Liability (Suncoast Society #33)(52)

Was in love with both of them. With Cole as a partner and a lover, and with Kim as his kinky little masochistic slave pet. Differently, but just as deeply in various ways.

“Hey,” Mason said. “Thanks for being so patient with me this week.” He jumped without looking. “Love you. Sorry it’s taken me so long to say that, but I love you.”

He heard Cole’s soft sigh escape over the line. “Love you, too, Mase. I’ll tell her about tonight for you.” A smile entered the man’s voice again. “And you know she’s going to ask me what she should cook. I have no preference what we have.”

“Then please tell her to make my favorite.”

“You’ve got it. See you in a few hours.”

“Yeah.” When they ended the call, Mason sat back in the chair and set the phone facedown on the conference table. He didn’t want to look and see Freddie’s texts from the night before, and he hadn’t deleted them yet.

He didn’t want to see if there were more texts and voicemails today. Right now, he just wanted to process that little bit of heaven wrapped up in a very simple phone conversation with Cole.

No, he absolutely did love Cole and Kim. With so many of their friends being poly, it wasn’t like it was unheard of. Once he could get past this whole stupid downtime and its problems, he’d sit both of them down, tell them how he felt, and see what they wanted the next step to be.

Answers my question.

He’d fished in the right pond and reeled in the catch of a lifetime. He could marry either one of them. Or they could marry each other and he’d collar her permanently.

That’d have to be a joint decision.

I love them.

A quiet, easy peace settled over him.

I. Love. Them.

Not just loved them as friends, or as lovers, but was in love with them. Both of them. Something deeper than he’d ever felt before. He’d loved before, been in love before, been infatuated and lustful and all sorts of emotions in between tepid like and fiery passion.

But nothing had ever felt like this. Like the path had finally led him to his true destination.

Like he’d finally found his true home.





Chapter Twenty


Cole stared at his phone. He thought Mason sounded like shit, and that worried him. He suspected his man was on the verge of collapsing, as hard and much as he’d been working.

If it wasn’t for the fact that he selfishly wanted to see Mason, and knew Kim wanted to see him, he would have made sure Mason went home, got some sleep, and maybe even cancelled Saturday night’s plans so Mason would rest.

And then Mason crossed “the line.”

Said the words.

It was both the same and different, at the same time, the level of love Cole felt for Kim. Just as deeply.

He called her, wanting to catch her before she left work so she’d have time to go by the grocery store on her way home.

“Good news or bad news?” he asked after she answered.

He almost giggled at her sad tone of voice. “Bad news.”

Maybe I do have a little sadistic streak in me after all. “Mason’s had a really rough couple of days at work and needs to cancel going out tonight if he wants any hope of being able to go tomorrow night.”

“Oh.” He heard her sigh. “Well, what’s the good news?”

“Mason said we can come over and spend the night with him tonight, and you can cook us dinner. Before you even ask, he said make his favorite. I’m assuming he meant your meat loaf. But he has to actually work while we’re there.”

She was already squeeing, though. “You ass. I thought this was bad news!”

He chuckled. “Did you just call me an ass, pet?”

“Sorry,” she quickly said. “I didn’t mean that!”

“Uh-huh. That’s okay,” he said, definitely warming up to his inner junior sadist. “I’ll tell him you said that and let him deal with it.”

She let out another squeak. “Sorry. Love you.”

He fought the urge to giggle out loud. “Love you, too, sweetheart. I’ll be at your place at seven thirty to pick you up. Shop on the way home and be packed and ready to go to Mason’s when I get there.”

“Yes, s—” She caught herself. “Okay.”

“If you want to call me sir, especially after the week we’ve had, it’s okay. I just don’t want you to think I’m farther along in this than I am.”

“I know. It’s okay.” Another hesitation. “Are you really okay with this?”

He thought about the way Mase had said I love you earlier. Kim might have gotten to f*ck the man first, but Cole was happy to be first in this way, even if it was just a technicality. “Sweetie, I’m really okay with this.”

“You’re not jealous?”

“Are you?”

Her voice went even softer, kind of what she sounded like close to subspace. “Is it okay for me to say I think it’s fun watching you two together?”

He chuckled. “Well, it’s usually fun for me watching you two together, too. I won’t lie and say that I like watching the heavier play you two do, but I’m getting more used to it. I like reaping the benefits of the aftermath from both of you. That part’s a lot of fun for me.”