Safe Harbor (26 page)

Sully grabbed Mac’s hair and pulled his head up. “Tell me what you want.”

“Fuck you! Green!”

Clarisse gasped, worried. Mac’s answer seemed to amuse Sully though. He ruffled Mac’s hair and kissed him. “Have it your way, slave.” He returned to his position behind Mac, waited for Clarisse to resume her position, and viciously started in on him again. Mac screamed, strained against the restraints as tears ran down his face.

Each blow ripped another ragged howl from Mac. Before long, he was swearing at Sully and calling him every filthy name in the book and then some as he yanked on the restraints.

But he didn’t safeword. Sully dished the insults back to him as good as he took them, interspersed with taunts to safeword.

Mac’s standard response to that: “Fuck you! Green!”

He was still screaming when Sully stepped closer and, almost without missing a beat, switched to a riding crop and locked eyes with Clarisse.

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He pointed to the floor.

Still stunned from what she’d witnessed, she dropped to her knees in front of Mac and swallowed his cock, wanting to give him some measure of enjoyment.

Sully yelled, “Come
now
, slave!” He savaged Mac’s ass with rapid-fire blows.

Mac’s hips bucked against her face as his cock swelled and his hot juices exploded from him, pouring down her throat almost faster than she could keep up. When he went limp in the restraints she worried he’d passed out, but Sully was already there with a blanket, wrapping it around him, supporting him. He pulled Mac’s blindfold off.

Sully face was an unreadable mask, his voice hoarse. “Good girl,”

he whispered. “Help me unhook him.”

She jumped to her feet and ran over to the switch to lower the bar so she could reach the straps. Mac cried, sobbing in Sully’s arms.

When the bar was low enough for her to reach, she unhooked the straps. Sully draped Mac’s arm over his shoulders and his own around Mac’s waist and half dragged the larger man away.

“Bring our stuff,” he called over his shoulder.

She quickly gathered their things and ran after them to the dressing room.

Sully had Mac seated on one of the benches. He was slumped over, his head in Sully’s lap, no longer crying but he shivered.

Clarisse hadn’t put her shoes back on yet. Sully glanced at her.

“Please bring me a bottle of water.” She ran for one and brought it to him. Sully twisted the top off and cupped Mac’s head in one hand, lifted it enough he could place the bottle against Mac’s lips. “Drink, buddy,” Sully ordered, his tender tone the polar opposite of the one he’d used during the vicious beating.

Mac took a small sip.

“No, Brant,” Sully said. “More. You need to drink.”

Mac finally did, then rested his head in Sully’s lap. He still didn’t open his eyes.

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Sully nodded toward one of the duffel bags. “There should be a pair of shorts and a T-shirt in there. Get those, please. And a towel, and the zip-top bag with the ointment and stuff in it.”

She found them. “Where do you want them?”

“Bathroom.” Once she placed the items on the counter in there, Sully carefully nudged Mac to his feet and guided him into the bathroom.

He closed the door. She felt her heart fall at being shut out.

Sully called out. “Clarisse?”

“Yeah?”

“I thought you were right behind us. Come here.”

Her soul lightened as she stepped in with them and locked the door behind her. Mac stood, albeit dangerously swaying on his feet and leaning on the counter for support. His eyes were still closed.

“Get the harness off him, babe,” Sully quietly ordered.

She did, working by feel under the blanket and trying to be careful of his back. Sully peeled the blanket up and let out a low hiss.

“Fuck, Brant. Why the hell didn’t you safeword?”

“I didn’t need to,” he replied, his voice still sounding slurred.

Clarisse started to look. Sully touched her shoulder and shook his head. “Not tonight, babe. Sit on the counter and let him lean on you.

Keep your eyes closed.”

She did. Mac wrapped his arms around her waist and put his head in her lap. She buried her face in his hair and didn’t look as Sully removed the blanket from him and did something. Mac grunted in pain a couple of times. She guessed Sully was dressing his wounds.

