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  “So the guy who beat you up…”

  “I was a dummy who fell for a guy who suckered me in. Most guys are nice guys. Like Kenny and Nolan. Or Landry and Cris. They don’t do this.” She pointed at her own face. “This is abuse, and believe me, I know it.”

  “Okay.” She seemed to be digesting that. Then, she looked at Kenny and shook a finger at him. “I ever hear of you doing something like this to anyone? You’ll be dealing with me, young man.”

  Tilly snorted. “Don’t worry. There wouldn’t be enough left of him for you to deal with.”

  * * * *

  Betsy didn’t know if Kenny’s mom was just that cool, or if Michelle was trying to act cool because Betsy knew she looked like complete and utter hell, but she didn’t care. The woman was sweet and ordered Betsy and the others to call her “Mom.”

  She wouldn’t dare argue.

  “Well, I’m glad Dennis didn’t come with me tonight,” she said as they sat down to eat. “That would have made things even more interesting.”

  “So how is he?” Kenny asked.

  Michelle shrugged. “Still sulking. I think he’s upset that I didn’t beg him to come with me tonight. I told him he could either act like an adult or get the hell out. I raised my child. I’m not raising another one. Especially when he’s supposed to be a damned adult.”

  “I’m sorry, Mom,” Kenny said. “We didn’t realize he’d come home, or we would have been more careful.”

  She waved him off. “It’s okay. It had to come out sooner or later. So, when do I get to plan you and Nolan’s wedding?”

  Betsy couldn’t help but laugh as Kenny choked on the swallow of iced tea he’d been taking. “Mom!”

  “Well? The secret’s out now, right? Get married before the boneheads in Tallahassee figure out a way to stop it again.”

  “We still have to tell my parents,” Nolan said. “I’m not sure how that will go.”

  Michelle nodded. “At least you boys have a supportive group of friends, if these three here—and Betsy—are any indication.”

  Betsy thought she might be able to sit there and avoid talking, but Michelle, who’d sat right next to her, pulled her into the conversation. “So, what are your next plans? What did you do for a living? Any job prospects?”

  “I don’t know yet. I’m going to work on my resume and talk to the real estate office where I worked before Jack made me quit. See if they’re hiring or know of anyone who might be. From there…” She shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

  “No degree?”

  “Just a two-year from community college for business. Bookkeeping, accounting, basic stuff. I couldn’t afford a four-year school and didn’t have the grades for a scholarship.”

  Michelle nodded. “Well, keep me posted. If you’re familiar with real estate, have you done any property management?”

  “Not really. Our office handled residential sales. Why?”

  “One of the women in our office is moving in a few weeks. We’re going to post the position sometime this week. We handle commercial and retail property management. Several business plazas, a mall, things like that. It’s an administrative position. Starts at forty thousand a year, but you’ll have to apply for it. I can’t just give you the job because you’re my son’s friend.”

  Hope started to catch fire inside her. “Thank you! Yes, I’d love the chance to apply.” It was a little more than she’d made at her last job, and she’d been living okay with that salary. Not high off the hog, but she’d had a tidy little apartment and a car that ran well and was paid off, with a few extra dollars to go to Venture or a movie every weekend, or to buy herself a nice dinner, if she wanted to.

  “Okay. Then get me your resume as soon as you can. The sooner you can apply, the sooner we can get you in to interview. It’ll be about two weeks or so before we start interviews.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate it.” That would give her time to heal up reasonably well.

  “I’ll help you with your resume tomorrow,” Tilly said. “I’ll be over here before the guys leave for work and we’ll do that.”

  “Thanks.” She stared down at her plate while fighting the urge to cry. The kindness everyone had shown her…It was the polar opposite of the hell she’d just escaped from not even twenty-four hours ago.

  This time yesterday, she’d been beaten and bloody and curled up on the couch, nearly unconscious, after a day of struggling to get the chain off her foot.

  Michelle reached over and touched her shoulder. “Are you all right?”

