Sophie's Surrender [Viper's Dungeon 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Abby Blake

  Malcolm nodded. It hadn’t been a beginners’ scene, but surely considering her own affinity for pain, Sophie would have understood what was happening rather than be offended by it.

  “She looked a little pale when she went into the bathroom.” Adrian said carefully, as if he was replaying the events in his head, “but she looked a whole lot worse by the time she came out.”

  “Gina was in there with her,” Alex said, his voice a low growl. “She’s been manipulating us for weeks. What’s the bet she said something?”

  “What could she say?” Adrian asked quietly. “Even if Gina lied through her teeth, Sophie trusts us. She wouldn’t take anything a stranger said to her as the truth without checking with us first.”

  “True,” Malcolm said, feeling certain that was correct. They’d sorted this issue out months ago. “Maybe it really is just food poisoning.” He’d feel better when she woke and explained, but right now he planned to hold on to that thought.

  Chapter Twelve

  Sophie slammed the door of the oven and prayed for a miracle. She’d spent the last thirty hours dodging questions from three men who cared for her. The last thing she needed was grief from an inanimate object that she could happily smash.

  The worst part was that she had no reason to be so angry. None of her men had made any promises. She’d been the one to assume they’d be faithful to her. Considering that she was having sex with all three of them, that was a rather unfair expectation for her to have.

  She wasn’t being faithful to any one of them. Why should she expect anything different from them? But such a logical argument did nothing to heal her shattered heart.

  She just had to decide if she could live with the idea of them fucking other women when she wasn’t around.

  She dropped her head forward, unable to stop the flow of tears. As unreasonable and as unfair as it was, she wanted Alex, Adrian, and Malcolm all to herself.

  Hell, she’d rearranged her business, her entire life so that she could spend more time with them. She hadn’t even told them she’d done it. She’d planned to surprise them next week and then dance into the sunset with all three of them beside her. Fuck, she really was an idiot.

  “Can I come in?” Maya asked from the doorway.

  Sophie startled at the quiet voice, but tried valiantly to hold herself together.

  “Sure,” she said, wiping at her eyes and hoping that her face wasn’t too red.

  “I brought someone with me,” Maya said, tilting her head toward the woman beside her when Sophie finally turned around.

  “Oh…um…hi,” she said, feeling totally out of depth. Maybe she’d spent too much time alone in the past few years, but that really wasn’t an excuse for her lack of social skills. “Um, would you like some coffee?”

  “Actually,” the blonde woman said, “it’s a flying visit. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

  Sophie turned her attention to Maya, uncertain why a stranger would visit her shop to check on her well-being. It took Maya a moment to realize what Sophie wasn’t asking out loud.

  “Oh,” she said, rolling her eyes in a self-deprecating sort of way, “Sophie, this is Penny. Penny. Sophie.”

  “Penny from Monday night?”

  The woman smiled briefly, but then gave her a concerned look. “I noticed that you seemed distressed by the scene Adam and I played. I asked Maya to introduce me so I could to assure you that I’m fine, and that I enjoyed every moment of it.”

  “It’s pretty easy to forget what it’s like to be a newbie,” Maya said with a half smile. “After a while we sort of see things through different eyes.” Maya tilted her head to the side and assessed Sophie’s face. “But now I’m wondering if that’s the only thing that upset you the other night.”

  Sophie shook her head, whether in denial or admission she wasn’t sure, but when the tears started to flow again, she had two women urging her to sit down. They sat beside her and patiently let her cry things out.

  God, she hated crying, but it seemed she’d done an awful lot of it lately.

  “Sorry,” Sophie finally managed to say as she wiped her face yet again.

  “Don’t be,” Penny said in a friendly tone. “We’ve all been there. Sometimes a girl just has to cry.”

  “I don’t know how you two do it.”

  Maya gave her a startled look. “Do what exactly?”

  “Share your men with the rest of the club. I mean I know it’s part of the lifestyle. Well, I mean, I know now that it’s part of the lifestyle but I’m not sure I can live with it.” She was shaking her head, ready to ramble some more when she realized both women were looking at her with shock on their faces.

