Chapter 2
TWO
Sophie
Aiden:
I can still taste you on my tongue.
Aiden:
I had a beautiful time.
Sophie:
I did too.
Aiden:
Thank you for giving me your number.
Sophie fussed around the apartment she shared with Claudia between work calls.
She had taken a shower, tidied up the living room, and started the laundry.
Sophie accomplished more before 11AM than she had in weeks.
Her time with Aiden and Zack felt like nothing she’d ever experienced before.
She was riding high from her night at Surrender.
True to his word, Rickey didn’t let Sophie leave unless Claudia was with her. He made no exception to the fact that the club's owner offered to walk them to the car. It’s easy to see why Claudia loved it; Sophie already liked that about the space.
Wrapped in a throw blanket, Claudia sleepily shuffled into the living room, her eyes narrow slits. She made her way to the coffee pot and immediately filled her cup just the way she liked it: no cream and an inappropriate amount of vanilla bean sugar.
Claudia juggled the mug, blanket, and a newly acquired cranberry muffin to the kitchen table. She sat beside Sophie and hovered over her coffee cup. Sophie noticed red scratches along Claudia’s arms and neck, as well as a faint bruise on her shoulder that was partly hidden by her hair.
“It seems like you had a good time last night,” Sophie teased, curling her leg under her in her own seat and adjusting the stack of papers she’d been working on and shuffling them to the side.
“If you’re gonna poke me about my night this early, I’m going to grill you about yours…”
Pressing her lips together, Sophie sighed and nodded. “I’ll need more caffeine before we talk about my night.”
Claudia lifted her coffee cup in agreement and changed the subject. “Have you heard from Gage?”
“It's been two weeks, which isn’t odd for this time of year.”
Sophie's younger brother was away at college. It had been just the two of them since their parents were both gone by the time he turned eleven. She’d spent the better part of her twenties being both sibling and parent to Gage.
While their standing phone date had taken a back seat to midterms, their current form of communication was silly videos and photo memes.
Claudia looked at her watch and groaned, pressing her head against the wood of the table. “I forgot I have to go to the club today.” She looked up at Sophie hopefully, scratching her fingers through her unruly hair. “Would you braid this mess for me, please?”
Sophie patted her arm and stood to gather what she needed to tame Claudia’s curls. They gravitated toward Sophie’s room instead of the chaos that Claudia’s stayed in.
Grabbing the comb, she parted Claudia’s hair down the middle and over to the side, as she’d done so many times in their thirteen-year friendship. “Lidia. I think I have a problem.” She began to brush the tangles, separating the hair carefully.
“By the looks of it last night, you have two big ones.” Sophie returned Claudia’s laugh with a nervous chuckle.
“What do you know about them?” She sat on the edge of the bed, Claudia sitting between her thighs so Sophie could braid her hair. “It’s not that I’m int–”
“Soph?” Claudia’s firm hand was warm against her leg.
“Yeah?”
“You don’t have to justify anything to me. If you are interested in them in the mental, emotional, or biblical sense, that is all you. I will not lead you into temptation. I taught you the way by now.”
“I really love you, you know?” Sophie sighed and nodded. “This time. I know I said I wasn’t looking, but I wonder if something found me. Three or four-strand braids?”
“Four, please. Well, they are the co-owners of the club. Aiden is always on the floor as a monitor or helping behind the bar. I don’t want to call him a playboy or flirt.”
“But he’s friendly.”
“Yes. Zack, on the other hand.”
“He definitely seems like the broody type.”
“He’s a sadist. I’ve seen him use subs as furniture.
” Claudia gasped with glee, nearly pulling her hair from Sophie’s grip.
“Oh em gee. He’d be so depraved!” If Claudia was trying to talk her out of it, she was failing.
The memory of last night with the men at the club sent shivers down her spine.
Aiden's skilled touch paired effortlessly with the intensity of Zack's dominance.
Sophie shrugged her shoulders. “I feel ridiculous.”
