Boston Avant-Garde 2 - Crescendo (2 page)

“Seth?”

The sound of his name crossing her lips was agonizing pleasure and pain rolled into one. He wanted to hear it again, hear it when he held her in his arms, when he dragged his fingers through her wet pussy, when he fucked her and made her his, made her theirs—his and Joshua’s—as she should’ve been all along.

Seth forced his mind back to the matter at hand. “Someone in Niles’s position has a lot of legal support in the Boston area. All you have to do is contact the media. They’ll do one story, and he’ll have a dozen or more offers for free legal representation from organizations like GLAD. They specialize in this type of thing.”

Leslie’s chest began to rise and fall quickly, tears forming in her eyes. She stared at the ceiling and sucked in a deep breath. “Niles can’t do that. You know him. That kind of media circus would chew him up and spit him out. Please help him.”

“Free of charge, of course.” Seth couldn’t quite keep the bitterness from his voice. Leslie wanted his legal expertise, not him, and certainly not him and Josh.

“I’m not that naïve. Nothing in life is free.” Her tone matched his. “I’d give you a percentage of the Trio’s take. Over five years, you’d make your fee and more. You’re a lawyer. Draw up the papers. According to my agreement with Jen and Niles, they draw a salary based on how many engagements we book. The rest is mine.”

Leslie’s words left Seth deflated, all his anger washed away by shock. She taught at the Boston School for the Arts, but she’d spent years pulling together and shaping the reputation of a talented string trio she’d dubbed Trio Dolce. The group played all over the city, including some fairly high-end events. Why would she promise him something so vitally important to her? And why would she offer it on behalf of Niles?

Leslie turned away and walked toward the windows. She wrapped her arms around her midsection and gripped her sweater until her knuckles turned white.

Seth should’ve been drowning in doubt. In fact, he was almost sure she was being deliberately vague. He should’ve been formulating some kind of interrogation strategy to get some answers, but this was Leslie. She needed help, legal and otherwise. As they had in the past, his protective instincts bubbled to the surface. All that mattered was eliminating the barriers between him and the woman he’d never stopped wanting.

Leslie was so tired. Since giving her room to Caleb and moving out, she felt like a vagabond. A night here or there in whatever cheap motel she could afford and the last two weeks on Jen’s couch. She hadn’t had a real bed in two months. Niles was barely scraping by with the added expense of taking care of Caleb on his own. Gina hadn’t had much in the way of life insurance, and her parents were holding on to whatever was left just to spite Niles.

It really wasn’t her problem, but she liked Caleb. She didn’t want him to lose what was left of his family. She knew what it was like to grow up without a decent parent. Niles was a good dad. Kids deserved a parent who loved them.

Times like these when she was worn out and groveling on her knees left her wishing for an escape of some kind. Some kind of release, something to siphon off the tension, anything to make her forget for a little while that she was alone.

“Leslie.” Seth’s hands were warm on her shoulders. She should’ve shrugged him off, but she longed for the strength in his body and the heat of his kiss. This was escape.

Their mouths met, teeth clicking together. She lost any sense of self and sank into the feeling of being held in Seth’s arms. She’d never stopped longing for his spicy taste or the familiarity of his touch. His tongue slipped between her lips, flicking over her teeth to mate with hers. The motion mimicked the ebb and flow of the primal sex her body craved.

She pulled him closer and stretched her body full length against his. The heat of his skin seeped through the cloth of his business shirt. Hating the barrier, she picked apart his buttons and smoothed her hands across the rippling muscles of his abdomen.

Seth nipped her lower lip, startling a cry from her before devouring her with another kiss. She raked her nails down his ribs, and he groaned.

“Damn woman, I’m going to come in my pants.”

Strange but she felt utterly comfortable with him. Even there in his office where they could be interrupted at any second, she was beyond self-consciousness, and almost beyond coherent thought. “Seth, I’m on the pill, but we shouldn’t do this without protection.”

His mouth was everywhere, nibbling her earlobe, pressing kisses against the side of her neck, and lingering in the hollow of her throat. Each touch sent shockwaves of desire to the thrumming orgasm building below her belly. She didn’t want to stop, but she didn’t want to be totally irresponsible either.

