Us: Book Three in The Everett Gaming Series

by Drew Sera

  I shook my head at Matt’s camera.

  “What? I think this is going to be a Kodak moment. It’s not everyday that my best friends fall in love and have collared their perfect girl, and are taking her to her first Christmas party with dancing. This is great. I feel like a dad sending his boys off to a dance.” He set the camera down on the coffee table. “Seriously guys, I’m happy for you. All three of you. You guys deserve happiness, and I know that girl will make you both very happy for years to come. Your ceremony was incredible last night. What you guys said to Sydney was thoughtful and heartfelt. Everyone that was there in the dungeon halls could feel your sincerity, love, and devotion.” Matt pulled me into a sappy hug and caught Anthony off guard with a equally sappy hug.

  “Thanks, dad. Can I borrow the family car? I’m going to fuck that girl hard tonight after the dance in the back of it,” Anthony teased.

  The three of us laughed hard as Gina came down the stairs and smiled at us excitedly and clapped her hands anxiously.

  “She’ll be right down.”

  Matt got his camera ready, and I handed the earrings in the velvet box to Anthony to hold. We heard her heels on the wood floor, and then she appeared and my heart stopped. She came down the steps and stopped on the second step from the bottom. She was glowing. Gorgeous and happy. She wore our collar with pride. This was our girl. Anthony and I stood in front of her and our eyes were going a mile a minute.

  Her hair was swept up in a elegant style that left just a couple tendrils hanging loosely. We hadn’t seen her wear her hair up before because she was self conscious about her neck showing the small, white burn marks or the stray bruise or cut. But it looked like Gina covered them up nicely. It wouldn’t have mattered to Anthony or I, but I knew them being covered made Sydney feel better and more comfortable. Her eyes were shining brightly and looked a little teary. Her lip gloss was shiny and I couldn’t wait to taste it. She had smokey eye shadow done in cool tones with a hint of blue to make the blue in her dress pop.

  The dress. Wow, the dress. It was sleeveless and the straps were about an inch wide and it pulled down to a nice v. It was solid black until the waist. At the waist, the dress puffed out slightly with a blue sheen. It came down to just above her knee and she wore sexy black heels. Her nails were painted a shimmery dark blue. She looked amazing. There were so many places my eyes were drawn to look at, but I found myself staring at our collar.

  I held my hand out for her to take and helped her down the last few steps. She looked up at me, eyes swimming with hope and fear. Fear that we may not like it and hope that we did. I let her off the hook.

  “Sydney, you look amazing, baby.”

  She smiled a quivering smile. I don’t think Sydney has ever seen herself so dressed up, but it was obvious that she was happy with herself too.

  “Thank you.” She laughed nervously, looked down, and then nodded. “I turned out okay, huh?”

  I smiled brightly at her and took hold of her by her upper arms. She was shaky but I knew it was because this was an emotional moment for her. She had told us that she never dressed up like this before for anything. Here it was, just a simple Christmas party to some, but to Sydney this was a big event.

  I reached out and touched her collarbone. Gina had brushed over the few cuts and bruising that remained on her collarbone with some make up. I knew Sydney was very nervous about showing much of her body especially to people that she used to work with. Gina took all those fears to heart and covered her up well. I ran my thumb over her collarbone and then curved the rest of my hand up the side of her neck, and then around to the back of her neck so I could feel the chain of her collar. She was so delicate and had such a small neck. I don’t know how she survived Howard. I shook the thought from my head. She was ours now and was safe. I bent and took her lips. When we pulled apart, I took her hand and twirled her around to face Anthony and put her hand in his.

  “I don’t know what I did to deserve you two. You’re so good to me. Thank you. A million thank yous, to both of you.”

  We stepped back and continued to admire her and what was around her neck. My heart was still pounding when Anthony opened the velvet box that had the earrings.

  “The jewelry maker had two diamonds left after he filled the heart of your collar. So he made them into earrings to match.” She was looking pale now. Anthony and I had to joke with her to get her to laugh. Anthony snapped the box shut and playfully held it out of her reach and gave her a sly look.

