Chapter Ten

Chapter TenReluctantly, I pressed the button to unlock the main door to the complex. No prizes for guessing what had brought my mother here. She’d finally chosen to confront me over my continued contact with Trace.I was surprised that she hadn’t simply given me a ration of shit over the phone as opposed to inconveniencing herself by flying all the way to Redwater. As a rule, Alondra did not inconvenience herself. She also wasn’t a fan of Redwater—it wasn’t glamorous enough for her liking.I doubted that I was being dramatic by having the distinct feeling that this conversation was not going to go well.I returned to the living area, puffing out a weary breath.Izzy frowned. “What’s wrong?”I set my hands on my hips. “She’s here. Alondra.”Her brows lifting, Izzy hummed. “Apparently she’s done holding her silence and has decided that a face-to-face chat would be good.”“Well it won’t be.” Far from it.“You never know, she might be here to say that she’s done being an arsehole.”I snickered. “Oh, you’re funny.”“Stranger things have happened.” Izzy stood. “I’ll get out of here so that you two can talk in private. I’m nosy enough to want to stay, but I admit there’s a good chance I’d bitch slap her if she went on a rant, and I doubt you’d want that.”“It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.”Her mouth curving, Izzy crossed to me and put a hand on my upper arm. “You know where I’ll be if you need me.”“In your apartment holding a glass to the wall so you can eavesdrop?”“Yes. That’s exactly where I’ll be.” She gave my arm a quick, supportive squeeze. “Good luck.”Mere minutes after Izzy left, my mother arrived. I didn’t get the chance to greet Alondra. She strode inside before I’d even fully opened the front door, her face a mask of anger. Yeah, this definitely wasn’t going to go well.With an inward sigh, I let the door swing shut. Turning to fully face her, I folded my arms, braced for dramatics.She swiped off her sunglasses in a sharp, fluid movement. “Did you specifically set out to embarrass me?”I bristled, my brows drawing together. “Embarrass you?” What in the hell?“You’ve been swanning around Redwater slobbering over two men at the same time, like you don’t have an ounce of self-respect.” The words tumbled out of her, edged with disgust. “I cringed looking at the pictures taken of you with them.”Oh, was that so? Inching up my chin, I poked my tongue into the inside of my cheek. “I had the same reaction many times over the years when you did shit like accidentally-on-purpose flash your underwear to the paparazzi—an incident that might not have been so terrible if you hadn’t been wearing a G-string.”All the kids at school had teased me mercilessly about it. One had even torn the article out of a magazine and pinned it to the classroom chalkboard, the dick. Similar things had happened before and after that particular incident.“That was accidental,” she clipped.“It was a bid for the tabloids’ attention, and we both know it.” I followed her into the living area, where she flung her purse on the armchair. “Now, please don’t tell me you came all this way just to whine at me about some pictures. I’ve told you before, what I do with Trace and Kaleb is my business. It has not one tiny thing to do with you.”I didn’t get the outburst that I’d expected. No, she drew in a long breath through her nose, and the tension slipped out of her muscles just as her anger appeared to drain away. Appeared being the operative word. I never forgot that my mother was an award-winning actress.She sighed, looking tired all of a sudden. “You’re quite right.”I blinked. That was probably the first time she’d ever said those words to me. And I felt I could be forgiven for not believing that there was a droplet of sincerity in them. She didn’t have the self-insight to ever realize when she was in the wrong, nor the willingness to self-reflect and consider that she could be in the wrong.“You have the right to sleep with whomever you please,” she went on. “And if you’re certain that Trace isn’t using you to get to me, I will trust your judgement. But could you at least keep what happens between the three of you behind closed doors?”“Why? I can’t see how it affects you.”“I would appreciate the luxury of not having to watch my daughter make the same mistake that I made. Group sex is fun and exciting. At first. But sooner or later, someone feels hurt or neglected or is harshly tossed aside.”I let my arms slip to my sides. “It was different with you, Ansel, and Troy.”