City lights blurred past his window as Quinn sped down Interstate 75. He’d been driving for hours, first along the 275 loop around the city before he decided to head north. Rush hour traffic out of downtown was starting to pick up, and he needed to get off the road before it became too clogged with commuters. He drew close to his apartment but couldn’t bring himself to stop. He wasn’t in the mood for his roommates, and he was so goddamn sick of not feeling like he belonged there. Or anywhere, for that matter.

Billboards lined the road, advertising for the USS Nightmare, the haunted riverboat on the Ohio River, and a few other popular haunted houses around the city. Just the other night, he’d briefly contemplated asking Shane if he wanted to go to a haunted corn maze up north that weekend. It had seemed like something that he’d get a kick out of, and Quinn had always wanted to try it. Now it seemed stupid.

He missed being able to talk to his mother. She’d been his only confidant for most of his life. She’d supported him through everything, including his arrest in high school. Relating to people had never been his thing, and the way he meshed with Shane was so completely out of his realm of experience, he’d let himself relax. And trust him.

Idiot!

But the longer he wove through the city streets, the more he realized he’d been the one to fuck up. Almost without thought, he pulled into Ward’s parking lot, pain shooting through his fingers as he pried them off the steering wheel. He shut off the engine and leaned back against the headrest with his eyes closed.

Shane had been doing his job. Now that Quinn had calmed down, he realized the man had been trying to tell him that he didn’t plan to let the mayor get away with harming his wife—he just had to go about it legally. Fuck, this was all hitting way too close to home for him, and he didn’t want to think about this shit.

Shane could lose his business if he went about this the wrong way. And Quinn had blown the whole thing out of proportion.

He scrubbed his hands over his face then jumped when someone banged on his window. He frowned at Royce.

The man opened the door and leaned down to stare into Quinn’s face. “You look like you need a drink. Come on. I’ll buy.”

“I won’t be good company.” His stomach picked that moment to growl loudly.

Royce released one of his rare, real grins and it transformed his features so much, Quinn blinked at him. “Friends don’t always expect a good time. Sometimes, they just offer an ear. And you need some food, so don’t argue.”

He couldn’t discuss the case, so he wasn’t sure how much he’d need an ear. But a drink did sound good. “Get in. You can buy me dinner, too.”

Royce circled the car and climbed into the passenger seat.

“Just so you know,” Quinn said with the first spark of humor he’d felt in hours. “Even if you’re paying, I’m not putting out.”

“Well, there go my plans to wine and dine you, squirt.”

He chuckled and pulled back out into the early evening traffic. “That is the dumbest nickname. You do realize I’m taller than you, right?”

“Has nothing to do with it.” He turned in his seat. “So what’s with the long face?”

“Let’s just pick a place and get that drink first, okay?”

They ended up choosing a noisy sports bar at the edge of downtown. Just a few blocks from Shane’s place. They had beers and burgers in hand when Royce got an obstinate look on his face that Quinn recognized. He sighed and ran his finger through the condensation his glass had left on the wood table. “I can’t say anything about the job. I signed a disclosure statement promising to keep the details to myself. All I can say is that I found some information that really needs to get out, and I blew up because Shane refused to expose the person.” He snarled and crumpled a napkin in his fist. “Thing is, he was right.”

“You?” Royce dipped his fry in mustard. “You blew up?”

“I get mad,” Quinn snapped, frowning at Royce’s plate. “That’s disgusting.”

“It’s better than all that sugar in your ketchup.”

Quinn smirked. “This entire meal is full of unhealthy things. What happened to your strict diet?” He’d always found Royce an interesting mix of good and bad. He had secrets and a temper from hell and though he didn’t talk about his past, Quinn had a feeling it was rough. Royce now lived like he was trying to keep everything clean, even his diet. Usually.

Royce shrugged. “I break it occasionally. So let’s take your happy ass back to the subject at hand. You don’t blow up. You go quiet and scurry off to cuddle with your game controllers when you’re upset. There’s no yelling. Not that I’ve ever seen.” He picked up his burger, frowning when several pickles fell out. He shoved them back in but didn’t yet take a bite, his dark eyes on Quinn. “He’s right, you know. Investigators have to go by the rules to keep their license.”

“I know. Fuck.” He slumped back in the booth and watched Royce’s eyes roll in pleasure when he bit into his burger. “I have to apologize to him.”

