Sophie's Surrender [Viper's Dungeon 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (13 page)

“Can the business afford to hire an employee?”

She smiled at his practical question, his qualifications as an accountant obviously coming to the fore. “Part-time, definitely. Full-time, maybe, but since I’d rather keep working at least four days a week myself, even if the business doesn’t grow, it should be fine.”

“I can take a look at the numbers if you like.” As soon as he said that, he rolled his eyes and laughed softly. “I’m very glad Malcolm wasn’t here when I said that. He would likely see it as me trying to take over your life.”

“It’s okay,” she said quickly. “I realize that was just my friend offering to help.”

“Correct.” He pressed a kiss to her lips. “And there is absolutely no obligation to accept, especially if it makes you uncomfortable.”

She cuddled closer to him for a moment, just enjoying the simple feeling of a few quiet moments with a man she was learning to love.

Love.

The thought didn’t really shock her. She wouldn’t have gone to bed with Adrian or his brother if she hadn’t felt a connection to them. She just hoped she wasn’t reading more into the relationship they wanted than was actually on offer.

“You know, I just realized I have no idea what Alex did before he bought Viper’s Dungeon.”

“He hasn’t told you?” Adrian asked, sounding rather surprised. “I guess you two have had other things to talk about.” He nibbled on her neck, holding her tighter as she giggled and squirmed away from the ticklish feeling.

“So are you going to tell me or not?”

“Not,” Adrian said as he released her. He drained the rest of his coffee, and then headed for the door. “You’ll just have to ask him yourself.”

She mock frowned at his teasing, but didn’t try to stop him from leaving.

“Lock this behind me,” he said as he waited for her to follow him to the exit.

“Yes, Sir,” she said with just a hint of sarcasm. She had no intention of working here in the middle of the night without making sure she was locked in safely. But Adrian turned back to her, his eyes darkening with arousal as he pulled her toward him.

“It sounds perfect coming from your mouth.” He kissed her until her knees trembled and her breathing stopped. He grinned as he pulled away, touching her face with his fingertips as he proved he’d recognized her words for what they were. “One day soon I hope you’ll truly mean it.”

He’d already turned away when she finally found her voice.

“Adrian,” she asked quietly, glad to see him turn back to face her. “Do you think it can work? A relationship with all three of you?”

He smiled but then turned very serious. “I don’t think it will be easy.” He stuck his hands in his pockets and then winked at her. “But nothing worth keeping ever is.”

“Visitor for you,” Cooper said as he opened the door to Malcolm’s office.

Malcolm raised an eyebrow in disbelief. He was the security officer. When the club was closed, the only people to get into the building without his approval were Alex and Adrian Copeland. Everyone else went through him.

True, he’d been in his office staring at paperwork that didn’t seem to be getting done, but he was still aware of what was happening in the building.

“Hi,” Sophie said with an uncertain smile as she stepped into his office. He was out of his chair in an instant, his need to hold the woman close overruling all else.

“Hi, baby,” he said as she wrapped her arms around his waist and held him just as tight. He hadn’t seen her since early Friday morning, but even though it was only Monday afternoon it had felt much, much longer. He’d deliberately stayed out of her way knowing that weekends could get pretty hectic with the catering side of her business. He was pretty sure that Alex and Adrian hadn’t had the same restraint, but ironically trusted both of them to make sure Sophie wasn’t exhausting herself.

“So this is where you work, huh?”

“Yeah,” he said, not really caring about work right now. Technically it was his day off, but with nowhere to go and nothing else to do, it was always a chance to catch up on paperwork. Considering how little he’d gotten done in the past few hours, he probably could have just stayed in bed today.

Although that would mean that he might have missed Sophie’s visit.

“I just wanted to say hello,” she said as she pulled away. “I don’t want to get in the way, but Adrian said that you would be here and that it would be okay.”

He glanced at the man now standing in the doorway looking rather pleased with himself.

“I thought we might grab something to eat and then spend a lazy night in front of the TV.”

“But I don’t want to get in the way,” Sophie said again, moving further away from Malcolm as if to reiterate her promise.

“Come here, baby,” he said, holding his hand out to her. He smiled when she placed her fingers into his and did as he asked. It was very much the way she’d reacted to him when they’d first met. At the time he hadn’t realized his own need to dominate, but it had seemed so natural that neither of them had been bothered by it. It hadn’t been until he’d gotten the job here and discovered the type of relationship that he craved that things had started to go wrong. “You are never in the way, Sophie.” He placed his palm against her face as he leaned down to press a kiss against her lips. “And I’m very glad you’re here.”

“And since it’s actually his day off,” Adrian said, smirking when Sophie raised an eyebrow at him, “he can leave right now.”

“You’re working on your day off?” she asked, looking a little annoyed at him. Apparently he was the only one concerned about interfering in another person’s career plans. He gave her a steady look, but didn’t try to defend himself. Sophie blushed. “Which…um…is none of my business.” She glanced at Adrian, perhaps uncertain what to do now. She hurriedly mumbled the word “sorry.”

“Thank you, little sub,” Malcolm said, completely forgetting for the moment that she wasn’t actually a submissive. He knew that she’d let Alex spank her, but that didn’t mean she was ready to take things further.

He was so busy with his introspection that he almost missed her reaction. Her lips parted, her eyes darkening as she dragged in a shaky breath. Adrian obviously noticed because he stepped into the office and gazed into Sophie’s eyes.

“That’s what Alex called you the night he spanked you, isn’t it?”

She nodded, swallowing hard, not even trying to hide her reaction from them.

“You enjoyed being spanked?” Malcolm asked, swallowing just as hard as Sophie had a moment ago. From everything Alex had told them it hadn’t been a sensual spanking. It had been the punishment it was meant to be, but Sophie’s reaction now suggested she got more from it than just the idea of paying a debt.

