Rough and Ready, page 26
Several times, he felt Keeley’s foot brush against his leg. The woman was playing footsie with him…and given his friend’s smoldering looks, he’d say she was teasing Gio the same way.
Near the end of the meal, Dana excused herself to go to the ladies’ room.
“Seriously,” Rafe said, once she was out of earshot. “You crashed my date?”
Gio grinned. “You wanted us to, bro. I mean, you all but drew us a map to the place.”
Rafe rolled his eyes. “I’m pretty sure I was just making conversation. Is this going to become a thing between the three of us? The date-crashing?”
“Jesus, I hope not.” Gio was rarely without a smile, but there was no mistaking the misery in his tone, the sadness in his eyes. “I mean, dude, I’ll crash as many dates as I have to, but…fuck. I don’t think my heart can take too much more of this. This last week…”
Keeley pointed toward the lobby, where the hostess station was set up. “We were standing near the door for a full five minutes, watching you. This date wasn’t working, Rafe, and you know it. You needed us to crash it.”
Rafe didn’t bother to deny that. It was the truth.
He had proven pretty decisively over the course of the past week that he needed help.
He’d spent the entirety of his adult life letting his mother’s life choices impact his. Watching her run toward love, and ultimately heartache, had taught him to run the other direction.
But Mom had finally seen the disastrous effects of that and she’d made a change. She’d found the strength to kick Rodney out, to do what was best for her, to seek her own happiness—however she could.
What if he did the same? Grabbed what would make him happy.
He’d told Gio and Keeley that he didn’t want love, so he’d pretended what they’d shared was nothing more than lust. Which was total bullshit.
While they’d been careful not to say the words lest they spook him, Keeley and Gio had shown him how much they loved him through a million more meaningful ways. Gio’s care and attention to remodeling Grandpa’s home, Keeley’s steadfast support as he learned how to navigate his business, the way they cuddled, and laughed, and ate together, and kissed good night.
The way they’d crashed this date.
Jesus. If he couldn’t trust these two with his heart—his best friend and the girl he’d watched grow into a woman—then who could he trust?
So yeah.
He needed them to crash a hell of a lot more than his date. If he hadn’t screwed things up beyond repair, he wouldn’t mind if they’d go ahead and crash his life too.
“I need you,” Rafe said, simplifying Keeley’s assertion, breaking it down to the most, only, essential part. “I just…need you.”
Keeley sucked in a surprised gasp. She reached over and grasped his hand. “Do you mean that?”
Rafe nodded. “Yeah. I do. I really do.”
Gio smiled. “You finally figured it out, didn’t you? Figured out the only place you belong is with us, Rafe. Nowhere else. The three of us…we work. It’s perfect.”
Gio wasn’t exactly yelling, but he was talking loud enough that Dana, who’d returned to the table, heard him loud and clear.
“Us?”
The three of them looked up, probably resembling deer in headlights.
“Dana,” Rafe started, wondering how in the hell he could explain this to her. “Listen, I—”
She raised a hand to stop him. “It’s okay, Rafe,” she said, letting him off the hook easily. “I just got out of a relationship myself. When you called, I knew I wasn’t mentally ready to put myself back out there. I just felt like I should. I could tell something was…not exactly off about the three of you. Just different. There was a closeness that I didn’t quite get, especially when you pretended you hadn’t seen each other in a while. But I do now. And it’s cool.”
He stood up. “Thanks for being so understanding.”
She smiled. “I think I’m going to let the three of you finish this date without me,” she said, giving Keeley a wink. “You’re a lucky woman.”
“Thanks,” Keeley said sincerely.
Dana and Rafe shook hands, and she said her goodbyes.
“Damn,” Keeley said. “Now I sort of feel bad for crashing the date. She was super nice.”
“She was. But, Keeley…” Rafe said, resuming his seat so he could reach for her hand. He didn’t want to talk about Dana right now. He had too many things to make right. “I’m sorry. More sorry than I can possibly say with words. I never meant to hurt you.”