  “No, but I’m finally thinking maybe I’ll reach that point sooner than I thought I would.”

  * * * *

  Betsy said good-night to everyone and headed to bed right after dessert was served and Tilly had quickly examined her to make sure she was okay. She’d taken a couple of ibuprofen and needed to lie down. Her headache was back, along with all the other aches and pains, and she didn’t want to admit to anyone how bad she was feeling.

  With Michelle and Tilly there, she might just end up back in the hospital with no say in the matter. Especially if Tilly the nurse thought she wasn’t doing well.

  Then Betsy spotted the plastic shopping bags from the store on her bed. When she opened them, she stifled a sob.

  Dammit, would she ever get control of her emotions again?

  Yes, she remembered Kenny saying something about pajamas. And yes, they were in her sizes.

  And they were adorable. One of them was covered with Hello Kitty, something she’d loved.

  Jack never would have bought her anything he didn’t see a real use for. Why’d she need PJs when she should sleep naked for him, anyway?

  She was lucky he’d had a vasectomy years ago, but then a nagging thought struck her.

  Maybe I need to get myself tested.

  She didn’t think he was cheating on her. He was usually far too strict about his time and hers to have any that wasn’t really accounted for.

  Well, except for his afternoons and nights as a bouncer at the bar.

  But, add to the fact that he’d had a difficult time getting it up a lot of the time. So…probably not.

  Just in case…

  She added a trip to the county health department to her list of things to do at some point. She’d need a full STD/HIV panel done. And then again in six months.

  Dammit.

  She pulled the tags off the Hello Kitty PJs and carefully undressed, then pulled the PJs on.

  Yes, perfect fit. Loose enough to be comfy.

  Wincing, she slowly got into bed and pulled the sheet over herself, leaving the bedside lamp on again. But the PJs…

  It was like falling asleep cloaked in kindness.

  * * * *

  Once Betsy’s bedroom door softly closed behind her, Kenny watched as his mom’s expression turned dark.

  “I hope that guy gets serious jail time,” she said.

  “I hope he ends up cellmates with a three-hundred-pound nymphomaniac bodybuilder hung like an elephant,” Tilly snarked.

  “I used to have a friend, years ago,” Michelle started, “who once confided she liked it when her husband spanked her. I understand that, I guess. But how does someone go from harmless play to that?” She pointed down the hallway, where Betsy had gone.

  “They usually don’t,” Landry assured her. “He is an exception, fortunately.”

  “Well, like I told her, I can’t promise her a job. But she can apply.”

  “I appreciate that, Mom.”

  “I’m sure when you left my house yesterday morning, you were worried about something like that happening to me, hmm?”

  “Honestly? Yeah. We were.”

  She smiled. “Dennis might hold radically different political views than I do, but believe me, he would never lay a finger on me.” Her smile faded. “When we were dating, we were once talking and joking around somehow, and I smiled and told him if any man ever hit me, he’d better never go to sleep around me. Ever. Because he would regret it.”

>   Kenny sat up. He couldn’t believe his mom saying something like that. “What’d he say?”

  “He laughed, then realized I wasn’t kidding.” She took a sip of iced tea. “I dated a few jerks when you were younger. None I brought home, fortunately. One of them was a man who tried to intimidate me with force. He didn’t actually hit me, but I’m sure had I not put a stop to things when I did that he probably would have.”

  “What happened?”

  “Oh, he got a little rough with me when he tried to get me to have sex with him. I got loud in return. Then he claimed he was just kidding around. So before I left, I went to use the bathroom. I’d swiped a bottle of Super Glue I spotted in his kitchen. I filled the bathroom door lock with it before going back into the living room, and left the bathroom door closed, and locked.”

  Kenny’s eyes widened as Tilly cackled with glee and gave her a high-five.

  “What the hell?” Kenny said. “You never told me that!”

  “Of course not. You were nine or ten when it happened. Really young.”

  “What happened later when he figured it out?” Tilly asked.

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. But I’m sure when he left to go to work the next morning he probably wasn’t very happy, either.”

