“We’ll see.” Oliver’s tone suggested failure. Will looked forward to proving him wrong.
“Still coming to Ben’s birthday party tomorrow?” he asked.
Oliver chuckled. “As much as I’d like to sit back with popcorn and watch this play out, I’m going to stay home. I wouldn’t want to distract you from your purpose. I’m still in awe that you managed to pull off a surprise party.”
“You sadly underestimate my powers, Oliver.”
“Yeah, well, you might be generating your own kryptonite.”
Will sank into his chair when they disconnected. He never should have called Oliver. With a few words, the man had sown deep seeds of doubt.
Joy and dread chased each around Will. Dread was leading. He was putting a lot of faith in those old sparks he’d seen between the two of them igniting again. He hoped to hell they didn’t wind up blowing him to smithereens in the process.
He jumped when his phone chirped he had a text. He looked. Rachel.
Dinner tonight?
Of course he replied Yes! and knew she’d supply the where and when later.
Dinner implied more too. They’d wind up at his place, unless he could convince her to go to Ben’s.
Will discounted that. Ben could stew a little more. Besides, Will needed to soften Rachel up a bit before the two met, get in under her defenses when she wasn’t expecting it.
The challenge made Will hard as a rock. Beating off wasn’t an option. His Lady was on the way. Control was now in her hands.
Now, to use it against her.
If he ever needed to be at the top of his game, it was now. Everything was in motion, even the birthday party had been planned to help ease them together. Family only, so she could see that domestic side of Ben. He had to play it through, keep up the facade of business until the inevitable happened.
* * * *
That afternoon, Ben monitored Will’s preparations for Monday’s business meeting with Rachel, approving all of his ideas and offering few suggestions. Will could see that certain something simmering under the man’s skin. It spoke in his movements, the assessing look in his eyes, the professional voice that was much too precise and clipped. This was the Ben who dominated board meetings and affirmed his place in the business world. This was a man to have on your side in battle. A man to be feared.
Dread crawled up his spine. Trying to anticipate what could happen when these titans met head-on gave Will the headache from hell. It chased away his erection and followed him home after work, threatening to spoil his evening. Will thought of canceling and sending Rachel straight to Ben just to get their meeting over with. He sighed. No, he couldn’t do that. He’d missed her in the month since they’d last seen each other. Will needed her. If Ben couldn’t understand that, they were doomed before they even began. Maybe they were anyway. Maybe Oliver was right.
Will shook his head. No, failure wasn’t an option. He knew them both. He knew what was right.
It had to be a sin to be so in love with a woman. And an even bigger sin not to do anything about it. But Will knew Rachel needed the full package—a Dom and sub to complete her.
The solution had hit him from out of nowhere. One of those duh moments, where Will couldn’t understand why he hadn’t thought of it sooner. That’s where Ben came in.
The three of them would be magnificent together. Ben and Rachel’s reaction when he’d introduced them last year proved it. They’d all be together now if Roger hadn’t gone ape-shit crazy on them that night.
Neither had had much to say about each other since then, though it was clear both resented the parameters of Roger’s will. Ben had gone ballistic when he’d learned about Rachel’s past tie to his father. The news hadn’t set too well with Will either. Rachel refused to discuss it, and that tight set to her mouth when Will had asked seemed proof she damn well meant it. Oliver remained mute, citing community confidentiality. If they could get beyond that…
Well, he’d been the mediator this past year; why not now? He’d sow the seeds with Rachel tonight, work on Ben tomorrow over breakfast, and be with them every step of the way to smooth their path to oneness.
The headache throbbed behind his eyes. Wrangling tigers would be easier. But Will wanted this more than anything. It’d mean having Rachel with him—and Ben—always. His heart squeezed, his cock demanded attention, and a rush of nervous energy swamped him.
You can do this. You’ve had bigger challenges.
