by Mia Ashlinn
The Doms of Kinky, Kansas 1
Bound by Love’s Gravity
Love is gravity—inescapable, undeniable, and impossible to resist.
Sarah Matthews can’t escape her feelings for the man she’s loved her entire life any more than she can elude the emotions his partner stirs inside her.
Deke Andrews is unable to deny his craving for the woman he won’t take as his own, just as he is incapable of restraining the hunger his lover rouses within him.
Adam Stanton is the man caught between them, the man who knows resisting the passion he feels for his lover and the most enchanting woman he’s ever known is futile.
When these three succumb to the powerful pull linking them, they don’t anticipate the fire they’re igniting. As their lust burns out of control, their love binds them tightly together. The tie is stronger than the bondage rope the Doms take pleasure in wielding. But will their connection save them from a deranged man desperate to defy love’s gravity?
Genre: BDSM, Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre
Length: 73,745 words
BOUND BY LOVE’S GRAVITY
The Doms of Kinky, Kansas 1
Mia Ashlinn
MENAGE EVERLASTING
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting
BOUND BY LOVE’S GRAVITY
Copyright © 2013 by Mia Ashlinn
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62242-583-9
First E-book Publication: February 2013
Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
Dear Readers,
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Regarding E-book Piracy
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This is Mia Ashlinn’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Ashlinn’s right to earn a living from her work.
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DEDICATION
For my wonderful husband. You and I are as different as night and day yet we found each other. We became friends then we became more. Over time, we fell in love, got married, and had a child. To me, that is proof alone that love is like gravity. So, thank you for inspiring me once again. This book is because of you. Just like every book I have ever written and every book I’ll ever write is because of the love you’ve given me.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
—John Fitzgerald Kennedy
First of all, I want to thank a group of people who have supported me and loved me since before I wrote my first book. To the Righteous Perverts, you all light up my life, and I will never be able to express how much your friendships mean to me.
To my partner in naughtiness, Tina, I feel very blessed to have found a friend in you. Goodness knows that I couldn’t do all I do without you around. Having a beta and assistant who I know I can trust with anything is a beautiful thing. So, thank you. Thank you for kicking me in the butt when I need it. And thank you for supporting me when I feel overwhelmed or stressed out. But most of all, thank you for brainstorming with me and being honest with me, even when you know I won’t necessarily like what you have to say. It means a lot to know that I can always count on you.
To Luna, thank you for the goodies you’re always making me. They are so awesome. And it thrills me to death to get them. But even more than that, thank you for your friendship. You’re such a beautiful person inside and out.
To Tara, I want to thank you for being such a wonderful beta. When I send you a book, I always know that it is in capable hands. I can’t tell you how invaluable that is for me. And as always, thank you for your friendship.
To my Facebook friends, you know who you are, thank you for being you. You’re beautiful and wonderful and a blessing I never expected to find.
To my readers, thank you for taking yet another journey with me.
Finally, every book I publish is thanks to Diana DeBalko, my editor Jackie, and all of the Siren staff. So, I want to make sure to thank you all.
BOUND BY LOVE’S GRAVITY
The Doms of Kinky, Kansas 1
MIA ASHLINN
Copyright © 2013
Prologue
With a deep frown, Sarah Matthews carefully cupped the sides of the coffee mug sitting on the kitchen table in front of her. Despite the sweltering heat radiating off the ceramic, she lifted the cup to her lips, pausing just in front of her mouth when she noticed the excessive amount of steam wafting upward.
Sighing, Sarah wondered why the darn chamomile tea wouldn’t cool down just a little bit faster. It felt as though she’d been sitting in this horribly uncomfortable kitchen table chair for hours on end. Although, that was partially true.
Since last night, Sarah had drifted quietly from room to room, praying she didn’t wake anyone. More often than not, she’d wound up resting her exhausted legs and wiping her gritty eyes in the cold chair as she let the stress and anxiety gnaw at her.
For Pete’s sake. I need a drink. Knowing she wasn’t one to imbibe alcohol, she needed a sip of this soothing brew to ease her troubles. Not to mention she craved the heavenly taste of the floral finish of her favorite nighttime tea. She desired
the feel of the delicate sweetness dancing over her taste buds, enveloping her senses. Maybe then, she would be able to relax and make some actual decisions about her life. Not that she was convinced it would work, but she was desperate.
