Page 18 of Dual Surrender

“I’m not taking it well.” I gave him a sardonic laugh.

“Stop being so self-absorbed.” Rich reached across the couch and shoved me in the arm. My elbow slipped off my knee and I let the momentum collapse my body into the arm of the couch. I blinked up at him with a wounded expression.

“I’m not self-absorbed,” I protested.

“You are. You’re making his limits and his desires about you and they’re not.”

“What do you mean?” I adjusted myself so I sat like an adult, not a beat-up child.

“Sam likes to worship my shoes,” Rich said with a shrug. “That wasn’t something I liked or had asked of anyone before him. I don’t even think I asked it of him. It was something he did on his own because he liked it and it made him feel good.”

“That’s not the same, though.”

“Isn’t it? You know Kevin is the one who sets the rules and the game play. So, let him.”

“How?” I asked. “How can I control a scene and keep him safe if I don’t know what’s coming next?”

“Your relationship isn’t a patriarchy. It’s a democracy. Give him his voice and trust him to use it.”

“Let him steer,” I muttered in summary.

“You’re still the one driving,” Rich reminded me. “Who knows. The change of pace might be refreshing for both of you.”

Kevin and Sam reappeared in the hallway, Kevin dressed in dark gray jeans that hugged the curves of his thighs and a purple t-shirt with a deep v-neckline. He had on black leather boots that were barely laced up, a look he’d adopted recently that I found myself very fond of. His glasses sat on his nose and, from behind the lenses, I could see the intensity of his stare.

I didn’t know what he and Sam had talked about in the bedroom, but I had a feeling I was in for a hell of a night.

Chapter Six

Kevin

Rapture was crowded. Sam hung close to Rich, eyes wide, and Rich kept a watchful eye on me.

“Are you all right?” he asked when I sucked the last of my whiskey and Coke out of the small glass in my hand.

“Fine,” I answered, mouth pulled in a tight line.

We’d been at Rapture for nearly an hour and there had been no sign of Ronan. My neck had started to hurt from how irritable and tense I’d grown, but I tried to internalize those feelings so I didn’t ruin Sam and Rich’s evening.

“You don’t need to stay here with me,” I reminded them both. “You came here for a good time.”

“Iamhaving a good time,” Rich answered back thoughtfully. “Doing what I do best.”

“And what’s that?” I snapped.

Rich arched a brow at me, a stern expression on his face. That was answer enough.

“I have a dom,” I grumbled, dropping the empty glass onto the high top table.

“Oh, do you?” A low voice behind me sent the hairs on the back of my neck to attention. Instinctively, I knew it was Ronan. It had to be him. But there was something different in his voice that had my entire body on edge immediately.

When I exhaled, I could hear my breath shaking, and I didn’t dare to turn around. I didn’t answer. Ahead of me, Sam’s face flushed as dark as it had at the condo, and he turned toward Rich, burying his face against Rich’s chest.

“We’ll be going over there now,” Rich said, and like that, they were gone and I was alone.

But not.

“I asked you a question.”