Safe Harbor

Chapter Twenty-One

Sully pleasantly awoke from sleep the next morning to a pair of soft, warm lips engulfing his cock. He opened his eyes. Mac lay propped on one elbow next to him, smiling.

“Good morning, Master.”

“Morning.” Sully lifted his head and spotted Clarisse between his legs. He dropped his head before reaching down and burying his hand in her hair. “Good morning, pet,” he said.

She mumbled something around his cock that sounded like, “Good morning, Master.” The humming vibration resonated through his body.

“I told pet she could have the honor of waking you this morning,” Mac said with a grin. “Hope that was okay?”

Sully closed his eyes and nodded, enjoying it, his cock pleasantly throbbing against her eager tongue despite the pain in his leg. She was good. Damn good.

Not as good as Mac, ironically, but good enough that in a few minutes he felt his release boiling deep inside him. He cupped his hand around the back of her head. “Now, pet,” he gasped.

She deep-throated him as he came. As he lay there recovering, he felt Mac’s stiff cock brush against his thigh. When he looked again, Mac still wore a playful smile.

He crooked his finger at Mac, who leaned in for a kiss. “Pet,” Sully said, “take care of slave.”

Mac’s eyes rolled back in his head as she sucked his cock between her lips. Sully shifted to his side and watched his lover’s face. He’d always felt a little guilty that in this one way he’d never reciprocated.

Clarisse certainly didn’t have any qualms about it.

Sully played with Mac’s nipple rings. “Hold it, slave. Don’t come until I tell you.”

Mac groaned, his bottom lip caught under his upper teeth as he tried to maintain control.

“You come before I tell you,” Sully growled, “I’ll whip your fucking ass.”

Sully looked at Clarisse. Her hair spilled around her, a beautiful sight. He’d always worried about Mac lacking for this despite the other man’s assurances to the contrary. With eyes closed, she eagerly serviced Mac’s cock.

“Did you want to sink your cock into her sweet pussy while I was gone?” Sully murmured in his ear.

“Yes, Master!”

“I bet you dreamed about it, didn’t you?”

“Yes!”

Sully smiled. He’d had more than his own fair share of those sorts of dreams about Clarisse.

“Is she beautiful when she comes?”

“Yes, Master!”

“Were you obedient while I was gone?”

“Yes, Master!”

“Very good.” He twisted Mac’s nipple rings, hard. “You may come.”

Mac tensed as he cried out. Sully continued tormenting Mac’s nipples until he knew Mac had finished climaxing. After Mac finished, Sully reached over and gently tapped Clarisse’s head. “Very good, pet. You’re done.”

She lifted her head. The sexy smile on her face nearly hardened his cock again.

“Come lie down between us. Slave, I want a demonstration of the other night.”

Mac grinned and jumped out of bed to fetch the toys. Sully stared into Clarisse’s blue eyes. He leaned over and deeply kissed her. “I want to hear you scream as hard for me as you did for him, sweetheart.”

Mac returned and slipped a towel under her. “Do you want to do the honors, Master?” He held up the new butt plug.

Sully smiled. “I want to watch.” He kissed her as Mac slowly fucked the dildo inside her until it was fully buried. When she rolled over, Sully stroked her ass. “You are beautiful, sweetheart.”

She softly moaned as Mac prepared her, then slid the new butt plug home. When she rolled face up again and Mac held up the vibrator, her eyes darkened with passion.

Sully rolled her left nipple between his fingers. “Don’t come until I say so, pet,” he warned.

Wordlessly she nodded as Mac flicked the vibrator on and pressed it to her clit.

She jumped and moaned, squirming under it as he tormented her.

Sully alternated from one nipple to the other as her skin flushed and she grew desperate.

“Please, Master!”

“Please what, pet?”

“Let me come! Please!”

He winked at Mac, who lifted the vibrator for a moment to let her cool down. “No, pet. I want to watch you squirm for slave. He apparently took very good care of you while I was gone. He brought you home safely. His reward is he gets to torment you. I don’t want to deny him that.”

Mac laughed. “Oh, baby, you’re so fucking screwed.” He pressed the vibrator to her clit again and tormented her for a few minutes.

After twenty minutes of this, and her tearful begging to come, Sully took pity. “Let her come, slave. Go for two.”

“With pleasure, Master.”

