Maybe Gage was trying to put Kylie at ease. Although, if he remembered correctly, she’d already seen the house, so he wasn’t sure giving her a tour again was the appropriate way to go. Then again, what did he know?

Gage was more of a gentleman than Travis. Sure, he liked to talk big – especially to himself – but he wasn’t interested in pushing Kylie either. Considering how responsive she’d been in the truck, Travis was still concerned that she didn’t fully understand the dynamic of this little trio. At this point, Travis was willing to offer up his left nut for the opportunity to sink deep within her body and feel her milk him for all she was worth. And he didn’t doubt that Gage felt the same way. But that could potentially send her running hard and fast in the opposite direction if they weren’t careful.

Travis shook off the thought because honestly, it wasn’t fucking helping. Fuck.

Letting the image in his mind’s eye of Kylie riding him hard and fast dissipate into thin air, he remembered where he was. He also noticed that he was once again the only person in the room. Where had they gone? That’s when he heard their voices echoing from somewhere else. He took a couple of wrong turns but wound up right back in the room with the chair/couch.

He didn’t have to stand there long to realize they were talking about the house. As much as he wanted to listen to these two talk it up about remodeling and shit, Travis suddenly needed some fresh air. Without saying a word, he headed back to the front door.

Stepping out on the porch, he had to wander around to the side just to get the house to block some of the rain coming at him. He settled against the wall and stared out into the distance, enjoying the view of the tree line that surrounded the property, lit up each time another strike of lightning came down. It was nice out here. Would be even better if the weather would cooperate.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been standing outside when he heard the door creak open and then a muffled click as it closed.

“Where’s Kylie?” he asked when Gage stepped around the corner.

“She’s upstairs taking a shower.”

Awww, hell. Now that was an image he could get behind. Kylie naked, water pouring over her.

“And why are you down here?” Travis knew if it were him, he’d have been following her up the stairs. Hell, he’d have carried her just so they could get there faster.

“Checking on you.” Gage’s response caught him off guard, and he stared back at the man. Wasn’t very often someone was checking on him. For any reason. “Everything all right?”

The lust in Gage’s dark brown eyes, his need to rebel against what was obvious between them was like gasoline to a flame and Travis was more than ready to get burned.

Being left alone with Gage – especially when he wasn’t all riled up – was a test he wasn’t sure he’d be able to pass. Then again, he happened to be quite fond of Gage any way he could get him.

♂♀♂

As soon as Kylie disappeared at the top of the stairs, Gage had headed for the front door. Of all the people he would’ve thought would have a hard time with this situation, he damn sure hadn’t thought it would be Travis. But, so much had happened in the last couple of hours, starting with whatever Kylie and Travis were talking about when he came upon them at the lake, followed by the blowup between him and Travis. And to round it all out, the three of them damn near combusting inside his truck until somehow he managed to put the brakes on. He could see how that might test Travis’ resolve a little.

From the moment they made it across the low water crossing which was still flooded but manageable, Gage knew there was no going back to the point they’d retreated from. At least not unless Kylie changed the direction things were headed. Based on how at ease she seemed to be, Gage didn’t think she was going to be the one to alter their course though. At the moment, he was worried about Travis.

As he stared at Travis, waiting to see if he would open up even a little, his pulse took off like an Olympic runner at the sound of a gunshot. Just looking at the guy made his blood run hot. Whatever this attraction was between them, it was potent. If it had to have a warning label, it would read: handle with care – contents under pressure.

Gage had more than his fair share of experience when it came to threesomes, but he admittedly had little knowledge about anything other than sex for the sake of pleasure. He wasn’t prone to relationships. Not that what was happening here could constitute a relationship, but that little thing called hope was leaving him feeling unsettled.

There was something about Travis Walker that intrigued him and yes, he didn’t doubt for a second that sex between them would light his fucking world on fire. It was the aftermath that Gage feared. There wasn’t enough water in the state of Texas to extinguish the wildfire they would ignite if and when things went south.

