Page 129 of Season of Gifts

Chapter sixty-nine

Henry

Thefoghadlifted.No nightmares chased Henry out of his dreams.He floated into wakefulness on a comforting sea, the waves resolving into gently whistling snores beside him.Dawn’s pale light announced the arrival of Christmas Eve.He greeted the day with a clear mind and a calm heart, flat on his back, pleased beyond measure with his predicament.

The bulk of the covers bunched atop Alice, undoubtedly pushed there by Jay in the night.Alice lay curled against Henry’s left side, hugging his arm to her chest like a favorite toy.Jay sprawled on his stomach to Henry’s right, his arm thrown across Henry’s chest and his knee pinning Henry’s thigh.They had quite literally draped him in the weight of their love.How could he ever have imagined this luxury a burden?

They were better than he deserved in this life.But he would take their forgiveness with gratitude and carefully unravel the harm he’d—

“You’re thinking too much.”Alice squirmed closer, her breath warm on his neck, her hair rubbing his cheek.“I’ve learned from a very wise man that sometimes it’s better to just be in the moment and accept it for what it is.”

“Wise words indeed.”He kept his voice low and his body still lest he disrupt Jay’s slumber.Their font of wisdom slept in such peaceful innocence that disturbing him would be a crime.“Have you been awake long?”

“A few minutes, maybe.Listening to my husbands sleep is the best kind of dozing.”

“Even when one of your husbands has made an ass of himself and reopened painful wounds for all of us?”The insecurity leapt unbidden from his throat, the admission of vulnerability new and fragile in the reshaping of their relationship.

“Even when one of my husbands forgets that he should receive all the protections he affords his spouses.”She butted her head against him in a not-so-gentle nudge.“Like being allowed—required, even—to ask for help when he needs it.Even when he overclocks his brain processes into an emotional meltdown and needs to go offline to recover.”A soft chuckle chased Alice’s sigh.“Not like I’ve never done that.”

He laid his lips against the top of her head and hummed.“You and I shall be each other’s warning system, hmm?”

“Call each other out before he gets hurt again.”

Thehein question stirred, his light snores silenced.Stretching his legs to full extension, Jay mingled his feet with Henry’s.“I’ll safeword both of your asses before we go down that road another time.Don’t think I won’t.”

How far Jay had come from the shattered, needy young man incapable of setting safe limits for himself.Henry drew him into a kiss, a slow and pulsing exploration.Like a steady rain after a long drought, Jay filled him with life and energy.“I sincerely hope you will, should I ever again behave so disgracefully.”

Alice stretched across his chest, linking her arm with Jay’s.“Me too, sweetheart.I promise to listen better when you’re telling us what you need.Odds are good it’s what all of us need.”

Jay’s sweet smile came with an approving grunt.He wriggled from shoulders to toes and propped his chin against Henry’s shoulder.“So what’s up first today?Gotta give the plans my seal of approval.”

“So you do.”Christmas Eve.The plans had been formed ages past, stretching back uncounted generations.Prior to Robert’s arrival with his family, however, time enough existed to begin the groundwork for their own traditions.“We have a final card to open this morning.”

Hushed squeals erupted on either side of him.

The even days belonged to Alice.He would have stroked her incomparably soft skin had she not so thoroughly pinned his arm.“Before that, I thought you might help me shower, Jay.I’ve heard you performed quite well washing Alice recently.”

“He was spectacular.”Alice rocked her hips in a sensual slide and kissed Henry’s collarbone.His spouses had insisted he sleep without the formal pajama top, throwing his own words back at him regarding the benefits of skin-to-skin contact.“How’s about you two clean up, and I’ll go help Mother get ready for the day.I can shower after breakfast.”

Henry inhaled the musky-sweet scent of her, tousled and sleep-warmed.More mornings lounging in bed would certainly be on the agenda for the new year.His separation had robbed them of the small intimacies that formed the mortar of a marriage.“That would be most appreciated, dearest.”

Jay heaved himself up onto his elbows and peered across Henry.“You’re sure?You don’t have to make yourself scarce, you know.”

“I know.”Alice draped herself across Henry without apology, her breasts pressing into his ribs, her bare back an exquisite slope before him.She kissed Jay with a commanding hunger, curling one hand around the back of his neck and wringing a whimper from him.When she released him, they both breathed like sprinters after a heat.“Stay with Henry, stud.And if he gets zombie-distant with you, safeword his ass.”

Jay collapsed into laughter.Alice began her retreat, bracing against Henry’s chest.

Devilish desire tickled him.He swept her arm from beneath her and slid his hands up her back, delving into her thick hair as she sprawled atop him.

“What—”

He kissed her.Thoroughly, leisurely, as he’d kissed Jay, and not stopping before she’d fully relaxed into his embrace.Tension had no place in their bed, unless it was the kind they’d carefully cultivated for release.“I love you.”

His declaration was quiet but heartfelt.

“I love you.”She whispered the words against his mouth and left him with a gentle peck.Two gazes tracked her every bend and twist as she donned pajamas and a robe.At the door, she rested her hand on the latch and studied them in turn.Her mouth formed a sweet bow; her hair fell in soft waves as she tipped her head.“Now that’s a picture I’ve missed seeing.”

She slipped out the door, leaving him nearly nude in the center of the bed with Jay nestled at his side.He exhaled deeply, emptying his mind of all expectation and the demands of the day that would reclaim space soon enough.Jay formed a pleasant heat against him.His hand lay flat over Henry’s heart, his arm a soothing weight.Silence blanketed the room.He could lie so for hours, appreciating the gift he’d been given in their love.

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