Micah, Ryan, and Nick do Pride 

Micah leaned his elbows on the stone balcony railing and whistled to himself, impressed. He’d been tired when they got in the night before and hadn’t paid much attention to the view before face-planting on the supremely comfortable mattress in the guest room.

Damn. Xavier really knew how to live. Not that Micah would ever give up his mountains for the New York City skyline, but for a weekend? Well, Micah definitely wasn’t complaining. And that was before they even accounted for which weekend it was.

Big hands landed on Micah’s hips and tugged his ass back. Micah gave his husband a playful grind, throwing a grin over his shoulder.

With amusement in his eyes, Ryan shook his head and tugged Micah farther. “You’re way too close to that drop for my taste, baby.”

Micah made a face and patted the solid railing. “It’s perfectly safe.” He allowed Ryan to draw him back anyway, straightening to steal a kiss as Ryan hugged him from behind. “Morning,” he said, breathless when they broke apart.

“Mornin’,” Ryan rumbled back. “Nicky wants to know if you want lox on your bagel.”

Micah wrinkled his nose and pursed his lips. “Uh, no. Raw fish for breakfast sounds like a terrible idea.”

Ryan chuckled. “It’s smoked, not raw.”

Like that was going to change his mind. “Thanks, but no thanks. I’ll stick to good old-fashioned cream cheese.” He leaned in and nipped Ryan’s scruffy, bearded jaw. “Is Xavier still asleep?” He slid a hand down Ryan’s bare chest and dipped into his sleep pants, fingers skimming his cock. “Think we can–”

Ryan caught his wrist just as Xavier spoke from the open doorway. “Don’t stop on my account,” he said, leaning against the jamb. He was shirtless as well and had a steaming mug of coffee in one hand. He took a sip, his eyes trailing over Micah in a way that would have made him blush if he didn’t know it was a joke.

Micah stuck his tongue out and pulled his hand back.

Xavier’s lips pulled up, and the corners of his eyes crinkled in a smile as he pushed off the door and crossed to the long wooden table that took up a portion of the wide balcony. “Coffee’s on the counter.”

With a quick kiss to Micah’s shoulder, Ryan ducked inside while Micah wandered over to sit across from Xavier. “Thanks again for inviting us. This place is spectacular.” Xavier’s East Village penthouse was like something out of a magazine with three bedrooms, an open plan living and dining room, floor-to-ceiling windows, and multiple balconies that Xavier called “terraces.” There was even a freaking private elevator that opened directly into the long hallway.

And to think, this guy was happy to stay in their guest room at the ranch, which didn’t even have a private bath. Xavier had four bathrooms, and he lived alone.

Xavier shrugged off Micah’s gratitude. “You know I’m happy to have you anytime. Nick is my family, and that makes you family as well.”

Before he could respond, Ryan returned with their coffee, Nicky right behind him with a large brown paper bag and a stack of plates.

“That was fast,” Micah said, tilting his head back to get a good morning kiss from his boyfriend.

Nick kissed him briefly, then came back for another. Micah hummed into it, opening his mouth for a taste as his insides swooped pleasantly. Even nearly a year into their relationship, kissing Nick could still set off butterflies. Ryan also got a kiss from Nick while Micah helped Xavier sort out the breakfast offerings.

“Please tell me you didn’t get me fish,” Micah said, nose wrinkled as he examined the paper-wrapped bagels.

Nick grinned. “I took a guess that wouldn’t be your thing.” He grabbed one of the bagels and handed it over. “Bacon, egg, and cheese.”

Perfect. Micah leaned over and smacked another kiss to his lips. “Thank you, Nicky.” He tore into his breakfast with a groan. New York City really did have the best bagels. “So,” he asked when he could speak again. “What’s the plan for today?”

Xavier finished chewing and wiped his mouth. “I thought we could get ready, and then I’ll show you a bit of the East Village before it gets too wild down there. The parade starts at noon but lasts for hours–we don’t have to stay the whole time. We have dinner reservations at six and an open invitation to a friend’s club tonight.

Micah bounced in his seat, ignoring his husband and boyfriend’s amusement. “This is going to be amazing. Pride in New York City. My fifteen-year-old self is so freaking jealous right now.”

*

The Stonewall Inn was decked out with rainbow flags lining its brick and stucco facade. Across the street, the wrought iron fence was equally adorned. Bunting decorated the barriers set up to keep the milling spectators out of the parade route. A group of leather Daddies waved to the crowd as they walked past, huge smiles on their bearded faces. A cheer went up as two of them paused for a lingering kiss, furry arms clutching each other close. From beside Nick, Micah added his own excited shout to the noise. The energy of the crowd really was infectious.

