Three to Tango Read online

  “Trying to win my heart through my stomach?”

  Jace responded with a sly grin and meaningful look, then turned away and mumbled something under his breath. Though not low enough for Alec to miss what sounded like “and that’s not all.”

  Alec followed Jace down the hall, through the living room, and out onto the patio. White tea lights lined the entire railing. A red cloth covered the worn surface of their patio table, which was set for two with a three-candle centerpiece and a bottle of wine chilling in an ice bucket.

  Jace pulled out a chair, turned to face Alec, and nodded his intention.

  “You aren’t playing around, are you?”

  His roommate smiled, waiting for Alec to take his seat. “Not when it comes to food.”

  As Alec sat, Jace turned around to grab something off a tray table, then placed a martini glass with some sort of colorful seafood dish in it and four rectangle chips angled on top in a decorative touch.

  “First course, lobster ceviche with mango pico de gallo and yucca chips.” Jace sat in his chair across from Alec and waited for him to take the first bite. The combination of sharp pepper, crisp cilantro, and sweet mango exploded on his tongue, and he groaned.

  “Shit, Jace. I’ve had shrimp ceviche before, but this is in a whole other zip code.”

  “And we’re only just beginning.” Jace smiled like he had a secret, holding Alec’s gaze an extra, heated beat, then dug into his own appetizer. Alec shifted in his chair in search of a more comfortable position for his already swelling cock.

  With their first course finished and dishes, wineglasses, and bucket cleared, Jace disappeared into the house and returned with two steaming plates.

  “Second course, filet mignon with artichoke, black truffle crumbs, and truffle jus,” he said, setting a plate in front of Alec, and added quietly, “Thick. Just how I like it.”

  He was turning away as he spoke, but Alec caught the teasing expression in Jace’s eyes and the grin he tried to stifle. Returning from the tray table again, Jace placed a glass of red wine at each setting. “And a full-bodied Barbera to complement.”

  Jace sat and again waited for Alec to take the first bite. His knife slipped through the tender meat, which melted in his mouth as rich flavors assailed his senses. He closed his eyes and groaned his appreciation.

  “Heaven above. I pity the man who attempts to resist you.”

  “Are you trying to resist me, Alec?” The low, rough edge of Jace’s voice sent a volt of electricity straight to his cock. He looked up, and they locked gazes.

  “Not if you keep feeding me like this.”

  “So Grandma was right about the way to a man’s heart.”

  “Grandma’s always right.” Alec’s own voice was just shy of a growl.

  Neither man so much as blinked. Alec could have sworn by the charged current tickling his skin that a storm was brewing. Fuck, I gotta get out of these jeans.

  Jace broke the trance, standing up abruptly and taking his plate with him. He reached for Alec’s plate but stilled when Alec reached out and wrapped his hand around Jace’s forearm. Heat burned his palm from the contact and raced up his arm, spreading throughout his body.

  “Leave it,” he ground out.

  “Next course is dessert.” Jace’s voice was jagged, and his breath was coming in short and fast.

  “Are we going to fight over who gets the top-ping?”

  “What?” Jace croaked as his heart kicked into hyperdrive, and his ears buzzed.

  “You found me out. My straight arrow is a little bent.” Alec winked.

  A little bent? Jace’s brain misfired in the process of computing.

  His not really straight roommate—not really fucking straight—stood with his citrus gaze locked on him. Alec took the dinner plate and placed it back on the table, then turned Jace to face him. Alec’s hand loosened its grip on his forearm, tickling fine hairs that stood on end as it coasted down over his wrist and along his fingers, pausing a beat before slipping off their tips. A cool ocean breeze magnified to biting ice in the absence of that burning caress.

  “Don’t fuck with me, Alec,” Jace said on a reedy breath. “I’m playing for keeps.”

  “So am I. And I’d never fuck with you.” He stepped in close, his body a mere inch from contact. His voice dropped an octave. “But I do want to fuck you.”

  Jace’s brain stuttered and locked up for a second. Thunder boomed in his chest and echoed in his eardrums. Alec wanted him? Oh. My. God. Alec wanted him.

  And all those little blips on his gaydar had been legit.

