Hidden Devotion

by Lila Dubois

  Juliette felt powerful and free. She wanted these men, and she was going to have them. There were no restrictions, no reasons why she couldn’t be with them. For the first time in her life she got to behave the way other members did—taking her pleasure when and how she wanted it.

  “Do you want to do this?” she asked Franco.

  “I’m not exactly sure how this works, but I think so.” The rich, dark voice he used when he was really aroused was gone, replaced by his normal slightly bemused tone, but Juliette was sure she could get him revved up again. One down, one to go.

  Devon was no stranger to the idea of a ménage, but they’d both grown up anticipating a sex life with two women, not two men.

  When he finally shed the last of his clothing, Juliette was pleasantly surprised to see that Devon was already hard. Two down.

  Franco’s hands paused mid-motion.

  “You okay?” she asked him again.

  “Yes. I am.” His voice had changed again. When his hands resumed their caress it was with more intent and intensity. It seemed that she wasn’t going to have to coax Franco into enjoying this. He was as into the sight of a naked Devon as she was. Devon was pale, like a cream marble statue, his skin contrasting with his warm brown hair.

  He paused, hands flexing at his sides, gaze traveling over Juliette and Franco. He seemed to be waiting, as if he wasn’t sure what to do next.

  “Devon.”

  Saying his name seemed to free him from his indecision. He came to the side of the bed, but made no move to join them. Juliette knee-walked across the mattress until she could reach him. His body was both familiar and strange. It was the first time she’d touched him without the pressure of their betrothal weighing her down.

  “We’re not in Paris.” She put her hands on his chest, splaying her fingers.

  “No, we’re not.”

  “And we’re not betrothed.”

  Devon closed his eyes. “Juliette, please. Don’t.”

  “Don’t do this?” She dropped one hand onto his hard cock, running her fingers along the sensitive underside.

  He didn’t respond except to moan.

  “Franco.” Juliette reached her free hand back, urging him to join them, creating a bridge between the men, uniting the three of them together.

  With an increasing enthusiasm she hadn’t dared hope for, Franco knelt behind her, his legs on either side of hers. His warm chest pressed against her and his cock nestled in the small of her back. He brushed her hair aside and started kissing her neck.

  Juliette licked her lips. “Franco, I want you to play with my pussy.” The graphic words were hot on her tongue, but they didn’t embarrass her. She found giving orders unexpectedly arousing.

  Without hesitation, Franco’s hands slid from her belly button down to her sex, which was open and exposed between her splayed thighs. He spread the lips of her pussy, letting the air invade and cool her most intimate parts. She moaned her approval.

  “Devon,” she panted. “I want you to play with my breasts and kiss me.”

  Devon took his time, brushing her hair back from her face and massaging her shoulders before sliding his hands to her breasts. He rolled her nipples against his flat palms, a delicate yet intense sensation. Her body remembered his unique touch and responded accordingly.

  Devon kissed her—a sweet, closed-mouth kiss. That wasn’t what she wanted or needed. Taking his cock in her hands, Juliette stroked him the way he liked, the way he’d taught her to. She knew the instant he stopped thinking and questioning and gave in to the desire that emanated from his body like heat. He growled low in his throat and deepened the kiss. It was almost punishing in its ferocity.

  Juliette squeezed his cock and nipped his tongue. They battled for control of the kiss, two well-matched opponents who’d been fighting this war for a long time.

  Franco was her undoing. He responded to the increased intensity in the room by pressing two fingers inside Juliette while also pinching her clit with his other hand.

  Gasping in pleasure, Juliette broke the kiss, tipping her head back. It was a base, animalistic surrender. She exposed her throat to Devon and he took advantage, nipping the side of her neck Franco wasn’t already kissing.

  Devon pressed his lips to her ear. “You’re mine. You’ll always be mine, and I’ll always be yours.”

  She didn’t have time to react to his words, because Devon did something completely unexpected.

