The Uncertain Customer by Pearl Love

passed, once again, across Church’s handsome features. Then the sight of Aster’s moist lips that he had so recently made pristine apparently became too much for Church to bear. He cupped a hand behind the boy’s head and urged it down until he could capture the tempting lips with his own, his hand all the while remaining occupied beneath the sheltering fall of green silk.
    Wilcox gasped at the vision his friend presented with the gorgeous lad writhing on his lap. His gasp sharpened into a ragged inhalation as his own paramour suddenly squeezed the bulge rising stiffly from his pelvis. A sharp nip to his jaw drew Wilcox’s attention until he found himself face-to-face with Gardenia’s lovely pout.
    “You’re ignoring me. Have I displeased you?” Gray eyes gazed down at Wilcox with teasing melancholy. “Is Aster so much prettier than me that he has stolen away your affections? Or,” Gardenia appended with a sly, oblique glance toward the other pair before Wilcox could stammer a reassuring denial, “is it someone else who fascinates you so?”
    Wilcox gaped at the precocious lad. His mouth opened to refute the insinuation, but no sound emerged as he found himself unable to give voice to the lie. Still, he shot a panicked glance toward the subjects of Gardenia’s accusation, his heart pounding with the fear that Church had overheard. Fortunately, his friend was far too occupied exploring Aster’s mouth and nether regions to be much concerned with what he and Gardenia were getting up to.
    “Hmm, I see that I guessed right.” Gardenia tilted his head curiously, his ponytail cascading over his shoulder at the motion. “So, why are the two of you here with us?” The puzzlement faded as it was swiftly replaced by a look of exaggerated scandal. “Oh dear! You enjoy watching one another with other men. Is that it?” Gardenia placed a dramatic hand to his bared chest. “How daring of you, my lord!”
    “Enough,” Wilcox huffed in exasperation. He checked again to make certain that the boy’s ludicrous assumptions had gone unheeded. “That’s not it at all.”
    Aster had clawed his fingers into the fabric covering Church’s broad shoulders, his hips moving erratically as a knowledgeable hand stroked him ever closer to the edge. His cheeks were red as beets, though for once his ravaged complexion was likely from desire rather than embarrassment. The boy was making little squeaking noises that were eagerly swallowed by the lips devouring his. Wilcox forgot his purpose in looking at his friend and the modest coquet, equally mesmerized and envious of Aster’s helpless reaction to Church’s deft handling. He realized that his hips were moving in time with Aster’s only when Gardenia moaned at the friction his movements entailed.
    “Nnngh,” he groaned. “Yes, my lord, that feels wonderful.”
    Wilcox glanced up at him, watching as a pink flush crept up from Gardenia’s chest until his cheeks were painted with the glowing hue. Feeling a hint of pride as the boy’s storm gray eyes darkened with pleasure, Wilcox was startled when unexpectedly strong hands clenched around his upper arms, stilling his movements.
    “Not that I have any wish to stop you, sir, but I am curious.” Gardenia’s gaze drifted over to the engrossed couple. “Why do you keep your feelings hidden, if indeed he is unaware of your regard for him?”
    Wilcox did not want to have this conversation and felt a flash of resentment at being called out by a mere whore. Instantly ashamed of himself, he squashed the uncharitable thought, responding instead to the unaffected sincerity of the boy’s question. “We are friends,” he began after a moment’s hesitation, keeping his voice low in fear of being overheard. “I do not wish to presume anything that might disturb that relationship. Besides, his fancy is more properly directed toward women—”
    “Oh?” Gardenia interjected. “Such a conclusion seems less than entirely accurate, unless