CHAPTER 3 #3
“I’ve given your request some thought,” Edge stated, his tone a little less intimidating than before, “and I’ve come to a decision.”
My eyes shot up to his. While his tone had settled down, his eyes had not. There was still a fierceness in them. A look that said I should never doubt who was in control when he was in the room.
“Neither one of us will be dominating you,” Edge declared, his tone deep, unyielding.
I swear you could hear my heart break. Of all the things I thought they might’ve said when they returned, that certainly wasn’t one of them. My throat suddenly felt tight, and I wanted to run from the room, sneak off somewhere, and hide while I licked my wounds.
In an effort to protect a small amount of my pride, I forced my feet to remain where they were.
“Tonight,” he amended.
Wait. What? I stared, unable to look away. “You won’t be dominating me tonight?” I clarified.
“No.”
I figured he was trying to tell me something. Perhaps giving me a glimmer of hope. If so, why was there still a huge lump in my throat?
Before I knew what was going on, Cav was standing behind me, Edge directly in front.
Although they weren’t exactly touching me, I could feel the sheer size of them surrounding me, their warmth like a blanket.
It took all the willpower I possessed to keep my hands down at my sides.
I wanted so desperately to touch them. I could hardly breathe, my heart pounding like a bass drum.
I inhaled slowly, drawing their intoxicating maleness deep into my lungs.
“Is that what you want, cupcake?” Cav’s dark, seductive whisper caused my insides to tremble as his warm breath fanned the back of my neck. “To be dominated?”
I nodded.
“Words,” Cav stated firmly. “Answer with words.”
“Yes,” I said, my voice quivering as I stared up into Edge’s beautiful face.
“Yes, what?” he growled low and soft in my ear.
“Yes, Master Cav.”
His voice dropped another octave with his approving, “Good girl.”
“If we’re going to do this, there are a few rules,” Edge declared, drawing my attention to him.
“Anything.” There was a slight hitch in the single word, my voice not nearly as steady as I’d hoped.
A hint of a smile appeared on his lips, but it didn’t fully form. “We’ll take this at a pace I set.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
“You leave here tonight with the understanding I have not agreed to do this yet.”
That was disappointing.
“We’ll need to spend some time with you before I can do so.”
No more disappointment.
“Do you think you can handle both of us?” Edge questioned, his tone unyielding, his eyes skeptical.
“Yes.” Yeah, that was me, all breathless and eager.
His face hardened. “What was that, sweetness?”
Ah, crap. “Yes, Master Edge. I can handle both of you.” Granted, I didn’t know if that was true or not, but I damn sure wanted to find out.
“We’ll see about that.” Master Edge cleared his throat. “But you have to understand what you’re committing yourself to if I agree.”
Committing? What was he talking about? This was simply a lesson in submission, right?
“But I thought—”
He cut me off with a hand over my mouth.
My eyes widened as I stared up at him; my breath hitched.
He was touching me, and holy hell, I didn’t want him to stop.
I probably shouldn’t have been turned on that his hand was covering my mouth, but my entire body hummed with anticipation, a desperate need for him to exert his dominance over me flaring hot and bright.
“Until I’m convinced you can commit to the experience and not simply try to worm your way into the club to harass my members, we won’t be accommodating your request. Should I decide you can, you won’t be allowed to talk to anyone without my permission, you’ll be required to follow all the rules and protocols of this club, and you will be expected to complete the submissive training program.
Those are nonnegotiable. Do you understand? ”
“I understand, Master Edge.”
“None of this starts tonight,” he reiterated as he lowered his hand.
My heart fell once more. I was getting tired of him saying that. “Maybe tomorrow?”
Cav chuckled behind me, a deep, gruff sound that made my insides tingle.
His big hands slid tentatively over my hips, and I swayed on my feet.
Goose bumps popped out over my skin, and my nipples pebbled at the mere touch.
This guy was good. I’d known him for such a short time, and somewhere along the way, I’d found myself as desperate for him to touch me as I was for Master Edge.
“Eager, cupcake?”
Yes. Yes, I was. But I didn’t say that. I didn’t want to say anything to make them walk away from me.
However, I could admit that I liked that they were giving me some time to process.
Although I probably would’ve gone through with whatever they wanted tonight, it wouldn’t’ve been the same.
This way, I would have time to think, to plan. To anticipate.
