Off to the side, she heard Ford shift in his chair. Sensed some kind of silent exchange between the men.
Ford stood and came to her side. He put his hand under her chin, urging her to lift her gaze. “You’re worth so much to us both. Don’t forget that.” He smiled and tapped her nose. “I have a feeling I know what Cort’s going to do. Breathe through it and you’ll be fine. This will be his thing. I’m a little more random with my punishments.”
This she knew. She’d heard rumors about Ford being pretty damn creative. The girls he topped would bitch about how mean he was, but they’d always have a dreamy look in their eyes. Like being with him was worth going through the worst.
Now she was with him. And she would go through the worst if she earned it.
Hopefully, that wouldn’t happen too often.
“You got some rope, Ford?” Cort asked from behind her.
“Yeah.” Ford let out a positively evil laugh. “Give me a minute. Got that and a few other things in my car.”
Cort didn’t say a word after Ford walked out. He stayed behind her, only his even breaths letting her know he hadn’t left too. She tried not to shift on her knees as they started getting sore, but it felt like she’d been kneeling forever. The creases in Cort’s jacket dented her skin through her jeans. She tried to move her weight from one knee to the other, get on a smoother spot.
Clearing his throat, Cort tugged her hair again. “Be still.”
Oh God! Her cheeks heated as liquid warmth pooled down low. Cort wasn’t playing at being a Dom. Not anymore. She could hear it in his voice and it was damn sexy. He knew she was his to command and control. Which had her feeling beautifully and wonderfully owned.
This wasn’t about going through the motions, wasn’t a game. She belonged to him and to Ford.
Her lips quirked as something occurred to her. I’m in really big trouble.
When Ford came back, Akira planted her most serene expression on her face, sure by how closely he watched her, how easily he read her, that her punishment would be much more intense if he figured out how much she was anticipating it.
His smirk told her she hadn’t hid it too well, but he didn’t comment. He pulled a length of rope out of his toy bag and turned to Cort. “You gonna do something simple or do you want me to fix up something fancy?”
“Something fancy.” Cort put his hand on the side of her neck, stroking her throat with his fingertips. “I want to take this slow.”
“Mmm, I like that idea.” Ford took a knee behind her and drew her wrists to the small of her back, speaking softly. “How flexible are you, shorty?”
The question made her blush. She ducked her head. “Pretty flexible.”
“Excuse me?”
“Sir.” She looked at him over her shoulder and wrinkled her nose. “Formal much?”
“You prefer it that way, pet.” He fisted his hand in her hair and slid his hot lips across her cheek. “You’ve been naughty enough for one night, don’t you think?”
Her eyes widened and she nodded quickly. The tingles were back, and her panties were getting uncomfortably damp. The only way to make this better would be to let go. To submit and be in the moment. Even if some of the moments wouldn’t be pleasant.
“Flexible, Sir. Please let me show you.”
“Good girl. And I will.” Ford met Cort’s eyes as Cort crouched in front of her. “Shirt on or off?”
“Can we get it off after?”
“Hmm . . . might be tricky, but I could cut it off.”
Cut it off? What am I gonna wear home? She pressed her lips together and gave Cort her sweetest, pleading look. “Please, Sir. I like this shirt, and it’s so cold out that I—”
Cort held his hand up and inclined his head. “Reasonable request, little one.” His fingers went to the buttons of her shirt. Once they were all undone, he let Ford pull it off. Her bra followed and her nipples grew tight and hard. He covered her breasts with his hands as Ford began to wrap the rope above and below them. “Akira, you are so beautiful like this. Exposed, fragile, and all fucking mine.”
“Yours?” Ford asked as he positioned her hands together between her shoulder blades. “Don’t you mean ‘ours’?”
“You know she’s ours. But she’s always mine. Always yours. Not sure if that makes any sense.” Cort shook his head as though frustrated with his inability to express himself clearly. “It’s not all about sharing. We both love this woman and she loves us. The only other option was killing you, and I happen to like you most of the time, boy.”
Ford’s brow creased slightly in response to the “boy,” but then he laughed. “Glad me living was an option.” He deftly bound Akira’s hands together and stood after testing the ropes. “Comfortable, shorty?”
