Caden jerked when Tess kissed his chest, her soft lips gently caressing his scar. He lifted his hands, intent on gripping her head, pulling her mouth away.

Tess was quicker. She moved closer to him, her cheek resting on his chest as she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist.

She was hugging him, embracing him as a friend more than a lover, the hug packed with true caring.

She had kissed his scar. For a moment, he was reminded of a nanny he’d had as a young boy. Caden’s mother had always been relatively cold, making it clear her social schedule took precedence over the rearing of her children. She seemed to feel that her duty had been served simply by giving birth.

Nanny Roberts probably hadn’t been much older than her mother, but she didn’t resist aging—letting the salt mix with the pepper in her black hair and not bothering to cover any imperfections with thick makeup or plastic surgery. She had been very kind to him, reading stories to him at bedtime, singing him songs to distract him during storms, and kissing away the pain of booboos.

Tess’ kiss reminded him of that.

Love given freely to comfort without the expectation of something in return.

His mother had fired Nanny Roberts the morning of Caden’s fifth birthday, declaring him old enough that he didn’t need a nanny coddling him and making him weak.

From that point on, crying over scraped knees was forbidden, fear of thunderstorms was the sign of a coward and earned a spanking, and if he wanted a bedtime story, it was his older brother Weston who read it, though he had to sneak into Caden’s room so their parents wouldn’t find out.

Caden lifted his arms, wrapping them tightly around Tess, soaking up the warmth of her.

It wasn’t until Isaiah cupped his cheek, his thumb brushing away a tear, that Caden realized he was crying.

He moved away quickly, tucking the emotion deep.

Emotion is the ultimate sign of weakness.

Caden shook his head slightly, trying to get Elroy’s voice out of his head.

“I’m sorry, Caden,” Tess said.

“I can’t…”

What? He couldn’t what? Feel? It wasn’t like he could look at Tess, with her trusting, bright green eyes, and tell her tonight had to be strictly sex or he was leaving.

“What do you want me to do?” she asked, her arms out. She was offering herself to him, plain and simple.

If he were a better man, he’d walk away. But he was the devil incarnate and he wanted her too badly.

“Take off your clothes.” He tried to soften the command by adding a “please.”

She smiled, reaching to slip the first button on her blouse free. Isaiah was there before she touched the second.

“Here, Tess. Let me.” Tess turned to face Isaiah, allowing Caden to watch them in profile.

Once all the buttons were undone, Isaiah bent to kiss her as he slipped the blouse from her shoulders.

Caden couldn’t hold back his grin. Tess’ blush crept down her neck and colored the tops of her breasts.

The grin slid away when Isaiah reached around and unhooked her bra with experienced fingers. He drew the lace away—and it felt as if all the air had been sucked out of the room.

None of them breathed as Isaiah stepped away, allowing both him and Caden an obstructed view of their future wife.

“Jesus, Tess,” Isaiah murmured.

Caden expected her to cover herself, but her hands remained down. He moved toward them, standing next to Isaiah.

Her gaze traveled between them, Caden completely naked, Isaiah fully dressed.

“I’m scared to death, but at the same time, I’m so excited I can barely breathe. Does that make sense?” she asked.

Caden nodded. “I feel exactly the same way, angel.”

She smiled at his admission. “And you said you can’t do romantic.”

He considered her sweet jest and the truth behind it. Caden felt different with these two. No one had ever expected him to be anything other than a strict, cold, demanding Dom, so he hadn’t tried to dig deeper, to bring out a man they didn’t want.

With Tess and Isaiah, they saw a better version of him. It wasn’t one he was fully certain existed, but he sure as hell wanted it to.

It was as if they’d thrown open the door to his jail cell in hell and given him his first glimpse of heaven.

Tess started to move, unzipping her pants and sliding them off, along with her panties.

He hadn’t given her an order to do so. It had been on the tip of his tongue to reprimand her—the reaction instinct rather than impulse—then he realized he didn’t want to. Caden didn’t feel the compulsion to command her.

