"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.
"That's it." Tate's big hand covered her head. "You look beautiful like this."
Even when he was angry with her, he still made her feel special. She wanted to take back everything she'd said to him, but she couldn't do that unless she was absolutely certain she could keep whatever promises she made. Instead, Belle swore she'd take whatever time they shared and give as much of herself as she could. "Thank you, Sir."
"It's a simple truth." His sneakers exited her line of sight. "If we're going to continue this sexual relationship, we need to prepare you. In the past, we've always taken a lover together. That means using more than just your mouth and your pussy. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Tate clipped every word with a distinctly academic tone, as though he were discussing some intellectual problem, not explaining that he wanted to have anal intercourse with her.
Maybe it was time to show him she was learning. She didn't normally curse, but the night before had been dirty and glorious, and there was nothing wrong with the truth. She wasn't the same reserved girl whose virginity they'd taken. These men had changed her for the better. "You want to fuck my ass, Sir."