by Diane Leyne
* * * *
Nick yawned. It had been an amazing night, with other wonderful nights promised in the future. She felt she was actually making some progress on the case, not much, but a pattern was starting to emerge. Maybe she should drag it out and enjoy being with Dace and Micah as long as possible. Eventually she’d have to go back home and back to work for Southport Security, but for now, she was on leave and planning on enjoying every second.
She stretched and rolled over, encountering a large obstruction. It appeared to be a man, a large man. Frowning, she rolled in the other direction and encountered a similar obstruction. Another man.
Sitting up, she felt the butt plug press deeper into her ass, and she groaned, shifting to rest her weight on a single butt cheek and take her weight off the plug. Then she rubbed her eyes and looked at the two sleeping men on either side of her. It was Dace and Micah.
Who else? she thought wryly. They hadn’t allowed any other man near her, to the point that it was actually starting to impede things. She needed to be able to mingle freely with the members, but whenever she waited tables in the club, one or the other of them kept an eye on her, ensuring that no other man got close. The bar was a little better. She could mingle, but even there, it felt like she always had eyes on her.
And when a customer got flirty, well, a glare from Micah usually put an end to that. God forbid one of them got grabby. Micah had already thrown out that one college student, and she had a feeling he wouldn’t hesitate to do it again, which was making her job difficult.
She watched the sleeping men. She had been practically asleep when they’d carried her out of the club. She didn’t remember the trip home or inviting them to stay over, but they were here and blocking her in. Her bladder was suddenly screaming at her. Trying not to wake them, she started to crawl to the end of the bed when both of her ankles were suddenly circled by a couple of large male hands.
“And where do you think you are going?” Dace demanded.
“I have to pee.”
“Oh.”
The hands were promptly withdrawn, and she smothered a laugh as she hustled to the washroom, just making it.
After she’d removed the butt plug, taken care of business, and freshened up, she stood looking in the mirror. Her hair was mussed, but her eyes were those of a woman who was well satisfied. It was an expression she’d never seen on her own face before. She turned abruptly away and caught sight of the plug. She wasn’t going to shove it up her own ass. Picking it up, though, she was fascinated. It was bigger than she expected, and she felt its absence as much as she’d felt its presence.
Shrugging, she braced herself and put her hand on the doorknob. There were two hot men waiting for her in the bed, her bed. They’d never slept together outside of the club. They’d played with her, training her, but had never had sex with her outside the club. She wondered if they would want to now and then laughed out loud at the thought. There were two naked men in her bed. Of course they would want to have sex. The question was, did she?
She was answered by the immediate tightening of her nipples and throbbing of her clit as she considered the question. It was a stupid question, really. She had just over three weeks left in Satisfaction, and she planned to spend as much of it as she could in their beds, on their spanking benches and bondage tables, and anywhere else they wanted to have sex. She’d use them ruthlessly to help her get past the memories of her last assignment, and then she’d walk away, maybe not healed, but better off than when she met them.
And she had no cause to feel guilty. It was just casual sex. They barely knew her. She was the one getting emotionally attached. Her shrink would probably call it transference or something. All she knew was that she felt good and safe when she was with them, like she was finally beginning to heal, just a little bit. Last night, sleeping between the two of them, she hadn’t even had her usual nightmares.
They would be fine when she left. They needed her help and probably thought fucking her was a great bonus. They were adults. They’d agreed to make their relationship as real as possible to help with her investigation, to help her be accepted by the employees and customers of The Whips and Spurs. It was just casual sex to all of them, and she wasn’t going to spoil things by taking it personally, even if it was the best sex of her life. She wasn’t sure how she would be able to go back to just making love with one man after this, but she’d have to. This was a fantasy come to life, not her real life, and she had to remember that.
Maybe she should tell them she was making progress, but they were cowboys, and she had the distinct feeling that if she told them the conclusions she’d reached that they would try to take over, so she’d keep it to herself for now.
She wouldn’t tell them that by sleeping with them, the odds were she’d painted a target on her own back.
