Finding Their Balance (29 page)

Anything. Her carousel of rewards flipped too fast to follow. In making her wait for him to name one, her smoldering artist scattered embers under her skin.

“Run along to the living room and clear the furniture from the rug, please.”

Do what now?

“Go on.” A smile tugging at his lips, Henry waved them ahead. “I’ll be just a moment.”

Bounding to the living room with carefree excitement, Jay flashed silver between his ass cheeks. She took dainty steps, and not only because following him offered a spectacular view. She’d never been so aware of her ass in her life. With each step, her toy shifted, rubbed, and reminded her to squeeze and lift.

In short order, the chairs and the coffee table hugged the big wall. The couch remained, the gray behemoth so often a cozy cuddling spot for three.

Jay struck a fierce pose, muscles straining, lips pulled back in a teeth-bearing grimace. Grunting, he play-heaved the couch with a mighty shove.

God, he had a fucking fabulous ass. Almost dimpled when he tightened up.

“Alice, you forgot to push.” He flicked a boyish smirk her way. “I can’t convince Henry he’s working us hard if you’re standing there staring at me.”

Sure enough, Henry stood beside the dining room table. Damn light-footed dom-silence. Their stealthy lover delivered the best surprises—and if a way to fool him existed, she hadn’t found it yet.

“I was on a break.” Her favorite kind. She devoured Jay from his flexible feet to his tousled hair. “My staring-at-Jay break. If it’s not an hourly perk, it oughta be written in.”

Pinking with pleasure, he copped weightlifting poses. For all his sexy strength, he truly seduced with his sweet smile and his send-me-to-my-knees stare.

He’d captured Henry’s attention, too. Henry smoothed his tie to his belt and beyond. Trapping his cock, his dress pants outlined his growing interest. Behind him, her usual chair hid all but an indistinct black handle. Too dark and thin to be her suede, and a crop wouldn’t be a reward.

“This is a union job, right?” She nudged the couch with her knee. Her end glided three inches back. Despite its size, the behemoth floated featherlight on the non-scratch pads protecting the hardwood. “Henry’s given us contracts and everything.”

The last time they’d cleared the rug, he’d set them at each other in a pillow fight. Today’s reward might be another test. She’d proven herself ready last weekend, but Jay’s reaction to impact play remained a mystery.

Sighing, Jay gave up the muscleman antics and pushed the couch with a palm on the armrest. “And killer benefits.”

Agreed. Though she didn’t relish trying his workout. She clenched as if the toy in her ass would slip out with every step. Hadn’t yet, but she’d been careful. And hyperaware.

He poured on the puppy eyes. “We still get our reward, right? Even if Alice is a shirker?”

Sticking out her tongue, she conspired to get him back with a solid pillow swat, straddle his naked ass, and ride his cock like a goddamn boss. See if he called her shirker then.

“I’m well convinced of your work ethic.” With his low-toned purr and sweeping gaze, Henry curled his love around them. “But the sooner you finish, the sooner your game will begin.”

Square pillows sat in each corner of the couch. Closest weapon at hand, but a draw—Jay had equal access. His gaze flipped past her. Damn. He’d spotted the floor pillows under the front window. As the couch slipped the last few inches and settled into position, she rested a hand on her weapon.

He boosted the pillow at his end and fluffed it with spread fingers, the way he held a basketball poised for a pass.

She’d have to toss a distraction pillow, dodge his throw, and dive on Henry’s mark if she meant to beat Jay to those floor pillows. Tension traveling up her legs, she braced her feet and tugged. Not losing her toy might be part of the rules.

Henry spread his arms wide. “Welcome to your dance studio.”

“Our what?” Her repertoire encompassed two kinds of dancing—the swaying and shuffling of ninth-graders in a sweat-scented gym and the grinding frenzy of the over-twenty-one crowd in a sweat-scented nightclub. Henry didn’t belong in either picture, and where he didn’t belong, sex didn’t belong. The weight teasing her ass insisted sex belonged here. “Are you joking?”

Pillow abandoned, Jay faked a fanciful ballet twirl, arms flying and cock bouncing.

“I am utterly sincere.” Henry stepped onto the rug and laid his hands on Jay’s shoulders, settling their hyperactive lover with his long-fingered hold. “Dance is grace and beauty in motion. The both of you are, as well.”

The both of
them
, maybe. Fluid, supple, and silent, Henry always moved like a dancer. Jay powered through on the athletic grace of strength, balance, and speed.