But it wasn’t sex that had Gage worried. Maybe it was because he was going on thirty three in just a couple of weeks. Or maybe he was just tired of playing the same games he’d been playing since he was a teenager. He couldn’t deny that he was hoping to find something worthwhile, something like Kaleb and Zoey had found with each other. And whether he liked it or not, Gage was secretly hoping he’d find that with Kylie and Travis.

Gage had a strong feeling Kylie could be the woman who caused him to settle down, if only she reciprocated. But then there was Travis. And Gage didn’t trust his intentions, and that was mainly because he didn’t know what the hell they were.

When it was clear that Travis wasn’t going to respond, Gage did the one thing he did best. He walked away. At a quick clip. He didn’t stop until he was inside the house and leaning up against the tacky wallpaper on the wall in the kitchen. At that point, he closed his eyes.

He should be getting a little worried because this was becoming quite the habit. Walking away from Travis because he was so overcome by feelings he felt were out of place, mostly because he got the impression that what he was looking for wasn’t quite what Travis had in mind. Sex, sure. More than that. Well, Gage didn’t think Travis had much more than that in him.

What the hell was wrong with him? His heart was pounding like he’d just run ten miles. The only thing Gage could think about was the argument he had with Travis and his need to push the man into responding. When he’d seen Travis at the lake, he had been bombarded by a red haze of anger when he realized who was in the truck with him. The mere sight had sparked something dark and possessive in his gut.

Shit, they’d almost gone toe to toe the night before because Travis was insistent that Gage wouldn’t be asking Kylie to stay with him while she handled the renovations on his house. He’d understood what Travis was stating, but the way the man went about it was all wrong. If they stood half a chance of this working, there was no room for jealousy between them.

Yet the green eyed monster had reared its ugly head. Last night with Travis and then again this morning with Gage. That didn’t bode well for where this was headed. How did they expect to share Kylie in any way with them both pulling the alpha bullshit that should be relegated to animals in the wild?

And still, they both seemed to be dedicating much of their energy to taunting one another. When Travis bolted toward him at the lake, Gage had wanted a reaction and he’d certainly gotten one. For one second, Gage had seen more than just the anger and resentment that Travis had been consumed by lately. But that’s the way Travis had always been for as long as Gage had known him. Detached. Aloof. Promiscuous. The man didn’t do relationships, and Gage knew from being Kaleb’s friend exactly how stand-offish Travis was. The man was centrally focused and everything revolved around work, whether it was Walker Demolition or the new resort, and his extracurricular activities, which were random and one-nighters at best.

But Gage had sensed some emotion in Travis recently. It started when Travis kissed him that first time, then the second, but most importantly, he’d seen it when he brought Kylie to Kaleb’s house. He’d set out to get Travis fired up, and it worked. Not quite the results Gage was going for, but something had changed.

And the absolute last thing he expected to come of this was some sort of twisted ménage, although Gage damn sure wasn’t against it happening. He just hadn’t expected it. He anticipated that he and Travis would collide in the most passionate of ways. Eventually. But for Kylie to be involved, becoming the center of both of their attention was somewhere out of left field.

His thoughts back tracked to the day he’d made love with Kylie at her house. The way she rode him, giving herself over to the passion that erupted when they were in the same room together still made Gage’s head spin. The memories caused a strange constriction around his heart. One that had become persistent over the last couple of months.

Gage leaned over, putting his hands on his thighs as he tried to catch his breath. He was beginning to think he was having anxiety attacks. He was overwhelmed, and he didn’t know whether this was something he’d brought on himself or if it had something to do with the two people who were now under the same roof as he was.

When the door swung open, Gage stood to his full height quickly, not wanting to let Travis see him at a weak moment.

“You ok?”

Why did it sound like Travis cared? From what Gage knew, Travis only cared about himself. That reminded him of what Travis had said to Kylie earlier: