by Livia Grant
Unsure what was on their menu, Lukus looked at Tiffany who merely shrugged. He suspected the testosterone levels of Jaxson and Lukus combined had her wisely choosing to play the role of submissive versus sassy Tiff.
Lukus answered Avery with a quick, “Why don’t you surprise us with the food. Tiff would like a house white wine and I’ll take a Jack and Coke.”
“Sounds good. I’ll be back,” the chef promised, turning to scoot along.
The men spent the next ten minutes talking business and with each minute that passed, Lukus felt more of a kindred spirit with the hard-ass guy sitting cross from them. It was clear he was as hard-core of a dominant as Lukus and he found himself wishing he could find someone exactly like Jaxson to take over the nightly shows at The Pit.
He had no more than had that thought when a woman carrying a screaming toddler came in through the patio door entrance. Tiffany and he exchanged a confused look as they watched the tired looking woman try to wrangle the wriggling child into submission.
Sure that their host would never put up with having a kid in the club, Lukus turned to see how Jaxson would handle the disruption, not surprised in the least when the owner pushed to his feet, going to meet the woman and child.
That was when things got super weird. The hard-ass dominant held his hands out and took the screaming boy into his arms, hugging him close and whispering something soft against the child’s ear. Whatever it was, it worked almost immediately to calm the adorable blond toddler who promptly threw his thumb into his mouth and laid his head on Jaxson’s shoulder.
Even more surprising was when the trio returned to the table, the dark-haired woman sinking into the seat next to Jaxson with a tired whoosh.
“Hi, there,” she exclaimed while waving frantically at Avery across the room for something. Returning her attention to the table, she added, “I’m Emma. I’m so sorry I’m late. Jax tells me you guys are newlyweds. That’s so exciting. When exactly did you get married?”
Tiffany clearly hadn’t been prepared to chat with Jaxson, but she came to life when Emma joined them. “On New Year’s Eve. We decided it was the perfect way to spend the holiday with our friends and family.”
“Oh, I love that idea. I bet you had a ton of fun, and just think.” Emma paused, giving Jaxson a bit of side-eye before adding, “I bet your husband won’t ever forget your wedding anniversary date with it being on a holiday and all.”
Jaxson groused, “I did not forget our anniversary. I was just super busy… and… I got a bit confused on the date.” Lukus watched in amazement as the hard-ass Dom finally broke into a grin, adding, “You’re never going to let me live it down, are you? We’re going to be celebrating our fiftieth anniversary and you’ll still be talking about the one time I was one day late with my gift.” Turning to Lukus and Tiffany, he added. “If you haven’t figured it out, this is my wife, Emma, and our son, Andrew, who missed his nap today.”
The change in Jaxson since his wife and child had arrived was remarkable. It took a second, but it finally dawned on Lukus that he was seeing his own future in front of him. Tiffany had already worked her magic to mellow him more than he ever thought possible. As he glanced at his beaming wife, he knew she’d figured it out too. Lukus loved watching his friends James and now Derek having kids, but he still wasn’t quite sure how that was going to work for him and Tiff. How the hell does a man like him fit a baby into his life?
Looking across the table as Jaxson Cartwright-Davidson comforted his whining toddler, he got a tiny hint of the possibility.
Avery had just delivered several large platters filled with a variety of appetizers and finger foods when the sound of yet another baby crying filled the air. Emma quickly grabbed a potato skin, taking a bite as if someone might come and take the food away from her, just as a vaguely familiar looking blond man came around the corner. This time it was an adorable dark-haired little girl on the newcomer’s hip. She was hugging a raggedy looking stuffed animal as she continued whimpering for no apparent reason.
Lukus assumed the father was friends with the Cartwright-Davidsons when the man stopped at the end of their table next to Emma. But when Emma stood and reached out to take the little girl, much like Jaxson had minutes before with Andrew, things really started to get weird. Right there, in front of the hard-ass owner, the new guy leaned into hug Emma just before planting a kiss on her lips, right in front of her husband.
