MasterofVelvet (19 page)

Beth slipped out of bed, pausing only to make sure that she
hadn’t disturbed Adam. She pulled on her dressing gown, a warm, fleecy and
completely unalluring garment and tiptoed out of the room, heading for the
kitchen.

Ice cream. It wasn’t going to solve anything but it would
divert her attention for a little while and she knew there was an unopened tub
of her favorite flavor—chocolate—in the freezer. She was savoring her third
spoonful when Adam appeared at the doorway. He was leaning against the frame,
naked except for the black pajama bottoms he wore slung low on his hips. He
looked as sexy as hell.

“I should spank you for sneaking off like that.”

Beth’s smile was halfhearted. “I couldn’t sleep. Now that it
looks like he’s out there I keep imagining that he’s about to do whatever it is
he’s planning. I tried not to disturb you.” Her tone was apologetic.

“I know. Beth, you should have woken me up—it’s not your job
to worry.” He pushed himself away from the doorframe and padded over to her, his
stride lithe and sensual. He sat down at the kitchen table opposite her and
swiped a finger through the ice cream, scooping up a mouthful. He contemplated
it for a moment. Beth expected him to polish off the dollop of luscious dessert
himself but instead he offered it to her.

Her eyes never leaving his, Beth held his hand and slowly,
seductively, captured his finger in her mouth, relishing the melting treat.

“Your job, Miss Harrison, begins and ends with pleasing your
Master. You know I’ll have to discipline you for this. You have a thing for
chocolate,” he observed, with a lazily seductive raised eyebrow and
half-suppressed smile.

“Of course I do,” she admitted, licking up the last of the
ice cream. “I’m a woman—chocolate’s one of the five main food groups. Isn’t
it?” Her eyes were full of wicked innocence, letting him know that she hadn’t
missed his comment about discipline.

“Looks like. Is this going to help you sleep?” This time his
tone was serious.

“Probably not,” she admitted on a sigh.

“Then why don’t you put it back and come with me to the
family room?”

Moments later Beth was cradled on Adam’s lap on the sofa and
he was busying himself with untying the belt of her robe so that he could
caress her breast. She gave a contented sigh, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Looks like we’re all having trouble sleeping tonight.”

The voice was Dan’s, he was standing at the doorway in a
similar state of dress to Adam. His pajama bottoms were dark red and like Adam
he too had a stunning physique—a perfect canvas for the tribal tattoo that
extended from high on his left shoulder to his elbow.

Beth’s instinctive impulse was to cover up. It was probably
due to the intimacy of the early hours combined with the subdued lighting. She
paused and even stayed Adam’s hand when he would have done it for her. She
looked at him with complete trust, remembering what he’d once said about Dan
possibly being involved in her discipline. “It’s all right, Master. If you
approve.” Her gesture indicated a willingness to shrug out of the robe
completely.

She watched Adam’s gaze darken with desire—and the
acknowledgement of this further stage in her submission.

“I approve, Beth.”

As she pulled her arms out of the robe she was vaguely aware
of her Dom’s nod toward his friend. At that signal Dan came over and crouched
in front of her, one knee resting on the floor.

“May I touch her, Adam?”

All of a sudden, Beth knew a moment of panic. She closed her
eyes at the touch of a hand other than Adam’s on her hair.

“She’s beautiful. And brave. Beth, I would never hurt you.
You belong to my best friend and that makes it as much my duty as his to
protect you.”

Adam kissed her cheek. “He’s right, little one. You are
brave. And you have my word of honor that no one will ever see you like this
without your consent. Now open your eyes and look at me.”

Beth swallowed hard. She looked straight at Adam, but was
keenly aware of Dan, still crouched beside her.

“Do you remember your safewords, Beth?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Good girl. Do you trust me to take care of you? Good. Now
remember your safewords and don’t be afraid to use them. Dan?”

Some sort of unspoken communication flashed between the two
men. Dan moved to lounge behind Beth at the other end of the long sofa, one
foot anchored on the floor and the other on the sofa. His leg was bent at the
knee, at rest against the padded back.

