Author: Roni Loren
“It just means you’re hella kinky,” he said with a broad smile. “And of course, that I’m a kickass lover.”
She burst out laughing and shoved his chest. “Egotistical asshole.”
“Comes with the territory, babe. I didn’t land on the dom side of things by chance.” He climbed off the bed and stretched. “I’m going to run you a bath. The rest of tonight is for relaxing.”
She yawned. “You don’t have to do that. I can take care of it.”
He stepped back and shook his head. “No, I’ve put you through your paces, and it’s my job to see that you’re attended to. Part of the pleasure of being a dom is taking care of a sub after she’s served so well.”
She sank back into the pillows and laced her fingers behind her head. “Well then, far be it from me to deny you that pleasure. Get to it, master.”
He laughed and saluted her. “Right away, slave girl. And while you’re bathing, I’ll let Andre know that his infamous charm has worked on you, and he’s now invited to play in our sandbox this weekend, too.”
She bit her lip, nerves creeping back in. “Right.”
He paused, something akin to worry on his face. “Unless you’ve changed your mind?”
She shook her head. No, this was already feeling too comfortable with Jace, too easy. She hadn’t felt this content in as long as she could remember. Dangerous territory. A few nights of this and she’d be in big trouble. She needed to get safety nets in place. Right. Now. “No, you can go ahead and tell him. I’m up for anything.”
His expression darkened, something unreadable crossing his face. “Be careful saying things like that, pet. Anything is exactly what they specialize in around here.”
THIRTEEN
Evan padded out of the bathroom in Jace’s oversize pajama top after soaking in the tub for way too long. Her nerves were still twitching like a faulty circuit board. She had no idea how she was going to handle the sleeping arrangements. But as she stepped into the bedroom, relief flooded her. Jace was sprawled out on the left side of the bed, fast asleep.
He’d left a bedside lamp on. The soft light gilded every line in his muscular back and the golden strands of his mussed hair, making him look like a sun-kissed Greek sculpture. Her entire being ached to run her hands along his bare skin, through that hair, to crawl next to him in the empty space he’d left for her, and curl up with him for the night.
But there was no way she could go there. Not tonight. Not ever. So instead, she grabbed a pillow off the bed and the quilt that was thrown over the chair by the window and tiptoed out of the room, clicking the door shut behind her.
The living room was dark except for a few lit candles that were taking the place of logs in the fireplace. She eyeballed the suede-covered couch. It wouldn’t be as cozy as that big bed, but it would do. Tomorrow night, she’d let Jace know that she wanted to head back to her own cabin whenever they were through for the evening so she could have her own space.
She stepped around the coffee table, tossed her pillow and blanket onto it with a sigh, and headed toward the fireplace so she could blow out the candles.
“What are you up to, bella?”
Her heart nearly hopped out of her chest. She spun around to find Andre leaning against the doorway to the kitchen area, sipping a glass of water.
She put her hand to her chest. “Good Lord, you scared the hell out of me.”
He frowned in the dim candlelight. “Sorry. Didn’t realize anyone was still awake.” He nodded at the couch. “What are you doing out here?”
She shifted her weight from foot to foot, feeling like a kid caught sneaking out after curfew. “I, uh, thought I’d sleep out here tonight. Jace is already sleeping and I just—”
“You’re scared to share his bed.”
She choked on her attempt at a laugh. “Of course not, I just did a lot more than that with him.”
“So I heard.” He gave her a wry smile and set his glass down on the dining table before joining her in the living room. He propped a hip on the back of the loveseat, drawing her attention to the fact that along with his T-shirt, he was only wearing a pair of black boxer briefs, underwear that were made for a body like his. She forced her gaze upward.
“It’s understandable, you know? To feel weird about it. You are engaged.”
“Right, ’cause my moral code on that is stellar. I just had sex with someone else.”
He shrugged. “Sometimes sex can be easy to keep separate, but sharing a bed overnight is a whole different animal. Especially with someone you used to have feelings for.”
