Iron Cross: The Dartmouth Cobras #6 (29 page)

Was that it? Simple day–to-day things that Chicklet saw as normal had driven a rift between the two most important people in her life? Maybe she should have paid more attention to them, but their life had seemed so perfect. For every tense moment, she could think of ten happy ones. Laura laughing as she opened a lunch Tyler had made for her and found a sweet note with a quote from the Disney movies they watched together. All those times Tyler had come home from the doctor when he still couldn’t play, looking so defeated, and Laura had cheered him up by making a huge banana split in a salad bowl that took all three of them to polish off. Chicklet was a heavy sleeper, but she’d woken up a few times to see Tyler holding Laura and drying her tears, whispering to her until she fell asleep.

Raif had obviously caught something Chicklet was missing. She didn’t know him that well, but she trusted him too much to ignore his concerns. At the same time, she wasn’t about to go home and question each and every thing her subs did in an attempt to “fix” whatever was wrong. She was aware of the problem. She’d hear Raif out in private and then encourage Tyler and Laura to talk to her. She wasn’t above doing a hard-core interrogation scene if it came to that.

But maybe it wouldn’t have to. She knew Laura’s job had her on edge on a good day. Tyler was doing well, so maybe he and Chicklet just needed to have a chat about some of his more annoying habits…

No. That wasn’t fair. Asking Tyler to change would be easy, but there was no way Chicklet would lay this all on him. There had to be a bigger issue than his damn socks.

Chicklet reached the outskirts of Dartmouth and frowned out at the road, surprised that the long drive had gone so fast. She was almost home and wasn’t any closer to figuring out what she would do when she got there.

She reached their street, parked, grabbed her suitcase, and headed inside. It was Sunday, and with no game tonight, Tyler and Raif might still be in bed. She checked the time on her phone as she approached the door. 11:30. Okay, she couldn’t see Raif sleeping in this late. Laura should have been up for a few hours, hungover or not. If Tyler was still in bed, Laura might be grumbling about having to tidy up alone—

Stop it.
Chicklet opened the door, stepping inside and leaving her suitcase in the hall as she followed the sound of the TV to the living room. She rolled her eyes as she recognized a song from
Tangled
, one of the movies from Tyler’s collection. Cartoon movies had never been her thing, but she found it cute that Tyler—and now Laura—enjoyed them. She remembered when she’d first moved in with Tyler, and he’d come home from road trips, too exhausted to do more than crawl into bed. Or so she’d thought. She’d heard music coming from his room and quietly went to see what it was. He’d fallen asleep and accidently rolled over and pulled the earphone out of his portable DVD player. And he’d been watching
Aladdin
.

The next day she put the movie on in the living room. And had him kneel at her feet while she calmly waited for him to explain why he only watched Disney movies in private. From that point on he’d only ever used his portable player on the road. She made sure he wasn’t ashamed to unwind with whatever made him happy in his own damn home. Laura finding some peace in the same colorful stories after the gritty reality she dealt with as a cop was an unexpected blessing.

Chicklet stood silently in the doorway, smiling as she watched Tyler, wearing only a pair of dark blue superman pajama pants, mouthing the words to the song while sitting on the floor at Raif’s feet. Laura sat beside Tyler in a cute lavender nightshirt, her arms wrapped around his bent knees, her head on his bare chest. Neither looked hungover, just relaxed. And perfectly at ease in each other’s company.

Behind them on the sofa, Raif had one of Chicklet’s sudoku books open on his bent knee. He was fully dressed in pants and a white dress shirt, but the sleeves rolled up his forearms and only half the buttons done up was like a tempting package only partially unwrapped. She was looking forward to getting her hands on him, to seeing his eyes darken with challenge as she fought for the upper hand.

He was too distracted for that now, and not by the numbers game. Once in a while he glanced down at Tyler and Laura, his brow creasing a little as though he didn’t expect them to be so cozy. One of them had done something to put him on edge. And she’d watch them as carefully until she understood what it was.

Laura went still all of a sudden and looked over. Her eyes went wide and she shot to her feet. “Mistress!”

