Chapter 1 #2
“I definitely know,” Denny said, swiveling in his chair then standing.
“My own family is something between a battleground and a comedy show most of the time. My parents hate the fact that I work here, for example, and that I’m a client, too.
” He batted his eyelashes teasingly at me and raked my body with a hungry, and also comical, look.
I actually laughed. “Well, I’m not a client,” I said, not minding Denny’s flirting at all. “I’m just here on business.”
“That’s what they all say,” Denny said with a wink before we reached an open office door at the end of the central hallway. “Mr. Wythe is here to see you,” he announced to the men inside the office.
I was on cordial terms with Caden Kuhl and Hamish Farrow, even though I wasn’t a member of the Dark Fantasies Club.
We’d met at a conference about charitable giving and hit it off.
I admired the intensive anti-trafficking work they did, and when it came time to donating my personal wealth to a worthy cause, I’d chosen to work with them.
“Shawn, good morning,” Caden said, standing from the double desk he and Hamish shared on one side of the room and walking over to meet me. “Thanks, Denny,” he nodded to Denny before taking my hand.
The chime that indicated someone entering the office sounded, and with a quick, “Oop, I’m needed elsewhere,” Denny left the room.
“Sorry about him,” Caden said with a laugh, moving to close the office door once he’d shaken my hand. “Denny can be colorful sometimes.”
“He’s a sweetheart,” I said, brushing the whole thing off as Hamish came over to shake my hand as well.
“He’s a lot more than that,” Hamish said with a sly smirk and a twinkle in his eyes.
I laughed as the three of us moved to the comfy seating area at the other end of the office from the desk.
I’d had my suspicions about the unusual relationship between Caden and Hamish in the past—alpha-alpha couples were looked down on by some people, but I didn’t care—and now I added Denny to that unusual relationship.
I guess it took all kinds to make a world.
“Can I get you anything?” Caden asked as we all took seats. “Coffee? Tea? I think we’ve got donuts in the breakroom today, thanks to Denny.”
“They’re homemade, and let’s just say the way he did the decorations is…interesting,” Hamish added.
I laughed again, but shook my head. “I’m good.”
Those two little words wrecked my mood all over again. I was good. I was always good. I was Daddy’s good boy, and not even in a way Caden, Hamish, and Denny would think was hot. It was why Walt hated me and why nothing I did seemed to actually be good enough for anything.
“I was hoping to get an idea of what the Dark Fantasies Club’s needs are this year in terms of donations,” I said, getting straight to business. “I’m eager to hear more about the rehab clinic you’re proposing to open in Turnersville.”
“We’re really excited about its potential,” Hamish said, then launched into a more detailed explanation of the new facility he and Caden were planning.
The whole thing was a brilliant idea. The work Caden and Hamish did was so important.
They had saved more lives than anyone knew about.
And all from the profits of an incredibly kinky hook-up club and app that they’d created over five years ago.
They routinely had a line of self-righteous protestors picketing their more public events, and sometimes even the office where we were now, though the local law enforcement generally kept the worst of them away, but the actual work they did in the world was so much more potent than any moralizing church or conservative group could imagine.
It was certainly more than any of them did.
I was more than happy about donating to their causes. Everything the two men had to say about the new rehab center had me nodding and ready to write a big check. At the same time, my earlier interactions with Walt and my dad had me itching and made paying attention difficult.
So much so that Caden and Hamish noticed.
“Is this a good time?” Caden asked as we started to discuss numbers. “Granted, I’m happy for you to write as large a check as you want, but you seem distracted, tense.”
I sighed and shrugged. “Family stuff,” I said.
Both men hummed and sat back a little, like they knew how that went.
“Family can be wonderful and horrible at the same time,” Hamish said.
“Right?” I sighed, sitting back. At least they didn’t think I was crazy or anything.
“You know what you need?” Caden asked, sending a cheeky grin to Hamish.
“You need a way to unwind, a way to release,” Hamish said like he was agreeing with his partner.
I laughed. “Sorry, guys, but I’m strictly into omegas. Maybe an occasional beta.”
They laughed with me, which was a relief in and of itself.
“Of course,” Caden said. “That’s what I meant.”
I raised my eyebrows a bit in question.
“We’ve got an entire organization right here designed for releasing tension and helping alphas, omegas, and even betas get their rocks off,” Hamish added.
I grinned and shook my head. “Thanks, guys, but I’m not into kink.”
“Have you ever tried anything?” Caden asked.
I flushed hot before I answered, “No, not really.” I was the good one, the golden child.
Of course I’d never tried anything kinky in the bedroom.
I’d barely tried anything, really. I’d dated around in college, like most people did, and I’d had one relationship with an omega that lasted a couple years in my mid-twenties, but it never amounted to anything.
I was barely thirty now, and yes, I did feel the alpha urge to settle down and start a family, pretty strongly, actually, but who had time to date and find a suitable omega, one my dad would approve of, while running the entire philanthropic division of a major company?
As if Hamish could read my thoughts, he said, “That’s what the Dark Fantasies Club is for. You can indulge a little, explore a little, and you don’t have to go through the rigamarole of finding the right omega to date to make society happy.”
