Chapter 7 #2
“I’m wonderin’ what’s in there.” Greer pointed to my milkshake.
“Not for you, is what it is.” I held it away from him and pocketed the wrapper from the burger.
“I can smell the strawberries,” he stated. “I’m hungry.”
I shook my head and sucked from the straw. I’d share any other food with him, but never something with strawberries, because he would legit walk away with it.
“I’m not new here, buddy. Get your own,” I told him.
Colt laughed at him. “You’ve got a reputation.”
Greer scoffed.
“Where’s Archie?” KC asked.
“In our cabin,” Greer replied. “He needs a break, so he’s watching carpet-cleaning videos on Facebook.”
Ah. Been there, done that. They just annoyed the fuck out of me, though. Where did they find those cheap-ass rugs, at the bottom of a swamp? When the cleaning alone cost five times more than the rug was worth, it was time to rethink some shit.
I turned back to Reese. “Do you know how one could loophole their way outta the rule about not reserving any playrooms for the ball?”
He shrugged and scratched his elbow. “You can still reserve a bed or a spot in a room, just not the whole area. What do you have in mind?”
“If we still have mattresses in storage, I wouldn’t mind some in the dojo,” I replied.
“We haven’t done anythin’ in the dojo,” Colt said. “That’s Nathan and Natalie’s domain.”
“But we have more mattresses,” Reese supplied. “Should be about a dozen of the ones we built platforms for last year. They don’t slide apart either.”
Fantastic, they were the comfortable ones too. Twice as thick as the regular ones.
I liked my comfort.
“Perfect,” I said. “I’ve got some carrying to do. You need a hand with any other setup? I saw online youse’ve been busy all day.”
“Yeah, but I reckon we’ve got a handle on things, eh?” Reese glanced at the others. “Ain’t much left. We can’t prepare anythin’ related to snacks and drinks until tomorrow anyway.”
“I wouldn’t mind helping you in the dojo,” Greer said. “I booked a spot in one of the orgy rooms, but I’d rather end up next to friends than strangers.”
Even better. “Sounds good to me. Jordan’s curious, so that’ll give him more to watch.” I jerked my chin at KC. “Any chance I can convince you and your three too?”
“Sure.” He shrugged. “I’ll let Lucian know.”
“Hold on,” Reese said. “So it’s gonna be your three quads in the dojo?”
“What about you, airman?” I looked to Colt.
He grinned faintly. “We might stop by for a visit, but we’re sleepin’ in the cabin.”
At the sound of someone approaching behind me, I glanced over my shoulder and smiled. Nate had survived his talk with my mother.
“There he is, Ash’s better half,” Reese said.
“Congratulations again, man,” Colt said to Nate.
Greer extended his hand. “Absolutely, congrats. Good to see you again, buddy.”
“Thank you, gentlemen.” Nate smiled and shook his hand.
Reese took over the conversation again, seemingly determined to figure out where he could get his inner voyeur satisfied during the ball, and Nate returned my phone to me.
“You got a few messages from James,” he said quietly.
All right, then. I opened it and lifted my brows. Hot damn, that was a wall of several texts.
I angled the screen so Nathan could read too.
Boss, you asked me to open up, so here goes.
I wanna be used, plain and simple. If you need something during worktime, feel free to use me.
If Nathan needs something during lunch, send me over there to satisfy him.
Don’t feel the need to include me when you play with Jordan.
I’d love to just watch in the corner. Make me feel like I can’t do what you and Nathan do to him.
Of course I’d like to feel secure in our dynamic, and as long as I do, I want a different treatment when we get together.
In a sexual setting, whether it’s the four of us in our guest room or just you and me heading to work, be dismissive toward me.
Belittle me. Call me demeaning names. Push me down.
I want to be uncomfortable within the confines of a comfort zone. I’d say Mclean House is a comfort zone. My home is a comfort zone. The truck we drive to worksites is a comfort zone. I’d imagine Nathan’s office is a comfort zone too.
I love being edged and denied orgasms. Walking around turned on and desperate pushes me into a mental state that I love being trapped in.
With Jordan, I get off maybe once a week.
That’s perfect for me. He’s mainly the top in our marriage, so I’m happy that he gets to bottom for y’all.
I only ever want to bottom, but to please him, of course I top him too.
At the moment, Jordan and I want to be exclusive with you and Nathan. But in the future, if we wish to engage in group play, we want you and Nathan to be in control there too. For instance, if you “rent” me out or order me to service friends you trust.
I will try harder to communicate better, but trust that I know my safewords, and if playtime at any moment doesn’t work for me, I will speak up.
Fucking hell.
I cleared my throat. “We can work with this, can’t we?”