Sully caught and pinned Clarisse’s wrists to the mattress above her head as Mac held the vibrator against her clit. Squirming, she cried out as the first orgasm rocked her.

Wishing he could fuck her right then, Sully leaned in and kissed her. “Again! Come now!”

Despite thrashing her head and moaning, she couldn’t, she did.

Once certain she’d finished, Sully nodded to Mac, who withdrew the vibrator and shut it off.

Sully gathered her into his arms, where her moans turned to sobs that shook her whole body.

“My good girl,” he whispered. “Very good. Did that feel good?”

She nodded as Mac crawled up the bed to snuggle next to her.

Sully brushed the hair from her forehead. “When you feel up to standing, we’ll all go take a shower, and then we can eat.”

She nodded again.

Mac caught his gaze, a sultry smile lighting his face. Sully leaned over and kissed him. “Excellent job, slave.”

Mac waggled his eyebrows at him. “Any time, Master.”

After breakfast, they sat and talked at the dining room table. “So what do you want, exactly?” Sully asked her.

She shook her head. “I don’t understand the question, Master.”

“What do you expect to get from this relationship? What do you need?”

“I love you. I want to keep loving you. Both of you.”

“You can keep loving us without becoming my slave, I told you that.”

She struggled to think. She’d never tried to put it into words. “I want to belong to you.”

“Security?”

“Not like that.” She thought. “I don’t want to lose you. I want you to love me as much as you love Mac.”

“You realize I will always love you differently than Mac. You’re not him. He’s not you. Differently doesn’t mean less or more, however. I love you, and I love him.”

“I know.”

“Do you want me to fuck you?”

Her heart raced. “Yes, Master!”

He captured her chin and gently tilted her head so she had to look at him. “I won’t do that without a lifetime commitment from you.

You know that. Not unless we’re married. I know that sounds stupid and old fashioned, but it’s what I want. You need to think long and hard if you’re really ready for that.”

“I have.”

“That won’t give you carte blanche to fuck Mac any time you want when I’m not home, either. I own his cock the same way I’d own you and your body. He understands that. There might be times I tell him he can’t make love to you when I’m not home. Will that be a problem?”

She glanced at Mac. “No, Master. That’s not a problem.”

Sully studied her. When he next spoke, his voice sounded low and soft. “Clarisse, I know you’ll need us to be vanilla for you sometimes.

I understand that. It’s a need you’ll have, and we will do that for you.

But most of the time, it’s going to be like this to a certain extent. The Master/slave dynamic. There will be protocols, obedience, and discipline.”

“As long as you’re fair, Master.”

He leaned in to kiss her. “I am always fair.” He looked at Mac.

“Do you think I’m fair?”

“Yes, Master. I do. You don’t hear me complaining.”

Sully grinned. “But you enjoy getting the shit beat out of you.”

Mac laughed. “True. Still, you are always fair. You’ve never been punitive. I might not always agree with you, but you’re always consistent.”

“I’ll be right back.” Sully walked to his office and returned moment later, a legal pad and pen in his hand.

This made it real. She was really going to do this.

The thought thrilled her.

Sully studied her for a moment before speaking. “If we ever divorce, there will be no second chances. I will never force you to stay with me, as Mac will be the first to tell you. If you ever decide you can’t do this and want to leave, I will help you go, but you cannot come back. Ever. I won’t play games.”

“I understand.”

He paused, gathering his thoughts. Clarisse spotted the old pain and betrayal in his eyes. “I would allow counseling, working on the relationship if you felt it necessary. I would do whatever it took to try to help you through any issues. I will not, however, stop this aspect of our relationship. You will be my wife in name and legal designation, but you will always first and foremost be my slave, and I will be your Master.”

“Yes.”

“Mac and I started out with a lot of negotiated limits. Over time, we dropped most of them. Now we safeword. I know what he doesn’t get off on, and I rarely push him past his limits.”

Mac nodded in agreement, but didn’t speak.

Sully continued. “Our hard limits. Total honesty, even if it’s uncomfortable. Never lie. I’m sure you had to lie to Bryan as a survival tactic to keep him from coming down on you. You do not have that fear with me. You can always approach me to talk and negotiate. Always. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Master.”

“Lying will always be punished. Severely. Usually more than if you’d simply told the truth. Because I always reward honesty.”

Mac smiled. “That’s for damn sure.”