Sully grabbed her hand. “Hold this.” He placed her hand against Mac’s back. She felt something under her fingers. “It’s safe to look.

He’d draped a large nonstick dressing across Mac’s back and affixed bandage tape to hold it in place. Angry welts and red marks were visible around the outer perimeter of the bandage.

“So his shirt doesn’t stick to him,” Sully explained as he secured the dressing. “The ointment will help prevent infection.” He grabbed

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the T-shirt, carefully pulled it over Mac’s head, and she helped him get his arms in it. Then Sully slowly rolled it down Mac’s torso, being careful not to dislodge the dressing.

He picked up the shorts and tapped Mac’s right leg. “Lift.”

Mac obeyed. Sully repeated it with his left and gingerly slid the shorts up Mac’s legs and into place. “Stay here with him. I’ll be right back.” He left the door open as he rummaged through the bag and found the cane, crop, and whip he’d used. He wiped them with antibacterial wipes and then put them away in the bag and packed the rest of their gear.

He looked through the bathroom door. “Can you handle the bags, sweetie?”

“Yeah.” She brushed her fingers through Mac’s hair.

Sully shoved her shoes into one of the bags, put his own shirt back on but left it unbuttoned, then grabbed the blanket, and draped it over Mac again. “Come on, Brant,” he said. “Time to get you home.”

Mac finally opened his eyes. Sully helped him straighten up and supported him while he walked. Clarisse followed them. She grabbed the bags on the way out the door and they made their way through the dewy field to the Jag.

Sully led Mac around to the rear passenger door. “Shit. Honey, the keys are in my left front pocket. Can you get them?” His left arm was hooked around Mac’s waist.

She fished around, found them, and unlocked the car. “Put the bags in the trunk,” he said. “Get your purse out so you have your license.” He helped Mac into the backseat and slid in beside him. Mac immediately leaned over, put his head in Sully’s lap, and fell asleep.

Sully buckled his seatbelt. “You okay driving?”

“I’m fine.”

He pulled the back door shut as she opened the trunk to get her purse. A moment later, she was adjusting the Jag’s seat, mirrors, and steering wheel. When she glanced in the rearview mirror, she could make out Sully’s form in the darkness. He had his arms around Mac

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and leaned over to kiss him.

Without another word, she started the car and slowly made her way down the driveway.

She thought she was nearing the interstate when Sully spoke. “Do you remember how to get home?”

Her hands tightened on the wheel. “Yeah.”

He was quiet for a few minutes. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

More silence. Then, “You had to see us at our worst.”

“Worst?”

“Rarely do we play harder than that. Very rarely.” He let out a clipped laugh. “Usually when we play that hard it ends with me fucking him. I normally beat him like that bent over a spanking horse or bench, not standing up.”

“Then why did you play differently tonight?”

“Because I wanted you to be a part of it. For you to see what it’s like. To give you a chance to see it from both sides.”

“To see if I could take it?”

He fell quiet for a moment. “You could say that.”

“Is that why you were so hard on him?”

“Nope. I warned you, sometimes he needs it this hard.”

She still had difficulty processing that, but her brain had stepped a little closer to accepting it, even if she didn’t understand it. “You weren’t that hard on him just because I was there, were you?”

“No.” He was quiet for a while longer. “If you want to be a part of us, you have to accept who we are, not just the parts of us you want to accept. Just like we’ll accept all of who you are.”

“I’ll never be able to take a beating like he did.”

“I know you couldn’t. I would never make you take one like that either. You’re not him. I couldn’t believe you went as far as you did tonight.” More silence. “I’m sorry, by the way.”

She glanced in the rearview mirror. In the headlights of an oncoming car, she saw his grey gaze focused on her. “For what?”

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“For pushing you so hard tonight. I told you I wouldn’t hurt you.

But you took the lighter stuff so well I wanted to see how far we could comfortably take you.”

