Grant guided Charli into the booth as Jace returned to his seat on the other side. Grant slid in next to her and laid a hand on her thigh, idly rubbing his thumb along her bared skin. “No. It’s so busy tonight because we have a group from an out-of-town club here for training. I put Colby in charge of coordinating everything though.”
Jace leaned back in the booth, stretching his arm along the back of it. “That’s too bad. I always learn something from your demos.”
Charli looked back and forth between the two of them, having no idea what they were talking about. Her lips parted to ask, but Grant squeezed her thigh. A warning.
“I think that may have been too much for Charlotte’s first time here.”
Before Jace could respond, a couple stopped in front of their table. Jace turned his head and smiled at the petite dark-haired woman and the much taller Hispanic man. “Well, it’s about damn time. I thought I was going to have to go back to the cabin and drag y’all out.”
The woman rolled her eyes and crooked a thumb at her partner. “Not my fault. Andre got distracted by the new six-headed shower.” She looked over at Grant. “Nice addition, by the way.”
Grant nodded, an amused expression on his face. “Glad you enjoyed it, Evan.”
Jace rose and wrapped his arm around the woman’s waist, pulling her against him and laying a way-more-than-friendly kiss on her lips.
Charli watched them in confusion. She’d gotten the impression the two strangers were a couple. But the way the woman melted against Jace said otherwise.
When Jace released Evan, he moved around her and pressed a quick kiss to Andre’s mouth as well. “Don’t tell me she fell for the line—come and check out this new shower, baby?”
Andre’s smile was like lazy sex on summer night. “I don’t need lines, bro.”
Charli could only stare. All three of them were together?
Evan glanced over, her blue eyes widening when she noticed Charli there. “Good Lord, how rude are we? Grant has a guest.” She gently shoved Jace into the booth and slid in next to him. “I’m sorry. These two have a way of distracting me. I’m Evan. And this is Andre.”
As Andre sank into the booth, flanking Evan’s other side, Charli managed to introduce herself, her mind still absorbing the fact that this woman had managed to snag not just one but two freaking gorgeous men. And based on how Jace and Andre were looking at her, Evan hadn’t only snagged them but had their utter devotion.
Maybe Charli should take training from this chick. Was she a submissive? Her gaze drifted to Evan’s throat, but she saw no collar there.
Grant draped his arm along the back of the booth and idly played with a lock of Charli’s hair. “Go ahead and ask your questions, freckles. I see them all over your face.”
She shot a sharp look Grant’s way. Was he trying to make her look like a complete novice? Embarrass her?
He sighed. “These are my friends, Charlotte. I planned for us to sit with them so that you could see that the people who are part of this scene are just regular folks. That you don’t need to be intimidated or feel out of place.”
Evan gave her an understanding smile. “I was totally freaked out the first time I visited. I had no idea what to expect. I definitely didn’t expect to fall for these two.” She raised her arms, showing matching bracelets on each wrist. The delicate circles were pewter and aged copper woven together in a pretty pattern.Author: Roni Loren
Charli stared down at the jewelry, realizing the two metals probably represented her two lovers—fair and dark. No collar, but cuffs. So Evan was their submissive. A little spark of melancholy went through Charli as she remembered the band around her neck was only made of disposable leather.
Good Lord, what’s wrong with me?
“Did you know that’s what you wanted when you came here? To be a submissive?” Charli asked, her words coming out tentative even to her own ears.
Evan sniffed and nodded toward Grant. “Hardly. But Mr. See-Right-Through-Your-Bullshit here recognized it in me before we even finished my first tour.”
Grant gave her an easy smile. “That’s my job, darlin’.”
Charli straightened, a little perturbed by Grant’s obvious warmth toward Evan. Had he offered to train her when he’d figured out she was submissive? How close were all these “friends”?
The jealousy was ugly and totally uncalled for—as if she had any claim on Grant anyway. But there it was nonetheless, setting her teeth on edge. She tried to shrug off the tightness in her shoulders. Grant’s fingers drifted from her hair to her neck and massaged.
“You’re very tense, Charlotte. Come here.” He spread his thighs and patted the spot in between his knees. “Sit.”
Shyness threatened, but she remembered what he’d told her before they walked in—don’t think, only do. So after a breath of hesitation, she scooted closer to him. His palms spanned her waist and he lifted her easily over his leg and settled her between his thighs, as if she were as petite as the woman sitting across from them. A beat of pleasure went through Charli, the feeling of being small and easily handled such a rarity for her.
Grant put his hands on her shoulders and began to work at the knots that had formed there with his thumbs. A soft sigh escaped her, as the muscles yielded to his commanding fingers. If this is what being submissive was about, she’d clearly been missing out. Wasn’t she supposed to be the one serving him?
Though, honestly, massaging him wouldn’t be a hardship either. Getting her hands on all those lean, honed muscles of his would be quite the treat.