  Jace wanted this man, loved him more than he’d dare admit to anyone, even Mel, and now that he was a breath from realizing that desire, he couldn’t move. Heat flooded his body, and he suddenly had no idea what to do next.

  Alec’s gaze drifted down and fixed on his mouth. Warm breath gusted over Jace’s cheek, and a wet, pink tongue darted out to moisten full lips. Jace groaned low in the back of his throat, and then Alec’s lips were pressed against his. Hard and strong but soft as satin, asking for permission. Jace tested the feel and shape and taste of lips he’d been dreaming of far too long now, and sank into his roommate. When he nipped at the lower lip with his teeth, Alec opened, and Jace wasted no time diving in. He caressed the hot tongue, wrapped it in his, and sucked it into his mouth, earning an encouraging groan for his efforts. Alec tasted earthy with a hint of sharp spice that Jace wanted to bottle for his own private elixir.

  Alec’s hands gripped his shoulders, then slid up his neck and cupped his face as the intensity ratcheted up a notch. Jace threaded his fingers through silky hair and pressed his mouth harder against his roommate’s. Their tongues began a rhythmic duel, darting in and out, chasing and teasing. Teeth collided and scraped, and their breathing drowned out the ocean waves below. Jace pushed the full length of his body into Alec, who met him in equal measure, trying to crawl inside and merge their bodies into one entity.

  Alec’s kiss was everything he’d dreamed it would be, and like nothing he could compare to.

  Jace rocked his hips forward, pressing his hard cock against Alec’s. He needed to break free of the restricting jeans, needed to get them both naked, feel nothing but skin on skin, but he couldn’t pull away from that glorious mouth. He detangled his fingers from Alec’s hair and dropped his hands to cup a perfect ass, and then settled into an erotic, fevered grind.

  Jace knew he wasn’t going to last as they rocked against each other. The need had been too long, grown too intense. He’d wanted the man too much. He couldn’t stop. Neither could Alec, it seemed. Pressure built in Jace’s tightening balls, his cock throbbed painfully against his fly, and electric charges shot down his spine. He was going to come in his damn jeans like a teenager. Jace groaned into Alec’s mouth as white lightning flashed behind his eyes, blasting a million pinprick stars into the night sky. Alec broke their kiss, his head falling back as he followed Jace off the edge and ground out Jace’s name on a long curse.

  Their rocking slowed and coasted to a comfortable halt. The pressure between their bodies eased, but contact didn’t break. Jace held his roommate’s gaze as a crooked satisfied smile spread across his handsome face. He couldn’t help smiling back in turn.

  “Damn.”

  “Yeah.” Alec chuckled low and deep. “Tell me there’s another course.”

  “There’s another course.” Jace’s own voice sounded hoarse and ragged.

  He couldn’t have dreamed it better. Alec his lover and Hellz his laundry slave. All of a sudden the kiss Mel had laid on him in the studio earlier flashed in his mind, and he felt…not exactly guilty but maybe a little penitent. Like she should be here too. Jace gave his head a shake. No, Mel should not be here. This was about him and Alec, but he still couldn’t shake the feeling that Mel should be a part of this. Because that kiss had done something to him he never would have imagined. And it wasn’t a spontaneous dare. It was premeditated. It meant something.

  But then she had
given him an open window to work his magic on Alec tonight. She wouldn’t have done that if the kiss really had meant something more. So maybe it was just his imagination, which had admittedly been running pretty wild lately.

  He pushed Mel from his mind and focused on the man in his arms.

  Thank God that silly challenge was over now, and he had the hottest, gayest straight boy he’d ever met coming in his jeans for him.

  “First, I think we need to get out of our pants.”

  “Good call.” Alec reached for the top button of Jace’s jeans, undoing them one calculated pop at a time.

  Jace moved his hands to Alec’s jeans, opening the button and sliding the zipper down while he took his lover’s mouth in a solid but slow kiss, savoring the taste and easy slide of Alec’s tongue.

  Alec shoved his hand inside Jace’s jeans, wrapping his cock in a burning grasp. Jace moaned. “Lord have mercy, honey. You’ll get me hard again in record time.”

  Alec chuckled into his mouth. “Mmm, sticky.”

