“Scrunch down, honey,” Jeff said.
Alex complied and sank her head into the water, keeping only her face above water level. Jeff then pulled her up and squeezed shampoo onto her hair, gently scrubbing at her scalp and sliding his fingers through the strands.
“We’ll be changing this shitty color back to your own, Alex. And you’ll be growing it out, too.” Jeff made this pronouncement without pausing in his massaging motion.
Alex opened her mouth to challenge his autocratic statement, but was distracted by Devon’s soap-slippery fingers parting her labia. He slipped a finger into her vagina, and she clamped on him.
Devon made a dark sound of mirth. “You can let go, Alex. Breakfast first.”
She nearly ground her teeth but forced her muscles to relax as he stroked in and out. And suddenly was on her stomach in the bath, in a wild swishing and swirling of water, Jeff supporting her head with an arm under her chest. Devon parted her buttocks and lathered her from anus to clit, cleansing the folds of her vulva. He pushed against her puckered rosebud with a thick finger, eyeing the rim of pink visible through the soap foam.
“Jesus, Alex. Your body hasn’t forgotten us, even if your mouth wants to hold us off.”
Alex pushed back into his touch, involuntarily moaning.
Jeff laughed and said, “I’ve got something for that sassy mouth, Devon. Hell, we both do, and maybe that’s what we give her each and every time she talks back. She’ll be on her knees a lot.”
Devon removed his finger, and Alex trembled, this time with anger. Devon would recognize her arousal and resentment at being denied. She wasn’t afraid anymore, she couldn’t be when aroused, so that’s where they would plan keep her. Aroused, on the edge, making her confession, telling them what went wrong and what she needed from them. She watched Devon reach into his shaving kit and pull out a safety razor. He dealt with the curls on her vulva efficiently, rinsing the soap and hair away as he worked. Alex held herself rigid against his ministrations in silent mutiny.
She fought to stay still as the men helped her to stand and turned the shower on to rinse her then wrapped her in the towels that had come with the apartment, as poor an excuse as the washcloth. She could sense their anger about the paucity of her circumstances, but she wouldn’t apologize or explain. She had lived just fine by herself these past months, gotten by without them and the luxuries of life. Her head came up, and her shoulders squared at the thought.
Jeff held her at arm’s length. “And there’s a bit of our girl, Dev. She just got pissed for some reason. Alex is coming back to us. Do you suppose she has a temper?”
Alex compressed her lips then breathed through them. “I’d like to get dressed now. I’m hungry.”
They seemed to move as if electrified. Jeff found a sports bra and pulled it down over her head, fitting her breasts into it as though he had done it all his life. Devon held her weight on his hip as he lifted her foot to slip one side of her panties on, shifting quickly to the other foot. Both men pulled her briefs up to her waist, hands meeting over her abdomen, pressing gently against the baby bump.
“Cotton panties, Alex. We shouldn’t be letting you wear panties at all. But cotton…” Jeff teased her gently. “I guess a bra will be necessary. You are already a bit larger than I remember. Babies do that, eh?”
Alex just stood there, keeping her own counsel. A little voice in her head told her to pick her battles. Besides, she’d never gotten dressed this fast in her life, and she was starving.
A T-shirt followed the bra, though Jeff hesitated with the fabric over her eyes, and she knew he was off in his head, thinking about blindfolding her, enhancing her other senses for sexual play. However, he moved on, just as Devon repeated the panty process and pulled her sweats on. Her socks were slipped on next, and she was allowed to toe the sneakers on all by herself. She was definitely going to pay them back.
Chapter Eighteen
Breakfast at the diner was surreal. The staff vacillated between intense curiosity and hostility directed at Jeff and Devon. They sat in a corner booth, Alex sandwiched between them. Annie relaxed when she saw the care they took with her, ordering her a healthy breakfast and offering her tidbits from their own plates. Max, the owner, blustered at them for a while then backed off at their civility. He even blushed when they thanked him for giving Alex a job and helping to take care of her. Alex was pretty sure no one spit in their food in the kitchen either. Part of her branded her friends as traitors, but another part wanted them to like her men. After all, when she started to show pregnant, it would help if Annie and the rest saw her not as a single mother, but that her baby actually had caring, interested dads. Even if she had run away from them.
