Out of the Storm (24 page)

“Well, my love, we wanted to give you something today that would remind you that you can choose the memories you want to hold dear.  It seemed an important message as we begin our lives together.  You might also want to thank Micah for finding your mom’s best friend.  Eliza Jessop was thrilled to help us with this and she can’t wait to meet you.  She and her daughter, Betsy, are downstairs with the rest of our family and friends.”  Kent’s smile lit up his entire face and in an instant Tobi saw a flash of a little boy with that exact same smile and the glimpse of the future stole her breath. 

Chapter Twenty-One

Kent knew watching Tobi weave her way through the family and friends as she made her way to where he and Kyle waited was a moment he would never forget.  They had intentionally made sure the makeshift aisle wasn’t a straight line.  It was representative of the fact that no one’s life is a straight path to a goal, rather it’s an intricate series of stepping stones through both the good and bad.  Kent’s poetic notions had often elicited snorts and eye rolling from his brother, but this time Kyle had been fully on board with his observations and plan. 

Tobi had been amazingly easy to work with during all the planning of this celebration, telling them time and again she would be thrilled with anything they or their parents planned.  The only time she’d demanded a change was during the civil wedding ceremony earlier that morning.  Even though she was “technically” marrying Kyle, she had insisted Kent stand by his brother’s side and answer all the same questions and repeat the same vows.  She had also repeated hers to each of them.  She had been determined that he not be left out.  He hadn’t thought his love for her could grow any deeper until that moment, and he’d suddenly realized there would never be a “bottom or limit” to the amount of love he felt for her. 

She wasn’t rushing down the aisle and Kent couldn’t help the grin he knew was spreading over his face.  Tobi was making eye contact and smiling with each person along her path, and she even stopped to hug several.  When she finally stepped up on the small stage and turned to face them, Kent could see her eyes were glistening with unshed tears of joy.  The ceremony itself had been brief, but the words spoken had sealed their bond in a way marriage vows never could. 

The collar Kent had designed was a delicate chain made from fine links of platinum, titanium, and gold.  The platinum and titanium represented the strength he and Kyle would bring to their union and the gold was for the beauty and value Tobi contributed.  The lock was built into the design and there were diamonds among the links so it sparkled as it reflected the twinkling lights that surrounded them.  Sliding the small lock into place as Tobi knelt at their feet had been one of the happiest moments of Kent’s life. 

Kent’s first dance with Tobi was to “Amazed” by Lone Star.  He’d chosen that song because he was truly amazed at how quickly everything had changed for him once Tobi entered his life.  Pressing her against him made his cock even harder than it had been since they’d walked into the master suite and seen her reflected so beautifully in the black framed mirror.  He leaned down and kissed the shell of her ear, “Love, I’ll never forget how beautiful you look tonight.  You are perfection and knowing that you belong to my brother and me lights a fire in my soul.  Tonight you are going to find out exactly what it means to belong to both of us.” 

They had been waiting to take her together until the time was right.  They’d been preparing her for weeks, but tonight they’d show her the joy of a true ménage.  He’d felt a shudder move through her at his words, but he knew it was anticipation rather than fear.  She’d tried to tempt them several times, including a sexy striptease last night that had earned her an erotic spanking she was probably still feeling today.  He had to stifle a laugh as he remembered the surprised look on her face when they’d turned the tables on her after last night’s walk through of all today’s plans.  He hoped she never stopped pushing them because he loved the fact she found such pleasure in pushing the limits as much as they liked reining her in. 

****

As the first strands of “You Had Me at Hello” by Kenny Chesney began, Kent whirled Tobi into Kyle’s waiting arms.  “Kitten, this song is perfect for us.  Even though you didn’t technically say hello to me, you had me from the moment I saw you.” 

Tobi chuckled, “I really should apologize for my behavior that day at some point.  But to be honest, it is awfully hard to regret something that brought me to you and Kent. I love your mother for a lot of things, but that was the first.”  Kyle looked in her eyes and knew he’d never tire of seeing the light that shone in them. 

