She spent some time considering whether he’d crossed a line when he’d put her on her knees and taken her like that. More like, she considered whether she should consider it.
She’d understood what he was about. He was reacting to the way Wesley had kissed her. His alpha male was out, driving him to dominate her, to make clear his ownership. The truth was, she hadn’t objected. Oh, he was intimidating for a bit, had treated her roughly.
But she’d never worried that he would hurt her. And he could call her bitch and cunt all he wanted. It did nothing but stir some primal female in herself, the genetic traces of a long-distant cavewoman who valued that her mate was the alpha male. Who trusted that he would protect her and their offspring at the cost of his own life. Who relished that his physical power expressed itself sexually.
Who thrilled with the knowledge that it was her body he wanted, her body that drove him blind with passion, made him weak with the might of his release.
He could use her to the point of soreness, fuck her until her moans of bliss were mixed with whimpers of discomfort, take her in the ass or the mouth without so much as a by-your-leave. It didn’t matter. His powerful sexuality was entirely seductive, completely enthralling.
Sexually, she would let him do whatever he wanted to her. She was sure of it. And didn’t feel bad about it, either.
It took a bit to justify how she could allow him absolutely anything, how she would submit in such a way. It would be hard to explain, for example, to Cassie and Angela. But Felicity knew strongly who she was. She was an independent woman, supporting herself and pursuing a career she loved. She had family she cared for and friends she loved.
She would never let herself be wholly subsumed by a man, even one she loved deeply. Clearly, it had been established that she would walk out on a man she loved if he broke trust with her.
But in this one way, with Reinen, at least, she was his…submissive.
It didn’t worry her, and she wasn’t going to doubt herself about it.
His words when he left had chilled her for a moment, though. He’d seemed to be threatening to poke his cock into some other woman.
It hadn’t stressed her for more than a minute. She knew him. He might still be fooling himself, still pretending that he didn’t love her. But she knew him.
Whatever he could allow that he felt for her, it was enough to keep him from going to someone else. The alpha male had his code, perhaps stronger than any other.
So it didn’t surprise her, when she listened, to hear his truck pull out of the driveway and, just as abruptly a minute later, screech back in. She smiled at more door-slamming.
The alpha male didn’t like feeling trapped. He wouldn’t be happy with their relationship until he decided it was his idea.
Felicity could wait for that to happen.
Somehow, those moments when he’d had her on her knees submitting to him, when he’d let his inner beast loose, had done it for her. After all, conscious of it or not, he’d put himself in her hands at that moment. He’d given her his trust, like no man ever had. Like had never come even close to happening in the careful, controlled love she’d made with Brian.
She’d accepted Reinen at that moment. She’d become his woman.
She smiled to herself now, playing possum in his bed, when he came into the room. He entered quietly, stopped at the bedside for a moment, and then went to the bathroom and showered.
When he came back, he sat on the bed and brushed his hand along her cheek, into her hair. “I’m sorry,” he said.
I love you, she said, but only to herself. She was certain her life would get easier faster if he said it first. Out loud, she said, “I know.”
He rolled into bed beside her. He held her face and kissed her—her mouth, then her neck, then her breasts. He was gentle and loving, tasting her and whispering sweet words. He was worshipful, adoring, and when his tongue reached her clit, she was nearly coming already.
She loved the beast in him, but this exquisite, loving intimacy melted her. She came apart as he tongued her, a rending, weepy sort of climax that made her want to curl over and protect her heart.
He wouldn’t allow it, of course. He opened her legs and filled her pussy in one long stroke. Lifting over her, he held her head and kissed her tears away. Not moving, merely possessing her, he waited for her to open her eyes to him.
It wasn’t until she did that he started stroking into her, steady, measured thrusts that were each one a complete taking. He watched her, deliberately driving her up, forcing her under the spell of his powerful lovemaking.
She was moaning, and he’d had to capture her head with his hands to keep her from thrashing it when he paused, fully sunk into her. Gazing fiercely into her eyes, he let out the words that were behind this storm. “I love you.”
He didn’t wait to hear her response. He fucked hard into her, driving her to a helpless orgasm, grunting out his own need. When she was there, just falling over the edge, knowing he was only moments behind her, he spoke again.
Still slamming into her, he let the words out harshly. “You can let Wesley fuck you, if you want to.”
She tried to stop, tried to grasp his words, but he’d driven her too far. She moaned and spasmed, wracking out a long, hard come. He did the same, thrusting one final time and holding deep inside her, spurting into her, growling with the harsh release of it.
“What? What?” she panted, unable to process what he’d said.
Brusquely he covered her mouth with his hand, pulled out, turned her to her side, and snuggled up behind her. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
She pried his fingers away from her mouth. “But, what did you say?”
“You heard me. I told you you can fuck Wes if you want to.”
“Reinen—” She tried to turn her head to look at him, but he held her too close. She so didn’t understand. “Are you done with…with…”
“No, I’m not done with you, Fee. I just told you I love you.”
“I love you, too. But—”
He covered her mouth again. “That’s good.” He gripped her, his arms hard around her. “I’m not letting you go. But Wes thinks he loves you, too. He thinks maybe we could…maybe you could love us both. If you want to try it, I’m okay with it. But I don’t fucking want to talk about it.”
