by Cara Adams
“Most of my possessions are already in storage anyway. I only have a bedroom in the main house. Besides, being together just the three of us will be nice,” said Leticia, happiness bubbling under her skin. Tomorrow night. They would be handfasted to each other tomorrow night. Oliver was a Dom. Would he introduce her to BDSM sex straight away? She’d listened with great interest to the things Jubilee had said about BDSM. She rather liked the idea of trying some of them out. Or would they begin with ordinary sex? Ordinary sex, that was a joke. One woman and two men together was not exactly the definition of ordinary sex.
* * * *
William paced around the parking lot as he thought about what had just happened. He was so confused. On the one hand, he loved Leticia with all his heart and it had almost killed him when her own father hurt her not once but twice. Her father’s actions didn’t fit into any stereotype of domestic violence he’d studied in nursing school, but it sure seemed like domestic violence to him. First, the old man basically kept her totally locked up and away from everyone she cared about, then he shot her, and finally he tried to kidnap her when she complained about his treatment of her.
On the one hand, marrying her, making her his to love and to cherish ’til death parted them, was his dearest wish come true. He loved her so much. The hours he’d spent when he was off-duty at the hospital, sitting beside her bed, watching her sleep, or, even better, talking to her as he guarded her from rogue panthers and anyone else who may wish to hurt her, had been the best time of his life until now.
But on the other hand was Oliver. William was a realist. Oliver had been in Leticia’s life long before William had even met her and fallen in love with her. Oliver was not only a panther, like Leticia, but also a Dom, and William didn’t have a Dom bone in his body. He couldn’t even argue back like Tor did when some idiot of a doctor mistook which patient was which in his ward at the hospital.
William acknowledged that Oliver had waited patiently until the time was appropriate to ask Leticia to marry him. And not only that, but Oliver had included him as well in the deal, which proved he was an honorable man. In fact Oliver had done everything as well as he could have done it himself. Likely even better.
Oliver never pushed William aside or talked over him when they were all together. But then, they weren’t all together very often.
William thought he could trust Oliver to be fair to Leticia. Certainly he’d never hurt Leticia like her crazy father had. But where did it leave him? Human not panther, sub not Dom. Would he only get the scraps of Leticia’s attention when she wasn’t fully occupied with Oliver? Would Oliver even acknowledge his existence once the mating took place?
Even the scraps of her attention, the unused corners of her life, would be better than not having her at all.
Exactly. I want her and this way I get her, even if it’s only a bit of her. Besides, I’ll make certain I’m always there for her, I’ll work in the garden with her, and I’ll figure out a way to prevent Oliver wiping me out of their lives if I have to. By the time the trial three months are up I’ll make sure she can’t bear to part with me, that I’m an integral part of the relationship!
William sat in his car and grinned at the mess on the backseat. He had a one-room apartment near the hospital. For years it’d been perfect. He was too bound up in caring for patients to want anything more. He hadn’t wanted a yard with a lawn to cut, garden beds to weed, and trees to prune, but now he was happy enough helping Leticia do that at Carnal Connections. Although he’d enjoy helping Leticia do pretty much anything she wanted him to do. He’d been spending almost all his free time at Carnal Connections for weeks now, months even, ever since Tor had brought him to one of the BDSM special events, and he’d liked what he saw. He’d been surfing BDSM sites for years, and knew he was a sub. He’d even experimented with the genre a little at the BDSM club in town.
Of course, since he’d met Leticia and nursed her after her father shot her, she’d been his primary reason for coming here, although the BDSM was still a drawcard as well. Meanwhile, his car had become his apartment. Whatever he needed between work and Carnal Connections was either in his trunk, like a crate full of clothes, or scattered over the backseat, like books and papers he’d needed to read, bottles of water, empty pizza boxes, his thick coat, a pair of boots…Yes, it was a regular pigsty and it was time he did a load of laundry, too. Just as well, he was headed back to his apartment and there was a laundry in the basement.