He couldn’t do anything unless he got home in one piece, though. The way he was driving at the moment, that was questionable. Finally, he pulled into his driveway and lifted a wave to the neighbor outside teaching his kid how to mow the lawn. The woman on the other side pruned her roses, one eye always tuned in to the world around her.
Will hit the garage remote and smiled when the door lifted. Parked in his spot was a light green sedan he’d recognize anywhere. Rachel was here.
Anticipation blasted his headache into oblivion. Insides quivering, he somehow managed to pull into the second spot and shut off the car. The door to the kitchen opened. His heart raced when Rachel stepped out to greet him.
She was dressed in aqua Capri pants and a sleeveless yellow shirt. Her long black hair was pulled into a ponytail, her blue eyes were bright, and a wide smile crested her face just for him.
Will’s heart raced him to the door. The rest of him had yet to move. He shot a glance at the laptop case on the floor beside him. It could wait. All he wanted was her. A press of a button closed the garage door, engulfing them in privacy. The ceiling light clicked on before he could shoulder his car door open.
Eyes locked on her, he got out of the car. “Hello, beautiful.”
“Hello, handsome.” Rachel met him at the hood of his car. A whiff of roasted chicken drifted from the kitchen.
“You made dinner.” He slipped his arms around her waist as she curled his tie around one hand and cupped his crotch with the other.
“Rosemary chicken with red potatoes and brussels sprouts.”
His favorites.
“What’s this?” She squeezed his package.
“A present for you?” He slipped his hand to her butt and tried to pull her closer.
Rachel didn’t budge. “Open it.” Her Domme tone, the one not to be messed with.
He did as ordered but took his time about it for fear one brush of anything against his erection would have him coming. Outside sounds—the lawn mower, kids playing, a car horn blaring—covered the sound of his belt buckle opening, then his zipper. Nothing kept the thud of his heart out of his ears, though.
Rachel glanced down when he dropped his trousers, boxer briefs, and finally unleashed his aching hard-on. It sprang free and into her waiting palm.
“Very nice.” Her fingers slithered up and down the underside of his cock. “How long have you had this?”
“All day, my Lady.” Will braced his hands of the hood of the car, giving himself up to her.
“How painful.”
Raven put a little distance between them, taking his tie with her. He vaguely wondered when she’d gotten it unknotted, wondered what she’d do next, wondered when he could come. His cock thrust out beneath his shirttails. Hard, seeping precum, crying for her touch. The kiss of silk over it felt like a lash. Will cried out and thrust his hips forward.
“Easy there.” Her voice was as soft as her touch. “I’m going to make it all better.”
“I’m close, my Lady.”
“Are you?” Raven brushed her palm down his cock, then cupped his sac.
Will spread his legs as far as his clothing allowed. Everything lay wadded at his ankles, anchored there by his shoes, binding him as effectively as Raven could with her bag of tricks. He leaned farther against the hood, offering himself to her.
Raven’s mmm rumbled through him. She pulled at his balls, demanding they move away from his body, kneaded them, separated them, then squeezed them together once more. He hooked his heels on the bumper, hoisted
himself up, and splayed his knees to the sides. One hard tug on the tie wrapped around his erection pulled him back into place.
“Did I tell you to take that position?”
“No, my Lady Raven,” he gasped out.
“Remain as I had you, or I’ll put a heavy-duty cock ring on you and ride you till I come four times. Then, and only then, will I allow you to come.”
“Yes, my Lady.” The thought alone sent a rush zinging down his cock. Will clenched his stomach against release. It only made it worse. “Perhaps that’s what I need.” He could barely speak for the fire burning his crotch.
“I’ll decide what you need.” She raked her short fingernails under his shirt, over his abs, then down his thighs. “I’m sympathetic to how you’ve suffered all day, and very pleased at the control you exhibited by holding back.” She wrapped the ends of his blue tie around her hands. “That alone deserves a reward.” Then she sawed the tie over his cock.