“That’s another thing—you will on occasion receive punishment.

That punishment is up to me. Sometimes, it will include things you will not enjoy, like caning. Sometimes it might be something like kneeling for a set amount of time. Or whatever I deem appropriate for the infraction. There are times I will trade you the option to do something in exchange for punishment. Other than those situations, punishment receives no negotiation. Punishment will also never violate a hard limit. Understand?”

Fear set in. “But I don’t get off on pain like he does.”

“Let me clarify. Mac gets off on pain. I also use it for punishment for him. If you decide you cannot tolerate caning, for example, it might not be used as punishment. It would never be used in play unless you were willing to push the edge. I might have to find things other than corporal punishment that you hate enough I can use them as punishments. Back to hard limits. We do not have sex or intimate contact with others. No one will ever be allowed to touch you but Mac and myself.”

From fear to confusion. “What about what I saw at the play party here and at club that night? You and those other people?”

“I was assisting with a scene. They used me like they might use a vibrator or a flogger. I was just helping them out.”

She remembered her nasty flood of jealousy when she watched him do that. “Total honesty?”

He nodded.

“I can’t handle seeing you do that with others. Not even just to help. I couldn’t handle Mac with anyone else either.”

He made a note on the legal pad. “What are you comfortable with? What if someone needs advice or help rigging?”

She thought about it. “If you’re helping them set up a scene, or they need help with equipment, that wouldn’t bother me. Honestly? It made me really jealous seeing the way you touched Doreen, even if it wasn’t sex for you. I don’t want either of you being involved with anyone else, even just for play. I want to be the only person you touch like that, besides Mac.”

“Is that why you were upset at the party?”

She finally nodded. “Yeah,” she quietly admitted. “It was.”

“Good. See? That wasn’t difficult, was it?”

“What?”

“Negotiation. It’s as simple as that.”

Could it be that easy? “No fighting?”

“Not about something like that.” He smiled at Mac. “Doreen will be disappointed, but she’ll understand.”

Mac laughed. “She’ll get over it.”

Clarisse stared at them. “Really? You mean it?”

Sully put down the pen. “I love you. I’m willing to spend the rest of my life with you making you happy. If that means I have to give up something that’s not important to me, I’m okay with that. I’m not one of those pricks who puts principles over the people they claim to love.

If you don’t want us having intimate contact with others like that, then we won’t do it. Period.”

“Thank you.”

“What else is a hard limit for you?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Knife play?”

She shivered. “No. Definitely not.”

He made a note. “Negotiable in the future?”

She hesitated. “I don’t know. For now, no.”

“I’m guessing no on needle, fire, and blood play as well.”

She shivered again. “Definite no’s.”

“Good, because they’re not my kink either.” More notations, then he looked up. “You will be expected to participate in impact and percussion play. Obviously, I won’t be nearly as hard on you as I am with Mac. Especially in the beginning.”

“I understand.”

“You will always have a safeword. We will always respect it.”

She nodded.

They went through a grocery list of things, neither man objecting to her hard limits. The talk made her totally wet.

Sully went over the list again. “Anything else you want to add?”

“Like what?”

“Like what you want. Not just limits of what you won’t do, but what you need from us. I want to make you happy.”

“Cuddle time.”

Both men smiled. Sully noted it in a different column. “Any specific times?”

“I…I don’t know. I never thought about that before.”

“We’ll leave it flexible.” He winked. “I’m sure we won’t have any problems meeting your needs there. Anything else?”

“Can I get back to you as I think of things?”

“Of course. You know our non-negotiable limits.”

“If I ever decide I want to change things?”

“We talk, like this. It’s possible in a few years you might be on a total safeword protocol like Mac is.”

A few years. She hoped for forever, if she got her way.

“What happens if you get tired of me and want to get divorced and I don’t want to? Or if one of you gets tired of me and the other doesn’t? Will I automatically lose both of you?”

The men exchanged a look. “I seriously doubt that will happen,” he said. “I am going to draw up a pre-nup. To protect you and me. Do you have a problem with that?”

Hell, she was negotiating her life as a slave. A pre-nup was easy.

“That’s fine.”

“Regardless, even in the unlikely event we were to split, I would still take care of Tad. That’s never something you have to worry about, never something you should ever allow to influence your decisions. I will put that in writing for you.”

Unlikely event! Her heart soared at that. “I appreciate that.”

