Chapter Thirteen
Derek stood in the laundry room of his new condo and folded the last of the white towels embroidered with Ella’s name in pink. He placed them on top of the stack in the pink basket he picked out just for her. She should be here, not at work.
He carried the basket through the house into the bedroom he shared with Garrett. Their bed had arrived, and Garrett spent the afternoon carefully assembling it.
Garrett gazed up at him, worry etched deep in his eyes. “What do you think?”
“She’s going to love it.” Derek walked past the open French doors into the bathroom. He placed the basket in the empty space between two other pink baskets on the bottom, built-in shelf between the shower and the extra-large bathtub. He imagined her naked on her hands and knees searching for her washcloths. You’re going to bend over to get your towel and show me your pretty pussy. He cupped his cock and squeezed. You’re going to love my plans for the three of us.
“Do you love it with the canopy attached?” Garrett asked.
“I do.” He ran his fingers over the embroidered “E” on the front of each basket “We’re finally going to have her.” He held his raging cock as he walked into the bedroom.
Garrett sat naked at the edge of the bed, silent, his gorgeous body a picture of perfection. Every thick grouping of muscle, beautifully developed to allow for explosive movement. The military’s ultimate warrior—physical dominance, superior intelligence, and an iron will.
“You’re not dressed?” You should be on your way to get Ella before Cade shows up.
“Remember when you used to write the names of the muscles on me to help you memorize them?” Garrett asked.
“Yes.” Derek said. “I told Ella about it while she was in massage school. She wrote on you and me and Greg as we took turns quizzing her. We had so much fun. Do you want to play later? I can pick up some body markers after work. Ella will be into it.” He strode toward him.
Garrett held out his arms, and Derek walked straight into them.
“Not tonight,” Garrett whispered. “Cade is a guy’s guy. He’s a beast at the gym. He is as affluent as Greg had been.” Garrett rested his head against Derek’s neck. “I think she found a combination of me and Greg in him.”
“There is no one like you,” Derek said. “You’re wealthy. Between your investments and the trust fund my parents set you up with, you are pretty damn close to Cade Jackson rich.”
“I looked at his finances. Mine, yours, and your parents’ combined wealth is like looking at the cash in his wallet. I can’t compete with him. I’m going to lose her again.”
“Hey.” Derek exhaled. “She doesn’t care about how much money you have. You’re not going to lose her. She loves you.”
“I’ve got the worst fucking timing with her. She looked like a ghost when I told her it was over with him. I think she loves the guy.” Garrett hooked his feet around Derek’s legs.
Derek cradled the back of his head and forced his head up. He gazed into the soul of the man he loved more than life. “Listen to me. She loves you. She doesn’t know how much she loves me yet, but she will.” He kissed Garrett’s lips and let go. Garrett snuggled his face against Derek’s neck. “She’ll understand after you explain what happened. She will understand why we both left. You made mistakes. I made mistakes. She made mistakes. I should have figured out Greg’s illness. I should have connected his dramatic change in behavior to some kind of brain cancer.
“Instead, I assumed it was an outward manifestation of something your parents said or did…narcissistic assholes. The way they doted on him after they found out about us… It had to have screwed him up somehow.” Derek draped his arms around Garrett’s shoulders.
Garrett inched to the edge of the bed and closer to Derek. “He hated it. He apologized a thousand times to me for their behavior. The more Mother and Father tried to rip us apart, the closer we got. What they did with Greg and me—they kept him and threw me away like trash—was just like when they made the ultimatum to me about you—either end my relationship with you, or they would cut me out of their lives completely.”
It had been years since they talked about his parents and longer since he opened up about the past.
“Greg stood by you like you stood by me.” Derek kissed the side of his forehead. His cock grew harder. You’ve shown me you’ve loved me over and over throughout our lives. I’m going to make sure Ella takes us as her husbands. I want it for you and selfishly, for me too.
Garrett’s hands slid under the waistband of Derek’s scrubs. “The way you and your parents stood by me all these years.”
“Like that was hard.” You are so easy to love.
“My own parents didn’t want me. I’m difficult and controlling and competitive when I shouldn’t be.”
“That was Greg, not you. If Greg hadn’t been so controlling of Ella and jealous of you… I should have forced him into my office for tests, physical and psychological.” The four of us could have had everything we ever wanted.
Garrett pushed down the waistband of Derek’s scrubs to the crack of his ass. “Hindsight is twenty-twenty.”
“I should have checked up on them more thoroughly. If I hadn’t believed Greg’s lies, Ella would be married to me with a herd of your kids. Now, she can’t have kids, she’s involved with a great guy, and she doesn’t trust me as far as she can throw me.”
“Stop that.” He caressed down Garrett’s back. Greg had been so jealous of Garrett, he scheduled seven years’ worth of fucking monthly updates to come to Garrett’s inbox. If Sammy hadn’t been transferred to Garrett’s unit, they would have no idea Greg died until the updates ended in four more years. God, your bastard parents didn’t even call. “The more we hear about what happened, the more I’m sure your parents manipulated the crap out of Greg early on in his illness.”
