Mark Collins made his way over to Seth and leaned in. “Would you mind if I made an announcement while everyone’s eating?”
“Sure. What’s up?”
Mark smiled and humped his hands over his belly in an unmistakable gesture.
Seth grinned. “Congrats. And be my guest.”
This night is just getting better and better.
Mark rejoined Essie and his brothers, speaking with them briefly before turning to the group and raising his hands. “Hey, everyone, if we can have your attention for just a minute, please.”
Everyone quieted down and focused their attention on him.
Mark’s proud grin lit the night as brightly as the lights in the yard. “We’ve got a little announcement to make, and we wanted to tell you all first, since you’re all like family. We haven’t even told our own parents yet.”
The way the men all flanked Essie, Seth couldn’t miss that regardless of which brother had done the deed, all three men would be taking a fatherly role.
Mark continued. “Looks like we’re going to be having a baby late next summer.”
Applause exploded, pierced by happy female shrieks of joy. All the women, who from some of their knowing smiles Seth suspected had already been sneaked the news by Essie, pushed through to gather around the poly quad and give their congratulations.
Well, except for Jenny, who was now struggling to sit up and apparently fussing at Mike to untie her so she could go hug them.
Seth held back, content to finish his food and watch from a distance. He’d let everyone else swarm them for now, and then congratulate them privately later on. His eyes automatically skimmed through the throng, searching for Leah.
Then he found her, just stepping back from giving Essie a hug and returning to her seat at the table on the lanai.
And was that a wistful look on her face?
Mindful of the scowl he knew he now wore, he returned his focus to his plate and schooled his expression. He was happy without kids. Maybe one time in the past he would have wanted them, but not now.
Now he had Leah, and his life was as complete as it humanly could be. He and Leah hadn’t had any recent discussions about children. He hadn’t thought it necessary, considering what he knew.
Maybe I should revisit that, just in case.
There was nothing he’d refuse her if it was in his power to give it to her.
* * * *
Laura snuggled against Rob’s side again after taking their turns congratulating the parents-to-be. The two of them shared a lounger on the lanai, sitting sideways on it, balancing their paper plates on their knees.
“That should make things even more interesting for them,” Rob joked.
“Shh.” She’d never trade her husband for the world, but she’d be lying if she denied having just a scotch of envy for Clarisse, and now Essie, who both had multiple men to help out with their babies.
Having a paramedic for a husband meant not only was Laura a relatively new parent, she was effectively a single parent for stretches of time, in addition to running her business and writing.
Fortunately, they had close friends who’d been able to help her out. Didn’t hurt she could take Molly to work with her at the fishing tackle and dive shop she owned. It wouldn’t be long before Molly was old enough for preschool, and then Laura could get back to something resembling a normal schedule for her.
Right now, going out on the boat for weekend check-out dives wasn’t always practical, and she didn’t like shuffling Molly off on friends any more than necessary. They had two other instructors who could do the open-water dives, and that usually was enough. In a pinch, sometimes she had to ask Carol to babysit for her if someone turned up sick, because Molly was far too young to take out on the boat yet for those kinds of dives.
Although she had been out a couple of times with just her and Rob, near-shore afternoon pleasure trips, usually on a weekday when Rob was off rotation. Family time, just the three of them and the peaceful, quiet water.
Bill Thomas made his way over to them, pulling up a chair to sit while he ate the rest of his food. “So how are you two doing? And how’s that beautiful little baby?”
His wife, Gabe, was still chatting with the parents-to-be. “She’s wonderful,” Laura said. “When are you two coming over for dinner again? Don’t make me put out an APB on you. Molly misses her Aunt Gabe and Uncle Bill.”
The detective smiled. “Schedule it with Gabe. She’s the one who controls the social calendar.”
Laura remembered the first time she’d encountered him, while she was still in the hospital, just awake from her coma following the attack and scared out of her mind, suffering from total amnesia. He’d been the detective assigned to catch her attacker.
