Finding Their Balance (45 page)

He leaned in, warmth emanating through his thin shirt, and his tension eased. “If you have any difficulty requiring further explanation or wish to cancel your reservation, please open the door and inform the host with a single word of your choosing.” His natural smile emerged. “Do you have a word you’d like to use, Miss Colvin?”

“Oh, I don’t think I’ll care to use it—”

He snickered.

“—but I’ll go with ‘pistachio.’”

“Very good, miss.” He snapped his feet together and raised his chin. “I’ll relay your sentiments to the master.”

“You do that.” Stretched on her toes, she planted a kiss on him. “You made me leave my wallet, so this’ll have to do for a tip.”

As she descended, he chased her lips. “Way better than money.”

She pecked his cheek. “And that’s for bringing my afternoon snack.”

“Who, me?” Flashing a too-innocent blink, he shooed her into the bathroom, where dimmed lights over the mirror created a shadowed, sensual atmosphere. “I’d love to collect more tips, but you’re supposed to be relaxing. Kissing me’ll get you all rowdy.” With a slow pull, he narrowed the gap, an ever-thinning slice of Jay smiling at her until the door landed in the frame. “I’ll be back to knock when it’s time.”

Alone.

Two syllables so different when she no longer cut herself off from their relationship with every closing door. Her anticipation grew untainted by the fear that tonight might be the last night.

An envelope propped on the counter bore her name in Henry’s script. A second new note for her collection, treasured all the more for their recent rarity. For ten months, they’d graced her door every other week, but in the last two, sharing a home and a bed, Henry had delivered her instructions in person. She pressed the invitation to her nose.

Rose petals. Not Henry’s leather-and-citrus, but the sachet he’d used to support the note scented the envelope and ivory cloth.

The sweep of a washcloth between her legs, a lifetime ago. Warm water, fading inhibitions, Henry encouraging her to surrender herself into his care. From him, she’d learned to slow time, to crystallize moments in contemplation, just as from Jay she’d learned to exist in the pure joy of those moments.

Heaviness settled in her breasts. The silk of her bra, so comfortable all day, grew into chafing confinement.

With a soft rasp, the note slid free.

Breathe, Alice.

Her laugh broke the silent spell. She’d kiss that arch tone from him, take him inside and not let him loose until she’d transformed him into the fucking-hot pure dominant who growled and gripped her neck when he came.

My bold love. In the last year, you’ve granted an uncountable number of my wishes. One might endeavor to catalog the stars in the sky or the sands on beaches the world over and finish the task before reaching the limits of your wonders.

Sensitive, revealing-himself Henry melted her, too, turned her insides to sticky syrup and heated her over a steady flame.

Tonight, my desire demands your indulgence. Indulge, Alice. This next hour is yours. I recommend a warm bath to heighten the rose scent and raise the temperature of your toy—

She flipped the washcloth back. Her heart-shaped plug waited with the black bottle of silicone lube. A fiery rush coiled around her legs and under her ribs and out her mouth.

—as you play, but the choice is yours.

It always had been. Henry’s confidence came from knowing what he wanted and showing his pursuits the not-insubstantial benefits of agreeing. He hadn’t forced her down this path.

I’ll send Jay to you with further instructions. For now, enjoy your playtime. Use your toy to reserve a place for me. I intend to press my claim later.

Until then,

H.

“I love the way you press.” The letter carried a whiff of citrus. His darker notes, the rich leather clinging to musky male, she’d have to retrieve from the source.

With her new letter tucked safely aside, she ran the bath as she peeled off her work clothes. The rose scent drifted up from the water. Nude, she breathed deep. The mirror mimicked her motion down to her flaring hips. Breasts lifted, stomach rounded, she held for a ten-count and let go.

A different woman than she’d been a year ago. Then she’d needed to hide and regroup. To rationalize her desires and push away her uncertainty over Henry and Jay’s interest, expecting the thrill to fizzle out too soon.

The woman in the mirror today believed in love. She’d lived with love’s gentle caress and breath-stealing truth. She no longer wondered what her men wanted from her but rejoiced in what they built with her.

* * * *

A shave-and-a-haircut knock interrupted her floaty daze.

“Delivery,” Jay called with a cocky tease.

