“You must be losing your touch, old man,” Toby said, his eyes dancing with mirth. “Normally women throw themselves at your feet. I would have thought getting an already naked woman into the bed of the great Nick Richards would have been a foregone conclusion.”
“Brianna’s different. I think she actually thought for a second I was going to force myself on her.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. I won’t deny I wanted her, but forcing a woman has never been my style. As you know, women usually beg me to give them what they want. I actually found it somewhat refreshing that she wasn’t falling at my feet, as you put it.”
“So what’s the plan? Should we invite her over? Convince her that the three of us are a package that’s better than anything she’s ever opened on Christmas morning and make her beg us to take her to bed?”
“If I thought that would work, I’d say yes.”
Toby sat back in his chair. “Do you want her for yourself?”
“No. That’s not it. You know how I feel about the three of us taking a woman together. There’s nothing quite like it. It’s just that she’s a recovering drug addict. It’s probably best to leave her alone.”
“You’re thinking she might not be stable enough for the kind of sex the three of us demand from a woman.”
“I certainly wouldn’t want to take a chance on her relapsing when she realizes we aren’t looking for anything more than her submission with no strings attached. I’m attracted to her, but not at the expense of what could be her sobriety. Besides, Aunt Amanda might come back from the grave and haunt us.”
“We wouldn’t want that,” Toby agreed. “Aunt Amanda was a force to be reckoned with when she was alive. Dead…that could be scary.”
“I’m serious about her relapsing. I wouldn’t want that to happen.”
“Neither would I,” Toby said softly. “We saw what happened with Jarred. I lost count of the times he relapsed before he died.”
“Uncle William and Aunt Amanda did everything they could for him. It was heartbreaking to watch as they lost their only son. I still can’t believe he’s gone. And now they’re gone too.”
“I miss her too, Nick. She and Uncle William were very good to us after Mom and Dad died. Even though Jarred was constantly in and out of jail as well as rehab, they always found time for us.”
“I’m glad we were here for her when he died and then when Uncle William died less than a year later. I swear it was from a broken heart.”
“She often told us,” Toby said, his eyes becoming slightly teary, “that we kept her going. When Teddy and I went off to college, she started helping drug addicts. She was one of the best people I’ve ever known.”
“That she was. Although she was ten years older than Mom, she always seemed younger to me. I guess I thought we’d have more time with her.” Nick felt himself start to choke up. He knew he would never get over the loss of the woman who had loved him and his brothers like they were her own.
“Me too. But the last thing she would want is for us to mope around. She said life was for the living. What we need is a party to help us get back to living. It will also take your mind off our neighbor. Some fun and hot sex with a woman who knows the score would do us all good.”
Nick smiled. Toby and Teddy loved a good time. They were twenty-eight and still enjoyed partying, while he, on the other hand, felt somewhat past that at thirty-six. However, Toby might be right. They needed to get out of this funk they were in, and he needed to get Brianna out of his head. A party just might be what they all needed.
“I’ll leave it in your hands. Now, I do have some work to do. I’ll see you at dinner.”
“Yes, sir,” Toby said with a mock salute before he left the room.
Nick was sure Toby had gone in search of his twin to bring him up to speed on their new neighbor and the party that was sure to be on their agenda soon.
He hadn’t been wrong. That night at dinner, both Toby and Teddy filled him in on the details of their upcoming soirée. He wasn’t surprised that this party that would be attended by their club friends, which meant it would be an evening where there would be a lot of Dominants and submissives who enjoyed being on display for their own enjoyment and those watching.
He had once been an active participant in these kinds of gatherings, but now he found himself content to keep a low profile while choosing which woman he wanted to blindfold and handcuff to his bed. Toby and Teddy would most likely join him, although that wasn’t always the case. They sometimes went their own way, and when they did, he encouraged them to do so because if the woman he was with didn’t work out, he knew he could always join them.
Dominating a woman together had always been the most satisfying for him. Toby and Teddy were now expert Doms who knew exactly how to bring a woman to orgasm with just the right amount of pain and pleasure. It was satisfying to know how much they enjoyed the lifestyle since he had introduced them to it soon after they graduated from college.
The party would take his mind off Brianna and his need to see her tied securely to his bed, naked, with her legs spread wide to expose her pretty little pussy as he tested her limits with one of the many toys he possessed. Thoughts of what it would be like to watch her struggle against her bonds while begging him for more were making him hard.
“Nick. Don’t tell me you’re thinking about our neighbor again,” Toby said. “You didn’t hear a word I just said.”
“Sorry,” he said coming back to the conversation. “I can’t remember when a woman ever said no to me. I’m not used it. I’m sure the party will help.”
“It will, and let’s face it, you lose interest pretty quickly. By the end of the party, you’ll forget all about our neighbor.”
He hoped Toby was right. Few women had held his interest for long. They became clingy, and for him that was a turnoff. Besides that, he had no desire to be tied down to just one woman. He liked variety. . His brothers might eventually take a wife or wives, and as much as he liked sharing with them, he wanted them to have a life that would bring with it a family, even if that wasn’t the life for him.