His blood pressure rose as the memories of the calls he made after he found out Greg had passed away to Mr. and Mrs. Winthrop came rushing forward. The initial denials. The glee in their voices when they revealed Greg gave them the savings and investments he’d worked his entire life to give to Ella and the kids.
I fucking hate your parents. Ella had fought them all by herself. She’d lost big but she managed to make things work and raise her kids like a pro. Derek ached for her to have his children. Maybe she would consider reversing the tubal ligation, or agree to get a surrogate.
“What if she chooses Cade like she chose to stay with Greg?” Garrett mumbled. “I’ve got to do something.”
“The last time was my fault.” He had made Garrett promise to call him if he found the right woman for them to marry. While Garrett waited on Derek to show up for the quick wedding, Greg had gone to check out Ella’s family. Ella had been waiting outside for Garrett. Greg fell head-over-heels for her exactly like Garrett had, and Ella mistook him for Garrett. Greg didn’t have to wait on anyone. He married Ella as Derek’s plane touched down on the tarmac.
“It wasn’t your fault.”
“If it weren’t for your promise to me, she would have been your wife, not Greg’s. Greg impersonated you. She wanted you as her husband back then. She wants you as her husband now. If she and Cade were serious, they would already be married. Cade is a non-issue. So, get your shit together, and get our girl.” He stepped one foot back. Cade isn’t our hurdle. Ella’s reliance on me is. She has to want more than me and you. She has to want to make love to me without you too.
Garrett raised his chin. The determined gaze Derek loved so much locked onto his.
“I’m getting our girl. There is no way Cade can compete with us as a team.”
“Yeah, and the way she rode your big cock all night, she’s going to need more than one man to keep her satisfied.”
Garrett slid off the edge of the bed and stood up. He wrapped his arms around Derek and pressed his lips to Derek’s ear. “I love you.”
Hugging Garrett, Derek’s heart rate slowed and evened out to a natural rhythm.
“I love you too.” He rubbed along Garrett’s back. “Stay honest with her about us. She comes first. We come second. She’s our priority. She marries you, so her last name stays the same, but she belongs to me too. ”
“We’ll gently guide her into our lifestyle, Derek. She’s not going to be into it right away. We can’t let Cade shame her into—”
“—Stop. Cade is not your brother or your parents. He did all kinds of crazy shit in his youth. He’s not casting any stones at either of us or her. Remember, you’re the one she loves. You. Not him.”
Garrett’s warm lips pressed against Derek’s neck. “Two big cocks are better than one.”
Derek laughed and slapped his ass. “Yes, they are.”
Garrett nuzzled under Derek’s ear. “Are you going to show her you’re the dominant one in our relationship?” He nipped at Derek’s lobe.
“I told you to stop worrying,” he said. “She’s the real submissive for both of us. She won’t care that I’m the one who calls the shots when I’m in the room. She’s used to me in that role.” I’m going to fuck the fear out of you tonight.
“But she’s not used to me giving up any control.” Garrett curled his tongue around Derek’s earlobe and sucked. He pushed Derek’s scrubs down over his cock and rubbed the length with his cock.
Heat flooded Derek’s groin, chest, and cheeks. “I’m going to punish you.” We don’t have time for the kind of fucking I want from you. Hell, there’s not time for a quickie. He caressed over Garrett’s ass and pressed his fingers against his dark hole. Hard plastic met his touch. “Getting ready for me?” After all these years, are you ready to give me your virgin ass?
“Right now, I’m getting ready to suck your dick,” Garrett whispered.
“I decide when you lick, suck, swallow or get fucked,” Derek said.
“Yes, sir.”
Precum trickled from Derek’s cock. You’re ready. It’s all because of Ella. Our girl brings out the best in both of us. “No time to take the edge off. Pull up my pants.”
Garrett swept his finger over the tip of Derek’s cock and adjusted his scrubs. “Yes, sir.” He sucked his finger and sighed.
“You’re lucky I have more important things on my agenda. I didn’t say you could take a taste.” He swatted Garrett’s ass. “Get dressed, and go get our girl. Talk to her.”
“Damn, you’re harsh.” Garrett picked up his clothes from the bed and dressed. “Any advice on how to handle the boys? They’re not going to believe me.”
“Show them the emails. They know how Greg operated. They will believe you. My parents will back us up. Sammy will too. Once the truth is out, everything will fall into place.”
Garrett sat down on the bed and tied up his boots. “I’m bringing everything out in the open. No more secrets. No more lies. No more assumptions.” Determination seemed to fill his every step to the door. “Cade is not getting what is mine. If he wants to fight for her, I’m bringing a war.”
Derek cupped his cock and squeezed. You kept the plug in. He rushed over to the bathroom drawer where they kept all their toys. He slipped his hand into his pants and ran his hand over the top. He drew the precum down over his shaft and pumped up and down. You opened the biggest one. You promised once we agreed on a woman to marry, you’d give me every inch of you.
“Clean up my toy,” Garrett shouted. “It’s in the laundry room washtub.”
Derek fisted his cock and held it. Ella, we’re coming for you. Everything you ever needed, we’re going to give you. All I need is for you to love me a fraction of how much I love you.