He trailed off and they both turned to look at the nearly finished portrait of Anna and Oliver. Of their passion. Ezra’s image wasn’t in the painting, but he felt himself there, just beyond the edges of the frame, watching them in their pleasure, in their passion, in their love.
Anna’s expression softened and she edged a little closer. “I’m sure she would love that you were creating for yourself again, Ezra. If she cared for you the way you cared for her, she would want you to be happy.”
“She would,” he agreed. “I’ve struggled with that a long time. Struggled with all I could have done to make things better for her. To be braver for her. But right here, with you two…all I can recall is how lovely she was. And bright and talented. There was no one better who ever walked the boards.” He blinked at the tears that suddenly filled his eyes. “And also how she smiled when I was happy.”
Oliver cleared his throat. “Then she most definitely loved you.”
Ezra looked at him. If anyone would know, it was Oliver, who would throw himself down a mine shaft for Anna, asking nothing in return.
“I’m…glad you looked at it,” he said softly, speaking to them both even as he kept looking at Oliver. “After all we’ve shared, I think you should understand this.”
“Is this why you left London?” Anna asked. “Separated yourself from your family.”
“My father and grandfather all but crowed when she died,” Ezra said, his voice hollow. “They celebrated and insisted I go straight back to the marriage mart and follow their desired arrangements. Give up painting.”
“Bastards,” Oliver muttered, and for a moment he wasn’t a servant, he was only Ezra’s protective lover. And Ezra almost couldn’t breathe because that was so powerful.
He stepped away from Beatrice’s portrait and reached out to touch Oliver’s face. The roughness of his beard tickled Ezra’s palm.
“Always the protector,” he said softly. “And it is so lovely, to feel that. I’m almost jealous that Anna has been able to experience it for so very long.”
Oliver shifted and Ezra could see the vulnerability that statement created. Oliver wanted to fade into the background, as he likely believed a man of his position should. To do for others and never be noticed for it.
But Ezra noticed. Appreciated. Adored, it turned out. When he looked into this man’s warm, brown eyes, he truly adored him. More to the point, he wanted Oliver. To have him. To claim him. To bind himself to him and feel the comfort that his steady presence provided. In this moment, when he still stung from memories, he needed that.
“When I’m with you, it helps me…not forget.” He shook his head. “But you’ve made it easier. The pleasure, the desire…the connection, it makes it easier.”
Oliver’s expression softened. “I’m glad. You deserve for everything to be easier. To have pleasure sweep you away.”
Ezra swallowed hard. “Have you had a man take you?”
He heard Anna suck in her breath, but didn’t look at her. He knew she celebrated the bond between Ezra and Oliver as deeply as she celebrated their passion for her. If she reacted, it was because she knew that this question opened a door to a new level of connection between them all.
Oliver jerked out a shaky nod. “Yes,” he whispered.
“Could I…” Ezra began. Before he could finish, Oliver nodded again, this time with confidence.
“Yes!” he gasped.
Ezra found himself smiling, a shock considering he’d just been discussing Beatrice and that topic tended to throw him into despair. But right now he felt connected to Oliver, to Anna, to the passion that pulsed between them. And touching this man would ease the pain, would make everything better.
Forever.
He blinked as he pushed that thought away. He ignored it as he reached out to take Oliver’s hand. “Come with me. Both of you.”
CHAPTER10
Anna
Watching Ezra guide Oliver into his bedroom, standing aside as he pushed him against the door to shut it and then kissed Oliver just as passionately as he had ever kissed her…it was exciting. She loved watching these two men as they moved together, their bodies grinding, their hands roving. Their passion for each other took nothing away from their passion for her or hers for them. It only added to the bond they shared, both individually and as a group.
Oliver made a sound low in his throat as Ezra’s mouth moved to his neck, his shoulder. He was already tugging at Oliver’s clothing, stripping him down in a few expert movements. He flattened his hand against Oliver’s bare ribcage, fingers raking across the lines of bone and muscle, and the sound Oliver made was barely human. His hips jolted against Ezra’s and Ezra let out a low chuckle.
He wrapped his hand around Oliver’s cock and began to stroke. Oliver’s head lolled back, rapping against the door behind him. Anna was captivated. He didn’t allow for this, not usually. If he had pleasure, it was always the byproduct of giving it. He didn’t allow her or Ezra to touch him just for his own pleasure. But right now he lifted his hips, panting as Ezra expertly tugged at him.
She couldn’t breathe as she waited for what would happen next. Waited for Oliver’s control to break. But he didn’t allow it. Suddenly his dark eyes flew open and he jolted against Ezra’s chest. His hand slid down and he unfastened Ezra’s trousers, freeing his cock.
“What are you doing?” Ezra murmured, his fingers faltering in their work.