“Not all that different.” She gingerly perched herself on the sofa, her expression one of pained nostalgia. “I was cut out. I was set aside by my own husband so that he could be with someone who should only ever have been our temporary lover. That’s all you are to Trace and Kaleb, Briar—temporary.”I squinted. She hadn’t spoken the words unkindly. In fact, there’d been an element of reluctance in her voice … as if she would rather that she’d never had to make such a statement as it hurt her to hurt me. And I was not buying it. “You’re so certain of that?”“I would question why you are not. I heard about their … proclivities at the Vault. They’re careful not to form attachments. They don’t even agree to arrangements at the club, do they? Like it or not, they’ll set you aside soon enough.”As much as I wished I could argue that, I couldn’t. I had no damn idea what they wanted from me. “Maybe so. But there’s nothing wrong with me enjoying what I have with them while I have it.”Annoyance flickered in her eyes. “And what is it exactly that you do have? Hmm? Have they made you any promises? Have they given you any sweet words? Have they offered you anything permanent?” Whatever she saw on my face made her give a confident nod. “I thought not. They might spend time with you in public, but they’ve made no commitment to you. They are merely using you for sex.”“You make them sound like villains who are out to steal women’s virtues.”She hiked up an imperious brow. “You think they’re good people, do you?”“Yes, I do.”“Even though they have offered you nothing?”“Just because they haven’t yet committed to a woman doesn’t mean they’re bad people. And it’s not like they ever misled me into believing that they would offer me anything. There’s been no games, no manipulations, no lies.”“You believe that they’re open and honest with you? Really?” she asked, doubtful.They weren’t closed books. They didn’t dodge questions or topics. They didn’t make false promises. They didn’t play mind games. So … “Yeah, I do.”“Hmm, I see.” She paused. “I was offered a part in a movie a few days ago. I was informed that Trace would be starring in it. More, he will be playing the role of my lover.”My gut clenched painfully and did a slow, nauseating roll. I swallowed hard, battling the explicit images that tried swimming to the forefront of my mind. Images of them touching, kissing—I locked my teeth to hold back a hiss.“He didn’t tell you about that, did he?” A smirk flirted with the corners of her mouth—a smirk that was there and gone so fast I wouldn’t have noticed if I wasn’t watching her so carefully. “Naturally, I’ll turn down the part, since it would be otherwise hideously awkward for you.”My head almost jerked back at that.“But other women won’t turn it down, or any other roles where they might play his lover. You’ll watch those sex scenes and you will know that they’re not real, but it will burn you all the same.”Even though he wasn’t mine, yes, it would—that I couldn’t deny. But it wasn’t what was on my mind right then. No, I was busy chewing on something else she’d said. “You’ll turn down the part?” Even I heard the incredulity in my tone. Alondra wasn’t the self-sacrificing type.“What kind of mother would I be if I didn’t?”The same kind of mother she’d always been—one who had a complete disregard for my wants and needs if they clashed with her own.“It might not bother Trace to take on the role of my lover, but it will bother me. Of course, it is unlikely that you and he will still be … sleeping together by the time filming begins, which won’t be for another five months, but it would still be awkward.”For a normal person, sure. For Alondra? No. No, it wouldn’t feel weird to her at all.Looking down at her lap, she fiddled with her fingers. “I’m not a good mother. I must own that. But I do not wish to cause you pain.”She so often did, though, because her own feelings came first to her. Alondra rarely stood still long enough to wonder how her decisions or actions could affect me. Which was exactly why I wasn’t buying this oh-so-selfless act.“Why haven’t you already turned down the part?” I challenged.Her head snapped up. “What?”“You said that you will do it. And you do in fact sound so very against accepting the role. Yet, you haven’t rejected the offer. Why not?”Her eyes narrowed slightly. “You don’t trust that I will?”