March swept in quietly, sneaking in beneath the drifts of snow that continued to blanket the campus. Astronomy labs up in the observatory were cancelled as the roads—even with a jacked up four-wheel drive like Roman’s—were too dangerous. Grand Mountain ran shuttles outfitted with snow chains and a detachable plow every five minutes. They were packed to the brim every time as there was so much ice that several people had slipped and fallen on their way to classes.
      I pulled a Henley on over a tank top, then Roman’s Pirates hoodie, and one of Dean’s old jackets. Wool gloves, a scarf, and a pair of waterproof boots were the last things I needed before I grabbed up my backpack and trudged down the hallway of the dorm. My right hand was still in a brace after I’d fractured it punching Seth in the chest. It made it harder than expected to not only wear my gloves but to carry my bag, my coffee, or just about anything else.
      The weather and the fact that both football and cheer competition seasons were over made me more than a little depressed. I was surprised to find that I’d grown to like the early morning workouts at the Cove, practices three times a week, and travelling with the team. Being without them sent me headlong into a strange sort of depression. I missed the people who’d become my friends.
      Now, it felt like I was stuck alone within the four walls of my dorm room. I felt scared and alone. And so sad.
      “Come on, short stuff,” Drew said from out of nowhere. He stood by the front doors in a purple fleece that would barely protect me from an air conditioner. “We’re not waiting for the shuttle. I’ll give you a lit up the steps again.”
      I shrugged. I saw the worry slip into place in Drew’s blue eyes, but I couldn’t make myself care.
***
      “You’re freezing,” Drew said when he sat me on my feet at the top of the stairs that lead to the upper campus. “You need some coffee. My treat.”
      “No,” I murmured, feeling like I was going to be sick. “I’m fine. I just need to get to class.”
      Drew snorted, his breath sending out whisps of steam in the cold air. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and tucked me in against his side as we kept walking. “You and Seth haven’t patched things up yet?”
      “I don’t know what there is to patch up. He won’t even talk to me.” I sounded more forlorn than I wanted. If I were being honest with myself, I missed Seth. I missed him more than I thought I had a right to, even though Roman and Dean knew about everything. They knew about how I felt, Dean had figured Seth out quicker than I had.
      My feet stopped without me actually telling them to. There was this feeling like being punched in the stomach. Like I was looking down off the edge of an impossibly high building that just kept getting higher and higher. Blood rushed in my ears. And God… I couldn’t breathe.
      I gasped for air. I clawed at the neck of Roman’s hoodie, trying to break the relentless choking sensation caught up in my throat. Without thinking, I thumped myself hard in the chest with my injured hand. I might not have had the ability to breathe, but I had enough air to let out a wail of pain.
      Whether it was for the white hot agony in my hand or the dull, desperate ache in my chest, I couldn’t quite say.
      “Addy, lass…” Drew said as his bag slammed into the ground, kicking up ice and snow. “This has to stop. Look at you.”
      He reached for my hand gently. With careful motion, he drew me into his arms, tucking me against his chest and resting his chin against the top of my head. I gasped one lungful of air after another, each one tinged with the crisp smell of his body wash and the softer undertones of fabric softener. As soothing as it was, I wanted the dark, sweet scent of Roman’s sheets or the unnervingly fruity scent of Dean’s shampoo.
      I hated that I wanted to just go and crawl into Roman’s bed. Or Dean’s. All I wanted was to just hide from the world. From everything that reminded me of the fact that even though I had two wonderful guys who meant the world to me—more than I deserved in the first place—I couldn’t stop myself from being greedy and wanting more.
      With every hour that passed, the more I wondered how they kept choosing to love me. Why they made me part of their world, even though everyone looked at us funny when the three of us were out in public together. If something happened to their friendship because of me, I would never forgive myself.
      “What can I do?” Drew asked, drawing my attention from my self-loathing.
      I struggled to catch a full, deep breath. My chest still ached as if someone had stabbed an ice pick between my ribs. Vomit clawed up my throat. I shoved at his shoulders, struggling to get away.
      He barely got out of the way before I puked.
      Drew gathered my hair up in one hand while the other rubbed slow circles on my back. “Let’s stop by the student center. Grab you something to drink and get you cleaned up.”
      My whole body vibrated with an anxiety that I couldn’t quite name. I leaned up against Drew’s side and tried to catch my breath. The cold air burned as it filled my lungs and threatened to freeze the tears on my cheeks. I ached like I’d been run over by a tank, so much so that I wanted to just collapse onto the snowy sidewalk and stay there.