There was something deep in Tobi’s heart that was so pure there were times when Kyle felt like he could feel it reaching out to touch his own.  Her love was slowly setting his own battered soul back on the right track.  Years of military service, much of it in the Special Forces had left their mark on him and even though Kent had been more resilient, he hadn’t escaped entirely unscathed either. 

Moving around the dance floor with Tobi was almost magical.  Their dads had tipped them off that Tobi had been worried about dancing to anything other than two-step music, so he and Kent had been careful when choosing the songs for their first dances.  Since all eyes would be on her for these first dances they had wanted to make sure she was comfortable.  There would be plenty of time for pushing her into “uncharted territory” later.  And it seemed like a good time to remind her of that fact. 

“Kitten, did my brother mention we have big plans for you later?”  When he heard her sharp intake of breath, he smiled to himself. “Did he describe to you how we will make you come at least twice just to make sure your body is ready?  Then, we’re going to make sweet love to your body at the same time.  One of us will slide into your delectable ass and light up nerve endings you haven’t even imagined are there.  And then, the other will push into your perfect pussy and you will feel the exquisite fullness that can only come from true ménage loving, kitten.  We’ll love you forever, never forget that.  But tonight is going to be about learning what it means to belong to two Masters.”  He leaned down and lightly bit that soft spot where her slender neck joined her shoulder before licking the faint imprint his teeth had left.  “
Mine
.  Mine to love.  Mine to protect.  Mine to fuck.”  He smiled to himself when he felt her entire body shudder in response. 

The rest of the evening passed in a blur of congratulations and backslapping, but Kyle couldn’t take his eyes off his new wife.  His gaze seemed to track her and seek her out even when he was speaking with friends and family.  He and Kent had watched as she charmed every person she met.  The only time she’d let her tears fall had been during her conversation with her mother’s best friend and then when Don and Patty had given her their gift.  Don had lovingly refinished her cedar chest and Patty had cleaned all the items inside.  Watching her appreciation of their gift had left everyone watching in awe.  Leaning against the stone wall along the edge of the yard, Kyle heard Kent’s soft sigh. 

“She’s everything we dreamed about—and more.  There aren’t enough flowers in the world to thank mom for this gift.” 

“And I’m sure she is going to remind us regularly that she is the reason we found Tobi.”  Just as Kyle spoke the words he heard dual snorts of laughter from his other side.  Turning he saw both his dads leaning against the wall in positions that mirrored his and Kent’s. 

Dad Dean flashed him a smile that let him know he agreed.  “Your mama loves that girl as if she’d given birth to her.  You two better watch your p’s and q’s you know.”

“Yep.  There are some things that even Dean and I won’t be able to save you from and a pissed off mama bear will be one of them.  Hell, we won’t even try.”  Dell’s laugh did little to hide just how true the words were that he’d just spoken. 

Kyle smiled as he glanced between his fathers.  He loved them equally, and he nor Kent had ever made any attempt to find out which one of the West brothers had actually fathered them because it just simply did not matter.  “Mom has already made that very clear to both of us—more than once.  We’ll never be able to thank her enough for recognizing how perfect Tobi would be for us.”

“And for seeing to it that we had a chance to find it out.  Hell, Austin Gardens and Homes never did get their damned interview,” Kent laughed. 

“They won’t now either, not after the way they treated Tobi.  Your mama has been spreading the word through her friends.  Until they fire Feldman, they won’t be getting into any of those folks’ homes either.”  Dean stood and looked carefully at both of his sons.  “We’ve agreed to lease the building at the front of our place to Jax and Micah.  Seems they’d like a place closer to Prairie Winds for their business and I think they plan to do some remodeling and make a home there as well.”

Kyle and Kent both nodded, Micah had already mentioned their plans to the West brothers.  “It seems as if a certain Latin spit-fire has captured their interests.”  They all laughed because Gracie Santos had been a handful for their two friends from the start.  Kyle knew she was sorely testing the patience of both Doms.  Gracie had recently agreed to stay in the guest cabin but had still been commuting to the city to work until the small shop where she worked closed its doors.  Kyle knew Tobi wanted to hire her to get the forum shops opened, but he didn’t know whether or not Gracie had agreed to take the job. 

