Page 94 of Better When Shared (Kristin Lance Anthologies #2)

Kiaan

I placed the last sandwich into my backpack and surveyed my handiwork. All of Skylar’s favorites, at least according to what she’d shared over the years. The preparation hadn’t been complicated, but I was still nervous about her liking it, and my hands trembled slightly as I thought about spending the day alone with Skylar.

After yesterday’s unexpected kiss with Ryker and the confusion that followed, I needed time alone with Skylar. Time to understand what was happening between all of us, to lay my feelings bare somewhere away from the tiny house that felt suffocating with possibility and tension.

Ryker had given me a knowing nod before heading out to help Makai with some project at the main house, leaving me alone in Skylar’s kitchen. The easy way he’d stepped back, no jealousy or competitiveness in his eyes, only made the memory of his lips against mine more confusing.

I tucked a thermos of hot tea into my backpack just as Skylar emerged from her bedroom, pushing her glasses up on her nose.

“So, this picnic,”

she said, gesturing at my preparations.

“Where are we going?”

I closed the backpack.

“That’s up to you. I want to see your favorite place on the island—somewhere that matters to you.”

Something softened in her expression.

“You really want to see that?”

“I’ve spent eight years hearing you talk about this island. Show me the part of it that’s most you.”

She bit her lip, considering.

“Okay. There’s a trail I love that we don’t even have to drive to. But you’ll need better shoes. And a warmer jacket.”

Twenty minutes later, we were hiking up a narrow trail that wound through dense forest. My backpack felt heavier than I’d anticipated. Skylar moved ahead of me with the easy confidence of someone who’d walked this path a thousand times, pausing occasionally to point out native plants or the fresh tracks of deer in the soft earth.

“I came here all the time as a teenager,”

she said, glancing back at me.

“Whenever I felt like I was going to explode if I didn’t get away from people.”

“The social anxiety?”

I asked, remembering her offhand comments over the years.

She nodded, continuing upward.

“I found out pretty young that the anxiety didn’t hit the same online. So I spent time playing games and meeting people. With my online friends, with you guys, I could be myself without all the stress.”

The trail steepened, my designer hiking boots slipping on the damp ground. Skylar reached back without looking, her hand finding mine, steadying me with a strength that belied her small frame. I held on longer than necessary, savoring the simple contact.

“Almost there,”

she said after another ten minutes of climbing.

“You’re going to lose it when you see this view.”

She wasn’t wrong. The trail suddenly opened onto a grassy bluff that seemed to hang at the edge of the world. Below us, the Salish Sea stretched to the horizon, dark waves crashing against jagged rocks hundreds of feet down. Islands dotted the water, some no more than rocky outcroppings, others rising in forested humps from the churning sea.

“Holy fuck,”

I breathed, unable to come up with anything more eloquent.

Skylar grinned, the wind whipping her teal-streaked hair around her face.

“Worth the hike, right?”

I nodded, mesmerized by the wildness of it all. By her.

“You seem... better. More you.”

She was quiet for a moment.

“Something happened yesterday that changed the things I was feeling anxious about.”

“You gonna tell me what it was?” I asked.

She smiled.

“Let me work up the courage.”

We set up our picnic on a flat rock near the edge, Skylar spreading out the blanket I’d packed while I weighted the corners with smooth stones to keep it from blowing away. The Pacific Northwest wind cut through my jacket, making me shiver despite the sun breaking occasionally through the clouds.

“Cold?”

I asked, pulling a thermos from my backpack.

“I brought some hot tea.”

She poured the steaming liquid into the cap, using it as a cup, then passed it to me. Our fingers brushed as I took it, and I cupped my hands around the warmth, breathing in the scent of ginger and lemon.

“I can’t believe you live so close to this and spend all your time inside gaming with us,”

I said, taking a sip.

“Not all of my time. I come here at least once a week. And the view’s not going anywhere,”

she replied with a shrug.

“But raid night waits for no one.”

I laughed, the tension I’d been carrying since yesterday easing slightly. This was the Skylar I knew—practical, a little sarcastic, utterly herself.

We ate in comfortable silence, sharing the sandwiches and some local apples she’d brought. The wind hummed around us, carrying the salt spray and the distant cries of seagulls. It felt like we were the only two people in the world.

