Perfect Alignment

Chapter 10-1

Chapter Ten

Emma trailed behind the men, pushing the cart but letting them figure out what they wanted to put into it. She just studied their butts and went along for the ride. A young woman coming the opposite direction turned to watch them as they passed then winked at Emma. She grinned and waggled her eyebrows. When she looked back, Drew was watching her, his face stern. Oh boy, she was in trouble now. She smiled unrepentantly and he went back to his task.

Soon they had enough food to last her for a week, though she suspected it was meant only for lunch and dinner. An older man and woman stopped to chat with Drew, but she hung back and they moved on quickly.

She knew it was hard for Drew to be out in public with her and she knew she shouldn’t have a problem with that, honestly didn’t think she did have a problem with that, except…well, suddenly it felt as if she had a f*****g problem with that. A wave of sadness threatened to engulf her but she refused to let it. They were having a wonderful time and she wasn’t going to let something so stupid screw it up.

She set her shoulders and concentrated on Toby’s ass to cheer herself up. It was very inviting. Maybe she really would spank it. It had never been something she’d wanted to do before, but she could just imagine Toby trying to hold still while she peppered him with smacks. She supposed it wouldn’t be as hard as when Drew spanked her, but he’d probably enjoy it.

That was what she needed to focus on. The fact that Drew was working hard to see that both she and Toby had a wonderful time, that they felt safe and secure. Though it had been only a few weeks, he cared about her, she was absolutely certain of that, just as she cared for him. And that was what she wanted. She couldn’t imagine any other Dom she’d been with letting her explore as he was doing right now. He trusted her with his best friend.

The boys put the groceries in the car and she mentally smacked herself around. No way was she going to ruin this amazing experience by bogging down in s**t that didn’t even matter. Period. She almost threw herself into Drew’s arms to cement the thought in her head, when she realized that would be exactly the opposite of helpful. Out here, they were just friends. If that. s**t. She pasted on a smile that she hoped neither of them could actually see as she ducked into the car. Toby had insisted it was her turn to ride shotgun. She put her feet on the dash and leaned back into the seat where her face wouldn’t be in anyone’s line of sight.

While they talked, she carefully reviewed their time at the river. Instead of skipping ahead to the more interesting portion, she thought through the conversation, remembered their sweet concern when she’d spoken about Michael, and the way she’d wanted to hug both of them extra tightly when Toby had talked about Caroline. Then she let herself remember everything that happened afterward.

By the time they’d reached the house, she was hot and bothered and in a much better frame of mind. Working together, it didn’t take long to have everything ready. They set the food out on the table and Drew rubbed his hand over its surface and grinned at her.

“Wow, that’s quite a blush,” Toby said. “Care to explain?”

She shook her head, but of course, that didn’t stop Drew.

“The only time Emma’s ever said her safe word was at this table.”

“Oh! Sorry, you don’t have to tell me.” He sounded sympathetic, which just made Drew laugh.

“I asked her to sit on the table and she said no.”

“I was naked!”

Toby looked confused.

“Seriously, Toby, would you want to be eating at this table right now if you knew I’d sat up here naked and…you know, wet, and stuff?”

His eyes flashed, but it wasn’t disgust she saw in them.

She balled up her napkin and threw it at him. “Pervert.”

Both of the guys laughed. “Well, yeah, and proud of it,” Drew finally said. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I’m sorry.”

She rolled her eyes and took another bite of her fish.

“So, what you’re saying,” Toby teased, “is that you don’t want to tie me to the table and spank me?”

“Sure, we can do that,” she answered easily.

Drew raised his eyebrow at her.

“What, if he doesn’t want to be naked for a spanking, I can respect that. Personally, I think he’d look a hell of a lot hotter tied to your footboard, bent over the bed with that naked ass begging for attention and completely available to whatever I want to do with it.” She took a sip of water and shrugged. “But maybe that’s just me.”

Toby had stopped chewing and was staring at her, pupils gone wide. Drew was grinning at her over his glass. He winked and she smiled and turned her attention back to her plate. After a second she heard Toby gulping his drink and had to bite her lip to keep her smile from going supernova.

They finished the meal and Emma found herself rushing around the kitchen to get everything put away. She and Toby nearly tripped over each other in their haste, but Drew seemed to be taking his time, damn the man. Finally there was nothing left to do, and they both turned to Drew.

“Impatient, much?” he asked.

When neither of them responded, he just laughed. “You guys have one hour to bathe, groom, dress, whatever you need to do, and be in my bedroom. You can either be naked or in club clothes. There will be ankle and wrist cuffs on the bed. Be wearing them by the time I get there.”

He turned and walked out of the room, heading into the den. Emma didn’t waste any time, and decided she’d take Toby with her every step of the way. She grabbed his wrist and dashed up the stairs. He hesitated at the guest room, but she pulled him along to the master to grab her bag of club clothes.

She dropped it off in the guest room then led him to the bathroom. Never having used it, she took a look around. Nothing fancy, it had a shower tub and a single sink, with Toby’s things scattered around the room. Taking a deep breath, she turned to him.