  He cupped Franco’s chin, lifted the other man’s head, and kissed him.

  Juliette slid out from between the two men, watching carefully. “Oh that’s hot.”

  Franco was tense, his body angled and stiff as he kept himself away from Devon except for where their lips were fused. Franco’s eyes were wide, but when Devon changed the angle of the kiss, they closed.

  Despite Franco’s awkward posture, the sight was intensely arousing. Both men were gorgeous in their own ways—Devon familiar and classically handsome, Franco dramatic and alluring with his dark hair and blue eyes.

  Franco relaxed, shifting until there was only a handspan of space between them. Juliette laid a hand on each of their shoulders. As one they turned to her. Juliette kissed Franco first, and with his taste still on her lips, turned to kiss Devon.

  She let her hands roam over their chests and shoulders. With her eyes closed, she couldn’t be sure who was plucking her nipples or stroking her pussy.

  “I need more.”

  “Turn around,” Devon ordered. “I’m going to fuck you while you suck Franco’s cock.”

  Juliette spun, planting her knees near the edge of the bed, spreading her legs to give Devon access. Without waiting, he slid into her. She was ready for him, slick with wetness from having Franco fuck her. Devon’s long cock pressed inside, each glorious inch filling her a bit more. Franco lay on his side, hesitantly inching his hips towards her. Bracing herself on one elbow, she grabbed his cock, tugging lightly so he would scoot closer. When his hips were in position, Juliette braced her forearm on his belly, fist around the base of Franco’s cock. She wrapped her lips around the glands, and when Devon thrust she lowered her head, taking Franco’s cock deep into her mouth.

  Franco reached under her, plucking and tugging her nipples. Sensation came at her from all sides—Devon’s cock in her pussy, Franco’s fingers on her nipples and cock in her mouth.

  Devon gathered up her hair, pulling it just hard enough that her scalp tingled. He knew her, knew how to push her over the edge. Juliette screamed around Franco’s cock as she came. Devon slammed into her, thrusting hard and fast as he, too, orgasmed.

  Without giving her time to gather herself, Devon pulled out and rolled her onto her back.

  “Fuck her,” he told Franco.

  Franco once more slid into place between her legs, dark brows lowered, gaze intense. Devon, still breathing hard from his orgasm, stretched out beside her. He cupped her breast, angling her nipple so he could suck it as Franco fucked her.

  Juliette’s head thrashed on the pillow. She was going to come again. Franco’s stomach was slick with sweat as he fucked her, the taste of his cock still on her tongue.

  Devon pinched her nipple with his fingers, kissing his way along her side until he found her mouth, tasting Franco, whose breath washed over both of them.

  “I’m close. Please.” Juliette clung to Franco’s tensed arm with one hand, the other buried in Devon’s hair.

  Devon slid one hand down her torso until he buried his fingers in her pussy. He stroked the entrance to her body, where Franco’s cock slid in and out, then pressed down on her clit, rubbing it against her pelvic bone.

  Juliette screamed as she came again. This time the sound wasn’t muffled. There was no hiding the intensity of her pleasure.

  Franco groaned as he came.

  Devon tugged her out from under Franco then made sure they were each safely positioned on the too-small-for-three-people bed.

  The heat woke her. Juliette opened her eyes but didn’t
feel fully awake. This was a dream. She was staring at a man’s shoulder, while another’s arm was draped across her waist. Breathing slow and deep, she waited for the dream to fade, waited for reality to return.

  But this was real. She was lying in the middle between the two men, both of whom were radiating heat.

  Juliette eased Devon’s arm off her then inched her way down to the bottom of the bed. Pale sunlight haloed the curtains, just enough illumination that she could make her way to the door.

  “Don’t you dare.”

  She turned to see Devon awake and propped on one elbow. “What?”

  His face was an oval of pale skin in the muted darkness. “Don’t you dare leave. You always leave.”

  Juliette turned away, though she doubted he could see her expression. “I’m just going to the bathroom.”

