Ménage Material [La Belle sans la Bete Ménages] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (32 page)

“Which is miraculous, considering Bastien has never been a bachelor.”

Her mouth rounded at that, into a lusciously round O that had his cock pricking up to attention.

A chuckle escaped her. “Deliciously true.” She grinned.

“You know you could have changed any part of the house and Bastien wouldn’t have given a damn, don’t you?”

She bit her lip. “I don’t think that’s the truth.”

He shook his head. “You could have painted all the rooms bright pink and he’d have looked at it, grimaced, but wouldn’t have said a word. He wants you to be happy here,
ma chérie
. That’s all that ever mattered to him.” When she still looked unconvinced, he shrugged and changed the subject. “I’ve been patient. Tell me how, in your words, you ‘freaked yourself out a little.’”

She groaned, lifted a hand to her eyes, and then peeked between the small spaces in her fingers.

Alex grinned. “That bad,
hein
?”

A nod was his only answer. For a second, anyway. “I did some research.”

Lips twitching, he murmured, “As any good scientist would.”

“Exactly! I needed to see what went where. I mean, I knew what went where but I needed to see it. I didn’t want to…”

“You wanted to see if it was attractive or repulsive to you,” he commented, no inflection to his tone.

She nibbled her bottom lip. “Well, it might have been. When I watch you kiss, it turns my stomach out. I can’t explain it. You’re…” She sighed. “You’re so beautiful together, but I didn’t know if that side of it would be.”

“Perfectly natural.”

She looked relieved at his easy acceptance of what was, in truth, perfectly natural. The idea of two men together was a turn-on to some women and a definite switch-off for others.

“Well, it wasn’t repulsive. Not at all,” she assured him quickly. “But, when I watched the ménages, I knew when it was my turn to be in that situation, it would be a life-changing moment.”

He frowned. “Hardly,
chérie.
These things happen all the time.”

Devvy snorted. “To other people. On the internet. These things might be okay to some people, but you’re forgetting, I grew up in a house with a mother as prim as Jane Austen, for God’s sake! You’re lucky I didn’t pass out when you first showed up at the house!

“When I saw what it would be like, I knew it would define me. Or, it would change the way I viewed myself. I knew I might think of myself as some kind of slut.” When he made to interrupt, she held up a hand. “No, wait. Look, I know that’s a bit extreme. It was how I felt, but notice I didn’t let it stop me. I was nervous, yes, I’ll admit that. The other day, the idea of what was going to happen had me running hot then cold. When I watched you together, though, I didn’t give a damn. I needed you both and I loved seeing you like that. It was so beautiful. Even hotter than just watching you kiss.”

“I’m glad,
mignonne
,” he told her, voice husky at the depth of emotion in her words. She really meant it.

Her smile was gentle as she continued, “Some people can easily accept situations like this, but I think the majority don’t. I guess, considering who you and Bastien are, once we live together, the truth will come out. Like I told you before, I won’t deny you, Alex. I couldn’t do that. I—I love you, you see,” she whispered, and damn near broke his heart. “Very much. If you love someone, you don’t betray them by refusing to acknowledge them.

“My being freaked out wasn’t just about the sexual side of things. But the way we’d be viewed in society. The way
I’d
be viewed in society. I mean, my mother probably will never speak to me ever again, which to be honest, might not be a bad thing!

“It was just a very overwhelming moment. Seeing the mechanics of it all, well, opened my eyes to more than just what we’d do together.”

“It is true we French are more liberal in these matters, but I think to a certain extent, we will be outcasts among a certain crowd. This is something one keeps secret. Behind closed doors. Perhaps our wealth will smooth the way. On the other hand, it might not. And to be honest, my sweet, darling Devvy, I don’t give a damn either. I love you, and for a love like ours, who needs the approval of anyone else?”

She cupped his cheek and traced her fingers over his jaw. “You two, sometimes, you make me want to pinch myself.”

“Is that a good thing?” he asked, brow cocked.

“Oh yes. I can’t believe how lucky I am. That’s all.”

“You’re more than worthy, Devvy darling.”

She grinned. “I’ll get a big head, you know.”

“I’m counting on it. It’s about bloody time you started to value yourself. You’re more than a match for Bastien and me.”

“Did you talk about me?” she asked hesitantly. “The pair of you…before, I mean.”

“Of course. We had a lot resting on your delicate shoulders, Devvy. He didn’t betray your trust,
ma
petite
. Bastien’s not like that. He shared his concerns with me.

“We’d expected a lot from you by asking you to move away from everything you’d ever known. That was a great concern, wondering if you’d settle or not. Then, after you’d taken the job, making the first move was a huge topic of discussion.

“He seems so suave, but Bastien is, how you say, a clod. Especially with women. I should have been the one to make the introductions. I’m blunt, but I have common sense.”

“He is pretty, though,” she retorted, a wicked gleam in her eye.

“Oh, he certainly has his uses.”

Devvy laughed. “Did he ask you for advice on how to handle me?”

He pulled a face. “That’s dangerous talk. Remember, I’m the one with the common sense. Sebastien might be able to handle a company with over ten thousand employees, but with women, he’s like a teenager still trying to get rid of his virginity.”

“I’ll be sure to tell him that.”

“
Agent provocateur
!” he claimed, then spoiled his show of outrage by winking. “You think I have not told him this already? He knows I think he’s useless with women. When I showed him the magazine with your interview and told him to go and meet you, we had a huge row. Both of us realized I should be the one to go, but if stepping outside my door is hard enough, entering a convention is like climbing Everest.” He shuddered. “I just couldn’t do it. Not even for that silent promise in your eyes.”

