Change (Finding Anna Book 5)

by Sherri Hayes

  Stephan

  I loved watching her fall apart beneath me. Who was I kidding? I loved watching her climax no matter what position she was in.

  Seeing her had brought my own orgasm racing to the surface and within seconds I was shooting my cum into her. I collapsed onto the bed, keeping most of my weight on my arms as I caught my breath. Sex with Brianna was fantastic. I couldn’t get enough of it. Of her. She was an amazing submissive and a great partner.

  “Are you doing okay?” I asked, looking at her.

  Brianna released a contented sigh. “Yes, Sir.” Gazing up at me, she asked, “Can I touch you again?”

  I smiled. “You may.”

  She circled her arms around my neck, and then ran her hands down my back.

  Her lips parted and her eyes closed, relishing being able to touch me again. It was too cute, and I didn’t resist my urge to kiss her. “How are you feeling?”

  “Good.” She smiled up at me.

  “Nothing’s hurting? Your side? Your neck?” I asked.

  “No, Sir. All I feel is you.”

  I chuckled, gave her another quick kiss, and pushed myself off the bed. She looked a bit disappointed, but we did have some things to do before tomorrow. I traced the crease in her forehead with my thumb as I gazed down at her on the bed. “We’ll have more time later, love, but we need to go over the plan for tomorrow and I have a few calls to make. I promise tonight when I make love to you, you can touch me the entire time.”

  The rest of the day was full of phone calls and coordinating things. Tomorrow afternoon was the final dress fitting for the wedding party. I was dropping Brianna off at the bridal store, and then joining Logan and the two other groomsmen across town to make sure no last-minute adjustments needed to be made to our tuxes.

  It would have been nice if we’d been able to wear the tuxes we already owned—Logan and I at least—but Lily had vetoed that idea. Other than the lapel being skinnier, I didn’t see a difference in the tuxes she’d picked out for us to wear for the wedding. She insisted there was a difference, though, so off we were going to the tailor.

  I knew part of my mood had to do with the fact that instead of picking Brianna up after the appointment and heading back to our condo, she would be going with Lily and the other women to dinner, and then to a club. Brianna wasn’t excited about going to either as she hated crowds and loud music, but she hadn’t wanted to disappoint Lily. Logan assured me he knew the owner of the club and that everything would be fine. I really hoped he was right.

  Saturday morning came way too soon. We ate breakfast, got in a workout, and spent some time curled up on the couch with our books before it was time to leave.

  At one-thirty, I dropped Brianna off at the bridal shop, giving her a long kiss goodbye. “You have your cell phone. Call me if you need to. I’ll come get you.”

  “You’ll be at Logan’s bachelor party. I don’t—”

  I raised my eyebrows.

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Good, girl. Try to have a good time.” I was going to leave it at that, but then changed my mind. “And if Bridget starts trouble, say something to Lily.”

  She nodded.

  I waited by the curb while she walked into the bridal shop. It was hard to drop her off and leave, but I knew I was going to have to get used to it if she went to school next month. I couldn’t go to her classes with her.

  Well, I probably could, but I also knew she needed to do it on her own. As her Dom, I had to do what was best for her even if it wasn’t what I wanted.

  Logan was already inside the store when I arrived. I didn’t see the other groomsmen, though. As soon as that thought crossed my mind, Michael strolled through the door. He was shorter than both Logan and I, around five eleven, and had curly red hair. Logan had struck up a friendship with him when they’d had to work together on a project in college. He was a nice guy. A little shy, but easy to get along with.

  “Hey,” he said, removing his coat.

  Before either of us could answer, the man who’d helped us before with the tuxes came around the corner. “Good afternoon, gentlemen. Do we have everyone here?”

  “Not—” Logan turned as the door opened again and Caleb walked through. “I hope you don’t cut it this close on the day of my wedding.”

  Caleb chuckled. “No worries. Besides, Stephan’s the one that will have the ring. Even if I don’t make it, you’ll still be able to put a ring on it.”

