Dan can, but it looks like he’s doing some interesting things with his lips, and Dan’s almost sorry that he’s already come. He wonders how long it’ll be before he’s ready to go again, and then Jeff stretches up to catch Dan’s mouth in another deep kiss, and he feels a stir in his stomach that suggests that it really won’t be that long.

For now, though, it’s Jeff’s turn, and Dan focuses on kissing him back. Jeff has one hand tangled in Evan’s hair, and the other slides around behind Dan’s neck, his grip tightening as he gets closer and closer to the edge. When Jeff stops kissing him, Dan pulls back enough to be able to see Jeff’s face, muscles tightening into a gasp as his eyes stare into Dan, and then through him as Jeff’s body arches and spasms. He’s still gasping and coming down when Evan slides up toward them, and Dan begins to shift back a little, making room. Evan catches his shoulder, though, and instead of kissing Jeff as Dan had expected, Evan leans over and catches Dan’s mouth, and he can taste Jeff’s come on Evan’s lips, salty and bitter and perfect.

Evan pulls away eventually, leaning down for a quick peck on Jeff’s lips, and then he starts squirming and rearranging and manhandling until somehow they end up with Dan in the middle, Jeff stretched out on his left side, Evan on his right. Dan isn’t really sure how that happened, and he’s not at all confident that it’s a good idea.

“I should, uh….” He gestures vaguely toward the door, but Evan doesn’t seem to be paying any attention, just snuggles in and smiles. “Come on, man, stay for a bit. Just a nap, even. It’s a comfy bed, right?”

 

Jeff is making himself comfortable as well. “You could still leave before morning, if you need to.”

Evan looks at Jeff assessingly, then back at Dan. “If there’s two of us, I bet we could get him to make us waffles for breakfast.” He gives a quick kiss to the side of Dan’s chin. “His waffles are awesome, man.”

This is moving way too fast. The plan had been to keep it casual, to take it slow. But Evan’s right: the bed is comfy. And Jeff’s right; he can still find his way out later, if he wakes up. And… and he wants this. He wants to stay in this safe, warm cocoon, with these two incredible men, and maybe it won’t work, and maybe he’ll end up being hurt, but he feels like he’s strong enough to take that chance. He doesn’t know if his confidence will last forever, isn’t even sure that it’ll last through the night, but for now, he feels good.

He relaxes his body, slides down a couple inches until his head is more comfortable on the pillow, and he lets his eyes drift shut. For now, at least, he’s found the place he’s supposed to be.

Coming in August
The sequel to Dark Horse By Kate Sherwood
Out of the Darkness
“It’s hard enough with two people. Throwing a third into the mix is… I don’t know, doesn’t it seem like we’re asking for trouble?”

It hasn’t been easy, but horse trainer Dan Wheeler is beginning to build a new life for himself, finding his place in California with his lovers Evan Kaminski and Jeff Stevens. When things are going well, it’s spectacular: there’s affection, humor, and passion. But things don’t seem to go well all that often.

Dan continues to struggle with the loss of his previous lover and sometimes doubts that he even deserves to be happy; Evan is jealous of every rival for Dan’s attention—including Jeff; and Jeff worries that he’s too old for the younger men and wonders if he should bow out completely. Despite his resolutions, Dan has grown attached to the other two men, but he’s not sure that’s enough. He knows that it hurts to be together—he needs to decide whether it would hurt even more to be apart.

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

K
ATE
S
HERWOOD
started writing at about the same time that she got back on a horse after a twenty-year break. She’d like to think that she’s far too young for it to be a mid-life crisis, but apparently she was ready for a few changes!
Her writing focuses on characters and relationships, people trying to find out how much of themselves they need to keep, and how much they can afford to give away. Kate finds that real-life monogamy is much easier to maintain when she gets to spend time with so many different men in her stories.