Devon and Jeff excused her from the diner, explaining they were taking her to the doctor. Annie’s brow creased with suspicion, and then she smiled widely. Alex sighed. She hoped the door would actually close behind them before the gossip and speculation started.
Alex next sat with Devon and Jeff in the waiting room of the doctor’s office. Jeff had called ahead and somehow obtained a brief appointment with the busy physician. All around her were people in various straits. Some seemed ill with flu or colds while others sported bandages and uncovered stitches. A couple of women were clearly pregnant but alone. Men worked in this town and couldn’t take time off to go to the doctor with their wives, even if they were pregnant. Alex felt both lucky and guilty. She had two men with her. By now most of the town would know that they both were with her, and probably that she was pregnant. Alex thought Annie had suspected, even though she wasn’t sure herself until the doctor had confirmed it. Right.
What the hell was she denying? The days of nausea, extreme tiredness, and despondency had pretty much passed, but not the memory. It would have been nice to have someone close to be with during that time, but the crew at the diner had been really great even if they had never given her the impression that they wondered what was wrong with her. Alex knew they would stand by her through the remainder of her pregnancy, too. Because she was going to convince Devon and Jeff that she was staying in New Bushnell. They could help out financially with the baby if they wanted to, and she would encourage contact, but…
“No, Alex,” Jeff murmured in her ear.
“We can feel you thinking, honey, and you aren’t pulling away from us,” Devon contended.
Alex sat up straight with a jerk. God, she forgot how they could read her. Maybe not read her mind exactly, but knew where she was headed in her thoughts. She was vaguely aware she wasn’t so afraid anymore, but she knew they were going to have a talk with her and that scared her silly.
“Ms. Desjarlais? Please come in now.” The elderly nurse smiled diffidently toward Alex.
Alex stood, followed by the men, and the nurse took a small step backward then collected herself and showed them all into the cramped examining room.
“Dr. Owens will be right with you. Please put the gown on, Ms. Desjarlais.”
The two men took up much of the space and the very air seemed swallowed up by them. Devon started to divest her of her clothes while Jeff shook out the pink gown lying on the exam table. When she was naked and then covered by the gown, Jeff swung her up to sit on the table and leaned against the wall. Devon took the side chair.
A faint knock sounded at the door, and it swung open to admit Dr. Owens. He was studying a chart, and when he glanced up he seemed startled to see two men in the room with his patient.
Jeff pushed forward and offered his hand. “Jeff Staples, doctor. My partner, Devon Rust.”
Dr. Owens shook hands then looked toward Alex.
“Good to see you again, Alex. I thought we were going to do the exam next week and schedule an ultrasound, but Mr. Staples was most convincing that we try to fit things in today,” he said.
Alex tried a smile and then shrugged. “I appreciate you doing this, Dr. Owens.”
The physician waited for more, but when she said nothing further, he pulled some latex glo
ves from the box on the shelf by the table and asked her to lie down and put her feet in the stirrups. Alex began to tremble. Instantly, Jeff was by her side, soothing her onto her back, and setting her feet into the stirrups, and helping her slide down until her knees were up and apart. He probably knew she was flashing back to their playroom when they used a similar exam table to introduce her to the pleasures of vaginal and anal exams. That had been intense for all of them, but particularly for her, as any final vestiges of modesty had been stripped away that night to be replaced by waves of pleasure. Jeff pulled the paper sheet across her lower body and stepped back, taking her hand in his.
Devon moved around to the other side of the table and laid his hand on her stomach, rubbing gently. He leaned down to kiss her forehead.
Dr. Owens looked bemused, and then his eyes sharpened.
“Are you okay, Alex? Do you want privacy?” he asked.