  Jace leaned into Alec, taking his lips in a hard, impassioned kiss while forcing him backward as he walked him blindly off the patio into the living room. Mouths still fused, Jace hooked his hands under the hem of Alec’s shirt, forcing it up as he traced the ridges and lines of muscle and dips between ribs. They bumped into the corner of the couch, righted themselves before toppling over, laughing and kissing. Alec’s shirt fell to the floor; a few steps later Jace’s shirt met the same fate. Then jeans fell by the wayside as they hopped out, one uncoordinated leg at a time, banging into each other and against the walls, leaving a trail of discarded clothing.

  “Bedroom?” Alec growled into Jace’s mouth.

  “Shower.”

  Clad in only towels around their waists, Alec followed Jace into the kitchen. His gaze fixed on the muscle play of his lover’s back and stray droplets of water that fell onto strong shoulders from still-wet hair. Skin that he’d just spent the last ten minutes running his hands over every inch of was still damp and flushed from the heat of the shower. Alec smiled. First time he’d ever simply enjoyed the feel of a man’s body without having sex.

  Jace pulled out a chair at the table for Alec. “Sit.”

  “Such a dom.” Alec clucked, enjoying the flash of white teeth as Jace smiled.

  He shook his head and leaned into the fridge. “Not even close, lover.”

  Alec watched in silence, liking the way “lover” sounded in that deep voice, as Jace pulled two containers from the fridge. He opened one and tossed its ingredients into a skillet on the stove, then popped the other container in the microwave. He turned and fixed his gaze on Alec while he waited.

  Those dark blue eyes blazed with promise and sensual warmth that heated his skin. Soft, full lips curved into a knowing smile, capped by a single dimple. He really was in the thick of it now. There’d be no repair if Jace didn’t go for it.

  Just as he drew a mental breath and opened his mouth to broach the subject, the microwave dinged, and Jace turned away.

  “Why didn’t you tell us you’re bi?” Jace asked. “You are bi, aren’t you?” He pulled two plates down from the cupboard.

  “Yeah, uh. Didn’t seem relevant.”

  “You knew I was gay when you moved in.” Jace returned to the table and placed a decadent and somewhat phallic-looking dessert before him.

  “Yeah, well…”

  Jace didn’t push, much to his relief, and moved to sit.

  “Third course…or would this be fourth?” He winked at Alec as he sat across from him. “Havana bananas with rum, chile jelly, and just for you, extra chocolate sauce.”

  Alec dug in, then groaned: sweet and spicy with just a kick of heaven. He closed his eyes and let his senses focus on the punch of flavor that flooded his mouth. When he opened his eyes, Jace was staring at him with a wolfish grin and predatory gaze, loaded fork frozen halfway between his bowl and mouth. That heavy, intense stare sent a flush of heat to Alec’s abdomen, and his groin tightened.

  Jace could ask anything in the world of him right now, and he would willingly obey. It was out of character, but there it was. He was completely at the mercy of this incredible, gorgeous man.

  Time for the hard part: telling Jace what he and Mel wanted for the three of them. More than ever Alec prayed this would work out. He needed both of them more than he thought possible, and now that he’d had a taste of each, turning back would be impossible.

  “Listen, there’s something I want to talk to you about.” Finished with dessert, he pushed his chair back and angled it away from the table so he could stretch out his long legs.

  “Oh yeah?” Jace put his fork down and stood up. He came gracefully around the table, his eyes never breaking connection, and knelt in front of Alec. A shiver of excitement lit Alec’s awareness with acuity as his cock began to swell with anticipation at Jace’s nearness.

  “Yeah, uh, about you and me and Melody.”

  Strong hands gripped his knees and pushed them apart as Jace settled between his open legs. “She’s good with us getting together. No worries.”

  “I know.” “You know?” Jace raised his eyes to meet Alec’s as he parted the towel. Cool air blanketed his heated skin, sending a thrill up his spine. He’d been asked a question. What was it?

  “Well…” His hips rose of their own accord, reaching for what Jace silently promised. He was achingly hard now, begging for touch, his eyes fixed on Jace’s mouth. “M-Mel’s so cool about everything. So…”

  Jace regarded him for a long second, then, with a smile, slid his hands up Alec’s thighs, dipping between his legs and wrapping both around his hard length. Alec groaned and pushed into Jace’s burning grip.

  “So?”

