Bound by Love's Gravity (17 page)

Deke held Sarah’s hand in a tight clasp as he led her through the corridor connecting the body of The Edge to his and Adam’s private quarters. The three-story wing was on the other end of grounds, which was quite a walk, but the two of them had wanted seclusion and being that far away gave them isolation in spades.

Normally, he didn’t mind the extensive trip, but today wasn’t any ordinary day. He wanted to be in his home with his man and his soon-to-be woman, talking to them and touching them. Only he was beginning to think he’d never get there. At the moment, he felt as though he were trekking through the Sahara desert, parched and starving, with a backpack full of bricks on his back.

After what felt like eons, they reached the home he shared with Adam. In a flash, he pulled out his keys, fumbling with them once, and unlocked the door. “This way,” he said as he pulled Sarah inside, practically dragging her through the foyer and up the stairs to the living room. But he didn’t stop there. He hung a left and tugged her down the hallway leading to the dining room, where his surprise awaited them.

Staying one step behind him, Adam chuckled. “The dining room? Are we going to eat Sarah for dinner?”

Deke choked. His partner had no idea.

Sarah groaned. “I am hungry.”

He’d bet she was. He was, too.

Patience
. Yeah, right. His patience was gone. He’d be amazed if he made it through the evening he’d planned for her without ripping her clothes off and sinking inside what was sure to be the hottest pussy he’d ever fucked. He groaned.

“I think we all are,” Adam muttered.

Not responding to his partner, Deke whirled around and swept Sarah into his arms.
Oh, God
. She felt good. “Close your eyes, Sassy.” He pretended not to notice how easy and how right it felt to call her that now. “I have a surprise for you.”

“You do?” she asked, a blush staining her cheeks as she stared up at him with those heart-melting gray eyes of hers.

He stalled, her adoring gaze paralyzing him.
I don’t deserve her, but I’ll be damned before I give her up. She’s mine.
“Yes,” he croaked. “I do.”

When he didn’t move, Sarah smiled serenely. “Can I see?”

“Yeah. Just close those gorgeous eyes.” She did, and he turned around before backing into the dining room with her cuddled in his arms. Spinning, he said, “Open.”

Again, she followed his lead. Her eyes drifted open, and she exclaimed, “Oh my gosh!”

Her happiness had a grin on his face. “I’m glad you like.”

“Shit, Deke,” Adam swore as he sauntered in. “This is…”

His grin widened. He and his helpers had definitely done well, if his partner was lost for words. As he scanned the room, he was a little speechless himself at the sight before him. His vision had come to life, and it exceeded his imagination.

The dining area was dim, not completely dark, merely shadowed enough to create a seductive atmosphere. In the middle of the space, a well-placed table drew the eye. Cobalt linens identical to the color of Sarah’s Depression glass collection draped over the table’s long, rectangular surface. Overlaying the fine cotton fabric, a delicate lace runner stretched from the north end to the south. And atop the lace, three tall, thin white candles lined the length of the table. Each one flickered noticeably, their illumination accentuating the table setting—perfectly polished silverware gleaming, Waterford crystal wineglasses shining, and Lenox china brimming with fresh, steaming food.

“You did this for me?” Sarah smiled brilliantly. “Really?”

“Of course.” Deke grimaced, realizing he’d forgotten to mention his accomplices. “I had help from some of the staff,” he admitted.

Adam slapped him on the back. “Good job. You and the girls have outdone yourselves.”

Not hardly, but he didn’t say that. “Why don’t we sit down and eat?”

Sarah flushed. “I—”

“Sounds good to me,” Adam said as he pulled out one of the heavy chairs, dragging it along the marble flooring noisily. “After all, our girl did say she was hungry.”

If possible, Sarah’s face grew redder. “I did.”

Gingerly lowering her into the cushioned seat, he brushed a kiss across her forehead. “Here you go, Sassy.” Damn, it felt good to call her that. Every time he said
Sassy
, a chunk of the wall around his heart crumbled. For once, he didn’t think he minded.

“Thank you,” she replied, her eyes twinkling.

With a nod, Deke sat in the seat next to her as Adam took the chair on the other side. “Let’s eat,” he said.

And they did.

* * * *

Once dessert was served, Sarah alternated stares between Deke and Adam. She wanted to memorize this moment, to immortalize every detail—the succulent food, the sexy company, and the sensual atmosphere. She never wanted to forget how cherished she felt sitting between her two men as they fed her bites of two different desserts in their home.

“Mmm.” Sliding her eyes closed, she sighed. “Heaven.”

To her right, Adam groaned. “You have no idea.”

She grinned, knowing he didn’t mean the food, and then fluttered her eyes open. “What to taste?”

A groan echoed through the room, this time from her left. “Behave,” Deke ordered, his voice taking on an edge that excited her.

“Make me,” she challenged playfully. However, she was the only playful one. Deke growled. Adam swore. Then there she sat, giggling madly. “I was just joking.”

“That’s not something to joke about,” Deke clipped out.

“Not yet anyway.” Adam squeezed her knee, his hand hot enough to brand her skin. Oh, how she wanted him to mark her.

Deke nodded, dropping his fork on his still-full plate with a
clatter
. “We need to talk before that.”

Nervous, she swallowed then squeaked, “Okay.” Unhappy with her mousy response, she repeated herself, sounding stronger and firmer than before. “Okay.”

Adam unexpectedly scooted his chair back then, in one fluid movement, hauled her into his lap. She situated herself, and he wrapped his big arms around her waist, resting his hand on her thigh. “There,” he said. “I feel better.”

So do I.

“You want to be our sub.” Deke reached for his wineglass and lifted his drink from the table. Tilting the glass, he seemed to find something engrossing in the deep red liquid. “But we want to make sure you know what that entails.”