“Yes, Sir.” Akira had the silly urge to give both men a great big grin. The way they interacted definitely kept things interesting. How many subs could say their Doms were like brothers, but threatened each other’s lives so casually it had become an inside joke?
This was theirs, this understanding, this life, and even though the future was uncertain, she’d never been happier. She almost forgot about the punishment as Cort and Ford stood in front of her, admiring Ford’s ropework.
Cort smoothed her hair over one shoulder and Ford met her eyes. “Don’t forget what I said, Akira. Just breathe through it. He knows how to avoid permanent damage, but you might forget when it gets bad.”
“Eyes down,” Cort said with his hand on her shoulder. “Tell me what you did wrong.”
“I asked your father for his gun.” Akira took a deep breath, waiting . . .
“That’s right.” Cort pressed his fingers and his thumb into a spot at the base of Akira’s neck. Hard.
The pain stabbed into her, tensing her muscles and wrenching a shocked cry from her throat. Her eyes teared and she instinctively tried to pull away.
“Be still.” Cort smoothed his hand over her hair. Put his fingers against one of her palms. Then drove them into the flesh between her thumb and her finger. “Scream if you have to. It won’t bother anyone.”
Shock delayed the pain. She gulped back a sob, pressing her eyes shut as he found the pressure point in her other hand. It hurt so bad, but once she absorbed the pain, she felt herself leaning closer to him every time he touched her. Knowing the sharp agony would come, but not trying to escape it.
“You are a wonderful person. You help, not hurt.” Cort framed her face with one hand, working a pressure point in her thigh with the other. “No matter how angry you are, this will not change. I won’t allow it.”
She shook her head as she lost her tenacious grip on control and simply spoke her mind. “I hate him for what he did to both of you. I want him to pay!”
“He will, baby girl.” Ford’s gentle caress on her cheek contrasted so much with Cort’s painful touch above her knee that she could only gasp and stare at him through her tears. “He’ll pay without ruining you, or Cort. When he goes to hell, it will be alone. I won’t let him drag either of you down with him.”
Her nose was all runny. She probably looked gross, but she didn’t care. All she saw were the bruises on Ford’s neck. How close she’d come to losing him. “What if he kills you, Ford? It’s not worth your life for either me or Cort to try to be good people. There has to be a way we can help you!”
Cort’s fingers hovered over the throbbing spot he’d first pressed into on her neck. He swallowed audibly and nodded. “She’s right, Ford. There has to be something we can—”
“There isn’t. But you bring up a good point.” Ford raked his fingers through his hair. “You have to choose, Cort. Either you try to keep me safe, or you look out for her. You can’t have it both ways.”
“Don’t ask me to do that.”
“I’m asking. And I need an answer right fucking now. This punishment works because she’s not getting blood on her hands. I’ll do anything to get that through her head.” Ford went still. “Will you?”
“Ye
s.”
“No!” Akira’s whole body tensed as Cort pinched the nerve in her neck just hard enough to make her scream. “Please! I’ll be good. I won’t go after Kingsley, but I need to know Ford will be okay!”
“So do I, Tiny.” Cort rubbed her arms. Helped her stand and held her against his wide chest. “But if we’re going to be together, I have to trust him. With you . . . and with this. If you don’t trust him as well, what we’re doing is for nothing.”
Akira’s whole body shook hard. All her nerves were taut, tender, as though waiting for the next burst of pain. But something in her brain had clicked. Maybe because of what Cort had said. He trusted Ford, and he didn’t give trust easily. He’d protected Ford for so long. If he was willing to stand back and let Ford do what he had to . . .
So would she.
“I trust him.” Her lips curled slightly at the edges. “He’s a survivor. And he’s a lot smarter than Kingsley.”
“True.” Cort framed her face in his hands. “So will you be looking for a gun to kill him with anytime soon?”
How can I not? Akira jutted her chin up. Cort slid his finger along the sore spot at the base of her neck. And everything inside her screamed “Hell no!” She quickly shook her head. “No. I don’t want a gun. I don’t want to kill anyone. Ever.”
