For This (Their Sub Series Book 3)

by Linzi Basset

“Is it always like this?” Chloe wondered aloud.

  “Like what?” Shona asked as the three of them took their places around the twelve-seat, hand crafted wooden table. Shona and Diana’s husbands immediately maneuvered it so that they sat between them, which left Chloe no choice but to slide onto the wide wooden seat between Mark and Wade with Rex taking the head of the table.

  “The men preparing the food,” Chloe clarified.

  “When we’re up in the mountain, yes. They love to show off their culinary skills—‘how it is done’ as Sam always says,” Diana explained while watching Brad pile her plate high with food. “Honey, I’m not pregnant anymore. I’ll never be able to finish all of this food.” She laughingly stayed his hand when he tried to scoop more potatoes on her plate.

  “Doesn’t matter, eat up. You’ll need your energy. We have some entertainment planned for you later tonight.”

  Chloe was enamored with how unperturbed Diana appeared at the prospect. Shona was blushing too; looked like there was some intimate petting happening underneath the table. They were happy, both of her friends. It made her melancholy, remembering how they used to spend hours discussing the hardships they’d overcome in their lives.

  Now, she was the only one still on her own.

  Yeah, but there are three, seriously sexy guys next to you who could change that.

  Not gonna happen. I’m not like those two. I can’t split myself in three.

  Who said you have to? They seem to have overcome their fears. Why are you so scared to even try?

  Chloe’s inner debate didn’t offer her any solace. Something that had become unbearable since her two friends had left San Francisco. Since Trent’s death, they’d been her only support system—by choice. They had been the force that had kept her going and were always there to lean on when she was down.

  After lunch, they all jumped into the infinity pool that looked over the valley. It was surreal and refreshing but also made the three men’s withdrawal from her more prominent. They joined in with the fun and games, but largely ignored her. Especially Rex. He hadn’t glanced her way even once since she’d told him off.

  Chloe didn’t like it. Not one bit.

  She stared at the valley from where she hung onto the edge of the pool. Her shoulders were slumped as she peered over the trees mournfully. She wasn’t even aware that she was pouting.

  “Rex is a hard man, Chloe and since his heart attack, he stopped wasting his time on little things.”

  “His heart attack? But he’s only what . . . forty-years old, at the most?” Chloe asked, shocked at the thought that he might have died. She stared inquisitively at Brad, his cousin, who had joined her at the side of the pool.

  “Yeah, he just turned forty. It happened ten years ago. He needed a heart transplant; otherwise he wouldn’t have been here today.”

  “What exactly are you trying to say, Brad?” She’s seen the long, faded scar on his chest, but never dared to ask him about it.

  Brad stared at her with an intense look. “He’s had his share of heartache, Chloe. The woman he loved ditched him when he got sick. Something like that tends to change a man’s outlook in life. He’s become bitter and cynical when it comes to love.”

  “The woman?”

  “His wife. She left him for someone who, she claimed, had more energy than him. Fuck, not even a month after he was released from hospital.”

  “You’re serious? Was she a bimbo? Anyone with half a brain would know you need time to recover from such a surgery! And look at him now! Fit as a fiddle and strong like an ox.” Chloe’s voice rose with indignation.

  “What I’m trying to say is—don’t play games with him. It’s the quickest way you will lose his attention.”

  “Look, I appreciate what you’re trying to do but I’m not ready for a relationship—with anyone, least of all with three men at the same time! I am definitely not here to play games . . . any kind of games for that matter.”

  Brad chuckled and tapped her on the nose. “Have you ever read or watched Hamlet, Chloe?”

  Her brow furrowed. “What does Hamlet have to do with this?”

  “Oh, nothing. Although the saying, ‘The lady doth protest too much’, comes to mind.”

  Yep, he got you there.

  Oh, shut up.

  Chloe watched Brad swim back to join the rest of the group. Her gaze instinctively searched for Rex, who was laughing at something Shona had said. He looked relaxed, but Brad had been right. There was a latent pain even in his smile.

