Page 179 of Season of Gifts

Henry selected a second grape, a sugary confection wider than his thumb.“Come here and sample a reward for your good work, my thoughtful boy.”

Jay rocked once, using the momentum to power his rise to his hands and knees.He crawled toward them, shoulders rising and falling, collar a dark band at his throat.As Jay extended his tongue to accept his prize, Alice licked her lips, her legs shifting restlessly against Henry’s thigh.

Jay, too, cleared the sugar from Henry’s grasp, tugging at his finger to the last knuckle.Henry’s cock resented its confinement, lobbying for a repeat of the morning’s explosive finish.A familiar impatience, from the very beginning of their acquaintance.

“Another?You seem…” He withdrew his finger to the sound of Jay’s soft whine.“Hungry.”

Coyly lowering his chin, Jay gazed up through lidded eyes.“I wouldn’t mind another taste, Master Henry.”

How sweet the words when no tremble shook Jay’s tenor.

Henry swirled his fingers above the bowl, his knuckles grazing Alice’s breasts.Cradling the glass closer, she pressed into his touch.He crowded her, leaning in, rubbing his cheek alongside hers as he retrieved a grape.

“Not to worry, my love.”Nuzzling the soft curve of her ear, he left kisses behind.“We’ll share far more than frosted fruit this night.”

She shuddered, her hips thrusting down against the sofa, as a whispered moan fell from her lips.She did so enjoy the middle, and she’d gone weeks without it.Such a tableau would be a fitting first night before the fire—once he’d heated their desire to match the flames.

He offered the fresh grape to Jay before his own desire ran too hot for so early in the night.Tiny nibbles grazed his finger and thumb.Jay mixed teeth with tongue, chasing down each grain of sugar.Not the best method of cooling his ardor.He swiped his thumb across Jay’s mouth and growled, pouring more bass into his voice.

“Go and stand in the center of the sheets for me, my boy.”More than five years since he’d first uttered such a command to Jay, the night of their first truly private session.If only he might reach back in time and soothe that younger man’s fears, assure him that every good thing he’d ever imagined would be his.But beauty lay in the path from there to here.Growth and understanding, for both of them.“I’m of a mind to enjoy a show.”

Jay flowed to his feet.Athletic grace carried him silently to the designated position, his feet leaving dimples across the sheet that vanished as the comforter below swelled out from each new step.He stood at ease, facing them, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet.

“Lovely.”

And he was.Lean muscle shaped him in pleasing angles and curves.His thighs, built for endurance over speed, flared with a strength that invited touch.His abdomen rose from a defined vee, firm and pulsing gently with his breath.His powerful glutes and the roundness of his calves couldn’t be seen in his current stance.

“Turn for me, please.Face the tree you chose so well.”He had; the fir had survived remarkably well despite their absence, though that might be the doing of their unexpected houseguest.Thoughtful of Alice, to add personal touches to their décor.The beginning of their own traditions, she’d called it—a promising bit of long-term thinking that suggested her own growing comfort with the bonds of love beyond the physical.Though those could be quite nice indeed.He stroked her spine from her collar to the curve of her ass.“Join him, dearest.Stand in front, facing the tree.”

She unfolded from her seat and bent to lay the bowl aside.

A devilish urge captured his tongue.“Keep the grapes with you.Just as you’ve been holding them.”

Eyeing him beneath a raised brow, she cradled the bowl between her breasts once more.

He allowed a serene smile to greet her skepticism.“Good girl.Go on.”

She stepped across the edge of the world, onto the makeshift bed that marked his domain.Two players ready to dance to his tune in the flickering firelight—a musical snow globe awaiting only his turn of the key.

“Closer,” he called, as Alice spun into place before Jay.

The top of her head brushed Jay’s lips.His hands remained clasped behind him; his cock slid toward the small of her back with each tiny shift of her feet.His fingers twitched; his breathing rustled Alice’s hair.The crispness of anticipation hung in the air.Now was the moment for the conductor to lift his baton.

Resettling himself in the seat, Henry hummed.“Jay.”Even his faintest tone tilted Jay’s head, his husband attentive and alert for his every desire.“Embrace our lovely girl, please.I wish to see your hands in motion across her skin.”Within limits, of course.What fun was a game with no rules?“You must remain upright, with your feet precisely where they are, but you may caress all your fingers can reach.”

Jay wrapped his arms below Alice’s and cradled her stomach in his hands.He bent his head to hers, breathing through waves of wheat-blond hair.Inhaling deeply, he spread his hands and rubbed in slow circles, his palms engulfing her hips.

Henry rested his hands atop his thighs, pressing his fingers flat.“What delights do you smell, Jay?”

Dipping lower, Jay ran his nose along Alice’s neck.“Lemons.”His hands, too, slid downward; he dragged his fingers up the front of her thighs.“And lust.”

Alice tipped her head back and stole a breath at Jay’s throat.“Sure that’s not you, stud?”

Rolling his hips forward, Jay pressed his erection to Alice’s back.“Oh, it’s me too, no doubt.”

Playfulness launched them beyond beauty, into unselfconscious enjoyment of themselves and each other.

“Me as well.”As two faces swung toward Henry, he spread his knees wide.His cock tented his slacks.

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