There was almost no doubt in her mind the man never lost control. The earth brown walls featured several black-and-white landscapes. The bed was immaculate and the floor completely devoid of any dirty clothes. There wasn’t a speck of dust on the chest or the dresser, and even the nightstand was bare of the usual spare change or forgotten receipts. A cell phone charger sat beside the reading light in a position that suggested the damn thing wouldn’t dare get lost in the crack between the wall and the furniture.
Great, I’m living with at least one neat freak.
Trying her luck with door number two on the other side of the hall, Leslie found what was obviously intended to be the master suite. Calling the king-size bed big enough for three was a massive understatement. Reaching the mattress would require a ladder. And if she ever managed to climb in, she would immediately drown in the silver and white down duvet.
She set her cases on the floor and looked around for a place to put her things. A partially opened door led to a bathroom designed to pamper even the pickiest guest. Marble floor, double granite-topped sinks, a corner tub complete with jets, and a glassed-in shower; in other words, everything a top-dollar penthouse apartment could possibly offer.
The most Leslie could muster for the decor was an eye roll. She and her friend Talia had always made a game of poking fun at overdone designs that took everyday activities like taking a bath to a whole new level of snobby. But unlike Talia, Leslie wasn’t impressed with expensive fixtures. In her experience, having money only made it easier to come up with excuses for bad behavior. She’d grown up with money, and so far the only legacy it’d left her was a healthy desire to avoid long-term entanglements with the opposite sex.
She found the closet just off the bathroom. It took minutes to transfer her motley collection of clothing to the drawers. She used only a fraction of the available space, and her one pair of low heels looked lonely on the shoe rack.
Leslie closed the closet door and leaned against it. This was a bad idea. No matter where she moved after this arrangement was over and done, it would feel like a refrigerator carton.
A quick glance at her phone told her it was nearly five thirty. Seth hadn’t said when they’d be home, but surely she had enough time to check out what was behind door number three?
The idea put a spring in her step. There was only one person the last room could belong to, and she found herself eager to see what it revealed about the occupant.
With a sense of anticipation she couldn’t have explained, Leslie went back out into the hallway and directly through the last door to find herself inside Joshua’s bedroom.
“Oh.” The word escaped on a soft sigh.
If Seth was a neat freak, then Joshua was a slob. A pair of jeans and two polos were slung carelessly over the arms of a much-loved leather chair, and more clothing was piled in haphazard stacks on the floor beside it. The dresser and chest were dusted clean, but the nightstand was a mess of Post-it notes, keys, spare change, and random pocket junk.
She took several hesitant steps in the direction of the unmade bed. There was a rumpled indentation near the middle. Her heart hammered, and her palms grew clammy. Reaching out, she rested her hand against the cool, charcoal-colored sheets.
The Egyptian cotton was soft beneath her fingertips as she brushed them through the spot where Joshua slept. A faint whiff of his cologne lingered in the air. The same spicy masculine scent that had flooded her senses when he’d kissed her breathless in his office only hours before.
Heat pooled between her legs, flaring into a damp spurt of cream that soaked the crotch of her panties. She closed her eyes and tried to slow the breath that raced in and out of her lungs. The desire to crawl up onto the bed and snuggle into Joshua’s covers was overwhelming.
I’ve lost my damn mind.
The mattress was soft, welcoming her as though she slept there every night. She rested her cheek against his pillow, inhaling deeply. Seth, she’d known. She’d memorized the sensation of his thick cock pushing past her slick pussy lips and sliding deep into her cunt. But Joshua had always seemed torn between lust and disinterest. She stared at the ceiling, wondering if he ever lay in this exact spot with his big hand wrapped around his shaft while he brought himself over the edge of release.
Languid heat trickled through her muscles and she squirmed in her jeans. She wanted to take them off and feel the cool kiss of cotton against her skin. She wanted to leave her scent mingled there with his. She wanted him to breathe her in while he masturbated, to think of her when he drifted off to sleep.
To make love to her in his dreams.
She slid her right hand to her waistband, past the barrier of her panties and into her wet pussy. Straddling her swollen clit with her second and third fingers, she arched her back against the intensity. She was never so ready, not this quick—as though he could stride through the door and bring her to climax with one touch.
A whimper caught in her throat, and her pussy clenched. Fresh cream coated her hand, dampening the palm that pressed against her mound. Her index finger brushed the petals of her opening, teasing the aroused flesh until her clit burned for climax.
Wet noises filled the room, and her breath came in short pants punctuated by soft sighs. Her wrist ached, but she couldn’t stop. Friction built to the point of pain until her pussy suddenly seized. Her hips bucked once, release sweeping her muscles and leaving weakness in its wake. Tension drained from her body as if someone had pulled the plug.
Exhaustion seeped into her consciousness. Lulled by the languid afterglow of her orgasm, she curled up with Joshua’s pillow and slipped into a doze.
Chapter Three
“So he was my best friend for like two years before I found out he wasn’t gay. I mean, can you believe that?”