  The tailor showed us where we could hang our coats, and then led us into the back where the fitting rooms were. He already had our tuxes lined up. “Mr. Mattson, would you like to go first?”

  “Sure.” Logan took the tux and disappeared behind the curtain.

  Handing another tux to me, he pointed to one of the other rooms. “Let me know if you have any issues.”

  I heard him handing out tuxes to Michael and Caleb as I stripped out of my clothes and donned the tux. Given how often Logan and I wore tuxes, or as often as I used to wear a tux, we were dressed and ready to go well before Michael and Caleb.

  The tailor marked a few minor issues with Logan’s tux before turning his attention to me. He was just finishing up with his inspection of mine when Caleb made his way out of the fitting room. “I don’t know how you wear these things all the time, Logan.” He pulled at the bow tie around his neck.

  Logan laughed. “You get used to it after a while.”

  Caleb frowned. “I’m not sure I could get used to it.”

  As if on cue, Michael appeared, his bow tie draped over his shoulders. “I have no idea how to tie one of these things.”

  The tailor stepped up and quickly sorted the tie out with more practiced ease than even I was capable of.

  It took about ten more minutes and then we were all able to get back into our street clothes. Again, Logan and I were the first to emerge. We each handed the tuxes to the tailor. “I’ll have those fixes done for you by the middle of the week. You can pick it up on Thursday,” he said to Logan. Then he turned to me. “Did you want to take this with you today, or would you prefer to pick everything up together?”

  Logan glanced over at me, and then back at the tailor. “I think it would be easiest to pick everything up together on Thursday.”

  “I’ll make sure everything is ready to go for you Thursday, then.” Michael and Caleb came out of their dressing rooms and handed over their tuxes. “Is there anything else I can help you gentlemen with today?”

  “I think we’re good. And we’ll see you on Thursday,” Logan said.

  Everyone followed Logan back to his place, so they could park their cars. A vote had been taken and we were heading to a local sports bar. Caleb had wanted to go to a strip club—he claimed it was tradition—but luckily, he was overruled.

  I hadn’t been overly excited about the idea of going to a bar, so I’d selected a sports bar instead and one I’d been to before with Logan. They had good food and the atmosphere was a decent mix of bar and restaurant.

  Given I didn’t drink, I was the designated driver for the evening. I knew Logan wouldn’t get plastered and I doubted Michael would either. Caleb was the one I was concerned about. He struck me as the life of the party. Basically, the opposite of me since I’d much rather be spending the evening hanging out at Logan’s house and calling it good.

  We found a high-top near the bar that would seat four and sat down. A server who looked to be in her early twenties sauntered over to the table. “How are you guys tonight?”

  “Better now that you’re here,” Caleb said.

  To my surprise, she didn’t seem to be put off by his remark. She grinned at him and gave her hair a little flip. “What can I get you guys started with tonight?”

  Caleb went to open his mouth again, but Logan cut him off. “I’ll take whatever you have on draft and if you could get us some menus?”

  “Sure thing.” She winked at Logan, and then turned to Michael.

  “Same.”

  Of course, Caleb had to
order a Sex on the Beach. I doubted that was his drink of choice, but it got the reaction that he wanted. The server blushed.

  She looked at me, the flush in her cheeks still evident. “Ice water, please.”

  Nodding, she turned on her heel and walked away, a little more swing in her hips than what was natural.

  “You’re not drinking at all?” Caleb asked. “We’re gonna be here for a while. One beer won’t kill you.”

  “I don’t drink,” I told him.

  He looked disbelieving. “You’re kidding.”

  “I’m not.” I had a feeling this was going to be an interesting evening and I couldn’t wait for it to end.

  Chapter 29

  Brianna

  The music was giving me a headache. We’d been at the club for over an hour. Lily had dragged me onto the dance floor twice, so far. I'd hated it. There were too many people, and one guy had put his hands on my hips and tried to get me to dance with him.