“Umph.”
He hushed her again. “Go to sleep, Red. If I have to fuck you unconscious to get you to be quiet, I will.”
That was a threat she was tempted to call him on, but he kept his hand over her mouth until she settled. Then he kept his arms around her, his body curved against hers, until she slept.
It didn’t happen for a while. She spent a long time thinking about that possibility he’d put in her head.
* * * *
Reinen’s truck was parked nearby, and his ass was propped against the fender of Wesley’s Mustang when Wes strolled out to his car in the morning. He’d had a quiet night, had showered on the ship already, and was in his civilian clothes. Reinen was in uniform. And silent.
Wesley nodded. “You’re up early.” He didn’t look happy, either, Wes thought, but he kept that observation to himself.
“I wanted to talk to you before you went home.”
Talk, or plant a fist in his face. Wesley figured one was as likely as the other. He’d poked a dangerous beast when he’d put his mouth on Felicity’s yesterday. Right in front of the beast.
“Yeah?”
“I’m willing to try it.”
“Try…”
“You and me and Felicity. I’m not committing to anything. And I don’t want to talk about it.”
That was pure Reinen. Drop a bombshell like that, then act like it hadn’t happened. “I have to be sure I know what you’re saying.”
Reinen stood, his massive arms crossed over his chest. “You can fuck her if she’ll let you. I’d like to know as little about it as possible. I’m not happy about it, and I don’t know if I ever will be. But I’m will
ing to let it ride for a while.”
Wes had to work hard to hear Ri out. He’d sort of got caught on that first sentence. “What about Andy?”
“I think he wants to wait and see if we kill each other first.”
Wes didn’t figure Ri was kidding. He took a deep, uneasy breath. “I guess we both think she’s worth some risk to our friendship.”
Ri all but spit. “See? That’s exactly the kind of thing I don’t want to have to listen to.”
Wes lifted his hands in surrender. “Does Felicity know?”
“That I’ll try not to strangle you if you fuck her?”
Sure not every man’s cock could stand up to a statement like that, from a man like that, Wes met his friend’s glare. “Yeah. That.”
“Yeah. I told her. I don’t know what she made of it.”
“Because…you don’t want to talk about it.”
“Exactly.”
* * * *
Felicity knew that Reinen and Andy were both supposed to work day shifts for the week. She was used to early shifts herself, so she expected to see both of them before they left. But Reinen was gone from his room when she woke, and appeared to be gone from the house once she’d showered and dressed and headed down to the kitchen.
Andy was there making breakfast and chatting with Juniper, who was in her highchair making a mess with dry cereal.
Felicity kissed Juniper. “Hey, big girl.”
Andy was watching when she looked up and greeted him. “Hi.”
“Hey.”
“Did Reinen leave already?”
“Yeah. He said he had to catch someone coming off shift.”
Felicity thought she knew who that meant. “Wes.”
Andy met her gaze evenly. “He didn’t say.” He’d cooled some scrambled eggs, one of Juniper’s favorite treats, and tumbled them onto her tray.
“I made extra,” he said. “Would you like some?”
“Sure. Thanks.”
He motioned to the toaster. “Wheat toast?”
“I’ll get it.”
They sat at the island counter with Juniper between them.
“I want to thank you again for taking over with Juniper.”
“You know I enjoyed it. But we have to talk about what happens next, now, right?”
Andy reached to right Juniper’s sippy cup, which was spilling orange juice into her eggs. “Yeah. There’s an emergency day care center on base. I could get her into it tomorrow, or even today. This afternoon. I requested the morning off so I could take her to see Jean.”
“I haven’t made any commitment about going back to work, Andy. I’d be happy to keep her longer, while you find a permanent site for her that you’re happy with.”
He’d made a kind of egg sandwich with his toast. Watching her, he chewed and swallowed a big bite before he spoke. “It seems like that’s asking a lot. You’ve already done so much.”
“It’s not asking too much. I’d enjoy it.”
“The week, then? I get off work early enough to visit a few places at the end of their day. Otherwise I’d have to request leave until I get her settled, and I’m kind of pushing the limits on that.”
“I can look, too, if you like,” Felicity offered.
Andy grimaced.
She understood. It was awkward, her living there with Reinen, available and willing to help with Juniper, but not in any kind of relationship with Andy to make the situation seem normal. But she was attached to Juniper and wanted the best for her.
“I work just three or four twelve-hour shifts a week, and sometimes they’re on weekends. If you can make a part-time arrangement with a day care, I’d be happy to take care of Juniper a couple days a week.”
Andy looked at her quietly for a long moment before he spoke. “I’d feel better with that. I’ve hated the thought of full-time day care for her. But…”
“No strings, let’s say. I’ll do it because I enjoy her. You know I do. If it doesn’t work for me, we’ll make a change. Same thing if it doesn’t work for you. Or for her.”
He looked from his daughter to her and put a hand over hers on the counter. “I’m grateful, Felicity.”
