“He was taking bathroom mirror selfies before selfies were even a thing.” I kept up the entertaining stories as we pulled into the parking lot, only stopping because I could see Niall waiting for us near the door. “He’s on time too.”

  That was a wonderful sign for our evening and the conversation that was about to happen…they just didn’t know it yet.

  ****

  It was like watching two socially awkward tigers circle each other. They wanted to be together, but all they knew how to do was hurt one another.

  Julian’s eyes narrowed as he took offense to what Niall probably thought was a simple question. “If you spent more time with Keegan and less time at work, maybe you’d know how he got the bump on his head.”

  Oh, I’d forgotten about that.

  It’d honestly been my fault for not hanging the picture right in the first place, but in my defense, I hadn’t realized those sticky things that hung everything up eventually became un-sticky.

  Niall had only noticed the bruising when I’d run my fingers through my hair and it’d shown for a moment. He had to have been watching me closely to even notice it at all, so I thought Julian should give him a break…but Julian was worried and taking it out on Niall.

  I jumped in before Niall could figure out how to snarl back. He’d been surprised by Julian’s response, so he’d needed a moment to plan out the best way to attack. “It’s not bad. The frame just managed to hit me on the edge. It’s hardly noticeable.”

  It’d bled like crazy, but it wasn’t the worst wound I’d ever given myself, so I hadn’t thought about it much. “Niall has called every night this week, even when he’s worked late.”

  But I had a feeling he’d just called me, and not Julian.

  Giving them both stern looks that had Julian taking a deep breath, I turned to Niall, who was now on the defensive and confused. Not a good look for my sexy, serious tiger. “I think it might be a good idea if you asked Julian why he’s so upset.”

  They were both back to looking awkwardly at each other, but at least Julian wasn’t sniping at Niall any longer.

  Niall thought for a moment and then took a deep breath. “You’re right. Just calling isn’t enough, but I guess in my mind you were there to take care of him, so I wasn’t worried. I knew you’d do a good job and that I’d see you both this weekend. I’m sorry.”

  Then Niall glanced over at me, and when I nodded in Julian’s direction to keep him going, he sighed. “Um, I understand you’re angry, but can you tell me why it’s so frustrating to you?”

  Not bad.

  Now to see if Julian knew why he was mad.

  Julian stilled and I could see the anger in him deflating, but it took several long moments of him pushing around the last of his steak before he got the words out. “I apologize. There was no reason for me to attack you like that. I know Keegan liked having lunch with you earlier in the week and he hasn’t felt like you’ve been working too much.”

  Niall almost let it go, accepting that as the end of the problem, but then I could practically see the lightbulb going off over his head. “Thank you, but I think things would be a lot clearer for me if you also answered the question Keegan told me to ask.”

  It seemed like I was some kind of teddy bear he was holding up in front of him to save himself, but I didn’t mind.

  Smiling at Julian, I reached over and patted his leg under the table. “I really appreciate how hard you’re both trying. It makes me feel very important.”

  He huffed and narrowed his gaze at me. “You’re manipulating me.”

  “Yes, and you’re going to let me, so answer his question. Niall is really trying.” A little guilt went a long way even when he knew I was using it on him.

  Julian huffed, but he leaned back against the bench seat and nodded. “You’re right.”

  That didn’t mean he’d finish answering the question quickly, though.

  After a moment, he took another breath and tried again. “I feel stupid saying this, but Keegan is right, I have to explain my reaction.”

  And again, we waited.

  He was very good at procrastinating…it made me wonder how I could show it visually. But thankfully he kept going before I got too distracted. “You made an effort to talk to Keegan on a regular basis this week but not me. I felt slighted and I should’ve said something.”

  Niall let out a slow breath, like he was doing his best to imitate Julian’s level of procrastination. When he finally started to answer, it seemed to be very careful. “You’re right. I should have made more of an effort to connect with you.”

  He paused for a moment, leaving both of us hanging on his unsaid words as his gaze wandered over the table.

  “I started to several times whenever I thought about our last dates, but then I’d worry about what to say and what you would think and I stopped.” His eyes came up so he was looking directly at Julian. “I shouldn’t have let that stop me. I’m sorry I hurt you.”

  Julian swallowed. “I know how a phone works. I should’ve called you or texted. I can’t expect you to be psychic.”

  Niall actually smiled at that. “I wish I was. But I should’ve realized how it would come across. I’ll work on that.”

  And that was my opening.

  “I think a good way to work on that would be to talk to someone.” Giving him my best innocent and slightly clueless smile, I tried to look like the idea had just occurred to me. “Maybe we should talk to a counselor?”

  They both gave me a look like the innocent act wasn’t working, but I just ignored that since neither man had told me no. “I know a therapist in the lifestyle who could help us work through some of the communication issues and then meet with you one-on-one about anything bothering you.”

  Giving them both puppy dog eyes and trying to let them see the real fears running around in my head, I added a bit of guilt. “We’re worth couples counseling, aren’t we? I want us to be happy together.”

  Yeah, I was manipulating them, but there was too much truth in what I was saying for them to even try to call me out on it.

  Now I just had to wait and see what they would say.