  I’d frozen, not knowing what to do and Lily had to come to my rescue. After that, she hadn’t asked me to go on the dance floor with them again.

  I sat in the VIP section by myself, sipping on a glass of water. All the others were drinking, even Lily. We were going to take a cab back to her house when we were done for the night.

  So far, Bridget had left me alone. She’d given me a couple of strange looks, especially when I ordered water instead of a drink, but that was about it. Since a lot of people looked at me weird, it wasn’t a big deal.

  Tess plopped on the couch beside me. She’d been on the dance floor with the rest of them. “The DJ tonight is really good.”

  I nodded, not sure what to say.

  “You’re hating this, aren’t you?” she asked.

  “It’s okay. I just don’t like big crowds and—”

  “And there are lots of people here.”

  “Yeah.”

  She tilted her head to the side and twisted her lips as if she were thinking really hard about something. Then, she set her drink back down on the table and turned to me. “We could dance right here. We don’t have to go down to the dance floor.”

  “That’s okay. You don’t have to. I’m okay. Really.”

  Tess glanced at the dance floor and back at me. “Do you not like to dance? Or is it the crowd?”

  “The crowd, mostly.” I scraped my teeth along my lower lip. “I only ever dance with Stephan.”

  “Hmm.” She took another drink, and then stood. I expected her to head back out to the dance floor, but she held out her hand instead. “Come on. Give it a try, at least?”

  I thought about it for a moment, and then put my hand in hers. She led us a few feet away from the table, dropped my hand, and began to move her hips.

  It was a little awkward at first, but no one seemed to be paying attention to us here in the corner and so I started to move, too. One song led to another, and after a while I began to relax. Soon, I realized, I was actually having fun.

  We danced for a few more songs, and then went back to the table to cool off. The club was warm with everyone in it, and dancing only made it worse. We were both thirsty.

  “You’re a really good dancer,” I said to Tess.

  “So are you.” She picked up her drink and downed the rest of it.

  I picked up mine to do the same, but she stopped me. When I looked at her, I could tell something was wrong. I glanced around our immediate area, but we were alone in our little area. No one had been in our VIP section the entire night except for our little group and the server that brought our drinks. “What’s wrong?”

  She took my glass out of my hand and held it up in front of her. “You just had water, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Nothing else? No Mt. Dew or flavoring of any kind?” she asked.

  I shook my head. “No. Just water.”

  Then, she held my water up so I could see it, too. “Do you see the yellow?”

  It wasn’t obvious when the glass had been on the table, but now I saw it. There was a yellow tint to my water that hadn’t been there before. “What is it?”

  She set the glass down on the table. “I don’t know, but you’re not drinking it.”

  Tess flagged down our server. “Can we get another water? There seems to be something in this one.”

  She held the glass up for the server to see, and then placed it back on the table off to the side.

  “I’ll get you another one.”

  Once we were alone again, I asked the question that had been rolling around in my head. “I don’t understand. How could something have gotten into my drink?”

  “I don’t know, but the only people who’ve been over here are you, me, Lily, Bridget, and our server. You and I were dancing, and I don’t think Lily would put something in your drink. I also don’t think it was our server. If she was going to put something in your water, why not do it before delivering the drink in the first place?”

  She didn’t say it, but she didn’t have to. That left Bridget.

  The server returned with my new water as Lily danced her way back to where we were sitting. She giggled as she practically fell onto the plush chair. “Can I get a water, too?” she asked the server. “I’m dying of thirst after all that dancing.” Then she saw the other water on the table. “Oh. I guess you already brought an extra one.”

  “No!” Both Tess and I shouted at the same time.

  Lily looked taken aback, and then confused.

  “I’ll get you another water,” the server said to Lily. Then she looked at Tess. “Did you want me to go ahead and take this?”

  Tess seemed to be weighing the options. “That would probably be safer.”