Looking out over the dance floor, Kyle smiled as he watched Jax and Micah handing Gracie off between them.  They hadn’t let her out of their sight the entire evening.  Hell, they’d been reluctant to let her dance with him.  Shaking his head, he met Tobi’s gaze and when she smiled at him, he felt his heart swell.  He and Kent pushed away from the wall at the same instant as if they’d rehearsed the move.  “Time to rescue our wife.  She looks tired and I do believe she is due some pampering.” 

Both of their dads laughed out loud before dad Dell smirked at them, “That was just plain lame, son.”

“Lord, you’d have thought they’d have learned something about making better excuses after all the years they listened to us make them when we wanted to spend alone time with their mama.”  Kyle and Kent walked away, leaving their dads laughing behind them.  Kyle was sure the two were getting ornerier as they got older and wondered what they’d be like when they finally managed to retire. 
Lord help us.
 

Chapter Twenty-Two

Tobi stood in the master suite’s enormous bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror.  The nightgown she was wearing had been a shower gift from Gracie who had promised it would be perfect for her grand entrance into the bedroom on her wedding night.  Tobi agreed the pale shade of periwinkle was beautiful and the sparkling slender straps that held the nearly translucent garment up were a lovely distraction, but she was fairly sure they weren’t going to be enough to keep her new husbands from shredding it the minute she walked in the room.  The very first rule they’d given her when she agreed to move in was that she was never to wear anything in their bed. 
But I wanted to look special tonight.  I wanted to be able to pretend I’m a beautiful gift that they get to unwrap.
  Letting out a soft sigh, Tobi turned toward the door and saw both objects of her affection leaning against the doorframe in identical mirrored poses.

Their features were softened with affection and the light of love shone in their matching dark brown eyes.  Tobi loved the way their eyes darkened when they were aroused and the fact they were nearly black now told her how much they appreciated Gracie’s gift.  She couldn’t believe she felt the warmth of a blush spreading up her chest and neck, and in seconds her entire face felt so hot she was sure she was probably practically glowing. 

“Kitten, you are most definitely a gift.  And we are very much looking forward to unwrapping you.”  Kyle’s voice had already deepened and Tobi loved the fact his words sounded a bit strained. 

“Love, Gracie told us that she’d given you something special to wear.  We just wanted to make sure you knew it was alright to wear it when you came to us.”  Tobi let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding as she moved to clasp their out-stretched hands. 

Stepping into the bedroom was like entering a fairy wonderland.  There were bouquets of fresh flowers on every available surface and tiny candles were flickering all around.  The soft glow of the candles painted the room with an ambiance that made her feel as if she had stepped right into one of her romance novels.  The entire room had been transformed in the few minutes she’d been in the bathroom and the fact they’d done it for her simply took her breath away.  “Oh my God…it’s…well, it’s absolutely enchanting.  How did you do it so quickly?  It’s just remarkable.”  Tobi was suddenly fighting back tears of joy and every bit of nervousness she’d been battling about tonight seemed to simply evaporate into a fine mist.  The fact they had gone to so much effort to make sure everything was perfect, humbled her and she felt her love for them growing with each moment.   

“Well, we had a bit of help, but we’ve sent Gracie and her men on their way.”  Kent’s words were whispered right against her ear and sent a shiver of desire all the way to her core.  “And I want you to know, love, it was worth every rushed moment to see the look of appreciation on your sweet face.” 

Stopping at the foot of the bed, she moved so she faced them both.  “I cannot begin to tell you how much I love it or how much it means to me that you went to all the trouble to make tonight so incredibly special.  I was nervous…even though I’ve already been staying here and this isn’t our first time…”  She had to take a deep breath before she could continue because she was determined that she wasn’t going to cry.  “But tonight, well…this marks the official beginning of our lives together…and…” 

****

Kent had tried to let their sweet wife finish speaking, but she was teetering on the edge of her control despite her determination to hold it together.  Not wanting her to feel as though she’d failed, he stepped forward and pulled her against his chest.  “You are absolutely right, love.  This is the beginning of our lives together and we wanted to start it right.”