Never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined he’d not only become a close personal friend, but one of their kinky friends as well.
“Will do,” Laura said.
“You two going to play tonight?” Bill asked.
Rob took over the answer. “Later, once the frame is free.” He smiled down at Laura. “I’ve been wanting to work on my suspension techniques. No better time or place than tonight. Seth, Tony, and Kel are going to help me.”
Laura felt a thrill run through her. She knew what that meant. Rob would get her suspended…
Then the fun would begin. She’d heard about Max and Sean’s newest bondage frame and had hoped to talk Rob into letting her try that, but suspension…
A delicious shiver ran through her. “Thank you, Sir.”
Rob’s smile widened. “Oh, you thank me now. You just wait.”
“Looking forward to it, Sir.”
Chapter Twelve
June patiently waited while Mark quickly tied her, easily hoisting her up one-armed so she could grab onto the ring and hold it while he secured the suspension ropes. Since he was playing Santa tonight, they were scening early and getting it out of the way so the frame would be clear for others.
She didn’t have to teach again until after New Year’s, meaning tonight’s play could go as far as her husband wanted to take it without worrying about marking her.
And she damned sure was looking forward to it. No matter how many times she’d assured him he could spank her and not worry about bruises on her ass or upper thighs, he’d refused to do it unless she had a break from teaching for several days after. She would simply wear black yoga pants or tights while teaching yoga and gymnastics. No worries on her part.
Mucho worries for Mark. She hadn’t even cared if she did the shoots for his bondage rigging books fully nude and with her face visible, but Scrye the guy was far more cautious in their private life than anyone ever dreamed. She knew her friends wondered how she dealt with her large, bouncy bear of a man, but the truth was he was a slowly lumbering teddy bear compared to some of the hyperactive heathens she had to deal with in her gymnastics classes.
She far preferred teaching yoga, but since her sister ran the gymnastics academy, it wasn’t like June could flip her a bird and tell her sayonara, sucker, and walk away from it.
Since Scrye put family above all else, it wasn’t worth the battle on both sides of the fence to give up teaching gymnastics yet. Their two girls were in college now. It was time for them to have their life, and she wanted it, dammit. She envied Mike and Jenny, freely able to explore the BDSM lifestyle and carve out their niche.
“Okay, babe,” Scrye said, both hands under her, ready to catch her. “Put your weight on it.”
She lowered herself until she felt the slack go out of the rope, then let go of the ring. Scrye pulled his hands away and she arched her back, letting her arms and legs stretch, sending herself lazily spinning in a circle.
Which she knew wouldn’t continue for very long. Scrye made a few subtle tweaks to the suspension ropes, adjusting the height and angling her hips slightly lower than her head to make it more comfortable for her. Then he grabbed another piece of rope, caught her left foot, and bent her leg back at the
knee. Working fast, he tied her ankle to her ass, immobilizing her leg. Her arms next, under her and behind her back, and then her right leg.
Fuzzy edges along her mind started to cloak her in subspace, something that she hadn’t experienced in far too long. With her knees spread wide, Scrye reached between her legs, sliding a vibrator into her pussy.
“Enjoy, baby. I know it’s been a while.” He switched on the vibrator.
She closed her eyes, basking in the sensations, knowing the swing was coming and ready for the hard, stingy smack of the paddle against the inside of her right thigh.
Here we go…
The orgasm hit her, making her arch her back in the ropes even more as Scrye alternated hard, stingy swats from the paddle with fucking the vibrator deep inside her pussy.
He knew how to keep her going. He laid the paddle on her stomach and started tormenting her nipples, pinching them hard the way she loved. After a few minutes, he grabbed another piece of rope and quickly rigged it so the vibrator would stay in place, giving him both hands free to use on her.
Which he did. Bare-handed swats, the paddle, an even stingier cane—she relished every stroke, every electric jolt of pain rushing through her, swirling and mixing with the pleasure, enriching it as she flew.
