night what’s bothering him?” He didn’t have to say it, but I heard it—is this my fault?
I put my hands on his waist and tugged him closer. “It’s not your fault. He takes his role as a Dom really seriously, and I think he got a little overwhelmed adjusting to the idea of having two subs.”
The creases deepened. “That kind of does sound like it’s my fault.”
“No, it isn’t. It’s just…” I thought about it, looking for just the right words. “Call it growing pains.”
Kelly cocked his head. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. This is new territory for all of us. Kink and sex? We all have that down. The three-way thing? As a regular thing?” I shrugged. “It’s new. And I think for Will, trying to wrap his head around being enough for two submissives—I mean, that’s enough to fry anyone’s brain. When you’ve already have some trouble processing? A short circuit now and again is to be expected.”
“Oh.” He glanced toward the living room again. “But it’s not like a red flag or something? Like an alarm going off and saying maybe we shouldn’t do this?”
“Not at all.” I kissed Kelly softly. “Just working out… Well, the kinks, I guess.”
He laughed quietly, which seemed to break through some of the tension. “Okay. I feel better then. So, what do we do tonight?”
“Tonight, we do what subs do best.” I grinned. “We take care of our Dom.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“How good are you at foot rubs?”
“Pfft.” Kelly met my eyes with a smug grin. “I’m a boss at foot rubs.”
“Perfect. Well, then while I get some food going, you can give him a foot rub, and then we can all chill. It’s a little like when he had top drop—just a relaxing evening, lots of cuddling, and no pressure.”
Kelly’s smile turned almost dreamy. “Okay, circumstances notwithstanding, that seriously sounds like a great way to spend the evening.”
“Does it?”
“Fuck yeah it does.” He paused. “And you’re cool with me staying here sometimes? He and I talked about it last night, but—”
I kissed him again, drawing it out for a moment. Lips barely leaving his, I murmured, “Yes. I’m completely cool with it.”
Kelly relaxed a little more. “Good. Because you guys have a seriously comfortable bed.”
Laughing, I loosened my embrace. “Uh-huh. Still just in it for the mattress.”
“Pretty much, yeah.”
“Smartass.”
We both chuckled, and then he went in to keep Will company while I got dinner going.
All the while, I smiled to myself. No, this hadn’t been how I’d expected tonight to play out. And yeah, I was a little disappointed we wouldn’t be doing any kink. But nights like this happened, and more and more, I thought I was right to call this growing pains. We were all adapting to each other. Part of that meant changing direction on the fly in the name of taking care of each other.
We’d get back to the kink when everyone’s minds, bodies, and schedules cooperated.
And when we did, I’d be even more secure in the knowledge that all three of us were in good hands.
Twenty-Nine
Kelly
A few nights after our quiet evening with Will, I went over to their place again. This time, though, it was just Aaron and me, and I arrived a few minutes after he’d apparently gotten home from work.
“Something to drink?” Aaron asked as I toed off my shoes.
“Sure.” I smiled. “Whatever you’re having.”
“I’m boring—just ice water.”
“Pfft. Boring, hell. Sounds good to me.”
We moved into the kitchen, and he pulled some glasses down from the cabinet. “So how is the house coming along?”
“Ugh.” I groaned theatrically. “I poked my head into the attic again and basically noped on out of there.”
“That bad?” Aaron handed me one of the glasses. “Is it all dusty and full of spiders or something?”
“Well, no. And thank God for that, because fuck spiders.”
He choked on his water, managing to clap a hand over his mouth before he sputtered all over me.
I laughed. “Sorry. My bad.”
“Uh-huh.” He cleared his throat a couple of times. “And yeah, I agree—fuck spiders.”
“Spiders aren’t that bad.” Will stepped into the kitchen.
I did a double take. “Oh, I thought you were working tonight. Like…” I flailed my hand. “At the university.”
“I’ve got my lecture in an hour.” He checked his phone, then put a hand on my waist and kissed me lightly. “But I can stay for a bit.”
My heart gave a little flutter. I was perfectly game for an evening of just hanging out with Aaron, but I was hardly going to say