She hugged him close. “Oh, you never would have done that. You wouldn’t have dropped me. Why do you think I just jumped? I realize now that no matter what way I would have gone, someone would have saved me. Cooper came in through the back rooms of the suite so he would have found me in the bedroom. Dane came in through the front. And you were going to climb right up to the balcony. I was protected on all sides. She didn’t have a chance.”
“She had a chance to take a shot at you.”
“Don’t, Lan. I want this afternoon to be perfect. I’m alive. Our baby is alive. The doctor said I can have sex just about any way we want. We only have a few more days to have crazy single sex before we move on to crazy married sex.” She sighed and rested her head on his chest, listening to the sound of his heart. “Please, Lan. I need to know if I’ve lost Dane.”
“You haven’t lost any of us, baby. Dane just feels the weight of what happened. And I’m a little worried that he thinks he needs to change. That’s why Coop came up with this insane plan.” He leaned over and kissed her, his lips brushing against hers. “You have to prove to Dane you can handle the whole Dom thing. I know he thinks he can live without it, but there will be a huge hole in his life.”
And in hers as well because she craved the kind of dominance only Dane could give her. “I want him to be happy, Lan. And I want this part of him. I trust you and Dane and Cooper. I love you all so much. I want to try everything. I don’t want any walls between us.”
“All right. Let’s get this ball rolling then. You’re wrong about the single sex though, baby. I haven’t been single since the minute I saw you. I think I married you in my heart a long time ago.”
God, he always said the right things. He thought he was inept, but he always knew how to calm her. She smiled at him, and they started down the hall, to the dungeon, where their lives together were going to begin again.
“It’s down here,” Cooper said, practically pulling Dane along.
What was up with that? Dane pulled back.
“Coop, the only thing that way is the dungeon.” And he didn’t want to be there. God, he hated the fact that there was a dungeon right here and he would never step into it with Alea. He would never lovingly bind her and torture her for their mutual pleasure. He would never hear her call him Master.
Husband. He had to be satisfied with being her husband. She couldn’t handle the missionary position, so he definitely couldn’t expect her to climb onto a St. Andrews Cross and count it out for him.
“Yeah, what I need you to see is in the dungeon,” Cooper insisted. “Come on, man. It’s a surprise for Alea. It’s for our wedding night.”
“In the dungeon?”
Cooper shrugged. “It’s the one place I don’t expect her to look. Come on, Dane. Don’t tell me you’re still having doubts.”
About loving Alea? Not a chance. About being the right man for her? Yeah. He was having all kind of doubts about that. He could still remember the minute he’d seen the guard dead in front of her room, his body lying there like a message to Dane. You’ll lose her. You can’t keep her, you fucking pervert. You ruin everything you touch.
He could still hear his ex-wife and his father. He’d lost one family over his needs. Was he ready to lose another one? Did he even deserve another one?
“I love Alea, but the last couple of days have been rough. I had to kill her cousin. I think I should give her some space.”
“Her cousin was a jealous whack job who was trying to kill her. I think she’s going to be fine with you pulling that particular trigger. The al Mussads are wonderful, but I have to say that the extended family leaves something to be desired. First Khalil and then Yasmin. I think we should take a look at the old family tree and prune it proactively of any other cousins who don’t live in the palace. Really, it’ll save us so much time and crap in the future,” Cooper said.
Dane turned to him. They were getting closer to the dungeon, and he really didn’t get Coop’s good mood. Well, he did. Coop had been making love to Alea. Coop had been wrapping himself in her sweetness. Lan was too worried. And Dane just kept his distance. She hadn’t wanted him since their time on the island, and he couldn’t shove his needs on her. Alea was pregnant, and he’d forced her to marry the three of them. Oh, she’d said all the right things lately, but she’d only said them after she’d learned about the baby.
“This isn’t something to joke about,” Dane growled.
Cooper sighed. “Buddy, you have to get out of this mood.”
“She almost died.”
“But she didn’t. She’s alive and needs to know that we still love her. She needs to know that her men will always be here for her.”
Probably. But did she love them? If he could shove his darker desires down, maybe after a while she would.
“I’m not going anywhere, Coop.” He would be right there standing beside them when they married Alea, and then he would prove he could handle being vanilla. He would prove he could find a place in this family. And not entering the dungeon would only prove now that he was a pussy. Tal was a Dom. If Dane was going to live in this palace, he had to get used to being around all the things he couldn’t have.
“I know, but you’re not really here either. You’re just existing, and it shouldn’t be that way. We’re getting married. We’re having a baby. This is the time of our lives, and you’re stuck in the past. It’s time to get you unstuck.” Cooper put a hand on the door.
“Man, you need a key to that.” Tal didn’t just leave the dungeon door open.
“Not today, I don’t.” Cooper turned the knob and pushed open the heavy door.
“Holy shit.” Dane stood there for a moment because the dungeon wasn’t empty. Not at all. Two occupants waited for them, one gloriously naked.
Alea. His beautiful Alea was bare and standing next to Landon, as they looked over a tray of jewelry. Not jewelry. Toys. Clamps and beautiful chains. All lovely things to decorate a submissive with. He felt his cock go stiff and long, pressing against his slacks as though trying to punch its way out.
“What the hell is this?” Dane croaked hoarsely.
“Baby, you’re on,” Cooper said. He was obviously in on whatever this was. He shrugged out of his shoulder holster and put it within reach, and started to pull off his shirt. “Just like we practiced, Lea. Dane, lock that door. Piper knows we’re in here, but I wouldn’t want the staff to walk in.”