  Nodding, the server took the yellow tinted water and left us alone.

  “What’s going on?” Lily asked. All the playfulness from a few minutes ago was gone.

  “Someone put something in Brianna’s water while she and I were dancing,” Tess said.

  “What?” Lily looked at me, and then at Tess. “Who?”

  “We don’t know,” I said.

  I didn’t want to accuse anyone, but Tess didn’t seem to have a problem doing so. “But we have our suspicions.” She nodded toward the dance floor where Bridget was currently grinding herself against a blond guy not far from the VIP area.

  Lily’s eyes went wide. “You think Bridget put something in Brianna’s drink?”

  Tess laid it out for her. “You didn’t do it. Brianna and I were dancing. That only leaves Bridget. No one else has been over here tonight besides the four of us and the server.”

  Lily’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve had enough of this.”

  She stood, marched back onto the dance floor, and right up to Bridget. The other woman tried to pull Lily into the dance until Lily pushed her hand away. We couldn’t hear what was said over the music, but neither Bridget nor Lily looked happy by the time Lily walked away.

  “What happened?” Tess asked when Lily rejoined us.

  “I told her she was no longer welcome at my wedding.” Lily downed the water the server had brought in her absence and slammed it down on the table. “Damn. I need something stronger.”

  “I’m sorry.” I hated causing trouble.

  “This is not your fault, Brianna,” Lily said.

  “No. It’s not,” Tess echoed.

  Lily looked around the club. “I’m ready to get out of here. The boys should still be out, so we’d have the house to ourselves.”

  Tess nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

  Lily let the bouncer who’d been monitoring our VIP section know that we were leaving, and then we went out front to catch a cab. It was only around nine o’clock, and there was still a line of people outside the club waiting to get in.

  Everyone was quiet on the ride back to Lily’s. The house was dark when we got here apart from a light in the foyer. We each hung up our coats and slipped off our shoes before making our way into the kitchen.

  Lily pulled two shot glasses out of the cabinet and
poured an amber colored liquid into them. She downed one, handed the other to Tess, and poured herself another.

  I know she said I had nothing to apologize for, but I was still sorry her bachelorette party had been ruined. And that she’d lost a bridesmaid. I wanted to make it better for her, but I had no idea how.

  Stephan

  It was after eleven by the time we pulled up in front of Logan and Lily’s house. We probably would have stayed longer, but the sports bar closed at eleven.

  As we got out of the car, Caleb tripped over his own feet, almost falling into Logan’s hedges. He was drunk and would probably pass out as soon as he was near a bed.

  “Careful. You damage the bushes and Lily will have your head,” Logan said. He was a little tipsy, as was Michael, but they were both still fully in control of their bodily functions. I wasn’t so sure about Caleb. He’d had four beers and I don’t know how many shots on top of the Sex on the Beach he’d originally ordered.

  “Wouldn’t want to do that,” he said, slurring his words.

  We’d been too distracted by Caleb’s lack of coordination that we hadn’t noticed that the girls were back. The club they’d gone to didn’t close until two in the morning, so we hadn’t expected them back so soon.

  Logan unlocked the door and headed into the house. We found Brianna, Lily, and Tess on the couch. Brianna was on one end, curled up in a ball. Tess was at the opposite end with her head tilted toward the sky, and Lily’s head in her lap. They were all sound asleep.

  The four of us stood there staring at them for a few minutes, until Caleb broke the silence. “I need a bathroom.”

  “Down the hall to the left,” Logan said.

  Logan carried Lily up to bed, and then made the guest room up for Tess. Given the two empty wine bottles on the coffee table, they’d both been drinking. Or at least, I hoped it was both. That would be a lot of alcohol for one person.

  Tess was groggy when Logan woke her to tell her he had the guest room ready for her. Luckily, she didn’t fight him on it and followed him upstairs.

  Michael and Caleb were crashing in the basement since neither of them was in a condition to drive and I wasn’t driving all over town at this time of night.