Page 43 of Emeric

“Ollie,” I whispered as tears burned my eyes. There was too much emotion suddenly rushing through me. Embarrassment, lack of self-esteem.

Emeric knew exactly what I’d meant when I said Oleander’s name. “My cock is pressed to you, Syl. If you could see yourself like I do, you’d understand that half of this is from you. He turns me on too. I wouldn’t be in this with you if I only wanted him. Got it?”

The shiver that worked its way through me soon turned to a full-on tremble, and not the kind from rising desire. I shook in Emeric’s arms, my bottom lip joining in as I tried my best not to cry. God, who fucking did this when they were about to get off with two people they craved?

“Hey,” Oleander whispered. His arms joined Emeric’s as he pulled himself to the front of me. “We’ve got you. We don’t need to do anything but hold each other.”

“I don’t…” My words cut off with the beginning of a sob. “Fuck.” Tears leaked from my eyes. There was no holding it back. My anxiety was high earlier, although it had drifted away the more comfortable I became at Oleander’s parents’ house. Now it sat here in full effect, robbing me of what I wanted beyond measure.

They held me through it, my emotions not contained. What the hell was wrong with me? This wasn’t supposed to happen. I should have been getting my cock sucked and having my ass licked, yet I was a damn mess. This was going to do wonders for my nonexistent ego.

“I’m sorry,” I was able to say when the tears began to subside, and I realized I wouldn’t be able to run away and hide. They held me so tightly I couldn’t move. Then again, if I wanted them to let go, they would have. I was safe in this little cocoon, even if I was mortified by what had happened.

“Never apologize for this,” Emeric whispered. His chin was propped on my shoulder, his heat joining Oleander’s to keep me warm as a chill from the situation caused me to shiver.

“He’s right,” Oleander added. “We want you for who you are.”

“How? Look at me. I can’t even have a great night with you.”

“You think I didn’t have fun with you both? I loved every moment of it. Well, maybe not my mom asking about what protection we’re using.”

“Tonight was amazing,” Emeric added. “While you think you ruined things, I’m more than happy to hold you through whatever you feel. It’s an honor to be this close to both of you, to get to touch you, feel your skin on mine, to hold you and know you’re mine.”

“How is this real?” I let out a watery laugh. “No sane person would want to deal with me.”

“Sanity went out the window when I signed on to work for Jordan,” Oleander said. “It’s Sheldon’s fault. He did it first, then dragged me along.”

“I always wondered how you started working for him.”

“Sheldon did, told me about it, and asked if I wanted to join too. I had a shit job I didn’t like, but it paid well. When he told me how much money Jordan offered him, I couldn’t turn it down. I’ve been there since. It’s not nearly as exciting as some of the other guards’ stories.” I still liked hearing about it.

“Hey, Sylvan?” Emeric asked.

“Yeah?”

“Please don’t ever say that we have to deal with you like that again. This isn’t dealing with you. This is caring about you and wanting to make sure you understand just how special you are. In no world is this difficult. To hold you is as easy as breathing. We do it because we want to, plain and simple. You’re not the only one whose emotions can run high. It was just your turn tonight. Maybe mine will be tomorrow.” I could hear the smile in his voice.

“I got lucky with you two.”

Oleander grinned. “Hell yeah, you did.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. It was desperately needed.

19

EMERIC

Sylvan had walled himself off a little since the last time we were together a week ago. He’d text with us, make jokes, but it didn’t feel right. It sounded odd to even think it. How could a text feel off? He wasn’t as free with his words as he’d been before the night we’d held him in our arms.

Pushing him to open up didn’t seem right. Sylvan would talk when he was ready. If I had to guess, he thought he’d ruined things between us. Being vulnerable wasn’t a bad thing. There was a lot of strength in him. I’d seen glimpses of it, like when his neighbor was being an asshole. Sylvan just had to feel comfortable with Oleander and me to let go, without fearing we were going to walk away or we were judging him.

I’d missed both Oleander and Sylvan since we’d last seen each other. Sylvan had been surprised when I texted and asked what time he’d like me at his home to accompany him to the signing today. He didn’t need to say he doubted I’d still join him. I’d have to show him I wasn’t going anywhere. My words weren’t sinking in.

“This is cute,” Sylvan said as we pulled up to the bookstore where the signing would be. Another author would be here today as well. Sylvan said he’d heard their name before but wasn’t friends with them or knew much about them.

The store was in a row of others along a busy street in West Dremest. The rent must have been high to get the kind of foot traffic this area did. Because it was between other establishments, it had to make the most out of its front windows. One was adorned with what I assumed were popular books, everything from non-fiction to fantasy. I could even see people inside browsing the stacks near the window. On the other side was a large sign welcoming today’s two signing authors, with some of their books on display in the window. It was a bit surreal to see Sylvan’s pen name there with the books he’d written. That was one of the men I was dating.

Pride bloomed in my chest as I put my arm around Sylvan’s shoulders when we were on the sidewalk. “You’re amazing. Look at this. Your books are right there. People are going to love you.”