“Come in.” As the door opened, she mustered an imperious wave. “You can put it anywhere.”

Jay waggled his eyebrows. “I’ll leave that to Henry.”

Water sloshed as she struggled to hold in her giggles.

“Damn, that’s not my line. Forget I said that.” He swung a black dress inside, hanging it on the door hook, and laid sandals on the counter. “The master wishes you to dress and present yourself in the dining room when you’re ready.”

“Then I won’t keep him waiting.” She stood. Water sluiced down her body. Courtesy of a gravitational assist, her toy tugged. Her breasts throbbed in the steamy, scented air.

Surveying her, Jay dissolved into breathless, open-mouthed appreciation. He swiveled the door handle up and down, his fingers clenched around the antiqued bronze. He met her gaze boldly, his eyes round and dark, as he dipped his head. “I love you, Alice.”

Flashing his widest grin, he dashed away.

Rather than investing in new extravagance to mark their anniversary, Henry had pulled out a memory, her backless halter dress and summer sandals. Last year, she’d donned them in her studio across the hall, wondering all the while whether she’d be overdoing things, trying too hard to be sexy for her uninterested neighbors.

“God, was I wrong.” She slipped on the lightweight cotton and spun. As the hem teased her knees, she clenched her toy. “I’m a lucky, lucky woman.”

Hair shaken free of its loose bun, she tamed the steam-frizz. Henry hadn’t left makeup on the counter, and Jay hadn’t delivered any. Best to go without, then. Clamping her lips for color, she stepped into her sandals and opened the door.

Her footfalls echoed on the hardwood. Snapping strides, but slower than her heartbeat. Relaxing her ass, she let the weighted toy dangle and shift with her swaying hips.

Jay maintained a perfect waiting stance beside the table, his stillness rich with potential energy. A command from Henry—maybe even one from her—and he’d take her here on the floor however she asked.

But beyond him, Henry examined her with a regal tilt to his head and a devouring hunger in his slow-sweeping eyes. “Hello, Alice.”

Fuck pretense. She returned his once-over, from his shiny shoes to the black dress pants covering powerful calves and thighs but not fully hiding the bulge at his groin, and onward, to the classic white dress shirt and the gleaming cufflinks above his artful hands.

“Hello, Henry.” She took her time at his face, tracing the strong curve of his jaw, the straight line of his nose, and the growing curl at the corner of his mouth. A man she loved lived behind those bold green eyes.

He extended his arms, palms up. “May I offer you a seat at my table?”

“I wouldn’t say no.” Covering the distance, she left behind the uncertain novice she’d been. Laying her hands in his seemed a meeting of equals.

“So often when one is beset by incredible beauty, the moment passes more quickly than the eye can capture. The opportunity is lost.” Kissing her cheek with European flair, he brought her the scent of his mastery.

Rich, dark leather invaded her senses, an oil slicking her desire for his dominance. Gathering his fragrance, she imitated his kiss too late to brush his cheek.

“But occasionally—” He nuzzled her nose as he switched sides. “If one is supremely lucky, fate presents the chance to revisit the composition.” He kissed her opposite check, and she reciprocated. “To offer an alternative form, one once limited to fantasy now made possible.”

He handed her into the chair. Plates stacked on the island suggested dinner would be coming, but the dining room table held only an ivory linen tablecloth over a cushioned table pad.

She rocked in the slipcovered seat, toying with herself and letting her satisfied sigh escape. Henry loved to hear their pleasure. “Are you offering me a fantasy, Master Henry? I’ve been a good girl. I followed all of my instructions.”

“Perhaps I’m offering you a fantasy of my own.” He gripped the corners of her chair back. Looming, imposing, he raised the fine hairs on her arms with his proximity. “But if you wish to play, you’ll have to say so explicitly.”

Jay’s shuddering breath beat her own by half a second.

Share a fantasy of Henry’s while he played out their first night together with a new script? Christ yes. She licked her lips in a bid for time to collect the scattered atoms pretending to be thoughts in her head. “You mean you want to fuck me?”

Humming, he teased her bare shoulders with tiny spirals. “I mean we intend to fill you up, Jay and I, until you’ve no room left in you and still the words spilling from your lips are all
more
.”

Her belly burned so hot her toy ought to be liquefying. “I understand the game, Master Henry. I want to play in your fantasies.”

