Plenty of Chances [Plenty, FL 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Lara Valentine

By the time he lifted his head, her body was ready for him. Her nipples were rock hard against the cotton of her bra, her panties drenched. His fingers were tangled in her hair and he gently extricated himself with a smile of regret.

  “This isn’t the time or the place.”

  She licked her lips, wanting to savor his taste. “You’re right.”

  He lifted her chin so she was looking into his blue eyes. “It has to be both of us, sunshine. Are you ready for that?”

  She swallowed hard. It was easy with Jason. They didn’t have the angst between them she had with Gabe. Yes, she and Gabe had made strides in their relationship and things were much better. He seemed to be a changed man. She just needed to see she could trust it, that he wouldn’t suddenly change back and become angry again.

  “I’m not sure. I want to believe in Gabe’s transformation.”

  Jason nodded. “I understand. I wasn’t too sure about it when he came back to town, but I’ve seen it. It’s real. You’ll see it, too. Take the time you need.”

  “There are some things I haven’t told you.” The words almost stuck in her throat.

  “If it’s about guys while we were apart it isn’t important. I don’t care what you’ve been doing. That’s the past. We need to think about the future.”

  He was making this too easy for her. “Do you not want me to know what you’ve been doing?”

  “I haven’t been a saint,” Jason replied. “Neither has Gabe. We were all free agents and we’ve had other people in our lives while we were apart. No one, and I repeat, no one meant anything to me. You were, and are, it for me. You’re the one woman I can’t get over.”

  She licked her suddenly dry lips. This called for courage beyond anything she’d known before. “I couldn’t seem to get over both of you. I wanted to. I tried to. But like most things since I left Plenty, it was a complete failure.”

  Jason frowned. “It sounds like you’ve had a hard time of it.”

  “That’s an understatement. I need to tell you the truth before we can move forward.”

  Jason straightened up, his gaze appraising. “You never intended to do that, did you? You thought you’d come to town, sleep on Lacey’s couch, avoid me and Gabe, and sneak back to Orlando when Gran got better? That was the plan wasn’t it?”

  She shook her head slowly. “Yes. I thought it would be better that way.”

  “Better for whom?”

  Sami turned in surprise at Gabe’s voice. “How long have you been standing there?”

  “Long enough.” His long strides ate up the distance between them. “In the spirit of full disclosure, I never got over you either, Samantha. You’ve haunted every day of my life since I left Plenty.”

  Tears started to well in her eyes. She’d been a fool to think she could come to Plenty and stay away from these men. It was sheer lunacy to think she could keep anything from them. She wanted to break down and tell them everything so she could feel their strong arms around her.

  She sighed. “It can’t be this easy.”

  Gabe chuckled. “Why make it complicated? We love each other, that’s clear. Yeah, we’ve got stuff to work out, but isn’t it better to work it out together instead of apart?”

  She hated it when Gabe made sense. She couldn’t argue against what he’d said.

  “It still can’t be this easy,” she persisted. “We need to talk. More.”

  Jason shrugged. “She was always like this. She always liked to talk a subject to death.”

  Gabe nodded. “Okay, how about we finish putting the list together of what we need for the house, then we’ll go back to the diner and we can talk. What do you want to talk about?”

  She didn’t really want to talk about anything, but she knew they needed to. “I guess we should start talking about what we’ve been doing since we broke up. You’re the one who has changed so much. I need to believe in that change, Gabe. Maybe if you tell me about it, I’ll have more confidence.”

  “Fair enough. It’s not a very exciting story though. We’ll talk and then we’ll head to the club. Tonight’s your first night of work. Are you nervous?”

  She was, but she’d never admit it. “Of course not. I’ve been a waitress before. The work doesn’t seem complicated.”

  Gabe grinned. “Glad to hear it. Let’s get this work done. Sounds like we have a busy day ahead of us.”

  They continued touring the second floor, making notes when something caught their eye. Samantha tried to keep her mind on the task at hand, but her thoughts kept drifting. She was going to hear about their lives, but most importantly, she was going to tell them about hers.