  “Wait a sec, you don’t already have a pair of these do you, sunshine?”

  She giggled and held her hand over her mouth shaking her head.

  “No, no Sir.”

  “Whew.” I took the box from Anthony and handed Sydney the box and waved for Gina to come over. “Gina, can you help our girl touch up her eyes and help her with her earrings?”

  When I looked down at Gina, I saw that she had been crying too and she was shaking her head.

  “You guys did good.” She took Sydney by the elbow and back up the stairs they went.

  Anthony had his hand over his chest and was looking up the stairs still. I took a deep breath to get my own emotions under control.

  “You guys are so fucking good for her.” Matt’s voice sounded a little softer than usual.

  “Yeah, I’d say she liked the earrings, huh, Anth?”

  I looked over at him. He was still somewhat lost. I sat down in the great room with Matt and kept my eyes on the stairs but quickly glanced at my watch. 5:45. We’d go as soon as she came downstairs. Anthony had gone into the kitchen, and I could hear him in the cabinets.

  “Hey, did you get a picture, Matt?”

  I didn’t remember hearing the familiar click of a camera. He waived the camera at me and smiled.

  “I want to get a picture of the three of you by the stairs before you kids leave.”

  I was actually in a relationship where I wanted pictures of us. I actually wanted pictures to display and put out around the house or at my office. I smiled at the idea. Sydney and Gina came down and Matt went to get Anthony for a picture. I took Sydney in my arms and she thanked me again for the earrings. I held her against me and noticed it was taking Matt and Anthony a ridiculously long amount of time to come back from the kitchen. I heard them mumbling but couldn’t tell what they were saying until I heard Anthony say “my fucking chest.”

  I squeezed Sydney in my arms and began talking to her about tonight and how pretty her dress looked.

  “I’m glad you like it. I was hoping it’d be party appropriate. Gina said it would be perfect.”

  “And it is. You look amazing, baby.”

  “Colin…Sir, I love the collar. I can’t tell you how much it means to me, and the ceremony last night was beautiful. You guys mean everything to me.”

  “You mean everything to Anthony and I.”

  I was lost in her eyes when Matt and Anthony came back. Anthony had loosened his tie and was now straightening it back and putting his suit jacket back on. Was he okay? Matt has told me that Anthony is healthy and is fine and that Anthony just isn’t used to having been bit by the love bug. Still, it makes me nervous.

  He came over and took up Sydney’s left side for the picture. We snapped a few photos and then we headed towards the garage. Anthony and Sydney walked out to the garage hand in hand ahead of me and I walked Matt and Gina out through the front door.

  “Hey, what’s up with Anthony? I heard him saying something about his chest,” I quickly asked Matt as he held the door open for Gina.

  “When I went into the kitchen, he had his tie loose and buttons undone on his shirt. He said his chest hurt and I asked him how bad it was hurting and what it felt like exactly.” Matt and I looked over at the garage door opening. Anthony and Sydney were ready and we needed to get going. “I told him to grow some balls and tell her that he loves her. He hasn’t told her yet, and it’s crushing him. He’s afraid to say the words.”

  I smiled towards the garage. “He will
when he’s ready. He’s getting there.”

  I climbed in the driver’s seat of my Alpina and we headed to our Christmas party at the Wynn. The valet gave me my claim ticket and said he’d leave it parked in the front. Good. I like it easily accessible.

  I took hold of Sydney’s hand and Anthony walked on her other side. We made it to the banquet hall where our party was being held. It was pretty full and people were still mingling around having drinks before the dinner started. After dinner I’d say a few words to all the employees and their guests. Dessert would be served followed by photos and dancing. It was the typical holiday party. Except for one thing. This year, I had a wonderful young woman attached to my hand. Someone who could fulfill my dreams and desires.

