Chapter Nine.

Ross wondered where Loren and Tilly had gotten off to. He wanted to finish rigging Lorens harness. He had several strands of lights to weave into her ropes yet. Hed originally planned on suspending her and adding even more, but since he wasnt being judged, he didnt want to tie up the suspension frame for the others who were going to use it and who were also competing.

Come to think of it, he didnt see Abbey or Clarisse anywhere, either. He was about to start looking for them when he saw the four of them emerge from Abbeys bedroom.

And Lorens nipple hearts werent turned on.

Whats going on? he asked her when she rejoined him. And why arent you shining?

She looked down and sighed, then turned them on, getting them on the glow setting. Sorry. Cant tell you. Super-secret girl meeting. She grinned. Sir.

Looorrren"

Seriously. Please dont make me play the wife card, because you know I will if backed into a corner.

Yes, she would. Fine. I want to know as soon as you can tell me. He dropped his voice. Is everything okay? Clarisse looked a little shook up. As he watched, across the room Abbey made her way over to Gilos side and whispered in his ear. He frowned, but then nodded.

Shes okay. Loren placed a finger on her lips. Shhh. Girl secrets. If I tell you, Id have to f.u.c.k you with a strap-on in front of everyone.

Yeah, like thats ever gonna happen.

He didnt even like the doctor sticking his finger up there for his yearly prostate exam. He d.a.m.n sure wasnt going to let his wife and slave ream him out like a grapefruit on a juicer machine the way Gilo did with Abbey.

The mans got bigger b.a.l.l.s than I do.

Different strokes, and all that, and he wasnt dissing their kink, but it darn sure wasnt his.

It was nearly one oclock in the morning when the last entrant in the rigging contest had their pictures taken. Then John hooked his iPad into the living room TV for everyone to see.

Okay, ladies and gentlemen, he said. Here we have your choices. I will warn you, if you hadnt already heard, that some of the compet.i.tors have disqualified themselves from the start. So were not going to show their pictures.

I randomly a.s.signed numbers to everyone. And those of you who didnt want copies of your pics, you can come watch me delete them from my iPad as soon as were done, if you want. They will not be shared. Number one, rigger Leah and Seth. Nice job, by the way, lady, he said. Glad to see your other side come out.

Enjoy it while you can, Seth said. You wont see it very often. Not with me as the model, at least. He smiled as he pulled Leah close. Im going to have a wedgie for a week, he said, tugging at his jeans. Hed actually worn a pair of bike shorts for the rigging.

Once the laughter died down, John said, Well, you were a very good sport. Number two, rigger Derrick and Marcia. Number three, rigger Sully and Mac. Number four, rigger Max, with Cali and Sean. Very creative, guys. Ive never seen a mans p.e.n.i.s bent into quite that shape before. I think Ill be walking crooked just from watching. Not even I would try that"he pointed at Abbey"and youd better not, either.

Sean gave a thumbs-up to the laughing crowd as Abbey laughed and blew John a kiss.

Number five, rigger Mike and Jenny. Number six, rigger Rob, and Laura. Number seven, rigger Bill and Gabe. Last but not least, Number eight, riggers Mark and Josh with Essie. John looked around. Wheres Ted? I thought he came with you guys?

Emergency call, Mark said. One of his clients was admitted to the ER on a psych hold and he needed to go talk to them.

Ah. Sorry to hear that. Okay, ladies and gents, there are your choices. You are to write a number on your card, and then Abbey will go around with the box and gather everyones ballots. Then Ill have another beer before I tally the"

Hey! someone playfully called out.

I mean Ill have Scrye the sober CPA tally the votes, and then well announce the winner of the fifty dollar gift certificate to Sigalos. Everyone please give a round of applause to Tony and Shayla for that generous donation, if you will.

Everyone did.

Twenty minutes later, Scrye emerged from the back bedroom that was John and Abbeys home office.

Just remember I have your phone number, Chelbie called out. If you make us do the stupid fake waiting thing like they do on TV, Ill give you evil earwigs for the next six months.

Scrye laughed. Nope. The winner by a no-s.h.i.t serious landslide isLeah.

John turned to find her as resounding applause broke out. She looked honestly shocked. He d.a.m.n well knew why shed won by a landslide, if Scrye hadnt faked the results. Which John doubted he had.

Shed created a simple, yet elegant, functional, and"most importantly"secure chest and hip suspension harness on Seth. Shed also hoisted him herself, without any a.s.sistance from her spotters, using leverage and several turns of rope through the ring to belay Seth up and down.

And, she was Leah. Everyone knew what she and Seth had been through, and how she and Seth both had put in time, effort, and energy back into their local community, not just their kinky family. They were all happy to see her enjoying herself, laughing, having fun.

Plus shed been the only female rigger in the group that night.

John presented Leah and Seth with the gift certificate then stepped out of the way so everyone could take their turns congratulating them.

And now, folks, John said, dont forget you can keep playing.

He cornered Scrye in the kitchen, raising an eyebrow at him.

Scrye walked with him back down to the office. No s.h.i.t, she really won. Honest. Take a look for yourself.

John did.

It was unanimous.

Son of a b.i.t.c.h, John said, a little wonder and a lot of pride at his friends mixing together. How about that?

Well, it was a good rig. Only three of the compet.i.tors did suspension tonight. She didnt even need help lifting him, which in and of itself impressed the h.e.l.l out of me, and I do this a h.e.l.l of a lot more than she does. And it looked good, too. Not just a functional tie. Wasnt elaborate, but it did the job and didnt look like a drunk mountaineering instructor tied it. h.e.l.l, I voted for her.

