Eternal Brand (13 page)

“No.”

“No.”

Emily giggled because they'd both answered in unison. “Jinx.”

Jet grinned and bopped her on the nose. “You're freakin' adorable, Emily Irving.”

Emily parodied a put-upon sigh. “I get that all the time.”

“Christ,” Brand muttered. “You two are going to make this difficult for me.”

“No we won't sweetie, we promise.” Emily ruffled Brand's hair—as much as you could ruffle a crew cut. “It's going to be fun.”

“Fun is for later. Right now we have chores, so get out of bed and get dressed before you start turning me on again.” Brand flicked a meaningful gaze over Jet's nakedness. “Both of you.”

Jet's blood warmed at Brand's appraisal, and his chest expanded when he caught Emily's eye and saw the joy and hopefulness in her expression. Damn, but it was contagious. She made him believe this was possible, that this might actually work. Jet couldn't stem his smile. This time when they spoke in unison, they did it intentionally, with an air of exaggerated subservience.

“Yes, Brand.”

“Yes, Brand.”

Brand groaned and got off the bed, giving Emily's butt a reproachful pat on the way. “You're going to make it hell for me.”

He sounded cranky, but Jet didn't miss the way Brand's lips had twitched before he'd turned away.

Chapter Fifteen

“There you go Duke, some nice fresh hay for you.”

Brand stroked the old gelding's flank, and the horse quivered with appreciation. But as Brand made to exit the stall, Duke let out a loud snort and nudged his shoulder, as though to remind him of something he'd forgotten.

“What's up, you crotchety old fart?” Brand withdrew the carrot he'd been keeping in his back pocket and waved it. “Looking for this?”

Duke drew his lips back to reveal his teeth as he stretched his neck. Brand held the carrot just out of reach, making the old horse walk for his snack. Duke snorted again, unimpressed with the game. He walked forward anyway, and Brand chuckled as he gave him the carrot, stroking the white blaze on Duke's forehead while the horse chomped away.

Horses were simple creatures. If you treated them well they were loyal. Even an ornery old beast like Duke would perform to specifications for a carrot. Too bad people were not so straightforward.

Emily had surprised the heck out of him when she'd suggested Jet stay with them while he worked on his assignment, surprised him so completely he hadn't been able to think of a way to say no—which he was pretty sure he should have done instead of indulging in more three-way sex the minute she brought the subject up. And continuing to indulge in it night after night until more than a week had passed, until the situation had become complicated.

The sex was one thing. There was no denying it was a wicked temptation, one that any hot-blooded bisexual male would want to explore. That apparently Emily wanted to explore too, and Brand was more than okay with that. The way Emily responded when she was with him and Jet together was wild, and Brand was glad he could give her that, that he could make her happy.

He'd never been confident that he'd made her completely happy on his own. He'd always been aware that there was more she wanted from him, more he couldn't seem to give her. More that he knew he could
never
give her because she wanted what was buried deep inside of him where it was dark and dank and desperate. He was afraid that if he opened up to her fully, she'd recoil from what he revealed.

But in the week that Jet had been sharing their bed, that expectant look had been chased out of Emily's eyes, overwhelmed by a new and eager passion that consumed her. She was enjoying herself immensely, and that long-familiar constriction in Brand's chest, the one caused by the guilt that he wasn't giving Emily enough, had eased.

“Em said I'd find you out here.”

Brand's stomach flipped as he turned toward the stable entrance and saw Jet standing there, his body a shadowy outline against the late-afternoon sunshine. Brand's chest grew tight all over again, like his ribs were crowding his lungs.

And there's the reason nothing is as straightforward as it could be.
While the problem of fulfilling Emily's needs had been resolving itself, a new issue had cropped up—Brand's feelings for Jet and the fact they were as out-of-control as ever.

“Just getting the horses ready for the night.” Brand was relieved his voice sounded normal. “What's Em cooking up in there?”

“Butter chicken, complete with naan bread and homemade mango chutney. I swear that woman is a frustrated gourmet.”

“You're not so bad yourself.” Brand thought of the Mexican feast Jet had made them a couple of nights ago.

Jet shrugged. “I can throw things together so it looks impressive. It's more flair than skill.”

Brand thought he had plenty of both, and for a moment he felt a sharp pang of regret for all that he'd missed with this man because he'd run from a potential relationship, thinking himself inadequate. He was still inadequate if truth be told, still not relationship material. Not for a man like Jet, who knew him so well and demanded so damn much.

