Devotion (Club Destiny #7) (31 page)

A waiter approached them, carrying a tray with several wine glasses perched on top. He held the tray out, and Sierra took one, but not surprisingly, both of her men passed. She’d learned early on in their relationship that Luke and Cole were not wine drinkers. Thankfully, they didn’t feel the need to pretend with her.

Luke leaned down close to her ear so that she could hear him over the music that echoed through the open space. “I need to take care of a couple of things.”

Sierra nodded her understanding before placing a kiss on his lips. Luke then leaned over to Cole, presumably whispering the same thing, and Sierra watched them closely. They may never be the kind to engage in public displays of affection on a routine basis, but if anyone were to watch them closely, they’d see that Luke and Cole portrayed their love for one another every time they made eye contact. The sight made her tummy flip excitedly. Still, to this very day, Sierra was easily turned on by watching these two men together. She was pretty sure she’d never get enough.

Sam came walking up at the same time Luke started walking away. The two of them stopped, shared a quick hug before continuing on their paths. When Sam approached, Cole leaned down and kissed Sierra on the neck and whispered that he’d see her in a bit. With a nod and a kiss, she sent him on his way and turned her attention to Sam.

“What do you think?” Sierra asked as the two of them stood side by side, wine glasses in hand and admired their surroundings.

“I think it’s phenomenal. There is a classy feel to this place that I love. Although it’s a playground for the wickedly taboo, it feels… normal.”

Sierra laughed.

Normal.

She wasn’t sure she even knew what normal was anymore. Considering the Domme currently wielding a whip while a naked man knelt at her feet inside a glass box stood just a few feet from her, Sierra was thinking they’d somehow come up with a new definition of normal.

“Have you seen Xander?” Sam asked, and Sierra turned to face her friend.

“Not yet, no. Is he here yet?”

“Supposed to be. He might be talking to Logan though.”

Sierra noticed how Sam didn’t make eye contact as she spoke which told her one thing. Her interest in Xander might very well be more than just platonic in nature.

It was clear, based on the conversations the two of them had shared that Sam and Logan were still interested in finding another third; however, they weren’t at all interested in having another person filter in and out of their lives. It’d started with Luke, Sierra knew, and then Tag. Both men had gone on to find permanent relationships, which wasn’t all that surprising; however, Sierra knew it had to be difficult on Sam. She wasn’t a promiscuous woman and her heart got involved a little each time, meaning when both of those men had moved on, she’d lost a little part of herself.

Sierra couldn’t even imagine what that must feel like. She knew intimately what it felt like to be with two men, what it meant to be in an untraditional relationship that had some significant sexual stigmas assigned to it, and she absolutely couldn’t fathom one of her men walking away and ever being replaced. Although, in that regard, she and Sam were different. Sam and Logan were immensely happy just the two of them, which Sierra respected. They simply liked to add a little spice to their lives.

Glancing back around at the club, Sierra realized this was just the place to allow that to happen.

Now, if she could muster up the nerve to do what she’d come to do tonight, she’d feel like she fit in just fine.

Chapter Thirty One

“Where’d McKenna run off to?” Cole asked his stepbrother when he approached him at the bar a short while later.

“Dancing,” he answered, turning to face the overcrowded dance floor behind them.

Cole chuckled as he searched the floor for Tag’s fiancé. “Don’t dance, huh?”

“Not the kind of dancing she’s talking about,” Tag said honestly.

Cole watched as the pretty red head in the brilliant emerald green dress moved gracefully around the dance floor with Trent. He found it odd that Tag was even letting another man touch her. Although, Cole would probably do the same. He was equipped with two left feet and dancing was clearly not in his stockpile of skills.

Cole took the beer the bartender handed him and turned to face the crowded place. They’d had a better turn out than he expected. Although only about one-third of the people in attendance were actual members, he had a feeling that would probably be changing fairly quickly.