A handfasting gift! I have to find a handfasting gift for Leticia and something for Oliver as well. What should I buy?
William drove back to town mulling over various things, but nothing seemed right. It had to be something that symbolized all of them. He’d seen a crystal figurine of a panther that reminded him of Leticia, but Oliver was a panther as well, so that wouldn’t work. I can stop off at the jeweler’s, though. Likely I’ll see something else for her there.
* * * *
All Oliver wanted to do was go to bed, but that wasn’t possible yet. When he’d come back to the community he’d had to find Omar and tell him straightaway about Sam. Then he and Omar had gone to tell Larry, and Larry had called a meeting of the men to talk through the issue.
Next he’d sought out Leticia, and told her about her father, and asked her to marry him and William. She’d turned all his plans on their head by demanding a handfasting instead. A trial marriage for fuck’s sake. Well, he’d just have to make her so happy and content, so satiated with orgasms and so showered in love, that she never even thought of ending it when the time limit was up.
Now he had to see JB about a house for them. Or likely he should speak to Larry first. Yes, that would be better.
Listen to me. I’m sounding like this is some kind of chore, when it’s all about fulfilling my dearest wish, to be with Leticia. Lighten up, dude! In another few hours I’ll have her in my arms, in my bed, at last.
He turned on his heels and went back to the main building. Fortunately, Larry was still in his office, although it seemed like today had been going for a week or so already. Lucy had already left for the day, so he poked his head in at Larry’s open door.
“Hi, Larry.”
“Hi, Oliver. Have you come back to tell me you and William are about to mate with Leticia?”
“I think most people will guess that. I was going to ask Lucy if we could have the handfasting ceremony in the barn tomorrow night.”
“Handfasting?”
“Yes, that’s what she wants.”
Larry pulled up a spreadsheet on his computer, typed in the information, then e-mailed it, likely to Lucy, Oliver supposed.
“Done.”
“Thank you. Um, about where we’ll live…I was hoping we could use Carey’s old apartment for a while until we build a house of our own.”
“You want to go ahead with that even though it’s just a handfasting?”
“Yes.” Oliver’s voice was firm. The handfasting would be permanent. He would ensure Leticia was happy. Failure was not an option.
“You’ll need to check with Carey, but I know he’s cleared all his things out of it. How do you feel about the modular housing you’re staying in at the moment?”
“Hmm? It’s fine, I guess. It’s got everything we single men need—bunk beds, a bathroom, a living area, a small kitchen where we can make our own meals. Why?”
“Tor’s house and Omar’s house are made of those modules, just moved around to fulfill their own personal requirements. I was thinking adding a module to Carey’s old apartment would be a quick and easy way of giving you, William, and Leticia a big enough house.”
“Thank you, Larry. That could be perfect and much faster than building something new from the ground up. Do you think Gaynor and Ramona would mind Leticia looking through their houses to get ideas?”
“I shouldn’t imagine so. Women do that sort of thing all the time, don’t they?”
“Okay, thanks again, Larry. We’ll talk among ourselves about it, get so
me ideas, then bring what we decide to JB, okay?”
“Sounds good.”
“Thanks, Larry.” Oliver hurried out of the business manager’s office. That was another job crossed off his to-do list. He just needed to confirm it was okay with Carey. Now he needed to sit somewhere quiet and plan their handfasting ceremony. Not the barn. Too many people would be there talking. And definitely not the apartment he shared with the other unmarried panther men. Same problem, only noisier.
Oliver walked around to the back garden Leticia had been working on. Already there were cleared areas of rich brown soil ready for planting come next spring. Oliver sat on the top step of the back deck and thought about what would make their handfasting ceremony special for all three of them. He was the Dom. It was his role to plan a memorable and meaningful event. Besides, this was also their wedding ceremony. No way was he going to allow Leticia to change her mind. He’d love her so thoroughly she’d never dream of leaving after three months. Plus he’d be a good, fair Dom to William. And after that he still had to figure out a way to prevent Leticia’s bat-shit-crazy father from ruining all their lives. Unfortunately, he couldn’t even rely on Sam to do something so astoundingly stupid he ended up back in jail.
