It was nearly midnight before they pulled into their hotel in Charlottesville. Isaiah had called ahead and booked them a suite at Keswick Hall. He’d stayed at the resort a couple of times during research trips to Monticello.

It had been a very long day and, considering the sleepy expressions on Tess and Caden’s faces, a tiring one.

The meeting with Tess’ parents and aunt Liz had gone splendidly. Isaiah had taken to her family immediately. They were quiet, intelligent, well-spoken people with generous natures. It was no wonder they’d raised such an amazing woman like Tess.

Caden had been slower to warm up, his inability to trust people at face value rearing its head. However, by the time dessert had been served, he’d loosened up, talking about a tech start-up company Caden had invested in that Tess’ father had done some of the research on prior to development. A good two-thirds of the conversation flew over Isaiah’s head—math was not his strong suit—but it didn’t matter, as Tess’ mom and aunt Liz had a million and three questions about his books and writing career.

Isaiah had called one of his connections at Monticello, the senior historian, Gail Miller, and arranged for the three of them to take an after-hours tour of the place tomorrow evening, which meant they could all sleep in tomorrow.

Which was a good thing, considering his plans for tonight.

“I’m hitting that bed and not moving until noon,” Caden said wearily.

Tess seconded that emotion. “Amen.”

Isaiah didn’t reply. He agreed. They were all going to bed, but he didn’t intend to let either of them sleep for a while. Not yet.

Caden lost no time pulling off his shirt and pants, drawing down the covers and climbing into bed. He propped himself up against the pillows, apparently expecting them to follow suit.

Tess took a step toward the bed, but Isaiah caught her, wrapping his arm around her waist. Tess glanced over her shoulder at him, pleasantly surprised by his sudden hug. Her smile faded when she saw his expression.

“Isaiah?” she asked, her voice drawing Caden’s attention to the two of them.

“I think it’s time to discuss that little show you put on for us at the pub.” Isaiah knew he was throwing open the lid to Pandora’s box. He didn’t care. They’d let that whole episode slide by too easily.

“It wasn’t a show.” Caden’s voice had deepened. Isaiah wondered if he was aware of it happening, if it was something he had learned to control and use, or if the sound was merely instinctual at this point.

Tess tried to pull away from Isaiah, but he tightened his grip, wrapped his other arm around her, holding her to him and away from Caden.

Caden’s eyes narrowed. “Come to bed.” Three words had never sounded more menacing. There was no denying what they were—a command.

Isaiah didn’t take commands. Caden had felt the need to prove something to them in the pub and that was fine. They were all still essentially strangers. He respected Caden for taking the risk and showing them a part of himself that he feared they wouldn’t like.

It was time Isaiah did the same. He loosened his grip, but didn’t release Tess. He tugged her silk blouse from her dress slacks, then started to unbutton it.

Tess didn’t move. Hell, he wasn’t sure she was even breathing as she let him slowly undress her.

Caden’s eyes followed the movement of his hands, his cock beginning to thicken. Whatever exhaustion his lovers had suffered from a few minutes earlier was clearly forgotten.

Isaiah slid her blouse off, then added her bra to it on the floor.

Tess sucked in a sharp inhalation of air when he cupped her breasts and began to squeeze.

“Come to bed,” Caden repeated, though this time the words were laced with the slightest tinge of a plea.

Isaiah shook his head.

Caden scowled. He’d told them in no uncertain terms that he was always obeyed, that his submissives did as they were told or cruel punishment was meted out. What had Donal implied? That Caden was the enforcer, the threat used with unruly submissives.

Isaiah wasn’t going to play the sub role. He wasn’t going to be a switch or a Dom for that matter either. Caden had made his point, had tried to show them that for him, there were roles and rules in the bedroom.

Isaiah intended to show him there were none.

They were three people trying to forge a relationship and, while he hadn’t thought it important before the binding ceremony, Isaiah knew now that he wanted to claim so much more than their bodies and their minds. He wanted their hearts, their souls. And he wanted to give them his as well.

It was a romantic notion that would have had the Isaiah he was a month ago rolling his eyes.

Isaiah was determined that in their bedroom, they would be everything to each other according to what they needed at the time.

