Their Independent Bride [The Men of Space Station One #6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) by Marla Monroe

Greg feed her. It was sort of cute in a crazy sort of way.
    Once she had finished eating and had emptied her glass of tea, Greg ate his sandwich and then took the plates back to the kitchen. Steven sat on the edge of the couch and bent close to her ear to whisper to her.
    “Greg has always liked to coddle his submissives, Janet. Let him every once in a while to satisfy that need in him. It will go a long way in easing things between us. We all have needs and like it or not, we’re married now. We’ve got to find a common ground to work on.”
    “You’re right, Steven. I’ll try. I know he’s used to someone who follows all his orders. I’m not like that, but I can try to be what he needs in other ways. I’ll be more careful, too.”
    “Good girl. It won’t always be easy, but we’ll make it.” Steven stood up and winked at her when Greg returned with a fresh bag of ice.
    “More ice! My ankle is already getting frostbite.”
    “You need it on for another thirty minutes. The ice has been melted on the other one for at least the last fifteen minutes.” He replaced the bag of water with the ice.
    “Stay on the couch no matter what until we get back. We’re going to quickly finish the garden and then be back to help you if you need anything.” Greg stared down at her as if waiting for her to argue.
    “Okay. I’ll be fine. It shouldn’t take you that long with two of you.”
    He nodded and followed Steven back into the kitchen. A few seconds later she heard the back door close. The tears she’d been fighting finally fell. She hadn’t wanted to cry in front of the men. It would have made her appear weaker to them. She didn’t want to be weak.
    Her leg stung and her ankle throbbed. She sat up some and looked at her raw-looking shin and purplish-colored ankle. How was she going to take care of the house like this? They would be going out to work soon and she would be stuck at the house. She hoped it would be much better by the next morning. She still had the dinner with the other family to take care of.
    Finally, the tears stopped and she wiped her eyes with her shirt. She hoped her eyes weren’t all red and puffy when the men returned. She didn’t want them to know she had been crying. They would fuss over her even more.
    Janet wasn’t used to being fussed over. She’d always taken care of herself and didn’t know how to handle the men coddling her like they tended to do. The entire thing with Greg feeding her had almost overwhelmed her. Seeing someone as big and tall as he was sitting on the floor feeding her out of his hand had been unsettling. Thank goodness Steven had intervened before she had said or done something to cause trouble.
    Why did Greg seem to need to take care of her? It had to be a form of control for him. He could control what and how much she ate that way. Yeah, that was what it was all about—control. She could understand that about him.
    With nothing to do, Janet quickly dozed off thinking about submissives and masters and her husbands.
     
    * * * *
     
    “She was trying not to cry,” Steven pointed out once they were outside.
    “Yeah, I caught that. Why wouldn’t she cry in front of us? We’re her husbands for heaven sakes.”
    “It would have shown weakness and she doesn’t want to appear weak in front of us.”
    “Why not? She is weak compared to us. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with her crying or being weak.”
    “To her there is. She’s been strong and taken care of herself all her life. She doesn’t understand that she doesn’t have to anymore. Give her time, Greg.”
    Greg nodded his head, but he still didn’t quite understand her need to be in control of herself at all times. That was what they were for, to be in control and take care of her so she didn’t have to worry about anything. He had always taken care of everything for his women. His submissives were all treated like the treasures they were. He expected them to follow his directions and obey him,