She was supremely conscious of her vulnerability, positioned
as she was between two physically powerful, half-naked Doms. Yet she wasn’t
afraid—she knew they wouldn’t hurt her. Just as she knew that whatever was
going to happen she could stop it in an instant.

“She’s been a bad girl, Dan. She was worried and didn’t wake
me, just came down here alone and raided the freezer for ice cream. I need your
help to make her understand a sub’s place and responsibility.”

Beth lifted her eyes in the direction of the other Dom and a
gasp caught in her throat. She’d known about him for a while but this was the
first time she’d seen warm, friendly, protective Dan assume the mantle of a
Dom. The same sensual power emanated from him as it did from Adam and in
response an enticing apprehension unfurled like some primal beast inside her.

“Take her, Dan. I want to look at her.”

Strong forearms came around her waist. Beth was lifted backward,
pulled against a hard, warm, male body. She breathed in sharply, for half a
moment intending to use her safeword to stop this activity but she stopped
herself when she saw the intensity of Adam’s expression.

I’m safe.

She knew it without a shadow of doubt.

Dan held her captive, her back against his chest, her bottom
nestled between his thighs. If her proximity was affecting him she felt no
evidence of it. Her legs stretched out along the sofa, feet tucked against
Adam’s hip.

“Open your legs, Beth.”

Dear God in heaven
.

Adam sucked in his breath at the sight of Beth in his best
friend’s arms. He sensed her nervousness. She wasn’t scared exactly—he knew
she’d have used one of her safewords to slow things down or stop them
altogether if she were. It seemed more like she was just a little anxious, no
more than that.

He’d never forgotten that her one fear had been that he
would make her have sex with another man as a form of discipline. While he,
Adam, could enjoy the aesthetic image of his woman under the control of another
Dom—Dan being the only one whom he would trust with her—Adam was the only one
who would ever have her. He was her Master.

She did look exquisite under Dan’s control, though—pure sub
with the heavy gold chain he now allowed her to sleep in. Her eyes were
chastely lowered, her pose elegant and revealing her pussy as he’d directed.

“Beth, I want you to bend your knees and let your legs fall
apart. That’s right.”

Adam could feel his body tightening in response to the
picture she made. She was the only woman who had ever reduced him to a mass of
primitive male impulses, emotions and heated needs and she was the only woman
who could satisfy them.

He reached for her pussy. A couple of fingers slipped
between her folds told him that she was getting aroused, as did the way she
squirmed, causing the muscles in Dan’s arms to flex as he held on to her. He
was waiting for one of her safewords but none came. She simply looked straight
at him, absolute trust in her striking green eyes. He could be wrong but she
seemed barely aware of his friend—her focus was on her Dom.

And now he had a decision to make—to masturbate her to
orgasm or not. He’d asked a lot of her, Adam knew, but he was faintly surprised
at how well she was handling being naked and held by another Dom. Perhaps he
would challenge her limits just a little. He would keep her orgasm for when he
carried her back to their room but right now he found the prospect of seeing
her in Dan’s arms, restless with restrained arousal, quite appealing.

He leaned forward to kiss her mouth, uncaring that his
closest friend would witness the love and intimacy of his relationship with his
sub.

“Isn’t she beautiful, Master Dan?” He twirled a lock of her
hair in his fingers.

“I’ve always thought so, Master Adam,” he agreed easily, his
tone low and intimate. “I envy you.”

Surprised, Adam glanced at his friend’s face. “How so?”

“You have love and a beautiful submissive all wrapped up in
one sinfully delightful package.” Dan grinned. “I hope you’ve left a little
luck for me.”

And he’d always thought Dan wasn’t the type to settle down.

Adam turned his attention back to his woman. Her expression
had taken on a slightly dreamlike quality but as if she could feel his gaze
upon her, she lifted her head to look at him. For a moment her eyes connected
with his and then she lowered her eyelids.