Watching her guide their course was more interesting. And freeing.

He didn’t have to be on guard, constantly considering the next act. Tonight, everything would just happen naturally.

His dick thickened and he reached down to grip it in his hand, his palm sliding along the hard length slowly as Tess and Isaiah watched.

“Isaiah,” he said after a few seconds.

“Yeah?” Isaiah’s gaze was still locked on Caden’s slow hand job.

“Get undressed or we’re starting without you.”

Isaiah laughed, but Caden noticed he wasted no time disrobing.

That thought would have amused him if Tess hadn’t distracted him by placing her hand on top of his, following the motion as he stroked himself.

Once again, he felt a brief flash that told him he needed to punish her for touching without permission, but it vanished just as quickly. He hadn’t expected the instincts that had been drilled into him over and over to be so easy to suppress.

It was these two people. It had to be.

Then Tess peeled his hand away, taking over for him, and he feared he was a goner. Control had never—never—been an issue for him, but Tess was testing his.

“I could watch the two of you all night.”

Tess and Caden both stopped, turning to look at Isaiah, his thick erection pointing upwards, ready for action.

Tess waved at him as her other hand kept a tight grip on Caden’s dick. “I have two hands.”

Isaiah didn’t hesitate, stepping closer, forming a tight circle of three. Tess took him into her other hand.

As she drew her fingers along their hard cocks, they took advantage of the close proximity to enjoy her as well.

Isaiah reached behind her with one hand, gripping her bare ass firmly, as the other played with her breast, plumping the flesh, pinching her nipple.

Meanwhile, Caden was more interested in driving her to the same cliff she was shoving him toward. He ran his fingers along her wet slit, soaking in her hard intake of breath. Her eyes drifted shut.

“Open your eyes, angel. Look at us.”

She blinked a few times, struggling to obey as he applied firmer pressure to her clit. Her breath came out in short, fast pants.

“Caden.”

“First orgasm is going to be here. Just like this. So we can watch you come undone.”

Her cheeks flushed and Caden understood this time the color had nothing to do with embarrassment. It was all arousal.

Caden stroked her clit faster and Tess followed suit, squeezing their dicks tighter, her hand jobs picking up speed.

Isaiah took a step back and she lost her grip.

“Isaiah,” she said.

He shook his head. “Not yet, baby. Tonight is going to be all about you.”

“No. It’s about us. Always.”

Her words touched something inside Caden…something that had never seen the light of day. “Us?” he whispered.

She looked at him and smiled. “Us,” she repeated.

Isaiah bent forward, taking one of her nipples into his mouth and sucking for just a moment before releasing it. “Fine.” Isaiah’s voice was a rich, deep baritone, but even so, there was no mistaking the amusement in it when he added, “Tonight is about us. But this time—this orgasm—is going to be all about you.”

Before she could lodge another complaint, he took her nipple back into his mouth. Caden added fuel to the fire, pressing two fingers inside her. He didn’t feel a hymen, but considering her comment about sex toys, he wasn’t surprised. She was tight, wet, and hot. So fucking hot.

Her eyes started to drift shut again. Caden cleared his throat and they flew open as she recalled his demand.

Isaiah continued to use his mouth and hands on her breasts, sucking, squeezing, pinching. Caden added his thumb to the game, rubbing her clit as he added a third to her pussy. It took only a few minutes to get her there.

As with everything else, Tess didn’t hold back, didn’t offer them half. She gave it all. She fell forward into Caden’s arms as her body shook with the impact of her orgasm. She cried out loudly—his name and Isaiah’s—against his chest, then sank her teeth into his pec.

It hurt a little, but Caden didn’t register the pain. He cupped the back of her head, pushing her against him harder. “That’s right, angel. Bite me. Leave your mark on me.”

His words had the opposite effect as her mouth fell open. The climax started to wane, and he realized she hadn’t even known she was biting him.

