The Brothers Rule - Carolyn Faulkner Page 0,41

pursuits. It dawned on Laurie that might have been the reason why they had made themselves scarce.

After dinner, Laurie tried to sit in her usual chair, but six hands tried to corral her in three different directions, until she straightened and said, in a not bad imitation of a Domme, "Stop."

All hands were withdrawn from her body.

She turned to them and said firmly, "I'm not getting into anyone's bed tonight. There are too many things that need to be worked out, not the least of which is some kind of schedule, which I will work on. I think we should work on a Monday through Sunday calendar, and I'll do my best to get that done this week—and I'm not sleeping with any of you until that's done."

"Laurie." There was no doubt that Jace was not happy with that idea.

She turned to face him, arms crossed over her chest. "Jace. You said at one point that this turns on me, and it always will. You all know that in a D/s relationship, it's the sub who has all the power. And before we actually put this type of relationship into effect, I need parameters—I need clear expectations for myself and for you guys. That will help me feel safe about it."

"You're always safe with us," Ryan stated. He, too, was anticipating having her tonight.

She swiveled to meet his eyes. "I know. But this is a very new, unique situation, and I don't want to just dive into it. I want what most subs want—structure."

"How long?" Adam asked, looking pitiful, and she went to stand in his arms.

"I'll be as quick as I can." Then she looked at all three of them. "You guys aren't the only ones missing the intimacy, you know. I'm not trying to be an obstructionist. I believe that we need to have some kind of rules—maybe a formal agreement of some sort—in place before we go forward."

Jace nodded, however grudgingly. "She's right, men."

"I know," the others agreed, sounding almost petulant.

Then Jace continued, his eyes on hers. "But next Monday. No later. We'll make ourselves available to you to talk things out as much as possible until then—and after, of course—but this will begin no later than next Monday, Laurie."

She contracted a little at the dominance in his tone. "All right."

Considering how dominant the three of them were, it was—necessarily—an interesting mix of their approach to this solution and hers. They were more involved in the planning than she had thought they would be, but that was a good thing.

They decided that they would each get a night with her, and then, after those three nights, she would have one to herself. Exceptions would be made for any three or four day weekends or vacations they wanted to take her on, and compensatory time would be given to the others at other times.

In essence, they were just going to try to keep things as fair and equitable as was possible.

The guys were all very concerned that she make time for herself and that things be as stable for her as they could possibly make them. And as they were all discussing these things, they realized that they didn't want her to have to bed hop, which she thought was terribly sweet. Everyone was very concerned that she was always as comfortable as possible. They didn't really give a crap where they slept. Hell, they could sleep standing up, if they needed to. They wanted to make sure that she was in relaxed, familiar surroundings.

So, during that week, they all decided that she should move into what had been their parents' room—which had become Jace's once they'd died. It was the biggest and nicest of the bedrooms and was also a bit tucked away from the others, which would afford them all more privacy.

But they didn't stop there. They wanted her to be as happy there as they all were, so they told that she could gut it and redo it in any way she wanted to. They were all taught by their father how to do very handy things—carpentry, electricity, and plumbing—so they could do it themselves.

Laurie was overwhelmed by their offer. The room was very big and bright, with an enormous window that had a comfortable looking seat. There was a huge walk in closet and a bathroom that was at least twice the size of the one she was currently using.

She didn't really want to change a lot. She'd like the walls to be painted—it