Room at the Edge (37 page)

“Of course not.” Austin worried more about Jay begging Liam to take things too far than he did about Liam doing it on his own. Liam was in control; he knew what he was doing. “How was the mall?”

“Hideous. The first thing I’ll check next time I have to hire an assistant is when their birthday is. Anything near Christmas is completely unacceptable. And how was your trip?” Liam set his bags down on the table and gestured for Austin to shift over and make room for him.

It crossed Austin’s mind that Liam had adapted well to stuff like coming home and finding two naked men on his couch. Not a blink, not a gasp. Just a gathering heat in his eyes and that welcoming kiss. Austin liked that it’d been easy; it let him believe that this was what was right for Liam, for all of them.

“I got Ryan to explain to April that it’s because he’s so insanely in love with her—and is that ever the right word—that he wants to cool it for a bit until he’s past this bump. He was kind of stunned that she’d assume seeing him once or twice a week instead of every night meant he wanted to finish it all. We had some one-on-one time, and I filled him in on what she’s like.”

“And he didn’t run screaming the way most people do from monsters?”

Austin reached across and smacked Jay’s arm. “No. He’s actually pretty good at handling her on the whole; he just screwed up explaining this. When she’s around him, it’s like the brat gets turned down from eleven to maybe five or six? She got snippy with me, and he just said her name and gave her this expectant look, like he thought she’d crossed a line and needed to apologize and he knew she would.”

“Wow.” Jay scratched his cheek, blankly astonished. “Maybe he’s hypnotized her? Or he’s an alien with mind-control skills?”

“Or they’re in love, and he’s got a dominant—small
d
—personality that she responds to,” Liam suggested drily. “I’m glad it went well, Austin, and you’re forbidden from ever going away without us again, because Jay was unbearable.”

“Sir! I was not! I just missed him.” Jay had snuggled in close to Liam, Austin noticed, but his body language was deferential, appealing, his hand placed on Liam’s chest, his legs beside Liam’s thighs, not draped across them as he would’ve done if it’d been Austin he was cuddling. As Austin watched, Liam moved his arm and gathered Jay in close, dropping a kiss on the top of Jay’s head and getting an adoring upward glance in return.

Austin smiled, loving the closeness between them, relieved that at least one of his worries—that Jay would continue to struggle against Liam’s control—had been resolved.

“Austin?” Liam held open his other arm, a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. “I missed you too.”

Curling up against Liam felt like the last piece of coming home. “Sleeping alone in that bed last night—I couldn’t. I lay there for hours. I even counted the ceiling tiles.”

“You’re here now. Sleep can be caught up on.” Liam hesitated, then said, “Though I was hoping we might tire each other out this evening.”

“Sounds like an offer we won’t want to refuse.” Jay slid a hand along Liam’s shirtfront.

“You haven’t heard all of it yet.” Liam’s fingers toyed with the hair at the back of Austin’s neck; Austin’s skin prickled with the sensation.

“What did you want to do, Sir?” God, he’d missed saying that. Such a short, simple word, but it meant so much to him. Liam, in a confiding mood, had once told him when they called him that, he always noticed, never took it for granted.

“Fuck me again?” Jay suggested with a wriggle of an ass that, from what Austin had seen, had been fucked plenty.

Liam snorted. “I like hurting you, not damaging you. No. You need time to recover from last night.” He disengaged himself from them and stood. “Tonight I’d like to try something new. New for me, anyway.”

“Whatever you want, Sir,” Jay said, after exchanging a puzzled look with Austin. “You know that. We trust you. Anything.”

“It’s more a matter of me trusting you.” Liam paused, then added, “I want one of you—or both of you—to fuck me, please.”

Chapter Twenty

When Liam thought of the stunned look on Austin’s face and the way Jay’s mouth had hung open, he grinned. Poor boys. He’d surprised them, even upset them, but he wasn’t changing his mind. He was their Dom. They’d do what he told them to, and if it seemed on the surface to be a reversal of roles, he’d soon correct that misapprehension.

Being on the receiving end wasn’t going to stop him being in charge.

He turned his face up to the powerful spray of the shower and closed his eyes. He wanted this. He was curious about the act itself and how it would feel to be fucked, but on a deeper level, he saw it as a test of his dominance over them. It would take self-control on their parts to penetrate him without hurting him, but it would take even more for him to control the situation while in a position of vulnerability. It was a challenge, and he looked forward to seeing how it went.

