Night Is Darkest

his torso caused his crisp uniform shirt to glide across her semi-exposed breasts, torturing her nipples along the way, while the thick bulge of his cock beneath his trousers prodded the sensitive flesh between her thighs.
Lacey attempted to align their hips by shifting, restless, beneath Mason’s powerful form, but she couldn’t quite work up enough friction to satisfy the demands of her starving senses. Her whimper of frustration sliced through the room. She cursed the betraying sound when Mason froze on top of her, blinked, then ripped his reliable warmth from her embrace.
“Son of a bitch!” He scrubbed one hand over his face as though he could erase what he saw.
“No!” She attempted to follow him but he kept them separated with a palm planted on her sternum. Panic flared in her heart. She struggled against his hold but he had her pinned to the mattress. Her pleading gaze flew to Tyler where he’d tensed beside her. “Don’t let him do this. Don’t let him run now.”
Lacey hated the weak quiver in her voice but she couldn’t handle their abandonment today.
Tyler nodded then argued her case, “Mason, calm down. Can’t you see she needs you?”
She studied the tight knit of Ty’s brow, the tick of the muscle in his jaw and the forced set of his broad shoulders. He didn’t realize what she wanted. She could never choose between them. “No, Ty, I need you, too. I need you both.”
At her whisper, his head swiveled in her direction. If she hadn’t already been lying down, the force of his voracity would have leveled her. She held her breath while she waited for him to act on the raw longing whipping through those forest green eyes.

Chapter Two
“Quit looking at her like that!” Mason barked the demand. “She’s not thinking rationally. She’ll regret this later.”
Ty gritted his teeth and hung his head while he took several deep breaths. “Shit, you’re right. I’m sorry, Lace.”
He peeled their fingers apart before scooting toward the edge of the bed. Every inch in the widening chasm between them felt like a cold, lonely mile.
“No! Please, don’t leave me. Make me forget. Make me feel good.” Tears gathered once more, decorating her lashes with glistening drops. It would crush her if they deserted her now. “Please.”
Mason and Tyler exchanged glances above her but didn’t come any closer.
To her embarrassment she collapsed, broken, against the mattress as the hot tracks of her pain renewed. Some of her anger rallied, causing her to speak without considering the ramifications. “You p-promised Rob you’d take care of me.”
“Low blow, doll. We are taking care of you. Just like Rob always wanted. We’re leaving you the hell alone instead of taking advantage of the situation.” Mason sounded resigned.
Shame spread color across the displayed skin of her chest. The burning in her neck and cheeks assured her face flamed as well. But she’d play dirty if she had to. She couldn’t handle even one more loss.
“Just like everyone else in my life. Fine. Get the hell out and don’t come back. Ever.” Lacey let the grief, rejection, and aching arousal pour out of her at once. She didn’t have the energy to resist anymore. She sobbed, her entire body limp as a ragdoll. She couldn’t even bring herself to straighten her clothes or cover the vulnerable spots their tussle had exposed.
“Let’s go, Tyler.” The bed shifted as Mason departed but, though she braced herself for the second jostling, it didn’t follow. “Ty! Move it!”
The intense order would have scared her into action but still the mattress didn’t rock. She couldn’t see through the torrent of tears filling her puffy eyes to gauge the situation but she refused to allow hope to infiltrate her crushed heart. It would only end up hurting twice as bad in the end.
“I-I can’t.” Gentle fingers swiped moisture from her cheek. “I can’t leave her like this, Mason.”
“You should.”
“I know.”
“Don’t expect me to stand by and watch you ruin a lifetime of friendship.”
Lacey listened to their exchange through a fog of pain. She wished he’d do a hell of a lot more than observe Tyler comforting her but the conviction in his tone made it clear he wouldn’t touch her again.
“I’m sorry, Mason.”
No reply followed Tyler’s apology but the snap of footsteps fading down the hall served as answer enough.
Then strong arms enveloped her. Ty sat cross-legged on the bed and scooped her up close to his heart. She laid her head in the crook of his neck and clung to his muscled shoulders. This time her tears were borne of relief.
“Shh, little one. I’m not going anywhere.” He rocked her until her sobs faded to hiccups then stopped altogether. “You’re not alone. Never alone. I’m right here.”
He rested his lips on her forehead in a tender gesture. It felt so right to discover solace in his embrace. She tilted her face up, offering much more than platonic intimacy. Tyler covered the damp skin with butterfly kisses, sipping the last of her tears from her cheeks.
Lacey turned her head, capturing his sexy mouth. When he hesitated, she enticed him with lingering caresses of her lips and tongue. He tensed as the rapid rise and fall of his chest rocked her. She clasped him tighter. Her nails sank into the powerful slab of his knotted back.
Yet he refused to return her kiss. She glanced up to find his eyes squeezed shut. She watched the pounding of his pulse in his temple. Though inexperienced in the art of seduction, she attempted to goad him into breaking his restraint with tiny bites on his full lower lip followed by soothing laps of her tongue.
A cry of despair echoed around him when he put a miniscule gap between them. Struggle as she might, she couldn’t force their mouths back together. Her desperation would have been horrifying if she didn’t need him so badly. His eyelids cracked open and the single momentary glimpse he took did him in.
“Oh, God, Lacey. I’ll probably