Engineering Her Racy Pleasure [Racy Nights 11] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Tara Rose

  She brushed her hand up and down his arm. “I’m so sorry.”

  “I’m not.” He gazed into her eyes with what could only be called love, and Harper’s heart nearly stopped. “If it hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t be here with you right now.”

  His words eerily echoed her own thoughts earlier, and as he pulled her into his arms, Harper drifted off to sleep. She was the luckiest woman alive, and she was never going to do anything to lose these two. She’d make sure of that.

  She also knew at that moment that she was going to fall in love. No question about it. But right now she welcomed that. She wanted to be there.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Lee woke to the smell of coffee and eggs frying. Mason was still asleep, but where was Harper? Had she made them breakfast? “Sweet,” he muttered, crawling out of bed. He used the bathroom, then padded across the hall to his own room and threw on a robe. When he returned to Mason’s room, she had just walked in, wearing a pink tank top and a pair of shorts. She looked so damn sexy that his cock jumped to attention despite being sore as hell.

  “Breakfast is ready. Or rather, I guess since it’s after noon it’s really lunch, but I made breakfast food. I hope that’s okay. I sort of found my way around downstairs.”

  He chuckled and pulled her close. “Of course it’s okay. You live here now. But we need to go and wake up Mason because if we let him sleep this long, and through a meal yet, he’ll be a bear all day.”

  She woke up Mason, and then the three went downstairs. She’d prepared a feast. There were eggs, bacon, toast, and fresh fruit. She also had made coffee, and it was damn good. He and Mason attacked the food like they hadn’t eaten in a week. If Lee felt sore and weak this morning, Mason must feel the same way, but delicious food would help that, as would the coffee.

  Harper ate, looking so damn relaxed that he wondered if he’d hallucinated the entire evening. How could she even walk? As every scrumptious detail of their play in the club and then the sex upstairs came rushing back, he also recalled telling her about Andrea and Brady.

  He’d almost said the words after that confession. He’d almost told her that he loved her. He had no clue when it had happened this past week, but he knew it was real and true. He also knew what he’d felt for Andrea had never been like this. This tore at his gut and made him want to look at pictures of rainbows, kittens, and unicorns. It was both exhilarating and torture, because he had no clue if she’d ever feel the same way.

  This girl was everything he’d ever wanted Andrea to be. He understood now that he’d tried so hard to mold her into something he wanted her to be, instead of getting his head out of his ass and realizing who she actually was. But he wasn’t walking around with blinders on this time.

  Harper was funny, bright, sexy as hell, and when she looked into his eyes or touched him, he wanted to collapse in her arms and stay there for the rest of his life. At the same time, she was vulnerable and had so little self-confidence that he wanted to protect her. He wanted to give her everything she’d been denied in life, and make all her wishes come true. She fed his need to cherish and guard a woman.

  That was the part about a Dom that he loved. Being able to stand up to the lions of injustice that threatened his sub, and ward them off for good. He wanted her to feel good about herself. She was so damn sexy, and he wished she knew that. He would give that to her. He would help her reach that place, even if it took the rest of her life.

  As she laughed at something Mason said, Lee snapped out of his reveries. He knew he was in love Harper. That much was a given, But where did that leave Mason?

  Did he love her, too? He’d known Mason all his life and he’d never so much as hinted that he was in love. He kept his heart so guarded that there were days Lee wondered what the hell had happened to him as a child that he’d hidden from everyone. Then again, his family wasn’t exactly warm and fuzzy. Maybe he had simply been raised that way? But his cousin seemed very happy. Cameron Sinclair shared Olivia as a sub with Storm, and they exuded bliss. Plus, Olivia had a baby now.

  Would he ever have that? Would he have children with Harper? Would Mason want the same thing that his cousin had? To share a sub as a lover and a life partner? There were ten triads in Racy now that were doing exactly that, and if any of the subs or Doms had misgivings, or were having relationship trouble, he and Mason hadn’t heard about it.