Liam wasn’t going into this blindly. He’d done his research and prepared himself for penetration with some gentle stretching, though it had been more awkward to do to oneself than he’d anticipated, and in the long run he’d decided to leave well enough alone. Jay and Austin wouldn’t chance doing anything hasty, whether he ordered them to be cautious or not.

Shutting off the water, he stepped out onto the bath mat and reached for a towel. They’d shared a meal earlier, then watched some television, but he hadn’t wanted to put off the evening’s activities too long. Best not to give them time to generate anxiety.

Jay seemed more comfortable with the idea than Austin had, right off the bat. Knowing their personalities, that hadn’t come as a surprise to Liam.

He finished drying his hair and smoothed it back with his fingers, then headed into the bedroom where the zone heating was turned up so the temperature would be comfortable for them. Jay and Austin had laid out the things he’d asked for, lube and cock rings lined up neatly on the bedside table.

They were kneeling by the bed, naked, waiting patiently, knees parted, hands behind them, heads down. Good boys. He could see the marks he’d left on Jay’s skin, the sight of them enough to bring his cock up, stiffening as he remembered what he’d done to cause those marks. He stroked his erection, not troubling to hide his arousal. They turned him on. It wasn’t a weakness of his, but a source of strength.

“You won’t get to come doing this unless I’m happy with you. It’s for my pleasure, not yours.” He snapped his fingers, and they raised their heads to look at him. “And I expect you to make sure I do enjoy it. This is no different than giving me a blowjob. You’re serving me, obeying me.”

There was a hint of relief in Austin’s eyes at the clarification.

He moved closer and reached down to tweak one of Jay’s nipples, making no attempt to be gentle, though they were reddened and bruised. Jay whimpered and arched his back, offering himself up wholeheartedly. “You’re looking well used, Jay.”

“Yes, Sir.” Jay gave him an eager, hopeful look. “But I can take more.”

“Oh, you will,” Liam told him. “I like the idea of being fucked by subs with nicely red arses, so you’ll both be getting a spanking. Hmm, who first? Austin, I think. After all that driving, I’m sure your backside’s numb. Let’s see if I can help you out with that.”

Austin beamed at him, clearly delighted at the prospect of going over Liam’s knee. “Thank you, Sir.”

“I wonder if you’ll be saying that when I’ve finished?”

Austin’s smile didn’t dim. “I know I will, Sir. I love your spankings.”

Liam shrugged. “A bonus, not a requirement.”

From the quick, amused looks they exchanged, he wasn’t sure they were suitably chastened by that.

“Stand up, hands on the bed,” Liam ordered, and Austin moved to obey. Liam stepped closer and rubbed Austin’s bare arse roughly with the flat of his hand, observing the way Austin responded by widening his stance and arching his lower back. Before Austin could spend any more time anticipating, Liam hit him hard and fast. He smiled at Austin’s gasp. “Miss me?”

“Yes, Sir. More than you know.”

“Tell me,” Liam said and slapped Austin again.

“Missed you so much I couldn’t sleep,” Austin said, then inhaled sharply when Liam hit him harder.

“I’ll make sure you’re able to tonight. What else?” Liam found a rhythm to the blows, enjoying the crack of his palm on Austin’s arse and the way Austin’s skin pinked up.

“Wanted you.” Austin’s shoulders flexed. “So much. Needed you, Sir.”

“This is what you need, isn’t it?” Liam struck the crease between Austin’s arse and the top of his thigh, and Austin nodded but didn’t speak out loud. “Answer me.”

“Yes, Sir. This is what I need. You.”

“It goes both ways.” Liam never wanted to hide how much he needed them behind a pose of indifference. He could be severe with them, exacting, hell, even cruel at times as the whim took him, but at the heart of it all lay a sincere wish to leave all three of them with what they craved.

“Get on the bed now, hands and knees. Jay. Other side of the bed, facing him. Match his position.”

Jay moved to obey, quickly but without scrambling, already back in the head space he’d found the night before. Liam suspected he’d never truly lost that high. Jay like this was a dream for any Dom, willing, responsive, his submission given unstintingly. If he slid back into his previous behavior, Liam would show him no mercy. He wanted this from Jay every hour of every day.

