“Let’s use the colors of a traffic light to start. Later, we might change our words to fit our needs, but not tonight.”
“You think we’re going to do this again?” she asked sheepishly.
Wade came back in the room. “Only if you love it, sweetheart.”
“She’ll love it,” he told his brother.
“I’m not sure I can be in this kind of relationship, guys,” Mackenzie said. “Fooling around is one thing, but thinking this is something…something it isn’t is silly.”
His gut tightened. This was much more than fooling around to him. She was his. She was his brother’s. No doubt about it. But was she? They’d had sex, sure, but had they won her heart? Apparently not.
“I’m not judging how the families in this town are put together. It’s just that I’m not sure it will work for me. Part of my childhood was spent in a poly family back in Denver. My grandfather had two wives. We loved them all and they loved us, but it was often hard on me and Trent growing up in that kind of home.”
Clearly, this was something intimate she told few, if any. He loved that she was sharing such a private memory with them. “Why was it hard, Mac?”
“The neighbor kid’s parents were cruel to us. None of our friends ever spent the night at our house, and we were never invited to theirs.” Her voice shook as obvious old hurts were welling up inside her. “That’s tough on children, don’t you think?”
Wyatt hated that Mackenzie’s childhood made her fear the poly life. The outside world’s intolerance and cruelty didn’t make a lick of sense to him. “It must’ve been.” He cupped her chin. “That’s a lot for a little girl to deal with, but that’s not how things work here in Wilde, sweetheart.”
Wade put his arm around her. “Wyatt and I grew up in the same kind of family but with multiple dads, not moms. It was wonderful. As you already know, most families around here are the same. Poly is the norm in Wilde. There are some couples here, too. Whether couple, triple, quadruple, whatever, no one looks down on any family. Love is what binds people together. That’s all that matters.”
Mackenzie looked so sad. “When you say it that way, I want to believe you, but it’s hard after growing up the way I did.”
“What you need is a little convincing, and we’re happy to do it.” Wade turned to him. “I think a little Dom romance is appropriate.”
“Dom romance?” she asked.
Wyatt wasn’t sure what his brother meant either. Romance skills weren’t either his or Wade’s best talents. Perhaps that had been the reason they’d settled into being in the roles of resident Doms at The Masters’ Chambers. No commitment.
“A little pain-and-pleasure play, sweetheart. You’ll see.” His brother sent him a knowing wink.
Wyatt was glad to see her face soften, the worry being replaced, at least a little, by curiosity.
Being a Dom who trained new subs had worked for years, but he knew deep down it would never work again. Not after Mackenzie. She was the only woman he’d ever want to be with from now on.
Still, being a Dom was more than natural to him. It was a part of his very DNA. He’d never had some terrible childhood that had contributed to it. No tragic event that pushed him into the life. No. He and his twin had experienced an idyllic life. Loving parents. A roof over their heads. Food on the table. And yes, lots of times for fun.
Sure, many Doms found the life fit them because of past pain, but not he or Wyatt. They just liked giving women a pleasure ride that was considered kinky to some but was like riding a bike for him. It might be tough, but if he had misread Mackenzie, if she didn’t have a submissive streak, if it wasn’t deep in her DNA, he would toss BDSM aside for her. It would be difficult to do, but how could he not? She was his woman. He was certain Wade would do the same if it came to that.
“Tell me about the color thing again,” she said, sitting down on the sofa and folding her hands in her lap. Her gaze darted back and forth from him to Wade.
He hadn’t read her wrong. She might need training, but she was a sub, thank God. She definitely was getting excited about the lesson.
“We’ll tell you the rest after you bathe.” Wade held out his hand for her to take. “I don’t want the water to get cold.”
“You’re both coming with me?”
“You know we are,” he said as he felt his cock harden and his balls grow heavy.
She grinned, and his heart thudded in his chest. She’s ours. We just have to make her see that no matter what it takes.
* * * *
Mac took Wade’s hand and stood up. He led her to the bathroom, and Wyatt followed behind. Her heart was racing. She’d dreamed of this since these two had relentlessly started flirting with her weeks ago. Denying them anything they requested—correction, commanded—was next to impossible. She’d learned to trust them in the past couple of days.
Why was it so easy to let them take care of her, to give in to their demands, to trust them? Maybe it was because of exhaustion, and she didn’t have any energy to resist. She hadn’t slept much in the past few days.
When she walked into the bathroom, she couldn’t believe her eyes. It looked like an oasis of candles, steam, warm water, and plush towels. Soft music, coming from some hidden speakers she couldn’t see, added to the ambiance. “How did you put this together so quickly?”