“In the office, I’ll call you whatever you like.” His voice turned silky. “Hell, you keep the place functioning most of the time. But in the bedroom, you’re our sweet little secretary.”

His words revved her up. The independent woman in her said that she shouldn’t like what Kell murmured, but no denying that he made her even wetter. Her emotions were all askew, running haywire. And now that the pain had passed, a burning tingle flared just under her skin. No, a deep arousal—hot, wicked, and addictive. “Yes.”

Another smack. “Just yes? Think carefully.”

Sensation blanketed her brain, muffling her thoughts. Belle tried not to lose herself in his touch, in her desire to feel his hand on her ass again. She had to focus. What was it he wanted?

“Sir. Yes, Sir,” she blurted as soon as she figured it out.

“Much better.” He smoothed his hand over her cheeks, distributing the heat and rewarding her—for the moment. “Now, let’s talk about lying. I don’t like it and I won’t tolerate it.”

“I second that,” Eric put in.

“Me, too,” Tate added.

“There you go. I’m not talking about social situations. But Belle, we’re not merely your friends. You can’t blow us off with a polite excuse. We’re about to become your lovers. If you lie to us, expect consequences. We need to know how you feel, when you’re hurt or sad, scared or worried. You can’t just smile away your emotions.”

“They belong to us,” Eric explained. “Like your body is about to.”

“So, for lying to me in the hallway, I’m giving you a count of twenty. If I catch you lying again, I’ll give you more. You will always tell us how you feel. Like now.” Kell’s expectation hung in the air between them.

She didn’t even think about withholding or lying. The words just spilled out. The situation was so intimate there didn’t seem to be room for anything but honesty. “Hot, achy, the tiniest bit scared.”

“Perfect. Thank you for your honesty. We know you’re nervous because this is our first time together. We’ll make sure that you come to trust us.”

“Yes, Sir,” she breathed.

Three quick smacks had her moaning when the pain hit. The next two made her writhe as the ache deepened. He clearly meant business with those slaps, but the shocking sting morphed into something she found herself craving even more of.

After another five, they were halfway through the punishment. A haze of desire descended and she slowly lost herself in the rhythm of Kellan’s discipline—the whack of his hand and his hard exhalation, followed by Eric’s moan, Tate’s groan, and her whimpering out the count before it started all over again.

Belle shook, on fire, desperate for more. She gripped his leg, dug her nails into the wool of Kellan’s pants. He drew in an audible breath, dragging in her scent again. She felt the thick line of his erection against her belly harden even more. Disciplining her really did something for him.

“How are you, love?” he asked.

Shaky, shocked, and so, so alive. “Good, Sir.”

“Excellent. Keep counting.”

“Hurry. As soon as you’re done, I’m definitely offering her my penis.” Tate sounded so completely earnest that Belle cracked a smile.

“I have no doubt,” Eric drawled. “We all are.”

Kellan ignored them and peppered five more quick slaps across her cheeks, branding the heat under her skin until she felt helpless and drowning in sensation. Completely needy.

“Can you take five more?” He didn’t demand, but everything in his tone told Belle that he really hoped she could.

Happily. “Yes, Sir.”

She closed her eyes, wanting to block out everything but the sound of his flesh striking hers, the feel of his hand rubbing the heat into her skin. She counted each time his palm stuck her bare backside. Belle savored each smack, delighting in the sting and the blaze that followed, settling into her pussy.

God, who would have guessed that she’d like it? Descriptions of spankings in books had always made her uncomfortably wet, but the reality… Belle sighed in contentment. The reality of this oddly sharp pleasure went far beyond anything her imagination could have conceived. He dissolved her into a shaking, aching mass.

Before she knew it, Kell delivered the last slap and ended the punishment. He stroked her heated bottom one final time, then eased her off his lap. He urged her to curl up against him for a blissful moment as he cuddled her. Pressing her cheek to his lapel, she reveled in the feel of his strong arms around her, his heartbeat against her ear. She even enjoyed the heat of her naked skin against his designer suit.

All too soon, he tipped her chin in his hand and lifted her face just under his. The masculine splendor of his sculpted lips hovered just over her own. “You did very well. Now that it’s over, tell me…Can you handle me, Belle? I need this in a way the other two don’t. I’ll always want to discipline you. I’ll always want to tie you down and have my way, but I promise I’ll make it good for you. Did you enjoy that?”

