The lubricant was cold against the fiery skin of his cock, but he slathered it on anyway. He positioned himself behind her, trusting Joshua to spread her legs and tilt her hips at just the right angle.
Her ass was slick with lubricant and the remains of Joshua"s creamy ejaculate.
Using his fingers, Seth loosened her anus.
“Josh, this will go easier if you work her clit.”
She arched her back when Joshua"s clever fingers found the little nub still swollen between her folds.
Seth pushed the head of his cock through the tight muscle at her opening. She whimpered. “Don"t fight me. Take a deep breath and relax. Think about pushing out as I push in, and we"ll meet in the middle.”
She stilled, and he gained another creeping inch. She was hot, tight, and so damn wet he wanted to slam the rest of the way in and fuck them both senseless.
Below them, Joshua changed his rhythm on her clitoris. Seth felt her pussy contract. Her ass relaxed, and he slid home until his balls pressed against her sweet slit.
Crescendo
91
She gave a soft cry of surprise, and Seth ground his teeth until he thought his jaw might crack to keep from fucking like a mindless animal. He wanted to come, needed it like air to breathe.
“She"s there. Take her, Seth.”
He knew instinctively Josh was right. Her body was poised on the edge of another kind of orgasm. With his hand buried in her cunt, his partner could feel every nerve as it fired.
Undulating muscle contractions milked Seth"s cock, ripping a groan from his throat and making him push against her. He thrust into her sweet backside again and again until his balls tightened, and he exploded inside her ass.
The room began to spin. Seth closed his eyes as the world came undone with his climax. When he could draw breath, he pulled out as gently as possible and flopped onto the bed beside Seth and Leslie.
“Can you believe she"s already asleep?”
Seth wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Wish I could do that.”
A few moments passed. Joshua used his fingertips to make lazy circuits of Leslie"s bare back as she rested against his chest. He seemed utterly at peace with her there, yet Seth was afraid to move and shatter a moment he knew wouldn"t last.
“We should clean her up.” Joshua didn"t make a move despite his observation.
Seth started to rise. “I"ll take care of it.”
“No, you take her. I"ve got the rest.” Very carefully, Joshua transferred her from his chest to Seth"s arms. She never stirred.
An unexpected pang of emotion hit Seth. “Have you ever seen a woman sleep through that?”
“Not until now. We wore her out.” Joshua rolled out of the bed and headed into the bathroom.
Holding Leslie snug against his chest, Seth listened to her soft breathing until Joshua came back with a warm washcloth. She didn"t stir when they shifted her 92
Kaitlin Maitland
just enough to clean her well-loved pussy and ass of lubricant and their mingled fluids. Once he"d finished, Joshua stepped away and lifted the sheet to cover Seth and Leslie.
“Still insist on sleeping alone?” Seth didn"t bother to disguise the bitterness he was feeling.
“It"s for the best.”
Seth sighed. “Someday you"re going to rethink that.”
Crescendo
93
Chapter Ten
Leslie tried to ignore the bran muffin sitting on the windowsill. Instead of the typical hockey-puck consistency, she knew the damn thing was just as moist and tasty as any gourmet cupcake. She scratched her chin, lowering the violin and setting her bow carefully aside. The muffin was one of the many perks of being part of Seth and Joshua"s household.
It had been a whole week since she"d walked into Overton & Breckenridge with a harebrained scheme to help Niles win custody of Caleb. Now, the case was swinging in Niles"s favor, and her foolish heart was swinging in the direction of long-term attachment to the two sexy lawyers who represented him.
“If you"re not going to eat that, I will.” Jen scooped it up and took a huge bite before Leslie could stop her.
“Hey, that was my snack.”
Jen paused in her chewing, rolling the muffin around so she could talk.
“Snack?”
Leslie wished she"d kept her mouth closed. The idea of a high-powered family attorney who whipped up a batch of bran muffins and then packaged a few for her to take to work was ridiculous, even if it was the truth. Joshua had told her the previous night he didn"t like the idea of her pushing her lunch hour back until almost two in the afternoon. The muffin was his compromise.
“How old are you?” Jen"s tone grew downright crabby. “Do you have naptime too?”
The three of them spent plenty of time in bed, but there was very little napping involved. Until she was too worn out to keep her eyes open, anyway.
94
Kaitlin Maitland
“Eww! Get that smug look of sexual satisfaction off your face.” Jen took another hulking bite. “It"s not freakin" fair!”
“Would you quit talking with your mouth full of food? It"s disgusting.”
“No, I"ll tell you what"s disgusting.” She pointed at Leslie with what was left of the oversize muffin. “That you are having mind-blowing sex with the two most gorgeous men in the entire city, that"s what!” Jen looked at what was left of the muffin and then grudgingly offered it back to Leslie. “How does that work anyway?”
Leslie took the muffin, nibbling a fresh edge and enjoying the tart, dried cranberries. “How does what work?”
Jen took a seat in one of the audience chairs and crossed her legs. They had the room all to themselves. The conservatories were only used for auditions, group functions, and some of the larger classes. Leslie often sought out the peaceful conservatory when she needed to think. A generous amount of light from the tall windows spilled across a black grand piano, and the wood floors provided a wonderful sounding board.
