“Yes, agreed. Sorry if that sounded like an order.”

  “Quite alright.” He turned to do as she’d asked. “Remember, we told you it was your responsibility to tell us if there’s something that makes you uncomfortable. The same goes for us — if there’s something Kyle or I are uncomfortable with, it’s our responsibility to make sure the other two parties know about it.”

  “Does Kyle submit to you?”

  Marcus paused. “Not directly.”

  Heather turned to meet her boyfriend’s gaze. “Kyle, please explain the relationship the two of you had with the girlfriend you shared.”

  Marcus turned in her arms with a chuckle, facing so he could see them. “She’s catching on pretty quick, Richardson. You may be in for more than you bargained.”

  Kyle kissed the top of her head and answered without acknowledging Marcus while the other man settled in beside Heather so she was snuggled between them. “Jules was a switch. She Topped me and bottomed to Marcus. When it was the three of us, it was Marcus over Jules and Jules over me, which made Marcus dominant over me by default. We had a lot of ground rules about it, and Marcus never pushed enough it was a problem, but we couldn’t completely ignore it. He ran the show when it was the three of us, even if it was through Jules. Eventually, I’d have had to be okay with it being less and less through Jules, but then we all graduated and Jules went off to Stanford for medical school, and Marcus and I went to Johns Hopkins, and there isn’t time for a relationship during med school anyway.”

  “Where is she now?”

  “She lives in Nashville and works at Vanderbilt,” Kyle said. “She’s married to a guy she’s submissive to, and they have a third who lives with them who’s submissive to both of them. Their third is another girl instead of another guy, though I understand for a while they had a fourth living with them — a submissive guy. He didn’t work out, but they’re looking for another submissive man to round things out.”

  “Four people in one relationship? I thought three was a big deal.”

  “As long as everything’s consensual,” said Marcus, “and everyone’s getting what they need, you can have any configuration of people you want. Legally, you can only have two people marry — but that doesn’t mean you can’t create your own contracts and stipulations to tie everyone together.”

  Heather’s stomach growled, and Marcus leaned to kiss her stomach. “The fruit and snacks helped, but we need a meal. I’ll pull something together in the adjoining room. Your bag’s on the floor to the left of the bed. You’re welcome to keep the robe on, or you can put clothes on — totally up to you. You should consider letting Kyle know how you prefer him, and the two of you can join me in the other room when you’re ready.”

  Chapter 7

  When Marcus was gone, Heather turned and looked at Kyle, “You want me to tell you what to do?”

  “Not in all things, but in sexual stuff, like whether to wear clothes in private,” he shrugged and gave a soft smile. “I want to please you. Your wish is my command.”

  “I see that. Some other things also make sense. Most of the time I hate when people pick me up to put me on something when I could’ve jumped, but you’ve done it almost reverently, and it never bugged me. It makes sense, now. You saw it as service to me, a sign of respect, and not as helping me because I’m short. It resonated with me even when I didn’t understand.”

  He nodded, and she looked at her hands a few seconds before meeting his gaze. “Why do I feel like this is going to change everything? I like the us we’ve had. I don’t want to mess it up.”

  “It can change it as much or as little as we want. We’ll keep it in the bedroom so I can give you orgasms, and we’ll figure things out from there.”

  “Things are going to change between me and Marcus though, aren’t they? I mean, I didn’t expect to feel so close to him after just a few hours, and it’s kind of scary. I love you, but I could easily get attached to him. Is that okay?”

  He kissed her forehead. “I’m so glad you’re being honest. It’s perfectly okay, babe. If you didn’t feel closer to him after that experience then that might be cause for concern, don’t you think?”

  She gave what she was sure was an embarrassed grin. “I hadn’t thought of it that way, and you have a point, but it’s a little scary.”

  “As long as we keep talking about it, we’ll be fine. The problems start when communication breaks down.”

  She nodded, and her stomach growled again. Kyle laughed and kissed her forehead. “Come, my Lady, let’s get some clothes on you so we can get some food into you.”

