His family would understand if the business wasn’t involved—but it was. Mentally shaking his head, Bryce tried to remind himself that he was jumping the gun. Dinner didn’t mean serious. Dinner didn’t mean a ménage or polyamorous relationship. Just because that’s where his mind was going didn’t mean anyone else would see it that way.
Dinner could mean business meetings or hanging out with friends. Dinner could be casual and innocent. It didn’t have to mean spankings and domination. That’s what came to mind when he thought of dinner with the two of them, but it didn’t mean it had to be that way.
He was so screwed.
“I’m all finished. Are you two ready for dinner?” Dinner, it was just dinner.
“Yes.” They both spoke at the same time, one voice aroused and needy, the other confident but slightly hesitant, if Bryce read Troy right. He couldn’t blame him. It was hard to put himself in the other Dom’s shoes, but he couldn’t imagine how hard it would be to bring someone else into his relationship. They were obviously in love, and they wouldn’t want anything to come into their lives that might fuck it up.
As he led them out of the office and locked up, he tried to focus on enjoying their company and nothing else. They deserved his undivided attention. He was also looking forward to spending time with them. They’d talked multiple times since the club, and no matter what the topic, he got a kick out of both of them.
Troy was so serious but had a dry sense of humor and could get crazy wrapped up in anything sports related. Oliver was cute and loveable and could charm his way into just about anything he set his heart on. Evidently, he’d set his heart on Bryce.
Bryce wasn’t sure how he felt about that.
Flattered?
Yes.
Worried?
Possibly.
He just couldn’t picture it working out in reality like his fantasies had everything playing out. Obsessing over it wouldn’t help. He locked up and walked out the front with them to their car. Luckily, they’d been talking so long everyone else in the office had gone home, so he didn’t have to explain why he was walking out with their new insureds.
The temp would have been confused, but the rest of them would have been able to guess.
He knew he couldn’t hide his interest in either of them.
They were just…hot…perfect…sexy…funny…naughty…in other words, the picture of every fantasy he’d ever had. He was completely screwed.
Oliver walked around to the driver’s side after giving Bryce a tempting, teasing look. Troy gave his boy a tight grin. “In the truck, kitten. I’ll be right there.”
Oliver had a knowing grin, but nodded and climbed in the driver’s seat. Waiting not-so-patiently, he fiddled with things on the dashboard and watched the two men intently. Bryce wasn’t sure what Troy was going to say, but he was relieved he didn’t have long to wait because he didn’t think his stomach could handle it.
Troy turned away from the truck. “You want to do this, right?”
Was he asking about the food or something else? “Dinner or—”
“Everything.” Troy leaned back against the truck looking cool and collected, but Bryce could see the stress around his eyes and in the set of his lips. “If you only want to be friends, we need to know that up front. I’m going to be honest, we’re already more invested in this than you are, I think, and—”
“No, you’re not.” Bryce wasn’t sure what would happen, but he didn’t want Troy feeling unwanted or like Bryce wasn’t emotionally invested in the two men. Because he was. As crazy as it sounded, even to him, that one night changed everything. “I want to be here, and if we’re being honest, I’m not sure how I feel about everything, but you’re not the only one who feels something.”
It wasn’t much, and it definitely wasn’t romantic, but it satisfied Troy. His no-nonsense attitude and guarded exterior made Bryce sense that he’d rather have the truth laid out than anything flowery and dramatic. Oliver, on the other hand, would probably love something romantic. He glanced over at the man in the car, head cocked, looking like he was trying to read their lips.
Bryce got a big grin from Oliver, but he seemed more worried than he had when they were in the office. “If you make him wait any longer he’s going to pop.”
Troy grinned, nodding. “My kitten is very curious.”
“So, Little Italy, or did you guys have another restaurant in mind?” Standing in the parking lot was awkward. He wanted to get back to the more relaxed atmosphere that they’d had before. Sitting down eating seemed like the best way to get there.