“It was okay.” She might be sore tomorrow, but well worth it. “I told you, I’ve got a higher than average pain tolerance.”

“I’m still sorry. I hope you don’t hate me.”

She had to stop for a light in downtown Tarpon. She turned and looked over the seat at him. “I would have safeworded if I couldn’t take it. I don’t hate you for what you did to me.”

“But you do hate me.”

Only a moron could miss the regret in his voice. “No, I don’t hate you. Quit putting words in my mouth. Did the thing with Mac shock me? Yes. I’m not supposed to lie, so I won’t. It shocked the hell out of me. What you did to me…” She shook her head. “I don’t have words to describe it.

“Wow?”

She laughed and turned to drive as the light changed to green.

“Yeah,
wow
about covers it.”

“What upset you later?”

She didn’t want to admit it. “Nothing.”

He didn’t respond.

“Just dealing with it all, that’s it,” she added.

He studied her, but said nothing.

At the house, Sully roused Mac enough to get him to climb the stairs. Clarisse brought the bags in and hesitated in the living room.

Finally, she left them on the couch, returned to her room, and changed clothes.

Too tired to do anything else, she was ready to fall into bed when Sully softly knocked on her door.

“Yeah.”

He opened it. He’d changed out of his jeans and wore only a pair of boxers. “I wanted to say good night, and you did good.”

She blushed. “Thanks.”

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He pointed at her neck. “Want that off?”

The collar. She’d forgotten about it.

She nodded. He removed it for her, then he stepped in and pulled her to him for a long, strong hug. “You don’t have to try to make sense of things tonight or tomorrow or even a month from now. There is no expiration date on this offer. I’ve already told you what would make me ask you to leave. If you stay a year or a lifetime, as long as we’re the only men in your life, we’re fine with that.”

“Thank you.”

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’d ask if you wanted to sleep with us tonight, but he’ll wake up horny.”

She snorted. “I doubt that.”

“No, seriously. The next morning, he’s…” He smiled. “One of those things you’d have to learn about us.” He turned and quietly shut the door behind him as he left.

Clarisse stared at the closed door.
Horny?

She guessed she had a lot to learn about the men. The question was, could she take the risk to agree to their insane proposition?

Or could she risk
not
taking them up on it?

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The next morning, Clarisse slept late. Her arms felt a little achy, and she had a few bruises on her ass, but otherwise, she felt good.

Mac was already awake and cooking breakfast. He grinned when she walked into the kitchen. She didn’t miss the fact that he wore a T-shirt and shorts.

“There’s our sleepyhead. Pancakes?” He pulled her in for a long, strong hug.

He acted like he’d already had three pots of coffee.

“You’re certainly chipper.”

“Feeling good.”

“How is that possible?”

He gave her a peck on the end of her nose. “Slept like a rock, had a nice morning wake-up, and life’s good.”

His infectious smile made her smile. “Despite last night?”

“Because of it. And because a certain someone figured prominently in my sexy dreams last night.” He waggled his eyebrows at her before turning to the stove again.

Sully didn’t make an appearance. “He went back to sleep,” Mac explained with a sly grin. “I wore him out this morning.” He sat at the counter with her and wolfed his food.

She stared, incredulous. “How can you even walk this morning?”

“Just the way my body is. Yeah, I’ve got some pain, but that’s cool. Except it’s making me damn horny.” He laughed.

She quit trying to figure it out.

* * * *

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The next afternoon, nearly six weeks after Clarisse had first met them, Sully announced arrangements for Mac to take her to Columbus the next day to meet with the investigating officers and get her things…and Bart. Mac took her to the mall to pick her up a few new items, including a nice dress that he insisted looked great on her.

Clarisse found she couldn’t eat, her nerves one hugely painful knot that threatened to rapidly return to sender any food she tried to swallow.

