16. Briar
Briar
“ A re you sure? Thank you so much!”
Smiling brightly at the man who beckons me past the long queue of people, I offer the girls at the front of the line an apologetic smile as he lifts the rope and I slip past them. The man, at least a foot taller than me and almost twice as wide with a shaved head, glances at me askance. “You in the right place?”
“Absolutely. This is – this is Mystic, right?”
He nods, still looking at me strangely before he shrugs. “No cover charge for you. Go on in.”
“Very kind of you.” I beam at him, smoothing down my dress. He blinks before pulling open the dark glass double-doors, and I step inside. My head cranes back to try to take everything in at once.
It’s really loud in here. A wall of noise hits me so hard I take a small step back before steadying myself. A huge dancefloor runs the length of the room, the black floor glittering with some kind of effect as hundreds of people move to the music being played from above their heads. Colored strips of lighting sweep over their faces as I take a breath and plunge into the crowd, heading for the bar I spotted against the far wall.
I squeeze in between two larger groups, only waiting a few minutes before scarlet, pointed nails tap on the marble. “What’s it gonna be?”
“Uh…,” I glance up. The wall of bottles stretches to the ceiling. It’s a little intimidating. “Surprise me?”
The bartender, a tiny, pixie-haired woman with incredibly pretty eyes, grins. “My favorite drink.”
I watch as she darts up and down, her fingers dancing over glass without seeming to even look as she pours several potent-looking liquids into a tumbler and shakes it with ice before she pours it into a glass.
Should have asked for wine.
It’s the only alcohol I’ve ever tasted. The woman bounces back to me with a wide grin. “Here you go! One surprise me .”
I take a sip as I hand her some cash from my purse, along with enough for a decent tip, and try not to gasp as it burns a line down my throat. “Wow. That’s… something. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Her head tilts. “I haven’t seen you before.”
“I’ve never been here before.”
Her eyes widen, as if she’s absolutely delighted. “Fresh meat?”
I blink. “Sorry?”
She laughs, a loud, surprisingly sultry giggle that draws eyes her way. “I like you. I’m not working on Wednesday. You should come and drink with me.”
I have a feeling that drinking with her would get very messy, very quickly. “I’ll try.”
“Great! I’m Dove.” She waves frantically at me as if I’m twenty feet away and not right in front of her before she turns to the guy beside me, her smile slipping into something resembling horror. “I’m not serving you. You look possessed.”
Is she… making the sign of the cross?
“Shoo! Be gone, foul creature!”
And she has a bat. Wow.
Backing away, I take another look around the club. There’s no chance of spotting River, Jenson or Kai – if they’re even here.
Swaying in place, I take another sip of my drink as I listen to the music. I can feel the echo of it inside my chest like a second heartbeat.
This… doesn’t seem so bad. Maybe not somewhere I could see myself spending a lot of time, but there’s something in the air. An excitement. Anticipation, maybe. It fills the people around me as I find a slightly quieter spot against the wall with a tall table and lean on it, watching them.
So many different lives – hopes, dreams, fears, worries - all in the same space, dancing to the same song at this precise moment. Connected in a single small way, before they go about their own lives. This particular group of people will never be in the same room together again.
It’s a beautiful thought, really. And maybe a little sad.
The voice makes me jump. “Want to dance?”
Twisting my head, I offer a small smile to the sandy-haired man lingering nearby. He looks friendly enough, his checkered shirt open at the neck and his brown hair neatly trimmed. He smiles back, holding out his hand. “David.”
I hesitate, but reach for it, keeping my drink out of easy reach. It’s a little clammy. “Briar.”
“Pretty name.” He moves in a little closer, his voice raising to be heard over the music. “You on your own?”
“Well, this looks cosy.”
Both of our heads jerk around at the low, drawled words. Jenson stares down at me, those gray eyes like flint. He doesn’t look at David. “Whoever you are, leave. Now.”
And with those two words, the burning I fled my bedroom to escape erupts again, surging back to live beneath my skin as I stare up at him.
Two words. That’s all it took.
David didn’t even raise a flicker.
“Briar Rose.” Jenson’s eyes travel over me slowly, cataloguing my outfit. “What exactly are you doing in our club?”
I take a sip of my drink to buy time, forgetting how strong it is and nearly choking. “This is a public place, isn’t it? Maybe I’m here to dance.”
