Bound to be Tamed: Emergence, Book 2 (39 page)

It was dark when Stephanie woke up. She glanced at the clock. Nine. She’d slept all evening.

Her stomach growled. She hadn’t eaten since breakfast.

Fantastic smells came from under the door to the bedroom. Lights were on in the rest of the house. She couldn’t hear anything, but she knew she was not alone.

She stood unsteadily and immediately felt every muscle in her body. She needed a shower first. And then food. She ached as she walked, a good kind of hurt she could get used to.

As she padded into the bathroom, she smiled. She flipped the shower on and stood for a few seconds, waiting for the water to heat and pondering the open bathroom door and the open shower door. She backed up to the mirror. Wow. Long pink welts striped her back, her ass, her thighs. She winced when she reached over her shoulder to touch the uppermost line. None of them were deep enough to draw blood. Aiden and Dane had done a perfect job. Each stripe existed as a reminder of her submission.

There was no doubt now. They’d come through for her. Sure. They’d lied to her, but they hadn’t intentionally tried to deceive her. She felt loved.

She stepped into the shower and immediately relaxed under the warm spray. She luxuriated in the cascade of water as it soothed down the front of her. It stung when she turned around, but eased in moments.

Long minutes later, she felt more like herself.
And which self is that?
She smiled. She’d been so many people lately. The Stephanie from two weeks ago before meeting Aiden and Dane. The girl who’d overheard her bosses placing a bet about her ability to show up last Saturday at the company party with a date. The very woman who agreed to attend a fetish party with two men last Friday in exchange for one of them at her company party on Saturday.

Nope. Those women were gone. They’d never really existed in the first place. A lie created by Stephanie Parkins to protect herself from men.

She didn’t need that woman anymore. She was strong and self-sufficient in her own right. And she could make good choices about men. She wasn’t her mother. No man would ever take advantage of her because she’d never allow them to. No man would ever abuse her or hurt her emotionally or physically because she was too strong for that.

She flipped off the shower and stepped out. Without much thought, she grabbed the closest washcloth and proceeded to dry her body. Her hair dripped water onto the floor, but she managed to wring it out with her hands onto the rug. Aiden or Dane usually wrapped it in a towel, but neither of them had given her permission to do so now.

Her pussy grew wet thinking about doing their bidding even without them knowing it. There were rules in this house. Rules meant to titillate and control her lust. And no matter what else happened, those commands were spot on.

The tingle of lust filled her body as she stepped to the vanity and combed through her hair. A tight ball formed in her belly. Need. Desire.

Stephanie stared at the door to the room for a moment. With a deep breath, she opened it.

Both men were there. They jumped to their feet when she stepped out.

Stephanie smiled. Everything would be okay. Sure, there were still issues to work through. She needed them to understand this lying by omission could never happen again. She needed to meet with Jason Garwood and learn more about herself. She needed to forge a relationship with Lori, a sister she never knew she had.

She glanced from one man to the other once more and then lowered her gaze. “That smells fantastic, Sir. I’m starving.”

Aiden jumped first. He came to her side and took her chin in his hands to lift her face. His smile lit up the room. “Let’s eat then, little sub. Dane’s been smelling up the apartment with his creation for hours.”

“Why aren’t you at the restaurant, Sir?”

“Eh, it can run itself now and then. Perhaps we’ve been too overbearing there and hadn’t realized it wasn’t necessary. The place is still standing even though we’ve spent a lot of time playing for the last two weeks. Apparently we hired capable employees.” Aiden grinned.

Dane stepped up to her other side and kissed her temple lightly. “Come. Eat. You haven’t had anything since this morning.”

They stepped toward the table and she followed. She was naked. They were clothed. But the concept had grown on her. She didn’t feel quite as awkward as she had days ago.

Aiden pulled out her chair while Dane loaded the table.

Stephanie sat, consciously spreading her knees and wrapping her ankles around the legs of the chair. She winced at the tug on her muscles.

She glanced up to find Aiden smiling. “Good girl. You’re learning.” He glanced at her back. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, Sir. Perfect.”

Aiden took his own seat next to her. He stroked a finger across the top welt on her skin. “I’ll spread some more lotion on these after we eat.”

Dane handed her a glass. “We spoke to Jason earlier. He’s flying home Monday night. He’ll be here first thing Tuesday morning to meet you. He’s going to call Lori later tonight and tell her everything. Neither of us was comfortable agreeing to continue the farce where she was concerned until he returned.”

“Good choice.” She glared at them.

Aiden reached for his glass. “If I know Lori, we should expect her at our door within ten minutes of his call.”

Stephanie picked up the glass of wine and took a sip. It was delicious. She moaned around the dry, fruity flavor as she swallowed. She had a sister. And from what she knew so far, she adored the woman.

Everything was going to be okay. Her world would fall into order. It had to. She knew it.

Epilogue

One month later…

Stephanie stared at the wine list she held in her hand. Columns of reds and whites reached down the page that was slid behind the clear protective sheath of the leather-bound wine menu. “I can’t imagine why we need so many wine varieties. They all taste the same. How about just one red and one white?” She shook her head and set the list back on the bar where she sat perched on a stool, legs spread, bare ass flat against the wood.

Dane threw a towel at her from behind the bar. “Woman, do you want me to flog you right here?”

She lifted an eyebrow. “I might be up for that,” she teased.

Dane stepped up close and leaned across the wooden bar, aligning his face with her, just inches separating them. “Don’t tease.”

Aiden came up behind her and set his hands on her shoulders.

She tipped her head and wiggled her eyebrows. “But truthfully, aside from my lack of wine knowledge, I love it here—being at the restaurant with you guys, working alongside you.”

