Heaven
I liked them.
All of them.
It was fun to be around a group of people and not have to worry that they were sitting there judging you. That was the way I felt when I was with my sister, or even with Danny. As though I was going to be called out for doing something wrong at any moment. Perhaps that was why I enjoyed spending so much time with my roommates, even if I didn’t quite understand their … lifestyle.
Okay, so maybe that wasn’t quite accurate. I understood. To a degree. From what I’d ascertained, they were extremely sexual in nature and this lifestyle they gravitated toward was heavily based on intimate sexual desires. Not exactly difficult to figure out.
But there was a unique dynamic, one I clearly didn’t fit into.
Not that I was trying. I had no desire to be bossed around the way Everly and Dante enjoyed. A submissive, I was not. But I did find it all very interesting. The intimidation factor was evident. Isaac and Ian were quite competent when it came to snapping their fingers and getting the desired result. Hell, it was a wonder Everly and Dante weren’t kneeling at their feet while the two men alternated between feeding them and eating.
But the most interesting was the way everyone was looking at me, likely wondering what was going to come out of my mouth next.
“And how do you see the story going?” Ian prompted.
I smiled, chewed, swallowed. “It’s clear you’ve both got a thing for Everly.” I glanced over at her. “Not that I blame you. I do, too. But not like that. Or rather, nothing I’d ever act on, anyway. But whatever.” I pointed my fork at them, shifted it between them. “You’re interested in a male and a female submissive.”
“Good guess,” Ian stated, grinned. “We admitted we were bisexual.”
“That’s not what I mean,” I told him. “I deduced it based on the way you interact with them.”
“Quite perceptive considering it’s only been what? A couple of hours?” Isaac commented.
“Time is irrelevant. I see the way you look at them. Like you want them to strip naked and kneel at your feet.” I felt the heat wash over me. While I was trying to keep this light, it was affecting me in a way I didn’t expect. “So, I’d say you’re Dominants who’ve always wanted to have two submissives who you could share between you. A male and a female.” I met Ian’s gaze. “Am I close?”
“Close,” he acknowledged.
“Where’d I miss the mark?”
“What about you?” Isaac asked, redirecting before his twin could respond.
“What about me?”
“You seem to have left yourself out of this story. How do you fit?”
I waved him off with my fork. “I’m just a fifth wheel. Not even necessary.”
It was clear he didn’t like my response, but I blew right on by, pretending not to notice.
“I’m not a submissive,” I told him. “Plus, I’m bisexual, curious, and only recently single, so sowing my wild oats is about all I’m good for these days.”
“You seem rather focused on Dominants and submissives,” Isaac stated.
“They’ve told me all about it.”
“And it doesn’t intrigue you at all?” Ian questioned before he took a long pull on his beer.
I watched his throat work, admired the column of his neck. He was ridiculously attractive, there was no denying that. But I figured that was the wild oats speaking.
“I didn’t say that,” I admitted, feeling the need to tell him the truth, though why that was, I didn’t know. “Based on what they’ve told me, I find it fascinating. How one person could possibly want to be owned by another.”
“It’s a little more complex than that,” Isaac noted, his distaste for my response evident.
“What does that mean?” I put my fork down.
He took a swig from his beer. “We can discuss later.”
Was that a threat or a promise? And why did he care what I thought about his lifestyle? It wasn’t like he was going to ask me to join in their little orgy, was he?
Wow. Heat bloomed in my core.
Wait.
No.
That wasn’t why I was here. These two belonged to Everly. The last thing I would ever do was overstep like that. She was my friend. And though she spent more time with Dante than I did, I considered him a friend, too.
“What’s wrong?” Everly asked, her pretty eyes locked on me.
“Nothing.” I shrugged it off. “I just…” I glanced at my plate. “I think I’ll get seconds.”
I launched to my feet, grabbed my plate, and made a beeline for the kitchen. I was piling on more noodles when I heard footsteps behind me.
I knew without looking that it was Ian.
Warm hands curled over my shoulders. “Are you okay?”
I relaxed a little but subtly sidestepped his touch. “Yeah. I’m just an idiot.”
He took the plate, set it aside before turning me to face him. I had to tilt my head back to see his face, and when our eyes met, I noticed the lust burning in his gaze.
“Why’re you an idiot?”
I laughed, but it wasn’t funny. “I really am the third wheel,” I told him. “Fifth in this case. But I’ve gotten used to that. I’m always the outsider, the one tagging along.”
His eyes narrowed, his hand curling over my cheek. “In case you haven’t noticed, there’s no inside or outside here.”
“Really?” Was he blind? “I’ve seen the way you look at Everly. I know she’s the one you and your brother want. And Dante…” I threw up my hands but, due to our proximity, ended up swiping across his chest. “Sorry.”
Ian took my wrists, held my hands to his chest. “What about Dante?”
I could hardly breathe with him touching me like that. The way his thumb brushed over my pulse point, it had my body heating and my knees turning to Jell-O.
“I was right, wasn’t I?” I asked, my voice far softer than I intended it to be.
“About?”
“You and your brother. You want two submissives to share.”
