Season of Gifts (Neighborly Affection #8)

3. Henry

Chapter three

Henry

S upervising tree trimming, Henry needed only avoid confusing decorations for his submissives with decorations for the tree. The former rested in a small case to his left on the sofa. The latter were making their way onto the massive Fraser fir courtesy of Alice and Jay. The strings of lights, already accomplished, enveloped them all in a soft yellow-white glow.

A small stepladder gave Alice the necessary height to begin the cascade of silver garland from the top. Her minuscule red skirt with its thick white trim hung enticingly to the lower curve of her ass. As she stretched her arms over her head, her red velvet corset hugging her ribs and lifting her breasts, the skirt concealed even less.

Jay stood behind her, feet planted solidly on the floor, hands planted solidly on their wife’s hips. Her skirt swished across his chest as she leaned toward the tree and passed the garland from hand to hand around the back. The front of Jay’s green elf shorts twitched.

“Lovely display.” Henry left his tone ambiguous; whether he meant their work on the tree or Alice and Jay themselves would be for them to decide. He’d joined Jay’s after-work shower before dinner and took matters into his own hands to ensure Jay’s patience this evening would be a treat and not a torment. “Not too cold?”

“Mm-mmm. Not cold at all.” Alice tucked the end of a garland into the branches and clasped Jay’s hands against her, stroking his forearms. “Not when I have this helper keeping me warm.”

Henry could have blamed the lack of a fire on the absence of a sufficient woodpile as yet, but truthfully, he intended to hold back the first use for a night with a different focus. Tonight a cold hearth would be safer. Jay on his knees, Alice’s skirt flipped up, himself stepping into place—his cock thumped approval. His costume, unlike theirs, covered all of him. They did seem especially enamored of him in formal dress—and Alice, in particular, burned hotter the more disheveled his formalwear grew.

“Pretty sure I have a fever.” Jay rubbed his face against Alice’s bare back above the corset, his chest expanding as he inhaled. “Never decorated a tree like this before.”

“No, I should hope not,” Henry rumbled, deepening his voice into the lower register. “This sight is mine alone.”

The tree engulfed the space before the front window, its conical symmetry nine feet high and perhaps five feet across. Thermal blackout curtains ensured no shadows danced for any passersby. They’d yet to formally meet any of the neighbors, but perhaps he might extend a dinner invitation after the holidays. These first few weeks in their new home would be far too meaningful to clutter with outside obligations.

The bright forest fragrance consumed the entire house, helped along by the bow-bedecked boughs affixed to the stair rails from the main floor to the attic studio. Those they’d placed yesterday after their successful tree farm excursion. The tree itself, at Jay’s insistence, had stood for twenty-four hours in its well-watered stand before being allowed to bear the weight of its Christmas finery. Just as well; their calendar surprise this morning had been the promise of costumes and the Christmas spirit this eve.

Alice swayed on the step; now as she stretched around the tree, its soft needles teased her breasts. Soon she would be descending once more. Jay followed her with his hands. His steadying grip could easily, with a single command, become a bold exploration beneath her skirt. Henry held his tongue. Startle his girl and she might slip. A twisted ankle would be a poor outcome for their evening. However.

“When you’ve finished that section, Alice, come here, please.” He gave no hint of his intention, and their current musical selection concealed his hum of pleasure at the shiver that rippled through her. With crisp staccato notes, a lively instrumental version of “The Holly and the Ivy” accompanied their endeavor. As the musical director, he had crafted a playlist both religious and secular, all traditional choral or instrumental pieces—the evening would present no jarring pop or swing numbers to pull Alice and Jay’s attention from the cocoon of cozy holiday play he meant to wrap around them.

Alice presented herself before him with coy modesty, her hands crossed at the front of her skirt. “You wanted to see me?”

Taking one hand, he tugged her forward. “Not that much of you just yet, my sweet.”

Her knees hit the front of the sofa and still he urged her on, guiding her hands to his shoulders. She straddled him, hovering, licking her lips—her head tilt and intense gaze evidence of her ongoing attempt to discern his game. Gripping her thighs, he pressed her down into his lap. She squirmed; her eyelids flickered, and her breath caught as she found the hardness his slacks concealed. He thrust slightly, resettling himself, appreciating the contact and denying himself the completion.

She wrapped her hands around the back of his neck and played with his hair, just barely rocking against him. “I take it you’re still enjoying the show.”