She loved the pain, loved the endorphins it brought, loved the deep subspace it drove her into.
It could have been five minutes or five hours she writhed in the comforting confinement of the ropes before she felt Scrye step between her legs. He untied the rope holding the vibrator in place then removed the vibrator and set it aside.
The next sensation was his cock filling her, plunging all the way inside her as he used the hip harness to hold and fuck her. His cock pounding into her triggered another orgasm as he unleashed himself. In bed he would use soft leather cuffs on her wrists and ankles to restrain her, but still maintained that fear of marking her.
Now he was like an animal, rutting, slamming his body into hers, brutalizing her the delicious way she wished he’d fuck her every single time.
She had one last small orgasm just as he came, and then she lay there, panting, trying to catch her breath as he pulled out, spun her around, and caught her head.
Her mouth opened automatically, sucking his cock clean while he stroked her cheek.
I’ve really got to quit teaching for my sister.
She had no true complaints about her sex life, but if she could get him to ravage her like this more often in exchange, she’d gladly give up teaching gymnastics for good.
Now I just need to talk him into it.
After getting her down and packing his ropes, he helped her into the bathroom and locked the door behind them. She wrapped her arms around him.
“Oh, big guy, you know how to reset my brain, don’t you?”
She felt engulfed by his arms. “I love you so much, baby. What would I do without you?”
“I love you, too, and I don’t want to find out.”
Maybe I need to just quit teaching gymnastics and then tell him after the fact.
He’d tried to get her to quit teaching yoga to have more free time. With his job, they really didn’t need the money. Especially not since both their daughters scored scholarships to college, one for tennis, the other for swimming. He ran his own CPA firm. They’d hit that sweet spot in life where they now had choices and a little bit of freedom in exchange for all their hard work over the years.
“Oops, I didn’t grab our costumes. Let me go get that other bag while you freshen up.” He grinned. “Unless you want to be Santa’s really slutty little elf all night.”
“I do, but in this case, I don’t think I want to run around all night with your cum dribbling down my thighs. Maybe if we were home.”
He chuckled as he unlocked the door and slipped out to grab their stuff. She stepped into the shower and quickly washed off. For her, subspace never lasted long. After a scene, she rarely needed more than a minute or two to get up and be fully functional again. She suspected it was due in no small part to the years of training she’d had, the countless hours of hard work and pain, barely missing making the US Olympic gymnastics team. She was used to pain, thrived on it, pushed through it, missed it if it wasn’t there.
Not hard to see where or why the roots of her masochism had taken hold.
Scrye returned as she was toweling off. He started stripping. “You could be a naked elf, if you wanted.”
She started rooting through the bag. “If Santa wants to fuck his little elf again, no problem, but Santa’s elf wants at least an illusion of clothes while we’re handing out goodies.”
“Spoilsport.”
“You weren’t saying that a few minutes ago.”
He pulled her in for another kiss. “Why do you put up with me?”
“Because I have a thing for grizzly bears.”
“I’m serious, June.”
He sounded it, too. When she finally looked, she spotted the contemplation in his expression.
“Mark, I love you. To be honest?” She took a deep breath and bit the bullet. “I wish you’d do more of this with me. Of what we did out there. You wanted me to have more free time? Well, I’m going to tell my sister I’m done teaching. I’ll finish out this latest round of students, but she’ll have to find someone else.”
“But—”
She pressed her fingers to his lips. “You wanted honesty, right?”
He nodded.
“Why the hell won’t you do that to me normally? And quit using the bullshit excuse about marks, because you know that’s bullshit as much as I do.”
He looked like a scolded kid. His gaze dropped. “Because,” he softly said, “you teach kids. And it kind of wigs me out that their teacher would be standing there looking like she’d gotten gang-banged by a grizzly. Okay?”
She tipped his chin and made him look at her. “Seriously?”
He nodded.