Sarah’s heart sped in excitement, in anxiety, and a mixture of both. “Yes,” she managed around the giant lump in her throat.

“Good,” Deke murmured as he swirled the wineglass in his hand, still not looking at her. “We have a couple of options.”

Options are good.

Tipping the glass up, he inhaled slowly then, appearing satisfied by the aroma, took a sip before returning the drink to the table. “The first option. We can have you sign a contract.”

“No.”

She didn’t realize she’d spoken until Adam hugged her. “That’s my Sarah.”

“Option two, no contract.
But
we have to talk everything through before we touch you,
really
touch you.”

Sarah liked the second option. “We can talk about anything.”
As long as I get to talk with the two of you and well do…other things.

“I love how she blushes,” Adam commented offhandedly as he caressed her cheek with the tip of his finger, his tender touch leaving a hot trail in its wake. “It makes me curious about what she’s thinking.”

Her cheeks flamed. “Nothing important.”

“Ah-ah.” Deke wagged his finger at her. “We want to know whatever is going on in your pretty head.”

Her jaw dropped. “Everything?” she asked incredulously. “You boys are going to get bored really quick.”

Adam chuckled. “Somehow I doubt that, sweet pea.”

“Just wait and see. My mind is a jumble of randomness.”

Cupping her face, Deke smiled indulgently. “We don’t care. Your mind is a part of you, and we want you. We want
all
of you. Your wants, needs, thoughts, and desires are as much ours as they are yours.”

Sarah smiled. “I like that.” And she did. There was something so freeing about being able to share everything with someone, no matter what it was, knowing that it meant as much to them as it did to her.

“Moving on,” Adam said, twirling a loose lock of her hair around his left index finger. His brusqueness shocked her, and she felt her face fall. But when he added, “So we can get to the good stuff,” she understood.

“Rule two—”

Sarah interrupted Deke. “Do we have to call it a
rule
? It makes me feel like a kid on the first day of school.”

Deke grinned. But as soon as she saw it, he wiped his expression clean. “What would you like us to call it then?”

She perked up. “I get to pick?”

“Sure,” Adam replied, sounding confused. “A true Dom wants to love and treasure his sub. He wants to pleasure his sub as a reward. And punish his sub when it is warranted, too. But most of all, a Dom wants his sub to be happy. If you don’t like something, tell us.”

“Wow.” She could barely believe her ears. Gavin had been a domineering jerkwad. He’d told her what to do, what to say, and how to act. According to Kylia, he’d been working on brainwashing her before the night he attacked her, too.
What was I thinking?

“Why are you so surprised?”

Adam’s question caught her off guard, and she answered without thinking. “I thought you would want to control me.”

Adam sighed. “Oh, sweet pea—”

Scowling, Deke cut Adam off. “You thought we would treat you as nothing more than a possession? Why would you want that?”

She touched his chest with a tentative hand. “I didn’t know what to think. My first experience with a Dom didn’t exactly go well.”

As soon as she said the words, she regretted them. The last thing she wanted to do right now was delve into the past. And if she knew her Doms as well as she thought she did, they didn’t need a reminder of Gavin, his abuse, or his attack.

Surprisingly, Deke’s face softened as her words seemed to sink in. “Sassy, we want to control and dominate you—in the bedroom, but only in there. You have to understand that or this is never going to work.”

* * * *

Deke held his breath as he waited for Sarah’s response. Blessedly, she didn’t make him suffer long before putting him out of misery. “Okay,” she answered simply.

“Okay,” Adam echoed. “How about we call them
guidelines
?”

Sarah blinked, looking adorably confused. “Okay?”

“The rules, sweet pea,” Adam clarified.

“Oh,” she mumbled. “I like guidelines.”

Good, they were getting somewhere. “Guidelines it is,” Deke declared. “Since we’re talking about our life outside of the bedroom”—halting, he gave a sly smile—“and anywhere else we deem appropriate to fuck you, we should discuss the three nonnegotiable guidelines.”

Sarah gulped then nodded.

“I think Adam will handle this better. After all, he’s the soft one.”

He’d been mostly jesting, but Sarah and Adam didn’t appear to appreciate his attempt at humor. They were both frowning. At any second, he half-expected one or both of them to reprimand him. Lucky for all parties, they didn’t.

Shooting Deke a dirty look, Adam picked up his fork and pierced the chocolate cake on the plate in front of him. “Sweet pea, we’ve covered the first guideline—open communication.” Placing the fork in front of her mouth, he said, “Open.”

Dutifully, she listened to Adam, granting him entrance. Right away, he breached her lips and dipped inside. “Good girl,” he praised as he pulled the fork back out. “That brings us to guideline two—obeying.”

Swallowing her dessert too fast, Sarah choked. But she swiftly recovered and squeaked, “Excuse me?”

Deke jumped in to save his partner before she strangled him. “Sassy, he doesn’t mean obeying in the way you’re taking it. We don’t want blind obedience from you. What Adam means is that if we tell you to do something outside of the bedroom, we need you to do it.”

“What’s the difference?” Sarah asked curiously, a distinct question in her bewitching eyes.

Deke took Sarah’s small hand in his. “The difference is that when we tell you to do something, generally, we have a reason. We’re not going to boss you around, especially about the things that you are perfectly capable of deciding. However, we reserve the right to control certain things, at certain times.”

“Such as?” she pressed.

“For example, we might want to buy you clothes to wear or pick out what you eat for a nice dinner in. Sometimes, we’ll ask you to do things that you may or may not like, but you have to trust us. We have your best interest at heart.”

Adam chuckled. “And our best interests, too.”

“What do you mean
exactly
?” Sarah inquired, a mischievous smile tilting her lips up. “Are you going to be the kind of Doms that won’t let their sub wear underwear?”