  “I don’t share my husbands,” Maya said, her tone suggesting she’d maim any sub who tried.

  “Neither do I,” Penny said very deliberately.

  “But the other night?” Sophie asked, feeling thoroughly confused.

  “Okay, well I kind of do, but not in the way you think. Adam and I belong to a very small, very well-established swingers group. Six men, six women. We’re all very close friends and share an emotional connection. We swap Doms all the time, but we never share outside of the group.”

  “Oh,” Sophie said as yet another thing that hadn’t occurred to her filtered into her brain. “I suppose it’s different for Alex, Adrian, and Malcolm since they all work at the club.”

  “You think they’re being unfaithful to you?” Maya sounded shocked, perhaps even pissed at her for suggesting it.

  “I spoke to a woman last night. She told me all about the ‘sessions’ she’d had with my men in the past few weeks.”

  Maya squinted her eyes and sucked air through her teeth, her expression one of distaste. “Tall blonde in need of a good feed?” she asked irritably.

  Sophie nodded slowly. “That could probably describe a lot of women,” she offered, worried that she might be lining the wrong woman up in Maya’s sights. Her friend seemed angry enough to smash an oven, too.

  “Not at our club it doesn’t,” Penny said, shaking her head in a way that suggested they should have realized what was going on. “Gina has been causing trouble for a good long while.”

  “That was Gina?” Sophie asked in shock. “The woman everyone has been worried about? The one who has been spending hours upon hours ‘talking’ to my men?”

  Penny smiled. “Now that’s more like it,” she said to Maya conversationally. “You were right. She is definitely one of us.”

  Maya grinned and nodded, and then turned her attention back to Sophie. “Everyone at Viper’s Dungeon has always known Malcolm is still in love with his ex-wife. I don’t believe for a moment that he would ever be unfaithful to you now that he has you back.”

  “The same with Alex and Adrian,” Penny added.

  “Sophie, they’re good guys, and they’ve never been happier than they are with you. I guess the question is do you love them enough to trust them?”

  Sophie closed her eyes as realization crashed through her.

  She hadn’t trusted her men.

  She’d listened to a woman who had her own agenda and then backed it up with circumstantial evidence and half-baked theories.

  She pursed her lips and gave the two women a pained smile.

  “Just one question. How much does the cane hurt?”

  * * * *

  “She’s pulling away from us,” Malcolm said as Alex and Adrian walked into his office.

  Alex rubbed a hand over his forehead, nodded, and then turned to his brother. “Did she say anything this morning when you dropped her at work?”

  “Nothing unusual. We had coffee. Chatted about unimportant stuff, and when I asked about her stomach she said she was fine, but very busy.”

  “She said the same to me,” Alex said. “She said the vomiting was just an upset stomach, but I saw your reaction Malcolm. You think it’s something more.”

  Malcolm nodded, not denying what he’d believed he’d seen.

  Adr
ian grimaced and shook his head. “I can still see the way she flinched away from me. It’s definitely more than a stomach thing.”

  “Could she be pregnant?” Alex asked with just a little too much hope in his eyes. “Would she try and hide something like that from us?”

  “I don’t know,” Malcolm said, shaking his head tiredly. “I haven’t discussed the future with her. Maybe she thinks we’d be upset.”

  “But we all know the proper way to use condoms,” Adrian said, perhaps looking just a little bit pale. “It certainly lessens the chance of an unplanned pregnancy, so maybe it’s not that.”

  They may have been dating Sophie for several months now, but between their work hours, the demands of her shop, and the simple fact that there was three of them, the relationship was probably newer than what it felt.

  “I just wish I knew what to do to get her to talk to us.”

  “You could try a cane,” a soft voice suggested from the doorway.

  They all turned to see Sophie standing there, her head bowed, her demeanor that of a submissive who knew she was about to get punished. Cooper was standing behind her, the wide grin on his face fucking annoying. He winked and then turned and walked away, apparently quite pleased that he’d been able to give Sophie a chance to listen in on their private conversation.

