Any Way We Want Read online

  any way we want

  (Want, #1)

  Grey Cole

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trade- mark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trade- marks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  Copyright ©2014 by Grey Cole

  Edited by Tracey Buckalew

  Cover design by © Cover Art by Najla Qamber Designs

  Model Photos from www.hotdamnstock.com

  All rights reserved. All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the above copyright owner of this book.

  Printed in the United States of America

  First Edition: November 2014

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Cole, Grey. Any Way We Want / Grey Cole. – 1st edition

  1. Any Way We Want—Fiction. 2. Fiction—Romance 3. Fiction—Erotic Romance

  Prologue

  Royce was fucking furious. Furious with himself. With that fucking magazine. With that reporter. With his business rivals. The list was so long he was going to need to check it twice. Unfortunately, he kept circling back to the real culprit—himself. He’d known better than to do that interview-cum-exposé on their lives. His protective instincts had practically boxed his ears and threatened to abandon him altogether when he’d said yes.

  Only problem was, his all-too-enchanting-and-sweet Luna thought it was a wonderful idea. People don’t talk openly about relationships like ours, she’d noted. We’ll be a refreshing voice in the community, she’d raved. They will keep our identities secret, she’d promised. It wasn’t a promise she could make.

  She’d been duped.

  They’d been exposed.

  He’d lost the loves of his life.

  Fuck. That.

  He would not lose them. They only needed time to adjust to the fact that outsiders— most-notably Shea’s family—now knew intimate details from their lives. Once they came to terms that nothing could be changed, the three of them would reunite and join forces to face the world.

  Proudly.

  Unashamedly.

  United.

  Royce loosened the tie around his neck that seemed more noose-like than usual and sloshed the remaining amber liquid around in his glass. His eyes narrowed at the bottle that taunted him from just out of his reach. Likely, it was only five steps to certain oblivion. But every time he thought about getting up to retrieve the bottle, he imagined himself collapsing in despair and not being able to drag himself up again.

  Just a week ago he had sat in this very room and watched as his lovers, his partners—fuck, his whole world—had donned matching grins of mischief as they'd revealed their costumes for the company masquerade ball. They loved keeping him in the dark, even though they‘d left little clues scattered around the house for him to find. Now the big house echoed hauntingly with the memories of their infectious laughter and beautiful smiles.

  His Luna.

  His Shea.

  Gone.

  If you’d told him he would lose them like this, he’d have decked you in the mouth and called you a motherfucking liar. But, Royce was nothing if not the worst kind of optimist. He had worries like anyone else, but in his previously charmed life, he had always been able to turn even the stickiest odds into his good fortune.

  Royce figured he had wallowed in his sorrow for a good two hours too long. He tried to only ever allow himself five minutes of self-pity. But, for the blow he’d been dealt today, he’d made a special allowance. He sat up straight in his chair, threw back the rest of the bourbon, and set the glass down with the lightest touch. His hand went back to the loosened tie at his neck, straightened it, and smoothed it down. His fingertips feathered through and calmed his near-black locks as he brought one leg up to prop his ankle on his knee.

  Royce then did what he’d done his entire life—he steepled his hands in front of him and envisioned his desired outcome. Shea Shepherd, his former roommate, best friend—his fucking soul mate—and his partner of eight years, would stride into the room. Musing over his latest creation behind the scenes of the digital world in which they lived and breathed, Shea would perch himself on the side of Royce’s chair and offer him his full lips. Royce would lick and then devour them as if food from the gods. Then, as if on cue, his beautiful, wide-eyed, innocent Luna René would flounce into the room, raving about how much money one of her brilliant plans was sure to bring them, while simultaneously flipping her phone around to show them the latest sex toy she wanted to add to their already extensive collection. Shea would laugh and taunt her, as Luna blushed prettily and kissed him. Finally, she would slide into Royce’s lap before gracing him with a kiss too.

  Royce savored the familiar scene in his daydream a moment longer before opening blue eyes that were sharp with cold indignation, yet burning with vengeance.

  Oh, he would win them back. He would woo them. He would love them. He would never let them go.

  And the people responsible for filling their world with turmoil and doubt … he would ruin them.

  Chapter One

  Before the Fallout

  “Oh, God,” Luna groaned, tapping a frantic beat on her steering wheel. Late for the second time that week, and she hadn’t called. She couldn’t even imagine the torture she had set herself up for. Her men were creative in the most deliciously deviant way. When caught breaking one of their few rules, they were always sure to send her body and her mind flying … but only after she had been appropriately punished.

  If anyone knew how much pleasure was coming her way, one might think that she intentionally earned punishment on occasion, but no. No, she did not. She preferred to please her men, and leave them to serve up everything she needed—including a bite of pain and torture when desired—without her having to play petty games or attempt to wrest control over them. She, for one, would never dream of trying to usurp their power over her or her body. Not for a second. She reveled in her role and, as such, was theirs. She’d been so caught up in the dynamic between them that the last two years seemed almost dream-like. Luna often found herself wondering if she would wake up one day only to find her life had been just that—a dream. Still, even if they had only been broken tatters of a shattered, life-like dream, they would have fulfilled her more than her waking life ever had.

