Chains Read online

“He immediately followed it with a forced orgasm scene, so it kind of cancelled it out. Later, I chewed him out over it and he looked all sorry and innocent, said he was just playing, that he thought I wanted something like that. The truth is, he was pushing the boundary to see how I’d react. I didn’t realize it until later. He was back to his sweet self for a couple of months. Then I realized he was slowly taking all control away from me. Stuff I never agreed to in the beginning, mind you. Not consensually taking control. A little thing here, a comment there, until a year in, I realized that he pretty much ruled my whole life without me realizing it. When I tried to sit him down then and talk about it, he once again trotted out the slave contract, but this time Mr. Nice Guy didn’t come back.

  “It took me the better part of a year to work out my escape plan and figure out how to access the bank funds. During that time I had to endure ‘play’ that was really abuse. He got off on me begging him to stop, and he took plenty of pictures of me while I was restrained. He only bruised me on my ass, and said that the slave contract was my consent. He said if I tried to report him to the police, he’d wave that and they’d say I was a freak and not do a damn thing.”

  She almost felt ill retelling it, but in a way it felt good to finally get it all out to someone besides Eliza and Rusty. “And he took pictures of me, naked and bound, during forced orgasm play, that kind of bullshit. Threatened to send them to my parents if I left. He took away my ATM cards and checkbook and gave me cash for stuff. He paid all the bills. One day, he left his computer up when he went to work, and he hadn’t logged out of the banking website. So I made a wire transfer to Eliza and Rusty and got the hell out before he got home. He’s lucky I left him half of what was in the account, because I made twice as much as he did. I was supporting us.”

  “Bet that pissed him off,” Toby said.

  “It did. But since I was a co-owner on the account, he couldn’t do shit about it. And believe me, he tried.”

  “You’re lucky you got out of there,” Logan said.

  “I know. I feel badly for anyone else he’s suckered in.”

  “How long did the divorce take?” Toby asked.

  “Too damn long. But worse, he harassed me. Stalked me. I had to change my cell number, finally ended up leaving Sarasota because he just wouldn’t give up. Even after the divorce was final. I didn’t want him going after my friends, too, so I left town.”

  “Wow,” Logan quietly said.

  “What pisses me off even more,” she added, “is that for all these years I gave up my friends, stuff I liked to do, my hometown, because of him.”

  “You haven’t played with anyone since then?”

  “No. And that sucks, too, because, believe me, I enjoyed it.”

  “We’d play with you,” Toby gently suggested. “I mean, if you ever wanted to.”

  Logan nodded.

  “Watch out, I might take you both up on that with the stress I’m under.”

  “Sorry,” Toby said. “Guess that’s kind of a douchey thing for us to say right now.”

  “No, no apologies, please. It’s nice having real men pay me a compliment like that, instead of made-up stuff Chewi says.” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “Gawd, that makes me sound really fucking pitiful, doesn’t it?”

  “No,” Toby said. “It makes you sound human.”

  Chapter Six

  When Eliza and Rusty arrived for dinner, Rusty pulled Rebecca aside. “Apologies,” he muttered in her ear. “She’s on a mission and is convinced you three need each other.”

  “Message received, loud and clear.” She loved Eliza to death, but also knew her friend’s attempts to shove the three of them together weren’t necessarily what any of them needed.

  “I’ll warn the guys,” Rusty said.

  “Can’t you rein her in?”

  He snorted. “You’ve known us how long?”

  “Sorry. Forgot who I was talking about.”

  “Uh, yah, I guess ya did.”

  Dinner was roasted chicken and vegetables and, aside from Eliza’s pushy matchmaking, it was a wonderful evening.

  “If you ever need to park your RV down here,” Logan said, “you’re welcomed to use our shower and bathroom. Or even park here in our yard. We have room.”

  “Thanks. I might have to take you up on that until we get the house cleared out. I can park over there but not sure what shape the RV hookup is in. And I can’t use the house bathrooms right now.”