  “It’s not that. It’s—” A clever mouth covered the head of his dick, rendering his mind instantly blank. “Ah shit, Jace.”

  He felt Jace smile around him as he took him deeper into his mouth and began working him with his tongue.

  “Jace…”

  “No more talking.” Jace spoke around his shaft; the vibration sent a rush of electricity ping ponging in every direction.

  “It’s important.”

  “So is this.” Jace growled and then sank onto his dick, taking the full length deep into his throat, and that was it. Alec’s brain was officially off-line.

  Alec dug his hands into Jace’s short hair, grabbing what he could. Jace’s velvet mouth sucked him tip to root, and that wicked tongue slid around the head. Jace’s hands were hard on his hips, controlling his thrusts.

  And then cold air shocked his sensitive skin. Jace had stopped.

  “No no no. Not done.”

  Jace stood, grabbed Alec by the hand, and pulled him from his chair until their bodies were flush together. “I thought you wanted to fuck me,” Jace whispered against his ear.

  There was something Alec wanted to say. Something important. He couldn’t for the life of him remember quite what it was. All he knew, all that mattered, was that right now, this amazing man was his.

  He tugged at Jace’s hand and led him to his bedroom almost at a run.

  Alec pulled the towel from his lover’s waist and pushed him down onto the bed. His gaze roved slowly over the man stretched out before him. Long, lean muscles, honey-colored skin, captivating sapphire eyes…glorious cock. God, he was beautiful.

  Jace ran a hand down his abdomen, wrapped it around his cock, and gave it one slow stroke up, then down. “You like?”

  “You know it.”

  Alec moved to his bedside drawer and removed lube and condoms, tossing them on the bed beside Jace, then crawled over his body.

  “I want to kiss you.” He lowered his mouth and claimed those full lips in a kiss meant to tell Jace he was his now and he wasn’t letting go.

  “I want to bite you.” His teeth caught Jace’s dancing tongue and scraped down to the tip; then he captured it in his mouth and sucked as Jace moaned and lifted his hips to meet Alec’s.

  “I want t
o suck you.” He kissed Jace’s chin, along his jaw, and up to his ear, where he traced the shell with his tongue.

  “I want to fuck you.” Alec exhaled a slow breath in his ear, loving how it made the man underneath him writhe and moan.

  “God, yes,” Jace gasped, clamping his hands down on Alec’s hips and digging his fingers into the flesh.

  Alec nipped, scraped, and kissed his way down Jace’s neck over his collarbone, continuing on to hard little nipples. He curled his tongue around one, then grabbed it in his teeth, pulled it into his mouth, and sucked. He pinched the other one between a thumb and finger and heard his name ground out in a rough plea.

  He worked his mouth lower still while he reached down and took the other man’s solid cock in hand, stroking and twisting, then closed his mouth over the head and sucked. Jace shouted and twined his fingers into Alec’s hair, gripping his head and thrusting upward.

  Alec sucked him deep, hollowing his cheeks, then retreated back to the head and rolled his tongue flat over the tip, tasting the musky flavor of Jace’s arousal. He sat up, reached for the lube, and poured a liberal amount into his palm. He moved back up Jace’s body and took his lips in a demanding, aggressive kiss that Jace returned in equal measure. Alec slipped a hand between his lover’s firm cheeks and worked his tight opening. Jace moaned and pressed onto his fingers as he stretched him. “Now. Please, now.”

  He broke off and handed a condom to Jace. “Glove me, baby.”

  Jace did as he was bid with trembling hands. Alec lifted his lover’s legs and hooked them over his shoulders, took himself in hand, and pushed his way in, one gloriously hot, slow inch at a time until he was fully seated, then began to rock. He pulled out to the tip of his cock, and when he pushed back in, Jace bore down on him.

  “Harder,” he ground out.

  Alec responded. He thrust harder and faster. He gripped Jace’s cock and began to stroke in time with his thrusts. Jace held his thighs in a death grip, his face a combination of blinding pleasure and sweet pain.

  The throbbing shaft in his hand told Alec that his lover was about to come. He pulled and pumped harder, and then Jace yelled and spilled over Alec’s hand and onto his clenching stomach. The sight was enough to send Alec over the edge, and his own orgasm racked his body as he shouted.