One Ring

  “Really? I hope so. I don’t like to see my clients make repeat mistakes. I don’t give out punch cards for discounts to pay for three divorces and get a fourth free.” He smiled.

  That finally pulled a laugh from her. “Really?”

  “No shit, one guy, I’m working divorce number five for him. At least after number two he got smart and made them sign pre-nups like I begged him to.”

  “Holy cow.”

  “Yeah. That about sums it up.”

  She started thinking while Ed was writing. “Should I get a pre-nup if I get married again?”

  “I would encourage you to do so, yes.”

  “I guess one of the guys I met this past weekend, Don, he doesn’t believe in marriage.”

  Ed laughed. “No, Don is smarter than the average Dom. He practices catch and release until he eventually finds the right one. He does it ethically, and he doesn’t cheat on his partners. It’s not my preferred method of operation, but I can’t fault him for it.”

  “He and Carl both seemed nice.”

  Ed had slipped his glasses back on. Now he eyed her over the top of the rims. “You haven’t even filed for divorce yet. I would strongly suggest not getting involved with anyone until you’ve had a little decompression time. Not to mention, you don’t want to be in the middle of a legal battle while you’re trying to meet new people. Take your time. Playing is fine as long as you don’t let yourself get tied up in a bad situation. Eh, no pun intended.”

  “What about Carl and Don? Are they safe?”

  “I’d say so, yes. There are several guys who are regulars at the club I’d feel comfortable introducing you to. Don and Carl are just two of them.”

  “Okay. Thanks.”

  “Hey, you’re friends with the club’s owners. Ask them to help you out. They can make sure you don’t run afoul of the wrong people. Derrick and Marcia do a good job of keeping their ears to the ground to prevent problems and making people with bad reputations feel unwelcome, if not outright banning them.”

  “Marcia introduced me to Don and Carl.”

  “Ah.”

  “What?”

  He smiled. “Nothing. But be warned, there are a few self-appointed matchmakers at the club. And they happen to have a damn good track record.”

  “Is Marcia one?”

  “Not usually, no.”

  * * * *

  By the end of her second week staying in Marcia and Derrick’s guest room, her divorce had been filed, and Mike hadn’t even so much as called her.

  She’d sent him several FYI texts, such as when the electric and water bills were due, but no response from him.

  Okay, fine. He’s a big boy.

  At Ed’s suggestion, she manually deposited half of the mortgage payment into their joint account at her next paycheck. He said she should do that, and pay for half of the homeowners insurance, property taxes, things like that.

  But she already had her own auto insurance and had removed herself from their old policy, and from the utility bills.

  The only thing she hadn’t done yet was to legally change her address, and that was only because she was still hoping to find a better solution than mooching off Marcia and Derrick. She greatly appreciated their help, especially coordinating the move, but she didn’t want to live there forever.

  She needed a place of her own, that she could afford.

  The next Saturday, Don and Carl met them all at Sigalo’s for dinner before going to the club. They’d just sat down with everyone when Derrick got a call that they were having an electrical problem at the club.

  Dammit.

  She really liked Don and Carl. She’d sat between them and really didn’t want to leave.

  “Hey,” Marcia said, “Don, would you guys mind bringing Mel to the club with you after dinner?”

  Her heart soared. “Sure,” Don said. “No problem.”

  “Thanks!” Marcia dashed out after Derrick.

  A little suspicion flitted through Mel’s brain, but then she started talking to the guys and it went right out of her brain again.

  Kel and Mallory showed up a few minutes later. “Sorry, traffic,” Kel apologized. “Did you all order yet?”

  Tilly looked up. “What about the electrical problem?”

  “What electrical problem?”

  “At the club?”

  “No one told me about that. Hold on.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and walked out. When he returned a few minutes later, he said, “It’s fine. Derrick’s got it covered.”

  She’d been set up and she knew it.

  Not that she was going to complain.

