He’d tutored the jock through Algebra II, and Eric had taught him that jeans weren’t supposed to hit above the ankles. They’d been a weird duo, the jock and the nerd. But their relationship meant more to him than any other. His parents were cold intellectuals who had told him he’d failed by not going into academic pursuits—because yeah, Harvard law had been a breeze. His brothers cared more about their experiments than family. So Tate and Eric had stuck together like blood, and Kellan had joined them after college to form the tight-knit trio.
But Tate realized now that he needed more. He needed Belle. So did they, but if they had their heads too far up their asses… Well, she had to come first. “I’m going to do it. I’m going to offer her my penis.”
Eric’s head hit the table and he groaned. “Dude, how do you ever get laid?”
So he wasn’t smooth. At least he was honest. “She already has my heart. I would like for her to take my penis, too. Is that so much to ask?”
“If you ask her like that, she’ll smack you,” Kellan pointed out.
Frustration welled. He sat back down. “Damn it, that’s why we need to go after her as a pack. I’m not good at the smooth stuff.”
“By smooth stuff, he means any type of actual communication with a woman.” Eric rolled his eyes.
They were totally missing the point. “I communicate fine. She’ll know what I want and how I want it.”
“Which is precisely why she’ll know where she wants to slap you next.” Kellan shook his head. “This might be a bad idea, but it couldn’t hurt for you to dance with her. Can you do that without asking her to take your penis in marriage?”
He wasn’t completely sure. His cock had a mind of its own. “I’ll try to handle it.”
“Good. Go on, then. I’ll talk to Eric.” Kell sighed. “I guess we really do need to figure out how to handle her. I can’t stand the thought of another uncomfortable plane trip back. She didn’t talk to me the whole flight down. The hands-off approach isn’t working. I get the feeling she’s just about ready to throw in the towel and leave us all.” Kellan’s eyes narrowed suddenly. “And that asshole isn’t married. Go. Make sure he doesn’t get his hands on Belle.”
Tate’s stare zipped to her. Sure enough, a guy was cutting in on Lennox. He leered down at Annabelle, then stared directly at her boobs.
Those boobs were his, damn it. At least he fully intended for those boobs to belong to him. Well, a third of them anyway. “You two work it out because I’m making a move by the end of the night, and if you leave this up to me, it could all go to hell.”
He knew he was the social idiot of the group, but he was the only one completely honest with himself. Belle was the one for all three of them. She made him feel like the best version of himself, encouraged him to actually give a damn what other people thought, helped him put someone else above himself, and gave him no choice but to love her. Sure, the real world would think he, Eric, and Kell were freaks for loving the same woman, but the real world sucked. According to them, he’d been a freak most of his life. So what? They’d have their circle of friends, all of whom had a similar relationship with their own wives, to make them feel normal.
Either way, he wasn’t going to let Belle slip through his fingers. He had a genius-level IQ, but he’d figured out something his parents and brothers hadn’t: His intellect meant nothing if he didn’t have people to care about, those who truly loved him in return. A Nobel Prize wouldn’t keep him warm at night, wouldn’t give him something to really live for.
But she could.
Tate stared at her for a moment, loving the way the light played on the coffee color of her skin. She smiled up at her dance partner, her expression lighting up the whole damn world.
She was his, and he was tired of waiting. It was time to really start his life and that meant it was time to claim her.
Fuck, he hoped he didn’t step on her feet.
Chapter Two
Kellan watched Tate awkwardly take Belle into his arms, trying to find his rhythm. He couldn’t dance for shit, but he sure tried. Belle didn’t seem to mind his lumbering moves. She gave him a glowing smile and followed him with the grace of a woman who moved her body easily and well.
She would move that way in bed, reacting to her partner’s every touch with sensual grace. She would follow him, letting him lead, allowing her Dom to take control of the situation to bring her maximum pleasure.
He would give just about anything to be that Dom.
“I can’t hold him back much longer,” Eric said, leaning over the table. “The truth is, I don’t want to. I’m with Tate on this. It’s time to figure out what’s between us.”
Kellan was pretty sure something strong connected them and Annabelle Wright. The invisible bond to her that tugged at him, even when he tried to sever the ties, was what he feared most.
He’d never wanted a woman the way he wanted her, not even his own ex-wife. That desire went far beyond the physical. He wanted the right to protect and own her, to be her best friend, lover, confidante, and rock. He wanted to know her inside and out. In short, he wanted to be her everything. Kell sighed. Dumbass. He knew his hard limits and marriage was one of them. He couldn’t go there again. The first time had been a disaster. No reason to think he’d gotten any better at it.
Belle deserved someone who could love her without hesitation and trust her with his whole heart. Kell had lost huge chunks of his over the years. She was sweet and brave, smart and funny. And loyal, he admitted. Everything he wanted in a woman. And he would never completely trust her through no fault of her own. She deserved better.
Eric watched his best friend dance. Kellan looked back at the big goof with a shake of his head. Tate towered over Belle by about a foot, his long arms wrapped around her petite frame. His size fourteen feet weren’t exactly the most nimble or light, but somehow he and Belle looked good together. They looked right. Kell knew he should be happy for Tate and Eric—and he was—but watching them create their happily ever after was going to hurt.
Still, he loved them, so he’d step aside. Kell owed them that. They’d saved him, after all.
The three of them had gone to law school together. By then, Eric and Tate had already become a team, managing to seduce women left and right.
After graduation, Kell had married and thought he’d found his future. Then it had all come crashing down. Next thing Kellan knew, he fled DC only to find himself sleeping on Eric and Tate’s craptastic couch in a bad part of Chicago. It hadn’t been long before he’d begun teaching them how to truly run an office, because while they were great lawyers, they’d turned out to be lousy businessmen.
Kell had been relieved that he had something to offer them. In return for their friendship, for being the only people in the world willing to take him in when he’d been down, he gave them his acumen—and his undying loyalty.
Was he really going to watch them settle down with Belle and not join them?
“He thought about claiming her two weeks after she came to work for us, you know.” Eric sat back, leaning negligently against his chair as he watched the dance floor. “He would have approached her with good intentions, but probably said something horrifically stupid that would have made her run. The only reason he didn’t try? He was worried about you. He knew you liked her too, but he didn’t want to do it wrong and embarrass you. He also knew you weren’t ready.”
“Oh, I doubt he waited for anyone but you.” Tate was Eric’s other half. Sometimes Kell worried he was just the extra guy, the one who refereed when necessary. Though seemingly opposites, Tate and Eric had an almost psychic connection Kell didn’t completely understand.