Independence: #4 Hayley (9 page)

If she thought their behavior odd, she didn’t say anything, just nodded and walked down the hall. They heard the door close before it even felt like they breathed.

Jack stalked the patio door, his hands up and dragging the long strands of dark hair back from his face and neck. His fingers closed around them and tugged.

“She didn’t realize what she said,” Dane finally spoke, shoving the chairs back into place and striding into the kitchen. He loaded the dishwasher in the silence before facing the flat expression on Jack’s face. “We should get dressed.”

“She meant what she said.”

“She didn’t realize what she said,” Dane repeated firmly.

“How long have we looked for a woman to fit us, Dane?” Jack demanded angrily, spinning to face the man across the room. “You felt it, too. When she said the words, she meant them.”

“This isn’t some role playing game, Jack. And she’s not some little confused pet we picked up to rescue,” Dane threw back, just as angry. “Women don’t choose to live with two men. Not on this world. Only in some fantasy world.”

“Then we make it this world. We just told her to ignore what society wants, ignore what relatives want for her,” Jack met his glare. “We’re telling her honesty is important to the Dom/sub power exchange and we don’t believe what we’re telling her?”

“You’re insane,” Dane shook his head.

“I’ve researched it. It’s called a triad. In this case, a female and two men. A house of three. Instead of marriage to one, she marries us both.” Jack stared at Dane. “Then I’ll take her for myself. I think we make a cute couple,” he said with a chuckle, striding to his room without looking back.

“The hell you will,” Dane stormed into the room, slamming the door behind him. “We’ve always been a pair…and you’re going to let a woman come between us? This is a joint effort and the first step is to find out if we’re even fucking compatible.”

“Oh…so now you care if we’re compatible or not,” Jack chuckled and pulled a shirt from the closet, shoving his arms inside and buttoning the front slowly. “Then we date her. Just like we’d planned. And make her talk to us…and we talk to her.”

“I was right the first time…you’re insane,” Dane shook his head and let it fall forward with a long sigh. “Alright. Fine. We try and convince her of more than being our sub.”

“We don’t try…” Jack clapped his hand on Dane’s shoulder. “We succeed. She’s smart and compassionate. I’d be willing to bet she’s strong enough to withstand all the bull she’s been fed through her life by well-meaning male relatives…and strong enough to handle us without even blinking.”

“Fucking crazy,” Dane muttered and went in search of his clothes and shoes.

****

Hayley looked at the things she’d packed and sighed. Not exactly prime seduce the hunks clothing. She took the shirt off, taking one last deep breath. It smelled like Jack but when she closed her eyes, she saw them both. It was as though they were each a side of the same coin.

Were subs allowed to think about seducing their Doms? A little groan broke free as she fastened her bra and stepped into panties. Now that’s a novelty, she thought, considering she hadn’t had either one for over twenty-four hours. She’d taken a quick shower and was working the comb through her hair, wrapping it tightly into an elastic band and letting it curl from the top of her head.

She set the comb on her pack and stared for a moment at where it rested on the large bed. She wasn’t sure she’d need it until tomorrow. She wasn’t sure how far they were taking her training but she doubted they’d allow her to go home tonight. If last night was any indication…she slept like a baby and felt really relaxed for once.

Hayley found her wallet and tucked it into the small purse she hooked on her shoulder, lifted her jacket and left the bedroom. She left the door wide behind her, thinking in a group like theirs, there should be nothing secret. At least, that’s the way she wanted it to be.

“Now that’s an interesting frown, Hayley.” Dane had come out of his bedroom in time to see her look back at the door and frown. He took in the tightly pulled back long hair snug in a ponytail that rode high at the back of her head and was obviously still wet from her shower. Did she masturbate in there? They hadn’t told her she couldn’t. But then, they hadn’t gotten around to asking that question, either.

