“That being friendship?” Dane guessed calmly. “You have friends.”
“Not guys!” Her palm flew to her mouth the instant the words were out.
That made them both laugh. “I’m pretty sure we can handle a couple male relatives who think you should be wrapped in cotton and kept locked safely away in a tower. You’re an adult. An intelligent woman capable of making it through the military and college.” Dane shook his head. “Because we won’t settle for less than a well-rounded relationship, Hayley.”
“Without that, are we much different than batteries?” Jack commented, his arms up and crossing his chest.
“Tact. That’s why he’s out on projects with a hammer,” Dane sighed and removed his hand when she smiled. “Pretty. So you were pretty much raised by guys. No aunts?”
“Not really. My uncles were all divorced and my cousins went to where they lived to visit with their mothers,” Hayley shrugged. “I mean I have aunts…but they didn’t come around much because their ex’s were there. So my cousins went to them.”
“How long have you been a vet?” Jack glanced toward the living area and took one of her hands, tugging until she slipped to the floor and followed behind.
“Three and a half years…eight years of school and then the tests for the license,” she explained, sinking into the firm cushions and pulling her legs beside her. “This is a lovely house.”
“We got lucky. The owner wanted out from under it,” Dane told her with a nod at the surroundings. “We’re making a few adjustments and changes, but we’ve got plenty of time, since we don’t plan to leave the area. This beats the hell out of the east coast.”
“So that puts you at…about thirty-two?” Jack guessed, stretching out his legs when he sunk into one of the matching chairs across from her. Dane took another of the chairs, adjusting it closer, his body relaxed and arms up behind his head.
“Not yet…a few months from now,” she answered, shifting slightly beneath their gaze. “You’re staring. Both of you.”
“You’re beautiful,” Dane answered simply.
Hayley laughed. “You should see me after a day in the field delivering calves. Not so pretty then, trust me. And the smell…” she relaxed a little when they laughed with her. “I…I didn’t expect this. I’m not…I’m really better with animals than humans.”
“You worked in security,” Jack said with a little frown at her comment.
“I did what they told me to do. I was very good at dancing and let men flirt with me,” she shook her head. “I always had someone else with me, another woman who knew what to do. I wasn’t very good at it on my own.” She looked down at the neatly clipped fingernails. “We were lucky it didn’t take long to find out what had happened. Then I had a short stint as a dealer,” she peered up through her lashes, her head shaking. “That didn’t work, either. I tried telling them I was much better with the computer than the people part, they finally believed me.”
“They wanted to use you for your appearance,” Jack said with a little frown when she nodded.
“They weren’t very subtle about it. I looked good in the costumes for undercover work but I don’t have the drive for it,” she said honestly. “I probably should be going.”
“Under a curfew?” Dane asked, one brow arched and his tone teasing.
“Where would people think you were if we’d accepted the entire weekend beginning last night?” Jack wondered.
“I live alone at the edge of the ranch, closer to Tacoma. I don’t have to explain to anyone where I am,” she told him with a hint of defiance.
“But you worry about them not finding you home,” Dane pointed out, studying her carefully. “What would you have told them if you’d stayed the weekend?”
“I bet she has a cover set up…” Jack nodded when she evaded their looks. “Bailey?”
“Hayley?” Dane pressed, his voice and tone one he reserved for those difficult types.
“This isn’t what I agreed to,” she mumbled.
“We were just something to be used in your hidden rebellion,” Jack guessed. “A weekend romp to prove to yourself that you weren’t controlled by the males in your life?”
“Maybe I just wanted something better than batteries,” she blurted out, her palm up and over her mouth seconds later. She shoved her legs over the edge of the sofa and stood up. “I’m sorry. I really have to go.”
“We’d rather you stayed,” Dane said quietly, firmly, not leaving his seat. “How about if we get dressed and go out for a while? Five days until Christmas…are you doing much this week?”
“I…no…not really…the ranch is pretty much shut down until after the first of the year. We have daily chores and stuff like that…but I have a partner who is on call, and I suppose if I’m called, I’d…” She stopped and inhaled deeply. “Do you believe three people can be friends in this kind of…of situation?”
Dane chuckled. “Why not? Neither of us is jealous of the other. Come out with us, Hayley. You can help us with some shopping and we can go to the club this evening. There’s a lot you have to learn before we can move forward, Hayley. Trust isn’t something that pops out of an egg.”
“We’d rather you stayed a while and got to know us, Hayley,” Jack continued as if they were one. “The job of a dom is to guide and to do that, we have to learn about one another. You learn about us, to give us your trust. We learn about you, to know how to make it the best possible experience for us all.”
“Why are you finding it difficult to believe we’d like to get to know who you are?” Dane hadn’t moved from his seat and he watched her fingers tugging at the hem of the shirt she wore.
“You’ve had boyfriends in the past, right?” Jack asked politely.
“I’ve dated and had boyfriends,” she said after a long minute.
“Evidently they never did anything exciting in the bedroom department,” Jack commented, ducking the pillow thrown at him from Dane. “What? I saw her last night. She was fucking amazing when she exploded between us. I’d bet she never had that kind of reaction to whoever she dated.”
