Page 44 of The Reluctant Duke (Bi-Curious Historical Romance)

I nspector Liam Ashton

I climbed the familiar back stairwell of the T.J. Moran Publishing House, thrilled to start my new life as managing editor. Yesterday was my last day on the force, and while a part of me would miss it, I was pleased to follow my passion for books. I walked with a skip in my step, feeling as if the entire burden of the world was off my shoulders. Opening the door, I heard a steady thump thump thump coming from Moran’s office. He was boxing again, something he did to relieve the stress and strain of everyday life.

A rush of eagerness set my feet moving faster. If Moran was boxing, he’d have his shirt off and he would be slick with sweat, every muscle rippling. My cock sprang to attention just thinking about him in such a state. In the time since we had gotten Birdie out of jail, I hadn’t seen them very much. Birdie had been acclimating herself to her duties as the new Duchess of Moreland. Moran now possessed a grand estate, and a house in Mayfair, yet the couple decided to purchase a home in Cheapside. Until the house was ready, the girls were staying at the Mayfair residence. Eloise was able to quit her job, which had been an immense relief to Birdie.

The door swung open, and I scanned the room, my attention instantly shooting to the boxing ball. As predicted, Moran was punching in a steady rhythm, every muscle in his body moving with fluid grace. What I didn’t expect was Birdie. Outfitted in bloomers and chemise, she stood on the other side of him, countering his punches with her own. Her joyful laughter floated in the room.

“Well, what do we have here?” The titillating scene fired my blood. She never ceased to surprise me with her adventurous nature. Moran was blessed to find such a perfect fit for him. While he seemed rather overwhelmed by the title and all the changes in his life, he never looked happier than with Birdie.

“Moran is teaching me to box, and I am quite good at it.” She looked over at me, her cheeks a becoming rosy hue. A spark of heat lit her gaze as she skimmed my body with hungry eyes before turning her attention back to the lesson.

“I am eager to see for myself.” I stripped off my coat, wanting more than to watch their play. The night we spent together stayed in my mind, and I wanted a repeat. Blood humming, I tossed the fabric onto the back of a chair.

“Let’s start again,” Moran said, smiling indulgently at Birdie. Love illuminated his eyes, a sight I thought I might never see directed at a woman. I envied him, and I envied her. While I knew he loved me, truly loved me, it wasn’t the same as his love for Birdie. I wanted what he had, and I hated myself for being jealous. No not jealous, envious.

Moran hit the bag with a steady thump thump thump, drawing me from my darkened thoughts. The sound echoed other rhythms I wanted to pursue with his sturdy frame. Birdie countered his punches with some impressive ones of her own. Each twist of her torso accented her slender waist and generous breasts.

“I am impressed—not only by your skills, my lady but by the very pleasing way your breasts bounce when you punch.” I turned the lock on the door and went to the door between the reception area and the office to verify it was locked as well. I didn’t want prying eyes. “Very plump.”

“Would you like to touch them?” She glanced over her shoulder at me with a saucy wink. With her bottom pushed out and a healthy sheen on her skin, she never looked more luscious.

“I would.” I approached the couple, meeting Moran’s lust-filled gaze. I loved the fact that the two of them were happy together. Birdie had made it known that I was always welcome to join them when the mood struck me. As much as I loved him and as much as I loved her, I still had feelings for Suzette. Since I was no longer obligated to the Met, I would take a trip to France and see if I could convince her to return home.

Birdie lowered her arms from her combative stance as I looped my arm around her waist, finding the spot between her neck and her shoulder that drove her wild with need. She laid her head back, allowing me greater access to her sweet curves. I stared at Moran while loosening the string of her bloomers, reading the need in tense lines around his mouth. I lifted my brow in question, and he nodded.

He came from behind the bag and pushed Birdie’s bloomers to the floor. Another silent message passed between us. While I removed her chemise, he slipped his trousers off, exposing the rest of his body for my hands to explore. The three of us together ignited every nerve inside my core, sparking my ever-growing passion for them. With my lovers naked and ready for seduction, I angled my hips to rest beside hers. Pressing kisses to her soft skin, I unbuttoned my trousers, letting the material fall past my hips until my cock was free. I wanted nothing to impede our pursuit of fulfillment. The sooner I was rid of them, the better.

Kneeling at her feet, Moran ran his fingertips up her thigh. The sight further ignited my need, and I watched him lick a path along the cleft of her legs. With his other hand, he gripped my cock, pumping it in his fist. For years, he and I shared intimacies. Each time with him seemed even more special than the last. With Birdie in the fray, our play reached a different level. I bit at her neck, licking the saltiness with my tongue. The smell of desire and citrus floated between us. She clutched at my thigh while Moran slid his finger into her. I ground my feet into the floor while he sucked on the head of my cock. He pleasured the two of us in tandem, Birdie’s breath and mine picking up a similar rhythm. Although I loved what he was doing to me, I wanted more. But before I saw to my own needs, we would see to Birdie’s first. “Pleasure your wife. I can wait.”

I tilted her chin in my direction, my fingers moving over her nipples with more speed. Our mouths met in a searing kiss, love and lust a heady combination. Since she came into our lives, things had changed for the better. While I could have done without the drama, life didn’t always turn out the way we expected.