“I…I was thinking about honesty and closed doors,” she said without lowering her gaze from his. “It was always…don’t tell Hayley, it’ll upset her…”

“Honesty and doors open,” Dane nodded to the room she was passing. “That’s my room and Jack’s is on the other side of the house. But doors are always open.”

“You don’t…you’re not…” Hayley fell over the words in her mouth, finally closing it with the frown still in place.

“What’d you make her frown about?” Jack wanted to know, his hands busy working the sleeves of his shirt to his elbows and fastening it off before turning to the other one. His hand stopped when she stepped forward, absently taking the material in her fingers and rolling it neatly into place. “Nice.”

“I’m not sure. I was about to ask…the first frown was about open or closed doors in the house,” Dane commented as they entered the large open area. He went to the closet and snagged his jacket, tossing the one Jack had been wearing lately out to him.

“Secrecy makes your stomach hurt,” Hayley said with a deep breath, her fingers toying with the small purse she’d slipped over her head. “I thought…but I hadn’t seen you…touching or kissing…but…”

“We’re not gay,” Jack said firmly. “Our connection is through the woman in our life at the time. We don’t play around, we’re not into poly relationships and we won’t cheat on you.”

“Why?” She held her head up, allowing Dane to guide her from the house with his hand around her elbow. “I mean…not why aren’t you gay…why do you prefer one woman? How is it different? Or better?”

“Nothing in life has to be about different or better, Hayley,” Dane laughed and pulled a set of keys from his pocket. “It’s about what works for each separate person, or at least, it should be.”

“People…you don’t care what your friends or relatives think?”

They heard the uncertainty in her voice as the back door of the truck was opened.

“We met in high school,” Jack began, striding around to the passenger side and sliding inside. He put his belt on and shifted to the side to watch Hayley. “We got along. Most things we agree on, some we don’t.”

“That’s not to say that a few people we’ve come across conclude the same thing you did,” Dane admitted with a casual shrug. He lifted a hand and gestured to the houses they were passing. “How many people in those houses ever discuss their sex lives? With each other, let alone with a person outside their bedrooms? How many marriages and simple relationships would be better served with just a little plain talking?”

“You have different personalities,” Hayley said softly. “You both seemed so very serious and…and…stern…but underneath, you aren’t the same all the time. And you don’t dress the same…”

“It’s not easy finding a woman who sees and accepts that,” Dane closed the door and slid behind the steering wheel. “Being fast thinking is necessary to get along with us, I think. We’ll try not to pull the Dom thing on you in public, but…”

“Sometimes it’s natural for you,” she said with a little nod. “I understand that. I have to admit that in my office or the field where an animal is involved…don’t try and cross me. You’ll find yourself trussed up and thrown into the back of my truck.”

“I might like to see that,” Jack chuckled, picturing the scene she suggested. It was always a concern that a play partner might be too submissive and they weren’t looking for a slave, but a partner. “I can’t picture you covered in muck…but I guess that is part of the job. And you like it.”

“It’s the best,” she whispered with a little smile that grew, the expression on her face filled with joy. “You get that. My cousins…even my brother…sometimes act like I’m playing at some game. I think my grandfather is the only one who keeps them from…from overwhelming me.”

“I can’t imagine you allow them to get away with much,” Dane caught her gaze in the mirror as he headed them down the street.

“When you grow up with it…it kind of takes a while before you hit a point where they’re about ready to end up locked in one of the barns,” she was relaxed. “Do you always like the same kind of girls?”

Dane had glanced over at Jack when the silence stretched.

“I like to think we enjoy the company of the same type of woman,” Dane answered after a moment.

“Ahh…semantics…” Hayley grinned into the mirror and then at the Jack. “You don’t like the word?”

“You do?” Jack countered with a teasing wink.

“I like it…I want to be a girl when I’m forty and sixty and a hundred,” she told them with a laugh. “Girls can dance and giggle and play in sprinklers and sing off key to all kinds of music…people expect too much of the word - woman.”