  She let him help her off the bed, and she donned yoga pants and a tee shirt, skipping the bra. Kyle didn’t move to put any clothes on, and she said, “Be honest with me — what would make you happiest right now? What could I tell you to do that would give you a raging hard on?”

  “Please don’t ask something like that and then be disgusted with the answer. I’m not sure you’re ready to hear the answer, but if you insist, I’ll give it to you.”

  “Try me.” Kyle had figured out how to make her enjoy sex, and now she needed to something special for him. She loved him and she hadn’t thought they had a chance, but now, maybe, they did. Heather had a habit of jumping into new experiences with both feet, but she needed to know what Kyle wanted before she’d know what to do.

  He took a breath as if to fortify himself. “Okay, if you were to make me stay nude, and then not allow me to eat as you and Marcus do — either make me feed you before I’m allowed to eat, or cut my food up and put it in a bowl on the floor and require I eat from it with only my mouth, or make me kneel by your chair and feed me from your hands. Something to clearly show my submission to you, to delineate those in charge with those who… aren’t.”

  She started to ask if he wouldn’t feel demeaned by eating from a bowl on the floor, but a voice in her head pointed out he wouldn’t ask for it unless it was what he wanted. She had a lot to learn about her boyfriend. She remembered some of the things in the video she watched at Marcus’s office, and asked, “Do you know where Marcus keeps his things in here?”

  “Yes, my Lady.”

  “Have you ever called anyone that before?”

  He smiled and pinked a little. “No, my Lady.”

  “Okay, stay put a second and let me check with Marcus real quick.”

  She walked out to the little kitchenette area of the party floor and found Marcus preparing food on a tray. “Is it okay if I use a few of your things on Kyle? Some of those things that go on wrists, and maybe a few things like that?”

  He gave her a curious look, but answered without asking questions. “Kyle knows what I consider personal versus what I’m good with others borrowing. Ask him to get what you want, and he’ll retrieve it for you.”

  “Okay, thanks.”

  She returned to Kyle and told him, “Please get me some of those leather handcuff things, and a leash, and something to attach the leash to.”

  “Yes, my Lady.”

  He went straight to the drawers and shelves the items were on or in, which told her a lot about the amount of time he’d spent in this room. Marcus had moved here long after they’d shared a girlfriend, so they’d clearly played together since. He’d moved in here after Mira had died, if Heather had the timing right, but Heather didn’t have it in her to ask about Mira. Not yet, and not where Marcus might hear. She’d ask Kyle later.

  Kyle returned to her with the items and placed them on the bed. He’d opened part of the curtain and looped it over a holder on the canopy support when she got out earlier, and now he did the same with another portion before he went to his knees and offered his wrists.

  She was kind of clumsy getting the first on, but felt she did better with the second.

  “They’re called wrist cuffs, my Lady, and you may want to make them one notch tighter. It’s good you didn’t cinch them tight enough to interfere with my circulation, but they can rub if they’re too loose.”

  “Thank you. Is this weird, you educating me as I figure this out?” she asked as she tightened them.

  “Nothing is weird with you, Heather. I love you, and I love that you aren’t weirded out by all of this.”

  “I love you, too, and...” She sighed. “I’m a little weirded out, but I just had my first orgasm, and it happened with clothespins. I don’t think I have room to judge anyone else’s sexual stuff. If this does it for you then I’ll do my best to figure it out. Not to mention, I kind of think I like this power exchange thing.”

  She picked up a tangle of leather straps and asked, “What is this?”

  “It’s a chest harness. Collars have significance in our world, and I didn’t feel comfortable bringing a collar when you didn’t specify it, so I brought a harness for you to attach the leash to.”

  “I see. Okay, show me how this goes on.” She didn’t really see, but she’d figure it out.

  He slid the harness on, stood, and turned so she could see what needed to be fastened together in the back. She managed to get it buckled, and then clipped the leash to the ring in the center of the back.

