Crossing the Lines (18 page)

“You should give him the authority,” Jay said, manning the cart he’d insisted they take. He maneuvered around corners and popped wheelies like a bored kid. “Henry makes great meals for me. It could be like a CSA farm. You could buy a share of dinners. We’d vote on stuff. You’ll second my motion on the more cookies proposal, right?”

She laughed, and the conversation moved on. Let Henry cook for her. As if. Too weird. To have her neighbor—friend—sex partner—was there no single word that fit? To have
Henry
cooking her meals all the time. She’d never even had a roommate who cooked meals for her on a regular basis. Or any basis. Asking Henry for that would be like saying she wanted to be part of his family.

They walked home just shy of six, Jay carrying the lion’s share of the groceries. A cheerful Mr. Nagel directed action in the lobby, overseeing the departure of the plumbers.

“Heat’s back on,” he called to them. “Hot water’s in demand at the moment, but give it time to run and it’ll be there.”

Without Henry’s early morning talk, she might’ve panicked. Worried whether she should grab her stuff and head back to her own apartment. Heat on, crisis over: Bye-bye, part-time partner. Instead, she helped Jay toss spoiled food and put groceries away while Henry started dinner.

When seven o’clock came and they sat to eat, she didn’t question Henry’s authority. She answered the ritual questions between bites, and Jay did the same. As simple as that, Henry had taken the reins for the night.

At eight, she and Jay squared away the kitchen. Henry awarded praise, kisses and fondling for good behavior. Their activities felt nothing like a month ago when Jay had been injured. Doing household chores fueled pride and arousal when Henry expressed his pleasure at their work.

He ordered them to the shower, undressing them both himself and testing the water. The shower wasn’t designed for three, but the tight fit and the bumping elbows didn’t detract from the experience. She ended up clean, smelling like Henry, and wet in a way that had nothing to do with water.

She was ready for more than teasing, and so were they. She appreciated the view as Henry and Jay dried her first, and she and Henry dried Jay, and she and Jay dried Henry last.

He chivvied them into the bedroom ahead of him, ordering them onto the bed and directing them until he had them positioned to his liking.

She shivered with anticipation. He’d chosen a position new to her, but Henry calling the shots covered familiar territory, a comfort after two nights of stressful decisions and confusing emotions.

“I saw the hunger on your face last night, my dear Alice. And Jay had such difficulty stilling his mouth.” He spoke from everywhere and nowhere, invisible but omnipresent. “You’ll both benefit from tonight’s arrangement, hmm?”

With her head lying on Jay’s thigh, his hard cock and the roundness of his balls beneath short black hair filled her vision. He lay on his side with his lower leg pushed forward as her pillow and his upper leg pulled back to give her room.

The weight of his head on her lower leg and the warmth of his exhalations against her sex caused shivers. The gentle push of his hand kept her upper leg bent and raised, foot resting on the bed behind her other leg.

Henry directed them, having them trade licks, speed up or slow down. His voice rang loudest when he stood near her at the foot of the bed and quieted as he circled. Eventually he ordered them to continue on their own.

With her ear pressed to Jay’s thigh and her focus split between his cock in her mouth and his tongue in her pussy, Henry’s words faded in and out.

Henry murmured of art, maybe, and balance, or philosophy, male and female, dark and light, yin and yang, indivisible. The bed shifted, and he said something to Jay. “…unflavored, but safe to enjoy.”

He lay down at her back, heat and pressure, the best kind of anticipation. She held the base of Jay’s cock in one hand to give herself the best angle while she sucked.

“Beautiful.” Henry kissed her cheek. “You don’t mind if I join the fun, do you, Alice?”

He pushed forward, and Jay spread her lips for his entry. She sucked hard and popped her mouth free.

“No, Henry.” She licked the tip of Jay’s cock. “I’m looking forward to it.”

“Mmm. Good girl. My lovely Alice.” He pushed inside, a slow thrust.

Pulling Jay into her mouth tugged a moan free. Jay fell upon her again, too, licking at her and Henry. If finding that hot was wrong, sign her up for a spot in hell.

With Henry inside her and Jay alternately sucking at her clit and lapping at her flesh where Henry’s cock parted it, she climaxed in what seemed seconds.

Henry clamped his hand over hers on Jay’s cock. They weren’t done yet. He allowed her a pause. Henry stopped thrusting, and Jay kissed her thighs and belly.

When her quivering ceased, Henry nipped her ear with his teeth and thrust. “Back to work, Alice. You’re doing a wonderful job. Can you hear how appreciative Jay is? Or perhaps your sweet depths have muffled his enjoyment too much for you to hear, hmm?”

He stroked Jay’s thigh as she sucked Jay’s cock and listened for his moans. Hearing mattered less than sensation when he tongued her. The vibration in his mouth rippled through her as he sucked on her clit. She basked in the warmth of his powerful exhalation between her lips when he licked Henry’s cock.

She refocused her efforts on Jay, using her tongue along the underside of his cock.

“That’s it, sweet girl. Nice and slow.” Henry whispered in her ear, his hips moving against hers. “Our Jay enjoys the teasing, hmm?”

His arm moved in her peripheral vision. She closed her mouth around Jay, sucking in the head of his cock, rolling her tongue over the edge.

“He enjoys your mouth on him as much as you enjoy his. As much as I enjoy sinking into you and soaking up your heat.” Henry’s hand reappeared on her breast, squeezing and holding her tight to his body.

“It’s about balance, Alice. And right now that’s
you
, dearest.” Henry thrust faster, and she adjusted her mouth to match his movement for Jay. “Beautiful. You are the perfect fulcrum. Keeping the balance. Pleasing me. Pleasing Jay. Three forces acting on each other in harmony.”