She leaned back against the wall and sighed. “I’m being ridiculous.”
“Nah, not at all.” Andre stepped closer and held out his hand. “Come on, take my bed, and I’ll sleep out here.”
She waved him off, heading toward the couch. “Oh, no, really, I’m fine. I’ve slept in worse places.” Much worse.
“Not a request, bella,” he said, his tone firm. Her gaze snapped up as he moved in front of her and closed the space between them, his brown eyes flickering with more than candlelight. He braced a hand against the wall, caging her between him and the fireplace. “Jace told me about your invitation. I’m honored. But now you’ve got two bossy men on your hands. So, no, you won’t take the couch.”
“Oh.” Blood began to thrum against her pulse points, his heady, masculine scent mixing with the vanilla of the candles. She searched for her voice. “I, uh, guess you accepted the invitation?”
Smooth, Evan. Real smooth.
He laughed softly. “I’m making you nervous.”
“Maybe,” she said, giving him a shaky smile. He must be a force of nature in an interrogation room. She certainly felt ready to confess her darkest secrets to him. “I haven’t seen this side of you yet.”
“I didn’t have any right to show it to you.” His lips curved as he reached out and drew the tip of his finger along the edge of her collar. “But feel free to tell me to back off.”
She gave a little shake of her head. “Don’t want to.”
“Good, because you know what I’ve been trying to do all night?” His tone and touch were soft, hypnotizing, lulling her into some suspended state between reality and dream.
She held his smoky gaze, her breathing loud in her own ears. “What’s that?”
“Been trying to make myself go back to the main house and find someone for me to spend the weekend with like I should. Give you and Jace some privacy. But instead . . .” His gaze slid down the length of her, making every inch prickle with awareness. “All I could think about was how the person I wanted was already here. How I’d rather watch you with Jace and listen to your sexy screams tonight even knowing I couldn’t have you.”
His words snaked over her, stirring urges she thought had been exhausted for the night. Now she knew what it felt like to be truly and utterly seduced. There was no other word for it. “Well, now you can.”
His smile was slow, confident, his whole demeanor a shocking departure from the easy-going guy in the hot tub. It was as if she could feel the dominance rising within him, a floodgate being unlocked. “Indeed I can. But you’re not sure that’s what you want right now.”
She blinked, his words not registering for a second.
“What? I . . . Yes, I want . . . But I’m—” Her words came out a jumbled mess. There was no doubt she wanted to pull Andre down to her, feel his mouth on hers, touch him. But there was a tug in her chest, a strange urge to ask Jace first even though he’d already given her permission. She glanced over at the door to Jace’s bedroom.
He followed her gaze. “Ah, bella. It comes so naturally to you already, doesn’t it?”
She turned her focus back to him, her brows knitted. “What do you mean?”
He brushed her hair off her forehead and smoothed her brow. “To be loyal to your dom. To make sure that what you want will please him as well.”
She started to deny it, but snapped her mouth shut when the accuracy of his words set in.
“It’s beautiful to see. And hard to resist.” He bent and put his lips to hers, a gentle press, a taste with a promise of more. She laid her palms against his chest, enjoying the pounding of his heart beneath her fingers and the feel of his mouth on hers. So different from Jace’s, but no less potent. He pulled back way too soon. “But I’m going to.”
She stared at him in shock. “What?”
He palmed her hip, drew her against him, and let her feel just how aroused he was. “Believe me, there’s nothing more I’d like to do right now than lay you out on this rug and taste and touch every inch of you.”
She sucked in a breath, her panties instantly dampening as he molded her against him.
“But, you’ve had a long night, and I don’t want you going into anything with doubts.” He eased away from her. “I’ll wait until tomorrow when Jace can be here with us, too.”
“But all night you’ve been—”
“Tortured?” he asked with a smirk.
“Basically.”
“I’ll be fine. I’ve been on stakeouts that lasted for weeks and have interrogated suspects for hours on end, all with just a smidgen of a chance that I’ll get what I want.” He put his hand out to her again. “So, I can be infinitely patient when the end result is worth it.”
