by Cara Adams
Leif had to hide a smile. She was blushing and looking down at the top of the table again. Their ribs arrived then, and he ordered another round of beverages for them all as well.
Leif picked up a rib, dipped it in barbecue sauce, and said, “Simon and I have been talking about getting an administrative assistant to help us both. We’ve got ideas about holding more private parties on the second floor during the daytime. Your bachelorette party with the frozen chocolate bananas would be the perfect type of customer. They could have a meal here, watch a stage show, and then spend a couple of hours in a private room with a stripper, or some slightly risqué games, or even just hang out together and talk while we provided more food and beverages.”
“What would your assistant be expected to do?”
“If we had help with all the paperwork, we could spend more of our time networking and getting our name out there so people planning parties would be more likely to find us.”
“We need to link our website to a lot of other event planning websites. Likely you could research some of those things for us,” added Simon.
“The Dom’s Dungeon is doing well but we can’t afford to sit back and relax. We want to continually improve, to continually make it a better place. BDSM clubs come to life at night but our facilities are here all day long. The daytime is very quiet. We get a steady stream of people in for lunch or an early dinner but we could do so much better. Two or three parties each day would be great for our bottom line.”
Leif watched her face. It was clear she liked the idea of working for them but something was holding her back. Was it loyalty to her employer? Or didn’t she trust them? But she was a strong person underneath those pink, blushing cheeks. He wasn’t surprised when she lifted her head up and looked at him and Simon directly.
“That’s all very good. I’m sure I’d like the work. But what happens when you both get tired of me? Will I be terminated? Will I have good references? It was hell trying to find a decent job and I’m not going to throw it away just for some hot sex. So thank you, but no. I think I’ll go home now.”
Leif jumped to his feet and gripped her elbows as she stood up. “No, you’ve misunderstood us. We want you to stay with us.”
Simon held her chair. “Please sit down again and listen to us. Maybe we went about this the wrong way around. Let Leif explain.”
“We’d better take this somewhere more private. We’ve got things to show you as well as tell you.”
Leif stared at Simon. They needed to convince her to stay with them. Simon would have to tell her he was a wolf. If they didn’t tell her everything now, she wouldn’t trust them in the future. Hell, she mightn’t trust them anyway. She’d taken the job offer badly as it was.
Chapter Seven
Tammy felt torn in half. She wanted to work for them. Being here with them would be heaven. In their arms, in their bed, and a job as well. It sounded like bliss. But she was so ordinary. How long would it be before they got tired of her and found someone much smarter, much prettier, much better in bed? Fuck, with the dancers and people who worked here, likely some hot sexy woman would snap them up in a heartbeat.
And then she’d be jobless, homeless, and loveless. Well, she’d known all along the affair wouldn’t last. She could deal with that, but she couldn’t just give up her job as well. It’d been too damn hard to get a real job as it was. No way was she going to throw it away for a night or two with these men, no matter how many amazing orgasms they could give her.
She followed them back up their apartment, to the beautiful room overlooking the city. Living here would be like being in a penthouse suite. She could sit by the window and watch the sunset. Gaze outside as night fell and the lights came on all over the city. It would be a never-ending show of color and light. Except for the slight problem that they would surely grow tired of her very soon. They were so caring and handsome no woman could deny them her body if they wanted it.
To her surprise Leif went straight across to the window and closed the drapes, turning on the lights. Then he took her hands and led her to the couch. The men sat opposite her, both of them holding her hands as if they thought she’d jump up and not listen to them unless they were physically connected. Little did they know how much she wanted to stay for as long as she could. But she had to be realistic here. She had to provide for herself.
“For years Simon and I have been looking for a woman to be in a permanent ménage relationship with us. There are always women willing to try out a ménage. Well, you know yourself how good the sex is. But we want more than that. We want someone to stay with us. We also want a woman open to BDSM. As soon as I saw you I knew you’d be the perfect sub to my Dom. And then when you joined us in bed we fell in love with you. Both of us.”
“Fell in love?” Tammy wondered if she was hearing what she wanted them to say, not what they were actually saying.
“Absolutely. Your eyes are such a beautiful green and they sparkle like emeralds. And when you blush, just like you are now, the pink flows over your face to color your skin so delicately it makes me want to hold you tightly,” said Simon.
“Be honest with me. You liked being tied up, didn’t you?” asked Leif.
“Yes.”
“And the sex. You loved the sex.”
This time she could hardly speak because of the lump in her throat. Hell yes she’d loved the sex. It had been the best ever. But that wasn’t the point. The point was, “What happens when you no longer want me? When someone much more attractive comes along? I’ll have no job to go back to and no way to support myself.”
“I don’t believe the love will fade. What I feel for you I’ve never felt for another woman. I promise you that’s the truth.”
Leif was staring into her eyes and his shone with candor and honesty. She had to believe him even though logic screamed that two men loving her was improbable. But oh, she wanted to believe him. Wanted desperately to believe they loved her as much as she was drawn to them. She hadn’t even defined it as love in her mind. She’d only acknowledged her intense desire for them, and her craving to be with them. But it was love. She knew that. Recognized it for what it was, here and now.
