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

by Abby Blake

  Finally both completely spent, Viper leaned over her back, wrapping her in his embrace and then rolling them both sideways. He looked like he might fall asleep like that, his cock still inside her, his arms wrapped possessively around her, but after a moment he groaned and moved away carefully.

  “I really hate condoms.”

  Brick could only nod in agreement.

  * * * *

  Bianca lay on the bed trying to catch her breath as the men she loved took care of practicalities. She wasn’t a big fan of condoms either, but she appreciated her men’s willingness to keep her safe. She hadn’t bothered with contraception in the past twelve months either, so it was doubly important to use the condoms properly.

  Brick came back to the bed first, his tentative smile making her fall for him even harder. It was clear that he wasn’t revolted by the lifestyle she and Viper had once shared, but it would take a while for him to be comfortable with it.

  She held her hand out, sighing in contentment as he slid onto the bed and urged her into his arms. Viper came back into the room, smiled at them both, and then turned to gather his clothes. He was fully dressed by the time he came to sit on the mattress beside them.

  “I’m going to head home,” he said, his hand on Bianca’s hip as if he couldn’t bear not to touch her.

  “You can stay, if you want,” Brick said quietly, proving in Bianca’s mind that he was willing to sort something out to suit all three of them.

  “I…” Viper hesitated again, glancing at Bianca before turning his attention back to Brick. “Thank you, but no. It’s probably best if I go home…for now.”

  “But you’ll come back?” Bianca asked nervously. Everything had happened so fast. Was Viper regretting his offer to share her with Brick?

  “Come here, baby girl,” Viper ordered. She quickly complied, crawling onto his lap and only just managing to contain the sob of grief. She was being silly. She knew it. Viper wouldn’t change his mind. He’d said he loved her. He wouldn’t have lied about something so important just to spend one more night in her bed. “You and Brick need time to figure out what sort of relationship you want to build together.”

  “But you’ll come back?” she asked again, ice water traveling her veins at his lack of reassurance.

  “Of course he’ll come back,” Brick said in a tone that suggested it might actually be a warning to Viper. “B, the man loves you. We’ll find a way to make it work.”

  “Okay,” she said as Viper pulled her closer and held her tight.

  “Are you working tomorrow?” Viper asked.

  Work seemed a million miles away right at that moment, but she almost melted when she realized how hard Viper was trying to respect her independence. After eleven years of having her as his full-time sub, it would have been very easy to fall straight back into old habits.

  “I’m on the evening shift this week, two till ten.”

  “Would you like me to pick you up?” She couldn’t quite see the exchange between the two men but she got the impression Viper thought she still walked to work. Safe neighborhood or not, she wasn’t silly enough to walk home in the dark.

  She smiled, wondering how he was going to take her next piece of news. “I usually drive my car when I work evenings.”

  “You drive?” he asked, sounding less shocked than she might have expected. “Wait, your car? You bought a car?”

  “She bought a rusted bomb that’s barely roadworthy,” Brick said. They’d had this argument a few times over the past couple of months, but it hadn’t seemed right to use the money Viper had given her to buy something nicer. She’d bought the car she could afford with the money she’d earned herself.

  Viper was quiet for a while, his hand running through her hair over and over in a familiar sign that he was thinking things through carefully before speaking.

  “Why did you never touch the money in your bank account?”

  She shrugged. It was kind of hard to put all of her reasons into a handful of words. She knew that the law said half of everything she and Viper had accumulated during their common-law marriage belonged to her, but it felt wrong to take it. Viper had done everything alone. He’d made every decision, researched every option, and created every opportunity to make the money he’d made. He was the reason they had anything at all. And he’d done it all while being responsible for her as well. He’d succeeded in spite of her needy, selfish behavior, not because of it.

  Viper blew out a deep breath and pulled her closer. “I want you to be independent, and I’m very proud of you for getting your driver’s license.” Bianca thought she saw Brick nod in agreement before Viper continued. “As a police officer, if Brick says your car is barely roadworthy, it’s because he knows what he’s talking about.” Viper swallowed, the noise loud against her ear as his hand moved up and down her back in agitation. “If I leave my car here, will you use it for the next few days? At least until we can come up with some sort of compromise?”

  She started to shake her head, wondering how she could explain her current situation, but Viper placed his hand against the back of her head and pressed her against his chest tightly.

  “Before you say no, I want you to consider how Brick and I would feel if we lost you in a car accident that could have been prevented.”

  Brick shifted on the bed, perhaps trying to see her face more closely. He’d made pretty much the same argument only a few weeks ago. She’d suspected at the time that he would have offered his own car as well if he’d been able. She wasn’t certain of his financial situation, but she got the impression that paying his mother’s nursing home bills was a huge strain on his income.

  Was she taking her need for independence too far? Yes, people drove crappy cars all the time, but for most drivers it was because they had no other choice. Bianca had choices available, even if she didn’t want to acknowledge them.

  “Okay,” she said, nodding against Viper’s chest. “Thank you, I’ll drive your car to work until we can work out a better solution.”

