Chapter 4 #2
“ Chloé ?” She heard Père ’s soft voice and felt his gentle hand on her arm. “You’re ready for this.”
She looked into his earnest eyes, and the love she saw staring back had her doubts easing and her conviction setting in.
He wouldn’t set her up to fail, and everything he’d taught her over the years was for this very moment.
He was right. She was ready for this. This was her chance to show him everything he’d taught her.
“Okay. If you think I’m ready.”
He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I don’t think you are. I know you are.”
She swallowed around the lump in her throat and looked up at him, squeezing his hands.
“I’ll make you proud.” She looked past his shoulder to her dad and added, “I’ll make all of you proud.”
Dad dabbed at the tears under his eyes and smiled. “You already do, angel. You already do.”
* * *
“WHAT DO YOU think? Three or four shelves?” Zayne glanced over his shoulder to where Ethan stood looking at the bookshelf they were building under the stairs.
He had a tape measure in one hand and a drill in the other as he eyed the plank of wood Zayne held in place.
“I think there’s enough room for four. What do you think?”
“I think that’s perfect. She’ll love it.”
“Agreed.” Ethan walked back over and started to measure and mark where each shelf needed to go. “That way she’ll have room for more if she wants it.”
Zayne stood aside, a grin on his face, as he watched Ethan work.
In a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, it was a version of Ethan he didn’t get to see very often.
But he might come up with more projects around the house after witnessing this—because holy hell, Ethan in a pair of jeans wielding a drill?
That was a fantasy Zayne didn’t even know he had.
The high-pitched whir of the drill startled him out of his daydream. “Sorry, what did you say?”
“That I love the way you’re looking at my ass right now.”
Zayne scoffed. “Arrogant.”
“You look like you’re two seconds away from ripping my jeans off.”
“Actually, I was just thinking how good you looked in them. So you’re wrong.”
“Uh huh. Well, if you’re not going to tear my clothes off, could you bring over that box of screws?”
Zayne grabbed them and stepped over the extra planks of wood lying across the floor. “Do you remember the last time we built something like this?”
Ethan reached for the screw Zayne held out to him. “Like this ? I don’t think we’ve ever built a bookshelf.”
“No, I meant built something in general.”
Ethan narrowed his eyes, searching out the memory, then his lips tipped up into a devious smile. “The cabana at the estate.”
“Mhmm.” Zayne sidled up close to Ethan’s side and hooked a finger through the loop of his jeans. “You made me build that fucking bench.”
“ Fucking being the operative word.”
Zayne leaned in and dragged his tongue up the side of Ethan’s neck. “We haven’t used that in years.”
Ethan turned his head until his eyes locked with Zayne’s. “That’s because we opened the club.”
“Maybe we should revisit it. Introduce our little wildcat to it.”
“I thought you said you weren’t trying to get me out of my jeans.”
Zayne chuckled, lowering his eyes to the very distinct bulge behind Ethan’s zipper. “I’m not. But watching you drilling into things has gotten me all hot under the collar.”
Ethan’s brow arched. “You’re not wearing a collar. Maybe we should change that? I might get more work done if you were stripped and chained up to the coffee table over there.”
Zayne glanced over to the table that had last been decorated with Chloé’s naked body and grinned. “You think you could resist me?”
“Feel like testing me?”
Zayne almost caved but then took a step back. “On second thought, why don’t you go back to drilling and I’ll go and stand over there somewhere?”
Ethan smiled as Zayne ducked out of reach.
Of course he wouldn’t mind getting Ethan out of those jeans. But at the same time, he was smart enough to know who had the most patience out of the two of them—and it sure as fuck wasn’t him.
So while the idea of getting naked with Ethan had his cock begging to come out and play, the notion it would be allowed out only to be tortured for a good thirty minutes made him hold back.
He didn’t think he could last that long right now, and he didn’t want to let Ethan down.
Even if that did mean his balls were now turning blue.
“Since you seem to be taking a little walk down memory lane right now…” Ethan drilled several screws into the bracket that would hold the shelf in place. “We need to talk about what’s going to happen with The Office going forward.”
Right. The two of them had discussed what their professional lives might look like now that Chloé had entered the picture permanently, and it was time to make a decision.
For so long it had just been the two of them, and they’d been in agreement that they would—and could—take a third together as part of their sexual relationship.
