Awakening Her Racy Passion [Racy Nights 9] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (18 page)

“We are?”

“Yes.” He pointed toward her plate. “Now finish your breakfast because Trent and I have a surprise for you.”

She grinned. “Does it involve bondage cuffs and paddles?”

Both men laughed. “Give us some recovery time,” said Trent. “We’re only human.”

“No you’re not. You’re amazing. You really are. Last night was the most exciting, erotic night of my life.”

The looks they gave her were nothing short of pure lust and admiration. Trent lifted her hand and kissed the back of it. “It was for us as well. I mean that.”

“Thank you, Sir.” How could this be real?

* * * *

Ria actually clapped her hands as they pulled into the driveway leading to the Wildcat Creek Winery in Lafayette. “Wine tasting on a cold day. Perfect.”

Wyatt grinned at her from the driver’s seat. “We were hoping you’d enjoy this. Trent and I came here several years ago and always wanted to return.”

As they toured, Ria asked dozens of questions about the process, and both Trent and Wyatt gave her curious looks. She ignored them until they sat down to eat lunch after the tour. “Okay. Was I not supposed to talk or something? Why the looks?”

“We didn’t realize you knew so much about how wine is made,” said Trent.

“I don’t. That’s why I asked so many questions. Processes fascinate me. For instance, when Luke was getting his new bar ready to re-open, all he planned to do was clean the place up and make it a carbon copy of the one on Market Street. I was livid. I told him he had a chance to make it really special. Really shine, you know?”

“What were your suggestions?” asked Wyatt.

“Well, for one thing, it’s twice the size. So I suggested that in addition to tables, he put in a dance floor and invest in a juke box.”

Trent laughed. “I notice he didn’t take the suggestion.”

“No, he didn’t. He said there were plenty of honky-tonk bars, as he called them, on the way to Chicago if that’s what people wanted. He didn’t want to turn the place into a country bar. Personally, I think we need one here. More people would stay in town on a Friday or Saturday night if they had a place like that to go to. But he said that would also mean he’d have to hire more help, and he won’t do that. He’s tight with money.”

“What else did you suggest?”

“That he serve lunch as well as dinner, and not just the same greasy food you can get at Nan’s Place. So many people lost their jobs when Busler’s Department Store was hit by the tornado. People who can cook, and people who would have been grateful to have a job. Any job. Since I can’t cook worth a damn, he should have found someone who could.”

“He has Sandy now, no?” Sandy Sullivan was a high-school dropout who did most of the cooking now for Luke.

“Yes, but Sandy mostly works on weekends. There are lots of people in this town still looking for a job.” When Sandy wasn’t working, Alexa or Luke did the cooking.

“What did Luke say when you outlined all this for him?” asked Trent.

Ria sighed and placed her chin in her hands. “The same thing he tells me every time I try to give him business advice. That he owns the bar, not me, and he’ll do what he wants with it.”

The men exchanged a glance she couldn’t interpret. “Well, he does own it, but I can understand your frustration. Still, you do have a good head for details. I’m sorry Luke doesn’t acknowledge that.”

Ria couldn’t help but smile. It was so refreshing to get a compliment for her ideas. “Thank you.”

“I agree with Trent. Have you ever thought about doing anything with that?”

She shrugged. “Sure. But I need a college degree.”

“So, get one.”’

“I want to. I just don’t know where to start.”

“We’ll talk about that later. We’ll help you.”’

“You will?”

Trent lifted her hand and kissed the back of it. “Of course we will. Now let’s eat. I’m starving.”

Wyatt snorted. “When aren’t you starving?”

Ria couldn’t stop smiling all through lunch. She’d never felt this close to anyone, even Peppi. And to know they wanted to help her find a career was more than she’d ever expected.

After lunch, they settled on a couple of bottles of wine to take home. Ria felt so relaxed around them that she launched into a long story about something Leela had told her pertaining to several Racy residents who were involved in a dispute over property lines between their yards, and had insisted on a jury trial to resolve it. The trial was scheduled for March, and while Leela hadn’t told her the names of the parties involved, Ria knew who they were because the lawsuit and countersuit they’d filed were public record.