  She could only hope they’d still want her once they knew the truth.

  * * * *

  It was completely different than she’d thought it would be. The people at the club weren’t strange, but friendly and quite normal once you got past some of the outfits and customs. Sami had quickly learned she needed to talk to the Dom or Domme and not the sub. Most subs weren’t allowed to speak without permission and a few were even being led around by leashes.

  At first, she’d been dismayed to see such treatment, but Gabe had pulled her aside and told her everything she would see was completely consensual. He’d even arranged for her to talk to a couple of submissives who assured her he was correct. They spoke of being cherished and loved by their Dominants and once Sami really looked she could see it was true.

  She’d seen a Dominant feeding a sub by hand and even tenderly brushing her hair. It was in stark contrast to earlier when she’d seen the same Dominant spanking the sub with a paddle. She hated to admit it, but watching had turned her on. She’d had an erotic visual of Gabe and Jason paddling her bottom for some imagined infraction.

  She recognized a few people but most of the clientele tonight were from out of town, according to Gabe. When she counted the number of people she was amazed. She really needed to get the B and B up and running.

  She smiled at the bartender, Gary, letting him finish up with another patron. He’d been taking good care of her tonight, helping her learn patron’s names and preferences. The hardest part of her job was keeping the member cards straight. All members who visited the backroom needed a special member key card that would unlock the door and record their entrance to the room. No member who visited the back room was allowed to have more than two drinks a night. The member would hand over their card when they ordered and she would give it to Gary to swipe through the computer when he filled the order. The computer would warn Gary when a member had reached their limit. As long as Sami didn’t mix up the cards, everything was good. If anyone tried to exceed the limit, she was to notify Gabe, and not try and handle it herself.

  She handed Gary the first card. “Gin and tonic and a Coke, light ice.”

  Gary pressed a few buttons and swiped the card with a grin. “Got it. Next?”

  She handed him the second card. “Two ice waters. One with lime.” He swiped the second card and handed it back.

  “I’m on it. You’re doing a good job tonight. You picked up the card system quick. Any more?”

  “One more.” She handed him the last card. “One Heineken and one orange juice.”

  Gary pressed a few more buttons, swiped the card, and the machine buzzed. “Steve Samuels. He’s already at his limit.” He shook his head ruefully and pressed a button that would text Gabe’s cell. “Steve’s a rebel. He likes to drink before he even gets here. Gabe’s had to escort him to the door twice already. He’ll probably pull his membership this time.”

  Sami tensed. The last time she’d seen Gabe in a potentially volatile situation he’d ended up in a fight and had broken his hand and bloodied another man’s nose. She didn’t want to see a repeat of that tonight. Gabe came up behind her, his breath warm on her neck and his hand on her shoulder.

  “I got a text. What’s up?”

  Gabe looked sexy as sin in black leather pants and vest, with heavy black boots. In the last few years, he’d gotten ink and now a
tribal band tattoo circled his left bicep. When she’d seen him her body had flushed all over and her cunt had started dripping honey down her thighs. He looked like every bad boy fantasy she’d had come to life.

  “Samuels. He’s trying to order a third drink tonight.” Gary handed Gabe the card and Gabe nodded grimly.

  “I’m on it. Sami, I’ll deal with this. You continue what you were doing. You’re doing a great job tonight.”

  He flashed her a smile and headed for the backroom. She waited while Gary prepared her drinks and then headed to the backroom with her tray. She delivered the drinks and then moved to a spot where Gabe couldn’t see her as he talked to Steve Samuels but she could see and hear him.

  “As I said before, this is the third time. I have no choice but to revoke your membership.”

  Steve Samuels already looked angry but that statement seemed to enrage him. He bumped chests with Gabe in a piss-poor effort to intimidate him. Gabe didn’t even bat an eye.

  “Your rules are bullshit. I’m not even drunk. I can handle my liquor.”

  Gabe’s expression was bland. “I’m sure you can. These rules are in place for the safety of all our members. No one who may have impaired judgment is allowed to scene. You have endeavored to circumvent our rules three times.” Gabe held up the membership card. “Your tab is on me tonight. Would you like assistance to your vehicle?”