“Why?”
“Because I met a guy–”
“Two.” She would never live this down.
“T-wo guys and I’m scrambling to understand why I sound like a teenager. They sparked something, Lidia. Zack is such a mystery, and Aiden…”
“Considering I’m the impulsive one, as long as you’re not running around looking at wedding rings, I think we can say that you’re safe to explore.”
“They were the ones exploring,” she admitted softly, glad Claudia couldn’t see the deep red of her cheeks. “I’m surprised you didn’t hop into my bed at four wanting details.”
“Oh, I’ve watched them play before.” Claudia paused and tucked her knees against her chest. She moved her head, and her hair tugged in Sophie’s fingers. “Um, Soph, I don’t know if now would be the time to tell you that the balconies can be seen from the pit.”
Sophie stopped mid-braid and lowered her head against the top of Claudia’s. “Don’t tell me…” She groaned.
“Don’t worry, there aren’t any cameras at least.” Claudia giggled. “Would that help or hinder my argument to have you come in with me today?”
“Why?”
“Um, because it would be an excuse to go to the club…”
“Claudette Sylvie Monroe!” Sophie tugged the strands between her fingers and quickly finished the braid.
“You’ve worked there for over a year and never needed someone to hold your hand while going to work.
” Sophie sighed and gave Claudia a sheepish grin.
“We’re going to need a better cover story than that. ”
Zack
Tucked away in his office, Zack Kincaid sat behind his desk, a tumbler in one hand and the other gripped the arm of his chair. His fingers flexed methodically against the leather. The room was silent except for the video feed's echoes as he intently watched the couple on the screen.
“I’ve been waiting to taste you all day.”
The camera system spotlighted every angle of the newly renovated room.
It was a special commission project from Wes, their woodturner, who had an eye for detail and a taste for predicament and restrictive bondage.
Mahogany walls with several I-bolt anchor points for load-bearing rings and ties.
They even fulfilled the long-standing request for several points in one area for the dominants with more than one submissive.
To the far side, behind the implement cabinet, was a motorized winch with several chain points to position a submissive any way the dominant saw fit, from dancing on their tiptoes to avoid a bee-sting flogger to being suspended in rope.
Zack paid close attention to the half-dressed couple pinned against a pillar. The raven-haired woman was suspended and strapped with her knees and wrists held up by a three-point anchor point above her head—wrists together, legs apart.
“Oh fuck,” Aiden groaned, gripping her hips tighter and anchoring her to him. “Ride me, princess. You look so beautiful taking my cock. I knew you were a dirty Daddy’s girl.”
Sophie moaned, hiding her face in his shoulder, her muscles strained. Their labored breathing synced and tempoed against the hot sound of flesh meeting flesh.
“He’s watching.”
“I know.”
“That’s it, little star. Milk your Daddy’s cock like the good slut you are.” That was enough to push her over the edge. Sophie’s muscles gripped him as she came, forcing his orgasm to rush forth with hers.
Sophie bucked against the wall, her hips rhythmically begging for Aiden's brutal thrusts.
Grabbing her thighs, Aiden rotated beneath her to draw her orgasm. She entranced him, the way she covered her breasts with her head tipped back, accepting every bite of pleasure.
“Yes! Thank you, Daddy.” She whined sweetly, the jerk of her hips subsided, and she leaned forward, pressing her face against his chest.
The shrill of his phone pulled Zack away from the screen. He grunted his annoyance, swallowed the last of his bourbon, and heavily set the glass on his desk.
Cora:
Good Evening, Master Zack.
He paused a second too long before responding.
Zack:
Yes?
Her reply was instant. She was always an attentive club slut.
Cora:
I wish to kneel. Sir.
Cora:
Please, Master Zack. I wish to scream beneath you.
Cora:
I was sore for a week after our last session.
Zack:
Aren’t we eager tonight?
He didn’t understand the growing irritation and chose to ignore it.
Zack:
That’s the thing about wishes, Cora.
