Belle’s thoughts raced. Did she want to go back to simply sharing a roof with them? Most likely, they only had a few days left together. Hell, even if they’d promised her a lifetime, that didn’t always work out. Her father had vowed to love her mother forever and he’d died. When her mom had given birth, she’d committed to being a parent, but after her dad’s death, she hadn’t lived up to that obligation. Her mother’s detachment had hurt and confused Belle. She’d shut everyone out after that. With the exception of Kinley, she still did.

But now, these three men tempted her. Not just sexually. She could really be herself with them—a rarity for her. They set her at ease. Why shouldn’t she experience what they shared to the fullest while they were here? Find pleasure and joy? Her skin heated at just the thought of feeling them deep inside her again. Her heart warmed at the thought of being close to them. Even if it didn’t last, she’d have these days to hold close to her heart.

“Yes.” There was nothing else to say.

“Do you understand what you’re saying yes to, love?” Kellan stepped into the room. His whole body hardened, his previous calm gone. Before her stood a Dom.

Her Dom.

“Yes. I’m agreeing to submit to you in the bedroom.” Elsewhere, she would insist on being an equal partner for as long as it lasted or she’d be unable to live with herself.

Eric let out a sexy growl. “In the bedroom, the living room, the bathroom—whatever room we want. We’re not going to always carry you to the comfort of a bed, Belle. We’ll have you in every room of this house. We’ll take you wherever we want you. I’ll flip up your skirt or pull down your pants, and you’ll take my cock. Do you understand?”

She would be theirs to play with at their whim—whenever they wanted. The thought more than excited her.

“I understand,” she murmured.

“Good. I want you now, Belle.” Tate pulled his shirt over his head with an impatient yank. “Strip and present yourself to us.”

She sat up and unbuttoned her blouse with shaking hands. “How?”

She’d read descriptions of it in erotic romances, but being this close to the guys made her feel too jumbled and hot to remember the details.

Kellan dipped into her personal space. “First of all, look at your Dom when you ask him a question. No more hiding. We’ve let you slide by on that for too long.”

She bit her bottom lip and stared at his chest, finding it difficult to meet his stare. “I’m not hiding.”

Gently, he cupped her chin and forced it up. His stare bored into her. “You are right now. Look at me, not away, when you should connect. There will be no more dodging us. When we speak, unless you’re told otherwise, look directly at us. Do you understand?”

She hadn’t realized she’d been avoiding eye contact. But somehow, when they flipped her submissive switch, that backbone she’d relied on since her mother had withdrawn in grief after her father’s passing just seemed to go on hiatus.

Belle sucked in a deep breath and forced herself to nod, their gazes still connected. “Yes.”

“Yes, Sir,” Eric corrected. “When we’re playing, you’re to call each one of us Sir or we’ll punish you.”

“Yes, Sir.” She could remember that. It would be harder to constantly make eye contact. The visual connection could be so squirm-worthy, so intimate.

Kellan released her chin. “Now ask Tate your question.”

They were going to make this difficult for her. She could tell because Tate didn’t come to her rescue the way he normally would by volunteering the information. Instead of telling her how to present herself, he simply stood over her, arms crossed, watching and waiting. Standing on shaking legs, she tangled her gaze with his and studied him.

Little lines feathered around his eyes, along with a few others that had formed around his normally big smile. Now, his expression looked somber, lacking his usual spark. Already, she missed the Tate she’d come to know and love. Funny, gentle, considerate and earnest. God, she wanted that man back. She didn’t know this one at all. The fact that she’d helped create him killed her.

Belle edged closer to say something—anything. She watched him closely, heard his breath hitch slightly the instant she drew near.

“How do I present myself, Sir?”

His jaw firmed, forming a straight, stubborn line. She had the sudden desire to run her hand across it, to brush her fingertips there. To reassure him. She stopped herself. He was too angry and hurt to want her softness now. She would have to be patient and find other ways to prove that, even if she couldn’t commit to forever, he still mattered.

