Chapter 18
CHAPTER 18
“Wakey, wakey, subbie.”
Noah’s deep voice intruded on her dream of being in the middle of a Ford and Noah sex sandwich. A moment later, something tickled the tip of her nose.
Serena shook her head and rolled over. “No. Go ’way.”
“Can’t do that. It’s National Chocolate Chip Day and you don’t want to miss the chocolate chip pancakes.”
The mention of chocolate had Serena opening her eyes. Turning just her head, she found her two men standing by the bed, shoulder to shoulder. They were fully dressed and ready for the day.
Too bad she didn’t feel the same.
“Go ahead. I’ll stay here and get a couple more hours of sleep.”
She closed her eyes, but they opened again when the covers were pulled off and someone scooped her up into her arms. From the scent of citrus and spice, she knew it was Ford. Noah always smelled like the ocean, clean, salty, and fresh.
“Noooo,” she cried, opening her eyes and watching as he carried her into the bathroom.
“Sorry, sugar, but we’re hungry and we promised Master Derek we would never leave you alone,” Noah set her down in front of the toilet. “Go pee and wash up. You have three minutes. Then we’ll help you get dressed. After breakfast, we’ll go for a walk and this afternoon we’re going to the Dungeon.”
And then he just stood there, watching her.
“My three minutes doesn’t start until you leave, does it?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. She really needed to pee but was not sure she could do it with him in the room.
Noah touched his watch and said, “Your three minutes start now.”
“Good. Get out.”
He frowned but slowly turned and walked out, leaving the door wide open.
Serena didn’t care if they heard her pee as she pulled up her nightshirt and sat down. Working the twenty-four hour shifts they did, she had learned that personal boundaries were sometimes blurred at work. Having a man see her sit on a toilet was not a big deal, but away from work and after being together for days, even after peeing before both men a day earlier, this moment felt like it should be sacred.
Once she finished, Serena cleaned up and moved to the sink. After washing her hands and face, she combed her hair and pulled it back in her customary braid, wrapping it in a band as she walked out into the bedroom.
“Two minutes, forty-nine. Not bad for a girl,” Noah said with a smile as he checked his watch.
She was not surprised to see the bed had been pulled together and there were clothes laid out for her. Still feeling a need for propriety, she turned her back on the two men who were sitting at the table looking at their phones. Despite having already been naked in front of them, as well as fucking them, her face burned as she pulled off the t-shirt she wore and quickly dressed.
Her brain still felt a little fuzzy, but her grumbling stomach overrode the wish to go back to bed for more sleep.
“I’m ready,” she said as she slipped her feet into her sneakers.
“Great. Let’s go get some chocolate chip pancakes,” Noah said as he stood and slipped his phone into his pocket.
Ford followed a second later, grabbing her hand and stopping her as she turned to follow Noah from the room.
“You okay?”
She nodded, though she stared at his chin and not into his eyes. “I’m fine.”
“You sure?”
“Sure. It’s just… never mind,” she said, turning away before she admitted that she was feeling a little claustrophobic.
Being with the men all day every day was getting to her. As an introvert, she enjoyed living alone even though she knew Ford and Noah were upstairs if she needed them or wanted company. It was also why she appreciated having a dorm room to herself when they were at work. It gave her time to be by herself and recharge her battery without someone watching her every move.
“You need a break,” Ford guessed correctly. “It’s no sin to admit you need some alone time. We can be a lot, and you’re not used to having two men up in your business all the time.”
“I’m sorry,” she said with a sigh as she dropped her gaze to the middle of his chest.
His hand came up and cupped her face, forcing her to look at him again.
“No apologies. We can’t all be social creatures like Noah. We just need to figure out a way to give you the alone time you need without another Dom trying to steal you out from under us.”
Serena stepped closer and wrapped her arms around Ford. “How about if you two go for a horseback ride or something and leave me here in the room with my tablet. I can read my book, watch movies, and maybe take an extra nap and recharge my batteries. I know we’re supposed to go to the Dungeon this afternoon but maybe we could put it off until tonight, or even tomorrow?”
Ford hugged her tight and kissed the top of her head. “That sounds like a plan. But first we’re going to get some breakfast and pick you up some snacks so you’re not tempted to leave the room and get yourself in trouble. Again.”
“Hey, are you guys coming or am I going to eat all the pancakes myself?” Noah called from the doorway where he waited not so patiently.
“We’re coming.” Ford broke their hug and took her hand before pulling her along in his wake toward the hall.
Serena giggled as she skipped along between the men as they quick marched toward the cafeteria.
* * *
“Are you sure you’re going to be all right alone?” Noah asked as he sat the bag of snacks they’d bought at the gift shop on the table.
Serena looked at him and smiled, “I’m sure. You guys need to go do something fun, without the responsibility of keeping me happy. I’ll be perfectly fine here. It will give me a chance to read and watch a movie and recharge my batteries. We can go to the Dungeon tonight and play.”
He still wasn’t sure this was a good idea, but Ford seemed okay with it, so he gave in. “All right, but if you need anything, or get lonely or something call me. Okay?”
“All right. I promise,” Serena said.
She looked too happy at being left behind as Ford grabbed Noah’s arm and began to pull him out of the room.
“We shouldn’t be leaving her,” Noah said as they walked down the hall toward the lobby.
Once they were in the lobby, Ford stopped him and turned so they were toe to toe. “We’re giving her the space she needs. She’s not the social butterfly you are. She needs some time alone and we’re going to give it to her. If you really want her to be our third and join us in happy throupledom, you have to understand that there are times she will need to be alone to do her own thing. Now, you need to decide if you still want her as our third.”
Noah took a deep breath and nodded his head. “Of course I do. I’m just worried that she’ll get in trouble if one of us isn’t with her.”
“She promised not to leave the room until we get back. If she does, that gives us a reason to take her to the Dungeon, string her up and punish her,” Ford said with a smile that had Noah shivering in response. It was his evil Dom smile, the one that promised whoever they played with a very good, though painful, time.
“All right, but I still don’t like it,” Noah said as Ford took his hand and began to lead him across the lobby. “Where are we going, anyway?”
“We’re going to talk to Master Derek about a handfasting ceremony.”
Noah tried to remember what they’d discussed weeks ago about various ways of incorporating Serena into their marriage. The handfasting seemed like the easiest and most expedient since three-person marriages were not valid.
Since it was a Celtic ceremony and the fire department had deep Celtic ties, it seemed right to begin their long-term relationship with a handfasting. That gave them a year of commitment to figure out how to join Serena to them permanently.
They already had an appointment with their attorney once they returned home to change all their legal paperwork to include her in their wills, finances, and every other part of their lives.
“Can he do a handfasting ceremony?” Noah asked as they approached the man’s office.
“I can perform either a handfasting ceremony or a wedding, whichever you prefer,” Derek answered as he approached from the cafeteria. “I take it you’ve seduced Serena to your way of thinking?”
Ford waited until they were in his office with the door closed before he answered. He didn’t want word to spread through the community before they had Serena onboard with their plans.
“We haven’t asked her… yet. But we want to have plans in place so we can tie her to us before we leave.”
Derek nodded as he moved behind his desk. “Sound thinking. Once you return home, you’ll have more problem finding an officiant for a triad ceremony. Well, I’ll be happy to perform a handfasting for you whenever you like. Do you have everything you need for it?”
“What do we need?” Noah asked before Ford could.
He leaned slightly forward, interested in what Derek had to say. Maybe they should wait to make plans until after they had convinced Serena to join them. What if she didn’t want a handfasting?
All at once he was nervous, which was an unfamiliar feeling that he could admit he didn’t like.