A minute later, Laz walked out of the kitchen, kissed my lips quickly, and muttered, “I’m going to take a shower.”
“You good up there?” Alone didn’t need to be added since he understood what I meant.
He nodded and took a breath. “Yeah. But… you’re not leaving the house, right?”
“Nope. I’ll be down here waiting.” I stood and kissed his forehead. “Yell down if you want me to come up, okay, baby?”
He offered a sad smile. “Okay. Thanks, charmer.”
I grinned at the endearment, putting a smile on his face as he walked up the stairs. I listened at the bottom of the steps, just to be sure he didn’t panic since he hated being alone, but from what I could hear and sense, he seemed to be okay.
As soon as the shower turned on, I rushed into the kitchen so I could speak with Isiah alone. After everything I’d felt coming through our soul-pledged bond the past few weeks, I couldn’t ignore it anymore.
He was putting a pan in the dishwasher when I got in there, and without preamble, I said, “You have feelings for him.”
Izzy froze for half a second, then said, “Don’t be ridiculous.”
I walked up behind him, grabbed his hips, and turned him so he was facing me. As I resettled my hands on his hips and pushed his ass against the counter, I stepped closer so we were eye to eye, and I whispered, “I can feel your emotions, Iz, and they’re ringing loud and clear. You care about him.”
Izzy swallowed hard, his voice coming out in a rough whisper. “I’m sorry.”
“Iz—”
“I didn’t mean for it to happen.”
“I know, honey.” I leaned my forehead against his. “I’m not mad.”
“You’re not?”
I sent him a soft smile. “No. I get it; he’s too hard not to fall for.”
“Raph, I—”
“It’s okay. We’ll figure it out, honey. You’re okay.”
After a few seconds, he quietly asked, “Are we? Are we okay?”
“Of course, we are. We’re always okay, and like with everything else, we’ll figure it out together, yeah?”
“Raph.”
“If Laz wants the same things, we’ll… we’ll figure it out.”
“What are you saying?”
“You and Laz.”
“Me and Laz, what?”
Quietly, I said, “Together, honey. You and Laz together.”
He swallowed hard and met my eyes. “Yeah?”
I offered a smile in return. “Yeah.”
“You… I… if he…” He puffed out a breath. “What if he doesn’t—”
“We’ll talk to him.” I leaned back a little, but only so I could press a kiss to his forehead, then I rested my forehead against his again. “We’ll figure it out, honey.”
Izzy took a deep breath and nodded, then closed his eyes and buried his fingers in my hair as I pushed my body into him so we were standing pressed together from head to toe. It made me want to kiss him, but I would never do that to Laz, to Izzy either. Not unless they wanted us to, but we weren’t there yet. Hopefully there was a yet.
I gave myself a mental shake and simply enjoyed the contentedness of having my soul-pledged in my arms this way. If this was all Iz could give me… it was enough.
We stayed there, soaking up each other’s comfort.
A small gasp had us pulling apart, and when I saw the confusion in Laz’s eyes as he stared at us, my chest tightened painfully. I could imagine what we looked like, and I cringed internally at everything he must’ve assumed when he walked in. He’d been okay with Iz and me hugging and touching platonically, but I knew this looked more like a lovers’ embrace.
Laz shook his head and turned to go, but I rushed across the kitchen and grabbed his wrist before he could escape. His confusion—and disappointment?—was written all over his face, and I knew I needed to make him understand, so I did the only thing I could think of.
I pulled Laz over to Izzy, grabbed Laz’s hips like I had with Iz, and pushed his back against Izzy’s chest. Over Laz’s shoulder, Isiah met my eyes for a moment, then wrapped his arms around Laz’s body, holding him securely. As I stepped closer, I searched Laz’s eyes to be sure he wasn’t uncomfortable, and he seemed to be relaxing in Izzy’s embrace.
The confusion didn’t leave his face—I was reading a little hope there, too—but he was feeling the same peace and tranquility that both Iz and I were with all three of us together. And even though he didn’t understand, he was still offering up his trust to both me and Isiah. That meant more to me than he could possibly know.
So I pushed my chest against his, kept one hand on his hip, put the other on Izzy’s hip, and buried my face in Laz’s hair. After a few seconds, Laz relaxed completely between us, resting his head on my shoulder with his face tucked into my neck. Izzy had his eyes closed, and I wasn’t sure if he realized it or not, but he kept rubbing his scruffy cheek against the back of Laz’s neck and hair.
Having the three of us connected settled something inside my chest, something I didn’t even realize needed settling. It was the first time in a long-ass time that I felt entirely whole.
We stayed there, holding Laz between us, and I could feel Izzy’s comfort and affection through our bond. This was new for us. I’d never pushed a romantic partner up against Izzy, we’d never held someone like this, and we’d certainly never had feelings for the same man. This was uncharted territory, and I didn’t know what to do with it, but I couldn’t help the strange excitement building up in my gut.
After several long minutes, I had to get the taste of Laz’s skin on my lips, so I kissed his neck, and he shivered. That wasn’t good enough, so I slipped my tongue out and licked a stripe on his skin. He shivered harder. I began kissing and licking my way up his neck, across his jaw, and captured his lips with mine. He hummed against me, his hands fisting in my shirt at my back as I deepened it further.
When a moan rumbled out of me, Laz froze and pushed my chest, his face flushed, eyes blinking at me. They went wide, and he whispered, “I’m sorry, Izzy. I shouldn’t… we shouldn’t—”
“Shh,” Izzy whispered back, his nose in Laz’s hair, his eyes closed. “I don’t mind, treasure.”
That made Laz flush deeper, and I grinned.
Izzy tightened his hold and sighed contentedly, whispering, “It’s alright, go ahead and kiss him, babe.”
I didn’t know if he was talking to me or Laz, but it didn’t matter. I nudged Laz’s nose with mine and gently pressed my lips to his, hoping to coax him into kissing me. He breathed against my mouth, then pulled me in and brushed his tongue along my lips. That was all the signal I needed.
Cupping his face with both hands, I deepened the kiss, and when Izzy grabbed my waist with one hand, I couldn’t help but grind my hips forward. Laz moaned—such a pretty sound—so I did it again, being sure to rub his hardening cock against mine through our pants.
Laz pushed on my chest again, breaking the kiss and staring at me with wide eyes.
I pecked his lips. “It’s alright, Laz.” My eyes flicked to Izzy and back. “Kiss him.”