Imaginary Lover [The Doms of Sybaris Cove 7] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Tara Rose

  She nodded.

  Tom stroked her ass cheeks and lower back, and then he slid his cock into her ass so slowly that Ivy nearly cried from the emotion racing through her. That they would take such care with her was overwhelming. Once again, she realized how wrong she’d been about these two and what they were really like.

  While she’d always fantasized about them, she’d never really expected them to be kind and thoughtful this way, or so much fun. This was every dream she’d ever had come true, and she wasn’t going to do anything to ruin this. She wanted them both. Just like Alaina had Jeff and Taj, and Nita had Brett and Mark. Ivy wanted the same thing, and she wanted it with Merrick and Tom.

  As sudden and unexpected as those thoughts were, she didn’t have time to dwell on them. They were pushed aside when both men began to thrust. She’d never felt anything like this. “Oh my God,” she whispered. “That is…it’s so…I don’t have words.”

  “Neither do I,” said Tom, his voice filled with awe. “This is incredible.”

  “I love it, too,” said Merrick. “We have to do this all the time.”

  Ivy closed her eyes and let the emotions wash over her one more time. She’d never felt this close to anyone, including Scott. And she knew she never would again. This was the real deal. These two wonderful men who had totally swept her off her feet in a few short days.

  “Can we switch?” asked Tom.

  He and Merrick changed places, after Tom put on a new condom, and once more Ivy floated away into a state of bliss. Every spot on her body was sore, but it was a sweet pain because of the memories it carried.

  She came again, and this time no one talked about punishment or her not having permission to do it. They each were more than ready to climax, and when they did, their cries joined hers.

  One of them retrieved a wet washcloth from the bathroom and then they cleaned her off. Just as she’d done Wednesday, she almost fell asleep while that happened. Then she was carried again, and laid on a bed. She wrapped her arms around Tom in front, and snuggled against Merrick’s warm body behind her, hoping she could simply stay here with them for the rest of her life.

  * * * *

  The next two weeks passed by in a blur for Ivy. She returned to work, but coordinated her schedule with her siblings and the other pilots who worked part-time so that she now had weekends off with Tom and Merrick. Because her family was still convinced that she had not recovered from whatever had been ailing her lately, they were happy to give this to her.

  The guys texted her all day long, with graphic details of what they wanted to do to her the next time they were together, and with small talk about how their days were going. She called them during her layovers, and described the city to them. Each time she visited one of the three cities where she flew, she brought back something small for both of them. Anything from a to-go menu at a favorite restaurant of hers and Elaine’s, to touristy trinkets with city landmarks on them.

  Merrick and Tom each loved the gifts. They told her it was like they’d been there, too. On the days she didn’t fly, she had dinner with them at either Lady of The Night, or Coffee in The Caribbean. Afterward, they’d go to Merrick’s or Tom’s house to play and make love. The guys found new ways to delight her each time, and Ivy now had permanent bruises on both ass cheeks from various paddles and crops, but she didn’t care. She loved it because she said it marked her as theirs.

  It was no surprise to her that she was falling in love with both men. How could she help it? The more she got to know them, the more she realized that the men of her dreams had been right there, all along.

  On the Friday before Christmas, she walked along the streets downtown with Tom and Merrick, after insisting she had to buy them each a Christmas gift.

  “You’ve been giving us gifts for two weeks,” said Merrick. “I don’t need something wrapped up in shiny paper and a bow.”

  “And not only the things you bring back from New Orleans, Birmingham, and Biloxi,” said Tom. “You’ve given us yourself, Ivy. Your beautiful, sexy, fun, adventurous self. That’s all we need.”

  She eyed them both. “Right. Tell me you have no Christmas gift for me and I’ll drop the subject.”

  They exchanged a glance that had her laughing. “I knew it.”

  “Okay,” said Tom. “You got us. But I have to say that you’re very hard to shop for. I mean, what do you buy a woman who flies her own plane?”