Chicklet caught Laura in her arms and hugged her tight, but after being called either Kelsey, or Chicklet, for days, the automatic “respectful” address hit her hard. Which was stupid because that’s what she demanded from her subs during scenes. Except they weren’t
in
a scene. And being called “Mistress” made Chicklet feel like she had to be
on
as a Domme.

Wasn’t she supposed to choose when that happened? She continued to hold Laura, petting her hair, and considered how she’d react with Tyler. If she used his name instead of calling him “boy.” things would be clear. But it wasn’t so simple with Laura.

Maybe she should find a way to make it so. “I missed you too, Laura. Was a damn long drive!” She laughed and laid a soft kiss on Laura’s lips. “Can you get me a cup of coffee? It smells like heaven.”

Laura bit her bottom lip, uncertainty flashing through her eyes as though she didn’t know what to make of Chicklet giving a request rather than an order. She fidgeted with the hem of her nightshirt as Chicklet moved away from her to drop heavily on the sofa. Then she cleared her throat. “Yeah…Sir—Raif made it before Tyler and I woke up.”

Raif smirked, not looking up from the book. “I brought her the first cup while she was still in bed. Have you taught your subs no manners, Chicklet? I had to remind her to say ‘thank you.’”

Chicklet managed not to laugh, but just barely as she met Laura’s wide eyes. “Really, Laura? I thought Southern ladies were all about perfect manners.”

“I didn’t—he—” Laura cut off her own stuttered protests and shook her head. “He surprised me, is all. I’m very sorry, Mistress.”

“They’re fucking with you, Laura.” Tyler paused the movie, tipping his head back to frown at Raif. “Doms aren’t supposed to do stuff like that.”

“Really?” Raif placed the book on the empty cushion beside him and leaned forward, his hands on his knees and his brow raised. “Please then, Ty, since you’re such an authority, explain to me the other rules subs have for their Doms. I believe I missed the memo.”

“So did I. Funny how that happened.” Chicklet rubbed her chin and grinned at Raif as Tyler stood, chewing his bottom lip and glancing over at Laura who was nervously biting her own. Chicklet hadn’t had this much fun with a head game in a while. “May we negotiate these rules?”

“I certainly hope so. I’d also like to know which of you will be enforcing them.” Raif folded his arms behind his head, a broad smile on his face. He was clearly enjoying himself too. “Is there a section in this secret rule book of yours about disciplining your Dom?”

Far more used to charming his way out of trouble than Laura was—considering he’d had much more practice—Tyler quickly took Laura’s hand and tugged her toward the kitchen. “If there was a rule book, we’d both have burned it. We’re happy with you in charge, whenever you decide you wanna be in charge, but until then you want some coffee too, Raif?”

“Yes, please.” Raif had to speak loudly, because Tyler and Laura had already ducked into the kitchen. There was a hint of laughter in his tone, sparkling in his eyes as well as he looked over at Chicklet. “They are fun to play with. Thank you for giving me the opportunity.”

“My pleasure.” Chicklet sighed, wishing she didn’t have to think about a problem that seemed nonexistent at this very moment. But she’d had blinders on long enough. “It’s easy to think everything’s perfect when they’ve got each other’s back.”

Raif’s smile faded. He lowered one arm and slid his hand to the back of her neck. The pressure he put there made her eyes narrow, and she almost pulled away because she didn’t want him thinking he could top her. But then he began to massage the tense muscles, almost absently, as though he’d sensed she’d need it during this particular unpleasant chat.

“He has her back. His feelings for her are straightforward. Honest. I doubt he suspects anything.” His lips thinned as he watched the hall. He lowered his voice even more, as though to eliminate the risk of being overheard. “She believes my interest in him makes me an ally, so she’s been open about her intentions.”

A chill went down Chicklet’s spine. She hated the idea of Laura conniving against Tyler. It wasn’t like her. “What intentions though? Does she think I’ll just give him away?”