  But what if Mason wanted no part of what the others had? They’d never discussed it. They’d discussed having sex with a woman at the same time, but nothing long term had ever entered those conversations. It would have to do so now. Lee was in love, and nothing would change that. He knew that as certain as he knew his own name.

  * * * *

  Harper couldn’t seem to stop talking. She’d never felt so free or alive. The content didn’t matter. She simply chattered away, jumping from subject to subject. When one of them mentioned a shop downtown, she skipped to that. “So, now that the buildings are nearly done downtown, what’s next? Didn’t you say they were having a celebration?”

  Mason nodded, his mouth clearly full of food, but Lee spoke regardless of his being full as well. She didn’t even mind. Table manners were the last thing on her mind right now. “May third.”

  “That’s the anniversary of the tornado, right?”

  “Yep.” A piece of bacon fell out of his mouth and landed in his lap. Harper laughed, but Mason gave him a look of disgust.

  “Dude, show some restraint.”

  “I don’t care,” said Harper. “You’re enjoying it, and that’s all that matters. You two make me so happy. I’ve never felt this way.” She stopped talking and stared at both of them, afraid she’d gone too far, but they both grinned like they’d just been told they’d won the lottery.

  “You make us happy, too,” said Mason. “And thank you for all this. You didn’t have to do it.”

  “I know. I did it because I wanted to. And aren’t subs supposed to serve their Doms? Doesn’t that include cooking for them?”

  Lee punched Mason in the arm. “See? She likes to cook for us. Don’t tell her she doesn’t have to do this.”

  “She’s not the maid.” He turned his attention toward Harper. “You don’t have to do anything unless we negotiate it as part of our relationship. But seriously, thank you. You may cook for us anytime you’d like.”

  “Translation,” said Lee. “You may make all our meals from now on.”

  He winked and she laughed. The way these two bantered back and forth made her feel warm and comfortable inside. They were such good friends, but it was nice to see their differences come out as well.

  They’d also said a lot of things that made her wonder where they saw this going, but she wasn’t sure if she should ask. Still, that was the mistake she’d made with Dennis. She’d never told him she was uncomfortable with the fact that most of their so-called relationship took place from nine to five. Not that it excused what he’d done, but she’d never stood up for herself or told him she wanted more than stolen sex at the office.

  She swallowed her food, took a large sip of coffee, and then looked them both in the eyes. “You said this is a relationship. And you mentioned me being a sub. Is that what I am? Your sub? Are you two my Doms?”

  Lee looked confused for a second, and Harper wished she’d kept her big mouth shut. Mason looked a bit uncomfortable, but then that expression was gone so quickly she wondered if she’d imagined it. He put down his coffee cup and gazed at her with such a serious expression that she fought not to cry. She’d blown it.

  * * * *

  Mason wanted that so badly, and now that she’d put it out there, he could hardly breathe. “Is that what you want? Do you want to make it official?” If she didn’t say “yes” he’d die.

  “I don’t know,” she whispered. He wasn’t sure what was going on inside her head. She looked like she was going to cry, and that confused him even further.

  “Why don’t you know?”

  “Because I don’t know
what you two want.” She sighed, and Mason realized what an effort that had taken her to say. My God. Didn’t she know? Couldn’t she see it? What had that asshole done to her that she had zero self-confidence?

  He’d made too many mistakes with women in the past, not opening up to them about anything. He was not going to let that happen with Harper. She was everything he’d ever fantasized about, wrapped up in the curviest, sexiest body he’d ever seen.

  She was kind and warm, and the vulnerability in her made him want to take her into his arms and hold her tightly until he felt the fear slip away. How could any man treat her with anything less than total respect? How could someone not want to be with her?

  Mason rose to walk around the counter toward her at the same time Lee did, and as he gazed into his friend’s face, he realized that Lee felt the exact same way about Harper as he did. He was in love with her already. Why hadn’t he seen that before now?

