Free Near Perfection [Aspire 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) by Allyson Young

noticed her and been so very attracted.
    However, when he had begun to extricate himself from his relationship with Alice in order to pursue her, it was too late. Haley had noticed Warren and had eyes for no one else. He had tried, albeit with considerable subtlety, to better get to know the girl. She was full of life. She did tend to ramble and get off track, but he found it charming and endearing. She had such enthusiasm for life, and the people who knew her liked her very well. She already had a reputation as an up-and-coming chef. Haley was bright and cheerful and beautiful, inside and out. She was loyal and compassionate. Gordon saw how she coped with her mother’s illness and subsequent death with dignity and maturity, despite her youth. Warren probably didn’t know about Haley’s mom because he had been involved with another sub at that time in his life. Gordon had thought Haley would be wasted on Warren, although also appreciated that his friend might just grow under her influence.
    Gordon hadn’t been able to distract her or attract her, although he thought that there had been a few times that she had been tempted. Gordon knew women, and if Haley hadn’t decided that her future was Warren, she would have been in his bed and he would have seen to it that she never left it. The night he shared her with Warren felt like coming home. He had simply forgotten that other members were present and also forgotten his Dom role. He had made love to Haley that night, not simply fucked her as part of the scene, and Warren probably felt it, too, considering how he had whisked Haley away for himself afterward. He was conflicted. Warren was his friend. Gordon had known Warren forever and knew why he could act like such an asshole. He also knew that Warren was essentially a good person behind those cold defenses. His steadfast loyalty to his parents’ elderly employees was just an example of that. He had been an invaluable friend to Gordon all those years. Gordon knew about Warren’s charitable donations to a wide variety of causes, but in particular, children’s charities, and was willing to bet very few others knew. But Warren’s family dynamic had shaped him, made him demanding and so insistent on impossible standards.
    Warren had been an only child, and as such, perhaps couldn’t be expected to share very well, except his father had been harder on him because of it. Siblings might have mitigated the onus he placed on Warren, expecting him to excel at everything in his life, which tended to exclude frivolous things like friendships and downtime. If Warren’s father had shown him affection and fatherly attention rather than just the uncompromising expectation for perfection, Warren might have been more balanced in his outlook on life. His mother had clearly cared for her son, but Chalmers senior interfered in even that attachment. She had seemed a sad, reserved person in her husband’s presence, and Gordon could only imagine how conflicted a young Warren would have been, growing up in that environment. When the couple had perished in a train accident in Europe, Warren had simply picked up the reins of his father’s business and carried on. He never spoke about his parents, not even to Gordon, although he’d attended the funerals of both of Gordon’s parents, just two years apart, and stood by him stoically.
    Gordon decided he had found a perfect solution to his dilemma. He would have both Haley and Warren. Oh, he wasn’t interested in Warren in a sexual way. He simply hoped that he could have the best of both worlds, the woman he loved and his best friend in his life, together and forever. Warren had shared all of his previous subs with Gordon often, just as Gordon had shared with Warren. They worked exceptionally well together to bring a woman the very best pleasure. The fact that Warren was so possessive of Haley, not even giving a thought to sharing until their one year anniversary, and then only because Gordon had