“Doesn"t your bed feel crowded with two men in it?” Jen finally asked.
Leslie sighed. She didn"t feel like explaining that her bed felt rather empty with only her and Seth in it. Joshua still refused to join them, leaving in the wee hours of the morning to sleep in his own room. The nightly ritual felt like a tiny knife wound that never healed. “We all have our own bedrooms. It"s not like I have to share closet space or something. I"ve even got my own bathroom.”
Jen appeared to be puzzling that out. “So you guys just fuck. Is that it?”
“I don"t know how to explain it.”
“Don"t you want more, Les? I know when Talia met Erik and her whole world changed, you were happy for her. I also know there was some jealousy in there too.
Don"t you want to hook up with some guy for the long haul, pop out a few babies, and have a normal life?”
Crescendo
95
She thought about Seth"s words the day she"d moved in. “Why choose normal when it means I can’t have what I want the most?”
Was this triangular relationship really what she wanted out of life? Could it possibly last?
“Leslie?” Jen touched her arm, startling her. “You okay?”
“I don"t believe in long-term relationships.” She drew in a deep breath. “So it doesn"t really matter does it?”
“Careful, you might start to believe that bullshit. Then where will we be?” Jen left without another word, pulling the door closed behind her.
Savoring the solitude, Leslie tried to shove the niggling doubts to the back of her mind. The last few days had been the happiest she"d known since her early childhood, before the betrayal, before the real world had crept in and shattered her innocent dreams. She also knew better than to entertain foolish notions about love.
She"d watched it destroy her mother and her grandfather. It took no prisoners, gave no quarter, and burned the survivors to ashes.
She lifted La Bella Ragazza and rested her jaw against the smooth wood.
/>
Closing her eyes, she drew a melody from the strings. Just like her childish innocence, it was a song that transcended reality. Soft, plaintive, the elegie rose into the room until it wove a sweet chain of notes that twirled like dancers on the sunlight beaming through the windows.
The melody built, and she felt her soul responding, soaring with the music as she drew the bow quickly. Her fingers shimmied down the fingerboard, coaxing the highest notes from the strings.
The door suddenly crashed open, and her bow scratched to a halt as she dropped the instrument to her side. “Excuse me?” she called toward the door. If that was one of her students, she was about to deliver a lecture in manners.
“Where on earth did you learn to play that arrangement, my dear?” A spry old gentleman toddled through the doorway, catching her completely off guard. “I haven"t heard that in years! The music for that has been lost, you know.”
96
Kaitlin Maitland
Bewildered, Leslie answered without thinking. “Yes, I know; my grandfather wrote it for my mother.”
He adjusted his thick glasses. “My God, Leslie Hampstead, you"ve grown, haven"t you?”
Her heart began to beat very fast. “I"m sorry, do I know you?”
“I"m Professor Williamson. Good lord, you must"ve spent hours in my studio playing with your dolls while your grandpapa and I shared a cup of good Italian coffee.” A smile touched the old man"s weathered face. “Cute as a bug in a rug. I was heartbroken when your daddy told us all you"d quit playing.”
A stab of rage nearly doubled her over with its intensity. “So that"s what he told them, did he?”
“We expected you at Juilliard not long after your grandpapa passed on, but when we inquired as to your whereabouts, that"s what we were told.”
Professor Williamson"s gaze drifted toward her violin. She shifted until her hip blocked his view, trying to remain nonchalant. There was no need for anyone to know what she"d taken that night she"d left her father"s house. No need at all.
“If you never stopped playing, then where"s the instrument? Do you have it with you?”
Cold fear trickled down her spine and sent shockwaves through her body.
“What instrument?”
“Don"t be silly. What happened to your grandpapa"s Stradivarius?”
* * *
Joshua watched Seth print off his boarding pass and zip his laptop into its carry-on. “You"re leaving town? Now? Are you insane?” “I wouldn"t go if there was any other choice. Our firm is up to its neck in this New England Bar Association scholarship process, and I"ve been personally asked to present the awards. I can"t call them and say I"ve shacked up with someone new and I"m not quite ready to leave her yet, can I?”
Crescendo
97
Joshua spun his chair. “Sounds reasonable to me.”
“Look, Leslie isn"t high maintenance. Just explain what happened. You"re going to be fine without me. It might even do you both some good.” Seth grabbed his wallet and phone from the desktop. “What I hate is leaving without really saying good-bye. I already miss the hell out of her. I"ve called her three times, but she"s in the middle of teaching a class and doesn"t answer her cell phone.”
“Did you grow a vagina overnight?” Joshua leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. “Send her some flowers or something.”
“This from the guy who spent fifteen minutes perfecting his muffin batter last night.” Seth ducked as Joshua lobbed a pen in his direction. “Just don"t be an asshole, okay?”
Joshua found himself at a loss. He was about to be alone with Leslie, and he wasn"t sure he was entirely comfortable with that. “Hey! What do I do with her?”
Amusement played around the edges of Seth"s mouth. “Cook her dinner, talk to her, if all else fails, fuck her.”