  They embraced her together, she cried, and then she started to laugh. Mason stroked her hair and back while Lee paid attention to her beautiful face, wiping away the tears.

  “I feel like an idiot.”

  “Please don’t,” they said together.

  “You’re not an idiot,” said Mason. “You need some serious confidence boosters, but you’re definitely not an idiot.”

  “Of course we want you to be our sub,” said Lee. “This isn’t playtime for us. We’re very serious about this. How many women do you think we’ve just moved in here with us?”

  “Try none,” said Mason. Should he tell her that he’d never felt this way about any woman before? No. It was too soon for that. She was overwhelmed simply by this conversation, which he’d incorrectly assumed was a given. If he told her he was head over heels in love with her, he might scare her off.

  And besides…he and Lee needed to talk first. They needed to figure out how this was going to work. Just because some of their friends made it work didn’t mean they could. He wasn’t even sure Lee was over what Andrea had done to him. If they weren’t on the same page, they couldn’t very well tell her something monumental like that.

  Mason had never said the words. He’d never told a woman that he loved her. And he wasn’t going to unless he knew it was forever. Unless he was sure that giving his heart away was mutual. And complicating this was Lee’s involvement.

  He was fine with sharing Harper. She was more woman than he could handle, and he didn’t mean that as a slam on her sexy curves. She was intelligent, funny, and vibrant. She overflowed with her love of life, and her spontaneity. Lee was his best friend and had been since they were kids. It didn’t seem right not to share this amazing woman who had stumbled into their lives. But he had to be sure that Lee was okay with this, because he’d cut off an arm before he’d hurt Harper.

  “I don’t know what to say.” Her voice was still too shaky for his comfort.

  Mason moved in front of her so that he could look into her eyes. “You’ve already said it.”

  “You two can’t be real.”

  He cut gaze toward Lee for a brief second. “That’s how we both feel about you.”

  Lee took a deep breath. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to us. Don’t you know that?”

  She blinked a few times, her face lit up like they’d just told her the most amazing secret on the planet, and then she leaned into Lee’s embrace. He stroked her back for a few seconds then asked her what she’d like to do for the rest of the day.

  “Well…um…I’d love to go someplace local with both of you. A place where your friends hang out, but not Nan’s. I hope that’s okay.”

  “Yeah, it’s fine,” said Mason. “Nan’s is nice because everyone is always there, but the food is not exactly high cuisine. There’s only one place here that has palatable food, but we’ve already taken you there.”

  “How about Luke’s Bar?” asked Lee. “Not great food either, but a lot of fun. In fact, let’s make some calls and see if some of the others can meet us there.”

  Her face brightened up so much that Mason expected her to start clapping her hands. “Really? That sounds perfect.”

  “Then that’s what we’ll do.” Mason gave her ass a hard smack, which he immediately regretted, because his dick grew rock hard. It was so sore now that all he wanted to do was shove it into a bucket of ice. “Go take a shower, sub. And think about us while you’re in there because later, when we get home from the bar, we’re going to do more devious, dirty things to you.”

  She actually squealed in delight as she ran up the stairs. Mason waited until he heard her walking around on the second floor, then he began to load the dishwasher. “Guess I should have asked her to clean up first.”

  Lee smiled, but the emotion didn’t reach his eyes. “You okay with this?”

  “Yes. But I’m worried about you.”

  “Don’t be.”

  Mason finished loading the dishwasher, and then once he started it, he turned to face Lee, who had crossed his arms and leaned against the counter. A sure sign he was anything but okay. “Are you sure you’re over what Andrea did to you? You need to be. I know I don’t need to tell you that. But this girl is being cyber-stalked and she just moved here. She needs stability right now.”

  “I know that.”

  “We’ve thrown a lot of shit at her all at once.”

  “I didn’t turn the car around Thursday night and announce that she was moving in.”