      “Come on, lass,” Drew said as he swung my bag up over his shoulder. Then he tucked his arm around my shoulders as he steered me toward the student center. “Let’s go.”
      Drew steered the way, and I was stepping through the doors of the bookstore before I knew where I was. The line for the coffee shop was shorter than I would have expected on such a cold day. We fell into the line, my heart still pounding in my chest so hard that I was certain it was going to crack my ribs wide open.
      “So is it true?” said someone a few people ahead of us in line. “Woods said you were thinking about leaving.”
      “Yeah… I’ve tossed around the idea of going back to Iowa.” The voice that responded was familiar. I’d heard it more times than I could count. “I’m just not feeling it here anymore.”
      “Uh huh,” came the response. “Getting a little crowded in your place, hmm?”
      I swallowed back the scream that threatened to tear through me. It took more strength than I thought I had to just turn around and walk back out of the student center. Drew still had my bag—and my wallet and my keys—but I couldn’t stay feet away from Seth with those words echoing in my ears.
      My shoulders slumped as I tried to push away the sadness that engulfed me. I’d worried since the day that Dean kissed me in the locker room at his fight that whatever this was would come between Dean and Roman. They were best friends. Even more, they were brothers. I’d worried about pulling those two apart.
      I’d never worried about Seth getting wedged out of their friendship because of me.
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      Jericho smiled softly as he guided Kat down the hallway. He’d covered her eyes with one of his old scarves from the back of his closet. They had been back and forth from Florida over the last few weeks on the Fozzy tour. Tony Khan had written him off Dynamite so that he could do the six weeks of shows without potentially getting hurt during a match and having to push shows back. And once Tony agreed to write Jericho off, he’d been adamant that Kat get some well deserved time off. She had been surprised when Tony hugged her at the end of the night and practically begged her to come back at the end of her vacation. It seemed the boss was afraid that Kat Prince was more important to the backstage workings of AEW than she thought.
      The sound of her voice brought him back to the present. “What did you do, Chris?” she squealed. He didn’t have to look to know that she had a smile on her face.
      Jericho pushed the door open and stepped into the room, pulling Kat in by the hands. Her face was flushed, and he was reminded again how much he loved the way a blush made her look sweetly innocent and beautiful. He reached out to brush his fingertips along her jaw.
      “I promised you something weeks ago,” he said sweetly. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. “And it’s taken longer than I expected to get it all pulled together. But it’s finally finished, and it’s time for you to see it.”
      Kat leaned against him, tilting her face up in silent request for a kiss. He brushed his nose against hers just before he pressed his lips against hers. She sighed and leaned against him. Her arms twined around his neck, drawing him down against her until there wasn’t a single molecule of air between them. His hands settled on her hips, fingers digging firmly into her soft flesh.
      Jericho grinned against her mouth. “You know what it is, don’t you?”
      She tipped her head, brushing their lips together again. Kat smiled softly. “I have an idea.”
      He growled and snatched her close, lifting her off her feet. “Did you go snooping, Katarina?”
      She laughed, and he’d never been happier in his life. Jericho knew that he’d never heard a more beautiful sound in his life.
***
      I held onto Jericho by the shoulders as he lifted me up off the ground. Laughter bubbled up out of me. “I promise I didn’t,” I replied, grinning even brighter. “I swear I didn’t! You just said you promised. And I remember all of your promises.”
      Jericho’s arms hugged me closer, but this wasn’t the desperate crush of my body against his. This was something sweeter and softer. He settled his face in the curve of my neck. His lips ghosted along my skin. I sighed and curled my arms around his back, hugging him back.
      “You remember them all?” he asked with something like awe in his voice.
      I felt my heart skip a beat even as it swelled behind my ribs. My fingers brushed against his cheek, nails scratching gently against his new growth of beard. “Ever since the very first one.”
      I was settled gently on my feet. “I have a lifetime of promises for you, Kat. And I intend to keep every single one.” His lips swept along my jaw. “But let’s start with this one.”
      The scarf fell away from my eyes, and the first thing I saw was Jericho. He smiled softly, his blue eyes sparkling with mischief. We stood there looking at one another for a moment before he stepped out of the way. He wasted no time slipping around behind me to watch as I took in the sight of the playroom.
      His playroom.
      Our playroom.