“Hey! Her! Right here,” she informed him, her hands going to her hips as she glared at him. With a little growl, she tossed her hands in the air and went back to the hall she’d come down, stalking the bedroom where they said her pack was.
Chapter Seven
Jack started to rise after pushing a long breath between his lips. But a raised palm from Dane and a shake of his head made him stop.
“Trust me on this,” Dane offered with a crooked grin.
Both of them watched the hall, but neither of them showed a reaction when she came around the corner and stormed back to stand before them. Narrowed lashes looked from one to the other. She raised one hand and lifted the bottom of the shirt. Just a little.
“Who’s shirt is this?” She waited, one bare foot tapping.
Jack raised his hand.
“And who undressed me?” A soft groan broke free when both hands went in the air. “Did you cop feels? Did…” she stopped when she saw two sets of brows arch. Thankfully there was humor in their eyes. “Sorry. That was…I shouldn’t have said that.”
“I’d hope you trusted us just a little, Hayley,” Dane prompted patiently.
“I’m sorry. It might be best if I go…I keep saying things that…you haven’t done anything to earn the…the…”
“Brat?” Jack suggested, one brow arched. “There’s a name for the mouthy misbehavior in the lifestyle. But I get the feeling that there’s a lot of repressed anger at the guys in your life.”
“But it isn’t right taking it out on you both. I should get dressed and…”
“No, I don’t think so,” Dane sat up straight in the chair and patted his knees. “Sit here and talk to us a few minutes.”
She looked at the pair of jean encased thighs, her head shaking. She tugged at the hem. There wasn’t anything beneath it. Both men knew it because they’d dressed her in the over-sized shirt.
“Hayley,” Dane didn’t change his position, just said her name and offered her his hand, palm up. “Good girl…no, not sideways…face me…now slid your right knee here…” he patted the space between his knee and the side of the chair. “Think of this as on-going training in the Dom/sub dynamic,” he continued talking as he positioned her where he wanted her, adjusting her knees wide apart and sliding her forward.
“I…but my…”
“I’m wash and wear and we have a washer and dryer in the house, Hayley,” Dane took the hands that worked hard to keep from touching him and placed them against his bare chest. “We like to be touched just as much as you do, pet. I promise you, neither one of us will complain because you have your hands on us.”
“If you play in the club…” Jack said from the side, watching the interaction and guessing where Dane was taking it. “Once you’re no longer ours…and you aren’t wearing some Dom’s collar or otherwise marked…”
“The red cuffs,” she said softly, her hands flattening out and stroking over the tanned muscles, the faintest hint of dark hair trailing over his chest and in a path lower to the waistband of his jeans.
“The red cuffs are ours. We have them marked with our initials,” Dane explained easily, his hands going to the buttons down the front of her shirt. He stopped when she pulled her hands from his chest and almost reached for the shirt. His look hardened, his lips flattened and he waited.
“If you play in the club,” Jack picked up easily. “Any Dom can request you for the night or for a scene. It’s up to you to say yes or no. Being uncollared, they can fondle and stroke and touch – in the public areas - without your permission. They cannot and are not permitted to force themselves on you, Hayley. Just as we won’t. It’s going to always be something you want or need…and often times you’ll be pushed past limits you weren’t aware you had.”
“Hands flat on my chest, Hayley,” Dane ordered firmly. He could feel the tension in her body, her knees tightened and gaze shifting rapidly from his hands to his face. “Just keep looking at me. You have beautiful eyes that transmit how busy your mind is at the moment.”
He opened two of the buttons and waited while the anxiety flowed through her and she settled again.
Jack leaned back in the chair, watching the myriad of emotions crashing through her with each move Dane made.
“You have to be willing to please the Dom who is with you at the moment, Hayley,” Jack told her. “We asked you a lot of questions yesterday to work through why you wanted to be a sub and if you fully understood what it meant. It’s not full time. Not with us.”
“That’s…you want to date me,” Hayley pulled her gaze from Dane and looked over at Jack for a long minute and then back to Dane. Another button had been eased free at the front of her shirt. “But together.”
“We want to date you. Together.” Dane confirmed with a nod.
“Doesn’t that seem a little…” she stopped and held her breath when his fingers grazed over the space between her breasts, drawing a long line down to her naval. “Never mind that.”
“You think it’s strange because we’d take you out with us. As a unit,” Jack suggested casually. “Movie…dinner…just normal things, Hayley. We need to go grocery shopping. I like cooking. And we need to find you some clothes to wear at the club.”
“I have clothes,” she said hastily, her breath sucked in when Dane’s hand moved up her rib and cupped one breast. She went to move her hands, her muscles freezing in place when Dane cleared his throat.
“Jack…” Dane looked to the spot in front of him and knew he rarely had to use words when it came to their sub play. It was one of the things that made them not only good Doms, but a good team in their career. “I want your hands, Hayley,” he released her breast and held up his hands to her.
Hayley swallowed, looked at the turned up palms and placed one of her hands in each of his. She must have heard the scraping of the chair and swiveled her head back and then to the front to his gaze. He could see the trepidation in her eyes and offered a dark look.