  On the way over to the club, out of the earshot of the others, she said, “I need to apologize to you two.”

  “Why?” Carl asked.

  “I think Marcia’s trying to set us up.”

  Don glanced in the rearview mirror. “Why do you say that?”

  “Because I bet there wasn’t an ‘electrical problem’ at the club.”

  “Ah.”

  She sighed. “I love Marcia and Derrick, but I need to find my own place. I can’t live with them forever.”

  “I have an extra room you can rent.”

  * * * *

  Don couldn’t believe he’d said it out loud, but the shocked look on Carl’s face meant yep, he probably had.

  “You do?” she asked.

  He swallowed. “Yeah. Pool and a hot tub, too. We could move you in tomorrow, if you wanted.”

  “How much a month?”

  He did some quick mental calculations. “Seven hundred, which includes utilities, plus groceries.” He could then drop Carl’s rent by three hundred a month.

  “Can we go look at it?”

  “Right now?”

  “Sure, if you don’t mind.”

  “Okay. Might want to call Marcia so she doesn’t worry when we don’t show up, though.”

  “Good idea.”

  While she was on the phone, he glanced at Carl again, who gave him a thumbs-up close to his body, so Mel couldn’t see it from where she sat in the backseat.

  When she ended the call, she laughed. “Oh, no shocker, the electrical problem was no biggie, and we were told to take our time.”

  “Yeah, we were set up,” Don said. “But seriously, it’s okay. And no pressure. If you don’t like the house, you can tell us no thanks, and no hard feelings about it.”

  “No, this is probably just what I need. I love them, but I can’t mooch off them.”

  “And since Marcia is likely trying to shove us all together, let’s make it easy on her,” Carl said.

  Don fought the urge to smack his friend.

  But apparently Mel hadn’t taken it the same way he had. “Yeah, true. I hope you guys aren’t mad at her for that.”

  “No, not at all,” Don said.

  “It won’t be weird for you guys, having me there?”

  “Not if it’s not weird for you,” Don said.

  She went quiet for a moment. “Can I ask you guys something?”

  “Sure.” He really liked Mel, and not just as a play partner. She was smart, fun to talk to, and funny.

  “I joined FetLife this week, right? To get in touch with people. And I’m getting creeped on already and I haven’t even been a member for four days. I saw there are options for like ‘under protection’ and stuff. Would it be okay if I put something like that on my profile and listed you two?”

  Don nearly ran into the back of the car in front of them, who’d stopped to avoid running a stale yellow light.

  “Absolutely,” he said. His eyes widened as he looked over at Carl, whose eyes were also wide.

  Maybe we should buy a lotto ticket before going home, too.

  “Cool, thank you. I really appreciate that.”

  He stared at Carl, who stared back at him.

  * * * *

  Holy mother of farking what the hell?

  Carl couldn’t believe this. A woman he was attracted to was seriously considering moving i
n with them and had asked if she could list them on her FetLife profile.

  Um, hello, Karma? Whatever I did? Thank you!

  An hour later, they were heading to the club. Yes, Mel was happy with the room. It was a little larger than the one at Derrick and Marcia’s house, and they had the pool and hot tub.

  While she’d used the bathroom at the house, he and Don had stepped into the living room to talk briefly and get on the same page. Don would be lowering his rent, which wasn’t even his main concern.

  He didn’t want to fuck up their friendship over her.

  “She’s not even divorced yet,” Carl said. “Let’s agree right now to keep things limited to friends and roomies and play partners until her divorce goes through.”

  “You read my mind.”

  They shook on it. “Let her be our submissive, eventually?” Carl asked.

  “If she wants it, sure,” Don said. “I’m not going to ask her that right now, though. But I think we can have a lot of fun as play partners with her.”

  “I sure hope so,” Carl said. “Because I’d really like to get to know her better.”

  Chapter Eight

  By the time they reached the club, Mel was wondering if she’d rushed into this. When Marcia practically tackled her at the front door and took her outside again, she knew she’d been set up.

