Beyond 10 Nights (32 page)

Leah was amazed that he was being so
reasonable; she knew he didn’t have Rhett’s temper, but she had still expected
him to react in some way to what she had said. “What if I wanted to be your
submissive, and his as well?” she asked, deciding that since she had started,
she might as well finish, especially since she had reached what she really
wanted to talk about. She just hoped that he would understand what she was
suggesting, and offering.

That threw him for a loop. He had
agreed to do some light training with her, but she knew what kind of lifestyle
he enjoyed, and he simply didn’t think she was ready for that, though he wished
she was. “Then I’d say we have a lot to discuss.” That was putting it mildly,
he thought; she had no idea what she would be getting into if she agreed to be
fully trained by him to be his submissive. The thought of taking her to the
Ranch had his mind racing with possibilities, possibilities that he immediately
cut off, knowing that she was a long way from being able to cope with them.

“That’s what Rhett said.” She
nibbled on her lip, not comfortable with bringing it up but knowing it needed
to be said. “He wants us all to sit down and come up with some agreement on
what we want.” It sounded too much like a business discussion for her liking,
but some part of her told her that life, and relationships, was a business, at
least in a sense.

“I think Rhett is right.” As much as
he disagreed with how Rhett had handled things with Leah, he couldn’t fault his
thought processes just then. Leah needed to understand fully what she was
getting into, and both he and Rhett needed to know where they stood if they
were going to go ahead with what she was suggesting.

He was being so amenable she
couldn’t help but wonder why she had been so worried. They would talk, and
discuss every side of the situation like the adults they were, and then figure
out where to go. It all seemed so simple and sensible, so why was her heart
racing at ninety miles a minute at the very thought of them all sitting down to
talk. “So I should tell him you’re okay with it and we are going to sit down
and talk?”

“No, I’ll call him myself and set up
a time and place.” If he made the call he would at least be able to get some
sense of whether his friend was going to be reasonable about the situation, and
whether he should expect trouble and take precautions.

“Janie wants to be there if we do
this,” Leah said, remembering her conversation the previous night with her
friend, thinking about it, she realized she liked the idea of her friend being
there. Janie’s presence would make her feel more comfortable.

Alex nodded. “I think that’s a good
idea.” No matter how well the meeting went, she would need someone there to
support her, someone who was a hundred percent on her side. In addition to being
there for her friend, Janie’s presence might just be enough to keep Rhett’s
temper in check, should the meeting not go the way he wanted it to, and he
couldn’t see how his friend could get what he wanted from the meeting. Rhett
was too possessive to simply give in and agree to share Leah.

“What’s so funny?” Leah asked when
Alex suddenly began laughing. She felt her hands tremble at the thought of the
crazy meeting she had just agreed to and needed something to lighten her mood.

“I was just thinking; as a new
submissive, we should be sharing firsts with you, and here you are turning the
tables.” Being honest with himself, he knew there were few submissives in his
past that he would have even considered agreeing to such an arrangement with.
He felt something different for this woman, as he knew his friend did, and like
Rhett he wasn’t willing to give her up without a fight. The thought shocked
him, even as it entered his mind.

Leah had assumed what she was
proposing was normal in the world of doms and subs, so she was surprised to
discover it wasn’t common and she found herself wondering why they both seemed
willing to share her, if it wasn’t normal behavior. “I guess I should get back
to work.” She smiled tentatively at Alex, hoping that no-one would have a clue
what they had been doing in the office.

“And I have a phone call to make.”
He winked at her, and was pleased to see her return his wink with a smile. The
day was definitely turning out strange, he thought as he picked up the phone
after she had left. His call to Rhett went straight through and they quickly
got down to the reason for the call.

Rhett’s immediate suggestion was
that they should meet at his house, since Alex’s hotel suite wasn’t
appropriate, but Alex vetoed that, he didn’t like the idea of meeting somewhere
Rhett was most comfortable and in control. The second suggestion, which Alex
was prepared to agree to after some thought, was David’s home, a neutral
location which had the benefit of providing an extra person to help keep
Rhett’s temper in check.

Alex allowed that Rhett should call
David and make the necessary arrangements, and hung up, thinking that the
meeting was going to be unlike any he had ever taken part in before.

18

Circle
of Three

Leah felt odd when they returned to
the hotel after work, it seemed as though she was forever packing up her stuff
since meeting Rhett. She didn’t like the constant moving, and could only hope
that soon things would settle down so she wouldn’t have to worry about any more
disorganization in her life.

After what had happened at lunchtime
she had forgotten to tell Alex that she was moving out of the suite, and moving
into the condo, he had thought her staying there had been just for the night.
Fortunately, when she explained what she was going to do on their way out of
the office, he was understanding, which she was beginning to realize was a part
of his nature.

Her nerves were on edge; she
couldn’t help worrying about the meeting that was to take place in a few hours,
so she made the most of her time by packing up the clothes she would need for
the week. There wasn’t the time, or the opportunity, for her to pack up
everything she had brought to the hotel, but she could at least take away what
she would need most urgently.

Alex gave her the space she needed
to collect her thoughts while she packed up, and she was again reminded of how
thoughtful he was. She needed the time, that was for sure, she thought. In a
relatively short time, she would be talking more personally about herself than
she felt comfortable with, and she really wasn’t looking forward to the
meeting, even if she was the one who was the cause of it.

Though she had intended to do so,
there hadn’t been an opportunity for her to research pony play and the Ranch.
She hoped she would be able to find out more about it before she met with Alex
and Rhett that evening. She needed to know as much as she could learn to help
her with the decisions that needed to be made.