“No. No, I don’t. Keeping that part would provide you with the chance to do what you did to the other men in my life. Kiss Trace. And we both know that you were never simply ‘testing’ their loyalty to me. You needed to feel that they would want you more than they would me, because I’m competition in your eyes.”“Don’t be ridiculous.”“The whole thing is ridiculous. It’s also factual. That’s why you can’t let this go. You have to win. You have to be the most desirable woman in the scenario. You can’t be one-upped by your daughter. Oh no.”Her face hardened. “You are merely striking out at me because you’re hurt that he didn’t tell you about the roles we’ve both been offered.”“You hopedI’d be hurt,” I corrected. I was hurt, to an extent, but I wouldn’t let hersee that. “You hoped he hadn’t already told me about it. You hoped you could use this for your own gain. You want the same thing you wanted the last time we spoke: Trace out of the picture. You’re simply switching tactics.”“You always insist on believing that I have a negative motive.”“Because it’s most often the case.”The intercom beeped again.Figuring it wouldn’t be so bad to have a few moments to lock down my anger, I crossed to the monitor. My pulse spiked at the sight of both Trace and Kaleb outside. Not a good time for them to be here.I pressed the button for the speaker. “You might want to come back later, I have company right now.”Kaleb squinted. “What kind of company?” he asked, a possessive note in his tone.Not wanting them to think that I had another man up here—I wasn’t interesting in playing those kinds of games—I explained, “My mother is here.”Trace shrugged. “It’s not like we haven’t met her before. Let us in. We have something we’d like to say to her anyway.”Really? Well I’d rather be present when they said it, so I unlocked the main door with the push of a button. Turning, I found Alondra standing a few feet away.Her eyes flared. “It’s them, isn’t it?”I lifted my chin. “Trace and Kaleb are on their way up, yes. You’re free to leave—”“Oh no, I’d like to stay. I’d like to hear what Trace is so eager to say to me. I don’t doubt that it’s anything short of rude, but still.”Well, if she thought I’d turn on Trace for being rude to her, she was very wrong.Silence fell as we waited for the men to arrive. When a knock on the door came, I opened it wide. Despite my mother’s news about the movie role he’d neglected to tell me about, I didn’t push Trace away when he planted a soft kiss on my mouth as he entered the apartment. Purely because she’d just love that. I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction.“We brought coffee and donuts,” he said, holding a scrunched up paper bag and a takeout cup. “Knowing you’re an early riser, we suspected you’d already had breakfast.”“You suspected correctly,” I said, gratefully taking the cup he held out.Once Trace stepped further inside, Kaleb entered and shot me a panty-dropping smile. “Hey, baby.” He cupped my nape as he gave me a quick kiss. “Hmm, love that taste.” A throat cleared, and his smile faded. He gave the back of my neck a little squeeze and kicked the door shut.We all then turned to face my mother.Trace briefly inclined his head as he said, “Alondra.”Kaleb only grunted at her by way of greeting, sliding his arm around my shoulders in a plainly protective gesture.Glaring at Trace, she crossed her arms over her chest, haughty as hell. “You didn’t tell Briar about the upcoming movie that you and I are meant to be starring in together.”Trace gave an easy shrug. “I saw no need, since I’ve already pulled out of the project.”Relief settled over me, unclenching my still-rolling gut.“Pulled out?” Alondra echoed, incredulous.“Of course,” he said, his brow wrinkling. “I’m hardly going to star alongside Briar’s mother if the role involves—”“You’re lying. If you had pulled out, I would have been told.”“Feel free to call your agent and check. I’m sure she’d be able to confirm it for you.”An annoyed flush sweeping up her neck and face, Alondra opened her mouth to speak again, but he got there first.“You’re not going to drag me into a dispute. I have no interest in arguing with you. I have only one thing to say to you: You don’t have to like that Briar is with me and Kaleb. You don’t even have to accept it. But you will stay out of it. Disapprove of the situation if you must, but do not continue giving her shit over it.”Seconds of silence went by as Alondra stared at him, her lips parted in shock. “With you and Kaleb? She’s with you and Kaleb?”