Wannabe: An Against The Odds Novel

by Christa DeClue

  My cock has a mind of its own. It doesn’t care how pissed, or how injured, I am. The woman who makes it feel good is a few rooms away. I figure it’ll give me a clear head, so I stroke it and moan lowly. A clattering has me whirling around, almost losing my balance, and I see Amber there, looking chagrined. I open the shower door with rivulets of water still running down my body.

  “I thought I told you to have a seat?” I growl. My dick is jutting out from my body and her eyes are glued to it. She licks her lips and I almost moan again. I clear my throat instead, and her gaze jumps to mine.

  “You stalked me first. All’s fair in love and war,” she whispers, coming closer. I back up until I hit the shower wall, and she steps into the shower, fully clothed.

  “We need to talk.” My voice is raspy to my own ears. She just nods, her eyes still on her favorite toy.

  “After.” She drops to her knees as the stream of water plasters her clothes to her body. Her tiny hand wraps around my dick and my back arches against the chilly tile wall.

  She blows cool air against the head and I grit my teeth to keep from embarrassing myself. The water is making its way down her neck and I can’t tear my eyes away from her. She licks up the underside of my shaft and my hips jerk. She laughs softly and I clench my eyes close to count to ten. I get to four before she takes the head of my cock into her warm, wet mouth. My eyes open to see her hollow out her cheeks as she starts to suck, and her lashes sweep down. It might be the most erotic thing I’ve seen.

  Her head begins to bob as she takes as much of me as she can without gagging. I feel the pleasure coursing up my spine, and my dick hardens even more in her mouth. My hips start to move of their own accord, and she chokes just a little before relaxing her throat.

  “I should let you choke on me, as punishment for lying to me. Instead, here I am, letting you worship my dick.” I pull my dick out of her mouth and fist the base of it, and she whimpers as I grip her hair hard.

  “Do you deserve to suck this dick?” I growl.

  “No. But please let me anyway,” she whines.

  I push her head back down on my cock and her greedy mouth sucks me in. I start fucking her face and a groan leaves me as she relaxes her throat. I slide all the way in and my balls draw up tight. It’s now only a matter of time.

  “Gonna come,” I pant. She hums her consent on my dick and the vibration is enough to throw me over the edge. Spurts of cum leave my dick and she sucks it down while staring up at me with her expressive eyes. After I’m spent, I pull away. She stays crouched in front of me as I turn off the water and slide down the wall on legs that will no longer hold me.

  “So, that’s not the type of conversation that I had in mind,” I say after I’ve caught my breath.

  “Yeah, I thought I heard a noise and figured maybe you had fallen, so I came to investigate. Turns out, you were playing whack-a-mole. I’ve always been really good at the game, so I decided I wanted to play.” Her joke makes me bark out a laugh, and she cracks a grin before sobering up.

  “What is it that you want to know, Ryan? What will make this bitter pill easier for you to swallow?” We’re definitely having this conversation with me naked and her in clothes so wet they’re practically see-through.

  “I want to know everything. I feel like I don’t know you at all. The person I thought I knew better than anyone.”

  “Well, my name is Amber Isabella Jennings. I’m twenty-seven. I’m a Cancer. I graduated with a double major in Psychology and Criminology from Yale. I got recruited by multiple agencies right after graduation but went with the DEA. I’ve never been married and have no kids. What else do you need to know?”

  I sigh at her words. I always knew she was smarter than she ever let on.

  “Why the DEA? Why not FBI or CIA? Or hell, why not become a psychologist?” My words cause her to flinch and I reach for her, gathering her to me, needing the closeness as much as she does.

  “My plan when I entered college was to become a criminal psychologist. My dad was an alcoholic that couldn’t stay out of jail, and I wanted to understand him. My freshman year of college, my mother was on her way home from work at her yoga studio, when she was jumped. She was beaten and gang raped. Nobody found her for hours. She suffered a psychotic break soon after that. My mother had always been a little odd, but she was never a bad mom. I took a year off to help her heal, and we went to multiple doctors who prescribed her everything under the sun. They told her she had PTSD, they told her she was bipolar. The last one told her she had undiagnosed schizophrenia as well as PTSD. My mother was so drugged up she didn’t know her own name. She didn’t know me.” She takes a ragged breath and my heart clenches for her.