  I gave Sydney’s hand a little tug giving her courage to enjoy herself and not worry about anything. She was excited and nervous about seeing everyone from work again. I have been hearing rumblings about how people were excited to see Sydney again, and they knew that I’d be bringing her. For anyone in the office who wondered if there was truth to the rumors, tonight they would be able to see for themselves that a relationship had definitely formed. The only down side to it was that the other man who loved her dearly would also be at the party but would have to keep his love secret. I hated that part about it. I got to enjoy having her on my arm while Anthony had to watch from a distance. I wanted him to be able to enjoy the party knowing that she was his too, but for appearance reasons, he wasn’t going to be able to touch her much. I knew this would be rough on him, but I knew that he was going to be happy to see her smile among our colleagues.

  “Sydney, baby, these people all know you and care about you. Don’t feel that you have to hide tonight.” I bent and kissed her letting her know that I certainly wasn’t going to hide the fact that she was someone very special to me. Her face had turned beet red and she gave me a shy smile. We walked around with Anthony greeting employees and their spouses or significant others.

  Servers were walking around with trays filled with drinks and hors d’oeuvres. I led us over to the bar and ordered a whiskey while Sydney and Anthony both got Cokes. I haven’t seen her drink alcohol yet, so I imagine there is a reason behind that. It didn’t bother me if she drank or didn’t drink, and I wasn’t going to go into it tonight.

  My assistant James and his partner came up to greet us. He shook my hand and Anthony’s and went crazy over Sydney.

  “Girl, look at you tonight! Mmm! You’re dress looks fab and that necklace! For the love of all things holy, I’ve never seen something shine like that.” James bent down to take a closer look. “Where on earth, may I ask?”

  Sydney shyly looked up at me and James followed her eyes and met mine. Then he followed my arm down to where my hand was tangled with Sydney’s. He then narrowed his eyes in a very playful fashion and smiled.

  “Well, mmm!” He brought his hand up and gently touched Sydney’s upper arm and looked over his shoulder to see if his partner was listening. “Girl, if my man gave me something like that I’d think I’d died and gone to heaven! You keep that one.” He smiled at her and gave her shoulder a soft pat. “Seriously though Sydney, it’s wonderful to see you here tonight. You look so happy.”

  I was glad the first person we talked with was James. James has been my assistant for years and was one of my most trusted, loyal employees. He has been with his partner Neil for longer than he’s worked for me. I had told James a little bit off and on about Sydney so he had some background on her. I knew there wouldn’t be a chance of anything making it around the office that I said in confidence to James.

  “Where are my manners. Do forgive me, Sydney.” He tugged on Neil’s arm and pulled him over. “Sydney, this is my man, Neil. Neil, this is Sydney Burke. She works for Openin and is one of the Everett Gaming girls. And, I think Colin is keeping stock in this one.” He raised his eyebrows quickly in an insinuating fashion. Neil shook his head at James and held his hand out towards Sydney.

  “Pleasure to meet you, Sydney.”

  “Hi, nice to meet you,” Sydney returned the greeting. I could tell that the playful, teasing demeanor of James had relaxed Sydney some.

  Anthony appeared and leaned on the bar just behind Sydney and was sipping his Coke. He looked somewhat tense and I’m betting that it had to do with him not being able to touch Sydney. He had gone off to talk to some people in the finance department but was back now. He gave an upward nod at James and Neil.

  James was always cracking jokes about how hot Anthony is and how nice he dressed. There were running office jokes of James’ infatuation with Anthony. Anthony played along and was a good sport about it, and thankfully it never turned into an HR issue. Anthony just had that look about him. He drew a lot of attention from people at Irons as well as outside of Irons. He often had many women looking at him when we went places, but he never once looked back at any of them. Sydney was the only one he looked at, along with me, ever since she started working at my company.

  “Love the tie, Anthony,” James said as he and Neil moved along.

  Anthony rolled his eyes once they were past him. I laughed and Sydney had to suppress a giggle.

  “Go on and laugh, sunshine.” Anthony took a gulp from his glass. “I’ll take you in a bathroom and finger you until that giggle turns into you begging me to slip my cock inside your bare pussy.”