Aiden kissed her brow. “We adore having you here.” He glanced at Dane.

“We’ve been meaning to talk to you about that.” Dane lifted his mouth in a half smile. “We put it off several times for fear you’d balk and want to work somewhere else.”

Aiden spoke again. “We’d like nothing better than for you to work with us from now on. Permanently. You make this place shine behind the scenes. It’s never run this smoothly.” He twisted her on the seat until she faced him. “You’ll stay?”

“Of course.”

Aiden threaded his fingers in her hair and kissed her lips.

Voices behind her made her turn in her seat and jump down.
They’re here.
A smile spread across her face as she heard Lori’s laughter and Jason’s deep voice from the entrance to Ameci’s.

Dane and Aiden had planned this family celebration for days, ignoring Stephanie’s requests not to go overboard for her twenty-fifth birthday. Apparently the men loved parties and owning a restaurant made it easy to book a venue.

At least she’d managed to convince them to keep it small, just the three of them plus Lori, Jason and Lori’s submissive, Margaret.

Stephanie had met Margaret only twice in the last month and both times the two women had been in sub mode and unable to get to know each other. But from what Lori had said, Stephanie knew she’d adore Margaret. They had a lot in common. Margaret had a degree in accounting and worked full-time. When she wasn’t at the office, she was always in the role as Lori’s sub, but she had a spine of steel and insisted on keeping her professional life separate.

“Happy birthday,” Lori shouted as she dashed forward to hug Stephanie. “My little sister is a quarter century old.”

“Yeah, let’s not make such a big deal about it.” Stephanie had never had much of a birthday before this one. Her mother hadn’t bothered to remember or plan a party often in Stephanie’s childhood. As an adult, Stephanie hadn’t told anyone around her whenever the day arrived each year.

Aiden and Dane were adamant about celebrating. And since she’d woken up this morning she’d been showered with a variety of gifts so far, some she could share in public and others she would keep to herself. Just thinking about the set of leather wrist cuffs, ankle cuffs and collar made her cheeks warm. They were pink because her Doms insisted she’d spent too much of her life hiding behind black. They wanted her to stand out when she wore the accoutrements and they’d promised her she’d be wearing them at Emergence very soon. She shivered and rubbed her wrists, pondering what else she’d be wearing with them, if anything.

As if reading her mind, Lori asked, “So what did Aiden and Dane give you so far?”

Stephanie narrowed her gaze and glanced at the men behind her. “This dress and the sandals,” she offered. She fingered the material at her sides, admiring again the soft silk of the bodice. Also pink, because Dane said she looked fantastic in the feminine color, the top section was fitted and smocked. The skirt was full but lay straight down and barely covered her ass.

It wasn’t an unusual choice for her men, but she was grateful for the smocking that helped hide her erect nipples every time one of her Doms brushed against her breasts—which was frequent and intentional.

“Come on in. Sit.” Aiden ushered everyone deeper inside.

The restaurant was closed for two hours from two to four so that’s when they’d planned this little party. Considering there were only six of them, Dane had cooked enough food for an army.

The entire dining room smelled of rich sauces, garlic and freshly baked bread.

“Wow, nice place you have here,” Jason said as he glanced around the room, nodding in approval. As many times as Stephanie had invited her newfound family, this was the first time they’d all managed to get together.

She’d met with Lori and Jason after the weekend from hell, but that had been at home and the entire conversation had been stressful and nerve wracking.

Since then Stephanie had gotten to know her sister on a much more personal level. The two of them had lunch once a week and spoke on the phone most days.

In a negotiation, Aiden and Dane had agreed Stephanie’s time with Lori could be relaxed and spent outside of her submissive mode.

Aiden wrapped an arm around Stephanie’s waist as the six of them made their way to the round table set for lunch. He tickled her ear with his lips as he whispered to her, “You look fantastic, Steph. Vibrant. Alive. Happy.” He squeezed her tight against his side and kissed her cheek.

“I am.” She lifted her face to his and smiled. “The happiest I’ve ever been.”

As Aiden held out a chair for her, Stephanie lifted her skirt to sit. Even when she was in public or not officially in a submissive mode, her Doms had requirements she was growing used to accepting. They were right about one thing, she was always hornier and needier when she followed their requests, even the private ones no one specifically knew about. Though she doubted anyone in the room actually believed she was wearing panties. After all, they were all in the lifestyle. Undergarments weren’t the norm.

Stephanie looked up at Margaret as she sat. The taller, skinnier woman had been led to the chair across from Stephanie and Lori was seating her also. Stephanie flashed Margaret a grin and watched the twinkle in her eye and the subtle wink Margaret gave her. Neither of them was completely in the role right then, but their submission was ever present in their minds.

Dane bustled around the table, pouring wine and ensuring everyone had whatever they desired. When he finished, he stepped to his spot and held up a glass. Everyone else was seated, Aiden to the left of Stephanie, leaving the free spot on her right for Dane. “I’d like to propose a toast.”

“I’m in favor of that.” Jason lifted his wine glass high.

“To Stephanie. Aiden and I have never been happier than we are at this moment.” He stared down at Stephanie, making her flush anew. “May you enjoy seventy-five more years of pleasure in this life before Aiden and I grow too tired to worship you. I love you.” He reached toward Stephanie and clinked his glass against hers and then Aiden’s.

“Thank you,” she murmured, a thickness in her throat keeping her from speaking any louder. The love she felt for these two men after only six weeks was deep and permanent. She knew she’d never tire of them. And their devotion to her was the first thing she saw in their eyes each morning and the last thing she witnessed each evening as they snuggled her between them.

If she ever forgot for a moment what she meant to them, they were quick to remind her with verbal reinforcements throughout the day.