“Take your clothes off. Get on your knees and spread them wide. Place your hands on your thighs, palms up. Remember this position. You’ll greet your Doms like this to show us you’re ready to submit.” Every word came in the same staccato grind he used when explaining a point of law or lecturing a client.

She never looked away, focusing solely on his instruction and his dark stare. Their deeper visual bond made her aware that, without uttering a sound, he said so much. Words could lie, but his eyes didn’t. Tate might try to put forth a cold façade, but the sweetheart she knew was still in there. Belle’s heart melted.

Now that he’d been hurt by women, including her, sex seemed like the only way he could connect with her and retain his pride. Surrendering to him might not fix everything wrong between them, but she could give him her body, her warmth, her comfort, and hope that would help him find a better place.

Belle shrugged out of her shirt and turned to toss her clothes on the bed. Instead, Kellan held out his hand. Without a word, she draped her blouse across his palm and looked his way for confirmation.

“Yes, love.” He snagged her stare and fused them together. “This is what we want and what you need. Give me everything else you’re wearing.”

She didn’t try to look away.

Pride gleamed in his eyes. The knowledge that she pleased him calmed her. Eric’s expression was a mirror of Kell’s. Even Tate looked grudgingly satisfied with her progress.

Making eye contact helped Belle to understand them so much more clearly. How had she not known it would? Because she’d avoided a lot of connection and closeness for most of her life. She’d let that tragic autumn when she’d been eleven change her. But all her questions about her lovers’ feelings seemed to have answers when she really looked into their eyes. The adoration she saw there took her breath away.

Belle realized now that they didn’t just watch her because they thought she was pretty, but because they cared for her and wanted to make her happy. They might not know it, but those desires went both ways.

Kinley had explained the power exchange. She submitted. They supported, protected, and cherished. They gave her what she needed. Right now, she wanted that so badly.

“Start with the bra, Belle.” Eric stepped closer, caressing her with just a look.

He was the glue holding them all together. She hadn’t realized that until just now, but she could see that Tate and Kellan were the real opposites, while Eric provided the middle ground. He bent, compromising his own wishes to suit the needs of the group. He would always put his family first. Belle admired him so much.

She worked the clasp of her bra, allowing her breasts to spring free. As the cool air brushed her skin, she breathed deeply, feeling the weight of her breasts against her body and the nipples peak under their stares. They made it so hard not to want something with them beyond the here and now. They made it hard not to love them.

She shoved her pants off her hips, along with her underwear, before handing everything to Kellan. Two days before, she couldn’t have imagined being so comfortable naked, but now she liked how natural she felt. The appreciation on their faces and the satisfaction her submission seemed to give them filled her with a confidence she’d never had. In this moment, she wasn’t worried that her imperfections made her unattractive. Instead, she just breathed into her body, concentrated on the beating of her heart, the tightening of her nipples, the clench of her aroused pussy.

She felt perfectly at peace as she found the center of the room and sank to her knees. It felt awkward at first, but she spread her knees and placed her hands on top, palms up. She glanced up at them for approval.

“Eyes down,” Tate said, his voice hard. “Kellan said to look at us when we’re talking, but when you’re presenting yourself, you look down until your Dom chooses to acknowledge and accept you.”

The minute she lowered her gaze, a blanket of vulnerability fell over her. Tate’s sneakers came into view as he stood over her. Belle knew his stare roamed all over her, but she had no idea what he was thinking. That connection she’d had with him earlier seemed to have vanished and she wanted it back.

“Spread your knees wider so I can see your pussy.” Without seeing the softness on his face, he seemed harsh.

Still, she dredged up her courage and spread herself open further because, deep down, she suspected that pleasing him would please her, too.

“Straighten your spine,” Tate continued. “Let your head fall forward.”

She did as he asked, her whole being now centered on his voice. He sounded rougher, less collected.

Then again, so was she.

With every breath and every command, they opened her up—not just to them, but to the deepest parts of herself she’d kept closed for so long.

She felt poised on the edge of something amazing—life-altering—as she submitted her body to their pleasure.