Pleasure Bound

Zeke stood in front of him, a softly illuminated shadow between Ty and the bedroom door.

Ty glanced at Marie, still sleeping on the bed. Zeke jerked his head toward the door and Ty nodded, then followed Zeke out of the room. Ty closed the door behind him, quietly so as not to awaken Marie, then followed Zeke to the living room.

Zeke leaned against the back of the couch. “Where are you going, Ty?”

“I thought I’d give the two of you space.”

“Why? You want Marie. We both know that. You should be taking all the time you can to get close to her and convince her you’re the right guy for her.”

“But you’re the one she’s dating. I’m just a sexual accessory.”

* * *

Zeke stared at Ty, knowing the bitterness in his voice and his need to flee had nothing to do with the fact they were both vying for the same woman. It had more to do with the look on Ty’s face as he’d stared back at Zeke with hunger in his eyes.

It wasn’t just shared lust for Marie. Ty wanted Zeke. And, Zeke realized, he wanted Ty, too. Zeke had gotten caught up in the moment, and that had scared the shit out of Ty.

“Ty, there’s something more going on here besides the two of us wanting the same woman. When the three of us were together earlier … you and I … felt something.”

Ty stared at him warily.

“Yeah, we both wanted to fuck Marie.”

“That’s not what I mean.” He reached out and placed his hand on Ty’s shoulder but Ty pulled back. “Hey, man, I don’t get this any more than you do, but I want to understand what’s going on.”

“Two guys in bed with the same woman … both turned on. What’s to get? It’s pretty fucking straightforward. I’m hot for Marie. I look your way and you think my lust is directed at you.” Ty shrugged. “That’s it. Nothing to get bent out of shape over.”

Clearly, Ty wasn’t ready to handle this. In fact, Zeke had a hunch Ty had been struggling with it for a long time. Maybe he’d never be ready, which was too bad because Zeke was finally starting to understand why he’d missed Ty so much over the years. Why he wanted to do anything he could to fix their friendship, even risk the woman he knew he was falling in love with because … the truth was … Zeke realized he just might be in love with Ty, too.

That’s why they’d always been so close. That’s why it had hurt so much when Ty had walked away. That’s why Zeke needed so desperately to make things right again between them.

And he suspected that’s why Ty had walked away in the first place. He couldn’t cope with the thought of being attracted to another man … especially his best friend. So he’d convinced himself that Zeke had tried to steal Ashley, even though they’d both known she’d flitted from man to man in the blink of an eye.

Ty had convinced himself Zeke had betrayed him because that was easier to accept than that he’d fallen for his best friend.

Now Ty had met a woman he truly loved … Zeke could see it in his eyes. The funny thing was, if he would just embrace his dominant personality again, he could win Marie’s whole heart in the blink of an eye.

Damn it, maybe Zeke didn’t have a chance in hell of winning Ty’s heart, but he could be instrumental in Ty finding his true happiness. Right now, Zeke had the girl Ty loved. As much as Zeke would love to keep Marie for himself, two wrongs didn’t make a right.

If Ty accepting his real self again—his dominant sexual self—would win Marie away from Zeke, then she was never really meant to be with Zeke. Zeke didn’t want to win by default. He wanted to win because he was the right man.

And he really didn’t want to hurt Ty.

“Okay, let’s put this aside for now. Let’s talk about Marie,” Zeke said.

Ty’s eyebrows quirked. “What about her?”

“In case you haven’t noticed, Marie likes being dominated. And you, my friend, are the master of Domination. At least, you used to be. So if you want to win the girl, all you have to do is bring your full game.”

Ty’s eyes narrowed. “Why are you telling me this? Don’t you want her anymore?”

“Of course I do. She’s incredible. But what you and I want isn’t really relevant. The question is, who does she want?”

“Would it make it easier or harder if I said I wanted both of you?” Marie stood in the doorway, a silk robe loosely wrapped around her body.

“How long have you been there, Marie?” Ty asked.

Sixteen