Hanging On 2: Surreal Neal [Awakenings 6] (Siren Publishing Menage and More) (22 page)

He resumed eating. I poured him some wine.

“And then this morning—you knew you were experiencing subdrop, but you tried to take care of it by yourself.”

I handed him the wineglass. He twirled the stem between his fingers, watching the rich liquid coat the inside of the glass. “My old Master, Geordie, he hated when I dropped. I found that if I didn’t let myself get too deep into subspace, then I didn’t drop. Last night I let down my guard, forgot about what would happen. It’s been a long time since anybody got me to that point.”

I may not have recognized what had been going on, but I knew about the concept on an academic level. Hanging around with a bunch of dominants didn’t leave one in the dark about those things for long.

“He’s the one who took you to Brazil?” At his nod, I continued. “Tell me about him.”

As he swirled his wine, I wondered what thoughts swam in his head. Many emotions washed over his face—from wistfulness to bitterness. Finally, he sighed.

“Master Geordie was exciting. He was older than me, wealthy and worldly. He swept me off my feet and showed me how wonderful it was to give myself over to a Master. I loved him, and I thought he loved me.”

My chest constricted as I sensed a very bad end to this story. I was right.

“I was nineteen, had a year of college under my belt. He convinced me to leave everything. My dad tried to talk me out of it, but my decision was made. I wanted to go to Rio with my Master and serve him.” Neal looked up, his gaze meeting mine. “I wanted nothing more than to make him happy.”

Since I felt the same way about Sophia, I knew what he was talking about, but I knew better than to interrupt.

“Things were fine until he brought a woman home.” Neal’s eyes took on a faraway look, sadness mixed with regret. “I thought he knew I was bisexual. Why else would he bring her into our bedroom?”

I felt a little sick. More than one story that Sophia, Ellen, or Ryan had told me came back with a haunting reality. Neal had a few scars, but no more than anybody else. I hoped he’d achieved them the normal way—falling off his skateboard or getting checked in hockey.

“We argued afterward.” He shook his head, but he didn’t go into detail. “The next morning, he sent me on an errand. When I returned, he’d packed up and moved away.”

That wasn’t what I’d expected to hear. It was vindictive and cruel, not at all how a Dom should behave. “He punished you for finding the woman attractive?”

Neal sipped more wine. “He tried. I objected, called a time-out so we could talk, and that’s when we got into a huge fight. Not only did he have a problem with the fact that I find women attractive, which he said was cheating, he also accused me of not being a true submissive.”

“Because you wouldn’t let him walk all over you.” Sophia prized strength and independence in her submissives, and I wholeheartedly agreed. It was difficult to respect someone who had no backbone. “That’s amazing. What did you do after that?”

He shrugged, but I could see the weight of the world holding his shoulders down. “The apartment had been rented. He didn’t pay the rent, and two days later, I was out on the street.”

I struggled not to react. The anger running through my veins had no place in his life, and I had no right to react vehemently while he was sharing the outline of his painful past. Sophia had been devastated when I’d found out she’d been raped, almost as if me knowing had been worse than the actual event. I’d been angry at the fucker who hurt her, but showing that emotion would have alienated her and chased her away.

Knowing a little of Neal’s story—that he started off washing dishes in a kitchen—made this easier to hear. I knew this was the low point. “For how long?”

“Not sure. On and off for a few months. Summer in Rio is warm, so it wasn’t too bad. I ended up working in two different kitchens. One was a breakfast place and the other focused on dinner. I kept busy, worked my way up, and soon I was cooking.”

“That’s when Deke found you.”

Neal laughed. “Yeah. At first, I thought he was stalking me. He showed up for every meal and kept asking to meet the chef. After four days, he finally told me who he was and asked if I’d be interested in working for him in Atlanta.” He lifted his deep blue gaze and nailed me with a meaningful look. “And he introduced me to you and Sophia.”