  “That’s perfect,” Eliza said. “They’re right next door and everything.”

  When Rebecca tried to shoot her stink-eye, Eliza just smiled at her. “Hey, I have a grown daughter with whom I survived her teenage years. You have nothing on her, lady. Just keep making those faces at me.”

  Toby and Logan smiled. Well, that was something, at least. In this macabre situation, she could make someone find humor in it.

  By the time they were ready to leave, Rebecca had relaxed a lot around the two men. She even hugged them. “Thank you for dinner. And everything. You’ve been very kind.”

  “We mean it,” Logan said. “Anything you need, any help, let us know.”

  “Thanks.”

  As they drove home, Rebecca shot death glares into the back of Eliza’s head where she rode shotgun.

  “Still not quitting,” Eliza said. “And again, I had a teenager. You’re an amateur.”

  * * * *

  Rebecca drove over Wednesday morning to meet the work crew at the house. Josh and his brother, Mark, were there to lead the charge. The two large construction Dumpsters had already been delivered. Rebecca moved her uncle’s truck out of the way so the crews could place the storage units there when they arrived.

  Mark went over things with her while Josh took control of the work crew. If they were sharing a woman, and there was one more of them, that woman was very lucky indeed. They were good-looking men in their own ways, although she found herself more drawn toward Toby and Logan.

  By lunchtime, the crew had already cleared out the living and dining rooms and had started on one of the bedrooms. They brought out the desk and other paperwork and set them in the shade under a tree so she could go through it. One of the two storage units was half-full, and one of the Dumpsters was almost completely full. It wasn’t that there was a lot of junk, but between the furniture that couldn’t be salvaged because it had fabric that had been permeated by the stench of decomposition, the bugs, or both, a lot of stuff couldn’t be saved.

  At least the kitchen hadn’t been gross. The floor was clean, and there wasn’t any overly spoiled food in the fridge, just some that had recently expired. But the fridge itself was clean, and there were only two dirty, but rinsed, dishes in the sink. Even the cabinets in there were in good shape.

  They opted not to worry about anything except getting rid of the food, both in the fridge and the nonperishables, for now. The men would bring boxes tomorrow so the dishes, pots, and pans could be gathered together and put in the storage units.

  By the end of the first day, she felt tired, sad, and lonely. Her uncle had traveled around to various swap meets, according to paperwork and receipts she found, but didn’t seem to have much in the way of friends.

  How ironic.

  Did she really want to be him when she got to be his age?

  Not really.

  Once the crew left for the day, she was able to stand in the back doorway and stare into the dining room. It still reeked, but was now bearable. And most of the flies had left with everything standing open all day and the carpet removed.

  It wasn’t a bad house. Even the Collins brothers noted that it didn’t appear to need anything worse than cleaning and cosmetics to get the house into a livable condition.

  Maybe I could rent it out.

  She didn’t want to just sell it. It didn’t feel right. That the last of what was left of her uncle would just disappear with a signature on a purchase contract.

  “Hey.”

  She turned to see Toby an
d Logan heading her way, her heart speeding up.

  Hmm.

  They joined her at the back door. “Wow,” Toby said.

  “Yeah.”

  “Any idea how long they’ll take?”

  “They’re working a couple of other jobs along with this one. They’ll work tomorrow and Friday, but I won’t be here Friday. Eliza will be running things. Then next week they’ll be back on Tuesday, when I’m here.”

  “That’s a heck of a commute,” Logan said. “To South Carolina.”

  “I know, but it’s easier to leave the RV up there rather than drive it down here. I’ve already paid in advance for the spot at the RV park. The Toad gets far better mileage. And I’ve got this weekend and the next up there.”

  “Wish we could help you with that,” Toby said.

  “It’s okay. I’m used to driving. Kind of what I do.”

  “How about we pick you up at Eliza’s later and take you out to dinner tonight?” Logan asked.