“Our members span all ages and social strata,” Caden said, like he was making a pitch to an investor, which I sort of was. “But none of that matters, none of it is taken into consideration, when it comes to pairing people up for play scenes.”
“I wouldn’t know where to begin,” I said, feeling hotter by the second. Not because I was embarrassed, but because something deep in my core was tickled at the idea of anonymous, raw sex with an attractive omega.
I really did need to get out more. Just the idea of participating in something with the Dark Fantasies Club had my balls feeling heavy and my cock thickening.
“Begin in a place that feels natural to you,” Caden said with a shrug. “I assume you’re not a virgin.”
“No,” I said, blushing.
“Then you have at least some idea of what you like. You’re allowed to embrace that, explore it.”
“If you’re not ready to create a whole profile on the app and search for a partner that way, you could always take part in one of our events,” Hamish added. “Like the omega auction we’ve got coming up next weekend.”
“Omega auction?” I swallowed hard. “Isn’t that…illegal?”
Caden and Hamish laughed.
“It’s all basically an elaborate costume ball where everyone acts their part,” Hamish said.
“Alphas and omegas are paired in advance based on the DFC’s compatibility algorithms. We vet everyone before the event and match couples up personally,” Caden continued.
“The bidding itself is all for show,” Hamish went on. “Everything is prearranged, but the fantasy of helplessness and power is still there.”
“I see,” I said. I sort of saw. I guess that appealed to some people. The alpha in me wasn’t entirely opposed to the idea of power over an omega, but those were ancient instincts I tried to suppress as much as possible.
“Why don’t you participate in the upcoming auction,” Caden said, his face brightening, like he thought it was a brilliant idea. “We’ll even waive the entry fee.”
“Think of it as our Christmas gift to you,” Hamish added.
“Well….” I shouldn’t consider it. Sex with strangers, particularly kinky sex, was wrong…wasn’t it? I couldn’t pretend to purchase an omega at an auction and then treat them like…like I owned them. “What would it involve?” I asked.
Caden and Hamish exchanged a smile. They knew they’d won me over.
“The experience can be whatever you and your play partner agree to,” Hamish said. “We’ve got some seriously hard players in the club, but there are a lot of lighter players who just like hooking up with a little role play involved, all in a safe environment.”
“You might be a soft Dom,” Caden said.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“Just that you like to be in charge and dominant in sex, but you aren’t into impact play or bondage or humiliation or things like that. That’s a huge generalization, but still.”
“Although you can be into things like that and still be a soft Dom,” Hamish said. “I know one guy who’s into praise kink, but he’s a crack hand with a paddle so his play partners earn it.”
I wanted to say that everything they were talking about went way over my head. It kind of did. But the image of spanking a naked omega in heat as he draped over my knees and then kissing and cuddling him before taking his heat popped into my head and wouldn’t leave.
“And if I did agree to partake in this omega auction?” I asked, cleared my throat, then went on. “Would you make sure I ended up with a…a partner who didn’t want more from me than I could give?”
“Absolutely,” Caden said. “That’s the entire point of the matching process.”
“Come on,” Hamish added with a teasing grin. “I can see you want to give it a try. Do it just this once and I can guarantee you won’t be disappointed.”
I don’t know what possessed me, but before I could change my mind I blurted. “Okay. I guess I’ll give it a try.”
“Perfect,” Caden said, clapping his hands together.
We finished up with our business, I wrote one check and promised to write more for the rehab center as needed, and then they had me fill out a frankly embarrassing questionnaire about my sexual preferences and what I was looking for in an omega play partner.
It was so open and pulled no punches, and by the time I walked out of the office, I felt exposed and vulnerable.
“I can’t believe I’m going to do this,” I muttered as I stepped out of the parking lot.
I nearly ran headlong into a slim, young omega with dark, curly hair and big, sad, blue eyes. He was dressed in cheap trousers and a polo shirt with a small stain on one side.
“Oh, sorry,” he said, terror in his eyes as he looked up at me. “I just…I forgot…I….”
The poor young man was obviously homeless or down on his luck. He either hadn’t bathed or washed his clothes in a while. His scent was strong, though not entirely awful. It was like the vanilla perfume all of the beta girls I’d gone to school with years ago had been so crazy about.
“Easy there,” I said, stepping aside so the omega could pass me to get into the office.
He gave me a timid half smile then zipped inside. I let the door shut behind him as I walked on.
It wasn’t until I got to my car that I realized I had a dopey half-smile on my face, or that I was half-hard.
The strange arousal wiped the smile off my face, and I cleared my throat as I slipped into my car and turned on the engine.
Maybe Caden and Hamish were right. Maybe I did need to blow off some steam with a nameless omega.
My life certainly was tense lately. And if a random, scruffy omega in a parking lot could turn me on for no reason, I definitely needed to break the dry spell I found myself in.
I shook my head as I pulled out of the parking lot to head back to Barrington. Who would have thought that Shawn Wythe, golden alpha boy, might be kinky?