Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 130159 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 651(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130159 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 651(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Connor’s eyes bugged out. “You’ve been lying to everyone for nearly six months? The three of you have been fucking all this time? Wow, hypocritical much?”
His brothers’ anger wasn’t easy to take, but Seth tried to explain. “Not entirely, no.”
Jack snorted. “How do you figure that? Because after your little speech when you caught us with”—he turned to Connor—“what was her name?”
“How the fuck should I remember?” Connor shrugged.
“Emily,” Seth supplied.
“That’s right,” Connor put in.
“Yeah, so after your little speech, you told us it was irresponsible to fuck the same girl, despite the fact we like it and we’re goddamn happy doing it.” Jack crossed his arms over his chest. “But you’re doing it with your pal?”
“What I said was, that neither of you is mature enough to make a lasting relationship with three people work, and I know that because Beck, Heavenly, and I have to work constantly to keep ourselves together. It’s not fucking easy. We have to listen and compromise and—”
“We told you we’re not interested in anything beyond a few sweaty hours,” Jack shot back. “No offense, big brother, but we’re twenty-one. Adults. We don’t need your sanctimonious ass trying to inform what our dicks do.”
Ouch. Then again, he probably deserved that—and more—for not coming clean.
“Pardon me for trying to save you heartache. I know you two don’t care about keeping a girl for more than a night yet, but there may come a day when you do. And I’m telling you now, you won’t have the maturity or skills to handle it.”
“You don’t know that,” Jack defended.
“I do. Marriage to Autumn taught me a lot about commitment. Beck is divorced now, but he knows a lot about what it takes to make a relationship work, too. We understand the things you should—and shouldn’t—do to make love last. But you don’t have that experience to fall back on. If you two fall in love with a woman someday, you’re likely to run her over or run her off because you don’t fucking know how to behave.”
“Don’t give us that shit,” Connor snarled.
“It’s not shit. Despite the fact Beck and I have experience and skills, it’s still way harder with three people than two.” Though they had faced challenges the twins might never—like Heavenly’s father dying and Beck’s long-lost family returning—his brothers were naive if they thought they wouldn’t face adversity. “At the start of the summer, when I told you that you’d need to grow up to make this kind of relationship last, I was being honest. Sex is easy. And between three people who click, it’s absolutely off the chain. I admit it.”
“Damn straight,” they affirmed together.
“But there’s more to life than sex, guys. You say you’re adults. Then stop acting like teenagers whose sole goal in life is getting ass. You will want to settle down one day, and I’m giving you sound advice. You just don’t want to hear it. But if you’d stop rebelling and start thinking about your future for a hot second, you’d realize I’m right. And I’m telling you, since Beck, Heavenly, and I moved in almost four months ago, we’ve had to work hard to stay together. We use all our skills. It doesn’t just happen.”
“You’re living together?” Connor’s mouth dropped open wide.
Jack didn’t look any less shocked.
Seth shrugged. “Why do you think that fucking expensive apartment was just sitting there vacant when you two rolled into town? The fact is, I was considering breaking the lease before you showed up.”
Scowling, Jack sized up the house. “So this is Beck’s place? Did he already live here with Heavenly when you moved in?”
“No. We were both single and trying separately to date her. I wasn’t lying when I said I’d shared women before. I had, casually. That’s why I know that three people trying to make a life together is totally different. But Heavenly needed us both.”
Jack snorted. “Yeah, she figured out two cocks are better than one.”
Seth slapped him upside the head. “That’s not what I mean, dipshit. I’m saying that Beck and I put aside our individual wants to have her for our own because she needed the support and stability we give her together. She was going to school, trying to support herself and her father while he was sick and dying…” He didn’t owe the twins his girlfriend’s life story, but he wanted them to understand. “She was drowning emotionally and financially, and she didn’t know how to ask for help. Beck and I taught her. We each gave her things she needed and—”
“You both top her,” Connor observed astutely.
Apparently, what they’d learned at Club Graffiti about the lifestyle had helped them identify the earmarks. “Yeah. And once we figured out how to provide the support she needed while also respecting each other, she flourished.”
Jack scratched at his chin. “Okay. I get it. You’re not just fucking. Good for you. But Connor and I are still at the hit-it-and-quit-it stage. If we need advice on how to keep a girl for more than a night or two, we’ll know who to ask. In the meantime, keep your well-meaning advice to yourself, huh?”