Binding Bianca [Viper's Dungeon 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Abby Blake

  Living in his brother’s mostly unoccupied apartment had seemed like a workable compromise.

  “Corey travels a lot,” Bianca said when it seemed Brick might not answer. He’d never discussed his financial situation with Bianca so she probably wouldn’t understand his hesitation to answer such a question.

  “Corey?” Viper asked in an innocent-sounding tone that Brick suspected was far from innocent.

  “My brother,” Brick said irritably. “Why all the questions?”

  Viper frowned as if he was surprised by Brick’s annoyance.

  “I’m merely trying to figure out the best way for this relationship to proceed. Bianca and I own two other apartments in this building but they both have tenants at the moment.” He wandered toward the kitchen but only looked through the doorway. He didn’t leave the room. “I think it would be best if Bianca lived with you for the time being. At least until I get used to having only a part-time submissive.”

  “Whoa, time out,” Bianca said, using the same hand signal they used during friendly basketball matches down at the youth center. Despite her lack of height she’d proven to be a fairly decent player.

  “You’d rather live with me?” Viper asked, frowning at Brick before turning his attention back to Bianca.

  “No,” Bianca said, finally moving out of Brick’s embrace and turning her full attention to the man who’d once controlled her life. “I’d rather make my own choices.”

  Viper blinked like he’d never heard her speak her mind before. Perhaps he hadn’t when she’d lived as a full-time submissive. He was very obviously taken aback by her attitude.

  “I agree,” Brick said. “Bianca has spent the past year learning to be self-sufficient. She can make her own choices.”

  “Which is exactly why we need you in this relationship,” Viper said on an exhale of breath.

  * * * *

  Viper knew he was fucking this up, but Bianca wasn’t the only one who’d spent the past year learning to change. The difference was that Bianca seemed to have succeeded where Viper still struggled.

  Thanks to his sister-in-law living closer and seeing him more often, she’d been even more comfortable raising a few of her own astute observations with him. The words “control” and “freak” had featured heavily in the conversations. Viper knew he preferred to be the one in charge, but thanks to his sister-in-law’s straightforwardness he was only now beginning to acknowledge why.

  It wasn’t wrong to want to protect the ones he loved. He just had to find a balance between protecting and controlling.

  Brick was still wearing that belligerent look, but at least he hadn’t dismissed the relationship idea out of hand.

  “I don’t understand,” Brick said, sounding angry. “You want me to referee your relationship with Bianca?”

  “Well, no,” Bianca said, glancing at Viper. “I don’t think so. Not really.” She sounded as upset now as Viper was starting to feel. He held his jaw rigid, holding back the fear that this might not work.

  Damn it. He’d promised Terri that he would try to “let people in,” but exposing his weaknesses to anyone was proving a lot harder than he thought. If nothing else, it proved that he was a control freak just as his sister-in-law had accused.

  Viper closed his eyes, took a couple of deep breaths and reminded himself that this was probably the only way he would have Bianca in his life.

  And he really, really wanted Bianca in his life.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, clearing his throat. This one conversation could be the difference between living a happy life and enduring the misery of the past year for the foreseeable future. “I’m not explaining this very well. Bianca loves you. I want her to be happy, but I want to be a part of her life, too.” He held his hand out for Bianca and nearly fell to his knees when she took it with a shy smile. “Yes, Brick, having you around to remind me not to be overprotective will be very handy, but that’s not why I’m willing to share Bianca with you. She loves both of us. She can have both of us…if you’re brave enough to try.”

  * * * *

  Bianca knew a taunt when she heard one, but suggesting Brick was a coward probably wasn’t the best way to get him to consider their unusual proposal.

  “Brick?” she asked softly. The man seemed lost for words.

  “You truly love me?” he asked, his voice sounding strained. She nodded. “But you still love Viper as well?” She nodded again, her eyes filling with tears at the shocked tone in his voice. “Can we…” He seemed to hesitate, and Bianca got the awful feeling that he was trying to back away politely. “We haven’t…”

  Brick shook his head, and Bianca had trouble holding back the tears. She didn’t want to lose her best friend, but it seemed the damage had been done just by suggesting such an unusual relationship.