Keeley blinked rapidly, fighting to keep the tears at bay. “I know that.”
Then he glanced at Gio. “I owe both of you an apology. A big one.”
“Bro—” Gio started, but Rafe shook his head.
“Let me say this, Gio. The last time we were all in bed, well…I heard you, Keeley. After you thought I’d gone to sleep. Heard you tell Gio you loved him.”
“I was afraid of that,” Gio muttered.
“And because I’m an idiot, I thought…” Rafe ran his hand through his hair, unsure how to explain. “I thought you’d waited until I was asleep because you didn’t feel the same way about me.”
“Rafe…I told you the very next day, but—”
Rafe raised his hand, cutting her off. “I know you did. But because I still wasn’t finished fighting this—fighting myself and my own feelings—I didn’t believe you.”
“Didn’t believe me?” Keeley asked, aghast. “Oh my God, Rafe. I love you so much I can barely breathe.”
Rafe smiled, touched by her words. “I was a fool. Working overtime to convince you both that I was only in it for sex.”
“Which we knew that was a lie,” Gio said quietly.
“It was,” he agreed, still addressing Keeley. Now that he was coming clean, he let all his fears, all his anxieties out. “But let’s face it, Gio was openhearted and minded, always talking about the future, not afraid to let you see how much he cared about you. While I’m…Jesus. I’m fucking clueless when it comes to love and relationships.”
“We can show you,” Keeley said, squeezing his hand. “I wish I’d told you how I felt that night instead of letting you believe—”
“It wouldn’t have changed the outcome,” Rafe reassured her. “I was still in denial. Plus, I’d convinced myself that the two of you are the natural couple. You’re like-minded, compatible.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Gio asked. “Haven’t you ever heard the expression opposites attract? Keeley and I are too alike in some ways, which is why you balance us out.”
Rafe had never considered it that way, but he liked the idea of it. “Gio, in the past, I’ve always walked away. I thought maybe you were expecting—even waiting—for that to happen.”
Gio scoffed, letting him know exactly how crazy that fear was. “This time was completely different. I know you felt it too. We’ve shared women before, but it was nothing like what we have with Keeley. You’ve sworn off relationships for as long as I’ve known you, and if I’d grown up watching the shit you’ve seen your mom go through, I might have felt the same way.”
“I’ve been using my past as an excuse. That stops now. And while I’ve never seen forever up close and personal, and I sure as shit have never been around a relationship that was perfect, my eyes have been opened.” He recalled Keeley’s comment that, while she personally had no experience with love, she knew what it looked like because her parents had shown her. “Because what the three of us have…this is it, isn’t it?”
Keeley nodded, the tears on her lashes in direct counterpoint to her huge-ass smile. “This is it. I’m sure of it, Rafe. And I’m sorry you spent a single second questioning my feelings for you. I love you,” she said, stressing every single syllable so that there could be no denying her feelings.
He grasped her hand and pulled it to his lips, kissing her knuckles. “I’m in love with you too.”
“Good. Then it’s settled,” Gio said, raising his hand and gesturing to the waiter that they wanted the check. “Let’s go home. I’m horny.”
“Just like that?” Rafe asked.
Keeley shook her head. “Duuuude. You really need to work on your romantic side.”
“I’ll romance the hell out of you, little one. Once we’re naked. This was the longest week of my life.”
Rafe shook his head in amusement, though he didn’t disagree. “Felt like a hundred years.”
“A million,” Keeley corrected.
After paying the check, they decided to leave Rafe’s car in the restaurant parking lot, none of them willing to separate even for the short drive back to the mansion. Instead, they climbed into the bench seat of Gio’s pickup, Keeley and Rafe making out like a couple of desperate teenagers while Gio drove. They were probably lucky to make it home in one piece, considering Gio’s eyes had been on them more than the road.
Rafe held Keeley’s hand, the three of them heading directly to the stairs, to his—their—bedroom, after she’d kicked off her shoes at the door first.
Cricket had become accustomed to sleeping in her doggie bed in the corner until the wee hours, even after Gio and Keeley stopped coming to bed with him. She lifted her head, acknowledged them all with a sleepy yip, then went right back to sleep.
