“The eggs might taste better done in the bacon grease,” said Garrett.
“Don’t know about you, but I’m hungry and they’ll get done quicker this way.”
Meg watched quietly, not wanting to interrupt the domesticity and glad she didn’t have to do the cooking. One of the things she liked about her place was its proximity to restaurants and she ate out most nights, using the microwave for the others. Normally a bowl of cereal would leave her set until lunch, but she, too, was hungrier than usual. All that sex, she thought and smiled.
Garrett got up and got plates. Karl loaded them up with bacon and eggs and started a second batch. Meg got exactly what she’d asked for, two strips and one egg. Garrett sidled up next to her, his hip touching hers and his arm comfortably across her shoulder.
Karl turned from the stove to look at them. “I know I’m not the most sensitive guy in the world. I like to play rough and don’t always stay focused when things have to settle down from there.”
“Karl, you’re fine. Don’t apologize for yourself. You don’t need to.” I love you the way you are.
Karl shook his head. “I wasn’t. I get stressed out about all the cuddly stuff and I don’t enjoy it the way most people do as a result. But when we’re all cuddling together, I do enjoy it. It feels right. I know Garrett will take care of your needs and it makes me feel more sensual because the pressure is off. I like knowing you’re being given the care a lady deserves.”
Meg stared at him. It never occurred to her he might like being with her better with Garrett around too.
Garrett gave her a squeeze. “And I like knowing four hands are running over your body. I like help putting you into sensory overload. I like providing an environment where there’s bondage and discipline, but when it comes to delivering a spanking that’s not much fun for me.” He looked up at Karl. “I don’t think you have a problem with it.”
“Never. Have you spotted an infraction?”
“Well, she does have her elbow on the table.”
Karl laughed.
Meg took her elbow off the table. At a business luncheon her manners were impeccable. Apparently I feel at home here. “Hey, my bottom still aches from yesterday and I’m sitting on a hard surface. Isn’t that enough?”
Karl grinned. “Mind watching the stove a moment?” he asked Garrett.
“Of course not.”
Meg was almost distracted by Garrett’s bare ass as he went to the stove. “You’re just making up excuses,” she said, as Karl sat down beside her in the seat Garrett vacated.
“Pretty much.” Karl pulled her over his lap and she shrieked.
“Hey, save me!” she called, but Garrett only glanced back and smiled.
Karl spanked her with his bare hand. She knew he wasn’t using his full strength, but he wasn’t being gentle, either. She hadn’t expected gentle. As each swat hit her bottom, she felt her pussy moistening. She knew she couldn’t control her response. The way the spankings were landing on the cane stripes made it worse and better, all at the same time.”
“I think she’s paid the appropriate penalty,” Karl said drily. “But the barstool may be a bit hard now.”
Garrett nodded and sat down on what had been her seat. “I’ll cushion her.”
“Good man.” Karl put Meg in his lap.
What have I gotten myself into? Meg wondered. But then Garrett wrapped his arms around her. His thighs weren’t exactly soft and his cock wasn’t soft anymore either. But it was better than the barstool, in more ways than one. She gave her ass an extra wiggle and pulled her plate over.
How Garrett could eat faster than her despite fondling her with at least one hand the entire time she ate was beyond her. But maybe the distraction was worse than not having both hands. Karl loaded more on Garrett’s plate and sat down with his own.
She tried to focus. “So. Going forward, will I still see you on Wednesdays and you, Karl, on the weekend?”
Karl nodded. Garrett caressed her breast through the thin shirt. It wasn’t helping with the focus.
“I’ve been training someone and I think he’s ready to do weekends,” Garrett said. “I know Wednesday nights aren’t the best for you, so I could join you guys instead.”
Meg looked at Karl. It worked for her, but she was prepared for Karl to be disappointed at losing his alone time with her. Instead, he grinned. “Double the pleasure, double the fun. I’m good with it if Meg is.”