Alex shut her eyes and mutely shook her head.
“She’s fine, doctor. Proceed,” said Devon.
The doctor lubed his fingers and gently inserted them inside Alex’s vagina. She took a breath and tried to relax while her men murmured encouragement to her. Dr. Owens’s other hand pressed down on her abdomen, and his forehead creased in concentration. He withdrew his fingers and stripped the glove, watching as Devon pulled the paper sheet down to cover Alex. “I’d say you are close to four months along, Alex. And if you are correct in knowing your last menstrual cycle, I’d pick December twenty-first as a due date. We’ll confirm it with an ultrasound.”
“When will the ultrasound be scheduled?” asked Devon.
“Next week,” replied Dr. Owens. “Probably late in the week.”
“Alex has a doctor in Tulsa, and she’s moving back, but we will make sure she has the test here,” asserted Devon.
Alex stiffened at his high-handed comment, and Jeff’s hand tightened on hers in warning. She was also puzzled. Was Devon actually backing off on his threat to pack her up and move her home right away? The doctor was talking again, and she shook herself out of her reverie to listen to him.
“Alex, you need to gain some weight, eat healthy foods, and drink more water. Keep taking the vitamins I gave you, and if your feet or legs swell, you’ll have to find a job where you won’t stand so much. Otherwise, you are in good shape. Follow any new doctor’s instructions as your pregnancy progresses and have him write for your records here if necessary.”
“We’d like to ask you some questions about activity for Alex, as her health and the baby’s are paramount to us,” Devon continued.
With Jeff’s help, Alex struggled up on the table and swung her legs over the edge. He held her sitting in place.
“Darlin’, the doctor is bound by confidentiality. And I’m sure he’s heard most everything there is to hear. We need to know what we can and can’t do with you,” Jeff clarified.
Alex’s face flamed. She knew this was coming. She just knew it. They couldn’t leave her any pride. Yet she had understood their lifestyle and knew that it was true her safety and her child’s would come first. But she hated them. Damned if she would let the doctor see it, though, as he’d feel obliged to interfere and who knows what would happen about the baby. She’d be judged an unfit mother or something. Here she was swearing, too, albeit in her head. They were bringing out the worst in her.
Dr. Owens fixed his gaze on Alex’s now calm face, and if he’d seen any evidence of her internal struggle, he didn’t show it.
Devon asked, “Can Alex take double penetration?”
The doctor asked, “Vaginal or vaginal-anal?”
“Both.”
“It should be okay until the seventh month, and then you could create some issues, like early birth. But if Alex sees another doctor, ask that same question each exam. There is certainly no need to discontinue intercourse, however.”
“Thanks,” Devon said.
Dr. Owens offered Alex his hand then nodded to Jeff and Devon. He smiled at her and then left the room.
Jeff pulled her to him and kissed her hard, his tongue pushing into the recesses of her mouth, taking her breath. Alex felt her eyes roll back, and then he released her to Devon’s deep kiss.
“We are going to be good dads to our baby, honey. Just wait and see” was Jeff’s solemn vow.
Devon hugged her to him, breathing against her hair. “Our baby is coming for Christmas,” he murmured.
Alex said nothing all the way to the SUV and stared out the window on the drive to the grocery store. She trailed along as Devon and Jeff chose items for lunch and supper. Anticipation coiled in her middle and drizzled down into her vulva. Her breasts felt heavy and tight. She didn’t know what they planned for her when they got back to her apartment, but some of it wouldn’t be much fun, at least not for her. Part of her raged, feeling she was going to be punished like a child. Another part tingled for what would come afterward. And yet another part of her, a part they had only glimpsed in the past and for a second or two this morning, fought its way to the surface. She repeated her vow from the doctor’s office.
* * * *
Alex was going to take a stand. Jeff could feel it. He glanced at Devon, who seemed oblivious. He thought about raising his assumption with Dev, and then mentally shrugged. They worked well enough together so that when Alex put it out there, they would deal with it. This relationship was going to move forward, and exorcising the demons was part of it.
