Every evening, like this one, the three of them gathered in the living room, sitting before the fire, either reading quietly or talking.
She’d talked in more detail about her hope to rejoin the Kripo, admitting that while she’d enjoyed teaching, it had never been her passion.
“It’s not my house,” she forced herself to say. They were living in a fool’s paradise and while she’d been the one to originally suggest they focus solely on the present, it was getting harder and harder to ignore that their time together was growing short.
Walt was set to return to Libya in four more days. Just four more.
“Annalise,” Jakob started.
“We can’t keep ignoring what’s coming, Jakob,” she said more forcefully than she’d intended.
Walt, who’d been uncharacteristically quiet tonight, nodded. “You’re right. We can’t. But we also can’t change it. One more night, Annalise. Let’s pretend for just one more night and then tomorrow morning, we’ll sit down and…”
And what?
Walt was right. Nothing they said would change the outcome. The most they could do was share their feelings—their broken hearts—and then, this entire affair would end exactly as they expected. Walt would return to North Africa and eventually join the Trinity Masters. Jakob would remain in Frankfurt at his post as a Ritter, and she would apply for a position with the Kripo, or possibly another law enforcement agency. If she got the job, it could mean that she would have to relocate to another city, perhaps Berlin.
“And we’ll figure out a way to say goodbye,” she finished for Walt, when it was apparent he wasn’t going to say it.
Jakob ran his hand over his scalp, frustration rife in his tone. “I hate this. Hate every fucking thing about it.”
“Hate fuck, you say? Never tried it, but it sounds hot.” Walt, as always, found a way to make them laugh.
“Maybe we should leave the hate fucking to Nikolett and Eric,” Annalise said, grinning. It had been a running joke they’d started that Nikolett and Eric were either going to end up killing or fucking one another.
“Sounds like a plan, since I have something else in mind anyway,” Walt said, rising and holding out a hand to Annalise. “As your physician, and after this afternoon’s quick medical exams, I deem you both well enough for us to branch out into some seriously kinky sex acts.”
“Kinky?” Jakob said, standing up quickly. “It’s about damn time.”
Annalise headed toward the stairs that would lead to Jakob’s bedroom, but he grasped her wrist to stop her.
She turned to look at him as he shook his head. “We’re starting here,” he said. “Want to break in that soft rug in front of the fireplace.”
“That sounds more romantic than kinky,” Walt pointed out.
“Are you questioning my abilities?” Jakob asked, in that deliciously deep tone of his that told Annalise the game was on.
“Never,” she murmured.
“Good. Wait here.” Jakob quickly left the room and she heard his footsteps on the stairs.
Walt, who was still holding her, tugged her to him, kissing her softly. Their lips parted and she tasted the sugar from his tea on his tongue. Her lovely American doctor had a serious sweet tooth. As they kissed, he reached up and gently pulled out the hairband she’d used to tie her hair up in a bun this morning. She groaned as he ran his fingers over her scalp before combing the strands out so they hung loose over her shoulders.
“I love your hair,” he murmured as his lips left hers, traveling along her cheek to her ear.
Annalise had always thought her hair a rather dull brown, fairly unremarkable as far as hair went.
“Started without me, I see,” Jakob said as he reentered the room. Walt kept his arms around her as she turned to face their lover.
Her eyes widened when he held up the tube of lubrication he’d gone to retrieve from the nightstand. Walt placed a kiss on the side of her head.
“So what’s the game plan, coach?” Walt asked.
Jakob shook his head, even as he grinned. “So American. Tonight we take our beautiful woman together.”
Annalise had loved everything the three of them had done together, even as they’d had to make allowances for her bruises and Jakob’s stitches. The past three nights had run more along the lines of taking turns. But this…
This was going to be her favorite night, and they hadn’t even started.
Jakob tossed the lubrication to the rug as he approached her. “You like that.”
His words weren’t a question, but she answered anyway. “So much.” Obviously, her poker face was crap.
Jakob reached for her T-shirt, pulling it over her head. None of them had bothered with real clothing since returning to Frankfurt. A big reason this fool’s paradise was so perfect was because it involved lounge pants, T-shirts, and no bra. No wonder she never wanted this to end.
Walt was still behind her, so he took advantage of that position, cupping her breasts. It wasn’t lost on her that both men really, really liked her breasts.
Jakob knocked one of Walt’s hands away playfully, making room for his lips on her nipple.
Annalise gripped Jakob’s head, moaning when he used his teeth as well as his tongue. With her head thrown back, resting on Walt’s shoulder, her eyes closed, she blindly grabbed for Jakob’s shirt, determined to get them all naked as quickly as possible.
“So impatient,” Jakob murmured, even as he reached back and pulled his shirt off with one hand. Walt released her for just a moment to follow suit.
Jakob and Walt resumed their nipple play, but she still needed more. Reaching lower, she ran her hand over Jakob’s erection, now evident beneath his lounge pants. As she stroked him, she pressed her ass back against Walt, wiggling against his hard-on at the same time.
Jakob lifted his head and kissed her deeply and with so much passion, her head spun. Walt’s lips were at her neck, then closer to her ear.
“I love you,” he whispered.
They weren’t new words. In fact, it felt as if the three of them couldn’t say them enough. She wondered sometimes if they spoke them so often because they needed to stockpile a lifetime’s worth of them in a short time.
Jakob had just reached for the waistband of her pants when there was a loud knock at the door.
Jakob went rigid and alert. He glanced at the clock on the mantel.
Annalise made an exasperated sound. “Who the hell could that be?”
“Every frickin’ time.” Walt bent over to pick up her T-shirt, pulling it over her head. “I don’t know, but, Jakob, you need to get rid of whoever it is quick.”
Annalise arched a brow as she glanced at both Jakob and Walt and their very obvious erections. “Maybe I should get the door?” she asked, hating the hesitancy in her tone. She’d been braver back in the hotels in Poland. Coming back to Frankfurt, despite knowing Axel was gone, had dredged up old feelings.
Jakob shook his head. “No. I’ll get it. You stay here with Walt.”
Old habits died hard, and she knew it would take a long time before Jakob felt comfortable letting her do common things like answering a door or traveling alone. Maybe he never would. The truth was, she wasn’t one hundred percent comfortable doing those things on her own yet either.