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He tilted his head, pensive. “No, I expressed my aversion to unnecessary rules. How I fuck someone is up to me and whoever I’m drillin’ my cock into.” He flashed a smirk and clapped me on the shoulder as the elevator dinged and slowed to a stop. “Don’t worry, Lucas West. You’re safe with us.”

Heh.

He stepped out first.

I swallowed and fidgeted with my keys, and my stomach tightened with anticipation and nerves.

River was next, and he paused next to me. “But if we can fuck your tight throat without rubbers in the way, we’d prefer that.”

Jesus.

Shock tore through me at the same time as my mouth fucking watered. It was the longest sentence he’d spoken to me, and he’d chosen his words well.

I found the right key and picked up the pace, suddenly more eager to have a one-night stand than to find new friends. I could find friends tomorrow. Friends were everywhere.

I let the twins enter first, and a plan formed in my head. Get them a drink, excuse yourself… I needed a quick trip to the bathroom.

My apartment was by no means large, but I loved it. Past the hallway, it opened up to the kitchen and then the living room behind it, the space bright and open.

As soon as I switched on the lights, Reese let out a low whistle and walked farther in.

“So this is what a place looks like if you actually decorate it,” he mused. “We should try that, Riv.”

I wasn’t sure my place was the best inspiration for that. My walls were bare, because I didn’t have the tools to drill into brick. But I had bookcases and shelves with stuff.

River frowned. “We have furniture.”

“So does a furniture store,” Reese retorted. “Doesn’t make it a home.”

I smiled to myself and walked behind the kitchen bar that separated the area from the living room. “Would you like something to drink?”

Reese looked interested. “What do you have?”

I opened my freezer. “Gin, vodka, white rum.” I had more in my liquor cabinet, but none of it was cold.

Then the fridge. “Ginger ale, orange juice, tonic water, and Coke.” I made room for him to peruse.

“Feel free to play bartender. I need to go to the bathroom. There are snacks in that cupboard too.”

“I like snacks,” he said with a nod.

He was in luck. I went through periods of obsession with chips…

* * *

The twins had made themselves at home by the time I returned some ten minutes later.

Not only had they figured out how my old stereo worked and put on some bluesy rock—a CD I was fairly sure belonged to my dad—but they’d gotten comfortable on the couch with drinks, snacks, and…

Well, Reese had stripped down to boxer briefs and was currently fist-deep in a bag of cashews.

The sight was so comical that it washed away any traces of surprise. Then again, did I have anything to be surprised about? We all knew where this night was going, and if I could, uh, make myself presentable with my bathroom routine, Reese shedding some clothes was nothing.

Still. This was weird. And funny.

Reese grinned when he spotted me. “Hey, gorgeous. Did you get your asshole prettied up for us?”

I stopped short, and it felt like he’d dumped a bucket of cold water over me. Water or embarrassment. Or defiance—or anger!

Who the fuck was this guy?!

I made eye contact with River. “Is he always like this?”

He shrugged a little and took a swig of whatever drink he’d mixed. “More or less. It’s how he digs for information. It ain’t subtle, but it’s effective.”

Information about what? And how exactly? Through shock value?

“If there’s information you want about me, you could start a conversation and ask,” I pointed out. “It’s how normal people get to know each other.”

River chuckled quietly. “Not sure we know what’s normal.”

“Fuck normal,” Reese said bluntly. “Besides, we know plenty about you already. A lot can be said about someone who’s got not only a record player but a CD player and an iPod.

” He was looking at my entertainment unit.

“Yearbooks on display too—you probably had a childhood filled with fond memories. Picture of your parents, I assume. Happy family. No siblings, right? Your mother helped you decorate your apartment, but you’re not clueless around interior design.

You know what you like. Should I go on?”

Um.

“He’s just parrotin’ shit I observed while you were in the bathroom,” River stated. He wore a face of slight disapproval for his brother. “All you did was point out the yearbooks.”

“So what?” Reese smiled. “We’re a team. You do the work, and I present it.”

River rolled his eyes.

I felt my mouth twitch. I didn’t know what it was about these guys, but they were certainly…interesting.

I sat down in the chair across from them and poured a gin and tonic. They’d even filled a bowl with ice and wedged up a lemon, which provided me with some information too.

“What else does my apartment say about me?” I asked curiously.

River’s eyes sparked with interest, and he didn’t waste time letting his gaze wander.