He could manage with Emily—just. She was too soft and sweet to point out his failings, and somehow that allowed him to get away with not addressing them. Guilt assailed him at the thought, and a nasty inner voice taunted him.
You'll never be good enough for her.

“Anyway, she sent me out to let you know dinner will be in an hour.”

“Thanks.” This time the rasp was in his voice because his throat had grown taut. Jet was bound to read something into it, so Brand set about distracting him. “Why don't you come in and help with Daisy?”

“No thanks. I'm good here.”

Brand shot him a look. He realized Jet hadn't advanced into the stables at all, that he hadn't come into the stables once in the week he'd been here. “Don't tell me you're still afraid of horses?”

“Not afraid, just wary.”

“Don't be. Daisy won't bite, will you, Dais?” The horse whinnied as though in agreement when Brand stroked her muzzle.

“It's not the teeth I'm wary of, it's the hooves.”

Brand remembered Jet telling him the story of how his mother's old mare had kicked him when he was a boy, how he'd had a bruise that had hung around for a month.

Just the concept of Jet being hurt that way sent a chill through Brand, and he almost relented. Then some urge made him say, “Come on, get over here. If you give Daisy her carrot, she'll love you forever.”

“In my experience it takes much more than that to get a woman to love you.”

Brand's curiosity was piqued by the comment. Had some woman rejected Jet's love? It seemed unfathomable. Then Brand reminded himself he'd turned down what Jet had offered him more than once. Asking about Jet's past loves became potentially explosive, so he remained silent as Jet ventured into the stable.

Jet stood in front of Daisy's stall and looked the animal over. He sighed and held out his hand. “All right, give me the damn carrot.”

Brand's lips twitched as he drew Daisy's treat out of his back pocket and handed it to Jet. “Be gentle with her.”

“Funny.”

Brand sensed the tension in Jet's shoulders as he held the carrot in his open hand. Daisy plucked the vegetable up as delicately as she could with her big horsey teeth, as though sensing Jet's reluctance too. When the feeding went off so successfully, Jet grinned and ventured to stroke Daisy between the ears.

Brand was inordinately pleased to see Jet's smile, and couldn't help the way his own lips curved. “Not so bad, was it?”

Jet showed him a rueful expression. “You must think I'm pathetic, being skittish of a perfectly harmless horse.”

“Fuck no.” Brand felt his smile disappear. “You're the bravest man I've ever known.”

“Don't bullshit me. You were a commando for Christ's sake.”

“Different kind of bravery. That's all about training and being able to blank your mind when you have to. You're never blank. You care about people—even all those foster kids that came through your house growing up. You were never afraid to show them you cared. You know the risks and yet you take them anyway. That's bravery.”

Brand entered Daisy's stall on the pretense of checking her hay supply. What he really needed was to escape Jet's suddenly sharp scrutiny. He'd revealed the depth of respect he'd always held for the other man, and suddenly he felt exposed.
And that's the opposite of bravery, Walker, you giant chickenshit.

“You should let us take you out on Duke,” he said, trying to deflect attention from his declarations. “He's a perfect ride for beginners. Too experienced to be tetchy at every unfamiliar noise and too lazy to do anything but follow Daisy wherever she goes.”

“I could try that I guess. Assuming I stay.”

Brand's heart stopped. Simply screeched to a halt in his chest. He concentrated on stroking Daisy's neck, using the delay to force his voice into a conversational tone. “You have another assignment to get to?”

“Nothing concrete, but I need to take pictures if I want to eat. I was thinking I could take a few more around here, do some work on spec, but I guess that depends.”

Brand flicked him a glance. “On?”

“You,” Jet said, his gaze clinging. “You and Emily.”

Brand gave Daisy a last pat then left the stall. His heart had started up again and was pounding a frantic rhythm as he slowly approached Jet. “You want to stay on here a while longer, is that it?”

“If I'm welcome.”

Brand's cock was feeling pretty damn welcoming at the mere suggestion. But even as his erection grew his palms started to sweat. Open-ended meant what exactly? Anywhere between another week and forever?

Forever? No way. Not an option.

Brand's mind careened away from the prospect. Surely Jet knew he wasn't forever material. Brand had failed him too many times before. No, what Jet wanted was what any red-blooded male would want in this situation. More of the incredible sex he, Brand and Emily had been having for the past week.

