Pleasing Her Racy Doms [Racy Nights 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (15 page)

* * * *

Thayer cursed all that was good and holy as he glanced at the caller ID and saw that it was Sean calling. He briefly considered ignoring it. He was fucking exhausted, as well he should be. He’d just had the sweetest, most amazing sex of his entire life. But if he didn’t answer it, Sean would just keep calling.

He walked into the hallway. “What’s up?”

“Alarm was tripped again. This time they chased him into the woods and we got a look at his car, including the license plate. Our officers gave chase but once he got onto I-65 he took off like a shot and we lost him. We had state troopers helping by then, but the guy got away. They think he pulled off the interstate and just drove the car into the woods, but it’s too dark to tell where. But we ran the plate.”

“And?” Thayer’s heart beat so strongly he was sure he was going to pass out. There wasn’t much blood above his waist as it was, and this little bit of news wasn’t helping.

“I’m afraid it won’t be much help. It’s a rental. We’re running it down now.”

“From where?” There was only one rental car agency in Racy, and the next closest one was in Lafayette.

“Hertz in Lafayette. They’re working on finding out who rented it and when.”

“Thanks, Sean.”

“Want me to call you when we know?”

“Could that wait until morning? I’m too tired.”

“Will do.” Sean hesitated, and Thayer had the uncomfortable feeling he wanted to say something else but wasn’t sure if he should.

“What is it? Go ahead and ask.”

“Okay. Um, how involved are you and Evan with Cherilyn? I know you were at the club with her, but has it gone beyond that already?”

“Before I tell you, explain why it matters.”

“Because I think this guy knew her husband, and I don’t yet know how deep this goes. I’m not saying she’s involved. I don’t believe that or I would have told you both to steer clear. But I think this guy might be after her, and is either using your gym to get to her, or has some reason to harass you two. Maybe because he knows you’re seeing her.”

A tremor of fear passed through Thayer’s body. Sean wasn’t one to jump the gun on things. For him to verbalize that right now meant he and Chad more than suspected it. They knew something, but they weren’t telling him. “But why? Who the fuck is this guy and why would he be after Cherilyn?”

“I don’t know all the answers to that yet. I just don’t want you two mixed up in anything.”

“Too late, Sean.” The moment the words were out of his mouth, he knew they were true. It was too late. They were both in deep with Cherilyn and there was no question of turning back now.

“Okay.” Sean’s tone wasn’t exactly one of surprise. Rather, it smacked more of regret and disappointment.

But Thayer didn’t have the strength to deal with that right now. He would do so another time. Right now he wanted to know what Sean wasn’t telling him. “Did Dean reach out to the JAG?”

Sean hesitated long enough for Thayer to suspect he’d struck pay dirt. “Yeah. But I can’t talk about that yet.”

Bingo
. “All right, Sean. Unless it’s an emergency at the gym, I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay. Thayer, be careful. You and Evan both.”

“We will.” Thayer stared at the phone for a long time before he crept back into his bedroom and crawled next to Cherilyn. She had one arm and leg thrown over Evan’s sleeping body, and she was also sound asleep. He leaned close to her ear and whispered. “You’re perfect, Cherilyn. Stay with us forever.”

Then he placed an arm across her lower back and drifted off to sleep, smiling.

* * * *

Cherilyn woke to the smell of coffee and Thayer’s voice, sharp and angry. She opened her eyes and sat up. Was he upset with her? He wasn’t even in the room. His voice drifted from the hallway. What time was it? She glanced at the clock. It was only five in the morning.

“Good morning, gorgeous.” Evan smiled, but the emotion didn’t reach his eyes as he handed her a cup of coffee. “Normally, Thayer and I would say this was your duty as our sub, but I think we pushed your limits a bit last night, so we’re giving you a break.”

He winked, but she could clearly see that he was upset or worried about something. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing you need to worry about.”

“Evan, please. We’ve already done that. I’m just as involved in this as both of you. It’s about the gym, isn’t it?”