“Caden,” she said, still struggling to catch her breath. “I didn’t mean…” Her fingers caressed the deep indents and red mark she’d left on him.

“It didn’t hurt, Tess. And before the night is over, I hope you’ll leave a few more of these on me. One for every orgasm.”

“Every…” Her forehead crinkled, and he understood her confusion in an instant.

“How many times have you come in one night, angel?”

“Once.”

Isaiah laughed. “Oh yeah. We can definitely beat that record.”

Caden smiled, wondering if he was ever going to be able to wipe the thing off his face. He’d never felt this much… Damn. He struggled to put a word to it—and then it came to him.

Happiness.

He was happy.

Deliriously so.

He backed Tess toward the bed. She might have had the chance to relieve some pressure, but he and Isaiah were still hurting.

She scooted to the center of the mattress, lying on her back. He followed her down, covering her as Isaiah lay next to them.

He glanced over at Isaiah, trying to consider whether or not he should follow his heart.

Isaiah seemed to understand what he wanted, that he was hesitating, so he took the decision away.

He moved closer and kissed Caden.

It was the first time he’d ever kissed a man. While he’d played with them as part of his training, kissing hadn’t been included in that. It had been strictly about control and, if needed, punishment, with Caden always on top.

It was a hard kiss, with tongues and teeth, both of them exploring and—God help him—fighting for dominance.

Isaiah might not be in the lifestyle, but there was no denying in that moment if he were, he would be a Dom.

When they parted, Tess sighed, the sound rife with joy. “Us,” she whispered again.

Caden fell to the mattress, facing both his lovers. Isaiah was his mirror image on the other side. Time ceased to matter as the three of them touched and kissed, stroked and teased. Hours or days could have passed for all Caden knew, as they learned each other intimately.

They’d taken turns going down on her and she’d come two more times. She’d given Caden a hand job as she sucked on Isaiah’s dick but—much to her annoyance—neither of them would let her finish them off that way.

“Are you on the pill?” Isaiah asked when the moment of truth arrived.

She nodded. “I wanted to be ready for this.”

Perfect. With every word she spoke, every kiss, every touch, Caden found himself drawn deeper under her spell. He’d spent a lifetime dismissing the concept of soul mates as complete and utter bullshit, but he felt like he knew them, understood what made them tick. Tess and Isaiah were making him a believer.

Caden gestured to Isaiah, who moved to cage Tess beneath him, her thighs parted in invitation.

Caden reached between them, gripping Isaiah’s cock and placing the head at the opening to her body.

Isaiah groaned at the touch. “I don’t want either one of you judging me for how fast this is going to end.”

Tess and Caden both laughed, but hers was cut short when Isaiah started his slow, steady glide inside.

This was why he wanted Isaiah to go first. Caden knew himself too well. Knew he’d never have the patience to hold back, to be gentle. Even now, all he could imagine was taking his turn between her legs, pounding deep and hard, feeling her pussy clench against him as he came.

Once he was seated to the hilt, Isaiah paused for just a moment, just long enough to hear Tess’ contented sigh. There was clearly no pain, no discomfort.

“You feel so good,” she said breathlessly.

Isaiah began to rock inside her, slowly building the speed until Tess’ back arched and she cried out loudly.

“God! Please! Yes!”

Isaiah pushed in hard, one last time, then his harsh curses mixed with hers.

“Fuck. Baby. Jesus.”

Caden watched them through it all, certain he’d never seen anything more beautiful.

Then Isaiah fell to the side, and Tess—who had to be exhausted—turned toward Caden.

“I want you too.”

“Rest a minute, Tess. There’s no reason to rush. It’s your first time. Give your body a second to recover.”

She shook her head. “I don’t want to recover. I want you.”

“You don’t get to decide.” There was no mistaking the dark tone. The Dom reared his head.

Of course, Tess either didn’t recognize that or care. “I love that big bad wolf voice of yours. Now, come inside me.”

Caden struggled to take a breath. Every instinct was telling him to flip her over and spank her ass. So far tonight, the man he used to be hadn’t shown up in this bedroom. The training had faded away because it had no place here.