Brand tamped down the momentary panic. Like Jet had said, he had to take pictures if he wanted to eat. His chosen career required travel, so forever wasn't an option for him either. Open-ended simply meant for now. Three people didn't live together in some happy-ever-after haze, and Jet knew it. Even Emily had to realize that.

No, what they had was sex. A special, one-of-a-kind combination of lust, mutual respect and old and new friendships that was ultimately
just sex.
Understandably, Jet didn't want it to end in a hurry.

Neither did Brand. He was steel-hard at the mere prospect. As for Emily's response, he was fairly certain he could predict it. He lifted a hand to cup the back of Jet's head. “Emily is so damn hot for you. She won't say no.”

Jet's lips tilted. “We already talked about it.”

“Should have known.”

Jet and Emily got along like a house on fire and seemed to be in sync on so many issues. Brand might have been wary of letting their friendship grow too close, but he enjoyed watching them together too much to try to stop their relationship from developing. They were both so damn sweet with their open souls and their growing list of private jokes. If occasionally their easy camaraderie made Brand feel left out… Well, that was a feeling he was used to. He could handle it so they could be happy.

“What about you?” Jet's question brought Brand back to the subject at hand. “Are you so hot for me you won't say no?”

Brand's gaze dropped from Jet's smoldering gaze to his lips. “All I can think about right now is sinking my hard-on into that talented mouth of yours. Does that answer your question?”

Jet released a breath, and it shuddered into the space between them. “Do it. Your impassioned bravery speech has me feeling generous.”

Brand winced. “I didn't mean to say that.”

“I know, but it was the truth. I know when you're being completely honest because you get that terrified look in your eye.”

“You've always gotta push, don't you, Durante?”

Jet showed him that shit-eating grin. “It's in my nature.”

“I know what else is in your nature.” Brand swiped his lips across Jet's, then grazed his lower lip with his teeth. “Sucking cock. Why don't you do what comes natural?”

“Why don't you make me?”

“My fucking pleasure.”

Brand took Jet's mouth in a savage kiss. Jet wrapped his arms around his torso and hung on as Brand angled Jet's head and ate at his lips. He backed them up until they slammed against the stable wall, where Brand pressed into Jet and devoured him.

He tasted so damn good, a salty-sweet tang of mingled submission and triumph that was all Jet. Brand was lost in his flavor, in the passion between them that never seemed to die, until Jet turned his head and gasped for breath.

“Jesus, Brand. Keep kissing me like that and I'll offer.”

Brand dipped his head and nipped at Jet's throat. “You always like it better when I take. Why is that?”

“I don't know, but I'm comfortable with it.” He paused. Then, “So is Emily. You can be more of yourself with her. She'll handle it.”

Brand lifted his head and stared into Jet's eyes. More of himself. What did that even mean? Emily wanted more of the empty blackness in his soul? She wanted him to unleash the occasionally violent instincts that reminded him he was his father's son?

Emily and Jet, so alike. So blind in their faith. Neither of them knew what they were asking, but right now Brand didn't feel like pointing out their misguided intentions. Jet wanted the man who took first and asked questions later? That was something he could give him.

“No more talking. I have better uses for your mouth.” With a couple of taut movements, Brand lowered his fly and pulled out his swollen cock. “On your knees, Durante.”

Excitement flashed in Jet's eyes as he did as he was told. Why a man who was so damned strong and stubborn got off on being bossed around had always been a mystery to Brand, but the truth was he loved it too. Loved being able to dominate someone like Jet, maybe
because
he was so damn strong and stubborn. It meant more to conquer him than a woman like Emily, who was already so giving.

He didn't want to conquer Emily, he only wanted… “Ah, fuck!”

All thought sped away as Jet opened for him. Brand sank partway into the heaven that was Jet's mouth, Jet's smart-aleck, all-knowing mouth. Jet licked around his cock head, then twirled his tongue around the circumference of Brand's shaft. His talents teased Brand to higher levels of arousal, but Brand didn't want teasing. He wanted the mind-numbing blankness that came with the intense pleasure he knew Jet could give him.

He sank his fingers into Jet's hair and held him in place, prizing his jaw open so could bury his cock deep to the back of Jet's throat. “Oh, yeah, take it like that. Take all of me.”

Brand looked down, having always loved to watch Jet blow him. Jet's gaze didn't waver as it held Brand's. He opened wide and swallowed him whole, holding on to his shaft and balls as he sucked him hard. Brand rocked into him, pushed him, but Jet took everything like he wanted everything and much more.