Yesterday at Thanksgiving dinner, surrounded by family and friends, life had been simpler. For the first time since her attack nine months ago, the world had made sense. And in a split second, amidst their love and laughter, she’d realized she was ready to move on from the pain of the past. She’d understood she was finally strong enough to break out of the chains her ex-boyfriend’s torture had bound her in. But this morning, she wasn’t so sure. Today, she was scared—again.
Not scared. Just confused. Gosh darn it.
Shaking her head, Sarah had no clue what to do or where to start. At the moment, all she did know was she didn’t want people to fix this problem for her. She had to do this on her terms, in her own way.
Since the night Gavin Holloway had kidnapped her, beaten the crap out of her, and tied her to a tree on the side of the road, she’d been coddled. Everyone around her treated her like she was fragile, as though she would break at the teeniest touch. Well, no more. She was sick and tired of being the child everyone had to protect and take care of. She was a grown woman for goodness’ sakes.
With another sigh, Sarah lowered her cup to the hardwood table and picked up the spoon lying next to it. Dropping the spoon in the mug, she cringed at the noisy clank the silver made as it connected with the ceramic. Mother of the man in the pickle suit. I’m going to wake the whole freaking house up.
And Sarah didn’t want that. The last thing she needed right now was Deke Andrews or Adam Stanton coming to her rescue. The two Doms she loved would only confuse her more than she already was. What they made her feel would cloud her judgment and muddle her mind. No, she didn’t need that. Not right now.
“Damn, that was loud,” an unexpected feminine voice whispered from the doorway.
Sarah jumped at the sound of Kylia Katz’s voice. “What are you doing up at this hour?” Sarah asked, the words bursting from her lips as her eyes flew to where Kylia stood in all her gorgeous glory.
At five foot, ten inches, the blonde was perfection personified. She looked like a supermodel who’d just stepped out of a fashion magazine. Her body had graceful lines and gentle, sweeping curves. And her face was flawless. The fascinating green eyes, full lips, and high cheekbones she’d been blessed with were slightly intimidating to a woman like Sarah, who was the polar opposite.
Unlike Kylia, Sarah was a brunette. Her warm brown-colored hair hung to just below her shoulders, the soft waves constantly tickling her as the tips brushed her collarbone. And she was petite in comparison, very much so. Or she seemed short whenever she stood by the beautiful, lithe blonde woman. Of course, Sarah’s face was more girlish than Kylia’s, not nearly as sophisticated, and Sarah didn’t have an elegant bone in her body.
“I was up working out in the gym,” Kylia replied. “Can’t you tell?” She looked down at her body pointedly. It was then that Sarah realized Kylia’s skin glistened with sweat, her hair was piled into a bun on the top of her head, and she wore a skimpy sports bra with a matching pair of spandex shorts.
Whoops. Feigning nonchalance, Sarah snatched the spoon back up with trembling hands, swishing it from side to side as she stirred. She ignored the soft, steady clinks of the silverware caressing the sides of the ceramic. Instead, she allowed her eyes to fall. Staring into her drink so she didn’t have to meet Kylia’s too-observant eyes, Sarah apologized, “Sorry. I was just thinking.” Crapola on a stick. Wrong thing to say to a psychologist.
Predictably, Kylia tiptoed to the table and joined Sarah. “Want to talk about it?” she asked.
Still not glancing at Kylia, Sarah cleared her suddenly dry throat. “I thought you weren’t my therapist any longer.”
For months, Sarah had worked one-on-one with the resident therapist at Deke and Adam’s BDSM club, The Edge, until Kylia had released her from her care. Not because Sarah was better but because Kylia felt they’d grown too close. She’d said it was a bad idea for them to blur the lines of a close friendship and a doctor-patient relationship. So she’d suggested a colleague of hers as an alternative.
“I’m not,” Kylia murmured as she covered Sarah’s cold hand with her much warmer, slightly sticky one. “I’m asking as your friend, Sarah.”
The compassion in Kylia’s voice touched Sarah, more so than normal. Now that they were only friends, it meant a lot to Sarah to know that Kylia was doing and saying these things because she wanted to and not because she had to.
Powerless to combat Kylia’s kindness, Sarah was compelled to talk to her friend about what was going on. Taking a deep, cleansing breath, she started talking in spite of her embarrassment. “W–W–Well,” Sarah stammered as a blush crept into her cheeks, causing them to flame as furiously as the drink on the table. “I…uhh…have come to a conclusion.”
