“Is Sierra doing ok?”
Cole had called on his way over to let Luke know that Sierra was working against a deadline on an important project. He wasn’t all that fond of the idea of her at home alone, but he was glad that Cole had come down to the club. During their brief phone conversation, he had sensed something in his lover’s voice that concerned him.
To his surprise, Cole didn’t turn to face him when he finally spoke. “She’s busy.”
There was an edge to Cole’s tone that caused Luke to stand, slowly moving closer. “Have you heard any more about Dylan?”
“No. Alex hasn’t said anything else, but I do know he hasn’t been in the office either.” For such an impersonal answer, Luke sensed that Cole’s irritation level was rising, but for the life of him, he didn’t understand why.
“Is that why he has you running your ass off these days?”
He had noticed how much Cole was out and about lately, and they’d had a brief conversation about a week ago after Cole mentioned he’d called Alex on it. Although Cole didn’t share much about what he and Alex talked about, Luke was under the impression things were better. Or at least that’s what he thought. Based on Cole’s body language and the edge in his voice, he was beginning to wonder whether he’d imagined it.
It didn’t escape him that Cole didn’t answer his question.
He moved closer until he was standing directly behind Cole, letting his chest brush against his back, noticing the rigid way his muscles flexed when their bodies touched.
There were days that Luke found this was enough, just being close to Cole after the exhaustion of the day was like a balm to his ever increasing anxiety. Between him and Sierra, the two of them managed to keep him on a level playing field and he had reached the point that he didn’t know what he’d do without either one of them. Despite the constant concerns waging a war in his brain, Luke looked forward to those rare moments when he could let down his guard. That only seemed to happen with Cole and Sierra.
“Are you ok?” Luke asked, gripping Cole’s arms with his hands.
Damn.
He felt the tension in Cole’s rock hard biceps, saw the strain in his shoulders. But even then, Cole made him burn from the inside out at the mere feel of his body beneath his fingertips. The feeling still took him by surprise most of the time.
Although Luke had come to terms with what he wanted, it still seemed somewhat surreal that a relationship like the one he had with Sierra and Cole actually could work. There were times when he knew they were all confused about what they were supposed to do, about what emotion was the right one or the wrong one, but at the end of the day, Luke knew whose bed he wanted to be in. And that was the one that belonged to Cole and Sierra.
Cole turned, facing him, his cobalt blue eyes swirling with something Luke couldn’t pinpoint. He waited to see if he would say anything, but in typical Cole style, he didn’t. It dawned on Luke that, in recent days, there hadn’t been a lot of talking going on between the three of them. Not that there was much time to talk, but it seemed to be getting worse.
Unable to resist the urge, Luke reached up, sliding his hand on the back of Cole’s head, twining his fingers roughly in his silky blonde hair, pulling him closer, never taking his eyes off of him. The tension between them was palpable, but then again, it usually was.
“Talk to me,” he whispered.
The way Cole held his gaze, Luke knew he was expecting something entirely different from him. As much as he wanted to take him right then and there in his office like he’d done on more than one occasion, he sensed that Cole needed something more.
It might not seem like it most days, but Luke didn’t miss the obvious. It wasn’t like he was oblivious to the fact that they weren’t spending a lot of time together, but he thought they’d reached a point where they were learning to live day to day without the reassurance that even he seemed to need from time to time.
It wasn’t easy for him, but he was making an effort. Luke was working to ensure that both Sierra and Cole understood just how committed he was to the relationship, and not just the sex portion. Or at least he thought he had been.
Cole pulled away, stalking to the other side of the room, thrusting his hands through his already ruffled hair. Luke waited, anxiously awaiting a single word from Cole. This wasn’t like him. He wasn’t the one who normally retreated, yet here he was, closing himself down when Luke least expected it.
As his own walls began crashing into place, – a conditioned response – Luke found his temper was getting the best of him. “What the fuck is the problem?” he barked, unable to control the anger that surged inside of him.