The atmosphere was significantly different from the fetish club, and he found that he liked this one better. There was a different air to the people in the much more elegant setting. First of all, there were more couples than he was used to. More importantly, there were a large number of ménage relationships in attendance. Since Cole knew that Luke specifically wanted to target that demographic, he wasn’t surprised. Not that he had an issue with his relationship or the fact that most people looked at them strangely when they went out in public, but Cole liked the opportunity to be around like minded individuals.

They weren’t just a ménage club. They’d managed to keep a lot of the fetish elements, along with the BDSM aspect that drew a significant amount of interest, or so it seemed. Simply put, they were a sex club, incorporating a vast number of preferences and desires.

Xander’s intimidating form caught Cole’s eye from across the room. Turning to see who he was talking to, Cole noticed the woman on his arm. She wasn’t substantially tall, probably close to a foot shorter than Xander. The black flowing gown she wore accentuated her generous curves and Cole appreciated the fact that she wasn’t one of the model thin women whom a man of Xander’s size would likely break in two. There were many times that Cole feared he and Luke would hurt Sierra, being as small as she was, but this woman looked like she could easily handle a man like Xander. He found it interesting because he’d never seen Xander with a woman, but these two looked fairly intimate.

His attention turned to the most beautiful woman in the room. He watched as Sierra gracefully moved toward the area that had been sectioned off for the night to be used for a few people to address the attendees. Standing behind the podium was Logan, holding a microphone which meant they were about to introduce the owners.

“See you in a few,” Cole told Tag, turning to head in Sierra’s direction. He wasn’t the type of man who enjoyed being the center of attention, and he’d tried numerous times to talk Sierra out of this meet and greet introduction, but as with most things, she’d won that argument.

There was a tap on the microphone, followed by a squeal that got most people’s attention although it didn’t seem to be the intention. Choosing to stand off to the side, Cole watched as Logan handed the microphone to Sierra. He’d half expected Trent to do the honors of introducing the club, but during a brief conversation the day before, everyone felt as though the club would get more attention without the famous actor standing in front of the room.

“Where’ve you been?” Cole asked Luke as they waited for the crowd to gather around and quiet.

“Just talking to a few people.”

Before Cole asked for specifics, Trent commanded the attention of the crowd by his mere presence.

“Thank you for coming tonight,” Sierra greeted the group. “I’d like to take a minute to introduce myself and my wonderful husbands.”

Cole’s breath lodged in his chest. Did she just refer to the two of them as her husbands? His heart did that strange swelling thing, and for a second he thought he was going to pass out.

“I guess that’s our cue,” Luke said, taking Cole’s hand and pulling him toward the front of the group of at least one hundred people gathered around.

“My name is Sierra, and many of you have already met my husbands – Luke McCoy and Cole Ackerley. If you haven’t, well, then I’m not exactly sure how you got in here tonight.”

The group laughed at Sierra’s joke. Cole went to stand on one side of Sierra while Luke stood proudly on the other. He couldn’t help but wonder how this turn of events had come about. If he remembered correctly, he’d insisted he not be brought forward to have to address anyone. If someone needed to speak publicly, Cole was more than happy to hand the mic over to the famous actor who seemed to enjoy being in the spotlight.

“First of all, I’d like to welcome you all. I hope you’ve had a chance to look around, you know, if that’s your thing.”

Another round of laughter.

“In any case, if you haven’t, I urge you to. My husbands have put a lot of themselves into this place, and I’m so very proud of what they’ve accomplished. Many of you might not realize it, but this club is like a second child to us. A lot of blood, sweat, and yes, tears have gone into this place.

“Tonight is all about giving you a glimpse into what it is like to live our lifestyle and the various other lifestyles you might not be familiar with. The three of us have spent the better part of the last year learning to live openly in a ménage and quite frankly, not one of us was quite equipped for what that meant when we went into this.”

Cole listened intently, suddenly confused as to the description of their relationship. They didn’t make a habit of sharing the most intimate aspects of their lives and quite frankly, he’d have been just fine with a brief name introduction.