There was an underlying warning in his words. She could only imagine what that level of patience and self-control could mean in a D/s situation. A guy who wasn’t rushing to get to the finale. One that could erotically torment his sub until he or she couldn’t be pushed any further. She took his hand. “Must make you a formidable master.”
“Hmm, guess you’ll find out,” he said, pulling her to his side. “Now, let’s get you to bed before I make a liar out of myself.”
Knowing it was no use protesting further, she followed him to the other side of the cabin and into his room. It was almost a mirror image of Jace’s, except that the bed at the center was bigger than any she’d ever seen before and was half covered with file folders and papers. “Holy crap, that thing is huge.”
“Always what a guy wants to hear when a woman walks into his bedroom.”
She rolled her eyes.
“It’s a custom bed meant to serve the polyamorous of the world. You put two big guys and a woman in a king bed, it gets a little tight.”
Yeah, she remembered that from the few times she’d slept in Daniel and Marcus’s bed. “Do you and Jace usually sleep all together with the woman you’re sharing?”
“No, we use this bed for play, then Jace goes to his own room for the night.” He stepped around the bed and started gathering all the paperwork he’d apparently been working on when he’d gone out to get that glass of water. “Once we’re outside of a scene, Jace usually likes to be alone. Plus I’m not sure he’s totally comfortable with the idea of sleeping naked with his roommate. Like I said earlier, sex and sleeping together are two totally different things.”
She frowned. Jace seemed like the most sexually open person she’d ever met. It seemed odd he’d be uncomfortable about that. But it wasn’t her business.
Andre grabbed the stack of papers he’d gathered and walked toward the desk in the opposite corner of the room. “Let me get all of this out of the way. I was trying to get some work done since I couldn’t sleep.”
“Working on a day off?”
He shrugged. “I’m trying to make detective. There are a few people competing for the position. I’m one of the younger ones. Figure I can’t out-experience some of them, but I can damn sure outwork them.”
“It just means you’re hella kinky,” he said with a broad smile. “And of course, that I’m a kickass lover.”
She burst out laughing and shoved his chest. “Egotistical asshole.”
“Comes with the territory, babe. I didn’t land on the dom side of things by chance.” He climbed off the bed and stretched. “I’m going to run you a bath. The rest of tonight is for relaxing.”
She yawned. “You don’t have to do that. I can take care of it.”
He stepped back and shook his head. “No, I’ve put you through your paces, and it’s my job to see that you’re attended to. Part of the pleasure of being a dom is taking care of a sub after she’s served so well.”
She sank back into the pillows and laced her fingers behind her head. “Well then, far be it from me to deny you that pleasure. Get to it, master.”
He laughed and saluted her. “Right away, slave girl. And while you’re bathing, I’ll let Andre know that his infamous charm has worked on you, and he’s now invited to play in our sandbox this weekend, too.”
She bit her lip, nerves creeping back in. “Right.”
He paused, something akin to worry on his face. “Unless you’ve changed your mind?”
She shook her head. No, this was already feeling too comfortable with Jace, too easy. She hadn’t felt this content in as long as she could remember. Dangerous territory. A few nights of this and she’d be in big trouble. She needed to get safety nets in place. Right. Now. “No, you can go ahead and tell him. I’m up for anything.”
His expression darkened, something unreadable crossing his face. “Be careful saying things like that, pet. Anything is exactly what they specialize in around here.”
THIRTEEN
Evan padded out of the bathroom in Jace’s oversize pajama top after soaking in the tub for way too long. Her nerves were still twitching like a faulty circuit board. She had no idea how she was going to handle the sleeping arrangements. But as she stepped into the bedroom, relief flooded her. Jace was sprawled out on the left side of the bed, fast asleep.
He’d left a bedside lamp on. The soft light gilded every line in his muscular back and the golden strands of his mussed hair, making him look like a sun-kissed Greek sculpture. Her entire being ached to run her hands along his bare skin, through that hair, to crawl next to him in the empty space he’d left for her, and curl up with him for the night.