Sully sent Mac instead of going himself because Sully had a conference to prepare for and would be leaving for New York in two days. He drove them to Tampa International. Because of TSA rules, Sully couldn’t continue with them past the main terminal. He hugged Mac and whispered something in his ear before releasing him. Mac smiled, nodded, and brushed one last kiss across Sully’s lips. She noticed the ID bracelet on Mac’s wrist. His other day collar, worn in conjunction with the silver chain collar around his neck.

Clarisse watched the men’s interaction, startled by the melancholy pang that flashed through her own soul.

Sully smiled at her before his expression grew serious. “Be safe.”

He took her hands in his. “Listen to him, okay? Do what he says. Let him protect you. He’ll take care of you.”

She nodded, blinking back tears. She would miss Sully a lot more than she’d anticipated.

Then he surprised her—he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. “I’m going to miss you,” he whispered in her ear.

“I’ll miss you, too.”

“I’ve given him orders to behave himself, just so you know.

Nothing personal. I don’t want any confusion for either of you. When we’re all home next week, we’ll talk.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head before he released her.

If only she could let go of that last little stupid, stubborn fear and jealousy and totally trust him the way she trusted Mac.

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Mac grabbed their carry-ons and led the way through the first checkpoint to the airside terminal monorail. He caught her eye and winked. “It’ll be okay, honey.”

She wished she could be so sure. Mac was a big guy, obviously able to take care of himself. Bryan was huge, beefy.

And owned a gun.

Thirty minutes later, they made it through security and sat at the gate while awaiting their flight. By the time their flight took off, she felt more than ready for a drink to steady her nerves even though she knew it wasn’t a good idea. Besides, she didn’t have any cash on her and suspected Mac wouldn’t buy her alcohol even if she asked for it.

He brushed his fingers along the back of her hand on the armrest.

“I know you’re scared,” he softly said. “But this will be okay. You probably won’t even see him.”

She nodded and stared out the window.

They switched planes in Atlanta before continuing to Columbus.

The closer they got, the more nervous she felt. If it weren’t for Bart, she’d seriously consider leaving it all, even pictures of her parents. It was just stuff, not worth risking her life, or Mac’s, over.

Of course Bryan would go free if she didn’t go back to talk to the police and prosecutors again.

Mac laced his fingers through hers as the plane circled for its final approach. He didn’t speak, sensing her ever-growing tension.

She’d let the men make the plans, willing to go along with whatever they decided. Mac wanted to grab her stuff first thing the next morning so they could leave town immediately after talking to the cops if necessary. They rented a car, then drove to the U-Haul lot where Sully had already reserved a truck for Mac. Clarisse felt jumpy, on edge as they drove to the motel Sully had picked out. Mac got them checked in. She relaxed only after securely locking and deadbolting the door behind them.

While Mac called Sully, she collapsed on her bed and closed her eyes. She jumped, startled, when Mac touched her shoulder what felt

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like seconds later.

“You hungry?”

She started to say no, but then the smell of pizza hit her and her stomach growled. “Holy crap, where’d that come from?”

He held two pizza boxes and sat on the end of her bed. “You’ve been out for two hours.”

“No way!”

“Way. It’s after seven.” He handed her some napkins. “I’m sorry.

I couldn’t wait any longer. I’m starving. I hope you don’t mind I ordered.”

She sat up and scrubbed her face with her hands. “I can’t believe I passed out like that. I even slept through the delivery guy?”

He opened the boxes. “Yep.”

He’d ordered everything she liked. “Thanks, Mac.”

“We told you we’re taking care of you. Sully and I mean it.” He took a bite.

She knew they meant it. Part of her felt guilty that they were willing to take care of her indefinitely, without her taking things any further in their relationship. Asking nothing of her in return except for her trust, honesty, and fidelity.

Why could she trust Sully to whip her ass, to not to kick her out on her ass, but she couldn’t trust him to own it?

