by Leah Brooke
Brenna nodded, blowing out a breath in relief. “Of course.”
Grinning, he turned and headed back inside. “Thanks. I’ll be right back.”
Curious, she moved closer to the window to see the kinds of items he’d put on display. Her mouth dropped open when she saw, in addition to clothing, whips of all sizes and types and several things that she couldn’t even identify.
She even saw leather dildos, their tasteful arrangement in one of the corners making them appear no less threatening.
Wondering what King and Royce had ordered, after all, they appeared to have a vast assortment of whatever they might need already in their playroom, she looked again at the clothing, but her eyes kept going to the dildos in the corner.
When the door to the shop opened again, she stepped back, feigning interest in one of the skirts near the front.
Logan walked out with a package in his hand, wrapped with brown paper and tied with a string.
“Thank you. It shouldn’t surprise me that they guessed your right size. It was nice meeting you, Brenna. Hopefully, we’ll be seeing a lot more of you around here. Ever since Jesse got here, the men of Desire have been finding the perfect women for them left and right. She’s been our good luck charm.”
He smiled, the flash of white only intensifying his masculine good looks, but doing nothing to diminish the aura of power and strength surrounding him. She decided he appeared to be a combination of Royce and King, with some of Royce’s grace and good looks, tempered with King’s strong masculinity.
Smiling, she accepted the package. “Have you found yours yet?”
He sighed, his smile falling slightly. “No. It takes a hell of a woman to put up with the rules in this town. If you ask the women, it’s worth it, but not a lot of women appreciate how the men here take care of them. They call us bossy—and that’s one of the better names they call us.”
He leaned closer, speaking in a stage whisper. “Even some of the women who live here now occasionally claim we’re a little arrogant.”
Brenna had already heard a great deal of it from Nat, and experienced some of it for herself.
Feigning shock, she smiled. “No kidding?” Laughing at his narrowed gaze, she lifted the package he’d given her to her chest, curious about its contents. “You mentioned Jesse. Did you mean Jesse Erickson?”
Inclining his head, Logan smiled. “I did. I see you have a bag from her store. Have you met her?”
“Yes. As a matter of fact, she just hired me. I start the day after tomorrow. She gave me some samples to try.”
“Congratulations. You’d better get back to the club before Royce and King start to worry. Tell them I’ll drop by later.”
Brenna nodded and turned away, turning back impulsively. “May I ask you a question?”
Logan cocked a brow. “Yes. What is it?”
“Do you…I mean…are you…do you…are you looking for a woman? You sounded…I mean, the reason I asked is because you looked so—”
His eyes iced over. “Are you offering yourself?”
Nervous now, she rushed to explain.
“No! Oh, God, I always make a mess of things.” She blew out a breath, and took another before starting again. “I have a friend, one who’s been hurt a lot. When I called her earlier and mentioned that I was here and that I’d found Royce and King…well, she sounded so depressed. I was hoping that once I settled here…I mean if I settle here, she might come for a visit. She’s very nice, but she has this habit of intimidating men, well, kind of like I do—did—until I got here. Nothing seems to intimidate the men here. I thought maybe…”
“That I would like to meet her?” He smiled, the ice replaced with amusement. “Perhaps. I don’t care for blind dates, Brenna. I prefer the hunt. If she’s looking for a man—”
“That’s just it. She’s sworn off men completely. She’s beautiful and smart and, you wouldn’t believe this, but she designs leather clothing for women. I just thought…”
“Interesting. We’ll have to talk about it later.” He gestured over her shoulder. “Royce is coming for you and he doesn’t look too happy.”
* * * *
Brenna walked across the parking lot with Royce. “They’d be perfect together. I mean, I don’t know him very well, but he seemed like the kind of man who isn’t easily intimidated. At least she could meet him. I can’t believe I got the job. Jesse seems so nice. She gave me a bunch of samples to try, but I like the blue raspberry.”
Royce lifted a brow. “That’s not for you to decide.”
“Damn it, Royce. I like the raspberry.” She reached for the bag again, but he pulled it out of her reach.
“Maybe we’ll let you have it. Maybe we won’t. Do you know how worried I was about you?”
“I’m sorry. There was no reason to worry. I talked to Jesse a little while and then when I walked past the leather store, Logan came out to give me that package.”
Gesturing toward the package he held, she touched his arm, thrilled that they’d considered her special enough to buy something for her. “He said that you guessed my right size. What is it?”
Royce grinned, taking her hand and leading her up the steps.
“Something for you to wear when you’re being punished. We figured that as undisciplined as you are, we’re going to have to work really hard to train you. This is guaranteed to turn you into a quivering little sub who’ll do anything not to wear it again. You’ll be begging for relief and just the thought of having to wear it again will keep you in check.”
Brenna laughed, as she figured he’d expected her to, knowing nothing could accomplish all that. “Sure. What’s in that little package is going to do all that. Get real. I’m hungry. Where’s King? I have to tell him that I got the job.”
