Raising the Bar (11 page)

So, she’d choose her new lover over her son. Dylan clenched his jaw, trying to ignore the pain. He’d known this day would come, when his mother would no longer need him and break away. And though it had been long in coming, and he thought he’d reached the age where he could put aside petty needs of his own and support her wholeheartedly, he still couldn’t handle his feelings on the matter.

So he lied. “I only want what’s best for you, Mom. Of course, this feels sudden to me, and it’s hard to accept only because it feels so new. But I’m happy for you and James.” He included them both in the untruth. “It’s your life, after all. I’m a grown man. I can handle you being married to someone else. Dad passed years ago. He’d want you to be happy.” They were all the right words he should have said when she had first admitted her relationship with James. He wanted to mean it, every word, but a small part of himself—the hurt little boy deep inside—felt as if she’d chosen James over him.

It made little sense. The therapist inside him knew that. Yet he still couldn’t come to grips with his mother moving on and leaving him behind.
Fuck.
Gage had done it. Even his twin had started to pull away, spending all his time with Sydney and not Dylan. The family rarely had Saturday breakfasts at their mother’s anymore, and if they did, his brothers’ women inevitably showed. Dylan loved them, but things were so different now.

Barbara’s smile nearly undid him. “Oh, honey. I knew you just needed time to adapt. You’re not the best when it comes to dealing with change.”

An understatement, which made it so odd that he’d handled being with Harper
and
Freddy with ease.

She continued, “I’m so glad you said that. You don’t know how important it is that we have your approval.”

He shrugged and forced himself to sound nonchalant. “You’re a grown woman. Of course you should date whomever you see fit.”

James frowned, but Barbara smiled. “We’re talking about more than dating. Marriage, Dylan. I’ve wasted so many years already.”

“No, Barb. Not wasted. You had to give it time.” James stood and put an arm around her shoulder. He kissed her on the cheek, then turned to Dylan. “We haven’t told the others yet. We wanted you to be the first to know.”

“Marriage?” Dylan repeated like a parrot. James had mentioned it before, but his mother had confirmed it. The hurt he was experiencing became a numbness in his heart.

“Yes.” His mother nodded. “James and I want to travel, to do and see all the things we’ve wanted but never made the time to experience. If there’s anything I’ve taught you, Dylan, it’s to make the most of what you have, because you never know when it might be gone.”

Marriage.
He cleared his throat. “I’m happy for you then. Congratulations.” He rounded the desk to hug his mother and shake James’s hand, not liking the man’s intense scrutiny.

He didn’t let go of the handshake until James did.

When James pulled back, he released a weary sigh. “I was worried, I’ll admit. I know how close you and your mother are. But our marriage won’t change that, Dylan.” James slapped him on the back. “I mean, hell. We’ve already been together for years at the office. Just not as a couple. Right, Barb?”

She kissed him on the cheek. “Right. Now, Dylan, I don’t want you avoiding us anymore. We’ll see you tomorrow morning for breakfast. Maybe you’ll bring a date?” she prodded.

“Maybe,” he said absently, trying to make sense of this new reality.

“Oh good.” Barbara leaned forward to buss his cheek. “Derrick said he’s going to ask Sydney to marry him on Christmas Eve. I think he’s planning a June wedding. And with Gage’s wedding in another two months, James and I need to figure out when to plan our own nuptials. We don’t want to get in the way of the boys.”

“Derrick too, huh?” Derrick, Gage, his mother. All of them. Gone.

“We’d like you to be involved,” Barbara said. “James was wondering if—”

James interrupted, “We’ve hit you with a lot today. And you have a patient coming soon. We’ll talk more later. Breakfast tomorrow, right, Dylan?”

“Right. Sure.” Dylan’s jaw hurt from so much smiling. “I’ll see you two lovebirds then.”

Barbara laughed. “That’s my boy.”

James tugged her by the hand, waved, and left with her, shutting the door behind them.

