Page 9 of Love Unlimited

Dustin kept massaging and teasing, enjoying the feel of Lena’s skin and the way she leaned back into his hands. The way her breath caught when he clenched a fistful of her hair and pulled it tight instead of stroking it.

She looked up at him with glazed, hungry eyes. Stop it! she signed sharply. That was a look he knew well, and not even close to a safeword. She was begging him to both cease and continue. Begging him to take away the choice.

He raised one eyebrow, reminding her who was in charge. He wasn’t going to elevate this any further. But he certainly wasn’t going to stop either.

When she turned back to the game, he wrapped a loose hand around her throat. Zhong might not notice it, but Ash certainly would. Dustin didn’t squeeze or anything, but when she leaned forward for her next turn, he didn’t move with her, making her press up against the restriction on her own.

She liked that. A little whimper spilled from her lips as she moved the tiny pieces around the board, breath getting shallow and needy. Ash was entranced.

Ten victory points! Zhong announced, either completely oblivious or multitasking as he took notes in his head. That was the winning condition of the game. Thank God.

Though Dustin probably wouldn’t have minded a few extra rounds since he’d started playing his own game.

He gave Lena back her freedom while Zhong laid out all of his development cards and counted out things like roads and cities. He knew Lena would still be thinking about him, though she and Ash were both watching the cards avidly and calculating points.

Dustin stood up and stretched. He picked up a few of the remaining plates and wandered into the kitchen while the others cleaned up the game.

Zhong followed him a moment later with two mostly empty platters and began putting the leftovers away.

Was that OK? Dustin asked him.

That was awesome. We should start game night earlier more often.

Dustin held back a chuckle. I meant the PDA.

Zhong shrugged. You know I don’t care as long as it doesn’t involve me. If you two wanted to fuck on the couch, I wouldn’t care. He narrowed his eyes. As long as you didn’t interrupt the game. Or get goo on the couch. He made a face as he rubbed his thumbs against his middle fingers, like he was touching the disgusting liquid.

This time Dustin did laugh. That was Zhong all over. I’ll keep that in mind. Did you know Ash was watching us?

Yeah. Ash likes watching you guys. And I made some notes. He patted his back pocket. I might have questions later.

Dustin could only imagine what those notes would be. But for now, it seemed like everything was OK. Zhong liked to mull things over before a conversation, and maybe Dustin wanted to think about things, too.

Zhong touched Dustin’s cheek, a light stroke of his thumb that felt both comfortable with years of history between them, and tender like something new. Next time, Zhong told him gently, if you don’t want to play you should read a book or hang out. We love having you at game night, but you don’t have to be bored.

I wasn’t that bored, he protested.

Zhong laughed. You were dying. He flopped his hands over, like dead fish, to make the sign, while sticking out his tongue and rolling his eyes back to mock Dustin’s expression.

OK, maybe a little. Maybe I will just get a book next time.

Good thinking, Zhong smirked.

And then you can play the extra, extra long tedious games?

Yep. Zhong grinned.

Well, that was settled then. Dustin headed back to the living room for more plates and he could already hear the giggling. Hearing people always thought that Deaf people were silent, but they were a noisy lot. And Dustin loved hearing their two laughs, one lower and one higher, mingling together.

Lena and Ash were standing by the game cabinet, putting things away. He watched Lena step seductively closer, reaching out to touch Ash’s hair. Their bodies blocked his vision of their hands, so he couldn’t see what they were saying, but that was definitely flirting.

She looked over her shoulder and caught his eye. He was meant to see this.

She leaned even closer into Ash’s space. He could hear Ash’s indrawn breath. Watching the two of them together was hot. It was almost like a show they were putting on for him, cementing Lena’s commitment to him instead of challenging it.

Ash blushed prettily, their eyes darting away and back, finding Dustin watching them, too. Their eyes lingered on him again, looking timid and hopeful. He knew it was all an act, but fuck, it was sexy—the shy, innocent kid being seduced by the confident older girl.

Dustin was fascinated to see how this would evolve. He took another load of plates and glasses to the kitchen to give them a few more minutes. And because he didn’t want to leave Zhong alone with all the dishes.