Colors of Love (9 page)

Luke had picked up on it too. He shifted from one leg to the other, but his face remained impassive.

Seth tilted his head appreciatively. “Thank you for your honesty.”

“You don’t hate me for it?”

“Hell, no. If anything, I hate the song. I was explaining to Luke that it just didn’t work for me. Asked him to help me see it differently.”

“Did he?”

Seth gazed at Luke. “He did. He has the knack. Always helps me to see things differently.”

“So, you have another version?”

Seth nodded. “But I’m stuck on the first verse, and Luke over here hasn’t had time to work on it further. I was hoping maybe you could help with the next one?”

“Go ahead, then. Sing it.”

Seth leaned forward, closed his eyes and plucked at the strings of his invisible guitar.

“
Now, forever and always, we have each other.

“I am yours, and you’re my lover.

“This is it, you have my heart.

“We’ll build on it, it’s just the start.”

The verse was met by silence.

Seth didn’t open his eyes, but he knew Luke was glaring at him, just like he’d glared at him the last time he’d sung the words. With a mixture of frustration and desire and emotion Seth had not been able to identify.

“When I look in your eyes, I see the sun rising. A new day on the horizon.”

Seth’s eyes popped open.

Kaz hadn’t sung the words. She’d spoken them, but with each syllable, a shiver stroked up Seth’s spine.

He stared at her, and she stared back, seemingly as stunned as he was by her inventiveness.

“More,” he whispered.

Kaz’s tongue darted out to lick her lips, leaving them shiny and glistening. “Um…”

It was her turn to close her eyes. Seconds ticked by, minutes. Seth sat silently, waiting. Even Luke didn’t speak.

“You’ve been sent from up above,

“So paint my heart with colors of love.”

“Say it again,” Seth demanded.

Kaz repeated the whole thing.

Seth shook his head. “No. Something’s wrong. Something’s not gelling.” He had to get the words down. Had to look at them, see them in front of his eyes so he could work through them.

He grabbed the first thing he could find to write on—a paper napkin from the small pile on the coffee table. Before he could scramble for a pen, one appeared in front of him.

Luke. Of course. The man knew him better than he knew himself, anticipated every one of his needs. Seth almost kissed him in gratitude. Almost. But then didn’t for fear he’d get all horny and distracted and wouldn’t be able to concentrate for shit.

He jotted down the verse Kaz had just come up with. Most of it was perfect. There was just one line that didn’t work.

You’ve been sent from up above.

Seth drew a line through it. When it came to love, he’d given up believing in divine intervention a long time ago. If there was a God, he’d have slapped Luke on the head way back when and forced him to open his eyes to all the wondrous possibilities that lay before him if he just let Seth in. If he just shared Seth’s dreams.

Then there was the last line. The bit about “painting my heart with colors of love”.

Something about that line gave him the strongest sense of déjà vu. He liked it. Thought it fitted the song well, but what was it that jarred at his memory? Made him think instinctively of his grandmother?

And then he gave it no more thought as the verse untangled in his mind.

Yes! He had it. The third line.

Seth grinned like a lunatic and scrawled down the words. Then he sang the whole verse out loud.

“When I look in your eyes, I see the sun rising.

“A new day on the horizon.

“You’re the one I always dreamed of,

“So paint my heart with colors of love.”

Kaz’s eyes shone. “Perfect.”

“Perfect, indeed.” Impulsively, Seth leaned forward, placed his hands on her cheeks, and planted a huge kiss smack bang on her lips.

She laughed in delight. “What are you kissing me for, you idiot? It’s Luke you should be kissing.”

“Luke didn’t help with these lines, you did.”

“He gave you the pen,” Kaz pointed out.

“You gave me the verse,” he pointed out right back.

“Yeah, but he’s your inspiration.”

Seth didn’t stop to wonder how Kaz knew that, he just went with the flow, thoroughly enjoying himself. “He is, but Luke doesn’t want my kisses, and I need to kiss someone in celebration, so you’ll have to do.”