Meg thought about the club she and Karl had danced at. Dancing there, sandwiched by two men? Every woman in the place would be jealous. And for good reason. “Yes please, Sirs.”
Even with that, I have a feeling my life is going to get very busy.
“There’s a clinic about a mile from here that does STI testing and they open in thirty minutes,” said Karl. “I suggest we all go get ourselves poked with needles, because I’m that kind of guy.”
Meg blinked. “Um, I’ll be happy to go. And you two are definitely enough for me. But I assumed, well—”
“I haven’t been seeing anyone else this month and don’t intend to,” said Garrett.
Meg turned around to look at him carefully. “You honestly don’t think you’ll want another woman, Sir, even though you have to share me?”
Garrett met her gaze. “I meant what I said about liking lots of hands, Meg. If you are up for a threesome or more, with or without Karl, I’ll probably be interested. I like touch. I enjoy a good cuddle pile. I’ll never turn down a good tight hug from a woman. But I am happy having all my sex with you. If you decide you want to involve another woman, we’ll make sure to use safer sex with her, but that’s a big if.”
Meg thought about it for a moment. She didn’t think she was bisexual, but she wasn’t completely incurious. And maybe if it made Garrett happy, she might enjoy that someday. “It is a big if and I can tell you right now I won’t want to share anytime soon.”
“I don’t want to be shared anytime soon.”
“Then we won’t close the door to any possibilities.” She turned to Karl. “And you, Sir? I work a lot and there will be times when I need to be alone. Or alone with only one of you, I expect. I know you didn’t get a reputation for being the area’s best sadist by playing with one woman.”
“Well, one at a time,” Karl said. “Although admittedly sometimes ‘a time’ was an hour. You’re very right, Meg. I normally play with lots of people, although like Garrett I haven’t the last month. I would like to continue to do demos and flog, cane and generally beat willing subjects. But I am willing—no, I want—to save sex and even snuggling for you. I’ve never enjoyed sex or cuddles nearly as much with anyone else.”
She thought for a moment about the idea of Karl flogging someone else. She thought she could handle it okay if it didn’t involve a lot of groping and she trusted Karl not to take it there. “I don’t know how I’ll feel until we try.”
Karl smiled. “Of course. And negotiation in a BDSM relationship is an ongoing thing. It doesn’t stop when we agree you’re ours. If it doesn’t work for you, we fix it.”
“What if you get all hot and horny, flogging some pretty girl with a bubble butt and perky tits?” asked Meg.
“Then it’s a good thing I can order you to go down on me anytime I like, isn’t it?” said Karl.
The idea made her mouth water and she squirmed in Garrett’s lap. If we’d been tested already, would Garrett be inside me right now? And would I be expected to still carry on a conversation? Or maybe suck Karl off at the same time? She wondered what he tasted like. What they both tasted like. She wanted to know.
Garrett tugged her hair. “Please don’t think being the person in the middle of our relationship puts you in charge, pet.”
“Um, I don’t think I’d make that mistake, Sir.”
“Good girl.” He let her go.
“For that, however, we have to get dressed.”
Meg blanched. She hadn’t brought any clothes but the ones she had worn to the club and if she walked
in to a clinic with two men, wearing that outfit, everyone would think she was a hooker. She’d worn an overcoat when she’d left her building but it was in her car. “Um, in what?” She was swimming in Karl’s shirt.
“Could you wear one of Karl’s T-shirts and belt it up as a dress?” asked Garrett. “I know it’s not ideal. “We could go shopping for you if you’d rather.”
“No, that’s good enough,” Meg agreed.
They all finished breakfast and Karl led her back to his room while Garrett got dressed. He opened a drawer full of T-shirts and invited her to take her pick. It was the first time she’d been alone with either of the men for a while.
She unbuttoned the dress shirt she had on and put in the laundry basket. “Are you really okay with all of this, Karl?”
