Muscling In (8 page)

“Yes, it will just be strange
to spend time with him again. I didn’t think I would.”

“I guess it’s like that for
lots of your old colleagues.”

“Yes.” He paused. “Edward is
different, though. We were close. When I left the military…”

“Go on?”

“I really thought his chosen
path would…well it’s a dangerous one. I often wondered if he was still alive.”

“Oh, Coben.” I stepped up behind
him, wrapped my arms around his waist and pressed my cheek against the dent
between his shoulder blades. “That must be so hard.”

“But he
is
alive, so that’s good.” He rested his hands over my arms.
“Though he didn’t have that scar on his face last time I saw him.”

“Well maybe you can ask him
about it.”

“I doubt he’ll tell me.” Coben
spun and circled his arms around my waist. “Classified and all that.”

“He might. If you were close
before.” I swept my lips over his. “Listen, I have to go or I’ll be late for
Stella. You have a nice time with Ed okay.”

He nodded and released me. He
faced the garden again as though deep in thought.

I headed upstairs to freshen
up. Twenty minutes later, as I was coming back down, the unmistakable gutsy
rumble of a motorbike rattled around the hallway.

Ed.

I slipped into my shoes,
grabbed my handbag, and as I went to open the front door the bell rang.

I pulled it open.

Ed was standing there. Dressed
head to toe in black leathers and holding a shiny black helmet. He had a few
days’ stubble on his jawline and his mouth was tipped into an easy smile. “Hey,
Sian. How are you?”

“I’m fine, you?”

“Good. Nice place you have
here.”

“Thanks, we like it. Come in.”
I stepped to one side.

Ed moved past me and set his
helmet on a low table. “That be okay there?”

“Yes,” Coben said.

I looked past Ed. Coben stood
in the kitchen doorway, feet apart, hands shoved in his jeans pockets. He wore
a solemn expression.

“Hey.” A seriousness came over
Ed. “Thanks for the call this morning.”

“It made sense,” Coben
replied.

“You reckon?” Ed raised his
eyebrows slightly.

“Come through, there’s coffee
on.”

“I’ll see you later,” I
called. “Have a nice time.”

Neither of them replied as I
stepped out and shut up the door.

****

Three hours later, laden down
with several bags containing a birthday present for my aunt, a new shirt for
Coben and two new pairs of jeans for myself, I let myself into our home.

The hallway was in shadows,
the back of the house and the garden getting the best of the sunshine at this
time of day. The summery scent of the smoky charcoal drifted toward me.

I dumped my bags down and
headed in search of a much-needed glass of water.

As I filled a tumbler from the
tap in the kitchen sink I stared out of the window. Coben and Ed stood by our
shiny chrome BBQ. Each held a bottle of beer and Ed had changed into jeans and
a black t-shirt. He must have brought them with him because they weren’t
Coben’s.

Their deep voices filtered my
way. I saw Coben tip his head back and laugh at something Ed had said. My
husband certainly looked more relaxed than he had for several days.

I took a long drink. I’d
clearly done the right thing by getting that phone number. He’d needed to spend
some time with Ed, hash through old adventures and reminisce. Likely chat about
fallen comrades and memories that could only be shared with each other.

Ed reached for a fork, stabbed
a charred-looking sausage and took a bite.

Coben watched him, his beer
held halfway to his mouth, as though fascinated. He then set his hand on Ed’s
shoulder and I lip read him asking if it was good.

Ed nodded and smiled, still
chewing.

I pulled a bottle of beer from
the fridge, flicked off the lid and headed out to join them.

“Hey,” I called.

They both spun to look at me.

Coben stepped away from Ed and
poked at the smoldering embers beneath the sausages.

“Hi.” Ed smiled at me. “Good
shopping trip?”

“Great, thanks.” As I stepped
up to him I got a whiff of his delicious aftershave over and above the BBQ
scent. “I got everything I needed and a bit more.”

“Sounds expensive,” Coben
said, setting down the prongs.

“The most expensive thing was
a new shirt I bought for you.” I laughed.

“Oh well, can’t complain,
then.” He set a quick kiss on my cheek. “Thank you.”

