Ménage Material [La Belle sans la Bete Ménages] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (10 page)

Like Devvy herself had said, they were scientists. Scientists didn’t believe in the ethereal notion that soul mates existed. But Alex had, and
did
. The minute he’d opened
Science, NOW
and read the article-cum-bio of one Devina Nelson, he’d been hooked.

Her biography had interested him. Their shared past and experiences of being pushed through their school years so both graduated at an early age had come as a relief. They were both outsiders to their own peer group. Her article on the underestimated study of plants and flowers for medicinal purposes hadn’t been as hokey as it might have been. Her arguments had been sound, intelligent, and her reasoning tight and loophole-free. She’d appealed to his intellect with every single justification. Then, he’d turned the page, and fallen hook, line, and sinker for a woman whose eyes were eerily beautiful. They’d leapt out at him, almost off the damn page. Those aquamarine orbs, so light in her pale face that she should have looked washed-out. Instead, she looked stunning.
Had
stunned him.

He wasn’t an emotional man—for survival, he’d frozen the most tender parts of his nature—but Alex admitted his heart had stopped at that moment. Only a deep gasp had brought him back from his shock. He’d had to know her. To meet her had become imperative. Then, he’d seen the comment that she would be in his country, his home city. To him, that had been a sign from above. She would be here, in Paris. He’d made Bastien attend a convention, a place he wouldn’t ordinarily be caught dead, just so they could start the ball rolling.

That act alone told him something he’d already known. Bastien’s love for him was deep and true. As well as accepting. For a man as powerful as Sebastien was, Alex knew his agoraphobia could be viewed as a weakness. There was no doubting it was, but in his lover’s eyes, it could have been unacceptable. Yet, not to Sebastien. Alex’s flaws were simply viewed as one of his quirks, and were always handled with loving patience.

For a love so pure on both sides, they shouldn’t have needed a third. But like he’d told Devvy, Sebastien’s lack of a pussy was a major problem. His lips twitched at her amused reaction to his comment.

Just like Sebastien, Alex needed a woman’s touch in his life. As complete as his lover made him feel, there was something missing.

And Devvy was that something.

“What are you smiling at?” Bastien snapped. “Answer me. What’s made her change her mind? She’s usually so stubborn! I thought we’d have a real fight on our hands to make her accept us.”

“It’s lucky for you that you want to share me with Alexei.”

Devvy’s hesitant and bad French stopped Alex from replying. The pair of them spun around to face the woman who would complete their circle.

Sebastien swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “
T’es certain
? You are certain about this, Devvy?” he replied, reverting to English for her sake.

His croaky tone had the corner of her mouth lifting. “No. I’m not certain at all. In fact, I’m terrified.”

She wrapped her arms about her belly in a display of vulnerability that made Alex ache. He couldn’t help it. He strode over to her, and wrapped an arm about her shoulder. She nuzzled her face against his side in a way that made his heart swell and his cock stiffen.

“You don’t have to be scared,” Alex told her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“I know but I still am. I have no reasonable explanation as to why I want to do this with you,
both
of you. Yesterday, I was certain my marriage was over. Last night, I had confirmation. Then this morning, I needed to see you, Alex. It didn’t even cross my mind that I could cancel until you mentioned it. I had to visit. I needed to know you.”

“Why do you think this whole thing started, Devvy?” Bastien murmured. “Alex saw you in a magazine, and there was an instant connection. I thought he was insane.” He chuckled. “You will learn he has his quirks, and most of them are not to be trusted. But in this, he was so…” He sighed, looking for the right word. “
Ardent.
There is no other way of putting it. It was imperative that I meet you, and see how we gelled. The minute we met, the same happened for me. It was instant, and it was almost unbelievable.

“I’m too old to believe in love at first sight, Devvy. I mocked Alex for rambling on about you. I read the article you wrote, and while it was well written, I didn’t particularly think anything of it…”

“You can see I married him for his compliments, can’t you?” Devvy interrupted, throwing Alex an eye roll that once again had his heart swelling. She kept on treating him as though they’d known each other a long time. And the amazing thing was, it felt that way.

Bastien grinned, and it was the version of his that was worthy of a patent. Alex felt Devvy stiffen beside him, and hid a smile of his own—that grin affected her just as it did him.

There were few moments when Bastien was truly joyful. He was not only a busy man, but an important one, too. Upon his shoulders, he had the responsibility of a large conglomerate as well as two lovers. As powerful as he was, Alex was sure the two lovers caused him more aggravation than the conglomerate with its multiple offshoots.

“I told you Alex was the charmer.”

Devvy grunted.

“But it’s the truth. Until I saw you in the flesh, I didn’t realize. Once I did, that was that. Tell me, Devvy, why do you want Alex?”

Her cheeks bloomed with heat.

“Don’t be embarrassed,
ma petite
. It is important that we are honest with each other.”

Devvy moved away from Alex’s hold, and turned her back on the both of them. They watched as she stalked out of the hallway, and retreated to the salon. As they shared a look, Alex commented, “It is only natural she has trouble expressing herself.”

“Why is it?”

“She is a creature of science,
cher
. And from what I can gather, this is the most emotional she’s probably ever been. Come,” he muttered. “We’re wasting time.”

The pair of them followed Devvy, their eyes tracking her movements as she stalked from one side of the room to the other.

“We might as well be comfortable,” Bastien remarked, and took a seat on the sofa.

“Why don’t you have any furniture in here?” Devvy demanded during her hike from the piano to the end wall and back. With her arms crossed and head down, she looked harried and Alex was sorry they’d made her feel that way.