“You will be expected to perform sexually as you are told. Your body will belong to me. And on the boat, to Mac by proxy.” He leaned forward, his eyes intense. “As Mac’s already demonstrated to you, you will be expected to submit regardless of what we ask of you.

What we do privately is different from what we do at a party or club.

Sexually, there will be no limits, except that we will never share you with anyone and we will never violate a hard limit. There will be times we fuck you at a party in front of people, or require you to sexually perform with us in front of others.”

His voice dropped, deepening, tinged with desire. She suspected his cock had hardened in his pants. “I may choose to fuck your ass, or use your mouth, or even both of us fuck you at the same time. We will always love you and take care of you, but you will belong to me.”

Her mouth had gone dry again. “Yes, Master.” Frankly, the thought of both of their cocks fucking her at the same time weakened her knees in a good way. She survived the double penetration of the dildos, and they were both larger than the men. Her head had nearly exploded, but she’d survived it.

Loved it.

She was dying to try that with them.

“Does that scare you?”

“In a good way,” she confessed.

He smiled and sat back in his chair. “When you’re not feeling well, when you’ve got cramps, you’re free to wear clothes as you feel comfortable. I don’t want you to be miserable, and I understand we need to work around that. You will always be collared, and you would have to stick to other protocols we have. There will be times I expect you to perform certain sexual duties regardless.”

She nodded.

“We can negotiate on the fly on that. I don’t ever want sex to be painful or unpleasant for you. Making love in private and playing a scene are two totally different things, even though there will be times I incorporate sex in a scene. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Mac will take you to the doctor again. You need another round of STD and HIV testing, just to make sure. I’ll get our medical paperwork so you can see it, that we’re clean.”

“I don’t need to see it.”

He frowned. “Yes, you do. I want you to know we’re telling the truth.”

“I trust you.”

“Don’t ever trade trust for your life if you don’t have to.” He consulted the list. “Mac needs to go over boat rules with you. That’s his domain.”

Mac laughed. “Do what I tell you to do. It’s that easy. I don’t violate our hard limits.”

She stared at the two men as reality hit her. She was really doing this. Not lost on her, the irony that she felt like she had more control and voice now than she ever had with Bryan.

“Do you want me to stay on the Pill?”

Sully’s face softened as he reached across the table and stroked her hand. “Sweetheart, that is one thing that is always in your control.

I will never demand that from you one way or another. Your health takes priority to anything.”

Mac nodded in agreement, but didn’t say anything.

“What do you two want?” she asked.

Sully shook his head. “Oh no you don’t. You don’t pass that decision to us. I mean it, it’s always your decision.”

“Do you want kids?”

He shrugged. “It was never an option for us, so it’s not anything I ever thought about before. No chance of him getting pregnant any time soon.”

Mac snorted with laughter.

She’d never wanted kids with Bryan. “If I decide I want children?”

“Then we talk about it. It’s safe to say it’s an issue we don’t need to worry about for a while. We’ve got a lot of craziness to get through, including the trial and you getting used to how we do things around here.” He shrugged again. “After that, if you want to talk about it, we will.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“Neither of us hate kids, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

Clarisse nodded. “How long before we get married?”

He playfully arched an eyebrow at her. “I haven’t even proposed yet.”

Embarrassed, heat flooded her face again. “Sorry.”

He smiled and stroked her hand. “I don’t want to rush things. I don’t want to pressure you. As much as it’s going to kill Mac and me to wait, I want to give you at least three months to try this arrangement before we discuss taking things further. I don’t want you to change your mind and feel like you’re trapped.”

“I won’t change my mind.”

“Good. Then the wait will be torture on all three of us. Regardless, you and I will talk again in three months, see if you still want to go through with this, see if you still feel the same way. Or if you need more time, we can do that, too. Or make changes. I’m willing to negotiate as much as I can to keep you happy.” He glanced at the time. “You both need to get dressed. Your doctor appointment is at one.”

Mac stood immediately, but she hesitated. “Can I ask one more thing?”

Both men nodded.

“Can I call him Brant when we’re not playing?”

Sully smiled. “That’s up to him.”

Mac looked at Sully, who apparently sensed what he wanted.

Sully nodded. Mac kissed her, a simple brush of his lips across hers.

“I would like that very much, sugar.”