  “It’s not my plane. The company owns it. Come on. Let’s go into The Green Parrot. Look how pretty she has it decorated.”

  “There is nothing in there you can buy me for Christmas,” said Merrick. “It’s too froufrou.”

  “I want to look around anyway. Please?” She changed her mind once they were inside, because over by the handmade jewelry they spotted Nadine and Scott, looking cozier than a Normal Rockwell painting. Nadine even wore a red and green scarf around her neck and had on Christmas tree earrings. It was enough to make Ivy nearly puke.

  “On second thought…” She tugged on Merrick’s arm as she started to turn around, but it was too late. Scott and Nadine glanced over and spotted the three.

  * * * *

  “Well, said Scott. “Look who’s here. I was beginning to think you three had disappeared.” Merrick had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from blurting out why no one on this island had seen much of them during the past few weeks, but Ivy wouldn’t want that. It wasn’t her style.

  “Merry Christmas,” said Tom, his voice full of sarcasm.

  “That’s it?” asked Nadine. “You don’t talk to me for almost three weeks, and that’s all you have to say?”

  “I’ve talked to you.”

  “Only at work when you had to.” She eyed Ivy as if she were contemplating how best to kill her, and it was all Merrick could do not to punch Scott in the jaw because he would never hit a woman, even in anger. These two really were perfect for each other, and right now he wished they’d both leave the island for good.

  “I’ve been busy,” said Tom. Once glance at his friend’s face and Merrick didn’t need to guess. Tom was holding his anger in check as well. It struck him in that instant how he and Tom had made it back to being friends so easily. Ivy had been the catalyst for that. He’d never pictured himself sharing a sub the way so many of his friends now did, but he couldn’t imagine a more perfect situation than what the three had together.

  He liked this. It was comfortable and fun. It was easy. And Merrick had never in a million years imagined that something like this would be. The urge to thank Nadine and Scott rose up, but again he pushed that away. Ivy would be upset if the conversation took that turn, and he’d rather die than give her any reason to regret her decision to give this a try.

  He expected her to look uncomfortable or upset, but she didn’t. She gazed at Scott the same way she might glance over a crab in the sand. Indifferent. Same old, same old. Seen one, seen them all. Had they had something to do with that? Oh, how he hoped so. It was clear she had no feelings left for Scott, and that sent Merrick’s heart soaring.

  “So…Christmas shopping?” Scott’s voice no longer held that note of cocky annoyance, and Merrick couldn’t stop the smile that rose up. No doubt he’d expected Ivy to bristle at seeing him in public with Nadine, and the fact she looked right now like she couldn’t care less had obviously knocked him down a few pegs.

  “No,” said Tom. “We’re planning our spring wardrobes.” He put an arm around Ivy. “Next stop is Phyllis’s shop. We need to stock up on shrunken heads and voodoo dolls.”

  Ivy laughed, and Merrick did as well. There was simply no way to hold it back.

  “Don’t forget the amulet Nita is making for us,” said Ivy. “You know. The one that keeps away unwanted pests.”

  Her spontaneous witty comment came out natural and easy, and the tiny stab of jealousy that Merrick felt at how well she and Tom had played off each other dissipated just as quickly when she took his hand and smiled. “And then Merrick’s taking us t
o the hardware store to look for new rope and chains.”

  Tom snorted, shook his head, and then turned away.

  “Oh, hysterical,” said Nadine, her voice dripping with venom. “Really. You’re all just a laugh riot.”

  Ivy and Merrick turned as well, and he ignored Nadine as she shouted after them.

  “You’ll be sorry you couldn’t act like decent human beings. All three of you.”

  They waited until they were outside to burst out laughing. “Did you see the look on her face?” asked Tom. “Like she’d just swallowed a live crawfish.”

  “Love the empty threat,” said Tom. “That’s so her.”

  “Do you think she even got the joke about the hardware store?” asked Ivy.