Dylan sank into his chair. He wished to hell he could talk to his mother about his strange feelings. Or better yet, confer with James. But what he might have done in the past didn’t make sense now, in this new Barbara-James stage of his life. His brothers wouldn’t understand his resentments. Hell,
he
wasn’t sure why he had them.

Derrick thought Dylan was being an ass, but he hadn’t yet mentioned that to Gage. If he had, the little snot would have been by to bug the crap out of him. Since Gage and Hailey were so lovey-dovey all the time, the pair liked to think of themselves as amateur cupids. Hell, they’d even talked about setting up Hailey’s single friends.

He rubbed his temples and wondered what Freddy might say about all this. Women normally had better intuition and sense when it came to relationships. Then again, Harper had a pretty tight relationship with his own family. Maybe he could help Dylan resolve his issues about his mother.

It was enough to make a grown therapist want to lie down on his own couch.

While Harper and Freddy waited for Dylan to arrive, they sat together, talking in the dungeon Freddy had specifically chosen for their play tonight.

Damn if Harper didn’t like her better every time they met. Stupid guy that he was, he couldn’t keep his mouth shut about it either. “I really like you, Freddy.”

She sat on the large bed next to him and gripped his hand. “I like you too.”

“No. I mean, I
really
like you.” He paused and took a chance. “I think I’m falling in love with you.”

She just stared at him.

He sighed. Always acting too soon, he knew. But hell, he had little patience. “I’ve had a thing for you for months.”

“So you’ve said.” She sounded subdued.

“But it was more than that I liked the look of you. You’re sexy, smart and funny. You make me laugh. I wanted to ask you out long before, but the timing just sucked. I got busy or you weren’t around. And then we finally got together, and it was more than I’d hoped it would be.” Harper brought her hand to his lips. “I want to be with you all the time. You and me…and Dylan.”

She blew out a breath. “Oh, Harper.”

Here it comes. The “It’s not you, it’s me” speech. All the reasons why we can’t be together.

“I feel the same about you and Dylan.”

“You
do
?”

She grinned. “Don’t look so stunned. Geez, why wouldn’t I like you two? You, Harper Reynolds, are one of the most popular guys at the club. Everyone wants to do you.”

“You’re so sweet,” he drawled, loving the way she flushed. Jesus, she wanted him too. He wanted to jump up and down with joy.

“I wanted you the minute I saw you. You’re sexy, handsome and a nice guy who’s not so nice in bed. I like you. You’re fun, and you’re not judgmental.” She swallowed hard. “I like sex with two men at the same time. I’ve had a steady relationship with more than one guy before. I’ve had sex with a woman. I’ve also done a lot of kinky things, and I want to do more.”

“Did I say I think I’m
falling
in love? No. I’m definitely
in
love.” He kissed her until they both panted for breath.

“Oh wow. I love when you get so hard for me.” She reached down and grabbed him through his jeans, and he hissed with pleasure. “But there’s so much more to how I feel about you than loving the killer sex. You found Dylan, and he’s a part of this. We fit. I can’t explain it. But I feel it. And it scares the shit out of me.”

He laughed. “Me too. Does that make me less of a man to admit that?”

She cupped his cheek, and a wave of tenderness filled him. “No. It makes you human.” She rubbed her hand over his chin. “My last boyfriend and I parted as friends. He bored me. The guys before him were too selfish, and we had problems making it work. Mike wanted Tim, but Tim wanted me. And then they both wanted me to choose one over the other all the time. It was crazy, and I couldn’t take it. So I ended that too.”

“My last girlfriend complained I was too pushy in bed. Apparently she only liked me to be rough with her girlfriend in the room, watching.”

“Oh, your own odd threesome.” She winked. “How adventurous.” And that was part of what he loved about Freddy. She accepted him, even encouraged him to share.

“Yeah. And the guys I palled around with after her were casual. I was horny, and they came through. But I always used a condom. Always.” He cleared his throat. “With you and Dylan, I just want to come inside you, bareback. I want that trust, all that pleasure. But I’m worried.”

“Why?”

“You and I are a lot alike. Dylan’s not. He’s more reserved.”