  Mason sighed. That had been impulsive. Too impulsive. But he didn’t regret it. He’d gone with his gut and doing so had never failed him before. “I know. But she’s here now. Do you wish she wasn’t?”

  “Hell no. I’m thrilled that she is.”

  “Me, too. But I agree that we have to be careful. This Avery guy is in Racy. She knows that. He’s threatened her in e-mails and has had his friends harass her. And now we’ve just told her we want her to be our sub. It’s a lot for anyone to handle in one week.”

  “It is.” Lee pushed away from the counter and began to pace.

  “What’s bugging you? Talk to me.”

  “It’s scary.”

  “Sharing her, or feeling what you’re feeling for her?”

  Lee didn’t turn around right away, but Mason saw his body stiffen. When he finally did, Mason wished he hadn’t spoken so sharply. The poor guy was so conflicted. “I care about her. A lot. More than I ever thought possible in such a short time. But I can’t pretend the fact that her ex has driven to another state to find her doesn’t bug the shit out of me.”

  Mason let out the breath he’d been holding. They had a common concern, and Mason was grateful that it wasn’t whether or not they could do this. Whether they could share her. “It bothers me, too. But we’ve let Sean know and that’s all we can do right now. Avery won’t get to her here. I dare him to try.”

  “I know that. But how can we expect her to move forward with this relationship until that’s settled?”

  “We can’t.” Mason knew that Lee was right, but until he’d voiced it out loud, it had been easy to pretend one issue had nothing to do with the other. “We can’t. But I’m going to enjoy our time with her, regardless. I’m not going to let some asswipe stop me from taking her outside this house.”

  “I agree. She shouldn’t have to hide. But we have to be careful and go slow. We don’t know where her head is on this. And I don’t want to dwell on it with her. We can’t pile too much on her at once or she’ll think we’re both nutcases.”

  Mason nodded several times. He knew Lee was right. And now that he understood Lee’s hesitancy had nothing to do with Andrea and Brady, he also saw the logic in it. They’d only known her a week. And Mason had never had a cyber stalker, but he could imagine how unsettled and afraid Harper felt. To toss anything else on her plate right now might push her away completely. “Okay. We’ll be careful and go slow because I care about her, too. Very much.”

  Very much. He was in love, and there was no point in pretending he wasn’t. But Mason was
fine with that. He was more than fine with that. He was thrilled to be there.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Harper couldn’t help checking her laptop after her shower, and she smiled when there were no new e-mails or Facebook posts. She dressed in jeans and a pretty top, only because she wasn’t sure what they planned to do all afternoon, or if they were going to the bar right away. They’d all slept so late, but she wasn’t complaining. Last night had been the most erotic, exciting night of her life, and she couldn’t wait to be at the club or in bed with them both again.

  She sprinted down the stairs to find them still in the kitchen, and if their body language and the heavy feeling in the air were any indication, they’d been discussing something serious.

  Mason headed for the hallway. “I guess I should take a shower, too. We both still smell like sex.”

  “I like smelling like sex.” Lee winked at her, but the emotion in his eyes wasn’t the same as usual. What had they been talking about? “But I’ll go take one, too. Make yourself at home, beautiful. We won’t be long, and then we’ll take you out and show you our lovely town.”

  “Sounds like fun.” She watched them both leave and almost ran after them. Was everything okay? Had they been discussing her? Surely they didn’t regret last night, did they? No. Less than half an hour ago they’d asked her to be their sub. Whatever they were talking about probably had nothing to do with her. She was being paranoid and falling back on previous experiences. Lee and Mason weren’t Dennis. They were never going to treat her like he had. That was over.

  Except that he was still driving around Racy. What if Sean couldn’t find him? What if he showed up at Notus, or tried to get onto the grounds here? What if they walked around town this afternoon and spotted him?

  She dropped into the nearest chair and rested her chin in her hands. Every euphoric feeling she’d had since walking into the club last night deflated as if they’d been balloons, and someone had popped them all simultaneously.