"Darlin', that was only the beginning," Travis said as he once again met Gage's stare.

Gage didn't look away. He was more than willing to see just how far Travis was going to take this. Hell, if he had his way, the man would never be able to push far enough.

Chapter Twenty Six.

Kylie's entire body was humming. And not some gentle vibration either. No, this was more of a tremor or a quake. Yes, definitely a quake. One that would challenge the measuring limitations of the Richter Scale.

She wasn't sure her skin was going to contain the need that throbbed from the center of her body and radiated outward in seismic waves that had her knees shaking. Even after two of the most explosive orgasms she'd ever experienced, Kylie was ready for more.

Unfortunately, they had a couple of issues that she didn't see them being able to overcome. One being there wasn't any furniture and as anxious as she was, Kylie wasn't sure she wanted to test the comfort level of the floor. Since standing was no longer an option because her thigh muscles were beginning to ache as it was, she didn't know how they'd overcome that one.

And two, if she wasn't just imagining it, then Gage and Travis managed to reduce the heat on the rapid boil. Things were simmering down, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Sure, she wanted to tell them to throw caution to the wind, but the practical part of her brain was flashing bright red lights repeatedly and throwing down the guardrail that would ultimately protect her from getting in any deeper than she already was.

For the time being anyway.

That didn't mean she hadn't enjoyed the sweet, loving way they'd taken care of her after Travis sent her into orbit with just his fingers. Kylie didn't think she could handle an orgasm more powerful than the last one, especially not right now. Now that she was clean, thanks to the tender ministrations by both men, using the body wash Gage had supplied her with earlier which she loved because now her skin smelled like him her hands were beginning to prune and her knees were a minute or two away from knocking together. A bed sounded so good, but again, they were limited on furniture which meant sleep wasn't scheduled for the near future.

So, Kylie found herself taking a cue from both of them, turning down the dial on her internal thermostat for the time being. This was her first rodeo so to speak, and she had no idea what to expect next, so she wanted to be prepared.

Now that they were on dry land once again, Kylie was beginning to shiver from the chill in the air. A couple of times, she thought they were going to lose electricity, and the logical part of her brain told her they needed to get out of the shower because that was the last place they should be in an electrical storm, but she had barely been able to remember her own name, much less something as trivial as safety during a storm.

"Here, use my shirt to dry off. It's mostly dry now. Then put Gage's on," Travis instructed, handing her the shirt he had removed earlier, while Gage grabbed something from the duffel bag he'd brought upstairs. Two more shirts appeared and Gage handed a spare to Travis.

Kylie didn't argue. She wasn't so sure she'd be able to speak if she tried. Especially now that she was staring at a gloriously naked Gage and Travis standing in the small bathroom, not two feet away. She let her eyes feast on one, then the other, not caring whether they caught her ogling them.

It was hard to ignore all of the powerful muscles and golden brown skin that made up the most striking male bodies she'd ever had the pleasure of laying her eyes on. Times like this, she wished she had a photographic memory or even a camera would do so that she could have something to refer to later. Not that either man would approve of her snapping a pic of them naked.

Glancing over at Travis, Kylie bit her lower lip as she visually molested him. His whole body was hard, including a part of him that she was eager to get her hands on again, although he had thwarted that attempt once already. Until she could get some strength back in her limbs, she wasn't going to try either, although she was pretty sure touching him would be enough to revive her.

The ringing of what sounded like a cell phone drew their attention to the pile of stuff on the floor. As Gage reached down, retrieving the phone from his jeans, he looked back at her and then Travis as though seeking their permission to take the call.

"It's fine. I could use a couple of minutes alone anyway," Kylie told him and then glanced over at Travis.

She wasn't lying. She could use a few minutes alone to get her brain cells realigned.

