Rules of BDSM Manor - safety, respect, and consent.
Note to reader: You will get more from these characters if you read the stories in order, but it's not compulsory.
Tess-O'Meter -- Green.
-X
I heard the door open and grabbed a cloth to wipe my hands, turning with interest.
Alex had been at an important meeting this afternoon. He and Karen's merged business had gotten to the point where they couldn't cope with demand. Not without taking on staff, and neither of them wanted to do that.
Instead they had moved more towards training other people to have the skills to manage their own IT security and it had been a massive success.
Ironically they charged more for training than they did for doing it themselves. Worked less hours, and had a far better work/life balance. Both of them had taken to training like ducks to water and loved every day.
Alex had also taken to the BDSM Manor partnership and his responsibilities with the tenant farmer's. He loved spending time getting his hands mucky and planning how to protect and improve the land. John said he had a knack.
However, today he'd had a meeting with a new client from LA, who was expanding into London and Alex had really wanted this contract.
His text forty-five minutes earlier had said 'About an hour. Success. Bringing a guest'.
I was curious. Either he had bumped into a mate, and was dragging them back for dinner, or had invited the client, but that had never happened before.
Dinner was on me tonight, and I had made Stifado. Hopefully up to Mama's standards. It was March, dark and wintery. Slush all over London and this was comfort food at its best.
"Hello?" Alex called.
"Hey," I stopped in shock as Alex walked in with a tall, dark haired man grinning behind him. "Clay?"
"Hi, Leslie!"
"Oh my God!" I laughed as Clayton Harper swept across the room and lifted me off my feet in a rib crushing hug.
Nearly Alex's height at 6.3 (what can I say, I like tall guys), he was possibly the most ridiculously handsome man I had ever known. Black hair, bright blue eyes, perfect 5 o'clock shadow (I think he was born with it) and blindingly white, not quite perfect teeth, which only made him better looking.
And a body, currently flush against mine, to die for. It was Clay who had gotten me into weights. I hadn't seen him in more than a decade.
We had been together nearly two years and had spent most of our time in the gym, fucking, or teasing subs.
"Wow. Hi," I laughed as he dropped me back to the floor and briefly pressed his cheek to mine. A tender habit I had always loved. "It's so good to see you. Are you Alex's new client?"
"I am," he confirmed. "I hope it's okay I dropped by."
"Yes, of course," I laughed. "It's amazing to see you.
Alex moved past me with the half slide / half embrace which is both casual and loving and always makes me feel like my heart just got a hug. "Just gonna change," he mumbled.
I smiled at him and then turned back to Clay, waving a hand at the kitchen stools to encourage him to sit. "I have a fantastic organic red you will adore," I suggested and he grinned.
Yea, we had spent quite a lot of time drinking wine as well!
"So how did you guys make the connection?" I asked as I grabbed glasses and the wine.
"Ah, well. I have a small office here, you know because," he wrinkled his nose.
"Private bathroom," I half laughed, interrupting. Clay hated sharing a bathroom. Even with me when we were half living together.
"Yea, yea. I'm not going to be in London that often after this initial set up, but I wanted my own space. It's tiny though." He took the glass with thanks and took a deep breath. "Hmmmm." Then a sip. "Oh, wow that's delicious."
I smiled and sat with my glass, thrilled at this unexpected blast from the past.
"So I have a huge montage, a duplicate of one in my main office in LA," he continued. "The life and times of Clayton Harper! There's a picture of us when we did that river rafting in Colorado."
"Oh, that was fun! So Alex told you who he was?"
"Nope," Clay laughed. "He tapped the picture and said 'I've always wanted to do that. Friend of yours?' I said, ex-boyfriend who I hadn't seen in years and I was hoping to catch up as he lived in London. Alex gave me a naughty look and I was like, No, I have a partner now, not like that. And then we sat down and sorted terms. He didn't say a word!"
I was just grinning.
"That man certainly knows his own worth, he drives a hard bargain."
"Oh he does, and he's sneaky." I got up and stirred the Stifado.
"He sure is. When we were done he went back over to the picture, tapped it again and said, 'Leslie here...we're married'. I was like, what? I knew I hadn't mentioned your name. Alex comes over and holds his hand out to shake, which I did because my brain was not working and he goes, 'I'm Alex, Leslie's husband. Pleased to meet you.' Seriously, my Gaydar must be broken. It didn't even cross my mind."
"I'm actually bi, so it may just have been malfunctioning," Alex admitted as he came back in. Snug in ancient jeans, thick socks and a worn, long sleeved T-shirt. The message, not that I needed it, was 'Do not try to share me with this man.'