“Holy shit, look!”

Skylar grabbed my arm, pointing out toward the horizon. “Orcas!”

I squinted, seeing nothing but waves. “Where?”

She fumbled in her backpack, pulling out a pair of binoculars and handing them to me.

“About two o’clock, maybe half a mile out.”

I set my cup down and raised the binoculars to my eyes, adjusting the focus. Then I saw them—sleek black dorsal fins cutting through the water, occasionally a flash of white as they surfaced.

“That’s... incredible,”

I whispered, counting at least five distinct bodies moving in perfect synchronization.

“J-pod,”

Skylar said, her voice warm with affection.

“They’ve been coming through these waters for generations. That big one with the notched fin is Notch. The locals all know him by sight.”

I handed the binoculars back, watching her face as she tracked the whales. The wind had brought a flush to her cheeks, her eyes bright with excitement. In that moment, she looked utterly alive, utterly present, and so beautiful it made my chest ache.

“This is the perfect place.”

She lowered the binoculars, turning to me.

“For what?”

“For telling the truth.”

I drew a deep breath, steeling myself for whatever came next.

“About yesterday. About everything.”

Something shifted in her expression. She set the binoculars down carefully, then hugged her knees to her chest, looking out at the vast expanse of sea.

“I wanted to kiss Ryker,”

she said.

“I’ve wanted to for a long time. But the thing is, I wanted to kiss you, too. And it was wrecking me, knowing that I couldn’t have what I wanted with one of you without hurting the other. And seeing you hurt yesterday, that was like a knife to the gut.”

My throat tightened, words momentarily beyond reach.

“That’s why this is so fucking hard,”

she continued, fingers picking at a loose thread on her jeans.

“I’ve been such an idiot. I acted on impulse, flirting with both of you separately. But it was online, and I never expected to meet either of you in person, not until my grandmother decided to play Cupid.”

“Why do you think she did that?”

Skylar chuckled.

“Hui is a born meddler. She worries about everyone, but me most of all. And she’s convinced that she knows everything about what I need.”

I stared at her for a long moment.

“And does she?”

“She sent me the two of you. Together. So that’s a solid maybe. But don’t tell her I said that. It’ll only cause more meddling.”

“So you were happy to see us when you fled into your cabin and locked the door?”

“No, that was a moment of sheer panic. I mean, I’ve effectively been cheating on both of you, with each other.”

“Was it cheating? We never laid down any ground rules, or committed to anything.”

“I know, but you felt betrayed when you found out. Don’t lie just because he’s kissed you now. I know you did. I should never have done anything to risk our friendship, no matter how much I feel for you or Ryker.”

She turned to me then, eyes bright with unshed tears.

“It was killing me to know that my selfish actions could tear the three of us apart. Our friendship means everything to me—has meant everything to me for years. And that’s why I ran.”

The honesty in her voice made something crack open inside me, a warmth spreading through my chest despite the cold wind. “Sky…”

“When I saw you and Ryker, I saw something there.”

Her words came out in a rush.

“When you were kissing. Both of you looked so fucking into it.”

I froze, heat crawling up my neck. Yesterday, against the side of her cabin, Ryker’s body pressed against mine, his mouth hot and demanding on my lips. I’d been so caught up in the moment I hadn’t considered that anyone might see us.

“It wasn’t—”

I started, scrambling for some explanation that wouldn’t sound pathetic.

“It was. And it... unlocked something inside me.”

Skylar shook her head, a smile breaking through her serious expression.

“It was fucking hot. And something I had never dared to hope for.”

I blinked, sure I’d misheard. “What?”

“You heard me.”

She leaned forward, eyes locked on mine.

“This whole time, you and Ryker have been fighting, and I could feel the fabric of our friendship tearing. But in that one super sexy moment, I realized that there might be a way for me to have both of the men I want most without hurting either one of you. Because you care for each other, too. Maybe more.”

The implication hung in the air between us, carried on the salt wind. The possibility that had been forming in my mind since yesterday when Ryker had brought it up, the one I’d been too afraid to fully acknowledge, suddenly crystallized into something real and tangible.

“You mean...”

I couldn’t finish the sentence, the hope too fragile to put into words.

“What if we don’t have to choose? What if we all work together, the three of us?”

she asked.

