It Takes Three to Fly (28 page)

Rubbing her hands together, Jaycee grinned maniacally. “Me too. Let’s get down to the good stuff. Have you fucked them since you got back? Or are you going to make them sweat it out for a little while?”

Completely unsurprised by her best friend’s questions, Katie-Anne laughed and rolled her eyes. “I haven’t fucked them since our wedding night, Jaycee, but I’m going to tonight. We have a date, and I need the help of my four dearest friends. Are you guys in?”

All of the girls turned and looked at each other then smiled at Katie-Anne. “We’re in.”

Hours later, Katie-Anne found herself on Shane and Landon’s doorstep for the second time that day, nervously waiting for them to let her into their apartment. Glancing anxiously up and down the dimly lit hallway, she wished there were people nearby to distract her from the jitters inundating her. But, there was nothing. No people, no noise. Just silence swirling around her, pressing into her chest and stifling her.

Katie-Anne rubbed her sweaty palms down the front of her homemade peasant skirt, choosing to focus on the day she’d spent with the girls rather than the two men she was waiting for.

What had started out as lunch with Jaycee, Shannon, Sarah, and Ella had turned into an all-afternoon girl-fest. After asking for their help, she’d confessed that she wanted to shake up her uppity rich-bitch look, but she had no idea what to do or how to do it. After years of contemplating and dreaming, she was at a complete loss.

Of course, Sarah was the first one to jump on that because they’d discussed makeovers many times over the past few months. So she’d dragged all of the girls straight to her salon, Sassy, and given Katie-Anne a wicked new hairstyle that she’d been too chicken to get done after she’d spotted it in a magazine three months ago. That had led to a wardrobe change, so they’d wound up driving sixty-nine miles to an eclectic clothing store in Luscious where Katie-Anne had traded an armful of designer duds for store credit.

Damn, that had taken
hours.
She’d tried on one thing after another until she’d found clothes she could work with. Once they’d finished there, Katie-Anne still had things to do. So, with her friends, she’d made a trip to Jaycee’s to alter Katie-Anne’s new clothes to her taste.

Lots of snipping and sewing had happened. And it was worth every second. She was in love with her new look, and she prayed that her men loved it, too. It was important to her that they did.

Now, here she was after an emotionally trying morning and a girly afternoon, waiting for her men with her heart about to jump out of her chest and her stomach ready to reject all of the food she’d eaten.
I can do this. I can.

Taking a deep breath, she reached up to knock again. But she stopped when the door opened and revealed not one but both of her men. Their eyes widened as they absorbed her new look, and she felt vomit crawling up into her throat. Swallowing twice, she forced it back down.
I can do this. Damn it.

“Shit,” Shane cursed, and she wanted to hide, her inner self-hating voice speaking up again.
I told you so. I told you so. I told you so.
She could practically envision the evil dance it must be doing.

“Good God,” Landon gasped.

Yep, I need a fucking hole.
She turned to walk away, keeping her head held high and fighting her tears, despite the need to cry. Before she’d made it a single step, four hands grabbed her and pulled her between them. Two bodies surrounded her, and she ended up engulfed in a giant, sandwich-like hug.

“No you don’t,” Shane said, sounding harsh and soft all rolled into one. “You just surprised us. We didn’t mean for you to think we didn’t like it. You’re fucking hot.”

What?
Surprised, Katie-Anne blinked then blinked three more times. Shane’s declaration didn’t seem to make sense to her brain. No matter how many times his words replayed in her mind, it managed to shock the fucking hell out of her all over again. She’d expected a lot of things, but
hot
was not one of them.

“You think I’m sexy?” Katie-Anne asked incredulously, loosening up a bit and cuddling into their embrace.

“Sexy. Hot. Fuckable. Lovely. Gorgeous. Perfect,” Landon rolled off, pecking a kiss to the top of her head between each word. “Want me to keep going or can I just kiss you?”

Kissing sounded good, but she was incapable of moving or thinking in her befuddled state. It just didn’t make sense that they would be turned on by her new look. No matter how hard she tried, she still couldn’t get their response to seep into her thick skull.

Most men would be having a mild freak-out. Between the twelve inches of hair missing from her head, the orange streaks underneath her black strands, and the tiny diamond stud in her nose, she was bordering on a panic attack herself. And that didn’t include her boho-chic clothes and nearly makeup-less face.

Even though she was happy with the new her, she still got a little unnerved when she saw herself in the mirror. She knew she would get over it, but it was still a shock to her psyche nonetheless.

“Um,” she muttered, blushing furiously. “I’m glad you like it?”

Landon chuckled and talked to Shane over her head. “I think she thought we’d hate it.”

“Seems like it,” Shane responded dryly. “I don’t know why. The loose-fitting clothes remind me of what her sexy body looks like underneath them.”

Katie-Anne peered down at her new clothing, trying to see what was so damn sexy about it, but she couldn’t see much with her body smashed between theirs.

Thinking back, she recollected the multi-colored peasant skirt she’d sewn from several fabrics. In her opinion, it was rather loud, but she loved it that way. Thinking harder, she remembered the vintage white tunic. It was simple, nearly plain. In her mind, they complimented each other perfectly, but there really was no sex appeal to them.

She thought of the giant belt around her waist and then the orange flats on her feet. Those weren’t exactly femme fatale material, either. Taking a second to mentally run through the rest of her accessories, she considered her chunky jewelry and her favorite bangle bracelets. And, still, she came up with nothing provocative to her new look.

Instead of wasting more time on trying to figure out what the men found appealing, she asked, “A long, flowy skirt and a loose tunic are doing it for you?”

“Yeah,” they responded simultaneously, leaving her with no doubt to their sincerity.

“What about the belt, bracelets, and big, beaded necklace?”