Isaiah had felt emasculated in that pub, embarrassed in front of Donal. Which meant that tonight, he needed to be in charge, needed to issue a little punishment of his own.

“Slip off your pants and panties,” Isaiah murmured in Tess’ ear as he continued to fondle her breasts.

Tess complied, her body warm, her skin rosy with arousal. Isaiah had seen the way she’d responded to Caden’s firm grip on her neck in the pub. She’d liked it even though it had confused her.

Tonight, they’d kill two birds with one stone. Tess could try to figure out some of her own limits, try to see if submitting to them was something she would like to do from time to time.

He suspected she didn’t realize it yet—her sexual experiences too limited—but Tess had a fair amount of Dom in her as well. She might want to experiment with submitting to them, to playing the more passive lover on occasion, but there was a powerhouse of a woman inside who would be just as turned on to hold the reins and take control as well.

Once Tess was naked, she leaned back against his chest again. She was obviously curious to see what he would do next.

Isaiah let go of one breast, his hand drifting lower. Tess’ head fell back against his shoulder, her eyes drifting shut as he stroked his fingers along her slit, wiggling the tip of his index finger against her clit.

“Oh yeah,” she breathed.

“Come here,” Caden said again, his gaze glued to Isaiah’s hand on her pussy.

“No.”

Caden responded to the word as if Isaiah had punched him. His eyes darkened and he threw his legs over the edge of the mattress, intent on crossing the room to no doubt drag them to the bed.

“Don’t move.” Isaiah had his own powerful voice.

Caden hesitated briefly. “What are you playing at?”

Isaiah grinned, though he was sure the look was less humor and more taunt as he threw Caden’s words back at him. “According to you, you weren’t giving us a show earlier. Which means I’m not playing now. I didn’t like the way you treated us at the pub.”

His comments appeared to put Caden’s back up. “Tough shit. I can’t change who I am.”

“My point exactly. Neither can I. So it’s time for us to take the men we are, and the woman Tess is, and make those three things blend. We’re not assuming your roles, Caden. Your parents are dead, and even if they weren’t, they’d have no power over us, no right to tell us we have to fit into prescribed roles. They will never impact what we’re going to become.”

“And what’s that?” Caden asked, somewhat hostilely.

Isaiah was certain Caden didn’t realize it, but when backed into the corner and feeling vulnerable, the scared, sullen boy he must have been when his parents began his training—Jesus, his brainwashing—appeared, trying to sound tough.

“Lovers.”

“We’re already there,” Caden said.

Isaiah shook his head. “No. We’re strangers having sex.”

Tess didn’t seem to like that description, but he kissed away her complaint, then gave her a conciliatory wink.

“Okay, I’ll edit the wording,” he teased. “We’re newfound friends having sex. But we have the potential to be so much more.”

Tess cupped his cheek in her hand, obviously pleased with the revision. “We do.”

Isaiah looked at Caden once more. His scowl was still firmly in place, so Isaiah tried to explain it a different way.

“We can be everything to each other, Caden. We don’t have to accept some labeled box that says Dom or sub or switch. We simply come to the bedroom as ourselves, and trust the others enough to know what we need in that moment.”

Though Isaiah could see he took no pleasure in admitting it, Caden still spoke from the heart, told them the truth. “I don’t know if I can do that.”

The fact that he was able to confess it to them proved to Isaiah that he could, but he didn’t say as much. Words didn’t hold as much sway with Caden as actions. Probably because so many of the people in his past never said what they meant or felt.

Isaiah took Tess’ hand and led her to the bed. Both she and Caden were completely naked, while Isaiah remained dressed.

Caden stood as they approached. Isaiah recognized the move, knew that it put Caden in a more powerful position as he was taller than both Tess and him.

Isaiah reached out and gripped Caden’s dick, just took it in his hand with no preamble or warning.

Caden responded on instinct as well, his hand clenching down on Isaiah’s wrist to stop him.

“Let go,” Isaiah said softly.

Caden didn’t.

For half a minute, the two of them remained in an erotic standoff, Isaiah gripping Caden’s erection as Caden’s hand circled his wrist.

Tess was the one to break the tension. “Touch me like you did in the pub, Caden.”

Caden’s expression softened. “Tess. You heard Donal. I’m not a good first Dom for anyone.”

