The Luck of Love_Happily Ever Menage Read online

  Her pussy clenched around his shaft, and slowly she began the timeless rise and fall. Her gaze was glued to his. It was the pair of them. Nothing in her head but him, not even Lucas or Lexi—just their connection.

  Almost as though he felt that too, he firmed his grip a little more. She struggled to maintain the rhythm he wanted, the rhythm her body needed. It was difficult when lack of air was making her ungainly.

  She trusted him implicitly. Save Lucas, there was no one else she trusted herself to, no one she relied upon. He would never hurt her. He would hurt himself before he did anything to her.

  Gia knew she was safe. Every part of her did, except for that part this act triggered, the part that came to life when panic was born as her lungs burned with need for oxygen.

  She scratched her fingers against his, to beg for relief, but in her fear, her pace increased regardless. Each time she rose and fell, each time her chest burned for more precious air, her pussy gloried in his attentions.

  And then he released one hand from about her throat and slipped it down between her legs. He was a big man—not huge, but his cock was large enough to sometimes make her ache after sex. He fought for space as he tried to plunge two thick fingers inside her.

  She cried out. The cry choked and cut off. But he ignored her, intent on fucking her the way he needed to claim her.

  He curled those fingers up, and once again, the butt of his hand clashed with her clit. And this time, she felt it.

  It leaped on her back with huge, great claws raking down the sensitive flesh; it drowned her in sensation; and it scorched her senses, branding her as his.

  The climax was like a tsunami. Destroying everything in its path.

  But still his fingers burrowed, and she knew what he wanted. Her ears didn’t work, but she could hear mumbles of sound, and she knew he was egging her on, taking her higher, needing her higher, and then that strange sensation in her cunt appeared.

  The peculiar release, the weird clench, and water burst free.

  She hated when he made her squirt, was embarrassed by it. Not that he listened, because he forced it out of her whenever he could. By that time, she was in no state to argue. She couldn’t lie, because it was epic. It was the best, most freeing experience ever. And she thought that even though it was an icky mess she’d have to clean up later.

  When everything inside her acceded to him, submitted to his strength, she could feel her vision start to blacken as the lack of oxygen worked with her body’s receptors to close down, to let her handle what he was urging her to experience.

  When she felt sure she was about to slip away, he released her, and it happened again.

  No liquid trickled from her pussy this time, but the orgasm was just as intense. As powerfully painful as the last. Her stomach muscles clamped down until she felt sure they’d cramp.

  Her scream tore through the room, and she knew it would echo through the house. It went on and on, an endless peal of sound that declared her agonizing pleasure to the world.

  The only thing missing was his cum as it pooled inside her.

  She slumped against him, utterly wrecked by what he’d made her experience.

  Gia rested her head on his shoulder, allowing him to support her, to keep her upright.

  How long they sat there, trying to get their breaths back, she didn’t know, nor did she care.

  She saw Josh less than she liked, and this moment felt reaffirming and reassuring. Then a thought crossed her mind. What he was about to do in the morning, act her hero, made emotions boil away inside her.

  After the intensity of this time with him, of what he’d forced her to feel, that overwhelming bubble of ecstasy still shooting sluggish pelts of adrenaline around her body, she burst into tears.

  He rocked her, soothed her with a faint humming sound. He had to clear his voice to speak, but when he did, he murmured, “Hush, now. It’s okay. It’s all okay.” When she still sobbed, he continued, “Lucas will never leave us. He needs us as much as we need him. Tomorrow, we’ll sort out the problem at school. What use am I if I’m not around to frighten the teachers, huh?”

  “You’re a great dad,” she mumbled, not capable of anything more meaningful at the moment.

  He shook his head. “I could be better. Lexi needs more from her daddy than an absentee cutout.” His sigh said how much that cost him to admit. “I’m surprised Luke didn’t go and deal with this in lieu of me.”

  “I think it’s hurt him a lot more than he’s letting on.” When he tensed again, she clenched her eyes, only now able to acknowledge that she had needed him to take charge of this. To make it better.

