Page 14 of Thick as Thieves
Levi’s laughing and trying to put some on his little finger. “Fuck, it’s heating up. You don’t put that on your cock, do you?” He’s wafting his hands around aggressively. “FUCK.”
“She likes the burn, baby.” Gabe grins and looks more like himself.
“You telling me you’re doing this for kicks now? Setting your cock on fire, and freezing your bollocks off, literally,” shouts Tim.
“Yes, for fucks sake, YES. Let me go, Tim.”
I notice he’s tied to the bed so he can’t ‘cut’ himself. “Tim, is that your intervention strategy? Tying him up? Think that might amp him up, not calm him the fuck down.” I’m grinning like an idiot at them all.
“You lot are a load of kink chasers.”
I start to splutter out a laugh at Tim’s face, and everyone joins in, even Gabe tied to the bed.
“You just made that up, Tim,” I tell him through my laughter.
He laughs. “Probably, but it’s true. The weirder the better, and you’re all getting worse not better.” He’s got his hands on his hips. He means business.
“Can we go now? We left mid fuck,” I tell them. “In fact, I might go to the club. You coming, Levi? I need to whip someone.”
“Nah, mate, I’m going back into those two. Might fetch them on tour, if they keep that up. That’ll piss Becky off.”
“Gabe, you coming?” I ask him.
He nods. “Yep, you can whip me.” He laughs at Tim’s face.
“For god’s sake, Gabe, don’t trade Marcus for Xander. You won’t survive.” Tim puts his head in his hands theatrically. “Go for someone saner.” He shoves at me. “Leave him the fuck alone, Xander. I mean it.”
“Depends on how much he begs,” I say, eyeing up Gabe playfully.
The phone rings for FaceTime. Marcus again. I start talking automatically before I look at the screen. “Hey Marcus, want to see Gabe tied up? Just like old times for us,” I say, laughing as I turn the camera around to get a shot of Gabe.
But it’s not Marcus, it's Evie.
“Xan,” she croaks out, clearly not knowing what to say as the camera focuses in on the naked man tied up on the bed. “Is that blood? There’s a lot, what have you done to him?”
“Not me this time,” I smirk at her, trying to turn the phone camera around. She’s not getting any PG version of me, no way, she never has, so I’m not starting now. Even if it’s not blood.
“Is he tied up?” She's peering at the bed, as I’ve still not managed to get the camera to flip to me.
“Yeah, Tim thought he was trying to kill himself over Marcus choosing you,” I deadpan when I finally have her fully on screen, facing me.
“Really? Oh God, I didn’t know it was that serious,” she says with genuine concern. This woman, she’s more worried about Gabe than her husband having a man as a lover.
Tim tries to take the phone from me, but I bat his hands away, flapping at him to get lost.
“I was ringing to say Happy New Year. I’ve not had a chance to with the babies and everything.” She smiles at me, full on, and I sink into her eyes, so clear, so fucking beautiful. I don’t say anything, I’m not sure I can.
“Happy New Year to you, Evie,” Tim cuts in, managing to take the phone this time, and walks out of the room.
“Well, well, well,” says Gabe, “that’s what’s up with you then. You want to fuck Marcus’s wife”
His instinct has hit the mark. But I won’t apologise for it. Not a fucking chance. So I shrug.
“Old news,” Levi pipes up. “He’s said that before. In France and, to be fair, in Vegas. Jeez, Gabe. Where have you been looking, mate?”
Levi was always the more observant of the four of us, not so self-obsessed as Gabe or Marcus.
“At the husband,” I say, cutting to the chase. “It’s irrelevant anyway. It’s a no from both, so…”