“I should think you’d enjoy dance, Alice.” Henry released Jay, raised his arms to an invisible partner, and executed a three-point pivot. “Precise patterns, replicated into infinity, movement dictated by a predictable rhythm—”

“But it’s not predictable.” Dances meant gawky adolescents stumbling over each other. Too-small, pinching heels borrowed from Mom’s closet. That or alcohol-fueled abandon, and those patterns weren’t worth replicating. “I never know which way to go.”

“Then you’ve had inelegant partners.” He scooped her chin up and tapped her lips. “Properly, you resisted giving control to them, as your body did not trust them. Do you trust me, Alice? Do you trust Jay?”

“You know I do.”

He kissed her forehead. “That’s all I ask.” As he positioned her and Jay facing each other, he skimmed their bodies with fleeting touches. “I expect neither of you learned formal dancing in school?”

She shook her head. Only if square dancing counted. No team sports in gym for a whole week. What a waste.

“Not in school.” Jay tilted toward Henry as his arms were raised and his hand pressed above her waist. “At my sibs’ weddings. Last one, I’d just hit the boner-popping years.” He shuddered, head to toe. “Dancing with your new sister-in-law is the wrooonnng time.”

Henry caught him in a swift embrace. “I doubt our girl will mind.”

“Not one bit.” Trying for a smirk, she probably came closer to a leer.

“She’s more likely to consider your interest an added bonus.” He rubbed Jay’s hip. “As do I.”

He left them poised to move, hands clasped. Middle school dance sounded about right, minus the sweaty palms. They had room enough for the Holy Ghost between them and then some.

Henry clicked on the stereo, and orchestral music filled the air. “My own school required attendance at dance lessons weekly.”

Yum. Adolescent Henry. Sensitive, intense, all studious and charming, with flawless manners—

“Half the class took to finding private time for release beforehand. The male half.”

—frantically jerking off before class in a desperate bid to stay in control when it mattered. She rearranged her mental image from
how sweet
to
fuck yes
as her body furnace cranked.

Cock twitching, Jay whimpered and swayed.

“The others, well. Girls were such mysteries.” Henry maintained an unaffected tone, but his eyes crinkled with kind laughter. “Their signs invisible to us uneducated louts. Gasps and blushes. Thighs pressing together.” He teased her with a swipe below the curve of her ass. “Surely they didn’t entertain persistent visions of bodies writhing in unison on less vertical planes.”

She had, a time or two. They might, sooner or later, depending on what Henry had left on the table.

“This is a waltz, but you needn’t worry about the exact steps.” In a graceful glide already attuned to the music, Henry slipped away. “We’ll begin by having you gain an appreciation for your own bodies before you attempt matching the music or each other.”

Jay cracked a wide grin. “Like masturbating. My favorite homework assignment.”

Snorting, she ducked her head. Not helpful. With his muscled abs and half-hard cock, he filled her vision.

Henry chuckled. “Exactly right. Dance is a socially acceptable form of foreplay.”

Not their version, with her and Jay nude and Henry their hands-on instructor.

“Follow your instincts.” He waved for them to begin.

Her instincts sent her crashing into Jay’s shin on the downbeat. As he hopped backward, she went along for the ride. With a quick spin, he kept them both from tumbling.

“Nice save.” Plastered to his chest, she bonked her head against his shoulder. “I think we skipped the masturbation lesson and went straight to the dry humping.”

Jay squeezed her waist and hoisted her. “I’m good with that.”

Her feet dangled, her toes brushing the tops of his, as he shook them both with his laughter. Euphoric. That encapsulated this almost tipsy high. Naked, pressed tight to Jay, the weight of her toy shifting between her legs. She slung her arms around his neck and kissed him.

They’d gone off course, but Henry issued no reprimands. His silence, his stance, all stayed easy and relaxed as she slithered back to her feet. He smiled on approach and ruffled Jay’s hair. Slipped behind her and nuzzled her neck. “Allow me to cut in, dearest.”

He unspooled them and glided off—with Jay in his arms.

They made a gorgeous couple. Slim and tanned, his ass a splash of pale milk, Jay followed Henry without hesitation. And Henry…He commanded. Wordlessly. His eyes gleamed. His arms formed a framework rigid but flowing. His steps powered their movement and determined their path.

Dancing was his basketball.

