Bryce
“Um, sir?” The new temp, whose name he actually remembered, popped her head in the door of his office. “Yes, Rebecca.”
She reminded him of an old TV show character. Fresh-faced and sweet, she seemed very innocent. She was a hard worker, and since he was having to look for a new assistant, she would have been a good choice if he weren’t so worried about scandalizing her.
“Your mother is on line two.”
“Shit. Are you sure?” He tried not to feel like a scolded schoolboy when she frowned at him and shook her head slightly. “Sorry.”
“Thank you. And yes, I’m positive.” She smoothed down her dress and walked back to the front, closing his door behind her.
She was nice, but she wouldn’t work.
He took a deep breath and picked up the phone, hitting line two. “Hi, Mom.”
“Don’t you ‘hi mom’ me like you’re so innocent. My babies are all falling in love and no one calls me?” Her voice was crisp, and he was right back to feeling like a kid.
“The guys said they called you.”
Had she found out about him? Bryce wasn’t sure what to tell her, so he’d hoped to stay under the radar for a little longer. He was past the point of fooling himself. He knew it was serious. His date with Oliver later in the evening was proof of that. He just wasn’t sure what to call it.
Hi Mom, here are my lovers…
Hi Mom, meet my boyfriends…
HI Mom, meet my Dom and our sub…
Hi Mom, meet my friends…
The last option had him cringing. Luckily, she charged on, stopping his mental gymnastics. “I called Garrett twice this week from crazy places and where is he? At Wyatt’s house. But all I’m getting is vague talk about getting serious and talking things out. Is he living with that boy without a collaring ceremony?”
“Um…” Bryce was going to play dumb with this one. He wasn’t sure what she’d been told, and he wasn’t going to be the one to tell her anything. He didn’t even know what Garrett was doing, so he wasn’t exactly lying. “I don’t think so.”
“We raised you boys better than that. When a Dom gets serious about a submissive, he or she has certain responsibilities. And that sweet boy shouldn’t be letting Garrett get away with taking advantage of him. I’m going to—”
Bryce had to jump in. “Wyatt’s thoughtful, but he wouldn’t let Garrett talk him into anything that…” He wasn’t sure what to say. He felt like he was having a 1950s-type discussion about a BDSM relationship. “I’m sure they’re making good choices.”
“How good? Do you know what they’re doing? If I find out he’s collared that sweet boy before I get home I’ll—”
“I haven’t heard anything like that.” Wyatt and Garrett had been acting odd, though nothing he had to define, so he thought he was in the clear. Besides, Garrett would know better than to do something while she was out of the country.
“I’m starting to think I need to come home sooner than I’d planned.” Her voice was thick with suspicion. She always had a sixth sense when they were up to something, and the way he figured, serious new relationships probably counted.
“Won’t they miss you?” She’d planned the trip and organized just about all of it.
“No. I think they’ll manage. Gerald will keep everyone in line. He’s good with managing people.” There was a quality to her voice that he hadn’t heard in a long time, but he didn’t want to know what it meant.
“That’s good, but I don’t want you to miss out on…Greece?”
“That was last week.” She clucked her tongue. “I could disappear and my children wouldn’t even know where I was supposed to be.”
“I was close.”
“No, you weren’t. I’ll resend you my itinerary. I should do that for all of you.” She was going to start micromanaging their calendars again if he couldn’t get her distracted.
“Grant met someone. He’s dating Carter.”
His mother sighed dramatically. “Yes, I had to hear that from Wyatt first and not Grant, but when I called Grant, he sounded very happy. I can’t wait to meet his young man. All my boys are falling in love. Brent and Calen finally stopped dancing around each other, which is a relief. I thought I was going to have to intervene with them when I got back.”
It seemed like a safer topic, so Bryce jumped on it. “They seem happy. Something seemed to be holding Calen back, but they’ve sorted it out.”
“Now we just have to get you sorted out. I met a very nice young man when I was in Germany. He’s a bit shy, but I think—”
“I don’t need you to set me up.”
“So you’ve met someone?”
Shit. He’d fallen for it. It was like high school all over again. “Mom, give me some space.”
She made a disapproving sound. “When I give you boys too much space it turns out like cooking. You never figure it out on your own. You do better with someone to manage you. Take-out works for dinner, but not really well for sex. At least, not without getting arrested or a disease.”
Bryce’s head might have hit the desk.
“I’m not getting hookers or hooking up every night. Just give me some space.”
“All right, until you’re ready to talk to me.” She sounded disappointed, but she could give Oliver a run for his money when it came to trying to manipulate people, so he didn’t buy it.
“Thank you.” Not that he was admitting he was seeing anyone. She seemed to be assuming that, though, so he had a feeling one of his brothers had talked. He was going to owe payback to someone.
“Now, I can’t talk long. We’re heading over to a tour.”