  I hated waiting, so this had better earn me a really good orgasm later.

  Chapter 17

  Julian

  I had no idea how to respond to that and it was easy to see that Niall was in the same position.

  Finally sighing and raising one eyebrow, I turned to Niall and gave him a smirk. “Sometimes I wonder who the Doms in this relationship are. He’s very pushy for a sub.”

  Niall chuckled, the tension in him starting to fade. “I’ve had that thought several times already. Is there such a thing as Domming from the sub? Like topping from the bottom but with more manipulation?”

  Laughing, I nodded. “There has to be. We’ll work on the phrasing, though.”

  He nodded, pointing at a deceptively innocent-looking Keegan with his fork. “He does it very well.”

  “And most of the time, he’s right, so I’m not sure we can punish him either.” That had Niall going still for several seconds before he nodded and leaned back in the seat, mirroring me.

  “Yes, punishing him when he’s right would send the wrong message.” Then, as if he was deliberately talking around the topic, he gave Keegan a heated stare. “That doesn’t mean we can’t take some time tonight and make sure he knows his place, though.”

  I could definitely get on board with that plan…but if I let him distract me and steer the conversation away from therapy, Keegan might kill me.

  “I think that is a wonderful plan.” I let Keegan see how much I wanted him and reached over to stroke his neck, sending a shiver through him. “But first, schedules before we get distracted. What days do you think you could get off early enough to schedule the appointments?”

  Niall went still again and I could see his brain working a thousand miles an hour as he tried to decide how to answer my question. He wasn’t stupid and Keegan was cute and persistent but not subtle. He knew this wasn’t just about our habit of sniping at one another.

  Although, I had to admit Keegan was right.

  If we were going to make this work in the long run, we had to figure out how to be adults…and functional ones at that.

  So I stepped up just a bit and told him that.

  Well, some of it.

  “Keegan is right. We’re worth fighting for and if we want this to be a happy relationship in the long run, then you and I need some help.” I glanced over and grinned at Keegan. “From someone we’re not going to want to spank every time they make a good point.”

  Niall chuckled, nodding. “Yeah, having the spitfire be the constant mediator is not going to be healthy in the long run.”

  Then his smile dimmed, and he looked back and forth between us. “And we do want this to work in the long run, right?” Swallowing, he continued before I could get my brain to work. “I know we fucked up last time, but now, I just…I want this to work.”

  Keegan was so excited he was nearly shaking the seat, he was vibrating so much, but aside from a nod, he stayed quiet.

  Probably trying to make sure I would answer, not him…it was a smart move.

  “Then that means we’ve got to talk to someone about the way we communicate and we also need to talk to someone separately. I need to work on how I respond to you, and dude…your baggage has baggage, so we both have things we need to work on.”

  Keeping the tone light had Niall chuckling as he nodded, probably relieved that I hadn’t brought up the specifics.

  “So I’ll go if you go and then we’ll both get to punish Keegan for manipulating us into it. Sound like a deal?” Relief flooded through me when he nodded.

  “Deal.” He took a breath and let it out slowly. “And I think I could make Fridays work fairly easily, but I’m willing to work around the therapist's schedule because I think having someone who understands the lifestyle is best and I think I know who Keegan was referring to.”

  Miles.

  “Yeah, me too.” Then deciding to lighten the mood, I turned to look at our very pleased with himself sub. “But I think we’re going to need to decide what to do with this one. Reward him for pushing us or punish him…it could go either way for me. What do you think?”

  Niall chuckled, but it was low and wicked sounding and sent a shiver through Keegan. “You’re right. It could go either way. I think we’ll have to find a way to talk privately about it when we’re done with dinner.”

  It sounded very innocent, but the look on his face was anything but.

  “I have an idea.” Niall raised one eyebrow, looking pleased with himself. “What do you think about coming back to my place and I’ll show you what I was thinking?”

  “I think that sounds like an interesting proposal.” I turned my head to give Keegan an appraising look, but he was already lost to the fantasies about what might happen. From the expression on his face, there was no chance of him safewording or trying to change our minds so we would do something more vanilla for the rest of our date.

  And speaking of dates and taking our relationship more seriously…Niall and I had something else to discuss…taking Keegan to the club so we could introduce him to everyone as ours.

  It was time to make sure he and everyone else knew that we’d found the most perfect boy and we were both head over heels for him.

  ****

  Keegan was beyond excited.

  Before we’d even reached Niall’s driveway, he was so worked up he was vibrating and his legs were bouncing like everything in him was about to explode. If it weren’t for the smile on his face, I’d have thought he was worried.

  Nope.

  Just turned on and a bit overstimulated.

  He looked like the adult version of a kid who’d had too many good things happen in one day.

  “Keegan?” I had to say his name again as I pulled in front of Niall’s house before he seemed to hear it.

  “Yes, Master?” His eager expression and tone said he was feeling good, but I didn’t think he had any idea how wired he looked.

  “I want you to take a deep breath for me and close your eyes for a moment.” He gave me an odd look but obeyed as I turned off the car. “Good boy. In and out again. Go slowly. Keep going until I walk around and open your door.”