“I think we can. Jesus Christ.”
Yeah.
I adjusted my cock and wrote a quick reply to James.
Now we’re talking progress. Good. But tomorrow at the event, you’re gonna read this novella out loud for us.
I showed it to Nate, and he nodded once in approval.
Send.
“May I just…?” He gestured at the phone, so I handed it over. “I’d like to clarify something.”
Reese and Greer laughed at something, but it wasn’t enough to grab my attention. I heard “more chairs for the voyeurs” and tuned out again.
Instead, I read Nate’s text to James.
Hello, James. This is Nathan. We appreciate your honesty, and I just want to circle back to something you wrote in the beginning.
You want to feel secure in our dynamic. This is something we obviously want as well, and we’d like to sit down with you at some point so we can discuss that in detail.
If we blur the lines with a more fluid dynamic, it’s easy to ruin your humiliation fun with an offhanded compliment or affection.
Ash and I are both big on affection and praise, and I can imagine that might hit you wrong if you’re looking to be degraded.
I nodded along as I read it. “Well put, baby.”
“…not my kinda music, if you know what I mean,” Colt was saying. “The masquerade bit is fun and all, but I’ll never be comfortable in a tux or listenin’ to club music.”
I wasn’t part of the conversation, but I had to throw in my, “Amen to that.”
I pocketed my phone.
Nathan smirked and rested an arm on top of my shoulder. “That’s when you downstairs people create your own party on the patio.”
Reese and Greer laughed, ’cause it was true.
“Downstairs people, huh?” KC chuckled. “You’ve been part of the downstairs crowd for a while now, Nate. I used to think the bondage group was a myth until you joined us after the fire.”
I smooched Nate’s cheek. “Now you’re one of us.”
“It’s nice seein’ more bridges between the groupings, though,” Reese said. “I understand they happen naturally, but…” He shrugged.
Nathan inclined his head. “I’ve been thinking about that too. Your social group is the only one representing multiple core kinks. The rest of us are fixated on one or two.”
“Because the founding members stick together, I reckon, and we’re pretty different,” Greer mused. “We’re also the ones organizing the community-wide events, so we have to be more open. But it’s damn easy to close yourself in, even for us.”
I scratched my jaw. “As a regular Joe member, I don’t have to worry about representing a bunch of different kinks, thank fuck.”
Colt snorted. “I’m one of the Founders, and I don’t give a shit either. I’m all for everyone being able to have a platform out here, but don’t get me involved. I’ll stick to my crowd, thank you very much. Which now includes another rigger.”
Nate grinned. “Lucas mentioned that not too long ago, how you’re slowly retreating from the limelight.”
“What can I say, I’m gettin’ old and tired,” Colt laughed.
“Shut the fuck up, we’re about the same age,” I told him. “I ain’t old.”
Reese puffed out his chest. “I can’t believe I’m actually the youngest in this bunch.”
“What’re you gabbin’ about over there?” someone hollered. And that someone sounded an awful lot like Penelope.
We all looked back toward the carport, and sure enough, Penelope and Nora were trailing over.
“Forget what I said,” Reese muttered.
“Ha!” That was funny. He was no longer the youngest.
I met Nora’s impish grin and got ready to start apologizing. I mean, I’d already apologized in a text, but I still felt bad for the timing. I’d ditched her the day I’d taken off to hunt down Nate.
“How you doin’, kiddo?” I asked her.
“Amazing! You?” She skipped over to me and gave me a side-hug. “No more Enya for you, I hope.”
I laughed through my nose. “None whatsoever. Life’s great, all of a sudden. I’m still sorry about ditching you, though.”
She scrunched her nose and peered up at me. “What’re you talk—oh. Oh, please. The only thing that would’ve pissed me off in that scenario is if you hadn’t chased down your man. Besides, I got to spend some quality time with James and Jordan. They’re fun.”
I smiled and—
“Is that part of the event, boys?” Pen asked. “Or something I should be aware of?”
“Huh?”
“What?”
“What do you mean?”
We all followed her stare, or to where she was pointing, and I cocked my head. Was that some kind of dirt on the house wall? It was smudgy and only a few shades lighter than the black paint, but the more I looked… It couldn’t be dirt. It was a circle or something.
“What in the actual…” Reese stalked over there and brought out a—a flashlight? Nope, scratch that, it was a UV light.
Penelope snorted a laugh. “Who walks around with a black light, Reese?”
“Someone who’s just checked every goddamn mattress in this house,” he shot back.
I cracked up. “Thank you for your service, my man!”
“Aye, we appreciate you ensuring the year’s biggest orgy is fresh and clean,” Greer laughed.