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it washed away. The hunger from that night in the bar roared back, hitting him right in the gut. He
wanted her. Needed her, and would do anything to keep her.
It felt right.
It was right.
Maya let him kiss her for a few moments before pulling back.
The punch to the jaw shouldn t have surprised him, but it did.
What the hell, Jake? Maya yelled. You can t just kiss me like that. You can t just change things
like that. She took two steps back and raised her chin. We re friends. Or did you forget that?
I didn t forget anything, Maya. How could I? But we both want this to change.
Maya snorted. Oh, so you re reading my mind now? Tell me what I m thinking about now. She
glared. and Jake shook his head.
You want to hit me again.
Maya sneered. Lucky guess.
Jake tried to get his breathing under control. It wasn t easy when her lips were all swollen and
wet from his kiss and her eyes held that heat he had seen the first night he d met her.
We want things to change, Maya. I do. I know you do, too.
Stop telling me what I want. Maya closed her eyes and inhaled through her nose.
Then tell me what you re thinking?
She opened her eyes again, and he couldn t read the emotion there. I m thinking that things are
moving too fast and yet not fast enough. You were just with Holly, Jake. Yeah, it s been a couple of
weeks, but that s not a long time in the grand scheme of things. I know she mentioned me when you
two broke up, and I don t want that to be the reason you re doing this. I don t want Border s words to
you to be the reason for this. Maya paused. I m worth more than having other people be the reason
someone wants me. It took me a long time to realize that. But I m worth more.
Jake shook his head and took a step toward her. When she didn t move back, he took it as a good
sign. I ve been thinking about you for longer than that.
When she looked doubtful, he continued.
I m serious, he said softly. I m not proud to admit that I didn t love Holly. I thought I did, or I
thought I could, but I didn t. I thought she was who I needed to be with in order to move on to the next
phase of my life because I couldn t have who I wanted. He shook his head. And that makes me an
asshole.
It kind of does, Maya murmured, and Jake snorted. Leave it to Maya to be completely honest
about that in a time like this. You re saying you wanted me before this?
Jake nodded. It was all or nothing. Because if he hid who he was, what he wanted, he d mess
everything up. This was Maya, his Maya. He couldn t afford to be scared and lose her because he
couldn t voice what he felt, or what he d felt in the past.
I did, he said. I wanted you when I came to Montgomery Ink for the first time and you were
with that guy.
Maya winced. I knew that, but it was too late then.
Is it too late now? Jake asked, his heart in his throat.
I don t know, Jake. We can t just rush into a change like this.
Are we really changing things? Or are we just opening our eyes? He reached out and touched
her cheek. When she didn t pull away, Jake took that as a win.
She didn t answer him, and he wasn t sure she could at the moment.
We re still friends, Maya. No matter what happens, we re friends. We have to be.
Maya met his gaze, indecision in her eyes. What about Border? What about the past? Because
it s not just you and me in this. There s another person who isn t Holly. I don t want to stand in the
way of you two, but& I don t know, Jake.
I don t know about Border either. I loved him once, Maya. He s back, and I don t know what he
wants. He closed his eyes a moment before studying her face. I don t understand how things could
be happening all at once. I should have stepped up to you before this, but it never felt like the right
time. But now he s back, and I don t know what to do. Or maybe, I do, and it scares me because I
want you, Maya. I want you in my life, and I don t know how to keep that and not hurt everyone in the
process.
Maya took a deep breath and seemed to come to a decision. Then have him, too. Be with him&
and maybe be with me, too.
Jake s eyes widened. What?
She shook her head. I can t fuck up what the two of you could have. I could see it, Jake. I ve
always seen it. I don t want to break that up or stand in the way. But I ve been thinking, too. It s not
just you who s noticed things have changed. Even if I wanted to hide my head in the sand, which is
totally not like me, I knew things were changing.
Jake couldn t breathe, couldn t quite think. Her presence in his life over the past few months
came to him, and he wanted to hit himself for being so careless, so horrible. You& you ve been so
quiet. So withdrawn. And I didn t notice.
Maya gave him a small smile. You were trying to make something work. And I understood, even
if it hurt. That was on me, Jake. Not you. Though at the time, I kind of wanted it to be on you, as
well.
What does this mean? Hope dared to fill him, and he tried to ignore it.
I don t know exactly. But& I ve been thinking that maybe, just maybe, you don t have to choose?
This is so weird, but not quite as weird as it should be.
What are you saying exactly?
She met his gaze. That we should figure this out. The three of us. Or rather, you and him and then
you and me. Just the three.
Jake s hands shook. I& I don t know if Border s okay with that. But he did. Border had said as
much, hadn t he? And what had that look Border and Maya shared before meant?
Like I said, the three. We figure it out, Jake.
Have you ever been in a ménage? he asked suddenly, not knowing where the thought had come
from.
Maya let out a dry laugh. Not a lasting one. You know I ve been with two men at once. We
talked about it after tequila that one time. But I know of ménages that work in real life. In fact, a
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