Chapter 2

CHAPTERTWO

I love teasing Ethan—

even though I’ll pay for it later.

Or maybe because I’ll pay for it later.

~ Zayne

“THANKS FOR ALL your help today.” Chloé kissed Shayla’s cheek and pressed the button on the elevator. “I owe you.”

“You do,” Shayla agreed. “So I’ll take a home-cooked meal by one of the best chefs in Chicago whenever she feels like it.”

Chloé chuckled as Shayla stepped inside the car. “That I can do.”

“Good.” Shayla looked past her shoulder to where Chloé knew Ethan and Zayne stood, then brought knowing eyes back to hers. “Now, you go and have a great first night in your new house. No stressing about the past.”

Chloé nodded. “No stressing.”

“See you soon.”

“See you, Shay.”

As the doors slid shut, Chloé took in a deep breath, and for the first time today allowed herself a moment to really let everything sink in.

She now lived with Ethan and Zayne.

Her two boyfriends. Her two doms. The two men who held her heart. And despite her moment of apprehension earlier in the day, she couldn’t be happier.

Chloé touched her fingers to the pretty gold bracelets around her wrists, and a smile slowly curved her lips as she drank in the sight of her new roommates—Zayne in his jeans and a t-shirt that clung to all those muscles, and Ethan in a pair of casual black pants and button-up shirt that he’d left untucked.

Yep, that was about as casual as Ethan got, but damn if it didn’t work for him.

“Well.” Chloé looked around at the boxes and set of drawers littering their—her—living room and shrugged. “Now that you’re stuck with me, where do you want me?”

“Now that’s a loaded question, Red.”

Chloé’s body immediately responded to the mischievous glint in Zayne’s eyes as he sauntered over to her.

“Maybe I should rephrase it, then?”

“Oh no.” Zayne stopped in front of her and, with a finger under her chin, angled her face up until their lips were an inch apart. “I like that question just fine.”

He lowered his head the final distance and nipped at her lower lip, before swiping his tongue across the same spot and slipping it inside. Chloé moaned and put her hands up to brace them on his chest, and as the solid thump thump thump of his heart beat against her palm, Zayne angled his head and dove in deeper.

A low groan rumbled out of his throat, and he reached for her face, holding her where he wanted as he swept the interior of her mouth with a greedy tongue. Chloé melted into him, and when Zayne finally raised his head and her glassy eyes met his, he winked.

“I want you right here. In my arms, in Ethan’s, in our home. Where you put your stuff? That’s totally up to you, gorgeous.”

Chloé licked at her swollen lips as she looked over his shoulder to Ethan.

“Why don’t you go take a shower and unwind? Zayne and I will take these boxes upstairs. Once you’re done, come join us on the balcony for dinner.”

“Are you sure? I don’t mind helping.”

Zayne fingered one of the curls that had escaped its confines. “We got this. Go and relax.”

She looked upstairs. The idea of a nice, hot shower on her aching muscles sounded like heaven. “Okay. I promise not to be too long.”

“Take as long as you like.”

She made her way to the stairs, but before she headed up, she stopped and turned back to where the two of them stood watching her.

“For dinner…”

“Yes?” Ethan waited for her to continue.

“How about a thick, juicy burger and some crinkle-cut fries?”

“Work up an appetite today?”

“Sure did. I’m starving.” With that, she jogged up the stairs and headed into her new bedroom.

Wow…

It was hard to believe that a few months ago she didn’t know either one of these men, when now she felt so intrinsically connected to them. She wasn’t delusional. She knew there was still a lot they all had to learn about one another. But with every day that passed they became more intimately woven, and this was just one more layer.

Theirbedroom. Their bed. Their sanctuary.

She now shared this space with them, and she had a fierce urge to lay claim to every inch of the place—and men—that were now hers.

She looked at the large bed in the center of the room where she’d spent many nights tangled up between Ethan and Zayne, and smiled. There was a third pillow up against the headboard and an empty space on top of the bureau in the corner.

