by Shayla Black
Page 23
“Women don’t want what we have to offer. Kinley might seem open at times, but only because she’s too innocent to understand what a future with three men would be like. She’s got a high profile. She’s giving in now because she’s scared and doesn’t know how else to feel safe. ”
Dominic turned Riley’s words over in his head. Kinley hadn’t seemed scared when she’d bartered with him, almost boldly telling him what she wanted. That didn’t seem like an innocent looking for shelter from a terrifying situation.
Shit, Law was right. Kinley had been negotiating, offering him something for what she wanted in return. He’d taken it as a play for control, a way to shut down the investigation into Carrie’s murder—and he’d been dead wrong.
He’d spent years building a business with one thought in his head: avenging his sister’s death. Nothing else had mattered. Law had followed him to freaking Afghanistan and nearly lost his legs. And Dominic wasn’t willing to give it a shot with the girl his brother so obviously loved? A girl he couldn’t get out of his head?
“She’s just going to take what she wants and walk out in the end. ” Riley grabbed a glass. It looked like Dominic wasn’t drinking alone tonight.
“Maybe. ” But maybe not. How would he know if he never took the chance?
Then a terrible truth hit him like a bolt of lightning. He’d never really intended on sharing a woman with them forever. Law and Riley had probably been searching for one, and Dominic had been utterly content to just have sex. Law was right. He made himself seem like a stand-up guy because he ensured all the subs he used got a few orgasms. He could be gracious with them, kind even, because nothing was at stake. For too long, the only abiding love of his life had been fucking up Greg Jansen’s.
How proud would his sister be of that? Dominic grimaced as the question rolled through his head.
He glanced over at the bed he’d laid out for his dog. Butch was the only responsibility he’d really taken, and then only because the damn thing had shown up on his property half starved and refused to go away. He’d fed the poor mutt out of pure pity, and Butch had just kept following him around until Dominic got used to having him underfoot.
And now his dog was cuddled around the rat thing, his bigger body shielding Gigi from anything that might come their way. He was contentedly asleep, having given up the softest part of his bed to whatever the hell one called a damn dog’s true love.
Even Butch knew how to care for a female. And Dominic had done nothing but kidnap Kinley and use her for his own ends, while offering her absolutely nothing in return. Oh, he’d paid lip service to protecting her, but he wasn’t really offering protection. Once Jansen was behind bars, the press would eat Kinley alive. Dominic planned to be long gone.
That was a hell of a hand he’d dealt her.
He’d walked in and torn her life apart. When she’d asked for the one thing she needed, he’d repaid her with insults. Kinley was supposed to have had a wedding night. Wasn’t it just good manners to offer her another replacement…or two?
“How are we going to deal with this when it’s over?” Riley asked. “We live together. Is Law just going to move Kinley in?”
Riley wasn’t thinking straight. He needed to get all his anxieties in order. “I thought she was leaving him. ”
“She probably will, but what if she doesn’t?”
If she didn’t, then they both would have missed out on what they claimed they’d been seeking. What he’d damn well knew he’d wanted before Carrie’s murder.
How much was he willing to let Jansen take from him? He’d already snuffed out Carrie’s life. Was Dominic willing to let Jansen rob his, too?
“If she doesn’t, then you’re going to have to listen to a whole lot of sex,” Dominic pointed out.
Would Law and Kinley even stay? Or would Law move them out? Hell, maybe they’d even move to New York. That pissed Dominic off because it filled him with a vague panic. He’d lived with Law most of his adult life. He didn’t want Law to leave any more than he wanted to give Jansen his future.
Kinley was everything he looked for in a woman. He’d been hard since he’d first seen her, every photo making him fall just a little more in lust. And watching her in person had made him rethink his whole position. Hell, his whole life.
Since bringing her to Alaska, Dominic had seen how sweet and kind she could be. She’d stood up to him when she was scared. But she’d used her head when presented with the hard evidence. Kinley hadn’t curled into a ball and cried when she realized she’d been abducted. She’d fought. Hell, she’d even dropped herself and half of her belongings out a window, trying to escape. Life with her would never be dull.
Dominic wanted her and her trust. And he hated the thought that she might fear him. Damn it, he wanted her to give him the information she knew because she trusted him, not because they’d made a deal. But how was she supposed to trust him when he’d put his own crap into her innocent plea for help and pleasure, then thrown it back in her face?
“I need to apologize. ”
“What?” Riley asked like he was out of his mind.
“I have to talk to Kinley. ”
He needed to be in that bedroom with her and Law. Or try to be. She might slam the door in his face, but he would take it with good grace as long as she allowed him to apologize first.
Without another word, he strode down the hall and found the door, unlocked now because Law was inside with her.
He wouldn’t lock her in again. She’d said she would stay. If they had a shot at any sort of forgiveness or future with her, he had to learn to trust her, too. He knocked.
“Go away. ” Law’s deep growl sounded through the walls.
He was cock blocking his best friend. Dominic winced, then he knocked again because he wasn’t going away. “I want to talk to Kinley. ”
“Later. ”
“Now. ” Damn it.
Someone wrenched the door opened. Law. He’d already tossed his shirt off and was breathing heavily, scowling Dominic’s way. “Can’t it wait? Or has something happened?”
“Yeah, I decided I was wrong and I want to apologize. ”
Law’s eyes narrowed. “You interrupted us to say that you’re sorry?”
