Chapter Four
Anika
“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the man says with a smile. “You may now kiss your bride.
Rowan cups my face and kisses me deeply as Max, Mia, and Emma cheer loudly, making me smile. We went to a touristy 24/7 wedding chapel that Emma talked into dropping the paperwork off tonight in exchange for the owner to access the VIP lounge at no cost to him or his guests.
“Alright,” the man says. “I just need you guys to sign and the rest of you to sign as witnesses. I will take it and drop it in the drop box tonight. My wife works in records so I will have her file it first thing Monday morning. Are you changing your last name?”
“Uh… I don’t know?” I say.
“God, yes. Get rid of that fucking name” Mia says.
“Uh, then sure,” I say looking at Rowan.
“Anika Noelle Garcia,” Rowan says with a sweet smile. “Sounds perfect.” He softly pecks a kiss on my lips and I blush.
“Fuck, you two are adorable,” Mia says. I smile and shake my head at her. The man hands me a pen and I sign my name and then hand the pen to Rowan. He smiles at me and then signs his name as well. The rest sign as witnesses and I feel relieved as he makes copies.
“Congratulations,” he says with a smile. “Anika, you will get your new social security card in the next two weeks. The official marriage certificate will come in the next week, but here is your copy of the paperwork in case anyone gives you any trouble.” He hands me a copy of the paper we all just signed, and I can’t help my smile when I see it. He hands Emma her own copy before we all go to the parking lot.
“I’m still fucking your wife tonight,” Max says to Rowan as he picks me up and sits me on the hood of the truck.
“I’ll help, don’t worry,” Rowan says as he leans against the truck next to me.
“Well, while you three have fun, I’m going to be with Emma. Definitely watching the first part of the scene though,” Mia says.
“Are you going to fuck my sister?” Max asks Mia.
“Yeah. You are going to fuck mine,” she shrugs. She has called me her sister so many times before but this time it hit me just how much she means that. I hop down from the hood of the truck and hug her tightly. “I love you, Anika. You don’t need them. We have and always will be your family.”
“Thank you,” I say as I sniff back tears.
“No tears,” she says as she cups my face and wipes them away. “Go celebrate being married to the man I think you would have ended up marrying anyway. Have fun and get fucked.” I laugh and hug her again.
“So, this solves my problem?” I ask Emma.
“Yes,” she smiles. “There is a small chance they will say that Rowan is in charge of your care and will have to sign shit for you, but he can drop it after ninety days.”
“I’m not concerned about that. I trust him,” I say.
“You are safe. No one can make you have this surgery,” Emma says with a smile.
“Thank you, Emma,” I say, hugging her.
“You are very welcome, sweetie. Let me know if you have any other issues,” she says. “I’m stealing Mia now. We will see you there.”
“Bye,” I say as I step back with the guys.
“I’ll come by tomorrow since y’all leave out early Monday,” Mia says. “I added a ticket for you, Max. Go keep them company.”
“Okay,” Max laughs.
Emma and Mia go to Emma’s car and I sigh.
“What?” Rowan asks.
“This is weird, right?” I ask, laughing.
“Yeah, this is weird,” he laughs with me. “But it’s okay! One day at a time.”
“One day at a time,” I repeat.
“Come on, Wife,” he says as he opens the passenger door. We all get in and drive back toward The Cherry.
“What did she mean that we have to make it look real?” I ask.
“Y’all have to sleep in the same room, get rings, and just generally do the normal married couple things. On all of your trips, you’ll share a bed. It’s just all the stuff I know you guys will end up doing anyway,” Max says.
“I should probably tell my mom,” Rowan laughs.
“She’s going to be very confused,” I laugh.
“Yeah, but she adores you. She’ll love this,” Rowan says as he lays his hand on my thigh. He picks up his phone and taps around for a moment until his phone rings through the speakers in the truck.
“Hey, sweetie,” a woman says.
“Hey, Mom. Do you have a moment?” Rowan asks. Rowan's Mom, Maria, is a cute little woman from Puerto Rico. She raised Rowan by herself working three jobs since his biological father skipped out when he was a baby. Rowan’s sperm donor is white, but he favors his mother.
Now that Rowan makes good money, he supports her the way she did him. This allowed her to retire and enjoy life rather than working herself to death. She comes into the office and brings him lunch a few times a week. By him, I mean me and Mia also.
“Yeah, I’m just watching TV. Is everything okay?” she asks worriedly.
“Oh yeah, everything is okay. I just needed to tell you something.”
“Okay. What’s going on?” she asks.
“So, I’m not really sure how you will react to this, but I just need you to trust me, okay?” Rowan seems a bit nervous, but I think that is because I am listening .
“Okay, sweetie. Just tell me.”
“You know Anika from work?” he asks.
“Of course, I know Anika! She’s sweet. Has she left that awful man yet?”
“Uh, yeah. She sure has,” Rowan laughs.
