by M. Q. Barber
Cover Copy
Henry gives his submissive lovers a day out filled with the best kind of tension.
Together for a little more than a year, Henry, Alice, and Jay have reached a comfortable equilibrium in their household of three. As they prepare for a dinner party, Henry takes their dominance games beyond the bedroom.
Warning: Explicit sex in a committed mmf ménage relationship.
7,500 words
To see how the relationship began, read the full-length novels in the Neighborly Affection series:
Playing the Game
Crossing the Lines
Healing the Wounds
Becoming His Master (forthcoming)
http://www.amazon.com/author/mqbarber
Three-Way Tie
By M.Q. Barber
A Neighborly Affection series short
Strong knots hold love fast.
Cover Copy
Three-Way Tie
Chapter 1: Alice
Chapter 2: Jay
Chapter 3: Henry
About M.Q. Barber
Books by M.Q. Barber
Playing the Game: Neighborly Affection, #1
Playing the Game (excerpt)
Crossing the Lines: Neighborly Affection, #2
Healing the Wounds: Neighborly Affection, #3
Copyright
Chapter 1: Alice
Alice’s tingling shivers started as Henry twisted her hair up and clipped it to keep stray hairs from catching in his knotwork. Her body belonged to him. A fact. No longer something to fear but a truth she breathed in and a peace she breathed out. Whatever stress she carried in the outside world dissolved in the tender strength of his possession.
“Hold still, please, Alice.” Henry grasped her shoulders and kissed her neck. Citrus and leather notes of his cologne floated around her in a heady mix. “If you wish to wear a harness today, you’ll stop squirming. Your excitement is driving me to distraction.”
She stilled despite her urge to tease her skin with the winding jute and Henry’s body heat. Every pass of the rope bound her lust tighter. Brought the still-new illicit thrill closer. Out in public with no one knowing what lay under her clothes. “I do want to wear it.”
Henry had practiced the basic ties for weeks as his fall project. Safety first, hers and Jay’s. Knots, arm cuffs and box ties probably filled Henry’s dreams. His intent focus never wavered as he claimed her with a simple upper-body harness design in rope he’d custom-dyed the deep green of his eyes.
“It’s just you’re touching me, and the rope is soft and shurring.” The sound, the slow humming caress, snaked through her skull. Urged her to lean into Henry. Fuck, she needed a distraction, or she’d squirm again and disappoint him. “And Jay’s staring makes me eager to offer him something to slake his thirst.”
Sprawled naked on the living room rug, Jay smacked his lips with a deep pop. His cock twitched, well on its way to half-hard. Impressive, given how often he’d emptied his balls in the last twelve hours. Hooray for Friday nights at home.
“Jay drank his fill last night.” Satisfaction crept into Henry’s tone, warm and thick as his cock. The crisp cotton of his shirt rasped like steel striking flint, kindling fire in her ribs as he settled the rope beneath her bare breasts. “He’ll be fine without a breakfast treat.”
Jay pouted. His sad, brown-eyed puppy face contradicted Henry’s assessment to perfection. Even his hair cooperated, cascading black strands slumping across his forehead.
She curled forward in a giggle fit.
Henry growled and tugged the rope, pulling her upright. His casual strength, his easy command, prickled her skin with anticipation. Jay’s bare chest rising and falling faster as he breathed deeper didn’t hurt, either. Smooth. Hard. A crunchy shell with Jay-sweetness underneath.
“He’s a puppy.” Her kissy noises drew Jay’s gaze from her breasts to her face. Poor boy, waiting in oh-so-difficult silence when her roping claimed Henry’s focus. Affectionate teasing would remind him he was loved. And maybe slow the pulse in her clit that jumped with every brush of Henry’s fingers. “He’s never full. He’d eat the house down if you let him.”
Jay snapped his teeth. His unceasing grin muted the effect. He’d always be the pup at Henry’s heels and proud of it.