They’d gone out of their way to make room for her, to let her know that they wanted her to be a permanent part of their life. Something as simple as that pillow and an empty space for her perfumes and knickknacks made her heart full to bursting.

She could hear them moving around downstairs and knew the sooner she got in the shower, the sooner she could go and help them. So she hurried into the bathroom and stripped out of her clothes, then stepped under the water.

With her eyes shut, Chloé tipped her head back and moaned as she slicked her hands through her hair and let the steam envelop her.

God, that felt good. The heat on her tight muscles loosened them as she rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck from side to side. She wasn’t sure how long she stood there, but when her stomach began to grumble, she decided it was time to finish up.

She opened her eyes and spotted a new bottle of body wash—her body wash—on the shower shelf. Ethan. She knew that was his attention to detail. She’d brought her soap over a couple of times when she’d stayed, but never left it. Now here was a brand-new bottle, and beside that, a fluffy pink loofah. That was Zayne.

Practicality and comfort—it was the perfect combination and summed them up pretty well.

Chloé smiled and picked up both, then poured some of the sweet-smelling soap onto the sponge and quickly washed up, wanting to get back to her two men so she could thank them for making her feel so welcome…

In whatever way they saw fit.

* * *

“SO WHERE SHOULD I put this?” Zayne pointed to the box at his feet. “Did you find enough room in our closet?”

“I did, actually.” Ethan opened the door to their walk-in and stood aside. “Right over there.”

Zayne hefted the box up, walked inside, and saw that Ethan had in fact managed to clear off an entire side for Chloé. He put the box in the far corner and then turned to look at the opposite side of the wall, noticing Ethan’s suits and ties occupying one end and his jeans and shirts on the other.

He let out a low whistle. “Impressive.”

“You think that’ll be enough room?”

Zayne looked back to the empty shelves and hanging area. “It should be? But there are twelve boxes.”

“True. But we can move her set of drawers up here too, and if she needs more room, we can always have something worked out. Maybe have something built?”

Zayne chuckled. “Yeah, we totally can. I’m just trying to work out where you put all of your clothes.”

Ethan pushed off the frame and walked over to him. “I don’t have that many.”

Zayne looked to the suits and dress pants hanging. “You have more than these.”

“I do. But we also have an estate thirty minutes away from here with more bedrooms than a small hotel. I realized I don’t need as many clothes as I was keeping here.”

“So you cleared them out for Red?”

“I did.”

Zayne’s lips curved. “That was nice.”

“It was common sense.”

Zayne leaned in and whispered over his lips. “No. It was nice. Admit it. You want to make sure she feels at home.”

“And you don’t?”

“I didn’t say that…” He smoothed a palm down Ethan’s hard chest to his waist. The sound of Chloé’s shower filtered in through the open door. “But you want to make sure she feels like she’s more than just a naked body to us. That she’s ours.”

Ethan cocked his head in the direction of the en suite, and Zayne nodded.

“I’m right, aren’t I?”

“It might’ve crossed my mind.”

Zayne grinned against Ethan’s lips. “See. Nice.”

Quick as lightning, Ethan struck. He grabbed Zayne’s wrist, spun him around, and shoved him up against one side of the closet. Ethan muscled in behind him and trapped Zayne’s hand against the empty shelf above him.

Zayne’s heart and cock throbbed as the sharp scrape of teeth abraded his skin, and a low groan rumbled out of him.

“Tell me I’m nice again,” Ethan dared as he rubbed his erection against Zayne’s ass.

“So fucking nice.”

“You’re going to regret saying that.”

“Promise?” Zayne gripped the shelf and shoved back into Ethan’s strong embrace.

“Yes. But not right now. I’m going to make you wait for it.” He nipped at Zayne’s ear. “Then I’m going to make you beg.”

Ethan released him, and Zayne turned around and palmed the hard-on straining against his denim.

“That is mine.” Ethan slapped his hand away. “No touching. The next time you come will be when I let you. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“Good. Now, let’s go and deal with these boxes so Chloé doesn’t have to.”