“That’s fine.” Troy’s expression turned guarded again. “We need to talk about things before this gets too far.”
His insides felt like they were at war with each other. The firm way Troy was looking at him was making it hard to think. His internal sub wanted one thing and the Dom another. Bryce slid his hands in his pocket to keep from fidgeting and nodded. “I agree. What topics did you have in mind?”
Something flashed through Troy’s eyes, but Bryce couldn’t catch it. “You need to understand what Oliver and I want, and we all need to talk about expectations in a scene and in general. I want to make sure we’re all on the same page.”
“Understandable. And after dinner?”
“We’ll see what comes up at dinner, then we’ll go from there. If you’d like, you can come over to our house for a drink afterward.” Troy seemed to be waiting for Bryce to pull away and make an excuse not to go, but while he knew he probably should, he didn’t want to.
“Sounds good.” He glanced over and gave Oliver a wink to help keep him from worrying. “I’ll follow you over to the restaurant.”
“All right.”
Bryce watched as Troy turned and headed for the passenger side. Walking over to his vehicle, a sedan that looked small when compared to the truck, he got in and turned on the car. He knew Troy was concerned for Oliver, and he couldn’t blame him. Bryce wasn’t sure how long they’d been together or what their story was, but he knew he’d be worried if the situation were reversed.
He just didn’t know what he would say.
He wasn’t even sure what he wanted. Maybe that wasn’t quite true. He could see some of it, but he wasn’t sure it was realistic or the best idea. He knew long-term BDSM relationships could work. His own parents were proof of that. It was when you added in a Dom and a sub to the mix that made it more confusing.
Would they accept that as an answer?
I like the idea of this, but I’m not sure it can work wasn’t the most eloquent response. It was honest, though. That had to count for something.
He hoped for the drive over to magically take longer, but it seemed even shorter than usual. He still hadn’t worked out what to say by the time he’d pulled in and parked beside their truck. Excitement poured from Oliver, making Bryce smile. Even knowing the little brat would try to manipulate him into getting what he wanted didn’t dampen his grin.
Kitten was right.
Opening the car door, he got out and walked over to his dates. Not that he would call it that. Not yet, at least. “I’m starving.”
“Me too.” Troy didn’t look like he was talking about food.
Oliver laughed and smirked. “I’m always hungry.”
Oliver didn’t seem to be talking about food, either.
Bryce shook his head. “Come on, you two. Behave.”
They both gave him little smirks. Oliver’s a bit naughtier and Troy’s a bit more reserved, but still very similar. If they could get through dinner without drawing undue attention to themselves, he was going to count it a win. He wouldn’t bet on it, though.
Chapter 5
Troy
It was going better than he thought it would, but he wasn’t ready to relax yet. Bryce was a little too hesitant for Troy to understand what he wanted. One minute he would look confused and skeptical, the next he would watch them like he didn’t want to let them go.
Oliver had been over the moon with
the way the meeting had gone, and Troy had to agree with him. Once Bryce had found his footing, he’d moved past the awkward phase quickly. They’d gotten a lot of good information, and Oliver’s little stunt had proven Bryce wasn’t just seeing them as potential customers.
They’d had a long talk about flirting and how far things could go without them needing to discuss it more. Troy had wanted Bryce to understand that he didn’t just want his submission, they wanted him to be a true Dom with Oliver as well. It would be a balancing act, but he wanted to make sure Bryce understood that.
He didn’t want Bryce to feel pigeonholed into one role and expected to stay there.
It could work. Bryce just needed to see it.
As they relaxed with their drinks, waiting for the food and eating the breadsticks Oliver loved, Bryce brought the conversation back around to more personal topics. “So how long have you two been together?”
Oliver gave Troy a sweet smile. “Two years as a couple, and before that we dated off and on.”
“Dating as in vanilla dating?” Bryce took a drink of his soda and relaxed back in his seat.
“Sort of.” Oliver shrugged. “We met at a bar and hit it off. It was mostly vanilla for the first couple of months until we both started opening up.”