  “Why?” Kenny asked.

  She took another sip of her tea. “Because I also filled the locks on his car doors and trunk with glue when I left. I had a rule to always drive myself. I had you to think about, to make sure I came home safely. So I waited until I knew he wasn’t watching and did it.”

  “Did he accuse you of it?”

  “He never called me again. Which was fine by me.”

  “I’ve gotta say,” Tilly told Kenny, “I am totally fangirling your mom right now. Can I be your adopted sister?”

  Chapter Eight

  After all the dishes were done and everyone had left for the evening, Kenny and Nolan headed to their bedroom. With the door securely closed behind them, Kenny pulled Nolan into his arms for a long, scorching kiss. Nolan was only two inches taller than his own six one, and their bodies seemed built to fit together perfectly.

  “Can I redeem the rain check on the fucking part of last night’s activities?” Kenny asked when he lifted his lips from Nolan’s.

  Nolan smiled down at him, his blue eyes looking like a dark ocean’s depths in this light. “I think that could be arranged.”

  “Good.” Kenny started backing him toward their bed. “Because I’m in a serious need of a good, hard fucking from you.”

  Nolan grabbed him, spun around, and shoved Kenny back, hard, onto the bed, pouncing on top of him. “Like this?”

  “That’s a good start.”

  Nolan grabbed his lover’s hands, lacing fingers with him, and pinned Kenny’s hands over his head against the mattress. He leaned in close, body stretched over Kenny’s, lips inches above his.

  “Then prepare to be well and truly fucked tonight, buddy.”

  Kenny squeezed his hands and the look of vulnerability that swept through his lover’s brown gaze took Nolan’s breath away. They were pretty much equals. Yes, they took turns bottoming in bed, and sometimes for play, but they were both definitely Dominant men.

  He suspected the revelations Kenny’s mom had made at dinner had started Kenny’s brain whirring again, worrying about her when compared to Betsy’s situation.

  Slanting his mouth over Kenny’s, Nolan crushed his lover’s lips under his, fucking Kenny’s mouth with his tongue and drawing a soft moan from Kenny.

  Under him, he felt Kenny’s cock harden against him in response to his own erection. He sat up, still pinning Kenny’s hands over his head.

  “Don’t move,” he ordered. Then he sat back, Kenny’s hands remaining where he’d left them.

  He swung off Kenny and left the bed, quickly stripping before grabbing a towel, lube, and a condom. He returned to the bed and dropped the items onto the mattress before he reached in and started unfastening Kenny’s shorts.

  Kenny remained where Nolan had left him, staring up at him, waiting.

  Getting Kenny’s shorts and briefs down and off him, Nolan shoved the man’s shirt up over his nipples. Sliding his hands up the man’s smooth abs, he leaned in and licked a trail from navel to nipples, back and forth, nipping at them, deliberately positioning his body between Kenny’s legs and forcing them wider apart so his lover’s cock rubbed against his bare flesh.

  This would be a hard and fast fuck, for sure, so he wanted to drag the foreplay out a little. They enjoyed cuddling, no doubt, but sometimes they wanted—needed—raw, animalistic rutting that could sate the sadistic needs both men suppressed when there wasn’t another ready outlet.

  And right now, both of them wanted to beat the shit out of Jack Bourke, something that wouldn’t happen.

  So they’d fuck the hell out of each other instead and enjoy it just the same.

  It was always fun when they had a woman between them as a third. Especially if she was a masochist. Then they could unleash primal play that would always leave her satisfied and smiling, and leave the men’s darker urges happily sated.

  Neither had an interest in forcing someone to comply or submit. The person had to want it. Which was why neither man minded play with the other. They understood the need, knew how to appease it.

  Enjoyed the reciprocity.

  And hell, they could really fight against the other one if they wanted, without worrying about someone getting hurt. It was fun, it was furious, and it was fucking amazing once they wore themselves out and collapsed on the other end of the play.

  Nolan slid down Kenny’s body, grabbing his cock and wrapping his lips around it, flicking at the slit with his tongue while Kenny lifted his head and watched.