She and Jay stood on Henry’s court. He meant to teach them an activity he enjoyed, but he wanted them to enjoy it, too.

In the privacy of their home, Jay poured his energy into learning his lesson and pleasing his master. Gazing adoringly, he glowed brighter as praise fell from Henry’s lips. Jay’s trust and Henry’s leadership blended smooth and sweet. As their song spun into silence, Henry delivered Jay beside her.

She clapped with gusto. They deserved more. “Pretty slick, you two.”

“All Henry.” Loose-limbed, Jay flaunted an orgasmic flush. “I didn’t think about a thing. It’s just”—he wriggled as Henry released him—“letting him move me.”

“Beautiful understanding, my boy.” Henry reeled her in and kissed her lightly. “It’s all right if this proves more difficult for you, sweet girl. You so delight in conquering each challenge I set for you.”

Determined not to miss his commands, she gripped him tight. His slacks, concealing his legs, made the shift in his weight hard to discern.

“Easy,” he whispered.

Three sweeping steps per foot, boxy with diagonals. Plug jouncing with her, she missed the beat. As he dodged her knees, the music passed them by. Henry slowed, and she landed on his toes. “Sorry.”

“You’re fine.” He rubbed warmth into her spine. “Elevate your chin. Watching my feet is counterproductive, strange as that seems.”

He started again, in time with the music. His gentle eyes threatened to pull her away from counting steps. Seeing had to be easier than deconstructing the tug-o-war going on with their hands.

“You’re making yourself cross-eyed, dearest. As adorable as you are, I’ve just the thing to redirect your energy.” Halting their dance, Henry cradled her and sent Jay scurrying to the table. “Bring me both, please.”

On her tiptoes, she peeked around Henry.

Jay waved his finds like victory flags. One black, padded blindfold. One feather-tipped teaser.

Her blindfold hadn’t made an appearance in months. As her nipples hardened, Henry’s dress shirt chafed in an oddly appealing way.

“Even your faintest moans add to our symphony.” Henry stretched past her and accepted Jay’s hand-off. “Precisely what I require, thank you. Our girl needs a narrower focus.” Massaging her ass with his free hand, he set off rolling pleasure. “Not to worry, Alice. We’ll widen your aperture as we go.”

Her ass clenched and her throat opened, spilling another of the moans he praised her for. Graduation waited when she’d mastered her small plug. Henry waited.

“You haven’t worn this for me in far too long.” As he slipped the blindfold over her eyes, darkness descended. “How wary and uncertain you were then.”

Her pulse grew loud. Her skin tingled.

“But some delights are unchanging.” Tracing her ears, he swept back hair caught under the band. “You still tremble with such sweet anticipation.”

Between her thighs, she tightened from her thudding clit to her toy. Floaty and loose everywhere else, she drifted, with the weight the sole anchor she needed to keep her steady and balanced.

“You feel the difference, don’t you?” Voice flowing, he stayed close but on the move. “I see how you adjust your posture.” He grazed her hip. “In tune with your center of mass.” At the base of her spine, he laid a fleeting warm palm. “Anatomy is artistry. Even the smallest weight”—he teased her with a split-fingered tug on the handle between her cheeks—“creates new and beautiful forms.”

His ability to find beauty in the big picture and its finest details seduced her. He’d break this down for her, present the components until she mastered them.

“Your body is always a dance, Alice. Allow me to sketch the lines in your pattern.”

With pleasure.

“The rule of the game is…”

As a breezy tickle brushed her stomach, she bolted back and laughed at herself. Adrenaline and excitement made a potent mix in Henry’s court.

“Excellent. Simply step away from the tease.”

“Action, opposite reaction.” Teaching her could’ve been as easy as papering the floor with shoe-shapes and letting her study, but he hadn’t done that.

“Just so.” With the wisp of a caress along her ribs, he drove her left. “Dancing is about understanding your body.”

What he wanted to teach her wasn’t dance steps at all.

“Knowing what feels pleasurable.” Forward, a graze between her shoulder blades. “Transforming directed motion into natural, inevitable joy.”

He talked of dancing the way he talked of sex. The act of creation, seductive and powerful. Maybe he got as euphoric manifesting ideas in his mind as she did when he flogged or fucked her.

“Consider how much you’ve learned about your body’s capacity for sensual pleasure in the past year.” He brushed the same side, again and again and again, twirling her with his touch. “These steps are as natural to you as breathing.”