Passion's Hope (The Doms of Passion Lake Book 3) (18 page)

Nik chuckled. “You’ll probably want to reconsider that answer once you experience it,” was all he said. He got up and busied himself clearing out the dishwasher while Charlie continued filling out her form. Jay was already finished with his and was sitting quietly, watching her fill out the remainder of hers.

She took her time, weighing each suggested activity carefully before writing in her number. Until she came to Cages. She couldn’t write NO fast enough. Or in big enough letters. And she added five exclamation points just in case her intent wasn’t clear. She did the same with Enemas, Hoods, Medical Scenes, and Whipping, although she did give Flogging a Three.

She paused when she came to Forced Masturbation, opening her mouth as if to say something, but Jay anticipated her question and commented, “Just remember, sweet thing, it’s not forced if you really, really want to do it. And by the time we order you to pleasure yourself so we can watch, you will really, really want to do it.” When she looked at him, he just waggled his eyebrows and said, “Trust me on this.”

She laughed and gave it a Five. Huge turn-on.

When she was done, she’d surprised herself by agreeing, at least to some degree, to nearly everything on the list. Both Nik and Jay gave her a kiss on opposite cheeks as Nik picked up both forms and flipped through them briefly before putting them in a drawer, satisfied with the answers both of them had given.

He walked back over to Charlie, taking both her hands in his. “Now,
myshka
, in light of your fear of anal penetration, we are giving you three safe words for you to use during our scenes. If and when you finally decide to give us your trust, there
will
be anal penetration. Lots of it. And we guarantee you will love it. In the meantime, we are going to do everything in our power to earn that trust and help you get over your fears. So here are your safe words. Green for when everything’s good, yellow for if you’re feeling pain or fear or are overwhelmed and need to talk to us about what we’re doing to you. And red for when you absolutely cannot continue. We will stop instantly and just hold you while we discuss what you want to do next.”

“And we give you our solemn promise that we will honor your safe words every time you feel you need to use them,” Jay said. “And you will never be punished for using them. So you see, baby? We may be the Doms and you the sub, but ultimately we can only do what you allow us to do. Those three words give you all the power.”

Nik chimed in. “We don’t want you to feel like you’re ever in any danger.” He ducked his head and gave her a roguish grin. “Okay, let me rephrase that. There will be times where you will
feel
like you’re in danger. But you will never actually
be
in danger. Because we will always be in control. Always. Both of you and, more importantly, of ourselves. ”

Charlie’s throat thickened. Could it really be that simple? Could something as insignificant as a word spoken in the heat of the moment really stop two powerful men bent on ravishing her body?

Perry hadn’t given her a safe word, of course. When she’d brought it up, he’d dismissed it as of no importance, telling her she didn’t need one. Not that it would have mattered. Nothing had stopped him. No matter how many times she’d screamed “No!” or “Stop!” he had simply ignored her, doing whatever he’d wanted.
Whenever
he’d wanted. For as long as he’d wanted.

Jay, watching the tears fill her eyes and the bitterness take over her expression, felt his chest tighten with a rage so powerful it had him wanting to put his hands around Perry Bradford’s throat and squeeze until the last spark of life drained from the bastard’s eyes. When Charlie would have turned away from him, Jay tightened his hold on her head and lifted it back up.

“I take it Bradford didn’t give you a safe word?”

She just bit her lip and shook her head.

“Bradford’s an asshole.” This from Nik.

She made a sharp little sound deep in her throat which could have meant anything and gave Jay a tremulous smile that did nothing to take the sadness from her eyes.

“We are not him, Charlie,” he said softly. “We will never be him. And we will never hurt you. That is our solemn promise.”

Nik stepped back slightly, turning her to face him. Jay placed a kiss on the back of her head and backed away.