“Unless I can convince her to take more than just an apology. I’m sorry, Law. I don’t know how to make this right. I don’t know what any of this fucking means. I just don’t want to miss out. I think you might be right. She might be important. ” He felt like an idiot. He’d never been in this position, on the outside, practically begging to be let in. It wasn’t a feeling he liked.
Kinley stepped up behind Law, peering out from behind his back. “Are you sorry you kidnapped me?”
He had to be honest with her. “No. If I hadn’t, you wouldn’t be here. I’d be a lot sorrier about that. I think you would, too. ”
She pursed her lips. “Are you sorry that your dog raped mine?”
He wasn’t about to take that. “No, your dog led mine into sin. He has a thing for bows. She used it against him. ”
He caught the faintest hint of a smile from her. “I’ll admit, she’s a flirty thing. So if you’re not apologizing for kidnapping me or very likely turning my dog into a single mother, what are you sorry about?”
So many things. “For being rude to you. ”
She shrugged. “Well, it’s probably rude to offer sex in exchange for putting away a dangerous criminal. I’ve already told Law that I’ll help out. I’ll give you everything I know. ”
Kinley curled her arms around his buddy’s torso as though she found comfort in being close to him. They were already bonding as a Dom and sub should. And Dominic almost choked, wondering if he was too late.
It couldn’t be. He wanted to worry about her, be responsible for her. Comfort and care for and pleasure her. He and Law should be a team when it came to Kinley. “I’m sorry I hurt you. ”
“You’re forgiven. ”
<
br /> Just like that? God, how good was this woman?
Law had a shit-eating grin on his face. “Baby, I think he’s sorry about a whole lot of other things. ”
“I’m not going to make him beg. I forgive him and I hope we can be friends. ”
“I think that’s what he’s most sorry about,” Law explained. “He’s really fucking sorry he’s on the wrong side of this door. He wants in and he’s not sure how to ask since he’s never had to. ”
Kinley stared at him, her eyes wide, her lips parted. He wanted to kiss her desperately. “Do you truly want to come in, Dominic?”
“Yes. I want to give you the knowledge you asked for. I want to teach you what it means to submit to a man, to trust him enough to place your body and your pleasure in his hands. I want to help show you just how high you can soar. And I want to share you with Law and Riley, though Riley might not come around. Even if he doesn’t, I want to be a part of your training, Kinley. For as long as we’re here, I want to be your Master. ”
“I hadn’t exactly hit her with the kinky stuff yet, Dominic. Let’s start with sex before we get to the spankings. ”
“Understood. ” He could wait until tomorrow to tie her up as long as he was in her bed tonight. “I want in, Kinley. Will you let me?”
She shared a glance with Law, then stepped back. For a second, he thought she would decline. Then she opened the door wider. “Come in. ”
Law eased away, allowing Dominic to enter the room. He stared at the woman he wanted more than his next breath.
“Call me ‘Sir,’ Kinley. ” With gnawing hunger and hope, he reached for her hand, ready to start her lesson and see where their future led.
Chapter Ten
Kinley took Dominic’s hand, her heart thumping in her chest. “Sir?”
“It’s a quirk of mine, pet. ” He stood over her, looking down into her eyes as he tangled his fingers in her hair. “You’re so fucking soft. ”
Law moved in behind her, his chest brushing her back. The thick line of his erection pressed against her backside. “I’m glad you’re here, man. You’re better with the whole talking thing than I am. I was struggling with how to explain what we want. ”
Sex. They wanted sex, right? “What do you mean?”
Kinley knew what she wanted—to be right where she was, crowded by them. They took all the space surrounding her, as they enclosed her, protected her, covered every inch of her skin with theirs. She reveled in the sensation.
Dominic frowned. “Law?”
Law’s hand cracked against her bottom. A sharp pain flared across Kinley’s butt.
“Damn, those little rhinestones are hell on a man’s hand,” he complained.
She whipped her gaze over her shoulder and blinked at him. He’d spanked her. Actually spanked her. Then after he slapped her backside, he’d cupped and felt it.
And heat burst across her skin, making her tingle and aware.
Dominic cupped her chin and brought her attention back to him. “What do you call me in the bedroom?”
“Sir. ” She answered him readily because all she could think about was how her bottom practically hummed. “If I forget to call you Sir, Law will spank me?”
“Now you’re getting the gist. ” Dominic’s eyes darkened, his skin flushing with desire. “You obey or there will be punishment. But understand, this is a game, pet. It’s meant to be enjoyable for us all. If you’re truly scared or if something hurts beyond what you find pleasurable, say the word ‘red’ and everything stops. If you get anxious and want to slow down, just say ‘yellow. ’”
“We want you to be happy, baby,” Law said, still palming her butt. “We want you to crave this type of play. ”
“Exactly, but we take it as seriously as we take your pleasure. Yesterday in the kitchen we gave you your first real orgasm. But we intend to train your body to expect that pleasure every time we touch you. When we’re done, we’ll merely look at you, and you’ll remember how it feels to have an orgasm overtake your whole body. You’ll know what it means to be completely possessed. You should never accept less from a lover. ”
His words were making her antsy again. Hot. “Completely?”
Dominic’s lips moved to her forehead, planting a sweet kiss there. “Yes, pet. I want you to understand what’s going to happen. How do you expect to take more than one man into your bed?”
“You’re not talking about taking turns, are you?” The realization stunned Kinley so deeply, she could barely breathe.
Of course she’d read some books, heard some friends talk about…that. Annabelle sometimes confessed her fantasies after a couple of glasses of wine. More than one man would require a certain amount of flexibility.