      The center of the room was dominated by a huge four poster bed made of polished silver steel. Both the headboard and the footboard were made of a wide mesh of steel squares. It was done up with dark teal sheets with a pewter grey duvet and a small pile of pillows. Attached to each post, secured by a beautifully tied knot, was a length of soft red rope. Each one was coiled at a corner of the mattress.
      At the side of the bed was a nightstand with a single drawer. On top was a black blindfold and a folded stack of fabric that I couldn’t figure out just yet. The drawer was shut tight, and I couldn’t help the curiosity that was practically driving me crazy. I looked back at Jericho and felt my entire body relax.
      “May I look, Mr. Jericho?” The way my voice dropped just a little surprised me. It sounded like a mix of innocent and desperate.
      He gave me that small, indulgent smile that made me feel at once safe and deliciously nervous. “To your heart’s content.”
      I grinned back and rounded the bed. My fingertips brushed the folded fabric, sighing when I realized it was a length of silk. When I reached for the drawer handle, I saw that my fingers were shaking. I closed my eyes and took a breath, pulling it open. Inside was what I could only imagine had been in the bag Jericho had brought in the first time we’d experimented with all of this. Black fabric covered the bottom of the drawer. A set of simple, silver vibrators were there right next to a couple items that I didn’t recognize. There was a bottle of lube, a box of condoms, and half a dozen other things I assumed were for safety and other similar purposes.
      Jericho walked across the room and opened the door to the closet. He crooked his finger at me. “Come here, kitten.” When I hesitated for a second, his blue eyes fixed on mine and he pointed forcefully to the floor in front of him. “Now. Don’t make me ask again.”
      I put my arms behind my back and interlocked my fingers as I practically skipped over to him. My heart skipped a beat when he looked me over. For a moment, he looked as if he were going to snatch me against him. Instead, he took a deep breath and guided me gently and carefully into the walk in closet.
      One entire side of it was filled with padded hangers dripping with every kind of lingerie that I had ever mentioned that I liked. Dozens of colors and fabrics. Silk and satin slips. Lace bras and panties of half a dozen cuts and fits. Sheer baby dolls and scraps of fabric that hardly covered anything at all. The other side was lined with shelves, all empty save one. The shelf right at eye level bore my single pair of Louboutin red bottoms.
      “These are in here for a reason,” Jericho said as he gestured to the hundreds of pieces of lingerie in that closet. He grasped me by the wrist and stood me in front of him. He stepped around behind me, hands settled on my hips. I didn’t need encouragement to press back against him. He growled against the side of my throat and gripped my body harder. “I only want to see you in these when we’re in this room. Do you understand?”
      I felt my brows draw together, confused. “I’m sorry, Mr. Jericho. I don’t understand. I thought you wanted me to wear these.”
      He nipped at the side of my neck and dragged my hips back tighter against his. “I do, but only in here when you’re in my bed. In here you’re mine and you wear these because they are for me. Outside this room and in our bed, I’d much prefer you in one of my shirts.”
      I shivered at the deep timbre of his voice. It vibrated through my entire body, and I was suddenly burning with want. As if he could sense it, Jericho slid one arm around me, fingers splayed out low on my belly. He dragged his mouth along my throat. His other hand settled on my breast, kneading roughly. My head fell back against his shoulder and a little moan slipped past my lips.
      Jericho laughed darkly before backing away from me and going to the sea of padded hangers. He stared at them for a long moment before pulling one down. When he handed it to me, I felt heat rush up along my throat and over my face.
      “You have three minutes to put this on,” he said with that desperately beautiful voice that felt like it rumbled against my bones. He pointed to the Louboutins. “And those, too.”
***
      Jericho stood in the hallway just outside the door. He’d changed his clothes just as quickly as he’d demanded of Kat. It wasn’t exactly like what he wore meant anything, but it was important to just put him in the right headspace. The only way that he could explain it was like putting on his gear to go into the ring. Changing into the jeans he’d worn during so many Fozzy shows did exactly the same thing.
      With thirty seconds left, he pushed into the room and had to stop himself from making a strangled noise. Kat stood at the end of the bed in her heels and a strappy black lingerie set that had been seductive in the box but painfully sexy on the woman he loved. He was desperately undone by the straps that curved over the top of her breasts and slipped down along her breastbone. By the crisscross of strips of fabric interconnected by silver metal hoops that covered her stomach, connecting the top and bottom of the set. Her hair draped over one shoulder. The heels made her legs look more breathtaking than usual. It took him all of five seconds to grow hard at the sight.