He placed another huge kiss on her lips.

“Rubbish,” Kaz insisted—a little breathless. “Of course he wants your kisses. Just look at his face.”

Seth looked. And there stood Luke, wearing a smug, satisfied expression.

Smug?

His eyes didn’t seem smug. They were dark, molten hot, filled with desire, passion and…pain?

Seth blinked, taken aback, but when he looked again he saw only desire in Luke’s expression.

He turned back to Kaz. “His face is telling me he wants me to kiss you. I want to kiss you too. So that’s just exactly what I’m gonna do.” This time when he held her cheeks between his palms, he didn’t smack a huge one on her mouth. Instead he slowly lowered his lips to hers and pressed them gently together.

Her lips softened instantly beneath his, molding to their shape. She gave a soft sigh of surprise, and Seth took full advantage, dipping his tongue into her mouth for a taste. He gave himself a long, lazy minute to sample the subtle taste of champagne on her breath before he pulled away.

“Mmm. Nice.” His body hardened, his cock stirring to life.

Kaz blinked rapidly, and once again her cheeks blushed a becoming pink. “T-tell you what,” she stuttered. “You can give me as many…c-celebratory kisses as you like, if—”

“If?”

Her gaze moved to Luke. “If you kiss Luke now.”

Seth’s mouth twitched. This was a first. He’d never shared a woman with Luke who’d insisted the two men pay each other attention. In fact, he didn’t think any other woman had noticed what Kaz seemed to see so obviously.

He grinned at her. “Okay, then. You stay right where you are. When I’m done with Luke I’m coming to claim what you promised. And when I’m done kissing you, it’s Luke’s turn to sample your sweet lips.” Seth stood, and being so close to Kaz, at this angle he knew she’d see exactly what the taste of her had done to him.

Her sharp inhalation proved him correct.

“I’ll be back,” he promised and turned his attention to Luke.

Luke frowned at him. “Not a good idea, kid.”

He crossed the room, stopping an inch away from the man he loved. “I think it’s a great idea. So does Ms. Flaherty.”

“I do,” Kaz breathed, her gaze pinned on them.

“I didn’t bring her here to watch us, Seth,” Luke said very softly.

“I know exactly why you brought her here,” Seth responded just as softly. “And when have we ever denied a woman what she wants when she’s with us?”

He inhaled deeply, pulling Luke’s scent inside, relishing it. Kaz’s kiss may have woken his desire, but Luke’s proximity tore him apart. Lust washed over him, hot and hard. He stepped in and pressed his mouth to Luke’s, caressing the man’s lips with his own.

Lust turned to yearning. And love. And passion. Christ, he couldn’t get enough. He kissed him more firmly, hating how Luke gave just enough to satisfy Kaz’s need to see the two of them together and no more.

Fuck that. Seth was having none of it.

He groaned against Luke’s lips, hooked an arm around his neck, pushed his hips close and dipped his tongue in the other man’s mouth.

Luke’s body was a study in rigidity. His shoulders were inflexible, his body unforgiving and his cock rock solid against Seth’s.

Oh yeah, Luke may not want to give an inch, but he didn’t have a choice. He reacted as instinctively as Seth did, rising to the call of their mutual attraction.

Or maybe Luke had risen to Seth’s attraction to Kaz. Didn’t matter. He was aroused, he was hard, and he was in Seth’s arms.

Seth deepened the kiss, running his tongue over Luke’s, caressing it with sensual strokes.

Luke growled, the sound emanating from his throat. His hand landed on Seth’s back, slamming him against his body. Luke’s other hand tangled in his hair, holding him captive, keeping his face right where Luke wanted it.

Seth was trapped, caught in Luke’s embrace, and Luke wasn’t letting go anytime soon.