Fingering the ties on her corset, he unsnapped the lid on his box of toys with his other hand. “You ought to hope so, as you’ll have a starring role this evening.”

Her movement stopped, the pause that preceded the vibration of her entire body. She shuddered like a tuning fork, from her fluttering shoulders to her toes curling against his legs. She reacted to verbal sparring with such enthusiasm. Neither she nor Jay hid their responses from him, an intoxicating lure of openness and honesty.

Glancing at the box, she furrowed her brow adorably. “Jewelry?”

“Of a sort.” The corset displayed her breasts beautifully, the low demi-cups revealing the flushed sunrise of her areolae. Lifting her slightly, he brushed his thumbs across her nipples, regaining her focus. He pinched, gently, and rolled them between thumb and forefinger. The soft bristles of the tree against her breasts had been the beginning, an unspoken warmup for their play. “Jay, I’ve a task for you.”

Jay, apprised of his role in their shower hours before, required no coaxing to join him in teasing Alice until the tips of her breasts darkened and swelled. She shifted restlessly in Henry’s lap, an excruciatingly pleasurable distraction.

He took his time pretending to make his selection. Though the box held a half-dozen styles, he would begin with simple clamps whose tension he could easily adjust. Pressure, not pain, was the objective. He placed the first just behind her nipple and slowly dialed the screw until the soft red pads over the teeth held her securely.

Her hair slid forward in a curtain as she gazed down at her chest. An eye flick and a tip of his head to Jay solved that problem; his husband swept her hair back in both hands and corralled it at the base of her neck. Henry fastened the second clamp and tightened the screw.

Alice studied the mechanism. “Are you sure they’re working? I don’t feel any different.”

“You will.” He kissed the frown from her, silencing his amusement with her lush mouth. Experience was a good teacher; they would know soon if Alice enjoyed clamps or only the idea of them. “Back to decorating. The tree is practically naked.”

His teasing, scandalized tone prompted hearty laughter from Jay—he in his elf-green short shorts with matching suspenders and nothing else. The festive stocking cap had fallen off somewhere.

Alice raised a skeptical brow. “The tree. Uh-huh.”

She did look darling in the skirt and corset, with the silver clamps on her breasts and candy cane stripes hugging her legs to mid-thigh. He projected the blandest of expressions as the music shifted to the luscious minor key of a familiar pas de deux. The ballet might be on their agenda later in the season. “Indeed, the tree.”

A handful of minutes passed. The garland neared the bottom; he called Alice back to his side. Not terribly long for her first time out. Better to begin slowly than to miscalculate and risk her interest becoming rejection. “How are you feeling, my dear?”

“I still don’t—”

He ran his thumbs across her nipples, and she hissed as she sucked in air.

“I feel…” She trembled.

“Sensitive?” He kept his voice soft, coaxing, as he assessed the depth of her reaction. Her intense enjoyment of flogging suggested clamps might similarly sharpen her focus and desire, if introduced gradually. “Overwhelmed?”

“The first.” Eyes hooded, she bit her lip. “Is there…” She met his gaze, a hunger in her hazel depths. “More?”

“Always,” he whispered, freeing the clamps to release the tension.

Moaning, her eyes closed and mouth wide as sensation rushed back, Alice sagged toward him. A snap of his fingers brought Jay, and they descended as they had before, heads bent to Alice’s breasts, tongues curling and flicking. Together they soothed away the sting. When her moans shifted to soft sighs of contentment, he laid a hand on Jay’s thigh and tapped twice. They pulled back in tandem.

Alice blinked at him. One knee on the sofa, one foot on the floor, one hand gripping his forearm, and a beautifully dazed expression—yes, this was a lovely look on her. Eventually he would run out of things to teach her, but not today. “All’s well?”

“That was”—her voice emerged thick and throaty—“intense.” She fumbled for Jay’s hand and brought it to her lips, kissing his knuckles. “And a lot of fun.”

Her thoughtful concern for Jay added to the pressure building within him, the growling demand to take his lovers now. But he distributed sweet kisses, reminded them of the snacks on the coffee table for them, and sent them back to the tree.

The decorations grew, as did the teasing touches. Twice more he applied and removed the clamps, extending the time by a few minutes for each round. In the branches, traditional red Christmas balls and plaid bows joined silver and gold garlands. He’d chosen a classical palette for this first year; in years to come, they would have more personal mementos to add. At last Jay steadied Alice as she climbed the stepladder and settled the star atop the tree.

