“Where is our lovely wife?” Zach’s teasing grin threatened to grate on Alex’s last nerve.
“She was supposed to be checking on Jenna and Colt’s old suite.” ‘Suite’ was an understatement of mammoth proportions. Their sister and brother-in-law occupied one wing of the enormous U-shaped property. The two were currently traveling abroad, enjoying a much-needed vacation after several years of college classes for Jenna as she transitioned careers. Care of their children had fallen largely on Colt’s shoulders, and despite all the added responsibility, he’d never let his duties at ShadowDance suffer.
Alex was thrilled the couple finally accepted Daniel and Catherine Lamont’s offer to keep the kids while they spent some quality time together. As far as Alex was concerned, the only problem was his, Zach, and Katarina’s kids also wanted to stay in town with their grandparents. He hadn’t wanted to subject their parents to what he was convinced would be hell on earth, but at this point, he didn’t have any other option. He and his brother had been in trouble more often than not, but their kids were next level.
“I checked it an hour ago—it was perfect. What could she possibly be doing?” Alex understood his brother’s frustration. If they didn’t watch Katarina closely, she micromanaged things into oblivion… and herself into exhaustion. “Two minutes. That’s all I’m going to give her, then I start a search and rescue mission that will end with her bare ass over my knee.” Alex chuckled to himself. Everyone always assumed he was the stricter Dom, but Zach was easily his equal. When people saw Zach’s easy smile and casual manner as weakness, they’d already been played.
Watching his twin stare at his watch, Alex rolled his eyes. “You’re really going to count it down? Why don’t you call her?”
“I tried.” Zach pulled Katarina’s pink phone from his pocket. “She’s getting swats for this as well.” Alex leaned back in his leather office chair and grinned. Their lovely wife should be glad their kids had been allowed a weekend in town with their grandparents and cousins. They were always careful to keep the more intimate details of their D/s relationship private and away from the prying eyes of their children. Their daughter, Mary Catherine, in particular, was far too astute and a damned snoop of the first order.
Sliding the phone across the desk, Zach nodded to the door a split second before Katarina burst in. He and his brother were both so attuned to their woman, they usually knew within a few seconds when she was going to show up.
“Have you seen my phone? I swear I had it with me until… ummm.” They watched as her eyes landed on the sparkling pink rhinestone case. “Oh. Well, maybe it’s been missing a little longer than I thought. You know how it is when I’m busy… time gets away from me. I was checking to make sure everything is ready for our guests’ arrival. I’m anxious to meet Catalina. Tobi has told me so much about her and the cool kinky jewelry she makes. They are already working on sending some samples up for you to display in the club. It sounds like she is working with Ian, so that should speed up the manufacturing process, or maybe he’s just involved in the spyware pieces? Who knows? Have you talked to Ian? I hope you aren’t going to clamp monitoring equipment to my pink bits.”
Alex listened to their wife chatter nervously as she inched her way closer to the phone mere inches from his fingertips. He planned to give her the chance to come clean about how long she’d been without the device she was supposed to carry at all times, but it didn’t seem like that was going to happen.
Glancing at Zach, Alex saw amusement lighting his eyes. As mirror-image twins, they not only looked identical, but their thoughts were also almost always in synch as well. When she made a grab for the gaudy device, he clamped his hand around her wrist. Her startled yelp of surprise was followed by a deep flush staining her cheeks.
“Not so fast, my love.” Pulling her around the desk until she stood between his spread knees, he bit back a smile at the shudder he felt move through her. It would always be a verbal sparring match with their spirited woman—it was vital to keep a tight rein on their lovely sub. If they didn’t stay several steps ahead, she’d lead them around by their noses. Using her free hand, Kat twirled a long blonde curl around her finger, batting her blue eyes at him with feigned innocence that was a phony as a three-dollar bill.
“I’m sure it was on my desk earlier. I was in a rush to make sure things were perfect… you know, flowers in the entry and hall tables, more sophisticated arrangements on the dining room table, and…”
“Kitten, we don’t give a rat’s ass about the flowers, and I can assure you, Cooper Hicks won’t give two shits either. He is bringing Catalina here to keep her safe. They know this isn’t a five-star resort and won’t be expecting you to treat them like royalty. Now, stop trying to blow smoke up our asses. I’ve had your phone in my pocket for over two hours. It was left upstairs in your closet.”
Alex chuckled to himself, watching what was essentially foreplay. No wonder she hadn’t been able to find it. The room next to their bedroom had once been a nursery suite. Once their kids moved to their own rooms, they’d converted the rooms into a retreat for their wife—including what he was convinced had to be the largest closet west of the Mississippi River.
