Jessie's Jewels [Submissive Sirens 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (20 page)

That’s my pianoforte.

Jessie couldn’t move beyond that one thought as she stared incredulously at the scene in front of her.

Gabriel sat with his eyes cast down at the pianoforte he’d purchased the night of the auction. The pianoforte Jessie had played as a child. His hands flowed over the keys, making the instrument sing.

Jessie felt the scene in front of her like a blow. Not only had Gabriel poached her entire staff, he’d also bought her fucking pianoforte! He was bogarting her life!

Jessie recovered herself and stalked forward in righteous anger. Before she’d taken more than three steps, Gabriel spoke, giving Jessie pause since she thought he hadn’t yet noticed her.

“I bought this for you.”

Jessie was nonplussed. She thought maybe she’d misunderstood. She waited for Gabriel to continue.

“I bought it for you because you love it, and I hired your staff because I know you love them.” Gabriel stopped playing, looking up at Jessie with bloodshot eyes. He looked like he hadn’t been sleeping well. Or at all, for that matter.

Jessie inhaled sharply. “You bought it because I love it? You hired them because I love them? Why, Your Grace, are you taking the things I love away from me?”

Gabriel smiled a small, sad smile. “Of course you’d see it that way.”

Jessie was confused. “How else am I supposed to see it?”

Gabriel sighed. His fingers descended once more on the keys of the pianoforte, plucking out a soft, melancholy melody. “I’ve been in love with you since you were a teenager. Did you know that?”

Jessie felt her eyes get as big as saucers. She didn’t know what to say, so she didn’t say anything.

“I watched your mother squash you, and then your brother, and then your ass of a fiancé. And I didn’t know what to do about it.”

Jessie snorted. This was sounding more and more ludicrous.

Gabriel raised his eyes to hers. “Really. Do you know what it’s like, a family with a father who’s a Dom, and him with two Doms for sons? Saying we did well with the ladies would be a gross overstatement.”

Jessie rolled her eyes. “Gabriel, your conquests were legendary even when you were young. You and James both.”

Gabriel’s mouth turned down at the corners. “Our conquests were all subs. Professional subs, for the most part. Neither of us had any experience with nice girls, sweet girls like you. I watched your spirit get smaller and smaller, and I told myself I could never ask you to submit to me. You’ve been submitting all your life, and I could see how much you hated it.”

It was on the tip of Jessie’s tongue to protest, but she remembered how she’d been feeling for the last week. She kept quiet and waited for Gabriel to continue.

“I fast tracked your visa so you could go to Parris Island.”

Jessie gasped. Of everything Gabriel could have said, nothing would have shocked her more.

“I kept track of you when you were on ops. I arranged for Liam to work for your family, and I supplemented his salary so he could stay with you after your brother died. I did it all for you.”

Jessie wondered if she was missing something. “Why did you hire my staff? It killed me having to let them go, and it was even worse that I didn’t know where they wound up!” Jessie was warming to her subject now, her pent-up anger bubbling to the surface. “And why did you buy my pianoforte? Did you think if you bought my life you could buy me, too?”

Gabriel flinched, and Jessie felt a moment of regret. That had been an awful thing to say.

“I wasn’t trying to buy your life. I was trying”—Gabriel smiled wryly—“I was trying to build you a home.”

Jessie felt stupid, she was spending so much time staring openmouthed at Gabriel.

“I had hoped that if I made a life for you here that you already loved, that you could come to love me as well. I had hoped that I could introduce you gradually to the BDSM lifestyle, show you the joy of a D/s bond.”

Jessie’s mind was racing. She stared at the man sitting at the pianoforte, seeing him as if for the first time. She also took a look inward, seeing herself for the first time in a long time. What had she allowed to happen to her? She’d been so obsessed with her independence, with never letting anyone else run her life or control her actions, that she’d forgotten how to trust people.

Jessie realized that what Maggie had said was true. There was a life she didn’t want to live anymore, but that part of her life was dead.
She
was the one carrying it with her, when what she should have done would be to leave it behind her.

