Chapter Ten

Everything I'd seen in the Bordello replayed like a movie reel in my head over the next couple of days. I tried to get some work done. But every time I closed my eyes I saw my jizz landing on Gideon's cheek and nose and lips.

I wanted to do it again. And I wanted to do more.

I was also fielding texts from Rebecca.

Hey, Angel. I had so much fun with you! I'd love to get together again.

Hi. Feeling horny. Would love to get together again!

Hey, call me. Ready to bone if you're ‘up' for it. Happy face emoji.

I had to give her props. She was really trying. But I had no compulsion to reply or to get together with her.

I'd briefly considered hooking up with her again, to see how I felt now that I'd begun exploring a different side of my sexuality, but I'd thought better of it. I didn't want to use her, and I had no real interest in doing so. To be honest, I was beginning to care less about how to define my sexuality, and more about enjoying the exciting journey of exploring it.

Oh, hey, sorry about that. Normally I would but I'm super busy with work right now. Tax season, you know. Hope you're doing well.

It was lame, and I knew it. Still, we'd only had a casual hookup. Neither of us had made plans to see each other again. And now that this thing —whatever it was—with Vihaal and Gideon was progressing, I had absolutely no interest in her.

I was conflicted about who would make the next move in our little three-way neo-relationship. I wanted to text them but I didn't want to seem desperate or clingy. Maybe I was still thinking like a straight guy.

Anyway, the next day Gideon texted me good morning and asked about my plans. I admitted that I had a ton of work to do and he said they were slammed as well, but asked if I wanted to go see the latest Guardians of the Galaxy movie on Saturday.

If he'd asked me to go see Paw Patrol I'd have still said yes.

My car had come back from the shop after over five hundred dollars in repairs, so I offered to meet them at the cinema.

The nervous excitement I felt at the prospect of seeing Vihaal and Gideon again made it plain that I was totally falling for them. I'd never felt this way about anyone before, and now I was feeling it for two men? Life was fucking weird. But life was also doing me a solid right now, so I couldn't complain.

I'd had a brief moment of panic and doubt after the Bordello, once they'd gone home and I was alone with my thoughts. What if this crashed and burned? What if we had a lot of super sexy fun but it turned out we weren't good together? Or worse, what if they decided that I wasn't a good fit for them? I'd be devastated.

Then I remembered that we'd already established a friendship, and if it did turn out that we weren't suited as a romantic throuple, they would still be important people in my life. And, what if it did work out? Was I going to miss out on this wonderful possibility by living a boring fucking life?

I got there early and found a seat at one of the tables in the refreshment area. I'd worn a different turtleneck with a pair of gray pants, but I really needed to ask Gideon when we could go shopping. If I was going to keep up with these men, I needed to dress better.

I was playing a puzzle game on my phone, letting the hum of conversation float over me, when the chair beside me was pulled out and Gideon plunked himself down with a sigh.

"Sorry we're late."

"Yes," A deep voice agreed. I turned to see Vihaal standing on my other side. He continued, "I didn't realize that Gideon was dragging me to another Marvel movie until we were halfway here."

"Oh, don't be such a snob," Gideon muttered. "You admitted that you liked the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie."

"Which ones are they? The guy with the metal space suit?"

"No, that's Iron Man and The Avengers. You don't like those movies and I would never take you to see one, ever, again," Gideon said with a shudder. "This is the group with the alien tree and the raccoon. Star-Lord? Mantis?"

"Oh, yes," Vihaal murmured. "It's hard to keep them all straight."

"Hardy har. You like Guardians of the Galaxy , right, Angel?" Gideon asked me.

"I think so. I can't remember, honestly. I get them mixed up, too."

"Oh my God. Seriously, you people." He rolled his eyes in the most adorable way and I smiled.

"Well, hopefully I'll like this one," I said, wanting to be agreeable, and not caring at all what movie we were here for.

Vihaal laughed softly.

"If you don't," Vihaal murmured, "I'll simply have to distract you."

"If you talk during this movie, V, I will murder you," Gideon replied.

"I didn't mean by talking ."

Gideon unwound his scarf and dropped it on the table, then undid the buttons on his coat.

"Do you want to get some snacks? I'm gonna get popcorn." Gideon stood.

"Nah, I'm good," I said.

"Suit yourself. Back in a flash."

Vihaal sat down in the chair beside mine, his coat falling open to reveal a pair of light wash jeans and a black Henley. I'd never seen him looking so casual and I liked it.

"I don't go to the movies with Gideon very often," he admitted. "Our tastes lie in different directions in this particular area."