“And that’s why our boy has rules to protect him from overindulgence.” Henry finished off his wrap with a knot between her shoulder blades and embraced her. A comfort, but a safety check, too. Slipping two fingers under the edge of the binding, he issued a satisfied hum and nipped her neck. “He’d drink himself into a stupor at your honeyed lips and laze away the day at your feet if I allowed it.”
Another day, perhaps. He didn’t say the words and neither did she, but she’d bet their thoughts aligned.
Their slouching audience scrambled into a proper waiting pose, feet tucked beneath his ass, knees spread and back ruler-straight. Head bowed, he showed off the perfect markers of submission. Sexy brat.
“Lazy? He’s as perky as my tits in this harness.”
“Do you think so, my dear?” Yum. Henry’s spine-tingling, oh-so-casual tone deceived with honesty. “Does the jute lift and separate?” He traced the lines of six-millimeter rope crossing her shoulders in a path akin to a racerback bra. “Does it harden your nipples to points begging for attention?”
No need to answer him, when said points dug into his palms. She’d wear the rope out of the house every day if he’d let her. Stress reduction. The HR department at work would love that.
“Mmm, I see that it does.” He covered her between green cords running flat across her chest in dual rows. The rope hugged her better than any bra, and his hands warmed her inside and out. “However, we’ve things to accomplish today, and if we do not succeed, our dinner party will be missing several crucial elements.”
Right, the dinner party she’d instigated with her insistence on matchmaking. Funny, how little the idea mattered to her while Henry rubbed circles around her nipples with his thumbs. Staying in today might be worth canceling the holiday dinner, except the family substitute would be good for Jay too. His emotional needs mattered more than her momentary desire for a quick fuck.
“Better get going, then.” She’d burst like an overripe fruit if Henry didn’t stop touching her. Talented hands, a voice to die for and a mind set on making her wait all the damn time gave him near-complete control over her body. Bliss. Torment and bliss. “We can’t have a less than perfect dinner party. I’ll be devastated if Emma sees a water spot on my lovingly polished silverware.”
Snickering, Jay tipped until his forehead touched the rug. He mumbled something about polishing and smart asses.
“Bring me Alice’s underwear, please, my boy.” Henry tweaked her nipples, and she yelped. She might’ve overdone the sarcasm about the silverware. Or he might be enjoying a last chance to play before he took them out for hours of shopping. Hard to tell with Henry. “It’s time to dress for the rest of our day.”
Jay craned his head around and tumbled onto all fours, stretching for the pile of her clothes on the couch. Fuck, his ass cried out for hands on it. Round and muscled and wiggling as he teased, because he sure as hell knew how to work his charms. She rolled her shoulders back and breathed deep to relish the constriction, the lift in her breasts and the rope hugging her skin.
Henry slid his hands along her arms on the way to her hips and squeezed. “Yes, he’s shamefully showing off in an attempt to earn an enjoyable reprimand, isn’t he? My poor smart-mouthed girl, tormented by her playmate.” He danced his fingers down the crease in her thigh to the hooded flesh hiding thumping pleasure. He pressed, and she jumped at the electrical shocks completing
the circuit through her nervous system.
“Henry…”
“I said Jay didn’t need a breakfast treat, Alice. I did not say I did not.” Running his finger between her legs, he parted her lips and rubbed much too gently to set her off. Slow, steady strokes dipping deeper and, fuck, inside, curving and—
“Don’t come, Alice.”
Oh God. Edging. Henry meant to torture them today. She focused on her breathing. On the flex in Jay’s forearm and the autumn-leaf-orange silk panties dangling from his fingers. No thinking about Henry slipping his fingers free of her pussy. Too much focus on his touch and she’d come without further stimulation.
“She could go without.” Jay waggled the panties, but his smirk spelled orgasm denial.
“That wouldn’t be wise.” Henry raised his fingers. Slick. Coated from tip to palm. “She’ll need her panties today.”
“Cream-catchers,” she muttered. She’d be clenching around phantom fingers for hours.
Jay chortled, his cock bobbing with every abdominal contraction. Mmm. Making him laugh provided such a beautiful show. Great, more fantasy fodder.