“I never told you to move. At the moment, you’re not to move unless we place you in a position and your only response is ‘yes, Sir’ or the safe word from the club. Is that clear, Hayley?” Dane’s voice was hard and low, her nod instant. “Verbal, Hayley. Always verbal.”
“Yes, Sirs.”
“You volunteered to be a sub because you wanted to learn about yourself. Our job is to teach you how far you can reach and how much you can please us. You please us when you comply.” Dane took her hands and leaned forward. He folded them behind her, then straightened her elbows. “Hold them straight, Hayley. Right where I placed them.”
She watched her chest thrust forward, heat filling her cheeks when the open front of the shirt slid to either side.
“Beautiful,” Dane complimented with a nod. His cock had jumped to alert when she joined them over an hour ago and hadn’t gone down. Now it hardened a little more with each startled or stunned gasp she offered. He felt Jack’s knees countered with his and put his hands on her shoulders. “Relax, Hayley. Lay back.”
He tried pushing and met with the slightest resistance before she took a deep breath and let him guide her backwards. Her knees tightened at his hips, her back straight as she leaned backwards. Confused, half-closed lashes flew wide when his hands were replaced by Jack’s.
Hayley felt the blood rush to her face and then drain completely when she felt all four hands on her shoulders, one set sliding out and leaving Jack’s. She looked above her, the outline of his jaw and expanse of bare chest sending new jolts of…she wasn’t sure how many labels she had for what she was feeling.
Confusion and shock at her behavior, at their behavior; a little fear. Was this what she was after? All these feelings at once…just giving up her choices for theirs. It’s not forever, she heard a stern voice tell her. This was what you wanted for a short time. To trust someone enough to take care of you, even if it meant pushing you in directions you never imagined before. Sensual and sexual games that added so much to the plain mix.
A shiver raced through her. Jack’s fingers left her shoulders. She was now lying on their knees in one long, flat surface. His fingers tangled in the hair at the sides of her face, pulling it all up from her back and letting it fall over their knees toward the floor. Then she realized the shirt had fallen completely open and her head jerked up. But only until her gaze met Dane’s.
That dark, stern expression made her swallow and lie back, ignoring the expanse of her flesh from head to where her thighs split wide. He moved his legs slightly when she tried jerking her knees and he held the position firmly until she relaxed.
“I know this is all new to you. I also know it might be more than a little scary.” He’d placed both his hands flat against her hips, holding her still when Jack wrapped each small, round breast with a hand.
She felt her chest freeze, the air trapped inside her when thumbs began making small circles around her nipples.
She wanted to look. Wanted to see but she couldn’t move. Any move she made had Dane’s hands tightening on her hips and the stern expression in his dark eyes was capable of taking the urge to move away.
“Don’t move your hands or your body. You belong to us. You might not understand why, but your mind and body respond to us, Hayley.” His palms caressed down the sides of her body, down her thighs and back up the inside until his fingers brushed the sides of her labia. Her body clenched, the muscles of her abdomen tightening.
“Are you uncomfortable, Hayley?” Jack adjusted his position, sliding back enough that he could bend forward and kiss her.
“Yes…no…I should be,” she whispered, little panting breaths in between each kiss he dropped across her mouth. “I should be.” She repeated more firmly.
“Why?” Jack laughed softly. “Because people you know wouldn’t approve? Because some aspects of society would think it was wrong or abnormal? Forget them. For once, think about what Hayley wa
nts. For whatever reason…and maybe just because it feels good…and baby, you feel so good.”
His fingers tightened around her breasts, caressing beneath the round, firm mounds and taking the aroused little nipples between his fingers. He tweaked and squeezed, watching her face and how the flames roared to life in her eyes.
“Good girl,” he whispered into another kiss when she moaned softly and arched her back slightly into his touch.
Dane laughed, his head shaking. “I tell her not to move and you encourage it.”
“She’s just too damn sexy to keep still,” Jack chuckled, trailing his tongue over her lower lip before taking it between his teeth.
“I can’t argue with that one…but her training has a long way to go.” Dane dragged his fingers through the center cleft, brushing over the small nub of her clit. He could tell it caught her off guard because her body jerked and then she snapped back. “Very good, Hayley. Your attention is on us at all times. Not the room around you, not the noises, not the people who might walk past. We might put you on display at the club and let passing Doms pet you…stroke over your hair or tug on the pretty gems we attach to your nipples or labia.”
“S-strangers? But…” Wide eyes looked around from one to the other. “I’m yours.”
Both men felt the strong jolt to their systems at her words, their gaze locked on her face for a quiet moment.
“You’re ours to do with as we please. If we believe it would be good for you, it isn’t your place to argue,” Jack said sternly, straightening up and lifting her to her feet. He stood to the side, holding her in place and letting her get her feet before releasing her. “Go get dressed. We’ve got some shopping to do.”
If she thought their behavior odd, she didn’t say anything, just nodded and walked down the hall. They heard the door close before it even felt like they breathed.
Jack stalked the patio door, his hands up and dragging the long strands of dark hair back from his face and neck. His fingers closed around them and tugged.
Independence: #4 Hayley Page 6