Groaning, Will struggled for a handhold on the hot car. Fought to remain in place. Both were impossible. She worked his dick like she was trying to start a fire, up and down, up and down, faster and faster. The fire before was nothing compared to now. His tight balls hugged his body. Semen had backed up to his navel, determined to find a way out.
Instinct pulled him backward once more.
“No.” Raven tightened the tie, choking off his impending release. “Back in position. Last warning.”
“Please, I’m going to come.” He kept his eyes squeezed shut while he fought for control.
“That is the point, love.” She tickled the tips of the tie over his inner thighs.
“But…if I’m upright, I’ll be coming all over you.”
“Indeed.”
He opened his eyes to a sexy-as-hell smile. Hands wedged under him, Will forced himself to remain in place. Raven loosened the choke hold on his cock and rasped it over him again…and again. Stoking the fires.
Raven wedged herself between his thighs until his erection was trapped between them. She looped the tie in one hand, worked the other hand around to his ass, then stabbed her short nails into his flesh.
Will clenched his jaw against the growl that tore from his throat. The neighbors will hear. The thought made it all the more arousing. He humped her stomach and let go. Jets of semen soaked her shirt. The aftermath left him spent, his legs watery. He almost grabbed Raven when she stepped away. His arms refused to move.
He watched her undress through blurry eyes. She wore a white camisole and tap pants, satiny from the looks of them. Both were edged in wide lace.
“I’d like you in your boxer briefs. I like how they flatter your tight backside. Come…we still have some time before dinner. I think bath time’s in order.”
That stirred his cock and gave Will the impetus to move. He loved baths and showers with her. They were his favorite things to do. Unfortunately, he was so focused on watching her fine backside he forgot his clothes were tangled around his ankles and nearly fell. By the time he got stripped down to his briefs, she was already ensconced in a sea of bubbles. A bottle of sauvignon blanc and two glasses were on a low tray by the bathtub. She’d taken the faucet side of the tub. Will stripped off the underwear and slipped into the hot suds.
“God, that feels good,” he said with a sigh.
“Good.” She draped her legs over his.
“I want to please you.” In so many ways. He loved making her come; the way she tensed and then let go on a sigh-groan made him want to do it again and again.
“You do please me.” She smiled around a sip of wine.
“That’s not what I mean, and you know it.”
Her sharp glance warned him. His cock came to attention. The rest of him didn’t want to play at the moment.
“Crytobiology.” His safe word.
Like that she shifted into Rachel. Will saw it in her body language, in the aura around her. Like a mask had been pulled off or slipped into place.
Rachel set her glass on the tray and scooted to one side. “Oh good. My heart wasn’t really in this right now. I wanted to enjoy the bubbles.” She swept her hand through the suds. “Come sit with me. I could use a cuddle.”
Will slid in beside her, then spread his legs and pulled her into the cove of his body. “You can use a safe word too, you know.”
“I know.” She grabbed both glasses and handed one to him. “I like to make sure you have all you need when we’re together.”
“Right now, this is all I need.”
“Me too.” She rested her head on his shoulder. “Although, that orgasm you suggested would be very nice too.”
Will chuckled and put his glass back on the table again. He closed his eyes and glided his hands over her slick skin. Just as he did in his fantasies of her, Will rolled his palms over her hardened nipples until her every breath was a soft moan.
She draped her arm behind her, grabbing his head and taking his lips with her own. Her tongue lashed his, giving and taking, spinning his heart like a merry-go-round. He pressed one hand lower, paused to twirl his finger into her belly button, then slid down until he found gold.
Rachel broke the kiss on a gasp and bowed into his touch. Her clit was hard, swollen to the breaking point. He flicked it under his fingers, traced her folds, dived into her pussy. And then did it all over again. And again.
She writhed against his erection and clamped her thighs around his hand to keep it in place. Always the Domme, whether she realized it or not. It was one of the things he loved about being with her.
