This story was previously available through DSP as a short story in 2010. The story has been significantly re-worked and extended.
Is this just hot sex, or can two become three?
Mark is finding his way in life after six years in the army. He's always wanted to write scripts for TV, and for one show in particular, Tomorrow's Game.
Half in lust already with the lead actor Zach, he is shocked when he ends up in Zach's bed and finds out that Zach's co-star Rob is part of the package.
Re-Read Review March 2023:
I'm not going to say I forgot how much I enjoyed this little gem because I didn't, I remembered it all. I will say that I did forget just how short Three was. Having forgotten the shortness really highlighted the talent it took to bring this combo of heart and heat to the table. I've read shorts that are full on heat and I've read those that are over flowing of heart it brings tears to the eyes. It's pretty rare to find one with both. So whether it's a re-read or new to you, I can't recommend Three enough, these mens' tale is a definite must to experience.
Original Review March 2016:
Usually short stories get an automatic 1/2 bookmark knocked off simply because I prefer full length novels but when I read Three, that little "rule" went out the window. Some might call Three a little piece of fluff full of fun, that may or may not be true for some but for me, it was a quick, fun read chock full of hope, passion, and promises of love that can happen when you were least expecting it. Though Mark is only looking for a new start and the next leg of his journey, what he finds is Zach and Rob and he just might find a piece of his heart filled along the way. It takes real talent to pack so much story and emotion into so few pages of fun and that is exactly what RJ Scott has done in Three.RATING:
Several beers later and the conversation was flowing nicely. There was no shortage of things to talk about: Zach, an actor, Mark, a wannabe screenwriter, Rob, mostly just offering incoherent grunting as he dozed on Zach’s shoulder.
When the offer came to continue the smooth, comfortable conversation back at Zach’s house, where Rob had a room, it was a natural progression of their evening. Zach was such an easy person to talk to, and Mark’s gaydar was in confusion mode. As they talked about all kinds of things, from the show to Hollywood, to Mark’s time in the Army, there had been some flirting, Mark was sure of it, but he couldn’t understand why. Zach was the poster boy for heterosexual alpha male, but he was inserting suggestive remarks into everything they talked about and didn’t bat an eyelid when Mark talked about staying the closet in the Army.
Anyway, if this was Zach flirting, why would he be flirting with Mark?
Mark had never rated his looks; he kept himself fit, his hair was short, and he had a naturally muscled body from years of physical exercise, but he was surely not in the league of Zach Cassidy, be he gay or otherwise.
It wasn’t as if Mark had heard anything about the twenty-six-year-old actor being interested in anyone other than the guest star actresses he was seen out with. Rumor had it he was dating one of the girls who had appeared in a few episodes in season one, a short redhead with a thing for murder.
The thing was, it seemed like maybe, in Zach’s eyes, Mark was a little bit better than ordinary, as Zach pushed him up against the wall inside the front door.
Zach was close; his lips close from Mark’s. “Tell me I’m not wrong. Tell me I can kiss you?”
So much for not being gay.
Mark didn’t even answer. He reached up and twisted his fingers, as best he could, into Zach’s short hair, pulling him toward him, mumbling “Not wrong” as he opened his mouth under Zach’s.
It was overwhelmingly hot, tongues searching out the taste of beer, kisses so deep and hard they curled Mark’s toes and left him short of breath. Zach pulled back to grab Mark’s hands, pushing them above his head and holding them in place, just holding him there for a long while, leaning into him, hard and heavy and needy up against him. Before Zach began tracing a path of open-mouthed kisses from temple to ear, stopping to caress the shell of Mark’s ear with the tip of his tongue, it seemed to Mark that breathing was almost impossible.
Whining deep in his throat, he moved restlessly under the onslaught, impossibly hard and desperate for friction, grinding up against Zach to relieve the pressure. Finally, Zach moved his lips lower, focusing all his attention on the fluttering pulse point in Mark’s neck as Mark just gave in and leaned his head back against the wall, helpless against Zach’s exploring mouth. He wanted to say something, anything, but couldn’t.