From the entertainment unit, where I kept everything related to music and movies, to the shelves, where I only had a few smaller paintings.

A friend from college had painted them, and if she ever made it big, I might get rich.

But the main reason I’d bought them was because of the DC theme.

She painted parks, monuments, and architecture in watercolor.

Next, River’s gaze slid to my liquor cabinet.

“Mind sharing some info about you ?” I wondered. “All I know is you’re twin brothers, you enjoy martial arts, you’re Sadists, and you don’t half-ass your gin and tonic.”

Reese side-eyed his brother. “Ain’t much to divulge. River works in IT, and I’m his babysitter.”

“Since when does that job require babysitting?” I questioned.

Reese shrugged and tossed another few cashews into his mouth. “Company policy. We usually work in third-world countries, so we gotta be safe.”

Ah. I supposed that made sense. Reese definitely fit the bill of someone working in security, even though there really was no telling them apart. Aside from some tattoos. River had a few; Reese had a few. I was sure the abs Reese had put on display were highly visible under River’s tee too.

“There ain’t a whole lot else to know about us,” Reese said. “We work too much. We’re savin’ up to buy a house. We’re tryin’ to find our way in kink.”

I noticed how everything was we with these two. They shared a lifestyle, a sexuality, they lived together, worked together…

“Oh, and I have a lifelong struggle to get my brother to eat anything other than ramen unless I cook,” he added. “Fucker’s obsessed. If I’m not around, he’s nukin’ noodle cups twenty-four seven.”

I grinned. That was funny—and endearing.

“You leave my ramen alone,” River said absently. He was still busy observing my living room and kitchen.

“I can’t say I’m very useful in the kitchen either,” I admitted. “I recycle the same six or seven dishes—with the exception of appetizers. I like to put together apps and tapas when I have friends over for dinner.”

Reese cocked his head. “You’re social and outgoing, I take it?”

I weighed my response but ended up nodding a little. “Sure. My current problem is finding friends in the BDSM world. I have plenty of vanilla friends with whom I share less and less, the more I explore kink. I really wanna be part of a community.”

He inclined his head. “Same issue for us. Tough to find the right crowd.”

It truly was. Many communities were heavily into a specific kink or lifestyle, such as the leather community, the bondage enthusiasts, and the sadomasochists.

It was natural for us to be drawn to others who shared our passions, at least in the smaller circles of friends.

The larger communities were more diverse, but they could still be incredibly cliquey.

“Where are you from?” Reese asked me.

I opened my mouth to respond, but River beat me to it.

“Maryland.” He pointed to a picture from my graduation next to my yearbooks. It revealed my high school’s name in the background. “Presumably Bethesda.”

I smirked a little. “Great find.” I faced Reese again. “I moved here for college. I stayed with my grandmother a lot—she lived in Georgetown. What about you?”

“All over the South, pretty much,” Reese said. “But in the end, I guess Virginia Beach has been the main home base.” He paused. “I really like DC, though.”

River smiled faintly. “So does Lucas.”

I grinned. “Okay, share the rest of your findings.”

He cocked his head a little. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-five,” I said automatically.

He lifted his brows, then eyed the yearbooks.

I swallowed.

Um.

He raked his teeth over his bottom lip and shook his head slowly. “We can discuss that you’re a shit liar who probably says you’re younger because you don’t feel entirely accomplished enough for your age, or…we can be over the chitchat.”

I blinked, and the heat of embarrassment bled across my face. How the fuck did I respond to th?—

“Come here.” River took a big swig from his drink, then rose to his feet. “Age is just a number and all that nonsense.”

I didn’t know why I complied. Maybe because I was desperate to leave the past thirty seconds behind me, and he seemed to have a new topic ready for us.

Something about River reeled me in, and I was rounding the coffee table before I knew it.

“I think you want low thunder before that first strike of lightnin’,” he said quietly.

The words settled like syrup and flowed through me in a sluggish wave that gave me goose bumps.

The moment I was within reach, he hooked a finger into my pants and tugged me closer, and then he leaned in and covered my mouth with his own.

A shiver ripped through me, and I just stood there completely immobile.

He kissed me sensually, with his hands following—his warm hands, long fingers, and firm touch.

He slipped his hands underneath my shirt and raised goose bumps all over my back.

Fuck me.

I hadn’t expected how insanely erotic he would be.