She was surprised when later, after dinner, all they did was sit and watch a movie on TV. Mac took up his usual position on the floor.

Sully patted the couch beside him. Clarisse lay next to him, resting her head in his lap.

The movie received absolutely none of her attention. Despite being naked, it felt right, totally normal to relax like that with them.

She draped one arm over Mac’s shoulder, and he laced his fingers through hers. Sully rested one hand on her waist and played with strands of her hair with the other.

Closing her eyes, she imagined living like this years from now.

Easy to do, until reality intruded into her thoughts.

“I’ll have to get a Florida driver’s license,” she said. “My name and information will be on file when we do all the paperwork.”

Unbidden, her tears flowed. With the men, she’d been able to shut herself off in a little fantasy bubble of invisibility and safety and let them protect her. “He’ll be able to find me.”

Sully pulled her into his arms. “Hey, it’s okay. Don’t worry. He’ll be on his best behavior since he knows he’s royally fucked. His lawyer will try to show that if he really was guilty, he would have been trying to hunt you down and he hasn’t. Weak defense, but all he’s got at this point.”

She forced a smile she didn’t feel. Sully waved Mac onto the couch and the men held her between them. “Honestly, sweetheart, if he was determined to find you, he would have. The prosecutors have the case, and with IA up his ass, he’ll behave.”

Clarisse didn’t feel so sure about that, but she was willing to trust Sully. “Okay.”

The next morning, Sully closed himself in his office and called Ohio for a progress report. Twenty minutes later, he hung up, smiling.

The asshole had accepted a plea deal. Sully hadn’t honestly thought he would, but he was offered probation and immunity from an IA investigation if he ended it now. It also meant Clarisse wouldn’t have to return to testify. No, the asshole wouldn’t do jail time, which Sully had hoped he would. It also meant the guy could never be a cop again, would lose his retirement and bennies, and he would agree to a permanent restraining order.

He found Mac and Clarisse in the kitchen, working on a shopping list. Sully scooped her into his arms and spun her around. The ultimate test of will—feeling her naked flesh under his hands and not giving in to the temptation to make love to her right there. Mac looked on, amused.

“Guess what, pet?” Sully asked her as he set her back on her feet.

“What?”

He lightly smacked her ass, which she met with a smile. “I said guess, pet.”

“Animal, vegetable, or mineral?”

“None of the above. News.”

A slight frown crossed her face. “News?”

He nodded. “Big news.”

Her eyes widened. “Bryan swallowed a bullet?”

Sully laughed. “No, not quite. He took a plea bargain.”

She stiffened in fear. “Will he do jail time?”

“No, but he’ll have five years of probation, lose his job and benefits, and he agreed to a permanent restraining order against him.”

She pulled away from him and wrapped her arms around herself.

“But no jail?”

“No. The prosecutor said if they took it to trial, the most he’d probably get would be two years with time off. If the lawyer didn’t get him off. I’m sorry, babe.”

She studied the floor for several minutes before looking at him.

“Is this good?”

Sully gathered her into his arms again. “It’s very good. You don’t ever have to see him again. It means you can quit hiding.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” He tipped his head, motioning Mac over. He stepped behind her and put his arms around her too. “It means you don’t have to worry about him anymore.”

“Does it mean we can end the three-month wait thing early and get married?”

He rubbed noses with her. “No, it doesn’t, smarty. Nice try, though.”

True to his word, Sully wouldn’t let her rush him. Although he fucked Mac more frequently over the next several weeks than he normally did.

Enmeshed in the men’s dynamic, it was easy for Clarisse to let go and trust. Sully soon discovered she hated kneeling for long periods, so the few times he had to punish her for an infraction, he used that instead of strokes.

With Clarisse a part of their relationship, Sully dropped many of the rules they’d had before that got Mac in hot water. When Sully felt the need to punish Mac, he discovered it was extremely effective to lock him in the chastity device and then let Clarisse give him a lap dance.

“You are a fucking sadist,” Mac groaned one night as the device painfully dug into him.

Sully sat back on the couch and laughed as he watched Clarisse wriggle her naked body over Mac’s. “As you yourself have said before, ‘Duh.’” He took a swallow of his beer. “But damn, this is a fine-looking sight. Make sure to get him nice and hard, pet.”

Mac closed his eyes and winced. “Fuck!”

Sully grinned. “You won’t talk back to me again anytime soon, will you, slave?”