“That’s what I said.”Oh, my insides went all warm.Alondra’s arms fell to her sides. “You cannot possibly be serious about being in a permanent triad.”Trace’s shoulders lifted. “Why not?”She spluttered. “You’ll be the laughing stock, for one. Think of how this will affect your career. You will lose roles. You will lose popularity. You will be shunned by Hollywood.”“Not necessarily. Another triad came out a few years ago—an actor, a producer, and a script writer, I believe. Ah, you forgot about that, I see. That’s the thing, it became old news after a year or so. Perhaps there are some companies or individuals who nonetheless don’t wish to work with those people—I don’t know. But their careers continue to flourish.”“That doesn’t mean the same will apply to you.”“No, it doesn’t. But I won’t sacrifice the things I most want in order to protect my career. One of the things I most want is Briar.”My heart squeezed at that, and the corner of my mouth hitched up.Alondra’s hands fisted, her jaw hardening. “I won’t have you wreck her the way Ansel did me.”“I’d never hurt her.”“She’s safe with us on every level,” Kaleb cut in.Alondra gave a sharp shake of the head. “You say that now, but three is always a crowd.” She cut her gaze back to Trace. “I find it hard to believe that you’re as serious about Briar as you claim. If she truly meant something to you, you wouldn’t be willing to share her with another man.”“You had no problem welcoming Troy into your marital bed when you were with Ansel,” Kaleb pointed out. “Does that mean you didn’t care for your ex-husband? Or do different rules apply to you?”Her mouth snapped shut. “Briar deserves to have someone who is all about her.”“I agree,” said Trace. “She has two men who are all about her. That should surely please you.”She blinked in astonishment. “I should be pleased that she’s making the same mistake I made?”“Briar is not you. Kaleb and I are not Ansel and Troy. The situation is not the same at all, nor are the dynamics. You wanted the thrill of a regular threesome, not a triad. You got what you wanted, but then things fell apart. That won’t happen with me, Briar, and Kaleb; we all want the same thing, and it isn’t a simple thrill for us—it’s far from it.”“You’re so certain that’s what she wants? Have you even asked her? No? Allow me.” She turned to me, the image of flustered. “Is this really what you want, Briar? Don’t be dazzled by the things they’ve said here. You’ll only be temporary, just like the other women they shared.”“No, she won’t,” Kaleb stated. “Briar’s ours. There’s nothing temporary about what the three of us have. Trace has already explained that to you. If you don’t want to believe us, then don’t. It makes no difference to anything.”“But it matters if Briar believes it,” Alondra clipped. “And what have you done to make her think that she should? Nothing.” She sliced her gaze back to me. “Would you really want to commit to two men? Men who, if it’s true that they want a relationship, apparently saw no harm in cruelly leaving you to guess what they want and feel? Men who care so little for you that they would be prepared to share you?”A taut silence fell as three sets of eyes locked on me.I swiped my tongue over my front teeth, fixing my attention on my mother. “They have some explaining to do, since you’re right that they did in fact leave me guessing. But if it turns out that everything they’ve said here is true—”“Don’t be stupid, Briar, if they meant all they said you would have heard their little speech before now. They are opportunists. Users. Liars. You can’t honestly believe that Trace would risk staining his career by entering into a permanent triad and making it public news. Kaleb’s career would be just as stained, as would yours. Will you really—”“Okay,” began Trace, his face hard, “you need to go, Alondra.”She glared at him. “I am not going anywhere.”“Why stay?” asked Trace. “What else is there for you to say that you haven’t already said? You’ve made your stance clear. So have myself and Kaleb. You’re clearly determined not to take us at our word. The conversation will only deteriorate, so it might as well stop here. Besides, Briar was right: Kaleb and I have some explaining to do. We’d like to get started on that, and we’d rather not do it with an audience.”“You’d like to get started on feeding her sweet little lies, you mean.”“Think whatever you want. Just do it away from here.”She huffed. “You believe you can toss me out of my own daughter’s apartment?”I let out a heavy sigh. “It really is better that you leave.”Alondra gaped. “You would choose them over me?”