  “No doubt about it,” said Tom. “She knew what you meant.”

  “I take it she’s not into BDSM?” asked Merrick.

  “Not even close.” Tom glanced toward Ivy. “And I’m pretty sure Scott isn’t either, right?”

  She was still laughing. “Are you kidding? His idea of kinky is turning on all the lights.”

  “I’m so proud of you,” said Merrick. “And I’m beyond honored at your reaction. You weren’t upset or jealous at all. Thank you.”

  She gazed at him with nothing short of love in her eyes, and his heart skipped a beat or two. Oh, if only it could be so! And as soon as that thought took shape, he realized he was in love with her. Just like that. Perhaps he always had been, and was finally able to admit it? He pulled her close and held her, absorbing her warmth and her passion. If this was how Taj and Jeff felt every day, he could understand why they were so freaking happy all the time now.

  “I’m proud of you, too,” said Tom, stroking her hair. “My sister was always a bitch, but Scott brings out that quality even more.”

  “I should thank her,” said Ivy.

  Merrick chuckled. “I had the same thought.”

  “That makes three of us,” said Tom. “Let’s go into the coffee place and warm up. We’ll drink a caffeinated toast to the two of them.”

  “It is the Christmas season, after all,” said Ivy. “Although I love your idea of voodoo dolls much better.”

  “That was epic,” said Merrick. He put an arm around her shoulder as the three made their way toward Coffee In The Caribbean. He’d never been this happy, and he knew that no matter what happened now, he would do everything and anything in his power to keep it this way. Ivy was the woman he was meant to be with. She always had been. And sharing her with Tom was just fine with him.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Tom had planned to take some time off between Christmas and New Year’s, so he was working overtime on the days Ivy flew to try and get ahead, but it was like trying to pour sand back into the ocean. He asked Asa once again for help, and told him why. This time, Asa talked to Beth Durante in HR, who finally posted the position internally. Tom mentally vowed his eternal gratitude to Asa.

  And for the time being, he’d decided that his staff would just have to deal with him taking some well-deserved vacation days. He needed them. Every spare moment he had was spent thinking about or talking to Ivy. He’d never acted this giddy over a girl in school, but he was doing it now. This was the happiest he’d ever been, and he wasn’t going to do anything to blow it.

  He didn’t even mind sharing her with Merrick, and that surprised him more than anything. He wasn’t the kind of guy who liked to share, period. It was one of the reasons he’d waited years to ask Asa for help. He thought he could run the entire IT department himself. He’d been wrong about that, and he was wrong about two Doms sharing a sub.

  It was possible, and it worked. Especially when the other man was Merrick. Neither one of them would let anything happen to Ivy, and they’d each risk everything to protect her and keep her. Tom had never been in love. He’d always shied away from the possibility because his parents had a terrible marriage, and he assumed that once you went down the “I love you” road, all relationships would end up like theirs had.

  But he was wrong about that, too. He realized that now. He was in love with Ivy, and although he and Merrick hadn’t discussed it, Tom would bet dollars to donuts that Merrick felt the same way. Every time he looked at her he expected the guy to break out in song. If a stoic dude like Merrick could give away his heart to Ivy, then Tom sure as heck could. She was everything he’d ever imagined her to be plus more. So much more. And he never wanted to be parted from her.

  * * * *

  Ivy was enjoying a rare lunch with her sister, Irene, when she spotted Nadine walk into Coffee In The Caribbean. The conversation Friday evening downtown came back to her, and she had to stifle a laugh. When Irene turned around to see what had produced Ivy’s reaction, and then asked what was so funny, she motioned for Irene to follow her over to the counter where they had creamer, stir sticks, and things like cinnamon to add to coffee. She wanted to relay the story to Irene without anyone else hearing, and without having to see Nadine watching them. They even took their coffee cups with them so it would look legit.

