Dancing with Deception (16 page)

Kent was damned
glad Tobi couldn’t see his face because he was having a hell of a time not laughing. One of her most endearing quirks was her habit of speaking her thoughts out loud when she was stressed. He and Kyle had worried she was breaking the habit because it hadn’t happened in months, but evidently she was worried enough tonight the useful little
tell
had returned. Neither he nor Kyle cared if she knew her new friend was being flogged into subspace by Ryan Morgan, but they also knew the best way to set up the scene they had planned for their sub was to pique her curiosity a bit. Nothing got their willful wife in more trouble than her curiosity.

“Put me down you, big oaf. I’m getting motion sick hanging upside down. We all know you aren’t going to do anything in that darned gazebo. It’s too open and all those uptight ninnies on the river would have a conniption if they saw anything that might give them an erection. I swear some of those people need to get naked and nasty just to find out how much fun it is.” Well hell, he couldn’t put her down now because he couldn’t wipe the damned grin off his face to save his soul.

Thank heaven his brother seemed to be maintaining some measure of decorum. “Well, kitten, I think you may find we’ve made some
improvements
to the gazebo. A few modifications that will allow us more opportunities to use it in a way we use the lovely facility we know you’re so fond of.” Oh yeah, they’d made changes alright. The electric privacy screen was a state of the art design allowing anyone inside the structure to see out but no one outside could see in. The retractable device was virtually hidden when not in place and could be set up remotely from an app on their phones.

Tobi’s assessment was true of many of the boaters behind their property. It amazed him how
dedicated
the penis police were to anchoring behind the club on the weekends during fair weather. He knew they were hoping to catch a glimpse of the activities rumored to be taking place at Prairie Winds. He, Kyle, and their whole staff took every possible precaution to make sure they left each week disappointed.

Rounding the corner, Kent was pleased to see the gazebo had all but disappeared from view. If you didn’t know where it was, you’d be hard pressed to find it; and that was exactly what he and Kyle had hoped to achieve. He set Tobi on her feet and turned her slowly—her soft gasp told him she was surprised. “How? I can barely even see it and we’re so close.”

Moving forward quickly, Kyle opened the door and the three of them stepped into a sea of soft white fairy lights. The view of the riverfront from inside the gazebo was perfect. The light of the full moon illuminated the surface of the water making it shimmer with a vibrancy they’d have otherwise missed simply because they never wanted to give the gawkers a reason to snap their picture. They’d learned the hard way most of the clothing they chose for Tobi disappeared when photographed with a flash. Kent didn’t even want to think about that particular fiasco.

Tobi started toward the perimeter but Kyle stopped her. If they let her start asking questions they’d spend most of their playtime explaining all about the fabric and mechanical features of the Prairie Winds Club’s newest feature. Kent could practically hear the wheels of her quick mind spinning and knew there were probably a hundred questions bubbling their way to the surface—it was definitely time to get things started. “Come here, baby.” She seemed startled out of her thoughts, but he was pleased she didn’t hesitate to move back to him. Once she was standing in front of him, Kent didn’t hesitate. “
Strip
.”

Micah Drake rechecked
the information he’d received minutes ago before sending a quick text to everyone working on Joelle’s case. They’d only had a few suspects left on the list Joelle had given them, and now they’d finally identified the person responsible for the break-in at her apartment and the attempted breach of her home in Pine Creek. Micah agreed with the others, both attempts had been more about theft and intimidation than physical harm. But he also believed former Senator Helen Rodrick would step up the game she was playing now that all the major news agencies were chattering like magpies about Joelle Phillips’ upcoming news conference. The former senator was the most corrupt politician in recent history, but her loyal followers continued to drink the Kool-Aid as if the news stories about the women were pure fiction.

Shaking his head, Micah sent a final message to all the club’s security personnel. They didn’t have any reason to believe Ms. Rodrick knew where Joelle was staying, but he sure as hell wasn’t taking any chances. First thing in the morning the entire team was meeting to discuss the upcoming news conference. They’d enlisted some big players in both the news and medical communities as well as several celebrities who’d been touched by cancer in one way or another. The up side? Joelle’s announcement was going to get the hype it deserved. The downside? The whole dog and pony show was going to be a fucking security nightmare.

Pushing back from the bank of computers he’d been monitoring, he put everything in the capable hands of the men waiting to take over and made his way downstairs. He was anxious to get his hands on his luscious wife. He and Jax had been looking forward to his week for a long time. He adored their daughter, but Deaga’s mama deserved this well-earned adult time. He’d been watching Jax escort Gracie around the club for the past hour and it was easy to see she was becoming concerned by his absence. If things hadn’t finally started falling into place he would have joined them much sooner, but even his impatient cock understood Joelle’s safety was more important than another hour of playtime.

Walking up behind Gracie, Micah slid an arm around her pulling her against his chest. He loved the way she fit against him and her sweet gasp of surprise. “You should be careful, Sir. My Masters take exception to strange men having their hands on me. I’m not sure they’d appreciate the way your muscular arm is lifting my breasts to the point they may well pop out of this hooker Barbie dress they gave me to wear. I don’t even want to think about the fact you’ve raised the hem of this little frock so high my pink bits are probably displayed for all to see.” Micah chuckled against her ear, the saucy little sub was obviously wound up and ready to play.

