Fortune (19 page)

Kat raised her eyebrows. “Oh, really? Sure he’s not yours?”

Ryan laughed. “Pretty sure, since he’s a mirror image of Dave and since it was Dave whose condom broke.”

“What did you do?”

“Well, he actually forgot to tell her it happened, and then—”

“No, I mean… What did you do when all three of you played together? What kind of…activities?”

“We played some kinky games, had a lot of horny silliness.”

“You double penetrated her? You and Dave?”

“Yes. But don’t freak out, Kat. It was a fantasy of hers so we did it. I would never expect it of you.”

She was silent, not sure whether she was scandalized, disgusted or horny as fuck about the idea of double penetration. “What…so what… What will you expect of me?”

He scratched his neck and thought a moment. “Nothing. I won’t force you into anything. But have you ever been with more than one person at a time? Does it interest you at all?”

“Um… I don’t… I mean…in what way?”

“In any way.”

Kat thought about gangbangs, group sex, orgies. Then she imagined herself participating in something like that and her mind rebelled. “I don’t know.”

“Well, don’t worry about it right now. If things happen, they happen. If they don’t I won’t be disappointed. I wasn’t even going to bring it up.”

“You were just going to spring it on me?”

“No. There are really no plans at all. Dave and I have never been planners. And like I said, I haven’t seen them in a while. I don’t know if he even still shares her. You’re still pretty new to this so I’m not going to force anything on you that you don’t want.”

“But will you…if I don’t… Will you still sleep with her? Without me?”

Kat’s throat felt tight and her face felt hot as she asked it.
This is just more kinky weirdness
, she told herself. Like the spanking and the hardware and the shibari. Like the hummus and
haricots verts
, the twisted stuff she put up with in order to be with him.

He caught her hand again and brought it to his lips. “I won’t sleep with her unless you’re with me. No.”

She let out her breath in relief, hoping he didn’t hear it, hoping he didn’t realize how jealous she felt and how much she really cared.

* * * * *

They had takeout pizza for dinner with their guests, a special treat. Kat liked the pizza she and Ryan made from scratch with whole-grain crust, organic sauce and low-fat cheese, but she’d forgotten how greasy and downright delicious real New York-style pizza was. They’d ordered it because the baby liked pizza. Little Hunter, who was not really a baby anymore but a headstrong toddler of one and a half. He chomped on his cheesy slice with his little toddler teeth and gums while Ryan, Kat, Dave and Sophie chatted and caught up. Conversation came easily. Before an hour passed, Kat’s face ached from laughing at Dave and Ryan’s interplay and their reminiscences about their boyhood craziness. Kat had been prepared not to like Dave, and especially Sophie, but she found them impossibly friendly. As a couple they were completely loved-up and connected, and they were wonderful, doting parents. When Sophie teased Ryan it just seemed fond, not flirty. When Dave talked to Kat she felt at ease.

She found herself, against all odds, thinking seriously about Ryan’s suggestion that they might share a more decadent intimacy. There was no pressure and no expectation, just as he’d promised, but Kat found herself more and more attracted to Dave—and shockingly, Sophie too. Perhaps it was only because Dave was so much like Ryan. Not in appearance—Dave had longer hair and light hazel eyes that were nothing like Ryan’s dark brown ones. No, it was Dave’s secure, caring demeanor, his intelligence and humor that reminded her so much of Ryan. And Sophie was, really, so much like her. Quiet, dark-haired, with a tendency to introspection that Kat recognized in herself.

By the time Sophie left to settle the baby in his portable crib in the bonus room, Kat was nearly to the point of fearing something
wouldn’t
happen. Ryan passed around beers, another rare treat for a special occasion, although he warned her with a wink that she would only get one. Kat barely drank it. She didn’t care for beer. She just drank a few sips to take the edge off her nerves. Ryan and Dave seemed to be suffering from no such anxiety. They were working together to clear the living room, pushing the furniture to the walls and putting away the few breakable knickknacks. By the time Sophie came back down the men were sparring, facing each other across the cleared space with their legs braced apart. Both men balanced practically on their toes, light stalking menaces as they lunged for each other. They deflected blows so lightning-quick Kat didn’t even notice them until one or the other had repelled it. Sophie returned to sit by Kat on the couch, leaning close to her with a chuckle.

