Sliding into her beloved, 1960’s renovated Jeep, Paige tried shoving aside the conflicting emotions of irritation at her continued absorption with the two men and pleasure from the way they’d interfered on her behalf. She swore at the way those two kept her waffling on tenterhooks of pulsing awareness while never exhibiting an ounce of interest in her other than as a casual acquaintance. Her unrequited fascination with the brothers had grown slowly since meeting them shortly after starting the bar tending job, escalating in recent months until it had become her sole source of pleasure, and frustration. Experience reminded her it wouldn’t do to read more into the way they’d come to her defense other than as men who weren’t afraid to stick up for what’s right.
Driving home, she thought back over the past few months, and could pinpoint the exact time frame she’d begun itching for something new to break up the tedium of her life. Hitting thirty hadn’t fazed her as that milestone birthday did some people, but thirty-one? That birthday four months ago sent her into the dumps so deep, she’d failed to pull out of the discontent riding her. Over thirty sounded so much worse than simply thirty, and seemed to emphasize the fast track to nowhere she’d been on during her twenties, something Rick, her last boyfriend, enjoyed pointing out to her. Splitting with him eight months ago had been the highlight of the past year.
Paige turned into the driveway of the small Cape Cod house that was the only inheritance she and Penny would ever receive. Funny, she mused as she parked and slid out with an exhausted sigh, she could think of nothing she could desire more than the small home she’d grown up in with her sister, mother and grandmother. Although she’d felt for Penny when her sibling had returned to the house one morning with a swollen black eye that ended her three-year relationship with a controlling man Paige never could tolerate, she relished the time they’d been living together again. Because of her sister’s insistence, Paige reined in her anger on Penny’s behalf and agreed not to enlist her cop friends’ help in pressing charges against the jerk. But, damn, that had grated.
Tiptoeing past Penny’s room so as not to wake her, Paige took a moment to greet the two greyhounds she enjoyed pet sitting before stripping out of her jeans and tee bearing the bar’s logo on the way to the bathroom. A few minutes later, she slid into her double bed and succumbed to exhaustion, two pairs of dark brown eyes following her into sleep.
* * *
“Let it go, bro,” Trevor advised.
Troy slid Trevor an askance look before returning his gaze to the road, eyeing the streets with a cop’s scrutiny as he drove the two of them back to their twin townhomes in the Pensacola Lake condo complex. “You were just as pissed as me when Evans spouted off.”
“Sure, but sitting over there simmering won’t help. I doubt Mike is long for the force, especially if he keeps drinking. Let him do himself in. I did enjoy seeing Red’s temper flare. The girl doesn’t have a reputation for backing down.”
Interest colored his brother’s voice and Troy sent him a sharp glance with a snort. “Forget it, Trev. Paige would skewer you with those silver eyes alone if you tried anything with her.” But Troy had to admit, he’d fantasized more than once about stringing up the pretty bartender and keeping her at their mercy for a few hours. Indulging in ménages with Trevor and a willing submissive was his favorite recreational sport, but one neither of them attempted to play with a vanilla partner. He enjoyed bantering with Paige’s feisty, independent nature, but preferred a meeker bed partner to ease the stress of his job as a cop.
“Think of how much fun it would be to tame her,” Trevor replied with a grin that hinted at the image in his head.
“Work, not fun. Unlike you lawyers, cops get down and dirty on the streets to bring you the bad guys. I need a tamer diversion during my time off.”
“Admit it, Troy. You’ve wondered what it would be like to have her sandwiched between us,” his brother prodded in his usual, affable way. “The girl’s got legs up to her delicate neck and can mix a damn fine martini. What’s there not to like?”
“I didn’t say I don’t like her,” he returned as he pulled into their complex. The two-story condos circled a one-acre lake that was home to a slew of Canada geese the residents enjoyed feeding. “Or that she isn’t attractive.”
“Or you haven’t indulged in a few fantasies of your own? You forget how well I know you.”