“Holy heat,” Gio murmured when they walked in. “It’s gotta be eighty degrees in here.”
Rafe laughed. “Clearly we’re wearing too many clothes for the ghosts.”
Gio looked around, pleased. “Albert and Marta for the win.”
Keeley released Rafe’s hand so that she could begin to unbutton his shirt.
“Getting right down to business, I see,” he murmured.
“It is warm in here,” she teased.
Rafe let her strip his shirt off, loving the feeling of her fingers stroking his bare chest. Unlike Gio, Rafe didn’t have a single tattoo. He chalked it up to a lifetime of overthinking. He’d never been able to decide what ink he’d like.
But now…as he watched Gio tug off his shirt, saw the appreciative way Keeley looked at him before turning to draw her tongue in swirling patterns over the artwork on Gio’s arm, Rafe thought it might be time to give a tattoo serious thought.
Gio reached for the hem of her sweater and pulled it over her head, then lost no time tackling her bra.
“I don’t want to go slow. I’ve missed you. Both of you,” Keeley said, stripping her pants and panties off, adding them to the pile. To accentuate her point, she climbed onto the bed seductively, crooking her finger at them.
Rafe frowned as he considered her words. “The two of you really didn’t…”
“We were waiting for you,” Keeley admitted.
“God, I love you,” Rafe said again. Now that the words were out there, he couldn’t stop saying them. “You’re probably going to get sick of hearing me say that.”
She shook her head. “Never.”
For the first time in his life, Rafe was seeing a future he’d never imagined for himself…and he sent up a silent prayer that Keeley’s brother would be okay with this because Rafe knew what his end game was.
It was them.
Rafe took off his pants and joined Keeley on the bed. Kneeling, he reached for her hand and pulled her in front of him.
Rafe prided himself on his control and restraint in the bedroom. Both, however, were seriously lacking at the moment. He shifted Keeley into the position he wanted, kneeling in front of him, facing away, both of them right at the edge of the bed. Then he lifted her hips, lined up his cock, and pulled her back down.
They both gasped, then groaned.
Once she was fully seated, he tightened his grip, holding her in place before looking at Gio and hitching his chin in a “get on with it” manner.
Gio grinned as he dropped his pants and kicked them off.
“Commando?” Rafe observed.
“Figured it would save time,” his friend joked.
Rafe grinned. “Cocky bastard.”
“If there’s one thing I knew for sure, it was that our determination was way stronger than your stubbornness.”
“And for once…it appears you were right,” Rafe said, loving the way his playful jab made Keeley laugh.
“Buuuurn,” she said, giggling.
“You want to burn?” Gio asked, stepping close to the bed, right beside them, his erection jutting out.
“Bend forward, beauty,” Rafe directed, gently pushing her down.
She reached out for Gio’s cock, but Rafe grasped her wrist firmly, halting her.
“Grip the base. The way I showed you. But just take the tip of him in your mouth, tease him a little,” Rafe demanded.
Gio’s heated look promised retribution, and Rafe looked forward to whatever attempt his friend made.
Keeley did exactly as he asked, wrapping her hand around Gio’s dick while sucking on just the head. She was a sexy, giving lover, her ministrations fueling her own arousal as her pussy clenched, tightening around Rafe’s erection.
They weren’t even moving, yet Rafe knew it was going to take a lot of multiplication tables in his head to hold his climax at bay. There was no way he was going to let this end too quickly.
Gio groaned, raking his hands through Keeley’s hair. He gathered it up in one fist, creating a ponytail that left Rafe an unobscured view as Gio’s cock slid in and out of those pretty pink lips of hers.
Gio started to take control, to thrust more deeply.
Rafe reached down and cupped Keeley’s chin, drawing her away slightly. “What did I say, Keeley? Just the tip, remember?” he warned.
Gio panted and shook his head. “Dammit, Rafe.”