  “Hands and knees, Kyle. Let’s go get something to eat.”

  When she walked into the eating area with Kyle on the leash, Marcus’s face lit up. “My my my. You are taking to this new role, aren’t you?”

  Heather shrugged. “I’m figuring it out as I go.” She looked over the food he’d pulled out. “This looks good, thanks for putting it together.”

  There was a veggie tray as well as some fancy breads, some leafy greens, and lots of things to put on sandwiches. She unhooked Kyle’s leash and said, “Up, give me your hands.”

  She’d intended to attach the cuffs together, but the rings were solid and there was no way to do it. She’d need some kind of hook or clip. “It seems I didn’t give you enough instructions. I want to hook these together. Please bring me something so I can do that.”

  “Here, you can use this,” Marcus said. He rummaged in a drawer and threw a small carabiner to her. She thanked him and clipped Kyle’s hands together.

  “Make yourself a plate,” she told Kyle, “and then sit in the chair beside me and make sure you eat enough to keep your strength up. I assume you can manage with your hands like that?”

  “Yes, my Lady. Thank you.”

  “You’re very welcome. I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  Such simple words, but they had the hope of a future, now, and sometimes it had made her sad to say them before, knowing they both absolutely meant what they said, but that there was no way a romantic relationship could work.

  They were all busy preparing their sandwiches and gathering the veggies and dips on their plate, and she felt a small stab of guilt that Kyle was having a little trouble with his hands together, but then she noted his raging hard on, and she reminded herself he was enjoying it. She wasn’t sure how she was going to help him get off, but she had a feeling it might work this time for her to just order him to jerk himself off while she watched. At one point he was struggling too much so she took his bread from him and put his mayo on, “If you need help you should ask, Kyle.”

  He nodded. “Thank you, my Lady.”

  Once they were all eating, she looked at Marcus. “Okay, so what’s next on the agenda.”

  “Who says we have an agenda?”

  “Do we not?”

  He grinned. “Not exactly, but I have an idea of where we go next. First though, understand that as your Top, I take my responsibility for your safety quite seriously. When we finish eating, I’ll want you to take your shirt off and let me get a good look at how your body handled the clothespins. I have weaker clothespins we can use, or if you need more intensity then I can buy some stronger ones. I’ll let Kyle tell me what shape your clit’s in, since he’ll be up close and personal to it a little later.”

  Heather started to protest that she didn’t like when Kyle did that, but Marcus stopped her before she got the first word out. “Please trust me on this, okay? It’ll be nothing like you’ve done before. Not everything I try will work, and that’s fine — we’ll move on to something else when we find a flop. Also, you should know that every orgasm isn’t going to melt your brain and make you pass out. It’s kind of like flying first class the first time and not realizing what coach class is like, so you can’t appreciate how good first class really is. Not many people ever have an orgasm as intense as the one you had, so please don’t feel let down if future releases aren’t as crazy, okay?”

  “Whatever you’ve planned for later, will you and Kyle get off? I don’t want to be the only one who has an orgasm next time.”

  “If you want Kyle to get off then I’ll work the situation so you can make that happen. I won’t make any promises about myself, but I’ll keep it in mind that you’d like it to happen, and we’ll see how things play out.”

  Heather realized Kyle had finished eating, and she was close to being through.

  “Kyle, give me your hands please.”

  “Yes, my Lady.”

  She unclipped the cuffs from each other and looked at Marcus. “Is there somewhere I can take a shower?”

  Marcus looked at Kyle thoughtfully before answering. “There’s a shower off the playroom, but I’d rather neither of you gets too carried away because I have plans for later. I’ll give the two of you a little alone time, and I’ll join you in the shower.” He pulled more cheese from one of the trays and arranged it on another slice of thin bread. “You’re both invited to stay the night. We can all sleep in the big bed, or if you prefer then I can give the two of you a room with a door, so you can have your privacy.”