“I saw you have a lot of books in your apartment. Do you ever read stories about shape-shifters? Nalini Singh? Kresley Cole? Patricia Briggs? Kelley Armstrong? Stephenie Meyer?” asked Simon.
“Yes. Why?”
“Have you ever thought that shape-shifters might be more than just stories?”
“Trinidad absolutely believes they exist.”
“But you don’t?” This time it was Leif asking the question.
Tammy tried to answer fairly. “I believe that Trinidad believes they’re real.”
“Why does Trinidad believe in them?” Leif persisted.
“She hasn’t said, but the look in her face when she speaks about them, can’t be explained any other way.”
Simon gripped her hand more tightly and said, “Pay attention, Tamara. I’m about to tell you something I’ve never told any other woman ever. A secret that could put me in great danger if you don’t respect my sharing it with you.”
“I would never deliberately hurt you or endanger you.”
“I know. That’s why I’m going to trust you. You see, I am a shape-shifter. I’m a werewolf.”
Both the men were far too serious for this to be some crazy kind of joke. The room was full of the atmosphere of their intense concentration on her. She could feel it. Hell, she could almost see it. She had no option but to believe Simon. “How did it happen? Did a wolf bite you on a full moon or something?”
Simon laughed and Leif grunted.
“That’s just a story from very old, very bad movies. I’m a werewolf shape-shifter because my parents were wolves. It’s a gene handed down from parent to child. But far too few females are born, so many male werewolves have to look among humans to find their mate. Leif is a human and my best friend. He and I long ago decided to find a woman to share. We want that woman to
be you. We want you not just to stay with us, and to work for the club if that’s what you want, but to mate us, to live with us as our wife forever.”
Tammy pulled her hands away and leaned back on the couch. “I want you both, too. I love you both very much and agree the chemistry between us is scorching hot. But you need to see this from my point of view. The only person around to look after me is me. My parents love me, but there is no room for me in their apartment, and no money for me in their budget. I have to support myself with my job. It’s all very well to say quit my apartment, quit my job, and be with you. If I had a nice cushion in the bank to fall back on if things went wrong, I’d do that in a heartbeat. But I have no godmother, fairy or otherwise. The one who looks after me is me. Or, as we sometimes say at work, it’s a committee of me, myself, and I. Whatever, I can’t just throw in all my security to fall in with your plans.”
Simon stood up. “Do you believe me when I say I’m a werewolf?” he challenged her.
She stared up at him. Did she? He had that constant movement thing going again now. Was it just his nerves? Was he angry because she hadn’t come right out and said she trusted him not to lie to her? Or could he really be a paranormal creature? Although, wasn’t it cats that always paced up and down, not dogs?
Finally she said, “I don’t think you are intentionally trying to mislead me so I’ll stay here.”
* * * *
Fuck it. She didn’t believe him. There was only one thing left to do. Simon stepped back from the couch and ripped his shirt off, heedless of buttons popping and one sleeve tearing. He unbuckled his belt and tugged down the zipper, forcing his jeans off his legs half unzipped, and all the while he was toeing off his shoes.
The moment he was naked he stared hard at Tamara and changed. His werewolf had brown fur the color of his hair and the same dark brown eyes. Besides, it wasn’t like he was expecting her to pick him out of a pack. He was the only one here with the werewolf gene. He padded over to Tamara and rubbed his head on her knee, staring up into her face.
He knew instantly that she was surprised, but not shocked, and she was smiling.
“Well. So Trinidad was right after all. You do indeed exist. Oh I wish I could tell her about you. She’d be so pleased and excited.”
He stalked around the room, unable to resist showing off his sleek coat and long tail. Besides, his body craved the change into his wolf, and he wanted to spend a few minutes in this form to enjoy the freedom from the endless itch in his skin to be his wolf. Finally he sighed and changed back, pulling his jeans on.
Leif said, “Tamara, am I correct in assuming your major concern is how you will support yourself should this relationship break down? I have to tell you, werewolf matings don’t permit divorce, and so should we decide to mate as a ménage, it would be for life. However, right now what we’re asking you is to live with us and be our woman. The aim would be that we mate when you’re ready for that. But right now, today, we want you to agree move in with us. Not just for a week, but permanently.”
Simon worried that it was all much too fast. Tamara had already refused to leave her job. Throwing a mating at her as well might not be a good move. He hoped Leif knew what he was doing here.
“I don’t wish to quit my job without some security. I could ask for a week’s vacation time, but usually that has to be done months in advance. I doubt it’d be granted right now without warning.”
Simon suddenly sat up straight an idea almost blinding him with its brilliance. “If I could promise you another job if our ménage doesn’t work out, a promise you could have in writing, would you agree to move in with us?”
“Wherever would you get me a job? It took me months to find one.”
“I can. I know I can.”