“Or maybe you were curious. And not about the club.” His low words have my head jerking up. He’s watching me closely, but his eyes travel to my drink. “What the hell is that?”
It is a rather vibrant shade of green.
He has it out of my hand before I can stop him, sniffing before he yanks it away with a look of disgust on his face. “This is one of Dove’s special concoctions. Do not drink this. You’ll end up waking up a week from now, wondering what happened.”
I push my tongue into my cheek. “Kind of thought you’d be into that.”
He pauses, eyes dropping to mine. “Funny.”
I mean, I thought so.
I purse my lips. “Can I have my drink back?”
“No.” His voice is terse as he slams my drink down. “Come with me.”
He reaches out, but he stops, turning and stalking off. Frowning, I watch as he stops, glancing over his shoulder. “Let’s see if I can settle some of that curiosity of yours.”
I follow him over to the bar, watching as he slips behind and returns, a bottle of water in his hands. “You’re not having this conversation without a clear head.”
Weighing the bottle in my hands, I wonder what he’d do if I tossed it back at him. I’m not quite brave enough to find out. “I didn’t ask for a conversation at all.”
“Didn’t you?” The gruff words make my heart leap as we move around the crowded dance floor. He pushes open a door I didn’t even notice, and I slip through. The noise behind us fades as he pushes the door shut. “I’ll leave it unlocked. Tell me you locked your door earlier.”
The abrupt question makes me flush. “Uh. No. But I will from now on.”
“Good.” He waves at a large, comfortable-looking chair on the other side of the desk. “Sit here.”
In his chair. “What about you?”
“I can stand.” He folds his arms, waiting, and I notice that he shifts away as I sidle past him, sinking down into the leather.
We watch each other.
Heat, Flickering, burning heat. Just from the way he looks at me, his brows slightly furrowed and his gray eyes dark.
I wonder if he’s imagining how I’d look—
Stop.
Linking my fingers together, I glance around, resisting the urge to fan myself. “Are River and Kai here?”
“River went home. He has the night off. Kai’s around, but he’s tied up at the moment.”
A little pang of disappointment hits me. “Okay.”
It’s not like they were expecting me. Reaching into my bag, I pull out the envelope and hold it out. “Could you give this to River for me, please?”
Slowly, his fingers reach out. “What is it?”
I settle back, the leather warm against my bare upper back. Jenson’s eyes slip to my thighs, the midnight blue silk rising up before he looks away. “He gave me too much money for the jacket repair. It’s his change.”
He releases the envelope immediately. “Consider it a tip.”
I hold his gaze, and my voice sharpens. I don’t lower it. “I’m not for sale.”
It doesn’t matter how much I need the money. “It creates a power imbalance that I’m not comfortable with. Not when—,”
My words cut off, my cheeks flaring with heat. “Please take it.”
Jenson’s eyebrows raise almost to his hairline, and his fingers immediately snag the envelope from mine. “Understood. I’ll make sure he gets it.”
“Thank you.” I smooth a hand over my lap. “Would you sit down?”
He hooks his foot around the metal of the shabby-looking chair across from me and drags it toward him, folding himself into it. “What would you like to know?”
Okay, then. Blowing out a breath, I go back into my back and tug out the slip of paper. Jenson’s mouth twitches. “You came with a list?”
“I like to be organised.” And I knew he’d distract me, make me forget. “Should I just run through?”
“By all means.” He lounges back in the chair, looking as ease on the cheap metal as if it were a throne. “Ask anything you like.”
I glance down. “Just so I’m completely clear. You want to make an arrangement with me where I will be asleep, and you – all three of you – will have sex with me. The details to be confirmed through an agreement.”
When my eyes flick up, Jenson is staring at me. There’s a faint flush of color on his cheeks. “Yes.”
There’s matching heat on my own face as I glance down, clearing my throat. “Where would this arrangement happen? At a hotel?”
“No. We have a home in the city – Ravenhall. It’s large enough to give you space, and for us to have privacy. It’s highly secure and nobody else will be present.”
I’d be completely alone with them. In their home. “Would you just… wait for me to fall asleep?”
Slowly, he shakes his head. His voice is lower, and he leans forward. Our eyes lock. “You would wake up.”