“I don’t want a Dom. I want you to touch me the way you did earlier, put your hand on the back of my neck…let me feel your strength, your power.”

Isaiah resisted the urge to kiss his beautiful bride-to-be. She was so fucking astute, clever—perfect. She understood what Isaiah hoped to accomplish. She got it.

“Please, Caden.”

Caden’s jaw tightened. “You didn’t call me Sir.”

Her grin was completely adorable. “You’re right. I didn’t. I hated saying that, so I won’t.”

“But you want me to put my hands on you, to use my grip to control you.” Caden started to shake his head, but Tess stopped him, her hand cupping his cheek, her thumb stroking against the roughness of his five o’clock shadow.

“This isn’t a scene…or whatever you call it,” she hastened to include.

Caden grinned, and this time there was amusement in his voice. “Somebody’s been doing research.”

“I might have looked up a couple of things on my phone while you and Isaiah were in the front seat talking about hockey this morning.”

Caden didn’t say anything more. Instead, he reached out with his free hand and gripped her neck the same way he had in the pub.

Now, as she did then, Tess responded to it, her breathing becoming shallower, her eyes less focused. She reached out to Isaiah, her hand resting gently on his back.

They were connected by nothing more than touch, yet no circle had ever felt more unbreakable. Isaiah started to stroke Caden’s cock, which drew the other man’s attention back to his face.

“I’ve never considered myself gay,” Caden said.

Isaiah grinned. “I’ll settle for bi.”

Isaiah recalled Caden claiming to have a gift. He very well may have, but it was apparent he’d never taken a look in the mirror he flashed in other people’s faces. “You can see what everyone is hiding inside. Read…feel…their deepest, darkest desires. Everyone except yourself. You’re still holding yourself to the standards beaten into you by those bastards you called fathers. Dig down, Cade. Let go of the past and all the bullshit and just relax. Just be. Stop listening to them. Start listening to your own voice.”

Caden’s voice was gruff when he answered. “I don’t know what that sounds like.”

Tess rose up on tiptoe, kissing him on the cheek. “I do. And it’s beautiful. You’re beautiful.”

Caden closed his eyes, clenching them tightly. When he opened them again, the shadows were gone. He looked at Tess and then Isaiah. “I’m yours.”

He no longer offered up any resistance. Instead, he relinquished his hold on Isaiah’s wrist, reaching out to unfasten his pants.

Caden managed to unbutton and unzip Isaiah’s jeans with skilled fingers, considering he was only using one hand. His other still held tight to Tess’ neck, his thumb stroking her jawline.

Isaiah finished the job Caden started, stripping off the rest of his clothing before resuming his hand job.

Caden bent his head toward Tess, his grip still relentless. “Get down on your knees, angel.”

Tess was halfway down before Caden had even finished speaking. She lifted her hands, clearly intent on touching both of them, but Caden’s hand rose to her hair, his fingers tugging the auburn tresses and forcing her face up to look at him.

“I didn’t give you permission to touch me.”

Tess shrugged, unconcerned, responding as she had their first night together. “Then give it to me.”

Isaiah recognized Caden’s sudden stillness. It wasn’t the first time he’d caught a glimpse of Caden’s struggle, and he finally realized what the man was doing, understood how hard he was fighting an internal battle.

“What’s your instinct telling you to do?” Isaiah asked.

Caden’s teeth were clenched tightly, but they relaxed at Isaiah’s question. “Punishment. Correction. Drag the submissive up from the floor, use a ball gag to keep her unruly tongue from speaking again, strap her facedown on the spanking bench and use a crop on her.”

“Holy shit,” Tess murmured. There was no mistaking the horror in her voice.

Caden quickly dropped to his knees in front of her. “I’m not going to do that to you, Tess. I told you. I don’t want to hurt you. It’s just…”

She reached for him as his words faded away. “Do you want to do those things? Does it turn you on?”

He shook his head, a little too quickly in Isaiah’s opinion, and once again he had the feeling that Caden wasn’t telling them something. It was more than their lack of knowledge and experience with BDSM that had Caden holding back.