The significance of the way he was looking at me combined with my need to bring Neal into our lives in a more permanent way. I know I should have waited to ask him this, but the words tumbled out. “Neal, I want us to take Sophia at the same time. Have you done that before?”

He shook his head.

“Neither have we.”

His brows lifted. “What made you decide you wanted to try it?”

I shrugged. Telling him that having him in our lives had changed everything probably wasn’t the best way to keep him close. He’d been hurt, and he was definitely slow to give his trust. We had a lot to prove to him.

“Does Sophia know you want to double-team her?”

“Yeah. She said she’d think about it.”

He took a deep breath and let it out. The leather collar around his neck rose and fell with the movement. Something in me constricted at that physical sign that he belonged to us. It was the same feeling I got when I looked at Sophia’s hand and saw her wedding rings. The constriction was also in my pants.

“If it’s what she wants, then I’m willing, but I wouldn’t try to coerce or pressure her. It’s a lot for a woman to handle, and Dommes can be really touchy about positions that strip them of power.”

I snorted. “She’ll be in charge either way. I don’t see where having her between us diminishes that.”

“As long as she sees it that way. I hate the idea of hurting or disappointing her.”

I hated it too. Moving slowly, I leaned forward and kissed him. I meant to be tender, and it started out that way. This was the first time in a long time that I’d kissed a man without Sophia around to watch. It was different, knowing that she consented and approved. I was free to enjoy the bliss that was Neal.

When I pulled away, he regarded me with passion soaking his irises. “Were you supposed to do that?”

“Yeah. Sophie said it was okay.” I cupped his cheek and zoomed in for another one.

“She said you were highly tactile.”

At this, I paused. I wasn’t “highly tactile” with anybody but her, and now, it seemed, with Neal. I wanted to feel his skin against mine. “With the right person.” That’s all I would concede.

I took his wineglass and set it aside with mine, not caring if they tipped over and spilled into the grass. Then I eased him onto his back and stretched out next to him, propping myself up on an elbow. I played my hand over his chest, feeling his dips and planes through the soft cotton of his shirt. Every time I dipped lower, he caught his breath, but I was committed to keeping my explorations above the belt.

He followed my lead, though I wasn’t topping him, and explored my upper body. Then he snaked his hand around the back of my neck and pulled me to him. Our tongues met, danced, and everything exploded. I found myself on top of him, touching, tasting, grinding my cock against his. He clutched my ass in his hands, groaned, and held me close.

Wrenching myself away, I broke it off. I rolled onto my back and lay next to him, panting and trying to slow the beating of my heart and the throbbing in my pants. Next to me, Neal lay in a similar predicament. He slipped his hand into mine, and I held it. We stayed like that for the longest time, basking in a sense of togetherness, not moving until we heard Sutter making his noisy approach.

* * * *

We met Sophia at the main dining hall for dinner. Sometime during the day, she’d visited the suite to get a change of clothes. When I saw her standing on the wide dais of the entryway, my heart skipped a beat or two.

Surrounded by Greek columns and pale marble, she stood out in stunning relief. Her rich, dark hair cascaded over her shoulders. She wore a red silk dress that wrapped around her body, highlighting her curvy hips and long legs. Thin straps held it up, and the dress definitely needed the assist because it dipped down almost to her navel. I fought an urge to hook my finger in the low vee and expose it.

And I knew for a fact that she wasn’t wearing anything under it.

The stone bench that Neal and I shared was hard and cold against my ass, and even that didn’t save me from popping a boner at the sight of my lovely wife.

“Damn,” he muttered. “Please don’t ask me to stand up.”

“That’s what your napkin is for.” I stood as she approached, never tearing my eyes from the vision coming in my direction. When she reached me, I took her hand, kissed the back of it, and then I pulled her into my arms. “You are unbelievably beautiful. I missed you.”

Then I kissed her, not bothering to temper the passion rising in my belly. If she let me, I’d lay her across the table and show her how much I had missed her.