  It’s not fair that one man could be this attractive and hot. My pussy tingles just thinking of him pushing his cock. . . focus, Chloe! You’re not supposed to be drooling over the man. You’re supposed to . . .

  Yeah? What are you supposed to do exactly?

  Damned if I can remember!

  Chloe got out of the pool and settled on the chaise lounge. She watched the rest play pool volleyball and found herself looking at Rex, Mark and Wade all the time. The way their shoulders flexed when they jumped high to hit the ball. The way their bodies twisted was so hot and their laughter—deep, husky sounds thrilled her.

  Why deny myself? I may just as well admit it. I want them. I want their attention. I want them to control me and bend me, this way and that. Just . . . not fall in love. That’s not on the table.

  She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. They snapped open as another thought flashed through her mind. Rex, Mark and Wade. They came as one—a trio. She watched the interaction between the three men. Their closeness and affection for each other was evident in how comfortable they were with each other. If she wanted one, she would have to accept all three of them.

  Gawd! I don’t know if I’ll be able to cope with that. They floored me yesterday with the threesome. How am I gonna survive something like that all the time?

  But, fuck me, it was the best experience I’ve ever had and I want to have more. I want to experience all three at the same time.

  Yeah, but first you have to beg Rex again.

  Chloe eyed the three men before her gaze settled on Rex. Mark and Wade had returned her look, even smiled and winked at her. But Rex, well, he still ignored her.

  I’ll get him to come around. How difficult can it be?

  Chloe should’ve known that Rex was a very compelling man who wasn’t all that forgiving.

  Chapter Eleven

  The loud squawk of a bird woke up Chloe. She started in fright and sat upright, following the flight of the large bird, probably an eagle, until it disappeared over the treetops. It was quiet, apart from some soft background music playing. She looked around. Rex was in a hammock, reading. Mark and Wade were playing chess. No one else was around.

  Chloe nibbled on her lip, staring at them. It felt like they were hundred miles away from her. That’s what Rex had meant. He didn’t just deny her his physical presence. He withdrew from her emotionally and because of him, it felt like the other two were aloof as well.

  Well, I guess now is a good time to fix this; especially as the others aren’t here.

  She had no idea how to approach Rex without making an ass of herself. Anxiety to Chloe, was like being hooked up to a cattle fence—not enough voltage to kill but sufficient to keep things uncomfortable. It made her squirm. It wasn’t a state of mind she liked to experience. But she did now. And in true Chloe form, the more anxious she became the more pronounced her intellectualization of the whole process did too. She rationalized and viewed the problem from different viewpoints. She aimed for the easiest and fastest route, endeavoring to force a positive outcome by sheer brilliance of a thought.

  Somehow, she didn’t think that would work with Rex.

  Mark and Wade glanced up as she approached. She glowed under the appreciative look they slanted up and down her bright purple, bikini-clad body. All three of them were in their swimming trunks, showing off their muscled chests.

  Gawd! They were all so hot and sexy. How can any woman walk away from this?

  Rex
, of course, ignored her, seemingly preoccupied with the book he was reading. Chloe’s steps faltered. For the first time in her life, she was unsure of herself. She hated to lose and faced challenges head-on. Something warned her that if she didn’t make right with him now, it would be too late. And that was something she refused to even consider. It didn’t matter that she didn’t want to commit but the prospect of losing the emotional connection she experienced every time he was close, was too much to bear.

  But damn it, did he have to make it so hard for me?

  She was still contemplating how to approach Rex when she reached them. Mark and Wade watched her with interest while Rex had gotten up from the hammock to fetch a beer. Instinctively she wrapped her arms around Rex to hug him. She pressed her chest against him, her breath hissed through her lips at the heated contact.

  “I’m sorry,” she said softly against his ear, leaning her head against his. “I tend to act impulsively sometimes.”

  Wade snorted, which made her frown at him but she admitted grudgingly, “Well, most of the time.”