“No. I mean, in the past, I…” Caden was struggling to explain so he took a moment, considered his words, then found his answer. “It was all I knew, Tess. I know now there are other ways. I won’t force you to do anything you don’t want. I won’t force either of you,” he said, looking up at Isaiah. “I’ll never do that to anyone ever again.”

Isaiah felt Caden’s words like a punch in the gut. Of course. There’d been someone else. Darling? Donal had alluded to the other woman. Had Caden physically hurt her? Isaiah had a hard time accepting that suspicion. While they hadn’t known each other long, he’d seen enough of Caden to know that he was a good man. Tortured as fuck, but good.

“You won’t hurt me,” Tess whispered. It wasn’t the first time she’d offered Caden that reassurance, and Isaiah realized she understood their lover as well. She saw the demons and had her own ways of trying to combat them.

She initiated a kiss and Caden accepted it.

Isaiah was blown away by how hard Caden was trying, fighting against so many years of training, of abuse, to make things work between them.

The embarrassment he’d felt in the pub took on a new meaning as he finally understood exactly what Caden had tried to show them. With them, he was having to completely reinvent himself. Which meant they needed to cut him some slack, to be patient.

And maybe even give him the chance to fuck up every now and again.

Isaiah held his hand out and Caden took it, allowing Isaiah to help him back to his feet. They both reached down to lift Tess as well.

Isaiah pressed Tess to her back on the mattress, then followed her down, caging her beneath him as he kissed her. Caden still stood beside the bed.

Isaiah shifted his hips slightly, drawing Caden’s attention to his bare ass.

He broke the kiss briefly but didn’t turn his head to look at Caden. “Do whatever you want, Cade. Whatever you need.”

Part of Isaiah expected Caden to accept the offer, whipping him with either his hand or a belt. There was no denying the intense need pulsing inside his lover right now. He’d seen it when Caden spanked Tess. The Dom seemed to demand payment in pain, but Caden had found a way to temper it, to soften the violence in a way that brought pleasure as well.

Caden had been holding the beast at bay ever since the ceremony in the altar room. Today, he’d given them a peek, and Isaiah could tell how hard it was to put him back in the cage.

He was surprised when, instead of a rough touch, Caden ran his hand over the globes of his ass gently.

Caden caressed him as he and Tess continued to kiss. Then Caden’s hand traveled upwards, his fingers almost tickling the trail of Isaiah’s spine as he bent over the two of them.

“Fuck our woman, Isaiah. Show her how much you want her.”

Tess hummed her approval at the directive, her thighs parting farther. Isaiah’s dick rested flat along her hot, wet slit. It only took the slightest lift of his hips to position his cock at her opening.

Previously he’d gone slowly, taken Tess’ inexperience into account.

He couldn’t this time. The day had been one hell of a roller coaster and right now, he was blinded by his needs. Not only for Tess, but for Caden.

He pushed in roughly. Tess cried out, her pussy clenching him tightly. He wasn’t the only one hovering too close to the edge. He knew it wouldn’t take more than a half-dozen strokes to push her into her first climax. Isaiah didn’t hold back, didn’t try to prolong it for her.

Tess’ back arched as she came. Isaiah didn’t cease his motions, didn’t give her time to recover. Instead, he continued to press on, feeling every second of her orgasm—the tightening, the quivering, the wet heat, and then the blissful aftermath.

Tess’ eyes had closed, but as she lifted them to look at him, he gave her a quick kiss, then pulled out.

She frowned. He hadn’t come.

Isaiah rose and looked at Caden. “How do you want her?”

Caden lost no time, reaching down to flip Tess to her stomach. Lifting her hips, he pushed into her with the same haste, the same overwhelming need that Isaiah had.

Tess’ hands bunched in the comforter, using her grip to propel her back toward every single one of Caden’s forward thrusts. They took each other almost brutally. Isaiah watched, barely remembering to breathe.

“Roll over,” Caden demanded, turning Tess before she could respond to his request. “I need to see your face, angel.”

Caden kissed her, pressing back inside, and they were off again.

The new position left Caden’s ass exposed to him, the realization sparking a different need in Isaiah.

They were the most beautiful people he’d ever seen, ever known. And they were his.

Unable to resist touching them, he walked to his suitcase, pulling out the small tube of lubrication he’d impulsively grabbed in a convenience store this afternoon as Caden was filling the gas tank.