Joshua bobbed his head. It was all Mikayla seemed to need in order to carry both sides of the conversation. Around them, the restaurant buzzed with the undertones of a dozen other voices. Low lighting gave the illusion of intimacy, but the closely packed tables offered no privacy. It was why he’d picked the place. He still wasn’t sure how badly he wanted to be alone with his date.
“And then he married my other best friend, and they’ve got a whole houseful of kids now. Isn’t that weird?”
Seth was right. Her laugh did sound remarkably like a hyena’s. There was something about the way she did it that bugged him too. She’d tilt her head like she thought she was being coy, but it put him in mind of a stray dog begging for scraps. A few regulars frequented the garbage cans in his underground parking garage, looking up with hopeful expressions when he headed for his car and tilting their heads just like that—
“Honestly, I’d started to think you were gay.”
Wait, what?
He must’ve looked sufficiently surprised by her admission, because she charged on. “Well, you just didn’t seem interested in women.”
Meaning her, of course. And he hadn’t been, dammit, until Seth had gone and changed the rules on him. “Do you still have doubts?” He felt a pang of regret for the prime cut of beef on his plate that he had yet to touch and poured himself another glass of wine instead.
“Now?” She twisted the corner of her mouth into a smile. “Not anymore. But you can understand how one might make the mistake with you and Seth living alone together for practically ever.”
He’d only agreed to go out with Mikayla because she’d always seemed like an intelligent woman. Besides, she was the hottest female attorney in Boston. Now he wasn’t so sure. Her eyes were more beady than bedroom up close. And her hair was sprayed stiff instead of gently tousled. She looked thinner too. Didn’t she know men liked curves? Why was she suddenly so unappealing?
She took a dainty bite of salad. “So, what do the two of you do up there in that penthouse all alone with no woman to take care of you?”
The implication in her words was naked. More naked than she was going to get, at this rate. It wasn’t exactly a secret he and Seth liked to share dates
. The old society matrons still stuck their noses in the air and whispered behind their hands, but other groups were growing increasingly more tolerant of alternative lifestyles. Unfortunately, Mikayla seemed to have more rabid curiosity than tolerance.
“We watch a lot of baseball.”
Her coy look was more annoying than effective. “If you’re tired of pitching to each other, I’d be happy to throw a few fastballs for you both.”
He wondered how long it would take her to realize she had something green caught in her teeth. Sweat beaded on his skin and slid down his spine to pool uncomfortably in the small of his back. This was an unmitigated disaster. What the hell had he been thinking?
Of course, it was what he’d been trying not to think of that had gotten him into this mess.
Leslie.
Long hair the color of the wine in his glass, deep brown eyes that saw straight through a man to his soul, and a body made to fit beneath his while he slid his cock into her hot little cunt. She’d haunted his dreams since the moment he’d laid eyes on her. He barely knew her, but he wanted her like he’d never wanted another woman before in his life.
His cock stirred beneath the table, and he squirmed in his seat. More control would be a good thing right now. He couldn’t reach down to adjust himself, or Mikayla would assume she’d been the one to put the starch in his staff. Giving her the wrong idea in that department would be bad in more ways than he could count.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you about this case I just took”—and she was off and running at a thousand words per minute.
Ever since the night Leslie had walked out of their apartment, Joshua had been trying to forget her. He’d barely spoken a dozen words to her, but there was an innate sensuality in the way she moved that made him ache to scoop her into his arms and deposit her on the nearest flat surface.
More than that, it was her music. He’d heard her play for the first time at an art museum charity event. Her melody had seeped into his soul and taken up permanent residence. He had no doubt she could be tough as nails, but the vulnerability in her expressions touched him deeply. A man wanted to put her in his pocket and never let her go.
Something had happened between him and Seth when Leslie left them cold. Joshua didn’t know how to set it right. He knew Seth was hurting, but he couldn’t fix it. Watching his partner suffer caused a conflicting barrage of emotions. Joshua didn’t like feeling helpless. Better to walk away. Better to find something else to fill the void that seemed to be swallowing him alive.
Something Mikayla said jarred his brain, and he tuned in to the conversation. “Really, it’s an easy case. The father is practically indigent. He’s a musician, can you believe that? How a gay musician thinks he can raise a son is beyond me. The guy’s W-2s from the last two years don’t even equal a typical monthly income for decent people.”
“Hang on, Mikayla.” Joshua straightened as the pieces clicked into place. “Are you talking about the Sullivan v. Wood custody case?”
She paused, her countenance souring. “I wasn’t aware you knew the particulars of that case.”
“Actually, Seth and I are representing the father.” Thank God! “Which means the two of us should really keep things professional until the case settles.”
Her expression went from sour to something bordering on ugly. “Are you serious? How can someone like that afford your firm’s hourly rate?”
It was tougher than expected to keep the relief from his face. “We’re doing it pro bono. A mutual friend put him in touch with Seth. We had a meeting with him this evening, actually.”
“Mutual friend?”
Joshua had a feeling he should’ve kept that little detail to himself, but it was too late for second thoughts. Pulling a bill from his wallet, he laid it on the table. “Sorry about running out like this. But I’m sure you understand the need for professionalism in this situation.”
It was obvious his attempt at “dating” had been a total disaster. He’d never been so glad to see something end, but he dreaded Seth’s self-satisfied smirk when he got home. After all, Seth had spent the evening entertaining Leslie.