Chapter Nine
Nicola headed out to meet Daisy and Leah for lunch in Kinsdale, leaving Dace and Micah sitting at her kitchen table, reading her morning paper. It was that kind of a morning.
It had started when she’d walked out of the bathroom. She’d expected to crawl back in bed between them and for them to make love to her. She’d hoped they’d fuck her brains out. But when she had walked back into the bedroom, they’d been sitting up in the bed chatting and had helpfully pointed out to her that it was already after eleven.
She’d stood staring at them for a moment before heading into the bathroom for a shower. She’d half expected one or both of them to join her, but when she came out again, the bed was empty. Shrugging and trying not to feel hurt, she had quickly dressed and walked into the kitchen where she’d found Dace looking in her fridge. He had looked at her and shook his head with disappointment while Micah was padding in barefoot from having clearly retrieved the morning paper.
He’d walked up to her and kissed her on the cheek before pouring a cup of coffee from the machine and taking a seat at the table.
Coffee? She hadn’t set the coffeemaker.
“You really need to get some dark roast. This blend is terrible.”
“Then don’t drink it!” She’d known she was snapping, but she was confused. He had just smiled at her. “I think our kitten needs her morning caffeine fix.” He’d gotten up and poured another cup. “Do you want one, Dace?”
“Thanks, Micah. Don’t mind if I do. I think there’s enough in the fridge for omelets with cheese and some fruit. That work for you, buddy?”
“What about me?” Nick had groused.
“You have lunch plans, or so you told us, and it’s now after eleven. If you eat now, you won’t be able to eat at lunch.” He smiled and shook his head. “Drink your coffee and read the paper. We’ll take care of ourselves.”
“Don’t you have to get to work or something?” she groused.
“Nope. The club is closed today and the bar opens late and closes early. Trace is taking care of the afternoon shift. I don’t have to be there until five or six. I can relax and enjoy Dace’s cooking.”
“I have Sundays and Mondays off this month. And I definitely will be doing the cooking since I don’t want to be poisoned by Micah who can’t boil and egg.”
“What can I say? I’m helpless in the kitchen.” He grinned.
And so she sat at the table, angry and confused and feeling neglected. Oh, and she was horny, too. She’d spent the night in bed with two hot guys, and they both were treating her like a kid sister, an annoying one. They’d actually sent her back to change, saying that her outfit was too casual. And then they’d gone through her closet, which was pretty bare since she’d only brought a suitcase full of clothes with her and it had pretty much all consisted of jeans and T-shirts, except for that leather outfit she’d worn the first night when she was trying to look like a Domme.
“I’ll get Candy to take you shopping,” Micah had offered. “Dace’s sister has a great sense of style.” Actually, he hadn’t offered, he’d declared, ordered, demanded. Fuck this. He was her Dom in the club, but he had no right to d
ecide what she wore outside the club.
And Dace. He was all upset that she didn’t have much food in the fridge. She was only going to be in town for a few weeks. What did he expect to find in her fridge? She wasn’t going to stock up when she wouldn’t be around long, she’d grumbled to herself because no one else was paying attention.
She’d stomped toward the door and both men had jumped to their feet, walked her to the door, and reminded her that she wasn’t working tonight. Micah had to be at the bar until midnight, but the club was closed. Dace had announced that he was going to put in a few hours in the office and would meet up with her and Micah for dinner at the saloon at seven, before asking her to pick up something at Candy’s on her way to join them.
Then they had held their cheeks out for her to kiss as she walked by. They hadn’t even walked her to her damned vehicle, not that she needed them to do that. They weren’t in a real relationship. It was a fake one. A cover.
Her bad mood persisted as she slammed the door of her SUV and pulled out of the driveway and lasted until she came to a stop in front of Leah’s place, a largish bungalow where she lived with her parents on the outskirts of Kinsdale. Daisy was going to meet them at the Grillroom.