      She had her eyes on the floor. Fucking Christ, he thought as he watched her. She was perfectly still, unmoving even as he could sense her body yearning toward him. That innocence is going to be the death of me. I need her to look at me like that for the rest of my life.
      “Look at me, kitten,” he said firmly, quietly. Those green eyes lifted and, goddammit, they were filled with an unwavering trust. “Do you remember the rules?”
      A soft smile settled on her lips. “Yes, Mr. Jericho. I remember.”
      He took a few steps closer, crowding in on her. In the heels, she was almost as tall as he was. Blue eyes followed the rise of heat along her cheeks. Jericho let his fingers trace the straps that ran between her breasts and over her belly. He skimmed his hand up her body, curling around her throat in a gentle caress. His thumb traced the pulse point at its base.
      “Tell me the rules,” he ordered.
      She took a deep breath. He thrived on the look in her eyes and the way that her entire being seemed to gravitate toward him with want and need. “Yellow if I’m uncomfortable but don’t want to stop, red if I do.”
      His fingers lipped up along her jaw, thumb pressing into the soft spot beneath her chin. She tilted her head up at the gentle prodding. For a second, he thought about leaning down to kiss her, just as he always did when she did that, but now wasn’t the time or the place. Not in this room.
      “Good girl,” he praised. Jericho circled around her, teasing his fingertips along the exposed skin along her ribs and across her back. She shivered. He clamped down on a growl. “Put your arms behind your back and grip your elbows.”
      Kat didn’t even hesitate. She did exactly as he commanded, not moving even as he walked across the room to the table by the bed. He picked up the folded length of silk and carried it back to her. With practiced fingers, he looped the fabric around and around her arms. When he was finished, he grinned at himself as he tied it off with a quick release bow.
      “You’re going to walk over to that chair,” Jericho said, pointing to the curved bench by the window, “and you’re going to kneel on it. Lean over the top curve.”
      He watched as Kat took her first few steps carefully. His cock throbbed as she settled on the chair—something called a Tantra Chair that had been recommended by a friend—and molded her body to the sweeping curve of the piece of furniture. Her ass looked desperately enticing, and he had the urge to see it warm and red from his handprints.
***
      My heart hammered in my chest in a wonderful way. The curving chair was more comfortable than I anticipated, even in the position Jericho had put me in. It was strange having my arms tied behind my back, but it was also exhilarating. Everything with him was that way.
      I settled my cheek against the cool leather of the chair and watched as Jericho crossed the room. When he got close enough, his fingers moved along my thigh, squeezing almost painfully as he stroked my flesh. He settled his palm against the curve of my ass, rubbing in a slow circles.
      Without warning, his hand drew back and came down hard against me. The whimpered moan that rushed out of me surprised me. I squirmed, moaning even louder when he repeated the action on the other side. After every smack, his fingers stroked my flesh tenderly. The combination was almost too heady for me to manage. My legs shifted open without my conscious thought.
      Jericho growled violently as he slipped his hand against my core. “Oh, kitten,” he snarled, “you like that, don’t you?”
      My brain misfired as my hips moved without my permission, trying to grind back against his hand. In an instant, the feeling was gone and his hand came down against my ass with more force than before.
      “Rule number one,” he said firmly. “Answer me when I ask you a question.”
      He smacked the other cheek, a little harder in a different place. Each blow got closer and closer to my center. I felt wildly out of control and even a little ashamed at how much I liked what he was doing.
      “Rule number two. You get what I want to give you, when I want to give it to you. So you stay fucking still.”
      I bit down on my lip to stay quiet. My fingers held onto my elbows in a white knuckle grip. I took a breath as want burned through my body like wildfire. I was two steps away from whimpering desperately for him. I ached all over, hot and burning and desperate. A whine burst out of me when Jericho brought his hand down between my legs. The sting gave way to a glorious pleasure as he pressed his fingers roughly against my cloth-covered clit. My back arched involuntarily.
      He stopped as soon as he started. I heard him circle around the chair to stand in front of me. I did my best to look up at him without moving. Every synapse in my brain shut down. Every nerve ending in my body fired at the same time. I was overwhelmed with the sensation that it wasn’t enough. It would never be enough.
      Jericho stroked his thumb along the swell of my bottom lip before gripping my chin almost painfully. “Oh, it won’t be that easy, kitten. If you want to come, you’re going to have to earn it.”
