Hanging On 2: Surreal Neal [Awakenings 6] (Siren Publishing Menage and More) (9 page)

When my thoughts came back to the task at hand, I realized Neal had been patiently waiting for me. I regarded him thoughtfully. “Does that bother you? We can take a break from this and go help the girls.” If Ginny heard me referring to her as a “girl,” she’d skewer me.

He shook his head. “Not at all.”

Ellen treated Neal to a wicked grin. The tips of Neal’s ears turned pink. I wanted to put my arm around him, guide his head to my shoulder, kiss his lips, strip him naked… For Christ’s sake, I needed to stop thinking along those lines.

As we continued, I noticed that Neal sneaking a lot of long looks at Sophia.

“What if we opened up the theme to include other mythologies? We could have a coliseum where submissives have to compete in different kinds of games. We could have pony races.” Ellen practically shouted that last part.

I hadn’t known she was so interested in that genre. I looked at Ryan to see his reaction, but other than the serene smile he’d been sporting since he’d arrived, his expression divulged nothing.

Sophia frowned. “Then we have to change the name.”

“‘Caelum’ means ‘heaven’ in Latin.” Neal cleared his throat and appeared amazed at having added his unsolicited opinion. “Or maybe you want to go with something like ‘Sanctum’ because it’s a safe haven for people with unconventional lifestyles.”

The frown on Sophie’s face changed to a thoughtful one. Ellen peered at Neal with renewed interest. Even Ryan hazarded a glance.

Finally, Sophie nodded. “I like ‘Sanctum,’ but we’ll have to run it by Sabrina and Samantha.”

“Sammy’s going to love it,” I said. “She said she wanted to create an area just for people in triad relationships.”

Samantha was involved with two men I’d known since high school, Alexei and Stefano Morozov. They’d been players back then, but since meeting her, they’d settled into a polyamorous relationship with the love of their lives.

“I like that,” Sophia said. “My brother needs somewhere he can go with Evan and Alaina, and they’re not into BDSM.”

Ellen packed her papers back into the folders scattered across Sophia’s desk. “I like it. I’ll call Sabrina and Sam. When you go down there next week, your job is to try to figure out how we can implement the new theme.”

Sophia got to her feet. “We’ll see. I have to take a thorough look at the financials and how the island is currently being run. I may not have time.”

Ellen threw a grin in my direction. “Ryan and I have booked a flight for the day after you get back. Samantha, Lex, and Stef are scheduled to be there at the end of this month. They’ll all have opinions. Yes?”

I wondered at her sudden question, which had been directed at Ryan. He was still kneeling next to her, and I hadn’t seen him move. At her directive, he got to his feet and leaned down to whisper in her ear. His light, red hair stood in stark contrast to Ellen’s midnight tresses. He was at least half a foot taller than her. Though he was on the skinny side, he had a lithe, strong build.

When he finished, he resumed his spot at her feet.

Ellen cocked her head to one side. “Ryan has a great idea. He thinks we should have Sabrina develop the new theme, that way she could work it into the advertising.”

I’d hit on Sabrina once. She’d been the hot senior cheerleader, and I’d been the hot-shot quarterback of the freshmen football team. It hadn’t gone well. She hadn’t noticed, but her boyfriend—the quarterback of the varsity team—had. Stephen hadn’t been a violent person, but he had a lot of friends, and at the time, most of them were bigger than me. Their “talk” had driven home the point that she was off-limits. Then I’d hit on Ginny. That also hadn’t gone well.

When I’d told Sophie that story, she’d nearly peed herself laughing. Then she’d cupped my cheek and told me that my tenacity and ego were two of my more endearing qualities.

I added my two cents. “This is something the four of you should do together. Maybe have her throw together ideas for a starting point, but you can’t put this all on her.”

From the expression on Ryan’s face, I figured he agreed with me.

So did Sophie. “Yeah. Ellen, be nice when you talk to her. I don’t have time to flog the stress out of her tonight and Jonas has some kind of parent night at his school, so he’s not home to do the honors.”

