Playing the Game (19 page)

“I thought you might like to watch.” He gave her his little boy smile before it morphed into the Jay-smirk she’d gotten to know well. “Since it’s your first time and all. And my cock is mesmerizing.”

“Damn right it is,” she answered, her gaze glued to his groin.

He unrolled the condom with a slow flourish and finished up with a teasing waggle that made her giggle.

“For me? A gift? How thoughtful. Do you deliver, too?”

He dove on top of her, planting his hands alongside her breasts and grinding their hips together.

She moaned and tipped her pelvis up until his cock settled between her lips.

“Express delivery,” he quipped. “Should I leave it at the door, or would you like it inside?”

“Oh, inside, definitely.” She raised her head but couldn’t quite reach him. He immediately dropped his head closer, and she kissed him, hard and brief. “I need to make sure everything functions as described. The in-store demonstration was seriously impressive. Satisfying.”

He smiled against her cheek and shifted his weight to one arm while the other reached for his cock. His fingers bumped her clitoris. Accidental at first, maybe, as he lined up his cock, but repeating with more purpose when she gasped and rolled her hips. The head of his cock nudged inside, but he didn’t thrust. His fingers kept working at her as he traced the line of her jaw with gentle kisses.

“All the way in, Jay,” she murmured. Her mind flashed on Henry, on that first night. “One thrust. For me.”

He obeyed in an instant, sinking deep and rocking her hips, his groan trapped against the curve of her jaw. They moved together, slow and easy.

Jay ducked his head to reach her breasts, teasing her nipples with his tongue. Sucking at them in an alternating rhythm, he carried her higher with his enthusiasm. The friction and warmth and his obvious desire to please her made for welcome additions to her arousal.

But somewhere between the nips at her collarbone and the deep, searching kisses, she hit a wall. Her arousal mimicked a living thing, thick and needy and wanting, but desire didn’t coil in her belly like a spring or press at her with urgency. It was…everywhere. Mellow.

Dammit. She closed her eyes and tried to focus, but the spark wasn’t happening. This would be embarrassing. And Jay…
fuck
. He’d blame himself if she didn’t come.

He’d done everything right. His deep, steady thrusts rocked her hips against the mattress, and his fingers worked in ceaseless motion over her clit. Having him inside her felt good. But the more she chased the elusive orgasm, the faster it slipped away.

Her hands clenched into fists. She turned her face right, her breathing harsh against her shoulder. She didn’t want to look at Jay, to see questions or accusations or confusion in his eyes when she didn’t come for him after she’d all but promised she would. Her foot kicked in frustration, and even the tug of the cuff holding her down wasn’t enough to bring back the sweet spiraling need.

A soft touch. The stroke of a finger on the top of her right foot. Another. Quick. Fleeting. Intriguing. Her attention sharpened.

Yes, fingers, and now a hand, squeezing her foot, massaging the sole, fingers gripping deep. A second hand slid up the back of her right leg, stroking her calf.

Henry.
Her breath caught. Her back arched, legs extending, pushing into the pressure of those hands. She blindly sought Jay’s mouth, landing kisses on his jaw, his chin, his cheek before he fused his lips to hers. She let frustration slip away and just let it happen. Let Henry–

Like magic, as her body relaxed, Henry’s fingers stroked and Jay’s cock thrust forward and rocked her clit against his pubic bone. Orgasm. Bliss. Not as powerful as earlier, not with her body so drained, but her peak sent her straining against the straps holding her down, forcing her body up against Jay’s.

She moaned with contentment and he answered with a deep, satisfied groan. Hard, rapid thrusts. A final push, holding her tight as she shuddered and he tensed before their bodies fell slack together.

She blinked, hard, and bit her lip.
Thank you, Henry.
Did Jay realize how close Henry was now? Had he been that close the whole time? Within arm’s reach?

The hand squeezed her right foot a final time before disappearing. She stretched her leg, but it didn’t return.

Jay sighed against her throat, his nose rubbing her skin in a slow half circle. They were both done for the night. Exhausted. Jay’s full weight rested on her now.

She’d found the contact uncomfortable with previous partners. Lying sweaty and unsatisfied and waiting for them to get the fuck off her. But not with Jay. Her body hummed, and his touch soothed rather than annoyed. His scent relaxed her. The only thing missing was Henry.

She kissed Jay’s cheek, and he turned to touch her lips with his.

“I had fun, Alice.” He sounded almost surprised.

She couldn’t help but laugh. “I thought it was pretty wonderful myself.”

The bed shifted, sinking near her right foot, and Jay put his left hand on his cock to hold the condom in place while he pulled out. She missed the heat of him and the pressure, the fullness, in an instant.

He settled against her left side, the way he had all night–obvious now. He’d been giving Henry a better view. Not blocking her body with his own. Able to meet Henry’s eyes if he wanted reassurance or direction.

Henry sat on the edge of the bed, his body facing away but his torso turned to see them both, his weight resting on his left hand behind him. He squeezed her foot and smiled when she wiggled her toes.

“Quite wonderful,” Henry agreed. “Both of you performed beautifully tonight.”

“Did we earn an ‘A’? Because I think Jay deserves an ‘A’ for his work.”

Henry pinched the skin on the top of her foot. “Eager for a grade, are we, Alice?”

She stretched her legs and pointed her toes. “Just eager to make sure he gets proper credit for his work. It was an exhaustive exam.”

Jay buried his face in her neck, and Henry chuckled. “You have no idea, sweet girl. I suspect he’s as ready for a cuddle and a nap as you are. Isn’t that so, my boy?”

