both men were standing tall. Auberon righted his clothes, tucking his rigid erection into his jeans before resuming his post near the wall while Ari returned to the kitchen.
“That, Braelyn, is what it means to be owned. They can make no decision on their own.”
“I didn’t ask you to do that,” I stated defensively. “I’m just trying to understand. None of it makes sense.”
There was a flash of anger on his face, something I hadn’t seen yet. He was mad. At me?
“It does to me,” he bit out, his hands flattening on the table as he stood.
He leaned over, his face close to mine when he said, “They want to be owned, Braelyn. And I want to own them. Nothing and no one will change that fact.”
His words felt like a physical blow, causing me to sit back in my chair, regarding him carefully.
He didn’t give me a chance to say anything more before he walked away.
I stared at his retreating back until he disappeared from view. Auberon left with him, strolling through the room and following Talon, as though that was his only goal in life.
As I sat there dumbfounded, I got the distinct feeling it was.
*
TALON
After losing my cool with Braelyn, I headed for my office, needing something familiar to calm me. I had no excuse for my irrational, defensive behavior back there. Braelyn certainly hadn’t deserved it.
Because of Tiegan’s outburst earlier, Braelyn’s seemingly innocent questions had provoked me, pissed me off. And yes, they’d gotten me defensive, something I wasn’t prone to do. Ever. I didn’t feel the need to defend myself, to explain why I was the way I was.
Yet with her…
With Braelyn, it all boiled down to the fact that I felt insecure. As though I needed to ensure her I wasn’t damaged or broken, that my desires were completely rational. As though I was seeking her approval.
Rather than sit down at my desk, I called for Ari and Auberon to join me, the three of us heading up to the second-floor loft in my office.
While I had plenty to keep me busy, I knew my focus would be for shit. No way would I get anything accomplished, so I decided to be productive in another way.
By having Auberon and Ari perform the way I had, I had violated their trust in me. Never before had I used them like that, out of anger or frustration, to prove a point to someone else. That wasn’t why they were here. Although neither of them would say anything, I certainly didn’t approve of my own actions. When it came to my interactions with them, I had a rigid set of rules. At the very top of that list: only demand they do things that please me.
Having Ari suck Auberon on the table had brought me absolutely no pleasure, and now I would atone for that by taking my pleasure from them in a manner I saw fitting.
“Both of you undress me,” I ordered when I joined them at the top of the stairs. “I expect to feel your lips and hands move over every inch of me while you do.”
Every muscle in my body was rigid, my mind a jumble of thoughts. When they began touching me, I focused on my breathing. In, out. Clearing my mind so I could stay in this moment. I needed some space from Braelyn. Not physically, because I’d been managing that relatively well. Mentally. Emotionally. I was too caught up in her, and it was affecting my ability to be rational.
This was where I needed to be. Right here. Right now. Only in this moment.
It wasn’t until Auberon’s big hands began working the tight knots in my shoulders that I started to relax. I watched Ari, saw the reverence in his ministrations as his hands grazed lightly over my chest, his lips trailing over my skin. There was no choreography, no expectations. I wasn’t issuing a command so they would perform. I truly wanted to feel their touch, to get lost in the sensations.
Together, they worked off each piece of my clothing, one folding and storing while the other continued to lavish me with eager fingers. I let them go on for longer than usual before I palmed their heads, guiding them up to my chest. Each took a nipple in their mouth, sucking, nipping. They knew it was something I enjoyed immensely, and after taking the pleasure for as long as I could, I stopped them by pulling their heads