Without missing a beat, Kat plundered on as if Zach had never spoken. “Did I tell you everything is in place for dinner?” Once a week, they hosted an exclusive dinner party for like-minded couples. Their clear glass dining room table was perfect for everyone’s viewing pleasure. Submissives were either naked or scantily clad, which always made things interesting. Yes, indeed, the views were spectacular. “Do you think Cooper and Catalina will be here in time to join us? Did you warn them about how it works? Who’s planning to attend? With Jenna and Colt out of town, there’s room for our guests. Have you already invited people?”
If Alex hadn’t been annoyed with her, he’d have taken time to enjoy his sub’s obvious discomfort. He wasn’t above playing a game of cat and mouse when he knew it would end up with her over his lap—unfortunately, they didn’t have enough time to entertain such nonsense. Zach should be the one to punish her, but they’d vowed to never do so while angry, so it would be his responsibility this time. Alex wondered how men who didn’t have polyamorous relationships handled amazing women like the one fidgeting nervously in front of him. It was difficult for the two of them to keep up with their wife—just the thought of doing it alone was far too humbling.
Slipping his hand into the center drawer of his desk, Alex grabbed the thick wood ruler he kept for her punishments. When her eyes landed on the eighteen-inch flexible metal one he used for work, he saw her stiffen. Kat’s breathing ratcheted up until it was fast and much too shallow—beneath his fingers, her pulse rate spiked. Damn it, she hadn’t had a panic attack in several years. Closing the drawer, Alex pulled her onto his lap. Zach was beside them by the time Alex got her settled.
“Breathe, kitten. Come on, follow my lead. In.” It took Zach several seconds to gain her attention, but when she finally looked up, Alex knew she was going to be fine. “That’s it. Nice and easy.”
“We promised we’d never use that on you again, love. We all learned a valuable lesson that night.” Had they ever. He and Zach wanted to push her boundaries, and despite their repeated reminders for her to use her safeword if she needed to, the scene had gone way too far. The flashback Katarina experienced that night had been heartbreaking to watch. The guilt they felt when they’d left bruises so severe, she’d barely been able to sit for weeks had gutted them both. Alex and Zach had wanted to push her but made the colossal mistake of letting their emotions overrule their training. He and Zach both missed the signs of her distress, attributing the responses to being overwhelmed by arousal.
“I’m sorry.” Kat’s whispered words brought him back to the moment, and the shimmering tracks of her tears threatened to tear his heart right out of his chest. This wasn’t the time to punish her for leaving her phone. They had more important things to attend to and making certain their wife understood she was theirs to love and protect was at the top of the list.
“What’s the rule about your cell phone, love?” Alex’s voice had been too calm for her comfort. Either he was distracted by the fact they had guests arriving in the next hour, or he was trying to keep Zach from blowing a gasket… which from his steamed expression was a distinct possibility. Damn, she hated that blasted phone. When had what was supposed to be a device designed for her convenience become a damned anchor? She’d grown tired of the tacky phone cover, too, but refused to give it up out of sheer stubbornness.
It was no secret both her husbands hated the pink case her children picked out when they were in kindergarten. She’d kept it longer than she should have because she could still remember the looks on their little faces as she’d ooh’d and ahh’d when she’d first opened their special gift. Alex’s hand tightened around her wrist, bringing her back to the moment. Not only was she babbling, now she’d zoned out, too. Damn, damn, and double damn.
“Do you need help focusing, Katarina?” Uh oh. She knew those words were code for paddling her bare backside until she lost her damned mind—not that she was opposed to erotic spankings that ended in mind-blowing organisms. No, she was all about happy endings, but he was entirely too calm, and Zach still looked like his head was going to spin around on his shoulders with steam billowing from his ears.
Seeing the wicked metal ruler in Alex’s desk sent her ass-over-teakettle into a full-blown panic attack. Her mind blanked. All she could remember was the searing pain she’d endured at the hands of a madman in a California BDSM club. Two bad scenes in her entire life, and now it seemed the memories were overlapping—not good. Overprotection mode engaging in three… two… one.
Kat’s mind felt like it had suddenly been moved outside her body. Her head was spinning as black dots danced in front of her eyes. Zach’s voice broke through the encroaching fog, but it took several long seconds for her body to respond to his command to breathe. Moving her focus to something as simple as inhaling and exhaling helped, but she’d learned a long time ago it was the restoration of oxygen to her brain that made all the difference.
Just your luck, girl. The only functional part of your psyche is the internal voice no one else can hear.