“Listen, I should get going.”
Ed drained his beer.

“Don’t go on our account,” I
said, “not much happening here, lazy Saturday in the sunshine.”

“I should.” He set his
attention on Coben. “It’s been good, though, catching up. We needed that.”

“Yes.” Coben nodded.

“Maybe we’ll do it again
sometime?” Ed raised his eyebrows slightly.

Coben paused, then, “I’d like
that.”

“Okay.” Ed nodded at the
house. “Well, I’ll just go and throw my leathers on.”

“Sure.” Coben took Ed’s empty
beer bottle from him. “I’ll get rid of this.”

Ed headed across our small
lawn. His ass looked damn cute in his denims and I admired it for a moment
before turning to Coben.

He too was watching Ed walking
to the back door. His eyelids were heavy, his lips slightly parted.

Is he looking at his ass too?

“You had a nice time, then?” I
asked, a little bubble of something like excitement popping in my stomach. Had
they been into each other? Years ago?

He snapped his attention to
me. “Oh, er, yeah. Thanks.”

“Thanks for getting his number
or thanks for leaving you alone?”

“Both, I suppose. We had lots
to talk about.”

I smiled and hooked my hand
through the crook of his elbow. “You chat about everything you needed to? Got
stuff off your chest?” Had they talked about them? Their relationship?

I was getting ahead of myself.
Just because I thought the idea of Coben with another man was hot, it didn’t
mean I could force the situation and it didn’t mean he’d ever been intimate
with Ed.

Coben hesitated for a moment.
“Yes. I think so. Come on. I should go say goodbye at the door.”

“Okay.”

Coben moved the last few
sausages off the heat. We wandered into the house. Ed was in the hallway,
looking big, bad and seriously sexy in his leathers. His shoulders were almost
impossibly wide and the tight trousers hugged his legs and groin, highlighting
every muscle and bulge.

“Goodbye, Sian.” He pressed a
quick kiss to my cheek.

His stubble scratched my skin.

Goodbye.
I hated that word. It sounded like we’d never see him again. For some reason
the thought shot unease right through me. “Why don’t you come to the beach with
us tomorrow?” I said, the idea coming to me suddenly. “We’re going to Brighton.
There’s plenty of room in the car and the weather forecast is lovely.”

Coben’s eyes widened at my
sudden invitation.

“Well…I…” Ed looked at Coben.

“You’re probably busy,” Coben said.

“No, not really.” Ed tilted
his head a little.

A small smile tugged at
Coben’s mouth. “So come, then.”

Ed also smiled. “Yeah, might
just do that, but I’ll bike there. Drop you a text when I arrive.”

“Great.” I grinned. Tomorrow
I’d have not one hot guy to lounge on the beach with but two. I was a lucky
girl. Plus it would mean I could do a bit more digging. Find out exactly what
Ed had been to my husband. “I’ll see you there.” I turned and went into the
kitchen, planning already what to pack as a picnic.

I reached for the wicker
basket I used for such occasions, then surveyed the contents of the fridge.
There was plenty to make lots of delicious goodies for the three of us, and Ed
wouldn’t want to bring anything on the bike, it just wasn’t practical. I
decided to go tell him not to worry about towels too. We could take extra of
everything in the car.

I froze in the doorway, hand
against the frame.

Ed and Coben were hugging. But
it wasn’t a quick, back-slapping hug. There was something deeply intimate about
it. Their bodies were pressed close. Ed cradled the back of Coben’s head with
one hand and the other was wound around his waist. Coben had his arms hooked
beneath Ed’s, his hands on his shoulders, fingers spread as though trying to
touch as much of him as possible.

I couldn’t see Ed’s face but I
could see Coben’s. He had his eyes shut tight, his lips pressed together.

My heart raced and a pile of
thoughts tumbled through my mind.

“It’ll be okay,” Ed said.

“I know. It’s just so good to
see you. Didn’t think I ever would.”

“You thought I’d be dead in a
ditch? I’m too fucking sharp for that.”

“I know.” Coben pulled back
and opened his eyes. “But shit happens.”