Jay nodded, his voice muffled against her skin. “Yes, Henry. It was…a big responsibility.”

She pressed her cheek against Jay’s head. “But you did a fantastic job reassuring the nervous virgin,” she joked.

Jay laughed and slipped his left arm around her waist in a hug. “Yeah.
I’m
the one who played my role perfectly, with the reassurance and the confidence and the sexy talk.” He laughed again and shook his head. “You were amazing, Alice. And you didn’t even–”

“–need to worry about being graded,” Henry finished. “But since you’ve both done so well, I think we’ll hand out an ‘E’ to both of you. For effort and excellence and extra credit, as you ran three minutes over your allotted time.”

Three minutes? Henry’s hand on her calf. A signal that time was up. But he’d given her the focus she needed. If he’d stopped things, she’d have missed out. A bonus orgasm. She ought to thank him for that.

“Thank you, Henry.”

Wait. That wasn’t just her voice. She tipped her head, and Jay lifted his. They traded stares and burst out laughing.

With a quiet hum, Henry opened the cuff on her right ankle. The Velcro crackled as it unwrapped. He examined her ankle with strength and care in every touch. Flexed her foot and pressed a kiss to her skin.

Jay sat up at her side, stripped the condom and disposed of it. “Henry?”

He paused in his study of her foot. “Yes, my boy?”

“Can I help?”

“Certainly you may. That’s a lovely thought. I’m sure Alice appreciates your attentiveness to her welfare.”

Jay looked down, and she nodded to confirm Henry’s words.

“Take her left foot out, please, Jay.”

She couldn’t stop the giggle.

Henry tapped the bottom of her right foot. “Have I discovered a ticklish spot you neglected to mention in your initial questionnaire responses, my dear?”

She shook her head.

“No? But you won’t divulge the source of your amusement?” Henry stroked lighter, and she curled her toes to resist the ticklish sensation. His voice teased. “Careful now, Alice. There’s danger afoot.”

She shook her head harder, eyes squeezing shut as she mentally groaned at the pun. Henry seemed happy. As playful now as Jay, but in his typically sly way. Still, she wasn’t about to tell him she had the hokey pokey playing in her head.
You put your left foot in, you take your left foot out…

Velcro crackled again, and hands cradled her left foot.

“Look for any discoloration, Jay, and rotate and flex the foot to be certain full movement is comfortable for our girl. It’s our responsibility now to make certain Alice hasn’t injured herself without noticing. She’s given us quite a bit of trust this evening. And when we treat our partners with the proper care, that trust is likely to be extended again, hmm?”

Silence fell, but her foot didn’t move. She opened her eyes.

Henry had cupped Jay’s cheek in his hand. His voice quieted. “I’m very proud of you, my boy. You’ve treated Alice with every ounce of the care you both deserve.”

Henry moved to unfasten her right wrist. His gaze strayed to Jay often, checking his progress on her left foot, which Jay inspected with adorable thoroughness. How the hell did they keep their hands off each other outside the apartment? And why? She’d seen only the most casual of touches between them in the entire first year she’d known them. Yet Henry had touched Jay’s face with unmistakable tenderness.

Henry’s natural reserve around outsiders might keep them apart. He didn’t seem the type to care about projecting a masculine dominant front, but maybe Jay did, if he felt ashamed of being a submissive guy in front of other guys. Maybe the hands-off masculine front was his. She’d never had a front-row seat for relationship dynamics before. Other than her own, of course, and it was impossible to be objective about such things.

She lay tranquil and content while they unbound her hands, wiggling her fingers on command and sighing at the slow, sweet kiss Henry placed against the underside of her right wrist and Jay copied on the left. The sense of liberation in her unbinding carried an upsetting note. As if she’d lost something and she wanted it back.

Jay half rose from the bed. “Should I fetch the washcloth?”

Henry waved him back down, getting up himself and walking around the bed. He pressed a kiss to Jay’s forehead and smoothed his hair. “Not tonight, my boy. Cuddle with Alice for a bit, please. She’ll want to touch you now. Isn’t that so, Alice?”

She nodded. With her hands back under her own control, she wanted to feel skin beneath them. Connection.

“Good girl. Just cuddling, please. No roughhousing, and no sexual teasing. I’ll return shortly.”

Jay lay down on his side. She rolled onto hers, pressing her hands to his chest and resting her head on his arm. His ribs expanded under her hands when he breathed. She moved her right hand atop the thump of his heartbeat.

Jay pushed aside her hair with his face. No, not pushed aside, exactly. Burrowed. He breathed deep. “You smell good.”

“I smell like sex.” She rubbed her face against his chest and inhaled. “And so do you.”

“You smell like
you
,” he insisted. “And sex. It’s a great combination.”

No teasing, she reminded herself. No grinding her hips against Jay’s, even if she didn’t let the playfulness go anywhere. She sighed instead, a sound of satisfaction and satiation, and scratched his chest with her fingernails.

“You like it, don’t you, Alice?” The unsure question of a little boy.

She wormed her arms around him and hugged him tight.

“I
do
like it,” she confirmed.

Even if Henry wasn’t going to fuck her again and she couldn’t figure out why, she still liked playing with Jay. He was sweet, and fun, and he always tried so hard to please her. Like he didn’t know how to do anything half-assed. He threw himself into their games wholeheartedly every time. The no-holds-barred approach had to have gotten him hurt a time or two. Maybe some bitch had broken his heart.

She hugged him tighter. “It’s the most fun I’ve had in bed.”

He relaxed into her embrace, arms rubbing against her back.