“She believes you’ll let him go if he’s happy with me.” Raif’s hand on her neck went still. The sound of water running in the kitchen seemed to assure him it was safe to continue. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but when I hesitated in taking a chance with him, she offered herself. Two playthings and the potential to keep one.” His tone turned bitter. “How could I possibly refuse?”

Fuck!
Chicklet took a deep breath, her throat tightening as she considered what Raif probably already had. Another Dom might not have come to her. Might have taken advantage of Laura’s offer. There was no way Chicklet would let another Dom take either of her subs from her, but leaving the relationship so open made it easy for one or both of them to get hurt.

“You accepted to protect him. I appreciate that.” She rubbed her hand over her face, grasping for a way to get out of this damn mess. She didn’t even know where to start, but she did know she wouldn’t drag Raif down with her. If Tyler found out Raif was only in this out of pity, he’d hate him. They were teammates and friends. It wasn’t worth the fallout. “But I’ve got this. Maybe it would be best if I made it clear I’m no longer willing to share.”

Raif stiffened and withdrew his hand, abruptly distancing himself in every way. “I suppose that would be effective. I will respect your wishes.”

She went still. Arched a brow at him. “This is my mess, Raif. I get that you care about Tyler, but that’s not a good enough reason to get mixed up in our drama.”

“Will you find another man to play with him? To give him the experiences you sent him to me for?” Raif rose from the sofa, his hands fisted at his sides. “I suppose it doesn’t matter what man eventually fucks him, since this is all a game to you.”

“Did you miss the ‘no longer willing to share’?”

“You’re far too attentive to his needs not to explore his curiosity further.”

“Yes, but that also means I won’t let all this fuck up what you already have with him. A developing friendship—”

“More than that, Chicklet.”

Yes. She could see he was already in too deep to just walk away. The very idea of Tyler with another man was enough to put Raif on edge. She’d unintentionally snatched the sense of control right out from under him, and his reaction proved his involvement with Tyler had nothing to do with pity. If Raif had wanted to take Tyler from her, he wouldn’t have shared Laura’s plans. Working with Raif had some advantages.

And some complications. The “more” could eventually come between them. She’d never had to worry about another Dom playing with her sub becoming a permanent arrangement. She pictured Tyler looking at Raif with the same worship he showed her and… Damn it, the idea didn’t bother her as much as it should.

“There’s a reason for Laura acting this way, and I need to find out what it is. I could confront her, but she’ll shut down. She won’t trust you anymore and if you’re in for the long run, we can’t have that.”

“How is there a ‘long run’ if you’re no longer sharing?” Raif’s brow furrowed as he folded his arms over his chest. “Speak plainly, woman.”

Chicklet cocked her head. “The word maybe doesn’t translate well? I apologize. You won’t take him from me,
man
. But I’m surprised you’d let him go so easily.”

Raif sighed and whispered something to the ceiling. Then he laughed and met her eyes. “If you give me the opening, Chicklet, no. I won’t let him go. But consider this your last chance.”

She chuckled, reaching out to grab his wrist and pull him back down to sit beside her. Then she climbed onto him, straddling his lap and raking her fingers into his hair. “Maybe he was just bait, Raif. Maybe I let you have a taste of him so I could have you exactly where I want you.”

Slipping his hands around her waist, Raif pulled her into him until she could feel his dick, nice and hard, pressing against her through her jeans and his pants. She smiled as she leaned in to kiss him hard enough to bruise both their lips.

“Uh…maybe we should stay in the kitchen?” Tyler’s voice broke through the lust-filled haze, but Chicklet took her time before lifting her head. Both her subs were probably trying to figure out what to make of what they’d just walked in on.

They’d both had their fun with Raif while she was gone. So her guilt was null. She spoke with her lips against Raif’s. “I think they should stay here, don’t you?”

“Mmm.” Raif slid his lips down to her throat. Sucked lightly before murmuring. “Let them watch.”

“I’d rather watch. To a point.” She slipped her hand between them to rub Raif’s erection through his pants. “You’re not hard enough for me. Have you enjoyed our boy’s hot mouth yet?”