“Only if you’ll wash my hair,” she countered, batting her lashes so he knew she was joking, too.
“It would be my pleasure.” He waved her over.
Ava took a minute to release the drain on the tub before standing tall. When she did, the remaining bubbles clung to her body, slowly sliding down. Magnus and Trey both noticed, their eyes hot as they watched her.
Carefully, she stepped out of the tub and padded the few feet to the shower, stepping inside to join them. She loved Magnus’s shower because it was huge, a luxury he’d told her he’d always wanted. It was big enough for three people, although there wasn’t much more space than that.
Trey stepped to one side so she could move beneath the spray. As she leaned her head back to wet the short strands, she felt his eyes on her. When she tipped her head up, she opened them to see his expression was of awe and surprise. She wondered if it was because he felt something for her or because he was realizing he didn’t.
“May I?” Trey asked, his voice a sexy low rumble in his throat.
Ava nodded.
Magnus passed him the strawberry-scented shampoo, and Trey squeezed some into his hand. He stepped around behind her, keeping some space between them so he could lather the shampoo on her head. He was gentle and thorough, making her moan when he kneaded her scalp with his fingertips.
The entire time she watched Magnus. He stood before her, keeping nearly two feet between them. It was his way of not scaring her, although he would never admit he was still doing it even though she’d called him out on it. She’d figured out long ago that Magnus treated those he cared about with the utmost respect and concern. Her especially.
He reached for her body puff and the soap she preferred. She moaned softly as Trey used the hand sprayer to rinse the soap from her hair while ensuring water didn’t get into her eyes. The action was so gentle she could feel tears building behind her sinuses. No one had ever treated her quite so reverently. Not her mother, because she’d been too mentally imbalanced to know better, not her father, because he’d left Ava when she was very little, and certainly not the monster she had married.
When Magnus had the soap lathered on the puff, he stepped forward and began rubbing it lightly over her skin. His gaze followed the movement. And while he watched the soap build on her skin, she watched him.
His movements soothed her to the point she worried her knees were going to give out. She should’ve known it didn’t matter, because when she swayed, Trey stepped up behind her, giving her something to lean on. The smooth, hard plane of his chest pressed to her back as his hands cupped her elbows. She felt the lightest swipe of his thumbs over her skin, and it made her want to cry again. She prayed this was not something he was forcing himself to do because of Magnus. She ached for him so much, the last thing she wanted was for him not to be able to reciprocate.
Magnus took his time, thoroughly washing every inch of her from her neck to her toes, then used the hand sprayer to rinse her.
By the time he was finished, her entire body was taut as a bowstring, her nipples painfully erect, her clit pulsing with an ever-growing need for friction.
“Please,” she whispered to Magnus.
His eyes slammed into hers, and she saw the worry. He was hesitant, and she couldn’t blame him. Magnus had been by her side for months, and she knew he blamed himself for what happened to her. She’d assured him time and time again that there was nothing he could’ve ever done to change things. Ava had married Harrison, and it had been her choice. That was pretty much the last decision she was allowed to make for herself until Magnus saved her.
No one could’ve predicted that Harrison would snap or that he would try to kill her. At the same time, Ava knew no one in her life would’ve dedicated the time and energy to search for her the way Magnus had. Or that he’d be the one to give her the freedom to decide how she was going to live her life.
She loved him for that.
And so much more.
Chapter Fourteen
When Trey came here tonight, he hadn’tbeen sure what would happen. He also hadn’t been sure how he would feel about it.
This was new to him—having multiple partnersandany sexual interaction of any kind with a woman—but he could willingly admit that it wasn’t uncomfortable or awkward. He didn’t feel out of his element or like an outsider. There was something oddlyrightabout the three of them here, now.
It’d been a gamble to walk into the bathroom with Magnus, both of them naked. He figured Ava would either stay or go, that Magnus would either participate or not, and Trey would either shrivel or not. The good news was Ava hadn’t gone, Magnus had participated, and Trey certainly hadn’t shriveled up. Quite the fucking opposite, in fact.
Now, as the three of them stood in the shower, the water no longer hot but decently warm, he watched Magnus’s expression when Ava made her plea. He didn’t know what she was asking for, but based on Magnus’s countenance, he was hesitant to give it to her. It told Trey their relationship hadn’t progressed as far as he’d thought it had, despite his accusation. Knowing he was part of it from the beginning settled some of his chaotic thoughts and reassured him in ways he hadn’t realized he needed.
Trey slid his hands from Ava’s elbows to her wrists and guided her toward Magnus. They shifted forward, closing the distance since Magnus seemed too shocked to move.
Trey guided her palms onto the smooth, impressive wall of Magnus’s chest. Slowly he moved her hands beneath his as they touched him. The longer they did, the more Ava leaned into him. He wasn’t sure if it was to get closer or because her knees were weak. It didn’t matter because it meant she trusted him, and Trey needed that trust. After what she’d been through, Trey understood Magnus’s reluctance, but Trey also needed to feel included. If there was any chance of this working, he knew it wouldn’t be with the three of them in two separate relationships. Trey damn sure wasn’t prepared to share a lover like that. He was far too possessive to spend a lifetime imagining the man he loved making love toanyone. If that was going to happen, Trey damn sure didn’t intend to be somewhere else.
As Ava began to caress Magnus with a firmer touch, Trey removed one of his hands so he could reach out and cup the back of Magnus’s neck. He urged him closer until Magnus finally took that final step that would bring him toe to toe with Ava.
Trey watched as Ava reached up and pulled Magnus down, their lips melding together. Everything seemed to go in slow motion. Time stood still; the earth stopped rotating as they kissed. Trey expected to feel left out, but he didn’t because Magnus’s hand had reached around Ava and pressed against Trey’s side. He gripped him tightly as though he needed to know he was there, and his presence seemed to settle Magnus more.
Trey leaned down and pressed his lips to Ava’s shoulder, smiling when she tilted her head to the side to allow him better access. Magnus continued to kiss her while Trey explored uncharted territory. Her skin was baby-soft, so unlike Magnus’s, and her reactions weren’t nearly as guarded. He liked the way she smelled, the way she tasted. But he really liked her soft sighs as he dragged his lips along her shoulder.
She was so small, so fragile, he worried he might hurt her, so he took all his cues from her. At one point in his life, when he was young and fantasizing about sex before he’d taken the plunge, Trey had figured he would be able to make it through a sexual encounter with a woman if he had to. Then again, at the time, sticking his dick in someone had been his primary goal. But with Ava, this didn’t feel forced. He enjoyed touching her far more than he’d imagined he would.