When she told the story to Wyatt and Trent, she didn’t mention names, but she mentioned the street and gave enough description of the residents that anyone who had even a passing acquaintance with them would know who she was talking about.

The guys let her get about three-quarters into the story, and then she realized they were both grinning like idiots and had been giving each other sideways glances. She stopped midsentence, and swore under her breath. “That was a major gossip session, wasn’t it? And I didn’t even think twice about it. What am I going to do? I can’t stop.”

Trent chuckled and took her hand. “Okay. That wasn’t really fair of us. We should have stopped you earlier. So let’s make a plan. We need a code word or something to stop you when you start telling a story like this, and we need a time frame. In other words, if you don’t realize you’re doing it within a specific amount of time, we stop you.”

“Okay. I can do that. I’m so sorry.”

Wyatt took her other hand. “Don’t apologize. You caught yourself, eventually. How about five minutes? Is that reasonable?”

“Less than that. Two minutes.”

“Okay. And now for the code word. What should we use?”

“How about bigmouth?”

This time, both men chuckled. “I’m not calling you that,” said Wyatt. “How about something totally unrelated, so that anyone listening wouldn’t know what we meant?”

She nodded. “Thank you. That’s kind of you.”

He stroked the back of her hand, sending shivers up and down her spine. “Our role as Doms isn’t to belittle or embarrass you, especially in public. It’s to help you. Let’s use ‘wind turbine.’ It’s not something we talk about in everyday conversation.”

“Okay. I like that.” She stared into his eyes for a second, debating, and when she spoke again she leaned closer and lowered her voice, even though no one was close enough to hear them. “Is that what you two are? My Doms?”

Wyatt’s eyes grew serious, as did Trent’s. “Do you want us to be?”

“Is it my decision?” Her heart pounded.

“It’s a group decision, but Trent and I already know that we want to be your Doms. So now it’s your call.”

Holy shit.
His words caught her completely off guard Did these two realize how easily she could lose her heart to them? “I don’t feel as if I know anything about being a sub.” It was the truth.

“No one does at first. But we’ll teach you. And, once you’re on more solid footing with Marisol again, and with some of the others in the community, you can ask advice from them. All we ask is that you let us know you talked to them, and to remember the no-gossip rule.”

“Do I have a no-gossip rule now?”

Trent nodded. “I think we should make it a standing rule until you get a better handle on it, don’t you?”

“Yes.” This was a big step. A no-gossip rule meant there would be consequences for doing so. “But may I ask a question, first?”

“What is it?”

She glanced around again, then leaned closer still. “What would my punishment be if I did gossip? I mean, if you two are around we’ll have our code word, right? And there will be a time limit. But what if I do it and you two aren’t there?”

The look in Trent’s eyes nearly made her come, and she had to bite back a moan. Why had she waited so long to do something about her fantasies?

“Wyatt and I will discuss it and come up with something. We’ll talk about it later, and outline the entire plan. Sound good?”

“It sounds perfect, Sir,” she whispered.

“So then,” said Wyatt, “is your answer ‘yes’? You’re agreeing to be our sub?”

Ria nodded because she didn’t trust her voice right now. This was it. The ultimate fulfillment of her fantasy. It was everything she’d wanted. How had this happened? She didn’t feel as if she deserved this happiness, and she almost had to blink back tears again at the look on their faces. They were as happy as she was. How could these two be real?

Was this how Marisol had felt last summer with Rafe and Ellis? It must have been. No wonder her betrayal was so severe. Ria finally realized just how much she’d hurt Marisol and Rafe. Not only those two, but all of them. Because if someone were to do to her right now what she’d done last summer, she wasn’t sure she could ever forgive them.

But Marisol had forgiven her, and had said she’d give her another chance. Ria now understood how huge that leap of faith had been for Marisol, and she silently vowed not to make her regret that decision.

Wyatt and Trent took Ria back to her apartment so she could get ready for dinner, because she told them she hadn’t brought along anything that she wanted to wear to Gino’s. She wanted to take her time choosing an outfit, and she needed time to think about everything that had happened to her in the space of a few days.

She had to make a good impression tonight. She was determined not only to become good friends with Marisol again, but to win them all over. She was also determined not to disappoint Trent and Wyatt, and not to make them regret asking her to be their sub.