“Now,
malyutka
,” Nik said, putting his arms around her, resting his large hands behind her just below her waist. “Jay will go prepare things for us in the bathroom while you and I sit out here and relax with a nice glass of wine.” He looked over Charlie’s head at his younger companion. “Strip,
malchik.
”

Unable to suppress a tiny gasp, Charlie turned her head to watch as Jay toed off his boots and shucked off his jeans, letting his erection spring free. It was beautiful, thick and long and a mottled purple color with a shiny red head. Reaching behind him to grab his T-shirt, he hiked it up his back and over his head from back to front in that peculiar way most men had.
Probably because they don’t have to worry about messing up their hair
, she reminded herself. He dropped it on the floor on top of his jeans.

“Is that where we put our clothes?” Nik’s voice was as patient as ever, but for the first time since she’d known him, Charlie detected an edge of cold steel beneath it and she shivered. She definitely didn’t want to be the target of
that
voice,
ever
.

“No, Daddy.” Jay bent down and scooped up first his shirt, then his pants, folding each item and holding them in his hand.

“You may put them on the arm of the sofa for now,” Nik continued. “You have just earned an additional five strokes with the paddle, added to the five you earned yesterday.”

Jay’s face fell.

Nik’s grin was wicked. “Did you think I had forgotten?”

“No, Master,” was Jay’s truthful response. “I know you never forget anything.”

Nik snorted. “Nice touch with the ‘Master.’ But you’re still getting your ten.”

“Yes, Daddy.” Jay placed his folded clothes on the arm of the sofa. “Sorry,” he said, but Charlie caught the twinkle of mischief in his eyes before he seemed to catch himself and lower his head submissively

Nik just grunted. He and Charlie both watched Jay’s naked ass as he walked away from them toward the bedroom.

“My lovely boy has a lovely ass, doesn’t he?” Nik asked and Charlie had to agree, silently wondering if Jay was as aware of the plug in his ass as she was. Wondering what it would feel like if it were in
her
ass instead. Without fear. Without pain.

“Sit,
malinkaya
, while I prepare the wine.” He walked into the kitchen area.

With a sigh she turned and plopped down on the overstuffed leather cushions, making the air whoosh from them. “I love making that sound,” she said with a delighted little giggle.

Nik smiled indulgently as he poured two glasses of red wine. He picked up both glasses and carried them over to the sofa.

“Here, baby girl.” Handing one to Charlie, he sat down beside her, holding the other one in his left hand. He put his right arm along the back of the sofa behind Charlie and pulled her sideways to lean against him. She settled into him with a sigh.

“You are an amazing woman,
malinkaya
,” he said, nudging his nose into the hair above her ear. “A woman both Jay and I want to get to know better. Much, much better. A woman we hope will stay with us for a very long time.”

“How would that work, exactly?” Charlie asked, more out of idle curiosity than for drawing up plans for the future. “Would that mean you’d have two submissives? Because even though Jay submits to you, he seems to be much more your equal than your inferior.”

Nik took a few measured breaths before he trusted himself to speak. “Submissives aren’t inferior,
lapochka.
They are precious jewels without which a Dom has no reason to exist because only they can give him what he needs. Submissives are honored and treasured by their Doms above all things. In fact, the more a submissive submits, the more exalted he or she becomes in the eyes of her Dom.”

“But Jay—”

“I’ve loved Jay like a brother for a long time. We’re both Doms, and we will both dominate you, make no mistake about that. Right now, we’re exploring his sudden need to submit to a DD—Daddy Dom. But, like he said, not just any DD. Me. And only me. So right now, it would be safe to say that Jay is a switch. That’s someone who is equally comfortable topping or bottoming. But he will always top you, little one.”

“Would I have my own room? Or would we all share your room, sleep together in your big bed?”