Gage nodded his head, flung his duffel bag over his shoulder as he hit a button on the phone and put it to his ear. Without haste, he disappeared out of the bathroom buck naked. An equally naked Travis wasn't far behind him. Kylie fought the urge to follow them around the corner just to watch their perfectly shaped asses as they walked away. She bit her tongue instead and shut the bathroom door.

After she snuck one more peek.

Once she was alone, the walls seemed to close in on her. "What have you done? What have you done?"

The woman staring back in the mirror did not look even remotely familiar. Her skin was flush, her eyes entirely too bright, her lips were swollen and was that... Yes. It most certainly was. Right there on her neck was a hickey. She stared at the mark as she giggled. Was it odd that she liked the idea of Travis or Gage marking her like that?

Kylie proceeded to wipe the water from her arms and legs using the t-shirt Travis had supplied her with. When she was drying her neck and shoulders, Travis' distinct smell wafted to her nose and she paused, pressing her face into the shirt. It smelled like him. Never having stolen anything in her life, she suddenly wanted to stash the shirt somewhere so she could take it with her later.

She was pretty sure it was safe to say that Travis still had a firm grip on her heart. Even just the small distance between them now he downstairs, her up she wanted to find her way right back into his arms. She wanted to run down the stairs and tackle him right in the middle of the living room.

With so many years making the memories of the intimate moments she'd shared with Travis hazy, Kylie was hoping to make up for lost time. The man had a body to die for and a tongue that could make her see stars and Kylie wasn't opposed to overindulging for a little while. She felt like she'd spent a decade denying herself chocolate to suddenly be dipped into a vat of it and told to restrain herself. Right. Like that was ever going to happen.

And if Travis was chocolate, then Gage was... donuts. Yes, sweet, flaky donuts. And the only thing better than donuts and chocolate was... well, donuts covered in chocolate.

Kylie sighed, glimpsing the woman in the mirror once again. She was smiling. From ear to ear.

By the time she was finally dry, Kylie realized her clothes weren't in the bathroom. She turned in a full circle as though they might just magically appear, but they didn't. She retrieved the shirt Gage had left behind for her and pulled it on over her head. Another sexy masculine scent soothed her, this one coming from Gage's shirt.

The sudden pounding on the door startled her. She shrieked and had to take a second to kick start her heart once again. When the dizzy feeling subsided, she pulled the door open and smiled up at Gage.

Only he wasn't smiling back.

"Is everything ok?"

"Probably not. I've got to go, and I've got to go right now. Either you're coming with me, or you can sit tight until I get back."

As much as she would love to be stranded in his magnificent house, having unlimited time to explore the beautiful details, Kylie didn't want to be there without him. There was no furniture, probably no food in the refrigerator, so... Definitely an easy decision.

"I'm coming with. Give me one minute to get dressed."

When he turned to go, Kylie snuck over and grabbed her clothes from the middle of the bedroom floor and then disappeared back inside. Panties and shorts came on, but her bra was still in Gage's truck she hoped so she had to settle for feeling relatively naked. Considering his shirt hung almost to her knees, she looked as underdressed as she felt.

Remembering that her boots were downstairs by the front door where she had dropped them when they came in, Kylie hurried down the stairs to the sound of male voices along with the squeak of footsteps across the linoleum floor. She only made it one step into the kitchen before Gage was grabbing her hand and hauling her toward the front door with Travis not far behind.

"Wait! My boots," she called as Gage pulled her right out the front door.

"I got 'em," Travis said as he pulled the door shut behind him.

"What's wrong? Where are we going?" If she didn't know better, Kylie would think that Gage was running away from something.

"My house," he informed her, never slowing.

Once again the rain pelted them from all angles as soon as they stepped off of the porch. She shrieked when Gage let go of her hand and Travis came up behind her, lifting her in his arms, carrying her to the rear passenger door of the truck. The roar of the wind made it impossible to hear, so she refrained from asking more questions.

Travis helped her in and even waited for her to get situated, although it prolonged his time in the rain. Once she was inside, she pulled on her seatbelt and sat patiently as Travis and Gage climbed in the front.