Ed released him and stepped
away. He scooped up his helmet and a black bag.

Coben’s arms hung at his
sides.

“Tomorrow. The beach,” Ed
said. “I’ll text when I hit Brighton.”

Coben nodded and opened the
door.

Ed stepped out into the
sunshine, his movements swift and efficient. For a big bloke he moved with ease
and grace.

It seemed Coben admired the
way he moved too, for he studied him for several seconds before shutting the
door. He rested back on it, eyes again closed, and blew out a long breath.

“So,” I said as gently as I
could because I knew he had no idea I was standing there. “Are you going to
start explaining this to me, soldier, or what?”

His eyes shot open.

“You and him.” I nodded at the
door as the rumble of the bike vibrated around the four walls.

“Me and him?” He frowned.

“I’m not stupid, Coben. Please
don’t treat me like I am.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”
He pushed away from the door and went to walk past me into the kitchen.

I grabbed his arm. “Oh no,
don’t run away and clam up. Me and you…now. We need to talk.”

Chapter Five

I led him into the lounge and
we sat side by side on the sofa. He was perched on the edge, his body tense.

I took his hand, spread out
his fingers and pressed a kiss to the center of his palm. “Coben, please, we’ve
always been honest with each other about everything.”

“I know.” A small tendon
flexed in his cheek beneath his blond stubble.

“And I know there’s more than
meets the eye to you and Ed.”

“But—”

“And it’s not a problem.”
Again I kissed his hand, then rested it against my cheek. “I love you. I have
from day one. You’ve got me, big time. Nothing is going to change that.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” His
mouth twitched into a smile.

“And you told me way back that
you’d flirted with being bi, that you’d had feelings for another man before.
I’m hardly shocked to my core. I knew this about you before we married.”

He nodded, shoved his hand
through his hair and rested back on the sofa. Some of the tension seemed to
seep from his body into the cushions.

“Bi,” he repeated. “I suppose
everything has to have a label these days.”

“Not for me. I just want you
to know it’s not an issue in my world.”

“I know it isn’t. Really I
do.” He stroked my cheek, then down my arm, took my hand in his and clasped it.

“So are you going to tell me
about Ed?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Why?”

“Because…well, it was a long
time ago.”

“It was about two minutes
ago.” I raised my eyebrows. “And hey, the guy is seriously hot. Who the hell
wouldn’t fancy the pants off him?”

“You think he’s hot?”

“Hell yeah!”

“He is.” Coben chuckled,
though it was a bit strained. “But let’s just say the military are not quite as
understanding as you are, Sian.”

“But you’re not in the
military, not now.”

He went deathly serious again.
“No but he is, and he’s high ranking. Society might have moved on but the Air
Force, certainly some sections of it, aren’t so free spirited.”

“So he
is
gay?”

“Well, I’ve known him to have
his fair share of fun with ladies so…”

A small thrill went through
me. So Ed wasn’t totally off limits, out of range, off the radar. Maybe he
liked me a little too? Perhaps that threesome fantasy…

I shook my head. I was getting
ahead of myself, again. “He’s bi?”

“There’s that label, Sian.”

I shrugged. “So tell me more.”

“I think he’s only ever had
feelings for me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think I’m the only bloke
he’s ever, you know, kissed, but of course that might be different now. I
didn’t ask.”

I leaned forward and set my
lips on his—lips that had kissed Ed! I wished I could have seen them kiss. Just
the thought made me tingle between my legs. “So this kiss, was it when you were
both serving?”

He swallowed. “Yes, but it was
hard. We had to keep it a secret that we were into each other.” He reached out
and cupped my cheeks. His brow creased into a frown. “And you must too, Sian.
It’s not fair on him if anything gets out about his sexuality. That would be
his choice not ours.”

“Of course I wouldn’t say
anything. Why would I and who to?”

“I don’t know. I’m just
saying.”

“But don’t you get it?” I
shifted and straddled him, my knees bent against his thighs and my pussy,
pressing through my knickers, over the creases in his denims and onto his cock.
“The thought of you and Ed together turns me on.” I sank a little lower onto
him. “I’ve told you that before. I can’t explain it, but the thought of you,
and another man, him…”

He ran his hands up my thighs,
bunching my skirt. He watched it ruck around his wrists and appeared lost in
his thoughts.