Huh. Well, good for her.

They returned to the living room. Abbey joined them, her smile lighting his heart.

Yes, hed do anything for this woman. He pulled her close, his hands sliding down to her a.s.s. Sorry I flipped you back.

She draped her arms over his shoulders. Oh, Im not upset, believe me.

One long, sweet kiss later, she snuggled close. Maybe we can save enough energy to play a little once were alone.

He nuzzled his chin in her hair. Sounds like a plan to me, baby.

Clarisse appeared in the kitchen doorway, behind Abbey and looking like she wanted her.

He patted Abbey on the a.s.s. I think youre being summoned.

Abbey turned. John caught the flash of concern on Abbeys face before she and Clarisse quickly left.

Abbey hadnt told him exactly what was going on, but when he looked and spotted the test kits in their master bathroom, under the towel, he somehow knew they werent Abbeys.

And as he watched Tilly and Abbey go into the master bedroom with Clarisse, Mac, and Sully, he hoped everyone would be smiling when they emerged.

Chapter Ten.

With Tilly and Abbey sheepd.o.g.g.i.ng her, Clarisse sought out Sully and Mac and pulled them aside.

We need to talk, she quietly said.

The men exchanged a glance. Whats wrong? Sully asked.

Abbey said we can use their room.

Clarisse had left the two test kits on the bathroom counter, Abbey a.s.suring her no one would disturb them.

When Abbey and Tilly followed them into the bedroom, Sully glanced their way, but Clarisse took them by the hand and led them to the bathroom doorway. I need to tell you guys something IveI havent told you.

She led them in, turning on the light. Close the door, please, she said to Mac.

He did.

Clarisse, Sully said. Youre scaring me. Whats going on?

She took a deep breath. I didnt tell you guys I went off my birth control pills, she said.

At least, she hoped shed said it. She felt numb, sick"although maybe that might be due to the baby, she thought"and guilty.

Sooo d.a.m.n guilty.

What did you just say? Sully asked. Repeat it.

She didnt want to, but she did. Im sorry, she added.

Sully took a deep breath and raised a hand when Mac had started to say something. How long ago?

The day we got home after Seth and Leahs Christmas party.

Mac made a noise, but Sully quieted him again. December.

She nodded.

He gave her the look. When were you planning on telling us that, and why did you pick tonight to tell us?

She didnt answer the first part of his question.

In response to the second, she picked up the hand towel shed covered the testers with and showed them.

Mac sucked in a sharp breath.

Sully stared at the two testers for a long moment before he spoke. Im not going to a.s.sume, pet, he said, dropping into Master tone. You need to say it.

She took a deep breath. I stopped taking my pills the day after Seth and Leahs partyand a little bit ago I took two pregnancy testsand theyre both positive.

Mac stepped forward, laying a hand on Sullys shoulder. At first she worried maybe it was to hold Sully back, but then she realized both men were grinning.

Sully grabbed her, almost crushing her in his embrace as he kissed her, hard, deep and coming pretty close to making her forget why they were standing in the bathroom in the first place. Hed no sooner let her go than Mac had grabbed her, spun her around, and kissed her, too.

Then they did something strange.

The men high-fived each other.

She stared at them. Soyoure not mad at me that I didnt tell you?

Sully cupped her face in his hands and kissed her, long, sweetly, deeply. No, sweetheart. Were not mad at you. You never lied. And we did tell you the decision was yours. He smiled. Besides, we knew youd stopped taking your birth control pills.

Her eyes widened in shock. You did?

From behind her, Mac chuckled. Duh.

You keep the pack in our bathroom medicine cabinet, pet, Sully said. You know Macs daily meds are in there. Hes in and out of that cabinet multiple times a day. When he noticed your pack of pills hadnt been moved the day after we got back from the party, he looked and saw you hadnt taken the pill for that day. He told me, and we started keeping track. Within a few days, we were pretty certain youd stopped on purpose.

Mac playfully jabbed a finger at her. Busted. Totally busted. Besides, duh, we kind of noticed when you missed not one, but two periods.

Sully rubbed noses with her. Silly pet. Why do you think weve been taking advantage of you every chance we got? He reached around her, grabbed her a.s.s, and dug his fingers in as he ground his hips against hers. The hard bulge of his c.o.c.k pressed into her, making her c.l.i.t throb. Mac stepped in closer, his bulge pressing against her a.s.s.

Finally, Mac softly said, Ill get to f.u.c.k that sweet a.s.s of yours again, baby. G.o.d, Ive missed having my c.o.c.k in there. And b.l.o.w. .j.o.bs. I should make you drop to your knees and give me one right now.

Later, Sully said. His voice flipped back into the Master tone that melted her and always got her instantly wet. Once we realized youd made the choice to go off the pill, we decided that since you were going to be a naughty pet and not tell us, then we werent going to tell you we were determined to breed our beautiful pet. Youre an adult. You know where babies come from, or should after having two of them. The thought of us getting you pregnant again was more than enough to make us hornier than h.e.l.l. If we were wrong and you were still taking pills from different pack or something, we figured no harm, no foul.

He trailed kisses down her jaw, to the side of her throat, up to her ear. We didnt want to pressure you, he whispered. Im your Master and your husband, but this is a decision Mac and I needed to be certain was yours and yours alone. Im not going to lie. We both wanted at least one more baby and we didnt want to tell you that because we didnt want you to feel pressured. You know well love our child no matter what, but were really hoping we gave you a girl this time.