CHAPTER 9
EDGE
This night was not going the way I’d intended.
Your end goal wasn’t to get Jamie and Cav alone so you could punish them for tempting you?
Fine. Whatever.
That might’ve been something I’d contemplated a time or two, but not tonight.
Then again, I wasn’t sure I really had a solid plan when I texted Jamie. Drinks, conversation. That had been on the menu, yeah. I simply wanted to see her, didn’t matter when or where.
What I hadn’t expected was to be taking her back to my place. Having Cav along for the ride was a bonus, but not on the initial blueprint, either.
What the fuck was I thinking?
“A limo,” Cav said with a smirk. “Goin’ all out, are ya?”
I was tempted to flip him off, but I refrained.
Once the two of them were settled inside, I gave Ed the instructions to take a scenic route back to my apartment, then climbed in behind them.
The walls of the limo suddenly closed in around me, suffocating me with a constant reminder that I was moving in a direction I wasn’t sure I was ready for.
Stop thinking too hard. Just get them naked already.
I didn’t trust myself in an intimate setting with Jamie, so this was risky.
She tested my limits, and I didn’t know how she managed.
There was too much tension, if you asked me.
Between me and her, her and Cav, me and Cav.
It was there, a sizzling undercurrent that none of us could completely ignore.
There was only one way I saw it ending, and I was in no hurry to move things along.
Not that I didn’t want to get her naked and bury myself inside the tight sheath of her body.
Oh, I definitely wanted that. More than air.
So what’s the problem?
As far as I was concerned, there were three:
1. Jamie was a virgin.
2. Jamie was twelve years younger than me.
3. Jamie was not a submissive.
If we pursued this, where was it going to lead?
Maybe you could come up with a list of negatives for Cav while you’re at it. Fuck it all up in six bullet points instead of three.
1. Cav was a Dom.
2. Cav was my best friend.
3. Cav was not disposable.
But Jamie is?
No. And that was another problem, damn it.
I didn’t have enough fingers and toes to count the number of submissives I’d been with only once and then moved on, whether by my choice or theirs.
When in the club, there was a certain expectation.
Or lack of, perhaps. Unless you were coupled up, one-night stands were common practice.
After a night of play, you would continue to see that person week after week, month after month, sometimes with little to no interaction.
Point three. She’s not a submissive, remember? No worries there.
I sighed.
If I could treat this as a one-nighter, we’d all be happy.
Would you?
On the other hand, I didn’t have that sort of relationship with Cav, and I certainly didn’t want that with Jamie.
No, you want more. You want it all.
No. Not necessarily.
Liar.
Okay, yes. Fine. I could admit I’d been thinking about Jamie since our date, going over the events in my head, and trying to point out the negative. Except, there was nothing I could come up with aside from my main three points.
Truth was, I wanted to get to know her and vice versa, to see if there was something there, because fuck it all, I was tired of one-nighters. I wanted more, and for the first time in a damn long time, I’d met a woman who intrigued me.
“Edge?”
I jerked my attention to Jamie, who was sitting beside me, Cav across from us. “Sorry. Just a little distracted.”
A little? It’s been ten minutes since you said anything.
Jamie nodded, her eyes lit with understanding, which kept me from having to explain.
“We could always grab a pizza at a restaurant, hang out at a bar for a bit,” she suggested. “Or even call it a night if you’d like.”
I instantly shook my head. “That’s the last thing I want.”
“Are you worried we’re moving too fast?”
How was it this woman seemed to know what I was thinking?
Considering her age, I was expecting a sense of immaturity.
I remembered what it was like to be twenty-four.
Still in college, running amok, drinking heavily, sleeping with every hot piece of ass—guy, girl, didn’t matter—who glanced my way.
Based on the little bit that I’d gathered thus far, that wasn’t the case with her.
Teach you to assume.
I glanced over at Cav to see if I could read his take on this.
I could tell he was still confused as to how my impromptu second date with Jamie turned into a threesome.
I honestly hadn’t meant to share with Jamie the fact that I’d kissed Cav, but it had felt necessary.
After all, she’d been straightforward regarding the time she’d spent with Cav.
In a situation such as this, secrets would only cause problems.
I glanced back at Jamie, then to Cav once more.
Just accept it already. This ménage à trois is the direction you’re headed. The only difference is the route you were taking to get there.
“How about we take a step back?” Jamie prompted. “I’ve still got a million questions I want to ask the two of you, so maybe we could start there.”
