Three Sweet Nothings (Blindfold Club #5)

by Nikki Sloane

  Chapter

  THIRTY-TWO

  KYLE

  Well, I couldn’t have fucked that up more if I’d tried.

  I was too distracted thinking about the disaster I’d just run from, so I let my subconscious handle everything else. My nervous hand poured a glass of bourbon, neat, and I carried it to the window in my living room.

  I stared out at the view of the city at night, looking but not seeing anything.

  My head was so heavy with thoughts, it was crushing. Ruby had been asleep. She hadn’t even stirred when I’d uttered her name. The thought had struck me then; I could say whatever I wanted. I could practice.

  Test the sweet nothing out on her before actually doing it.

  I’d never said it before, not even to my parents or my sister. Weren’t you supposed to practice before doing something? Fucking hell. The bourbon was warm as it slid down my throat.

  I had one hand on my hip, and the other wrapped around my glass, and my shoulders tensed as her footsteps approached. When her arms went around me, I saw the white sleeves. She’d put on my dress shirt. My eyes closed as her palms pressed against my chest, and she flattened against me. Kisses were planted on the bare skin of my back.

  It felt so goddamn nice.

  “I would have stayed,” I said on a low voice. “If you’d asked me not to go to New York, I would have stayed. For you.”

  She let out a soft cry, her body shuddering against mine. My intent wasn’t to hurt her, or make her cry, but she needed to know. I was sick of holding back feelings for so long they turned to poison inside, but . . . shit. I had no idea how to get them out, either.

  “I would have gone with you,” she said, “if you’d asked me.”

  My heart twisted painfully.

  Why had it been so hard for us? I wasn’t afraid of much. Shove me in front of an intimidating jury and I’d excel. So why the hell had I been terrified to put myself out there to Ruby?

  I took another sip of my bourbon, set it down, and grasped her hands that were pressed to my skin. She stood still as I turned, urging her to keep her arms around my waist. She gazed up at me, her eyes shining.

  “We’re going to do better this time around,” I swore to her. No more unspoken wishes or feelings.

  She nodded enthusiastically as I brushed an errant tear from beneath her eye.

  “What just happened back there?” she asked.

  “I didn’t think you were awake.”

  “Did you mean it?”

  My lips parted to speak. It was the first big test, and I would be damned if I’d fail, even though it was scary. It meant so much.

  “That I love you?” Everything hinged on this moment. “Yes.”

  She filled her lungs with air. Ruby didn’t blink at my admission and her beautiful face was frozen. Like she couldn’t accept it. And why should she, my brain fired back. She’d only been waiting half a decade to hear it.

  The lack of response from her was pure agony. It dragged, and dragged, and I wondered if this was what I’d done to her all the times I’d been silent. It was awful, and I deserved it.

  Her voice was uneven, but the words powerful. “I . . . love you, too.”

  Breath left me in a loud burst. Her words wrapped me in warmth, and before the desire could register, she was in my arms, her legs folded around my waist. Her kiss was ferocious.

  Her hands threaded through my hair as I stumbled forward, striding toward the couch without breaking our connection.

  “Please,” she whispered between kisses. “Say it again.”

  Her plea was the sweetest thing ever; how could I not? “I love you.”

  I lowered her down and she cried out, as if my words were the relief she’d been desperate for her whole life. A different kind of pleasure burned through my veins. I’d been so nervous to tell her, I’d never considered how much I might actually like saying it.

  “I love you,” I said again, stunned at how good it felt.

  She moaned as I settled her back on the couch and trailed kisses down her naked body. I moved my lips over her trembling belly and worked lower.

  Each time I said it, my voice was stronger. “I love you.”

  “Wow,” she whispered. “You feel strongly about it.” A soft smile broke on her lips.

  I nodded. “I do, Ruby. It bears repeating.”

  “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of hearing it.”

  Tariq Crawford’s counter offer of alimony was so low, it was offensive.

  I stared at my email in disbelief. Crawford was making millions a year, and Courtney only wanted a fraction of that. She wasn’t greedy, but if she was going to go back to school and get her master’s, she’d need financial support.