It didn’t enter his head to think where Rob had gone until another mouth touched his lips even as Zach was marking the skin pulled taut at his neck. He opened his eyes to find liquid-chocolate-colored eyes inches from his. He must have looked startled; Rob blinked once, twisting his fingers into Mark’s hair and pulling his head further back to give Zach free rein on his neck, taking Mark’s lips in a heated kiss then trailing fiery touches over Mark’s high cheekbones to his ear. “Zach wants you… I want to watch,” Rob said in his sleep-deprived growly voice.
When the offer came to continue the smooth, comfortable conversation back at Zach’s house, where Rob had a room, it was a natural progression of their evening. Zach was such an easy person to talk to, and Mark’s gaydar was in confusion mode. As they talked about all kinds of things, from the show to Hollywood, to Mark’s time in the Army, there had been some flirting, Mark was sure of it, but he couldn’t understand why. Zach was the poster boy for heterosexual alpha male, but he was inserting suggestive remarks into everything they talked about and didn’t bat an eyelid when Mark talked about staying the closet in the Army.
Anyway, if this was Zach flirting, why would he be flirting with Mark?
Mark had never rated his looks; he kept himself fit, his hair was short, and he had a naturally muscled body from years of physical exercise, but he was surely not in the league of Zach Cassidy, be he gay or otherwise.
It wasn’t as if Mark had heard anything about the twenty-six-year-old actor being interested in anyone other than the guest star actresses he was seen out with. Rumor had it he was dating one of the girls who had appeared in a few episodes in season one, a short redhead with a thing for murder.
The thing was, it seemed like maybe, in Zach’s eyes, Mark was a little bit better than ordinary, as Zach pushed him up against the wall inside the front door.
Zach was close; his lips close from Mark’s. “Tell me I’m not wrong. Tell me I can kiss you?”
So much for not being gay.
Mark didn’t even answer. He reached up and twisted his fingers, as best he could, into Zach’s short hair, pulling him toward him, mumbling “Not wrong” as he opened his mouth under Zach’s.
It was overwhelmingly hot, tongues searching out the taste of beer, kisses so deep and hard they curled Mark’s toes and left him short of breath. Zach pulled back to grab Mark’s hands, pushing them above his head and holding them in place, just holding him there for a long while, leaning into him, hard and heavy and needy up against him. Before Zach began tracing a path of open-mouthed kisses from temple to ear, stopping to caress the shell of Mark’s ear with the tip of his tongue, it seemed to Mark that breathing was almost impossible.
Whining deep in his throat, he moved restlessly under the onslaught, impossibly hard and desperate for friction, grinding up against Zach to relieve the pressure. Finally, Zach moved his lips lower, focusing all his attention on the fluttering pulse point in Mark’s neck as Mark just gave in and leaned his head back against the wall, helpless against Zach’s exploring mouth. He wanted to say something, anything, but couldn’t.
It didn’t enter his head to think where Rob had gone until another mouth touched his lips even as Zach was marking the skin pulled taut at his neck. He opened his eyes to find liquid-chocolate-colored eyes inches from his. He must have looked startled; Rob blinked once, twisting his fingers into Mark’s hair and pulling his head further back to give Zach free rein on his neck, taking Mark’s lips in a heated kiss then trailing fiery touches over Mark’s high cheekbones to his ear. “Zach wants you… I want to watch,” Rob said in his sleep-deprived growly voice.
Writing love stories with a happy ever after – cowboys, heroes, family, hockey, single dads, bodyguards
USA Today bestselling author RJ Scott has written over one hundred romance books. Emotional stories of complicated characters, cowboys, single dads, hockey players, millionaires, princes, bodyguards, Navy SEALs, soldiers, doctors, paramedics, firefighters, cops, and the men who get mixed up in their lives, always with a happy ever after.
She lives just outside London and spends every waking minute she isn’t with family either reading or writing. The last time she had a week’s break from writing, she didn’t like it one little bit, and she has yet to meet a box of chocolates she couldn’t defeat.
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