“How does your schedule look for next week?” Edge asked, those electric-blue eyes twinkling.
I mentally skimmed my calendar but couldn’t come up with anything. “Aside from class, I should be free.”
“Good. Keep it that way.”
I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I nodded. What else could I do?
“After we’ve spent some time with you outside the club,” Edge explained, “we’ll discuss what our options are.”
“Options?”
His head cocked slightly, his eyes still locked with mine. “As in whether we’ll grant your request, take you on as a submissive.”
He made it sound so formal, as though this was cut-and-dried. Rules, protocols, training. No intimacy. Another dose of disappointment flooded me, this one stronger than I expected.
“Do I have a say in this?” I asked.
Edge shook his head, his voice low, his eyes fierce. “No.”
I felt my insides melt. I had no idea why I liked that he took all the control from me, but the thought moved me so much, my knees weakened. Thankfully, Cav was directly behind me. His big hands curved over my hips, holding me in place. Heat sizzled from his touch, making me light-headed.
Lordy. I wasn’t sure I would survive this should they decide we were going to proceed.
“Should Cav and I agree this is the right avenue to take, we’ll discuss further.”
I nodded. That sounded straightforward enough.
“There’s one more rule, cupcake.” Cav leaned in close to my ear once more. “Until we’ve come to a final decision, you will not be allowed to date anyone else. In turn, we’ll be doing the same. Understood?”
“Yes, Master Cav.”
Edge smiled, and heaven help me, I was pretty sure the earth shifted beneath my feet.
“Will I need a safe word?” I asked.
Edge’s mischievous smirk made my insides riot again. “You’ll need a lot of things if I allow you into my club. A safe word, blood tests”—his heated gaze trailed down my body, then back up—“an expansive wardrobe.”
I swallowed hard.
“Until then,” he continued, “we’ll rely on good ol’ vanilla rules of conduct.”
“Such as?”
He grinned, but there was a hint of mirth in it. “Should you not be comfortable with something, it’s your responsibility to let us know.”
“May I ask another question, Master Edge?”
“You may.”
I took a deep breath, then forced the words out before I chickened out. “If you do decide to proceed, will you be sharing me?”
Those electric-blue irises flared hot, and I knew I’d hit a nerve. A good one.
“That’s yet to be determined. But it’s a very real possibility.”
I nodded, processing my question and his answer one more time.
It dawned on me how it sounded. I meant sharing me with Cav.
His answer had not clarified that. A shiver of unease teased down my spine.
I did not want him to share me with anyone else.
I didn’t want to think of another Dom’s hands on me. It didn’t sit right.
“Do you have another question?”
I shook my head. I didn’t want to voice my concerns yet. Not until I knew they were even relevant. But I did wonder how often they did this with random submissives.
Realizing I didn’t really want to know the answer to that either, I shook my head. “No, Master Edge.”
As though he could sense my insecurity, Edge moved forward, closing the distance between us and effectively crowding me between them.
I was vaguely aware of Cav moving until both men were brushing up against me.
It was a tease, of course, but it worked.
I inhaled a sharp breath, every cell in my body coming to life.
They weren’t quite pressing against me, and if I tried to shift either direction, I would lose the warmth of the other. It was a power play, a test.
Since I didn’t want them to move away, I remained still between them.
Suddenly, I was overwhelmed by a savage male energy. It made me breathless, had my skin prickling, my nipples puckering. My belly fluttered when the hard plane of Edge’s chest pressed against my breasts, Cav’s against my back.
I was light-headed, my breaths coming far too quickly.
Edge’s big, warm hands cupped my face gently, his thumbs gliding over my cheeks as he held my attention in his ice-blue stare. His voice was low, seductive when he spoke. “I want you to give serious thought to what we’ll want from you, Jamie. We take this very seriously.”
I nodded.
Cav’s hand hooked firmly on my hip as he turned me around to face him. Then he was crushed to my front, Edge at my back. I inhaled sharply, the blood rushing loudly in my ears.
Gone was all the mischief I’d witnessed in Cav’s expression since we were first introduced. In its place, a somberness I almost didn’t recognize.
“It’s not like in your romance books, cupcake.
We’re not lookin’ to be tested or theorized.
Or topped from the bottom. If you want to experience that, you can find someone else to help you out.
With us, you’ll have to relinquish all control.
And we’ll push your boundaries to the point you may break. ”