Neither Caden nor Tess noticed his actions, which pleased him. He figured the element of surprise was going to play in his favor on this.

He uncapped the tube and squeezed out a generous daub of the lube on his finger before returning to kneel behind Caden on the mattress. He ran one hand over Caden’s ass, causing the other man to lose his rhythm for a moment.

Caden recovered quickly, thrusting faster and harder.

Tess fell over again, driven there by Caden’s fingers on her clit, stroking and pinching the magic button until she was thrashing wildly on the mattress.

Like him, Caden stopped short. Actually, he probably hadn’t expected to—until Isaiah touched him intimately, pressing the tip of his finger into his anus.

Tess must not have realized what happened. Because her eyes flew open when Caden—still as a stone—said, “Uh, Isaiah. I’m always the top,” in a husky voice.

Tess tilted her head to the side, her eyes widening even as a smile grew. “I seriously didn’t think tonight could get any hotter.” Her voice was hoarse from her cries, and Isaiah thought it was the sexiest sound he’d ever heard.

He winked at her, then said to Caden, “You’re going to have to learn to be a bit more versatile.”

To his surprise, Caden chuckled. “You’re going to have to have mercy on me. I swear to God, I’m trying.”

Isaiah considered the request, but discounted it. He pressed his finger deeper. Caden grunted, but didn’t resist. Until he removed the finger and added lube directly into Caden’s ass.

Caden reared up and twisted to face Isaiah. “I don’t know if…” He paused, then tilted his head, studying Isaiah’s. “None of this is new to you.”

Isaiah shook his head. “I’m pretty solidly bisexual. Dated my fair share of women and men throughout the years.”

Caden blew out a long breath and ran his hand through his dark hair. “My experience is limited to scenes. With men, the penetration was done to them and with toys only. I’ve never been in a relationship with a man.”

Isaiah knew that, but the way Caden didn’t shrink at his touch told him his future husband wasn’t averse to the idea either.

“So you’ll top. This time.”

Tess wiggled out from under Caden, sitting cross-legged on the side of the bed.

Caden narrowed his eyes at her. “You’re not going to be a passive observer, Tess. If I’m doing this, you are too.”

She looked like she wanted to argue, but Isaiah agreed with Caden. They were all in this together.

“Us, Tess. Remember?” he asked, throwing her word from their first night together back at her. As he did so, Isaiah tossed the tube of lubrication toward her. She caught it in midair, grinning widely when he turned his back to her and bent over, lifting his ass.

“Me? Um…”

Isaiah looked over his shoulder, watched Caden give her a very sweet, encouraging kiss on the cheek. Tess never gave them half measures. She’d been all in since the beginning, giving them everything she had to offer, including her virginity. This was no different.

She opened the tube, pressing the tip of it to his ass. Isaiah shivered slightly when the cool lubrication filled him.

“Use your fingers to coat him with it,” Caden instructed.

Tess must have sensed Isaiah’s need because she started with two fingers rather than one. He groaned and forced himself to concentrate on maintaining control.

She pressed in and out for several minutes, stretching him, adding a third on Caden’s command.

Isaiah rested his forehead on the mattress and sucked in some much-needed air. Caden thought he was in control…but he was about to learn otherwise.

“Add a little more lube,” Caden commanded. “Then give him four of your fingers. Stretch him good.”

Isaiah glanced over his shoulder when he heard a small squeak from Tess. Caden was kneeling behind her, his arms wrapped around her, both hands stroking her pussy—one toying with her clit while he penetrated her with a few fingers of his own—as he watched her work with Isaiah’s ass.

“Fuck,” Isaiah muttered. The image of his lovers and the feeling of Tess’ fingers were too much. Maybe he wasn’t as in control as he thought. Time to grab the upper hand back. He pushed himself up, dislodging her fingers as he did so.

Caden started to order him back down, but Isaiah cut him off. “That’s enough. I’m ready.”

Then he pressed on his lover’s shoulders, pushing Caden to his back and coming over him. He could see Caden’s confusion, and he understood it. Caden had obviously spent the previous few minutes building the scene in a different direction. Isaiah wasn’t going to let him take the easy way out, let him pretend this was anything other than what it was.