Troy forgot nothing, notably the close bond he shared not only with his older-by-a-year brother, but with five other guys. After pummeling on each other the first few days spent at a summer camp for juvenile delinquents, their small group discovered they’d all come from troubled childhoods. Even though their circumstances were as varied as their personalities, they’d formed a bond that still held tight today, twenty-three years later, and had expanded to include a shared interest in BDSM proclivities.
Parking in the drive adjacent to Trevor’s, he cut the engine of his Tahoe and grabbed the door handle. “Last I checked, I’ve still got a dick, so, of course I’ve thought of her. Now, get out of my vehicle, moron.” Trevor’s deep chuckle echoed in the quiet dark, and Troy smiled at his only sibling over the hood. “Get your mind off Paige and onto Crystal. She’s free for the afternoon tomorrow and wants to meet us at the marina.” The BDSM decked out mega yacht their multi-millionaire friend, Zachary Allen-Vancuren had surprised each of them with a deed to guaranteed bondage fun galore to satisfy their needs and their privacy.
“Good. That way we can stick around afterward and drum up a game—that is, if any of the others can pull themselves away from their girls,” Trevor returned.
Trevor, Troy knew, found their friends’ recent decline into commitment a good thing, but he was still on the fence about the recent changes within their group. Not that he didn’t adore their women, he did. They complemented each of the guys to a tee, but regardless of their obvious happiness, neither he nor Trevor were inclined to follow suit. He worried those newly formed relationships would soon result in splintering the tight circle the seven of them had formed together.
Troy nodded. “With any luck, they’ll wear them out and the girls will be only too happy to leave us to a few hands of poker while they recuperate. I’m heading in. Catch you tomorrow, Trev.”
“Later, bro.” Trevor lifted his hand as he strode next door to his identical house.
Chapter 2
“Rough night?” Penny asked as Paige stumbled into the kitchen the next morning. “I let the dogs out and fed them already.” Pouring a cup of coffee, she dumped a healthy dose of rich creamer into the cup and wrapped a napkin around a chocolate-glazed donut. Carrying them over to the small table nestled under a window that offered a view of the backyard, she set the sugar feast before Paige, saying, “You look like you can use this.”
Paige expelled a lusty sigh of appreciation before sipping the piping hot brew. “God, thanks, sis. You know me so well.” What she didn’t know was the reason Paige slept until almost 10:00 a.m. had been due more to the erotic dreams plaguing her sleep than the long night at the bar. She really needed to get her mind out of the gutter and off the Carlson brothers.
Penny took a seat opposite from her and Paige looked up to see her worrying her lower lip. “Uh, oh. What’s up?”
“You know me so well,” she mimicked with a smile that didn’t reach her gray-green eyes. Taking a deep breath, Penny blurted, “I’m going to the club tonight.”
Setting the cup down, Paige regarded her sister with a solemn gaze and worry gnawing at her insides. Penny’s split with Jim Bates, whom she’d met at a BDSM club, had come just a few weeks after Paige had ended her affair, and the two of them had been celibate together ever since. It wasn’t that Penny was ready to end the long months of self-denial that bothered her; heck, Paige was more than primed to relieve her own sexual frustration with a man instead of a vibrator. But she’d never understood what attracted a woman to turn herself over to a man’s sexual, dominant control, or the need Penny claimed to possess for the lifestyle.
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“After the abuse you suffered from Jim, the asshole, I’m surprised you want to seek another similar relationship. I don’t like it, Penny, but you knew I’d say that.”
“Yes, and I love you for caring so much, but Paige, don’t put me down just because it’s not your thing, or because you think I’m being careless. Most Dom/sub relationships are very fulfilling, and most Doms don’t cross over into abuse the way Jim did. If you’ll recall, I left as soon as he did, and have refused all his overtures since.” A visible, delicate shudder shook Penny’s slim frame. “I’d never go back to him or put up with such domestic abuse.”
Paige often suspected there’d been more to Jim’s actions than a fist to Penny’s face during an argument where he’d accused her of cheating on him. No matter how much she prodded, her sister continued to insist her black eye had been the extent of it, but her doubts continued to unsettle her.
Casting her gaze out the window, she watched the dogs play as she admitted, “I know that. You’re one of the smart ones.” She flipped her twin a cheeky grin. “I taught you well.”