I lifted the wine bottle in question, but he shook his head, "Nah. I'll stick with water, thanks."
Topping up mine and Clay's glasses I sat back down. "Five minutes more," I answered Alex's unspoken question.
"Where did you get the bread? Rosie's?" he asked, poking under the cloth covering the herb scattered loaf.
"Yes. Only the best for you," I rolled my eyes.
"It smells amazing," Clay said.
"Well, I'm not as talented as Alex in the kitchen, but I can hold my own," I told him.
Alex joined us with two small glasses of icy water for us, and a large one for himself.
"You don't like wine?" Clay asked.
"I don't really drink much," Alex admitted, pulling a face.
"So how did you meet?" Clay asked and Alex fluttered his stupidly long lashes at me.
I snorted out a laugh. "I was just minding my own business," I declared.
"Oh, you were so looking!" Alex told me.
"I was swimming," I said. "This one kept popping up."
"And," Clay proceeded cautiously. "You have similar interests?"
"If you're asking if I'm aware Leslie is a kinky bugger, then yes I am," Alex told him.
"We have similar interests," I confirmed. Then waited until Clay took a sip before adding, "But from opposite sides."
His eyes opened wide and he choked slightly, "What?"
"I think your Subdar is faulty as well," I teased and Alex laughed.
Clay looked at Alex in amazement.
"Yes, I was Leslie's slave before I married him."
"To be fair, we fell pretty fast," I admitted, and Alex smashed his fist into his palm, making Clay jump.
"Like POW. Love. It was awesome." Then Alex hopped off the stool, "I'm gonna dish out, it must be ready. I'm starving."
"Go for it," I agreed. Smirking at Clay who was gazing at Alex like he had two heads.
"Stop staring," Alex complained without turning around.
I laughed as Clay blinked and looked at me.
"I know exactly how you feel," I told him. "I had an accident a few months ago and lost the last ten years of my memory." I tapped my head. "Coming back here from the hospital with Alex. Finding out I was married to this stranger who was also a sub, and my slave. I just couldn't get my head around it."
Alex placed the steaming pot of stew on the table as Clay asked, "Did your memory come back, or did you fall in love again?"
I looked at Alex and smiled. "Both," I admitted, my voice catching slightly.
Alex's eyes lit up in pleasure, before he took my face and kissed me.
I was breathless when he let me go and we were both blushing, which is unlike us. We glanced at Clay, but he had his chin on his hand and a dopey expression on his face.
"You two really are beautiful together," he said. "I can literally FEEL the connection."
Alex cleared his throat and went for the dishes, then the bread as I served.
"My memory came back overnight. No fuss. Three or four days later. So I've actually fallen in love with Alex twice," I finished the story.
"And you remember both?"
"Yea, I'm a lucky guy."
"That must have been so weird though?"
"God yea. John and Curtis both kicked my ass over it, but it was strange." I paused and took a bite.
"That's pretty good," I declared.
"It's as good as Mama's," Alex told me. "But if you tell her I said that, I'll call you a liar."
"It's delicious," Clay told me, digging in.
"How's Claire?" I asked. Claire was Clay's sister, and part of the reason we had split up. Or more accurately, why it happened sooner rather than later.
Clay had been debating coming to London with me. I had been debating the fact that I suspected we might be better friends than life partners, with us both being dominants.
Then Claire had dropped the bombshell that she had breast cancer. With only three days before surgery, a husband on deployment and not contactable, and two small children, our potential long sad goodbye became a mad dash in two separate directions. And that was that.
"She's great. Still cancer free. Max is retired from the Navy now. The kids are no longer kids. They're all great."
I reached over and took his hand, squeezing hard. "I'm so pleased she's well. That's fantastic news."
"Thanks," he coughed a little and blinked rapidly. He and Claire were always super close.
"Did Clay tell you about us?" I asked Alex and he nodded.
"Yea, he said you were kinda wrenched apart with no warning. That's tough. But how come you lost touch completely?"
We both winced.
"I found it hard," Clay admitted. "At the start I was heartbroken. I think Leslie was more realistic than I was about our future, but leaving him literally broke my heart. Then suddenly it was kids to school and comforting them, and surgery and recovery, then more treatment. Max coming back and having to leave again before it was over. Suddenly over a year had passed and our emails had trailed off."
I shook my head guiltily. "I don't really know why the emails stopped. Just, one day I realized I hadn't heard from Clay in three years, and I dunno. Kept meaning to get in touch, but never did."
"Maybe it was just meant to be," Alex suggested. "A proper break, so now you can start again as friends."
