Healing the Wounds (21 page)

“Trust you’ll be doing the right things behind me to keep me from dumping us both in the water,” she finished, when he seemed unwilling to suggest it. She trusted him. Henry trusted him. They wanted him to trust himself. “That’s easy enough.”

“Is it?”

She pulled him into a hug, the paddle pressed awkwardly between them. “It is for me, sweetheart. I’m excited to spend the day kayaking with you. I couldn’t be in better hands.”

He squeezed her hard before pulling away.

“Right. Okay.” Switch flipped, he dropped to the boards, sliding his legs alongside hers until their hips were snug. “Let’s start with the paddling motion.” He laid his hands over hers on the paddle. “Don’t worry, ma’am, I’m a professional. I’m told I have great hands.”

She giggled and let him play the charmer as they practiced strokes. He suited them up with life jackets afterward. Not too bulky, thankfully. It wasn’t long before he held the kayak while she stepped in. He followed her, and they pushed off the dock.

Their first turning attempt resounded with a
smack
of paddles as she swung the wrong way, but they worked out the kinks quickly. Steering a kayak together differed from canoeing. The swaying, the speed, and the coordination didn’t line up with her experience. But the lesson he’d given her on the dock helped with managing the double-ended paddle.

Now when he called out a direction change, she obeyed instantly. Left, to avoid the two anglers in the little motorboat with the open cooler. Right, to stay off the shoreline—did she see the mostly submerged tree trunk with the turtle sunning itself? Yes, she’d seen it.

He sprawled his feet in the foot braces near her hips. Tapping his toes, either from nerves or excitement, but eventually even her hyperactive boy settled down. The rhythm of the strokes became second nature, a kind of communion, with him following her pace as she listened for his directions. Give and take.

He checked in often, calling a pause and leaning forward to rub her shoulders. “Still good?”

She answered in the affirmative every time. She might end up sore, but their contentment together mattered more.

Fingers pressed against the back of her neck and pulled away. “No sunburn back here. Legs okay?”

“Fabulous.” She made a face at her pale limbs. They never tanned. “As gorgeous as a line of vanilla frosting.”

“I love vanilla frosting.” Jay’s voice turned sly. “If you tell Henry what a good boy I’ve been today, I bet he’d let me have dessert.”

Hell, he didn’t need to fill up on sugar. Her stud had the market cornered with natural sweetness. “One-track mind.”

“It’s a really good track. It takes me all kinds of amazing places. Places you haven’t even seen.” He paused. “Well, not without a mirror, anyway. Unless you sit around with a mirror between your legs and—”

She dipped her paddle and splashed water his way. They dueled, calling a truce when she leaned too far and Jay had to shift his weight to counterbalance her motion.

“No tipping, remember?”

“Nice save, sweetheart.” She didn’t have to see him to know how calm and confident he’d grown since this morning. Henry’s campaign at work. “When was the last time you rolled a kayak?”

They pushed off in a slow turn, heading back toward the northern end of the lake. Jay keeping track of the time, no doubt.

“Oh, last summer. Pulled a stunt showing off for—” Silence from the back of the kayak. “Umm, the rest of the group. Speed. Flip and roll and bump upright.”

Showing off for a woman, or he wouldn’t have regrouped in midsentence. Last summer rang a bell. She paddled along in rhythm. Two strokes. Three. Four—ohhh. The woman he’d spent the Fourth with. Hadn’t Henry said Jay met her kayaking?

She refused to be jealous of the women in Jay’s past. He belonged to her now, and he hadn’t then, and it wasn’t like he had some continuing relationship going on. Lowering her voice to a smug flirt, she tossed words over her shoulder. “I bet you gave her a great ride.”

His panicked squawk imitated a bird call. “Gave who what?”

“I mean, fuck, Jay, you give me orgasms like the bank hands out free lollipops.”
C’mon, sweetheart, take the hint. I’m not upset, so don’t you be guilty.
“Tell me the truth, she was singing your praises when the fireworks went off, right?”

“How’d you know I took her to the—Henry.” He laughed. “Okay, no, not during the fireworks. But after, at her place, there was some definite praise.”

“Knew it,” she singsonged. “That’s my stud.”

“You don’t mind? Really?”

“It was before I knew you could be mine. And you had Henry’s permission, right?” He had to have. He wouldn’t have done it otherwise.