But there was no way she could go there. Not tonight. Not ever. So instead, she grabbed a pillow off the bed and the quilt that was thrown over the chair by the window and tiptoed out of the room, clicking the door shut behind her.
The living room was dark except for a few lit candles that were taking the place of logs in the fireplace. She eyeballed the suede-covered couch. It wouldn’t be as cozy as that big bed, but it would do. Tomorrow night, she’d let Jace know that she wanted to head back to her own cabin whenever they were through for the evening so she could have her own space.
She stepped around the coffee table, tossed her pillow and blanket onto it with a sigh, and headed toward the fireplace so she could blow out the candles.
“What are you up to, bella?”
Her heart nearly hopped out of her chest. She spun around to find Andre leaning against the doorway to the kitchen area, sipping a glass of water.
She put her hand to her chest. “Good Lord, you scared the hell out of me.”
He frowned in the dim candlelight. “Sorry. Didn’t realize anyone was still awake.” He nodded at the couch. “What are you doing out here?”
She shifted her weight from foot to foot, feeling like a kid caught sneaking out after curfew. “I, uh, thought I’d sleep out here tonight. Jace is already sleeping and I just—”
“You’re scared to share his bed.”
She choked on her attempt at a laugh. “Of course not, I just did a lot more than that with him.”
“So I heard.” He gave her a wry smile and set his glass down on the dining table before joining her in the living room. He propped a hip on the back of the loveseat, drawing her attention to the fact that along with his T-shirt, he was only wearing a pair of black boxer briefs, underwear that were made for a body like his. She forced her gaze upward.
“It’s understandable, you know? To feel weird about it. You are engaged.”
“Right, ’cause my moral code on that is stellar. I just had sex with someone else.”
He shrugged. “Sometimes sex can be easy to keep separate, but sharing a bed overnight is a whole different animal. Especially with someone you used to have feelings for.”
She leaned back against the wall and sighed. “I’m being ridiculous.”
“Nah, not at all.” Andre stepped closer and held out his hand. “Come on, take my bed, and I’ll sleep out here.”
She waved him off, heading toward the couch. “Oh, no, really, I’m fine. I’ve slept in worse places.” Much worse.
“Not a request, bella,” he said, his tone firm. Her gaze snapped up as he moved in front of her and closed the space between them, his brown eyes flickering with more than candlelight. He braced a hand against the wall, caging her between him and the fireplace. “Jace told me about your invitation. I’m honored. But now you’ve got two bossy men on your hands. So, no, you won’t take the couch.”
“Oh.” Blood began to thrum against her pulse points, his heady, masculine scent mixing with the vanilla of the candles. She searched for her voice. “I, uh, guess you accepted the invitation?”
Smooth, Evan. Real smooth.
He laughed softly. “I’m making you nervous.”
“Maybe,” she said, giving him a shaky smile. He must be a force of nature in an interrogation room. She certainly felt ready to confess her darkest secrets to him. “I haven’t seen this side of you yet.”
“I didn’t have any right to show it to you.” His lips curved as he reached out and drew the tip of his finger along the edge of her collar. “But feel free to tell me to back off.”
She gave a little shake of her head. “Don’t want to.”
“Good, because you know what I’ve been trying to do all night?” His tone and touch were soft, hypnotizing, lulling her into some suspended state between reality and dream.
She held his smoky gaze, her breathing loud in her own ears. “What’s that?”
“Been trying to make myself go back to the main house and find someone for me to spend the weekend with like I should. Give you and Jace some privacy. But instead . . .” His gaze slid down the length of her, making every inch prickle with awareness. “All I could think about was how the person I wanted was already here. How I’d rather watch you with Jace and listen to your sexy screams tonight even knowing I couldn’t have you.”
His words snaked over her, stirring urges she thought had been exhausted for the night. Now she knew what it felt like to be truly and utterly seduced. There was no other word for it. “Well, now you can.”