She smiled. “Then I’m pulling rank. Because we finally have the house to ourselves. If you don’t think I want to make good use of that alone time, think again, buster. I want hair-pullin’, ass-smackin’, toe-curlin’, wolf-howling sexytime like that on a regular basis. I’m sick of teaching kids. I love kids, you know that. But lately, we’ve had class after class of entitled brats with helicopter parents who want their kids to all be Olympic medalists without putting in the work to get there, and lying to them how good they are when they aren’t to spare their feelings. I’m done.”
“Really?”
“Really, babe. Please? I love teaching yoga. It’s quiet. It’s peaceful. It’s relaxing. It’s rewarding. It’s an all-adult class. Hell, I could teach that full time if we ever needed the uptick in income. They’ve been begging me to teach more classes.”
“Okay.” He rubbed his chin in her hair, his beard scritching against her scalp. “I have had some fantasies about tying you to the kitchen table and eating my dinner off you before eating you out.”
“Oh, hell yeah,” she said. “That’s what I’m talking about, sexy Santa. You could even give me that for Christmas, if you wanted.”
“Might wig the girls out.”
“Well, we’ll have to do it before they come home,” she said. Then she looked up at him, an evil grin on her face. “I would love to sit down to Christmas dinner and stare across the table and watch you trying to not crack up as I make O faces at you, with the memories of you doing that to me fresh in your mind.”
“That’s evil. You taking lessons from Tilly?”
“Tell me it’s not sexy.”
“I can’t, because it is.” He kissed her, then released her. “Let’s get changed and get this party over with. We have a table to desecrate for dinner tomorrow night.”
Chapter Thirteen
Tony helped Tilly set up for the next part of the festivities. Once dinner had started winding down, Tilly, flanked by Seth holding his guitar, called for everyone’s attention and pointed at the flat-screen TV mounted in the corner of the lanai. O
n it, the start of a PowerPoint presentation. A festive red, green, and gold holiday background with the words Kinky Karols in silver splashed across the screen.
“I’ve heard you all grousing about our carols,” she started.
“Who’s Carol?” a man yelled out.
“Shut up, Gilo,” Tilly called back, smiling. “You’re lucky I love you.” She held up a remote and pointed it at a laptop sitting on a table under the TV. The screen changed to display a title as Seth strummed an opening chord.
On the screen it read “Frosty the Dildo.”
Everyone started laughing at the title. “As you can see,” Tilly said, “Shayla helped me update our classics a little. Tony was kind enough to link my laptop to the TV, so we can all participate in Kinky Karol Karaoke.”
Seth started playing, and they all started singing with the lyrics on the screen, despite some people laughing so hard they started coughing.
“Frosty, the Dildo
Was a very lonely toy.
Even though he froze ya
From your head to your toes
Ya know he
Wanted to bring joooy…”
Fortunately, they’d kept each song short, limited to just a verse or two, and sometimes a chorus. They made their way through other new classics such as “Whose Ass is This,” “Jingle Tits,” “Suck Them Balls,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Kinkmas,” closing with the FemDom CBT-themed “A Sub’s Nuts Roasting on an Open Pyre.”
“A sub’s nuuuts roasting
On an open pyre.
Anoooother sucking
On your toes…”
After the singing of the Kinky Karols, Tony leaned in to whisper to Shayla. “So when’s Santa supposed to—”
A booming voice rang through the lanai from outside. “Ho ho ho!”
“The hos are in here!” Tilly called back, earning a laugh from everyone.
“Never mind,” Tony told Shayla.
Scrye, dressed as the jolly old elf, except his natural beard wasn’t quite as long or fully grey, emerged from around the house and entered through the side door. His slim and petite wife, June, followed him, dressed in the sluttiest elf costume ever seen on the face of the planet, including a shimmering green mesh tank top that barely covered her breasts, the see-through fabric exposing her nipples. Finishing off her ensemble was a red strap-on dildo in a harness over the front of her green sparkly G-string.