  “Well?”

  Mel stared at her. “There wasn’t an electrical problem, was there?”

  Marcia waved it away. “They’re nice, they’re employed, they’re single.”

  “You set me up.”

  “Are you complaining? You’re going to be single. You’re a hardworking, gainfully employed, non-psychotic woman who needs friends, if nothing else. Right?”

  Marcia couldn’t argue with that logic. “True.”

  “Okay, then. I’m tired of seeing those guys look lonely. They’re nice guys. You’re a nice woman. If something happens, great. The worst that happens is you eventually move out again once your divorce is final. Right?”

  “You need to fess up to them.”

  “Are we moving you tomorrow?” Marcia looked altogether too hopeful.

  “Why are you so eager to get rid of me? Before, you said you were happy to have me living with you.”

  “Sure, until I saw how you looked playing with them that first night. Both them, and you, looked…changed. That’s the only way I can describe it. I’ve seen them play before, and I’ve never seen them look the way they looked playing with you. It was like lightning hit all three of you. The good kind of lightning.”

  The guys stepped outside. “Is everything okay, Mel?” Carl asked.

  Mel crossed her arms and glared at her friend. “Tell them.”

  “Fine!” Marcia turned. “Yes, I set the three of you up. Happy?”

  Instead of being upset, the men laughed. “Told you,” Don said to Carl. To Marcia, he said, “You are not sneaky like Eliza and Tilly. It was all over your face. I hope you don’t play poker. Yes, we’re still happy to have her move in, but none of the three of us are going to promise you anything. You, however, have to let us live our lives. Deal?”

  Marcia frowned. “This shit looks so damn easy when Tilly and Eliza do it.”

  Don hugged her. “They’re a lot sneakier than you are, that’s why. And they’re both more toppy than you are.”

  Marcia turned back to her. “I really do vouch for these two. Please? Just…give it a chance?”

  “We’re play partners,” Don told her. “We’ve already talked about her listing an ‘under protection’ designation with us on FetLife because of creepers. But we’re adults. Let us get to know each other as friends and play partners before you and Loren start planning a damn wedding or something, all right? She might hate our guts after a month.”

  “Fine,” Marcia said. “But, listen, in all seriousness, if it doesn’t work out, you can move back in with us. Promise me to give it a couple of weeks though, please?”

  “Okay,” Mel said. “Deal. Just no more fiendish plots, all right?”

  “Deal.”

  * * * *

  When Mel played with the men that night, they did rope bondage, spanking—this time including a paddle she’d handpicked from Don’s implement bag—and over-the-panties orgasm play.

  One thing she couldn’t help but notice about a lot of the other women was that they shaved completely bare…down there.

  “Embarrassing question,” she said.

  Considering she was already tied up and facedown over Don’s lap meant it was a little embarrassing to start with. “Sure.”

  “I…trim down there. Should I completely shave it?”

  “You’re not our submissive,” Don said. “We won’t order you to do that.”

  “If you did have a say in it?”

  Carl shrugged. “Are you saying you’re giving us a say?”

  “Yeah. I’m not playing with anyone but you guys.”

  “Then I say shave it. You might feel less self-conscious when you eventually feel comfortable playing completely naked.”

  “Ditto,” Don said.

  “Okay.” She started to relax, then lifted her head again. “Can I call you guys Sir?”

  Don sat her up and leveled his blue gaze at her. “What are you asking of us?”

  She took a deep breath. “Look, I know we’re not in a relationship. But while I’m trying to figure out my future, and get the divorce out of the way, it’d be nice to have some breathing room and not have a ‘fresh meat’ sign on my head, so to speak. If you two are okay with it.”

  The men exchanged a glance, nodding to each other.

  “Okay,” Don said. “For the purpose of play, and on FetLife, you can say you’re our submissive. If you want, we’ll add you to our profiles, too. But not collared.”

