Acres, Natalie - Sex Club [Cowboy Sex 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (46 page)

She felt as if Tristan had calculated his every move, awaiting the right time—the perfect one—to approach her. Once he let her know his intentions, he didn’t stall, put on the brakes, or halt his pursuits when he realized she was also interested in other men, or more precisely, three. He came forward with confidence and determination. And damn, what a man! She’d never known another lover like him.

“Ansley, if Tristan is a Dom, and there isn’t a doubt in my mind, he’ll support you through a caring relationship, and yes, he’ll most likely use a rewards-and-punishment system, but even that won’t always be about sex.”

“I like both. That’s the problem,” Ansley grumbled. “The rewards are so much more enjoyable after the punishment.”

Patience laughed. “Imagine that.”

“Most willing subs want to please their Doms. If punishment comes into play, a good Dom will explain why his sub is being punished, but then he’ll generally go out of his way to reward her later.”

“I used to wonder why a woman would submit to any man,” Ansley confessed. “I mean, I just couldn’t see a woman kneeling in front of her Dom or presenting herself in that silly little position.”

“And now?” Kimberly asked curiously, arching a brow.

Ansley felt her skin blush. “I can’t explain how I feel. As soon as Tristan started pursuing me, I thought about him all the time. I wanted to submit to him. I needed to please him, and yes, I thought it was about the great sex, but after talking to you, I can see what you’re saying is probably true. But we’re still new, ya know?” A beat later, she leaned forward. “What blows my mind is this—assuming the role of his willing sub was like second nature almost from the very beginning.

“After our first time together, I didn’t even question my role. We’ve only tipped the iceberg, barely iced the cake, so to speak, and I can’t wait for him to fully train me. See, I don’t think Tristan wants just a sub for role-play, I believe he
needs
me to live the life. Ya know?”

“Really?” Kimberly acted surprised.

“Believe me. I understand. Take my mom, for example. She definitely doesn’t role-play,” Patience volunteered, referring to Vicky and Patrick, no doubt. Quickly she added, “If you want more information, you should talk to her, Ansley. She’s very open about her relationships, and she’ll be the first to tell you there are ups and downs in any relationship, but a dominant partner makes a woman feel loved and protected.”

“Patience is right. What you don’t know about Jason is that he made me feel safe at all times. He knew me completely. He was inside my head, heart, and body.”

Oh God.
Ansley didn’t know if she could stomach this.

“We inexplicably trusted one another.”

Maybe she should tell Kimberly about the arm ornaments he sported around while she was out of the country.

“He would fight for me.”

And grope your sister the second you weren’t looking.

“I could lean on him, and above all else, I could trust him.”

About as much as a stud turned out in a field full of prancing mares.

Ansley rubbed her forehead. This wasn’t the time to tell Kimberly about Jason. She possessed fond memories of the man, and Ansley didn’t have the right to distort what she wanted to remember about the creep, unless she rekindled the old flame. Then, all bets were off.

“Well, I’m glad we had this chat,” Ansley drawled. “I think.”

“She wanted the whole Dom-sub thing to be about sex,” Patience said, studying Kimberly.

“Yep.”

“Thanks for ruining the fairy tale,” Ansley said. “Before long, you’ll tell me Santa Claus prefers nice girls over naughty ones or that Cupid only had one arrow and took his shot a long time ago. I had high hopes that those in the lifestyle were guaranteed great sex and problem-free living all the days of their lives.”

“Nah,” Patience said, shaking her head and waving her hand. “That only happens in romance books.”

“Sappy ones,” Kimberly quickly added.

Ansley shrugged. “Either way, I have a great life ahead of me. Domination and submission only guarantees I’ll have a similar life to what Mom shares with our dads. She’ll tell you, it’s never been boring. She claims she’s had one hell of a ride.”

“Yes, but our mother has a tendency to elaborate on what kind of ride she’s talking about if you’ll let her ramble,” Kimberly reminded her. “All she wants to talk about is how well she’s loved.”

Ansley felt a grin tug at her lips. “Yeah, she does. And I hope one of these days my kids say the very same thing about me.”

* * * *

They were interrupted several times throughout their meal. First the phone rang, then a delivery truck arrived, and finally, the accountant stopped by. With the opening hour approaching, Ansley hurried back to the main bar to finish eating.

“So while you two were in Bermuda, no one enjoyed a fast fuck on the fly, huh?” Ansley asked, flopping down on a barstool as she rejoined Patience and Kimberly.

“No ma’am,” Patience replied, laughing. “Do you think I’d let your sister have a romp in the sand while I was sitting in a seaside chair missing my fellas?”

“Speaking of which, where are your guys this week?” Ansley asked, dipping a lukewarm chicken tender in barbeque sauce.

Patience frowned. “They’re in California.”

“I know you miss them,” Ansley said, taking a chunk out of her chicken. “When will they be back?”

“A couple of weeks,” Patience replied.

Kimberly took a gulp of her soda, stirring the ice as she swallowed the last of her drink. “More, please.”

