Page 65 of Their Domme

“Do you know why I like baths so much, boss? Why they became a whole thing for me? Salts, oils, bubbles, you name it.” I drew shapes on his arms, loving the feel of him under my fingertips and against my back.

“No,” Sacha replied, running his fingers through my hair, carefully pulling at tangles so he didn’t hurt me. It seemed he was on board with a calm intimate moment between us before he made good on what he’d promised. Maybe he could sense my intention, that I’d be letting down my walls. Sacha always got me like that. “Tell me.”

“I didn’t start taking them until after I began to work for Maeve,” I told him softly, tracking my fingers’ journey on his skin so I didn’t have to look up at him. “The first apartment I got for myself, not somewhere Maeve put me up in, I bought every bath thing imaginable. Loofahs, bubbles, a fuzzy robe, face mask… Most of it was ridiculous.” I laughed breathily, shaking my head at my younger self. A lot had happened in two years. “But I used everything I got in a week. I could bathe in a place I paid for, a place no one had access to but me. I wassafeand could let my guards down. It was a feeling I’d never had before then—not growing up in that house or on the streets. I’d earned every bit of those nice things I had bought for pure self-indulgence. They weren’t to keep me fed or clothed; they weren’t something I had to have on hand to trade for safety or protection. They were just for me, just because. The fact that the baths helped with bruising was just a bonus.”

I exhaled a shaky breath, not fully understanding where I was going with this or if he would get it, but I’d already started, so I was going to finish it.

“Eventually, I figured out things I liked and others I didn’t. The baths became something I did for me. No one else knewme, not really. People I slept with called out my professional name when they fucked me. Until I moved in with Oli, no one called me Nicholette or Nic, except Maeve sometimes.” A sad smile curled my lips, and I slowly looked up to meet his intense gaze. He’d been silently listening as I opened up to him, playing with my now untangled hair.

“I haven’t taken a bath in a month, boss. Not since I left Ashview. Even when I was hiding away at a friend’s place, I didn’t feel safe without you all there. Then Rhodes said everything was taken… all over again…” I shook my head, tears stinging my eyes.Damn hormones.It was somehow more violating to have those things taken away than my clothes. Clothes, I could replace. The bath stuff though… While it could be replaced, it was really the only part of my daily life that was exclusively for my comfort and pleasure. It was the principle of them being taken away that hurt the most… well, except for one thing.The oil from Vas would be gone too.

“Nicholette,” Sacha murmured huskily, gently wiping away the tears.

“I left because I had to. I needed to protect everyone who ever made me feel like I was home.” My voice cracked on the wordhomebecause that was a feeling I never thought I’d ever truly have. “I’d bury Ashview in bodies if it meant all of us were standing together on the other side. You would do the same, boss, all of you, and I can’t give you anything less than that.”

Sacha pulled me up, slowly and deeply kissing me despite the tears sliding down my cheeks. This whole speech of mine felt like such an elaborate way to say I love you, but those three little words didn’t seem like enough. When he pulled away, he didn’t go far, resting his forehead against mine with his eyes closed.

“Even if I understand why you did it, I’m still mad you left.”

“I know, and I don’t expect you all to be happy about what I did, but I do think you can all understand what my mind went through,” I told him, gently but firmly. “Besides, you assholes are overachievers. Not even the IUD could keep you all out. So now we have twins to worry about as well.”

Sacha groaned, but when he opened his eyes, I was humbled to see the love there along with a hint of fear. He rested a hand on my stomach while I pressed a kiss to my shoulder.

“Not one of us is qualified to do this.”

“Nope,” I quipped, “yet here we are. And much further along than I thought. At least the meds work, so I’m not getting sick morning, noon, and night. But hey, at least there are enough of us that we can get some sleep by taking turns.”

Sacha chuckled, a grin tugging at his lips before he kissed me one more time. “I love you.”

“I love you too, boss,” I whispered against his lips, then I moved back just enough to give us a little distance. “So are you going to make good on your promise now, boss man? I need you to help me let go… or are you not man enough for it?”

“There’s that smartass mouth,” he taunted, though there was no menace behind it, at least not yet. “I’ll remember that for later, little whore, but right now, I have something better to do.”

He proceeded to wash every inch of me, and anytime I tried to help, he forced me to stop, leaving me completely reliant on him. Starting with my hair, he shampooed and conditioned, then he moved on to washing my body. His touch worked me up as he thoroughly cleaned me off, avoiding my breasts and pussy until the very end.

When he palmed my sensitive breasts, I whimpered as he bit my neck. “I see you have a new mark on your thigh. I’ll leave that to Vas, but I’ll give you one of my own before the night is through.”

“Sacha,” I moaned, my head falling to the side. He kneaded one breast, then the other, before his hand slid down my softening stomach and between my thighs.

“Even in the tub you’re fucking soaked, so damn easy.” He smiled against my skin and slipped one finger inside of me, causing my hips to jerk. “Does that thought excite you, whore? What if you got markings from all of us? Two down… six to go.”

“Six?” The addition of a second finger pulled a gasp from my lips.

“Rhodes is right. The only ones in denial about Ansel are the two of you, and it looks like Ansel is coming to terms with wanting you.”

“I don’t—” I groaned. “I don’t want to hurt you all again. Like with the others.”

“Do you want him, Nic? Not in just a ‘we fuck’ kind of way.” Sacha’s voice was serious, and he stilled his movements with his fingers deep inside of me. “Do you feel safe around him? Do you want to tease him until he snaps or joke with him like you do all of us? Does Ansel give you something youneed?”

I panted, thoughts warring inside of me as I pictured what life could be like—Ansel listening to me bitch about Sacha and his stupid coffee machine that was way too complicated. Would he agree with Sacha or get me Dunkin because he knew I loved it? I thought of the few times we’d seen each other that weren’t strictly about sex. We’d watch horror movies, critiquing the killer’s techniques and deaths. Oli would lose his mind, and the others would probably join in. Ansel would fit with not just me, but all of us. Would Vas like it? No. But I knew he loved me more than he hated other people… I mean, if he could put up with Maks, I thought he could deal with almost anything.

At least I hoped so.

“What’s going through that brilliant mind of yours?”

“Vas…” I worried my bottom lip. “He doesn’t… I don’t know how he feels about this.”

“You could always just ask him,” Sacha replied darkly. “He’s listening already.” I jerked in place, glancing around for him, but Sacha refused to let me move any more than that. “Brother? I think Nic is worried about your delicate feelings.”

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