  Heather realized they were both looking to her for an answer, and she shook her head in protest. “Hey, I’m the one flying without a net here, don’t look at me! My answer is that I’ll let you know when we come to it. Kyle, if you have an opinion, please voice it.”

  “I’m fine with us staying. I know I’m just next door and we could be at my house in three minutes, but if you’re okay with us all sleeping in the big bed, that works for me.”

  “When I ask your opinion, it means I want your opinion. It doesn’t mean I want you to tell me you’d be okay with something if I am.”

  He gave her a sheepish grin. “Sorry, my Lady. If things go well then the energy will probably be best if we all just crash together.”

  “Thank you. Let’s go take a shower, shall we?”

  Chapter 8

  Kyle realized Heather wanted some time with just the two of them outside of any D/s role, and that was fine with him. As a service submissive, he saw it as his job to make his lover happy in whatever way was needed. If she needed him to be the Kyle she was used to having around, that was perfectly okay with him. He was amazed she’d understood what he needed during their meal — the wonderful, warm feeling of belonging he got by being treated like treasured property. However, he didn’t need that all the time. He didn’t really even want it all the time, but it’d fulfilled a need he’d been doing his best to ignore.

  Kyle led Heather to the shower and adjusted the water to the uber-hot temperature she preferred. He’d have been happy to undress her, but he knew her well enough to understand she’d want to disrobe herself.

  He retrieved one of the plastic spongy things Marcus kept in his frou-frou bath closet. He had no idea what to call it, but loved the way it made the soap all frothy. He also chose some lavender soap he thought Heather might enjoy. He’d had a conversation with her mom about the sensory stuff after Heather had told him about it, and her mother told him Heather had always been able to smell things no one else could, and a doctor had explained the parts of her brain normally relegated to other sensory duties were doing double duty to help her smell. Heather’s mom had stressed the need for natural scents though, and not manufactured ones. He didn’t know if this lavender was natural or not — he’d need to talk to Marcus to make sure the lotions and soaps were natural. He’d told him about the massage oil, but hadn’t thought about everything else. Kyle had long ago cleared his house of anything with an artificial scent.

  When he walked back to her, Heather was already in and was playing with the various streams. Marcus had the best shower ever, with two shower heads and three jets each on three of the walls, and three more shower heads coming down from the ceiling. She looked up at him and asked, “Is this awesome or what?”

  Kyle started to point out the attachments on the walls where submissives could be anchored, but decided it could wait. “Yes, I love his shower.” He ran the spongy thing under the water and lathered it. “C’mere Babe, let me get you all soaped up, then you can do the same to me. I know Marcus is going to also, but I want to check you over, see how your skin structure handled the clothespins.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m sure the structure of my skin is just fine, doctor, but if you want to take a look, feel free.”

  He smiled and kissed her nose. “Go ahead, make fun of me, but if we’re going to start in with this kind of play then we need to know how far we can safely go, and a big part of it has to do with how your body accepts trauma. If you ever have to take aspirin, we’ll need to know before we start playing — especially if we’re going to get into some of the extreme stuff, and I think that may be where we’re headed. I loved that you enjoyed yourself so much, but the idea that you felt no pain from all those clothespins and the clamps…” He shrugged. “We’re going to have to really concentrate on the safety aspects to make sure we don’t injure you, especially since you likely won’t know if we do. I love you, and I’m so glad we’ve managed to awaken this part of you. I want to make sure we can keep doing it safely, that’s all.”

  Kyle went onto one knee and lifted her foot up on his other knee so he could easily wash her foot and ankle. He washed one leg in short order before switching to the other, as Marcus had warned him she’d get easily bored with slow, sensual activities. He stood to wash the rest of her, used one of the handheld showerheads to rinse her, and took his time looking over the aftereffects of the clothespins. Every clothespin had left an angry red mark, but he thought she’d only have a handful of actual bruises. He’d need to talk to Marcus about it, but for now it looked like they could probably stick with the same clothespins. No need to back off to the weak ones, but the stronger ones would likely cause too much damage to be acceptable.