Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27332 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 137(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27332 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 137(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
Thinking of the devil.
Nathan poked his head in and asked how we were doing.
“You better not tie me up with some fuckin’ coconut rope, is all I’m saying,” I said.
He grinned wolfishly. “Tempting—but I found a nice black-dyed, five-ply jute rope for you.”
I knew jute had smoother fibers. Hemp worked fine too.
He nodded at Luke next. “What’re you going with?”
Luke smiled and eased the razor around Colt’s nipple. “My captain’s gonna look sinfully sexy in marks from twisted nylon.”
Was that—
Nathan let out a low whistle and eyed Colt’s biceps. “Yup, I can see it. Good choice.”
Okay, so that was apparently good.
“All right, well, let me know when you’re ready,” Nathan said. “I’ll be in the kitchen for a mini shoot. I tied River’s and Shay’s fingers together.”
Huh. I bet that looked sweet. I kinda wanted a photo of that, only with Archie and me.
“Holy fuck.” I shuddered at the cold and dropped my jacket next to a tree.
My breath misted in the air.
Late afternoon, and the frost was still clinging to the lawn and the trees. Why did we have to be here? Why couldn’t we do this indoors? Huh? Why the fucking forest? Or the forest as a backdrop, whatever.
Our temporary club venue, a monstrosity of a tent, protected us from the worst of the winds.
“Okay, this is just—fuck.” Colt stripped down to his boxer briefs.
Corey immediately poured a mixture of almond oil and baby oil into his palm, then started rubbing it into my skin.
“Aw, fuck.” I clenched my jaw. Hell, the oil was supposed to keep me warm, not suck cold to it. But every inch Corey covered in oil suddenly dropped twenty degrees, and the wind went from bearable to torturous.
Sloan and Archie had just made it here, and they stood a few feet away, bundled up in coats and each other.
“You know what we could’ve done?” Colt bit out. “Covered the bondage part in the house, then hurried down here for a couple photos.”
“It’s difficult to bring a tree indoors,” Lucas reasoned. “Now quit your whining, my love.”
“Yeah, Daddy,” Kit agreed in the background. “You don’t want to confirm the rumor about Air Force people.”
Oh hell, the boy cracked me up. That was too fucking funny.
“Boy, you’re walkin’ on thin ice,” Colt warned.
“Yes, but I’m wearing a warm jacket,” Kit replied smugly. “Jealous?”
Oof.
Corey shook with silent laughter.
Kinda unlike him to be silent.
He lifted his gaze, as if sensing my question as to why he was holding back the brat. He cleared his throat and kept his voice down, so only I could hear him. “I have limits, Dominus. It’s like thirty-five degrees. I want to make this as painless for you as possible, and I’m not happy about you freezing.”
Well, shit. I didn’t know what to say. An overwhelming swell of love surged through me, something that was happening more and more lately. The more he revealed his softer side, the sub who wanted to please, the sub who found pleasure in worshiping Sloan and me…combined with the sweet, playful boy who was finally spreading his brat wings again… I was powerless.
He and I hadn’t exchanged those three words yet, but I hoped he was as close as I was. I’d given him and Sloan a little bit of space to establish their own dynamic, just like Archie and I had ours, and I wasn’t sure how long I could keep that up. Even though our foursome would always somehow consist of two couples, what we shared as a family was no less real and intense. Nothing about my feelings for Corey was on the casual side. He wasn’t some play partner. I loved him. I adored him. I was fiercely protective and proud of him.
I took a deep breath and unclenched, and I stopped acting as if I hadn’t spent countless nights in freezing deserts before. Then I dipped down and kissed him softly.
“You make my heart drum a little faster, sweetheart.”
He smiled widely and kissed my sternum. “So do you, Dominus.”
By the time Colt and I were tied to a tree together, our subs were working overtime to keep us in the mind-set we were the happiest. And whenever I thought Kit crossed a line by being too mouthy, Colt reacted in a way that told me he was anything but upset. In fact, the more I paid attention to Kit, the more I realized he was cranking up the brat behavior to give Colt revenge to look forward to.
Meanwhile, Archie and Corey ran over to me the second Nathan and Tate took a break with the cameras to discuss something. But my boys weren’t bratting off. Instead, they brought warmth and promises of body worship. Coffee, hot cocoa, a sip here, a sip there, hugs, talk of taking a hot bath as soon as we got home.