Chapter 7
Julian
“How do you say…spank me?” Archer asks.
Freya breaks out in a loud cackling laugh, and I can’t keep my face from stretching into a wide grin as each of them take turns asking me how to say dirty things in French.
Staring at the ceiling with my head still in Freya’s lap, I reply, “Donne-moi une fessée.”
Archer repeats the sentiment, making me bite my bottom lip.
How did we get here? Well, the more the hours have passed by, stuck in this confined space in the middle of the night, the more delirious we’ve gotten. It all started when Freya complained about needing a bathroom, so Archer found a topic to distract her.
There’s something about him, something so…selfless. The way he held her when she was scared and talked me down when I was in the middle of a panic attack. It doesn’t match with the image I have of him, bloodied and cruel, like I saw him last night.
“What about big boobs?” Freya asks.
“Gros nichons.”
“How about ‘I wish I had some gros nichons’?”
“No…” Archer cuts in. “You have perfectly nice nichons.”
“Nichons is like tits,” I say, making Freya laugh some more. “And I agree with Archer. Yours are very nice.”
Keeping my gaze on the ceiling, I try not to turn my head to look at her tits, at least not from this angle. But from any angle, really, they are better than nice.
“All right, so if we come to your club, what should we do? What’s your recommendation?” Archer asks. He’s tossing a ball of foil in the air like a baseball, catching it and throwing it to keep himself occupied.
“Depends on what you like,” I reply. “We have private rooms to rent with toys and things. We have a dance floor, performers, and live music sometimes. And the entire lower level of the club is…you know…open.”
Archer turns his head toward me. From this angle, his face is illuminated by the red emergency lights, making his skin look even smoother with a soft glow. “What do you mean?”
“He means you can be naked and have sex out in the open,” Freya answers for me.
His brows shoot up. “I definitely need to visit this place.”
“I can get you a membership card if you’re interested.” I don’t know what makes me say this, especially since we’ve been so strict on vetting members lately, but after only a few hours, I feel like I know Archer well enough now.
“And you’ll come with me?” he asks.
I assume he’s asking Freya, but when I glance up toward him, his eyes are on me. Heat flushes to my cheeks as I clear my throat.
“Um, sure. Yeah, of course. I’ll give you a tour.”
Is he flirting with me or just being nice?
“What about you, Chef?” he asks her. “Will you come?”
“The club’s not quite my scene,” she replies nervously.
“You’ll give it a shot for me, won’t you?” he persists.
She simply shakes her head with a silent laugh. “Perhaps.”
Archer, bold and unafraid to ask personal questions, says, “Okay, Chef. You first. If you were to visit that club, what would you be into?”
Her jaw drops as she stares at him. “Excuse me?”
“I’m just making conversation to distract him from having another panic attack and you from having to pee. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”
She screws her mouth up tightly. “You first.”
He shrugs. “Okay. I have plenty of dirty desires, but none of them are secrets.”
“Well, then…out with it,” she persists.
“I’ve always been sort of turned on by the idea of…branding or marking someone.”
Freya’s jaw drops. “Branding someone?”
“I mean like…a tattoo or a collar. Or you know, like, marking someone with my scent. Relax. I don’t mean like actually branding someone.”
Freya still looks horrified, but I smile wickedly to myself. Never in my life have I met someone like Archer, so unapologetically intense. Everything about him excites me. Arousal pools in my groin at the thought, because I have a feeling that Archer wasn’t exaggerating.
There are a lot of ways to brand someone, but I wonder if he realizes the true nature of domination over another person. Claiming them as your own. The trust. The connection. It’s incredibly hot and isn’t all that different from my own tastes.
“Interesting,” she says. “And have you done this before?”
He smirks to himself. “In ways…sure. Not always as permanent as you seem to think.”
“Why are you smiling?” she asks, glancing down at me.
“Nothing,” I mutter, wiping the grin away.
“Why don’t you go now?” She nudges my arm playfully. “Do you like to brand people too?”
I shrug, staring at the reflection of the three of us in the mirror on the ceiling. “Not exactly.”
“Out with it,” Archer says, his deep voice echoing in the small space.
I don’t talk about my tastes or my kinks. It’s not my style to be so outwardly expressive about it. It’s my business. My secret.
But it might be because these two are strangers or because I feel like I might never get out of this elevator again, but suddenly I don’t feel so inhibited about opening up.
“The only kind of sex I like is free use.”
My words hover in the air as I wait for them to respond. It feels like taking off all my clothes and waiting for them to inspect me.