“It was easy to see that Oliver wasn’t the dominant kind of guy and I liked that, but I wasn’t sure if he’d realized what it could mean.” Troy mentally shook his head at the time they’d wasted not talking about what they really wanted.
“I’d met a few people online that were into BDSM and played around a little, but never anything serious. Troy looked like a total Dom, which was one of the things that had me flirting with him to begin with, but when he didn’t mention the scene, I just pushed it to the back of my mind.” Oliver frowned and started playing with the wrapper to his straw. “We were both trying for a traditional relationship, but wanting something else.”
Troy broke in because he knew Oliver didn’t like this part of their story. “We actually broke up several times over the course of a year, but would always get back together. I was still trying to force myself to ease up on the dominance I really wanted, and Oliver was trying to fight his needs as well.”
He reached under the booth and took Oliver’s hand. “It was never big fights or cheating. We just weren’t happy but weren’t talking.”
A smile broke over Oliver’s face, this time reaching his eyes. “Until that night.”
“What night?” Bryce was leaning forward, elbows on the table, looking curious.
“We hadn’t seen each other in a few weeks at that point. Not long for most people, but at the time it felt like an eternity. I’d met a guy, another sub, who told me about the club. We went one Friday night when they were allowing new people who were curious to come check things out. Well, I’m hanging out with my friend and we’re flirting with some of the Doms. Nothing serious, but it was nice not to fight what I wanted.”
Oliver looked over at Troy and grinned. “My friend started talking about a sexy Dom he saw across the room. I looked over and there was Troy.” Oliver gave Troy a mock frown. “Surrounded by little twinks who were going crazy.”
Troy shrugged. “I didn’t do anything with the twinks. They all looked like I could break them with one thrust.”
Bryce choked on his drink and shook his head. “Then what?”
Oliver laughed. “I very sweetly went over there and told him how surprised I was to see him.”
Troy snorted, almost sending water out his nose. It had to be the biggest reaction Bryce had seen from him. “Sweet? How about we tell him the truth?” He looked over at Bryce. “This sweet sub here made a hell of a scene. Marched right over and demanded to know what the hell I was doing there. He then proceeded to tell me off, saying that if I needed to practice on little twinks to figure out how to be a Dom then fine, but I could come begging him back when I knew what I was doing.”
Bryce laughed so hard he couldn’t breathe. Finally he managed to speak. “Why haven’t I heard this before?”
“There were mostly just new people there. Many of the regular club members don’t go on those nights for privacy reasons. I think Ben and Conner were the only regulars there in the bar area to see it.” Troy let his hand come up to rest on Oliver’s shoulder.
Oliver leaned into his touch and picked up the story again. “I started to storm off dramatically. Pissed doesn’t even begin to describe how angry I was. He’d never mentioned anything about wanting BDSM, but there he was with a dominant band around his arm. It was like waving a red flag in front of a bull.”
“Pot, meet kettle.” Bryce gave Oliver a teasing look.
“Sure, that part is obvious now, but at the time, I didn’t see it that way.”
“I did.” Troy broke in. “I knew right away why he was there, and I was ticked he’d thought to ask strangers to do things to him and not me. So I grabbed his arm and told him that it sounded like he needed a Dom to teach him some manners.”
“What was Ben doing with all this going on?”
“He was dying. Jealous lovers screaming at each other with all those newbies standing around watching? It wasn’t the first impression of BDSM that he wanted to give them.” Troy’s lips twitched at the memory.
“So Troy pulled me against him and somewhere in there called me a brat and said he should teach me a lesson, or something like that. I might have egged him on a bit. Ben was watching all our drama and just stood there while we hollered at each other. I think he understood what was happening faster than we did, really. I was nearly panting, I was so turned on. Troy looked like every bratty sub’s fantasy.” Oliver leaned back against the seat, fanning himself dramatically.