  “Did Eliza put you up to it again?”

  “She didn’t have to,” Toby said. “We want to. But when we ran the plan by her, she wholeheartedly concurred.”

  “Of course she did.”

  She closed the back door and locked it. The front door was already locked, and the Collins brothers had a spare key. She’d get the locks changed once the work was done.

  “Is that a yes?” Logan asked.

  “Yes, because if I say no, Eliza will likely hound me, or lock me out or something, until she wears me down and I say yes.” She turned to look at them. “Hope this isn’t creeping you guys out.”

  “No,” Toby said. “It’s not. She obviously cares about you.”

  “She does. That’s why I’m putting up with her.”

  * * * *

  Eliza met Rebecca at the front door with Chewi in her arms. Speaking in a low, rumbling voice, Eliza said, “Mom, you need to go out tonight with Toby and Logan because I need a date night alone with Booger.”

  “I already told them yes,” Rebecca said as she headed toward her bedroom. “So you can quit pushing.”

  “Oh, I wasn’t pushing,” Eliza said in her normal voice, following in Rebecca’s wake, Boo following her. “That was Chewi.”

  “Uh-huh.” She set her things on the guest bed. “Message received. If I promise not to push them away, will you please stop pushing me on them?”

  “Promise?”

  “Promise.”

  Eliza looked down into Chewi’s face. “What do you think, world dominayshun dog?”

  He tipped his nose up a little to sniff at her before licking her chin.

  “He approves,” Eliza declared. Then she grew serious. “How are you holding up?”

  “I’m just…sad. I know we weren’t close, but apparently I was the closest person to him. I’m drawing some seriously disturbing parallels. And I don’t want my life to be like that.”

  “Then don’t let it.” She handed Chewi over to her. “When are they picking you up?”

  “Shortly. I need to get a shower.”

  “Then I’ll leave you alone.” She hugged Rebecca before heading out.

  Rebecca stared down into Chewi’s face. He raptly stared back at her. Boo let out a snort before lowering her pudgy butt to the floor at Rebecca’s feet. Then, the bulldog reached out and slimed Rebecca’s leg with a long-tongued lick.

  “Ugh. Chewi, your girlfriend needs a bib.”

  He stared back at her. Not my problem, woman. And I like her the way she is.

  Oh, yes. She was definitely in desperate need of a real life.

  * * * *

  They took her to a seafood restaurant on Tamiami Trail. For a little while, she was able to forget about what was going on in the rest of her life, the sad work ahead of her dealing with her uncle’s estate. She had several orders she’d have to fill and prepare to ship before she could go to bed, and e-mail to answer.

  And now…this.

  Toby and Logan were a nice respite from real life. In that vein, she broached the subject.

  “You know, maybe next week, when I’m back down here, we could…do something together.”

  Both men seemed to perk up. “Dinner?” Toby asked. “Or…more?”

  “I’m thinking more. If you guys want to.”

  They exchanged a glance before nodding.

  “Maybe not…play…yet. But…” Hell, she could do this. She was a big girl. “Maybe just hanging out to start with and see where it goes from there? I’m going to need some time to get back into play. And I won’t be able to go to the club yet, anyway, since I won’t be here when it’s open.” She’d heard a lot of good things about the club, even though she hadn’t been there yet.

  It would be nice to finally get to meet some of the people she’d heard about from Eliza, or with whom she’d e-mailed about her pieces.

  “We’re good with that,” Logan said. “Slow is good.”

  She sat back, relaxing. “That will make Eliza happy, at least. Not that I’m not happy, because I am. About…this.”

  “No explanations necessary,” Toby said. “We like you, too. And we’re good with taking our time, too. We’re not dating anyone.”

  The rest of the evening seemed ridiculously easy after that. They talked about a lot of different topics, including her jewelry and their personal likes and dislikes in bed and in BDSM.

  By the time they returned her to Eliza and Rusty’s house, she felt like the evening had slipped through her fingers.

