Tymber Dalton - Safe Harbor

Sully slipped it into the ring box with the other for safe keeping.

“I’m the one who’s honored.” He smiled. “So does that mean you’re okay with this?”

“Hell yeah, I’m okay with it. Means she won’t be gallavantin’ all over the place and end up with some abusive jerk.” He grinned.

“Don’t worry, I won’t be asking to move in and cramp y’all’s style.”

* * *

The only problem Sully had with accepting the ring was that he’d promised Mac he could pick out his own ring for Clarisse. Now he had one ring too many. Clarisse was at the vet with Bart when Sully returned.

Mac immediately crossed his arms, his face dark. “What’s wrong?”

Sully showed him the ring box and explained. “I need to take the one back I picked out and get a refund or a credit toward the one you want to get her.”

Mac fingered the rings. “What’s wrong with this one? It’s beautiful.”

Sully took the box back. “Because I want you to pick a ring out for her.”

He pointed at the box. “I like that one.”

“Brant, I mean you need to go to the store and pick one out you want her to wear.”

He stepped forward. “Can we drop formal for a minute?”

Sully nodded.

Mac grabbed Sully’s hand and opened the ring box again. “Sul, I like the ring you picked out for her. It’s something I would have picked out. I’ll pick out my wedding band for her. I think she should wear Karen’s ring. It’s gorgeous.”

Sully studied him. “You’re not upset?”

Mac smiled. “No, I’m not upset, dude.”

“How about I let you pick out my wedding band for her to make up for it?”

“Jesus, Sul, quit worrying about it.”

“Okay, then at least go with me and give me your input. I’d feel better about it.”

Mac snorted. “You’re really worried about this, aren’t you?”

“Dammit, I want to be fair!”

Mac pulled Sully to him and kissed him, hard. “You are fair. Be honest. You’d whip my ass if I danced around an issue like this.”

He sighed and took a moment to compose his thoughts. “I don’t want you to hate me in a few years for being married to her and you aren’t.”

Mac rolled his eyes. “Fuck. Me.” He poked Sully in the chest.

“You, Master.” He pointed at himself. “Me, slave. Duh.”

“It’s not funny.”

“No, it’s not fucking funny. Jesus, Sul, grow a set for crying out loud!”

“How can you be so okay with this?”

Mac’s expression softened as he seemingly grasped the crux of Sully’s unease. “Because,” he said, his tone gentle, “you’re my Master, and I’m your slave. If you’ll recall, that’s the way I wanted it.

It’s still the way I want it. It’s the way I’ll always want it.”

“I couldn’t be as generous about this as you are.”

“I know you couldn’t.” He gently poked Sully in the chest again.

“That’s why you, Master. Me, slave.”

Sully stared at him for a long moment before bursting into laughter. He let Mac pull him close and wrap his arms around him as he rested his head on Mac’s chest. “What the hell would I do without you, Brant?”

Mac closed his eyes as he held Sully and rubbed his chin across the top of his head. “Let’s not ever find out, okay?”

* * *

The men took Clarisse out for a sunset beach picnic dinner at Howard Park on Thursday. Mac knew Sully would go first, as was his right. As they snuggled on the blanket, Clarisse between them, she stared out at the horizon.

“This is beautiful, guys.” Sully had told her it was a vanilla evening. “Thank you for doing this.”

Sully swallowed back his nerves and slipped the ring out of his pocket without her seeing it. He laced his fingers through hers and leaned in to kiss her. “Anything for you, you know that.”

“Just don’t ever get rid of me.”

“No chance.” He slipped the ring on her left hand. “I’m hoping you’ll be ours for life. If you’ll marry me.”

Her eyes widened as she stared at the ring. She threw her arms around his neck. “Yes!” she whispered. “For life.”

He smiled and kissed her, then pointed at Mac, who also wore a smile. He took her right hand in his and slipped the other ring on her finger. The emerald and diamond ring looked beautiful on her hand.

“Two hands, two husbands, two rings.” He folded his fingers around her hand. “If you’ll marry me, too.” He laughed. “Well, you know what I mean.”

Her eyes brimmed with happy tears. “Yes, I’ll marry you, too.”

He kissed her, then brushed her tears away. “For better, for worse, for boat rules?”

She laughed. “Yes, even for boat rules.” Mac had taken great pleasure enjoying her on the boat, although his catch yield had suffered as a result.

Sully changed position so he sat in front of both of them. He put an arm around each. “If you need more time, it’s okay. You can say so.”

She shook her head. “No. I don’t need any more time. I don’t want any more time.”

He caught her chin and tilted her face to his. “I can be a very harsh Master at times,” he dangerously growled. “Have you considered that?”

Her gaze never wavered. “But you’re always fair, Master.”

His lips curled into a smile as he kissed her. “Yes, sweetheart. I am always fair.”

“Then that’s all that matters.”

* * *

Bryan bought a disposable phone and called the PI he’d hired.

“What do you have for me?”

“I found the boat. The Coast Guard has it listed as being registered to Sullivan Nicoletto. PO Box.”

“That doesn’t help me.”

“He’s a writer and a former cop. He got shot almost ten years ago, retired from the sheriff’s office. Guy must be loaded, traced several properties to him and some other guy through a trust.”

“I paid you to get me a fucking home address.”

“Calm down. I found the marina where he keeps the boat.” He read off the address. “I should have the home address later today. It’s a pain to sort shit out when there’s a trust involved.”