He cut his gaze to the doorway. Thayer was still on the phone. “He tried to break in again last night, and this time they got a good look at his car and got the license plate. It’s a rental from Lafayette. He rented it over three weeks ago and used cash. The car was due back the same week, and the Lafayette police have been looking for him ever since.”

“Three weeks ago?”

“Yes, love. Drink your coffee. Thayer is going to make us breakfast and then we’re going to the gym to work out.”

Cherilyn nearly choked on the sip of coffee she’d just taken. “Evan, are you kidding me? There isn’t a spot on my body that doesn’t hurt. You guys must be machines.”

He kissed the top of her head. “Yes, but it’s a sweet burn, right?”

“Very sweet. Last night was…I don’t even have words.”

He opened his mouth to say something, but Thayer walked in. His dark eyes truly looked like storm clouds this morning. His mouth was drawn down, and this was the first time Cherilyn noticed worry lines on his forehead. “What’s wrong?”

“I’ll be right back with food. Do you have workout clothes at the gym or do we need to take you home first?”

“I have clothes there. Thayer, what is going on?”

“Cherilyn, I can’t talk about it right now. Please don’t ask. I’ll be right back.”

She blinked back tears. She knew he wasn’t upset with her, but couldn’t he understand that this concerned her, too? She started to crawl out of bed, intending to talk to him, but Evan placed a firm hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t. It’s not the right way to handle him when he gets like this, okay?”

“So what should I do? Let this madman harass you two and just sit back and do nothing?”

He tilted his head, and a quick flash of hope passed across his face, but then it was gone. What had that been about? “Cherilyn, thank you for caring so much. But I promise you that as soon as he calms down, he’ll tell you. It’s just his way of protecting you. Let him do it. He likes being in that role.”

Evan knew Thayer better than she did, certainly, but this was killing her. She couldn’t help if she didn’t know what was going on. Cherilyn sat back against the pillows and sipped her coffee. Evan sat next to her and did the same, and by the time Thayer came upstairs carrying a tray, she felt a bit more relaxed.

She started to get up to help him, but he shook his head. “I have this. But thank you.” The corners of this mouth turned up slightly, but the worry lines were still there and his eyes were full of distress. The three ate their food, but the silence grew uncomfortable.

“Not sure how effective my workout will be today,” she said. “I’m sore all over.”

That forced a smile to Thayer’s face. “I imagine you are. Just do your best. I’m pretty tired myself. But in a good way, of course.”

Evan winked at her. “You’re an amazing lover, Cherilyn.”

“Thank you. So are you. Both of you are. It’s incredible. I didn’t think…I didn’t know what I thought was possible. I’m so overwhelmed by all of this.”

“Are we going too fast for you?” Thayer’s voice was full of concern.

“Oh, no. That’s not what I meant.” How could she explain this without telling them that she was falling in love with them? She’d have to try, because both were watching her carefully right now, as though what she was about to say had vital importance. “When I used to watch you two at the gym, the thing that struck me was how confident you both were. It was obvious how strong and how committed to your fitness you were, and I admired that of course. But it was the aura you both projected that drew me in. Confidence is very sexy.”

Evan smiled and kissed her quickly on the lips. “Thank you for telling us.”

“That’s not all of it. I heard through the grapevine that you both frequented Maddox’s club shortly after I joined the gym. You know how this town is. No one talks about it, but somehow everyone knows who’s in the lifestyle and who isn’t. When I heard you both were Doms, all my buried fantasies rushed to the surface. From that point on, every time I watched one of you work out, all I could focus on were your muscles, and what it would feel like to have you hold me down and spank me, or…”

She took a deep breath. No point in stopping now. “Or fuck me. So now you know. I’ve fantasized about this for close to six months, even though I never told anyone. I hardly admitted it to myself.”

Evan took the coffee out of her hand and placed it on the nightstand. Then he pulled her into his arms and held her close. He didn’t say anything, he just held her. The gesture was more touching and emotional than any words he could have uttered at that moment. When he released her, there was an emotion in his eyes she’d never seen before.

She didn’t have time to analyze it though because Thayer did the same thing. Just pulled her close and held her. He sighed several times, and she was certain he was going to speak, but all he did was stroke her hair. When he released her, the spell was broken, and they began to gather up the breakfast dishes.

