Playing the Game (36 page)

“You guys should spend Christmas with your families. Do you split it? Or alternate holidays or something?”

“Split it or alternate holidays, my dear?”

“Christmas Eve with one family and Christmas Day with the other? Or Thanksgiving with Jay’s family and Christmas with yours?” It wasn’t something she’d done, but childhood friends with divorced parents had been overjoyed to celebrate twice with adults who doled out extra presents to ease their guilt. One of her coworkers had spent the entire company Christmas party complaining that this year they’d spend Christmas with his in-laws.

“Ah. No.” Henry’s face showed surprise, and he shook his head. “I’m afraid I’ve given the wrong impression. Jay will be leaving Wednesday. It’s a busy season for his family’s tree farm, and he’ll give them a hand right up through Christmas Eve before they enjoy their own celebrations. I’ll be leaving Friday morning for my mother’s home. This time of year is difficult for her, and I expect to stay a week or more.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. I just assumed. So you don’t…” If a polite way to ask existed, her tongue couldn’t find it. She rubbed the tablecloth with nervous agitation. Henry squeezed her hand.

“Jay’s family doesn’t know. To them, we’re no more than roommates.” He said it quite matter of fact, as if it didn’t bother him. Maybe Jay had always dated women to hide his relationship with Henry from his relatives. “Although my mother knows and approves, her health can be fragile. Jay’s presence might be too boisterous for her to handle at this time of year. My brother’s children will be plenty.”

Henry paused, squeezing her hand once more before he let her go. “Perhaps next year, if Jay’s family can spare him and I’m able to provide him with a steadying influence to keep him suitably entertained.”

Well, that was mysterious. And none of her business. It wasn’t like she’d shared her family dramas, either. “I’m sorry you can’t spend the holidays together this year. And I hope your mother’s health improves.”

“It’s an old pain.” Henry half smiled, a resigned flicker that told her his mother’s health was unlikely to improve at this late date. “But I asked you to brunch to talk about your needs, my dear, not to tell old and uninteresting tales.”

“My needs?” He’d told her their Friday night was off. What else was there to say?

“Of course. My time and attention are yours. If you desire an alternate date, either decided upon in advance or spontaneous when the need arises, I will happily accommodate you. The disruption to our schedule is not your fault, nor should you suffer for it.”

All of which was a very polite, very Henry way of saying if she was such a selfish child that she couldn’t wait for her next contract night, he’d handle the interruption with grace and never mention whatever he’d had to set aside to deal with her neediness. Henry had probably told Jay to make himself scarce in case she pitched a fit or demanded compensation now.

“We’re both adults, Henry. I think I can manage to wait. I was never the kid tiptoeing downstairs at two in the morning to see if Santa had left me a present yet anyway.”

“No, I don’t expect you were. That would have been Jay, no doubt, if he didn’t refuse to go to bed altogether and fall asleep waiting beneath the tree.” Henry gathered his silverware on his plate and stood. “Nevertheless, the offer stands. If, at any point between this moment and Friday morning, you change your mind, you will be entirely welcome here.”

She followed suit with her own dishes, and the two of them worked together to clear the table and set the kitchen to rights. The comfortable domesticity seemed almost better than sex.

Fuck, she’d lost her mind if wrapping up leftovers was better than sex.

At well past one in the afternoon, with nothing she needed and no excuse to stay, she lingered at the breakfast bar. Henry placed the last dishes in the dishwasher.

“I should probably…” She had no ready excuse. She’d done her laundry Friday night, as she did on the Fridays when she wasn’t with Henry and Jay, and she had no errands to run. “Let you get back to your…uh…stuff.”

“If you wish, Alice, of course.” The mildness of his voice could’ve hidden anything. Amusement. Irritation. But he was speculative, thoughtful, as he continued. “I don’t have particular plans for the day, but perhaps you’d care to join me for an afternoon at the museum? The MFA recently opened an exhibit with architectural pieces that I believe you’d enjoy.”

An outing with no strings, no sex, no expectations? Hell yes. She could hardly keep her feet still. “Sounds great.”

“Wonderful. Fetch your coat, my dear, and we’ll be off.”

They spent the better part of three hours exploring halls and sharing thoughts. He never failed to ask her opinion on anything she studied for more than sixty seconds, and he offered insights of his own that sometimes matched hers and other times challenged them. It was a stimulating afternoon, despite, or maybe because, they shared only the briefest of touches. A tap on his arm or a light hand on her back as they called each other’s attention to the displays.

When they returned to their building, Henry insisted she come in for dinner. So she found herself enjoying leftover breakfast-for-dinner with Henry and Jay. He’d been waiting for them, full of curiosity and clearly restraining himself from asking how they’d spent the afternoon. She couldn’t help herself; she asked about his day.

Jay described the meandering path he’d followed around the city, taking advantage of the unseasonably sunny day. “It was a great workout. Supersatisfying.”

“I had a great workout, too. I can’t believe how sore my legs are. I guess I was having so much fun that I was too distracted to notice.”
Poker face, Alice. Don’t crack a smile now.

Henry chimed in. “Yes, it was quite a stimulating day. An excellent workout.”

Jay looked between them, back and forth, his face growing suspicious. “You’re putting me on. You weren’t here. I was waiting almost an hour for you to get home. And I know you weren’t getting a workout in public.”

“Oh, no, it was all public.” She shrugged. “You know how it is. Sometimes you want something so bad you can’t wait.”

“It doesn’t hurt to occasionally indulge one’s desires,” Henry added. “And even public spaces may feel private when one is in pleasant company.”