Karl was going through his closet. He pulled out a white shirt with a black embroidered pattern on it, before turning to face Meg. “I am. I know we didn’t tell you this, but Garrett and I have topped women together before. But it was always physical mostly. Even though Garrett and I are both straight, the bond of friendship between us was stronger than the bond between us and the woman. This is different. Balanced. Perfect. Exactly what we both need. I hope what you need, too.”
She took a black Pink Floyd shirt out of the drawer and pulled it over her head. “I’m glad you feel a bond.” Because I feel it too.
“I love you, Meg.”
Oh. She wanted to say it back. “I should probably not say it to you unless I say it to him too. Or that balance you talked about…” she shrugged. The relationship she had with the two men was never going to follow a blueprint.
Karl buttoned his shirt. “You could drive yourself crazy, Meg, trying to be exactly even. We’re two different people and we’re going to want different things. I know you trust us enough to do strange things to you. Enough to follow our directions. Trust us not to be too jealous, too. We’ve been friends for a long time.”
“That’s going to take some getting used to.”
“He’s right, though,” said Garrett, from the doorway. He was back in his clothes from the previous evening.
“Well. I love you both. And that takes some getting used to, too. Wasn’t supposed to be possible.”
Garrett smiled. “I love you, too, Meg. Turns out love isn’t a resource you use up by giving it to one person. If it were, marriages would never survive having children.”
“Time is finite, however.” Karl brought a belt over to Meg and wrapped it around her waist. To her surprise, it wasn’t way too big. “The stress points are not in loving but in sharing time. Fortunately we all have jobs we love, as well.”
Meg smiled. “Yeah, that will be the challenge. Why do you have a belt this size?” It would be too small for him.
“Because a shorter one is better for beating pretty masochists,” Karl said with an evil grin.
Meg rolled her eyes. “I should have known.” Then she grinned. “Will you show me, later?”
Karl bowed. “Of course.”
* * * * *
When Meg arrived home the the night before the next Iron Butterfly event, she noticed a pair of familiar cars in the parking lot beneath her condo. Karl’s two-seater, right next to Garrett’s sedan. It was Thursday night and they hadn’t agreed to meet. Something was up. She didn’t know whether they expected her to see the cars, or not.
The last several weekends had been crazy. She went to work on Mondays physically sore but emotionally satisfied and came home Fridays feeling emotionally exhausted and in sexual need. The two men never left her needy for long, although last weekend they’d tormented her, not allowing her an orgasm for twenty-four hours while they came repeatedly in her mouth and on her body. Amazingly, she loved it. It was a powerful statement of how not in control she was and a welcome antidote to running the business.
Blake had handed in his resignation and Tuesday had been his last day. They had interviewed for a replacement but had yet to find someone as good and in the meantime, she’d been working late nights. It was already seven-thirty and she was looking forward to a microwaved meal and bed, but she’d expected to work from home for a couple of hours before getting any sleep.
I’m not going to get any work done with Karl and Garrett around. She considered telling them. Business first, wasn’t that what she was about? She got into the elevator and pushed the button for floor ten. Then she pulled out her phone. Which to call, Garrett or Karl? Presumably they were in her apartment. She’d given them both keys.
She shook her head. Enough. They’d both been very good about giving her space to do her work, so it was probably something important. She knew why she didn’t want to deal with them right now. Maybe they were tired of it all and wanted to make her choose, even though it all seemed to be going so well.
She didn’t call either of them but dialed Ken de Camp, who worked in the Financial department instead and was the one in-house candidate for Blake’s job. “Ken?”
“Ms. Quinn?”
“It’s Meg. Listen, I was going to run the figures for the Kender acquisition, but I’m not going to have time tonight. Can you do it?” She felt guilty. With the job in the air, Ken wasn’t going to say no and there was no guarantee he’d get it. But if he did a good job it might tip the scales, so she wasn’t being too manipulative. Besides, she’d worked late every night for the last two weeks. Or was it three?
“Um, sure Ms., um, Meg. I don’t have access from home, though, so I’ll have to go in.”
“I’ll get you access.” She clicked off the phone and dialed the head of the IT department. She was still on the line when she got to her door. She let herself in.
