by Mia Ashlinn
“You think I’m sexy?” Katie-Anne asked incredulously, loosening up a bit and cuddling into their embrace.
“Sexy. Hot. Fuckable. Lovely. Gorgeous. Perfect,” Landon rolled off, pecking a kiss to the top of her head between each word. “Want me to keep going or can I just kiss you?”
Kissing sounded good, but she was incapable of moving or thinking in her befuddled state. It just didn’t make sense that they would be turned on by her new look. No matter how hard she tried, she still couldn’t get their response to seep into her thick skull.
Most men would be having a mild freak-out. Between the twelve inches of hair missing from her head, the orange streaks underneath her black strands, and the tiny diamond stud in her nose, she was bordering on a panic attack herself. And that didn’t include her boho-chic clothes and nearly makeup-less face.
Even though she was happy with the new her, she still got a little unnerved when she saw herself in the mirror. She knew she would get over it, but it was still a shock to her psyche nonetheless.
“Um,” she muttered, blushing furiously. “I’m glad you like it?”
Landon chuckled and talked to Shane over her head. “I think she thought we’d hate it.”
“Seems like it,” Shane responded dryly. “I don’t know why. The loose-fitting clothes remind me of what her sexy body looks like underneath them.”
Katie-Anne peered down at her new clothing, trying to see what was so damn sexy about it, but she couldn’t see much with her body smashed between theirs.
Thinking back, she recollected the multi-colored peasant skirt she’d sewn from several fabrics. In her opinion, it was rather loud, but she loved it that way. Thinking harder, she remembered the vintage white tunic. It was simple, nearly plain. In her mind, they complimented each other perfectly, but there really was no sex appeal to them.
She thought of the giant belt around her waist and then the orange flats on her feet. Those weren’t exactly femme fatale material, either. Taking a second to mentally run through the rest of her accessories, she considered her chunky jewelry and her favorite bangle bracelets. And, still, she came up with nothing provocative to her new look.
Instead of wasting more time on trying to figure out what the men found appealing, she asked, “A long, flowy skirt and a loose tunic are doing it for you?”
“Yeah,” they responded simultaneously, leaving her with no doubt to their sincerity.
“What about the belt, bracelets, and big, beaded necklace?”
“Fucking hot,” Landon replied without hesitation. “I am a bit surprised the nose ring makes me horny, but damn, kitten. You could walk around the house wearing nothing but that, and I would be a very happy man, and you would be a very satisfied woman.”
“I would?” Katie-Anne trembled. “You would?”
“Yes,” Landon said. “If you want to get technical, you might not be able to walk by the time I’m done with you.”
“Well, shit. It’s a fake,” she confessed, blushing so deeply that her cheeks ached. She hated to disappoint him, but she should go ahead and get it over with.
“Well, that sucks,” Landon grumbled adorably with a mock pout.
Katie-Anne lifted her eyes to meet his blue ones, wanting to see the truth in them that she heard in his voice. He really was disappointed. “I can get it done,” she told him. “I just wanted to make sure that I liked it first. I’m thinking about getting my bellybutton and clit pierced, too.”
After I have Kane. She held her tongue, making sure to bite back her afterthought. She wasn’t ready to share the news with them, not just yet, but soon.
Landon groaned, “Bellybutton.”
“Clit? Get inside now,” Shane growled.
When she didn’t move fast enough, Landon hoisted her up and handed her off to Shane who stormed into the apartment. The two men marched down the hallway, their work boots pounding against the hardwood flooring.
Just like that, she couldn’t remember why she’d come here in the first place. She forgot about everything but these two men. It was like they were the only three people in the world, and she wanted to keep it that way.
Presumably heading to one of their bedrooms, the men mounted the stairs. They took two steps at a time, making fast tracks for the room that she’d heard they’d added on but never used. It was a master bedroom designed with a woman in mind. Supposedly, they intended for it to be theirs with the woman they wanted to share their lives with, not a woman they brought home for a good time.