“Josh and I go every month for testing. I’m clean. And I don’t want anything between you and me.” He thumbed her jeans open and yanked them over her hips, touching her horrible panties. Pulling back for a better look, he gave a snort of laughter. “Those may require an explanation later.”

She didn’t want to explain them. Besides, it seemed ridiculous to say she’d worn them as protection against him. Distracting him with another kiss, she tugged at his full lower lip with her teeth and suckled its soft surface until she felt him rip her granny panties from her body in one yank.

Her butt hit the cool desktop before she even realized he’d lifted her. He nudged his way between her legs, exposing the hot folds of her damp pussy to the air. The position made her vulnerable, but she was too needy to care. If he waited much longer, she was going to break down and hump his leg just for the friction.

“I can smell you,” he whispered. “Your pussy is wet for me, isn’t it?”

She could only whimper, watching as he tossed his shirt aside.

God must’ve been jealous of Seth’s body. Every muscle was sculpted, one into the next, until he flowed in long, sinewy perfection. His waistband rode low across his hips, and downy, dark hair dusted his belly just below his navel.

She reached out to free his cock, but he caught her hands and brought them up to rest on his shoulders. She exhaled in a ragged sigh as she watched one of his big hands move toward her spread cunt.

“God, I’ve missed this.” His voice was hoarse, and he brushed his knuckles reverently over her close-cropped pubic hair.

She ground her teeth together as her vaginal muscles clenched involuntarily. Silky liquid spilled from her opening to coat the insides of her thighs. She was going to leave a wet mark on his desk if he didn’t hurry up and fuck her.

“Your hair is the most beautiful shade of red.”

His words unlocked a moan. She’d waited her whole life for a man to look at her with something other than ribald curiosity. She needed him inside her.

Using two long fingers, he traced the contours of her labia. Her head fell back as the sensation overtook her body. He fingered her again and again, the wet sound almost as sexy as the stimulation.

His mouth pressed against her ear. “Is that all you want?”

She made a protesting noise.

“More?”

Her hips shifted, and his fingers slid over the spread hood of her clit. She gasped as the burn of climax began in her spine.

“You’re close, Leslie.” His voice in her ear kept her from going over the edge. “Wait for me. I want my cock deep inside your cunt when you come.”

The sound of his zipper, the cool movement of air when he shucked his pants, it all sank into the background. She waited for him to push her over the edge and into oblivion.

The head of his cock was blunt and broad. He rubbed it across her soaking wet sex until it slid like silk. He reached around her body, adjusting her until she lounged backward with her palms flat against the cool wood of his desk.

“Relax,” he murmured, “I’m going to go slow.”

Three months. It’d been three months since she’d had sex. Since the night she’d spent with Seth. She didn’t need casual sex with anyone else to know they wouldn’t measure up to the man standing between her legs at that moment.

His hot length spread her wide, pushing through her damp folds and plowing into the center of her body. Her muscles clenched around him, welcoming the pressure and pulling him deeper until he was fully sheathed. Her clit pressed against his pelvic bone, his dark nest of pubic hair tickling the sensitive nub.

Her womb clenched and sent a spasm throughout her channel. Seth drove forward, pushing deeper and sending the head of his cock bouncing against the sweet spot deep inside. He braced his weight against the desk with one hand, using the other to hold her still.

Heat lanced through her body. Liquid fire seeped from her opening until the place where their bodies joined was soaked with her juices. He moved again, picking up a steady tempo and stroking the muscled walls of her vagina with each thrust.

She closed her eyes, losing herself in the dance. Her feet went numb. Every fiber of her being was focused on the primal rhythm in her pussy that pulsed and throbbed in time with his cock. He shifted, moving deeper, and she had to bite her lip to keep from crying out.

“I can’t hold back.” His voice was guttural in her ear. “Come with me, Leslie. Milk my cock.”

His words unlocked something inside her. Her vagina convulsed in one rippling contraction. Her spine grew rigid, her toes pointing as the undulating waves of release washed over her body. Seth’s cock exploded inside her. Pulse after pulse of hot ejaculate bathed her pussy walls with his essence.