Without preamble, Gage started the truck and backed out of the driveway, barely glancing left or right to see if there was any traffic coming. There were so many questions running through her head, but Kylie was scared to ask them because she didn't know what was wrong with Gage. On top of that, Travis wasn't speaking either which... well, that didn't seem unusual for him. Since Gage wasn't talking and was probably lost in thought, Kylie feared that whatever the problem was didn't fare well for him.

After what felt like an hour drive, the silence making it seem unbearably long but was actually only ten minutes, they slowed as they turned onto a residential street and that's when Kylie noticed all of the commotion.

Two fire trucks, an ambulance, several standard pickup trucks with flashing lights in their windows were lined down both sides of the street blocking anyone from trying to get close to...

Fire.

"Oh. God." Her words were but a whisper, but realization finally dawned on her. Gage's house. Oh God. Gage's house was on fire.

"Stay here," Gage barked the words as he scrambled to get out of the truck.

"You can't go " She was quickly cut off as Travis turned to face her from the seat in front of her.

"Stay here, Kylie. Don't move. We'll be back in a minute." Although he wasn't making a request, Travis was unusually polite with his order.

Kylie clamped her mouth shut and nodded as she watched Travis exit the vehicle, returning her attention to the flames that were leaping above the tree tops. The downpour didn't seem to be helping, but she couldn't see much from where Gage had parked the truck.

Glancing around, she tried to see if anyone else was around, but there weren't any other civilians hanging out in the rain. Why would they be? It was pouring, and the lightning storm hadn't let up either. She sat as still as possible, trying to catch a glimpse of what was going on, biting her lip as she did.

Travis.

Gage.

Fire.

Her heart began pounding like a bass drum right in the center of her chest, and for a minute, she worried that she wasn't going to be able to breathe. Did it burn to the ground? Did anyone get hurt? Did he have any pets? The questions began running together, and Kylie realized she had tears forming in her eyes.

He could lose everything. Probably had already from the looks of it.

And yet, she could do nothing but sit there in the damn truck like an obedient little girl because they told her to. But what else was she going to do? It wasn't like she knew how to put out a fire and the last thing she would want to do would be to get in the way.

Leaning her head back against the headrest, she took a deep breath, held it, let it out. After repeating that process several times, she began to feel better. Given the circumstances anyway.

Now if she could only figure out how she might be able to help Gage, she might just be in business.

Chapter Twenty Seven.

Gage stood on the curb and stared at the flames as they engulfed his house and everything in it. Not that he had much, and he'd never been more thankful that he didn't have any pets because there wasn't going to be anything left when the fire department was through flooding his house with water. Not even the rain was helping to slow down the roaring flames. No, Gage's only hope was that the fire would eventually burn itself out.

Damn, this sucked.

He wasn't a materialistic man, but there were a few things inside that he would've liked to salvage if at all possible. Like, oh, say, his stuff. Thankfully, he'd thought ahead, and most of his valuables which weren't much, and consisted of a few pieces of jewelry he'd inherited from his grandmother, some random paperwork, pictures were in a safe deposit box. He was grateful that last year he'd had the foresight to put the most sentimental of items that he had from his parents there as well. Since he was rarely home, Gage figured that would be the safest place in the event some jackass decided to be stupid and break in while he was out of town. Which was more often than not these days.

Gage glanced over to see Travis talking to Chase Jameson better known as CJ. Gage knew CJ well because he was a cousin to Kaleb and close to their age. They'd grown up together, but since they graduated high school, they hadn't talked much. At least not until tonight when CJ had been nominated as the lucky bastard who had to give him the grim news. They couldn't salvage anything. The fire was out of control when they got there. He'd gone on to say other things, but Gage had tuned him out at that point. He didn't need a play by play, he could pretty well see for himself.