  Relief flowed through her.

  The irony didn’t escape her that she wanted to be free from Mike, and yet have the invisible barrier of protocol around her to give her breathing room.

  “Thank you. I really appreciate it, Sir.”

  Don grinned. “I could really get used to you calling me that.”

  “Me, too,” Carl said.

  * * * *

  Mel awoke the next morning with a sore ass and a light heart. They’d given her hellaciously good orgasms, followed by the best part—aftercare.

  Snuggling and talking.

  And they reiterated that their living arrangement did not include sex, although they could discuss playing at home after she’d settled in.

  In a way, that disappointed her even as it relieved her. Okay, they wouldn’t be creeping on her. Great.

  But did it make her a horrible person that she wasn’t even divorced yet and really wanted to get fucked?

  Marcia and Derrick were already awake when she walked out to get coffee.

  “There’s my girl!” Marcia said, swooping in to hug her.

  “You have got to stop that,” Mel said, hugging her back. “This is just a living arrangement with them for now.”

  “But you’re playing with them. That means maybe more.”

  “Maybe. After my divorce. They brought it up first.”

  Marcia’s face fell. “But I thought they liked you.”

  “They do,” Mel said. “And, to be honest, I don’t want to be one of those women pinballing from new relationship to new relationship. It took me fifteen years to realize how miserable I was and make a change. It won’t kill me to wait a couple of months.”

  “But what if they meet someone?”

  “Then they meet someone. How about if I meet someone? We’re not doing any kind of dynamic outside of the dungeon for now, okay? That’s the way I want it.”

  “Marcia,” Derrick said, “she’s being reasonable.”

  “I just want her to have her happy ending,” Marcia said.

  “I know,” Mel reassured her. “I appreciate it and love you for it. You did your job—you introduced us and got us under the same roof. Now, it’s up to us to live our
lives. Let us do that.”

  She could tell Marcia wanted more reassurances than that, but Derrick reined her in.

  When Don and Carl and several others showed up at noon to start the move, Mel had been giving thanks that she hadn’t really unpacked much, and that most of her stuff was still in storage.

  Which they had to go get a few things. Like the bed she’d taken from the other house, from the guest room. There wasn’t a bed in the men’s spare room.

  By the time Mel collapsed on the men’s couch at nine that night, she felt like her world had been upended.

  Again.

  Probably because it had.

  The men sank onto the couch on either side of her.

  “Well,” Don said, “that’s done.”

  She leaned her head over onto his shoulder. “Thank you,” she said. Peace had settled inside her.

  “For what?”

  “For this. For humoring me about the protection and submissive stuff. For being so nice.” She burst into tears.

  The men held her as she cried. “I’m sorry,” she said. “But I went from feeling like I was totally alone, and now I have all these friends, and even just hugs from friends is more than I was getting before.”

  * * * *

  Carl felt horrible for her. At least he’d thought things were okay with his marriage before it imploded. “Hey, you can always have friend hugs from us, any time you need them. Couch snuggles, friend hugs, any of that. Okay?”

  “Thank you.”

  “Yeah,” Don added. “What he said. No pressure, ever.”

  After she’d pulled herself together and headed to bed, Carl sat there, staring at the TV.

  So did Don.

  They looked at each other.

  “Wow,” Don said. “Thank god she wasn’t abused by that asshole.”

  “Being ignored can be a kind of abuse.”

  Don scrubbed his face with his hands. “I’m glad we decided to take this slow.”

  “Moving her in after knowing her less than two months isn’t slow.”

  “We’re not sleeping with her. We’re just roommates with play bennies. That might be unusual to the vanilla world, but by kinky standards, that’s downright puritanical.” Don dragged himself to his feet. “Regardless, we have plenty of time now to figure out where to go from here. She obviously needs to settle into a new routine, get to know us, we need to get to know her, and the divorce needs to go through.”