  “Well, not anymore.” His words were resolute, and she embraced them wholeheartedly.

  As furious as the school’s behavior made her, as hurt as she was over Lucas’s knee-jerk reaction, Mrs. Masterson terrified her.

  “After all the fucking money we pay them to teach our baby, the least they could do is treat us with some goddamn respect. I’ll have Dana look into some new schools tomorrow.”

  She shook her head. “Lucas will want to pick it.”

  “Lucas will want to pick what?”

  The husky baritone of her second lover had her pulling away from the nook she was certain had been made for her: the morsel of soft skin next to Josh’s Adam’s apple.

  Her lips trembled when she saw Lucas standing there, combats rumpled, probably after Lexi leapfrogged him the instant she saw him at the school gates, waiting for her.

  It wasn’t often her daddies were at the gates. She knew they had important jobs, knew what they did—as well as a five-year-old could, at any rate. So being collected at school was always a treat for her. Especially as they usually took her to the Golden Arches for some munchies afterward.

  In fact, Gia spotted chocolate sauce on his uniform.

  That would be a fun session in the laundry room tomorrow.

  The weird combination of the sight of that chocolate sauce, the idea that Lucas thought he should leave them, and the mountain of cleaning due, added to it tomorrow’s nightmare session with Mrs. Masterson…well, it made Gia burst into tears. Again.

  Christ, the fact that her emotions were all over the place was a testament to how well Josh had fucked her. Her hormones weren’t exactly in sync either, and the only way they could find release was in the copious liquid free-falling down her cheeks.

  Panic filled Lucas’s face, but it eased slightly when she held out an arm for him, beckoning him close. He knelt on the bed, and then, crawling toward her with his boots still on, he pulled her to him.

  “Hey, baby, what’s wrong?” He rubbed his lips against the sharp edge of her jaw. “Don’t cry.”

  She sniffled. “I hate crying. I’m not crying. I don’t do tears.”

  Josh chuckled, and she pinched his thigh, making sure to grab some of the hair on his leg too. When he yelped, her laughter was watery.

  “What the hell was that for?” he grunted, rubbing the spot.

  “What did you say to make her this upset, jackass?”

  Lucas’s defense made her press a kiss to his cheek. “He didn’t do anything.”

  “Then why are you ‘not’ crying?”

  “We’re going to see Mrs. Masterson in the morning.”

  Lucas tensed a little. “Oh.”

  “Yeah. Oh.”

  She could hear the raw anger in Josh’s tone and was grateful she’d burrowed her face into Lucas’s throat.

  “You should have told me, Luke. Why the hell didn’t you?”

  “What can the school do? They can’t help what the pupils say.”

  A choked sound escaped Josh. “Are you serious? You’re excusing a five-year-old for persecuting our daughter for having two fathers? You think that’s okay in this day and age?”

  “No, but Mrs. Masterson has already spoken to the parents. There’s not much more she can do.”

  “Bullshit. I’m going to see her in the morning. If I don’t see results, then we’re pul
ling Lexi out. I’m not having her crying over this.”

  “She needs to get used to it. It’s the world we live in, and our relationship is odd.”

  Gia froze and pulled away. Her hands were annoyingly quivery when she yanked some of the sheet up and used it to dab her eyes. “Do you really mean that?”

  Lucas’s jaw was so tense the skin bled white, which told her without words he did.

  “You think our baby girl should have to listen to stuff like that? You want her to be upset?”

  “It’s life. It happens.”

  “Not to Lexi.” Josh growled. “Since when were you such a fucking defeatist?”

  “I’m a realist,” Lucas barked.

  “She’s five, Luke! She’s too young to be thinking about anything other than her books, her dolls, and her paint sets.” Gia shook her head. “You want her to hear this, be subjected to it, because the school has a great French department?” When he reached for her again, she held him off. “Do you? Honestly?”