Zack:
They don’t always come true.
Zack:
Goodnight, Subby.
Cora:
Yes, Sir. Goodnight.
Zack placed his phone face down on the desk and sighed.
There was a knock at the partially ajar door, and Zack looked up to see Mia’s familiar face.
“Hey Zack, do you have a minute?”
“There’s always time, Mia! I’ve been meaning to check in with you after your wedding.” He smiled warmly at the curvy brunette whose husband died suddenly almost ten years ago, leaving her his shares of Surrender.
The payout had kept her and their then two-year-old son afloat while she grieved and rebuilt her own business.
“There weren’t enough hours in the day that day. It’s all a blur.”
Before Zack could stand, Aiden quickly followed Mia into the office, looking flushed and disheveled.
Zack cocked a brow toward him. “Glad you can join this meeting, brother.”
“I got a little distracted.” Aiden pointedly wiped his bottom lip and ruffled his fingers through his hair. “Wes did excellent work in the new room.” Quality control, my ass.
He tossed Zack a grin and turned to Mia. Aiden laughed with their friend and hugged her. “You look amazing.”
“You know I’m not here to bore you with my honeymoon.” She paused awkwardly. “I think it’s time I let go of my hus–Evan’s shares of the club.” Mia’s words were rushed. Throwing the words into the universe before she could hold them.
“I was wondering when you weren’t at the holders meeting.” Zack leaned back in his chair with a sigh.
“I know.”
“Is that fisherman guy giving you a hard time about it?” Aiden interjected, sitting up in his seat. “I can make a few calls, and he’ll have cement shoes by dinner.”
Mia laughed and waved her hand dismissively, taking the offered seat next to Aiden, who sat across from Zack’s desk. “Oh no! Nothing like that. Business with Lexi is getting busier.” Mia noticeably shifted in her seat before continuing.
“Surrender is growing rapidly in its own right. All anyone can talk about is the pop-up party two weeks ago.”
“The membership rate has increased ten percent since that party.”
“I love seeing this place grow. I know this is the last piece of Evan.” A hint of sadness laced Mia’s tone.
The three of them sat in silence, weighing her words. The memory of their college friend flooded to the forefront.
Evan was Aiden and Zack’s fraternity brother, and they had grown closer as the years went on.
Zack remembered when Aiden called him in the middle of the night, after convincing Mia and Evan to elope, because wedding planning was getting out of hand with the respective parents.
Zack made a few phone calls, and they loaded up the car and their sweethearts at the time. The six of them took over a rental house for five days and celebrated the night away when the pastor pronounced them married on the beach.
Even though life, family, and death had loosened their tightly woven bond, it never broke. Frat boys take care of their own; family was no exception.
“Mia, not that I won’t throw the money at you if you need it, but I have another idea.” Aiden shifted in his seat, adjusting his shirt, and turned his attention to Mia.
“Listen, what if you sold the amount of shares needed to remove yourself from the board, but not as an investor?” Zack listened as his friend dug into what he loved best: numbers.
“It would lessen the burden of scheduling and free you of the day-to-day decisions. It would keep the money coming in. You said it yourself that the club is growing. Evan knew what he was doing, even if we didn’t know what was coming.”
Their friend died of an aneurysm and left Mia behind as a widow with a two-year-old.
Zack would hope life wouldn’t be cruel to her twice.
Leaning back in his seat, he nodded in agreement. “I think Aiden is right. I can't see you giving up passive income. If and when the time is right, we can change the payout to Zander, and it can gain interest until he's twenty.”
Mia exhaled slowly, nodding in agreement. “Okay, I don't hate the sound of that. How much would I have to sell to vacate my seat?”
“I'll handle the transfer and get the paperwork in order.”
“Are you sure, Aiden?”
“Consider it settled,” Zack answered, knowing they agreed.
“Now that’s out of the way, Mia.” Aiden stood from his seat and walked over to the wet bar to gather drinks. “You owe me baby pictures.”