  Her husband had dragged her around with his career. He’d been drafted to one team and traded to another a year later, before ending up with Chicago. He’d also been on injured reserve with a torn ACL once, and she’d been the one to make sure he went to all his rehab sessions. She’d helped him get back out on the field. So in my mind, Courtney was owed her fair share of the Crawford assets.

  It annoyed me this hadn’t already been settled. There weren’t children. Both parties wanted to dissolve the marriage. Division of assets shouldn’t take this long; no one was fighting over spoons. Fucking hell, a lengthy divorce wasn’t fun for anyone involved.

  And the sooner Courtney put Tariq in her rearview mirror, the sooner she’d hopefully be able to see Julius as more than just a friend.

  I couldn’t talk about the divorce with Ruby, even in generalities. She’d know instantly which case I was referring to. She wasn’t helping on Tariq’s case anymore, but she was still working for opposing counsel’s firm. Neither of us spoke about it, not wanting to accidentally put the other in an awkward position.

  It was one of the only things I didn’t talk about with my girlfriend. That, and the blindfold club.

  After our failed dinner at Celeste, Ruby and I ordered Thai food, talked about everything, and then I’d fucked her on my ridiculous blue couch. My dick couldn’t get enough of her. Actually, all of me couldn’t get enough.

  It’d been two weeks since I’d dropped those three crucial words, and I hadn’t had an issue since. She stuttered at times of stress and perhaps I had something similar, like a stutter block whenever it came to her. But I’d discovered when I put my lips on her, it disabled the block and I could open up.

  Her text message came through at a quarter to five as I was finishing up at the office.

  Noemi and Joseph were coming over for drinks tonight. Potentially more, if everyone was comfortable with that.

  I was beyond fucking excited. Not just at the idea of watching her with another woman, but to give her an experience she’d been interested in for a long time. Getting to peek behind the curtain and watch Joseph interact with his sub was also something I was looking forward to.

  Ruby and I had been wading in the waters of a D/s relationship, going a little deeper every few days, but tonight could be the plunge we needed to make it official.

  She arrived at my place at six thirty, bringing in a box of macarons and two bottles of wine. “I didn’t know if red or white was better.”

  She handed them to me, put her coat in the mudroom, and then looked lost. Unsure of what to do.

  “You look fucking amazing.”

  Although her sand-colored top was loose-fitted, the way it hung flattered. The neckline was low cut, showing off her excellent cleavage, and her tight, shiny black leggings ended in a pair of fuck me black stilettos. The thought of bending her over the counter and fucking her right now was very, very tempting.

  “Thank you.” She slid up to me and laced her fingers together behind my neck. “So do you, counselor.”

  Her lips tasted like cherries, probably from her lip gloss, and my kiss seemed to have a calming effect on her.

  We ate the dinner I’d picked up on my way home from the office, and attempted to have normal conversation, pretending we we
ren’t going to potentially be naked in front of other people this evening. As the clock closed in on the other couple’s arrival, Ruby and I grew more excited and anxious.

  I’d given Joseph’s name to the front desk so they could come straight up, and the soft knock on my door had Ruby leaping to her feet. She tucked a lock of her wavy hair behind her ear and flashed a nervous smile.

  “Hey,” I said to them when I opened the door. I tossed a hand toward my living room. “Come on in.”

  Noemi was tucked beside Joseph, one hand clasped in his, and a bottle of red wine in the other. She smiled shyly as they stepped inside.

  “Can I take your coat?” I offered to her. Joseph was wearing a suit without a tie, but no overcoat.

  It was electric when the women’s gazes met; it could be felt in the air. What did Noemi think of the beautiful brunette who stood in my kitchen, one hand resting on the counter and trying to appear casual? Ruby’s smile was bright, and then recognition flickered in her eyes.

  “Joseph, Noemi, this is Ruby.”

  They shook hands while I hung Noemi’s coat up, and when I joined them in the kitchen, Ruby glanced sideways at me. “Not famous, huh?”

  Ah. She’d figured out who Noemi was, and the NDA probably made a lot more sense now. “You only asked if he was, counselor.”