“Back to wanting to drill into our psyche, are you?” Cav joked, but there was a hint of regret in his tone.
Jamie smiled. “Always. It’s in my nature.”
“What’s on your mind?” I prompted, figuring her psychoanalysis was better than the stupid voice in my head.
“You mentioned a training class,” she started, peering over at me. “I was wondering about it. What exactly happens during this training? Do you take random people off the street and teach them to be polite, obedient submissives?”
The smile she shot my way told me she didn’t actually believe that.
“You can’t train someone to be submissive,” Cav said. “But wouldn’t it be convenient if you could?”
I laughed, shook my head in disbelief.
Jamie grinned. “Okay, so who signs up for this? Submissives who need guidance?”
“Submissives who want to be members of my club,” I clarified. “Or those I’ve seen who have lost sight of the objective.”
I could see her curiosity pique.
“That makes sense,” she said, her eyes dropping to the seat as though she needed a moment to realign the notes in her head. Her head lifted and her eyes brightened as she shifted to face me more fully. “You mentioned me taking it as one of your rules.”
“I did.”
“Why? If I’m not submissive, how would it benefit me?”
“You don’t think you’re submissive?” Cav asked.
Jamie seemed to consider this. “I mean, I enjoy the concept. When I’m reading about it, there’s a certain stimulation, perhaps a connection I have with the submissive.”
“But you’ve never witnessed the interactions between a Dominant and a submissive?” I asked.
“Well, I’ve seen the movie.”
I frowned, looked over at Cav, who simply shrugged. “The movie?”
“Fifty Shades of Grey. Have you seen it?” She appeared genuinely curious.
“No. And to be fair, I don’t think that movie was meant to be a guideline to Domination and submission.”
“But it seems legit.” Jamie frowned, glanced at Cav.
“I haven’t seen it either, cupcake. Sorry.”
“Oh.” That was definitely disappointment.
“Anyway. It’s about a businessman who set his sights on this young woman.
He’s a Dominant, and his goal is to make her his submissive.
In the movie, he tells her all the things he expects from her.
Obedience and all that. When she asks what she gets out of it, he tells her that she gets him.
” She smiled. “It was kinda hot, actually.”
I frowned. “Is that what you think submission is? You obey your Master and in return you get whatever he wants to give you?”
“Isn’t it?”
“Absolutely not.” I couldn’t help it, I was pissed at the thought, and I knew it was reflected in my body language.
“Then what do I—I mean, what does a submissive get out of it?”
“Drop the pretense, sweetness,” I snapped. “If you want to write a paper, we’ll do this in a classroom. If you want the experience, we’ll nix the scenarios and show you.”
There he is. The Dom she needs. You can see it on her face, can’t you?
I could see it in her eyes, yes. This woman had a strong submissive side. Even if she didn’t realize it yet.
“Okay,” she said hesitantly. “Let’s suppose I’m submissive.”
I nodded, urging her to continue.
“And you are”—she motioned between the two of us—“my Doms. What do I get out of this? Aside from the opportunity to spend more time with you?”
Cav jumped in, his tone reflecting the same frustration I felt. “What do you want to get out of it, cupcake? If you’re doin’ it solely to get the attention of a man you’re interested in, why would you put yourself through it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you think Brax and Case are with your brother because they want his attention?” I asked.
“Yes,” she insisted. “I do. Case needs what Zeke can offer.”
“And what’s that?” I needed to know if she could see the bigger picture, the deeper meaning behind it all.
“He needs Zeke to … beat on him.”
“He’s a masochist,” I explained. “He craves the pain.”
“So, if he submits,” she said, her forehead creasing, “he gets Zeke.”
“No,” I countered. “He gets what Zeke can give him to fulfill his need for pain. In turn, he gives Zeke what Zeke needs.”
“As a submissive, he’ll need that, too,” Cav added. “The pleasure … the fulfillment of giving Zeke what he needs.”
“So it’s a give-and-take?” She seemed to ponder this.
“Absolutely,” Cav inserted. “How could we ask a submissive to give themself over to us if they’re not gonna get somethin’ out of it?”
“Do you think Luci submits because she wants Landon’s and Langston’s attention?” I tossed out. “She gets that at work already. If she submits simply because she wants their attention, what does that fulfill for her?”
“I don’t know. If it were me, I’d get tired of it,” Jamie declared. “Tired of doing everything for them.”
“Are you confusing being a submissive with being an employee?”
Her dark eyes held the answer. She was.