Royce chewed for long moments, his gaze still probing. He set his burger down and picked up a napkin to wipe his mouth. “What made you yell?”

“I never said I yelled.”

“Yeah, you pretty much did. Something you need to get off your chest, Quinn?”

For a moment, he thought about talking about his past, but he couldn’t. And not only because he never had before either. It was still too close to what he’d read about the mayor and whether he was angry or not, Quinn wouldn’t be breaking his confidentiality agreement.

“No, I just want to finish and go find Shane. I’m feeling pretty bad about some things I said. He didn’t deserve them.”

This time, Royce’s smile held a faint trace of sadness. “You’re too good, Lake.”

“No such thing.” Quinn picked up his phone, thought about the right words to apologize. He started to text, then put down his phone. Shane deserved one face-to-face. “How can a person be too good?”

“It’s better to have at least a semblance of a dark side. Helps ready you for the shit this world can throw at you.”

God, Quinn wanted to ask about Royce’s past. It wasn’t the first time. He’d wanted to understand the visible darkness in this man from the first day they’d been introduced. “Well, I obviously have a dark side, or I wouldn’t have blown up at Shane.”

Royce’s laugh surprised Quinn and several people in the booths around them. “Getting mad and yelling is not a dark side. Fuck, how’d you get to this age and stay so innocent?”

Quinn’s eyes flew open wide. “Innocent is the last thing you’d say if you’d seen me last night.” He clapped a hand over his mouth and groaned. “Shit.”

“Awww, did you get laid, squirt?”

The cat was out of the bag now, so he might as well go with it. “More like he did.”

Royce laughed again. “Well, that’s a hell of a lot more than I expected to get out of you.” He signaled the waitress for another beer. “Gonna share any more details?”

Quinn shook his head. “You want details, go find Dominic.”

Royce shuddered. “Nah, he over-the-fuck shares. Were you within hearing distance when he told the story about getting his dick caught in a toy some guy was using on him?”

Grimacing, Quinn shook his head. “No, and that’s all I want to hear about it.” He squirmed in his seat.

“You know, for all his crass hijinks, he’s a good guy.” Royce crumpled up his napkin and smiled at the waitress when she set down another drink.

They talked about work the rest of the meal, and Quinn had a hard time sitting still. He wanted to go find Shane and apologize. After Royce ordered another iced tea, he growled at him, frowning when Royce threw his head back and laughed. “You’re stalling me on purpose.”

“You’re too easy. Come on, drive me back to Ward and go find the PI—though why this can’t wait until tomorrow I don’t understand.”

Quinn didn’t answer. He sure as hell wasn’t about to spill more about the sex than he already had.

“You aren’t going back to the office afterward, are you?” Royce followed him outside. “Go home. Sleep in a real bed tonight.”

If he hadn’t acted like such an asshole, he would have been sleeping in Shane’s bed. He stuck his hands into his jacket pockets as they walked toward the parking lot. The temperature had dropped a good ten degrees while they’d been eating and he shivered, thinking about how warm that bed would have been.

Shock stopped him in his tracks when he recognized the man walking down the sidewalk across the street.

“What?” Royce halted behind him.

“What are the odds he’d be here now?” Quinn pointed but dropped his hand when he watched Shane interacting with two men who were holding hands. One of them put his hand on Shane’s waist and the gesture showed intimate familiarity. He wasn’t prepared for the punch of anger that slammed into his stomach.

“You may have to wait on that apology.” Royce whistled. “From the looks of things, our PI is on a date with a couple. Yee-haw, Mr. Stephens. See their body language? Those two have been together awhile.” He laughed. “The couple who plays together…”

That anger turned into raw jealousy, and it came with sharp teeth that chewed through Quinn’s middle. He held his breath and stared, forgetting for a moment that Royce was watching him.

“Oh no, really? You didn’t tell me everything about what’s going on with you and the investigator, did you?” Royce walked around in front of him and pulled his chin down, so Quinn had to look at him. “You and Stephens? Is that a good idea?”

Quinn shrugged away from him. “It’s no big deal. Just sex.”

“Pretty fucking good sex if your expression is anything to go by.” He frowned. “Quinn, I’ve known you a couple of years now and your sex life is something you’ve never talked about.”