“I did, Sir.” Her throbbing backside was a memento of the intimacy they’d shared. But rather than the ache upsetting or angering her, the sensations settled under her skin and calmed her in some way she didn’t quite understand.

“I want to know for myself.” He dropped his hand on her knee, gently pulling them apart. “I need to feel exactly what I did to you.”

That he needed anything from her moved Belle. She willingly parted her legs for him. Kellan was always shut down, so often distant, but in that moment, she felt close to him, shared the sort of bond with him she’d fantasized about.

His big hand slid between her legs, palm covering her pussy gently before his callused fingertips moved in a silky slide down her wet folds. As tingling erupted and her body broke out in goose bumps, Kell dipped to her opening and eased two fingers inside with a low male groan.

Her breath fled as his fingers thrust just inside her slick heat, teasing her with soft friction, taking her by tingling surprise. In seconds, Belle began to gasp and arched to him.

“How wet is she?” Tate dropped to one knee beside her and cupped her breast, skimming her nipple with his thumb and spreading the need.

“Soaking,” Kellan replied, sounding mighty pleased. “Do you want to come, love?”

“Of course she does. And I want to watch her.” Eric winked, standing over them.

Belle was relieved that Eric saved her the trouble of stating the obvious. She was pretty sure she had never truly climaxed before. She’d had little pleasures by her own hand, but nothing she’d done had ever felt half so good as what Kellan did to her right now.

Then his fingers slid over her clit and rubbed a slow circle. She stared up at him, stunned by the lush desire rolling through her body.

Kellan just smiled. “Let’s hear you scream.”

“I concur.” Tate hovered over them, watching Kell’s fingers with rapt, dark eyes.

“Amen, brother,” Eric murmured, his hazel eyes glittering.

Kell’s mouth descended on hers before she could reply with anything but a moan. She opened automatically. He kissed her hard and deep, possessing her as his tongue slid home in time with his fingers. The pressure built quickly, little lightning bolts of pleasure that jolted her system, making her shudder in his arms.

She tensed, her fever rising. It wasn’t long before her skin felt too tight. Her breathing went choppy. She drowned in Kellan’s scent and nearness as he drove her up high, where the flames licked her flesh, until the need compelled Belle to spread her legs wider. She tried to break the kiss, toss her head back—but he refused to allow that, instead keeping at her mouth with one hungry kiss after another until she whimpered. Desperation rose right along with sensation. She felt overcome, undone, turned inside out as pleasure converged and unraveled her. No matter how she fought to savor the delicious agony, she couldn’t hold back.

As the orgasm burst over her, Kell tore his lips from hers. A long and throaty scream clawed from her chest as euphoric joy drugged her veins and pulsed down her nerve endings. In the aftermath, she panted, utterly dazed.

Yeah, she had been right. She’d never really come until now. They were probably damn proud of themselves for that ear-splitting shriek. No denying she’d loved what they’d given her.

“Beautiful,” Kell murmured.

As she lay in his arms afterward, Belle felt that way. Finally, she understood why she’d never truly climaxed before. What he’d given her—with the silent support of Eric and Tate—had been more than pleasure. The sense of pure connection couldn’t be pretended when she touched herself. It made everything they shared more beautiful and meaningful. It proved she belonged with them. She’d always been able to be herself around them at the office, but to know without a doubt that extended to even the most intimate situations… God, what a relief.

“I’m so glad I waited,” she sighed up at him with a happy grin.

Belle couldn’t imagine her first time with anyone except the three of them. Her heart was so full in that moment. They would make it far more meaningful than the simple act of bodies coming together. They would make it a moment that brought them all closer together. Something they would remember their whole lives.

Kellan stiffened. “Waited?”

His word hissed like the crack of a whip. She forced her eyes open. His forbidding frown seized her chest and squeezed hard.

“I’m not glad,” Tate argued, gliding his hand down her body until he cupped her thigh. “We wasted a whole year.”

“I don’t think that’s what she meant.” Kellan arched a sharp brow her way. “Is it, Annabelle?”