  She almost stopped breathing when he stepped closer, caressing her face even as Viper held her in his embrace.

  “Bianca, we don’t have that type of relationship, yet.”

  How could three little letters create such an avalanche of hope?

  “Yet?” she asked breathlessly.

  “I think maybe we should take things one day at a time. I don’t think we should consider changing our living arrangements”—he gave Viper a stubborn look—“until we’re certain that we can make this work.”

  “Absolutely,” she said, willing to promise him almost anything if he would give them all a chance.

  “And I want you to promise that it will only be me and Viper.” This time Brick glared at the man to get his point across. “No sharing your sub with other Doms or taking other subs or whatever it is you people do in the dungeon. You and me, Viper. That’s it.”

  Bianca almost wanted to smack Viper when he started to laugh. He’d never shared her physically with anyone. It was nearly miraculous that he was willing to do it now.

  “I want your promise on that, Viper,” Brick said through a tightly clenched jaw. “I spent nearly a year waiting for the all clear on blood test results after my wife cheated on me. I won’t live through that sort of hell again.”

  Fortunately Viper seemed to hear the agony in those words as clearly as Bianca did. He stopped laughing and quickly became very serious.

  “I assure you, Brick, that Bianca is the only woman I’ve had sex with in the past twelve years. I don’t share her. I never have.” He pulled Bianca just a little bit closer, his arms shaking slightly as he tried to make his point very clear. “Despite what you may think of the BDSM lifestyle, Bianca and I did not indulge in partner swapping or any other kind of sexual touching outside of our own relationship.”

  “Wait,” Bianca said, turning in Viper’s arms so that she could see his face clearly, the meaning of his first sentence sinking in. “You didn’t play with any of the experienced subs this past year?”

  Viper rolled his eyes, perhaps tired of defending himself. “No, little sub, I didn’t play with the experienced subs. The woman I wanted wasn’t there. Why would I settle for anyone else?” He didn’t wait for an answer but rather turned his attention back to Brick. “I do suggest, however, that we use condoms at least until all three of us can arrange for blood tests. There is no harm in being certain before we start this type of relationship.”

  “Okay,” Brick said quietly. “And I’m sorry if I offended you, Viper. You never did seem the type to share.” Brick reached over and shook hands with him. “I’m just trying to wrap my head around it. This isn’t exactly what I’d been expecting.”

  “But it’s definitely worth trying.”

  Brick grinned, reached over, touched his fingers to Bianca’s face, and whispered, “Definitely.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “So now what?” Brick asked, hoping Viper had some sort of game plan. The type of relationship he and Bianca were proposing sounded like a recipe for all sorts of misunderstandings and problems. Hell, he hadn’t been able to keep a one-man, one-woman marriage afloat. How in hell could they keep this relationship from explodi
ng in their faces?

  “I have no idea,” Viper said with a soft laugh. “This is new territory for me as well.”

  “One day at a time,” Bianca said, stepping from Viper’s embrace and into Brick’s arms. “One minute at a time if we have to.”

  “Okay,” Brick said, trying to release the tension so he could think clearly. “Any suggestions for the next minute or two?”

  “Kiss me,” Bianca ordered. He gave her a warm smile, but glanced at Viper first. The man just grinned and nodded, so Brick lowered his head and took Bianca’s lips in a gentle kiss. She sighed into his mouth, her first tentative touch of her hands against his chest sending his arousal spinning wildly. Damn. He’d wanted her for so long—even if he hadn’t truly admitted it to himself. She was everything he’d ever wanted in a wife and mother of his children.

  He almost froze at the wayward thought. How long had he been harboring these feelings? It was almost like the floodgates had opened and every barrier to pursuing a relationship with Bianca had been removed.

  Of course kissing the woman as her soon-to-be-not-ex-Dom watched was both unnerving and unbelievably hot. He’d never considered what it might be like to have someone watch him kiss a woman they both loved.