I laughed. "Not surprising. You're so different."

"Yes, well, opposites attract I suppose. Anyway, Gideon has been dying to see the newest Guards of the Universe movie for some time."

I couldn't help smiling at that. "It's Guardians of the Galaxy."

"Oh. Yes." He laughed. "See? You're going to come in handy, Angel." His gaze tracked over me. "In a multitude of ways."

A shiver of lust traveled down my spine.

"Did you read my report about the financials?" I asked. "What do you think about the things I flagged? They might be nothing."

"But they might be something. Yes. I'm…concerned."

"Did you tell Gideon?"

"Yes. He is very concerned. Thank you for looking them over. I'm going to follow up on this, Angel, I can assure you. Even if it's all perfectly legitimate, I expect Dominic to keep better records of our purchases."

Vihaal and I watched the people gathering in the lobby.

"I was impressed with how our experience in the Bordello went," he said, not looking at me.

I couldn't help admiring his profile for a moment before returning my gaze to our general surroundings.

"Good. Because I liked it very much," I said.

He turned and smiled at me, with eyes that conveyed his pleasure. "You must have grown up in a liberal household, if you don't have any qualms about pushing your sexual boundaries that way."

"My parents were kind of hippies. My mom was older when she had me—I was kind of a surprise, but a happy one. As long as you weren't hurting anyone, they were behind you, no matter what. My parents didn't believe there was only one way of living."

Vihaal sighed. "I wish my parents had been as accommodating."

I frowned. "Did you have a bad home life as a kid?"

"I didn't have a home life."

"What do you mean?"

"My father sent me away. Never mind, it's an old wound," he said, looking at the floor, then back at me with a universe of pain in his eyes. "Maybe I'll tell you about it sometime."

I gazed at Vihaal, my heart expanding for this self-contained and confident man who'd apparently grown up in less-than-ideal circumstances, and realized there was a lot more to him than I'd imagined.

"Well, that was a crap and a half," Gideon said as he dropped a bag of M&Ms on the table in front of me. "You can have my free candy," he said. "I got the value deal."

"Pssht. It's hardly free and it's hardly a value," Vihaal said, reaching out and taking the candy and putting it into his coat pocket. "I'll hold on to this."

"Whatever. Come on, we need to get to our seats."

I stood and grabbed my jacket, following Gideon as he showed the tickets to the hostess.

"Theater ten," she said. "At the end of the hall."

"Thanks," Gideon said. "Bye the way, I love your helix piercings."

The young woman smiled. "Thanks. Your coat is amazing!"

"Thanks, it's very warm."

He turned to me as we moved forward, Vihaal trailing. "I got seats near the back. V tends to get bored and I didn't want him disrupting the whole theater."

"Oh," I said, not sure what he meant, but glad to sit beside him in the back row, where we weren't in the middle of a crowd of strangers. Vihaal sat down on my other side.

"Oh, sorry," I said, "Don't you want to sit together?"

"No," Gideon said, shoving popcorn into his mouth. "Not here."

Vihaal grunted. "I'd rather sit with you, Angel."

"Well, then, this is perfect," Gideon said. He reached for my hand and squeezed it, then placed a buttery kiss on my cheek, checking for other people first.

He went back to eating popcorn and sipping his drink.

"It's like bringing a ten year old to the movies," Vihaal muttered. He stretched his legs out and leaned back, closing his eyes.

"I heard that," Gideon said. "Better than feeling like I'm with my grandpa."

Once the movie started playing, after the teasers, Gideon was entranced. I was less so, but eventually started to get into it, until Vihaal got into distracting mode.

He must have been waiting for just the right moment. There was crinkling as he pulled the bag of candy from the pocket of his coat and ripped it deftly open. After a moment, Vihaal showed me his open hand with a tiny brown M&M in the center.

I took it, popping it into my mouth, giving him a glance and mouthing thank you .

He smiled and reached into the bag for another. This time he offered it between two fingers. I glanced over at him and he smiled. I took the candy.

M&Ms were great, but even more delicious was the fact that Vihaal was doling it out to me in measured bits.

The next one he held right in front of my lips. I side-eyed him, and he smiled and raised his eyebrows, as if he was daring me. After a moment of hesitation, I opened my mouth, and Vihaal placed the candy on my tongue. There weren't many things I wouldn't do for chocolate.

I gave Vihaal what I hoped was an incendiary look and licked my lips. He leaned in and whispered in my ear.

"One day, I'd like to have you on your knees, naked, beside the kitchen table—your place or mine, I don't care—with your ankles bound and your wrists tied behind your back."