When he finished manhandling Emma, new guy turned to address Lukus and Tiffany. “Hey there, you must be the couple from Chicago. Welcome to Runway. I’m sorry I’m late, but Alicia was sleeping. She honestly needed an even longer nap. All this travel over the holidays has really screwed around with the kid’s schedule. As you can see, she’s a Mama’s girl. I knew she’d quiet down once I got her to her mommy.” The jovial guy then waved at someone across the room before looking down at the table and adding, “Oh hey, Avery made us those yummy stuffed mushrooms. Awesome!” The guy then took the seat at the end of the table before reaching to fill his plate with a sampling of the delicious food.
One look at Tiffany and Lukus knew she was as confused as he was. Emma was married to Jaxson and they had a son together, but now some new guy shows up with another of Emma’s kids. Was the blond guy their nanny?
It was Emma that answered the question hanging in the air. “I know. It’s confusing. Chase is my husband.”
Tiffany was braver than he was when she asked, “But I thought you were married to Jaxson?”
Emma grinned. “Oh, I am. Didn’t you hear, I’m the luckiest woman on the planet. I’m married to both Jaxson and Chase. Andrew and Alicia are our twins.”
“But… you mean one of them is your ex-husband?” Tiffany pressed.
“Nope. All three of us are married to each other.”
In unison, as if they’d done it several times before, all three adults at the table held up their left hand where they each sported identical wedding bands.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Lukus chuckled, looking at Jaxson in a whole new light. “I can’t wait to hear how you pulled this off.”
The little boy in his arms had fallen asleep on his shoulder so Jaxson answered softly. “It wasn’t easy, I’ll tell you. But since it totally chapped my dad’s ass, it was absolutely worth it.”
Chase grinned at the end of the table. “I love you too, babe. So happy we could help you stick it to the old man,” he retorted before popping a mushroom in his mouth.
It was strange to see the larger-than-life Jaxson look uncomfortable as he was clearly being teased. “I think I’ve been letting you get away with a bit too much sass while we’ve been on holiday. You’d better watch what you’re saying or I might just be forced to stick it to you.”
Instead of backing down, Chase’s smile grew as he teased back, “Promises, promises.” For good measure, the guy blew an air kiss to his dark-haired husband brooding at the other end of the table.
Lukus couldn’t resist jumping in. “I see Chase likes to live dangerously with a heavy dose of sass. Kinda reminds me of you, Tiff.” Lukus squeezed her upper thigh under the table.
Jaxson picked up on his thought, giving Chase the evil eye as he added. “I think your observation is spot on there, Lukus. Tell me, how is it you deal with the flair ups of sass in your relationship?”
Reaching to hold Tiffany’s hand, Lukus teased. “We’re going to be heading downstairs tonight to work on that, aren’t we baby?”
In perfect Tiffany form, she replied. “I thought you said I’ve been a good girl.”
“Oh, you have, but that doesn’t mean I can’t do a bit of preventative maintenance to make sure you keep that sass of yours in check.”
Lukus loved the blush on her cheeks as she glanced around the dining area to make sure no one else was listening to their conversation.
“You know, that actually sounds like a great idea,” Jaxson added. “We’ve been traveling for weeks with the kids to visit family and friends for the holidays. I t
hink a few hours downstairs should help us get everything back on track, don’t you Emma?”
“Honestly… I hate to be a fuddy-dud here, but I think the best way to get me back on track is about twelve hours of uninterrupted sleep.” She smiled mischievously at Chase before adding, “Chase, on the other hand, is another story. I’m pretty sure you might be on to something, Sir. A trip downstairs just might help him to finally remember not to leave the toilet seat up every time.”
He may not have known the man well, but Lukus saw through Chase’s feigned hurt. “You’re just proving my point of how perfect I am. I mean, come on. The worst you can come up with is leaving the toilet seat up?”