Penny rolled her eyes, returning her teasing smile. “You may be only a few minutes older, but you’ve always been overprotective.” Her look turned sly. “You could always come with me.”
Paige’s hand jerked at the incongruous suggestion. Setting down the cup, she grabbed a napkin and wiped up the small spill, saying, “Very funny. Can you picture me saying, ‘yes, sir,’ or kneeling at a guy’s feet?”
It pleased her to hear Penny laugh. Unlike Paige, who had walked away from her six-month affair with Rick without a backward glance or an ounce of regret, Penny had been in a depressed funk over her breakup. Not because she missed the asshole, Paige knew, but because she missed having her needs as a sexual submissive met. She may not understand her sibling’s desires and responses to a controlling man, but Paige understood the discontent of going day after day without an intimate connection to someone special. Still, worry over Penny’s safety and wellbeing wouldn’t release its painful claws from digging into her abdomen, and she couldn’t keep from trying one more time to dissuade her from going back to a club and seeking the same type of man.
Playing a trump card she knew was wrong, Paige blurted, “Nana would roll over in her grave if she knew what you planned to do, especially after what happened with Jim.”
“Damn it,” Penny exploded, her rare temper rising to the surface as guilt suffused her face. “Don’t go there with me, Paige. I wasn’t the wild child after Mom died, or the one who refused to settle down, go for further education after high school and do something worthwhile for a change.”
Pushing back from the table, Paige let her worry-based anger get the better of her even though everything Penny threw in her face was true. “Fine. If you’re so perfect, then don’t come crying to me if you meet up with another asshole at that place.”
Storming outside, she ignored Penny all afternoon, stewing over her own stupidity in bringing their beloved grandmother up, the woman they’d both cherished and would have done anything for until her death five years ago. They both still missed Geraldine, or Nana Gerry as they had called her. Despite her grief over the death of her only child, and her advanced age, Nana hadn’t hesitated to keep her two preteen granddaughters with her following their mother’s death in a car accident. It had been just the four of them since Paige, Penny and their mom moved in with Geraldine after their father’s death in a military accident when they’d been just toddlers, and the void Nana’s passing had left continued to press down on them.
Penny left for the afternoon and it was after five when she returned and found Paige sweeping out the garage. She looked up as her sister got out of her car and strolled toward her, a rueful grin tugging at her lips. She always left it up to Penny to apologize first, something else to feel bad about, Paige thought with a burst of irritation.
“If you have time before work, I’ll spring for tacos,” Penny offered.
“Sneaky, sis. You know my weaknesses and how to use them against me.” Paige loved junk food and anything Mexican.
“And you know mine. Nana may not have approved, but I can’t change who I am any more than you can. Sanctuary is a reputable club, and I know, or used to know, almost all the members. I’ll be fine,” she assured her.
“At least you know why I was an ass and tossed Nana in your face. Are you sure Jim is no longer in the city? What if you’re wrong?” According to their mutual friends at the club Penny and Jim frequented, he’d hightailed it out of the city after the club banned him for abuse.
Penny shook her head. “I checked with Sanctuary’s owner and head Master again. He hasn’t seen or heard from Jim since he accepted the offer to open an office in Savannah a month after we broke up. He also assured me Jim wouldn’t be welcome at any club in Florida.”
Paige refrained, barely, from rolling her eyes at Penny’s title of Master. “Okay, I’ll trust you know what you’re doing, and what you want.” Dropping the broom, she threw her arms around Penny and squeezed tight. “I want you to be happy, and safe. You know that.”
After returning the hug, Penny stepped back, her eyes misty as she replied, “Same goes, sis. Aren’t you getting horny yet?”
A relieved laugh burst from her, and she shook her head in amusement. If only Penny knew how she lusted after not one, but two men. Talk about kinky. “I’m holding out for the one who can do a better job getting me off than I can. Until then, I’ll continue taking care of my own needs, thank you very much. Give me ten minutes to clean up and you’re on. I don’t have to be at The Precinct until eight.”
“A vibrator can’t compare to the real thing,” Penny called after her, laughing.