* * * *
Royce watched her run up the steps, not even bothering with the elevator. He followed at a much more leisurely pace, deep in thought as he nodded in Sebastian’s direction.
He hadn’t wanted to tell her that King already knew she’d been hired. He and King kept close watch on her and had already arranged for Clay, one of Jesse’s husbands, to call when Brenna left the shop.
He smiled when he heard her squeal, figuring she must have found King.
Slowing his steps, he listened to her babbling about all that had happened since she left, ending with a plea that she be allowed to keep the blue raspberry.
Hell, he didn’t care which one she wore, but he wanted to see if she would be capable of deferring to them.
He wanted to know how she would react to not getting her way, if she’d be mad and throw a tantrum, or if she’d use her feminine wiles—wiles she seemed to have forgotten—to change his mind.
He could handle the first, but looked very much forward to the second.
He wanted to claim her, to make her theirs in every way possible, to chain her to them so she wouldn’t stand a chance of escaping.
But it was all about choice. Fearing that what they wanted from a woman would be too much for her, they moved slower with her than they had with any other woman.
Hell, they hadn’t even taken her yet!
The slow teasing had started to tell on both of them, from their short tempers to their insomnia. How the hell could he sleep with his cock so fucking hard it hurt?
Although she was headstrong and opinionated in some areas, she appeared to lack a great deal of confidence in her own sexuality and femininity.
She’d taken some blows in those areas, and it showed.
He and King had long given up on ever finding one woman they could share their lives with, and if he was honest with himself, he would admit that he’d never imagined himself with a woman as naïve or as much of a challenge as Brenna. He pictured himself with someone more experienced in this lifestyle, a woman who knew what would be expected of her and would act accordingly.
He’d wanted a woman who would satisfy the need to dominate, one that would respond to his every touch and who would be eager to please.
He could see the struggle in her eyes, and knew that she gave in when it suited her, just to satisfy her curiosity. She didn’t want their time to end together until she got the answers she was looking for, something he and King couldn’t let her get away with.
He knew that even a look from him had the power to arouse her. He doubted that she knew he could see it, even her inner struggle not to let it show apparent to him.
God, she excited him.
She had the softness, the femininity that his friends had fallen for in the women they married, a softness he’d believed wouldn’t be right for him. Somehow, though, it enhanced her surrender, the power of her passion such a contrast to the softness she struggled to hide.
Feminine to the core and afraid to show it.
Remembering her anger the day she’d met them never failed to excite him. He knew then that she would be something special, but he hadn’t planned to get so lost in her.
It was hard for him to face the truth.
He was scared—gut-wrenching scared—that once he had her, he would never be able to give her up.
If Brenna decided she couldn’t handle this lifestyle, one he knew he could never live without, he would be devastated.
When she’d spoken about belonging to him and King, he’d had the most incredible urge to throw her over his shoulder and run back to the club with her.
He couldn’t get attached to her, though, not the way he wanted to. Keeping some distance between them had to be one of the hardest things he’d ever done, but he needed to protect himself.
So, he and King had used the excuse of the auction as a way to get close to her without committing themselves, an automatic defense mechanism to keep from getting hurt.
He’d only known her for a few days and already he could feel his defenses crumbling down all around him.
Part of him wanted to be easy on her, hoping that she could get through the month, while another part of him wanted to do his worst to her, in the hopes of scaring her away before he became too attached to her.
He could see the confusion in her eyes as he and King went from one extreme to the other, but could do nothing about it. He’d convinced himself that if she ended up being a permanent part of their lives, she would have to deal with the many different levels of submission.
If she couldn’t handle it, they would be better off knowing now.
Because, God help him, he couldn’t change who he was.
It appeared, though, that neither could she, and she had just begun the road to discovery of the kind of life she needed.
He would help her on her journey, teach her what she needed to know and learn her boundaries.
He thought he knew everything about himself and his own needs, but since meeting Brenna, he learned even more.
Before the month ended, he feared—very much—that he would lose his heart.
* * * *
Brenna straddled King, who sat in a big leather chair at his desk, pressing her mound against the large bulge behind his zipper.
“I’m so excited. Jesse seemed really nice.”
King nodded. “Jesse is very nice. Why are you wearing clothes?”
Brenna blinked. “Because I was out.”
King’s hands clenched on her thighs. “I thought you were told to come back, go to your room, strip, and go to the playroom.”
Brenna pouted, alarmed when his eyes narrowed. “I wanted to tell you I got the job. I was excited. I thought you would be happy for me.”
“I am happy for you. Kiss me.”
“What?” Brenna trembled. Other than King brushing his lips over hers in the spa, and the kiss he’d wanted after her spa visit, neither one of them had kissed her. “You want to kiss me?”
His eyes narrowed. “Very much.”
Flattening herself against his chest, Brenna bent forward and touched her lips to his, pushing her tongue against his to gain entrance. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into him, brushing her tongue over his, but once again found her control of the kiss quickly stripped away. King wrapped his arms around her, sweeping her mouth with his tongue and exploring the recesses of her mouth, with a passion and dominance that took her breath away.