Jaxson corrected him. “That may be sweet Emma’s whole list. Mine is a bit longer.” The men were locked in a staring contest and the fact that the smile waned from Chase’s face as the seconds went past told Lukus there really was an accumulated list of transgressions going.
Chase swallowed hard before answering. “I thought we were on holiday.”
“We were. But I don’t recall agreeing to cancel all our rules while we were away, do you Emma?” Jaxson prodded her.
Emma chuckled, “No, but don’t try to drag me into this one.”
Chase groused under his breath, “Some help you are.”
Emma didn’t seem bothered in the least. “Listen, I’m beat and don’t forget, we gave the nanny the next few days off to go see her parents so there’s no way we can all head to Black… er.. downstairs tonight, not unless we called Chase’s mom to see if she could sit, and…” Looking at her blond husband, Emma added, “… and I adore your mom, but there’s no way we could turn that into a short visit since she hasn’t seen us since before Christmas. I’m just not up for that tonight. But you two can go ahead if you want without me.”
In unison, Emma’s two husbands shut down that idea with Jaxson’s “Nope, not without you,” and Chase’s “We stick together.”
Sounded like a good rule to Lukus.
If Chase thought he was off the hook, Jaxson changed his mind quickly. “Lucky for you, babe, we have plenty of the same pieces of unique furniture at the house as downstairs, don’t we? Not to mention, my entire belt collection is there, just hanging in our closet, waiting to be put to use.”
For the first time, the smile on Chase’s face dimmed, but instead of fear or regret, Lukus got the distinct impression the jovial man was looking forward to his intimate time with his husband. Lukus recognized the shifting in his chair as Chase’s way of recognizing he’d soon be sitting on a punished ass.
Turning to Lukus and Tiffany, Jaxson apologized. “Sorry, but we’ll have to let Elijah and the gang introduce you to the club tonight, but you’re in good hands. While I’m not crazy about you poaching any of our talent, I’m the last guy to stand in the way of my employee’s careers. Well, except for Madison and Maxine. They’re pure gold. I’d have to fight you to the death to keep them, but I digress…”
Both Chase and Emma were nodding their heads in agreement.
Lukus chuckled good naturedly. “No worries, I’m looking for Dom material so they should both be safe. I really do want to thank you so much for the wonderful welcome you’ve given us. Staying here at the mansion has been fun and it’s also given me a few ideas for some upgrades of my own to our on-property suites at The Pit. I only wish I’d planned for us to stay in L.A. a bit longer, but I have a feeling Tiff and I will be heading back again sometime in the future.”
Tiffany piped in, “Yeah, but the next time we need to stay long enough to fit in some shopping. I can’t believe I’m this close to Rodeo Drive and won’t even make it there.”
Emma became animated. “Actually, there are a ton better places to shop than the Drive. Next time you come, we’ll make a day of it. In fact, we’ll have to invite my friend Khloe. We get treated like royalty when she’s shopping with us.”
“Oh, why’s that?” Tiffany asked after taking the last sip of her wine.
Emma grinned. “Because she’s Khloe fucking Monroe, that’s why.”
Lukus saw the absolute shock on his wife’s face at the news that Emma was friends with the Academy Award-winning actress. As surprised as Tiffany was, Emma’s face was now filled with horror as she slapped her hand over her mouth.
Emma and Jaxson were in a stare down until she whispered quietly, “I’m sorry, Sir. The f-word kinda just slipped out.”
With a beaming smile back on his face, Chase added a cheery, “This is great. Now my ass won’t be the only one burning up before bedtime tonight.”
Emma swatted her husband’s arm. “Some help you are. I thought you loved me.”
Chase grinned, “Oh I do, but I’m a voyeur. The only thing better than getting my own ass warmed is watching you get yours heated right alongside me.”
Jaxson tried to get his family back under control, but failed at holding in his own chuckle. “I’m sure our guests don’t need to know the intimate details of the rest of our evening, and more importantly, I sure as hell hope you two would be behaving better if the kids were still awake.”