Nick wrapped an arm around Micah, handed him a water bottle, and dropped a kiss to his temple. His boyfriend was mouth-watering in cut-off denim shorts, cowboy boots, and a sleeveless plaid button-down with the armholes cut low enough to show off the curve of his ribcage. Nick couldn’t wait until they got to the club later, and he could put his hands all over Micah’s perfect body.

Ryan wasn’t any less tempting in fitted jeans, boots, and button-down that he’d left more open than not. He’d laughed when Nick insisted he wear his cowboy hat, but he’d thankfully gone along with it anyway. Ryan caught Nick’s wandering eyes from the other side of Micah and gave him a wink and a smirk full of dirty promise.

Nick checked his phone. How many hours were left until the club?

A familiar arm draped over Nick’s shoulders, and his best friend leaned down to be heard over the music pumping from the float in front of them. “Nearly fifteen years of friendship, and you never told me you had a thing for the rugged type. You’ve gone native down there in the mountains, Nicholas.”

Nick scowled and elbowed Xavier hard enough to draw an “oof.” Asshole. He knew Nick hated when he did that. “That’s not my name.”

Xavier just drew him closer so he had less room to maneuver. “But you admit to going native?” Xavier asked with a chuckle. “It’s all the leather, isn’t it? I bet Micah is absolutely delectable in a pair of chaps and nothing else. I mean, that ass. I wouldn’t mind going native for a taste of that.”

Nick shoved him away for real this time, groaning through a laugh. “Fuck off, Xavi. And, while you’re at it, hands off too.”

Xavier just smirked and held up his palms in surrender. After so many years of friendship–a few of those years where they’d also been married–he knew Nick way too well. That went both ways, of course. Nick knew neither Micah nor Ryan was Xavier’s type. Hell, Nick wasn’t Xavier’s type. His ex-husband was a sucker for sassy boys who liked being bossed around a little. Maybe more than a little.

Not that any of it mattered because Micah and Ryan were taken. Very taken. And Nick had no intention of letting either man go.

He couldn’t help smiling when Micah cuddled up against his side, looking up at Nick with big brown eyes. “How hard do you think we’d need to bribe Ryan to try on one of those leather daddy outfits?”

Nick almost laughed, but then he pictured it and had to swallow roughly as his blood rushed south, and he went a little light-headed. Fuck.

“Right?” Micah asked, his eyes wide and earnest.

Nick cleared his throat and shifted, wishing his pants weren’t quite so tight. “I have a hundred bucks in my wallet.”

“What’s going on over here?” Ryan asked in that deep rumble that never failed to make Nick’s heart speed. He stepped closer and caught Micah’s chin, examining his cheeky expression. Then his eyes flicked to Nick’s, narrowing beneath the brim of his hat. “No.”

Nick raised an eyebrow and tried to keep his thoughts hidden. “We don’t know what you’re talking about. Right, Micah?”

Micah dialed up the innocence, blinking at Ryan. “Absolutely no clue.” His tongue wet his lower lip, and Nick wanted to lean in and suck on it.

Ryan beat him to it, finishing with a little nip to the plump flesh. “Baby, you’re a terrible liar.”

Micah couldn’t hold his straight face. He laughed and stretched up to kiss Ryan back. Ryan responded by lifting Micah off his feet, hands under his ass as Micah’s legs went around his hips. Nick couldn’t help but smile. They were beautiful together. A minute later, Micah’s feet were back on the ground, and Ryan reached across to cup the back of Nick’s neck, drawing him in.

Nick sighed happily, melting as Ryan’s tongue swept into his mouth, thoroughly claiming him. Ryan tasted a little like coffee still, but Nick didn’t mind. He clutched at Ryan’s hips and tugged him closer, loving the feel of all that taut muscle pressed against him.

There were a few catcalls from the crowd as Ryan’s strong arm wrapped around his waist and tipped him backward slightly. Nick smiled into the kiss. When they broke it, Ryan kept their foreheads pressed together. “Love you, Nicky,” he murmured, sky-blue eyes warm.

“Love you, too,” Nick answered easily.

Then Micah wiggled into the small space between them, kissing them each on the cheek. Nick shifted to wrap his free arm around him and felt Ryan do the same. Micah grinned. “So, I saw a booth earlier selling leather daddy gear…”

*

Like hell was Ryan wearing any of what Micah and Nicky bought for him out in public. Not even during Pride, when he would arguably blend right in. On the other hand, Micah’s saucy offer to be a good little boy for him and the heat that flared in Nicky’s eyes at the thought were tempting. His palms itched as his brain supplied him with an image of Nicky kneeling to suck him off while Ryan’s hand turned Micah’s perfect ass nice and pink.

