If only

To make it worse, she knew Galen or Vance could have been in that house. They’d talked about flying up to question that manager. And they’d be dead. She kicked to the surface and treaded water.

How could she bear it if they died? To be without them, never touch them again. Never hear Galen’s rare open laugh, feel him stroke her hair, reading her soul with his dark eyes. Never feel Vance’s hands as he rolled her over in the early morning and pushed inside her, taking her so slow, murmuring what he expected her to do.

How could she live without them?

Dammit, you weren’t supposed to fall in love with them, you stupid, stupid girl. Talk about a pitiful cliche. Silly submissive falls in love with the Dominant she’s working with.

And in Sally’s case? Oh yeah, I fell for two of them.

She turned over, lying in the water facedown in a dead man’s float. On the bottom of the pool, the shadows of the nearby trees wavered and danced. The dying rays of the sun brushed over her back—although she didn’t think she’d ever be warm again.

“Sally.” Despite being muffled by water, the word still summoned her attention. Of course, it would. Hell, even laughing, Galen radiated authority.

She came upright, treading water. “Sir?”

“Take a shower and wait for us in the dungeon.”

Her breathing almost stopped. A scene? Everything in her thrilled at the idea of being totally at their command and the focus of their intense attention.

But…her feelings were a mess. She didn’t want them to know how she felt. Galen would pitch her out if he realized she was emotionally attached. God, what would—

“Did you happen to hear what I said?”

Shit. “Yes, Sir. Shower and wait. Right away, Sir. Please forgive me, Sir. It won’t happen again, Sir.”

A snort. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, pet.”

As he strolled back into the house, she was already scrambling out of the pool.

VANCE SAUNTERED DOWN the overgrown dirt path to the cabana.

Because of Sally, they’d abandoned working on the game room and had been fixing this one up instead. It was going to make a hell of a nice dungeon.

He—and his apprentice—had painted the walls and ceiling. A king-size bed had replaced the twin beds. Some of the equipment had already arrived and would be tested out tonight.

About fifteen minutes ago, the back door had slammed as Sally headed for the cabana. Hopefully she’d spent that time in anticipation of what would come. He grinned. With the little brown-eyed submissive, any assumption was liable to be wrong.

In fact, Galen had removed his toy bag from the cabana—just in case.

Vance opened the door. To his surprise, she was dutifully kneeling naked in the center of the room. Her posture was perfect: hands open on thighs, back arched slightly to display her breasts, eyes down. From the way her hair fluffed over her shoulders and curled down her back, he knew she’d taken the time to wash and blow it dry.

She might drive him crazy sometimes, but she never neglected to prepare her body for his pleasure.

He flipped the switch to turn on the music, and the sound of Enigma filled the room. “You look beautiful, sweetheart.”

A visible tremor shook her.

“Open your legs farther for me, please.”

She shifted position, spreading her thighs apart as he went down on one knee in front of her. Her pussy already glistened in the bright lights. Yes, she’d been anticipating the scene.

As he cupped his hand over her crotch, he leaned forward to whisper, “Galen and I are going to take our pleasure tonight—and if you’re very, very good, we’ll see that you’re rewarded for your patience. Very well rewarded.”

He heard her gulp. “Yes, Sir. I’ll be good.”

“You won’t get the chance not to be.” He moved his fingers through her plump folds, teasing her clit with his thumb. Her inner thigh muscles flexed and tightened. From the silky smoothness of her skin, she’d applied lotion. The scent wafted up, making him think of sunlit honey. Smiling, he moved back, sucking on his fingers, enjoying the first taste of what the evening would hold.

She stayed impressively still, only her heightened breathing and pink cheeks showing her anticipation.

“I’m going to warm you up a bit before Galen arrives; then we’ll start.” He stroked her hair, silky and bouncy, like her personality. “First, all the lab tests came back clean. Apart from anal sex, we won’t use protection.” And he was looking forward to having no barrier between his cock and her tight, wet pussy.

He continued, “Tonight, anything you haven’t marked as a hard limit might be used. You have your safe word. Use yellow if you’re getting overwhelmed. Otherwise, we’re going to do what we want.”

Her eyes were no longer down. She stared up at him, practically begging him to continue. A submissive’s wish was to be pushed until she knew to the depths of her soul that she’d given up all control. Tonight, that’s what she’d know.

He lifted her to her feet, molding her against him, taking a slow, drugging kiss. Her lips were soft and sweet, her tongue teasing.

Curling his fingers under her round ass, he pulled her closer, and her long hair silkily drifted over his arms. Nice.

With a smile, he pulled the set of nipple clamps from his jeans pocket. “Let’s see what these look like on you.”

Her nipples were the smoothest, softest skin on her body and a dusky pink that reddened quickly as he tightened the first screw. He could see her decision not to complain. Her facial and throat muscles turned rigid as she fought the pain.

He quickly loosened the clamp. “Let’s do this again.” He lifted her chin, giving her a firm look. “I know some submissives think their Doms are God—but I’m not. I can’t read your mind.” Thank God, she had such expressive body language. “You need to tell me if something starts to hurt.” He grinned. “Then I’ll decide whether I want you to take it anyway. Is that clear?”

For a second, she pouted. “Yes, Sir.”

“Good.” He tightened the screw slowly. Waiting. Nothing came from her, so he cleared his throat. Fuck, but he wanted to kill her father when he saw her struggle to force herself to speak.

“That hurts,” she whispered.

“Good. Very, very good.” Vance hugged her, feeling how her heart pounded against his chest. But she’d done it. “Next one.” He attached the right clamp, and this time, she managed to speak without prompting.

He stepped back to admire his work for a moment. The shiny metal clamps were beautiful against her reddening nipples. Very nice. Next time, he’d add a chain between them. “Now, take my shirt off, imp.”

She made a pretty ritual of disrobing him, button after button, pressing velvet-lipped kisses to his chest. Her hand blazed a trail downward, her mouth following, until she pushed his jeans down. He stepped out of them, and before he could move, she closed her lips around him. Fuck. The sweetheart had a mouth that was made for sin.

She released his cock and pushed his legs apart. Curious, he went along with her unspoken request. She cupped his balls, dipped her head, and kissed down his groin to his testicles. Licking and nuzzling. The sensation of wetness on his overheated skin was disconcerting, and he had to smother a groan when she sucked one ball, then the other into her mouth, tonguing them.

Almost too much.

Time to stop. With what he considered a superb amount of control, he tugged on her hair to get her to release him before pulling her to her feet. “Thank you, Sally.” He shook his head. “Tomorrow morning, I expect more of that.”

Her eyes lit with her delight—and the knowledge she’d pleased him.