“Between how turned on he made me and how frustrated I was, I couldn’t think.” Troy leaned over and gave Oliver a kiss. “Ben stepped in at that point and asked us if we wanted to talk things out or if we needed to separate.”
“I yelled something about how I wasn’t going anywhere because I wasn’t going to leave my Dom with anyone else.” Oliver’s smile turned wicked. “Ben said that if Troy was my Dom, then I was going to have to behave or Troy would have to punish me. Well, I egged both of them on because by that point, all I could think of was going over his lap. God, that was so hot.”
“I sat down and pulled him over my lap. Gave him a good lecture about screaming at me in public and explained we were both going to talk. Then Ben talked us through Oliver’s first spanking, making sure we were both safe, but also using it as a teaching experience for the newbies. I think some of them thought it was a planned demo, but it turned out all right in the end.”
“All right is an understatement. It was so hot, I came all over his lap.” Oliver shivered at the memory. “Then he had to punish me again later for that.”
Bryce shook his head. “Ben never said anything about it.”
“I think he was trying to keep us from losing it again at the club. Once we started talking and explaining what we wanted and needed out of a relationship, things improved. We learned to be honest with what we were thinking.” Oliver looked over at Bryce with a loving expression on his face. “We both realized how much I liked the exhibitionist part of what had happened and started talking about adding a third to our relationship pretty quickly after that.”
“Having the club helps, but we both enjoy having another with us, and it satisfies the part of Oliver that likes to be watched and to see me with someone else. That was one of the things he hadn’t wanted to tell me about. He was afraid of how it would sound, but it wasn’t something that bothered me.” Troy was watching Bryce as they explained, but he couldn’t tell what the other man was thinking. Did he get it? “It fits us. We like playing, but what we really want is a permanent person in our life. Another lover or boyfriend, whatever you want to call it.”
Bryce took a sip of his drink. He seemed to be rolling things around in his head before speaking. The silence wasn’t long, but it was heavy. “Did you talk about
a switch, or were you thinking of another sub or Dom?”
“It’s not like ordering a hamburger.” Oliver snorted, breaking the tension. “We just talked about meeting someone. Finding a guy that would fit with us, someone we could love.”
Some of Bryce’s tension seemed to fade. Had he thought they were just looking for a switch and he fit the bill? They’d been watching him for a while, and maybe he needed to understand that. “We noticed you a few months ago. You were doing a flogging demo and—”
“And it was so hot we had the best sex ever.” Oliver sighed, giving Bryce a heated look. “Best. Night. Ever.”
The waiter came back over with their food before Bryce could find his voice. Troy was just glad the guy hadn’t come a few seconds earlier. They’d eaten there enough in the past that the restaurant knew to automatically seat them in the back where the tables were more spaced out. Their booth was round and fairly private, set back in the corner, which was a good thing for them.
By the time the food was passed out and the waiter left, Bryce had managed to sort through everything they’d told him. “I saw you that night. You made it hard to concentrate on the guy I was flogging. We weren’t together, it was just for the demo, but even after we were done and I was making sure he was alright, you were still on my mind.”
“I told Troy that we were going to have to thank you. He thought that would be kind of tacky, but now it seems fine. So, thank you.” Oliver beamed, pleased to be able to tease both of them at the same time.
“You’re welcome. It seems like you owe me, though.” Bryce’s words dripped with sex, sending a shiver through Oliver.
“Oh, yes.” Oliver nodded, his mind obviously whirling with naughty thoughts.
“Eat your dinner.” Troy looked over at Bryce, cocking one eyebrow and giving him a stern look. “Don’t encourage him.”
“Is that how this would work?”
Troy wasn’t following the change in topic, but Oliver got it right away. He nodded, swallowing a bite he’d taken. “Yes. He gets all bossy with both of us, but you both get to be all sexy and take charge with me.” Oliver gave him wide Bambi eyes and shrugged like he was confused. “He says I’m a handful, but I just don’t see it.”
Bryce: A M/M/M BDSM Romance (Bound & Controlled Book 4) Page 4