  Without a word, Joseph picked up the wine opener off the counter, took the bottle from Noemi, and worked to get it open. It was my apartment, and yet he seemed to be the one most at ease. Of course he was. He was in charge tonight. Everyone had desires for this evening, and his was to hold the reins. He’d never had power over three people at once.

  Wine was poured and glasses handed out.

  We stood around my counter, chatting casually about our day as Ruby got a sense of the couple, and they got to know her. She’d set her macarons out, and I wondered if everyone ate a cookie just to have something to do. White chocolate raspberry tonight, which went well with the wine.

  By the time Joseph was refilling glasses, the atmosphere had relaxed. Ruby softened beside me, laughing as she listened to Noemi describe her horror at catching her father fooling around with his girlfriend in his office.

  “He’d forgotten we had a lunch appointment,” Noemi said, shuddering.

  Joseph looked confused. “You told me you didn’t see anything.”

  “I didn’t, but when Claudia popped up from under his desk . . . uh, I don’t want to think about it.”

  He chuckled, and then the conversation lulled at the mention of sex. It was a key turned in a lock, setting the desires for the evening free.

  Joseph’s attention went to the back of the room and his gaze lingered on the bright blue upholstery. “That’s some couch.” He set his hand on Noemi’s arm. “You and Ruby will go sit beside each other there.”

  His voice was light and easy, but his control fell in the room like a hammer.

  Chapter

  THIRTY-THREE

  RUBY

  Noemi Rosso was fresh-faced pretty, and looked even better in person than she did in photos. Of course, she wasn’t usually the focus of those pictures. It was her father who garnered the attention. But damn, did she look young. How old was she again? Early twenties at most.

  Her fiancé looked considerably older. Joseph’s hair was so dark it was almost black, and his deep brown eyes matched. His build was similar to Kyle’s. Lean. Broad shoulders. Toned without being overly muscle-bound. I liked the look.

  Joseph was late thirties, maybe even forty, and she was in her twenties. His hair was dark, while her long blonde hair hung past her breasts and curled softly at the ends. Joseph’s expression was intense and serious, whereas Noemi’s seemed bright and excited.

  The juxtaposition of them worked, each perfectly complimenting the other. And the chemistry between them? It was undeniable. She flashed a smile to Joseph as she followed his command and sat on the blue couch, and he studied her intently the whole way. Examining to see if she was nervous?

  I was nervous as hell.

  In a good way, but still anxious. I clenched my glass of wine tighter as I made my way to the couch and sat beside her, leaving a few inches of space. Without thought, my gaze went to Kyle. When he nodded, I turned to Joseph, as if I needed to check in, show him I did as instructed, and if my proximity was all right.

  It seemed to be. The men joined us, sitting in the chairs that flanked either end of the couch. If someone were to walk in right now, this would all appear normal. We’d seem like two couples having drinks and conversation. Would they sense the sexual tension swirling around us like an invisible fog? It was provocative. Seductive and so fucking powerful it squeezed my lungs.

  Only Joseph seemed unaffected. He looked comfortable leaning to one side of his chair with an arm slung over the back, and a glass of wine in hand. Kyle tried to mimic his friend’s posture. Both men watched us expectantly, and Noemi fidgeted with the hem of her dress.

  My voice was tinted with nervous energy. “What now? You guys are looking at us like you want a show.” I felt weird and didn’t really want to be on display. It had been one thing to fool around with Leslie years ago. It was dark, I’d been kind of drunk, and Kyle had been right there beside me. He was so far away now.

  Joseph took a sip of his wine, then rolled the liquid slowly in his glass. “I’ll take care of the awkwardness in a minute. Do you find Noemi attractive?”

  “Yes.” I glanced at her. “You’re very pretty.”

  “Thank you,” she said warmly.

  “Noemi’s not pretty,” he said, “she’s fucking gorgeous. You should see her when she’s naked.” He took another sip of his wine. So calm and composed. “Would you like to?”

  Kyle’s apartment suddenly felt like the inside of an oven, and I was closest to the heating coils. My face warmed, but I pushed my nerves away and spoke honestly. “Yes.”