He looked down at the clock. “What kind of tour?” He didn’t know where she was. He’d just realized she hadn’t answered that question. What kind of tour started this late? Wasn’t it night in Europe? Was she even still in Europe? “What time is it there? What are you—”
“I have to go, sweetie. I’ll talk to you later once I look at new tickets. I think you boys need a bit more supervision. Living together with no collaring ceremony, lying to your mother, the list could go on. Yes, you boys need your mother around.” The lying part was aimed at him, but not telling wasn’t lying. That was just the guilt talking.
When mothers said you needed them and they were going to come see you it shouldn’t sound like a threat, should it? She was much more herself than she’d been when she’d first started planning the trip, but he was starting to remember why that wasn’t a good thing.
“But Mom—”
“Don’t worry about picking me up. I’ll take a taxi or something. Oh, and I want to surprise your brothers, so don’t mention our little talk.”
Shit.
“But—” She’d hung up, and he was left talking to himself. His brothers were going to kill him.
****
His mind was still reeling from the phone call from his mother when he got in the car to start driving over to pick up Oliver for their date. Between the news that she was coming home and the fact that Troy had given him permission to take Oliver out when it was just the two of them, his brain was flying around in circles.
Giving himself a short, internal pep talk, he picked up the phone and texted Troy.
You got a sec?
The answer was evidently yes because his phone started ringing in seconds. Damn. He tried to sound happy, but he knew it came out stressed. “You didn’t need to call.”
Troy gave a soft grunt that sounded like a snort. “Why would I text you when hearing your voice is so much better?”
Bryce laughed, secretly pleased but unwilling to tell Troy that. “I just had a question.” Bryce paused, not sure how to ask it. The awkwardness of it was why he’d wanted to text about it to begin with. Not having to hear Troy’s reaction would have made it easier.
Troy had been incredibly good about understanding what Bryce needed, but how did you ask someone if it was okay to make love to their sub? “I’m getting ready to head over and pick up Oliver for our date, but I wanted to double check something with you first.”
That didn’t sound long-winded and vague.
Troy laughed. “Yes, Bryce. I expect you to fuck him so hard he can’t move tomorrow. Was that your question?”
Bryce growled into the phone. “Yes, but it’s not that funny.”
“It is.” He heard Troy shuffling things around in the background. “Because I just had the same conversation with Oliver.”
Oh.
“You did?” It made him feel less ridiculous. “I’ve never been in this situation before, and I’m not sure what the rules are.”
There had to be rules, but they’d never gone over any. They were going to talk about limits over the weekend, but nothing more specific beyond safewords and basic things had been discussed. It wasn’t just the BDSM aspects that probably had guidelines. How things like sex were handled when it was just two of them together should be detailed.
“I’m not sure we need rules.” Troy’s calm words weren’t what Bryce wanted to hear.
“The lifestyle has rules for everything. Some people wing it more than others, but still…”
“It’s not a scene, though. It’s three people getting to know each other first and sometimes having sex with a power exchange element. You and Oliver are going out on a date. You’re going to flirt and tease and hopefully make him crazy. Then, it’s up to you.” Troy’s voice was warm and soothing. It made sense, but it seemed too easy.
“So you really don’t mind?” Bryce was having a hard time putting himself in Troy’s shoes. Most of the time he could picture what someone was going through. Imagine how they were seeing a discussion. It came in handy when he was talking to clients. But with their developing relationship he couldn’t move past his own issues.
“No. I want you two to be happy together. We told you this is serious for us. You’ll have a relationship with him, just like you’ll have one with me. The individual pieces will help strengthen the three of us together.” Troy’s voice dropped low, sending shivers through Bryce. “And if you behave on this date and keep it too nice, then I might feel guilty when I make our date very naughty.”
Bryce’s worries were like a balloon that popped under the pressure of his arousal. “I can’t drive with a hard-on. Stop that.”
It wasn’t quite a chuckle, but Troy’s low amusement sent waves of pleasure through Bryce. “I have to go to a meeting knowing you two are flirting and eventually going to get naked, while I’m talking to idiots who can’t follow instructions.”
“We’re going to be very naked, and I’m going to drive him crazy in the restaurant. I made sure we had reservations for a table in the back and they have those long tablecloths that hide so much. I’ll have him so needy by the time we get back, he will be begging to come.” Bryce loved the frustrated groan that came through the phone.
“Now who’s looking to get punished?” Troy’s words were soft and growled out. He sounded like they were making love right then instead of talking on the phone.
“I was only telling you my plans for the evening. I wanted to make sure you knew what your boys would be getting up to while you were away.”
“You were just keeping me informed, huh?”
“Of course.”
“I want you to remember how good I am with paybacks.” It was a delicious threat that made Bryce’s toes want to curl in anticipation.
“I’ll remember that when I’m sliding into Oliver later.” He was trying not to let Troy hear how amused he was, but it wasn’t working. “Have fun in your meetings. I have to go.”
He disconnected as Troy was mumbling about him being a little shit.