Turning back to Lukus, Jaxson reached into his back pocket, coming out with his wallet. “Here’s my card. It has all my private contact info. Give me a heads-up next time you’ll be either here or even in D.C. I’ll do a better job of arranging our schedule so we can spend more time together.”
Lukus had pulled his own business card out while Jax had been talking. Handing his card over, he added, “The invitation goes both ways. Tiff and I would love to host you three at The Punishment Pit next time you can make it to Chicago. All I ask is you give me a bit of time to upgrade our suites before you come. I get the feeling you’d be disappointed with the current décor.”
“Why’s that?” Chase interjected.
“Well for starters, most of our guests rent the rooms by the hour. Our primary clientele for the suite rentals are couples that don’t have the space or ability to have the specialized furniture and equipment in their own homes that our club makes available. Most of our couples like to play on the main club floor, but we have a fair share that come for the private dungeon time.”
Jaxson sat back in his chair, his brow wrinkled in deep thought before adding, “Interesting idea. I wonder if we have club members that don’t want to dump the big bucks to stay overnight in the Runway suites, but who might be looking for some privacy for a few hours. I’ll have to give that idea some thought. Maybe we could share revenue and expense details with each other to make sure we know where our ROI would come in.” Turning to his wife, Jaxson added, “Emma is our accountant. Maybe when we visit, we could have her spend some time with your accounting team to bounce numbers off each other?”
Lukus groused. “We’re currently between accountants. I’ve been getting by with a service, but we’ll have a new chief accountant onboard by the time you visit, I’m sure.”
“Damn straight you will, since we have no intention of coming to Chicago until the weather improves significantly. We don’t do snow,” Jaxson said with conviction.
Emma piped in. “He doesn’t do snow. I grew up in northern Wisconsin. I actually miss the snow in the winter.”
“I just spent two weeks in Wisconsin and Colorado, didn’t I? But I’ve reached my quota of snow for the year.”
Upbeat Chase piped in, “Well, since today’s technically only the second day of the year, you need to reset the quota for the new year.”
Jaxson didn’t crack a smile. “You really are determined to sleep on your stomach tonight, aren’t you? You can cut the bratting. I read you loud and clear.”
A new intimacy passed silently between the two men just before Chase lowered his gaze submissively and added, “Thank you, Sir.”
Jaxson pushed his chair back from the table, before standing and reaching his hand out to Lukus for a shake while trying not to jostle the sleeping boy on his opposite shoulder. “It was great to meet you. I hope you and your new bride have a great time tonight. I’m not really sure
any of our guys have what you’re looking for, but you can at least have some fun playing.”
Turning to his husband and wife, Jax demanded, “Time to head home. Seems our few weeks of travel have got you two a bit out of balance. Let’s see if we can get things back on track, shall we?”
Only after they had all said their final good-byes did Lukus and Tiffany take their seats again.
Tiffany captured his thought exactly with her one-word, “Wow.”
Pulling her chair closer so he could put his arm around her shoulder, hugging her close, Lukus added, “You can say that again. That is one interesting trio. I think we’re gonna have fun visiting again in the future.”
Tiffany looked up into his eyes, a sparkle of mischief in her ocean-blues. “I’m not so sure that’s a good idea. Jaxson is super intense.”
“Yeah, I found myself wishing he was available to hire to run The Pit shows. I suspect he’d be the perfect blend of showman and disciplinarian.”
Tiff rubbed her hand intimately up and down his thigh, asking, “You know why that is, right?”
Lukus wasn’t following her. “No. Why?”
“Because he’s you! You’re him! You two could be twins.”
Lukus wanted to object, but the more he thought about Tiffany’s observation, the more he realized she might have been onto something.
“Hmmm, well I can think of one major difference between us.”
“Oh, what’s that?”
Lukus moved his hand to pinch the back of her neck the way he did when he wanted to make sure his lovely wife was paying extra attention.
“We’re different because I have no intention of sharing you with anyone else… ever.”
“Thank God. One of you is more than enough for me,” Tiffany grinned, leaning in for a kiss.