  “No, you’re not.” He got out of bed.

  Juliette slid out of the bedroom, heart beating with the rapid pace of a rabbit fleeing a fox. He followed her, six feet of naked intent.

  Last night had been…she couldn’t believe it. She’d never been so bold or sure of herself as she had been when she’d orchestrated that ménage.

  But the truly terrifying part was how right it had felt…and how much she wanted it to happen again. She’d woken assuming it was a dream—the kind that was too good to be true. But what frustrated her was that now, when she had the power to walk away from Devon, she couldn’t seem to do it.

  “You’re shutting down, locking me out.” He stalked her, radiating frustration. “Do you know how much I hate dawn in Paris?”

  “You hate dawn in Paris?” Juliette shook her head. “That’s a ridiculous thing to say.”

  “Is it?” His voice was raw with anger. “Last night was amazing, and yet here we are—you treating me like enemy number one.”

  “I’m not—” Juliette bit back the denial. It would have been a lie. He deserved better than that. “I’m sorry.” She took a deep breath. “You’re right, last night was amazing.”

  “And what does it mean?”

  “Mean? It doesn’t mean anything. We’re all unattached adults who chose to have a good time.”

  “Damn it, Juliette. Don’t. Please.”

  “Don’t what, Devon? Tell me what you want me to say.” Emotion made her throat tight even as her fingers tingled with the need to touch him.

  “I want you to say that you’ll reinstate our trinity. I want you to say that I mean something to you.”

  The emotion in his voice made her breath catch. Her voice was soft when she answered. “Of course you mean something to me.”

  “Really? Because at the first chance you got, you tossed me aside.”

  “No, Devon, I didn’t.” She lived in shades of gray, and he was speaking in black and white. “You have no problem with how we grew up, or with the arranged marriage, but guess what? I do. I idolized you, loved you.” Embarrassment at the memory of how she’d fawned on him, how desperately she’d wanted his attention, clawed at her.

  “What happened? What did I do to make you hate me?”

  “I don’t hate you. I could never hate you.” It would be easier if she did. “But I’ve never been in control of my life or my feelings. I had no choice but to love you.”

  “That’s not true.” He sounded exasperated.

  “Really? I grew up living in half of a fairy tale—the princesses betrothed to the handsome prince.” Still naked, she mock-curtseyed, anger bitter on her tongue. “But in my story there’s another princess, and whoops, before we could get married and live happily ever after, I grew up and got an education. I realized that whatever feelings you and I have for one another aren’t organic, they’re manufactured by circumstance.”

  “My feelings for you are real.”

  “How the hell would you know, Devon?” She was yelling. She couldn’t stop herself. “You never questioned any of this, and when I started to you shut me down. The first time I tried to talk to you about how barbaric some of the Trinity Masters’ practices are you basically patted me on the head and dismissed me.”

  Devon was shaking his head. “I don’t remember it like that.”

  “Of course you don’t. Why would you? For you it was nothing, a throw-away conversation. For me…” Juliette felt suddenly weary. She went to the head of the stairs, descending a few steps so she could take a seat. “For me, that was the moment I realized that I mattered less to you than the Trinity Masters, and I always will.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “Spare me.” She rubbed her palms on her shins, curling into a ball for warmth. “I don’t have time for this. I have work to do.”

  Devon didn’t respond, so she looked up. He had the heels of his hands pressed into his eye sockets. When he dropped his arms his face was haunted.

  “Why didn’t you tell me how you felt?”

  She shrugged. “Because my feelings didn’t matter.”

  “Of course—”

  “No, Devon. They didn’t. I joined the instant I turned eighteen with no idea what I was really committing to. My trinity was set. The fact that I grew up and started to see the flaws in our practices and resent everyone who didn’t share my feelings,” she motioned to him, “that’s my problem. And until now, there was not a damn thing I could do about it.”

  Devon joined her on the steps. “My feelings for you haven’t changed.”