As exhausted as she’d been, at midnight she still tossed and turned in bed. Mac had fallen asleep in his bed and she couldn’t help but lie on her side and watch him. Flickering light from the TV caused shadows to dance across him. He slept on his side, facing her.

She thought about the play party, the things they did to her, the things she helped Sully do to Mac. The blow job.

She could have him. Both of them. Clarisse closed her eyes as Sully’s words rippled through her memory. She’d have to learn to fully trust him if she wanted to really become part of them.

She remembered the nasty jealousy. That pushed her beyond her limits.

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When she opened her eyes again a few minutes later, Mac was staring at her. “Hey,” he whispered.

She blushed, glad for the dark room. “Hey.”

“Can’t sleep?”

“No. I’m too nervous.”

He scooted farther away from her and patted the mattress next to him. He wore a pair of boxers and a T-shirt. “Come here.”

“You’ll get in trouble.”

“Not much. He gave me a little leeway. It’s okay.”

Her need and nerves shoved her guilt to the side. She threw back the covers, changed beds, and cuddled next to him. His familiar scent comforted and soothed her as she snuggled against him.

When he wrapped his arm around her, she felt safe and secure.

“Go to sleep, sweetheart. This’ll be okay. We’ll be leaving for home the day after tomorrow at the latest. Once we’re on the road, you’ll feel better.”

She had to admit calling the men’s house her home felt right.

It could be her home forever.

They could be
her
men.

She wasn’t sure she’d sleep, but when she opened her eyes again she lay alone in bed and grey light crept around the edges of the motel curtains. She heard Mac in the bathroom, talking. Probably on the phone to Sully. A few minutes later the shower started. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed. She’d wait to take one until after they finished moving her stuff, but she had to call Raquel to confirm their plans. She’d called her after settling in at Mac and Sully’s, to let her know she’d arrived safely and what had happened.

“Girl, I’m so glad to hear from you! Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Has he bothered you?”

“He called once, and I think maybe a drive-by or two, but nothing in the past several weeks. You ready to get the peewee pup?”

“Yeah. We’ll call you in an hour where to meet.”

“That’s perfect, because I’ve got to get him from Tonya’s

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anyway. He tried to eat John. Tonya’s single.”

Clarisse closed her eyes and tried not to cry. “I’m sorry I’ve dragged you and John into this.”

“Listen to me, this was a long time coming. I wish you’d stood up to him the first time. He’d be in jail, and you’d be free already.”

Clarisse heard the shower shut off. “I know. I’ll talk to you later.”

She was hanging up when Mac emerged, a towel wrapped around his waist.

He smiled. “Good morning, Sleeping Beauty. I’ll be ready in a few minutes.” He tossed her his phone. “Call Master and say good morning to him, okay?” He returned to the bathroom and shut the door. The marks across his back from the previous weekend were already healing nicely.

Apparently waiting for her call, Sully answered almost immediately.

“Did you sleep well?”

She blushed, started to say yes, then opted for the full truth. “Not at first. Mac offered to let me cuddle with him.” She waited for a disapproving tone, but once again, he surprised her.

“Good.”

“You’re not upset?”

He laughed. “Is your question, are you going to punish Mac?”

“Yes.”

“Of course I am, but not for what you think. Thank you, by the way.”

“For what?”

“For telling me the truth. As Mac will be the first to tell you, telling me the truth, especially if you know there will be punishment, will always earn you a reward.”

The way he almost purred the last word stirred a ball of molten heat between her legs. His voice sounded like it had at the play party.

She closed her eyes and tried to focus. “Thank you for letting him come with me.”

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His tone grew serious and firm. “If you honestly think I would have let you return alone, you have a ways to go in terms of learning to trust me, don’t you?”

She didn’t want to answer, but felt his gaze even through the phone. “Yes,” she softly admitted.

His soft chuckle stirred her. “Good girl. At least you admit it. Be safe, I’ll talk to you later. Love you.” Then he hung up before she could reply.

She stared at the phone.