“I’m sure I was just looking into the camera, you know. I don’t think I was silently promising anything. Actually, I know I wasn’t.” She tapped her chin. “I remember that interview. The photographer was a pain in the ass. I had to change outfits three times before he was happy. I think, more than anything, I was pissed off.”

A clap echoed around the room and both of them jumped as Sebastien’s bark of laughter ricocheted alongside it. “All these years, he’s gone on and on about that bloody photo and she was angry!
Mon cher,
now who is the fool with women,
hein
?”

Alex just grinned. “Eavesdroppers never hear good of themselves,” was all he said. Piously, too. And pious was an achievement considering he was on his knees, tucked between Devvy’s thighs, hands smoothing up and down the sleek curves of their woman’s legs.

“So it would seem,” Bastien retorted and stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him.

The instant they were closed in, a strange atmosphere overtook the room. Alex decided to break it by saying, “You weren’t supposed to arrive home so early.”

“Disappointed,
cher
?” Bastien cocked his brow and began to remove his tie.

As he tugged at the knot, Devvy sucked in a breath and Alex’s eyes flickered over to hers. He grinned. “More than pretty,
hein
?”

Bastien rolled his eyes and shrugged out of his jacket. “God, it’s good to be out of that.” He flexed his shoulders, inducing another sigh from Devvy.

“I love it when he’s all rumpled.”

“Rumpled is a good word,
chérie,
” Alex admitted.

“You’re both trying to distract me from the fact Alex is actually here, at
Les Fenêtres
.”

Devvy’s smile was loaded with triumph. “I made him a deal.”

“Deals are more my forte,” Bastien chided with a mocking grin. “I’m not sure if I like you overtaking my territory,
mignonne.
”

Alex snorted. “She has a way with words that you,
cher
, do not share!”

“Curiouser and curiouser!”

“Whatever he wants to do to me, he can, so long as he leaves his apartment.”

Bastien smiled. “I can now understand why he’s here. Well done, Devvy. Very imaginative.” He winked at her.

She looked very pleased with herself, and Alex couldn’t help but lean forward to bestow a soft kiss to her lips. “Come, I see no reason to wait now the main guest has arrived. It’s time for you to work off your dues.”

Devvy chuckled. “My dues? Christ, I want a hotter word than that!” She turned to Bastien with a cheeky smile. “Alex wanted to stain our sheets, but you got home too early. You spoiled the surprise.”

Sebastien shook his head. “It’s a good job I got here in time. He’ll cost me a fortune in laundry bills.” He stepped over to her, bent down, and pressed a kiss to her lips. “Run, little girl. Run.”

She blinked up at him. “Run?”

He grinned, the smile wicked. “Alex likes a good chase.”

Her eyes widened as they snapped between him and their lover. Alex moved out of the way as Bastien stepped forward, grabbed her hand, tugged her onto her feet, and slapped her bottom.

“Run,” he whispered.

She studied him a moment, a frown in her eyes, but as her gaze flickered over to Alex, that frown turned into a hot burn that scorched the two of them. After a slow nod, she turned on her heels and did as bade.

Ran.

Devvy knew it was only a game, but she dashed up the stairs and ran from the pair of them as though the hounds of hell were snapping at her ankles. Within seconds, she heard sounds of laughter and pounding footsteps as they chased after her.

Alex rarely laughed. So when he did, the sound just buzzed along her nerve endings, as though she’d smoked a spliff. Giving her a strange kind of toxin-free high.

Bastien was just as bad for taking life so seriously. The sounds of his chuckles were music to Devvy’s ears and knowing that she added this dimension to their lives just filled her with a sense of empowerment.

They’d waited for her.

All these long years.

And unknowingly, she’d been waiting for them.

Shuddering at the thought, she made it into the bedroom and, sedately now, walked to the bed and perched on the edge. After crossing her legs, she sat there, waiting for the ten seconds it took for them to catch up to her.

They burst through the door, took a look at her neat pose, and charged forward.

In a tangle of arms and legs and chuckles, they collapsed on the bed. Devvy, squished between the two of them, was immediately wrapped up in their love for her. She was cocooned by strong male arms, pinned down by thick thighs and nudged by hard cocks.

Laughter soon died out as mouths had more important tasks to do. Kisses and pecks, licks and sups. Amid the chaotic tangle of limbs, Devvy had never felt more at peace.

Alex suddenly disappeared. He pulled away for no more than fifteen seconds, and it took him that long to shuck out of his clothes and return to her, naked.

It was Bastien’s turn to disappear and he too returned as bare as the day he was born. They kept their distance as soon as they were nude, staring down at her, wonder in their eyes as she wriggled between them. Needing them, craving them. Ready in every way possible for this next step.

She held out her arms, silently pleading for that mad tangle, but Alex shook his head, a wicked smile on his mouth.

“I think we should take advantage of that skirt, Bastien.”

Devvy’s husband’s grin was wide as he nodded and knelt beside the bed, between her legs. He slid his hands up the silken length of her calves, back and forth, nudging the skirt’s hem a little higher with every sweeping move.

By the time he was touching her inner thighs, just above the knee, Devvy had melted a little inside. She quivered, waiting for a more intimate touch, but Bastien denied her it. He kept on sliding his hands along the length of her legs, making gooseflesh rise up and stand to attention.

She shuddered when, after being content to watch Bastien at play, Alex decided to join in. His fingers immediately went to the panty-covered pussy Bastien had been ignoring. A moan escaped her, her back arched up as he touched her through the fabric. Letting his finger edge down between her pussy lips, penetrating her slightly before returning upward to nudge her clit.

A tremor worked through her as he rimmed the tiny nub. Other hands appeared at her pussy, only these were tugging at the clinging damp fabric. Bastien pulled them down, over her legs and over her feet. The instant she was free from them, he spread her legs further apart and dragged her down, so her pussy was right on the edge of the bed.