  “No, of course not, but it’s true.”

  “Screw that.” Josh glowered at him. “We had to fucking hide our relationship when it started, thanks to our jobs. We held on to them by the skins of our teeth when the news came out, and you honestly want our daughter to be ashamed of us? Of what we have? After all those years of denying who we were to each other? Is that what we’re fighting for?”

  “You’re taking this too hard. It’s kindergarten, for Christ’s sake.”

  “No. This has more consequences than you're letting on. You know our intention was for her to carry on at the academy for first grade. It’s not just kindergarten. But regardless, I want to know where the hell this apathy has come from, Luke!”

  Lucas turned away. On the rumpled mattress, in his combats—or his BDUs, as the guys called them—his black boots a heavy shadow on the white sheets, he looked like a petulant boy. Only he’d left that age group a long time ago.

  Of the pair of them, Lucas was the one who was classically handsome. His blond hair was regulation length, so short it hid the curl she’d seen in the pictures of him at college. It glinted silver and gold when the sun hit it, and with the heat wave, it was blonder than ever.

  His blue eyes, tanned skin, strong Roman nose, and wide-set, rose-tinted lips added to his handsomeness. But the strong jaw with that stubborn nick in his chin, the broad forehead, added to his masculinity and made him a punch to the ovaries for any woman.

  Josh was blond too, but he was darker. Swarthy rather than golden. His lips were more generous, his jaw harder, firmer. Lucas could pass for early thirties, but Josh's face was scored with the lines and wrinkles of his age and rank. The responsibility on his shoulders was immense, and he wore that every day along with his uniform.

  His gray eyes held silvery striations. His nose had at least three bumps from being broken.

  When she’d first met them, the pair had made her feel on fire with need and in two different ways. Living with them, actually hearing them have sex sometimes—it had killed her. Seriously and selfishly destroyed her.

  The only thing that had made it bearable was knowing how right they were for one another. Their love had been palpable, and simply being around it had made her feel better, safer, and stronger.

  Seeing him sitting there, in discord with Josh, hurt her. Until now, everything had been going great. Since Lexi started school, stuff had been changing, and not for the better.

  At least, not between Josh and Lucas.

  Heart aching at the thought, she whispered, “Lucas, this isn’t right. You know that. I don’t know why you’re being like this. It scares me, honey.”

  He sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. “You don’t have to be scared, baby.”

  “Well, tough. I am. I don’t want to be, but you’re frightening me. We’re falling at the first hurdle. We always knew this would be difficult when Lexi started school, but we can’t let it get us down.”

  He kept his regard focused on the sheets, so she grabbed his leg and squeezed gently, trying to grasp a hold of his attention.

  Apparently irritated by her careful approach, Josh was anything but hesitant. His fist came flying out of nowhere to smash into Lucas’s arm. The move made her freeze, but Lucas fell backward onto the floor.

  Clapping her hand over her mouth, she gawked down at a now-sprawled and furious Lucas, then glanced at a rebellious, glowering Josh.

  She couldn’t help it.

  She really couldn’t.

  Laughter burst from her. It pealed from her lips like a torrent of released tension. She toppled against the bed, her amusement making her stomach ache as her chuckles went on and on.

  When Lucas climbed back onto the bed, her chuckles died into sniggers, but as he crawled over her, covering her completely with his shadow, she finally bit back her chortles to grin up at him.

  He loomed above her, but she raised her arms and legs, then curled them about his back and hips and dragged him down against her. God, he felt so right there, like he was made for her embrace.

  She pressed her mouth to his and mumbled, “You think this isn’t worth fighting for?”

  “I didn’t say that,” he grunted, raking his teeth along her lip.

  “You did.”

  “Didn’t.”

  “Children.” Josh growled. He turned on his side and pressed himself close to the pair of them. “She’s right, Luke. You want to give this up? You want to give us up?”

  “Of course I don’t,” he said with a sigh. “I want what’s best for Lexi.”