  They walked her to the front door, each of them giving her a hug and a kiss before she headed inside.

  Eliza met her at the door, holding Chewi. In her “Chewi voice,” Eliza said, “I think I like those guys, Mom.”

  She took the dog from her and snuggled him against her. “I think I like those guys, too, buddy.”

  Chapter Seven

  Back in South Carolina on Saturday night, when Rebecca was preparing for bed after an exhausting day working her booth at the fair, she found herself wondering what Logan and Toby were doing, if they were out and about.

  Were they thinking about her the way she was thinking about them?

  She’d decided she would leave tomorrow once the Ren fair closed for the day. She could come back here, shower, grab her clothes, and go, without having to unpack and repack the Toad yet again. All her jewelry and stuff would already be in it.

  She wouldn’t deny she couldn’t wait to see the guys again.

  When her phone buzzed with a text message, she was glad to see it was from Logan.

  Still coming back tomorrow?

  The question thrilled her and she wouldn’t deny it.

  That’s still the plan.

  He responded. You can stay here, if you want.

  She stared at Chewi. “Logan says I can stay there.”

  He sniffed at her as if to say, What about me?

  She pondered her reply. And the Chewmonster?

  Of course.

  Okay, so that blew an objection out of the water.

  She knew if she texted Eliza that the men were offering to let her stay with them that Eliza would change her locks just to force Rebecca to go stay with the men. It also made logical sense. After all, they did live next door to her uncle’s property.

  Now her property.

  Logical. Right?

  It’ll be the wee hours of the morning when I get there.

  That’s fine. Keep us posted on your progress.

  You can track me on the Waze app.

  That led to a back-and-forth as she had to explain what it was to him, he and Toby both downloaded it to their phones, and she got them added as friends on the app. It was how she kept track of some of her Ren fair friends, too.

  And it was one more way for Eliza to locate Rebecca should she suddenly drop off the face of the planet. Not much of a safety net, but at least something.

  Although it would be faster for Eliza to simply log into Rebecca’s cell phone account and activate the family tracker on her phone. El
iza was the only other person who had access to Rebecca’s cell account, for obvious reasons. But Rebecca also used Waze on her tablet, and it would still run under Wi-Fi even if she turned off the cellular function.

  While texting with the men, an hour passed before she realized it.

  Ok have to go to sleep. See you tomorrow night.

  Logan responded. Text us when you get on the road. We’ll track you. Is that creepy?

  She smiled. Not when I like who’s doing the tracking.

  And no, she definitely didn’t find it creepy. They were concerned about her. Understandable, because they’d only known her for a week and didn’t quite grasp she had this routine covered.

  It was nice to have someone concerned about her for a change, besides Eliza and Rusty.

  * * * *

  Logan smacked Toby’s arm. “Yes! She’s going to stay here.”

  “I told you she would. If she hadn’t agreed, I would have sicced Eliza on her.”

  Logan’s smile faded. “Are we getting in over our heads?”

  “Look,” Toby said. “She’s independent. She owns her own home. Doesn’t matter that it’s an RV. She’s got a life, a business. She’s self-sufficient. If there’s any better person to think about playing with, then show me.”

  “Sorry. I’m gun-shy.”

  “So am I, but we know enough about her to take a chance. If we don’t take a chance, who’s to say she won’t just empty the place out, sell it, and leave again?”

  “We still don’t know she won’t do that,” Logan pointed out.

  “Then we get to know her better and give her reasons to want to hang around.”

  “We need more dog treats,” Logan said.

  “I love that dog. He’s hysterical.”

  “We’re not making a mistake, are we?” Logan asked.

  “I don’t think so.” Toby smiled. “Quit being a wussy Dom.”

  “I’m not a wussy Dom. Asshole. I just don’t want a repeat of what we went through.”

  “She’s not Julie,” Toby reminded him. “She’s also older than Julie was. More life experiences. It’s time we quit being afraid and take a chance.”