“You’re right, yes.”
“And now you’ve found them.”
“Have we?” His eyes implored me, urged me to continue.
I could hardly swallow past the lump in my throat, much less form words, so I continued to stare at him, not sure where this was going.
“How about I tell you how I see this situation?” he prompted.
“Okay.”
“Isaac and I invited the three of you here so we can keep you safe, figure out who’s after you, who attacked Everly and why.” He shifted his head, studying me as he spoke. “There’s no plan here, Heaven. We haven’t abducted you, brought you back here so we can have our wicked way with the three of you.”
“But you’d like to?” I muttered, not meaning for it to come out as a question.
“There’s chemistry. Is there not?”
I swallowed hard. “Yeah.”
“So why don’t we chill, see how it plays out. No expectations.”
I nodded.
After all, what else was I going to do?
FIVE
ISAAC
Sunday, May 26, 2019
I heard the scream, jolted up out of my bed, my gun in my hand before I realized what I was doing, where I was.
Home. Not on the job. There was no threat here.
Setting it back on my nightstand, I glanced at the clock. Three a.m.
Taking a deep breath, I calmed myself, willing my heart to slow. As I did, I stepped out into the hall, listened for the noise that had awoken me, and when I heard it again, I glanced at the door to Everly’s room.
My shoulders loosened as my surroundings became apparent, my adrenaline waning because there was no threat to tackle.
But there had been a scream and it had come from Everly’s room.
Standing just outside her bedroom, I heard her whimper. Not wanting to intrude, I rapped on the door. When she didn’t answer, I opened it, peeked in. Another so
ft whimper came, and I made the decision to go in, screw her privacy.
“No, don’t,” she cried out, her words distorted from the dream that had her trapped within it. More than likely, she was reliving the traumatic events from yesterday.
Placing a gentle hand on her arm, I nudged her. “Everly, wake up. You’re dreaming. Wake up.”
Everly squirmed, kicked at the blankets.
I shook her gently, saying her name over and over until she stilled.
Her eyes opened. Startled and out of breath from the terror of her dream, she sat up, swiping her hair back from her face. Her eyes were wild as they scanned the room, looking for a threat.
When her gaze swung back to me, the wildness I’d witnessed disappeared.
“It was a nightmare,” I told her. “You’re safe here, fairy princess. I won’t let anyone hurt you ever again.”
I cupped her face, lightly brushed beneath the bruise on her face, hating that I could do nothing to heal her.
She nodded.
“Go back to sleep,” I ordered, helping her to lie down before pulling the blankets over her.
She didn’t close her eyes, but she didn’t say anything, either.
“You want some water?” I offered, not sure why I didn’t just return to my own bedroom and go back to sleep.
“No. I’m good.”
I gave her a curt nod and made my way to the door before I did something stupid, like slip into bed with her. I’d told her yesterday that she would make the first move and I meant that. Hell, I needed that.
“Isaac?”
“Hmm?”
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For letting me stay here.”
Me. Not us. Last night, whenever she spoke, she always seemed to incorporate all three of them, as though they were a unit that couldn’t be separated.
“Anytime.”
Since it was too damn early to get up, I forced myself back into my bed, propped up on the pillows, then hit the button to pull the television out of the encasement at the foot of the bed. I was flipping through channels when the door that connected my room to Everly’s opened. She slipped inside, closed it behind her.
“Something wrong?” I asked, not moving from my spot.
She came to stand on the far side of the bed. “May I watch TV with you for a while?”
Saying yes was as natural as breathing, even though there was a slight niggling in my head that said this was a mistake. If I let her in my bed, there was a good chance I would never want her to leave.
“Please, my Liege.”
My eyes shot to her, my heart slamming into my sternum. Not Sir. Not Master.
My Liege.
It sounded right coming from her.
“Come here, fairy princess.” I yanked the blankets back enough for her to climb under them.
As though she had been made just for me, Everly curled up against my side, her head on my shoulder. I doubted she had a good view of the television from her position, but if she didn’t care, neither did I.
While I flipped through the channels with my right hand, I kept my left arm curled around her, playing with her hair. There was nothing sexual about our interaction, yet it felt more intimate than anything I’d experienced before.
We remained like that for the rest of the night. At some point, I drifted off, waking only when I felt her stir beside me.
Not wanting her to slip away, I pulled her in tight to me. We’d shifted positions and I was spooned up against her, her head on my left arm, my right draped over her, her ass pressed intimately against my erection.
“Good morning,” I whispered softly.
“Good morning, my Liege.” Her hand clasped onto my wrist, squeezing gently as though she didn’t want to let me go.
“I’m glad you’re here,” I told her.
“Me, too.”
This woman…
She was everything I’d ever wanted and more than I knew I deserved, yet I had this strange connection to her, as though I’d known her my entire life, not merely for six months during which we’d only had minimal interactions. Then again, I’d seen her in the throes of orgasm, completely vulnerable in every way. And every time I witnessed it, I’d wanted her, ached for her. Now that she was here, I felt this overwhelming need to keep her close.