“No, Master,” he painfully grunted.

After twenty minutes, Sully felt reasonably sure Mac had experienced a fair amount of agony. “Pet, go get the small vibrator.”

She ran to do it. He didn’t fail to spot her evil grin. When she returned, he ordered her back into Mac’s lap, facing him. “Are you horny, pet?”

“Yes, Master,” she said, giggling.

“Slave, help pet come.” He smiled as she turned on the vibrator and pressed it to her clit.

Mac moaned as he cupped her breasts in his hands and played with her nipples. He would feel a little of the vibrator through his shorts and the chastity device, adding to his torment.

Clarisse threw back her head as she raced toward her climax.

Sully rose from the couch and, standing behind her, supported her. He unzipped his shorts and brushed his cock against her lips. “Take me, pet.”

Mac licked his lips as Clarisse swallowed Sully’s cock. Sully held her hair out of her face. “Come for me, pet.”

She did, deeply swallowing his cock as her own orgasm exploded inside her. He fucked her mouth as she came, his own climax not far behind.

He took a deep breath to steady himself, cuddling her head against him. Mac’s face twisted in pain as he struggled to will his cock soft.

“You okay there, slave?” Sully asked.

Mac glared but didn’t reply.

Sully smiled. “Go take a cold shower. And stay locked up.”

Muttering under his breath, Mac helped Clarisse stand and went to take his cold shower. Sully lightly swatted her ass. “Go clean up, and then get dinner started.”

“You’re going to torture him all night?”

Sully winked. “Until bedtime, but don’t tell him that.”

By the end of the second month, Clarisse knew without a doubt that she was deeply in love with both men. They’d taken her to two more play parties where both men topped her. They had two private parties at the house as well. In addition to the slave aspect of her relationship with them, they made sure to spend plenty of time as a

“normal” family.

If Tad suspected there was more going on between the three, he didn’t let on.

Sometimes Sully went out on the boat with them, sometimes he didn’t, depending on his work schedule. When Sully traveled out of town and they needed someone to watch Bart, the facility where Uncle Tad lived let him dogsit, much to her uncle’s delight. The other residents enjoyed it too.

When Clarisse and Mac returned from one boat trip, Sully had returned home before them and already picked up Bart. When she walked into the living room, she stopped. “What’s that?”

Sully sat on the sofa and watched TV. Bart lay in his lap while chewing on the butt plug. It had become his favorite toy. Sully looked at where she pointed. “It’s a doggy ramp. So he can get up on the couch by himself. I got one for our bed, too.”

Clarisse hugged him. “Thank you, Master!”

Sully scratched the dog’s head. “I saw them in the pet store today when I was getting him more food and I thought we could use them.”

Mac laughed. “See, pet? I told you he’d be okay with Bart.”

She couldn’t pull her gaze away from Sully’s grey eyes. “I love you so much.”

He arched an eyebrow at her. “I love you, too.” He spanked her, once. “Why aren’t you naked?”

“Uh-oh,” Mac said from the bedroom doorway. He’d already stripped off his shirt. “I think you’re in trouble.”

She smiled. When she tried to stand, he pulled her back. “Missed you guys.”

“Missed you too, Master.”

He released her and did a mental countdown. One more week.

While she had talked to him several times for clarification about some of their terms, she’d expressed no desire to end or modify their relationship, except she constantly hinted at wishing the three months were up already.

Sully kissed Mac and Clarisse good-bye the next morning. “I need to run some errands,” he cryptically said. Mac had enough sense not to question him. Clarisse looked curious, but reined it in. He suspected she’d ask Mac for information as soon as he walked out the door.

In the Jag, Sully drove to a jeweler’s in Tarpon Springs before heading to Tad’s. He located Tad in a common room, arguing over a poker hand with a fellow resident.

When Tad spotted Sully, he raised his hand in greeting. “Probably a good thing you’re here. I’m about ready to break out the shootin’ irons on this varmint.”

“Fuck you, Moore,” the other elderly gent said.

Sully didn’t bother hiding his smile.

“Yeah, bet you’d like to fuck me more, Mickey.” He grabbed his crotch. “Go read your goddamned rule book and get back to me when you feel like playing honest.” He led Sully to his room.

“I thought you and Mickey were friends.”