  “Thank you, baby girl,” Viper said, his arms shaking slightly with his relief. “I really appreciate it.” He lifted her as if she weighed nothing and placed her on the bed beside Brick once more. He smiled as he leaned over and pressed a kiss to her mouth. “Don’t wear him out tonight, little sub. Brick and Derek are on day shift this week, so make sure Brick gets at least a few hours sleep. I don’t think his partner would be impressed if he started sleeping on the job.”

  Brick laughed softly as he pulled her back into his embrace.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Well judging by the smile on your face, I’m guessing you got laid last night.”

  It was clear that Derek was joking, but Brick couldn’t quite hide the truth from his best friend. He didn’t need to say anything for Derek to realize he’d stumbled onto the actual reason for his happy mood.

  “So you and Bianca finally got together,” Derek said with a smart-ass grin. “I always knew you two would make a cute couple.”

  “Trio, actually,” he said, trying to keep a straight face. Derek had already turned to his locker, so he practically gave himself a case of whiplash turning back so fast.

  “Trio?” he asked almost as if he didn’t know what one was. Considering his own marriage, it was a rather hilarious reaction. “Corey?” Derek shook his head doubtfully. “I didn’t think he knew Bianca that well.”

  “Not my brother,” Brick said, wondering if it was fair to tease his friend over something as serious as this. Considering how Derek had taken every chance to tease him about the lifestyle he led, both before and after meeting Maya, turnabout seemed fair play.

  “Viper?” Derek asked, but shook his head immediately as if that idea was ludicrous. “He’s not the sharing type. He was always very possessive of Bianca when they were a couple.” He stopped talking and gave Brick a concerned look. “It might be a good idea to avoid crossing paths with him if you can. I doubt he’ll take the news well.”

  “He
already knows,” Brick said, dropping the teasing when he saw his friend’s genuine concern. “And yes, he’s the other person in our strange little trio.”

  “Since when?”

  “Since he and Bianca turned up on my doorstep last night.” Brick shrugged. “The whole thing was his idea.”

  “And you’re okay with that?” Derek asked. It was clear he was trying to sound neutral, but his worry was very obvious.

  “We’ll find a way to make it work,” Brick said with probably more confidence than he felt. Waking with Bianca in his arms this morning had been pure joy, but the previous night had since taken on a surreal sort of quality. Had he just imagined Viper’s determination to let Bianca keep her independence?

  He’d been grateful for Viper’s intervention on the issue of the rust bucket Bianca laughingly called a car, but was that just the first baby step in the wrong direction? Would he and Viper slowly chip away at the happiness she’d found in doing things for herself? She’d told him a long while ago about the money Viper kept putting into her account. He understood her reasons for not using it—even if he didn’t quite agree with them—but he’d really tried to get her to change her mind when it had come to buying a car. She hadn’t budged one inch, but the moment Viper offered his car, she’d meekly agreed and accepted his keys.

  Brick stared at the cracked linoleum under his feet and wondered if any of them knew what the hell they were doing.

  * * * *

  The knock on the door wasn’t entirely unexpected, but she checked the viewer just to be safe. When she opened the door, Viper looked more worried today than he had last night.

  “Can I come in?” he asked quietly.

  Unnerved by his attitude Bianca nodded and then stood back to let him enter. A part of her realized she was falling into old habits, letting him dominate her even though the agreement was that they would restrict such behavior to the bedroom.

  “I wanted to apologize for last night.”

  The bottom dropped out of her world. She knew a relationship like the one the three of them wanted to build wouldn’t be easy, but she hadn’t expected Viper to pull away so soon. She watched him, her eyes filling with tears, but her mouth staying shut as her submissive personality took over.

  He searched her face, his concern growing more palpable as he reached for her and hauled her into his embrace. She clung to him, shaking, as every hope she’d had for the future shattered in her mind.

  “Baby girl, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed it. It’s my fault.” He lifted her into his arms, carried her into the apartment, and sat with her cradled in his embrace. It was so much like all the other times she’d fallen apart and he’d comforted her that she actually felt physically ill. What had the past twelve months been about if she fell into his arms at the first sign of a problem?

  Damn it. She’d thought she was stronger than this.

  As tempting as it was to give in and lean on him again, Bianca instead sat up straighter, swiped angrily at the tears that blurred her vision, and finally managed to move out of his arms.

  “I’m so sorry, Bianca. I shouldn’t have insisted that you take my car. I really am proud of you for getting your driver’s license.” He reached over and touched her face lovingly. “It was just the thought of you having an accident or breaking down in the middle of nowhere that freaked me out.” He shook his head sadly.

  “This is about the car?” Bianca asked, a mixture of relief and horror filling her words.

  Viper nodded. She scrambled back onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his middle. “I thought you were leaving.”

  “Leaving?” he asked, sounding surprised. He held her close for a few moments, but it was the laugh that burbled up from his stomach that made her smile. “How on Earth did we manage to be happy for eleven years with so much miscommunication?”