“Free what?” Freya asks.
The various rings on my fingers clink against the floor as I tap them, a nervous habit I have when things get tense. “Free use. It’s a…thing we offer at the club. But it’s also a valid kink.”
Leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, Archer scrutinizes me curiously. “Explain it to me.”
With a sigh, I sit up to face him. “Free use is a kink that means consensually, someone can just use another person’s body however they want, whenever they want.”
When neither of them responds or relaxes the muscles between their eyes, I continue.
“And we have this area at our club. So the members can just hold on to the wall…or be restrained to it if they wish, and anyone passing by can…”
I do a sweeping gesture with my hand in front, which I try to convey means that anyone passing by can fuck the person however they want.
“And you like this?” Freya’s voice sounds tight and nervous.
With some reluctance, I nod. “I’m more turned on by the liberty to use someone than to…get to know them. It’s just another power dynamic. Not unlike Archer’s desire to brand someone. I like the idea of having someone all to myself.”
“Holy shit,” Archer mumbles under his breath.
“Don’t kink-shame me,” I reply deeply.
His hands go up in surrender. “I’m not. I think that makes perfect sense. So wait, let me get this straight… You like to be the person doing the…”
“Using,” I finish for him.
“Any gender?”
My throat constricts as I force myself to swallow. That was certainly an interesting question, and I’m intrigued as to why he chose to ask it. I wasn’t hearing things when I heard Archer mention girlfriends and boyfriends earlier. Is it possible this rough and hot Greek god is like me?
I shrug. “Yeah. Anyone.”
“Have you ever tried it the other way around?”
I sense Archer’s genuine curiosity while Freya just looks mildly lost.
My eyes widen. “You mean being used?”
“Yeah.”
I catch the way Archer suddenly has to adjust himself in his seat.
“No. I couldn’t.”
“Sure you could.”
When he gives me a wink, I wonder if I’m seeing things. I don’t want to be the one misreading cues or signs, so I quickly avert my gaze.
“Okay, your turn,” I say, nudging Freya’s leg gently.
She shakes her head. “I don’t have any desires or kinks or anything.”
“Bullshit,” Archer calls, teasing her. “Everyone has something.”
“No, really,” she argues. “I don’t.”
“Nothing?” I ask.
“I promise, guys. Seriously.”
“Fine,” Archer relents. “Then what’s the hottest place you’ve ever done it?”
“Nowhere.”
This time, I try. “Your favorite position?”
“None.”
“What the hell?” Archer asks with astonishment. “You’re not going to tell us anything after we just admitted all that?”
I can see her getting flustered, so finally she slams her hands down on her legs. “Because I have nothing,” she shouts. “I have no kinks, no desires, no experience, no stories, because I have never done any of it. Is that what you wanted? I’m admitting something now. Happy?”
My jaw drops as I stare at her. This beauty queen is stunning and talented and bold, and she’s never done any of it? I can’t believe my ears.
Archer’s expression mirrors mine. “Are you saying you’re…”
She points a finger at him. “Don’t say it.
Don’t call me a…you know what. It sounds so juvenile.
I’m not some baby-faced teenager. I’m a grown-ass woman who happens to have put her career and education before sexual experiences.
I’m not, like, saving myself for marriage if that’s what you think. I just…haven’t done it. Yet.”
“There’s no shame in that,” I mumble quietly, almost too quiet to hear, as if I don’t want to be caught being kind and understanding.
“I’m calling bullshit again,” Archer says with a shake of his head.
Freya’s mouth drops open as she glares at him, but before she can scream at him, he continues.
“Just because you haven’t fucked someone doesn’t mean you can’t have secret desires.
You’re just using this an excuse to get out of telling us what filthy fantasies you have, and I’m not letting you get off that easily. ”
I can’t help the laughter that bubbles up as I stare at him. “He’s got a point.”
Freya looks offended momentarily before the shock turns into amusement. “You jerks.”
“Out with it, Chef,” he persists.
“I hate you both.” She bites her bottom lip with a blush. “Fine…” Then, covering her face with her hands, she adds, “I think it sounds hot to have sex in public, and I don’t mean in a sex club.”
My jaw drops.
Archer’s face lights up with excitement. “You mean like…what’s that called? Exhibitionism?”
“No,” I say. “Exhibitionism is when you like to be watched.”
“Oh God, no,” she blurts out. “I would never want to be watched.”
“Never say never,” I reply with a wink. Where the hell did that come from?
“Well, I think if you do it in public, people would watch,” Archer adds with a laugh.