“We knew that we loved one another. Knew that we were devoted to one another. We even knew that we wanted to have children together, but as you can imagine, it hasn’t been a smooth road the entire time.

“This is one of the reasons we opted to add some variety to our club that, if you were a member of Club Destiny, you wouldn’t have seen. It isn’t just the ménage lifestyle that people don’t understand; however, it is one that the three of us are intimately familiar with.

“Which brings me to the reason that I am standing up here before you tonight, introducing you to my husbands.”

Cole glanced down at Sierra again at her reference. His heart was beating wildly in his chest.

“I’ve had the honor of meeting several of you who are much more familiar with what we go through on a daily basis, and it was during these conversations that I’ve learned a lot about options.”

Cole stared down at her confused, his expression mirroring Luke’s almost perfectly. He had no idea where Sierra was going with this. By now he expected their introductions to be complete and for them to be standing back watching someone else in the spotlight.

“As you can tell by the complete look of shock on their faces, neither one of them has a clue where I’m going with this. Since I know all of you are probably ready to get on with the evening, I’m going to ask for your attention for just a few more minutes.”

Cole glanced up at Luke, their eyes meeting over Sierra’s head. What the hell was she talking about?

Sierra turned, putting her back to the crowd as she faced both of them at the same time.

“I know that the two of you weren’t expecting this, but I need you both to listen to me for just a minute,” Sierra said seriously, and Cole’s heart pounded even harder than before. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to make him have a panic attack right here in front of all these people.

~~*~~

Luke stood as still as he could in front of all of his guests who were giving the three of them their undivided attention. It was eerie, to say the least.

Sierra’s smile was bright, and the sheen of tears in her eyes put him on edge. One thing he couldn’t handle was when Sierra cried. His heart broke each and every time it happened and now, standing before her, completely unaware of what she was doing, he felt as though he was about to have a heart attack.

Thankfully, she handed the microphone off to Sam, who handed her something in return, but Luke could only make out that one of the items was a sheet of paper. Great. Maybe she’d prepared a speech.

“It’s not a secret that I’m not the dominant one in this relationship,” Sierra said with a huge smile. “In fact, I’ve always willingly handed the control over to one or both of you, and I happen to prefer it that way. However, I needed to make a stand, and this was the only way that I could come up with.”

Luke watched her, feeling the eyes of the group behind her boring into him.

“I need you to let me get through this before either of you say anything at all.”

Luke nodded, as did Cole, but neither of them said a word. Luke wasn’t sure he’d be able to find his voice if he had to.

Sucking in a deep breath, Sierra took the piece of paper and unfolded it, glancing down as she did.

“Back when the three of us made this official,” Sierra motioned the three of them with her hand, “the two of you gave me rings which I proudly wear each and every day.”

At the mention of her rings, Luke glanced down at her finger, expecting to see the two bands they’d given her, but they weren’t there. His heart skipped a beat, and he wondered whether they’d be making use of those defibrillators they’d had installed.

“I won’t lie, I’ve always dreamed about having a wedding, wearing a white gown and walking down the aisle. However, all of those little dreams of mine seemed so insignificant when I met the two of you and fell in love with not one but both of you at the same time. I decided I could easily live without that tradition because it didn’t mean anything if I couldn’t have both of you.

“However, one thing I’m not willing to sacrifice in this relationship is the comfort and reassurance that the little piece of paper that so many people take for granted can bring to a relationship. Having that paper might not be necessary when it comes to explaining my love for both of you, but it is something that would help us not to feel so temporary.”

Luke swallowed hard as he watched a single tear streak down Sierra’s face as she glanced back and forth between them. He no longer felt the stares of the people behind her because somewhere along the way, he’d tuned out everything except this woman and the man standing beside him.

“In the last couple of months, the three of us have finally come to terms with our own insecurities, and honestly, I wasn’t surprised to find that each one of us felt exactly the same way. This isn’t temporary. It never has been. I know we’re feeling our way through this, but one thing I’m not willing to do is to let either of you think that we won’t get through the ups and downs. Together.”