“So you really…” Jay zeroed in on Alice’s face, and she lowered her eyelids, feigning embarrassment. “Really? I want details. Can I have details, Henry, please?”

He sounded so eager, so puppylike, so excited and unenvious, that she almost felt bad laughing.

“We went to the museum, you oversexed goof. And there was no hanky-panky.”

“Oh.” Jay gave an exaggerated sigh. “I should’ve known you two would find stimulation in all the wrong places.”

They finished dinner together, the three of them, talking about whatever came to mind, and Jay insisted she stay and watch a movie. Because, as he’d put it, it was unfair that Henry had gotten to monopolize her time all afternoon and Jay himself wouldn’t have her attention again until after the holidays. An exaggeration, because she knew he’d text her Tuesday to meet for lunch. But she’d stayed anyway.

Sunday had neared perfection. Except, of course, that she slid into bed alone. But there was nothing unusual about that.

The week moved quickly. Jay wished her a merry Christmas at their Tuesday lunch. Henry left a card on her door Thursday wishing the same. Temptation begged her to knock on his door, but…no. She wasn’t that needy.

She called her parents on Christmas and managed to catch Olivia during a brief break. Her sister had opted to work on the holiday, since neither of them had made it home to South Dakota this year. The day crawled by, and the week, too, and she celebrated New Year’s alone in her apartment. She hadn’t seen her boys in more than a week. She hadn’t seen them naked in more than three weeks.

Four days. It’s only four more days.

Henry and Jay weren’t even back yet. She could wait until Friday. She could. But God, it felt like forever.

Chapter 12

Henry was trying to kill them. All three of them.

Four weeks since they’d been in bed together. When Alice entered the apartment at seven, even a hard look from Henry would’ve been enough to make her come.

Jay had opened the door, a familiar occurrence. But after closing the door he enveloped her in a hug, an entirely
un
familiar occurrence.

He was hard against her stomach, his erection unmistakable despite the clothing between them. His hands roamed her back. He turned his face into her hair and inhaled, his body shuddering against hers. She peered over his shoulder.

Henry was watching. “Sixty seconds, Jay.”

She’d missed Henry’s voice.

Jay dropped his arms and stepped away, breathing hard and watching her with undisguised lust.

“You were very close, weren’t you, Jay?”

“Yes, Henry.”

“Because your need for Alice after four weeks of waiting is so great.” Though Henry moved up behind Jay as he spoke, he didn’t touch the younger man. His eyes stayed locked with hers. Something flickered in them before he controlled it. “I understand the impulse, my boy.”

He paused a moment, still staring, and touched Jay’s arm. “You’ll have your reward, Jay. Go to the bedroom, undress and wait for me on the bed. No touching yet.”

“Yes, Henry.” Jay beamed at Alice and left the room.

She doubted his reward would be an A+ and a sticker to put on the fridge, but his infectiously buoyant and proud attitude made avoiding the mental image impossible. She wanted to share with Henry, to be amused together that Jay deserved praise for not coming in his pants in under a minute.

But Henry’s intense stare hadn’t wavered. He stepped closer. Jesus. She might fail a similar test before he even touched her.

He leaned in. She swayed toward him, but still his body didn’t touch hers. His breath puffed against her ear. She shivered. Her nipples had hardened, and the pulse between her legs reminded her of the emptiness waiting for him to fill it.
If he told me to come, right now, I think I could do it.

“Go to the bedroom, Alice. Stand at the foot of the bed. Do not undress.” He stepped back from her body, his face composed. “Go.”

She sucked in a breath and hurried down the hall. Henry was very much in control tonight. On edge, but in control of it. The thought melted her anxiety and heightened her arousal. An amazing night would help her forget all the nights she’d spent alone. He’d make certain she got one.

Entering the bedroom, she positioned herself as Henry had directed. She fixed her gaze on Jay, who’d sprawled naked with his back propped against the pillows. He clutched restlessly at the sheets. His erection stood tall between his hips. Her tongue flicked against her lips, and he groaned.

Their heads turned as one when Henry entered.

“Such perfect attentiveness,” he murmured. “Could it be that my lovelies are eager to begin?”

He didn’t seem to require an answer. Following Jay’s lead, she remained silent.

Henry came to stand behind her. He led her through the familiar questions, ensuring she knew her safeword and understood she could use it at any time.

Sliding his hands around her waist, Henry clasped her in front of him, allowing her to feel his erection. He stroked upward, over her dress, the one she’d chosen to meet the requirement in his note for a button front. A summer dress. In January. Deep blue cotton, calf-length, with wide shoulder straps, no sleeves and buttons from the square neckline down to the hem.

He swept his hands up and over her breasts, pausing to tease her nipples through the fabric with his thumbs.

“Tell me, Jay, in the last two weeks, did you think of Alice while you lay in your childhood bed with your parents down the hall?”

“Yes, Henry.” Jay stared, nostrils flaring, chest rising with every breath as Henry slipped open the top button on her dress.

“Yes. Of course you did.” Henry slipped a second button free. “And you took yourself in hand, didn’t you?”

“Yes, Henry.”

Three buttons, and Henry folded the fabric back to reveal her bra. Sky blue. From one of the matching sets he’d given her.

“Because thinking of Alice makes you hard, and being hard makes you ache to be inside her, doesn’t it?”

Another affirmative answer. Jay’s hands tightened on the sheets in rhythmic motion. Henry loosed another button. His fingers ran along the edge of her bra. He pulled the cups back until her breasts lay exposed and the fabric bunched around them, pushing them together.