She loved it.
When he lifted his head, she slumped against him, her head spinning. “Wow. You’re a good kisser.”
King laughed, slapping her ass. “So are you. Get off my lap and strip. You’ve been dressed all day.”
Rubbing her ass and turned on by both the heat and dominance of it, Brenna crawled off of his lap, need already flowing through her veins.
“Most people spend the day dressed, you know.”
King grinned. “You aren’t most people. You belong to me and I want you to be naked when you’re around me. You’ll be naked more often than not, Red, something you’re going to have to get used to.”
Royce entered the room, tossing both bags onto King’s desk.
“She’ll be working part time. She said she already talked to her friend to send for the rest of her things. We’ll go through them and pick out what she can wear.”
Brenna finished tugging off a sneaker, his words sending a chill through her.
“You can pick what I wear?”
Royce sighed. “You really have no idea what’s expected of you, do you? Of course we’ll pick out your clothing, just like we’ll pick out the scent you’re going to wear. You belong to us, Brenna. Every inch of you is ours to do with as we want.” He glanced at King. “We have a lot of work to do.”
King nodded. “That we do.”
Brenna finished taking off her other shoe and paused with her hands on the fastening of her pants.
“Why haven’t either one of you taken me? Don’t you want me?”
King raised a brow and came to his feet. “If we didn’t want you, Red, you wouldn’t be here. Are you trying to tell me you want my cock?”
She wanted more than that. She wanted all of him. She wanted the chance to be closer. She wanted to break through that distance she sensed between them.
Nodding, she took a step toward him, shooting a glance at Royce.
“I want to be yours. In every way.”
Royce smiled faintly. “That remains to be seen. I’ll be waiting in the playroom.”
Standing with his arms crossed over his chest, King stood patiently, his eyes unreadable.
Brenna didn’t waste any time, throwing her clothes off with abandon and tossing them aside.
Without a word, King gestured for her to precede him.
Walking down the hall, she carefully kept her arms at her sides, once again remarkably aware of her nudity. She found it much different than being naked with a man in a bed. She was naked while they still wore clothing, which already made her feel vulnerable, but on top of that, she had to parade around in front of them.
When she got to the door at the end of the hall, she found Royce waiting just inside, holding out a mask.
“Come here, Brenna.”
“You’re going to blindfold me?”
King slapped her ass from behind. “I think we should gag her, too. You want to use your safe word, Red, do it now.”
“Kiss my ass!”
Brenna froze, slapping a hand over her mouth, horrified at what she’d done. “I’m sorry, King. Shit. I mean, Master. Does it count if we haven’t started yet? Damn it, I forgot.”
More self-conscious than ever, she covered herself, finding it difficult to be so exposed when sex wasn’t involved.
Royce smiled faintly. “Yes, it does. I guess we’re going to have to do something about your memory.” He looked pointedly at her body, and his eyes lingered on her arms she’d instinctively used to cover herself until she dropped them to her sides.
She’d made the
mistake of relaxing around them after being out with them today, and after their teasing when she’d come home from town.
It had been a mistake to take that attitude into the playroom, one she would bet they would make her pay for.
“I’m sorry. It’s hard to be naked when sex isn’t involved. I feel self-conscious.”
King came into the room behind her and closed the door.
“Too bad. When we want you naked, you’re going to be naked.”
Royce moved in behind her and put the blindfold over her eyes, plunging her into complete darkness.
* * * *
Once Royce had her blindfolded, he met King’s gaze and nodded, relaxing just a little.
Christ, she was adorable.
They’d decided to blindfold her tonight in order to build some trust, but also to heighten her senses. With Brenna, that could be an experience to remember.
He didn’t like to admit, even to himself, that they wanted her to wear a blindfold so they could enjoy her tonight, to feast on her, without letting her see their faces.
For tonight, he didn’t want to have to hide his feelings for her, to hide his joy at her responses and his constant surprise at her reaction to what they did to her.
He’d dominated many women in his life and never had such trouble keeping his thoughts and feelings to himself. Most of the women he’d been with had been sophisticated and practiced in submission, but none had ever done so with the abandon that Brenna did—or the fight in getting there.
She shook him, something he hadn’t thought possible. When she’d stormed out the other night, he’d been so surprised, more with himself than with her, that it had been several minutes before he ran after her.
Stunned at himself, he’d stared after her, trying to recover from the kick to the gut he hadn’t been expecting.
Looking at her now as she waited expectantly, her bottom lip trembling, he knew he’d never wanted a woman more.
His hands itched to take her full, high breasts into them, to stroke her pink beaded nipples until she cried out her pleasure. He could almost put his hands around her slim waist, something he imagined doing as he lifted and lowered her onto his cock. Her now-bared pussy begged for his attention, and that rounded ass of hers looked ripe for an erotic spanking.