Katie-Anne’s excitement ratcheted up. Every time they reminded her that she was the woman they wanted for all time, she felt ecstatic. Now was no different. Between the hormones in her veins and the joy in her heart, she was flying high.
Shane carried her into the room. Pausing just inside the door, he gave her a glimpse of what they’d done, and she gasped. Scanning the room, she took in every detail from the crown molding to the rustic orange walls to the elaborate carpet. The usual furniture was present—a bed, a dresser, a chest, two side tables, and some chairs. But there was so much more to it than that.
A massive bed sat square in the middle of the room. Someone had covered the mattress in a cream-colored comforter that offset the vibrant walls. To the left, she spotted two doors. She figured that one was a closet and the other was an en suite bathroom. And, to her right, there was a small sitting area with various pieces of modern furniture. They had woven together chocolate brown, cream, and charcoal gray perfectly, creating a homey feel.
With one look, she knew that they’d made this room for her. She didn’t know when or how, but this was her room.
Shane started to move again, his steps jostling her. She wound her arms around his neck then snuggled into his arms with a sigh. As he neared the bed, she saw two things on the nightstand next to the mahogany headboard that took her breath away.
Both of the items were sitting side-by-side in dark pictures frames. One was the original painting of the dove flying free. They’d framed the scorched version and placed it to the left of a snapshot she’d never seen of herself. She was curled up on a bed wrapped in a ball of sheets, sleeping peacefully, with her hand slung across the fluffy pillow next to her. The diamond ring on her finger stood out against the stark white bedding and her tanned skin. Our wedding night.
She gasped. “I—” she said, but the tears clogging her throat cut her off, and she couldn’t speak.
Landon chuckled from behind them. “Our girl is a sentimental one. I told you she’d cry.”
“Yes, you did,” Shane replied. “You know her well.”
Pulling her hand back, Katie-Anne reached up and touched her face. She found the tears Landon had referred to. She’d known she was close to crying, but she hadn’t realized she’d already started. “I love you two,” she blurted out. “God, I love you.”
“We know,” they responded simultaneously then laughed.
Landon came up from behind them and took her from Shane’s arms. Without a word, Shane handed her over to him. “We love you too,” Landon told her. “You know that, but we need to have a talk before this goes any further.”
Katie-Anne knew what he meant, and she knew what was coming when she sat down for this talk. It was time they opened up their dominant sides which meant they needed to talk about her limits and their own. Well, this should be interesting. Since she’d never had a relationship with a true Dom, she had no clue what she was up for.
She did know that they would want her to have limits and safe words, but she didn’t want them. She trusted them. However, these two would demand them for her protection. Her men were protective, and they were possessive. Those aspects were a major part of them, so she couldn’t fault them when she felt like she didn’t feel the need for protection. Unfortunately.
Snaking her arms around Landon’s neck, Katie-Anne toyed with the blond hair at the nape. “Okay. Let’s talk.” She heard the slightest bit of petulance in her tone and instantly regretted it. They were taking care
of her, watching over her like good Doms did. Yet she was acting like a child who hadn’t gotten her way. Schooling her features and taking a deep breath, she started over, “I’m ready to talk if you two are.”
Landon carried her over to the sitting area, lowering her down onto the sofa gently. He and Landon took a seat on each side of her, and she felt decadently closed in. She reclined back, bracing herself against the cushions.
Shane nodded. “We are ready, but we want you to be completely honest with us. No holding back, even if you feel like you should.”
“Yeah,” Landon added. “You have heard how BDSM relationships work. You can’t hide from us.”
“I have,” she replied. “And I understand.”
“Good,” Shane said calmly.
Laying one hand on Shane’s hand and the other on Landon’s, Katie-Anne waited patiently for her men to start. But, when neither of them spoke, her impatience made itself known, and she had to distract herself by nibbling on her bottom lip with enough pressure to be uncomfortable. Man, I have serious ADD tonight.
