Venus rising boxset, p.39
Venus Rising Boxset, page 39
Which was good—it had been the beginning of learning how to fight for what she wanted out of life. He didn't fool himself into thinking there wouldn't be a fight.
“So, are you going to miss us?” Olivia asked, sidling up to him. There was a small party being thrown in his department to say goodbye to him, and Olivia was gate crashing. The woman pretty much went where she wanted, and no one ever went head-to-head with her. Except within their group of friends, but that wasn't surprising since they were all Doms.
“Yes and no,” he replied honestly, taking a sip of soda. Over in the corner, Chris was holding court as he told humorous stories to a group of their co-workers. Justin considered himself fairly social but preferred more intimate conversations, whereas Chris was always comfortable in any social situation. “It's not like I'm not going to see you. I'm looking forward to the challenge.”
“I'm looking forward to seeing if you and Adam can work together without killing each other,” Olivia murmured.
Justin smiled. “We'll be fine. We each have our own turf, and at the end of the day, I know who is top dog.”
“True. You'll have better luck working with him than I would,” Olivia said, grinning. Very true. She and Adam were good friends but trying to put one in a position of control over the other would just lead to a dog fight. The few times they'd gotten into arguments, it had taken Patrick to get them to back down. In their little world of top dogs, Patrick was king of the mountain. It wasn't just that he owned Stronghold, the man practically exuded power and authority. Chris occasionally called him Super-Dom, but never to his face. “So how are things going with Jessica? You guys are taking care of her, right?”
“Yeah... we're just trying to figure out the dynamics. Not working here will actually help.”
“I can see that. What about outside of work? Eventually, people are going to start to catch on something's weird.”
“No kidding. We're still working out what to tell the families,” he said, wincing. Jessica's attempt to clue her mother in hadn't gone badly, but it hadn't gone well either. She had it the hardest, trying to figure out what to tell her family. For him and Chris, they could just introduce Jessica and not mention the other man. In fact, he'd even be able to bring Jessica and Chris over to spend time with his mom at the same time. Considering how she'd taken Chris under her wing as if he were her own, she'd find nothing odd as long as they were circumspect in their affection. Chris probably had it the easiest, hands down, Justin thought enviously. His parents had no real interest or involvement in his life. They all rarely talked. Of course, Chris desperately wanted their affection and approval, even though he pretended otherwise, but it would be easy for him to introduce them to Jessica and not have any probing questions asked. No questions at all, really.
“Good luck with that. I don't envy you,” Olivia said, tipping her cup at him in salutation. The pretty Domme scanned the room. “Alright, this is boring. I'm going back to work.”
He grinned at his friend's complete lack of discretion, just part of her charm.
Chris rubbed his hands over his face, the not soothing him at all. In fact, he could barely feel it. That happened sometimes when he'd overdone it on the booze. Not something he did often, but if this didn't warrant it, he didn't know what would. Cupping his face with his hands, elbows on Jessica's kitchen table, he groaned and pressed his fingertips into his forehead.
Voices stabbed through the darkness behind his closed eyes. Damn, Jessica and Justin were home early. They'd gone out to see the latest action flick for a Friday date night, which hadn't interested him. Not that he didn't like action movies, he just hadn't felt like it tonight. He'd had a phone call to make. Now, he wished he'd gone to the movie. It would have been the better decision.
“Shit,” Justin's voice echoed around the empty recesses of his brain.
“What is it?”
The concern in Jessica's voice made him want to reassure her, but he didn't know what he could say that was reassuring and not a complete and outright lie.
“Chris, are you okay?”
Nope. Nope, definitely not. A bitter laugh almost bubbled to the surface, but he squashed it down. He didn't want to hurt Jessica with sarcasm or the cutting remarks that were so close to the surface. He'd expected them to be gone longer, and his defenses were down.
“No, he's not,” Justin said, his voice rough.
“What's going on?” She sounded confused, on the verge of being hurt.
“It's his Dad's birthday.”
“So?”
“So, he stayed in to call him tonight and wish him a happy birthday.”
“I don't understand.”
“I have a feeling the conversation didn't go well.”
The bitter laughter Chris has been holding inside finally broke through, harsh and high. At least it wasn't at Jessica's expense, and Justin wouldn't take offense.
“Hey, buddy, how's the family?” Justin’s unusually lighthearted tone was almost playful. He understood all too well how Chris hid behind jokes and cheeriness, how much he needed that protection from the cold disapproval of his parents and older brother. How he used it as a shield. Not much need for it anymore.
“Don't have a family,” he managed to say. Then he started crying and couldn't stop. Arms pressed around him from both sides, holding him, taking away some of the emptiness that had filled him for the past few hours. Somehow, Jessica managed to nudge her way onto his lap, pressing against his front and cradling his head to her chest. He wrapped his arms around her and sobbed like a baby while Justin held them both from behind.
The next morning, Jessica awoke to find herself tightly held in Chris’ arms. For the first time, she hadn’t slept between Justin and Chris. Instead, Chris had slept in the middle.