“It isn’t a matter of me choosing them over you,” I said. “I simply want to hear them out. I’d rather that I had that conversation with them in private. Yes, I know you believe they’re full of shit. But I intend to make up my own mind on that.” I lifted a hand when she looked as if she would argue. “This is for me to decide, not you.”Her flush deepened. “I cannot believe you are prepared to entertain even the thought of being in a triad. Do you really think directors would hire you if they realized the rumors were true?”“I’d like to think that most people won’t care what’s going on in my private life so long as I do my job well.” I was friends with directors who I knew wouldn’t bat an eyelid about it. Maybe there’d be some who’d ask if I’d be willing to work anonymously so that my publicity didn’t touch their project—I wasn’t too prideful to refuse. “I’ll cross that bridge if and when I come to it.”Alondra gave a fast, judgmental shake of the head. “You’re a fool to hear them out. And you’ll be even more of a fool if you enter into a triad. It will be a decision you will one day regret—I promise you that. So listen to their lies if you must, but don’t swallow them.” With that, Alondra stormed out, slamming the door behind her.I blew out a breath, my shoulders sagging.Kaleb tightened his hold on me. “You okay, baby?”“Yeah, that was just a little intense.” I looked from him to Trace and folded my arms. “So, I’m yours, huh?”“Yes,” said Trace, his expression serious. “Ours.”“Ours,” Kaleb echoed.I liked the sound of that far too much. “This is news to me.”Trace covered the space between us in one small step. “We decided weeks ago that we’d keep you.”I frowned. Weeks ago? “You never said anything. You didn’t even ask for an arrangement.”“Because we wanted more than that, so asking for less just seemed like an insult to you.” Kaleb nuzzled my hair. “Plus, we wanted to give you time to get used to the idea of a triad. To get to know us better. To be able to see and feel that it could work.”“Why not tell me that?” I demanded, annoyed that I’d been unnecessarily knotted up inside for so long.Trace skimmed the tip of his finger down one side of my face. “We weren’t sure you were ready to hear it. Sometimes, you seemed relaxed with us. Other times, a part of you seemed to be on edge. Our hold on you felt precarious. We didn’t want to risk scaring you off.”Izzy had been right, then. They’d misinterpreted my restlessness. “I was only on edge because you gave me mixed signals. You made yourselves part of my life, but you didn’t even commit to an arrangement. It made me think that just maybe you were fine with what we had but you didn’t want to make it permanent; that I didn’t tick all your boxes for what you needed and wanted in a third.”His face going soft, Trace pulled me to him and curled his arms around me. “That’s not the case, baby girl. Not at all. You tick every fucking box.” He smoothed his hands up and down my arms. “I’m sorry if you felt like we were giving you mixed signals. That wasn’t our intention.”“We would never wish to mess with your head,” Kaleb assured me, plastering his front to my back and settling his hands on my hips.“We originally meant to throw our cards on the table today,” Trace told me. “It’s why we came here. We felt sure at this point that you cared for us. As much as I would rather the three of us had discussed things in private rather than in front of Alondra, there was no way I wasn’t going to correct her assumptions and have you doubt us. I couldn’t risk you throwing us out.”I dug the tip of my tongue against my incisor. “What is it exactly that you both want?”Trace’s gaze into bore mine. “Everything you have to give. I told you, you’re ours. And we’re yours.”“This is nothing close to temporary.” Kaleb raked his teeth over the crook of my neck. “We’ve been waiting for you for what feels like a very long time. You’re everything Trace and I want. There isn’t a chance we’re letting you go.”Melting. I was freaking melting.Trace slid his hand into my hair. “And we believe you love us as we do you.”I jerked. “Whoa, love?”Trace smiled. “Yeah. Love.”“No need to panic,” Kaleb told me, humor lacing his voice. “This is a good thing. Terrifying, but good. You can’t truthfully deny that you love us.”