  While she might have pondered this, she also knew that it would take something of a biblical catastrophe to rip them apart—plague, famine, flood—one of those diabolical events. If anyone knew how much she was loved, treasured, and fated to be with the men in her life, it was Luna.

  Blowing out a heavy sigh as she checked the time on the dash for the tenth time in as many minutes, she willed the traffic in front of her to part like the Red Sea. Rolling her eyes at her theatrics, she allowed her mind to wander back to her interview with Out and Open for the millionth time. It would have been much better to have gotten it all over with at one time, but the editor thought individual interviews were best. Then the three of them had sat down together, which led to short, impromptu question-and-answer sessions with the journalist to follow up on. Just thinking about some of the questions had her squirming in her seat.

  Does it turn you on to know your partners were in a long-term, strictly gay relationship before you, or is it difficult to know
that there is a role you can’t fulfill for either of them?

  “Thinking about those two beautiful men together … it’s the hottest thing I could ever imagine. Well, except when I add myself to the mix. Honestly, I was a little, uh, okay, a lot drawn to them because of that very dynamic. It started as me fantasizing about the two of them together … intimately and then with me as a third.” The tremor in her voice and the heat in her cheeks caused her to pause to take a calming breath. Trying to mask the fact that she’d gotten turned on, Luna sipped delicately at her water, but when her eyes met the interviewer’s over the rim of her glass, she took in the woman’s knowing smile and glazed-over expression. Yeah, she was imagining it too. And Luna knew all too well how even a vivid imagination would fall short of the decadence that was their relationship.

  Clearing her throat, Luna tried again, “Anyway, so, at first, it was sexual in nature. My thoughts, that is. After getting to know them on a professional level and then a platonic, personal level, that vision began to shift into something more tangible. I could imagine how it would be with us living together, working together, loving each other beyond the bedroom.”

  “I can’t imagine how they would approach that. Mr. Shepherd and Mr. Thornton strike me as conservative, respectful gentlemen.” Ms. Dalton had the courtesy to blush, thinking she’d probably offended Luna.

  “Shea and Royce are, in fact, perfect gentlemen.” Outside of their bedroom, she mentally amended. “And just because they aren’t flamboyant doesn’t mean they are necessarily conservative. It’s just their personalities—that understated elegance and poise that they both display. As I’m sure you’ve figured out, Shea is more of an open book, whereas Royce is the more controlled of the two, but they share both of these traits as well. They just display them in their own unique forms.”

  “Well, then, how did they approach you?”

  Luna blushed anew as she recalled the proverbial door she’d left open for them. “It was more organic than a direct approach. I mean, we didn’t fall into anything accidentally. But, when we saw that’s where we were headed and it seemed inevitable, Royce asked me if I would be open to it, but only after Shea had described in detail how amazing it would be for me—for us. Shea planted the seed and Royce cultivated it. When I was ripe for the picking, we went for it—fully aware of our feelings, our options, and our desires.”

  The traffic finally eased up, and as Luna slipped past the mangled mess that was four vehicles, she said a little prayer that no one was seriously injured and made her way to their street. Trepidation and excitement both vied for control over her senses as she coasted over the jutting hills of a neighborhood on the outskirts of the Castro. Who knew how moving to San Francisco would change her life so thoroughly and so wonderfully?

  Pulling into the garage, she noted the absence of Shea’s bicycle and regretted that she’d beat him home. He would have been able to keep Royce’s anxiety at bay. Cutting the engine to her recently acquired birthday present, she ran her fingertips over the Volvo emblem embedded in the steering wheel. Luna had begged for the new electric Caddy, but to no avail. When she’d started researching new cars to replace the beloved, seen-better-days Volvo station wagon her parents had given her when she’d headed off to college, Royce had deemed her safety his main priority. You wouldn’t have us live without you, would you, Luna? His deep, unspoken request to let him have his way had her shaking her head and acquiescing to his much researched and vetted choice. The why behind that thought had her hustling as much as she could in her pencil skirt and stilettos as she let herself into the mudroom.

  Closing the door behind herself, she leaned against it and exhaled shakily as the empty spot, where her robe usually hung, taunted her. No robe equaled no clothes. She glanced down to the equally bare floor and moaned. No sexy shoes left behind meant she’d be on her knees for the night.

  Luna released a deep breath and quickly kicked off her shoes, shed her clothes, folded them neatly, and eased her way into the living room, only to be greeted by a somber tune playing through the surround sound. Falling to her knees, she allowed sweet tears to fill her eyes because she knew that the reason behind Royce’s seemingly over-the-top protectiveness was completely justifiable. She cursed her forgetful nature—a dead, misplaced, or forgotten cell phone was not unusual for her. It was completely unacceptable, and she must do something to avoid making him worry needlessly in the future.