* * * *
Leticia had spent quite a lot of time thinking about what she’d wear and kept returning to the thought of a long white dress. Oh, she wasn’t going to break out in a train or a veil or yards and yards of flounces and lace, but she did want a floor-length white dress. This was her handfasting dammit.
For a moment she wondered if they’d still bite each other as well as fuck. Oh well, whatever. She needed the freedom to change her mind if the whole living-together thing wasn’t working. She loved these two men so much she wanted it to work. But then, her father constantly said he was only locking her up because he loved her and she certainly didn’t want herself tied down in a marriage like that. Although tied down on a bed for fucking might be fun.
Leticia smiled. Anyway, thinking about the wedding—handfasting—whatever—she’d bought herself a simple ankle-length, white silk sheath dress that hugged her curves and accentuated her breasts. She added her mama’s pearl necklace and pearl-drop earrings and left her dark-brown hair to hang free down her back. Her “something borrowed,” from the old saying, was Jubilee’s “fuck-me” white sandals with their six-inch heels. She was short so liked the idea of being taller for this special occasion. Jubilee swore she could dance in them, but Leticia wasn’t planning to put that to the test. She had a pair of silver ballet flats to change into later.
Therefore, her “something old” was Mama’s jewelry, “something new” was the dress, and all she needed was something blue. She didn’t have a garter, but then she wasn’t planning to wear stockings and need one either. Something blue, something blue. Ha!
Leticia pulled her box of makeup out again and pawed through it until she found an unopened bottle of bright-blue nail polish. She rested one bare foot on a chair and carefully painted her toenails, then did the other foot. Something blue done and dusted.
Autumn banged on her door. “Are you ready yet? Need a hand to be zipped up or anything?”
“You can come in. I just have to put my shoes on.”
“Leticia, that dress’s awesome. You look stunning.”
“Thanks, Autumn.”
Leticia finished buckling the straps to Jubilee’s shoes and stood up. “I’m ready.”
“Let’s go. Oliver and William are going to be dazzled for sure.”
“I hope so.”
“Never doubt it for a moment.”
Leticia handed the silver ballet shoes to Autumn, and chattering happily they went down the stairs and across the parking lot to the huge barn that was the gathering place for the community at Carnal Connections. On the outside it looked like a regular barn, but inside it was all one big room with a small central stage, long mirrors on one wall, and heavy gold drapes covering floor-length windows.
An enormous vase of multicolored flowers rested on one corner of the stage, and Oliver and William were standing together in the center of it, facing the door.
They looked so handsome. Oliver, with his blond hair and gray eyes, was dressed as a Dom in tight black pants and a flowing white shirt with wide sleeves, and dark-haired, dark-eyed William was wearing a black tuxedo, with a white, lace-fronted shirt.
“How awesome that you dressed to match each other,” said Autumn.
Leticia was about to say they hadn’t discussed their clothing, but her tongue was tied with lust looking at her two handsome men. She left Autumn standing near the doorway and walked forward and up onto the stage to stand between the men. Heavens, her underwear was soaking wet already and her nipples were as hard as nails. I hope no one can tell. Oh, what does it matter? Everyone knows what we’ll be doing tonight.
They stood in a circle looking into each other’s faces and holding hands.
“I, Oliver Simpson, promise to care for and protect you, Leticia Brooks and William Chapman, respecting your needs and desires, as your Dom and your partner.”
“I, Leticia Brooks, promise to love and serve you, Oliver Simpson and William Chapman, and to obey you, Oliver, as my Dom.”
“I, William Chapman, promise to love and serve you, Leticia Brooks, and to obey and respect you, Oliver Simpson, as my Dom.”
First Oliver, then William kissed her, and she turned fully to face her friends, who were cheering and clapping for them. Lucy brought them each a glass of champagne and hurried around the crowd to serve them, too. Then Omar called out, “We wish you joy and happiness, Oliver, Leticia, and William.”