  Down Kenny’s shaft, Nolan laved his tongue over Kenny’s cock, his balls, sucking first one and then the other into his mouth while Kenny’s hips started rocking, trying to gain traction against Nolan’s grip around his cock.

  Pre-cum oozed from the tip of Kenny’s cock, sweetly salty, rolling down Nolan’s tongue as he sucked on it and swirled his tongue around the head.

  He continued the torture, his own cock throbbing and leaking, his balls aching for release, knowing he wanted to work Kenny almost to the brink of explosion when Nolan finally shoved his cock up him. Because he knew he wouldn’t, couldn’t last long inside the man as horny as he now felt, too.

  Cupping Kenny’s sac in his other palm, Nolan slowly stroked his lover’s shaft, enjoying the way Kenny’s cock grew even harder under his fingers. Delicious desperation filled Kenny’s eyes as he stared down his body at Nolan.

  Yes, this. This is what Nolan loved, having that willingly given control, the trust.

  For a split second, Nolan imagined what Betsy might look like wearing a similar desperately helpless expression before he shoved it out of his mind. Totally inappropriate right now, not to mention he didn’t want them landing in the middle of a messy emotional situation. Helping her by letting her live with them was one thing.

  Fantasizing about her when she was asleep in the other room and still looking like a human punching bag?

  Doooucheeey.

  He sat up and lifted Kenny’s knees, shoving them up and back against the other man’s chest. “Hold them.”

  Kenny finally moved his hands, hooking them behind his knees to keep himself in position.

  The Nolan grabbed the towel and slid it under him before reaching for the lube. He made sure to lock gazes with Kenny as he squirted some of the cool gel onto his fingers and started working it into the man’s rim.

  Kenny’s cock twitched as a soft moan escaped him.

  “Yeah, that’s it. Make a little noise for me, baby. Gonna get you ready and then fuck what’s mine.”

  That only made Kenny’s cock twitch and throb more, another drop of pre-cum oozing from the slit and sliding down onto Kenny’s abs.

  Long ago, they’d learned anything goes with role-play in bed. Tomorrow, it might be Kenny fu
cking Nolan and making him beg for it while telling Kenny he was his willing bitch. It was fun, a fluid power exchange they didn’t exactly consider switchy like Abbey and Gilo, or even Tilly and her guys. Similar, but different. Theirs was more role-play, with them both remaining dominant.

  Once he had three fingers easily sliding into Kenny’s channel, he wiped his hand and rolled on the condom. After slathering his shaft with lube, he pressed the head of his cock against Kenny’s rim.

  “Beg me.”

  “Please, fuck me,” Kenny gasped. “Please pound that cock inside me.”

  He grabbed Kenny’s ankles and slung them over his shoulders, leaning in but still not breaching his ass. “Harder.”

  “Please,” Kenny said. “I need your cock.”

  “Still not feeling it.”

  “Goddammit, please fuck my—”

  With one hard, deep thrust, Nolan slammed his cock all the way inside his lover, enjoying the sound of Kenny’s moaning gasp of pleasure. “Hands over your head,” Nolan ordered.

  Kenny immediately complied.

  He reached between Kenny’s legs and wrapped his fingers around the man’s cock. A steady stream of pre-cum now flowed from the slit, and he slicked the juices up and down Kenny’s cock, slowly pumping with his hand.

  “Should I get you off? Or should I fuck you and leave you hard and horny all night, hmm?” Nolan teased.

  “Please get me off!”

  “Maybe I should fuck you, then get a butt plug and shove it inside you and make you blow me in the morning before I let you come.”

  “No, please make me come!”

  In their years together, they’d each learned the other’s quirks, weak points, and triggers, good and bad.

  Like this, alone together, when he was in the mood to be, Kenny liked it when Nolan pushed him, hard and deep, down into a bottomy headspace. Never truly submissive, but it always made Kenny come harder when he wanted it like this.

  And he could tell Kenny really wanted it like this.