And he wanted Austin crying out, broken, exultant sobs as Liam’s hand schooled his flesh, painted it scarlet.

“Kiss him,” he commanded Jay and stood for a moment at the foot of the bed, watching Jay lean in and kiss Austin’s mouth, lick the tears from Austin’s flushed, hot face.

They were still kissing when his hand landed with a crack on Jay’s arse, the skin mottled blue and purple from the paddle Liam had used to wake Jay. Drowsy, startled from sleep by that first warning tap, Jay had been hard and moaning by the third smack, and he was no less eager now.

“Keep kissing him.” God, he loved watching them together. They were undeniably hot, but it was the intimacy that got him every time, the casual familiarity of their caresses. They weren’t live porn performing for his titillation, but lovers sharing what they would’ve done if they’d been alone.

Sharing because he was part of their relationship.

He spanked Jay until the heat of the punished skin had soaked into his palm, and then decided it was time to move on.

After fitting them both with cock rings, he lay between them and folded his arms behind his head, stretched out full length, his dick jutting up. He was conscious of his arsehole in a way he’d never been before. He tensed the muscles there, then deliberately relaxed them. Jay and Austin loved being fucked. It was their pleasure that had prompted his curiosity. If it felt that good, why deny himself? If he didn’t like it, if it wasn’t as satisfying as thrusting into them, taking them deep and hard, well, this was just one night out of many to come.

“I don’t think you need instructions, but if there’s something I should be doing, feel free to tell me.”

“Do you have a preference when it comes to position, Sir?” Austin asked. “Hands and knees might be easier this first time.”

“And who do you want to do it?” Jay put in.

It occurred to Liam he could have predicted all their questions and written down the answers in advance; he’d thought of everything, knowing his confidence and preparation were vital to the success of the encounter. “I want both of you to do it,” he said. “Which of you goes first is something you can decide between you. And like this—I want to be able to see you.” Facing away from them could create the illusion that he wasn’t the one in control, and he preferred to avoid that.

“Are you warm enough, Sir?” Austin asked solicitously, and Liam nodded.

“I think we should— Oh, Sir? May we talk to each other?” Good. Jay was beautifully submissive, asking permission.

“You may.” Liam was happy to grant it, especially when they were both behaving so nicely. He lifted one knee to indicate that they could begin, and Austin leaned in to press his lips to it.

“Thank you, Sir.”

Jay reached for the lube. “Start with getting him relaxed. Do you want to? Or should I?”

“I think you should. And then me, when—because I’ll be really careful. Not that you wouldn’t be…” Austin was getting anxious, which wouldn’t benefit any of them, so Liam reached out and pinched his hot, reddened arse. “Oh! Thank you, Sir.” The tension lines around Austin’s mouth smoothed out.

“No, it’s fine,” Jay said. “But you’re right; I’d be really careful. You know I wouldn’t hurt him.” He tipped some lube onto his fingers and then stretched out his hand. When he touched Liam’s inner thigh, Liam sighed and let his knee drop outward, opening himself for their attention.

Jay spent a long time with the lube at Liam’s hole, almost teasing him. The slick kiss of a fingertip over his opening, slow and predictable, had Liam’s cock fully hard and his eyes closing at the perfection of it. Austin lay down next to Liam, propped on an elbow, and kissed him, so that by the time Jay’s finger pushed into Liam, just half an inch or so, Liam was more than ready for it.

It felt good. Clinically he told himself it was the stimulation of nerve endings clustered there, but Jay’s finger sank deeper, withdrew, and Liam stopped analyzing and let himself feel.

He cupped the back of Austin’s head, holding him in place, matching the slow thrusts of Jay’s finger with his tongue, exploring Austin’s mouth, the soft suppleness of his tongue, the smooth teeth, the concave palate.

A flicker against the head of his cock had him pulling away from the kiss and glancing down. Jay smiled back at him and timed the insertion of two fingers with a deliciously thorough lick that left Liam’s cock glistening.

One finger, two… But fingers didn’t feel like cocks, weren’t what he wanted.

“That’s enough. Inside me, one of you.”

If they argued with him… He didn’t have to worry. Jay nodded and withdrew his fingers completely. It was an odd sensation. Liam felt his body cling possessively to them, impeding Jay’s slow, careful tug, and the emptiness that followed, as his muscles twitched, was disconcerting.