Page 17

Chapter 17

Mari

I looked around the Sandy Creek Tavern, searching for my friends. This was my first night out with the girls since Henry and I had started seeing Jason, and they’d given me shit for disappearing on them. But who wouldn’t disappear when they had Jason’s luscious body to play with?

Blushing, I thought about how I’d fucked him that morning. I’d tied him down to the bed, straddling him while Henry drove deep into his ass. It was incredible to watch his face during those moments, the way he completely lost it from being between us. And I knew exactly what it felt like, because I spent plenty of time as the one in the middle.

I needed to stop thinking about sex and find my friends, stat. I searched the room, finally landing on a group of women, laughing and talking at a corner table near the big overhead door that opened to the outside seating. It was a busy night, and there was a live band setting up on stage, while people spilled out onto the patio, their laughter echoing across the valley.

As I approached my friends, Anna turned and waved to me. The small group of women who I called my closest friends included Henry’s sister and a few other women we’d grown up with, as well as women who were new to town. A graphic designer named Sophie had moved here from Denver and fit right in, while I’d known Anna and a woman named Nadia since elementary school. Nadia was holding court at the moment, and I could tell she was in the middle of telling some wild story. She was going through a divorce and desperate for company.

“I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever,” Sophie said, hugging me.

“So, tell us about the threesome situation,” Nadia said. Since the divorce started, she was eager to talk about sex. By all accounts, her sex life with her husband had been stagnant for years, which was awkward, because Henry and Jason were friends with her soon-to-be ex, Spencer.

I shook my head and smiled, and Anna covered her ears.

“Do not need to know about my brother’s sex life,” Anna yelped. “I mean, I’m happy you and Henry have found your happily every after, again, with Jason, but I don’t need details!”

“Is that what it is?” I asked, tilting my head. Was it so difficult to believe that we could have found true happiness with my husband’s unpredictable best friend as part of our relationship? “Work was tough today. I need a drink!” I looked around the busy bar, hoping someone would serve us.

“We got our drinks from the bar. The server hasn’t come by yet,” Nadia said. “I think they’re short staffed tonight.” And looking around the busy bar, I could see why. Tourists were everywhere. I wished we’d gone somewhere quieter, but this was one of our favorite spots, and it was owned by Henry and Jason’s friend Archer. I stood back up and sighed.

“All right then. I’m going to get drinks. Gossip about me behind my back.” I winked and the women all laughed, which probably meant they would do exactly that.

Halfway to the bar, I stopped, my heart leaping into my chest when I saw Jason leaning over and talking to a cute blonde. I watched him unbutton his collar, moving closer. He couldn’t be cheating. He wouldn’t cheat. But I knew Jason and knew his history. And secretly, that fear that he’d ruin everything had persisted, no matter how many passionate nights the three of us had. The overwhelming sense of dread — or maybe paranoia — hung over me every time I walked into the bar. I knew what it must have been like for Gabi to see him with another woman.

He was the biggest cheater I knew. And he was at the Sandy Creek Tavern with a woman. Again.

I felt like I was going to throw up. I wanted to flee the scene, to never talk to him again, but someone behind me bumped me and shoved me closer, and I caught a thread of his voice.

“Yeah, so I can wear it all the time, but no one knows what it is except you and your dom, you know? It reminds me of who I belong to.” I frowned, watching as he pulled out the collar I’d bought him. The blonde leaned in closer, smiling.

“It’s so pretty. I found these eternity collars. Have you seen those? I just don’t know what my dom will want me to wear.” She blushed, and Jason shook his head.

“I’m sure he’ll want you to wear whatever makes you feel good, Jamie,” he said, laying a hand on hers. “But you have to communicate what that is. I think I fail at that sometimes with Henry and Mari, but it’s all so new and we’re working on it.”

“Two doms, it must be hard,” the woman said, sipping her drink.

He smiled, his eyes dropping. “No, it isn’t. It’s the best. They’re the best. And Mari isn’t much of a domme, she’s just… Mari. Well, unless you give her some ropes.” His face took on a faraway look for a moment, then he laughed and shook his head. “Henry, though. Damn, does he like his new flogger.”

Someone shoved into me again, and I stumbled forward, and this time, Jason turned and noticed me. His face lit up.

“Mari!” He stood and gave me a hug, pulling me close, cupping my cheek and kissing me. I slipped my arms around his waist, feeling how steady he was.

“Are you being a good boy?” I whispered.

He laughed, his pretty eyes sparkling. “Always for you, Mari.” Then he turned to the woman. “This is Jamie. I met her at the munch, and she wanted some advice on the submissive lifestyle. Not that I’m an expert, either. But I thought it would be nice to talk to someone who understands me.”

“I see,” I said, smiling at Jamie, keeping a possessive hand on my beautiful sub. “Was it nice?”

His face turned beet red, and he ducked his head. “It’s so weird, being like this when everyone expects you to be some kind of alpha male or something. It’s been nice talking to someone different.”

I leaned forward, pressing my lips to his ear. Right now, the urge to do something that showed my ownership was strong. He hadn’t felt so much like he was mine, like I needed to command him lately, because Henry so often took the lead, but I was still in command, and I wanted him to know that. “You’re in a bar alone with a woman. Are you wearing a cage?”