When she finished packing up the things
she needed, and looked at the time on her phone, she discovered that the hours
had flown by much more quickly than she had anticipated. Realizing how close
the unbelievable meeting was she found her hands trembling, it was only by
force of will that she was able to get them under control enough to allow her
to dress.

Was she really going to go through
with the insanity she had dreamt up, she wondered as she slid on a pair of
heels; the nights with Rhett were still branded on her mind, she remembered in
vivid detail how overwhelmed she had been by them.

The thought of having both men in
her life at the same time excited her, but at the same time it terrified her,
and left her wondering if she was truly ready to consider such a thing, let
alone actually go through with it.

Taking a deep breath, she grabbed
her purse off the bed and walked into the main room, where Alex was waiting. He
was so damn beautiful, she thought; she had to be the luckiest woman on earth
to have two incredibly gorgeous men interested in her at the same tame.

“You look beautiful, Leah.” Walking
over he took both of her hands in his before bending his head to kiss her
deeply. He wondered if she had any ideas what an enchanting creature she was.
Breaking the kiss, he pulled back to look into her eyes, not pleased with the
anxiety he saw written in those hazel depths. “If you've changed your mind, I
won’t be upset.” He was still amazed that she was even considering the options
that were going to be placed on the table that night.

“I haven’t changed my mind,” Leah
said, “but I am a little scared.” She had no problem telling him how she felt;
instinctively she knew that he would support any decision she made, which made
things a little easier for her.

Pulling her into his arms he held her
tight. “There’s no reason to be afraid, nothing will happen tonight except
conversation.” His hand lowered to her cheek to stroke her soft skin as he
backed away slightly. “If at any time you feel this is too much for you, say
the word, we can call the meeting off.” He stared into her eyes, wanting her to
understand that she would be the one in control of the meeting, not him or
Rhett.

Taking a few deep breaths, Leah
managed a shaky smile and a nod. She closed her eyes and enjoyed his gentle
touch for a moment before looking at him again. “I guess we should be leaving,
there’s just enough time to drop my stuff off at the condo before we go to
David’s.” If they were going to go ahead with the meeting she wanted to get it
over with. It was one thing to agree to submit, even to two men, she thought to
herself, and another entirely to sit down and talk about it as a group.
Strangely enough she found herself more nervous about the meeting than she was
about the possible outcome of the decisions she might make.

“Let’s go have a discussion then,”
Alex said, grabbing up his wallet and slipping it into his back pocket before
he grabbed his keys off the bar.

The drive to David’s house, after
they left the condo, was over far too quickly for Leah’s liking, and she fought
the nausea that had built up within her. It wasn’t that she wasn’t on board
with the idea of what they would be discussing, but she didn’t know if she had
it in her to talk about sexual acts with both of them at the same time. She was
still uncomfortable talking about sex, and could only hope that as she gained
more experience the topic would become easier for her.

David opened the door for them when
they arrived, and Janie, who was behind him, immediately pulled her friend into
her arms so she could hug her tight. “Ready to run yet?” she asked with a soft
laugh, seeing just how nervous Leah was.

“No, but I’m getting close.” Leah
grinned, feeling much more comfortable with Janie there. She looked around as
they made their way into the living room but couldn’t see Rhett, briefly the
thought occurred to her that he wouldn’t show and she turned to David, a
questioning look on her face.

“Rhett's been held up in traffic,
but he should be here any minute. Can I get anyone a drink?” he asked,
directing a smile at no-one in particular, both curious and concerned about
what the night would bring. Knowing that Alex would be discussing the pony
lifestyle, at least in part, made him doubly curious, since he knew so little
about it.

Leah nodded; her mouth was as dry as
the Sahara Desert and she wasn't sure she could manage to speak about anything,
let alone what she was there to discuss. “I’d love a soda, if you have one.”
She struggled to get the words out. There was no way she was drinking anything
alcoholic, she wanted to have all of her wits about her during the meeting.

“I’m sure we have some in the
fridge,” David said, turning to leave the room and fetch it but Janie stopped
him.

“I’ll get it, honey, you wait here,
Alex, what would you like?”

“Just water, thank you, Janie.”

Janie nodded and made her way into
the kitchen to fetch the drinks; while she was there she fixed herself one,
alcohol for her. She couldn’t help feeling a little nervous, almost as much as
Leah was, when the doorbell rang, announcing the arrival of Rhett.

Returning with the drinks she noted
that Rhett didn’t look very pleased to see her. She was sure he hadn’t expected
her to be there. With an effort she fought the urge to utter the smart ass
comment that rose to her lips, knowing that it would only set the man off,
which wasn’t a good idea when her presence there was supposed to encourage him
to remain calm.

Rhett wasn’t pleased to hear that
Janie and David were going to be there for the discussion, he had thought they
would simply be using David’s house. He kept his thoughts to himself however;
he knew how hard the meeting was likely to be for Leah, and wanted her to be
comfortable, even if that meant allowing for Janie’s presence, who he had
become less and less happy with since meeting Leah.

“I hope I haven’t kept you waiting
too long.” He directed the comment at Leah, forcing a smile, which he hoped
appeared genuine. As he looked at her he found himself possessed of the desire
to pick her up, take her home, and make her forget the whole crazy idea. He
could only hope that Alex’s description of the pony lifestyle would be enough
to turn her off the idea and bring her back to him.

“We just got here,” she told him,
nibbling on her lip. Despite his smile, she could tell that he wasn’t happy about
being there, but he seemed to perk up when he joined her on the couch. His
presence next to her made her feel a little better, though at the same time it
made her uncomfortable. Her discomfort was increased when Alex settled next to
her. If anyone had asked her, even just a month before, she would never have
thought it possible for her to find herself in such a situation.