Cherilyn did a half-assed workout compared to her normal routine, and she knew that, but today she didn’t care. It simply felt great to be back in the gym, but her concentration wasn’t on the number of squats she did or how much weight she was able to lift doing biceps curls. It was on Thayer and Evan.

Both men had been interrupted with cell phone calls during their workouts, and had been in and out of their office so many times now that she was certain the calls had been from Sean or Chad, although she had no concrete evidence other than the few words Evan had confessed this morning before Thayer had come into the bedroom. Would they ever tell her the full story of what was going on?

After she finished her workout, she showered and changed back into the clothes she’d worn yesterday. She’d need to go home and put on fresh clothes, as well as replenish the clothes and other supplies in her gym locker. When she came out of the locker room and walked around to look for the men, she heard Thayer’s raised voice coming from his office. She crept against the hallway and stopped close to the door to listen, but Evan came around the corner and gave her a warning look.

She walked over to him and put her hands on her hips. After glancing around to make sure no one would overhear her, she lowered her voice anyway. “Evan, this is ridiculous. What is going on?”

He glanced up and she turned around.

“Cherilyn, are you ready?” asked Thayer. If he knew she’d almost eavesdropped, it didn’t show. “Let’s get you home so you can change clothes and do whatever you need to do.”

“I’m not going anywhere with either of you until you tell me what the hell is going on. Thayer, this concerns me, too. I can’t help if I don’t know what’s happening. Please tell me. Please.”

He stared at her for a long time, and she thought she’d truly gone too far. But then his gaze finally softened and he sighed. “Okay. But not here.”

Evan had driven them to the gym, and he now drove them to Cherilyn’s town house. No one spoke on the way. Once they were inside, she ran upstairs and changed her clothes and cleaned out her gym bag, and then she went downstairs. “Do you want anything to eat or drink?”

Both men only wanted water, so she got some for all of them, and then she perched on the coffee table so that she could see both their faces as she sat across from where they’d taken seats on the sofa. “Okay. I’m ready. What’s going on?”

Thayer ran a hand over his face. “I’m not even sure where to begin. The call early this morning was from Sean. Wait…let me back up. Do you remember if Chuck ever mentioned a man by the name of Jay Nichols?”

Cherilyn shook her head. “Not really, but that doesn’t mean anything. He didn’t tell me about everyone he served with. Is he the man who tried to break into the gym?”

“It looks that way. Sean called this morning because Nichols tried to break in again last night, but this time they got a good look at his car and got the license plate. They tried to chase him down but lost him on I-65. The car was a rental from Hertz in Lafayette. He rented it over three weeks ago and used cash, but the car was due back that same week. The Lafayette police have been looking for him ever since.”

“So he used his real driver’s license?” Cherilyn didn’t bother to tell Thayer that Evan had already told her about the rental car and the chase on I-65.

“No. The agency tapes all their transactions, and through facial recognition software they were able to identify him.”

“Do Sean and Chad think he’s been here in Racy for three weeks?” That would place him here before the benefit.

“Yes, but we don’t know that for sure. It’s just a guess on their part.”

“Where’s the car now? Did they finally catch up with him?”

“No. He abandoned it off the interstate just east of Indy. Looks like he pulled off the interstate and crashed it through a fence, and then just took off into the woods.”

“But that’s good, right? The police can go over it and get more evidence.”

He shook his head. “Dean reached out to his friend in the JAG’s office in Indy, and now of course they’ve taken this over. Sean and Chad’s parts in this have effectively been shut down.”

“That’s crap.” Cherilyn rose and began to pace the room. “It’s our town. He broke into a local business.”

“And they’re the army,” said Evan. “You know how it is.”

She turned to face them. “So what happens now? What if he tries something again?”

“Sean said Dean is trying to grease some wheels so they can still keep tabs on things, but it’s not the same as when two police forces work together. It’s quite possible we won’t have any more information.”

She stopped pacing to face them. “Is that all? Have you told me everything?”