Alex was sent off to lie down while Devon and Jeff put the groceries away and fixed lunch. She was sleeping when he checked on her, and he decided to leave her to get her rest. She was going to need it later. The gold roots of her hair shone above the dead, brown shade she had used to camouflage her appearance, and her long lashes rested on her cheeks like wings. Her hands were curled under the pillow, her legs slightly drawn up against her body. She hadn’t changed into a nightgown, though he’d seen the flannel monstrosity hanging in the closet. Her clothes were rumpled, and Alex looked like a beautiful elf lying there on the bed.
He heard Devon come to stand beside him, heard Devon’s breath caught in his throat, and his friend backed away to clear it, not wanting to wake Alex. He and Devon loved this woman, and their lives were going to change, he just knew it, and he was willing to make that change, for her. He smiled wryly, recognizing the challenges ahead. Life was never boring with Alex around.
Jeff spoke to Devon. “I wish I could be as sure as you are that she’ll give in to us, buddy. I feel real certain, and then I get something coming off her that scares the shit out of me.”
Devon looked from Jeff to Alex. “I feel it, too, but I think it’s just going to make things better between us. One thing for sure, communication, as they say, is the key to every relationship. That may sound like pussy talk, but we’ve learned the hard way, and we are going to communicate if I have to tie Alex to the bed whenever we leave the house.”
Jeff’s chortled and hoped Devon knew how contradictory that statement sounded, but was also fully cognizant of how needy he was and that Devon totally got it. Because he felt the same way.
Chapter Nineteen
Alex came awake to the smell of grilling chicken. Her eyes popped open, and she thought she had been dreaming of the diner. But no, she was in her bedroom, on her bed, with a blanket draped across her. One of the guys must have covered her up. The guys! She sat up and stared toward the kitchen. They were here, in her kitchen by the sounds of things. Had last night and this morning really happened?
Her brief nap had allowed her brain to focus and process some ambiguities. Their behaviour was pretty much what she expected, especially when they had learned of the pregnancy, but they both had said things, things that didn’t fit. She was positive they were trying to apologize to her for something and make concessions of a sort. If only she wasn’t so aware of her failure. Alex thought she might have been able to have some sort of dialogue with them, but her inability to meet their expectations and needs weighed too heavily on her. They would share
her again with some other Dom, and she would never be able to get through the experience and couldn’t expect to be saved by the sound of the bell, literally, again. What to do…
Jeff poked his head in and saw she was awake.
“Come to the kitchen, babe,” he said. “Lunch is almost ready, and you’re eating for two.”
Alex got up and mutely went to the bathroom to relieve herself and wash her face and hands. The face that stared back at her from the mirror reflected conflicting emotions, but the eyes were sick with shame.
“Alex.” Jeff stood in the doorway of the bathroom, totally male, totally confident.
Alex’s heart hitched, and she obediently stepped toward him. He wrapped his arm possessively around her shoulders and escorted her to the small counter stool.
Salad topped with grilled chicken graced two plates on the counter. A thick ham sandwich with potato chips sat on another in front of Devon. Devon couldn’t bear salad, but had clearly taken the trouble to make sure she had a healthy meal. A tall glass of water, one of milk, and two long-necked beers accompanied the meals.
“The doctor said you needed to eat more and eat healthy,” Devon said. “And drink lots of water and milk. So have at it.”
Once again the boss of her. Sheesh. Such contradictions as usual, going to such trouble for her then ordering her to eat. Pick your battles, Alex, she silently told herself. The war was ahead, and she had to win that one.
She knew Jeff watched her as she did as Devon bid her and began to eat, her appetite reviving as she worked her way through the salad. Jeff devoured his, enjoying the fact that they liked similar foods. Devon caught her eye, a mouthful of sandwich, and grinned around it. Such a domestic scene, he telegraphed with his eyebrows. Alex narrowed her eyes and managed not to say anything caustic.
Young, Allyson - Away (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 15