I tried not to make a sound but my cock bounced in my pants and my heart started beating a frantic rhythm.

"And I'll feed you pieces of food from my hand if you're very good and quiet and patient."

Holy. Fuck. I nodded my head.

" Yes. "

"Yes?"

"Please," I whispered.

Gideon glanced over.

"Oh no," he said. "It's started."

Vihaal lifted another M&M to my lips. I had my mouth open when he got it there, and this time, instead of simply placing the candy on my tongue, he used two fingers to apply pressure and cause me to open wide. My gaze flashed sideways and he regarded me with much satisfaction. He held my gaze as he dropped another M&M in my mouth, then withdrew his fingers, rubbing the tips over my teeth and lips as he did.

"You're going to make a lovely, lovely submissive."

At that moment, it was all I wanted to be. I didn't give a fuck about the movie. I wanted Vihaal to take me into the bathroom and put me on my knees and fuck my face.

What is happening to me?

I didn't recognize myself but I really liked the bold, shameless person I'd become.

I turned to gaze at Vihaal as I swallowed the candy down, hoping to convey some of what I was feeling. I saw his eyes widen and lips part in the semi-darkness. After a glance at our surroundings, he leaned close, took my chin between his finger and thumb and kissed me with more passion than I was expecting.

I opened to him without question and lost myself in the surprise and honesty of it. It didn't last long—we were in public—but when he released me, he mouthed thank you and smiled with obvious affection.

My cheeks—and other things lower down—heated as he held me with a look. I waited, outwardly patient but inwardly aflame, for another candy.

Vihaal fed me M&Ms, one at a time, playing with my willingness to submit, teasing my tongue and the insides of my cheeks, to see what he could get away with. When he stopped, I looked over and he showed me the empty bag, frowned and shrugged his shoulders.

The disappointment hit me hard. The sweet chocolate, the teasing, and this mild act of submission had been surprisingly lovely. And now there was no more candy, no more Vihaal touching me in such an intimate way, and soon the movie would end and we'd have to go our separate ways.

"You didn't watch any of it, did you?" Gideon asked when the credits started rolling.

"Don't be mad at Angel, it was entirely my fault. I couldn't keep my hands off him."

"I'm sure that's true," Gideon muttered. "And I can't really blame you. Next time, I'm just bringing Angel."

"Oh, thank God," Vihaal muttered.

Gideon narrowed his eyes.

"It's a good thing there was a buffer between the two of you," I said, clicking my tongue. "And it's a good thing it was me."

Gideon snorted. "Oh, honey, you can get between us anytime you like."

"Yes," Vihaal agreed. "Anytime."

We parted with smiles and plans for Gideon and me to go to the mall the following week, even though that seemed like too long a wait.

When I got back to my car, I put the key in the starter lock and turned it.

Nothing.

I tried again, but the engine didn't turn over. It didn't even try to.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. Had I renewed my CAA membership?

I slammed my palms against the steering wheel.

"For fuck's sake!" I cursed. "I was having such a good day."

A familiar car appeared in my rearview mirror. I turned to see Vihaal's Audi and felt some relief. I wasn't stranded.

Gideon opened the Audi's passenger door and slipped out, walking over. I rolled my window down. Yes—actually rolled it. That's how old this car was.

"Hi. My fucking pissant of a car won't start," I grouched.

"Oh fuck," Gideon said. "That's no good. Do you have CAA?"

I shook my head. "I forgot to renew it. So, no."

"Shit," Gideon said.

"Yeah."

I heard the low rumble of Vihaal's voice but couldn't make out what he said.

"Car's dead!" Gideon said. "No, he doesn't have CAA."

Vihaal said something else and Gideon turned back to me.

"Vihaal says to come home with us. I agree. We can figure out what to do in the morning."

"Oh, fuck. Really?"

"Yeah, of course. Or we can drive you home. We're not leaving you here ."

"I mean, I'd love to go home with you. If it won't be too much trouble."

"What? Of course not. Now come on, it's freezing out here. I'll even let you sit up front, with the chauffeur."

Vihaal muttered something and Gideon laughed.

"Oh, now I'm in for it. Better come home and save my skin, Angel."

I got in the car. Gideon got in the back. Vihaal looked at me.

"I would call this a fortuitous circumstance."

"My car dying is fortuitous?" I asked wryly.

"Well, now we get the chance to swoop in and save you. And bring you home," Vihaal said. "Don't you want to come home with us?"

I gazed at Vihaal, then at Gideon.

"Of course I fucking do."