Page 246 of Better When Shared
Skylar
Kiaan walked beside me up the path to my house, our hands occasionally brushing. My mind raced with possibilities, with the words I’d whispered in his ear—words that had made his pupils dilate and his breath catch. The thought of Ryker waiting for us back at the house sent heat pooling between my legs, a delicious anticipation that made me quicken my pace.
“Eager to get back?” Kiaan asked, a knowing smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.
I shot him a look that I hoped conveyed both warning and promise. “Don’t get cocky. I might change my mind about what I told you up there.”
“No, you won’t.” His confidence was infuriating and arousing in equal measure. “You want us to make you come harder than you’ve ever come. Then you want to see me wrecked and stuffed with his big cock.”
“Fuck,” I groaned. The worst part was that he wasn’t wrong. I’d been fantasizing about both of them for longer than I cared to admit. It had happened naturally, late-night gaming sessions that bled into flirting, then explicit text conversations that left me touching myself in the dark, imagining their hands on me, on each other.
What had started as separate attractions had morphed into something more complex, more demanding—a need to have them both, to watch them together, to control what happened between all of us.
When we finally rounded the last bend in the trail and my tiny house came into view, I felt a flutter of nervousness in my stomach. What if Ryker didn’t want this? What if seeing us return together made him feel left out, betrayed? What if I was about to destroy years of friendship because I couldn’t keep my fucking libido in check?
But those fears dissolved the moment we stepped through the door.
Ryker knelt on the floor beside the shelves he’d built for me, a small brush in his hand as he applied a rich, honey-colored stain to the wood. He looked up as we entered, his face breaking into that devastatingly sweet smile that never failed to make my chest tighten.
“Hey,” he said, setting down the brush and wiping his hands on a rag. “I was starting to wonder if you two had eloped or something.”
“Worried?” I teased, setting down my backpack and moving closer to inspect his work.
The stain transformed the bare wood into something warm and alive, bringing out the natural grain patterns in a way that made each shelf look like it had its own unique personality. It was exactly what I would have chosen if I’d thought about it—not too dark, not too light, perfectly complementing the rest of my small space.
“Me? Worried?” Ryker’s attempt at nonchalance was betrayed by the faint flush creeping up his neck. “I just thought maybe Kiaan had chartered a helicopter to Vegas or something.”
Kiaan snorted, closing the door behind him. “Please. If I was going to elope, I’d at least spring for Paris.”
I ran my fingers along the edge of one shelf, the wood silky smooth beneath my touch. “These are beautiful, Ryker. The stain is perfect.”
“It’s nothing fancy.” His eyes followed my hand, tracking my movements with an intensity that sent a shiver down my spine. “Just thought they needed a little protection.”
I met his gaze, holding it steady. “Protection is important. And so is knowing when to let go.”
He swallowed visibly, understanding flickering in his eyes. “Sky...”
I stepped closer, reaching down to brush a smudge of stain from his cheek. “Such a good boy, making everything so nice for me while we were gone.”
The effect of those two words—good boy—was immediate and visceral. Ryker’s pupils dilated, his breath catching in his throat. Behind me, I heard Kiaan make a small, strangled sound.
“I don’t know about that,” Ryker murmured, but he didn’t move away from my touch.
I leaned down, closing the distance between us until our faces were inches apart. “I do.”
Then I kissed him, quick and light at first, then deeper. His hand came up to cup the back of my neck, holding me close. He tasted like coffee and something sweeter, his lips soft against mine. When I pulled back, his eyes were dazed, lips slightly parted.
“Kiaan told me how much he enjoyed what happened yesterday,” I said, keeping my voice low. “Between you two.”
Ryker’s eyes darted to Kiaan, who was watching us with an unreadable expression. “I can explain—”
“No need.” I straightened up, taking a step back so I could see both of them. “I saw it. And it was fucking hot.”
The tension in the room shifted, electricity crackling in the air between the three of us. I took a deep breath, steadying myself for what I needed to say next.
“I’m going to be honest with both of you, because you deserve that. My anxiety went through the roof when you both showed up here. All I could think about was how I was going to hurt one of you, or both of you, and destroy our friendship forever.”
Kiaan moved closer, his hand brushing against mine. “Sky, we never meant to put that kind of pressure on you.”