  Crawling as elegantly and controlled as possible with fresh tears that threatened to spill from her eyes, she hoped her countenance successfully begged for forgiveness. She made her way to the thick, luxurious rug and paused on all fours when she heard the clink of ice against glass.

  “Again,” Royce broke the dreadful silence after a few moments. “My love was late again—no phone call, no word. No idea of whether or not she was alive or dead.” Luna sniffed loudly and indelicately as his deep baritone stabbed each word straight into her soul like a well-aimed ice pick. “If you had any idea what that does to me, you would never, ever do it again.” A pause. A clink of the ice against glass. A sip. “But you will make it up to me, won’t you, darling Luna?”

  “Yes. Yes, of course, Royce. I’m sorry that I worried you.” Only lifting her eyes, she hazarded a glimpse toward his position on the couch and gulped at the sight of his bare ankles and toned calves. Despite the pull to see more, she didn’t seek out the rest of his— hopefully, naked—body for fear of further chastisement.

  “I can see that you are, love,” he sighed. Clink. Sip. Tsk. “Unfortunately for you, you’ve given me plenty of time to sit here and let my imagination run wild with ways in which to torture you tonight. You know I had to occupy my mind with something other than your potential demise,” he quipped.

  Luna almost laughed at his teasing tone but that urge died quickly since she knew she was in for it. Sometimes she wished that he would just spank her and get it over with. Most of her friends who lived a similar lifestyle got spanked and then fucked, finding their releases quickly. It wasn’t so with Royce. No, Royce preferred to drive her out of her mind with want. Edging—a seemingly innocuous word that was anything but. Nothing could be more tortuous in her horny opinion, and Royce figured out quickly that was her weakness.

  A low hum emanated from him, and the sound of his hand stroking hot flesh caused her thighs to tense involuntarily with the thought of Royce pleasuring himself. She wanted to be the flesh on that flesh, and he damn well knew it. “Come here,” he whispered after several long, drawn out moments.

  As she crawled toward him, the change in the atmosphere seemed to crack and hiss around her. Luna’s body immediately responded, her nipples pebbling and her thighs slickening.

  This was going to be a long night.

  Royce’s hand came into view for a moment before catching her chin, shifting her wandering gaze up and over muscled thighs that were trembling slightly. She risked a small, knowing smile. Slowly, she raised her eyes to stare at his beautiful, hard cock that held just a bead of moisture at its tip. Her tongue darted out to lick her bottom lip, as if she could already taste him there.

  A light chuckle from Royce confirmed that he noted her obvious desire. “Always so hungry for me, my little moon goddess.” She could only nod her agreement.

  “Too bad you have to wait,” he teased. “Climb onto the sofa and get into position.”

  Luna stifled a groan even though she reveled in being humiliated. And, this was definitely humiliating. She crawled around the ottoman, climbed onto the sofa, tucked her knees under her stomach, and rested her head on her folded arms, facing Royce. Luna was entirely exposed, and judging from the smile Royce flashed her, it was a nice view. From this position on the L-shaped sofa, she was the right height to meet Royce’s crystal blue eyes with her own. Love and warmth radiated outward, causing Luna’s breath to hitch in her throat.

  “You okay, Luna?” Royce asked, his voice laced with concerned.

  “Yes,” she promised.

 
Royce stroked his hard length a few times before they heard the back door open. Luna’s entire body thrummed with anticipation at the telltale sounds of Shea shedding his own clothes before entering the room. Shea sighed softly as crossed the floor toward Royce. When he was in her line of vision, Shea grinned as he leaned down, never taking his eyes from Luna, and kissed Royce while running a hand over his cock and humming in appreciation. The muted light made Shea’s skin glow, the halo-like reverse silhouette causing him to stand in stark contrast to the dark woods in the room.

  He pulled back, looked at Royce, and kissed him again. He tilted his head toward Luna. “Someone’s been extra naughty today.”

  “Late. No phone call.” Royce gestured his hand in the air. “She forgets how much she means to us, I think.”

  “We better remind her,” Shea whispered. He turned back to Luna, took in her expression, and frowned. “I was late, but I called,” he told her, practically reading her mind.

  “You should go check on her. Feel free to take your pleasure, so long as she doesn’t take hers.” Royce’s confident, yet seemingly detached, tone sent a shiver down her spine and curled her toes. For all his control, she knew exactly how desperate with anticipation he could get as well.

  Shea sauntered over to Luna, and she got her first glimpse of his own exposed cock—rock hard too, of course. Luna licked her lips.

  Shea leaned over her bent frame and kissed her soundly, pushing her long brown locks over her shoulder to bare her skin. Then, his fingers entered her without any hesitation. She hated that she couldn’t kiss back. “She’s practically dripping, Royce. Fuck,” he gasped as he tore his mouth from hers.

  Luna wanted to pinch her eyes closed and take a mental vacation as Shea thrust his fingers in and out. Up and down. But, she knew better. She had to remain perfectly still, lest she cause any more delay in her quest to be satisfied. Shea pushed in one more time and withdrew slowly before he delivered a resounding slap directly to her naked pussy.