Mine to Hold by Shayla Black

Eric. “I—I mean, if this is really what you want.”
    “Yeah. Oh babe.” Eric trailed his fingers down her cheek, dark eyes bright with gratitude. “Sex will give me something to look forward to while I rehab, something I can focus on and work toward when the therapy gets hard. Whaddya say, Ty?”
    Scrubbing a hand across his face, Tyler paused. The fraction of his brain that wasn’t alcohol soaked was sober enough to wonder what would happen if he crossed the friend line with Del. Sex was usually casual as hell to him . . . but she wasn’t a meaningless fuck. A woman that smart, compassionate, and together deserved more than to be banged in a drunken orgy of whiskey and hormones because her husband wanted to watch.
    But Eric, for all his faults, hadn’t deserved to be shot near the spine and paralyzed, either. Still . . . Tyler wondered, if he agreed to Eric’s request, how would his pal truly feel tomorrow about the fact that his best friend had fucked his wife?
    “I’ve never asked you for anything this important,” Eric pleaded. “I’ve been thinking about this for a few weeks now. I
need
this, Ty.”
    Damn it. Eric had been thinking about this sober? The guy had never pleaded for anything, not even his life when the asshole who’d shot him stood over him with a gun and threatened to do it again. Tyler wanted to do what was best for everyone . . . but his thoughts were complicated by the undeniable fact that he wanted to grab Del, strip her, lay her flat, and get his cock inside her ASAP.
    Still, he hesitated. “I don’t know, man . . .”
    Eric’s face closed up. “I’m asking too much, aren’t I? Sorry. ’S okay. I’ll ask Jim Becker. He’ll do it.”
    Yeah, because Becker the Pecker would fuck anything that moved. And he stared at Del like a piece of meat every time she walked in the precinct. Eric knew that. Tyler’s chest tightened at the thought of Del in the creep’s clutches.
    “Fuck no! Becker wouldn’t be good to Del. He won’t care about her experience or treat her like she’s special.”
    “Maybe . . . maybe not.” Eric shrugged. “I have to hope for the best. You’re my first choice, but if you’re not able . . .”
    Tyler shook his head.
Not able?
He snorted. Right now, he felt like he could fuck Del ten times without pausing. “Dude, are you really sure this is what you want? And you, angel?”
    “I want whatever is going to bring Eric and me closer together,” Del whispered, eyes tearing up. “The last three months have been . . .”
    Awful. He knew. She had to have felt like she’d awakened to a never-ending nightmare. Nothing in her life was the same anymore, least of all her husband.
    “Yeah.” Eric nodded emphatically. “I don’t mean the idea to sound kinky. I just need to feel like a man again. I need something good.”
    How about an ice cream cone?
    Once upon a time, Eric would have been too self-assured to make this request, no matter how drunk. Tonight showed just how desperate he’d become. How the hell was he supposed to turn down this plea?
    Tyler palmed the back of his neck, then decided to shoot straight. “Dude, you know me. You know my reputation.”
    “Yeah. You love ’em and leave ’em. I don’t think for one second that you’d try to stake any claim on my wife.”
    Eric had him there. He wasn’t the forever type. His mother had been saying it since he was a kid. Hell, he, Eric, and Del had even joked that he usually didn’t stay more than five minutes post-orgasm. But he respected Del too much to fuck and run. Where did that leave him?
    “If I do this, you need to understand that I’m gonna be thorough and make sure she enjoys every minute, because your wife is hot. I’ll definitely enjoy it, too.
    “I know.” Eric nodded. “I want her to enjoy it. She probably needs the release. I don’t even think she’s spent any time with her battery-operated boyfriends lately.”
    “Eric!” She batted his shoulder