“They’re already at it, huh?”

“Do they do this often?”

“Every time,” Sophie said. “They met in a karate class as kids. They’ve got some weird ‘wax on, wax off’ thing going on.”

Kat erupted in laughter. Ryan looked over, momentarily distracted, and Dave capitalized by taking Ryan down to the floor in some kind of awkward grapple. The men struggled, hissing good-natured insults at each other. Kat had no idea who was winning, although Sophie whooped when the men flipped over in a convulsive explosion of movement. “Get him. Get him!”

“Why don’t you come help me, O faithless one?” Dave gasped. “Instead of sitting there gabbing?”

Sophie laughed and crossed to the men and then Kat’s mouth fell open as Sophie did a move with her leg that flipped Ryan over. He protested indignantly. “Double-teamed! No fair.”

With a wicked grin, Dave rolled away and then Sophie—slight, submissive Sophie—actually put Ryan in a submission hold.

“Totally owned. Owned by my girl,” Dave taunted. “Hell yeah!”

“Oh please,” Ryan gasped, his face reddening from Sophie’s chokehold. “I’m letting her win for a minute so her feelings don’t get hurt.”

“Lies—” Sophie yelled, just before Ryan broke her hold and flipped her over into an entirely different position of submission. Kat snorted, suppressing a laugh.

“Mercy,” yelped Sophie. “Your elbow’s on my hair.”

“‘Your elbow’s on my hair,’” Ryan mimicked in a high-pitched voice, releasing her with pretended disgust. “Girls. Can’t live with ’em, can’t put ’em in an ultimate death hold.”

“You can shove your ultimate death hold where the sun doesn’t shine,” said Sophie, stepping away and combing her straight black hair back to rights with her fingers, all feminine subby again. “We girls will watch from over here while you guys strangle each other, thank you very much.”

The men went back to wrestling while Sophie picked up her beer again. Kat stared at her in awe. “Where did you learn to do that? That would sure come in handy around here sometimes.”

Sophie smiled and shrugged. “Dave taught me. There was a guy… An ex-boyfriend he thought I might need some protection from. And he was right.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“It all turned out fine in the end.” The small shadow in her gaze brightened again. “It never hurts to know how to defend yourself and it’s not hard to learn. I’m sure Ryan would teach you if you asked him.”

“That might be fun.”

“It’s definitely fun. But yeah, to be honest, Ryan was just letting me beat him. I couldn’t take him for real. He and Dave are pretty good at this stuff.”

Kat looked down with a rueful smile. “Yeah. Ryan’s so good at everything. Sometimes it makes me feel so…”

“Hopeless? Helpless? Pointless?”

“Yeah,” said Kat in amazement. “Exactly.”

“I used to feel the same way with Dave. It took me a long time to understand that he liked me just the way I was. Maybe it’s a submissive thing, always wanting to be better for your Dominant. To live up to his expectations. When really, usually, their main desire is just for you to feel loved.”

Sophie’s words made so much sense and Kat was anxious to really talk to Sophie about these matters, about Dominance and submission and relationships while she had her ear. “How long did it take? I mean, for you to really feel at ease with each other? For everything to feel…sorted out?”

“Sorted out?” Sophie laughed lightly, a sweet musical sound. “You know, we still have to sort things out. Regularly. Having Hunter really threw a wrench in things. Not that we don’t both love him to tears, but life has ups and downs. So do D/s relationships. What really matters is what’s in here,” she said, touching her chest.

Kat sighed. “My father says that exact same thing. But sometimes it seems so much more complicated.”

“It is. It’s definitely complicated. I guess all I’m saying is that as long as the love is there, and the will to be together, everything else works itself out.”

Kat and Sophie noticed the quiet and stillness at the same time. They turned to find two pairs of eyes watching them—one dark, one light.

“Look,” said Ryan. “A subby bonding moment.”

