Page 37 of Hastings (Brothers in Arms #15)

CHAPTER 37

H astings had never done this. Well, he’d done a lot of things tonight he’d never done, just like Stephen and Maddy. But this lying about and wallowing in the touch of each other was new to him. He didn’t want to get up and walk away, which was what he’d always done in the past. He wanted to stay right where he was, sitting up, his back against the headboard, Stephen’s back pressed to his chest and Maddy stretched out on top of Stephen.

He had one hand pressed to Stephen’s chest, rubbing against that sinfully soft chest hair, and with the other he was combing through Maddy’s hair, which looked like spun gold in the moonlight. It was curly, with big, full waves as he combed it out. It was longer than he’d thought, too. She looked young and beautiful and carefree. And in love. She looked like she was in love as she kept glancing between him and Stephen. Did he look like that, too? He was sure Stephen did. Stephen had declared himself to them both tonight. Hastings was too much of a coward.

Maddy started kissing Stephen’s chest almost absentmindedly. She picked up Hastings’s hand and kissed his palm and put it back on Stephen’s chest.

“I like the fucking best,” she said, and Hastings couldn’t hold back a laugh. She frowned at him. “Stop it. There’s nothing wrong with it. With me. I’m allowed to say that.”

Stephen squeezed Hastings’s hand. “Yes, you are,” he told Maddy. She leaned up and kissed him softly. “I liked it, too. Very much,” he said when she pulled away.

“What else did you like?” she asked. “I think you liked Hastings’s cock.”

“Hmm, did he now?” Hastings asked idly. He leaned down and bit Stephen’s earlobe gently. “I liked him liking it,” he whispered into Stephen’s ear.

“I did like it in my mouth,” Stephen confessed. “I enjoyed giving you both pleasure with my body.”

That made Hastings pause. “I guess I never thought about it like that,” he said. “But that’s what you did. You let me fuck your mouth and it felt amazing.” Stephen looked at him over his shoulder and Hastings couldn’t resist kissing that mouth again. He’d never get tired of it. When they broke the kiss Hastings was growing hard again.

“I’d like to fuck you both,” Maddy said. “I mean, I already have, but at some point, I want to fuck you both together. You know, both of you inside me.”

“What?” Stephen asked. Hastings was too busy imagining it to say anything.

“You know, one in my front and one in my back,” Maddy said. “I haven’t done it before, though lots of men have tried to get me to. But I’d like that with you two.”

“I’ve heard of it, but I didn’t know if you’d want that,” Stephen said. He sounded amazed. “I mean, yes, I’d like that.”

Hastings burst out laughing. “I’ve never done it, either, but I know I’d definitely like to try that.” He was ready to fuck Maddy right now, truth be told. She and Stephen had been amazing to watch. She was a wildcat in bed, and Stephen was her match.

Stephen sighed. “I have a confession to make.” He looked over his shoulder at Hastings. “Last night was not the first time you and I had sexual relations.”

“What?” Hastings was confused. “Me?”

Stephen looked away, but wrapped Hastings’s arm tight around him, holding it with both of his hands. Maddy looked as confused as Hastings.

“The night after Maddy and Essie arrived, before we went to the Park, you stumbled into my bed, naked and drunk again.”

“Well, I knew that,” Hastings said. “But I’d done that a dozen times before. I woke up there.”

“Yes, well, this time, you came with one clear objective. You woke me with kisses and one thing led to another and before I knew it, I was half naked against you and we had both…found our release.” He sounded embarrassed.

“Damn, I’m sorry, Stephen,” Hastings said. “I didn’t mean to force you like that.”

“Oh, no,” Stephen said, sitting up with Maddy in his arms. “It wasn’t like that. I may have said no to begin with, but once we started kissing, I was a willing participant. I felt like the worst sort of seducer, taking advantage of an inebriated man.”

There was a second of silence and then both Hastings and Maddy burst into laughter. “You?” Maddy asked in between giggles. “Taking advantage of him?” She just shook her head and laughed harder.

“I was literally naked when I crawled into your bed,” Hastings told him, still amused. “I couldn’t have made it any plainer what I wanted unless I’d said, ‘Kiss me and fuck me silly, Stephen.’”

“Still,” Stephen said. “You didn’t even remember it the next day, did you? I had no choice but to keep it to myself since it was clearly not your intention.”

“It has been my intention since the first time I crawled into your bed,” Hastings told him, exasperated. “Is that why you’ve been acting so odd lately?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Stephen said, though he clearly did.

“It is,” Hastings answered his own question. “You should have told me. And for your information, I started having some very vivid dreams about you after that night, which I now realize were probably memories. No wonder you tasted familiar to me. I just thought it was because I’d been dreaming of you like that for so long. How did I manage to get you so hot and bothered you couldn’t say no?”

“Truthfully? All you had to do was start kissing me.” Stephen sounded disgusted with himself.

“If only I had known it would be that easy,” Hastings said. He pulled Stephen back against him, but Maddy was frowning and did not follow him.

“I feel like I’m coming between you,” she said. “There was obviously something going on with you before I arrived.”

“Not this again,” Hastings groaned. He reached over Stephen and pulled Maddy back down, so she was stretched out across Stephen’s chest. “Neither of us knew you existed,” he told her. “And once we did, you got under both of our skins. There’s no getting out of this now, Mads. You’re in it.”

“Why do you both love it here so much?” Stephen asked a few seconds later. Maddy had laid her head down on his chest and it was Stephen who was now combing his fingers through her hair.

“It’s just so calm,” Maddy said in a dreamy voice. “It’s bright and sunny, and smells nice, and you can see things growing and hear the birds.” She rubbed her cheek on Stephen’s chest. “And no one here cares if I’m just Maddy. No one’s trying to make me do bad things or change me. Everyone is so lovely and nice.”

Hastings had forgotten what it was like not to have fresh air and trees and nice things. Sir Barnabas had picked him up off the street when he was young, younger than Maddy, certainly. And he’d given Hastings all those things. And a safe place. Well, as safe as you could be when you were a secret agent for the Home Office. He picked up one of Maddy’s hands and kissed the tip of each finger and she giggled without looking up at him.

“I can tell that’s Hastings,” she said in the same dreamy voice. “I like that I can tell your kisses apart.”

“What do you like about this place, Hastings?” Stephen asked quietly, still stroking Maddy’s hair.

“You,” Hastings said honestly. “And Maddy, too. And fresh bread.”

“I think you’re in love with Mrs. Tulane,” Maddy teased.

“Maybe,” Hastings said, closing his eyes as he leaned back into the pillows, getting more comfortable. “Maybe.”