Bad enough Henry had dressed himself first. No grinding her ass against the tantalizing heat behind her. No bending over and spreading herself open for him. No chance of taking his cock to the hilt the way she had last night when he'd ordered her to fuck herself on him while he knelt behind her and complimented every inch of her curves in loving detail. Fuck. Where were those panties?
Henry slipped his fingers into his mouth and sucked them clean. “Delicious, sweet cream. Thank you for dessert, dearest.”
He took her clothing from Jay piece by piece and dressed her with a blessed lack of further teasing. The dark green turtleneck dress concealed any hint of bondage beneath soft, thick, vertical ribbing. Long sleeves, garters and stockings, and snug suede boots would warm her in the November chill. Of course, she’d spend the entire day waiting for the moment Henry pushed up the dress, shoved her panties aside and fucked her. No different from any other day, then.
“Your hopes are showing,” he whispered. “Lust always looks so lovely on you.” He kissed her cheek and stepped back. “Your turn, my boy. Stand, please.”
Jay shot to his feet, wrinkling confusion plain on his face. “My turn?”
No kidding, his turn? Jay hadn’t worn ropes at all yet. If Henry meant to start his practice with a day out, she’d eat her boots.
Henry pulled a scrap of black fabric from his pants pocket. “An old friend will keep you focused today. We can’t let Alice have all the fun, hmm?”
Too small for underwear, but whatever the memento, it had Jay rocking a sweet blush and a bashful smile. Adoration lived in his eyes, full stop. “Thank you, Henry.”
Henry made fast work of the job. Some kind of cock ring, but not the solid one he often favored for Jay. The narrow black band boasted a snap closure and an extra fabric loop underneath that split his balls like the globes in a Newton’s cradle.
“Just tight enough for your enjoyment.” Henry smoothed his hand up the underside of Jay’s twitching cock and moved back. “And for mine, as I check on you throughout the day.”
A little compression brought a lot of awareness. The rope hugging her as she breathed would keep Henry and desire at the forefront of her mind everywhere they went. The altered resting position for Jay’s cock would do the same for him. Like wearing Spanx.
Cock Spanx.
If he didn’t look so adorably fucking hot with nothing but a cock wrap on, she’d be rolling on the floor laughing.
He thrust his pelvis forward. “What d’ya think, Alice? Impressive, right?”
She bit the inside of her cheeks.
“No, no, it’s okay, the size of my cock makes all the girls speechless. Have a minute to finish looking.” He swept his hand over the top as if his cock was a game-show prize. “You know, take it all in.”
Diving forward, she bear-hugged him with enough force to rock him on his heels and slapped a loud, sloppy kiss on his cheek. “You’re ridiculous. Way too cute to take out today. We better put some clothes on you, stud.”
Henry pressed gray cotton boxers into her hand. “Start with these, please.”
Jay got a much less elaborate getup for their day out. Their active fidget-monster’s fashion sense met a more relaxed standard than Henry’s tailored trousers, button-down and jacket. Clean but well-worn jeans, a slim rugby shirt, and sneakers turned her 30-year-old lover into a college freshman ready for a game of pick-up Quidditch.
She fingered the sleeves of Henry’s suit coat. “I keep telling you, suede patches. You’d give off professor-vibe.”
He wrapped his arms around her, trapping her between his body and Jay’s. “And here I thought you loved the smooth drag of suede for another reason, sweet girl.”
Fuck, even lying neatly in its drawer in Henry’s bedroom, her suede flogger hardened her nipples and thumped a needy rhythm between her legs.
“But if it’s role-play you need, I might be inclined to oblige you.” He would too. Her indulgent master, hers and Jay’s, taking their fantasies and delivering more than they knew they wanted. The thrill settled in her bones. “A professor requires a teaching assistant and a student to tutor. Ponder the notion today if you like, Alice, and perhaps I’ll have you write up your proposal for a future game.”
Homework never sounded so good as when Henry assigned it.
Chapter 2: Jay
“Yikes.” Jay squeezed in close behind Alice, and the door swung shut with a jingle. The mingled scents of musty paper and oiled wood invaded his nose. “Everything in this place is super-breakable.”