Suddenly it was Luke kissing Seth, Luke in control. Luke’s tongue was tracing devastating circles over his, his lips searing Seth’s. The tension eased from Luke’s muscles, and he molded himself against Seth, grinding their cocks together.

Fuck, when Luke took control it did Seth’s head in. Made him crazy. Made him want to rip off his clothes and sacrifice himself to Luke. He’d gladly give up his body for the other man’s gratification, because as much pleasure as Luke took, he gave back a hundredfold.

Seth would have kissed Luke forever had a strangled moan not echoed through the air. He pulled away reluctantly, hating the instant coolness of the air that wafted over his swollen lips.

Luke’s breathing was unsteady, irregular. But at least he had the presence of mind to make sense of the sound and respond to it.

“Kaz,” he rasped.

Seth twisted around.

Her face was flushed, her mouth rounded into an O. Those brown eyes were enormous, feverish even, staring at him and Luke with unsuppressed passion.

“Oh, God,” she murmured. “That’s sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Sexy? She wanted sexy? Seth held out his hand to her, and Kaz, as though in a daze, stood up and walked over to him, slipping her hand into his.

He hauled her into his arms, positioning her right between himself and Luke. And as he pulled her tight against his body, so Luke pressed into her from behind. This time when Seth’s lips touched hers, there was nothing tentative about the kiss. Kaz opened up to him, accepting his tongue with greedy enthusiasm, kissing him back with as much fervor as he kissed her.

She wasn’t Luke. She didn’t demand as forcefully or need quite so much cajoling, but now that she’d opened herself up to the experience, she kissed with a vehemence that made his balls ache.

Half blind with desire, he tunneled his hand in her hair, pulling it aside and exposing her neck. Her soft whimper told him Luke had taken him up on his offer. He’d pressed his mouth to the hollow between Kaz’s neck and shoulder.

Seth shuddered. He knew exactly how good Luke’s mouth felt in that spot. Knew just how sharply his teeth could nip as they nibbled their way upwards. Knew how the hot flicks of his tongue over that nibbled flesh could spur a lover into lust-induced madness.

Kaz pressed her breasts against him, and Seth was almost blown away by her softness. It had been a while since he’d wanted a woman. Since he’d wanted anyone besides Luke. He was surprised by the attraction he felt for Kaz.

It was pleasant, exciting, and with Luke behind her, it was electrifying.

Kaz released his mouth and pressed her lips to his chin, tracing tiny kisses down his neck. He would have murmured his appreciation, but Luke struck, taking advantage of Seth’s free mouth and smashing his own down on it.

Again they were kissing, only this time they weren’t alone. This time there were three of them, and the temperature in the room skyrocketed.

It was Kaz who upped the ante. Kaz who squirmed between the two men, turning around so she now faced Luke. Kaz who trailed a path of kisses up Luke’s neck to his jaw, and nudged Seth out of the way so she could kiss Luke.

Seth smiled languorously. He liked this girl. Liked her sass and her humor. Liked her looks and her body. Liked her perceptiveness and instinct. And he liked the way she kissed Luke, making him pant heavily in her arms.

As Seth let his hand wander over her hourglass curves, four high-pitched beeps pierced the air.

Luke tore his mouth away, swearing.

“Shit.” His hair was mussed, his lips red and swollen. He ran the back of his hand over his mouth as he reached into his pocket for his phone.

Kaz stumbled, losing her balance as Luke moved away to read his text message, and Seth hurried to steady her, pulling her back against his front. His erection lodged sweetly between her butt cheeks, and Kaz wiggled her ass, seating him more comfortably. They both breathed heavily.

“I’ve gotta go.” Luke’s voice was little more than a hoarse rasp. “Your brother and Sophie are on their way up.”

Chapter Six

Luke knew his smile was tinged with pride.

He’d been spot-on about Kaz. The moment he’d laid eyes on her, he’d known she was the one. The ideal woman for Seth. Pretty and feminine—all soft curves and lush roundness—smart, funny and…altogether too perceptive.