Ansley reached under the bar and yanked free another soft drink from the old-fashioned oblong cooler. Studying Patience out of the corner of her eye, she noticed her friend was distant.

Sometimes Ansley didn’t know how Patience stayed with Mark and Spencer McCoy. They were in the music business, and if critics were correct, Spencer and his band were set for stardom. When they took short vacations, they stayed in the studio working on their next big hit. They never spent any real quality time with Patience.

“How do you do it?” Ansley asked Patience directly.

“How do I do what, exactly?” Patience asked for clarification.

“Love absent men,”
Ansley
replied. “You have other options, guys who are available, boyfriends who would put you first.”

Patience’s hurt-filled gaze made Ansley feel as if she had just twisted a dagger straight into Patience’s heart while pumping a round of bullets directly into her soul.

“Ansley!” Kimberly shouted.

“No, it’s all right,” Patience assured her, placing her hand up to stop Kimberly’s interference. “You have every right to ask that question. You should want to know how I feel about absentee lovers. If I were in your shoes, I’d ask.”

“You would?”

Kimberly ducked her head and frowned. “Let’s enjoy the evening, girls. We’ve all missed one another and—”

“Absolutely, Ansley. I don’t fault you for a minute,” Patience interrupted Kimberly. She gripped the barstool where she sat and with apparent mustered-up courage, she added, “After all, you’re about to find out exactly how that feels, right?”

“No,” Ansley replied. “And that’s not why I asked.”

“Then why did you?” Patience’s accusing voice shook with bitterness.

Ansley was ashamed of herself. She’d hurt Patience, and she didn’t want to cause her pain.

“I don’t know. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up. I know Spencer and Mark love you.”

“We make our relationship work because it’s important to us,” Patience explained. “When they aren’t performing, they’re in touch often. When they take some time off, we meet up in exotic locations. Spencer and Mark haven’t been totally absent from my life. We spent sixty fabulous days together last year.”

“Two months is enough?” Ansley asked.

“My guys didn’t just up and disappear! They aren’t on the run. They’re working.”

Point made.

The front-door alarm buzzed, and in bounced her favorite—and only—mother. Saved by the bell announcing her arrival, Ansley didn’t address Patience again. She painted on a smile and turned to greet her mom.

“There are my beautiful girls!” Peyton sang, rushing across the room.

Kimberly stood and hugged her, and Patience greeted her with a peck on the cheek. “Did you have a good trip?” Patience asked.

“Yes,” Peyton replied. “How about you? Did you meet any hot men?”

“I’m not man-shopping these days,” Patience bitterly reminded her. She shot Ansley a hard glare and then politely said, “It’s good to see you, Peyton. I’ll let you catch up with your daughters. I have a lot to do before we open tonight.”

“What’s that all about?” Peyton asked, slapping her purse on the bar and taking a seat as Patience quickly disappeared.

“Don’t worry about it.” Ansley reached over the bar and hugged her. “I’m glad you’re home, Mom.”

“I’m happy my girls are safe. Listen, I’ve been talking to your dads, and we think it would be great if both of you moved home. We can keep you safe at the farm. You know we have that excellent security system in place, and if we fix up an apartment over the garage, you’d have a lavishly appointed flat with your own private entrance and—”

“Mom, just because Jason and I aren’t together anymore doesn’t mean I’m moving home. I like my place here.”

“You live in the top of a kink club, Kimberly.”

“Yes, Mom, I do. And it suits me,” Kimberly fired right back.

“Have you seen her place?” Ansley asked, trying to intervene before another round began between her sister and mother. As of late, they couldn’t be in the same room for longer than a few minutes. To her mother’s credit, she’d tried to mend her relationship with Kimberly.

“No, but I’d love to see it. I hear it’s beautifully decorated,” she said, trying to strike an upbeat conversation.

“Maybe some other time, I’ll invite you up,” Kimberly grumbled. “Ansley stayed there last night. The place is a wreck. Maybe next week, I’ll give you a tour.”

“Sure, honey. That sounds wonderful.”

“What brings you over here today, Mom?” Ansley asked.

“Can’t I stop by to see my daughters unannounced?”

“You’re welcome anytime,” Ansley assured her.

“I’m glad,” she said, looking around. “I used to spend a lot of time here.”

“I don’t wanna hear about it,” Ansley groaned.

“Me either. Thank you very much,” Kimberly said, half smiling.

“I could tell you about some interesting characters this club helped produce. Jason used to come here back in the day, you know.”

Ansley held her breath. That was the wrong thing to say. Things were going pretty good for about a minute.

Kimberly swung her legs away from a high-backed bar chair and hopped down. “Look, Mom, I understand that we have some issues to overcome, but until I decide what I’m going to do about Jason, I don’t want you putting your two cents in either way. And I certainly don’t want to hear about how he acted here at the club before I was even conceived. Okay?”

When their mom didn’t reply, Ansley said, “I thought you and Jason were done.”