  The edges of Joseph’s mouth turned up into a slight, pleased smile. “Would you like to kiss her?” he said. “Touch her?” His voice went deep and dark. “Fuck her?”

  I could barely breathe. “Yes,” I whispered, unable to contain it. “I mean, if she wants to.”

  His pleased smile widened. “She already gave me the signal of yes when she sat on the couch.”

  I guzzled my wine, hoping it’d make me relax. I was wound as tight as a spring.

  “I am not your Sir.” His gaze was focused on me. “But to avoid confusion tonight, you’ll address me that way. Understood?”

  Oh, God. I risked a glance to Kyle. A light smile played on his lips, as if he was comfortable with this, and then he nodded. I turned back to Joseph and nodded as well.

  “Good. Noemi, put your mouth on her.”

  She didn’t hesitate. “Where, Sir?”

  “You can kiss her wherever you want.”

  I set my empty wine glass down on the table with jittery hands and too much force, so it clanked loudly, and then I rubbed my sweaty palms over my pant-covered thighs. It was a simple word, Sir, but it reverberated in the room.

  I looked at Noemi, wondering where this beautiful girl was going to carry out her Dom’s command, and it must have been the opening she needed. She reached out and cupped a hand on the side of my neck as she slid closer. Her eyes fluttered closed as she leaned in to me.

  It wasn’t a conscious thought to meet her halfway, but it happened. Her lips pressed oh-so-softly to mine in a delicate, closed mouth kiss. It was chaste. A tease, and over just as quickly as it had started. Confusion crackled through my mind. These lips didn’t belong to Kyle, yet I wanted more. I sensed everyone in the room wanted more.

  There was a sharp inhale of breath from her as I grasped her shoulder and pulled her back to me. This time my mouth sealed over hers, and I gave her just a hint of tongue. A sliver of the full kiss I wanted to share with her.

  Her hand on my neck began to ease downward, her palm pressed against my collarbone. Inching her way toward my breasts as she opened her mouth and her tongue sought mine
. She answered my intensity and desire with her own.

  “Fuck me, that’s hot,” Kyle said. It caused me to grin, but I didn’t stop kissing her. Her lips were so soft, and her delicate tongue sliding against mine was erotic. Wrong or right didn’t apply. Kyle’s voice had been loaded with satisfaction, and it shot a bolt of pleasure deep in my belly.

  Also, there was her hand. She’d tucked it inside my shirt and slipped her fingers beneath the strap of my bra, toying with it. Toying with not just me, but with the men watching. I wanted her to go further. My nipples strained beneath the lace of my bra, begging for attention.

  “Do it, baby girl,” Joseph said.

  Our sighs mixed together as Noemi’s fingertips traced lower and grazed beneath the cup of my bra. She found my nipple and gently pinched it between two fingers. I grew hot and damp between my legs in a flash. Before we’d started kissing, I hadn’t wanted to put on a show. But now? Oh, I was enjoying it.

  As we both became bolder, so did our kiss. Her teeth snagged my bottom lip and nibbled on it, while my hand slid from her shoulder down to cup a handful of her breasts. There was a wicked male chuckle which sounded like Joseph, but I was too preoccupied with her to confirm. I squeezed the globe of flesh and reveled in the sexy moan I pulled from her.

  And the next second she was gone. My eyes flew open and I gazed up in surprise. Joseph was on his feet, as was she, and he had a hand on her elbow, like he’d tugged her upright there.

  His tone was authoritative. Strict, but still hot as he spoke it near Noemi’s ear. “Take your panties off. You’ll watch Kyle as you do it.”

  Whoa. I locked my knees together, holding back the rush of desire. There was something lewd yet enticing about this concept. Noemi turned to face Kyle and bent at the waist. Her hands went up her skirt, disappearing beneath the purple silk shift dress. Kyle’s blue eyes were zeroed in on her movements, and he followed the gradual descent of black lingerie as it skated down her legs.

  When it was over, her underwear was abandoned on the gray flooring, and Kyle turned his attention to me. Lust was a dark shadow on his face. Not so much lust for her, I believed, but for me. For me with her.