Henry slid the petite toybox onto the coffee table and patted the spaces beside him. “Shall we enjoy the fruits of your many labors?”

They curled beside him, Alice with her legs tucked beneath her and her head on his shoulder, Jay leaning back with his legs outstretched and his cock defined by the thin fabric of his shorts. The tree glowed before them, towering nearly to the ceiling. Two days in, and Henry silently congratulated himself on the calendar. Extending the holiday into a season of gifts would deepen their marital bond and give his spouses the Christmas joy they ought to have, the boisterous family fun Jay would be missing this year and the happiness and belonging Alice hadn’t experienced since childhood.

Henry extended his arms across the back of the sofa and sighed heavily. “Well, I suppose now that you’ve finished decorating, we ought to get ready for bed. A good night’s sleep is vitally important.”

“Sleep?” Jay pushed forward, his eyes wide.

“Mmm, sleep.” He shook his head in faux sorrow and dropped his hand inches from Jay’s erection, squeezing his thigh. “Certainly you’re both exhausted after such a magnificent effort. I couldn’t possibly ask more of you.”

“I’m not exhausted—”

“You could ask more—”

Their sweet voices overlapped, assuring him their continued service was his for the asking. He allowed amusement to seep into his tone. “If you’re both quite certain…”

“We are.” Alice straddled his thigh, and the heat of her passed through his suit pants. “You’ve been dialing up the intensity. Don’t stop now.”

Her please arrived as an afterthought, with Jay’s on its heels.

“Alice.” At her name, her head came up, her gaze locking on him. “Go and stand in front of the fireplace. Hands on the mantel.” He tugged lightly at her skirt. “Spread your legs for me.” As she hurried to obey, he pointed Jay toward a floor pillow and the blanket draped over the back of the sofa. “You’ll need those, my boy.”

He palmed the final decorations and slipped under Alice’s arm, standing between her and the fireplace as he attached the clamps. Holding Alice’s gaze, he tightened the tiny screws, the metal ridges rubbing against his thumbs. The gentle rubber tips squeezed her firmly.

She breathed in small sips through slightly parted lips. “I do like these.”

“So noted.” He claimed her mouth, tipping her chin up to meet him and controlling her position with a strong hold on her jaw. After straining to match him, she relaxed into his grip. “Good girl.” Amid a trail of soft kisses, he nipped her lip. “Let’s see if you like them so well with an enhancement.”

Crouching, he gave each breast a quick suck. Her nipples had already pebbled, eager for their new toy. He fastened the clamps a turn tighter, the tension he’d been preparing her for all evening. Now he pulled the matching chain from his pocket and connected the clamps, holding the silver weight in his palm at the center.

“What does that—”

He let the chain fall.

“Oh!” She surged forward, her breasts brushing his suit coat, and the muscles in her arms corded as she clutched the mantel. Pity his sketchbook wasn’t at hand. “That’s—” Quick breaths brought color to her cheeks as she blinked rapidly through the initial pain. “Physics.” Shuddering, she licked her lips. “Should’ve guessed.” Her breathing steadied; her mouth curved into a welcome smile. He hadn’t miscalculated, then. “Little bit of a kick this time. It’s…” She shrugged almost nonchalantly, the little minx, though the jostling of her breasts brought her breath hissing out. “Nice.”

Her eyes glittered with challenge. His girl did love to be pushed.

“I’m delighted you find it so.” He attached a second chain at the low point of the first, dangling a sprig of mistletoe below her navel. With slow hands, he smoothed the sides of her skirt and slipped underneath, caressing the bare skin of her thighs above her red-and-white tall socks. She twitched as he teased nearer and released a frustrated moan as he stepped away without sinking a finger into her heat. “I believe someone asked for more intensity.”

The slight weight would keep her focused, at least until her arousal outpaced her mind.

Taking the blanket Jay held, he draped it over the front of the hearth as a shield. Bricks scraping Jay’s back would hardly produce the effect he desired. The floor pillow he placed between Alice’s legs.

Jay stood at ease, his hands clasped behind his back, his feet spread at shoulder width, his glorious erection straining at his shorts. Henry ran a hand across Jay’s abdomen, solid muscles flexing as he passed. With a quick dip, he yanked open the fly and took hold of Jay’s cock.

“You’re free to touch yourself as you wish.” Stroking, he stepped closer, bathing in the sweet tenor of Jay’s pleading whimpers. With his other hand, he gripped the fine hairs at the back of Jay’s neck in his fist. “But if you save this”—an extra swipe across the head of Jay’s cock earned a hiss and shudder—“you may find I’ll have a taste for it later.”

