Holy hell, I hadn’t even considered that. “Wait, so why did he agree to let you come?”
“He didn’t. He let your request go through, Everett. To decline Secret Service protection. Agent Simmons and I were ordered to leave your property and we’d receive new assignments. Agent Simmons left that night, but I didn’t. I called the director that morning and told him I needed to take a leave of absence for a family emergency. My request was granted.”
“I don’t understand,” I said, my head spinning. “Are you saying, all this time you’ve been with me, it hasn’t been in an official capacity? You haven’t gotten any kind of pay or support? Why?” I asked. This time it was my voice that kept getting louder. “Why in the world would you—”
That was as far as I got before Nash’s mouth slammed down on mine. I was so surprised that I didn’t respond at first. But the second his sinful tongue slid into my mouth, all bets were off. I heard glass shattering and realized I’d dropped the empty wineglass in my hand so that I could wrap my arms around Nash’s broad back. His heavy body held mine against the wall as he consumed my mouth. His hands were on each side of my neck, holding me in place so he could do whatever he wanted to my mouth.
He was like a starving man and I was like a floundering one as I tried to keep up. Whereas Gage’s kiss had started off as a slow burn that had led to a raging inferno, Nash had skipped the preliminaries of stoking the fire altogether.
He took.
And he took.
And he took.
By the time he tore his mouth from mine, we were both panting. I wanted to remind myself that what we were doing was wrong, but I couldn’t find the words that would convince myself, let alone him.
I wanted this.
But as perfect as it was, there was something missing.
And I knew what it was a moment later when I felt that little shiver sift through my body. The one I only got when either Nash or Gage were watching me.
Nash still had ahold of my neck, but I didn’t need to move my face to see Gage. He was standing just inside the screen door, like he’d been in the process of opening it when he’d seen us. Guilt tore through me, but I found that I couldn’t regret what had happened with Nash.
Nash must have felt some of my tension, because he looked at me, then followed my line of sight. I expected him to release me and jump back, since he wasn’t exactly open about his sexuality. But he didn’t. No, his moves were very slow… and deliberate.
His eyes returned to mine for a moment and I was powerless to do anything but look at him. He held my gaze, then slowly dropped his hands. To my surprise, he leaned down and brushed his mouth gently over mine.
Just once.
Then he stepped back and began walking toward Gage. I tensed up as I waited for another fight to break out, or at least for them to share some kind of ugly words, but Nash surprised me once again.
Because he didn’t even slow his stride as he reached Gage. He merely grabbed Gage’s face with both hands, then settled his mouth on the other man’s. I watched in disbelief as Nash kissed Gage, pressing him back against the doorframe. Gage dropped the hand he’d been holding the screen door open with and grabbed onto Nash’s waist.
He was going along for the ride, just like I’d been.
That fucking amazing ride that I wanted a second turn on.
And a third.
It occurred to me that I should probably have been feeling some measure of jealousy as I watched the two men go at each other, but there was nothing.
Well, not nothing.
My body was definitely reacting to all that stunning male beauty as they consumed each other. Nash was in control, but Gage was giving back everything he got.
They were equally matched in size and strength, but what was happening to them wasn’t about proving dominance over one another. No, it was an equal give and take. The kiss was both carnal and raw, but devastatingly beautiful at the same time.
Nash pulled back from Gage. Both men were breathing hard. Gage looked completely taken aback, but Nash looked tense.
Almost like he’d just realized what he’d done.
His eyes met Gage’s and he dropped his hands. “Are you happy now?” Nash said so softly, I barely heard him. “Tell me how the fuck I should go after what I want if what I want doesn’t make any goddamned sense.”
And with that, his hand shot out to shove the screen door open and he disappeared through it, leaving me and Gage to stare at one another.