“Are you two dating now?” she guesses.
“We got married…” Rowan says slowly.
“Did you get her pregnant?” she asks and Max busts out laughing. “Hey, Max.”
“Hey Mom,” he says, still laughing.
“No, I didn’t get her pregnant,” Rowan laughs. He glances at me, likely wanting to explain. I smile and nod. He goes through the entire situation, including a bit of my history with how I came to exist to begin with. He ends by explaining what Emma suggested and why.
“You did the right thing, Rowan. I know you two have feelings for each other anyway, so maybe this will be a weird way to bring you two together for real,” she says.
“She’s an amazing woman,” Rowan says as he puts the truck in park in front of The Cherry.
“Where is she?” she asks.
“She’s right here. She can hear you,” Rowan says.
“Hi Maria,” I say sweetly.
“I’m sorry they are so awful, Anika,” she says.
“Thank you. I was hoping becoming an adult would solve the issue, but I guess not,” I sigh.
“Well, Rowan is a good man. He will keep you safe,” she vows.
“He is a good man,” I agree. “He apparently just married someone mentally unstable though, so jokes on him.”
“We are all a little crazy, baby girl,” she laughs. “When you guys get back from your trip to New York I want you to come for dinner. I’ll make you some tamales.”
“Your tamales are the way to my heart, Maria. You guys won’t get rid of me if you feed me though,” I say. Rowan is smiling at me as I talk to his Mom.
“Since I met you, I’ve wanted you for Rowan. If tamales are the way to keep you around, I’ll keep them coming,” she laughs. “I may not be your real mother, but I’ll treat you the way yours should have.”
Her words bring a wave of emotions down on me and tears sting my eyes. “I appreciate that more than you know,” I say softly.
“We can’t go back and change it, but we will make up for lost time, okay?” she says.
“Okay,” I say as I wipe a tear away.
“Alright. You are going to make me cry now,” Max says.
“I’ll feed you tamales too, Max. Come with them next week,” she says.
“Oh, I’ll be there. You better make extra. I’ll bring Mia and Emma, too,” he says happily.
“Oh, that’s wonderful! I can’t wait to see you guys,” she says.
“We love you, Mom. We are gonna go, okay?” Rowan says.
“Okay, sweetie. I love you all, too. You guys be good,” she says as she ends the call.
“Sorry. I could have warned you that she’s going to smother you with love and tamales,” Rowan says.
“It’s okay,” I say. “I love your mom. She’s sweet and feisty.”
“That she is,” he laughs. “Ready to go in?”
“Yeah,” I smile.
We all get out of the truck and walk inside where Emma and Mia are waiting.
“Quickie on the way?” Mia asks.
“No,” I laugh. “Rowan called his mom.”
“Oh, I love Maria!” Mia says.
“You guys are coming with us next week when we get back for dinner at her house,” I say in her ear as we walk through the club. The music is loud up front but as we move to the back it gets quieter.
Max and I always were in a private room, unless it was dead in the club. Tonight, it is very busy, so we go straight to the back room.
“Do you two want a drink?” Max asks Mia and me.
“Uh… Bold Rock Green Apple, if they have it back,” I say.
“We have it on draft now,” Emma says. “I’ll grab it.”
“Are you staying, Emma?” Max asks.
“Up until the sex part, yeah,” she says, laughing. Emma unlocks the VIP room and gives Max the key before walking off to get drinks.
“Then she and I will go have some fun out on the floor,” Mia says with a grin.
“Go sit and relax. We will set up,” Max says as he kisses my temple.
“Okay,” I sigh.
“You okay?” he asks.
“Yeah, just crashing from all of the intense emotions,” I say.
“I understand,” he says. “Mia, help her relax so she doesn’t panic when we start.”
“Okay,” she says as she pulls me to sit down. When I go into these scenes with too much built-up emotion, I have a tendency to let go of all of it at once when we start which results in me scaring myself.
Mia sits me down and we focus on breathing. When Emma gets in, she locks the door behind her and comes to sit with us. Emma sees that I am overwhelmed so she helps Mia with relaxing with me and I sip my cider. She pulls my hair back so that it hangs down my back then takes her time French braiding my hair. She does a single chunky braid that starts at my hairline and flows down my back. By the time she is done, Max walks over to get me.
Max has me sit on the edge of the table that I am about to be restrained to with my legs dangling off the edge. He stands in front of me as Rowan is leaning against the table watching us.
“We are going to start the way we always do, okay?”
“Okay,” I sigh.
“I am leading and will be the one doing most of everything, but I’m going to explain things to him as we go along,” Max says. “Do you want to know what I’m using?”
“I do,” I say.
“A bull hide flogger. Nothing added and it’s not braided,” he says. “After that we are going to play with some wax.”
“That sounds like an uncomfortable pairing,” I smirk.
“You will like it, I promise,” he says as he lifts my chin. “Consent first, then he and I will get you undressed. Has your boundary changed for how much you undress?”