Fury rose, choked off because it was completely futile. How could any parents be so cruel? At the same time, she knew the reaction of Chris’ family was exactly what she feared most.
The awful story had come out last night, one choked, drunken sentence at a time until she had to curl her hands into fists to keep from punching something. She’d never been so angry in her life. Or felt so helpless because there was nothing she could do to change any of what happened… and it was partially her fault.
Chris had called his father to wish him a happy birthday. During the conversation, he’d mentioned Jessica. This led into a myriad of discussions about whether she was an appropriate girlfriend for him, which was why he usually didn’t tell his parents about the girls he was seeing. That lack of information indicated to them just how special she was, but he’d gotten angry at the questions they’d been asking and their snobbish, passive-aggressive statements once they’d realized she came from a family with no wealth or influence and worked as an HR assistant at his company. They expected better of him... as always.
She wasn’t mad for herself, though. What made her furious was they apparently didn’t care at all for Chris’ feelings or what he wanted out of life. He’d been mad about their attitude toward her, who they hadn’t even met yet. His response had been more than a little overboard.
Far from concealing the threesome relationship from them, he’d flung it in their faces. His father, a strictly conservative senator, who spent more time preaching social morality and religion than fiscal responsibility, had had a complete meltdown, screaming about his gay son, focusing on the aspect of the relationship that included Justin, rather than Jessica. Although he hadn’t much liked her involvement either.
Then came the ultimatum—break off his immoral, sinful relationship that could hurt his father’s career or never speak to them again.
The worst part was Chris’ mother had apparently completely backed his father. When Chris told them he refused to choose, they’d told him never to bother speaking to them again because he wasn’t their son anymore.
If Jessica could wring their necks, she would. It made her wish she was Justin’s size, so she could beat them physically, the way they’d used Chris as an emotional punching bag. Seeing him like this, so lost and vulnerable, without the playful jokester armor he usually wore, was heart breaking. At the same time, she wanted to turn all that anger on herself. If it wasn't for her, he and Justin wouldn't be sharing a girl, wouldn't be considering an immoral and unusual lifestyle, and Chris would be able to find a normal girl who wanted him and only him, settle down, and have a wonderful relationship with her and his family—
“Stop that.”
The quiet, deep voice cutting through her thoughts, Jessica looked up to see Chris' eyes, open and red-rimmed from crying the night before but looking much calmer than he had before getting in bed.
“Stop what?” she asked, keeping her voice low, not wanting to wake Justin. He needed rest. He'd been up much later than she or Chris, she was sure of it, trying to figure out how to protect them both and make the situation right. But he couldn't—no one could. She was ruining both of them. Justin was already planning on lying to his mom about their relationship, and Chris had been brutally treated by his parents for telling the truth.
“Whatever you're thinking about that's putting that awful expression on your face and making you stiffen up in my arms, stop it, immediately.” Chris lowered his lips to hers and touched them gently, a sweet kiss she clung to, knowing she didn't deserve it.
“I'm sorry,” she said, tears welling up. She forced them down. Chris didn't need to deal with her emotions on top of his own, but she had to apologize for the mess she'd made of his life. “I'm so, so sorry.”
“Whatever for, sweetheart?” he asked, looking confused. He tightened his arms around her, kissing the edges of her eyes where the tears were gathering, and Jessica's eyelids fluttered shut.
“For everything that's happening,” she whispered. “If I could just be a normal girl, if I could just choose you or choose Justin, then none of this—”
“Stop,” Chris ordered, his voice going to the lower register he'd used at the school when controlling her sexually. Her voice cut out, but it didn't stop the feelings drowning her. “Stop. Immediately. Never, ever think this isn't what I want. That you aren't what I want.”
“But—”
“He's right, stop it,” said Justin, his voice roughened with sleep. Her other lover propped himself up on his elbow, looking down at them, his free arm draped over both their bodies. “You're not some siren, leading sailors to their doom because they can't resist your love song. We could resist you if we wanted to.”
“We just don't want to,” Chris said, finishing Justin's thought and smiling at his friend. Jessica felt her heart go out to them. She bit her lip, not wanting to argue with them, but also still feeling like she'd failed all three of them.
“But—”
“Nope, no talking,” Chris interrupted her again, kissing her hard as he rolled onto his back, pulling her on top of him. Grinning, Justin stroked his hand down her back, and she couldn't stop the shiver that went through her. Or the knowledge that part of Chris was very happy to see her, ruined family or not, and was nudging insistently against her inner thigh.
“Just listen. Last night sucked, there's no getting around it, but there's a reason I told my parents about you, about us.” He glanced at Justin, including him in the 'us' of the relationship. “I knew they would take it badly. I didn't care... or I didn't think I did. I do care, but...” He sighed. “What I am trying to say is I have decided I care more about what I want than what they want. What I am is what they get, and if they can't handle it, that's not my fault, and it's definitely not yours. I mourned the loss last night, and now, I just want to move forward. With you and Justin. Anyone who doesn't approve or understand can just fuck off.”