“Noted.” Ellen hugged Sophia. Ryan collected everything in his satchel and put the chair Ellen had been using back in front of Heidi’s desk. Ellen came over and kissed my cheek. “See you later.” Then she held her hand out to shake Neal’s hand. “It was nice to finally meet you, Neal.”

After they had gone, Neal stared at Sophia, not bothering to hide his interest.

Sophia straightened up her desk. She liked things neat, and Ellen was sometimes chaos in high heels. Glancing up, she found Neal’s gaze zeroed in on her. “Did you need something?”

“Your friends treat their submissives very well. A couple weeks ago, I watched Jonas carry his sub to the car after you finished with her. The way he talked to her was sweet and patient. Then today, Mistress Ellen was very attentive to her sub. He barely touched her ankle, and she realized right away what he wanted.”

Sophie rolled a pencil on the desk between her thumb and fingers, but she kept her gaze on Neal. The wood tinkled against the polished surface. “Yeah. They’re good people.”

“My former Master didn’t mind if his friends…” He broke off, dropping his gaze to his lap and shaking his head. “I didn’t like some of them, and he was into sharing.”

Moving softly, yet confidently, Sophie rounded her desk and came to sit on my lap, facing Neal. She touched the back of his hand, directly in his line of sight. “Nobody who cares about you would do anything you didn’t want.”

He looked from her to me and back again. “You truly believe that.”

I put my hand on her thighs, holding her on me and letting her know I was here for support.

“Now that you’ve met my friends, have you changed your mind about having me introduce you around?”

Neal shook his head. “I want you to explain to me how things work with you and Drew. I’ve heard rumors, but I’d rather not go by hearsay.”

She stiffened when he mentioned the rumors. I knew about them, and I did my best to shield her from the fallout. The vast majority of people knew nothing, but I hadn’t exactly been discrete before I’d met her. I had a reputation for playing with multiple people at the same time. People speculated. Celebrities could be a bitchy group.

I took this one. “Sophia is a dominatrix. I’m not submissive. When we invite a third party into our bedroom, they’re always submissive.”

She placed her hands over mine, and I twisted my wrists to twine my fingers with hers. She added more to my explanation. “Drew can top a sub, but he prefers not to.”

Neal’s gaze landed on me. “You’re bisexual?”

“We both are,” I said.

Interest flared in Neal’s eyes. I knew Sophia was rolling hers, and her sharp intake of breath came moments before her exasperated sigh.

“So am I. My former Master hated it. He used to have female subs rub themselves all over me, and then punish me for becoming aroused.”

I couldn’t believe he was opening up like this to us. I knew Sophia had to be similarly affected. She huffed her disapproval. “Submissives should only be punished when they misbehave.”

When I had first met Sophia, I had presented myself as a cocky, knowledgeable submissive. She’d expected certain things of me, and I hadn’t behaved. I knew firsthand that she hated punishing anybody. It was the primary reason we severed ties with Christopher after seriously considered having him move in with us.

“And what constitutes misbehavior should be agreed upon beforehand.” Neal’s eyes had turned steely, and his lips were set hard. “As should the nature of the punishments allowed.”

Sophia didn’t seem surprised by this sudden change. “I agree.”

Neal came to a decision. He knelt at Sophia’s feet. Mine too, since they were right there. “Mistress, I wish to serve you.”

She put her hand on the top of his head. “You understand that Drew and I are a package deal?”

“Yes, Mistress.”

“And that Drew most likely won’t top you?”

Some tension drained from me. I didn’t mind being forceful, confident, or even alpha, but I didn’t like topping a lover. I didn’t mind when she did it. Actually, I found it really hot. Right now, I was getting wood from watching Neal bow his head to my wife.

“Yes, Mistress.”

I knew when Sophie would tolerate an interruption and when she wouldn’t. As long as Neal was behaving, she was fine with me chiming in. I cleared my throat. “We need to discuss limits.”