  “I know you told me your mom was an addict, and I’m sorry for your childhood. I dealt with my mom’s addiction later in life. She went off her prescribed meds because she said they didn’t make her feel right. But she started self-medicating. Things that made her feel good. I didn’t know any of this because, at this point, I was back in school, and my aunt didn’t want to worry me. She OD’ed my senior year. Heroin laced with fentanyl. That’s why I went DEA. My mom went from scatterbrained and loving to hearing voices and miserable. So, she went down the rabbit hole that so many do. Only she didn’t make it back out again.” A single tear drips down her cheek and I catch it with my finger.

  “I’m sorry for your loss and your pain, baby. If I could take it away, I would,” I tell her sincerely. She gives me a watery smile. I stand, then help her up with my good arm because she’s starting to shiver. Exiting the shower, I drape a towel around her one-handed and then I grab one and struggle to get it around myself.

  “Does this mean I’m forgiven?” she whispers to me impishly.

  “No. But it’s a step in the right direction. The blowjob helped too.”

  My wink has her giggling slightly. I escort her down the hall and she sits her plump ass on my bed. She starts whipping her wet clothes off and I can’t help but watch her awkward strip tease. I know I’ve fallen in love with her when her head gets stuck in her “Nymphomaniac” shirt. Laughing, I help her free herself and she beams at me. My heart clenches for a different reason. I go in for a kiss and she yawns, right in my face.

  “I’m sorry, I was up all night, worrying and missing you. Can we take a teensy little nap before going to the club?” She yawns again and I chuckle.

  “What the lady wants, the lady gets.”

  “I like when you call me a lady,” she tells me in a sleepy voice, and I crawl to her other side. Careful of my injuries, I pull her to me.

  Before sleep takes me, I whisper to her. “I love you, you little demon.”

  I let my mind drift and hear her respond, “I love you most, but if I’m a demon, then you must be an angel.”

  She kisses my chest and I fall into a dreamless sleep.

  Chapter Thirty-Three: Amber

  “There’s no way in hell that I’m wearing that.”

  Danny’s indignant voice has me trying my hardest to stifle laughter. He’s glaring at Briar and I, as she holds out his “Sub” uniform. Much like my reaction, he’s not having any of his leather shorts and crisscross chain holster. Jensen and Ryan are dressed similarly, looking none too pleased about it either. Briar is holding the offending articles out with one hand as she taps her high-heeled toe. Danny takes them with a low curse.

  Briar and I are in matching corseted bustiers and leather pants. Her bustier is blood-red and mine is a shocking lavender. An ode to my love of neon colors, she told me. But I almost bust a gut when I see Titus striding towards us in black leather pants and a leather vest. He looks put out as well. I’m going to be fighting laughter throughout the whole endeavor. I should have thought this through better. Danny sees Titus and lets out a louder curse.

  “Why does he get to wear that?” Danny grits out, gesturing to the approaching Greybeard. Titus finally removes the snarl off his face, smirking at Danny’s words.

  “Because, dude, I’m your
top.” He winks and Danny flips him double birds before disappearing inside the gas station to change. The gas station attendants are all gawking at us because we have more man candy than the Chippendales. Oh, and they’re dressed like they’re straight out of a bad porn film.

  “Mr. Masterson, I suggest you watch yourself. I have a pair of assless chaps that I can make you wear. Your job is to always make your sub feel comfortable, even when you’re pushing their comfort zone. If you’re going to pretend to be a Dom, you need to act like one.” Briar’s voice rings out like a shot. A shot of whiskey because it looks like she set Jensen on fire.

  “I’m good. I’ll play nice with the agent,” Titus mutters, then I hear a muttered, “Crazy sex lady.”

  “He needs to remember who the real Dominant is,” she whispers to me with a wink. As soon as Danny steps back outside, Briar produces three collars, like what I had to wear. She hands one to me and one to Titus, who is looking at it like it might bite. I choke down another laugh.

  I stride up to Ryan and kiss his bare uninjured shoulder, and his skin pebbles. He’s not happy with the costume or with me being the Dominant but like he told me, what the lady wants, the lady gets. I smile at his muscular back. Thanks to the tall high heels I’m wearing, I don’t have to practically climb him to get the collar on. I snap it in place and a growl rumbles in his throat. The whole moment is strangely erotic.

