Bound Between You, page 17
part #4 of Tender Control Series
Julian laughed. “It doesn’t matter. I’d give him anything.”
Then he leaned over and gave Keegan another kiss before whispering low. “See who loves you best, baby?”
Keegan giggled as I huffed. “That’s completely irresponsible. He knows I love him best because I worry and I watch over him and I make sure he’s eaten.”
It was Julian’s turn to huff, but his eyes were bright with laughter. “Nope, I promise him crazy things and give him all the orgasms he begs for. I think that means I love him best.”
Still giggling, Keegan reached out and his hand flopped around until he caught Julian’s arm. Once he’d pulled Julian close, he gave us an awkward hug and smiled. “You both love me, but we can have a better competition after I’ve had a nap.”
Then as we chuckled, both knowing how right he was, he drifted off, still holding us tight.
Clearly he’d won.
We were here to stay.
Chapter 19
Keegan
“If you’re going to wake me up this early, you don’t get to stay up all night watching movies.”
Oops.
I froze but still got hard, of course—because when Niall growled out orders like that, it was fucking sexy.
Unfortunately, he was only that growly and gruff when he didn’t have enough coffee.
“It was either move or pee on you, and that was on the list of things you didn’t want me to do.” I was being honest, but he groaned dramatically and rolled close to the edge of the bed so I could wiggle out from between them.
They were wonderful cuddle buddies when they slept, but escaping was hard.
Julian didn’t help Niall’s grumpy mood. He giggled like a kid and reached out to tickle me as I scooted down the bed. “Hey, no no no, that’s…”
Finally escaping, I ran into the bathroom as he laughed and Niall groaned again.
He was so dramatic.
But my dramatic Dom was sitting up in bed by the time I came back. Since he wasn’t frowning nearly as much anymore, I hopped on the end of the bed then threw myself on them. “Whose turn is it to feed me?”
Julian was clearly more of a morning person because he laughed again and pointed to Niall before my poor drama Dom even processed the question.
But he lost that battle so I wiggled closer to him, pressing my face against his chest. “Can you make me pancakes? Julian likes pancakes too.”
Niall huffed, but it wasn’t a no. “I don’t understand the pancakes. Breakfast is not dinner. He eats them at odd times.”
Julian tried to casually ease himself out of the bed. “I’ll figure something out. You two cuddle.”
It almost worked, and it would’ve been very believable, but he blushed when I winked at him and that actually managed to set off Niall’s nonexistent radar when it came to Julian’s submissive side. “Why are you…what?”
He finally turned to me as Julian started to escape out the bedroom door. “What is he doing and why is he blushing?”
I gave him a very good I’m not sure I can tell you expression before calling out to Julian. “Are you safewording?”
He groaned so loud it echoed up the stairs. “I’ll get you, brat.”
That was not a safeword.
Sitting up, I straddled Niall’s lap and gave him a quick kiss. “He likes junk food when he’s feeling nervous or just submissive in general.”
It took Niall several seconds to connect the dots. When it finally hit him, he looked at the door with wide eyes like he was still seeing Julian and then turned back to me. “The diner. He picked out this diner place for dinner when we were first sitting down to talk about you, and he wanted pancakes.”
He blinked and swallowed before his brain kept going. “And last week when we went out to dinner, he made us stop by the ice cream place for that god-awful concoction of ice cream and cereal pieces instead of having something nice at the restaurant.”
I got another round of silence before things clicked into place again.
“Those were times when he was feeling submissive or at the very least wasn’t confident about what we were doing.” Niall’s expression turned studious as he watched my face. “Right?”
Bingo.
“Yes.” I wiggled closer, trying to be good and ignore the erection pressing against my ass. “And he was blushing because now that you know, he can’t hide it any longer.”
Niall gave me another wide-eyed look.
He was the definition of drama.
“But what do I do about it when I know?” He looked back toward the doorway again. “I really don’t want to fuck this up.”
He just broke my heart when he said stuff like that.
“Master?” I waited until he was looking at me again, really seeing me instead of just worrying. “Ask him. Just ask him if there’s anything you can do. Everything else will work itself out. I promise.”
The tension and, let’s face it, fear started to ease out of him. After a few moments, he smiled and leaned forward to give me a quick kiss as he hugged me tight. “How did I get so lucky? You just walked into my life and suddenly everything fell into place.”
He was so cute.
“I think I’m the lucky one. You are sweet and you take such good care of me.” I gave him a smacky kiss and grinned. “And you love me lots and lots. I can see it every time you look at me.”
He chuckled, then smacked my ass. “I’m supposed to be the one to tell you that.”
I just grinned even wider. “You were taking too long.”
Wiggling closer, I rocked against him like he was a pony I was making go faster. “Hurry. Tell me now.”
Niall rolled his eyes, but I could see the smile he was trying to hide. “I guess if I have to.”
As I giggled, he kissed my forehead and hugged me tight again. When I finally stopped laughing, he stroked my cheek. “I love you. You are so special and so unique. You surprise me at every turn and I am so thankful you somehow ended up in my life.”
