The tone kept ringing, and he looked down at his clay-covered hands. It used to be easier when he’d used an old alarm clock that he didn’t care if he got clay on, but he’d been lazy with his phone. Maya sighed and sauntered over to his cell to shut the alarm off.
“Go shower and get ready,” she said. “I need to head over to the shop anyway, so no time for a quickie or even a nice blowjob.” She sounded so sad when she said it, Jake couldn’t help but smile.
“When I get home?” he asked. He liked the sound of that word, home. Maya had been staying over at his house with him and Border every night since Border had come back with those cuts and bruises. Jake had felt safer that way, and hell, he just liked that the three of them were sharing a bed nightly. He wasn’t sure if it would always work like that, but for now, he would relish it. It was all he could do not to fully plan for the future with these two. That was too dangerous right now. Hell, he was afraid it would be too hazardous for a long time to come.
Maya leaned forward and gripped his cock like she had Border’s a moment ago. “I think that can be arranged. But I want the whole Ghost treatment. Just saying.”
He leaned down and took her mouth with his, her taste bursting on his tongue, all sweet and rich. “I can do that,” he murmured against her lips.
“I think I’m bigger than you, you know,” Border said as he walked up. “I might be the one who has to be behind you.”
Jake’s dick would permanently have zipper marks. “I like you behind me.” He leaned forward and kissed his lover before sighing as his second alarm went off. Apparently, past Jake knew future Jake a little too well. “I need to get clean and get going before my brothers kick my ass.”
Maya’s eyes brightened as she shut the second alarm off. “Not too clean, I hope.”
He kissed her again. “Never too clean around the pair of you.”
“Well, there was that time in the shower with the three of us,” Border said with a smile. “We got pretty clean then.”
Jake rolled his eyes as Maya snorted. “Yeah,” she agreed, “but then it took two of you to keep me up after my knees melted.”
“My dick was in you at the time, so I don’t really think I can blame you,” Jake said with all seriousness.
She snorted again, and he pulled away, knowing his third alarm wouldn’t give him enough time to shower. When she slid his phone into his pocket, he had to hold back a moan of his own. Damn spicy woman. Pure evil.
“See you when I get home?” he asked.
“I’ll be here,” Border said. “Got some paperwork to deal with.”
“I might be late,” Maya said. She held up her hands when both men opened their mouths to speak. “But I won’t be alone in the shop. Sloane is working late with me on another client.”
Jake frowned. “But what about driving home?”
“I’ll be as safe as I can, and I won’t take back roads.” Maya pressed her lips together. “It’s the best I can do and still live my life.”
Shadows passed over Border’s eyes, and Jake cursed. He knew the other man wanted to leave, or at least felt he had to, but there was no way Maya or Jake would allow that. They would just have to be careful. He met Maya’s gaze, and she nodded. They’d do their best.
They had to.
He quickly said goodbye once more and headed to the shower. By the time he got clean and made his way to the Gallagher site, he was just about late. Thankfully, his three-alarm system kept him ahead of the game. He knew that the way he worked bugged Owen to death, but his anal retentive brother just had to get over it. Not everyone lived their lives by spreadsheets and figures. As long as Jake was on time, and not late, he was fine. He might not always be early to things like Owen, but at least he took his brothers’ timetable into account.
As he walked toward where the three of them stood, talking with their afternoon coffees in hand, it struck him again that he was the odd Gallagher on the outside looking in. He didn’t own a share in the company, though the three had asked him if he wanted in when they’d first begun—and a few times since. He’d never felt right in doing so. He only worked on some aspects of the projects, and usually at the end when they needed statement pieces or accurate historical replicas that he was good at, though it wasn’t his favorite thing to do. Graham, Owen, and Murphy had a system going, and it wasn’t something he would ever fully be a part of. Even after all this time, it still bugged him.
Graham looked over his shoulder and spotted Jake before giving him a chin lift and turning back to the others. Jake sighed, knowing he should just get over himself. It wasn’t their fault that he felt like he stood between two worlds: the Gallaghers and the Montgomerys. His brothers had their own issues, but they were a tight-knit unit that worked together daily. He was only called in when they needed him. He might have dinners with them, might watch games with them, but he wasn’t truly a part of them in some aspects.