He had no doubt it would be worth it in the end, but he disliked causing anyone discomfort. Especially someone as important to him as Devvy.

“Because when I play the piano, the music rings around the room,” he told her easily, letting her change the subject as she tried to come to terms with her emotions.

He hadn’t expected her to accept this arrangement easily. As Bastien had already admitted, they had expected many arguments and many attempts at seduction. As it was, Devvy had altered the timeline considerably, and now she looked as though she regretted it.

While his cock mourned the loss, Alex didn’t. This was far more important than a shag. This was the future.

“Why do you need a woman, Bastien? Why isn’t Alex enough?”

The last question had her looking at Alex with beseeching eyes. He immediately understood and sought to appease her discomfort. “You have not wounded me,
chérie
. Don’t worry.”

The visible drop of her shoulders conveyed her relief.

“Alex
is
enough,” Bastien responded. “I love him very much. There have been times during our relationship where, had he not been a part of my life, I do not know how I would have coped. But I am not a man who will fit himself neatly into a pigeonhole to suit society. I know what I want.

“Just as I want Alex, I want you. Society says that’s wrong. That just you or just Alex should be enough. I say fuck society.

“Maybe I’m greedy, selfish even, because I make no bones about wanting it all, but I don’t care. I want what I want and I make no apologies for it.”

Devvy glared at him. “That’s no answer! What did you want before I came onto the scene? Would any woman have been enough for you two? Or is this about children? Am I going to agree to this…relationship, end up pregnant, and then find myself being divorced because my usefulness is over?”

Alex’s temper was piqued at her remarks but Bastien just chuckled. He looked over and grinned. “Did I not tell you she was melodramatic?”

“Don’t talk about me like I’m not here!”

Bastien held up his hands in surrender. “I’m sorry, love, but it’s true. Where these ideas come from, I do not know. I swear, you should be a writer.” He shook his head. “If Alex and I wanted a child, do you think we are not rich enough to beget one without involving an innocent woman? There are many less naïve women out there who would gladly sell us their baby if that were what we wanted. Surrogacy does exist in America, doesn’t it?”

She flushed.

That gave Bastien all the answer he needed, and his pointed look said so. “Any children resulting from our union will be celebrated. But they are a natural by-product of what we all want. They are not the reason.” He sighed. “Look, why does a gay man want another man?”

Devvy bit her lip. “He just does.”

“Exactly. Asking me why I want Alex and a woman is exactly the same. I just do. I can’t explain it. It’s something entrenched in my DNA, just like my black hair. Maybe it’s perverse in normal society, but like I said, I don’t give a damn. I’m rich enough to live in a world of my own choosing, as is Alex. I’m going to assume you tackled him with these same questions?” When she nodded, he asked, “And what did he say?”

“That you don’t have a vagina.”

Bastien laughed. “I’m sure he used that exact word,” he mocked, cocking a brow at Alex.

“Actually, I said pussy.”

Sebastien just smiled. “But there you have it. He feels the same. We both need you, just as we need each other.”

Devvy stopped her striding and hovered in front of the sofa. She looked vulnerable, and Alex wanted to tug her down onto his lap, and embrace that vulnerability away. On the brink of doing just that, she stopped him by muttering, “But why would I want two men?”

“Double the pleasure,” Alex said, and received a cutting glance from Bastien for his pains.

“While he is correct, there is a simpler reason. What you feel for me,
chérie
, could you feel for Alex?” At her shaky nod, he continued, “And the way you respond to Alex, the attraction you feel for him, have you ever felt that before or with any other man?”

“Just you,” she mumbled.

“There you have your reason,
mon ange
.”

“Maybe it just means I’m a slut.”

Alex snorted. “Finding two men appealing does not make you a slut.”

“I shouldn’t feel this way when I’m married.”

“Why do affairs happen? Because people start to want someone else. Now, in this instance, had you met Alex, at a scientific gathering for example, and you had these feelings for him, you’d feel guilty but you’d act on them. It would be as inevitable as the moon waxing and waning. Sometimes, these things cannot be helped.”

“Affairs are unforgivable.”

“Yes, they are. They’re a betrayal, because you’re going behind someone’s back. Someone you made vows to. But with us, you’re not betraying me. I asked you to open your mind to the idea of sharing yourself with Alex. You refused. Yet this morning, you found yourself here. Why? Because he makes you feel something so rare, its value is precious.

“It is sheer good fortune on our parts the man you have fancied from afar is the man I asked you to consider. Then again, perhaps it is not fortune but fate.”

“Oh, don’t you start on about destiny!” she muttered crossly, to which he simply chuckled.

“You cannot hide from it,
mon amour
. You simply cannot. Feel lucky you can have us both, that you can love the two men who do something for you no other has. Do not reject it or call yourself horrible names for needing two men.
Embrace
it.”

Could she?
Was it possible to so easily accept Alex into her bed?

She already felt like a pushover. They hadn’t even had to convince her into doing this. Her body had done the convincing. The minute she’d seen Alex this morning, she’d wanted him. Her entire being had come to life.

Bastien was right. How could she ignore that?

If Alex and she had happened upon each other at a conference, would she have been able to fight the attraction? Or had last night’s suggestion made her body susceptible to the idea of being able to have both with no recriminations?

Devvy couldn’t say for sure. And it was that that convinced her.

Life was short.
Too
short. So few were fortunate enough to feel this way for one person, never mind two, and Bastien was right again—not that she’d tell him. His head was large enough. Her feelings for him could easily extend to Alex. She couldn’t explain it. There was no rhythm to it, no rhyme. It just was.