Lovers. Fucking.

Tess moved next to Caden, laying on her side. She reached between them, to where Isaiah’s erection was pressed against Caden’s. She took turns stroking their hard lengths.

Isaiah tried to prolong the moment, but he couldn’t wait. Not another fucking second.

He pushed up, crouching over Caden’s hips.

“What the fuck?” Caden said.

Isaiah ignored him, lining his lover’s cock up with his anus.

“Isaiah—” Whatever argument he might have made was cut off, and Caden lay motionless as Isaiah slowly pressed down, taking in every thick inch.

No one in the room breathed until Caden was fully lodged inside his ass.

“Oh,” Tess breathed as she watched. “Wow.”

Caden frowned, his head shaking just once. “This is too intense, Isaiah. Too…real. The other way. From behind.” His short, choppy phrases proved just how much Caden was struggling to catch his breath.

Isaiah would have smiled if he’d had the ability, but his feelings echoed Caden’s words. He’d never been with a man this way—face-to-face.

Then he forced himself to admit the truth—even if it was only to himself—about the way he’d really felt when Caden had gone all Dom on them in the pub. It had touched some very small, deeply buried place inside that liked the idea of submitting to the other man.

“Ever heard the term power bottom?” Isaiah asked.

“Fuck.”

“Just a few thrusts, Cade. Let me just…” Rather than continue to barter, Isaiah moved on autopilot, a slave to his darkest desires. He pressed upwards until Caden’s cock was almost out and let go of all restraints. His thigh muscles bunched and clenched as he gave them one hell of a workout, pressing down with all the strength he could muster.

Caden remained motionless, fighting to accept it. Isaiah needed this. Needed to take this man, show him what he wanted them to be, but more than that, he needed to show Caden he wouldn’t be a pet.

That was the word. The one feeling that had remained from Caden’s actions in the pub. Isaiah wouldn’t be kept.

Wouldn’t be a slave.

He pressed down harder. Faster. He had no idea what Caden saw on his face, but he’d clearly given something away.

“I’m sorry,” Caden said, his eyes soft, sad.

Isaiah faltered for a second, then realized he must have spoken aloud.

Tess was kneeling next to him, her hand stroking up and down his back. “You aren’t a pet. Aren’t a slave.”

Isaiah’s legs failed him. And that was when Caden read the rest, realized what else was going on inside his head. He gave him what he needed. He tightened his grip on Isaiah’s hips and lifted up, pushed to the hilt.

Isaiah found his rhythm again and this time, Caden met him thrust for thrust, driving his hips up, using his hands on Isaiah to add more force to the pounding fuck. A trickle of sweat rolled down Caden’s cheek, his muscles bunching as he gripped Isaiah roughly. He grunted on one particularly deep thrust.

“Fuck. Jesus,” Caden cursed and Isaiah could tell he was close.

Caden’s came first, but only by mere seconds, his come filling Isaiah’s ass.

Isaiah fell forward, moving to the right at the last minute, claiming Caden’s left side.

“I’m sorry,” Caden repeated. “I didn’t mean—”

Isaiah rose up and cut off the apology he didn’t need or want with a kiss. “I know you didn’t.”

The three of them lay side by side for several quiet moments, letting the intensity of what had just occurred sink in, the dust settle.

Tess, as always, knew exactly what to say. “Well,” she said, in her adorably sardonic way. “That was enlightening.”

The three of them cracked up, laughing as Caden remarked, “You can say that again.”

Then he glanced over at Isaiah, Caden’s smile—so often absent—taking his breath away.

“Can we go to sleep now, ’Saiah, or do you have any other kinky urges you need fulfilled immediately?”

Isaiah loved the way Caden said his name, shortening it. Tess giggled, but the sound was cut short by a yawn.

“I think I’m good for a few hours,” he said, certain he wasn’t going to roll over until noon tomorrow. He had aches in muscles he wasn’t sure he’d ever used before.

“Good,” Caden mumbled sleepily, his eyes already closed.

“Night,” Tess whispered, reaching out to hold Isaiah’s hand, both of them linking fingers on Caden’s chest.

Isaiah closed his eyes, thinking the words he desperately wanted to say aloud.

I love you.