“Of course. He’s the one who suggested the fireworks date. Made the lunch and everything. ’Cause
somebody
needed a little rattling. An intimate dinner for two at home. Gave you a different perspective, didn’t it?”

She craned her head over her shoulder. No way would Henry whore out Jay. “He sent you out to fuck another woman so he could see how I’d react to dinner alone with him?”

Jay flashed his sexiest I’ve-got-a-secret smirk. “The fucking was optional. I could’ve come home anytime after midnight.”

She could’ve been angry. Gotten mad about the manipulation. But it was damn funny. And Jay’s date had obviously gone exactly the way he liked it. “Christ, did he tell you how many times I asked where you were?”

“Nope. He was in his studio when I dragged my ass home around sunrise. When he came out, he said the night had been ‘promising.’” Jay shrugged, his fire-engine-red life jacket bobbing. “And I got a fantastic fucking, so whatever you did, it totally got his motor running. Plus I got dessert, ’cause he saved me a bowl. Best date ever, maybe.”

She snorted. “You fucked and got fucked, and I had to cram my fingers in my panties. So not fair.”

“Yeah, no offense to your fingers, but they aren’t a match for Henry’s cock.”

They howled with laughter. When they finally got moving again, occasional giggles escaping, the day’s exertion caught up with her. She paddled with less speed and precision.

“Alice, your arms are getting tired. Hold your paddle above the water and lean forward, okay?”

She obeyed. Sharp clicks sounded behind her.

“Okay. Scoot straight back and then rotate your paddle ninety degrees and lay it down between your legs.”

She shifted a tentative inch but didn’t run into her backrest. The seat folded flat, apparently. Extra gear allowance for a solo outing. She wiggled her way back, pushing off her foot braces, until she sat snug between Jay’s thighs.

He sang to her as he lowered his arms, his paddle crossing in front of her stomach. “Put your floppy hat on my shoul-oul-der, whisper in my ear, baby.”

“What a crooner.” She tipped her face toward his and kissed his neck. “I love you, too, sweetheart.”

He pressed his cheek to her head. “You’re the first woman I’ve fallen for, you know. The only special one.”

The muscles in his forearms flexed beneath a thin sheen of sweat as he paddled. Sweet, strong Jay. “Not even your first? Your sister’s friend?”

He laughed. “No, that was a good summer, fun, but I didn’t fall in love until I met Henry. And then it was slow.” His words came as smooth as his strokes, easy and relaxed. “Not being submissive, I mean, that was immediate. I couldn’t stop myself.”

She leaned her weight on his chest. Sunlight flashed off Henry’s watch on his wrist.

“But he did. He made me feel okay about myself. He didn’t yell at me or tell me I was bad.” Wonder filled his voice, light and floating. “Like everything I did pleased him. And when it didn’t, he corrected me gently. Taught me a new way. I didn’t feel stupid or punished. I was—”

“Happy. Special.” She knew that feeling.

“Yeah.” His hair rustled against her hat. “Happy. Special.”

They glided back to the boathouse at a slow, steady pace. The turtle sunning itself on the broken tree trunk had gained friends. The anglers had moved on. The dip and lift of Jay’s paddling seemed as much a part of the landscape as the birds calling to one another from the shoreline.

She sent Henry a silent thanks for giving her this time with their lover. He never hesitated to give them time together, sexual or not. Time to build bonds.

The trees on the hillside blocked her view of the deck as they approached. Kept her from knowing if Henry sat, sketch pad in hand, watching them, too. But she liked to think he was.

* * * *

They raced up the stairs to the deck after securing the boathouse, Jay’s longer legs an advantage as he peeled away from her. Being first to the top meant he had to stop to push the door open. She caught up, breathing hard. They muscled through the space together and collapsed in a heap on the floor.

“What an odd mess of limbs I seem to have left in the middle of the living room.” Henry greeted them from a distance, volume growing as he neared. “How strange, that I would so carelessly leave such things lying about for anyone to stumble over.”

Jay rolled and thrust an arm upright. Henry’s watch glinted. “On time. Five, like you said.”

“Quite right. Though perhaps next time the two of you will make a more graceful entrance. One with less potential for injury.” Henry pulled Jay to his feet and kissed him soundly before extending his hand to her. “Up we go. Time to shower off your sunscreen.” He kissed her with equal attentiveness and studied her face. “Which seems to have been effective. No need to invoke the sunburn clause.”

