“Jesus Christ,” Steve groaned, collapsing over her.
“Holy fuck,” Ethan agreed.
Ruby didn’t say anything. Her body was still pulsing with aftershocks as the long, slow orgasm worked itself through her system. She finally gained the strength to lift her head away from Ethan’s shoulder.
“Sweet girl,” said Jonathan, leaning to kiss her forehead. “Happy birthday.”
After a few more moments of breathing and being, Ethan and Steve gently pulled out of her, and the four of them started untangling their limbs. They lay on the bed, side by side, all fucked out, but unwilling to move yet from their intimate tryst.
“That was so incredible,” said Ruby. “I can’t explain it. It was so amazing and wonderful, even better than at the club. I’ll never forget having all of you inside me, loving me. It was the most amazing birthday present anyone could ask for.”
“You know, you could ask for it when it’s not your birthday, too,” said Steve, taking her hand.
“It’s past midnight now,” Jonathan pointed out, “so technically it’s not your birthday anymore, and we were all still happy to bone you at the same time.”
“Bone me? You’re a pervert and I love you for it. I love all of you.” She thought a moment. “And I have one more birthday wish.”
Ethan chuckled. “I think you’ve earned any wish you want, baby.”
“Okay, then, I want to sleep like this, with all of you,” she said, pulling them closer around her. “Like a big Gold Quartet cuddle puddle all night long. But let’s, maybe, I don’t know, take a long shower first. I feel kind of dirty.”
“In a good way?” asked Ethan.
“In the best way.”
“I agree with your shower idea,” said Steve. “I’m sweaty as hell.”
Jonathan helped her up from the bed. “We’ll shower with you if you like, and clean up all the parts of you we defiled.”
“And then defile them again at some point in the future,” added Ethan.
They all fit in her suite’s large, glass-walled shower, although the guys’ athletic builds made it hard to move around very freely. They took turns standing under the dual waterfall shower heads and washing away a night’s worth of debauchery with the hotel’s French-milled soap. After that, Steve and Jonathan helped her shampoo the club-smoke scent out of her hair, while Ethan worked through the conditioner and promised to comb it out afterward. They still kissed her now and again, all of them, as water ran between their lips, and they all stroked her body repeatedly in the interests of “getting her clean.”
By the time they finished with her twenty minutes later, she was as clean as she’d ever been in her life, and she loved it. They left her bedroom wearing their towels and trekked across the living room to Ethan’s blue suite, which had a king-size bed. After Ethan combed out Ruby’s hair, Jonathan pulled back the sheets and guided her into the bed between them. Steve grumbled that he was on the outside, but he had the longest arms, so he was able to hold her hand while she snuggled between the others.
“This was a perfect birthday, you guys,” she said, resting her head against Ethan’s chest. “The concerto, Berlin, dinner, the sex club, all of it, but especially being with you. I’m so glad you’re part of my life.”
Jonathan made an affectionate sound, tightening his arm around her waist. “I still remember the day you walked in to audition with us. The vote afterward was unanimous, and not just because you’re pretty as hell. You were the first one who listened to us as you played, and tried to…”
“Be a part of us,” Steve said. “I remember that. Everyone else was showing off their technique, but you were showing off your musicianship, and a willingness to work within our team.”
Jonathan nodded. “It takes a special kind of push-and-pull to make a quartet work. We knew right away you were the one.”
“But you were also very pretty,” said Ethan, his low voice chuckling against her ear. “We all thought it, though none of us admitted it until later. We needed someone pretty to round out our motley bunch.”
Their flattering words made her feel warm inside, and even more content in their arms. “We were meant to be together,” she said. “Now here we are, about to make our Berlin Philharmonic debut.”
“Yeah.” Steve squeezed her hand. “It’ll always be the second most exciting thing we’ve done here.”
“Happy birthday to me,” she murmured, her eyes closing in satisfied exhaustion. The last thing she remembered was Jonathan pulling the sheets closer around her as she fell into a heavy sleep.
5.
The Gold Quartet stood backstage, awaiting their introduction to the very knowledgeable, and very critical, Berlin Philharmonic audience. Sound checks were done. They were tuned to perfection, knowing each other’s instruments as well as they knew their own.