Fuck, he growled his fucking power growl and Jay whimpered and the room flickered like flames, shifting in and out of focus with her breath.

“If you’re able to stand in the morning, my sweet girl, I’ll consider it a personal failing.”

In the morning, hell. Her legs wobbled in the chair, and he’d done no more than kiss her cheek and talk to her.

“But for now—” He bent and placed his mouth at her ear. Exhaled, slow and controlled. “You know what I want from you. Do it without being told.”

Bondage. Tighter than any cuffs could safely be, firmer than any flogging, his belief in her obedient submission got her on her feet despite her unsteady knees. She stepped to her right. The hem of her dress floated between her fingers. Raising the black cotton in the back, she exposed her ass to the air and Henry’s heavy stare.

Jay twitched.

She draped her dress at her waist and stretched across the table, curling her fingers around the far side.

Silence, but for their breathing.

She slipped off her sandals and spread her legs, her feet shoulder-width apart. Her toy settled lower, its weighted reservation securing Henry’s place.

“Good girl.”

With two words, he brought her near to begging for his touch.

Thank God he followed up with a graze along the curve of her ass. “Your pink-cheeked beauty proves your adherence to my directives. Did you enjoy your bath?”

“Very much, sir.” Much as she loved her boys, sometimes a girl needed unsupervised playtime. Her hands had been the first to investigate her body. Learning to manipulate her toy as Henry did had been a privilege. “Thank you for trusting me to explore on my own.”

“You’ve earned my trust. So patient you’ve been, when your adventurous nature would have sent you charging forward.” He wiggled the handle between her cheeks.

Aching for a firmer tug, she strained toward him. Her dress dragged the tablecloth beneath her.

Chuckling, Henry squeezed both halves of her ass. “For authenticity, you ought to have your embroidered black panties, but I couldn’t bear to part with them.”

The pair he’d taken their first night. They’d disappeared, never to be seen again—by her, at least. “I’m glad, sir.”

He swept his thumbs along her sweet spot, the crease beneath her cheeks. “Such a lovely sight.” Cupping her in full, he pressed fingers to either side of her clit. “The first night my Alice surrendered herself to me.”

Rocking his palm gave him rudder-like control over her toy. She followed the sideways swells with her hips.

“You gripped the table so tightly.” Bringing his fingers together with her pinched between, he increased the pressure on her clit. “Almost as tightly as you gripped me.” He rubbed her own lubrication over her nerves. “How much tighter, I wonder, will your grip be tonight as you embrace us both?”

Pleasure lashed her from the inside out, her contractions cascading. “Please, sir. I need to come. Please.”

“Not yet.” His low command left her shaking and raw. “You’ll wait. My good girl. My sweet Alice.” He stole away and took her orgasm with him.

She cried out. The wavering note folded into a needy, hungry moan.

“Let go of the table and stand for me.” He tugged her upright so fast she left finger-folds in the tablecloth. With greedy caresses, he stripped off her dress. “Jay.”

Jay’s gaze had never left them.

“Such exquisite bearing and perfect form you’ve shown. You, too, have earned my trust and greater rewards.” Clasping her shoulders, Henry held her back from the table. “Your waiting is done, my boy. Take your place, please.”

“Thank you, Master Henry.” Jay hopped on the table and sat with his legs dangling. His cock distended his formal black pants. Unlike Henry, he wore no tie, and the top button on his shirt hung undone.

She stood nude between two fully dressed men, one with his arousal obvious to her eyes and the other with his nestled against her ass.

Henry squeezed. “You’d like to unzip him, wouldn’t you, Alice?”

“Yes, sir.” God yes. So damn fuckable, an arm’s length away, and her denied orgasm gave her body a head start. She hummed at a higher-than-usual speed.

Grasping her wrists, he brought her hands to Jay’s waist. “I’ve seen how you watch my lover, how your gaze has followed his lithe muscles since the day you moved into this building. Do you think I haven’t noticed?” Henry teased out his words in a flowing, hypnotic rhythm. “See the beauty he offers.”

Jay leaned back on his hands and pumped toward her.

She worked belt, button, and zipper in rapid succession, until his pants gaped and his cock stood unencumbered. No underwear for him, either.