I chewed on my bottom lip for a moment, then met her eyes with a sigh.

“He said that, too. He wants that, too.”

Her smile was so bright it could have lit up the sky. “And you?”

“I’m... not sure. But I’m starting to see the possibilities.”

The orcas breached again in the distance, their synchronized dance a reminder of how beautiful it could be when separate beings moved as one. I watched them, heart hammering in my chest, everything I thought I knew about myself, about relationships, about possibilities, shifting beneath me like the restless sea.

I wondered if Skylar and Ryker were right, if we could find some sort of balance between the three of us. It had certainly worked in Legend of the Twin Blades. Shouldn’t that work the same in real life? Sure, my skill as a sniper was a little less useful, and Ryker’s stockpile of potions wouldn’t do us much good, but there must be some personality quirks behind our unique gaming strategies that fit in some essential way.

The wind whipped her hair across her face, and I reached out to tuck it behind her ear, my fingers lingering against her skin. For eight years, I’d imagined touching her like this. Now, with the vastness of the ocean spread below us and her confession still echoing in my ears, I felt like I was standing at the edge of something far more terrifying than this cliff.

“How would it work?”

“I don’t know, I suppose we’d have to work out the logistics. Communicate. But I know it can work. It works for Makai. He’s in a throuple with a married couple—Imogen and Hamish—and they all love each other dearly. They balance each other out.”

“Balance,”

I whispered, thinking about our gaming personas again. Each of us played a part on the team, and our strengths and weaknesses balanced each other.

“I’ve been dreaming about both of you for years. Separately at first, and then... not separately. When I realized polyamory was a thing. It was so wrong of me to be flirting with you both, but I couldn’t shake the thought that somehow we’d all fit.”

The confession sent heat spiraling through me, settling low in my belly. I found myself thinking of Ryker’s mouth on mine, his hands in my hair, the solid weight of him pressing me against the cabin wall. And Skylar watching us, her eyes dark with desire.

“Fuck,”

I whispered.

I reached for her hand, our cold fingers intertwining on the blanket between us. The simple contact grounded me, a tether in the storm of possibility that threatened to sweep me away. Her hand was smaller than mine, but there was nothing delicate about her grip—it was firm, certain, calloused from years of sailing and climbing.

“I’ve wanted to kiss you since the moment I stepped off that seaplane,”

I admitted, my voice rough with emotion.

“Even when I was pissed at you for running away, even when I thought you preferred Ryker.”

A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

“So what’s stopping you now?”

Nothing. Absolutely fucking nothing.

I leaned toward her, slow enough that she could pull away if she wanted to. My eyes searched hers for any hesitation, any doubt. Instead, I found only warmth and anticipation as her gaze dropped to my lips.

“Is this okay?”

I whispered, close enough now that I could feel her breath on my face.

She answered by closing the final distance between us, her cold lips pressing against mine.

The first kiss was clumsy—her glasses bumping against my nose, our lips chilled and stiff from the wind, neither of us quite finding the right angle. But the imperfection of it, the realness of it, sent a surge of emotion through me that no choreographed kiss could have matched.

I pulled back slightly, adjusting the angle, my hand coming up to cradle her jaw. Our second attempt was better—her lips softening against mine, her hand sliding into my hair. Still tentative, still learning each other, but with a promise of heat beneath the surface.

When we separated, Skylar laughed—a bright, joyful sound that cut through the wind and made something tight in my chest unravel.

“What’s so funny?”

I asked, unable to keep the smile from my own voice.

“Nothing.”

She shook her head, looking up at me through her lashes.

“It’s just—I’ve imagined this so many times, but reality is so much messier. And better. You taste like peanut butter and honey.”

“Your favorite sandwiches,”

I said, grinning.

“So yummy.”

Before I could respond, she leaned in again, this time with purpose. Her mouth captured mine with newfound confidence, her tongue tracing the seam of my lips until I opened for her. I groaned as she deepened the kiss, her hand tightening in my hair, guiding me where she wanted me.

This was the Skylar I knew from our late-night conversations—bold, direct, taking what she wanted. The contrast between her physical smallness and the commanding presence I felt in her kiss made my head spin.