“Yes. Neal, sit back in the chair and tell me your hard limits.”

He obeyed. “No blood. I have a light tolerance for pleasurable pain. I’m not much of a masochist. Too much is a punishment. No broken skin. Occasional blisters are okay. No single-tails or anything with metal. Paddles, crops, and floggers are okay. CBT is fine.”

Sophia perked up at that one, but I had no idea what it meant.

“Condoms, always,” he continued, ticking off things on his fingers as he went. “Oral and anal are okay. I’m not partial to canes. Bondage is okay, though it doesn’t do anything for me but provide restraint. Blindfolds and gags are okay.”

Then he shifted to face me. “I like vanilla too. I’m not always in a submissive frame of mind. That tends to only happen around attractive Dommes.”

Christ, this man was perfect for us. I struggled to suppress a groan. My cock must have been prodding Sophie’s ass because she scooted forward to give me room.

“Neal, I’m going to make an appointment for you to get some tests tomorrow. Drew and I have results on file, and I’ll get you copies of them.”

He looked disappointed that Sophia hadn’t told him to drop to his knees. I moved Sophia to one side and touched his hand. “This’ll give you a couple days to think about things, make sure this is what you truly want. If you change your mind, there are no repercussions. Your job here and anything that happens outside this building are disparate activities.”

Biting his lip, he nodded. I wanted to close the distance and soothe his poor lip with my tongue as Sophie watched.

“Yeah, okay. So if I don’t change my mind, when do we start?”

Neal

I wanted them to say, “Right now,” but I knew that wouldn’t happen. They’d done this before, and they had their procedures in place to make sure everybody and everything was safe. Working with Drew these past few weeks, I couldn’t help but notice how meticulous he was with the details. Sophia was also very specific in the way she went about doing things.

“Mistress, do you have any instructions for me?”

Sophia touched her finger to my chin, and I became aware of the fact that I hadn’t shaved. I wasn’t overly prickly, but I wanted to be perfect for my new Mistress. Perhaps it was a good thing we were going to wait. This way I’d be able to prepare myself the way she liked.

She peered at me, the overhead light reflecting softly from her dark eyes. One of the things I liked about her was that she didn’t hide her feelings. When she was pleased, her smile was a sight to behold. Anger manifested in the narrowing of her eyes and a quick exhalation. When she was aroused, she licked her lips. I had fantasies about seeing them wrapped around my cock while I struggled not to move my hands from the headboard. I’d never had a Mistress or Master so easy to read.

“Not yet. I’ll make the appointment now, and I’ll have the results expedited.” Leaning down, she kissed my forehead. Then she was gone, back in her seat halfway across the room.

Drew studied me, raw desire turning his eyes an even lighter shade of blue. “We’re finished here. Let’s get downstairs and help Gin finish the inventory.”

I followed him to the door. A glance back showed that Sophia was enjoying watching both of us walk away. She had the same gleam in her eye when she had lifted Drew’s shirt out of the way when I’d walked in on them at the network party. She’d wanted me from the start.

Inventory didn’t take an extraordinarily long time, though Ginny seemed to think it had. When we closed up, she stumbled dramatically out the front door. Because there was no parking nearby, she and Heidi joined Drew and Sophia as they headed down the street toward the garage. My aunt’s house was in the opposite direction. In all likelihood, I would make it home before they got to their cars.

Before I turned the corner, I looked to find Sophia and Drew holding hands. As I watched, he leaned down and kissed her cheek. I wished I was with them.

Aunt Danielle was home alone when I arrived, which was unusual. She was one of those people who always had some kind of event planned. Since her divorce three years earlier, she’d filled every evening with friends or one of those parties where women bought purses, crystal, kitchen implements, or lipstick.

She was significantly younger than my father, having come from my grandfather’s third marriage. Though she was only ten years older than me, she treated me like I was her kid. The second I walked in the door, she greeted me with a hug and a peck on the cheek. Then she wiped her lipstick from my skin.

“Neal, what a pleasant surprise. I thought you’d be home later.”