Felicity turned her hand over in his and gave him a squeeze. Then she looked up at the entrance from the garage, where Wesley stood, gaze on her. He wore faded, snug jeans and a white T-shirt with the outline of a helicopter on it—a Seahawk, apparently. He looked a little dangerous, different than she’d seen him before. This was the man she’d first met on the phone, when he threatened to strangle her for stealing Juniper.
Andy looked up, too, and seemed to evaluate the situation in about a second. He took his hand back and stood. “Come on, baby girl.” He lifted Juniper out of the highchair. “We’re going to see Gramma today.”
Wes didn’t watch them go, but kept his eyes focused on Felicity. He started taking slow steps toward her. She rose, resting a hand on the counter for a little stability. She was pretty sure her world was about to take a tumble.
He came close, leaving just a whisper of air between them. He leaned over her, and she tilted her head back to keep his face in view.
“Hi,” she said.
“Hi.”
“Do you need to sleep?”
He shook his head slowly, no.
There was something else he needed. She didn’t ask, and he didn’t say, but it was clear by the heat in his eyes.
He slid his fingers along her neck to tangle in her hair. He lowered his head, his lips hovering over hers.
“Wesley.” Her breath was unsteady. “I love Reinen.”
His thumb stroked the side of her neck, along her pulse. “I think you can love me, too.”
He kissed her, his lips soft and needy at the same time. She held still.
“Kiss me back, Felicity.”
She wanted to. Oh, how she wanted to. But—“Do you really think this is right?”
He lifted enough to find her eyes with his. “I think we can make it right for us. I think that’s all that matters.”
He held her head and brushed his lips along her temple, her cheek, to her lips. “I want you, Fee. I don’t need to take you from Reinen. But I want to have you, too.”
She moaned out a breath as he took her lips again. Not tentative this time, not gently. But fully, possessively. He wrapped one arm around her in just the same way, bringing her hard against his body. He slid his hand to her ass and pulled her into his erection.
In comparison to Reinen, he’d seemed milder, less alpha. Maybe she’d been wrong about that.
He lifted to look at her, almost a glare, a dare. “Will you come to my bed?”
Felicity had spent this month doing things she didn’t know she had in her. This was big, though, probably bigger than any of the rest. Giving herself to two men, loving them both, would change how she thought of herself. How others thought of her.
Was Wesley right? Did they only have to care what it meant to them?
Wes wasn’t patient while she thought about it. He nudged her. “Fee.” Then he took her, not just his lips this time, and hers. But his mouth, his teeth, his tongue. Sinking into her, claiming, owning.
It was a kiss that demanded something from her, and she could resist for only a moment. He had her mouth. He had her body in his arms. It was Wes, with whom she’d walked and talked and laughed. With whom she’d flirted, skirting the edge of love.
She stopped thinking about it and went with what she was feeling. She loved being in his arms, loved that he wanted her. She wanted him back.
He seemed to understand the moment she gave over to it. With a growl of satisfaction, he lifted her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and he gripped her ass. Then, with his mouth still on hers, he started moving.
Reinen’s two rooms took up one full side of the second floor, with windows to the front, the back, and all along the west side. Andy’s and Juniper’s space completed the back half of the upstairs, and Wesley’s big room the front. She hadn’t been in it, exc
ept to peek in when she’d first investigated the house.
He took her there now. From the sounds of it, they passed Andy and Juniper at the top of the stairs. Other than Andy shushing Juniper, no one spoke.
Wesley kicked his door closed behind them and set her down next to his bed. She’d noticed that all three men kept their rooms neat, their beds made with military precision. But that didn’t stop Wes from totally tearing his bed open, tossing the top sheet and blankets to the floor and the pillows after them. When he was done, his four-posted bed was a bare, smooth surface.
The image of an altar flashed in Felicity’s mind. It cemented itself there when Wes opened a bedside drawer and pulled something out. Black cloth—she realized they were bindings as he lobbed one over to the far post. He dropped a couple others back in the drawer and kept one in his hands. Wrapped it around his hands while he watched her.
“Lie down, baby.”
There was a flat challenge in his eyes, and Felicity understood. Here was yet another powerful, dominant male.
Her body was already willing, even as her mind wavered. Her nipples were hard, thrusting out against her thin bra and her cotton, button-down blouse. Her pussy was wet, and she was aware of her thong under her skirt, erotically chafing where he’d pressed it into her on that trek up the stairs.
He waited, all male confidence, and nodded in satisfaction when she slipped out of her shoes and lay down in the center of the bed. Sitting beside her, he leaned forward to fasten the binding from his hands around the post. Then he picked up her right hand and kissed her palm. When he was done with that, he began wrapping the soft cloth around her wrist.
“I will never, ever, leave you here alone, bound.” His gaze was on hers, and she took his words as vow.
“All you have to do to stop me,” he said, as he snugged the binding up to secure her with her arm spread open. “Is say the word ‘banana.’”
“Banana,” she said, immediately.
He lifted his hands, the tie not quite fastened. But he shot her an annoyed look.
She peered into his eyes and knew without doubt that she could trust him. “Just testing.”
Billings, Rachel - Three Men and a Woman: Felicity (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 11