* * *
Seth rested one shoulder against the door frame and tried not to make any unnecessary noise. He was late. It had taken longer than anticipated to get the details of Niles’s case organized. Thankfully, Leslie hadn’t come up in conversation. Seth still had misgivings about the circumstances of their arrangement. But that could wait. The only circumstance of immediate concern involved his inexplicable attraction to the woman now curled up in the middle of Joshua’s bed.
It was dark outside. Sheets of rain beat dully against the windows, and a bone-deep chill permeated the apartment. He shifted position, and a sliver of light from the hall fell across her face.
The word angelic came immediately to mind. Her hair spilled across the pillow she snuggled against, and she’d jammed her feet under Joshua’s rumpled covers. Her eyebrows showed the hint of a pucker between them, as if she were frustrated with her dream.
It was almost poetic she’d picked Joshua’s bed to nap in, though Seth wondered why. Leslie and Josh had never said more than a dozen words to each other. He knew his partner well enough to know Joshua had been deeply affected by her. And something in her reaction earlier that day told him she’d felt it too.
Her eyelids fluttered once and then opened. Seeing him, she sat bolt upright. “Oh! I didn’t mean to fall asleep. What time is it?”
“It’s nearly eight.” Dark curls tumbled over her shoulder, and he stifled the urge to reach out and bury his hands in their softness.
“Is Joshua with you?”
He clenched his teeth to hide his irritation. “He had a dinner meeting. He’ll be home after he finishes up.” Or gets off. “I’m sorry I was late. Niles came in, and we went over a lot of the background information.”
The mention of her friend seemed to bring her fully awake. “How is he?”
“He’s coping. The case is pretty strong in his favor, but we have to be careful.”
She bit her full lower lip. “Thank you for doing this. I know we’re not paying you half what your fees are.”
Guilt twisted in his gut like a live snake. He sat on the bed and sighed. “I still don’t understand why you’ve taken up his cause like it’s your own.”
She shrugged. “He’s my friend. You of all people should understand that.”
“We need to talk about that.”
Shifting, she pulled her legs up and crossed them in a defensive posture. “I’ve always known about you and Joshua. Even before we started dating. My friend Talia told me just before she moved to New York.”
“Ah, preempted by the girly bond.”
She leaned forward. “She might’ve given me a heads-up, but she was too busy pining away over Erik to ever explain why. Then they got married, and we haven’t discussed it since.”
He couldn’t have asked for a better lead-in to this particular conversation. There was no doubt it was long overdue, but the words had to be just right. He toed off his dress shoes and began unbuttoning his shirt to buy some time to gather his thoughts.
“What are you doing?”
He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “Getting out of this monkey suit. Do you mind? I usually nix the shirt before I make it to the kitchen. Thank God I didn’t have to be in court today, or I’d be wrestling with a tie too.”
She pulled the pillow into her lap and rested her chin on top. “It’s your house. I guess you’ve got a right to be comfortable.”
He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside. From the corner of his eye, he noted a hitch in her breath. Her gaze raked his torso, lingering where the dark trail of hair below his navel disappeared into his waistband. Doing a slow stretch, he rolled his shoulders and neck just to watch the appreciation on her face.
“Are you tenting?”
“Are you looking?”
Her resulting giggle was as lighthearted as he’d ever
heard. That was one of the things he’d always loved about Leslie. She knew how to have fun and let loose when she wasn’t trying to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders.
“Now, are you going to tell me your big secret or not?” She gave him an expectant look.
He jumped onto the bed to jostle her out of her defensive pose and rolled to his side. Propping his head on one hand, he didn’t even bother trying to hide the erection that was indeed tenting his slacks. “It’s no secret.”
“I know that the two of you share women. I think the secret must be why you think that’s necessary. I have a feeling you guys have enough mojo to fill this whole apartment with willing women.”
The intense curiosity on her face sent the blood rushing into his groin until his cock throbbed. “I’ve known Joshua since the fourth grade. We grew up as a team. Most guys work in pairs when they pick up women. And it didn’t take us long to realize that we had nearly identical taste.” He was telling her far more than they ever told their flings, and even more than they’d told the one or two women who’d lasted longer than a few weeks. But he didn’t want to stop and wonder why. Her softly parted lips and ragged breaths told him all he needed to know. “Then one night in college, after a few too many drinks, we convinced one of those ladies to try a three-way.”
He would never forget that first time. He’d long ago forgotten her name but he could damn well remember the sight of Joshua’s cock disappearing into her tight, wet cunt.
“So?” Leslie poked his arm.
Desire seared him like a brand. “So we continued experimenting.”
“We all experiment, but why make it a permanent lifestyle? Don’t you want normal?”
He reached out and gently captured her chin with his thumb and forefinger. “I like to watch. I like to be watched. Why choose normal when it means I can’t have what I want the most?” He sounded like a shameless voyeur, which he was. But that wasn’t all there was to his and Joshua’s relationship, not by a long shot. Someday, when it was time, she’d know the rest.
Boston Avant-Garde 2 - Crescendo Page 3