Together they moved all the boxes marked shoes and clothes up to the bedroom and closet area, and once they got through with that, Zayne spotted the one marked books and groaned.

“Okay, I’m hoping she keeps that one down here. She wasn’t kidding about having a collection. Julien gave her some of his, plus she had several shelves of romance books—naughty-as-fuck ones, judging by what I saw—and man, hardbacks are heavy.”

“Really. With all those muscles you’re complaining about a few books?”

“A few? She has enough to start a small library.”

“Huh.” Ethan scanned the living room. “Then maybe we should build a bookcase? For down here.”

“I bet she’d love that. She also has her stereo and vinyl collection. Maybe something for all of it.”

“Good idea. That space under the stairs wouldn’t be a bad spot.” Ethan looked to the three boxes at his feet. “But for now, how about we slide them over there? We wouldn’t want to strain all your muscles.”

“Hilarious.” Zayne hauled the heavy box into his arms, and saw the way Ethan checked out his bulging biceps.

“Maybe you should take that upstairs after all?”

A teasing grin flirted at Zayne’s lips. “So you can just stand there and check me out? I don’t think so.”

“Really?”

“Yep. I see the way you’re looking at me. But why should you get what you want”—he dropped the box on the floor and then straightened to look Ethan dead in the eye—“when you’re making me wait?”

“You do know I could just order you to do it, right?”

“But you also know how much I’d enjoy that, so…”

Ethan’s eyes narrowed. Zayne laughed and turned to walk away, and all he heard was, “Yeah, you better run.”

* * *

A LITTLE WHILE later, Ethan pushed open the door to the balcony patio and stepped outside with several takeout bags in hand.

He’d left Chloé and Zayne up there when he’d gotten notification their meal was on its way. Chloé glanced over to see him balancing the drinks in one hand and two bags in the other, then shot up from her seat and hurried over to him.

“Why didn’t you say you needed help?” She quickly took the drink carrier and placed it on the table between the chairs as he came around behind Zayne.

“Because you two have done enough today, and I had it.”

Zayne smiled up at him and took one of the bags.

“Still,” Chloé said. “I could’ve grabbed the drinks.”

“It’s fine,” he assured her as he took a seat and opened the first bag. The smell of hot fries filled his nose as he reached inside to grab the first container. He handed it over to Chloé, and she plucked one out and took a bite. She hummed as she chewed on the salty fry.

“I never would’ve pegged you for a fast food lover.” Ethan handed over her burger as Chloé popped another fry in her mouth.

“Why? ’Cause I work in a hoity-toity French restaurant?”

“To start with, and also because I can’t imagine Julien Thornton-Priestley allowing you to eat it.”

She laughed and settled back in her seat, propping her feet up on the table in front of her as she started to unwrap her burger. “Well, you’re not wrong.” She grinned as Zayne reached for his meal. “Dad was the one who used to sneak me out for a burger.”

“Uh huh.” Zayne nodded. “That sounds like Robbie.”

“Yeah.” She nodded, her eyes twinkling. “We’d go shopping, and then he’d take me to this diner that served hamburgers and fries, milkshakes and root beer floats, and each table had a jukebox. They sometimes danced in the aisle too. His papa—my pop—used to take him when he was little, so it was kind of a like a family tradition passed down.”

Zayne dunked a couple of fries in some ketchup. “Sounds like fun.”

“It was. He would even get me up to dance with the staff sometimes.” She shook her head as she laughed, but the way her eyes twinkled made it obvious it was a memory she cherished.

“Maybe one day, you’ll take us.”

Zayne and Chloé both turned in Ethan’s direction, and he shrugged.

“What?”

Chloé scoffed and reached for her drink. “Were you or were you not the man who told me you never want to hear me sing again?”

Ethan took a bite of his food, refusing to go down that particular path.

“Uh huh, see? I don’t forget these things,” Chloé pointed out.

“Neither do I. But I was thinking more of the dancing in the aisle than the singing.”

Chloé’s eyes widened, her jaw hitting the floor, as Zayne shook his head.

“Just stop while you can, man.”