I swallow. Loudly. “So—,”
“As part of the agreement, we would insist that you visit a doctor to make sure you’re healthy before we begin anything. That’s non-negotiable for us to move forward. As part of this, the doctor would calibrate a suitable dose of sleeping medication that would keep you unaware for a period of approximately eight hours.” Jenson clears his throat. “Because of this, we would also insist that the arrangement be limited to once a week. It wouldn’t be good for you to take it long-term.”
I absorb the words, surprised at the mention of a doctor. “What kind of doctor would give m – someone - sleeping pills for something like this ?”
“A very well-paid one.” He sits back again, crossing his arms. “What else?”
“You mentioned that this would be temporary.” My voice shakes, and I pause to take a sip of water. “How temporary?”
His gaze rakes over me. “Three sessions. Three nights. It works out to approximately twenty-four hours that you would be… available to us.”
I take another, longer sip of water as my head reels.
Twenty-four hours with them. Not just with them, but unconscious. Used by them.
Fucked by them.
Holy shit.
And I realize… I’m actually considering doing this. Signing myself up for those twenty-four hours, with them.
My hand shakes as I lower the bottle. Jenson marks it, those deep eyes seeing everything, but he doesn’t comment. “You said I would be the one in control. That you wouldn’t… do anything to me unless I say you can. How does that work, if I’m asleep?”
Jenson flows to his feet, the movement surprisingly graceful as he rounds the desk. Pulling a key from his pocket, he bends down to unlock the silver metal drawer beside me and tugs out a folder before returning to his seat. Silently, he flicks through the pages before holding some out. “You would complete this. Before signing, and a check on each night, to see if anything’s changed. Everything on this list is something you can decide on. We’ve tried to make it as exhaustive as possible. Figured it was more responsible to add something we probably wouldn’t look to do rather than leave it off and possibly have it come up as an issue.”
My voice is small as I glance down. There are so many rows that my head begins to swim. “Absolutely. Very… responsible.”
This is – it’s a lot. My mouth dries as I blindly flick through the pages, my hand flying to my throat. “ Tattoos ?”
Something that might be amusement glints in Jenson’s eyes. “Like I said. Better to have it all in writing. And although it might not be our thing, it could be yours.”
I quickly flip the page closed. “It’s not.”
“I didn’t think so.” There’s definitely amusement in his voice now. “Unless you’re hiding something beneath that scrap of a dress.”
I smooth my hand over it, even as something close to hurt pricks at my chest. “I made this dress myself.”
“It’s a beautiful dress.” Any humor vanishes from his voice, replaced by something darker. “And you look exquisitely fuckable in it. Silk suits you. You should wear it as often as possible.”
Fuck. Me.
I can’t look up, my face burning as I feign flicking through the list, even though I’m not reading any of it. When I finally pull myself together, his head is tilted. His face has turned blank, unreadable. “I have a question for you.”
I wave my hand lazily, feigning ease. “Sure.”
“Are you a virgin?”
My hand pauses in mid-air. “I don’t believe my previous sexual experience is any of your business.”
“And you would be right.” I slide my eyes to him, taking in the way his fist is clenched where it’s balanced on his knee. “But this is not an arrangement for someone with no experience, Briar. Some, I can work with. But your first time shouldn’t be like this. If you are, this discussion ends here.”
It ends here.
“No,” I say finally, meeting his gaze. “I’m not a virgin. But I don’t have a lot of experience.”
I almost miss his small exhale. “Like I said. I can work with that.”
A rather horrifying thought strikes. “The doctor – what kind of checks will they do? Invasive ones?”
“If you’re asking if Emily will need to look at your pussy, the answer is no. The only people getting anywhere near your undoubtedly pretty cunt will be us.”
His words are coarse, crude. Unexpectedly so. I blink at him. “You’re… testing me. Aren’t you? You really think I’m so inexperienced that I’d run because you said that ?”
Jenson does smile, then. A curling, dangerous smirk that makes my own toes curl inside my heels. “It’s not a test. Not the kind that you’re thinking. But something like this – it takes a lot of trust. You’ll be giving over your body to three men to use – within the terms of the agreement – however the hell we like.”
“I ‘m struggling to see the connection.”
“If we go ahead with this,” he says slowly. My breath catches as he leans forward and I do the same, moving toward him almost without realising. “Then very soon, I will be burying my cock inside you, Briar.”
I stop breathing altogether, watching him.