Aww.
Throwing my arms around him, I squeezed him. “I love you too.”
Now we just had to figure out how to make him realize he also loved Julian.
****
It was the sprinkles.
Honestly, nothing could’ve been less subtle.
Niall took one look at the sprinkles Julian had put in the pancakes and his thinking face immediately slid into place. “Is there anything I can do to help you, Julian?”
Julian immediately looked over at me and gestured wildly with the spatula. “Brat. That question has you written all over it.”
Yes, it did.
“What do you say when…a concerned Dom is asking if they can help you?” I wasn’t sure if Julian was ready to hear me refer to Niall as our Dom, so I just let the words hang there silently instead.
Couldn’t get pissed for something I hadn’t said.
Julian gave me a very sub look, but it was a cranky sub that said he was going to get even.
It was so cute and so obvious that even Niall was watching him curiously again.
Julian turned back and flipped the pancakes before taking a deep breath. “I don’t know why I’m feeling a bit…I don’t know…stressed?”
Niall looked at me questioningly as Julian focused on the food. I gestured for him to get closer to Julian and nodded approvingly as he inched toward him. As Julian took the pancakes off the pan, Niall slid his Dom face back into place.
“Julian? Please take this in the spirit it's intended, but would you like a hug or is there something you need from me?”
It was like watching two porcupines try to cuddle.
Cute and stupidly dangerous all at the same time.
Julian seemed to be focusing on trying to force out his tension because his shoulders came down and he stood straighter. It was definitely sending mixed signals, so Niall stayed perfectly still as Julian poured more batter in the hot pan.
The seconds dragged out until Julian set the bowl down and turned to Niall. “I would like a hug please, and then, maybe sometime this week we can try to spend some time alone?”
I was hoping his stress was finally fading but just as he said the words, it flared up again and he turned to me. “Not that I don’t—”
Sweet baby Jesus, they worried.
Jumping in, I cut him off. “No.”
When they were both looking at me, I kept going. “Each relationship is separate even though we’re all together. Yes, your relationship with Niall will get easier with some therapy, but that doesn’t mean it’s not important.”
Hell yes, they needed time alone to figure out how to romance each other.
“Later this afternoon, we’ll sit down and look at the calendar and pick out your date night.” Then I could get my date nights down on paper. That would make it easier for Niall to tell other people he already had a meeting scheduled.
A meeting with me.
Hopefully a naked meeting with me.
“That’s a good idea.” Niall seemed more confident after hearing Julian’s admission. “A weekly date night will help us remember that romance in our relationship is just as important as friendship.”
For some reason, Julian seemed surprised.
He stood there studying Niall for so long he almost burned the pancakes.
When he finally jumped back into action, he started to speak as he flipped the pancakes. “I wasn’t sure if you still saw us as friends. It was…awkward after the dating thing didn’t work and then as time went on it just got worse.”
“I do.” Niall’s voice was very even, like he was trying not to scare a wild animal.
It was interesting because I was pretty sure that was how Julian saw him too.
“I think it just…warped for a while. We’re straightening that out as we figure out the relationship stuff. Which is why I would really like to take you out. It can be as friends or boyfriends or something else. I just want you to be comfortable when we hang out together.” Niall paused, almost seeming to be holding his breath while Julian focused on the stove.
When Julian finally peeked over at him, he nodded. “I’d like that. Maybe we try just the boyfriends thing for now and figure anything else out later?”
Thank fuck.
They could not be trusted with anything else at this point.
Niall’s quick nod and pleased smile immediately changed the feeling in the air. They both seemed to deflate as the stress in the room popped almost like a balloon. Julian smiled, looking more confident. “Great. We’ll look at the calendar after breakfast because now it’s time to eat.”
The pancakes smelled so good my stomach was starting to rumble.
“What can I do to help?” I meant something like getting the butter out, but Julian groaned.
“No, I’m not letting you near anything to do with breakfast.”
Huffing, I crossed my arms over my chest. “How was I supposed to know you meant to turn the burner all the way down to low for the rice?”
Why would I think anything would cook on that low of a setting?
He snorted. “Why don’t you go find something to put on so you don’t get syrup on your dick again?”
Rolling my eyes, I turned and shook my ass before bouncing out of the room, making sure everything wiggled distractingly. “I want whipped cream. Not syrup.”
Really?
Syrup and sprinkles did not go together.
As they laughed and started talking about where they wanted to go for their date, I hurried upstairs and grabbed my phone off the nightstand. Sending a quick text to Miles, I dug through Niall’s drawers for a T-shirt.
I’ve got a therapy thing to talk to you about sometime this week. My two Doms have agreed to therapy and Niall needs to talk to you one-on-one too.
He must’ve already been up for the day because the response came back quickly.
Niall? From the club? He’s never talked about dating anyone. Who is your other Dom?
I grinned as I typed back.
His friend Julian. We’re a throuple. Autocorrect hates that word lol.
He must have been fairly little because he sent me back a wide-eyed emoji.
Really?