Driving made her feel better, and when she pulled up in front of the bungalow, she was feeling much better. If Micah and Dace wanted to treat her like that, then three could play at that game. If they only wanted to make love in public and had no interest in doing so in private, then that was fine with her. Their agreement had been for just casual sex, but she’d thought that had extended beyond the club, but whatever. She could handle that. Hell, maybe she’d take off their collar and…No, she couldn’t do that, not yet.
She thought that she’d found a pattern in the incidents, and it revolved around Micah, and to a lesser extent Dace, not the saloon and not the club, not directly. She didn’t know the motive yet, but she had a feeling it was personal. And she didn’t have any evidence, just a hunch based on the pattern she was seeing.
* * * *
Micah watched the door shut and then slumped in the chair next to Dace. Damn, that was hard. He knew they’d decided not to push her and to let her bring it up, but why was he not surprised when she pretended that nothing had happened.
He had never felt so helpless in his life. She was screaming kill me instead, kill me instead in her sleep and he didn’t know what to do to comfort her. He’d just pulled her close and then Dace moved in behind her and the two of them tried to comfort her with their bodies.
Eventually she’d quieted and seemed to slip back into a normal sleep, but Micah could still remember the jolt of terror that had slammed through him at the sound of her first scream. He didn’t think he’d ever forget the sound of despair in her voice.
He’d thought she was being attacked, and he’d jumped up to confront her attacker, but the only other person in the room was Dace and he was as wild-eyed as Micah felt. They’d looked around and quickly realized that the only attacker was in her dream, or rather nightmares.
In unison, they’d slipped back into the bed, sandwiching her between them, trying to give comfort with their bodies. In time, her sobs stopped and her ragged breathing slowed and then she seemed to slip into a normal sleep.
Micah, though, had lain awake the rest of the night feeling a combination of frustration and helplessness at his inability to do more than hold her. He wanted to chase away her demons but he had no idea how. Flesh and blood men he could fight, but what could he do about those who only visited her when she was sleeping?
“I couldn’t go back to sleep, Dace. I just wanted to hold her tight between us and soothe away whatever it was. I hope whoever traumatized her like that is already dead. If they are not, I may just have to go kill them myself.”
“Right there with you, Micah. I’m going to talk to Quin. He said that her last mission had been difficult. He didn’t say it almost broke her.”
“You know what else we need to do, Dace?”
“What’s that?”
“Insist she move in with us. You’ve just got those bachelor digs over by the station.”
“They’re convenient.”
“They are embarrassing for a thirty-five-year-old man. You live like a college student, but that’s not what this conversation is about. It’s Nicola. If she had that nightmare with the two of us surrounding her and soothing her, what is it like for her when she sleeps alone? No wonder she’s always insisted on leaving after a scene. She lets us hold her for a while, but she’s never spent the night with either of us.”
“And now we know why.”
“Think about this, Dace. I’ve got the family home I inherited from my parents. Jules has all her stuff moved out now that she’s living with Blake and Quin. I have tons of room. She’s already been there a couple of times for training. And we roomed together in college without killing each other. How about you both move in with me?”
* * * *
“Okay, Nicola, dish! Just how serious is it between you and Micah and the sheriff? Separately, they are hot, hot, hot, but together, incendiary!”
Nicola tried not to blush at Daisy’s words and quickly bit down on a French fry to avoid having to answer.
“Oh, don’t try to dodge the question. I’ve seen you play with the both of them, and a little birdie told me that Dace’s truck was seen parked outside your place this morning and Micah was seen retrieving the morning paper.”
“How the hell?” Nick checked her watch. “That was only an hour and a half ago, tops. How did you hear already?”
“Spy cameras?” They all laughed. “No, seriously. It’s a small town. Everyone knows everything. I swear, some of these old biddies could tell you exactly how many times you’ve visited Micah’s place and how long you’ve stayed. And I know that you haven’t visited Dace’s office yet, either his main one in Kinsdale or the auxiliary office in Satisfaction.”
Nick frowned. “Office in Kinsdale? I didn’t realize…How exactly does that work? We, er, we haven’t talked a lot about work.”