“And?” Kylia inquired, clearly pressing for more information but not pushing beyond Sarah’s personal boundaries. “What is it?”
Desperate for a distraction, Sarah clasped the coffee mug by the handle then raised it to her lips. This time she didn’t waste a second worrying about the heat. She simply tipped the cup up and took a large gulp. Not surprisingly, the blazing-hot liquid scalded her tongue before burning an excruciating path down her esophagus.
Grimacing, Sarah dropped the cup. The liquid sloshed onto the table, but she didn’t care. She was too busy fanning her mouth, grumbling at her own stupidity.
Next to Sarah, Kylia surged to her feet. “Let me get that,” she said as she stalked across the room to get paper towels. In a jiffy, she returned and mopped up Sarah’s spilled tea. Laying the roll of paper towels on the table, she sat back down. “Now that that’s taken care of, let’s talk.”
Sarah lifted her eyes to Kylia’s face. Though, she didn’t quite meet her gaze. “I lost myself when I was with Gavin. You know that, Kylia. Being controlled and abused by a psychotic man who claimed to be a Dom would do that to anyone. But he wasn’t a Dom. I’ve seen Doms, real Doms, in Kinky and at The Edge. None of those men would ever do what Gavin did to me.”
Kylia nodded. “You’re right. A Dom protects his sub. He doesn’t degrade them or mistreat them. And he definitely doesn’t damage them. Not like Gavin did to you.” Without warning, Kylia’s face changed, growing severe and as hard as granite. Her eyes glittered with unconcealed fury before she spat, “That prick was not a Dom. He was a twisted sadist bent on terrorizing a loving, giving woman. He took advantage of your submissive nature, Sarah. And that was wrong of him.”
Unable to hide her embarrassment, Sarah looked away. “I know,” she replied quietly. “He was wrong. But then again, so was I. I blindly allowed him to do whatever he wanted to me. I let him tell me how to live my life. I gave him the right to control who I was. And I shouldn’t have done that. I didn’t know him. Not really. Heaven knows that I didn’t love him. I’m not even sure that I trusted him all that much.”
“You weren’t wrong,” Kylia countered. “You were just…”
“Naive?” Sarah supplied. Her lips quirked at the corners then lifted up in a half smile. “Yes, I was. But I’m not anymore. Now I know better.”
Kylia’s tight expression fled, and she returned Sarah’s smile before murmuring, “That’s good. I think you’re on the right track.”
Sarah’s stomach clenched anxiously. “There’s more to it than getting back on the right track, Kylia. I want to find myself. I want to know who and what I am. If I’m strong then I want to be strong. If I’m weak then I want to accept that I’m weak. But I can’t stand being empty anymore. I can’t bear to not know the person deep inside me.”
Kylia’s eyes swept across Sarah’s face as though assessing her, but she said nothing.
Unnerved by the intensity in her friend’s gaze, Sarah squirmed. “And the only way I can learn about myself is by exploring every part
of me, even the things I’ve suppressed over the last twelve months. That includes the submissive side I swore never to delve into again.”
“But you said you wouldn’t become involved in BDSM again,” Kylia reminded her.
Sarah nodded her agreement. “I know. However, things have changed.”
“I can see that,” Kylia quipped, grinning.
Sarah took a deep breath. “Things are about to change even more.”
“How so?” Kylia asked.
“I’m going to get an apartment in Kinky.”
Kylia laughed mockingly. “That’s going to go over well with Deke and Adam.”
Tough cookies. “They’ll just have to get over it.”
Kylia snorted. “Yeah, right, sure.”
“They aren’t my Doms,” Sarah said defensively. “And the club isn’t my home. I have to set up roots somewhere.”
“Are you going to ask them to be your Doms?”
Sarah flushed before quickly glancing away. “Yes…I think…maybe…if I can work up the courage.”
Kylia shifted, leaning back in her seat. She crossed her arms over her chest then set her contemplative eyes on Sarah. “Are you sure you want to do all of this at once? Do you really think you’re ready?”
That was the million-dollar question. Was she ready?
“I think so.” Sarah answered both herself and Kylia. “I can’t say I know for sure because I don’t know the future. But I have to do something, something big. Living like this…it’s a waste. I don’t want to spend my entire life hiding, pretending that Gavin didn’t hurt me.” She sighed. “He did hurt me. He almost destroyed me. Seeing those pictures reminded me of that fact.”