“I think I’ll take my chances, baby. I think you’re worth the risk. Besides, I only see one Master and I think I can work with him to make sure you have an evening you’ll never forget.” He hoped like hell their calendar wasn’t off, they’d all been devastated when Gracie miscarried a year ago, but they’d known her body needed time to heal so they’d been biding their time. But she’d recently gotten the green light from both of her doctors so they’d been tracking her fertility very closely. Dr. Brian Bennett and Dr. Kirk Evans were members of the club as well as excellent OB/GYNs and having physicians who understood the lifestyle saved a lot of embarrassing explanations.

Wrapping her in the shelter of his embrace, Micah moved so he could slide both hands under the fabric of her halter dress. The soft, sheer fabric did little to hide her peaked nipples and he wanted to moan in satisfaction as the hard nubbins traced a line of fire over his palms. “You are so fucking hot, baby. Your body was made for us, your heart had our names written on it before we ever met. He felt her shudder before a soft gasp of acquiescence whispered from between her soft rose-colored lips.

Micah looked at Jax, who was watching them, the fire in his eyes assuring Micah their plan was still firmly in place. Yes, indeed. They planned to love their sweet wife seven ways to Sunday and then after a nap they’d start again. She might view this week as a break from their adorable daughter, but to her husbands, it was “make a baby week.”
They had a plan.

Gracie wanted to
laugh out loud at the two Neanderthals she’d married. She knew they were itching to give Deaga a sibling. She wanted that too but losing the baby had shaken her confidence. What if she couldn’t carry another child? What if something went wrong and she left her beautiful daughter without a mother? What if her husbands decided they wanted another child more than they wanted the woman who’d only given them one little girl? Pushing her worries aside, Gracie concentrated on staying in the moment. She’d promised Tobi she would try to reclaim the carefree spirit she’d been before the miscarriage. One of Tobi’s best attributes was her ability to empathize without claiming to fully understand someone else’s grief. She’d spent hours with Gracie doing nothing but holding her hand, and it had been exactly what Gracie needed most.

When she looked up at Jax, his eyes were filled with patient understanding. “Are you okay, cariño?” He’d always called her his beloved and even more importantly, he made her feel cherished.

Reaching up, she smoothed her hand down his face. He was so tall she was barely able to reach his tanned cheek and when he pulled her palm to his mouth pressing a kiss to its center she sighed. Both of her husbands worked tirelessly to make sure the people they cared about were safe, Gracie hoped Joelle appreciated everything the Prairie Winds team was doing for her. But all of that was something to think about later…right now all she cared about was pleasing the two men who’d sandwiched her between them. “I’m wonderful. And I’m blessed. But…” She saw him raise a brow at her question as his Dom face slid back into place. “Well, I’m horny.”

Jax moved so quickly she’d barely blinked before he’d scooped her into his arms and was bounding up the curved spiral staircase. She could hear Micah’s laughter from behind them and it washed away the doubts she’d let cloud her thoughts earlier. Gracie fully intended to follow Tobi’s advice and live each moment as if she might not get another chance.

B
randt studied Joelle
as she watched her earlier scene being replayed on the large screen in their private room. The video switched between four different views at the touch of a button on the small remote he held in his hand. He zoomed in on her back as the leather strips slapped against her skin in a steady rhythm. The resolution was so clear you could see the lines left behind as the blood was drawn to the surface making her skin glow and color perfectly. When he switched to the front view, he zoomed in on her face making sure her eyes were centered on the large screen. “Look at you, minx. Your eyes tell me everything I need to know about how you were reacting to the scene.”

“Ryan knew—he said your needed more, that you needed the bite of pain to
get there
. And there’s the proof. Did you know this about yourself, minx?” Brandt bet she’d never been so deep in sub-space before tonight. She’d no doubt heard about it, and he knew she’d gotten a taste of it during her punishment scene at Mountain Mastery. But the look of wonder in her expression as she watched the tape told him Joelle had just discovered a whole new world.

“No. Well, I knew I needed
something
to find the magical headspace I heard the other subs talk about…but this? I wasn’t even sure it really existed. I didn’t know why my scenes never seemed to work before you and before Ryan…but, this is pretty conclusive evidence.” Aww, their little scientist was back in residence. They’d anticipated her need for proof, it was part of the reason they’d set this up. He and Ryan had laughed about the
fact
they’d actually met a woman who was as “fact driven” as they were—no small feat.

Brandt switched off the video and tossed the small remote to Ryan. Turning Joelle so she faced him, Brandt was surprised to see her eyes glassy with unshed tears. “Minx?” He heard the worry in his voice and hoped she had too. Even though he’d known her for a year, this level of emotion was so much more than the dance of attraction they’d been doing since they’d met. D/s relationships required so much more communication they were almost always stronger than those in the vanilla world. “Talk to us, Joelle. We can’t help if we don’t know what’s upsetting you.” Hell, he wanted nothing more than to wrap her in soft cotton and protect her from harm. If he’d been the one to put those tears in her eyes, he damned well wanted to know so he could avoid it in the future.