But now that Chloé was part of their lives and had filled their desire for a willing submissive, there was no longer any need for… outsourcing, as Ethan called it.
Not to mention, they’d fallen head over heels for their feisty redhead and couldn’t imagine being with anyone else.
“Yeah, you’re right. Were you thinking a replacement?”
“I was. I think that’s for the best. Don’t you?”
“Definitely.”
“I’m open to the two of us—or three when Chloé’s of age—dabbling in some exhibitionism down there. But no outsiders.”
Zayne nodded. “No one touches her but us.”
“Agreed.” Ethan secured the last bracket then slid the shelf into place.
“You have someone in mind?”
“I do, actually.” Ethan’s eyes flicked up to the clock on the wall. “They should be here any minute now. Feel like taking a break?”
* * *
ETHAN STARED AT Zayne from across the elevator as they made their way down to club level. Ever since their trip to Paris, he’d been thinking about the best way to proceed with this element of their establishment without stepping on Zayne’s toes.
He knew what his man liked, knew his sexual proclivities, but after a lengthy discussion, Zayne had made it clear he would not do any demonstrations on anyone other than Chloé.
To say Ethan had been shocked was an understatement. Zayne was always such a showman, lived for the eyes that were on him under a spotlight. But Ethan also knew how loyal Zayne was, and now that they’d found Chloé, he knew the only way Zayne would get back on a stage for others was with their girl.
They headed through the foyer and downstairs to the club, and Ethan spotted the one he’d called standing over by the bar. Tall, broad-shouldered, and dressed in an immaculate grey suit, Bennett was one of their most sought-after doms, and exactly the right man for what they had in mind.
The only question was, would he want the job?
Zayne leaned in to Ethan’s side. “Nice choice.”
“Thought you might appreciate it, since you’ve always admired the way he handles his whip.”
“You think he’s gonna want to do this? He’s a dom, yeah, but an exhibitionist?”
That thought had definitely crossed Ethan’s mind, but so had the fact that, as a dom, Bennett got off on control. What was to say he wouldn’t get off on controlling an entire room?
“Let’s see, shall we?”
They made their way up to the bar, and Bennett turned. “Gentlemen.”
“Bennett,” Ethan said.
“Afternoon.” Bennett’s shrewd gaze landed on them. “It’s not every day I’m summoned somewhere. Let alone here.” He looked around the empty floor of The Office. “This must be important.”
“I like to think you were invited more than summoned.” Ethan gestured for their bartender—Hayden—who seemingly appeared out of nowhere. “Your usual?”
Bennett nodded. “I’m not going to say no to your top-shelf bourbon.”
“Smart man.”
“I like to think so.”
Ethan indicated three glasses, and once they were placed on the counter, Hayden melted into the background as quickly as he appeared.
“Okay, so color me intrigued.” Bennett took a sip of the alcohol. “Why have I been…invited here today?”
“We have a proposition for you.”
Bennett’s eyes landed on Zayne. “And what might that be?”
Ethan shifted in front of Zayne. “Not him.”
A wolfish smile curved Bennett’s lips. “My mistake. Can’t say I’m not disappointed, but I’m also not surprised.”
“As hot as this is”—Zayne stepped up beside Ethan, chuckling—“my ass isn’t what’s up for grabs. My position is.”
Bennett’s eyes widened a fraction, then he looked to Ethan. “I don’t switch.”
“We’re not asking you to.” Ethan took a sip of his bourbon. “We want you to be our new exhibitionist. We want you to show off your many skills.”
“Publicly.” Zayne flashed a wide grin.
“Why the sudden change?”
Ethan shrugged. “We’ve recently taken a full-time sub, and—”
“You fell in love.”
Ethan was about to refute that comment, but instead nodded. “We did.”
Bennett shook his head. “I don’t know, that’s not really my scene.”
“You’re a dom.” Ethan stepped forward. “You like control. Are you trying to tell me the idea of controlling a crowd of eager, sexually aroused people with your every move, every word, doesn’t appeal to you?”
Bennett drained his drink and placed the empty glass on the bar top. “Well, when you put it like that…”
Ethan smirked. They had him.
“That’s what I thought. Hayden?” Ethan gestured for their bartender. “Another round, please, and pour yourself one. Help us celebrate our newest employee.”