Nik sighed, tightening his arm briefly around her shoulders. “When Jay and I built this apartment for us in The Lodge, we envisioned finding our special submissive, one who would share her life with us, even as we shared her between us. My bedroom was designed to be the master bedroom. You noticed that there were three sinks in the bathroom? And an extra-large shower and Jacuzzi? And a super-sized bed? Those were all in anticipation of sharing them with our lifetime sub. The woman who would be adventurous enough to submit to two Doms. The woman whom we could love and cherish with our whole hearts. The woman who, by accepting that love, would ultimately enslave us. We think that woman could be you. You can’t deny the intensity of the attraction between us.”

“No,” she agreed. “I definitely feel it too. But I don’t think I’m a submissive. Not after my experience with Perry. I don’t think I could ever trust anyone that much ever again.”

“All right. Then how about this. Why don’t you plan to spend at least one month with us, regaining your strength, putting aside some money—because I guarantee you will rake in the tips both as a waitress and especially as a singer—and figuring out what you ultimately want to do. All we will ask in return for that month is that you put yourself in our hands and give submission another try. For us. If, at the end of the month, you feel that this isn’t the life you want, you will be free to leave.”

She turned her head up to look into his eyes. “So after a month, you would just let me go? Just like that?”

“No, not ‘just like that’. It would break our hearts. But forced submission is not submission, little one. It is abuse. We cannot keep you caged if you wish to fly. You wouldn’t be doing any of us a favor by staying with us if you truly didn’t want to.”

“So…” she mused. “It’s just sex, then.”

Nik stifled a laugh. “Does it make you feel better to think of it that way,
malyutka
?”

“Yeah, I think it does. It makes me feel…safer, somehow. As if I’m not about to step into the lion’s jaws.”

“Rest assured, it is definitely not ‘just sex’ for us,
myshka.
Not by a long shot. Hopefully you will soon realize that it is not ‘just sex’ for you, either.”

Jay appeared in the doorway, putting an end to the conversation.

Nik leaned across Charlie to put his wine glass next to hers on the end table. She had drunk more than half of hers, so the alcohol should already be doing its magic on her ability to relax. He stood and held out his hand. She took it and let him pull her up to stand beside him. “Come,
milaya moya.
Our bath awaits.”

Charlie gasped in surprise as she entered the bathroom. The only light was provided by dozens of flickering candles, on the countertops as well as all along the ledge around the Jacuzzi tub. The fragrance of lavender rose to her nostrils as the jets whipped the scented bath salts to a frothy foam.

“Stand here, baby,” Jay said, pointing to a spot directly in front of him. “Don’t move.”

Slowly, her eyes never leaving Jay’s, she walked to the spot he indicated, not close enough to touch, but definitely close enough to feel the heat radiating from him. She stood there, her belly rolling as Nik stepped up behind her, effectively trapping her between him and Jay. Her breathing hitched as both men put their hands flat against the outsides of her thighs and began slowly walking the skirt of her dress up her thighs, gathering it with their fingers until it was all bunched up around her waist. Nik released her to grab the zipper tab at her neckline. He pulled it down with deliberate slowness, bending to kiss each new inch of pale, creamy skin that he uncovered.

“Raise your arms, baby,” Jay instructed. He pulled the dress up over her head, folded it neatly, and placed it on the counter.

Nik’s hands slid around her sides to the undersides of her breasts confined by her red lace bra, lifting them one at a time as though weighing them. The marks left by Perry Bradford’s single-tail had continued to fade over the past few days and were now only faint reminders of the torture she’d been forced to endure. “Your breasts are perfect, Charlotte. Not too big at all. Just the right size to fit our hands.”

“That’s because you have hands the size of snow shovels.” She meant it to be teasing, but she was so overcome with arousal, it came out more as a breathless wheeze.

Nik just chuckled. Quickly he unfastened her bra, pushed the straps off her shoulders, and scooped her breasts up out of the cups, letting the garment drop to the floor. Jay picked it up and placed it on top of her dress. Nik squeezed her flesh gently, pushing her breasts toward each other, lifting her nipples upward, making her moan. “Suck her nipples,
malchik
,” he ordered Jay.