She tensed, her kiss turning more desperate. I cupped the back of her neck, my tongue teasing in and out of her mouth. The subtle flavors unique to Birdie seemed to add to my need. It was both a pleasure and a pain to kiss her. I missed Suzette with every fiber of my being, yet she had chosen a different path.

Birdie released my mouth as her lower body convulsed from fulfillment. I tore my mind back to the present, not wishing to dwell in the past. With a pleased laugh, she slumped over Moran. Their mouths met, the glide of his tongue into her mouth sparking my blood even more.

“I believe lesson one is complete.” Moran stood, bringing her upright with him. He caressed her cheek with his knuckle. “You are a natural, my love.”

“She is indeed. However, we aren’t quite done with our match. You have yet to spar with me.” I indicated he return to the boxing bag, determined to play out a fantasy that I’d had lately.

With a cocked eyebrow, he cast me a questioning stare. “Do you really wish to spar with me?”

“No, not spar exactly.” I wiggled my brow in a suggestive manner, grinning at his apparent confusion over my statement. “Birdie and I like watching you box. It is quite entertaining.”

“Indeed, it is very titillating. Will you give us a demonstration?” She moved to the boxing bag, albeit a little less steady on her feet. With her hair coming down in waves over her shoulder, she was temptation personified.

Moran eyed us both with suspicion and a touch of outrage. “You wish for me to box while the two of you couple without me? What kind of cruel joke are you suggesting?”

“Sometimes you are so dense.” I draped my arm around his neck and led him to the boxing bag. Pulling him tight to my side, I brought his earlobe into my mouth, my fingers skimming down his slick back until I reached his arse. “I have no intention of leaving you out.”

“You don’t realize how very appealing you are when you’re boxing.” Birdie approached, hips swaying. Her exposed breasts swayed and beckoned, and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do first, bugger Moran or bed Birdie.

“Indeed, you are clueless.” I licked my fingertip and slipped it between his taut buttocks. He bucked into my touch, back arching for more. I ached to plunge into his heat and revel in my love for him.

Eyelids heavy, he brought his mouth to mine in a brief kiss before he turned and hit the bag, beginning with a slow rhythm. Each movement drove my finger deeper into his center, adding to my own anticipation of what was to come.

Not to be left out, Birdie moved to the other side of the bag. Kneeling, she clasped his cock, and took it into her mouth. Her breasts on full display, she latched onto his crown, her cheeks concave from her efforts.

Expectation hung in the air, along with raw need. Moran stopped punching and wrapped his hands around the chain. We were moving into a new phase of our lives, one on par with our mutual hopes and dreams. Well, Moran was. I had yet to find someone. Shaking off the unwelcome considerations, I left his side long enough to retrieve the oil and condoms from his desk and hurried back. The moment we decided to be intimate, I knew something special existed between us. Friendship, love, lust, all the things that made Moran dear to me. Wiggling her way into our relationship, Birdie added a new spark that I prayed would never be extinguished.

Birdie continued to ply his cock with steady strokes of her palm, drawing it deep into her mouth. Head back, Moran’s chest and neck were flushed from our combined seduction.

I oiled up my cock, eager to lose myself in his tightness. Moran stared at me through half-closed eyes, my need for him stronger than ever.

Some might point their fingers at us with disgust, claiming our desires were unnatural. What we had transcended societal expectations and I never regretted my decision to express my physical desire for him. Moving behind him, I parted his arse and slowly slid into him, the tightness nearly my undoing.

He grunted, the muscles of his back prominent. “Birdie, my love. I can’t, I...need you to kiss me.”

“Yes, my darling.” Birdie rose to her feet, her heated gaze locked with mine. She ran her hands down his torso, her mouth finding his. I would never get tired of watching them kiss. Hands on his shoulders, I pumped into his heat, my need growing to a painful level. There was no need for bantering or silly prose. We all loved each other and we knew it.

Hips moving with more urgency, I gripped his shoulders, thighs burning from the activity. He clung to the boxing bag, the veins in his arms standing out. Need drove me and I licked the indent at his shoulders, tasting the salty tang of his skin. In my mind, I would always remember him this way, burden-free and eager to follow his passions. I closed my eyes, absorbing everything I could about him.

A slender hand drifted down my back. My other lover slipped behind me to run her fingertip along the sensitive nerves at my center, igniting the fire in my blood to a greater heat. She spread warm kisses down my back, her nipples scoring my flesh. It was too much. I let the pleasure wash over me, unable to stop the grin of satisfaction from forming.

I loved them both for different reasons. Moran was my friend and confidant. Since meeting Birdie, she had filled a similar role in my life. Both had hidden who they were, and in a way, so had I. I followed in my father’s footsteps because it was expected of me.

My future would take a different path but there were a few constants that would never change. The Duke and Duchess of Moreland were my lovers. I might have let my prejudices against the aristocracy jade my way of thinking. Except I had been set straight by these two generous people.

Moran was my past and Birdie had cemented herself into my future. Both would be forever in my mind and each held a special place in my heart.