Tad grinned. “Oh, we are. Same old bullshit every time. What’s up?” His face clouded. “Is Risse okay?”

“She’s fine.” Sully fought a bout of nerves. This plan seemed like a good and noble idea at the time, but now he wasn’t so sure. “I need to talk to you about something.”

Tad lowered himself to his sofa with a grunt. “Sure. What?”

Sully reached into his pocket and withdrew the ring box before he sat. He opened it and showed it to Tad.”

Tad smiled. “I love you, boy, but I’m not marryin’ you. Don’t think Mac would agree. Besides, you’re not my type and you’re too damn young for me.”

Sully laughed, then grew serious again. “I wanted to ask your permission to marry Clarisse.”

Tad stared at him for a long moment. “Risse?”

“Yes, sir.”

The older man blew out a long, haggard breath. “What happened with you and Mac?”

Sully reddened. Now for the hard part. “Well, see, that’s the thing.

We both love her.”

“Only one of you can marry her.”

Sully nodded.

Tad stared at the ring. “Mac’s okay with this?”

“It was his idea.”

“Well, fuck me. No shit?”

“No shit.”

“But do you love her?”

“As much as I love Mac. We both love her. I promise we’ll take good care of her.”

“I have no doubt you will.” Tad’s face broke into a lopsided grin.

“So she gets a two-fer-one deal?”

“Yeah, you could say that.”

“She’s been kinda quiet on that topic lately. I was wondering what was going on.” He looked at the emerald and diamond ring. “It’s beautiful. Looks expensive.”

Sully closed the box and returned it to his pocket. “Yes.”

Tad smiled and stood. “Wait here.” He tottered into his bedroom and returned a moment later holding something. He handed it to Sully before he sat again. It was a beautiful engagement ring, rubies and diamonds in an antique setting. “That was my Karen’s ring,” he softly said. “I saved a long time to afford it.”

He held up his left hand, where he wore a wedding band on his left ring finger, and a more delicate mate to it on his pinky. “I’ll wear these until the day I die. Then Risse can have them and do what she wants with them. But I’d be honored if you’d give that one to her. I know Karen would have loved it.”

Sully slipped it into the ring box with the other for safe keeping.

“I’m the one who’s honored.” He smiled. “So does that mean you’re okay with this?”

“Hell yeah, I’m okay with it. Means she won’t be gallavantin’ all over the place and end up with some abusive jerk.” He grinned.

“Don’t worry, I won’t be asking to move in and cramp y’all’s style.”

The only problem Sully had with accepting the ring was that he’d promised Mac he could pick out his own ring for Clarisse. Now he had one ring too many. Clarisse was at the vet with Bart when Sully returned.

Mac immediately crossed his arms, his face dark. “What’s wrong?”

Sully showed him the ring box and explained. “I need to take the one back I picked out and get a refund or a credit toward the one you want to get her.”

Mac fingered the rings. “What’s wrong with this one? It’s beautiful.”

Sully took the box back. “Because I want you to pick a ring out for her.”

He pointed at the box. “I like that one.”

“Brant, I mean you need to go to the store and pick one out you want her to wear.”

He stepped forward. “Can we drop formal for a minute?”

Sully nodded.

Mac grabbed Sully’s hand and opened the ring box again. “Sul, I like the ring you picked out for her. It’s something I would have picked out. I’ll pick out my wedding band for her. I think she should wear Karen’s ring. It’s gorgeous.”

Sully studied him. “You’re not upset?”

Mac smiled. “No, I’m not upset, dude.”

“How about I let you pick out my wedding band for her to make up for it?”

“Jesus, Sul, quit worrying about it.”

“Okay, then at least go with me and give me your input. I’d feel better about it.”

Mac snorted. “You’re really worried about this, aren’t you?”

“Dammit, I want to be fair!”

Mac pulled Sully to him and kissed him, hard. “You are fair. Be honest. You’d whip my ass if I danced around an issue like this.”

He sighed and took a moment to compose his thoughts. “I don’t want you to hate me in a few years for being married to her and you aren’t.”

Mac rolled his eyes. “Fuck. Me.” He poked Sully in the chest.

“You, Master.” He pointed at himself. “Me, slave. Duh.”

“It’s not funny.”

“No, it’s not fucking funny. Jesus, Sul, grow a set for crying out loud!”

“How can you be so okay with this?”