“A triad will have its challenges, just like any relationship,” Trace granted. “But we can make it work, Briar. So take a jump. Come along for the ride. Admit you love us.”I twisted my mouth. “Will you two kiss each other at least once if I do?”Amusement lit Trace’s eyes. “No, baby. No, we won’t. But we’ll each fuck you here and now until you scream.”My entire body brightened. “That’ll work. And yes, I do love you both.”Kaleb let out a satisfied hum against my temple. “That’s what we wanted to hear.”Trace slanted his mouth over mine and stole a kiss so devastatingly scorching that it turned my bones to liquid. I gripped his forearms, needing an anchor as each flick of his tongue and nip of his teeth dragged me deeper into a drugging, sexual daze. He curled his hand around my throat—bold, possessive, dominant.I gasped into the kiss, my skin breaking out into a shiver. Little bumps rose on my flesh. My nipples went tight and hard. My pulse stuttered and then picked up speed.Giving my throat a little squeeze, Trace swiped his tongue along my bottom lip. “Let’s get you naked, shall we?”Working in tandem, the two of them quickly and deftly stripped off my clothes.Trace raked his darkening blue eyes over me. “So fucking ours.”“Ours.” Kaleb snatched my wrists from behind and wrenched them back to hold them together near the base of my spine.My breathing faltered before rapidly turning fast and shallow. The twinge of pain, the sheer entitlement to be as rough as he pleased, the feeling of helplessness that washed over me … it was an intoxicating combination that sent my level of need into the stratosphere.Trace closed his hand around my breast in a very proprietary move. “You’re about to take us both, Briar.” His eyelids drooped low. “Kaleb will be in your pussy. I’ll be in your ass.”My heart slammed against my ribs. I wanted that. I’d imagined it happening so many times. But they didn’t need to be made aware of that, did they? It was far more fun to tease and poke at them. So I said, “I’m not sure I’m ready for that.”Trace’s lips curled into a pitying smile. “And just what makes you think you have a say in it?”A strip of soft, cool material looped around my wrists and yanked tight, making my breath hitch. There was some fumbling and pulling followed by a male hum of appreciation.I lightly tugged against the knot. It didn’t budge. And my inner muscles contracted.Kaleb’s lips grazed my ear. “You want to know what the color of the silk is that’s binding your wrists? Red. From now on, you’ll wear something red every time you step into the Vault so that everyone there knows on sight that you’re owned.”Trace took my mouth again, licking and nipping. Then he tossed me over his shoulder. Like literally. And I was far too turned on to point out that I wasn’t a damn sack of spuds.He carried me to my bedroom and then slid me down the front of his body to set me back on my feet, his eyes hot and glittering. “Are you wet, I wonder … Let’s find out.” He none too gently spun me around and banded one arm across my stomach, holding me flush against him.My gaze immediately landed on Kaleb, who was in the process of shedding his clothes, revealing inches of defined muscle and one very hard cock. But my attention was diverted by Trace’s finger slipping between my folds.“Hmm, nice and slick,” he said, his voice low and thick.Finally naked, Kaleb crossed to me. “Good. I want her taste on my tongue when I fuck her.” He dropped to his knees, and then his mouth was on me.Oh, shit.He went to town on my pussy. Licked. Sipped. Prodded. Suckled on my clit. Meanwhile, Trace alternated between molding my breasts and teasing my nipples into painful, throbbing points.Bombarded by so much decadent sensation, I bucked and squirmed. Or tried. With Trace’s strong arm looped around me, Kaleb’s hands holding my hips still, and my wrists bound behind me, I could barely move. And damn if I didn’t love it.Releasing my nipple after one last pinch, Trace slipped his hand up to span my throat. “We’ll have to scrap the condoms soon, Kaleb. I want us to both blow our load inside her pussy and watch it all trickle out.”