He rolled her clit between thumb and forefinger, then dared a pinch and rolled again. Rachel froze, tensed, and came into his hand with that soft sigh-groan he dreamed about when she was gone.
Will’s erection throbbed against her lower back. He sorely regretted using his safe word now.
Chapter Four
A car horn snapped Ben to attention. He eased his car to the side of the street while a disgruntled soccer dad zipped his overfull van around him. The guy pulled into a driveway across from Will’s house, left off a kid, then sped down the street.
A woman trimming roses frowned and squinted at the departing vehicle, the pruners fisted at her hip. The neighbor on the other side stopped mowing with his son and watched the van leave as he yanked a cell phone from his shorts pocket. The neighborhood watch was on the alert. It was only a matter of time before they turned their attention his way.
Ben cut the engine and debated his options. He’d followed Will home to talk to him outside the office, friend to friend, business and bullshit on the shelf. He’d arrived in time to see Will’s garage door open. The sight of the light green car parked inside had stopped him cold. He knew it was Rachel’s. Its significance wasn’t lost on Ben.
This was proof of how close Rachel and Will were and of her intent to stay awhile. She had a key and access to Will’s garage.
Well…so did Ben. For safety’s sake, he and Will had exchanged keys long ago. Never had Ben been more tempted to use it. A litany of excuses ran through his head. “I knocked, but there was no answer.” “I didn’t think you’d mind.” “We do it all the time. How was I to know you had company?”
All stupid. All making him look like an ass in front of a woman he wanted to impress. A woman he wanted at his house doing with him whatever she was doing with Will…more or less.
They were having sex. He knew it. That’s what he’d be doing. Or maybe they were in a scene. God, how he’d love to see that, be a part of it.
Ben watched Will’s house, as if by some miracle he could will them both to leave and come over to his place. He could call, tell Will he knew Rachel was in there, and he wanted her at his house as they’d discussed. He could go in there and take control of the scene like the Dom he’d worked to become.
Ben sighed and rubbed his eyes. He knew everything about Rachel’s Raven, Rachel the artist, and little about her personally. How could he make so fatal a mistake? He’d been focused on control and sex, on successfull
y topping a powerful Domme who loved her sub time on the side, that he’d forgotten the basics. He wanted what Will had with her—permanence.
This was beyond taking her into the playroom and showing her a good time. Though if he failed there, any other plan was irrelevant. This was about weaving her into his life. About seeing to her needs. Now he just needed to figure out what those needs were.
He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. When in doubt, keep it simple. Stick to basics. How many times had he told his employees that?
A tap at his window startled him. Ben looked up at the bulk of a man standing there. The guy had no idea who he was dealing with. It was better that way. Ben didn’t need to be behind bars tonight, and it wasn’t like he didn’t expect to draw attention by staying here overly long.
“You lost?” the guy asked.
Not in the way he meant. “Cell phone.” Ben grabbed his phone from the console and held it up. The guy didn’t buy it.
“You need to move on.”
Ben couldn’t agree more. “Just finished up.”
After a final glower, the man jogged on. The same speeding soccer dad zoomed down the street on his return trip, giving the watch a fresh target and Ben a quiet escape. He had a lot to do to prepare for Rachel’s visit, because she would be coming for him.
The innocent words settled in his groin.
“This is ridiculous.”
He punched up Will’s number and stabbed in a text.
Thought I was specific. Her at MY house, not yours.
Ben hit Send, gave a nod of satisfaction, then headed home.
* * * *
This was nice, relaxing in Will’s arms while they sipped their wine. Finally.
“I swear, you’re a slave to your cell phone.”
“No, only to you. It’s off now.”
“I hope it was important. I don’t like interruptions.”
“Let’s just say it was noteworthy.”
He slipped back into the tub behind her. His erection nudged her back. Rachel ignored it, and Will did nothing to call attention to it, though she suspected he wanted to. She wasn’t happy about him dashing off to get the phone, and he knew it.
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