Sophie’s gaze darted between the two of them for a moment, but she closed her eyes to speak. “It’s hard to put into words. I didn’t enjoy the pain, and I’m in no hurry to try it again, but the connection I had with Alex at that moment…” Her words trailed away as she took another deep shuddering breath. “In some ways it was more intimate than anything else I’ve ever shared.” She blushed, perhaps embarrassed to admit that to a man she’d once been married to. “The sense of peace afterward…the way that he held me and whispered how much I’d pleased him.” She shook her head as tears filled her eyes. “I’m sorry. It’s so silly. Obviously I have a screw loose. Who the hell lets someone beat them like th—”

She cut off her words abruptly, her fear suddenly filling the room. Malcolm could see her trying to control her breathing, trying to haul back the reaction, trying to stem the tide of terror that had washed over her. But none of it was working.

“I–I have to g–go.”

Adrian moved to block her escape even as Malcolm tried to hold her to him without hurting her. She was obviously building toward a full-blown panic, and if they let her walk out that door right now, chances were that they’d never see her again.

“Sophie, please, baby. Take a deep breath and talk to us.”

He had a pretty good idea what was scaring her right now, but he wasn’t entirely sure how to handle it. He’d already fucked up this conversation more than once with her.

Adrian closed the door, sealing the three of them in the room as Malcolm very carefully let go of Sophie, making certain she didn’t get hurt as she desperately moved away from them both.

“Just talk to us, beautiful,” Adrian said in a far calmer voice than Malcolm could have managed at that moment.

“How could I let—” Again she cut off her words as she shook her head. “What the fuck was I thinking?” She paced the small space back and forth, her agitation growing as the arguments built in her head. “Women stay in abusive relationships every day. They forgive over and over and I shake my head and wonder why they’re such idiots.” She looked at Malcolm and Adrian accusingly, tears trailing down her face. “I never thought I’d be one of them. A normal, healthy,
sane
woman doesn’t let a man smack her around.” Sophie swiped her hands down her cheeks, clearly annoyed at the tears. “A smart woman takes control of her life.” She dropped her head forward, staring at the ground, her breath shuddering in and out as she tried to calm herself down. “Please move out of my way so I can go home.”

Sophie seemed to settle just a little even when neither of them moved out of her way.

Adrian took a deep breath, glanced at the worry that was likely written all over Malcolm’s face and then took a tiny step toward Sophie, approaching her the same way one would deal with a wounded animal.

“Did you ever feel like you didn’t have control when Alex was spanking you?” Adrian asked quietly, his voice low. “Did you use your safe word and he ignored it?”

Sophie shook her head, looking horrified by the suggestion that Alex might have ignored her if she’d asked him to stop.

“Did Alex get angry? Did he yell at you, or push you around? Did he frighten you?”

Sophie shook her head again, the tears flowing freely as she stared at them both.

“Beautiful, you know what happened between you and Alex wasn’t abuse.” He stood in front of her now, close enough to touch, but making certain that she had plenty of room to back away if she needed to. “What you felt is just the beginning of how deep a relationship between a Dom and a sub can be. Sophie, you know you were in charge the whole time. You submitted to what we all wanted, and you felt that connection because you chose to be there. Not because you were frightened or intimidated. You let Alex spank you because it was what you wanted as well.”

She half sobbed, half laughed. “It still doesn’t seem very healthy.”

“Perhaps to people outside our lifestyle it might seem wrong, but we know the difference.”

“Our lifestyle?” she asked, a sort of resigned grin turning up one side of her mouth. “You really think I’m cut out for this lifestyle?”

“Absolutely,” Adrian said, stepping away from her again to stand beside Malcolm. “And I’m looking forward to being there when you finally realize it.”

She turned toward Malcolm and gave him a watery smile. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. She blushed as she stepped toward him. “When I’m with Adrian or Alex everything seems so much less fri—” She slammed a hand over her mouth, shaking her head quickly as she seemed to realize what she’d been about to confess.

“It’s okay,” he said, wanting to reach for her, but finally realizing that was a really bad idea. “I remind you of all the fears and doubts you had five years ago. With Adrian and Alex there’s no history so you’re seeing things from a different perspective.”

She nodded and gave him a sad smile, but she didn’t disagree.

“It’s okay, Sophie. They’re honorable men and well-trained Doms. They’ll take very good care of you.”

Adrian crossed his arms, looked at the floor and shook his head. “Don’t even think about it, Malcolm,” he said in the same low voice he’d used on Sophie a few moments ago.

But Malcolm knew it was the right thing to do. He was the reason Sophie was frightened by this lifestyle. If he stepped away, she might at least be able to find happiness with Adrian and Alex. He turned to leave the room, suddenly wanting to be here less than Sophie had a few minutes ago. He clenched his fists, trying to control the sudden flare of temper when Adrian refused to move out of his way.

“Malcolm,” Sophie said in a soft voice, “please don’t leave me. I don’t want to lose you.”

He turned to her, his emotions bouncing wildly as she uttered the words he’d offered to her the day she’d thrown their marriage away. A touch of anger swirled through his gut but by far the strongest emotion was one of relief. As selfish as it was to continue being the source of her fear, he wasn’t strong enough to walk away from her.

He opened his arms and she practically leapt into his embrace.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I want to be here with you and Adrian and Alex. I just need to find a way to work through all the fears in my head.”

“What we need,” Adrian said as he moved closer to them, “is a way to get past the memories. Creating new ones seems to be a good idea.”

“What did you have in mind?” Sophie asked, scrubbing the remaining tears from her cheeks, without letting go of Malcolm.

“Well for starters, the club is closed so maybe we can show you around the dungeon with the lights on and the music off.” He shrugged. “It’s a good place to start.”