Sort of like the fairy tale. The Beast had been locked up for so long, without the intimacy he needed. Then she walked in and all was lost. My entire world had slowly started to center on her.
But she was vulnerable, and I had to remember that. What had happened yesterday had set this in motion, and I knew I couldn’t take advantage of the situation. She was a guest in my house, here for her own protection, not because she’d agreed to sleep in my bed.
Though my logical, rational brain knew all of this, I was having a hard time relaying that information to the rest of my body.
Most importantly, my heart.
Everly
I felt Isaac tense behind me. His bicep flexed beneath my cheek. I remembered what he told me yesterday, that I was to make the first move to show him that I wanted all that he was willing to give me.
I wanted to make that move.
It might seem impulsive. No, make that was. It was most definitely impulsive. So? I hadn’t even been here twenty-four hours and I already wanted the sexy, brooding Dom to ravish me.
That was my hormones talking.
But my hormones had never been in charge of my decisions. They spurred my actions, but they weren’t a result of accepting my fate. I was the sort of woman who knew right from wrong and nothing about Isaac and Ian felt wrong. And it wasn’t like I didn’t know them. I did. On an intimate level, sure. But more than that. We’d spent hours together over the past six months, not all of them while I was naked. Though mostly, yes. Still.
My desire for them wasn’t spur-of-the-moment. It had built over time, growing into something that I hadn’t been aware was quite this intense until I ran into them yesterday at Zeke’s. Since then, I couldn’t seem to justify why I couldn’t explore this further, see what might happen.
However, something deep within told me now was not the right time. If I propositioned him, Isaac would think this was purely sexual in nature and I couldn’t allow that to happen. Not after what he’d told me last night.
When his stomach rumbled, I couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you hungry, my Liege?”
I didn’t know why I got such great pleasure in calling him that. I’d seen his face when I first said it, recognized the warmth that had radiated from him upon acceptance. And it felt so right. My Liege, the man I wanted to serve for the rest of my days. I’d never felt for anyone the way I felt for him and Ian. But here in this room, Ian wasn’t the one I was thinking about. Only Isaac. And there was something between us, a connection I knew had to be explored.
“Starving,” he mumbled, his whiskers brushing against my cheek as he buried his face in my neck.
His warm breath fanned my skin, made my nipples pebble. My body ached for him, but I knew I couldn’t advance this. Not yet.
I gave his arm a gentle squeeze, loving the way he’d kept me close to him all night.
“May I make you breakfast?” I offered.
He lifted his head, and I turned, staring up at him.
The smile he gifted me with hit me square in the chest.
“How about I make you breakfast?”
I smiled back. “Okay.”
His eyes dropped to my lips but didn’t remain there long before he was unwrapping himself from around me.
“While I get it started, why don’t you get dressed? Meet me in the kitchen.”
“Of course.”
I watched as he grabbed a pair of shorts from the back of a chair, slipped them on over his boxer briefs before disappearing from the room.
I couldn’t stop smiling, even as I raced to the bedroom I was supposed to be sleeping in. I exchanged my tank top and sleep shorts for the same T-shirt and sh
orts I’d had on last night, then brushed my teeth, my hair. I studied the ugly bruise on my face, gently poking at it. It hurt, but a lot of the swelling had gone down. It was definitely black and blue, but I was hopeful it would fade in the coming days.
By the time I made it to the kitchen, I could smell bacon.
I was temporarily rendered immobile when I came upon Ian and Isaac working side by side on the other side of the island. Isaac was cracking eggs into a bowl while Ian was flipping bacon on the stove.
They both looked up at once.
“There she is,” Ian said with a sexy smirk. “Come over here, little fairy. Keep us company.”
To my surprise, my legs worked as I moved toward them.
Ian patted the countertop on the center island.
Before I could try to hop up, he lifted me easily, setting me on the cold granite.
“Since you’re vegetarian and not vegan, I’m making pancakes for you,” Isaac stated as he turned to another bowl he was adding oil to.
“How did you know?” I asked, glancing between the two of them.
Ian was the one who answered. “You didn’t have a problem with egg noodles, but you bypassed the beef tips last night. Educated guess, you could call it.”
I laughed. “Good guess. I do eat eggs and dairy.”
“I assume that makes Dante a vegan?” Ian asked.
Wow. They were far more perceptive than I’d given them credit for. “It does.”
He smiled. “One of the reasons you call him panda bear, huh?”
I nodded. “PB for short. That and because he’s beautiful, has such endearing qualities, and as far as I’m concerned, he’s an endangered species. Not many as sweet as him in the world.”
Isaac was staring at me. “You love him.”
It wasn’t a question, but I felt compelled to confirm. “Yes. I do.”
Ian winked. “Good to know.”
They worked side by side easily, picking up where the other left off multiple times. It was thrilling to see their unique dynamic. Though I’d known twins, I’d never seen two who were quite as connected as they were. It was almost eerie.
“Do I smell bacon? Please tell me I do.” Heaven stumbled into the room, her hands working to pull her hair back.
“You definitely do,” Ian said with a grin. “Sleep well?”
Their Fairy Princess (Office Intrigue Book 7) Page 6