Ella
They had planned something. I could feel it in the air—the stillness, the way none of them spoke—but when I let my gaze drift carefully around the bed and the nightstands, I didn’t see the usual spread of things Alec liked to arrange.
No cuffs. No clamps. No coils of leather or neatly laid-out instruments that made my stomach knot before he even touched them.
Sometimes those things were… manageable.
Other times, he took it right to the edge and then pretended it had never been sharp in the first place.
Alec had a way of making pain sound reasonable.
Inevitable. He softened it with words, dressed it up as necessity, as improvement.
As if my body was something that needed correcting.
Rowan was easier to predict. He liked structure.
Routine. Repetition. The same shared positions, the same choreography between them, as though they were following steps they’d practised until they no longer needed to think.
He used degrading language the way other people used punctuation—naturally, without effort.
They all did, in different ways. But with Rowan it felt…
habitual. Automatic. Like it wasn’t about me at all.
Sometimes I wondered—who hurt you?
And then I remembered it didn’t matter.
Nick was the one I watched for. The one I measured my breathing around.
He was the most dangerous because he was the least predictable.
Alec’s hunger for pain could be anticipated.
Managed. But Nick could go from distant to volatile in a heartbeat.
Cold one second. Scorching the next. Like something inside him was always on the verge of splitting open.
There was no more time to delay.
My hair was dry.
I unplugged the hairdryer and wrapped the cable neatly around the handle, my movements were careful. I placed it back in the drawer and closed it softly, as if noise itself might provoke something. I stood there for a moment longer than necessary, drawing in a slow breath, steadying myself.
Then I turned and moved toward the bed, keeping my eyes lowered.
I climbed up onto the mattress, folding my knees beneath me, settling into the position without being told. Waiting.
There was no shame left in me. No fight, either.
It was easier this way—to let the current carry me forward rather than be torn apart by it.
And I stayed very still.
“Do you know before you came along what we missed the most?”
Rowan’s voice cut through the silence.
I glanced up.
That was when I saw the two black loops fastened to the silver pole at the top of the headboard. Too high. The straps too short for my hands.
“Ella?”
I forced myself to look away.
That was all Alec.
I shook my head once.
“We were sick to death of condoms,” Rowan continued evenly. “So tonight, as a little celebration, we’d like to focus on that pretty tight little cunt of yours.”
“You can take the day off tomorrow,” Alec added as he moved beside me, fingers hooking under my strap and tugging it down. He pressed a kiss to my shoulder. “To recover.”
And there it was.
I nodded—but the motion was more for myself than for them.
I could handle this.
Then my eyes landed on Nick.
My breath caught halfway in.
His eyes were hyper-focused.
On me.
He didn't move.
Didn't blink.
It was much worse.
He smiled.
Alec’s hand rested on my throat before he brushed my hair over my shoulder, deliberately distracting me. Rowan shifted in front of me and began to peel the lace down. Alec’s lips grazed my nape. Rowan bared me to my belly, then hauled me against his naked chest and laid me back on top of him.
“Take it off,” he murmured.
Someone tugged the soft material down my body, stripping me of the nightdress.
I had no idea why they bought me so much underwear and nightwear.
It never lasted.
Rowan rolled us onto our side, burying his face in the crook of my neck.
“How many cocks can you fit in your pussy, Ella?” he murmured, grinding against my belly.
Oh. Fuck.
“Or we can try her arse,” Alec said—because he was evil.
“No,” I gasped, glancing over my shoulder to see him chuckle.
“Pussy it is, then.”
Like I said.
Evil.
A hand slid down my back. I turned my head and saw Nick watching me.
“We don’t want to tear her,” he said, his voice deceptively soft. “Alec will need to fly solo. His dick’s too thick.”
“Good idea,” Alec said easily. “You two can lube her up for me.”
He shifted my legs until I straddled Rowan.
“You’ve been such a good little whore for us,” Rowan said, kissing his way down to my breasts. “Followed every instruction. Never complained. Think of this as a reward.”
Like I had a choice.
Nick and Alec switched positions as Alec settled beside Rowan.
“Place your hands on the metal pole,” Alec said, guiding my arm toward the headboard.
I wrapped my fingers around the cold silver bar, then placed my other hand beside it as instructed.
“Let’s see how good she really is,” Nick said, gripping my arse in both hands.
Alec dipped his head and closed his mouth around one nipple. Rowan took the other, shifting his hips until his cock lined up with me.
“She’s wet,” Rowan said against my breast before mauling it again.
Sue me.
“Of course she is,” Nick replied, sarcasm and smug satisfaction lacing every word.
Rowan slid inside me—but stopped.
Then I felt Nick’s piercing. The blunt press of him at my entrance.
I looked down at them—two men working my body as if their lives depended on it.
Something was different.
Something I couldn’t quite name. Nick’s hand settled on my lower back.
For once, it didn’t feel like a threat. He stroked me slowly, almost absently—like a pet.
Then he pushed forward.
Stretching me.
Both of them.
I shut my eyes and tightened my grip on the silver bar.