  He continued to kiss her, deepening the contact as she pressed against him, his hard cock trying to imprint its shape on her belly. Finally he pulled back, breathing heavily as he stared into her eyes. It had been a long time since he’d even wanted to have sex, but with Bianca he suddenly couldn’t wait.

  There was just the small matter—well, the not-so-small matter—of the giant ex-Navy SEAL standing beside them.

  Viper cleared his throat. “I’m going to…go,” he said, apparently trying to sound casual but failing miserably. He’d as much as admitted that it had been nearly a year since he’d had sex. Brick knew it was the same for Bianca, and it had been even longer for himself.

  Hell, all three of them were seriously deprived. As weird as it sounded, even in his own mind, it didn’t feel right to kick Viper out of the apartment on such a momentous step forward in a relationship they all wanted.

  “Don’t go,” he said, surprising at least two of the people in the room. “I mean…aw, hell I have no idea what I mean. I just… It feels important for all three of us to be here to…um…”

  “Set the boundaries?” Viper offered.

  “That’s as good a description as any, I suppose. If you’re going to go into a murderous rage when I make love to Bianca, then I’d rather know that upfront.” It was a lame attempt at humor, but Viper seemed to understand what he was trying to do.

  “I don’t plan on it, but I’ll let you know if I’m having trouble before I start throwing punches.”

  Brick laughed softly. “Good to know.”

  “We don’t have to do this now,” Bianca said in a tone he considered quietly reassuring. She didn’t seem to be backing out herself, but he needed to be certain. Brick opened his mouth to ask her, but Viper spoke first.

  “Hell, no, little sub. I’m as hard as granite over here. I’m betting Brick is in the same sort of shape.” He glanced at Brick but focused on Bianca. “Use a safe word or take your clothes off right now.”

  “Safe word?” Brick asked reflexively. He actually knew what a safe word was, but he’d just assumed it was only for physical discomfort, not for situations such as this.

  “Bianca always has the choice to use her safe word.” Brick nodded at what seemed more like a threat aimed at him if he ignored Bianca’s safe word rather than a statement of fact.

  “Of course,” Brick said quickly. “I just don’t know what her word is.”

  “Sorry,” Viper said as the tension in the air dissolved once more. “Just like a traffic light. Red to stop. Green to go.”

  “Do you have any condoms?” Bianca asked, wriggling a little closer to the erection Brick couldn’t hope to hide.

  “In the bathroom,” he said in a strained voice.

  “Then my safe word is definitely ‘green.’” She watched him closely as she undid the buttons on her blouse, slowly revealing her soft skin and the tattoo she’d kept mostly hidden in the past year.

  She saw him tracing the artwork with his eyes and blushed a lovely shade of pink. He could almost see the thoughts swirling in her head. He knew from Derek the significance of Bianca’s tattoo, so it somehow seemed even more appropriate that Viper be here.

  “It’s beautiful,” Brick said, reaching out to run his fingers over the colorful pattern. He could see the snake weaving through the colorful jungle vine, but strangely it didn’t intimidate him. In his mind it was a symbol of her devotion to the man she’d loved for so long.

  Perhaps it was his ex-wife’s behavior that skewed Brick’s thinking, but knowing that this woman had remained faithful to Viper for twelve years—even the past year when they weren’t together—meant that she held her commitments seriously. She wasn’t going to run off and have sex with dozens of other men while still claiming to love and honor him.

  Viper was watching him with a mixture of emotions on his face. Perhaps he’d expected Brick to reject Bianca once he saw the extent of what was essentially Viper’s possessive mark of ownership permanently painted onto her skin. Had he forgotten that most of Bianca’s tattoo had been on display at Maya’s collaring ceremony so long ago? Brick had tried to not gawk at Bianca’s beautiful body at the time, but now he took his fill, determined to know this woman intimately, not just sexually.

  Bianca hesitated a moment, her gaze bouncing between both men, before she lowered the zipper on her jeans and removed her bra and panties. Finally completely naked, she reached for Brick, her hands smoothing over his abdomen as she tried to push the shirt up and over his head. He laughed softly, helping her to strip away his clothes, smiling at the eagerness in her touch.