The wind gusted around us, cutting through our jackets and making us both shiver. Without breaking the kiss, Skylar shifted, climbing into my lap with surprising grace. The sudden weight of her, the press of her body against mine, sent a jolt of electricity straight to my cock.

“Better?”

I murmured against her lips.

“Much,”

she replied, settling more firmly against me, her arms winding around my neck.

She was so much smaller than Ryker had been, but no less powerful in her own way. Where his kiss had been all demanding heat and surprising strength, hers was precision and control—each movement calculated for maximum effect, each shift of her body against mine deliberate.

The heat between us built slowly, a welcome contrast to the biting wind. I slid my hands under the back of her jacket, feeling the warmth of her skin through her thin T-shirt. She arched into the touch, making a small sound of pleasure that I felt more than heard.

“God, I’ve wanted this,”

I confessed against her throat, tasting salt and skin.

“Wanted you.”

“Me too. So much.”

She tilted her head, giving me better access.

“Just… with both of you.”

The mention of Ryker sent another surge of confused desire through me. I’d spent years thinking of myself as straight, never questioning it until yesterday when his body had pressed mine against the cabin wall. Now, with Skylar in my arms and the memory of his kiss still fresh, I found myself facing a truth I hadn’t been ready to acknowledge.

Skylar pulled back just enough to look at me, her eyes dark with desire, cheeks flushed from the cold and our kisses. She cupped my face in her hands, studying me with an intensity that made my skin heat.

“Do you know what I want?”

she asked, her voice dropping to the husky register I recognized from our most explicit late-night chats.

I swallowed hard, well aware from her tone of voice that her more dominant side was finally surfacing. This was the Skylar I knew online, the one I talked to for hours with. The woman that lay beneath the timid, anxious shell. “Tell me.”

She leaned close, her lips brushing the shell of my ear as she whispered.

“I want to watch Ryker fuck you. I want to see his cock sliding into you. I want to tell you both what to do while I touch myself.”

My cock jerked hard against my jeans, so sudden and intense that I gasped. The image she’d painted burned through me—Ryker behind me, his hands gripping my hips, Skylar watching us, commanding us, her eyes dark with pleasure.

“Jesus, Sky,”

I managed, my voice strangled.

She leaned back, a knowing smile playing at her lips as she shifted in my lap, the movement drawing attention to how hard I was beneath her.

“Does that idea turn you on, Kiaan? The thought of being our good boy and pleasing both of us?”

She leaned in closer.

“I know all your favorite fantasies, my little fucktoy.”

I couldn’t lie—not when my body was betraying me so obviously, not when the truth of my desire was written in every racing beat of my heart. “Yes,”

I admitted, the word both terrifying and freeing.

“Fuck yes.”

Her smile widened, satisfaction gleaming in her eyes.

“Good. Because if Ryker wants you as much as it looked like he wants you when you were kissing... This is going to be fun.”

The three of us together. Not competing, not choosing, but sharing. The possibility of it—the rightness of it—settled over me like a revelation. This wasn’t just about sex, about physical desire. It was about the connection the three of us had built over the years, the trust, and the friendship that had sustained us through our darkest moments.

She leaned in, nuzzling my throat.

“Did you like kissing him? Did it turn you on?”

I whimpered, afraid to admit the truth.

“It was so fucking sexy. And after that kiss, you were both hard. I bet you like thinking about how your body, your mouth, made Ryker hard, don’t you?”

She knew me so well.

“I’ve never been with a man before,”

I confessed, the admission sticking slightly in my throat.

Skylar’s expression softened.

“Neither has Ryker. He’s pretty inexperienced, from what he’s said in chat. You’d be figuring it out together.”

She brushed her thumb over my lower lip.

“With me guiding you both.”

The confidence in her voice, the casual dominance that had always lurked beneath her online persona, sent another wave of heat through me. She kissed me again, slower this time, deeper, as if sealing a promise between us.

“Let’s head back,”

she murmured against my lips.

“Ryker’s probably waiting for us.”

I nodded, suddenly eager to return to the tiny house, to see if the chemistry I’d felt with him yesterday still sparked in the light of this new understanding. Skylar climbed off my lap, offering her hand to help me up, and I took it, helping her clean up the remains of our picnic so we could get back to Ryker. Back to where we were supposed to be.