  After they finished lunch, Ivy glanced around for her bag and had a moment of panic at first when she didn’t see it. She finally spotted it on the floor. It must have fallen from the back of her chair. She picked it up and headed back to the compound. They were all flying extra runs right now due to the holiday season, and even though this wasn’t a regularly scheduled day for her, she had volunteered to pick up an extra flight later today. There was no return cargo to wait for, so it wouldn’t take more than a couple of hours, both ways.

  She still had a bit of time before she needed to get back, so she went into one of the gift shops she’d checked out earlier in the week and bought the sterling silver cufflinks she’d put on hold for Merrick. They had a Taino design on them, and she’d seen a few pair before in this shop, but after finding out how rare they were, she knew she had to buy them for him for Christmas.

  Then she walked down the street to another shop where she’d spotted a paperweight that she wanted to buy for Tom. It was a sterling silver statue of a man bent over a computer from the eighties, and featured all sorts of tiny engravings from that decade. She hoped he would like it.

  Once she had her gifts, she reached into her bag to call Merrick and Tom, and let them know she’d be back around six, but couldn’t find her phone. Shit. Had she left it home? It was entirely possible. She was scatterbrained at best these days. Ivy decided to first check with the staff at Coffee In The Caribbean, just in case. Surely no one had reached into her bag while she and Irene were gossiping, and taken her phone. Things like that rarely happened on the island.

  Ivy tried not to panic, and she was actually more annoyed than afraid. She had no time to buy a new phone today.

  * * * *

  Tom’s musings about Ivy were cut short as a text came through from her. He read it twice, panic rising to point of actual pain, while his mind refused to believe the words on the screen.

  I’m in trouble. I went to Little Cove with a package and I’m hurt. No one can get to me from the main island. I need help.

  She’d sent it to him and Merrick, and before Tom could call Merrick his desk phone rang.

  “What’s going on?” Merrick’s voice sounded as fearful as Tom felt. “What happened to her? Did you call her family? They’re all out flying, apparently. Evan is on dispatch, and he’s the only one there. He can’t leave in case they have an emergency with one of the planes. He said they got a text from her about an hour ago, saying she’d taken one of the boats to Little Cove on a quick run, but he didn’t know any more details.”

  “Merrick, how the fuck are we supposed to reach her?”

  “Her family has a second speedboat.”

  “And you just said they’re all out on flights. There’s no one to drive it.”

  Tom thought he lost the call, and then finally Merrick spoke again, so quietly that Tom barely heard him. “You can.”

  “What?”

  “Tom, we have to help her. I
…I love her.”

  About time one of us said it.

  “There’s no one else to do this,” continued Merrick. “By the time we find someone who isn’t related to us to drive the fucking boat, who knows what will happen? I don’t even know anyone on that damn island to call.”

  “I love her too, but this is fucking crazy. Can’t someone on that island call the cops or something?” He shut down his computer, grabbed his coat, and ran out of the building toward the parking lot as he continued to talking to Merrick.

  “Call Evan back. Tell him to find someone on the island who can take the second boat over there. Or have him call someone on the little island to find out what happened. They must know where she went. She has to be taking the package to someone. They keep records. Surely the cops there, or here, have someone who can drive a goddamn boat!”

  “Okay. Good idea. I’m on my way to Cove Cargo now. I’ll meet you there.”

  Tom tried to text her back as he drove, but she didn’t answer. Then he called her, but it went straight to voice mail. It was impossible not to panic, but he did his best to stay calm. A tiny voice in the back of his mind told him something was off about this entire scenario, but he drove toward the compound anyway. First things first. They had to get to her. Then they’d sort this out.

  She had to be all right. She had to be. She flew planes, for God’s sake. Ivy could handle herself in a tight spot. It would be okay.

  * * * *

  Ivy asked the staff at Coffee In The Caribbean if anyone had turned in her phone, but they said no one had. Then she went back to both gift shops and looked around where she’d walked, but didn’t see it. She asked both shop owners to keep an eye out for it, and they said they would.