“Yup.”
“Submissives don’t get to unionize.”
Minnow laughed, sounding giddy. “I’m being repressed!”
She followed them to the table and crawled up beside Rodrigo and nuzzled into his side. He pulled her close, but draped an arm over his eyes. Fuck, his ass was sore. It was satisfying, though, to feel where Severin had been, although that was probably the endorphins and elation influencing things. Having come dripping out of his ass was a weird feeling. He wanted Severin to come over and check on him, but he also knew he’d probably gotten all the aftercare he could expect. He’d already gotten more than he thought he would.
A rough hand grabbed his wrist, and something warm and hard closed over it. When he looked, Severin was fastening something there – a smooth metal bracelet that matched Minnow’s collar. It was plain and expensive looking, but in a masculine way.
“What’s this?” Rodrigo asked, proud about how little his voice shook, considering the roiling emotions in his belly.
“You’re mine, Rodrigo. You already agreed.”
“I did.”
“You don’t get to fucking leave us, okay?”
“But...I have to work.”
Severin flicked his fingers dismissively. “When I give you permission, I’ll let you travel, but you have to come to me to get this off or security won’t let you through.” He stared Rodrigo down, and Ro’s whole body responded, knowing damned well who owned him, and reveling in that ownership.
And just like that, he was Severin’s slave. Typical Severin.
“You should marry us,” Minnow murmured dreamily, burying her face into Rodrigo’s shoulder.
He carefully avoided looking at Severin, who’d withdrawn somewhere in the workshop – maybe he’d gone back to working.
“What’s between you and Severin is different,” he admonished, his neck heating. She shouldn’t be volunteering Sev for anything, let alone that.
He pulled away from her, feeling like an asshat. He felt too vulnerable like this...talking about this right after what Severin had just done. He sought out his swim shorts, wishing he had more clothes to put on.
The world was designed for twos, not threes. It was only right that she and Severin get married. Minnow needed protecting, and Severin needed her just as much if not more. The two of them loved each other. What they had was real and lasting and normal and...just right. Rodrigo was entertainment more than anything serious. Besides, he wasn’t some sort of starry-eyed teenage romantic – he never had been. It wasn’t like he needed a wedding to make him feel fulfilled.
Arms wrapped around him from behind. Startled, he struggled, but Severin was determined. Wordlessly, they tested each other’s strength, but eventually Severin pinned him to the wall beside the door, pressing Ro’s face against the rough wood.
“You’re just as important to me as she is,” Severin whispered in his ear. “Find a way for the three of us to get married, or to have something like it. If there’s no way to patch legal documents together, you should be the one who marries her. You’re more stable, and it’ll mean more to your mother.”
Fuck. He’d marry her in a heartbeat, but there was no way in hell he’d leave Severin behind. She wouldn’t agree to abandon Sev either, and Rodrigo knew it.
Severin slid a hand up between the wall and Ro’s chest, hand over his heart, holding him close in the only way Severin could tolerate. He rested his forehead on Rodrigo’s shoulder.
He didn’t say anything else but he didn’t need to.
Chapter Seven
The noise of the puppies barking and crashing through the underbrush made walking in the woods behind the house very different than it had been months ago. The pups made everything sillier. They reminded him of his nieces, always ridiculous and getting into mischief. He’d never tell Minnow, but he was glad she hadn’t found homes for the clumsy dorks.
His phone vibrated, and when he checked the text message he snorted.
Rodrigo 8:46am: What did you do to her, you evil bastard?
Severin 8:49am: Nothing she didn’t deserve. Why?
Rodrigo 8:49am: She just sent me a picture of her sad face with no explanation.
Rodrigo had gotten up early to go see a client in town, so Severin had woken Minnow by licking her sweet little pussy. He’d edged her for so long she’d begged to come, but then he’d stopped and given her a bath, leaving her pouting and needy. The sound of her final pleas as he’d left for his walk was still making his balls ache.
Severin 8:50am: I’m making her wait for an orgasm.