Chuckling, I set the phone down for a moment to pull on the shirt then grabbed some socks because somehow they made my ass look even more naked.
Yes. So lots of baggage but they really want to make it work and they’re really cute when they’re not awkward or fighting. So yeah. Therapy.
I could almost see Miles nodding on the other end of the phone.
Okay, you’re right. What about the one-on-one thing? Is that something Niall should tell me about?
That had me rolling my eyes.
If we wait for him to initiate anything we’ll be stuck in limbo for years. The asshole that trained him to be a Dom was abusive. Mom knows who it is. I don’t remember his name but he ended up in prison and Niall pushed all the issues away. So it’s going to be a lot to unpack.
Miles was quiet for several seconds before the dots appeared and I knew he was typing again.
I know what you’re talking about. Yes, Niall needs to talk to someone. I honestly didn’t realize that was the man who’d trained him or I’d have talked to him about it a long time ago.
Judging from the comment it sounded like Miles had tracked down a lot of the victims to make sure they were okay.
I get the feeling it’s not something he really talks about so I’m not surprised he never mentioned it.
But at least Miles would know what had happened without Niall having to explain it all from scratch.
I’ll look at my schedule on Monday and then I’ll get back to you about times. I think we can make everything work, especially if I come up there sometimes when I’m going to the club.
Yeah, it would be a bit of a drive but I couldn’t think of anyone else I’d trust with Niall’s emotions.
Thank you!! Okay got to go get pancakes now before they miss me.
I got a laughing emoji and a stack of pancakes.
Yep, he was definitely on his way to being little, so I sent back a toy truck and giggled as I tossed the phone on the bed before hurrying back downstairs.
I had pancakes to consume and then two Doms to seduce.
Caffeine and sugar should be what they both needed before I talked them into something fun. Not that I thought it would be hard with the way my ass was peeking out from under the T-shirt.
I looked almost as delectable as the pancakes.
And I was just as tasty too.
Chapter 20
Julian
“That was not what I intended when I told you to go put clothes on.” Raising one eyebrow as Keegan giggled, I scanned down his chest to where the table was covering his erection.
“Niall didn’t mind.” Keegan gave me a look that would’ve been sweet if he wasn’t half-naked and wiggling on his Dom’s lap. “He said he liked cuddling with me.”
Niall was trying not to laugh but his delight was dancing in his eyes.
“Master Niall said he thought my outfit looked cute.” Keegan played up the innocent act and gave Niall a peck on the cheek. “Master? Can I have a little more whipped cream?”
Niall was even feeding him.
It was completely over the top and so fucking sexy I wanted to drag them both upstairs.
I couldn’t picture myself in Keegan’s place—I’d never be that kind of sub—but he was definitely playing it up. I had a feeling that I wasn’t the only person at the table who was ready to head back to bed.
“Of course.” Niall was in the mood to give Keegan whatever he wanted and scooped more of the topping on the bite before bringing the fork up to Keegan. “There you go.”
As Keegan wrapped his lips around the treat and moaned, he wiggled on Niall’s lap, smiling like his Master was the best thing ever.
Keegan was definitely playing it up, but Niall was loving it.
I had a feeling they were both doing their best to make sure the morning stayed light and teasing. That way there would be less chance of anything going pear-shaped between us…probably.
But before we ended up distracted and hopefully exhausted, there was one thing I wanted to remember to talk about.
“Oopsie.”
We were never going to have a real conversation if Niall kept dropping whipped cream on Keegan’s dick.
“I’m sorry, baby.” Niall kissed his cheek. “I’ll clean you up.”
We were going to end up fucking on another table.
Niall set the fork down and made a show of slowly pulling Keegan’s T-shirt up his torso. When we all knew Keegan’s cock was completely free and waving around, Niall’s hand moved and I had to fight the urge to lean over and watch the frustrating man swipe the sweet treat off Keegan.
I knew what was happening without even looking because it was the third time they’d performed this trick.
As Niall brought the whipped cream up to Keegan’s lips and our sexy brat slowly licked it off, I swallowed and did my best to sound perfectly calm. “What do you think about going to the club soon? Tonight if you want or, at the very least, we could plan for next week.”
Any longer and we’d be hiding our interesting little relationship.
Shit.
We were probably already at that point, but I’d explained to Keegan that I needed to be sure Niall and I could work before we showed this side of our relationship to our friends. Fucking things up a second time would not be something we could hide as easily as we had the first.
Not that we’d done a great job of it, but I refused to think about that because we were moving forward and I was going to focus on that.
Keegan knew what I was thinking because his grin got bigger and he wiggled excitedly. “Yes. That sounds like fun.”
He turned to Niall, aiming that smile at him. “What do you think, Master?”
Niall thought for a moment, but he didn’t seem stressed by the question, which sent relief flooding through me. After a few seconds, he shrugged. “Sure. Why not tonight? Stuart texted me the other day, and he mentioned he and Asa were going to head over there tonight.”
I tried not to laugh but he must have seen it because he rolled his eyes. “No, I’m not still avoiding his calls. I actually talked to him and explained that I had a few things to tell him.”