Rafe grinned, then pushed his thumb into Keeley’s mouth, alongside Gio’s dick. “Suck on my thumb, beauty. Get it nice and wet for me.”
Keeley’s tongue slid over his thumb and Gio’s dick. Rafe ran his thumb over Gio’s slit, then down until he hit the sensitive spot just beneath the head.
Gio groaned, then cursed. “Fuck me!”
Rafe still wasn’t sure what kept prompting him to touch Gio sexually. It certainly hadn’t been something he’d wanted or tried before, with their previous lovers. All he knew was that boundaries he’d always respected were falling away. He’d given his heart to Keeley. She’d claimed it hook, line, and sinker. But now…well…if he could give his love, his heart and soul and body to one person…why not two?
Gio didn’t push him away, didn’t tense up, or give him any indication that these new, sensual touches were unwanted. Just the opposite, in fact. He could tell they turned Gio on. As much as they did Rafe.
“Keep Gio in your mouth, take him deeper.”
Keeley shifted, opened her mouth wider. Gio took advantage of his hand in her hair, pulling her closer, pushing more of his cock inside her mouth.
Rafe pulled his thumb out, then reached for Keeley’s hand, guiding it between Gio’s legs. He encouraged her to grasp Gio’s balls, using his own hand to show her how to play with them. He tightened his fingers around hers so that she was cupping his balls firmly. They lifted them slightly, stroking downwards together as they tugged.
The massage was having the desired effect as Gio’s cursing grew louder, more pained. “Mother. Fucker!” he gasped. “That feels…fuck. Fuck.”
Rafe was nowhere near finished. He loosened his grip, and Keeley started to pull her hand away.
“No,” Rafe commanded. “Keep hold. Gio’s ready for you. And he likes it rough, just like you.”
She resumed her strokes, while Rafe reached farther back. Finding the taint, he caressed the area gently before pressing more firmly.
Gio jerked, as if struck by lightning.
Keeley released him for a moment, looking curiously at Rafe over her shoulder. “What did you do?”
Rafe reclaimed the hand she was using to play with his balls and guided her fingers back, showing her where he’d touched. “Self-destruct button,” he joked.
Neither Keeley nor Gio laughed—Keeley too fascinated, and Gio too aroused.
She increased the pressure on his taint, taking Gio back into her mouth. She was a quick study, evidenced by the absolute pleasure on Gio’s face.
Aware Gio wasn’t going to last much longer, Rafe decided to up the ante. Using the thumb Keeley had wet with her mouth, he slipped between her ass cheeks and ran it over her anus.
She grunted, the sound drawing Gio out of his blissed-out state, his eyes opening as he sought out the reason for her sudden twitching.
When his gaze landed on Rafe’s thumb, Gio grinned wickedly.
Now that he had an audience, Rafe pushed his thumb deeper. Keeley was still sucking on Gio’s dick, but her motions were jerkier now as he breached her virgin ass.
She whimpered once the whole digit was inside her, and he wiggled it. Unbeknownst to Keeley, she was fucking the hell out of Rafe right now, the continual clench and release of her pussy around his dick, driving him mad.
Fucking hell. She was doing Kegels on his cock.
“Rafe!” Gio gasped. “I can’t…”
Gio was there, and no matter how much Rafe wanted to draw this out, there was just no fucking way. It would take years of sex with these two before he ever managed to find his self-control. “Do it.”
Gio began to thrust into Keeley’s mouth in earnest, using his grip in her hair to drive the pace and speed. Rafe mimicked that rhythm, fucking her ass with his thumb, stretching the too-tight hole.
Keeley pushed back against him, silently demanding more. Rafe tilted his hips, the need to pound inside her growing too great.
Gio went over first, his eyes closed, his face contorted in what might have looked like pain in any other circumstance. Keeley, their incredible woman, came as well.
Rafe held still, watching them both in the throes of pleasure, loving their sexy cries and the ways their bodies trembled.
He wondered how in the fuck he’d ever managed to walk away from this.
Gio and Keeley had reached out to him, even after he’d hurt them, and pulled him back in. He was never going to hurt them again.