“Oh, he’s responsible for all of Kinsdale County, which includes Satisfaction. The town of Kinsdale is the county seat, so that’s where the main jail is located. As far as I know, there’s not much in the local one. Just a cell or two to hold prisoners until they can be taken to the main lockup, which means it’s mainly empty, just a couple of desks and Dace’s office. There’s usually a deputy on duty. Sometimes not even that, but Leah would know better than me. She’s from here. I just moved to town a couple of years ago.”
Leah nodded. “My mom used to work as the dispatcher and office manager, so I’ve visited both offices before. She used to mostly work in Kinsdale, but sometimes, when they needed some extra help, she’d work out of the Satisfaction office because it was so close to home. I can remember as a kid, playing in the cell block. There are two cells, actually, and my brother locked me in one and I cried and cried until Mom finally heard me and came back to find out what the racket was all about. She was so annoyed that she locked my brother in the one across from me and gave each of us a book to read so she could get her work done.”
“Oh no. You mean she left you locked up, too?”
“Yup. She said that we’d begged to come with her and had promised to not bother her while she was working, and this way, we wouldn’t. I think that was my first taste of being restrained, and, well, I’ve been interested in it ever since.”
“Wow, that’s quite a story. What about you, Daisy? I don’t think I’ve seen you in the club at all, except one night serving drinks. BDSM not your thing?”
“Oh, you have no idea.” She laughed. “I’ve never worked up the courage to play.”
“Daisy, here, is an academic. She’s working on her PhD!” Leah interjected with a tone of admiration. “I had to work my butt off just to finish high school, but Daisy’s going to be a university professor!”
Nicola watched across the table as Leah persuaded Daisy to talk about the dissertation sh
e was working on and peppered her with questions. Leah was really sweet when she wasn’t mooning over Micah and Dace. She was really young, maybe twenty-two, and a young twenty-two at that. She acted and dressed more like a sheltered teenager than a woman who worked in a bar and a BDSM club, and she seemed to have a good heart.
Daisy was older than she’d expected. In the bright light, she could see that she was over thirty, probably over her own thirty-one years of age. She’d been surprised when she realized that. Maybe it was because everyone talked about how Daisy was a student that she assumed she was closer to Leah’s age, not her own.
But they were both so very friendly and had made her feel welcome at The Whips and Spurs, helping her with her serving. She had already come to terms with the fact that she wasn’t cut out to be a waitress. She just had to fake it for three more weeks. Daisy, at least, had a future, but Leah would be waitressing forever if she stayed in Satisfaction, and maybe even if she left. She didn’t seem to have any other skills or any ambition to go back to school, and that was okay. Not everyone had as many degrees as she and Daisy, not that the other woman knew, or that anyone besides Dace, Micah, and Quin knew.
“What about you, Nicola? Where did you go to university?” asked Daisy.
“I did a year at Cal State, but it wasn’t for me. I was working as a receptionist for a firm in Northern California, but they shut down and I was at a loose end. I’ve always wanted to visit Texas and got as far as El Paso. I met Micah when he was there a couple of weeks ago at a business management seminar at the hotel I was working at as a receptionist. We kinda had a fling.” She tried to look embarrassed. “Then he invited me to visit Satisfaction.” This was the cover story they’d worked out in case anyone asked. “Boy, was he surprised when I actually showed up last week looking for a job.” She laughed and the other two joined in.
“You looked awesome when you showed up dressed in leather like that. I was sure you were a Domme,” offered Leah. “And then you disappeared into Micah’s office with him and Dace. I tell you, I was soooo jealous. You walk in and pick up the two hottest guys in the place. I tell you, it just isn’t fair at all, not at all. And then you played later with them both. Everyone was watching and commenting. You three were so hot together.” Nick heard Leah’s wistful tone and felt sorry for her. The kid had a huge crush, but she had to move on. Neither Dace nor Micah was interested in her, even if Nick wasn’t in the picture. Hell, maybe they were safe crushes for her, knowing they’d never be reciprocated.