Until now.

He really wanted to spank her. Not as punishment necessarily, though perhaps that was a bit of it. A good spanking could be about pain, or tension relief, or just a way for a Dom to let his sub relax in one of the simplest and oldest forms of power exchange.

She started to move, to take matters into her own hands. He felt her shoving against his shoulders, trying to maneuver him to his back, intent on riding him.

Instinct won out.

One second Tess was facing him. The next she was facedown over his lap, his hand smacking her lovely, firm rear end.

She gasped with surprise, then resisted, trying to push up and away.

For a second, he was torn, aghast by his actions even though he wanted to continue.

Isaiah must have understood the battle raging inside him. He moved slightly, applying his own pressure, holding Tess down.

“You were a naughty girl, Tess,” Isaiah murmured in her ear. “You have to trust me and Caden. Have to let us take care of you.”

Tess stopped fighting. And then, she blew Caden’s mind when she glanced over her shoulder at him with a minx-like smile and wiggled her ass.

He narrowed his eyes, half-feigning disapproval. “You’re still being a brat.”

She giggled. “So punish me.”

Caden grinned and spanked her again. He hadn’t brought his old life into the room after all. This was something completely different. New. Right. This was BDSM the way other people played—with minimum power exchange, done more for kink than for D/s.

He caressed her ass after a half dozen or so smacks. Caden didn’t try to stop her as she rolled over to her back, her legs parting.

“Please, Caden,” she whispered, her eyes heavy with desire and…

It wasn’t what he saw in her eyes that took his breath away. It was what wasn’t there.

No fear. No reticence. She met his gaze straight on.

Tess wasn’t here because she had to be, because he’d collared her, because she was helpless to refuse his demands…because she was as fucked up as he was and didn’t know what else to do.

She was here because she wanted him.

His heart started to race.

“Caden,” she said, louder this time.

He smiled at her, then pushed himself inside. Suddenly, he understood Isaiah’s ability to temper his needs, to take her gently.

For the first time in his life, Caden made love to a woman. And he never wanted it to end.

Her legs wrapped around his waist once he was fully seated. He struggled to draw air into his lungs, his chest tight with…an emotion he couldn’t quite put a name to.

Caden leaned closer, kissing her as he slowly slid in and out. Tess moved under him, changing the tilt of her hips, adjusting the rhythm of their union. He started to stop her, to pin her down so he would have full control.

He paused, checked himself, and let her move under him. Instead of taking the lead, he followed hers, letting her decide the rhythm. Through it all, they kept kissing, connected together in every way they could be. Her tongue stroked his, and then he moved his face away, wanting to see her eyes.

He tilted his head when he saw wetness on her lashes. “Crying?” he whispered.

She smiled and nodded. “I’ve never been so happy. It’s too much.”

Caden cupped her cheek. He’d never been good at the gentler side of things. He felt awkward and unsure. He placed a hesitant kiss on the corner of her mouth. That felt good. It felt right. He kept going, pressing light kisses all over her beautiful face. “You’re perfect, Tess.”

“So are you.”

He no longer felt in control. It felt as if desire ruled him, instead of desire being a tool he used to control others. His back was damp with sweat as he moved faster, deeper. He dropped the reins and gave in to the moment. When he was close, he reached down and stroked her clit. He wasn’t falling alone. He wanted her with him. Always.

Tess’ back arched and she came a second before him. For several moments, he held himself above her, kissing her even though they were both breathless from their orgasms.

Then he dropped to the side opposite Isaiah and smiled at his lovers.

“Thank you,” he murmured. “For being my first.”

Tess wiped her eyes. “Damn it. Stop making me cry.”

He rose on his elbow and kissed her and then Isaiah. Caden felt like he should say more, but he couldn’t find the words.

It didn’t seem to matter. Isaiah and Tess kissed each other, and then the three of them settled together, drawing the covers over them.

A perfect trinity.