A muscle twitched in his cheek. She was aroused. He could
see it in the way her nipples were beading. He didn’t need to slide his fingers
into her pussy to know how wet she’d be but he did need the breathy moan in
response, the way she leaned back against Dan for leverage to push her hips toward
him. He slid his middle finger upward, finishing the movement with a flick of
his fingertip over her hypersensitive clit.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a responsive sub, Ad,”
Dan commented as his arms tightened around her quaking body. “How’s her
training going?”

“I’ve barely scratched the surface with her so far.” Adam
stimulated her clit with stronger, faster strokes. “I love her. And I’m enjoying
her too much.”

While talking to his friend, Adam continued to use his
fingers on Beth’s pussy and nipples and all the while her arousal began to
build. By now he’d learned her tells, the little signs she gave as she neared
orgasm, so it was with great reluctance that eventually he drew back and
presented the fingers that had been in her pussy to Beth for her to lick and
suck clean.

“Thanks for indulging me, Dan.”

The other man smiled. “My pleasure. I bet she looks
something else.”

“She surely does. Beth, you’ve done very well but I think
it’s time we went back to bed. You don’t need to worry about that bastard out
there. We’ll keep you safe.”

Back in their bedroom Adam gently laid his cherished sub on
the bed, having carried her there from the family room in spite of her repeated
protests about letting her walk. He just loved holding her. Her head had been
next to his while she was in his arms and now that she was safe in bed he
wanted to talk to her. For a long moment he looked at her face, the gentle
smile that blossomed when he stroked her hair.

“How do you feel?” he asked, finally ready to hear the
answer.

“Truthfully? I…” Her voice faltered. “When you and Dan…when
you were talking about me, I felt…owned…protected. Even before, when Dan
appeared…” She looked up at him, realization like sunrise in her eyes. “I
wasn’t scared. I knew neither of you would hurt…harm me.”

She’d known it in her head and felt it in her heart—he could
see it in her eyes, hear it in her voice, feel it in the sense of calmness that
radiated from her. She understood. “You surprised the hell out of me when you
volunteered to be naked in front of Dan.”

“I’m not sure I can explain fully, Sir, I’m not sure I know
the words. But I felt like I needed to show my submission to you to someone who
would understand what it was all about—what you mean to me.”

To Adam, that sounded like a more-than-satisfactory
explanation. “Sweetheart, now it’s my turn. I’m not sure I can adequately
convey how honored I feel by what you did and the courage that it took.” The
kiss he placed on her lips was almost reverential.

“Thank you, Sir.”

“There you go again,” he said with a smile that was somehow
both stern and indulgent as he arranged the covers over her before sitting
beside her. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed the Sirs and Masters you’ve been
dropping into the conversation—against my express instructions. You know I’m
going to have to do something about that but for now would you like to tell me
what else is on your mind?”

She hesitated only a moment. “I thought you might ask him to
join us.”

Another surprise he would never have imagined. “Would you
have used your safeword if I had?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps not initially,” she continued, her
apprehensive gaze searching his face. “It would depend on what you intended to
happen next, Sir.”

A memory sprang into his mind. Back when he and Dan had been
training in the U.S. Under supervision, they had shared a willing sub—but only
for a bondage and discipline session, no more than that.

“I’d share our bed with him but I wouldn’t share you,” he
stated bluntly. “How do you feel about that?”

“After tonight I could do that, Sir. But would it be fair to
him?”

It didn’t surprise Adam that she was so concerned about his
friend—it was all part of who she was. “You bring out the protective instinct
in us. He’d consider it an honor and a privilege—as would I if the positions
were reversed.”

He noted the small frown that creased her brow. He wondered
if she found that to be more than she could accept but her next question surprised
him yet again.

“Does he have anyone special in his life, Sir? I’ve never
heard either of you say anything about anyone. From what he said tonight I got
the impression that he doesn’t.”

At one time Adam would have launched into the usual waffle
about Dan being a confirmed bachelor but he remembered the things his friend
had said about Adam’s relationship with Beth and the sincerity with which he’d
said them. There was no doubt in Adam’s mind that the other man now knew what
he was missing out on.