“I will thrust inside your cunt,” Jenson murmurs. He doesn’t look away, pinning me with eyes of steel and fire. “Strip you bare, wrap that fucking gorgeous hair around my fist and bend you however the fuck I want. Maybe I’ll fuck your mouth, massage your throat until you drink every drop of me. Or I’ll flip you over, spread your ass and see exactly how much your body is capable of. Not just me, but River. Kai. The three of us. Likely at the same time. Possibly in the same tight little hole. If you decide to move forward with this, then for those hours, we will own your body. Own you . And if a few words in a bright office when it’s just us makes you uncomfortable, Briar Rose, then this is as far as you should take it.”
His eyes burn. “Because I guarantee you that we will take it a lot fucking further.”
There’s only a few inches separating us. My breathing sounds harsh as Jenson studies me, not pulling back. “I want to see you in our bed. Spread out for me as you sleep, completely unaware of exactly how much I’m going to use you. And I will protect you, and make sure you are safe with us at every single moment. But not at the expense of something you can’t take back.”
A small noise escapes my throat, and his brows draw together. He almost looks…disappointed. “You don’t need to be scared of me. This won’t go any further.”
“No.” I try to breathe. “I’m not scared. I…,”
I think I’ve ruined my dress.
Because I’m soaking, so much so that I’m genuinely concerned for the leather beneath me. Trembling, just from those words. And the way that he says them. As if it’s not just a want for him, but a need. For me . And the way he looks at me as he says them – as if I’m important.
I need more. Want more.
I bite down on my lip, and dawning awareness darkens his gaze. “Are you wet, Briar?”
God . Slowly, I nod.
“Show me.”
My whole body locks up. “What? That’s not—,”
“Not part of the agreement.” His voice is a rasp over my skin, goose pimples springing up on my arms. “I know. But I want to see. Stand up, lift up your dress, and show me. Please .”
He waits. I’m not sure my legs will hold me. Not sure what the hell I’m doing. But he sucks in a sharp breath as I slowly push to my feet. I can feel my dress sticking to me, the thin nude lace underwear I chose underneath not nearly enough to stop my body from making it very obvious just how much I enjoyed Jenson’s speech.
And he’s about to see the evidence. His jaw is tight, his eyes on my face. “You can say no.”
I don’t want to say no.
Sliding my hands down to my thighs, I grip the edges of my dress and drag it up, baring myself to him, inch by torturous inch.
I’m not naked. There’s nothing to show, not really. Nothing except my soaking wet underwear. Jenson leans forward, staring at it with a focus that makes my knees weak.
At this moment, he looks… ravenous. I feel like prey beneath his gaze, pinned, helpless.
“Say yes.” He doesn’t look at me. Doesn’t look away from what he’s pulled from me. “I’m not nearly done with you yet, Briar Rose. Say yes .”
I know I’m going to say yes.
And I know what I want.
“I want you to talk to me.” Jenson’s eyes flare wide as he registers my words.
I let my dress fall, soaking in the hint of disappointment in his eyes. “When it’s happening. When you’re with me. That’s my condition. Talk to me like you just did.”
“Done.” He doesn’t hesitate, his knuckles white as he leans forward and clasps his hands together. “It was already happening. What else?”
My lips part, hesitation stealing my breath before I pull myself together. Can I—
Do it. Say it.
“Film it. Film it so I can watch it back the next day. So I can be… part of it.”
His lips part. “I… that’s not something we’d thought of. But yes. We can make that happen. It’ll be on a closed circuit, the footage available on a laptop only at our home and wiped when you’re finished.”
I get to watch.
“Done, then.” I whisper.
His face shifts, uncertainty flickering. “Wait. You’re—,”
“I’m saying yes.” To a deal with the devil. Because if Jenson can bring me to the brink of an orgasm with just a few words, I have no doubt that I’ll never be the same after this ends. “To you.”
“You. We have you .”
My underwear cannot get a break tonight. “Yes. You have… me.”
And there’s no longer any doubt in my mind that he wants me. Not when he looks at me like that.
He looks…unsteady. As if my words have knocked him from his axis. “To all three of us.”
River, with his golden skin and dimpled smile. And Kai, with his sapphire eyes and hands that I’ve imagined spreading over my skin, tracing patterns into my flesh.
“Yes,” I breathe. “You have yourself a deal.”
Three nights.
Twenty-four hours.
Theirs.
And I have a feeling it’s going to ruin me.