She moaned, making a high-pitched protest sound of pleasure that meant she wanted me but wasn’t going to let me grope her with people watching.

Reluctantly I released her. She slid onto the bench where I had been. Neal scooted over to make room, but he didn’t get too far. She greeted him with a scorching kiss that made me want to skip dinner. Having both of them naked right now would sate a more important appetite.

I sat on her other side and unfolded a napkin onto her lap.

She grabbed my hand, entwining it in hers. “How was your day?”

“Good,” I said. “The excursions are fine, thought we might need more of them if we can boost attendance.”

Glancing around the dining room, she didn’t seem surprised to see it less than half full. “Bookings have fallen off sharply in the last year. I’m thinking we should close it over the winter as we upgrade everything. That way we can build it up as new and improved.” She chewed an ice cube, a sure sign of stress. “Though it’s still a gamble. Right now, this place is bleeding money. The cost of training new employees is almost as much as the electric bill.”

A server brought the first course, a Greek antipasto. How creative. Sophia dug in, obviously starving.

Neal watched her, amusement making his mouth quirk up on one side. “Did you skip lunch?”

“Yes,” she said through a mouthful of food. “Heather and I were so intent on what we were doing that we forgot to eat. By the time I realized that, it was time to get dressed and come see you guys. Now I want to hear the details of your day.”

I told her everything, including my idea about building apartments so that staff could live on the island with their families. She was receptive to the idea.

“We could post signs and make it clear that some of the excursions are to remain PG. Samantha already talked about having an area for people in plural relationships.”

Neal didn’t say much until I was almost finished giving Sophie a rundown of our activities. After he’d eaten his lamb, he sipped his wine. “You’ll need a school, a store, restaurant. If you expect people to live here year-round, then it’ll have to be more than an apartment complex. You’ll need to build a town.”

I was rich, but not that wealthy. Exchanging glances with Sophia confirmed that she was on the same page.

She frowned. “I’m not sure about this, Drew. The deeper into it we get, the more it sounds like a money pit.”

“I’m going to talk to Lex and Stef tomorrow. We all need to get together and discuss this after we have contractors bid on the various projects.”

She leaned her head on my shoulder. “So you’re not married to this idea of buying this place if it ends up being more than we wanted to bargain for?”

I kissed the top of her head. “Nope. I want you to be happy. If this place is going to give you migraines, then we’ll walk away.”

She relaxed a lot after that, but from the way Neal became more and more tense, I figured she was doing something to him under the table. When she reached over and massaged my cock through my pants, I caught a little of Neal’s problem.

Growling, I nipped at her ear. “Honey, this isn’t the kind of place where I have to wait until I have you alone to take you up on that offer.”

Her husky laugh let me know how much she wanted me. She turned toward me and thrust her tongue into my mouth. I met her passion with equal fervor. It wasn’t enough, so I pulled her onto my lap and slid my hand up her leg. I didn’t want to expose her, but I wanted to see her come apart in my arms.

Neal scooted closer. He lifted Sophia’s leg and put it across his, holding it there so she could relax and enjoy what I was about to do to her.

She was wet, and I parted her nether lips easily.

“Drew.” She sighed my name, and I worked two fingers inside.

She was hot, and the way she was sitting made her exceptionally tight. I knew it wouldn’t take long to push her over the edge. Her sweet spot was primed and ready. I rubbed circles over it, and it grew beneath my careful touch.

Her grip on my shoulder tightened, and she buried her face in my neck. Juices gushed over my hand, and her sizzling little pussy convulsed around my fingers. I slowed down, drawing it out as long as I could.

Gradually, she released my shoulder and adjusted the angle of her head so that she could breathe. I withdrew my hand. Neal took it before I could grab a napkin and sucked them clean. The sensual act made my dick pulse harder, and I struggled against the urge to shove his head in my lap.