“I like hearing that.”
“All settled then?” Ford wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her shoulder. “Time to play with our good little girl?”
A soft touch on her palm as Cort drew a slow circle above the ropes had Akira tensing, not entirely convinced the punishment was over. Cort had gotten to know her pretty well. Might not be sure she’d gotten the message.
Might even know her well enough to figure that she’d keep her hands off guns, but may consider a nice, sharp carving knife if Kingsley threatened either of her men again.
Damn, I hope not. She gave him a wide-eyed, innocent look over her shoulder, and he let out a throaty chuckle. “Not so good, but we’ll keep her in line.”
He pressed against her, simply holding her close like he couldn’t help it, but she could feel him, fully erect beneath his jeans. Ford’s teeth grazing her throat had her squirming with need as he stripped off the rest of her clothes. Her pulse was thrumming pure, boiling lust between her thighs, and her brain was fuzzy and light. Like being tipsy without the sour aftertaste of hard liquor. She pressed her eyes shut as Ford kissed her, as she felt him shift to pull something out of his pocket and unzip his jeans.
“Get up here.” Ford tapped her chin, sitting back on the table and lifting her up to straddle him. She panted against his lips as he fitted himself against her, sliding in slowly, his gaze locked on her face when she opened her eyes. She was so ready his hard length glided in with no resistance, stretching her just enough to send a spark flittering along her nerves. But it was his words that had her tightening around him, swallowing and trying to breathe. “Remember what I told you about taking us both? Are you ready?”
“Yes!” She didn’t even have to think about it. She’d lost them both for a little while, and now that she had them, there was nothing she wouldn’t do. She tugged at her arm restraints, her breasts swollen and heavy in their bindings, and tried to take Ford in deeper. “I want it all. Please—oh, God! Please!”
Cort made a sound between a groan and something that sounded like words. She only caught the last bit. “—don’t understand.”
“There’s lube in my bag, Cort. She wants to feel all of you.” Ford stroked her back as she tried to rise up. Kissed her cheek. “Don’t move. Get used to the feeling of me inside you before he joins us.”
Akira nodded, resting her head on Ford’s shoulder as Cort went to Ford’s toy bag. She clenched as she heard Cort move behind her, trembling with need as his body heat blanketed her, erasing the bit of cold that touched her flame-licked flesh. But he didn’t touch her. Didn’t say a word.
“Cort?” Ford’s grip tightened as he spoke, his scruff scratching the bare flesh of her throat. “It’s okay. She wants this.”
“Here?” Cort’s hand curved around her hip. He pressed his lips to the other side of her throat. “Like that? She’s not—”
“She knows she’s not a fucking sweet butt, man. This isn’t a night of drunk fun after doing illegal shit and being all rowdy.” Ford raked his fingers through her hair, biting her bottom lip as he circled his hips beneath her, stirring the fire within. “Tell him, shorty. Tell him you want all of him, no matter how dirty and fucking nasty some people might think it is. This is something you’re giving him—something you’ve given no one else.”
She couldn’t say all that. But . . . but she could say enough to make it okay for Cort. She giggled as she breathed out the words. “Only your sweet butt, Cort.”
“Damn it, this is all kinds of fucked-up.” Cort groaned and grasped her ass in his big hands. “All fucking kinds.”
“Yo, stop saying that.” Ford grinned against her lips. “Them’s my safewords with the pigs.”
“Jesus, you’re not wearing a wire now, are you?”
“Fuck no!”
“You’re both fucking hypocrites!” Akira scowled at Ford when he laughed. God, he was lucky she loved him. “I get punished for swearing.”
“Not by me, I love hearing you talk dirty.” Ford nipped her chin. “Tell the man to fuck your ass, shorty. I think he’s shy.”
Cheeks blazing hot, Akira glanced back at Cort. He gave her a lopsided smile and shook his head. “Ignore the dickwad. Just tell me if it hurts too much, Tiny.”
The lube was cool as Cort slicked it between her ass cheeks, his fingers covered in it as one, then two, penetrated her tight hole, but his chest against her back was blazing hot. Her mouth formed a wide O as she tried to breathe, as he pressed the thick head of his dick into her. A burning pain, almost unbearable. Pressed in deeper, easing back. She adjusted a little and then there was more. And more.