“Neither have you,” Quinn snapped before he sighed, his shoulders slumping. “Sorry. That was insensitive when I know you had something bad happen to you.”

Royce took a step back. “And how do you know that? Did you use those hacker skills on me? I thought we were friends.”

Surprised by Royce’s fierce reaction, Quinn forgot about Shane for a moment. “Hey now, I dig for information for a living, but that doesn’t mean I go where I shouldn’t when it comes to people I care about. And when it comes to those people—like you, fucker—I pay attention. Computers aren’t the only things with interesting secrets. And yours are still intact.”

Royce looked away from him and it was easy to see he struggled with something. And as usual, he didn’t share.

Quinn felt like a shit for taking out his anger on his friend. “Hey,” he said softly while touching Royce’s arm. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for. But yeah, me and the PI are hooking up. I guess it just floored me to see him out with someone. But it shouldn’t have. We have an easy arrangement, you know? Nothing exclusive. You’ve had those, I’m sure.”

Dark eyes probed. “I have. But Quinn, you aren’t built for that sort of thing.”

“What the hell? Of course I am. Just because I’ve never had one before doesn’t mean I can’t now. There are no romantic feelings. It’s just for fun.”

“Yeah, your expression is telling me a whole other story. Shit.” He scratched his close beard. “It’s really good, isn’t it?”

Quinn was nodding before he realized it, and he felt the heat fill his cheeks because he hadn’t meant to give himself away. “Yeah.” He watched one of the men stroke Shane’s arm and tried to ignore the burn of jealousy. “Looks like they have fun with him, too.”

Royce nodded, though his expression tightened with concern. “That’s pretty obvious.”

He groaned when Shane spotted him. He said something to his friends, then looked both ways before crossing the street. His friends stayed behind, watching them. He jogged up to him, smiled and held out his hand to Royce. “Nice to see you again, Royce. Have you guys had dinner? You’re welcome to join me and my friends.”

“We already ate,” Quinn said, hoping his anger wasn’t showing in his tone. He took a deep breath, surprised Shane had come up to him so easily after earlier and if that didn’t prove he meant little to the man, nothing would. Still, he owed the guy an apology. “Hey, Shane, can I talk to you a moment?” He pulled him aside when the man nodded. “Look, I just wanted to say I’m sorry about earlier. I shouldn’t have gone off on you like that.”

“It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not.” Quinn shoved his hands into his pockets again and finally brought himself to meet Shane’s concerned brown eyes. Then he caught the two men across the street talking to each other, but their eyes were on him and Shane. This time, the feeling in his stomach resembled nausea more than anger. He needed to find someplace to be alone and think about this. Really think about it. “I don’t want to keep you from your friends. I just wanted to let you know I understand why you didn’t want to…” His voice drifted off as he looked around them. “You know. We’ll talk tomorrow.” He flashed him a smile he hoped looked legitimate then nodded his head toward Royce. “I need to get him back to his car. See you in the morning.”

He didn’t even give Shane time to respond. He just turned and walked away, not daring to look at Royce who fell into step next to him.

Shane watched Quinn nearly run away from him, his heart pounding in his chest. He noted how close Quinn and Royce seemed and he wasn’t jealous exactly, but he was…something. He knew Quinn wasn’t sleeping with Royce—knew that deep in his gut—so the unease probably stemmed from their disagreement. He still couldn’t understand where all that anger had come from. The man had blown up at him without provocation, and he couldn’t help but feel there was something else behind it.

It bothered him more than he cared to analyze, too.

He crossed the street to return to his friends, Jake and Aaron. He’d been getting together with the married couple on and off for over a year and a half—nothing serious, just some hot sex and laughs.

Jake and Aaron both watched him closely, Aaron’s light green eyes—startling and beautiful against his dark skin—particularly probing. That was normal for him as a high school counselor. The muscular black man looked like he should work at Ward Security, so Shane had been surprised to find out he had a degree in psychology and a masters in school counseling. It was fun to imagine teen reactions to him when they first saw him. He was particularly observant—something he shared with the man. Not the degree, but the observant. An old boyfriend of Shane’s, Jude Torres, had preferred to call it nosy. Funny enough, he’d run into Jude the same night he’d met Jake and Aaron.