Ethan looked between the two of them, decided to take the advice to heart, and instead got stuck into his meal. All three of them devoured their food in no time at all. Chloé and Zayne had worked up an appetite from moving everything, and Ethan had skipped lunch. So it was no surprise there was little talk as they chowed down on the greasy goodness.

Zayne was the first to finish, slumping back in his seat and rubbing a hand over his belly—flat as it still was.

“I’m stuffed.” He blew his cheeks out, and Chloé started laughing.

“Two burgers plus your fries and half of mine? No wonder.”

“Hey, I’m a growing boy, what’d you expect?” He eyed Ethan’s half-eaten fries.

“Don’t even think about it.”

“I’m not… I told you, I’m full.”

“Yes, well, you forget I know you very well, and your eyes are always bigger than your stomach.”

Ethan finished off his food and, once he was done, started to put the trash back into the bags.

“So…” He looked over at Chloé, who had curled her feet up under her on the chair. “How are you feeling on your first night in your new place?”

“I feel great.” She let out a sigh and looked out at all the buildings surrounding them. “A little bit like I’m in a fishbowl, but…I kind of like it. Is that weird?”

“No.” Ethan sat back and propped his ankle up on his knee. “I think it’s perfectly normal for someone like yourself.”

“Someone like myself? What do you mean?”

“You like to people-watch—and you like people watching you.”

Chloé opened her mouth as though to deny his observation, but at the last second stopped herself. Instead, she flashed a cheeky grin his way.

“Okay, and what’s that say about me?”

“It says you’re absolutely perfect, Red.”

Her eyes flicked to Zayne’s. “Weirdo and all?”

“Exhibitionist and all,” Ethan corrected her. “And Zayne’s right, you’re perfect. In fact, you’ve been a little too far away from me all day.” He patted his knee. “Why don’t you come over here? I missed you.”

Chloé got to her feet and walked over to him.

“That’s better.” He took her hand and interlaced their fingers. “Did you see all your boxes were moved upstairs?”

“I did, yeah. Thank you,” she said, and then looked to Zayne, who’d relaxed back in his seat and clasped his hands behind his head.

“It was no problem. I was a little worried, since your papa said you’re a bit of a—” Zayne stopped and seemed to quickly rethink whatever was about to come out of his mouth.

“He said I was a bit of a what?”

“Oh.” Zayne shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Uh, I don’t think so.” Chloé straightened on Ethan’s lap and planted her hands on her hips. “What did he say, Zayne?”

“Um…” Zayne looked at Ethan, who smirked, making it clear he wasn’t about to help out. “He just said you’re a bit of a princess.”

Chloé scoffed. “A bit of a princess?”

“In all fairness, petite fille, you do have twelve boxes of clothes and four boxes of shoes.”

“So?” She spun around on him then, disbelief stamped on her beautiful face. “I’m a girl. You should see my dad’s closet.”

“Yeah,” Zayne said. “He, um, mentioned him too.”

“Did he now?”

“He did. Actually, I think he was just giving me a hard time. Trying to rattle me on our drive home from the truck rental place.”

“Oh?” She pursed her lips as she looked between the both of them. “And did it work? Are you rattled?”

Ethan took her hand again, but this time tugged her back into his arms. “Not in the slightest. But you still didn’t answer my initial concern. Is there enough space for all of your clothes? Or should Zayne and I make it a rule that when you’re in our apartment you don’t wear any?”

A laugh bubbled up out of her, but when his expression didn’t change, she sobered. “You’re being serious right now?”

“Definitely.” He lowered his eyes to the linen shirt and shorts set she’d pulled on in place of her t-shirt and denim, and hooked his finger through the neat bow just below her navel. “Maybe you should give us a preview now.”

He slowly drew the drawstring free, and Chloé sucked in a breath.

“Right, um— Ahh…”

Ethan slipped his hand inside her shorts and smoothed his fingers over her cotton thong. “Now is the word I believe you’re looking for.”

Chloé grabbed at Ethan’s arm as he pushed his fingers down further between her thighs.

“And the answer to that would be yes.”