Peppi was home and she helped Ria get ready, then surprised her by giving her a quick hug. “Everyone is talking about what you did for Marisol.”

“Who is everyone?”

“Kari, Alexa, Noah, Adison, Luke, Chase, Gina, Zach, and Harrison. They were all in Tye Me Up at one time or another today.”

“And they were talking about me?”

Peppi nodded. “Yep. You should have heard them. They said it was very big of you to apologize, and that Wyatt and Trent must be good for you.”

Ria frowned. “That makes it sound like I only did it at their urging.”

Peppi shook her head. “No, it wasn’t like that at all. They know you did it on your own. Marisol told them you did.”

“Has it been uncomfortable for you working there all these months?”

“Not at all. Kari and Alexa never brought it up. They talk to me mostly about school, and I talk mostly about my lack of a dating life.”

“All the good men in this town go to Maddox’s club, apparently.”

Peppi laughed, “Yeah, except I have zero interest in doing that.”

“Really? How do you work there, then?”

“Well, I don’t have to be into kink to sell things to people who are. This is a learning experience. Kari and Alexa are brilliant businesswomen. They really are. You know they worked at a top fetish shop in Manhattan, right?”

Ria nodded. “Luke told me all about that when he and Alexa were first dating.”

“They learned a lot. Neither of them have a business degree. They picked all this up just by watching others do it. Kari drew the basic design for the Tye Me Up on a napkin over three years ago.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“And Alexa has a natural instinct for ferreting out what someone is looking for, even when they aren’t sure what they want. It’s amazing to watch those two talk to their customers.”

Ria wanted to ask more questions, but the knock on the door stopped her. Trent and Wyatt were here. The ride to Gino’s took less than ten minutes, and on the way she told the guys what Peppi had told her about Kari and Alexa. “I’m not repeating it to gossip. I’m letting you know that I feel guilty for not knowing so much about all these people that those close to me see every day.”

Trent leaned across the back seat and placed a hand on her left shoulder. “Please stop beating yourself up. This is all new to you. Give it time, okay? No one expects you to make sweeping changes overnight. I’m so proud of all you’ve done so far.”

“So am I.” Wyatt gave her a quick glance as he pulled into the parking lot. “After dinner, we’ll outline your plan for gossiping. I think you’ll like what Trent and I have come up with.”

“What should I talk about during dinner?”

“Just be yourself. Let everyone see the Ria that we see.”

Once inside, they were shown to a table in the middle of the restaurant. The others weren’t there yet, so Ria had time to admire how nice Wyatt and Trent looked in their dress slacks and sports coats. This time, Wyatt’s tie was a Monet print. “How many of those did you buy?”

Trent laughed. “You didn’t look in his closet, did you?”

She shook her head.

“Make sure you do that later.”

“So, I’ll be spending the night again?”

“Yes.” Wyatt’s tone of voice sent shivers up and down her spine. “We’d like you to spend every night. We’ll have to figure out a way that will allow you to do that.”

“This is all happening so quickly.”

“Too quickly?” The concern in Trent’s voice made her regret her words.

“Not if you two don’t think so.”

“We all have a say in this.”

Ria didn’t have a chance to discuss it further because she caught movement to her left where Sean, Maddox, and Julie approached the table. Both men stood and shook hands with Sean and Maddox, then waited until Julie was seated to take their seats again.

“You look very pretty,” said Julie. “I love that color on you. I can’t wear maroon. It seems to wash me out.”

Ria stared at Julie, at first unsure she’d actually spoken. “Thank you. I love your dress, too. It’s a perfect color for you.” Julie looked stunning in a royal-blue dress with silver trim. Even her earrings matched, and Ria had never noticed the sapphire ring on her left hand before. But then, she didn’t take stock of everyone’s jewelry that often. The thin silver necklace with a trio of hearts that each sported tiny diamonds was certainly visible, as it always was. It was Julie’s collar, and Ria couldn’t help but wonder whether she would wear a collar one day.

After they all ordered, they made small talk about the weather, until Wyatt made an offhand remark about Ned’s sentencing hearing next week.