  “What do you want from me, Chloe?” Rex asked gruffly but he didn’t move. She hoped it was because he was luxuriating in her closeness as much as she was in his.

  “I want you to look at me and give me that special smile. I hate it when you’re so far away from me even when we’re two steps apart. It makes me feel . . .” She swallowed her words, shocked at what she was about to say.

  He, of course, wouldn’t let it slide. “Makes you feel what?” But his voice was less gruff and soothed her soul like her favorite wine.

  “I . . . like a kid denied her favorite toy,” she said lamely, suddenly unwilling to open up to them.

  She felt him sigh. It made her tremble, understanding the meaning of his tense shoulders. Disappointment.

  “Stop wasting my time, Chloe,” he snapped and turned back to the hammock.

  “But—”

  He turned, forcing her to step away. She was standing so close to him, she could see the silver speckles surrounding the pupils of his eyes.

  “No, Chloe, unless you can be honest with yourself about what you really feel, don’t try and bullshit me with nonsense. I don’t have the time or the interest in playing games.”

  “I’m not playing games,” she said indignantly.

  “Then answer my question honestly, Chloe. I dare you.”

  She stared into his eyes. Suddenly it was as if it was only the two of them. Like the entire universe had disappeared and they were cocooned in a vacuum.

  “I . . . I don’t know what more you . . . wait! Rex! Where are you going?” she cried when he pushed past her, striding toward the lodge. She scrambled after him and caught his arm. “Wait, damn you! Do you always have to be right? Always so demanding?”

  “Not always, Chloe but I abhor dishonesty. If that’s what you are offering, I have no interest in wasting my time with you.”

  “It’s not that I’m dishonest. It’s . . . I’m . . .” she stuttered and glanced over her shoulder toward Mark and Wade watching and listening intently. She silently pleaded with them to help her, but they kept mum.

  Rex pinched her chin between his fingers and brought her face around.

  “I’m not an ogre, love,” he offered gently. “But I am not going to accommodate lies.”

  “You’re asking for too much, Rex. I mean . . . it’s too soon and I’m . . . fuck,” she cursed softly.

  “You’re what?” He continued to prod, which surprised her. She’d expected him to walk away again. That he was still there showed her that he wanted something from her. What, she wasn’t entirely sure, just yet.

  “Scared,” she admitted barely audible.

  He frowned. “Of me?”

  “No,” she admitted quickly. “Of what you make me feel. What all of you make me feel, but you . . . this afternoon while you ignored me . . . it made me feel lost. More alone than I’ve ever felt in my entire life and I don’t know . . . I don’t want that kind of emotion. I mean, I haven’t wanted it for years. I’ve shied away from it and I don’t think I’m ready for it. To be honest, I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for it.”

  “We don’t want you to rush into a relationship with us, Chloe. There is a lot of time for that to develop, but one thing I will always want from you—demand from you—is your surrender.”

  “That’s just it, Rex. That’s what I’m not ready for and might never be. A relationship. I don’t want . . . I can’t give the three of you that.”

  “Then what exactly is it that you want from us, Chloe?” Rex watched her with such intense scrutiny that she squirmed under his regard.

  “Can’t we just enjoy each other while I’m here? Get to know one another?”

  “Why? Or are you hinting that you might be open to a relationship with us once you know us better?”

  Chloe shifted from one leg to the other, feeling bereft when his hand fell away from her face.

  “I don’t know,” she rasped in a quiet voice, with a meekness that was unlike her.

  He didn’t respond for a long while, just stared at her, searching her face. When he raised his hand to caress her cheek, she couldn’t prevent leaning into his touch. Her eyes were closed, savoring his touch; she missed the glimmer of satisfaction in his gaze.

  “That, love, was the first honest answer you’ve given me yet.”

  Rex glanced over her head toward Mark and Wade.

  “Very well, Chloe. We’ll do this your way . . . at least as far as enjoying each other’s company is concerned. But that will be done our way.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We’re dominants, Chloe, which you already know and you excite us, so this is our proposal. You come and stay with us for the three weeks and get to know us. Open your mind and heart to us—let us in. Of course, we will expect you to be our submissive, sexually. We have no interest in ordering you around outside of the bedroom.”