His smile was slow, confident, his whole demeanor a shocking departure from the easy-going guy in the hot tub. It was as if she could feel the dominance rising within him, a floodgate being unlocked. “Indeed I can. But you’re not sure that’s what you want right now.”
She blinked, his words not registering for a second.
“What? I . . . Yes, I want . . . But I’m—” Her words came out a jumbled mess. There was no doubt she wanted to pull Andre down to her, feel his mouth on hers, touch him. But there was a tug in her chest, a strange urge to ask Jace first even though he’d already given her permission. She glanced over at the door to Jace’s bedroom.
He followed her gaze. “Ah, bella. It comes so naturally to you already, doesn’t it?”
She turned her focus back to him, her brows knitted. “What do you mean?”
He brushed her hair off her forehead and smoothed her brow. “To be loyal to your dom. To make sure that what you want will please him as well.”
She started to deny it, but snapped her mouth shut when the accuracy of his words set in.
“It’s beautiful to see. And hard to resist.” He bent and put his lips to hers, a gentle press, a taste with a promise of more. She laid her palms against his chest, enjoying the pounding of his heart beneath her fingers and the feel of his mouth on hers. So different from Jace’s, but no less potent. He pulled back way too soon. “But I’m going to.”
She stared at him in shock. “What?”
He palmed her hip, drew her against him, and let her feel just how aroused he was. “Believe me, there’s nothing more I’d like to do right now than lay you out on this rug and taste and touch every inch of you.”
She sucked in a breath, her panties instantly dampening as he molded her against him.
“But, you’ve had a long night, and I don’t want you going into anything with doubts.” He eased away from her. “I’ll wait until tomorrow when Jace can be here with us, too.”
“But all night you’ve been—”
“Tortured?” he asked with a smirk.
“Basically.”
“I’ll be fine. I’ve been on stakeouts that lasted for weeks and have interrogated suspects for hours on end, all with just a smidgen of a chance that I’ll get what I want.” He put his hand out to her again. “So, I can be infinitely patient when the end result is worth it.”
There was an underlying warning in his words. She could only imagine what that level of patience and self-control could mean in a D/s situation. A guy who wasn’t rushing to get to the finale. One that could erotically torment his sub until he or she couldn’t be pushed any further. She took his hand. “Must make you a formidable master.”
“Hmm, guess you’ll find out,” he said, pulling her to his side. “Now, let’s get you to bed before I make a liar out of myself.”
Knowing it was no use protesting further, she followed him to the other side of the cabin and into his room. It was almost a mirror image of Jace’s, except that the bed at the center was bigger than any she’d ever seen before and was half covered with file folders and papers. “Holy crap, that thing is huge.”
“Always what a guy wants to hear when a woman walks into his bedroom.”
She rolled her eyes.
“It’s a custom bed meant to serve the polyamorous of the world. You put two big guys and a woman in a king bed, it gets a little tight.”
Yeah, she remembered that from the few times she’d slept in Daniel and Marcus’s bed. “Do you and Jace usually sleep all together with the woman you’re sharing?”
“No, we use this bed for play, then Jace goes to his own room for the night.” He stepped around the bed and started gathering all the paperwork he’d apparently been working on when he’d gone out to get that glass of water. “Once we’re outside of a scene, Jace usually likes to be alone. Plus I’m not sure he’s totally comfortable with the idea of sleeping naked with his roommate. Like I said earlier, sex and sleeping together are two totally different things.”
She frowned. Jace seemed like the most sexually open person she’d ever met. It seemed odd he’d be uncomfortable about that. But it wasn’t her business.
Andre grabbed the stack of papers he’d gathered and walked toward the desk in the opposite corner of the room. “Let me get all of this out of the way. I was trying to get some work done since I couldn’t sleep.”
“Working on a day off?”
He shrugged. “I’m trying to make detective. There are a few people competing for the position. I’m one of the younger ones. Figure I can’t out-experience some of them, but I can damn sure outwork them.”