“Tell me,” I said quietly.
“What else did you do other than kiss? What else had to be kept secret?”

Oh God, will he give me details?

He shook his head slightly.

“Tell me.” I ran my hands beneath
his t-shirt and slipped them over his pecs, leaned forward and kissed him. “Did
he suck your cock? Did he suck it the way I do?”

His breathing hitched.

I sank a little lower on him
and was rewarded with a hardening. “He did, didn’t he? Suck you, that is.”

“Yes,” he whispered onto my
lips.

Fuck, he’s admitted it.

“But not the way you do it.”

That surprised me. How many
ways were there to suck a cock? “Explain.” I pulled at his t-shirt.

He slipped it over his head,
threw it to one side.

“Just different.” He reached
for my top, tugged it off and dropped it next to his.

“How?”

He licked his lips and looked
at my breasts. “I dunno, it’s just more…rough with a man, more raw.”

“You mean you didn’t worry
about his gag?” I could see it now. Ed on his knees, Coben, my husband, ramming
his cock in and out of that gorgeous mouth, ecstasy all over his face—Coben
loved being sucked off.

“Yeah, I guess, real…deep
throat.”

“Fucking hell,” I murmured,
capturing his mouth in a kiss and pushing my tongue against his. I wanted him.
My body was buzzing for his. He was hard now and I writhed against him as I
fumbled with the button on his jeans.

“And you sucked him?” I asked,
my lips moving against his.

“Sian.” He shoved at his
jeans, pushed at his boxers and his cock jutted upward.

“What?”

He pulled the gusset of my
knickers aside and lined his cock with my entrance.

I sank down. “Ah, yeah…tell
me…tell me everything.” I gasped. He was stretching me so much, this position,
it felt wonderful for that first entry.

“Yes, I sucked him. We
were…lovers,” he said, pushing up my bra so he could cup my breasts.

“Lovers,” I repeated.

“Yes, like we are. Ed and I
were together…we did…
everything
.” He
pulled me to him and shoved his tongue into my mouth.

Everything!

I sank to full depth, his cock
creating a dense, thick sensation that made me tense around it. My heart was
beating fast as images of Ed and Coben naked, fucking, coming together, spun
around my mind like a tornado whipping up leaves. I kissed him back with an
excited edge to my need to come. Damn, my husband had done so much more than
I’d known before and it turned me on, this side to him—the expansion of his
sexuality, his experience. I wanted a piece of it.

“Yeah,” he panted, spanning my
waist and staring at where we were connected. “You feel so fucking good doing
that.” He urged me quicker. “More. Faster. Harder.”

I gave it, grinding against
him, building myself up to orgasm, my clit swelling and butting against his
wiry pubes. “You fucked him?” I gasped.

“Yes.”

“And he…fucked you?”

“Yes. Oh, God, Sian…we did it
all. So fucking good. I’m…”

“Come…yes, come with me.” I
was there. It had risen so quickly. The crest had arrived. I threw my head
back, thought of the two men fucking, me there too, watching, masturbating,
coming in time with them. I held my breath and groaned as bliss blasted through
me.

Coben thrust his hips up, his
cockhead shoving against my cervix as my pussy clamped around him.

“Yes, yes…” he hissed.

I was aware of him climaxing
inside me, allowing his release to flood from his cock.

On and on I pulsed around his
shaft. He grabbed my face, kissed me hard again, his breaths a wild storm on my
cheek. I could feel all of him, every ridge, his length, the way his root
stretched my entrance. We were so connected.

“Damn that was good.” My words
were muffled, lost in his mouth.

“Yeah…fast, though.”

I slowed. “Fast but so good.
We should do it like this on the sofa more often.” I giggled. “It clearly
works.”

He grinned. “You really
couldn’t give a fuck, could you?”

“What?”

“About my past…with Ed.” He
was still a little breathless.

“No, I wish I’d known before.”