Sure enough, Garrett and Karl were there, seated in her living room. Garrett was still in his bartender clothes and sprawled on the couch. Karl was wearing a tweed jacket and sat in the comfy chair. They both got up when she entered. She waved at them and pointed to the phone.
They both nodded and sat down. The IT guy agreed to work it out with Ken and she clicked the phone closed.
Okay you two, what’s up? She opened her mouth to say it, then closed it again. She was in her work headspace and not feeling submissive at all. And yet she didn’t want to be bossy with them. “One moment, please, Sirs?” she asked.
“Of course,” said Garrett. Karl nodded.
She went past them to the bedroom and took a deep breath. The king-sized bed she’d ordered hadn’t been delivered yet, so there was still walking space in the room. She put her purse on her dresser and took off her suit jacket and hung it up. She tried to get work out of her head, but it wasn’t entirely working. Still, she felt she managed to get to a point where at least she wouldn’t have to be the boss. I’ll trust my Doms to do the rest.
She returned to the living room. “May I have the cushion, Sir?” she asked Garrett.
Garrett tossed her a red velvet throw cushion from the couch. She caught it and set it on the floor, kneeling on it. She noticed there was a bag next to Garrett of the sort he might carry toys in. And a small box on the arm of Karl’s chair. Like a wedding ring box.
“We’ve been talking,” said Garrett.
The two were always talking. Usually it meant something wicked was planned. Wicked and fun. This time, though, she felt tension in the air.
“We want to live with you. And make our arrangement permanent,” said Karl.
She took a breath of relief. Much better than what I anticipated. She analyzed it, aware her business brain was doing the thinking despite her desire to slip into a submissive role. This was big. It required a cool head.
“If you’d rather stand or sit, Meg, that’s okay,” Garrett told her. “This isn’t the sort of thing we’re going to order you into.”
“As much as we’d like to,” said Karl.
“Yep,” Garrett agreed.
“Well, Sirs. Where? My condo is too small for us. So is your flat,” she said, addressing Garrett. “I mean, it’s fine for a weekend, but not when I need space to get my work d
one.” She turned to Karl. “And your place is way too far out. On long days the commute would exhaust me.”
Karl nodded. “There’s a three-story, three-bedroom brownstone about three blocks from here. You and I could each have an office. Garrett says he doesn’t need one. But it’s closer to your work. If Garrett and I pool our resources we can meet the down payment and pay the rest by renting out our old place.”
“And if I pitched in?”
“Then we’d be totally set.”
It sounded so good. “When I’m with you two, I get into this lovely space where I am so submissive. And that doesn’t work with, well, work.”
“When you’re in your office, we will leave you be,” said Garrett. “Inside there, you won’t be our submissive. When you step out, you will be again.”
A clear line might work. And I’d be silly not to give it my best shot, as much joy as Garrett and Karl bring me. “I accept. And I would like to be a full partner in the house, as well.”
“I told you,” Karl told Garrett.
Garrett smiled and then turned back to Meg. “Meg, if the world allowed it, we’d marry you. And if you want to be, either of us will.”
That explained the boxes. She thought about it. It would be a simple way to explain at least one man’s presence in her life. Her mother would be pleased she wasn’t living in sin and could easily be misled about the nature of the extra “roommate.” But inevitably it would mean one man would accompany her socially and the other not and that would disrupt what they had together and would leave an imbalance that needed to be fixed. She shook her head. “No. I like us as we are. I don’t need to be married to have a lifetime relationship.” She looked between both men. “That’s what you’re offering, isn’t it? Because otherwise I’m not interested in buying a house.”
“That is what we’re offering,” agreed Garrett, and Karl nodded.
“Then if people disapprove, they disapprove. You are both expected to show up to my office Christmas parties. I won’t hide what we are. Or what I am. Although…”
“Although?” Karl prompted.
“I think maybe it would be best if my underlings at work didn’t know I was your submissive, exactly. Do you mind behaving vanilla now and then?”
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