He blushed and shook his head. “No, I’m sorry, I didn’t even think…”

I cupped his chin and forced eye contact. “Are we sure you have the level of self-control that’s required for doing things without thinking, my love?” The affectionate term slipped out, and I wondered if I shouldn’t have put it like that. His eyes widened, then dilated, a soft gasp escaping his lips.

“I don’t know,” he whispered. “I hope so. This didn’t seem sexual at all. For one thing, we’re both submissive.” He laughed softly, as if the thought of fucking another submissive was the most bizarre thing he could imagine.

“Let’s put your cage back on you, Kitten. And you’ll work on communicating your plans better so you don’t give me a heart attack.” I said, and if possible, his cheeks got even redder as he nodded.

“Yes, Mistress,” he whispered, and the rough sound of his voice, I knew, meant my words were making him rock hard.

“Well, I just so happen to have it.” I turned back to Jamie. “Lovely to meet you, Jamie. Do you mind if I steal him for a moment?”

She nodded, her eyes wide, as if she was in awe of me, and I grabbed him and yanked him back through the restaurant, leading him into a small bathroom, bolting the door, and shoving him against the counter. He was grinning, and I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Don’t smile at your punishment.” I poked him.

He laughed, his eyes sparkling. “You know I love punishment. Henry beat my ass last night, and I came so hard. I can still feel it.”

“Don’t make me think of something worse than the cage.”

“You were jealous,” he said.

“Whatever.” I yanked his belt open and cupped his cock.

“You were. And you called me ‘my love.’”

“Quiet. Fuck me and then we’ll cage you,” I said, abruptly changing my mind about the plan. Which probably didn’t make it a very good punishment. But I was the domme, and that was my prerogative. If I needed his cock, I needed his cock.

“Of course, my love,” he murmured, moving to stand behind me. “And you are that. You and Henry, you’re it for me. I love you both more than words can express. You don’t have to be jealous. I was showing Jamie my collar because I’m so damn happy to wear it every day.”

I held his chin more firmly. “Shut up and make me come.” The words sounded harsh, but coupled with a brief, intense eye contact, they made him gasp.

“Yes, Mistress. I understand you need me inside you,” he whispered.

“I do,” I said, hopping up on the counter and spreading my legs, palming my pussy, then dragging his hand to where I needed it. He pressed two fingers inside me, circling my clit with his thumb. By now, he knew my body better than any lover but Henry, and he found the spots that made me shudder, stroking me just the way I liked. “You make me come so good, sweet boy. I want Henry to lick me clean when we get home tonight.”

He groaned softly, stepping between my legs. “Yes, Mistress.” He met my eyes. “I love you,” he whispered, as I lined up his cock and pulled him inside me.

It was heated and intense once we were joined, his lips searing hot kisses into mine, his arms around me, holding me close, driving me over the edge, his words of love echoing in my ears. I’d never considered this dynamic before. Three people, all loving each other, but now that I had it, I couldn’t imagine anything else. I had two men to go through if I needed anything. Tonight, Henry was at work, but Jason was there with me. Another day, maybe it’d be Henry, or both of them here with me.

I grabbed his ass and pulled him deeper, and his whimper of pain made me ease up. Henry and Jason had explored their boundaries with the flogger the night before, and I was sure he was sore. But when I let go of Jason, he shook his head.

“No. Touch me there. It hurts, but in a good way, like he’s here with us. I can feel him.” And so I grabbed him harder, loving the way it made his cock twitch inside me.

When we were done, he pulled back and let me put the cage on him.

“I’m sorry I can’t trust you,” I whispered. “I’m trying.”

“You don’t need to worry,” he said. “I’ve never belonged to anyone like I belong to you and Henry, not even Gabi, who I was prepared to marry. But I understand why you need some reassurance. I know how I was. And if you want to mark me or cage me or anything else, well, frankly, I’m pretty fucking turned on by displaying that I’m owned. It makes me feel cherished, makes me belong.”

I snapped the lock on the cage and looked up at him, smiling. “So if I wanted to get you a tattoo that said ‘This is Mari and Henry’s dick, back off, bitch,’ you’d go for it?”

He burst out laughing and hugged me close. “I’ll do anything for you two. If you did that, I’d look at it every day of my life and think about how it’s true. It’s yours. I’m yours. My body, my heart, my soul.”

I buried my face in his shoulder for a moment, before remembering that we were in the bathroom of a busy restaurant and pulling away. “Let’s go. If you’re mine, I want you to be my bitch tonight while I hang out with my girls. You can get us our drinks and give me cuddles.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said, smiling. “Especially since you just let me come in you, then caged me up, and I’m feeling all euphoric and buzzy.”

I laughed, swatting his ass. He groaned softly, that reminder making his hands shake. “Henry will be home from work at ten, so we’ll stay for a little while and leave then, okay?”

“Home. The more time we spend at your house, the more right that word feels,” he murmured. “Hell, I keep forgetting to stop by my apartment and make sure it’s still there.”

“One day soon, you’ll have to sublet it. Move in with us. And we’ll have to buy a bigger bed. Or maybe rent a bigger place? I’m not sure.”

“I’d love that. So damn much,” he said, laughing. “Though I don’t mind your bed. I like to snuggle.” And he stayed good natured as I led him back to my friends. They teased him at first, then watched the way he doted on me, running and getting us all drinks and food as we needed it, and slowly warmed to him again.

For the first time since we’d started all of this, I realized Jason could clean up the bad impression everyone had of him, and most of all, he could prove himself to me.