“Oh, Chris,” she said, tears sparking in her eyes at his depth of caring for her, and she kissed him. She even believed him.
“I'd like one of those too, please,” Justin said, and Jessica broke off the kiss with Chris, laughing. Rarely did Justin say please when it came to kisses or anything else sexual, usually just taking what he wanted. Somehow, Chris' affirmation of their relationship, his defiance against his family, and his determination to see it through had changed all of them in the short span of a few hours.
“I love you,” she said, after giving Justin his good morning kiss. She looked back-and-forth between them, feeling anxious but unable to contain her emotions any longer. “I love both of you. You don't have to say it back. I just wanted you to know.”
Chris laughed. “You think I'm not going to say it back? Of course, I love you, sweetheart.”
“You're ours now,” Justin confirmed, his eyes glowing with a light she'd never seen before. They looked like they were glowing, and Jessica felt the same inner luminance. “We love you, and we're not letting you get away.”
“That sounds good to me,” she said, trading kisses with them.
A few tears streaked down her cheeks, but now, they were of happiness rather than the burden of feeling like she'd ruined their lives. She'd taken a risk, telling them her feelings, but hadn't they already shown her by their actions how much they loved her? So, maybe it hadn't been a risk at all, but it was a relief and a wonder to have it verbalized. To know for sure what their feelings were.
“We can do this, right? We can really do this?”
“We are doing this,” Justin said firmly, making both her and Chris laugh. Even Justin's dark eyes glinted with appreciation as he realized he'd made it sound like an order—as usual. She wouldn't have him any other way.
Chris' hips rolled beneath her, and she gasped as her body suddenly fizzed to life, no longer weighed down by the misery of last night or her depression over being a bad influence on their lives.
“Personally, I always thought a declaration of love should be immediately followed by hot sex,” Chris said, grinning up at her. The laughter was back in his brown eyes, and she felt an overwhelming sense of relief. Despite the harsh rejection of his family, Chris wasn’t going to reject her or Justin. He wasn't going to disappear on her either; the man she'd fallen in love with was still right there beneath her. So was the other man she'd fallen in love with, who was already eagerly moving behind her.
“Don't I get a say in this?” she asked teasingly.
“No,” both men said at the same time. Jessica laughed joyously, which was cut short on a gasp as Justin's hands came around from behind her, pushing her breasts together and offering her ripe, pink nipples to Chris' mouth, and he latched on. Chris' hands slid down her back to her buttocks, prying them apart, so Justin could settle his erection between her cheeks, rocking slightly as he moved the length back-and-forth across her skin which suddenly, felt far too hot.
They moved her between them, teasing her senses. Justin played with her breasts as Chris' suckling mouth alternated nipples. The tips of their cocks brushed over her pussy lips, against her thighs, along the curves of her ass and between them, tantalizing her with what she wanted. Jessica mewled and wriggled between them. Her sensitive breasts felt swollen, their caresses and the laving of Chris' tongue against her eager nipples, driving her crazy with need for them.
Jessica gave a small cry of triumph as Justin entered her from behind, invading her slick wetness, the fullness of his length inside of her helping to soothe some of the wild need they had awakened. Continuing to worship at her breasts, Chris bit down on her nipple as she convulsed, her insides tightening down around Justin as he soaked himself in her juices.
“Please...” she begged. “Oh, please... I want both of you...”
The hard erection inside of her withdrew, but before she could groan with disappointment, Justin had already realigned himself and was pressing into the crinkled rose of her anus, lubricated only by her juices. The tight hole protested and then spread, taking him into her body with that wonderful burning sensation of muscles stretching past their limits. She welcomed the slight pain, the heady rush of pleasure as he took her intimately. Even as her body began to adjust to the anal invasion, Chris had lowered his hand between them to grip the base of his own cock, stirring her sensitive pussy folds with the head.
When he rubbed the velvet hardness against her swollen clit, Jessica gasped and shuddered, her insides clenching down over Justin's thick girth. Letting out a small moan, he shoved the rest of the way in, hard enough to make her yelp. She shook with reaction, her core pulsing with hot need at the mingled pain and pleasure.
“I'm in,” Justin growled with the effort of holding himself still inside of her.
Chris diverted the head of his cock and pressed upward as Justin's weight pushed her down. She was so wet, Chris slid easily into the tight space, the mushroom head rasping over the sweet spot deep inside as he filled her. She was sandwiched between them, completely stuffed full, all her nerve endings burning with the incredible sensation.
Then they began to move.
Heat and need pulsed through her as she bucked against them. They were two sides to a coin, and she was the connection between them. The hard pumping of their bodies ignited her, consumed her, completed her. No wonder Chris had finally been willing to go toe-to-toe with his family. If he felt this same kind of rightness between the three of them, it would be almost impossible not to. This was why she had hated lying by omission to her mother, why she had been completely truthful to Hilary. She wasn’t ashamed of this unusual relationship because to her, it wasn't unusual at all. She was surrounded by their love, their need for her, and she gave it back to them in a symbiotic outpouring of emotion and support. They were everything she hadn't known she was looking for.
