“That was why I didn’t tell you.” Beth’s arms wound around Bo’s waist. “I thought you would walk away. I’m sorry.”
“Trev assures me he isn’t going anywhere for a while,” Bo replied, trying to gauge Trev’s reaction.
Trev’s hand came out and smoothed back Beth’s hair. “You accepted me as your Dom. That means you accept all the shit storm that comes with it. Do you want me to leave? Because this could be bad for you. The people in this town will give you both hell for being involved with me.”
Bo seemed to be forever in this position. But now he had a ready answer. “They can go fuck themselves.”
Beth smiled. The expression held a confident grace he’d never seen on her face before. “What Bo said.”
“Then come in the house.” Trev turned on his heels and started for the door.
Bo looked down at his best friend. “Are you sure about this? You seem to really care about him. If you want, I can walk away, and I promise we’ll still be friends.” He couldn’t stand the thought, but he was beginning to understand this stuff. She should have all the options laid out. She should know what she was getting into and that the men she was getting involved with wanted her to be happy.
“I do care about him, Bo. I think I’m falling in love with him. I know I’ve never met anyone like him, but I love you, too. And he’s not staying here forever. He’s moving west in a year. He told me. He could teach us a lot. I want to explore this thing.”
He heard the urgency in her voice. “You really want to try this out. You want me spank you? You want me to tie you up?”
He wasn’t so sure about it. His cock was sure. His cock was ready for anything that got it closer to her pussy, but Bo wasn’t sure. He’d known real violence. Could he really give her what she seemed to need?
“I want to try.”
He laced his fingers through hers. Trev was waiting at the door. “Then we’ll try.”
He was done being selfish. His selfishness had kept them apart for years. She’d given so much to him. How could he refuse her?
Trev’s eyes nearly bore a hole through them as they walked up. He seemed different than before, stronger, more in control. He seemed to be bigger, taller, as though he took on extra height the minute he decided to become the Dom.
“The rules haven’t changed, Beth. Don’t think because Bo is with us that it changes anything. You know what to do when this door closes, and you know what position I want you in. I require obedience tonight. You’ll have pleasure, but I’ll have submission.”
Position? She was going to get into a position?
Beth nodded, her face tranquil as she passed him. She didn’t seem even close to nervous. A calm had settled over Beth that Bo just didn’t feel yet. Trev stopped him, putting a hand on his chest and allowing the door to close.
“Give her a minute. We should talk.”
God, Trev was going to talk him to death. Plain old vanilla sex had way less talking. “I thought we already talked.”
“I’m going to be rough with her. I need you to really watch her. You’ll see what she wants.”
“You haven’t known her very long. How can you be sure what she wants?”
“Years of training. I know you think this is all bullshit, but I’ve spent years watching submissives. Watch her. See what she needs. Sex isn’t some bodily exchange. It’s a dance, and she needs you to lead.”
Fuck. He was a terrible dancer. He had two left feet.
Trev laughed as though he could read his mind. “You’ll be fine, Bo. Give her what she needs, take care of her, and then it will be your turn.”
“Why the fuck are you doing this? Don’t give me that crap about this is what Mou…Beth needs.” It was too perfect. Bo couldn’t trust it.
Trev suddenly stared at something in the distance. “She does need you, Bo. And maybe I need you, too. I’m always so close to the edge. It’s always right there. I’ve fucked up so many times in so many ways, and I can’t even give a good excuse for it. All of my life I was the golden boy.”
And all of Bo’s, he’d been the damn whipping boy. He opened his mouth to explain that his position had been worse, but Trev kept talking.
“I was the one everyone looked up to. I was the one who would win the game. I was the one who scored near perfect on my SATs. I was the one who got all the girls. And all I wanted was a damn beer because it was too much pressure. I couldn’t handle it. What other people saw as this charmed life, I knew it was just one long fall waiting to happen. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the game. But I hated the other parts. I hated the pressure. I hated the fact that I couldn’t trust a single person around me because they all had an angle. You didn’t have an angle.”
“Sure I did. I wanted to learn from you. Hell, in some ways I wanted you to protect me.” It was sad, but it was the truth. Maybe Trev hadn’t had it so perfect.
“And apparently I didn’t do a good job of it.” Trev sighed, some of his confidence gone.
And Bo finally understood Trev McNamara. Trev McNamara felt too much. He wasn’t a man who could accept the gifts he’d been given with a laid-back air. It was too much for him. He didn’t feel he’d earned it no matter how much time he’d spent in training. He’d been surrounded by people who didn’t truly love him, who’d used him, and he’d felt it too much. He’d deadened those emotions with alcohol and drugs.
A deep calm settled in Bo’s chest. He’d had the opposite problem. He’d never been wanted by his father. His mother had died long before she could have branded him with love and affection. His brother had cared, but he had his own life. Bo had deadened the pain by withdrawing, even from himself, by floating through life, trying to get along, never fighting.
Beth had done the same. She’d allowed things to happen to her rather than stand up for herself because she’d never been taught how. Her parents had been quiet academics in a town where no one valued them.
Aidan was right. Bo needed Trev, but by god, Bo had just figured out that Trev needed him, too.
“I won’t let you fuck up. I know I’m smaller than you, but I swear I can be meaner. I see you come close to a beer, I’ll find a way to kick your ass. And I’ll be here to take care of Beth. You don’t have to worry about that.”
The Dom was back. “See that you do. Keep your mind open tonight, Bo.”
Trev was doing that whole “intimidating” thing Aidan did whenever he was about to go to the barn. Bo knew what went on in the barn, and it wasn’t anything having to do with the ranch. The barn was his brother’s personal dungeon. Trev was prepping for some play, but Bo hadn’t missed the way his eyes had softened at the promise of an ass kicking.
Trev opened the door, and Bo walked through feeling infinitely better. He supposed when his brother had talked about the lifestyle, he’d always thought he’d get ground beneath “the Dom’s” boot. He wasn’t a Dom. But he wasn’t exactly a sub, either. Not once had he really thought that he could bring something to the relationship. Trev might be the only Dom in the world who needed what Bo could give him.
Then he wasn’t thinking about anything but the woman on the floor in front of him. He’d thought he was hard before, but the sight of Beth naked and waiting had his balls drawing up.
Beth sat in the middle of the hallway completely naked. Her spine was straight, but her head bowed submissively down. Her hair was a soft halo around her head, falling to her shoulders and just brushing her breasts. Fuck. He was looking at Beth’s breasts. Free from confinement, they were more beautiful than he’d imagined. Round and soft, with pretty pink nipples that just begged to be pulled between his lips and suckled. She’d hidden that gorgeous body underneath shapeless dresses and bulky blouses. Now he could see how her small waist curved into feminine hips.