“A written promise of a real job? Not just minimum wage?”
“Yes.”
Simon looked at Leif and knew he’d worked out what he was going to say.
“All right. I agree.”
Simon pulled his cell phone out of his jeans and scrolled through his contacts for a number that was in every werewolf’s cell phone, but only ever used in emergencies. It was the werewolf headquarters, jokingly called “Wolf Central” among the packs.
He swiped the call to speaker so Leif and Tamara could hear what was said.
“Vukic Industries.”
“Hi there. My name is Simon Jeffries and I’m a co-owner of The Dom’s Dungeon.”
“Wait a moment please.”
Simon stared at the cell phone in surprise. He could hear the tapping of keys and the voice came back. “Yes, Mr. Jeffries. How may I help you?”
The man on the phone must have been looking him up on some database. Simon shrugged. “Leif and I have found our woman but she’s reluctant to move in with us because she’s frightened of losing her job if our ménage fails. Would Mr. Vukic please be able to promise her an administration position in one of his businesses to reassure her that she will be cared for always?”
There was some more tapping of keys and then the man said, “What is the lady’s name please?”
“Tamara Wiltshire.”
“And her e-mail address?”
Simon looked at Tamara who called it out. The man repeated it back to her and said. “It’s Sunday today so it might be tomorrow before the letter arrives. Is there anything else I can help you with today?”
“No. Thank you, you’ve been very helpful.”
“Not a problem. Good-bye.”
Simon turned to Tamara. “Now will you move in with us?”
“Your networking skills are very tempting, but I need some time to think. This wasn’t what I was expecting today.”
Before he could say anything more to her she disappeared into the bathroom and shut the door, just like she’d done after the fire alarm fiasco at the hotel. Simon stared at Leif but his best friend just shrugged.
“I guess we wait.”
* * * *
Tammy sat on the floor, her back against the tub, thinking, thinking, thinking. One side of the ledger had the kindness, gentleness, consideration, and care the men had demonstrated toward her, and all the many amazing orgasms they’d gifted to her. Every single time they’d ensured she received pleasure before taking it themselves. No one had ever treated her like that before.
On the other side of the ledger was her security. Her apartment, her car, her job, her safety. No, not her safety. She knew they wouldn’t hurt her.
No, they might not physically hurt her, but no matter how often they said they loved and wanted her, she found it hard to believe they wouldn’t lose interest in her when a shiny new sex toy appeared. A woman much prettier than her, and one who had a hell of a lot more erotic tricks. That she could believe.
Lief had just said shape-shifters never divorced. But maybe they had affairs. She’d rather move on than watch her men fucking someone else.
The pain that stabbed through her body at that thought rocked her to the core of her being. Damn it, she was hopelessly in love with Simon and Leif already. After only a weekend with them.
And what about the whole werewolf thing? What did she think about that? It wasn’t like she’d been expecting Simon to turn all furry. Or was she? Over and over again she’d noted how he never stood still, how he always kept moving. Hell, she’d even adopted it herself as a technique to use to escape all her aunts.
Actually, she found it easier to believe that Trinidad had been correct all along and shape-shifters existed, than that two unbearably handsome men wanted to marry her.
Tammy stood up and filled a glass with cold water drinking it down fast before pouring a second glassful and sipping it. She lay flat on her back on the tiles and thought, then paced around the small room and thought some more. She added the pros and cons over and over again until her mind was a blur and a headache was pounding away behind her eyes.
Only then was she ready to face the facts. Shape-shifter or human, divorce or no divorce, job or no job, she wanted these men,
needed these men, with a passion that overwhelmed sober common sense. Simon being a shape-shifter? That wasn’t a problem for her.
* * * *
An hour later they were down in the basement in Leif’s favorite dungeon. It was the one where he kept most of his ropes, sealed in a private drawer to which he had the only key. Once the dungeon door was locked and the security camera switched off, he said, “Undress, please, Tamara, so we can begin.”
“Are you and Simon going to undress as well?”
“A good sub never questions her Dom.”
“In that case, I expect bad subs have a hell of a lot more fun.”
Leif stared at her, noticing the way her emerald eyes sparkled with naughtiness and her lips tilted up at the edges. He knew from looking at her she was already aroused and anticipating their playtime. And now she’d be in his dungeon permanently. That result was the best thing that could ever have happened to him. He was so glad he’d attended that damn wedding. Meeting Tamara had made his and Simon’s lives complete.
He decided to answer this time. “We’re all getting naked right now, and then you may help me with the next step.”
Silently she turned and undressed, piling her clothes against the wall. As always, Simon left his where they fell, but they were out of the way. Simon was too smart to undress in the middle of the room where the floor space might be needed. As for himself, he left his clothes on top of the counter. They wouldn’t be in the way. Almost everything he needed would come out of his own special drawer and one other drawer. The beauty of this dungeon was the eyebolt in the ceiling, perfectly placed for shibari.
He handed Tamara a cock ring. “Do you know what that is?”