Mac’s expression softened as he seemingly grasped the crux of Sully’s unease. “Because,” he said, his tone gentle, “you’re my Master, and I’m your slave. If you’ll recall, that’s the way I wanted it.

It’s still the way I want it. It’s the way I’ll always want it.”

“I couldn’t be as generous about this as you are.”

“I know you couldn’t.” He gently poked Sully in the chest again.

“That’s why you, Master. Me, slave.”

Sully stared at him for a long moment before bursting into laughter. He let Mac pull him close and wrap his arms around him as he rested his head on Mac’s chest. “What the hell would I do without you, Brant?”

Mac closed his eyes as he held Sully and rubbed his chin across the top of his head. “Let’s not ever find out, okay?”

The men took Clarisse out for a sunset beach picnic dinner at Howard Park on Thursday. Mac knew Sully would go first, as was his right. As they snuggled on the blanket, Clarisse between them, she stared out at the horizon.

“This is beautiful, guys.” Sully had told her it was a vanilla evening. “Thank you for doing this.”

Sully swallowed back his nerves and slipped the ring out of his pocket without her seeing it. He laced his fingers through hers and leaned in to kiss her. “Anything for you, you know that.”

“Just don’t ever get rid of me.”

“No chance.” He slipped the ring on her left hand. “I’m hoping you’ll be ours for life. If you’ll marry me.”

Her eyes widened as she stared at the ring. She threw her arms around his neck. “Yes!” she whispered. “For life.”

He smiled and kissed her, then pointed at Mac, who also wore a smile. He took her right hand in his and slipped the other ring on her finger. The emerald and diamond ring looked beautiful on her hand.

“Two hands, two husbands, two rings.” He folded his fingers around her hand. “If you’ll marry me, too.” He laughed. “Well, you know what I mean.”

Her eyes brimmed with happy tears. “Yes, I’ll marry you, too.”

He kissed her, then brushed her tears away. “For better, for worse, for boat rules?”

She laughed. “Yes, even for boat rules.” Mac had taken great pleasure enjoying her on the boat, although his catch yield had suffered as a result.

Sully changed position so he sat in front of both of them. He put an arm around each. “If you need more time, it’s okay. You can say so.”

She shook her head. “No. I don’t need any more time. I don’t want any more time.”

He caught her chin and tilted her face to his. “I can be a very harsh Master at times,” he dangerously growled. “Have you considered that?”

Her gaze never wavered. “But you’re always fair, Master.”

His lips curled into a smile as he kissed her. “Yes, sweetheart. I am always fair.”

“Then that’s all that matters.”

Bryan bought a disposable phone and called the PI he’d hired.

“What do you have for me?”

“I found the boat. The Coast Guard has it listed as being registered to Sullivan Nicoletto. PO Box.”

“That doesn’t help me.”

“He’s a writer and a former cop. He got shot almost ten years ago, retired from the sheriff’s office. Guy must be loaded, traced several properties to him and some other guy through a trust.”

“I paid you to get me a fucking home address.”

“Calm down. I found the marina where he keeps the boat.” He read off the address. “I should have the home address later today. It’s a pain to sort shit out when there’s a trust involved.”

“I want it as soon as you have it.” Then again, maybe barging into a cop’s house wasn’t the smartest way to go. He didn’t even know if Clarisse had gone to the boat.

The boat. How many fucking lame stories had she whined about how much she missed her uncle and that fucking boat? Enough that he couldn’t wait to beat the living crap out of her for the mess she’d created. He’d tossed the letters she’d received about Tad’s stoke. The last thing he’d needed was her heading to Florida to move some old feeble geezer into his house.

He’d hoped the bastard would have died by now.

It’d taken him years to get her damn parents out of the fucking way, thought he had her firmly in hand, and then she finally grew a set of balls when he least expected it. What a pain in the ass that had been. He never thought she’d file a report. He thought he’d gotten her trained well enough to just take it.

Fuck. Another three months and he would have married her and gotten life insurance on her, waited a little while, then took care of her, too. Oh no, the little mouse couldn’t shut the hell up and stick to his plan.

He cracked open another beer. Only two in the afternoon, but not like he had a job to go to. His thoughts turned darker as he took a long pull on the bottle.

Tad Moore would be one way to get a pound of flesh out of Clarisse. She fucked his life all to hell?

She hadn’t seen anything yet.