Her eyes stung and she swallowed back a sob. She wanted this, but she wasn’t sure she could do it. He was just too big.
“Say it.” Cort spoke near her ear. So soft. “The word is red.”
“No, I—” Her voice hitched. She shook her head. “There must be a way—”
“There is.” More cool moisture as he slid out. His fingers inside her, two again, then a third straining to fill her. She wasn’t used to being so wet back there and found herself tensing even though she was telling herself she needed to relax. He kissed her bare shoulder. “Press back against me.”
“It’s too much.” The tension had her feeling tight. Small. There was no way to give him what she wanted to. And she knew him. He wouldn’t just take it. She pressed her eyes shut. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” He nuzzled her throat, his fingers driving in a little harder, making her gasp. “I’m not done with you. You can’t tempt a Dom like that and change your mind, Tiny. Unless you safeword, I will have you.”
“Fuck.” Ford put his hands on her hips, breathing hard, echoing her own reaction with his words and the way his dick thickened inside her. He hissed as she grew even more hot and slick around him. As she clenched down in response to Cort working those three fingers in despite her body’s slight resistance. “You’re turning me on, Cort.”
Cort chuckled. “Bitch.”
“Fuck you.” Ford closed his eyes and ground his teeth as Cort twisted his fingers inside her. “Jesus!”
The man was speaking her mind. Sweat dewed her flesh as she leaned on Ford, lifting a little to take what Cort gave her, pleasure rippling within as Ford moved with her, pushing in and panting against the other side of her throat.
“Brace yourself.” Cort kissed her cheek, and through the corner of her eye, she saw him smile at Ford as he penetrated her with the head of his cock. There was something possessive in his stare. As though he was letting Ford know taking her like this was something more. Like he wanted Ford to acknowledge he was in charge.
And Ford . . . Ford seemed
too lost in the sensations to care. She’d have expected Ford to challenge Cort. To feel the need to prove himself as a Dom and leave her in a place of being torn between two alpha males. Which might have been hot, but this was better. Ford was already inside her. And Cort was moving in, an inch at a time, stopping and whispering for her to keep pressing back, to open for him. He drew out almost all the way at one point to add more lube. Slid in and out, spreading it.
His solid pelvis finally connected with her ass. She was stretched open and unbelievably full. There were tears in her eyes, but not from pain. He’d managed to slip past that so carefully. Getting used to having both men inside her took a few moments, but the second she relaxed, Cort began to move.
Ford cursed, grinding in as though wanting more of the friction he was feeling inside her. Pleasure ripped her in two, fierce and scalding hot. She thrashed and twisted around, grateful for the tight grip on her arms from Cort. The solid hold Ford had on her hips. She came apart but was grounded, almost as though a surge of electricity had passed through her, causing her to jerk uncontrollably, but there was no danger because they had her. She leaned into Ford’s chest, whimpering as Cort slid out, her nerves so tender, the stretching of the head of his cock leaving her, then driving back in was overwhelming.
“Again.” Cort latched on to the back of her neck. His entire length slammed into her over and over, but his tone was almost indifferent. “Scream for me.”
She threw her head back, lips parted, and screamed. Cort pounding into her, Ford rising up and down with the motion, had her coming, then climaxing over the peak she’d reached as though pleasure leaped from the edge and soared.
Ford slowed his pace, smiling against her lips as he kissed her. He breathed out so many beautiful words, but the only ones she could remember were, “Damn it, I love you.”
“I love you, Ford.” She clung to him, trembling as he licked the tears from her cheeks. His smile scared her a little. “What—?”
Cort growled in her ear. “More.”
He lifted her right off Ford with his thrust. Ford brought her down hard. She saw white spots in her vision as yet another orgasm was forced out of her, but it was Ford’s expression of ecstasy and Cort’s low grunt as he shoved in one last time that gave her what she really needed. All they’d given her was amazing.
Delayed Penalty (The Dartmouth Cobras #5) Page 46