  “Fuck you, Holt. You think you’re a badass Dom, but you ain’t shit.”

  Sami braced herself for Gabe’s explosion. He would never let anyone talk to him like that. Samuels was about to get a broken jaw.

  To her shock, Gabe’s lips quirked and his arms crossed over his chest. “I’ll take that under advisement. Now I’d like you to leave.”

  Samuels’ sub was tugging on his arm, urging him to leave. Sami’s knees almost gave way in shock when his arm reared back and he backhanded the pretty sub. She stumbled over the bench and fell to her knees on the floor.

  “That was a mistake.” Gabe nodded to one of the monitors that he had work the back room. “Call Sheriff Ryan.”

  Apparently, Samuels decided he had nothing to lose and he took a swing at Gabe. In Samuels’s inebriated state, Gabe easily ducked and grabbed the man’s arm, wrenching it so it was behind his back so he was incapacitated. Gabe reached onto his belt and unclipped a set of handcuffs, quickly cuffing his wrists together.

  Sami knelt down and checked to see if the woman was okay, helping her to her feet. A cursory once over showed the woman was going to have a black eye tomorrow but nothing seemed to be broken.

  Sami winced in sympathy as the woman held her hand to the side of her face. Sami dug the bar towel out of her waistband and dumped the ice cubes from an empty glass into towel, placing it on the woman’s eye.

  Gabe gave her a look of appreciation and beckoned the monitor who had called Ryan. “Watch him until the Sheriff gets here.” He turned to the sub, pulling the ice pack away. “Let’s take a look. We can take you to the hospital if you like.”

  She shook her head, her mascara smeared with tears. “I’m okay. What will happen to him?”

  Gabe was gentle and soothing with the woman. “He’s going to spend the night as a guest of the city of Plenty. Do you have a place to stay?”

  The woman pointed to a few people who had gathered to watch the altercation. “I’m with them. We’re driving back to Tampa tonight.”

  “You weren’t with him?”

  She shook her head. “I met him tonight. He seemed pretty harmless when we were negotiating the scene.”

  Gabe placed the ice pack on the woman’s face. “Take some advice. There are a lot of bad Doms out there. Get a reference. Talk to subs who have scened with them before. Samuels is fine when he’s sober, but he gets sloppy when he’s had too much to drink.”

  “I will. I’ll talk to more people first.”

  “Good. Are you sure you don’t want to see a doctor?”

  Her friends joined her, and one put a jacket around the woman’s shoulders.

  “I’m okay. We’re going to head out, I think.”

  The woman’s friends led her to the door and Sami looked at the man she thought she knew.

  “You were amazing.”

  Gabe laughed. “I love that you say that, but I’m not sure how.”

  Sami shrugged. “The way you handled that guy. Not long ago you would have rearranged his face for him.”

  Gabe nodded. “Ah, yes, I would have. I haven’t handled things like that for a long time. I told you my story today at dinner.”

  He had told her his story, and she had listened avidly. He’d gone away and ended up staying with a friend from the Army. The friend had introduced him to his therapist and Gabe had started therapy, and eventually found out both the therapist and his Army buddy were in the BDSM lifestyle. Gabe had pursued learning about being a Dominant and it had calmed him down and given him control over his wayward emotions.

  The one thing Gabe had not revealed is what he had seen in Iraq that had made him so angry, but Sami hadn’t wanted to ask. If Gabe had moved on from it, she didn’t want to bring back any bad memories by dredging it all up again.

  “I guess seeing was believing.”

  He brushed back a stray hair and tucked it behind her ear. “Do you believe now?”

  She nodded. “Yes. You weren’t even close to losing your temper.”

  He looked every inch the calm and in control Dominant she’d read about in the naughty books she’d borrowed from Sadie. In fact, she’d pictured stripping him out of those leather pants all evening. Her memory carried a vivid picture of what was underneath.

  “You can’t imagine how much it means to me to hear you say that. I’ve waited a long time.”

  She smiled, her heart feeling lighter than it had in a long time. Suddenly, she was filled with hope. “I think you won’t have to wait much longer.”