“And her ass,” Kaleb all but growled against my pussy and—oh fucking God—that thick, gravelly voice vibrating against my sensitive flesh was like a stroke to my G-spot.I was going to fly apart any second. All it would take was one last lick to my slit or squeeze of my throat—Both men went still, and then Kaleb rose and gave me a severe look. “You don’t get to come until I’m inside you.”Motherfuckingassholes.Kaleb tore open a small packet, rolled a condom over his cock, and then lay flat on the bed. “Bring her over here. I want to drop her right on my dick.”Trace herded me forward, lifted me up, and set me down on my knees so that I was straddling Kaleb on the mattress. Trace’s hand on my bound wrists kept me steady as Kaleb swiped the head of his cock between my folds and then lodged it inside me.Kaleb gripped my hips and yanked me down hard, stuffing me full of cock in one wickedly fast movement.And I came. There was no holding it back.He impaled me on his cock over and over, his jaw hard, his expression cold, his eyes hot. I tried riding him but he shook his head and kept pitilessly bouncing me on his dick like I was just a goddamn sex doll; controlling my every movement. Taking what he wanted. Forcing me to let him have his way.I sensed Trace move back and heard the rustle of clothing, but my focus was on the long, fat shaft that filled me again and again. Unable to move my hands, I might have lost my balance if Kaleb’s grip on my hips wasn’t so tight that I knew I’d have fingerprint bruises later. Knew, too, that he’d like seeing marks of his possession just as much as I did.Wound tight with friction, I frowned when he abruptly slowed the pace of my downward thrusts. “What—”A hand shoved me forward, pinning me against Kaleb’s front. “Hold her still,” said Trace.Keeping one hand locked on my hip, Kaleb grabbed the back of my neck and growled, “Don’t fucking move, Briar.”The mattress dipped behind me, and a heard the cap of a bottle flick open.“Christ, she has one fuckable ass,” said Trace, swiping a cool, slick finger between the globes of my butt.My heart went into override as he prepared my ass to take him. First with one finger, then two. And then a third soon after.All the while, Kaleb idly bucked up his hips, slowly fucking me with shallow thrusts—his hold on both my neck and hip still hard and tight, keeping me immobile. Rendering me helpless. Usingme as he pleased.“Now she’s ready,” said Trace, who then withdrew his fingers. Moments later, he was kneeling right behind me, and something much bigger than a finger was prodding at my ass.My breaths came in shallow pants as he slowly sank his cock inside. Even though my ass had become used to taking both him and Kaleb, there was always a burn that gradually became buried beneath the pleasure. But at the moment, while my pussy was crammed with Kaleb’s dick … oh God, oh God, it hurt.Maybe too much to feel good.Kaleb’s hand flexed on my nape. “Breathe, baby.”It was easy for him to say. He didn’t have two cocks stuffed inside him.Finally, Trace bottomed out with a groan. “Fuck. Not going to last long.”Kaleb let out a rumbly chuckle that was like a flick to my clit. “Glad it isn’t just me. I’m close to coming already.”Both men withdrew until only the broad heads of their cocks were inside me, and I shakily exhaled, grateful for the reprieve.Trace surged forward, stretching me until it stung. “Love fucking this ass. Can’t wait to take it bare so I can pump my come inside it.” He slowly reared back, and then Kaleb thrust upwards.I moaned, regardless of the pain.They continued like that—one would withdraw, the other would bury their cock deep. The slide and drag of their shafts over my hypersensitive nerve-endings soon outweighed the discomfort, and then all I could feel was pleasure edged with a slight burn that made it better.I whimpered and groaned as they took me with a steady, maddeningly slow rhythm.“Fuck, she was born for this,” Kaleb gritted out.“Next time, I’m gonna spank her ass first,” said Trace. “I want to see my handprints there while we fuck her.”They picked up their pace, as if sensing I could handle more. Sandwiched between them with my every move controlled, I felt trapped and powerless and so fucking taken … It was like nothing I’d experienced before.There was a such an overabundance of sensation that I struggled to process it. The bite of fingertips, the friction of my pebbled nipples rubbing Kaleb’s chest, the ache in my shoulders, the slap of Trace’s balls, the sink and retreat of a cock in both my pussy and my ass.Soon, they began moving faster, making each thrust a little harder. Every one of those thrusts pushed me closer and closer to imploding.Kaleb grunted. “She’s getting tighter, Trace. Make her come.”A hand slid around my body and found my pulsing clit. Trace thumbed it, rolled it, pushed it … and I was gone. I bit into Kaleb’s chest as I exploded with a scream, my inner muscles rippling and squeezing