  “You could’ve fooled me,” she mumbled under her breath.

  His deep chuckle ignited arousal deep inside her, making her loins throb.

  “Sexual dominance isn’t limited to the bedroom, love, remember that. I think you’ve learned we like to have sex anywhere, anytime.”

  “Oh,” she said, watching his head lower. Her eyes fell closed the moment his lips brushed over hers.

  Bliss. Oh lord, I love his lips. Soft and hard at the same time. Hmm, I could lose myself in a moment like this.

  Her face tilted up as she pressed closer against him, her body softening. Her sigh caught in his mouth as he wrapped her fully within his embrace.

  The way he brushed his tongue over her lips, before he explored the inner recess of her mouth, turned her legs to rubber. He was methodically arousing every inch of her body, with his large hands running over her buttocks, squeezing the curve of her hips, until he finally palmed the swell of her breasts. She felt like a puppet in his hands, turning this way and that, until she was ready to scream; for him to fuck her until she couldn’t move.

  His palm flattened over the curve of her belly. He lifted his head and caught her glazed look.

  “Well, Chloe? Are you willing to accept our offer? Do you have what it takes to survive three weeks with the three of us?”

  Well, hell! He had to word it like that, didn’t he?

  Yep, clever bugger, this man. Got you all figured out, girl.

  Gmphf, he . . . they, for that matter, just might be in for a surprise.

  “Oh, you might be surprised just how much I might be able to take, honey.”

  “Really? You do know this includes punishment, if and when required?” Wade asked as he pressed against her right hip.

  “And you have one due, as we speak, little darling,” Mark added from her left side.

  Chloe glanced between the three men, her brows drawn together. “What kind of punishments?”

  “Forced or withheld orgasm, spanking, flogging and the pièce de résistance, Rex’s favorite—pussy whipping.”


  Her gasp drew deep chuckles from all three men.

  “Now, I can’t exactly tell if that was a gasp of excitement or fear,” Wade joked lightly.

  “Shall we test your endurance, Chloe? You did make us worry by disappearing this morning. Fear, more accurately.” Rex looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She frowned at him, detecting amusement in his gaze.

  “Well, then you should be thanking me, not punishing me,” she snipped while she inwardly sighed in ecstasy as they continued to caress her.

  “How do you figure that?” Mark asked, nibbling on her ear.

  “You got to exercise . . . mmm,” she moaned when Rex pushed the top of her bikini aside to lick her nipple, lashing at it with his tongue, before he sucked it deep into his mouth. “Ooohh, geeeezzz!” she hissed when Wade followed his lead with the other nipple. The gentle, simultaneous sucking on both her nipples caused an electric current to sizzle directly to her clit, which throbbed in tandem to their suckling.

  “Why punish me when this is sooommmmuch nicer,” she managed to moan when they began to nibble and bite her, now throbbing, nubs. When Mark reached around her waist to push his finger under her bikini bottoms and rub her clit, her cries echoed over the valley. The chirping of the birds silenced momentarily and then resumed in a cacophony of sound that filled the afternoon air.

  “Unfortunately it’s a necessity. Believe me, Chloe, we hate punishment as much as you would, but that doesn’t mean we won’t enjoy it anyway,” Rex rumbled in her ear. He led her toward the chaise lounge. “I want you on your back with your legs pulled up against your sides. Naked, of course.”

  Her eyes were as wide as saucers. She looked around and cleared her throat, but still only managed to croak, “Where are the others?”

  “They went on a hike and won’t be back for at least another hour,” Wade said and stood back with his arms crossed over his wide chest.

  Well, this is it, girl. Decision time. Ditch those granny panties and toughen up, or walk away.

  Easy for you to say. Neither seems like a good option.

  Better make up your mind, before he does it for you.

  Geez, you’ve become just as pushy as him. Very well, I survived the spanking. How much worse can this be?