Read Online Boston Avant-Garde 2 - Crescendo by Maitland Kaitlin - Free Book Online
Authors: Maitland Kaitlin
Tags: Contemporain
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considering something her brain knew was nothing more than a fairytale dream?
* * *
Seth looked up when Josh walked into the office. “So, how was the date with what’s-her-name?”
Joshua grunted and flopped into his chair, obviously in a bad mood. “Oh, it was going great until she mentioned she’s the opposing council on Niles’s case.”
“Is that right?” Seth absently picked up a stress ball and rolled it from one hand to the other. “Did she give you any insight into their case strategy before the two of you realized the conflict of interest?”
Joshua looked uncharacteristically sheepish about the incident. “I have an idea she figured it to be an open-and-shut case. But I’d sort of tuned her out by that time, so she could’ve unloaded their whole strategy and I’d have missed it.”
Seth tried to hang on to his neutral expression, but a grin threatened to undermine his efforts. Obviously Joshua hadn’t been as into his date as he’d pretended to be. “So are you up for spending tonight with me and Leslie?”
“About that.” His expression turned stony. “Could you fuck in your own bed? I didn’t much appreciate walking in on you two.”
“Now that’s a lie.”
Tension rippled over Joshua’s features, framing his mouth in thin, unforgiving lines and hardening the defensive hunch in his shoulders. “You keep pushing like this and you’re going to get your ass beat.”
So many years Seth had lived and loved with Joshua. He’d never seen his friend this torn up about a woman before. Women drifted in and out of their collective lives on a monthly and sometimes weekly basis. Never had he been this adamantly opposed to one. In fact they rarely shared a difference of opinion at all when it came to women. But Josh didn’t dislike Leslie. The arousal on his face when he’d wrapped his hand around his own cock was proof enough of that.
That left one other possibility. Why was he afraid to let Leslie into their lives?
Josh clenched his hands into tight fists as he strode toward the window. “Why are you so determined to keep her in our life?”
“I love her.” Seth rose from his chair. He had to tread carefully. So much rode on this conversation. “And I think you could too. We’ve talked about this happening. We’ve waited for years for the right woman to come along.”
“It’s not her.”
“How could it be anyone else?” He was getting emotional, and his words came out harsher than he’d intended. “It’s possible to have a two-sided conversation about almost any topic, and she can hold her own. Leslie is damn smart, plus she’s fun, sassy, and sexy as hell. Has there ever been another woman that doesn’t subconsciously favor one of us? She’s passion incarnate, whether it’s me demanding kisses or you giving them.”
It might have been grudging, but that was agreement winding its way over Joshua’s stubborn features. Equal response was something they’d longed to find in a woman. Sharing aside, Seth and Joshua were vastly different in their bedroom styles. Never had they found a woman who enjoyed them both the same. Either they preferred Seth’s forceful nature or Joshua’s gentle one. Until Leslie.
Seth took a hesitant step toward closing the distance between them. “Understanding us comes naturally to her.”
Joshua’s face was drawn. “She might understand, but she’s already left once. Don’t you get that? She’s already made the decision to walk away. Why would you believe things could be different now? Why even take a chance?”
And there it was, out in the open, like a snake about to strike. Ignoring Joshua’s prickly body language, Seth grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him close. They grappled, Joshua pulling away for the span of two breaths before giving in to the embrace.
There was nothing sexual between them. There never had been. Their relationship was a bond between two men who’d spent years in a hellish existence with only
* * *
Seth looked up when Josh walked into the office. “So, how was the date with what’s-her-name?”
Joshua grunted and flopped into his chair, obviously in a bad mood. “Oh, it was going great until she mentioned she’s the opposing council on Niles’s case.”
“Is that right?” Seth absently picked up a stress ball and rolled it from one hand to the other. “Did she give you any insight into their case strategy before the two of you realized the conflict of interest?”
Joshua looked uncharacteristically sheepish about the incident. “I have an idea she figured it to be an open-and-shut case. But I’d sort of tuned her out by that time, so she could’ve unloaded their whole strategy and I’d have missed it.”
Seth tried to hang on to his neutral expression, but a grin threatened to undermine his efforts. Obviously Joshua hadn’t been as into his date as he’d pretended to be. “So are you up for spending tonight with me and Leslie?”
“About that.” His expression turned stony. “Could you fuck in your own bed? I didn’t much appreciate walking in on you two.”
“Now that’s a lie.”
Tension rippled over Joshua’s features, framing his mouth in thin, unforgiving lines and hardening the defensive hunch in his shoulders. “You keep pushing like this and you’re going to get your ass beat.”
So many years Seth had lived and loved with Joshua. He’d never seen his friend this torn up about a woman before. Women drifted in and out of their collective lives on a monthly and sometimes weekly basis. Never had he been this adamantly opposed to one. In fact they rarely shared a difference of opinion at all when it came to women. But Josh didn’t dislike Leslie. The arousal on his face when he’d wrapped his hand around his own cock was proof enough of that.
That left one other possibility. Why was he afraid to let Leslie into their lives?
Josh clenched his hands into tight fists as he strode toward the window. “Why are you so determined to keep her in our life?”
“I love her.” Seth rose from his chair. He had to tread carefully. So much rode on this conversation. “And I think you could too. We’ve talked about this happening. We’ve waited for years for the right woman to come along.”
“It’s not her.”
“How could it be anyone else?” He was getting emotional, and his words came out harsher than he’d intended. “It’s possible to have a two-sided conversation about almost any topic, and she can hold her own. Leslie is damn smart, plus she’s fun, sassy, and sexy as hell. Has there ever been another woman that doesn’t subconsciously favor one of us? She’s passion incarnate, whether it’s me demanding kisses or you giving them.”
It might have been grudging, but that was agreement winding its way over Joshua’s stubborn features. Equal response was something they’d longed to find in a woman. Sharing aside, Seth and Joshua were vastly different in their bedroom styles. Never had they found a woman who enjoyed them both the same. Either they preferred Seth’s forceful nature or Joshua’s gentle one. Until Leslie.
Seth took a hesitant step toward closing the distance between them. “Understanding us comes naturally to her.”
Joshua’s face was drawn. “She might understand, but she’s already left once. Don’t you get that? She’s already made the decision to walk away. Why would you believe things could be different now? Why even take a chance?”
And there it was, out in the open, like a snake about to strike. Ignoring Joshua’s prickly body language, Seth grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him close. They grappled, Joshua pulling away for the span of two breaths before giving in to the embrace.
There was nothing sexual between them. There never had been. Their relationship was a bond between two men who’d spent years in a hellish existence with only
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