“Maybe not,” Paige quipped without turning around. “But it also doesn’t order me around.”
* * *
“Strip.” Trevor crossed his arms and watched as Crystal, a favorite sub of his, slid the thin straps of her sundress down her arms, her blue eyes gleaming with anticipation.
Reaching out to wrap a hand around her upper arm to steady her against the slow rocking of the luxury yacht on the open water, he took a moment to admire her denuded labia when the dress dropped to her feet and she stepped out of both her sheath and panties. The mouthwatering aroma of grilled burgers wafted down from the upper deck where he knew Sean and Jackson were manning the grill. The slight ocean breeze was enough to keep the late February temperature more on the cooler side, but he didn’t fret over Crystal getting chilled. He and Troy would warm her up soon.
He wasn’t sure when their occasional desire to indulge in a ménage had changed to a steady preference. Not that either of them minded. There was nothing like watching a woman writhing in the throes of ecstasy under their hands, mouths and cocks. If you added in the vulnerability of her bound state, the other sounds of BDSM play resonating around them and the pleasure of sailing on a pleasant afternoon, the gratification couldn’t be matched.
Trevor cupped his palm over the soft, plump folds and felt the telltale dampness at her slit. Crystal’s nipples puckered, and she released another spate of cream when her gaze shifted behind him to where Zach and his wife, Sandie, still sat behind the helm. “The rest of the gang are upstairs, where we’re headed in a minute. You’ll like parading around naked in front of them, won’t you, sugar?”
Her eyes brightened at the offhand endearment, and he couldn’t help remembering the annoyed snap in a pair of dove-gray eyes when he’d called Paige the same pet name. Unlike his brother, Trevor wouldn’t mind taking a stab at dominating the feisty bartender. He loved a challenge. Shoving aside the image of that woman, he returned his concentration to the one before him. Releasing Crystal’s arm, he yanked hard on her light brown hair. “Answer me.”
She bobbed her head in agreement. “Oh, yes, Sir.”
“We’ll head up then, but you have a long wait before we get to this.” With a slow insertion of his middle finger, he teased her clit just enough to leave her frustrated
before he tugged her up the spiral stairs leading to the third tier.
The steady drone of the yacht’s motor dwindled to a stop as they reached the upper level, which meant Zach and Sandie would join them soon, followed by dinner served on the tables nestled under the covered outdoor kitchen. Towing Crystal toward the center dining area, Trevor spotted Miles already seated with a heaping plate, Hope perched on his lap.
“Damn, are we already too late?” Trevor’s reference to the former Martial Arts champion’s bottomless eating habit was met with chuckles from the group gathered around the aft of the boat.
“You snooze, you lose,” Jackson called out from his stance at the grill. Shoveling a burger onto a bun, he held the plate out to Trevor. “Here. Sean and I wouldn’t be dumb enough not to ensure everyone got fed.”
“So back off,” Miles rumbled, flicking a black, mean-eyed glare Trevor’s way.
“You’d think you would be used to our ribbing by now.” Troy thumped Miles on the back as he walked by the table to join Trevor and Crystal at the grill. “I see my brother has you ready for us,” he said to Crystal before gripping her nape and drawing her mouth up to his for a hard, probing kiss.
She leaned into him with a soft moan until he released her. “Yes, but he’s being mean and making me wait for my fun.” The brunette reached out and curled her hand over his crotch. “You’ll be nicer, won’t you, Master Troy?”
Sean, a much more hardcore Dom than the Carlsons, cocked his head, his steely eyes conveying his displeasure with the forward sub, the look belying his mild tone when he commented, “If you were mine, you wouldn’t sit comfortably for a week.”
“Then it’s a good thing I’m not with you,” she shot back, her impatient nature spewing forth.
“Enough.” Trevor snatched a rubber spatula sitting on the grill sideboard and landed one blistering swat on Crystal’s right cheek and then tossed the implement into a bin holding dirty dishes. Reaching for a plate, he handed it to her, instructing in the same cool tone, “Go sit down next to Alessa and see if you can behave with as much respect as our newbie.”