  “Sophie?” Adrian asked without leaving his seat. Just like Malcolm he was resisting the urge to crowd her, obviously worried about scaring her away.

  “I’m sorry,” she said quietly as she stepped closer to them. “I should have trusted my Doms to explain.”

  “Explain what?” Alex asked. He hadn’t moved either, but his demeanor suggested that he was struggling more with her admission of not trusting them than he’d been with the silence she’d given them up till now.

  She glanced up at him, but quickly dropped her gaze again.

  “To explain that what Gina told me was wrong. That you don’t play with other subs when I’m not around. That infidelity is not part of our lifestyle.”

  Malcolm was already wondering how to deal with Gina and her lies when Alex asked Sophie, “You thought we were being unfaithful?” He sounded very much like a wounded bear.

  Sophie flinched at the loud question but thankfully held her ground.

  “I’m sorry, Sir,” she said very clearly. “I’m ready to accept any punishment my Doms think is appropriate.”

  Alex seemed angry enough to beat her ass black and blue, but there was no way Malcolm was going to let that happen. He moved very slightly, silently signaling his intent. Thankfully Alex was an experienced enough Dom to realize his reaction was too emotional and uncontrolled. He took a step back.

  “Are you pregnant, Sophie” Malcolm asked, trying to keep his voice low and calm.

  She seemed startled by the question, but stared at the floor for a few moments apparently counting the days in her cycle. Eventually she shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

  “So the vomiting Monday night?” Adrian asked, his voice husky as he, too, tried to pull his emotions back under control.

  She looked at him then, obviously sensing his concern. “I’m so sorry.” She swallowed hard as she glanced at both Malcolm and Alex before dropping her gaze back to the floor. “The nausea was from not understanding that what happened to Penny was consensual. Her Dom hit her so hard, and she looked like she was in so much pain, and the men…” Her words trailed away as she shuddered, her skin taking on the same sickly pallor she’d worn that night. “I didn’t realize she knew them. I thought they were just strangers to her. That her Dom was abusing her trust. And then Gina—”

  Her hurried words cut off when Adrian stood up suddenly.

  “That does it! We’re done trying to help that woman. I’m canceling her membership as of right now!” Adrian exclaimed, heading for the hallway. Sophie’s soft words stopped him.

  “Please don’t. She probably needs help now more than ever. She didn’t…” Sophie said worriedly, “I mean she said that you all…” She dragged in a deep ragged breath. “And we’re still using condoms…b–but I shouldn’t have believed her. I should have trusted my Doms.”

  “Sophie,” Malcolm said, glancing at Alex and Adrian before moving to gather her in his arms. “This isn’t your fault.” He glared at the other men, daring them to contradict his assessment as he tried to comfort their distraught woman. “You’ve never met Gina before. You had no reason to believe that she’s a pathological liar. Add that to our failure to explain the type of scenes Penny and Adam usually play before taking you to watch one you had good reason to wonder.”

  “Plus,” Alex said, stepping closer to press a kiss to the back of Sophie’s neck. “We never discussed the future with you. That was our mistake, Sophie. You’re still new to this lifestyle, but you took to it so naturally sometimes we forget how little you truly know. Malcolm, Adrian, and I are very serious about this relationship.”

  Finally Adrian moved closer to her, his hand touching her face as he moved into her line of sight. “And we never considered other contraception because condoms are very effective when used correctly.”

  “Plus they have the added bonus of not causing a delay when we finally manage to talk you into having our babies,” Alex added.

  “You want babies with me?” she asked in a voice filled with wonder.

  “Of course, that’s on the proviso that it doesn’t interfere with your bakery. We’re willing to wait for a time in your life that suits you, little sub, but it’s what we’ve been hoping for right from the start.” Sophie nodded at Alex’s quiet declaration but couldn’t quite tamp down her fears.

  “Please, Sophie,” Malcolm said. “Please forgive us for letting you down.”

  “Does this mean I don’t get the cane?”