Weightless after her release, Leslie sat up, wrapped her arms around Seth’s body, and snuggled against him. He was damp with a mixture of sweat and their combined juices. He smelled divine. She had a sudden flashback of curling up next to him in her sagging bed and letting his deep, even breathing lull her to sleep.

How was it possible to feel so safe, so secure, with someone she hardly knew? Trust wasn’t something to be given lightly, if at all.

“Are you all right?” His voice was a rumble beneath her cheek.

She wanted to tell him to shut up. Speaking would make her remember why she’d come, and then the real world would come crashing back in.

“I’ll help your friend.” Seth stroked the tangled hair between her shoulder blades. “But you’ve got to let me help you too.”

She stiffened, but his hand on her back kept her from pulling away.

“Just listen. I’ll have the papers drawn up for the Trio. Joshua and I will represent Niles. And you will move into our apartment until you can find a place of your own to rent.”

Shame burned a fiery path through her pride. Somehow he knew. She shouldn’t have been surprised. Seth made a living by reading between the lines.

She pushed him away and jumped down from his desk. Her defiance was ruined when her legs wouldn’t hold her weight, and she tripped over the jeans pooled at her ankles.

He reached out and caught her with one hand. She yanked away. “I don’t need your charity.”

“Then don’t consider it charity,” he countered in a cool tone. “Consider it protecting my investment. The string trio won’t be worth a dime if you’re too exhausted to play.”

Oh, how his words stung!

“Then this”—she gestured wildly to the desk and their general lack of clothing and control—“this can never happen again!”

Even with his pants hanging open, it only took him half a stride to catch her up in his arms and crush her into a kiss. Leslie squirmed, protesting until her resolve melted like warm butter. She didn’t want to want him, but she couldn’t help it. Lord, the man could kiss! Her knees buckled as he melded their tongues together in perfect unison until she didn’t know where she ended and he began. When he released her lips, a tiny sigh escaped.

His bemused chuckle made her angry all over again. “The only things that will happen are the ones that you
want
to happen, Leslie.”

He fastened his pants, leaving his shirt open. She scrambled to right her clothes, not bothering to worry about the loss of the ugly granny panties. She could put on a much more comfortable pair when she picked up her stuff from Jen’s apartment. Evie would have a hell of a lot more to gossip about if she happened to walk in on this little scene.

“Once you’re nice and settled in the apartment, tell Niles to call our office. Evie will set him an appointment, and we’ll get started immediately.”

Leslie wished she could remove the freshly-fucked-and-deeply-satisfied expression from her face. “Where’s Joshua? Don’t you think you should ask him if he’s okay with this arrangement?”

The office door opened so quickly she suspected that Joshua had been listening for longer than she cared to imagine. He strode in and closed the door behind him. If Seth was tall, dark, and handsome, then Joshua was Apollo himself. He was leaner than Seth, with tousled dark gold hair and devilish blue eyes. He was wearing what her father would’ve called a shit-eating grin.

“You guys ready for me to crash now?” He exchanged a significant look with Seth. “I’ve been standing out there long enough to make people wonder.”

“Oh. My. God.” Leslie fumed. “The two of you are going to drive me insane!”

Seth nodded to Joshua. “Give her your house keys.”

Leslie tried not to watch him fishing around in his pants pocket, but it was impossible. The shattering orgasm she’d experience not five minutes ago did nothing to quell the bone-deep awareness of both Seth and Joshua that rippled through her nerve endings. She knew how they liked to operate, one woman and two men. Even the mental image that created was enough to make her brain fog over. No woman could possibly go unsatisfied with that combination.

Joshua dangled his keys from his index finger. When she reached out to take them, he grabbed her hand and reeled her in. His arm locked her into place as if her curves had been tailor-made to fit against him.

“My turn.”

His lips descended, and instead of leaning away, Leslie rose on tiptoe to meet him. His kiss was softer than Seth’s. Warmth spilled into her body, sending a zing of sensation right to her pussy. He opened his mouth a fraction wider, sliding his tongue along the seam of her lips until she opened. He tasted clean, like sunlight. She drank him in, letting his kiss and his hands mold her as he chose until her fingers were clenched in his shirt.