“We’re discussing what’s more important,” Sophie joked without missing a beat, “girth or length.”

“Lucky for Kat, she has both,” Ryan said, pulling Kat down to the floor.

Dave guffawed, moving up to sit beside Sophie. “I think we both know who has the King Dong here.”

Sophie shook her head at Kat. “See? It always degenerates into this. Every time. They actually measured last time and they’re nearly identical. Yes, they measured. Sad, I know.”

Ryan laughed, rolling over so Kat was trapped under him. “She made us measure ’cause we wouldn’t stop talking about it.” Kat looked up into his dark, laughing eyes. It was so fun, so novel to see him like this—boyish, silly, at ease with his oldest friend. She tried to school her expression, tried to hide the jumble of her feelings, but as always he saw right through her. “Are you having fun, Kat?” he asked. She nodded and bit her lip. His thigh moved over hers to rest on her pelvis, pinning her to the floor. “Would you like to have more fun?”

She very much wanted to have more fun, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to admit it out loud. She flicked a glance over at Sophie and Dave. They were watching from the sofa, their expressions equivocal and friendly. It was pretty clear to Kat that the decision was hers, that they were waiting for her to agree and say yes or demur and say no. She knew either way they would accept it. It was Kat who couldn’t quite accept it yet.

“Answer me, Kat.” Before her eyes, the boyfriend transformed, by degrees, into the Dominant. The face rearranged into more severe lines and the voice grew slightly deeper. “Would you like to have more fun? It’s totally up to you.”

She only paused a moment before she answered. “Yes, I would like to have more fun,” she said quietly. “Yes Sir.”

Chapter Ten

It was actually Sophie who undressed her when they went into the bedroom. Well, Sophie undressed first while Kat watched, too anxious to do anything but stand and shake. Then, looking at Sophie’s pale, shapely body, her nervousness gave way to a sad curiosity. Sophie’s body had scars. Lots of them. She remembered Sophie’s words from before.
Dave taught me. There was a guy… An ex-boyfriend he thought I might need some protection from.

“Dave didn’t do this to me, Kat,” Sophie said.

Kat shook her head, swallowing through the lump in her throat. “Of course not. No. I’m… I’m sorry to stare. I’m just…sorry.” Kat thought about her own “problems”, her self-absorption and petty ennui. She thought with shame that her problems were nothing beside the pain etched in Sophie’s skin.

Sophie smiled and shrugged. “I’m over it. Ancient history. I’m okay now.”

While the girls talked quietly, Ryan and Dave pulled the comforter off the bed and then went through Ryan’s drawers sorting through various implements and toys. Paddles, whips, nipple clamps, cuffs and dildos were tossed onto the bed. Sophie took off Kat’s shirt and bra and then helped her shimmy out of her jeans.

“It will be so amazingly fun. You’ll see,” she reassured Kat with a sparkle in her eyes. “It’s almost too fun when the two of them get going.”

“I bet.” Kat’s voice sounded tight even though she wanted to sound casual, to take it all in stride as easily as Sophie. Group sex wouldn’t be easy for her but she still wanted it. She was scared but she was hot. She looked at Sophie apologetically.

“If they want us to do stuff together… I’m not a lesbian. Or even bi really. Nothing personal.”

Sophie laughed her light tinkly laugh. “I’m not either. It won’t matter. I’m sure they’ll be mostly interested in burying their cocks in us. And if they ask us to do things together, we’ll just do it. You know. ‘Yes Sir’ and all that stuff.”

Kat laughed. “Okay.”

“Did I hear a ‘Yes Sir’ over there?” asked Ryan. “All right, girls. The men could use some fluffing.”

In Kat’s opinion, neither man appeared to need fluffing, but she moved anyway to kneel at Ryan’s feet.

“No, we’d like some girl-on-girl fluffing,” Ryan clarified with a grin.

“Damn right,” Dave agreed. “Girls fondling each other. Turning each other on.”

Kat and Sophie traded exasperated looks. “So much for my theory,” Sophie said out of the side of her mouth. Kat let out a wild giggle before she could stop herself.