Her whole body felt like it was going to come apart from the inside out, starting with her heart. Jessie realized how close she’d come to losing what mattered. Sure, she could sit in the manor for the rest of her life, toasting her independence and being proud that no one told her what to do. Or—
this is the hard part
—she could open herself to these two incredible men who had chosen her. Liam had opened her eyes to the joy of loving without fear or reservation, and Gabriel had taught her that submission didn’t mean she lost her identity. Hell, she’d fight him every time he tried to make a decision for her outside the bedroom, but Jessie realized how worthwhile it would be to fight with someone she loved rather than doing everything for herself and being insanely lonely.

Jessie’s heart melted. She looked at the big, idiotic Dom sitting at her pianoforte and allowed herself to
feel
. She felt compassion for him, since he really seemed dumb when it came to women, and she felt grateful to him for teaching her so much about herself. She felt scared about what she was going to do next, but her love overwhelmed everything else.

Jessie stepped farther into the music room, her fingers itching to play the pianoforte, but she knew she had more important things to do. She also knew that she had a whole lifetime of playing that pianoforte ahead of her, and that it could wait.

Gabriel appeared to be holding his breath, and Jessie smiled at him as she opened her robe. She let the silky garment pool around her feet and quickly stripped out of her pajamas. She sank to her knees, her hands palm up on her spread thighs.

Gabriel let his breath out in an explosive exhale. Jessie didn’t move as he pushed the piano bench back and came to his feet, sensing him close to her without taking her eyes from the floor.

In a move she wasn’t expecting, Gabriel bent and scooped Jessie clear off the floor and into his arms. Thrilled with the new position, Jessie wrapped her arms and legs around her Dom, resting her cheek against his shoulder as he walked them both over to a settee and sat down with her cuddled close to his heart. For the next few minutes, the quiet sound of their breathing was the only disturbance in the room as they clung to one another.

Finally, Gabriel pulled back slightly so he could look down at her. As Jessie peered up at him, she wasn’t surprised to see his eyebrow was raised.

“You know, all this sweet submission isn’t going to save you from the ass fucking you’ve been begging for. I owe you some serious punishment, dearest. You’ve put Liam and me through hell.”

Jessie felt her whole body clench from her heart to her pussy. “And what about you, Your Grace? Do I get to punish the two of you for the hell you put me through?”

Gabriel rubbed her bare bottom threateningly. “Don’t push it or I’ll ream this luscious ass right here.”

Jessie smiled sweetly up at him. “Are all Doms this clueless about women?”

Gabriel laughed softly. “No, I think it might just be me. You’ll have to be patient with me, love. I’ll be learning as we go.”

“Me, too, Your Grace. Apparently, I’m not good with this whole ‘trust’ business.” And because Jessie had promised long ago to fill him in, she drew a deep breath and started talking before she lost her nerve. “Gabriel, when Edward and I were engaged I asked him to spank me.”

The strokes on Jessie’s ass paused before picking up again. She was still embarrassed by the whole thing, and she squeezed her eyes closed against Gabriel’s shoulder before continuing. “We’d always had vanilla sex, him on top, and I suggested we spice things up. I asked him to spank me while he did me doggy-style.”

Gabriel’s voice rumbled up from his chest. “I take it he didn’t love the idea.”

Jessie swallowed. “He was repulsed. He said I was a freak, that what I wanted was disgusting. He said only whores let themselves be treated like that.”

Gabriel’s arms tightened around her. “You believed him.”

Jessie hugged him back. “I didn’t know what to believe, but I knew I wanted something more than just sex.” She sighed as she picked up her story. “Edward went to my brother. He told Christopher everything, that I was a pervert and Christopher would never be able to marry me off. He broke off the engagement the same day.”

“What did your brother do?”

Jessie tightened her grip on Gabriel. “He was furious. He’d been counting on Edward’s money to support his habits, and when Edward broke off the engagement it left Christopher high and dry. He told me if I wanted to be treated like a whore he’d start paying his bookies with my services. Otherwise, he said I’d better act like a lady so he could marry me to someone else wealthy.”

Jessie was aware of a fine tremble in Gabriel’s big frame, and she reached up to smooth her hands along his chiseled face. “It’s okay, Gabriel. Nothing happened.”