The night of the party finally arrived. He had been surprised at how much he had been looking forward to it. The guests started arriving after nine. He knew most of the Dominants and even some of the submissives. They were dressed in leather and lace and see-through costumes that left very little to the imagination. A few of the submissives were collared, but most weren’t. The club liked to have a reserve of untethered submissives for their clientele to choose from. He found himself studying the women, hoping at least one would pique his interest. However, although they were attractive and very willing, none of them were making him even remotely hard. This was not good.
He was glad his brothers at least seemed to be enjoying themselves. They were excellent hosts as they went from room to room making sure their guests’ every need was attended to. Each room had been cleared of furniture to allow the guests to play. Nick wandered into a room that had a stage where a Dominant was showing off his expertise with a bullwhip. Nick had never liked the whip. There was too much danger of actually hurting the submissive. He liked inflicting a certain amount of pain with the crop, but never would he take a chance that a woman in his care would be damaged. It was unthinkable.
He walked into an adjoining room where a woman was being attended to by three Doms. Her long blond hair reminded him of Brianna’s. She quivered with anticipation as she kneeled in front of her Masters with her legs spread apart. He watched as she opened the folds of her labia to expose her clit. She pulled it outward as one of the Doms snapped a clip onto the sensitive skin, which made the submissive cry out. The other two Doms affixed clamps to her nipples with a chain that connected to the one on her clit. She was breathing heavy as she was ordered to raise her head. Her expression of joy told the audience that she was there to please her Masters. Her submission was a beautiful thing to witness.
He could feel the atmosphere in the room quicken as she was orde
red to get on all fours and present her ass. He stood mesmerized as each man took his turn spanking those plump, pale cheeks until they were bright red. He could see how the submissive was struggling not to come. She was trained to know she couldn’t until she was given permission.
He felt his phone vibrating in his pants pocket. He wanted to ignore it as he continued to watch the scene unfolding in front of him, but it could be important. There was a lot going on in their business life. Resigning himself to taking the call, he walked over to the far corner of the room.
“Nick Richards,” he barked into the phone, keeping his voice low so as not to disturb the others.
“The pipe burst under my kitchen sink. I know you’re having a party, but something needs to be done right away, and I don’t have the number for the maintenance man.”
“Brianna?”
“Who else would be calling you about something like this? I would have called Mr. Wyler, but you let him go,” she said with impatience.
He had a new person on call, but at this hour, he’d rather see for himself what the problem was before dragging the man away from his family, especially when he might be able to fix it, at least temporarily, until morning.
“I’ll be right over.”
“What can you do?”
“Fix it,” he said, somewhat irritated that she thought he was useless when it came to such things.
“Fine.”
He looked at the phone that had gone silent. She had hung up on him. He wondered if this woman had a submissive bone in her body. But why should he care? She was off-limits. He had meant what he had told his brother. He had no intention of getting involved with a recovering drug addict.
Brianna was waiting for him at her front door, dressed in a pair of worn jeans and a white blouse. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she was wearing very little, if any, makeup. She was every bit as beautiful as he remembered. As he followed her to the kitchen, he couldn’t help but admire the sway of her hips and the roundness of her ass. He couldn’t stop the image of her on all fours with that ass turned up for a proper spanking. Practically groaning, he willed himself to calm down. It didn’t help that she left the scent of honeysuckle in her wake.
“Under here.” She pointed. “I’ve used almost every towel I have to absorb the water. I had no idea the pipe was broken until I let the water out from the sink after I washed dishes.”
Nick looked around. “No dishwasher?”
“No. Your aunt said she would get one, but I told her I didn’t need one.”
He squatted down and looked under the sink. He reached behind him for the bag of tools he had brought with him and found a flashlight. After lying down, he crawled under the sink.
“You’re going to get your clothes all wet and dirty,” she warned from behind him.
“I can change,” he said, irritated.
The joint couplings had become loose, and by the looks of the pipes, they were pretty old. He felt confident he could stop the leak, but a plumber would be needed to replace the entire system.
He crawled back out and reached for his bag again. He rummaged around until he found what he thought was the right-size wrench. He glanced up at Brianna, who was standing with her hand on her hip, watching him. He felt his breath hitch from the sheer beauty of the woman and the sex appeal she exuded.
Trying to focus on the task at hand, he said gruffly, “I need you to hold the flashlight while I tighten the pipe and stop the leak. Think you can do that for me?”
“You really think you can fix it?” she asked with skepticism, lowering herself to sit down beside him.
He breathed in her scent. She was so close to him, if he moved a certain way, he would be rubbing against her.
“Obviously.” He handed her the flashlight, trying not to touch her, then crawled back under the sink with the wrench.
“Now hold it so I can see the bend in the pipe,” he ordered.
She moved closer to him. “Like this?”
“Yes. Now don’t move.”
“Yes, sir,” she muttered.
