Ink Enduring (Montgomery Ink #5)(38)

“What do you want to talk about?” As long as Jake kept his hands on him, Border would probably answer anything right then.

“Have you been married?”

Border coughed, and Jake quit moving. “We’re starting with the hard questions, then? I haven’t been married, Jake.”

Jake started working on Border’s shoulders again. “I haven’t either.”

“I figured,” Border said softly. “I mean, we have talked every few months. You’d have mentioned the fact that you had a husband or wife at home.” Border paused. “I’d have mentioned it, too.”

“Yeah, I’d have told you,” Jake whispered. “I had a few serious relationships in the past, but none of them ever really hinted at marriage.”

“Except Holly,” Border added, oddly not jealous about the woman.

“I don’t think I’d have gone through with it,” Jake said after a moment. “I think I wanted to get to the next phase of my life, and Holly seemed like she fit. And that just makes me an ass.”

“Maybe,” Border agreed. “But you’ll make it up to her.”

“How are you so sure about that?”

“Because you’re not an ass, even if you pretend you are sometimes.”

Jake ran his hands down Border’s back. “Thanks for that.” The other man cleared his throat. “Since we’re talking about who we’ve been with, I should probably mention that those relationships were with men and women, and at one time, a triad.”

Border turned then so he could face Jake. “You’re bisexual, Jake, like me. I’ve been with men and women in the years we’ve been apart, as well. I haven’t been in a triad, though.” He smiled softly. “Did you like how that worked?”

Jake nodded. “Yeah, I mean, it worked for a little while with the three of us, but we all knew going in we weren’t made for the long-term when it came to our relationship. I know of a few others that have been in triads for years, though.” Jake met Border’s gaze. “So, uh, if we want to have someone to talk to about things, there are people with experience. Like Maya’s cousin’s coworker down in New Orleans.”

Border studied Jake’s face for a bit before nodding slowly. “I think the three of us need to have a talk before we do anything. Because this is too important to f*ck up.”

Jake reached out and gripped Border’s hand. “Yeah. Yeah, I think we should.” He paused. “You want another shot.”

Border snorted. “Yeah, I think another shot will do us good.”

As Jake poured the drinks, Border rolled his neck, the tension from before gone due to Jake’s talented hands. He’d do this one shot and call it quits for the night. Because there was no way he’d f*ck this up because of too much alcohol. They’d talk to Maya, and the three of them would figure out what they were doing because there was no way they’d move on without communication.

It was too important for that.

They were too important for that.





Chapter Ten


Jake rubbed the back of his neck and waited for his coffee to finish brewing. He hadn’t tied one on the night before, but his brain was still fuzzy enough to make him think that maybe he should have stopped at the one shot, instead of two. Or it could be the fact that he’d been up half the night trying to think of what to say to Maya and Border once the three of them finally sat down and discussed what was going on.

Because while it was easy to tell each other that they’d figure it out between the three of them, Jake knew from experience that it was never that simple. Maya and Border might think they have a connection from just seeing each other and knowing about one another from Jake’s stories, but that didn’t mean much in the long run.

Would this be a fling between the three of them? A fling between him and Border, and then between him and Maya while the other two were never fully together? Would they all walk away once they got it out of their systems?

This wasn’t as easy as a best friend falling for a best friend even for a night, and Jake knew that it damn sure as hell wasn’t something to go blindly into. This was a shit storm waiting to happen, and yet he knew they’d all go through it if they found that’s what they wanted. What they needed.

The coffee finally finished brewing, and Jake took the cup and sipped greedily. He didn’t care that he burned his tongue; all he wanted was the pick-me-up. The gods of caffeine and straight thinking were forever entwined with the mug of goodness.

He snorted after he took another drink. Apparently, he was a little loopy before his daily fix.

“What’s making you laugh?” Border grunted as he shuffled his way to the coffee maker. Jake licked his lips as he watched the way the shirt clung to the other man’s broad muscles. There was nothing sexier than Border in the morning after a shower. Okay, maybe seeing Maya after her shower was just as sexy, but Jake would need them side-by-side to compare.

He grinned into his cup at the image, and Border turned to raise a brow at him.

“What is it?” Border asked, folding his arms over his chest.

“Just thinking about you and Maya after a shower,” he said honestly.

Border’s eyes darkened. “Were we in the shower together?”

Jake shrugged. “If you’d like.”