“Yes,” I say with a smile.
“How much?”
“I am leaving it all up to you,” I say.
“Okay,” he grins. “Ready?”
“Mhmm,” I nod. I close my eyes and take a deep breath.
“What is your safe word, Nika?” he asks.
“Red.”
“Do you understand that you are putting your safety in mine and Rowan’s hands?” he asks.
“Yes.”
“Do you give your full consent to allow us to do as we see fit as long as it falls within your boundaries and the safe word is respected?”
“I do,” I say.
“Even if you say no?’ he asks.
“Even if I say no,” I repeat.
“Okay,” he says with a sweet smile.
Max stands me up beside the table as Rowan steps forward. Rowan is quiet but still observant. When Max grabs the fabric of my dress, panic hits me.
“Woah. Wait. Hold on,” I say. I close my eyes and breathe.
“Talk to me, Nika,” Max says as he slows down but doesn’t stop because I didn’t actually call the safe word. He pulls my dress offand the chill of the air sends goosebumps across my skin.
“Their words are stuck in my head,” I say quietly.
“Look at me, Nika,” Rowan says. I open my eyes and look at him. “You are gorgeous. We are going to show you how much we love your body. Don’t let them ruin your vibe here, okay?”
“Okay,” I smile. Rowan steps behind me and unhooks my bra as he gently kisses my neck. The straps slide off my shoulders and my breasts spring free.
“Fuck, Nika. You’re beautiful,” Max says as he gently caresses my breasts. He gently pinches both nipples and I softly gasp. Rowan and Max switch places and Rowan’s eyes are filled with lust.
“Isaac wouldn’t know a good thing if it slapped him in the face. Do you want to know why?” Rowan asks as he drags his eye down my body.
“Why?” I ask softly.
“Because if I had you in my bed, I’d never take my hands off this amazing body of yours,” he says as he trails his fingertips from my neck down to my pelvis.
“Oh, but she will be in your bed now,” Max says from behind me.
“That’s right,” Rowan says with a devious grin that makes me smile.
“Let’s get to it, Nika,” Max says as he nudges me to the table. I take a deep breath and lie face down. Max runs his hand from my lower back up to my right arm and adds the restraint to my wrist pulling it up and out from my body. He moves to my left arm and does the same.
Rowan does this with each leg before slowly dragging his hand up my inner thigh. He stops just before he touches where I really want him to put his hands. He suddenly slaps my ass and I yelp. The burn that it leaves behind on my skin is glorious. He does it again in a different spot and I am more prepared this time, so I only inhale sharply.
“Alright, Nika. Are you ready?” Max asks.
“Yes,” I say.
“Focus on the anger, Nika,” Max tells me. “Let it consume you.”
I do as he says and focus on all the rage inside of me. All the years I have spent quietly doing as I am told.I was born to serve Harper. Everything I do has to benefit her in some way. The only thing I got to make of my own was my career, and even then, it started with my parents choosing my college where I was an intern. The joke's on them because I married my boss.
Rowan and Max are happy and willing to be my shield and my warriors. The only thing I know how to do is serve others but with them, I stand as their equal in every aspect. Even as I am restrained to this table, I am their equal.
Max brings the flogger down across my back with minimal force. It is just enough to make me groan. Warmth cascades over my body and my brain is buzzing with anticipation and excitement.
The following crack across my skin is stronger than the last. “Fuck,” I gasp. The slight sting radiates across my back, but fades away when Max runs his hand across my skin.
Another hit at a recognizable level of force and something mixed between a growl and a grunt comes out of me. Behind it follows a whimper as the burn is soothed by a comforting hand.
“There you are, my sweet Nika,” Max praises. The flogger comes down again and again. After the fourth hit, I cry out and multiple hands take the burn out of my skin. “Rowan is going to join. We want to hear you let go, Nika.”
The flogger lands across my ass, then the backs of my thighs. I groan and pull at my restraints, but they bring them down again. The more I resist letting go the harder the flogger bites.
“Let go, Anika,” Max commands as the flogger strikes down across my lower and mid back. I groan loudly and hands soothe my skin. A reward for not holding back, but they want more.
The flogger comes down across my thighs and ass and I stifle my response. They both take a bite again, only this time it’s with more force than any of the other strikes. My loud and breathy moan fills the room, and the feeling is blissful.
“How are we doing, Nika?” Rowan asks sweetly.
“Really good,” I pant.
“Oil first, then the wax. Okay?” Max asks.
“Okay,” I sigh.
Max drips massage oil from the base of my neck to the back of my knees then they rub it into my skin. They calm my hot skin making me groan softly as they work their way across my body. “Mmm. That’s nice.”
“Good girl, Nika. You’re getting better at letting go,” Max praises as he rubs up my inner thigh making me groan.
“I’m trying,” I say.
“Emma,” Max says.