“Kitten, we need to know what you won’t do, no matter what,” Landon said. “I know that you are into exhibitionism but don’t feel comfortable with it.”
“Yet,” Shane interjected with a mischievous smile. “We will ease you into that one.”
Her heartbeat tripled, and she started to pant. She’d fantasized about people watching her as one or both of her men pleasured her. But she still didn’t believe she’d ever get past her body-image issues enough to allow that kind of vulnerability. Yet, somehow, she knew that if anyone could get her there, it would be these men.
“I will trust you to know when, and if, I’m ready for that,” Katie-Anne told Shane. Nodding to him, she added, “You know about my past so I don’t have to worry about you pushing me beyond my limits in that regard.”
Shane smiled back at her. “I’m glad you know that we would never ask more of you than you could give us.”
“So?” Landon asked. “Is there anything that you consider a hard limit?”
She knew one thing that she would never in a million years be okay with. “Knife play,” she said edgily. “After my mother cut me, I couldn’t bear the sight of a knife. It took me years to not have shaky hands when I used one.”
“No knives,” Landon said like he was ticking it off a mental list. “That is an easy one.”
“Oh,” she exclaimed. “I love the idea of Violet Wands, but I am not overly fond of the thought of more extreme Electrical Play.”
When she said electrical, a giant truth hit her, and she felt like an idiot. I’m pregnant. How she could have forgotten that little nugget in this scenario, she didn’t know. But, since she preferred to not tell them yet, she had to get creative.
For the most part, they could do what they wanted. However, she wasn’t comfortable with heavy Impact Play as a pregnant lady. The thought of a crop or whip on her body in her current condition made her want to cry. It was irrational that she feared it, but she did. How the hell do I tell them that without giving Kane away?
“Are you working a calculus problem in your gorgeous head?” Shane asked, his amused voice catching her completely off-guard.
Oh crap. Shaking her head, Katie-Anne’s mind returned to the conversation that she’d drifted away from. She hadn’t even realized how far she’d gone until Shane had spoken. “No,” she replied, sounding conspicuously perky for this kind of conversation.
Landon laughed. “I don’t believe that, Suzy Sunshine.”
Sighing, she said, “Whatever. I’m just not sure that I am into crops or whips or anything like that right now. I would prefer to stay away from the heavy impact items.”
“Right now?” Shane asked, obviously having caught that portion of her statement. “Is there something we need to know?”
“No,” she hurried to say. I sound more conspicuous than ever, damn it.
Landon eyed her carefully, his eyes like laser beams scanning and searching her brain. “Why don’t I believe you?”
“Because you’re a conspiracy theorist?” she asked optimistically. But she knew better. Landon was a lot of things. Suspicious was not one of them. “Because you’re nosy?”
Shane released her hand. Before she could move or breathe, he had a handful of her hair in his hand. Yanking on his hold, he forced her head back. “Is there something we need to know?”
Shit, shit, shit. Now what? Do I tell them? Do I not? She couldn’t figure out the answer to her predicament. She wanted the moment she told them to be perfect, to be special. But would it be any better than now?
Special was in the eye of the beholder. And, for her, being with them was special. She didn’t need bells and whistles. She needed them. I guess I have my answer then.
Shifting her eyes, Katie-Anne looked at Shane through her lowered lashes before switching and looking at Landon. After several glances at each of them, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m pregnant.”
Both men inhaled loudly, but they didn’t exhale. It sounded as though they’d quit breathing altogether. The room seemed to go so still, so quiet that even the smallest noise could be heard.
One second passed then another, the clock ticking louder than a gunshot in the dead of night. When she could bear no more of the quiet choking the room, she opened her eyes slowly. Choosing to avoid eye contact, she stared straight ahead at the closed door to either the bathroom or the closest. She wasn’t sure. “Are you going to say something?”