  That all just rolled so casually off his tongue like he was asking someone to pass him the salt. I glanced around to see if anyone was within hearing distance. Thankfully not. He gazed over his glass at her while he sipped his Coke.

  “Is that a taunt…Sir?” Sydney replied in a flirty, playful tone.

  I was surprised by her reply because Sydney is usually very shy and reserved. I definitely enjoyed the playful comment though because it shows me how much she is healing and getting better day by day. She knows she can play with Anthony and I like that and not worry about getting backhanded. She pushes all of the right buttons for me, and right now she basically lit a match and tossed it on Anthony’s simmering form. You could feel the attraction in the air between them as Anthony peered over his glass at her.

  “A taunt?” Anthony laughed and took a step closer to her. They never broke eye contact with each other. “I wouldn’t call it a taunt. It’s more like…a promise.”

  Anthony has been rather controlled around Sydney, and I had a feeling that she’d start seeing the much more intense side of Anthony - the very Dominant, sexual side of Anthony. I think she got a tiny taste last night with the middle of the night ass fucking. Sydney’s face warmed to a nice pink shade and she smiled at him. He winked at her, collected his bashful smile from her and then went off to talk to some other employees. I knew tonight was going to be rough on him with regards to Sydney, and I knew his physical distance was because he couldn’t be that close and not touch her. Her reaction to the collar has been very emotional and it’s made Anthony and I equally emotional, and now he can’t even touch her. Last night and all day today the three of us were inseparable and had kept Sydney in our arms non-stop.

  “Come on, baby. Let’s head over to our table. We’ll get stopped a million times before we actually reach it.”

  As predicted, we bumped into several other people who wanted to chat briefly. One of which was Dwayne and his wife. Dwayne smiled when he saw Sydney’s hand was tucked safely in mine. He nodded letting me know that he was happy that Sydney and I were together.

  “Sydney, it’s good to see you. You look well.”

  “Thank you. It’s nice to be here to see everyone. I’ve missed seeing all the girls.”

  I introduced Sydney to Dwayne’s wife and they exchanged pleasantries. To the right of us was the table that had many of the Openin ladies and their significant others. Many of them waved excitedly when they saw Sydney. Sydney waved back and I leaned closer to her.

  “Baby, you can go say hello if you’d like.”

  She looked up at me, silently giving me her “thank you, Sir” and off she we
nt. From where I was standing, I could see her and it made me feel better. Dwayne’s wife had drifted off in another direction to greet some people. When it was just Dwayne and I, he continued to talk about Sydney.

  “She looks really good, Colin. Much more healthy than the last time I saw her.” The last time he saw her was as few days after Howard had paid her a visit at work and there was the altercation with Anthony in the atrium. “That son of a bitch try to contact her anymore after Anthony broke the asshole’s arm?”

  “Unfortunately, yes. He had mailed her some things to her apartment. Disgusting things. He had a lot of pictures of her.”

  “Shit. Is she healing up okay?”

  I nodded and told him that she’s getting stronger, and the wounds are healing up and bruises are fading. Dwayne was happy to hear she was doing well.

  “You think she’s going to want to come back to work?”

  “I don’t know, Dwayne. She’s doing well, but gets worn out very easily still.”

  Dwayne gave me a sideways smile and asked if she needed to come back to work. He was trying to get me to confirm his thoughts on our relationship. I liked Dwayne and knew he was a private person, so I trusted him with whatever I told him.

  “No, Dwayne. Financially she doesn’t need to work. Ever.”

  “You’re taking care of those needs for her?”

  “Yes, and every other need.” I left it at that. We exchanged smiles and shook hands. “Merry Christmas, Dwayne. Enjoy your evening.”

  I walked over to Sydney and stood behind her and listened as she talked to the ladies as they all caught up. Janice and Katie both smiled and made eye contact with me as I approached, and Sydney knew I was there before she even saw me. I greeted all the ladies and their husbands and put my hand on her waist. Sydney smiled and blushed. I could tell that her friends were happy for her as well. I was glad that this evening was being good to her.