He plucked the keys from her hands and strode out without a backward glance.
Beth stared at him, her mouth half-opened. It was good that she was aware of Bo, but Trev wanted her aware of him, too. “And we’re going to have a talk tomorrow about lying to me. I should explain that omitting pertinent facts is just the same as lying. You better pick a safe word, darlin’, because tomorrow, you’re going to need it.”
“Not tonight?”
He forced himself not to smile. She sounded disappointed. “Tonight is for something different, but you better enjoy it. I’m not going easy on you tomorrow. And you can tell Patty that, Wanda. Beth Hobbes’s butt is going to be red tomorrow because she defied her Dom.”
Wanda shook her head. “What is you people’s obsession with that man?”
Leo laughed. “You three go on ahead. I’ll call Lucas. He and Aidan can take me back to the scene of the crime. We’ll get your trucks back to Beth’s place for you. I was out the minute someone mentioned a Pinto. Seriously, they explode. And I prefer to travel in a vehicle that doesn’t require me to fold my body in two.”
“You’re getting a new car,” Trev said as he took her hand and walked out into the night.
Chapter Fourteen
Bo put the car in park and prayed his dick still worked. The freaking tin can Mouse drove had him bent in half. Beth. Fuck, that was hard. He was hard. Damn it, he was so hard.
Was he really about to do this? Was he really going to fuck Beth while Trev watched? Or would he be the one watching? Could he watch her writhe under Trev?
Beth took Trev’s hand as he helped her out of the car. Trev had forced her to go over every instant of her afternoon, from getting turned down at the bank, to cleaning up after the man who had shot at her. He’d been ruthless in his questioning. He’d forced her to tell him everything, right down to how it had made her feel.
Scared. Bo could have told him that. Bo had been pretty fucking scared when he’d realized someone with a gun was trying to kill her.
“Beth.” Trev’s voice was as dark as the night. “Do you understand why I’m angry? This relationship won’t work if you don’t even trust me enough to tell me when someone’s tried to hurt you. I want you to think about this. I require trust from you. I’m willing to give it, too. And now you have to think about whether you can handle the both of us.”
Bo stilled. He hadn’t even thought about the fact that she might say no. She really might say no. Shouldn’t this whole Dom thing preclude her from saying no? Shouldn’t Trev just tell her what he wanted, and she would do it? Even as he thought it, he knew this was one of those things his brother had tried to talk to him about. D/s wasn’t some crime perpetrated against the weaker player. It was a power exchange. In an exchange, something had to be given. First and foremost—permission. Beth had to say yes.
He couldn’t stand the thought of being left out. It had been surprisingly easy to make the decision to share her. The minute Trev had made the offer, Bo’s cock had jumped up, started singing, and bounced around with joy.
The truth was he actually thought it might be for the best. He already felt different. He felt stronger. He would wilt if she said no.
“I can handle it.” Beth smiled at Trev and put a hand out to Bo. “I want this. I want it so much.”
“Remember that tomorrow, darlin’.” Trev pulled her close. Bo envied the easy way he dominated her. “Tonight is going to be easy. You’ve had a hard day. You’ll take a simple spanking, and you’ll serve your Masters, but tomorrow is going to be rough.”
Masters?
“Bo tops me, too? I don’t know about that.” Beth looked at him, her lips frowning. “I can still remember a time when he cried because he broke his crayons.”
Trev looked over at him, too, though there was challenge in his eyes. Bo felt his pulse hitch. He could choose. He could top Beth, or he could be another sub. Trev would always be the alpha, but it was up to Bo where his place would be. His choice and his responsibility. If he chose to be a sub, Trev would take care of him. At least, that was the way it was supposed to work. If he chose to top Beth, he would have to not only take care of her, but change the way he viewed himself.
He reached out and gripped the back of her neck, loving the silky smooth feel of her skin and the way her lips softened. “I’m not a kid anymore.” Hell, he wasn’t even the same man he’d been a couple of days ago. Realizing he loved Beth and losing her, seeing her almost die, discovering that Trev just might be different than he’d thought—it all combined to form a changed version of Bo. And Bo liked the man he was becoming. “And I will top you, Beth. Don’t you think I can’t do it.”
“Are you going to kiss me?” Beth asked.
Fuck, yeah, he was going to kiss her. He tightened his fingers in her hair, but he asked Trev first. It seemed right. Trev was sharing her. “Can I kiss her?”
Trev chuckled. “You don’t have to ask. We’re not doing a scene tonight. This is how this works. I’m in charge during discipline and scenes. I expect both of you to come to me with your problems, not because I don’t think you can’t handle them, but because we’re in a relationship. I’ll talk to the two of you about all the things going on in my life. Trust me, you’ll hear more than you want about how I need a fucking drink. We’re in this together. But she’s yours, too, Bo. Kiss her.”
He looked down at her, tears suddenly threatening. For years and years she’d been the center of his world, and just like the fucking sun in the sky, he’d taken her for granted because she was always there.
“I love you, Beth.” The words didn’t come from his mouth. They were pushed out of his heart.
Her hands came up, cupping his cheeks. “I love you, too, Bo.”
She always had. All of his life, he’d looked for the one person who could anchor him. She’d been that anchor, not holding him down like a lodestone, but keeping him grounded in love and affection when everything else was dark. She’d been his everything, even when he’d ignored her. She’d been the quiet presence he could count on. He owed her everything.
“This is it, Beth. You understand? This isn’t sex. This is the rest of my life. I won’t ever leave you. I won’t ever touch another woman.” Nothing felt as freeing as making that pledge. He was twenty-five, and now he had his purpose in life, to make sure she was safe and happy.
Tears had formed in her eyes. “Do you really mean that? Because I don’t think I could stand it if you changed your mind.”
He was just going to have to show her. “Never.”
He lowered his head to hers, and his mouth brushed the softest lips he’d ever kissed. She sighed into his mouth, and Bo couldn’t mistake that single sound for anything but submission. His whole body tightened. His hands found that silky hair again as his tongue touched her lips, licking and seeking entry. Her mouth flowered open under his, and he truly tasted her sweetness for the first time. Their tongues played, hers shyly at first, and then with a soft, insistent demand. He pulled her close, feeling her breasts against his chest, her hips seeking his. His cock practically thumped against his zipper, begging to be let out. He wanted to shove her to the ground and get his cock inside. He needed to know she was his.
And he needed to make it good for her. So good for her.
“Come on, you two.” Trev’s voice sounded slightly strangled. “We should move this inside. We can’t be sure when the next idiot in this town is going to paint something we own in an attempt to run me out of town.”