  The nervous energy seemed to be fading slightly now that he had something to focus on. As I climbed out of the car and closed the door, Niall walked over with a curious expression. “Why is he doing deep breathing exercises?”

  “Because he was so excited he was nearly bouncing out of my car, or something close to it. I think he was worried about how tonight would go and probably a lot of things and it’s all hitting him at once.” I realized at the last second that might have sounded like I was blaming Keegan’s behavior on Niall, but thankfully he didn’t take it too personally.

  “Yeah, he’s had a lot on his mind, but I think we made progress tonight. Right?” He was watching me closely, but there wasn’t anger on his face.

  “I think so.” Jerking my head toward the car, I finished walking around to the passenger side. “But now we focus on Keegan.”

  Niall smiled—a bit sweet, a bit wicked. “That sounds like the perfect plan. I’m going to get a few things ready. Take your time coming in.”

  With a sexy bounce in his step that made him look a bit like Keegan when he was excited, Niall turned and bounded into the house.

  I wasn’t sure what he was thinking, but he was so excited about his idea I wasn’t even going to question him. I trusted him. We might have our issues, but I knew he wouldn’t hurt Keegan.

  As I opened the car door, Keegan turned his head and grinned, still keeping his eyes closed. He took another exaggerated breath and giggled. “I was very good, Master.”

  “I can see that.” Cupping his cheek, I leaned down and gave him a quick kiss before releasing his seat belt. Dragging my hand over his body, I made sure to stroke over his erection as I put the seat belt back in place.

  He let out a low moan as my hand caressed him through his pants, but he left his eyes closed. “I took lots of deep breaths and I kept my eyes closed.”

  Subtle would never be his middle name.

  “I’m very proud of you.” Smiling, I straightened. “You can open your eyes now. You did a very good job.”

  He wasn’t bouncing out of his skin anymore, so that had to be an improvement.

  Opening his eyes, Keegan smiled even wider and took my hand as I helped him out. “I heard two voices. Were you talking to Master Niall about what was going to happen next?”

  “Yes.” But that was all I offered even though I knew he was going to start hinting around for more information.

  Cutting off the words before they could escape my needy boy, I pulled him against me and took his mouth in a slow, heated kiss. I kept my hands high enough up his back that I wouldn’t scandalize the neighbors, but I took my time exploring his mouth.

  When I finally let him pull away, his eyes had an unfocused look, and he was curled against me, some of his crazy energy gone. I smiled down at him. “Are you going to be good for us? Master Niall has a surprise for you.”

  And for me, but I wasn’t going to point that out.

  Now that all the stress was gone, submitting was the last thing on my mind and I wasn’t going to send mixed signals.

  Keegan shivered and his eyes came back into focus, sparkling with desire. “I’m going to be very good for you, Master.”

  Wiggling against me, he made a sexy little sound and gave me a teasing smile. “I’m going to be so good you’ll want to give me all kinds of rewards, Master.”

  Oh, that was definitely his plan.

  “I can’t decide if I want you to be good or if I want to punish you.” I’d figure out some reasonable excuse to make him squirm and beg to come; it’d be fun.

  He made a quiet whimper that went right to my dick and wiggled closer. Instead of begging, he tucked his face against my neck and just seemed to breathe me in. It was probably the best way to handle it. He wouldn’t be able to decide what he wanted to beg for.

  “Come on.” I kissed his head and held his hand as he straightened. “I think it’s time to show you what Master Niall has in store for our needy boy.”

  The excitement was definitely building again as we walked to the door. By the time I’d shut the door behind us and we were alone in the foyer, Keegan was vibrating again. He was going to crash at some point, but I just hoped we got him to relax first.

  “Into the living room.” Squeezing his hand, I led him deeper into the house. There was nothing I could do for the moment, so I ignored the frantic desire coming from him and just listened for Niall.

  As we got to the living room, I heard his footsteps and then his voice rang out. “Master Julian? Will you have our boy strip off his clothes?”

  I liked the way he included me instead of just calling out the order, and I knew it’d been deliberate.

  Maybe we could communicate if given the right incentive.

  “Of course.” I smiled as Keegan nearly swooned from just hearing the order. “Do you want him kneeling or standing after that?”

  I could hear Niall moving closer. “Kneeling would be wonderful. There’s a cushion by the couch.”

  Ha. Just like real adults.

  Keegan was going to be very proud of us once he had enough blood in his brain to think about anything besides sex.

  “Perfect.” Turning to Keegan, I gave him a nod. “You heard Master Niall.”

  As he quickly obeyed, I walked over to the couch and found the cushion Niall had mentioned. Before I had a chance to decide where to put it, Keegan was naked with his hard cock pointing out in front of him.

  Sexy as fuck.

  His lean body was tight and his cock jerked with every breath, drawing my attention to the bead of precum on the tip that was giving him a sexy, desperate look. He managed to keep his hands at his side, but from the way they were constantly shifting, he was going to need to be restrained.

  Pushing the coffee table out of the way, I set the cushion in the middle of the seating area so that no matter where Niall sat or stood, he’d have a good view of Keegan. “Kneel for me. I can hear Master Niall and he’s almost here.”

 

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