For a moment his heart was in his throat. Stop it, he told himself. She has no idea how that word affects me. Taking a breath, he went to work on the pipe.
It only took him a minute to tighten the pipe, but again he was forced to admit there was no way these pipes were going to hold for long. They were in bad shape.
“Okay, it’s done. Now move out of the way so I can get out of here,” he told her trying to keep the irritation from his voice. Between her close proximity that had him on edge already and the mess he had just encountered with the pipes, his patience was wearing thin.
When he was out from under the sink, he looked up to where she stood above him, looking anything but pleased.
“You’re welcome,” he said dryly. “And these pipes are corroded. I’ll call a plumber and have him take a look.”
“You might want to have him take a look at the bathroom too. The faucet drips, and sometimes when I turn on the water, it makes a weird noise.”
He lifted himself to his full height and stared down at her. “I’ll have him take a look at all the plumbing. I want you satisfied.”
“You’re all wet and dirty. I told you, you shouldn’t have done this yourself,” she accused, eying his shirt.
“Well it had to be done, and I wanted to see for myself before I called someone at this hour and took them away from their family.”
“That’s nice of you,” she said, her tone becoming softer, “but you had to leave your party. Sorry about that.”
“Are you really?”
“I had no idea you’d come yourself.”
Slowly he began to unbutton his shirt. He watched her eyes widen.
She stepped back. “Would you like me to get you a towel? I think there’s still a dry one around here somewhere.” As an afterthought she said sweetly, “I won’t make you beg for it.”
“So you do have a sense of humor,” he said, thinking how little she knew him if she thought he would ever beg for anything. “I could also use a drink.”
“I don’t have any alcohol.”
“I didn’t expect you would. You do have tea, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Good,” he said as he removed his shirt and placed it around her kitchen chair. “I like mine with a little cream and sugar if you have it.”
Averting her eyes from his, she quickly left the kitchen and returned with a large bath towel that he used to wipe his now-naked chest. He really wasn’t all that wet, but it was worth the look of embarrassment coupled with what he thought was more-than-casual interest on her face before she turned to fill her kettle with water. He was playing with fire. He should have just done what he came to do and left. He could change back at the house. So why hadn’t he?
He admired her curves as she went to her cupboard for the tea and pulled out a teapot. Her hands were shaking slightly. He obviously made her nervous. The thought made him wonder what else she was feeling. He was not, he reminded himself, going to take her for his own sexual gratification. Doing anything that could be an obstacle in her recovery was unacceptable. But it didn’t mean he couldn’t get to know her better. In fact, that might be the best way to not let things go any further. He was sure spending some time with her would do nothing but reinforce his resolve not to unnecessarily complicate either of their lives.
Chapter Four
Brianna fought the urge to ask Nick to leave instead of making him the tea he had basically demanded. Thankfully the towel around his neck covered his naked chest for the most part. He had to work out to maintain such muscles. She had warned him he was going to get wet and dirty, but that hadn’t stopped him from climbing under her sink. She was surprised he even knew how to use a wrench since Amanda had told her all three of her nephews were very successful businessmen.
But he had just fixed her leaky pipe, so fixing him a cup of tea was the polite thing to do regardless of the fact that he was sitting in her ki
tchen half naked. She wished she didn’t feel so nervous around him, but what normal woman wouldn’t? She may have sworn off men, but that didn’t mean she was blinded to a man that looked like Nick.
She placed the cup in front of him with the cream and sugar he had ordered and sat down across from him at the table. She was pleased that her hand had been steady enough not to spill the tea. She watched him fix his before he took a sip.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had a cup of tea. It tastes good. Aren’t you having any?” he asked, placing his cup down.
“No. It’s a little late for me.”
“Am I keeping you up?”
“I don’t have work tomorrow, so I can sleep in.” Why had she told him that? Now he might stay even longer. That was the last thing she needed. The sooner he was gone, the better.
“Where do you work?” he asked settling back in the chair, looking as if he were actually interested.
“A call center not far from here,” she answered. “We sell a variety of products that appear on infomercials.”
“Do you like it?”
His eyes were staring right into hers with an intensity that made her squirm. His question wasn’t one that would have normally had her tongue tied, but with him, she felt like she was being scrutinized for flaws.
“I don’t dislike it. It pays the bills, and I’m treated well.”
“What is it you really want to do?” he asked.
“Why are you asking me all these questions?” she blurted out, knowing she was being rude, but it was his fault for making her feel things that she had no business feeling.
“I thought,” he said, his body tensing, “that it would be good to get to know you a little better since we’re neighbors, and I also thought it might help us put the other night behind us.”
“Yes, the other night,” she said feeling even more out of her depth with this man, “was a mistake. I should have never gone swimming in your pool, and you should have never treated me the way you did.”
“You’re right,” he said, to her surprise. “I was wrong to take advantage of the situation the way I did. I’m sorry. I hope you can forgive me and we can start over.”
The Power of Her Submission (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 3