“Interesting,” Jack reclined into the corner and grinned at the color in her cheeks. “As far as the type…we’ve played with some we’d never play with again. The personality they present there, is something we’re careful to pay attention to. We don’t want a slave; we don’t want a dependent. We prefer a friend and partner outside the play parameters. Intelligent and witty; charming and patient. Sense of humor an absolute must.”

“I’m not terribly neat,” she confessed, her nose wrinkled slightly. “I have a tendency to always be running late because of patients…” she sighed. “It’s hard to say no sometimes to something that doesn’t understand the why part. Usually I make up for it on weekends and scour the place…or at least do laundry.”

“Have you attended any of the seminars the resort has for being part of their reclamation?” Dane asked casually, guiding the large truck into the parking lot of the multi-purpose store. He parked toward the back, avoiding taking up so much room.

“No. Dell has,” she said thoughtfully, meeting the confused looks. “My brother. We own the ranch jointly and we’ve just signed papers to provide supplies to the resort restaurants. He’s been attending the seminars…he handles the business stuff with one of my cousins. As soon as we have it completely in our names, we plan on dividing it between the cousins. There will be strict stipulations. They can’t sell to anyone outside the family, if they want out. But we haven’t told them yet,” she put a finger to her lips. “Dad and Granddad know…but we haven’t told the others yet. It’s going to be a Christmas present.”

“Why? Why divide,” Dane clarified, waiting outside for them to join him.

“I think it should have been that way from the beginning,” she said with a little frown, sticking her hands into the pockets of her jeans as she walked. “Dad and his brothers had a tiff way back when…once the ranch got started, it was like it never happened. They all worked it, one way or another. Either with maintenance or business or Uncle Kent is a vet, too. And when the kids happened, they kind of grew into it. They’re paid well and we have bonuses, but…because it belongs to us all, as a family.”

“Even when they make you nuts?”

“They’re guys,” she rolled her eyes, jumping slightly when the palm came down on her behind from the right. She scowled at Jack. “Hey!”

“We’ll try not to make you nuts,” Jack promised. “At least, not too much.” He massaged the cheek he’d just slapped. “That’s a nice handful there…”

“Oh, god,” Hayley took a hasty step forward and snagged a cart. “So tell me about the seminars and what that has to do with me being untidy.”

“We have a list of businesses we’re recommended to support, including housekeepers and cleaners for the business,” Dane told her. “It’s not about things you’re capable of doing, it’s about using the time you have smartly. If we have a rough week, the last thing I want to do is scrub the shower. To keep me sharp for business, we expend a little, supporting people in the reclamation and local. And I relax.”

“I think it feels wrong. As though I’m lazy.”

“Is that what you’ve been told?” Dane pressed.

They watched her, both hands on the cart as they walked into the produce section. “I suppose it is…” She admitted. “I know we have a housekeeping team on the ranch and they keep the guy’s homes clean. Maybe I just didn’t want anyone else in my space anymore…once I got the little house.”

“You aren’t lazy and if you see something you want, add it to the cart, Hayley. We might be spending some time together and having food at the house for you, lets us know what you like,” Jack suggested, adding a large pineapple to the cart.

“I like cooking,” she answered with a little shrug. “When I take a few days off, I make tons of stuff and end up back in the office, giving it away,” she admitted with a laugh.

“We don’t mind being spoiled,” Jack piped up with a laugh, tossing a bag of precut salad mix into the cart. “We’re either working…or working out…he runs the beach, I work the weights.”

“I love running on the beach,” she admitted with a sigh. “Sometimes I wished I lived closer to it. But I try and get down to Point Defiance early on the weekend mornings. It doesn’t always quite work out, though. Like this weekend.”

“We can run in the morning,” Dane told her. “Do you have your shoes and whatever you run in? If not, we can make a run to your place after we finish this.”

“We’re making one more stop,” Jack reminded him, adding milk and juice to the cart while Dane found the ten grain bread he liked and a jar of peanut butter. “His weakness,” Jack told her with a wink.