  Gabe leaned closer so only she could hear him. “I’m looking forward to getting you home, Samantha.”

  A shiver ran up her spine at the sensual promise in his words. She’d crossed over a barrier with these men today. She wanted to be with them and she was tired of denying her feelings.

  Sheriff Ryan strode into the room and clapped his hands on Samuels’ shoulders. “Hey, Gabe. I’ll take care of this one.”

  Gabe’s slow smile as he gazed at her sent fire licking along her veins. “And I’ll take care of this one.”

  * * * *

  Sami kicked off the black jeans and shrugged out of the red button down shirt that was the uniform at Original Sin. She was supposed to meet Jason and Gabe downstairs to tell them her story and she found herself dawdling, trying to put off the inevitable discussion.

  She pulled on some sleep shorts and an oversized T-shirt and padded down the stairs, finding Gabe and Jason sitting at the kitchen table working on a cheesecake.

  Sami’s stomach growled and she realized she hadn’t eaten anything since dinner at six. It was now almost two thirty in the morning and she was starved. Jason looked up and grinned, reaching for the cheesecake and cutting her a large slice.

  “Don’t worry, it’s safe. Leah made it.”

  Leah was Gabe’s sister and Jason’s cousin and she could cook like a heavenly angel. Sami didn’t hesitate to tuck into the creamy confection that practically melted on her tongue.

  “This is so good. How is Leah these days?” She licked a stray morsel from her lips and her men instantly zeroed in on her tongue. She fidgeted in her chair, incredibly aware they were also in sleep pants, their chests and feet bare.

  Jason’s broad chest was almost smooth except for a happy trail on his washboard abs that led down to what she knew was a generously sized cock. Gabe’s chest had a light sprinkling of golden hair, not too much and not too little. It made a delicious friction on her nipples when he pulled her close. Gabe’s cock was about the same size as Jason’s. Maybe a smidge shorter, but slightly beefier in girth. Both had sent her to the stars and back on several
occasions.

  Gabe swallowed a huge bite with relish. “Did you hear she got married?”

  Sami laughed. “Leah finally pulled her nose out of a book long enough to notice the opposite sex? Good for her! Who did she marry and when?”

  Jason grinned. “Justin Reynolds and his manager, Linc Davis. They didn’t want a big to-do like Ava, so they snuck off to the Keys and got married in a small ceremony in May. Gabe and I attended. It was nice. Justin and Linc are good men. They own the new nightclub, Party Like a Rock Star.”

  Sami frowned. “Justin Reynolds? Not the Justin Reynolds? The rock star?”

  Gabe cut himself another slice of cheesecake. “The very same. When Leah does something, she doesn’t do it halfway. You should call her and have lunch or something.”

  “Becca asked me to have dinner at the diner with them on Monday night. Leah’s supposed to be there. The club is closed on Monday night, right?”

  Gabe nodded and dug into his cheesecake with gusto. She smiled at their hearty appetites. They could eat anything they wanted and never gain an ounce. Sami wished she could say the same, although both Gabe and Jason had told her she was too thin.

  “Who’s Ava?”

  Jason looked confused. “Pardon?”

  “You said Leah didn’t want a big wedding like Ava. Who’s Ava?”

  Jealousy tightened Sami’s gut. Maybe this was a woman they wanted.

  Jason pushed his plate away with a smile and a sigh, patting his stomach. “Ava is fairly new in town. She’s Dr. Mark’s nurse from Chicago. You met Mark last night. He’s Becca’s husband. Anyway, she moved down here and pretty quick, Josh Ryder, Brayden Tyler, and Falk O’Neill snatched her up. They’re getting married this month. Huge wedding. The men are richer than sin, apparently. Big traders on Wall Street before they came here.”

  She watched Jason’s and Gabe’s expression closely but they didn’t change when Ava was mentioned. Good.

  Sami nodded. “I think I’ve met Josh. He owns the coffee shop?”

  “He does. Brayden and Falk own the Mixed Martial Arts studio,” Gabe answered.