  “Don’t you get it? They aren’t real.” Juliette swiped a hand angrily through the air and blinked back tears. “You never had any real choice.”

  “You’re wrong.” Hard lines bracketed his mouth as he grimaced. “If that were true, I would have the same feelings for Rose that I do for you, but I don’t.”

  “What?”

  He cupped her face. “I love you, Juliette. Not Rose, not the Trinity Masters. I love you, and every time you walked away from me it broke my heart.”

  “You don’t love me.” Her throat was tight. He couldn’t love her, because if he did it would make it so much harder to pretend she didn’t still love him. And she had gotten very good at pretending.

  “Of course I do. I’m just not good at showing it. I was afraid.” He leaned forward and laid his head against hers. “I’m still afraid.”

  In that moment, she realized he wasn’t the pillar of strength and duty she always assumed. He seemed weary and vulnerable. Juliette wrapped her arms around his shoulders, overcome by the need to comfort and protect him.

  “There are things I needed—need—to tell you.” His voice was soft in her ear. “Those things prevented me from being completely honest with you, and when you started to act like you hated me…”

  “I’ve never hated you. I wish I had, wish I did.”

  “Don’t leave me, Jules.”

  It was an old nickname, one he’d stopped using after that first meeting in Paris. She’d taken it as a sign that he now saw her as an adult, as a woman. It brought tears to her eyes, the way a familiar smell from a childhood home could.

  She was saved from responding by Franco, who’d approached unnoticed and was holding a buzzing cell phone.

  “Uh, someone’s phone keeps ringing.”

  Devon glared at Franco, but then stood and took his phone. Franco murmured that he was sorry for interrupting. Devon looked at the screen, and in an instant the raw emotion etched on his face was hidden under his normal stoic expression.

  “I have to take this.” He disappeared into the bedroom.

  Franco hesitated then took a seat beside Juliette on the steps. He was dressed, but as he sat he stripped off his shirt and handed it to Juliette, who pulled it on.

  “So you and Devon…”

  Juliette huddled in on herself, weary from lack of sleep and emotional upheaval. She was still reeling from her conversation with Devon, so she answered Franco without much forethought.

  “Devon and I were part of a trinity, along with a woman named Rose Hancock. Our families have been members since the beginning. My father decided it was
time to unite the Adamses, Ashers and Hancocks.”

  “Your father? I thought the Grand Master picked the trinities.”

  “He does.” Juliette turned her head to stare at Franco.

  “Oh. Ohhhh.” Franco nodded as he put it together. “That explains why you were the one sent to find me.”

  “Actually, my father didn’t send me, because he’s dead.”

  “I’m sorry.” Franco stroked her shoulder.

  “It was a long time ago. He died before I was old enough to realize how twisted my upbringing was because of the choices he made for me.”

  “If it wasn’t your father, who is the Grand Master?”

  “The Grand Master’s identity is a secret to most people. They have a council they work with. Who the councilors are is also a secret.”

  “Lots of secrets.”

  “Yes.” She was fighting the urge to tell Franco who she was, to confide in him. He was a good listener, and he’d shown that, when needed, he could step up and take charge. He would be a good councilor, despite the fact that he knew nothing about the Trinity Masters.

  Before she could decide what, if anything, to tell him, Devon emerged from the bedroom. He was fully dressed and his face was set in hard lines. “I have to go.”

  Juliette nodded once, but didn’t look at him.

  “Jules, I don’t want to go.” He grabbed her by the arms and hauled her up, forcing her to meet his gaze. “We’re not done. Not done with this conversation and not done with our relationship.”

  She struggled under the weight of his complete focus. It still made her feel like the most important woman in the world. She tried to remind herself that she bowed to no one anymore. She could walk away. “That’s not your decision to make. It’s the Grand Master’s.”

  “Then I’ll beg.” He kissed her hard and deep, leaving her breathless. “I’ll refuse any other ménage. I’d rather be expelled from the Trinity Masters than give up.”