Tilting to the side, I give him an incredulous look. He straightens up, holding all three shots in his hands, then bobs his head side to side and softly sings the lyrics to the pop song. Leo groans and I force myself to suppress a laugh as Maddox grins.
“Hold this.” He hands one of the shots to Leo, then turns back to me, stares down at my exposed breasts and licks his lips. He tosses back one shot without blinking, then I feel the cold glass of the other against the tops of my breasts. He grazes it over both nipples before slowly twisting it to secure it between my breasts. The glass has left condensation clinging to my nipples, so when he tips the saltshaker over each one, the granules cling easily, leaving each nipple coated in white crystals.
Maddox stands back to admire his handiwork, then turns me to face Leo again. “Enjoy the view. I need my camera.”
He leaves us sitting there, lime wedges stuck between our teeth and unable to talk. It isn’t as if we can’t just take them out and have a conversation, but I’m enjoying this game, and the fact that Leo’s still sitting there holding the shot glass makes it clear he’s as invested as I am. Leo’s gaze is fixed on my breasts, eyes blazing, then he lifts his head and our eyes meet. His brows lift as if to ask if this is what I want. I nod, then do the same, shooting a pointed look at his groin.
He scowls and points at me and I roll my eyes, shake my head, and look in the corner where Maddox is unpacking his camera from its case. Leo’s gaze follows mine, and he takes a deep breath through his nose. He watches Maddox for several second, then turns back to me, offers a shrug, points at his mouth, then his cock.
I frown, not sure what he’s saying. Did Maddox suck him off?
Leo huffs, then grabs his lime wedge. “He’s a phenomenal kisser, Celeste. He’s probably fucking phenomenal at everything.”
“Hey!” Maddox yells. “No talking!” He returns with his camera and sets it on the counter, glaring at Leo as he glances at the digital screen and presses a few buttons. “Do you want this or not?” He leaves the camera where it is, but I can see the little light on it blinking every few seconds. I think it’s taking burst shots of the scene.
Maddox takes Leo’s lime, holds it to his lips again and nods. “In.”
Leo opens up obediently and takes the lime, then sits back. Maddox remains there, blocking most of my view, and I realize by his movements that he’s unbuttoning Leo’s shirt. I’m still perched on the barstool, afraid to move and spill the shot of tequila tucked between my breasts.
Then Maddox takes Leo’s shot from him, and it disappears between them. When he finally moves, Leo is sitting straighter, his shirt half off his shoulders, and the tequila shot is wedged in the waistband of his jeans, just beneath his navel. Maddox slips behind him, pulls the shirt off his shoulders, and leans down, placing his mouth close to Leo’s ear to speak, while looking at me with a wicked smile. “That little outburst earned you some punishment.”
He slides Leo’s shirt down his arms, pausing at the cuffs. Leaving the sleeves at Leo’s wrists, he ties both ends of the shirt together around the bars at the back of the stool, binding Leo’s wrists to the chair.
“Now you could spit out the lime to talk, but spitting is against the rules in my house, got it?”
I follow Maddox’s movements intently, meeting his gaze before he moves partway around Leo again. His gaze shifts to Leo’s bullet scar and his expression darkens, then heats as he places a gentle kiss on it. He lingers, kissing the spot repeatedly, slowly working his way back and forth. Leo’s breath hitches and his eyes grow glassy. Maddox is practically making love to it. He pauses and exhales, turns his face and rubs his cheek across the spot, rumbling in Leo’s ear. “I would have died if I’d lost either of you. Never forget that.”
Leo meets Maddox’s eyes and shakes his head in response. That exchange is what seals it for me. We belong together, all three of us. Papá’s story might have been a lesson in caution, but what ended his relationship with Amador was their inability to love each other the way they both loved Mama. If these two men can love each other in a way Papá and Amador never could, I think there’s hope for us.
Maddox rests his forehead against Leo’s temple for a second, gathering himself, then the savage glint in his eyes returns and he smiles at me. A jolt of adrenaline shoots through me, and I sit up straighter as he slides between us again, dips his head, and swirls his tongue around one salt-encrusted nipple. I twitch and breathe sharply through my nose, squirming when heat rushes between my thighs again. He takes his time, licking, then sucking to get every last bit of salt off my skin. But instead of taking the shot from between my breasts, he turns and drops to his knees in front of Leo.
Leo’s eyes widen, and an excited buzz begins at the base of my skull. Maddox leans in and grabs the shot glass held in Leo’s waistband with his teeth, tilts it back with no hands, and swallows. The glass falls to the floor as he rises, leans in, and grasps the lime wedge held in Leo’s teeth with his mouth. Maddox sucks sharply, spits the rind onto the counter, and leans in again, tilting his head and kissing Leo hard and fast, then licking his way down Leo’s chin, where a line of dripping juice escaped from the lime. It trickles down Leo’s stomach, which has gone even tighter now, all his inked muscles rippling