  “Then that’s her daddies together and her mommy too.” Gia shook her head. “I don’t care if it’s unusual or different. I don’t care if people don’t know the reason why I’m here. I need us to be together, and she does too. I hoped you two felt that way as well.”

  “We do; don’t we, Luke?”

  He hesitated but nodded. “Yeah, we do.”

  She frowned, noticing the minute hesitation like it was the white elephant in the room. “What’s wrong?” She could have brushed over this, could have kissed him and drawn him into her arms. Reminded him of what he had with her and Josh. But this was too important. Sex only papered over the issues, and what they had together was far more than sex.

  He swallowed. “Nothing.”

  “Bullshit. You’ve been on edge for way too long. I’ve let you get away with dodging the subject, but no more. Do you hear me? What’s going on?”

  When he stayed silent, Josh grabbed his shoulder. “Luke. Talk to us. How can we make it better if you don’t let us know what’s going on?” He shook his head. “What is it with you two? I thought I was the crappy communicator. At least I tell you stuff.”

  She snorted, but Luke’s tension soared. “I-I have to go downstairs. Lexi’s waiting on dinner.”

  Before she could hold him to her, he maneuvered off the bed, then headed out of the bedroom.

  She gawked at his back, then blinked. “Did he just walk out of here?”

  “Yeah, he did.”

  She looked at Josh, whose eyes were like a raptor’s. Intent on its prey, narrowed, and those pearly-gray irises sparking with anger.

  “I’m spending too much time at the office,” he snapped and climbed off the bed. Josh slipped into a pair of jeans he found tucked neatly into a mahogany chest of drawers.

  When she lay there, watching him, he cocked a brow and held out a hand for her. “Aren’t you coming?”

  “Be kind to him, Josh,” she ordered, knowing they were heading for dangerous territory, only not understanding why. “Something’s going on.”

  He nodded. Once. And that was all the reassurance she had.

  Knowing him like she did, it was no reassurance at all.

  Chapter Two

  Lucas watched Lexi color in the princess drawing. With her tongue peeking out and her hair a scraggly mess, she looked so goddamn cute his heart nearly melted. It didn’t help she was the spitting image of her mother. All chestnut curls, pixie nose, silvery
gray eyes, and a generous mouth wrapped into one ethereal package.

  If she was anything like her mother when she grew up, she was going to cause them hell. Gia’s body had the curves of her heritage. The Italian in her roamed wild and free in the generous slopes of her form. Gia was sex personified. Luke knew Josh was going to be worn out threatening all the boys who were going to show up at their door to date their baby girl.

  The notion should have made him smile. Instead, it made him ache.

  It was going to be hard not seeing her every day.

  It was going to be hard not seeing any of his family every day.

  Deployments… They were tough. He knew that, had braved them before, but it felt different this time.

  The orders coming in so close to his time in service being over felt like an intervention from the Fates, who had always been kind to him.

  It was a chance for Josh and Gia to behave like a normal family. For Lexi to have a mom and dad like all the other kids.

  He clenched his jaw at the thought as he fought back the mixture of panic and steadfastness that had been hitting him ever since the orders came through.

  This was it.

  The gut feeling was there. He’d served four times in the Middle East. Making it out with barely there injuries on each occasion.

  His luck was in. Surely?

  Maudlin wasn’t a word that belonged in his description, and morbidity wasn’t ordinarily a part of his nature, but things were changing. He was changing in reaction to what he felt sure was going to hit him the instant he landed in the Middle East.

  It hurt that these doubts were coming now, during a period of his life when he’d never been happier. He loved Josh and would have loved to raise a baby alone with him, but meeting Gia had been a gift. Having Lexi with her, the circle of their bond—it had been amazing.

  Since kindergarten had started, that circle had been unraveling, and he knew he was the only one to feel that way.

  Such isolation hadn’t helped. Add to it the ever-approaching deployment, which was weighing heavily on his mind, and the fact that his baby girl was suffering for choices her parents had made…