Shane’s grip loosened on her hair, his hand falling onto the back of the couch with a barely audible thud. “U–u–u–m,” he stammered but didn’t manage to get anything else out.
Unable to keep her curiosity at bay, she peeked at him out of the corner of her eye. When she saw his pale face and slack jaw, she found herself staring straight at him without even realizing she’d moved. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Shane replied. But he didn’t sound fine. He sounded like a man on the verge of losing his mind. Maybe she should call someone, but who? They didn’t exactly have a therapist around town to deal with telling men they were becoming fathers. Although with the overbearingly protective men in Serenity, they might need to find someone to do that job.
Landon still hadn’t spoken, not when she had and not when Shane had. Worried about Landon’s sanity, she glanced at him. He seemed as off-kilter as Shane. With his ghost-white face and his bugged-out eyes, he looked lost.
Watching Landon, she realized that she’d made a serious error in spontaneously springing this on them. She ought to have planned this announcement better. Her men seemed to be having out-of-body experiences, and she had no clue how to get them back into their sexy, earthbound bodies. I’m fucked.
Katie-Anne hoped that silence would help the news sink in, and they would recover quickly, so she went silent again. Then she waited. And waited and waited and waited. But they gave her nothing, no words and no movements. Finally, she totally and completely lost patience with them.
“What the hell is wrong with you dolts! I’m having a baby. Not a monster, not an alien, and not even a horse. I’m having a baby,” she said again, hoping that the more times she said it, the more they would clue in. “Your baby,” she added, just for clarification.
And that worked. Both of her men sat up straight, their pale faces coloring quickly, and spoke at the same time.
“Of course it is,” Landon snapped, somehow managing to sound pompous and furious at the same time.
Shane appeared to be more outraged than cocky or pissed off. “Why would you insinuate any differently?” He pointed at her belly. “That is our baby in there. He or she is yours, mine, and Landon’s. I cannot believe you would even say that garbage.”
“Hey,” she said defensively. “I just wanted to make everything crystal clear for you since you seemed to be having nervous breakdowns.”
Landon growled. “What do you expect? We sat you down to talk about how we all wanted our sex
ual relationship to work, and you spring a pregnancy on us. Just give us a minute to breathe here.”
“Fine,” she huffed, leaning back in her seat and reclining on the comfortable cushions. She turned her face away from both of them and stared straight ahead. Yanking her hands from both of theirs, she crossed her arms and went quiet, refusing to give them the satisfaction of continuing to talk. Jackasses. Men are a pain in the ass.
“We are not,” Landon snapped.
I need to keep my thoughts to myself. If Shannon were here, she’d probably say, No shit, Sherlock. But, thankfully, she wasn’t here. This moment was tense enough without the help of her nosy friends.
Pretending to not hear him, Katie-Anne hummed the Jeopardy! song as she waited for one of them to talk about what was on their mind.
“Katie-Anne,” Shane whispered. “How long have you known?”
Oh shit. They are going to whip my ass after I have Kane. In a normal situation, that would be a good thing. In this case, it was not. Her men wouldn’t take her next words well. “December fifteenth.”
“You knew when you left Shannon’s birthday party, didn’t you?” Landon asked, sounding as accusatory as questioning. His agonized eyes wouldn’t even meet hers. Instead, he turned his head away from her. And she was grateful. His look wounded her, almost as much as she’d apparently wounded him.
Shutting her eyes, she replied, “Yes.”
Shane reared his head back, his eyes looking wildly at her. “Were you going to tell us before you left permanently?”
Katie-Anne wished that she knew what to say. Of course, she’d planned to tell them—when she’d worked up the courage. Unfortunately, she had a feeling that would have been after she’d had Kane. I’m such a pussy.
“I don’t know,” she told them honestly. “I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t know how. At first, I couldn’t say anything because I knew you wouldn’t let me go. Then, when I started realizing that I wanted to stay and fight for us, I needed you to want me without having Kane thrown into the giant mess of our relationship.”
