Ink Enduring (Montgomery Ink #5)(34)

Well, of course he had. How else would Maya make a fool of herself if she didn’t tell the two dudes alone in a house together she was fine with them getting it on?

“Well, hell,” she said dryly. “Hi, Border.”

“Hi, Maya, darling,” Border’s deep voice answered. “And I’m glad you and Jake finally got together. It’s about time.”

She closed her eyes, not sure what to make of that. Apparently, she and Border were the ones pushing Jake to each other while still holding on for themselves. It should have been more awkward than it was, but she couldn’t quite feel that; this was right.

“Okay, then. Jake? I wasn’t lying. I just want you happy…and if it’s with both Border and me? Then, I guess I’m okay with that. Just…do what you need to, but don’t hide it. Okay?”

She ended the call before either man could say anything and screamed.

The ball was in Jake’s court. Or maybe it was in Border’s. Either way, there was no going back. She might be in a ménage relationship, and she had no idea what she was doing.

That sounded like something Maya would do. And with that pleasant thought, she screamed again and laid down on her bed. She’d deal with it in the morning. For now, she would sleep and try not to freak out again.

Try.





Chapter Nine


Border stared at Jake’s phone and blinked. Repeatedly. It wasn’t often he was struck dumb, but right then, he couldn’t think of a damn thing to say. He shifted from foot to foot, oddly turned on and yet wondering what the hell was going to happen next.

Apparently, with Jake and Maya, one never knew. The fact that he was coming to like that should have worried him, but it didn’t.

“That girl kills me,” Jake said finally. “Kills me dead, and yet I can’t get enough of her.”

Border looked up at the other man, brows raised. “You slept with her, then?” He wasn’t jealous, far from it, but he needed to hear the words. When he’d left the day before, he’d had a feeling they would get together. And then when he’d seen the way Jake moved that morning, he was more convinced something had happened, but Jake hadn’t mentioned it.

Jake nodded and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I was going to talk to you about it tonight actually.” He winced. “I figured I’d find a way to tell you that Maya and I slept together? and that she wants me to be with you, as well. But apparently, I was a little late since she did a better job of saying it than I ever could.”

Border let out a breath and closed his eyes. He had no idea what he was doing. All he knew was that Maya’s thoughts had apparently been on the same track as his; only he needed to breathe for a few more minutes before he said anything about that.

One thing was nagging him, though, and he needed to get it out in the open. Even if it hurt.

“I’m not going back to what we had when we were younger,” he blurted, and could have kicked himself. He opened his eyes and sighed.

Jake took a step back. “What exactly do you mean by that? Because you’re the one that started this by coming back here in the first place.”

“Fuck. I don’t mean I don’t want to be with you, Jake. Because I do. I’m tired of trying to step around what I’m thinking. I want you, Jake. I want you in my bed, I want you in my life. But I won’t be the man you let f*ck you in front of Maya so you can get her hot for you more than she already is.”

That was one of his worst fears when it came to Jake. It was how they’d messed each other up the first time, and he’d be damned if they did it again.

Jake moved toward him so they both stood next to the counter, mere inches separating them. “That’s not what I want. And I’m sorry you thought that would be it this time.” He ran a hand through his hair, making it look sexy as hell. “I don’t know exactly what I want, but treating you like shit isn’t it. What happened back then shouldn’t have happened the way it did. We’d both been with other men before that, and yet with each other? We just acted like a couple of shits. I think it was because we were so close, you know?”

Border met Jake’s eyes and tried to understand where the man was coming from. He was confused by the phone call from Maya, and frankly, turned on as hell just from her voice. Her words had helped that, as well.

He knew it wouldn’t be easy to find a way through the mass of emotions and threads of the past that wove their way across each of their lives, but he knew he wanted to do it.

He had no idea what he would be doing with work, where he’d be after this moment, but he knew he wanted to follow the path that led to Jake—and Maya. He didn’t know another way to make what he wanted work, and frankly, he had a feeling what he wanted included Maya.

Border leaned forward, not touching Jake, but close enough that he could feel the warmth of his breath. “We’ll find the next step, Jake. As long as I’m not second best, as long as Maya isn’t second best, we’ll find a way.”

Jake met his gaze and studied his face. “Okay,” he breathed. “Okay.”

Border let out a breath through his nose. “And you won’t be second best either. No matter what, we’re all equals.”

Jake was silent for so long, Border was afraid he’d said something wrong. “I like that,” he said finally. “Though at some point, I guess the three of us need to actually be in a room together for longer than five minutes when we talk about shit like this, huh?”