“Fucking hot,” Landon replied without hesitation. “I am a bit surprised the nose ring makes me horny, but damn, kitten. You could walk around the house wearing nothing but that, and I would be a very happy man, and you would be a very satisfied woman.”

“I would?” Katie-Anne trembled. “You would?”

“Yes,” Landon said. “If you want to get technical, you might not be able to walk by the time I’m done with you.”

“Well, shit. It’s a fake,” she confessed, blushing so deeply that her cheeks ached. She hated to disappoint him, but she should go ahead and get it over with.

“Well, that sucks,” Landon grumbled adorably with a mock pout.

Katie-Anne lifted her eyes to meet his blue ones, wanting to see the truth in them that she heard in his voice. He really was disappointed. “I can get it done,” she told him. “I just wanted to make sure that I liked it first. I’m thinking about getting my bellybutton and clit pierced, too.”

After I have Kane.
She held her tongue, making sure to bite back her afterthought. She wasn’t ready to share the news with them, not just yet, but soon.

Landon groaned, “Bellybutton.”

“Clit? Get inside now,” Shane growled.

When she didn’t move fast enough, Landon hoisted her up and handed her off to Shane who stormed into the apartment. The two men marched down the hallway, their work boots pounding against the hardwood flooring.

Just like that, she couldn’t remember why she’d come here in the first place. She forgot about everything but these two men. It was like they were the only three people in the world, and she wanted to keep it that way.

Presumably heading to one of their bedrooms, the men mounted the stairs. They took two steps at a time, making fast tracks for the room that she’d heard they’d added on but never used. It was a master bedroom designed with a woman in mind. Supposedly, they intended for it to be theirs with the woman they wanted to share their lives with, not a woman they brought home for a good time.

Katie-Anne’s excitement ratcheted up. Every time they reminded her that she was the woman they wanted for all time, she felt ecstatic. Now was no different. Between the hormones in her veins and the joy in her heart, she was flying high.

Shane carried her into the room. Pausing just inside the door, he gave her a glimpse of what they’d done, and she gasped. Scanning the room, she took in every detail from the crown molding to the rustic orange walls to the elaborate carpet. The usual furniture was present—a bed, a dresser, a chest, two side tables, and some chairs. But there was so much more to it than that.

A massive bed sat square in the middle of the room. Someone had covered the mattress in a cream-colored comforter that offset the vibrant walls. To the left, she spotted two doors. She figured that one was a closet and the other was an en suite bathroom. And, to her right, there was a small sitting area with various pieces of modern furniture. They had woven together chocolate brown, cream, and charcoal gray perfectly, creating a homey feel.

With one look, she knew that they’d made this room for her. She didn’t know when or how, but this was
her
room.

Shane started to move again, his steps jostling her. She wound her arms around his neck then snuggled into his arms with a sigh. As he neared the bed, she saw two things on the nightstand next to the mahogany headboard that took her breath away.

Both of the items were sitting side-by-side in dark pictures frames. One was the original painting of the dove flying free. They’d framed the scorched version and placed it to the left of a snapshot she’d never seen of herself. She was curled up on a bed wrapped in a ball of sheets, sleeping peacefully, with her hand slung across the fluffy pillow next to her. The diamond ring on her finger stood out against the stark white bedding and her tanned skin.
Our wedding night.

She gasped. “I—” she said, but the tears clogging her throat cut her off, and she couldn’t speak.

Landon chuckled from behind them. “Our girl is a sentimental one. I told you she’d cry.”

“Yes, you did,” Shane replied. “You know her well.”

Pulling her hand back, Katie-Anne reached up and touched her face. She found the tears Landon had referred to. She’d known she was close to crying, but she hadn’t realized she’d already started. “I love you two,” she blurted out. “God, I love you.”

“We know,” they responded simultaneously then laughed.

Landon came up from behind them and took her from Shane’s arms. Without a word, Shane handed her over to him. “We love you too,” Landon told her. “You know that, but we need to have a talk before this goes any further.”

Katie-Anne knew what he meant, and she knew what was coming when she sat down for this talk. It was time they opened up their dominant sides which meant they needed to talk about her limits and their own.
Well, this should be interesting.
Since she’d never had a relationship with a true Dom, she had no clue what she was up for.

She did know that they would want her to have limits and safe words, but she didn’t want them. She trusted them. However, these two would demand them for her protection. Her men were protective, and they were possessive. Those aspects were a major part of them, so she couldn’t fault them when
she
felt like she didn’t feel the need for protection.
Unfortunately.

Snaking her arms around Landon’s neck, Katie-Anne toyed with the blond hair at the nape. “Okay. Let’s talk.” She heard the slightest bit of petulance in her tone and instantly regretted it. They were taking care of her, watching over her like good Doms did. Yet she was acting like a child who hadn’t gotten her way. Schooling her features and taking a deep breath, she started over, “I’m ready to talk if you two are.”

Landon carried her over to the sitting area, lowering her down onto the sofa gently. He and Landon took a seat on each side of her, and she felt decadently closed in. She reclined back, bracing herself against the cushions.

Shane nodded. “We are ready, but we want you to be completely honest with us. No holding back, even if you feel like you should.”

“Yeah,” Landon added. “You have heard how BDSM relationships work. You can’t hide from us.”

“I have,” she replied. “And I understand.”

“Good,” Shane said calmly.

Laying one hand on Shane’s hand and the other on Landon’s, Katie-Anne waited patiently for her men to start. But, when neither of them spoke, her impatience made itself known, and she had to distract herself by nibbling on her bottom lip with enough pressure to be uncomfortable.
Man, I have serious ADD tonight.

“Kitten, we need to know what you won’t do, no matter what,” Landon said. “I know that you are into exhibitionism but don’t feel comfortable with it.”