He parked that thought for later and adjusted himself in his snug jeans. The club was packed, but thanks to Xavier, they’d been let straight in, past the line that stretched down the block. Ryan felt bad about it, but not bad enough to stand outside in the smoldering NYC summer heat for the next few hours. He took a swallow of his Manhattan. The sweetness of the vermouth and cherry were only a bare hint in the no-doubt expensive whiskey Xavier had ordered them, well, ordered himself, Nick, and Ryan. Micah had something sweeter. Ryan’s husband never learned to enjoy cocktails that were more liquor than sugar.

Ryan scanned the dance floor on the other side of the rope from the VIP section Xavier had led them to. Micah and Nick were moving together, one of Nick’s hands on Micah’s back, the other cupping his ass. Micah had his arms around Nick’s neck. Their chests—bare because it hadn’t taken much convincing from Micah for Nick to lose his shirt—were pressed together as tightly as the rest of them.

They fit beautifully, Micah’s more compact frame surrounded by Nick’s. Add Ryan, and the three of them together were like puzzle pieces. Ryan never expected to find a third that complimented what he and Micah had so perfectly. He hadn’t even been looking. But when Nick appeared in their lives, the connection was practically instantaneous.

Ryan took a sip of his drink, calculating the time before one or both of his partners got worked up enough that they found a dark corner to take care of things. Ryan had excellent timing and wasn’t planning to miss it, though he hadn’t decided yet if he would be a spectator or a participant.

He turned to their host to continue their conversation. He and Xavier had a surprising amount of their backgrounds in common. However, Ryan had rebelled by becoming a rancher, and Xavier by leveraging his connections to build his talent agency from the ground up—without the help of his family’s money. His accomplishments were impressive, but Ryan didn’t envy him one bit. He could never work the kind of hours Xavier did. Even today, despite saying he was on vacation, he’d been fielding calls from clients and employees.

Xavier was on the opposite side of the booth from Ryan, his arms stretched wide across the back, tumbler dangling from his hand. He was a large man, well over Ryan’s six-foot-one, and he carried himself with a confidence that made him seem even taller. His black hair was slicked back artfully, and his dark eyes, which Ryan was sure could be piercing, were filled with steady calm. He’d been kind enough to invite the three of them up for the long weekend and to spend his time showing them around the city and getting them into places that would otherwise have been sold out months ago. The restaurant where they’d shared dinner and great conversation had been spectacular.

Despite his polished appearance, which some might find intimidating, Ryan knew Xavier was a good man with a kind heart. He’d been an excellent friend to Nicky for years. Hell, he was an excellent friend to all of them and the reason the ranch hadn’t struggled while they were straightening out the mess Nicky’s father had made of their finances. Ryan didn’t think they would ever be able to repay Xavier for the favor.

With neither of them interested in dancing, they’d spent the time waiting for Micah and Nicky in conversation. Ryan was surprised to find that Xavier was interested in how the ranch operated beyond what he needed to know as an investor. He also got a rib him a little for being too tall for any of their horses, though he made a mental note to keep an eye out for something like a draft cross. Nicky would love to show Xavier more of the land surrounding Split Rock.

Xavier gestured to the dance floor and shifted Ryan’s focus to where his men were now watching him with come-hither stares. He hesitated, not wanting to abandon Xavier.

He got a laugh and a shove to his shoulder for his trouble. “Go. I’ll watch our drinks,” Xavier told him, humor sparkling in his dark eyes. “There’s an alcove behind the curtain in that back corner. Very private,” he continued with a wink.

Ryan gave him a smirk, tipped his head, and slid from the booth to go claim his men.

*

Xavier scanned the crowded club from their booth in the VIP section. His friends had returned, sated, and were cuddled up on the other side of the curved leather bench, Micah sitting in Nick’s lap while Nick leaned against Ryan’s side.

Their warmth and familiarity made something in Xavier’s chest ache. He would never begrudge them their happiness. They were good men, good friends, and deserved it more than he could say. Even as wrapped up in each other as they were, they had spent time making sure not to exclude Xavier from their little bubble.

Xavier kept up a good façade but was still smarting from his most recent breakup. He hadn’t loved the boy by any means–they had been too new for that. But that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt to learn that Xavier’s money was more of a draw than Xavier himself. And it made Xavier’s jaw clench that his PA had been the one to break the news to him, having overheard a damning phone conversation in the elevator up to the office.

Thank fuck for loyal assistants.

In any case, the timing sucked. He had been looking forward to Pride with a pretty boy to spoil. Instead, he was spending time with his ex-husband and his ex’s new partners.

He looked over at Nick again, happy to see the content look on his face as he watched his partners talk. Xavier pushed his lingering loneliness aside and signaled for the bartender.

Maybe it wasn’t how he’d planned, but he still had some amazing men he could spoil a little this weekend.

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