Jay’s mouth dropped open, and Henry took it. His kiss was rough, possessive, demanding submission and humming with pleasure as it was granted. He nudged Jay’s cheek. “Our wife desires a kiss as well. Go and find what’s below the mistletoe.”

Jay sank to the floor on unsteady legs and claimed his pillow. With his back to the fireplace, he knelt beneath Alice, gripped the blanket covering the bricks, and exhaled slowly, his cock swaying over his open shorts.

As Jay raised his face under Alice’s skirt, Henry finally let his zipper fall and gripped his own aching flesh. Their wife’s moans mingled with Mozart. He pitched his suit coat to the sofa. Uncuffed his sleeves and rolled them. The mistletoe swayed as he approached. He rubbed the smooth globes of Alice’s ass; slipped his hand around the front of her corset; found the ovoid weight at the center of her chain and lifted it. Two inches, no more.

Her breath came in but not out. Her body quivered.

He kissed the join between her shoulder and neck, brushing waves of wheat-blond hair aside with his face. “Shall I let go, sweet girl?”

Her exhale held a sibilant yesss .

He released the chain and thrust between her thighs, his cock meeting Jay’s tongue as Alice arched. Slick with excitement, she eased his entrance. He drove deep, burying himself with the passion of hours of restraint.

Snapping his hips in short, sharp thrusts, Henry made Jay work to stay ahead of the rhythm. Smart boy, he took his hands from the hearth and gripped Alice’s thighs, his steady pressure a stabilizing counterpoint. They’d pinned her between them, and her moans spiraled upward, surging atop the violin of Tha?s now—“Méditation.” How apropos.

The weighted chain swung with Alice’s quickening breaths. He covered her breasts in his hands, fingers hunting for the release. The clamps fell into his palms, and he tossed them aside.

Crying out his name, Alice responded with a rippling vise around his cock. Her knuckles strained in high relief against the mantel. He thrust his arm forward, covering one hand with his own, and flattened his other hand across her chest, splaying his fingers in the space between her breasts and her throat. Her heaving breaths and surging heartbeat became his. He drove relentlessly forward, demanding every second of her bliss as her orgasm ignited his.

Breathless, he pressed his forehead to her shoulder. They shuddered together. He dropped his hand from Alice’s chest, searching and finding Jay’s hair. They would all need another shower before bed. He smoothed the strands back, buying time for his mouth to function properly. “Do you have something for me, Jay?”

A hiss of air greeted him. “If I don’t breathe wrong, I think so. Not for long.”

With an apologetic kiss for Alice, he slipped free and sank to the floor.

Jay’s forehead rested against her skirt, his hands affixed to her thighs, his abdomen fluttering as his cock jerked on its own. “One touch is gonna—”

Henry closed his mouth over the tip and kept going. He relaxed his throat, the slick heat emanating from Jay an aid in his effort. The tenor of Jay’s whine shifted, and Henry tasted the tang of release before he’d even reached the root.

He demanded every drop from Jay as he had from Alice, his fierce hunger sated only when he’d commanded and achieved their pleasure. Then could he rest, secure in the knowledge that his spouses were well cared for. He came up for air, leaving a last teasing tongue tap against Jay’s sensitive tip. “Well done. One touch indeed.”

Jay snorted. “Every time I think I know my limits, you help me go just a little further.”

“I do hope you enjoy the process.” A light tone for a serious inquiry.

“Every time.” Jay let his hands fall and grasped Henry’s in a tight hold. “What we have, the three of us, it’s the best thing in my life.”

“Agreed.” Alice sagged beside them, folding her legs and tipping to lie on her back. “I love learning what sets me off. And you two”—she found Jay’s hold and added her hand to the pile—“definitely win awards for that.”

“And tree trimming.” Jay twisted around until he could sprawl against Alice, pressing a light kiss to her cheek. The quiet glow of the Christmas lights illuminated their faces and twinkled in their eyes as they gazed upward. “We crush that, too. It’s all the teamwork.”

“It is that,” Henry murmured, settling beside his loves. No trade-offs this year. No goodbyes as he sent Jay north; no unanswered invitations as Alice pretended to be satisfied with less. This year, the three of them would be together for the holidays. “Our hearts gaze at one another and supply what each needs to be whole. It is the very definition of love.”