She yanked the fishing hat from her head and sent it sailing across the living room. “No more floppy hats, either.”

Jay pulled his shirt over his head, wadded it in a ball, and tossed it after her hat. “No more clothes!”

“No more clothes indeed,” Henry murmured. “Go on. You may pick them up after your shower.”

They left a trail all the way to the master bathroom, with her bikini top the last piece to come off. After they took quick bathroom breaks in private, Henry’s authority resettled over them. A protective coating, like sunscreen. Alice giggled.

Jay trotted obediently into the shower and started the water.

“You’re both in high spirits, my dears. Did you enjoy your afternoon?”

“Mm-hmm.” She stepped under the spray while Jay gave Henry a thorough report of everything they’d seen on the lake. Face tilted up, she closed her eyes and let the water rush past her ears. She basked in the heat and twirled. Stepped forward to soak her hair. Opened her eyes.

“Beautiful.” Henry leaned against the lip where the shower met the wall. Still clothed, not intent on joining them, but watching.

Jay, naked, stood with his back to the shower wall beside Henry. Also watching. His hands rested against the wall, too. Cock hardening, he made no move to touch himself.

“You’ll want soap to wash away the sunscreen oils, Alice. Behind you.”

She smiled to herself as she popped open the cap on the citrus-scented body wash. So Henry wanted to play a voyeurism game. A little control. She drizzled soap on the shower puff and replaced the bottle.

“From the top down, sweet girl. Slowly. We wouldn’t want you to neglect even an inch.”

Nope, wouldn’t want that. Unless missing a spot would make Henry take charge of her shower himself. Her pulse thumped between her legs, and she squirmed. Her morning had been wonderfully sensual, but please God, let Henry give her his cock tonight.

Too greedy? She washed her neck and shoulders, leaving sharp-smelling lather with Henry’s scent behind. Making a half turn, she teased her way down her arm. Water swirled past Jay’s curling toes. He deserved Henry’s exclusive attention, too. Watching them play would be more hell yes than hardship.

She skimmed the top of her breasts and hid her joy at Jay’s soft whimper. Drowning out distraction, she attuned her awareness to the gentle chafing of the shower puff and the slippery suds on her skin. She rubbed tight circles across her stomach, sliding lower on each pass.

“Turn this way, my lovely girl.” Henry stared with dark intensity.

She sucked in a breath through her teeth. The water beat down on her back, strong and thuddy like her suede.

“Spread your legs.”

She widened her stance. Her hand crossed below her navel.

At the far side of the shower, Jay arched his hips forward. Even with his cock straining toward her, he obeyed Henry’s order not to touch.

Henry sported a shapely bulge in his slacks.

Her eyes closed and body shuddered without consulting her brain. Clutching the soap-slick mesh, she slipped her hand between her legs, replacing reality with the slow slide of Jay’s tongue and the thick heat of Henry’s cock.

Her moan was doubled, echoing. The acoustics of shower tile accounted for a fraction, not the full echo. She tugged her lip into her mouth and bit down. Tug and release, over and over, mimicking the motion across her sex.

“Alice, stop.”

Henry’s command halted her in midstroke.

She clamped down on the whine in the back of her throat.

“You’ve neglected your legs. Do give them a thorough washing, please.”

His sly tone and neutral face made imagining him a controlling bastard keeping her from her orgasm easy. But the flutter behind his fly proved he wasn’t indifferent. Just teasing her, and Jay, and himself by making her wait. A patient man with a tempting cock. The definition of hell?

Thank God he made up for it by taking her to visit heaven so often.

Fuck if he had the patent on devilish. Raising her leg, she settled her foot on the shower bench. Let them look. Let them see her with her legs spread, lips swollen and flushed beneath a covering of white foam. An Alice-approved audience of two, all bright-eyed love and lust and—respect. Water ran in streams down her stomach and through her curls to rinse her clean.

“Our girl has a fine sense of performance art, doesn’t she, my boy?” Henry took in Jay with a lingering glance and an approving hum. “You’re doing well to wait so long.”

She swept the shower puff down, rocking her hips with each stretch to her ankle. Lowering her leg, she added a shimmy and a flirty wink over her shoulder as she turned. “I hope you don’t mind. It’s so much easier to reach this way.”