Gabriel cupped one big hand possessively around Jessie’s head, tangling his fingers in her hair. “If your brother wasn’t already dead I’d consider killing him. I’m still on the fence about poncy Edward.” He took a deep breath to steady himself. “Love, you’re not a whore. You’re a beautiful, pint-sized sexpot with the most luscious ass, an ass I love to spank and which I look forward to fucking one day in the very immediate future.”

Jessie smiled up at him. “I’m glad I found a Dom who’s just as perverted as I am.”

Gabriel grinned back, a slightly sadistic leer. “I’m glad I found a sub who’s so open to new experiences.” As Gabriel punned, his hand drifted lower to the crack of her ass, dipping between her cheeks to play for a moment with the forbidden opening there. Jessie could feel his dick pressing against her, and she squirmed a little. She was dying to let her newly acknowledged perverted self off the leash.

Gabriel had other ideas. “Jessamy, we’ll get to punishment and sex soon enough. Right now, you need to make things right with my other perverted sub.”

Gabriel’s face was solemn, and Jessie stilled. “Gabriel? How hurt is he?”

Gabriel smiled slightly. “You’re going to owe him several thousand blow jobs, and he’s going to help when I punish you.” He grinned. “So nothing that can’t be fixed.”

Jessie gulped. She knew she’d hurt Liam, and she wanted badly to fix it. “Where is he?”

Gabriel stood, setting Jessie down and handing her the robe she’d discarded earlier. “I’ll take you to him. Come.” And Jessie felt her hand tucked securely in Gabriel’s oversized grip as he led her from the room.

Jessie was nervous as Gabriel opened the door to a bedroom on the second floor. She looked at him timidly, and he nodded encouragingly before giving her a little push. Biting her lip, Jessie thought about the best way of tackling Liam. Naked seemed like a good plan, particularly since it had worked so well with Gabriel, so Jessie dropped her robe on the floor for the second time that night. There would be time for protocol later, but right now she wanted to know that everything was right between her and her men.

Liam lay facing away from her, his big body hunched as if he was cold. Jessie padded quietly to the bed and lifted a corner of the sheet, crawling in and scooting over to him. She spooned him from behind, sighing at the pleasure of having her breasts pressed against his warm back. She draped her arm over him, stroking the taut muscles of his abdomen. He stirred, tucking her hand into his, before seeming to drift back to sleep. Jessie shrugged mentally. Good enough for her. She’d talk to him in the morning.

No such luck
. Liam, seemingly aware of Jessie’s presence all of a sudden, came awake. Jessie went from spooning him to being squashed underneath his oversized frame as he rolled on top of her, cupping the back of her neck with one hand and her ass with the other, all the while peppering her face and breasts with kisses.

“Liam!” Jessie wheezed, “Can’t...breathe...”

Liam rolled off of her, pulling her to lie on top of him with her legs arranged on either side of his narrow hips. His hands still cupped her. He still peppered her with kisses.

“I love you, Liam. I’m sorry.” Jessie managed to get the words out between kisses.

Liam grinned up at her, and his smile was like the sun coming up after a rainy day. “I love you, too.”

With that, Liam rolled Jessie to her side, curling his body around her from behind. And just like that, everything was right again. Jessie was humbled by Liam’s loving nature, and she vowed to learn to love as he did.

“Tomorrow we’re moving to the master bedroom. This bed isn’t nearly large enough for what I have planned.” Jessie had thought Gabriel had left after delivering her to Liam, and when she looked up she saw that the duke had stripped out of his clothes and was standing with his hands on his hips, surveying the bed.

She giggled up at him. “There’s room for one more, Your Grace.”

Gabriel glowered at her, although there was no mistaking the mirth in his eyes. “There had better be. It’s my damn bed.”

Breakfast the next morning was a merry affair. There was incessant teasing and laughter, and of course, delicious food. Jessie groaned as Liam offered her another cherry bun.

“Liam, I’m going to get fat as a house as it is. I’m stuffed full!” Jessie wrapped her arms around her stomach, laughing.

“I could stuff you fuller.” Gabriel growled the words, causing Jessie’s laughter to die on her lips. Gabriel was looking at her hungrily, and Jessie shivered under that predatory gaze.

Liam reached out and pinched her side. “I don’t know, Your Grace, she seems pretty full to me.” He grinned, making Jessie laugh again and causing Gabriel’s mouth to twitch.