“I noticed that. He’s new to the lifestyle.” She frowned.

“I’m not sure he realizes it’s a lifestyle. He’s a pretty well-known doctor. What if this hurts his career? What if his family wigs out?” He frowned at her. “Will yours?”

She shrugged. “My dad is a jerk who wouldn’t accept me if I were the first female president. My mom and brother just want me to be happy. They met Mike and Tim. I admit my brother was shaken, but he didn’t make them feel unwelcome. And they know I work at a kinky club. They don’t care.”

“Nice. My parents are okay with it. I mean, the bi part of my life. I never thought about a permanent threesome. I know this seems sudden. But I just…know.”

She stared at him. “Really? I mean, I feel the same way. But will Dylan?”

“I hope to hell he does. Thing is, with our doc, we need to lead him gently. We can’t ask him, because he’ll think it to death. We have to lure him in and just keep him. So he has no choice.”

Her frown turned into a smile. “Slick. I like it. We seduce him, we love him. Then we keep him. Think we can do it?”

“Honey, between your pussy and my cock, how can we lose?”

She died laughing. “God, you’re hopeless. I was hoping you’d say something about my adorable eyes or loveable nature. That between the two of us and our strong wills, we’d have him eating out of the palms of our hands.”

“That works too. But Dylan’s a guy. Sex works wonders. Trust me.”

She kissed him again. “I do. But promise me we’ll take things slow. Dylan’s going to need to work up to our level.”

“I know.” He sighed. “I’m ready for forever right now, but our doc will need some gentling first.”

“That and a few orgasms. I think he needs to lose some of that control, don’t you?”

He grinned. “Now you’re talking.”

When Tony told Dylan where to go, he thought he’d been mistaken. Freddy wanted him to meet her in the dungeon downstairs? Admittedly curious, he jogged down the stairs, needing—no,
desperate
—to forget about his turbulent emotions and make love to his partners again.

Partners. With an
S
. He wondered how his family would feel if he showed up in the morning with both Harper and Freddy and announced that he planned to live the rest of his life as a prominent member in a threesome.

Then again, knowing his mother’s tolerance for any and all things different, she’d probably cheer him on with glowing pompoms while his brothers thanked him for giving them more fodder to fuck with him for the rest of his life.

He sighed. Not that he’d throw Harper and Freddy under the bus to get back at his mother, but the idea held appeal. It still bothered him that Barbara and James really did suit, which made his attitude about the whole matter even more wrong and juvenile.

He grimaced and knocked on the door.

“Enter.”

He felt better just hearing Freddy’s cheery voice. Opening the door, he entered a dimly lit room. Before he could get his bearings, he found himself hugged from behind, Harper’s scent enveloping him.

The click of the door closing and locking behind him sounded overloud in the otherwise silent room.

“You’re late,” Freddy said. But this Freddy wasn’t the same woman he’d fucked just yesterday. The petite bombshell had been replaced by a siren wearing black patent-leather, thigh-high boots, a corset exposing her pussy and breasts, and dark black makeup that gave her a goth-gone-sexy look. All of it gave him the hard-on from hell. Just like the one mashed against his ass.

“She’s Mistress tonight,” Harper murmured in his ear and nipped it. “And I’m Master, or Sir. Got it?”

“Oh shit. You two want to play.” Dylan started laughing, needing the relief the fantasy would give. “Why the hell not?”

Harper sighed. “Discipline is coming your way, boy.” He stripped Dylan out of his clothes while ordering him to keep his gaze fixed on Freddy—Mistress. And fixate he did. God, her tits were so firm—not large, but plump enough that he couldn’t wait to get his mouth over her rosy nipples. He wanted to cup her breasts and feast, to forget his troubles as he indulged in the sexy woman who wanted him. Because she did, and her lust and affection, no matter how light it might be, mattered.

They had so much in common. Despite his more conservative attire and her tattoos and piercing, they liked much of the same things. They hated country music, liked art and the theater, and especially liked watching Harper get off. He’d actually met her brother at the annual Halloween party thrown downtown, and he liked the guy.