According to two of his neighbors, lightning had struck the house, and the next thing they knew, it was consumed by flames. By the time the fire department arrived, it was pretty much a goner they'd said. At the moment, Gage was too numb to care. Even the repeated "I'm sorry, man" that he got from random people, he could only stare as his entire world burned down in front of him.

They'd understand if he wasn't much for talking. Trying to accept what he was seeing without feeling as though it were happening to someone else required all of the energy he had left.

"No, man. He's got a place to stay, but thanks." Gage didn't turn his head when he heard Travis waving someone else off. There'd been numerous offers, which wasn't surprising in the small town. Even Charles and Myrna Talbott his landlords had offered him a room at their house for the night. He'd politely declined.

He had a place to go, that wasn't the problem. And even if he didn't have the farmhouse, he knew Kaleb would offer up his couch.

The only saving grace was the fact that he wasn't alone. Surprisingly, Travis wasn't putting too much distance between them. And of course, Kylie was in the truck. Until Gage felt it was safe enough for her to be closer to the scene, he was hoping she'd stay there too.

A strong hand came down on his shoulder and Gage turned his head slightly to see who it was.

"You doing all right? Considering?" Curtis Walker's deep, gruff voice had him turning away from the fire.

"I'm in one piece. That's all that matters," he replied.

"You're right on that one, son." Curtis stepped around to face him. "I'm not going to stand here and coddle you because I know all too well how space is all you're looking for right now, but if you need anything, I expect you to come to me or Lorrie. Understand?"

Gage had always been close to Kaleb's parents, having grown up around them. After losing his own parents, they'd welcomed him into their home and treated him just like one of their sons whenever he was there. Staring at one of the most influential men from his childhood, he simply nodded. Not that he would ask for anything from them, but Gage knew better than to argue with Curtis.

Curtis squeezed his shoulder. "If you don't want to come to us, just let Kaleb or Travis know what you need, and I'll ensure you get it."

Gage hid his surprise. Kaleb he understood, but why would Curtis assume Gage would go to Travis for anything?

"Hey," Travis interrupted as he stepped closer and Gage looked over to see CJ walking away.

Ok, maybe this was just a little awkward.

"Boy," Curtis greeted. "You take care of him. Let me know if he needs anything at all." With that, Curtis walked off as though he hadn't just given the most profound order of his entire life.

As Travis stood before him, the connection Gage had felt between them earlier in the evening came back full throttle. To this point, Travis hadn't shut himself down emotionally the way Gage would've expected. Travis had perfected the art of pushing people away, but tonight he wasn't. At least not yet anyway.

For the last couple of months, Gage had thought of little else besides Kylie and Travis and the miserable life he was living, wishing like hell he had a chance with one of them. Thinking he stood a chance with both was just plain absurd, but that didn't stop him from thinking it might just be possible. He wanted them both, thought about them both. For different reasons and some of the same. And tonight, he was more than grateful to have them. Gage was used to being alone, but tonight, he wasn't sure he would have been able to handle it.

He could sense that Travis was worried, and Gage wanted to reassure him that he'd be fine, but he didn't. Rather than making Travis feel as though he were blowing him off, Gage was willing to accept whatever Travis had to offer.

As Gage watched the firemen get the fire under control, he let himself think about another blaze. One that happened just a short while ago. Ironically, that one had been in the shower and the water hadn't done anything to keep the flames at bay there either. A sudden longing to be wrapped in the arms of a caramel haired angel with big blue eyes and a body to die for nearly leveled him flat.

"Hey."

Gage turned to see Kaleb standing beside him, and he wondered how long he had been there. Travis was nowhere in sight, which Gage pretended didn't bother him just a little.

Gage muttered, "Hey."

"You all right?" Kaleb asked, sounding both worried and curious.

"Just fucking perfect. You?" His growl didn't faze Kaleb in the least, but he hadn't expected it to either.

"You want to come stay with Zoey and me tonight? We've got plenty of room. I'll come back with you tomorrow so we can see if anything can be salvaged."