  “I’m not sure,” Bianca said, breathing out heavily as she tried to release the tension of moments ago. “It might have been because you were always right and I was smart enough at the time to listen to you.”

  Viper stopped laughing, his hand ceasing the caress on her shoulders.

  “I wasn’t always right,” he said, sounding very sincere.

  “But you managed to build a good life for us both while I was still struggling to climb out of bed each day. I’m sorry I was such a heavy burden to carry.”

  “You were never a burden, Bianca. You were, and still are, the woman I love. Helping you when you needed it gave me a purpose in life when I needed it.” He pressed a kiss to her temple, his hand resuming the caress on her back. “I’d been struggling to find a direction after leaving the Navy. You gave me a reason to climb out of bed each day.” He was quiet for a long while. “Is that why you never used the money I put in your account? Because you saw yourself as a burden?”

  She could feel a blush creeping up her cheeks. Viper’s questions pretty much summed up the rather complex arguments she’d used on herself whenever she’d been tempted to use Viper’s money.

  “Bianca,” he said, apparently taking her silence as an affirmative answer, “we filled each other’s needs. That’s more than most couples manage at the best of times.” Again he held her, rocking slightly as she stayed quiet. Looking at their relationship from Viper’s perspective was quite enlightening.

  But, rather ironically, it did leave her with one tiny problem.

  “Ben, would it be okay if I borrowed your car for a couple of days?” He was surprised by her request. That much she knew for certain.

  “Of course,” he said, “as long as you want, but I don’t want you to feel obligated. It’s your choice. Brick and I aren’t happy about you driving an old car, but we respect your right to make that decision.”

  “Thank you,” she said quietly, but the need to be honest with him was overwhelming, “but I don’t think I’ll be driving my car for a while. It wouldn’t start last week so I had to get it towed to the mechanic. I’m still waiting to hear what the repair bill will be.” Strangely, Viper seemed relieved by her confession. “I was going to ask Brick if he would be able to pick me up after work for the next few days, but well with everything that happened I forgot all about it until you guilt-tripped me into taking your car for a few days.”

  “I’m sorry for the guilt-trip,” Viper said in a warm voice, “but I’m glad to know that you’re not afraid to ask for help when you need it.”

  “I’m hoping not to need it very often.”

  “Bianca, everyone needs help sometimes, even me, even Brick. I’m glad you were able to surround yourself with good friends. I’m sorry I held you back when I should have been helping you find your independence.”

  She shook her head and moved so that she was straddling his lap, determined to end this conversation once and for all. They’d both made mistakes. They’d admitted them, and now it was time to move on.

  “Enough of the blame game. Let’s get to the fun stuff.”

  Viper grinned, his hands tightening on her waist as his cock grew hard against her pussy.

  “What did you have in mind, little one?”

  “I don’t have to be at work for another three hours. I’m sure we can find some way to fill the time.”

  “Perfect,” Viper said. “I even brought you a present.”

  * * * *

  Time was crawling.

  Brick had literally been watching the clock since the end of his own shift several hours ago. By five past ten he was close to climbing out of his skin. He needed to hold Bianca in his arms. He needed to know that last night hadn’t been a dream, that they really were headed in the direction he thought they were headed.

  His front door being opened with a key startled him. The man who walked through barely resembled his brother.

  “Corey?” he asked as he watched the younger man step tiredly into the foyer. “I wasn’t expecting you for another couple of weeks.” And thank fuck he hadn’t come home twenty-four hours earlier. He would’ve had a front-row seat to some
thing Brick wasn’t quite ready to explain.

  “Contract got canceled.” Corey flipped his hand in the air in a dismissive action. “What shift are you on this week?”

  “Days.”

  “Good. Don’t wake me until you get home tomorrow night. Or maybe the day after.” He ran a hand down his unshaven face. “I feel like I could sleep for a week.”

  He left his luggage in the foyer, not even bothering to grab his laptop. He never went anywhere without it. That, if nothing else, screamed that there was something very wrong with his younger brother.

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “Maybe later,” Corey said with a half smile. “Right now I just want to sleep in my own bed.”

  “Okay,” Brick said, wondering whether he should stay and insist that his younger brother tell him what was wrong or if leaving him alone until he was ready to talk would be the better option for now. They’d been close when they were younger, but the past few years their lives had taken them in very different directions, so Brick wasn’t certain how to handle things.

  In the end it was Corey’s apparent need to be alone that swayed his decision. “I was on my way out. Call me on my cell phone if you need anything.”

  “Will do,” Corey said, waving over his shoulder as he wandered toward his bedroom.

  Brick took the stairs down to Bianca’s apartment. He wasn’t surprised to find Viper waiting at her front door as well. He checked the time on his cell phone and almost laughed out loud. It was barely ten minutes past Bianca’s finishing time. She probably wouldn’t be home for at least another five minutes.

  “Did she take your car?” he asked Viper without actually saying hello first.

  Viper half smiled and nodded.

  Brick struggled to find the words to raise the concerns he had earlier, but Viper seemed to understand what was on his mind.