Theirs to Hold (Hazard County Threesomes) by Rory Michaels

Chapter One
    A hot breeze blew past, bringing with it the smell of the horse barns. The shade trees helped cut down on the temperature, making it a good twenty degrees cooler when hidden from the sun’s rays. Rain had been sparse in Hazard County, but the heat and sun had not. Typical this time of year, but often uncomfortable. Sweat was worn like a second skin and there wasn’t a whole lot to be done about it.
    Mario Moreno signed the last of the transfer orders for the dapple gray horses he was selling and nodded to the man in charge of getting them to their new home safely. In the heat, Mario had to doubly assure they’d be well cared for. Frequent water stops would be a must.
    Will Moore tipped his hat. “Thank you kindly.”
    “How long is the drive?” asked Mario. He knew, but wanted to hear it again for his own peace of mind.
    “Just under four hours. I’ll stop on the way and check on ‘em.”
    Mario knew the horses were in good hands. He’d been using Will for years to transport the horses he bred and then sold. Will was a standup guy who always got the job done while taking exceptional care of the horses.
    Will paused. “Hey, you hear Dedra is back in town?”
    Mario tensed, his hand gripping the paper tightly. Dedra Hopkins was a name he hadn’t heard mentioned outside he and his best friend in years. She was a face and body he thought of often. She’d been Kirby’s best friend all through school and Mario’s secret obsession. Well, not so secret to anyone who was close to him. Neither was his other secret—the one he’d tried to keep but failed the minute he finally admitted how he felt for the biggest nerd in school.
    Kirby Tilton.
    He laughed. Damn that Kirby for calling him out on his feelings for him. And damn him for being right. The men didn’t flaunt what they had, mostly because they weren’t sure how to label it. But both talked often about Dedra—though Kirby was the only one of the two of them to talk to her and he’d never had the nerve to push for something more.  
    She is the one for us.
    He sighed. Getting her on board wouldn’t be easy. Hell, she’d run from Hazard County eight years prior and hadn’t been back until now. He wasn’t so sure announcing they wanted her to be their third would make her want to plant roots and stay. From what Kirby had told him of her sexual past, she was far from a wild child.
    “The look on your face says you still think fondly of her,” Will said with a snort. Will knew all Mario’s secrets because Will held a fair share of his own, so he didn’t go blabbing to the public.
    Fond of her? Fuck. That didn’t even begin to cover it. He still dreamt of her, of what it would be like sharing himself with her and with Kirby. He sometimes pictured Dedra’s face while he was sinking his cock in some local gal. He and Kirby had an open relationship with the understanding that when they did find the woman who would work for them both, they’d stop seeing anyone else.
    Mario didn’t exactly have the best reputation when it came to the ladies. He tended to bed them and be on his way. It wasn’t like he didn’t tell them upfront that he wasn’t looking for anything serious. But they always thought they’d be the one to catch the white whale. It never went as they planned. He fucked them and then went on to the next. And there always was another waiting in the wings. Always someone he could close his eyes and pretend was Dedra. None of them appealed to both him and Kirby. None were the perfect one for them. Dedra was.
    It’s just a matter of convincing her of that.
    Until then, he’d continue doing what he was doing—banging chicks and also having a relationship with Kirby. They weren’t out in the open with everyone in town about their relationship, mostly because they weren’t sure what to call it. And all too often people let others into their business too early, only to have something good totally and utterly fucked up by folks who