A warm hand squeezed his waist and he gave Jake a smile and a hug. Jake was Aaron’s husband and the two of them had been together over ten years. Jake, shorter and slimmer than Aaron, was built like a dancer with a graceful, elegant and wiry body. He was one of the top attorneys in one of the biggest law firms in Cincinnati.

Neither man ever had problems with PDAs, though they were slightly stealthier when it came to touching him. Not once they were back at their house, though. Shane had spent many a happy night the lucky middle in their very attentive sandwich.

They were halfway through their meal when Shane leaned back in his chair and regarded them both. “How do you deal with jealousy?”

Aaron picked up his beer and took a drink before setting it back down. He glanced at Jake before he answered. “This is coming out of left field. You never asked us that before.”

Shane shrugged. “I figured you guys wouldn’t have picked me up together if there were issues.”

“So, why the question now?”

“I’m not sure.” He snorted. “I’m not being mysterious or anything. I honestly don’t know why I’m asking.”

“I think I have a feeling why,” Jake murmured with an enigmatic smile.

“We only play together, never alone.” Aaron laid his hand on Jake’s shoulder. “When we first got together, we were monogamous and for the most part, we still are.” He shot his husband a quick heated look. “But we both like threesomes, so we came up with this arrangement. If it’s someone we both like,” he said with a wink and a grin at Shane, “we go for it. There’s no reason to be jealous when we know how we feel about each other, and we’re both benefiting from the situation. Why?”

“Like I said, I don’t know.” He curled his hand into a fist, thinking about the sex with Quinn the night before. Fuck, it had been like nothing he’d ever felt, and that both intrigued him and scared him.

“I think you do.” Aaron’s smile still held nothing but understanding. “There were two men before you. The first guy moved out of state and the second wanted more than we were willing to give. That’s why we were happy you came up to us that night at the club. We could tell you were after a good time just like us.” Aaron shrugged. “We have friends who think we’re insane. That this will eventually break us up, but we’re both happy.”

“I bet you get questions about not being enough for each other.”

“All the time.” Jake looked at his husband and Shane had no question about his feelings for the man. He never had. “You’ve seen us together. Do we look in danger of getting bored?”

Remembered heat filled Shane. He’d watched them fuck each other more than once. Had even found himself a little envious of their bond in the past, too. It was there, the love they shared, in every touch. But he’d never felt left out either. It just hadn’t been that kind of relationship. Fun was fun. “Not in the least.” No, he’d been nothing but envious after having never experienced that kind of connection with anyone. Until now.

The thought shocked the hell out of him.

“What epiphany did you just hit?” Aaron crossed his muscular arms on the table.

“That obvious, huh?” He nodded and the expression he graced Shane with then held so much understanding he frowned at him. “You using your psychological degree on me?”

“Sure am. And unfortunately, I’m getting the feeling that’s the only thing I’ll get to use on you tonight.” He nodded toward the door. “You interested in that kid?”

“He’s not really a kid at twenty-four, and I’m not sure it’s ‘interested.’ We’re getting together, but we both agreed to keep it casual. But yeah, sorry. I’m not really up to our usual fun tonight. I should have called and canceled.”

“What? Why?” Jake shook his head. “We’re still friends. Even if we don’t have sex again, I know we’d both like to keep it that way.” He looked at his husband, who nodded in agreement.

He looked at each of them, both handsome, both great in bed, and the three of them did have a fantastic time. But right then, he didn’t want anyone other than Quinn. He didn’t know how long that would last, but it was what it was. “Thanks. I would like to stay friends. And I’m not saying we’ll never get together again. I’m just, I don’t know, a little confused right now.”

“A little confused or a lot attached.” Aaron lifted an eyebrow.

“Not a lot, but more than I’m used to.” Shane sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m not one for relationships. Hell, the only other sort of relationship I’ve had was something similar to what I have with you guys. A friends-with-benefits situation. I’m not even friends with this guy. Not really. We haven’t known each other that long.”

“Sometimes, when it’s real, it doesn’t take long at all.” Aaron put his arm around Jake and tugged him close. “We knew right away.”

He studied them and tried to think of a future where he was in a relationship with Quinn and pulled in a third. He loved threesomes and always had, but the anger that idea gave him shocked the fuck out of him. He wouldn’t want to share Quinn. At all.

And that alone scared him more than any other thought he’d had that evening.