He screwed his brow into
several creases. “I should have told you before. It’s been on my mind for
years, that I’d only told you I’d kissed another man when I’d done so much
more. When I’d had a full-on sexual relationship.”

He looked so at war with
himself it tore my heart. “Hey, hey, you’ve told me now and let’s face it.” I
paused and ran my hands down his sex-sweat coated chest. “It’s even better to
be able to picture the hot bloke you made out with. Better than trying to just
imagine him.”

He was quiet for a moment,
then, “Why did you invite him to the beach?” He pushed my now-messy hair over
my shoulders.

“Really?”

“Yes, really. Of course
really.”

“Because I wanted to see him
again. And…”

“And?” he asked.

“And I could tell you did
too.”

Coben didn’t deny that. “Do
you think he
wants
to come with us? I
mean, it’s not really an elite serviceman thing to do.”

I laughed at that. “What,
relax with friends on a sunny day, of course it is.”

Coben grinned. “Yeah, you’re
right. He can’t fill his life up entirely with missions.”

I calmed my voice. “He’s SAS,
isn’t he?”

Coben nodded, suddenly
serious. “The best of the best. But I didn’t tell you that.”

“You didn’t have to.” I kissed
him, wondering if there were hidden meanings in Coben’s words—the best of the
best at everything? At fucking?

“It’s dangerous,” Coben said.
“What he does. It’s one of the things that’s followed me, wondering if he’s
okay…”

“Alive?”

“Yes, alive. And that scar, on
his face.”

“Did he tell you how he got
it?”

Coben shrugged. “He was vague,
something about Kabul and a suicide bomber.”

I shivered.

He wrapped his arms around me
and pulled me close. His flesh was hot against my skin as he kissed the top of
my head.

“And his tat?” I asked. “Has
that been added to other than what I did?”

Coben laughed, shifting me in
his arms. “We only cooked some steak and sausages this afternoon, Sian. I
didn’t check him out head to toe. Clothes stayed on.”

“Of course.” I smiled, my
cheek bunching against his shoulder. “But tomorrow you’ll be able to see. I’m
guessing he won’t wear his leathers on the beach.”

****

The next day dawned bright and
I was excited as I piled up the paraphernalia for the beach by the front door.
There were three sturdy loungers—wooden with red-and-white stripes—a blue
windbreak, the large wicker basket stuffed full of a variety of homemade
goodies I’d been creating since early that morning. I added towels, suntan
lotion, a coolbox with drinks and the book I’d started a few weeks ago but
hardly read.

“Blimey, just as well Edward
isn’t trying to squeeze in the back with all this lot,” Coben said, staring at
it with his hands on his hips. “The car will be full.”

“Well I have added extra.
There’ll be one more person.” I touched my lips to his cheek. He hadn’t shaved
since Friday morning and his jawline held a sexy coating of stubble. “Three of
us,” I added quietly, “a
threesome
trip to the beach.”

He pulled back and raised his
eyebrows at me. “What?”

“Threesome. Don’t tell me you
haven’t thought about it too,” I said. “We’ve talked about me, you and another
man before, and now there’s a bloke with a face and a hot body who’s into you
and might just do.”

“Might just do?” He stared at
me, his eyes wide. “Seriously is that what’s been going through your mind?”

“Well yes. Since last week,
when we were in bed, when you…remember?”

“Yes. I remember.” He tugged
at his bottom lip with his top teeth.

“It was you who suggested us
finding another ‘cock’ to fulfill my fantasy.”

“I said
hired
cock.”

“Which would take a lot of
organizing to find the right person.” I tipped my head, wondering if Coben
would shoot the idea down or let it sit for a while. If he let it sit, then
chances were he’d come round to my way of thinking. That’s how it often was
with him.

“You’re forgetting one thing,”
he said. “One rather important detail.”

“What’s that?”

“He might not be
into
me, not anymore.” He shrugged.
“That was a long time ago.”

“I don’t think that’s true.
I’ve seen how he looks at you, how his eyes get heavy when he’s listening to
you speak, how he held you yesterday when you said goodbye. He was also as
stunned and as affected to see you at the Sterns’ as you were to see him. I
think he just coped with it a little better.”