Narrow aisles jammed with fragile knick-knackery sprawled before him like a forest of delicate saplings. Snap a branch, and he’d be in trouble.
“No kidding.” Alice whistled. “This place fell out of a Stephen King story.”
Henry disappeared around the corner. Maybe stop five would be the magical one and they’d walk out with something to show for their seven-hour excursion. Fingers crossed.
“We’ll be lucky to escape without selling our souls to the devil.” She tipped her head back, and her hair tickled his chin.
Assessing the space, probably. Odds were she had a mental map of the place fixed in her head after thirty seconds.
“Stick close, stud.” She nudged his hip with her standard bump.
The Alice equivalent of Henry tousling his hair, the drops of affection that daily filled his cock meter to full like a rain gauge.
“Don’t sign anything, or taste anything, or read the inscriptions out of any old books. Hands in your pockets.”
“I’d rather put ’em in your pockets.” He took a deep whiff: Lemon and honey, the sharpness and sweetness a perfect balance of Alice. Yeah, he’d be okay. Best behavior.
She giggled.
“You have room in there for my fingers, don’t you?” He dared a swipe across her back. Her turtleneck and windbreaker concealed the harness, but he found the lower edge easily enough.
She sucked in a swift breath.
He knuckled the bumps where the rope looped to change directions, the vertical bar along her upper spine, and she shivered. Fuck yeah, she loved reminders of Henry’s ownership as much as he did, and he lived to make them both happy.
“Flirty puppy.” Her tender accusation urged him to sit up and beg for a treat. “My pockets aren’t mine to fill.”
Her pockets belonged to Henry, the MC picking the rhythms and spinning their beats. Permission rarely denied, but often withheld. Waiting was good for the soul, Henry said. It did some fucking fantastic things for their bodies, too.
“If you’re good, my boy.” Henry’s voice drifted over the aisle, the man hidden behind a stack of ugly junk. Expensive ugly junk. Nothing Henry would bring home. “Gentle hands deserve pleasant diversions. First, however, please come here and keep hold of a few things for me.”
Diversions. Hell, Henry’s voice diverted blood to his cock and s
ent a picture of things he’d like to hold shooting from his brain to his balls. The compression sleeve tugged at him like Henry’s tight grip holding back his orgasm. He flexed for the rush, the tightness in his balls and the slide of cotton boxers on his cockhead. Fabric sucked as a substitute for his lovers’ mouths, all wet and pulling and so fucking hot.
He dropped a kiss on Alice’s head. “Sorry, sweetheart, but duty calls.”
She snickered. “You wish it was a booty call.”
“Could be,” he whispered. Henry had ordered them to edge more than once in the car and checked the fit of his cock ring in the bathroom at their lunch stop. The urge for release itched at his balls. “This place looks deserted enough for it.”
Ducking under a dangling light fixture, he scooted around a shiny copper whatsit and some blue-and-white crocks perched at the edge of a deep shelf. Navigating his way to Henry took more concentration than following a mountain switchback no wider than a wheel rut. Yeesh. Who collected all this junk?
“Ah, just the pair of hands I need.” Henry rose from his crouch with a dancer’s grace. “Hold out your arms, please.”
He pouted at the lack of cock filling his palms. Dishes, though, those he received plenty of. Two platters and three bowls so far.
“We restocking the whole kitchen?” Curling his fingers around the bottom platter, he tilted the stack toward his chest. No sense taking chances. “You sure you want me carrying these, Henry?”
“We might, should the proper accoutrements present themselves.” Henry reached across the pile of finds and swept his hair from his forehead. “I’m certain I’ve chosen the perfect bearer for this task, Jay. Your presence makes every expedition a joyous occasion, and I well know the exact capacity of your grip.”
Damn straight he did. Size and strength and every trick and twist. With a still-new needy thrill flipping in his stomach, he leaned into Henry’s touch. Encouraging overt affection in public pinned eyes on his back like a target. His oldest sister’s disapproving eyes. Just his imagination.