“I want it as soon as you have it.” Then again, maybe barging into a cop’s house wasn’t the smartest way to go. He didn’t even know if Clarisse had gone to the boat.

The boat. How many fucking lame stories had she whined about how much she missed her uncle and that fucking boat? Enough that he couldn’t wait to beat the living crap out of her for the mess she’d created. He’d tossed the letters she’d received about Tad’s stoke. The last thing he’d needed was her heading to Florida to move some old feeble geezer into his house.

He’d hoped the bastard would have died by now.

It’d taken him years to get her damn parents out of the fucking way, thought he had her firmly in hand, and then she finally grew a set of balls when he least expected it. What a pain in the ass that had been. He never thought she’d file a report. He thought he’d gotten her trained well enough to just take it.

Fuck. Another three months and he would have married her and gotten life insurance on her, waited a little while, then took care of her, too. Oh no, the little mouse couldn’t shut the hell up and stick to his plan.

He cracked open another beer. Only two in the afternoon, but not like he had a job to go to. His thoughts turned darker as he took a long pull on the bottle.

Tad Moore would be one way to get a pound of flesh out of Clarisse. She fucked his life all to hell?

She hadn’t seen anything yet.

The next morning, Friday, the three of them drove to the clerk’s office to get the marriage license. Clarisse wore the silver chain collar under her shirt and enjoyed the feel of Sully’s firm grip on her hand as they stood in line and awaited their turn. While they filled out the paperwork, he whispered, “You can still back out, sweetie.”

She looked at him, then Mac. “You’re stuck with me for a long, long time. You’re not getting cold feet, are you?”

Mac laughed. “Oh, man, are we in for a wild ride.”

Sully grinned and kissed her. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Due to state laws, they had to wait three days to get married since they didn’t take the premarital course. Monday afternoon, they stopped by Tad’s and picked him up. He grinned as Mac helped him into the passenger seat of Sully’s Jag.

“This’ll give me something good to talk about at bingo tonight,” he teased.

Clarisse blushed in the backseat. When Mac climbed in with her, he laughed and kissed her. “Talk of the town.”

Sully caught her gaze in the rearview mirror and winked. “They’ll talk because they’re jealous.”

At the clerk’s office, they met their attorney and filed the paperwork before they were escorted into a small anteroom for the ceremony. Mac and Tad served as official witnesses while the attorney looked on. The clerk didn’t bat an eye when Clarisse slipped the wedding band on Sully’s left hand where Mac’s already lay.

He had told her Mac’s would stay on his finger first. She was more than okay with that. In fact, she liked the idea that they were both tied to Sully in a tangible way. Considering she knew there would be times Mac would top her, she preferred it that way.

“You may kiss the bride,” the smiling clerk told Sully.

Clarisse couldn’t pull her gaze from Sully’s grey eyes. Her husband. How had she gone from barely able to trust him to totally giving herself to him?

She didn’t care. She loved him, and he loved her.

His gentle, tender kiss wrapped her heart and soul around him.

The clerk didn’t notice how he slipped his hand up the back of Clarisse’s head, fisted her hair, and gave one quick, firm tug that nearly melted her knees right out from under her.

He lifted his head. “Forever, pet.”

She smiled. “You’d better believe it.”

The clerk stepped out. The attorney followed so he could file Clarisse and Mac’s name change paperwork. Clarisse would take both men’s names, to become Clarisse MacCaffrey-Nicoletto, although she would use Nicoletto on a daily basis. They took the opportunity to hyphenate Sully’s last name to Mac’s.

Sully put her hand in Mac’s. “Well, kiss our bride, Brant,” he said.

Mac smiled, gathered her into his arms, and planted one on her that nearly finished her already rubbery skeleton. By the time he lifted his lips from hers, she wanted to drag both of them into the nearest lockable room and let them fuck her brains out. He released her, but not until he gently stroked her chin with his thumb. “I love you,” he whispered.

She wiggled her hips against him, feeling his hard bulge pressing against her. “I love you, too.”

He waggled his eyebrows at her, sending her into a giggle fit.

Tad laughed. “I always did think of you boys as sons. Now you really are part of the family.”

* * *

Sully and Mac took great pains to secretly tease Clarisse all through their celebratory dinner at Plaka’s with Tad. By the time they dropped him off, she was ready to jump her two men in the backseat of the car.

At home, Sully scooped Clarisse into his arms and carried her up the stairs and through the front door as Mac held it open. Once inside, Mac closed and locked the door and started stripping.

Sully set Clarisse on her feet and stood back, his arms crossed over his chest, not speaking.

She glanced from Mac, already down to his slacks, to Sully. She realized what he waited for.

A seductive smile played across her face as she unbuttoned her blouse. Sully nodded. “Good girl.” A moment later, both Mac and Clarisse knelt before him, heads bowed.

Sully stood over them. “Hold hands.”

Mac’s fingers wrapped around Clarisse’s hand. He gently squeezed.

Sully placed a hand on each of their heads. She had no doubt he had a tighter grip on Mac’s hair than he did on hers.

“I have plans for you tonight, pet. You are going to cross the line, take the final step your training has prepared you for. Are you ready for that?”

“Yes, Master.”

“Slave, are you ready to do whatever I command to add pet to our family?”

“Yes, Master,” he replied.

“I am laying down the law. In this house, I am Master, and slave is my Alpha slave. Do you understand, pet?”

“Yes, Master.”

“When I am not around, you will follow his orders as if he was me. There may be times I allow him to punish you.”

She shivered in a good way. “Yes, Master.”