“Did you, um, already prep yourself?” she asked. She figured he had, since she’d found him to be fully shaved in the morning activities.

He nodded. “I’ll just do a bit of touch up. You?”

“Want to help me?”

“Oh yeah.”

She laughed and they quickly shed their clothing. Toby reached in to turn on the water and adjust the temperature, and she let her gaze roam his body. She’d pretty much seen everything by now, but not all at once. The long, lean line of him was very, very tempting. He had something of a farmer’s tan, definitely more pronounced on his bottom half. She didn’t suppose he had much time for sunbathing in New York.

He turned and caught her staring, but she didn’t blush and neither did he. Instead, he took his time returning the favor, giving her a very thorough up and down that stirred her blood. She knew absolutely that they couldn’t do anything now, and that there would be plenty of doing starting in an hour. It made it somehow nice and relaxing to take the slow journey into the lust.

Seemingly on the same wavelength, he winked at her and offered his hand, holding her securely as she stepped into the tub. It was ridiculous to find that charming, it wasn’t as if she hadn’t stepped into the shower a million times without the help of a man’s hand, but she was charmed, damn it.

She wet her hair in the hot water, turned to find him with shampoo already in his hand. He looked a little sad all of a sudden and she knew they’d be having moments like these all night. It wasn’t a bad thing, she reminded herself. She just needed to tread carefully.

Not saying anything, she waited.

“I always used to wash her hair,” he finally said. He looked back down at his hands, carefully cupping the shampoo.

“You don’t need to.”

“Do you mind?”

“I don’t mind either way. Whatever you like.”

He nodded but didn’t move. In no hurry, she waited, then moved aside when he reached his hands into the stream, rinsing them clean. She started to reach for the bottle herself, but he shook his head. He squeezed a fresh blob into his hand, then motioned for her to turn around. She did, tilting her head back, giving a slight moan as his hands massaged the soap into her hair.

It was obvious he’d had practice, his fingers firm against her scalp for a time before working his way down her hair. When his hands dropped to her hips, she turned in his sudsy grasp, letting the water sluice her hair clean. He reached over her shoulder to help, then repeated the whole process with the conditioner.

Again she reached for the shampoo bottle, and he seemed startled. He moved toward the bottle, then stopped, let his hands drop. When she had a good dollop in one hand, she set the bottle back in its rack and pulled the shower wand free of its stand.

“On your knees,” she said, gesturing to her feet.

He blinked but said nothing, simply stepped back until he had enough room, then knelt at her feet. She enjoyed washing his hair, something she’d never done before. It seemed strange that when he’d washed hers, she hadn’t felt either submissive or dominant. She’d simply enjoyed the experience. And she’d been perfectly passive, as he was being now. But the feelings she had now were definitely dominant. Almost possessive. As though he were hers to care for and they both knew it.

God, she really needed to be careful here. Rinsing his hair clear of the conditioner, she grabbed shaving cream and dropped to her knees in front of him. She handed him the wand, then wet her hands thoroughly in the steam before sitting all the way down, careful not to run into the faucet.

She spread her knees wide. “Can you wet me down, please.” Not that she wasn’t wet already from the shower, but better to be careful. He aimed the water at her center, moved it around until she told him it was enough. She smeared the cream everywhere, then looked at him expectantly.

“I didn’t bring a razor.”

He blinked, stood and took a razor from the ledge, then knelt in front of her again, bending low. With slow, careful moves, he shaved the little bit of stubble she had. When he was done, she took the razor and did her own armpits.

By the time they were finished, the bathroom was a steam bath. Figuring there was no harm in being seen mid prep, she opened the bathroom door, letting the cooler air from the hallway caress their still wet bodies. They dried themselves off, then Toby slathered her favorite lotion on her body. He refused any for himself, even when she pouted.

It hadn’t occurred to her before, but this was one thing she missed in her encounters with Drew. Since she was usually coming from work or school, she didn’t take much time getting ready for him. Couldn’t get ready in the same types of outfits she would wear to Apex. Plus, she often stayed with Stephanie when in Boston, and they would get ready together, making the prep a whole event in and of itself.

Emma loved readying for her trips to the club. It made her feel feminine and beautiful and powerful when she prepped herself, slipped on her special outfits. This was similar, but also different. For one thing, she’d never gotten ready with a guy she planned on having s*x with before. And yet, much of it was still the same. She found herself falling into the headspace that she usually did. Not subspace, but similar. After all, she usually had to drive to a club once she was ready. But the sense of excitement, anticipation, nervousness—all of it gelled into an expectation that she was familiar with, that she had come to love.

She could see the same happening to Toby, and it made them comrades. There was no chatter, only the necessary give and take of the preparations. He helped her blow her hair mostly dry, then nodded approvingly when she slicked it back into a tight ponytail. She pulled on a tight leather miniskirt and a small purple lace bustier. With ten minutes left in their allotted time, they headed to the master bedroom.