  He kissed her then, his tongue thrusting into her mouth, her soft moans music to his ears. Her first gentle touch on his cock was almost his undoing. He stepped away, groaning at the loss but suddenly doubly aware of the other man in the room.

  “Why don’t you help Viper out of his clothes while I go find the condoms?”

  “Yes, S—”

  She cut off her words quickly but not fast enough for him to not realize that she was already thinking like a submissive again. Weirdly, he glanced at Viper for some sort of reassurance, or at least a reaction that would indicate his thoughts.

  “It’s okay, little one,” Viper said, moving to touch her face as he glanced at Brick. “It’ll take time to find what we all like. I have no objections to you being submissive in the bedroom.” Brick found it difficult not to laugh. It was very clear that Viper would be her Dom in situations such as this. Viper glanced at him, perhaps interpreting his reaction correctly. “Our beautiful woman has never known sex without submission. Perhaps that’s something you can teach her, Brick.”

  The realization was slow in coming, but when it arrived, it hit him like a two-by-four between the eyes. It hadn’t even occurred to him that Bianca might have been a virgin when she met Viper, but that seemed to be what he was saying. It made sense. They’d celebrated Bianca’s thirtieth birthday only a couple of months ago. Simple math told him Bianca and Viper had met when Bianca had been barely eighteen.

  “I’ll try,” Brick said, suddenly realizing that he wasn’t nearly as vanilla as he claimed. He liked being in charge in the bedroom also. Hell, maybe that was just an alpha male thing, but it could prove to be a problem for Bianca. She’d worked hard to claim her independence. Brick had no intention of taking it from her.

  Bianca gave him a look that suggested she was worried about what was going through his head, so he gave her a reassuring smile. “Like Viper said, it’ll take time to figure what works for all of us.” He leaned forward fusing his lips to hers for a moment simply because he couldn’t bear not to. “Just promise me that you’ll speak up if something is bothering you.”

  She nodded, looked at Viper a moment, and then took a step a
way from both of them.

  “Maybe,” she said quietly, her gaze bouncing between them, “we could follow the same rules that Maya, Cam, and Derek do?”

  “In what way?” Brick asked. He knew that the Dom-sub relationship that Maya shared with her husbands was very different to what Bianca had shared with Viper. He just didn’t know specifics.

  “Maya is submissive to her husbands only in certain places and situations. Maybe we could set similar boundaries.”

  “What did you have in mind, lit—Bianca?” Viper asked. It was obvious he was trying really hard not to call Bianca “little sub,” but it was clearly a habit that would be hard to break.

  Bianca gave him a sweet smile that Brick interpreted as an acknowledgement that Viper was trying hard to change things for the better. “When we’re in a bedroom or at the club together I’ll be submissive to both of you.” She gave Brick a look that suggested that wasn’t negotiable.

  Brick nodded and smiled his relief. He didn’t mind vanilla sex—it was after all the way he’d lived in other relationships—but these days he couldn’t deny a certain amount of curiosity. With so many friends around him happy and living the lifestyle it seemed like something he would want to try.

  “So out here?” Viper asked, looking around Brick’s living room. The casual smile Viper wore was obviously not as casual as he tried to project.

  Bianca shrugged. “Anything we want, but with no Dom-sub protocols.”

  “So if I wanted to fuck you on the coffee table?” Viper asked with a wicked grin that Brick suspected hid more than it showed.

  “Well I suppose we should check with Brick before using his furniture in such a way,” Bianca said with a wink at him. “But the coffee table in my apartment is quite sturdy.”

  Brick reached for her, pulling her into his arms before she could even consider getting dressed and changing apartments. “Sorry, B, we’re already naked. There’s no way I’m letting you out that door.” She grinned at him, her eyes fluttering closed as he ran his hand over her taut nipple, teasing the little bud into pulling even tighter. He lowered his head to her neck, kissing her gently as he dipped his other hand lower, caressing over her stomach and moving down to the juncture of her thighs. He groaned as his hand encountered smooth, hairless skin that was slippery with her arousal. “I have a perfectly good coffee table right here.”