as pure pleasure rocketed through me.My scream turned into a hoarse wheeze as Kaleb pinched my carotid artery. Which was when both men lost control, ferally slamming their cocks inside me over and over until, finally, their own releases hit.Floating on post-orgasm bliss, I barely registered both men pulling out. My hands were soon free, and I found myself lying on my back as each of my guys lay either side of me. They both claimed one of my hands and then massaged my entire arm from wrist to shoulder.Opening my heavy eyelids, I said, “It’s down south that hurts most.”Trace’s lips quirked. “Give me a sec.” He slid off the bed.Kaleb turned me onto my side to face him and brushed my hair aside. “You okay?”I planted a palm on his chest. “I rather enjoyed myself, if that’s what you really want to know.”His languid eyes went warm with satisfaction. “Good. We’ve been wanting to take you at the same time for a while. But we decided we’d wait until you accepted that you’re ours to keep.”“Well I can—gah, what the hell, Trace?” He was wiggling his finger in my ass—a rather wet finger.“The gel will soothe the ache,” he said, a note of amusement in his voice that I did not appreciate.“It’s cold,” I groused.“It’ll help.” He pressed a kiss to the back of my shoulder and withdrew his finger.I rolled onto my back and looked from one male to the other. “Condoms, lube, soothing gel, silk bind. You sure came prepared. You must have been pretty certain the conversation was going to go your way. Cocky fuckers.”Trace stroked my stomach. “Not one hundred percent certain. But we figured we could seduce your agreement out of you.”“As I said, cocky.”Kaleb braced his weight on his elbow. “Hopeful. Very, very hopeful.” He dropped a kiss on my mouth, smiling. “And now very, very smug, because we have what we want.”“Be positive that you’re all in,” I told them, “because I don’t mind admitting that I’ll be crushed if this all goes tits up. It might be a while before anyone truly believes this isn’t a PR stunt, but they’ll reach that conclusion eventually.” I looked at Kaleb. “You’re close to your sisters. What if they don’t—”“They won’t judge,” he assured me. “I couldn’t give a fuck if anyone does. I wouldn’t give up what we have to make other people feel better. No goddamn way.”“You know I have no contact with my family,” Trace said to me. “I wouldn’t care one way or the other what they thought about this. Besides, I’m too damn old to give a shit about what other people think.”“Even if you do lose roles and stuff?” I asked.Trace nodded. “Even then, though I do believe I’m right in what I said to Alondra. I don’t think the news will have quite the dramatic impact that she believes it will. I’m an actor, not a politician or someone who needs to have what you might call a clean image.”I slid my gaze to Kaleb. “What if she was right and your career suffers?”“It’s not like I narrate children’s books or anything like that. Much like Trace, I don’t need a wholesome image. In fact, a lot of the books I narrate contain many elements of BDSM. I doubt that the authors and publishers who’ve hired me in the past would be put-off by my being part of a triad. But if they are, they are. There ain’t a whole lot I can do about it. But I wouldn’t want to work with someone who’ll hold my private life against me like it’s their right. And I wouldn’t walk away from us for my career or anything else.”I took an easy breath. “I just needed to be sure.”Trace claimed my hand. “You can trust that we’re in this for the long-run.”“We’re not going anywhere.” Kaleb pinned my gaze with his. “And neither are you.”I lifted a placating hand. “You can relax, I’m not a flight risk. I’m all in, same as you.” I twisted my mouth. “A three-way kiss couldn’t hurt to, you know, seal the deal.”Kaleb’s eyes danced. “Not happening, let it go.”I huffed. “I sucked a dildo for you guys and you can’t even oblige me with a little—ow, what was that for?”Kaleb licked over the bite mark he’d left on my shoulder a mere moment ago. “You asked me to bite you.”I frowned. “No, I didn’t.”“That’s what I heard.”“I heard the same thing,” Trace cut in.Kaleb pursed his lips. “Who knows what else we’ll hear each time you whine about the lack of MM action,” he mused, a not-so-subtle threat buried there. “So, do you think you could let it go?”I sighed. “Fine. You guys are so boring.” I gasped as they flipped me onto my stomach. “No, wait, I didn’t mean it.” A hand slapped my ass hard. “Ow. Motherfucker!”