“Joy and happiness,” echoed the people in the room, and everyone sipped their champagne. Leticia clinked her glass against those of her new partners and they all drank, too.
Someone turned on dance music, and Oliver nodded to William. “You can have the first dance.”
“Thank you,” whispered Leticia as William helped her down from the stage and held her in his arms. His big hand rested warmly on her lower back and she felt so protected and loved as she was led around the room. “You dance much better than me,” she said softly.
“I’ll tell you a secret. The hospital holds a ball every year and the first year I felt such a fool at it I went and took dancing lessons before the next year’s ball.”
“And now all the female nurses want to dance with you?” she teased.
“At the next ball I’ll dance only with you.”
“Maybe I’d better take some lessons before then.”
“We can practice here and you’ll be perfect.”
When the music stopped, William walked her back to the center of the room and Oliver came to claim her. “I hope it’s a slow number. I’m not nearly as good a dancer as William.”
“Me either. He’s going to teach me before the next hospital ball. You can join in and learn, too,” she said.
Oliver held her just as firmly and reassuringly as William, but he moved very slowly, mostly swaying to the music and only taking a few steps to avoid bumping into people. Leticia didn’t mind. She was happy just to be held in his arms, and besides, she didn’t want to fall over in Jubilee’s precious shoes.
After the dance, the three of them moved around the barn together, talking to everyone. Leticia noticed that few people commented on the fact it was a handfasting ceremony, rather than a bonding or commitment ceremony. The ones that commented seemed to think she was shy because of her father keeping her away from people.
“They’re good men. You’ll be fine,” and “Oliver’s a very patient Dom. He’d teach you all you need to know for the ultimate in pleasure,” they said.
Gradually they made their way to the door. Finally they slipped out into the night. Leticia wondered where they’d go to next. To their own rooms to change? Straight to Carey’s old apartment?
“Let’s go,” said Oliver quietly, leading the way across the parking lot back to the main building. Once he arrived there he he
aded down the stairs to the dungeons. Wow! My first experience of BDSM sex is about to happen!
Oliver didn’t stop at the main dungeon. Well he wouldn’t. He’d want privacy this first time.
They walked past each of the private dungeons to the very end of the hall. Leticia hadn’t been here before. She’d peeked into the main dungeon a couple of times but never tried to open any of the doors to the private rooms. For a start, she hadn’t wanted to breach anyone’s privacy. But also she’d had very few occasions when she was away from her father and didn’t want to waste a second of her freedom. Right now, however, she was wishing she’d had a good look at all the equipment. What if Oliver was impatient with her when she didn’t understand something?
Just pay attention and learn fast.
Oliver opened the final door and waited for her and William to enter before locking the door behind them. Leticia stood just to the right of the entryway and looked around in total confusion. This room wasn’t a dungeon at all. It was basically a bathroom with an enormous hot tub in it. The wall behind the hot tub was one huge mirror and even the ceiling over the tub was a mirror, too. Yes, that was a fraction unusual, she supposed.
The mirrored wall was covered in steam and the water was bubbling almost to the top of the tub. Oliver pulled out a large vinyl suit bag from under the sink and got out three coat hangers. “Just as well I thought to bring this, isn’t it?”
“Absolutely,” said William, unknotting his necktie.
Gratefully, Leticia unbuckled Jubilee’s sandals. As Jubilee had promised, she’d been able to dance in them, but she had nothing but admiration for anyone who could wear them for more than a few hours at a time. Autumn was likely still holding her silver ballet shoes. Oh well, too bad.
“Do you need help to undo your zipper?” William asked her.
Leticia grinned up at him then down at the bulge in his pants. “No. Do you?”
All three of them laughed and somehow that broke the tension. They undressed, hung up their clothing inside the suit bag, then climbed into the hot tub. Leticia hadn’t been sure what to do with Mama’s necklace and earrings until Oliver handed her a Ziploc bag, which she then placed inside the suit bag. “I’m glad you thought of that, too,” she said to him.