She moaned. Henry spoke science. Physics. Engineering. Her
language. His voice tipped the scales, as it so often did for her. Body shaking, she broke the machine, upended the balance, the vibration of her moans taking Jay with her this time without Henry’s hand to still him. Henry’s climax seemed more deliberate, a choice to follow her, to come while she clenched around him again and again.

They lay together for long minutes catching their breath. She pressed her cheek to Jay’s thigh, rubbing with catlike affection. Henry stroked the side of her breast with his thumb, his hand cupped firmly around her. Jay sprinkled kisses on them both, playful pecks at her sex and thighs.

“Jay, turn and join us up here, please.”

Up was a relative term. Technically, she and Henry lay with their heads near the foot of the bed. But Jay scrambled around, managing not to kick her as he adjusted his position and flopped on his back in front of her. She needed no urging to reach out and scratch his chest, running her fingers over him in long, slow strokes. He breathed deep, his chest expanding under her touch, and Henry’s hand left her breast to join hers. He splayed his palm flat across Jay’s stomach, covering his navel and patting gently.

“You’ve both done wonderful work tonight, my dear ones. We’ve earned a rest, haven’t we?”

Jay yawned as he nodded, his head nudging toward hers.

He’d agree to whatever Henry suggested. If Henry said they’d lie quietly for half an hour and go again, Jay would be up and ready for it. Hell, if Henry told Jay to run out for pizza, he’d do that, too. But she’d bet her annual paycheck Henry never did anything, never said or even hinted at anything, without giving thoughtful consideration to the repercussions for Jay.

“And you, my sweet girl? You’re quiet. The night featured a new experience for you.” Henry pressed his lips to the back of her head, a forceful kiss against her hair. “A pleasant one, I trust.”

“I, yes, Henry. It was…” Something she’d never fantasized about, because the idea hadn’t occurred to her. But now she had something new to fantasize about on the nights they spent apart: The quickness of Jay’s tongue and the hardness of Henry’s cock working at her in concert while her mouth and Henry’s hand kept Jay’s cock occupied.

She’d had both of them in her at once. Not the way Henry had intimated last month, but still, the three of them had been together. Connected, with her as the connection point. A heady sensation.

“Memorable,” she concluded. The word didn’t cover the half of it. Three consecutive nights of memorable moments. Would Henry ever want that from her? Maybe not three nights, but two. A whole contract weekend, from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon.

No. She’d be asking too much. Infringing on his time with Jay. Her hand settled, ending its wandering tour of Jay’s chest over his sternum. She splayed her fingers like Henry’s, the littlest one brushing his thumb.

“It’s not something I’ll ever forget,” she said. Unforgettable. Not only this night or the newest sexual position in her arsenal but all of it. The whole arrangement. If she lived to be a hundred, her dreams, sexual or otherwise, would still be populated by Henry and Jay.

“Don’t worry, Alice.” Jay covered her hand on his chest with his. “If you forget, we’ll be here to remind you.”

He gave her a sly smirk. “Anytime you want my cock in your mouth, you just let me know.”

She laughed, and Jay’s grin widened. “I figure you don’t have to let Henry know when you want his cock, ’cause you’re like me—any
time is a good time for that.”

She laughed harder, and Jay joined her, and even Henry chuckled. The light mood carried them through cleanup. Everything in its place.

She and Jay tucked themselves against Henry’s side, playing lazy, teasing games with their fingers across his chest until sleep claimed them.

* * * *

Alice wasn’t surprised Henry had exercised his option to keep her overnight. Staying had become such a normal part of her weekend routine she no longer questioned it. She’d have counted it odd if he’d sent her home Friday night.

He always released her from their games before noon, though she took care not to make afternoon plans on the off chance he’d keep her. But she didn’t expect Jay’s plea.

After a satisfying round of morning sex with them both and a filling brunch, Henry thanked her, kissed her, and freed her to spend the rest of the day as she liked. She’d gone to the bedroom to pack up her bag, and Jay followed a few minutes behind.

“You’re going to build a snow fort with me, right?”

“I—what?” She zipped her bag.

Jay leaned against the doorframe. “I’m going out to the park to enjoy the snow. Maybe find a snowball fight to join. C’mon. You know you wanna build the fort. It’s all engineer-ish.”

She did, actually. She hadn’t built a snow fort since she and Ollie were kids. Before Dad’s accident, when he’d still play with them. The last time, she’d just turned thirteen. Acted too old to be out in the snow with her ten-year-old sister. Dad had sent Ollie off to pack snow blocks in bread pans and taken her aside.

“You were ten not long ago, and you loved playing with your baby sister. Now she’s ten. Do you want her to remember good times playing with her sister or how her sister didn’t want to play with her?”

The stuff she’d wanted to do had lost its vital importance in that moment. Gratitude tinged her memories now. The fun Ollie’d had bossing her around and deciding how the fort would be built and which scarf the snowman would wear. How Dad had helped them lift the last snowball on top of the snowman. How a few months later he’d gotten hurt at work, and making sure life ran smoothly for her little sister became her top priority.

Was anything she wanted to do today more important than playing in the snow with Jay? “Let me put on warmer clothes, and I’ll meet you outside.”

Jay whooped and lifted her off her feet. “Excellent.”

He disappeared into his own bedroom. God only knew how he’d find proper clothes in that mess. She headed for the door.

Henry stood at the window in the living room.

“Staying in, Henry?”

“Pleading age and infirmity.” He turned and winked.

Yeah, right. “I don’t think you can get away with that excuse.”