The idea held an odd sort of appeal. “Can I do that without you?”
Seth swung his laptop bag over his shoulder and pulled his suitcase toward the door. “You don"t need me to hold your dick, Josh. You"ll get it figured out one way or another.”
Joshua grunted. “Jackass.”
The door closed with a click, and he was left alone with the past week"s emotions churning inside his chest. Why did this have to be so damn tricky? It was sex. It should be simple. Cut and dry. And yet he couldn"t reduce it to just sex. It was sex with Leslie. It was watching Seth light up every time she walked into a room. It was seeing him make love to her with an intensity that was unmatched in any other partner.
It was feeling those same things happening within himself. That was what fucked with Joshua"s head. He"d watched Leslie like a hawk, getting a feel for what 98
Kaitlin Maitland
she liked and disliked about her meals, and then he spent extra time preparing food that would make her melt when she tasted it. He loved that she wasn"t afraid to eat in front of him and really enjoy it. He loved the way she sometimes talked with her mouth full because she was so eager to compliment him.
He loved the way she laughed and her infectious smile. She was uninhibited and responsive and so damn sexy his cock stood at attention every time she walked into a room. He loved how adventurous she was in the bedroom and how willing she was to share her excitement with them.
He loved Leslie.
And that was a problem.
Crescendo
99
Chapter Eleven
Joshua had expected Leslie to be there when he got home. She always beat him and Seth home from the office. But the apartment was empty. Gray light from the fading day filtered through the windows and gave everything a washed-out appearance. The sound of his footsteps on the wood floor seemed loud against the pervading silence.
He unbuttoned his shirt and peeled it off. It wasn"t as if this was the first time he"d come home to an empty place. He and Seth traveled separately once or twice a month. Usually it was nice to get home, fix a meal for one, and camp out in front of the flat screen to catch whatever game might be on.
He left his shirt on the back of a barstool on his way to the kitchen. He flipped a switch, and the recessed lights filled the room with a warm glow. Cooking pots gleamed on the rack overhead. As he set to work on dinner for him and Leslie, a sense of rightness enticed him to relax. Somehow fixing a meal for two made the apartment seem friendlier.
He"d just put strips of steak in the wok when the front door slammed. The loud noise was followed with silence. Wiping his hands on a towel, he edged his way into the living room, where he"d have a view of the front door.
Her feet, in their sensible brown clogs, were visible first. When he got a better look, Joshua realized she was leaning against the door, legs splayed and back pressed hard against the wood. She closed her eyes and let her head fall back. She banged it a few times, the last one hard enough to send a sympathetic twinge through his own skull.
100
Kaitlin Maitland
He wasn"t sure if he should say something. Her tiny whimper decided him. “A little harder and you"ll knock yourself out.”
She leaped away from the door. “I didn"t realize you were here!”
“You"re late.” He eyed her wrinkled clothing, haphazard ponytail, and flushed face. “I was surprised to beat you home.”
She dropped her gaze down and away while she shifted uncomfortably beneath his scrutiny. “I had some stuff to take care of.”
“Is that right?” Something cold and hard settled in his gut. He spent his life deciphering body language and separating the shades of gray surrounding the truth. He didn"t even need those skills to see she was hiding something.
“Whatever you"re cooking smells good.” She offered a hesitant smile.
Joshua turned his back and stalked into the kitchen. If she wanted to lie, that wasn"t his problem. It was Seth"s problem. It just seemed awfully convenient that she had stuff to do that kept her late just when Seth left town. Joshua couldn"t help wondering if that stuff had two legs, a set of arms, and a great big cock.
&nb
sp; The idea sent a wave of rage through his bloodstream. He pulled out a set of bamboo spatulas and then closed the drawer with unnecessary force. Tossing the vegetables into the wok with the meat, he sent the mixture careening around the pan. Several pieces sloshed out, and he threw them back in as if they"d been the ones to violate his trust.
Damn her to hell and back! I told Seth this would happen!
It hadn"t taken nearly as long as Joshua had expected, but it had happened nonetheless. They"d taken Leslie in, made her part of their lives; Seth had even started to fall for her. At the moment, Joshua was too angry to explore the fact that he"d started to fall for her as well. That would"ve put him over the edge.
“Joshua, are you okay?”
Her soft inquiry stopped him cold. He"d been so wrapped up in his silent tirade that she"d approached without him even noticing. She looked wrung out. There was Crescendo
101
more hair shoved behind her ears than in her ponytail. Her complexion was ashen.
Her dark gaze was confused. Behind that, he could see a deep hurt, a wound so stark it made his heart throb and his arms ache to hold her close.
Instinct and logic warred inside his head. The evidence pointed to indiscretion, but his gut told him there was something he wasn"t getting.
He took a deep breath. “I"m fine, just not thrilled that Seth decided to leave town at the last minute.”
Her expression closed as if she"d slammed up a wall. “Yeah, that sucks. I think I"ll run upstairs and change before dinner.”
She"d disappeared up the stairs before he had a chance to respond. He wondered what had caused her lightning change in mood. Had he been right after all? Was all this drama caused by her being involved in two different relationships?
Crescendo Page 10