Running on autopilot, Dane shut the door, his whole body on the edge. He locked it because they apparently had something to say, and Coop was right. They didn’t want anyone walking in.
He stared at the dark wood of the door, unwilling to turn around and see her again. “Alea, what is this about?”
“It’s about you, Dane.” Her voice sounded slightly unsteady. “I love you. I want to play with you now and for the rest of our lives. I want to give you what you need. Cooper and Landon want to play, too.”
“I don’t need this, Lea.” He forced himself to swallow down a long breath. “We’re fine the way we are.” He would never force her to do something she didn’t want. “I won’t treat you like your captors.”
The last few days had been about far more than just the fact that Yasmin had tried to kill his woman. He’d read every article that had been written about the crash and all the crap those reporters had dug up. Tal had done a good job of keeping it quiet the first time, but the press had gone insane when Alea’s plane crashed. Every sordid truth had been detailed. From her kidnapping to the nastiness of the brothel, to ways she’d been tortured and the fact that she’d been force-fed heroin.
He couldn’t take her control again.
A soft hand cupped his shoulder. “You don’t ever, ever compare yourself to them. I won’t have it.”
He turned and was surprised at the anger in her dark eyes. Tears shimmered there, too, but her mouth was a flat angry line. “Lea…”
“Not ever, Dane. They were evil, and you’re so good. You’ve spent your life protecting people. You gave up your career to save lives. You are a hero, and I will not allow anyone to make you think less of yourself. I am so sorry I forced you into a terrible position in front of Talib. I really do want to marry you. I want you. Can you forgive me?”
Something deep inside him softened. She was standing here, naked in front of him, her fierce soul finally on display. Yet she was trying to protect his nasty ass. Though he outweighed her by a hundred pounds, she looked ready to take on anything that might be a threat. For him. Cooper had been right. This wasn’t a woman who gave a shit about how much money he had or his social status. She’d been trying to spare him, but he didn’t want to be spared. He only wanted her and he wanted her happy and safe and whole. After years of living the lifestyle, he finally understood. It wasn’t just about putting her needs before his. It was about putting her first always. She was the center of their universe. Alea and their babies were everything to him. They were his future.
“I forgive you. Alea, baby, I love you. I don’t need this. I know I’ve been a little aloof, but you just answered every question I had. We’re okay. Let’s get you dressed and go back to our room, and I’ll make love to you properly.”
With all the gentleness she deserved. He would let her make the pace and only take what she was willing to give. He could handle it.
“Properly?” She frowned his way. “That sounds boring, Dane. I want you, especially that dirty, nasty side you’ve been trying to pretend doesn’t exist.”
Dane sighed. She seemed determined to not make this easy on him. He felt his whole body tighten. “Lea, you don’t understand what you’re asking for.”
She took a step back, and he missed the heat of her body. “Yes, I do. I was on that island. I know what you want. I can handle it, Dane. I can more than handle it. I want it. I crave it.”
She was so fucking gorgeous. Her whole body was a fucking temple, and he worshipped it. From the pitch black of her hair to her round breasts to the sweet curve of her belly and the flare of her hips. He loved her fucking feet. He usually didn’t give a shit about feet, but hers were so sweet. He always had the craziest impulse to rub them and kiss them because they held her up and moved her along beside him.
“Lea, after everything you’ve been through, you don’t need my damage.”
“It’s not damage, Dane. It’s part of you, and I damn well do need it. I wouldn’t be where I am if you hadn’t pushed me.”
Tal had said that Alea needed him most of all, especially his Dom side. Maybe…the sheikh had been right.
“Do you know what I did today?”
His heart was aching because she was everything he wanted in life. “What?”
“I set up an international agency to fight for women’s rights across the globe. I made plans to meet with women who were taken at the same time I was so we can talk and make plans so that what happened to us stops happening to other young women. I became more than a victim. I became a force that those who took me and everyone like them will have to deal with.”
Damn, those tears were starting again. He’d looked at her so long ago and he’d known what she could be. This warrior in front of him was the woman that girl had become. She could change the world if she set her mind to it.
“Lea, baby, sometimes bad shit happens to the right people. It sucks and it’s horrible but those people can fix things for everyone else. You’re that person. You can stand up for everyone else. This is why it happened to you.” He hated that she’d gone through so much pain, but she had an opportunity to make the world better. He’d spent years fighting in wars, but Alea was the one who would truly fight the good fight. And he would be right there, protecting her.
She stared up at him, her eyes so passionate. “And this is why everything that happened in your childhood, with the Navy, and with your wife happened to you. Dane, can’t you see that? These roads we’ve traveled, they were hard and rough and they made us the people we are. They brought us here—together. I couldn’t have become this person without you, Landon, and Cooper. And this damage you’re talking about…you endured and grew because of it. It’s your strength. Damn it, Dane, it’s our strength.”
She took a step back and sank to her knees in a perfectly graceful move down to slave position, her knees splayed wide and her palms up. The black waterfall of her hair reached to her breasts, the ends almost tickling her nipples. She squared her shoulders. The deeply submissive position left her pussy and her breasts on glorious display. Her nipples were erect, pointing his way, as though trying to tempt him to lick them and suck them into his mouth. And her pussy was a jewel, gold and pink, with just a hint of the arousal he wanted to flow from her.