  “Only if you want to try it in a pleasurable scene, baby,” Malcolm said very seriously, “but we’re not going to punish you for not knowing something we’d never told you.” Again Malcolm glanced at both men, assessing their reactions to what he was about to say. Fortunately they both knew him well enough to know what was coming next. Adrian and Alex nodded their agreement. “Sophie, we love you, all three of us. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted in a wife and a lover and a sub. Alex and Adrian feel the same way. Accept our collar, marry one of us if you need the paperwork, but most importantly please love and forgive us. I promise we’ll never let you down again.”

  “You didn’t—” she began, but Adrian pressed a kiss to her lips instead of letting her finish.

  “We did, and we’re sorry, and we’ll never let you watch a scene again without explaining exactly what is going on.”

  “And we’ll tell you every moment of every day that we love you,” Malcolm added.

  “And, one day, when the timing is right,” Alex said quietly, “we’ll start a family together.”

  * * * *

  Sophie couldn’t stop the damn tears as they started falling. They were telling her everything she needed to hear and she had no doubt that their words were honest. She’d caught a little of the conversation before coming into this room—enough to realize that they’d made the same assumptions. They hadn’t pledged their love or their fidelity simply because they’d taken for granted she understood.

  Penny’s scene had been distressing for Sophie to watch, but even then she’d trusted her men enough to want to wait for an explanation. If Gina hadn’t deliberately sown the doubt in her mind Sophie probably wouldn’t have noticed the other stuff like the fact that they were still using condoms.

  “As much as I love holding you in my arms,” Malcolm said in that deep reassuring tone she’d always loved, “don’t you have a shop to run?”

  “Actually,” she said, realizing that this truly was the perfect time to give them her news, “the shop closes for the last time next Friday.” The concern on their faces was both sweet and a little discouraging so she quickly tried to explain. Of course, it might have been easier if she didn’t look a total wreck from crying. “
I’m restructuring the business, not shutting it down. I wanted more time to spend with my Doms, so I’ve arranged with Maya to bake almost exclusively for her restaurants using her ovens. It makes sense. I bake when the restaurant is closed so I won’t be getting in her chef’s way. I also have the option to expand the business later, but for now I just want to keep things small. I might even get the chance to experiment with a few of my other recipes to suit Maya’s clientele.”

  “So you’ve given this a lot of thought then?” Adrian asked with what seemed to be a rather impressed smile.

  “I have,” she said, nodding as Adrian pulled her from Malcolm’s embrace and into his own. “Financially it’s actually more viable than having a storefront.” She laughed softly. “And Nessie was very happy to retire.” Her sneaky employee had even suggested the only reason she’d stayed on was to make sure Sophie met the right guy. She hadn’t even blinked when Sophie had told her about her relationship with all three of them.

  “Are you sure this is what you want, Sophie?” Malcolm asked. Ever since they’d gotten back together he’d been almost obsessive in his avoidance of interfering in her life.

  “Absolutely,” she said happily, her heart clenching at the genuine pleasure on her ex-husband’s face. “And the workload is light enough that when we do decide to start a family, I should be able to handle most of it before and with a little bit of help from the baby’s fathers even after the baby arrives.”

  “Seriously?” Adrian asked excitedly. “Can we start working on having a baby right now?”

  Malcolm laughed softly. “Weren’t you turning green a few minutes ago when we thought she might be pregnant already?”

  Adrian shook his head at Malcolm’s teasing but smiled as he turned to her to explain. “I was only worried when we thought you might have become pregnant accidentally. I didn’t want you to feel like we’d robbed you of your choices.”

  Those stupid tears filled her eyes again as she hugged him close, loving him so much she felt ready to burst.

  “A marriage to all three of us won’t be easy,” Alex said, “but we promise you that we’ll always respect your opinion, that you’ll always have a voice, and a chance to choose your own path.” He grinned wickedly then, perhaps realizing that she truly intended to love all three of them for the rest of her life. “And of course, we also promise to give you many, many, many orgasms. Probably more than you ever dreamed possible.”