Destiny Calls by Samantha Wayland (best books to read for knowledge .txt) 📕

their friend into his bathroom and ordering him to shower and get ready for bed.

Brandon"s lack of protest reassured her, even if the look on his face did not.

She and Patrick didn"t speak the entire time Brandon was in the shower, though Patrick did come to sit on the edge of the bed and hold her hand. They waited, wondering if Brandon was marshalling his arguments.

Farley flopped down in a corner, letting out a deep sigh of resignation.

124

Destiny Calls

She suppressed her guffaw when Brandon emerged five minutes later with a t-shirt and boxer shorts covering his beautiful body. She wondered if he was going to attempt to get completely dressed and if he honestly thought he"d stay that way for long. He didn"t, though, make any move to add more layers, but stopped in the middle of his room and stared at her tucked in his bed. Patrick gave her a last look, their understanding perfect, and retreated to the shower.

She gave serious consideration to being hurt that Brandon didn"t move, didn"t immediately join her, but she let it go.

Brandon had always been the most noble of them. The most honest, the one willing to sacrifice for what he thought was right. It was why he was such a good cop. It was why he"d felt he had to out himself to his coworkers, despite the consequences. If she were honest with herself, she might have clung to her privacy longer, until she had proof that she had to give up her most personal information for the sake of the investigation.

But not Brandon.

It was one of the many reasons she loved him. It was one of the reasons Patrick did too. She could not lament what she would not change, even while she watched the anxiety crawl across his features and his eyes return to the front window and Patrick"s truck hidden beyond the shades.

When she couldn"t take it any longer, she sat up and held out her hand just as Patrick returned. Naked, he stopped with his hands on his hips and studied Brandon, still standing there looking conflicted. Rolling his eyes, Patrick grabbed Brandon, spun him around, stripped his shirt off, yanked his shorts down and more or less stuffed him in the bed next to her before climbing in and grabbing them both.

It was only a full-sized mattress, so it was certainly cozy.

Brandon made sounds of protest but Patrick pulled him back against his chest and told him to shut up. Then Patrick turned off the light.

Destiny smiled against Brandon"s chest as she snuggled down under the covers.

She"d have gone about it a bit more subtly than Patrick, but he managed to achieve the same goal.

Once again, Patrick held onto both of his lovers for dear life.

Christ, it had been a long day, but it felt good to be here with them, even if this freaking tiny bed felt like the naked adult version of the clown car. How did Brandon bring women, let alone men, home with him to this thing? There was no room to move, to flip over, roll around, let alone get creative.

The idea of Brandon getting creative with someone other than himself or Destiny made him hold on tighter . Brandon"s body practically vibrated with the need to do something, something no doubt decent and righteous and best for all of them, but Patrick wasn"t going to let him do it.

125

Samantha Wayland

He had no fucking idea how he was going to pull this off, how he was going to manage keeping his private life private now that Brandon was decidedly out, whether he liked it or not. But he was going to try. More than try. He was determined to succeed.

Lifting his head from the pillow, he could see Destiny peering up at him from where she pressed her face to Brandon"s chest. Her fingers stopped doodling little figures on his hip long enough for her to smile at him. Not that he could see her lips beneath the horizon of Brandon"s bruised shoulder, but he recognized the glimmer in her eyes. He smiled back, reassured that he had one ally.

For now. She was going to flip when she figured out he wasn"t just in this for some sexual adventure. That he was thinking about playing for keeps.

Christ. He faced more hurdles than the summer fucking Olympics.

Dropping his head back to the pillow, he let the drag of the day ease him toward sleep. He"d no more than closed his eyes for a second when Brandon sat bolt upright, nearly tossing both him and Destiny over the sides of the narrow mattress. Before either could do more than hang on, Brandon was vaulting over him and out of the bed.

Patrick tried not to be pissed, but it was going to be a long night if he had to chase an errant lover all over Boston.

“Where the fuck are you going?” he demanded.

Brandon stared down at them from the side of the bed and Patrick could hear it coming before Brandon"s lips moved. “You both have to go.”

“No,” he and Destiny said in unison. Firmly. Patrick didn"t look back, layering his hand over hers where it came to rest on his chest.

“Jesus, Patrick. Grow up! We can"t leave your truck in my driveway all night.” It was on the tip of his tongue to tell Brandon he was paranoid, but he remembered the look on Carter"s face as he"d gossiped by the water cooler.

Damn.

He knew Brandon was right. But he also knew he didn"t want to go home. He didn"t want to sleep without either of his lovers. On that he was perfectly clear.

So how was he going to achieve that?

Before he could decide what the fuck to do, Brandon began pulling on clothes.

Panic clutched at him as he watched Brandon yank on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt.

“Fine,” Brandon said, his tone aggrieved. “I"ll take care of it.” He shoved his feet in an old pair of running