  “Just wait until later. I swear, you’ll pay for this,” he whispers to me huskily.

  “Promises, promises.” I place a kiss to his injured shoulder and side. He’s not wearing the sling, but he promised to take it easy.

  I glance over to see Briar whispering something to Jensen as she snaps his collar in place. Jensen then whispers something back and Briar’s eyes grow large before she steps back like her ass is on fire. She forces a smile when she catches me staring.

  “Shall we go then?”

  At all of our nods, we pile into the large SUV Jensen rented for the night. Danny and Titus are grunting rude comments to each other. Ryan slides in beside me and plasters himself against me. My lady bits jump at being this close to their favorite person. Briar takes her place in the front seat with Jensen as Titus and Danny shove their way into the back. As soon as everyone buckles in, we’re on our way. With each passing mile, Ryan stiffens more. My hand slides over his arm to give him a soothing squeeze.

  “Don’t worry, I won’t let anybody molest you. Well, anybody except me,” I whisper, causing him to lean down and brush his lips against mine.

  “I’m not worried about me. I’m worried about you. The last time we were on a mission together, you got hurt,” he murmurs.

  “That’s because you left me behind. I won’t be left behind this time. I’ve got plenty of people watching my back.”

  He looks at me for a long minute before nodding slightly, then brushes his lips against mine once more. Inwardly, I swoon; outwardly, I nip his bottom lip, causing him to growl lightly. He pulls back and stares at me with darkened eyes.

  “Look, guys, Mommy and Daddy made up!” Titus calls out loudly. Ryan just flips him off and we all laugh.

  Before I know it, we’re at the same old Target-looking building, and the men have the same reaction I did last. We all pile out of the SUV, with Briar in the lead. She’s a woman on a mission as she marches us up to the door.

  “Subs! Eyes downward. You don’t speak unless spoken to. No direct eye contact. It’s a term of disrespect. Please, for the love of God, don’t shoot anyone, and don’t wreck my club. That last part is for you, Amber,” Briar barks, turning back our way.

  Danny, Jensen, and Ryan all look at each other before glaring heavily at me, then finally dropping their eyes. I just shrug at Briar and her eyes roll skyward. She whirls back around and pounds on the door. The change that rolls over her, like before, is immediate. I follow suit, standing a little taller and holding my head a little higher.

  Titus is trying to mimic us but failing, which is causing Danny to snort. Briar’s hiss cuts it short. The door swings open to Nikolai, not Nathaniel, like we were expecting. Nikolai cocks a brow at Briar and her lips press together.

  “Mistress Thorne, what a surprise. And you brought your lovely submissive back, who is apparently not a submissive. Surprise, surprise. Who are your friends?” His voice lashes out like a whip and Jensen takes an imperceptible step forward between Nikolai and Briar. Both of Nikolai’s brows raise at the move.

  Briar pulls Jensen back with a firm grip and Ryan is fighting not to say something to Nikolai. I put my own hand on his arm, and he relaxes ever so slightly.

  “Master Borakov, you remember right. This was my sub from last week, but she is a switch, and we both found she was more suited to Domination. Her name is Mistress Honey and this is Master Gray. He’s a friend. They’re all members; they’ve paid fees and passed background checks. I don’t know what it is about you and Nathaniel making us freeze our bits off to inspect the new clientele, but you’ll remember I’m also part owner, so if you’ll please piss off, that would be great.”

  Her smile is toothy and faux innocent, and I want even more to be her when I grow up. Nikolai’s smile dims and fades as he locks eyes with Briar in a stare-off before moving out of the way to let us in.

  “Be careful, Briar. I don’t know what you are up to, but tonight is not a good night for games,” he tells her softly, grabbing her by the arm. She slowly extracts herself with her own eyebrow raised.

  “But Nikolai, I know how much you love games. Regardless, we’re here to play, that’s it. Where is Nathaniel anyway?”

  “I imagine he’s trying to find Ember.”

  “I thought he broke that off a long time ago,” she states, confused.

  “So did I,” Nikolai responds with indifference. He presses a button and the door to the club swings open, showcasing the staircase, with the sounds of music like liquid ecstasy reaching our ears. Briar leads Jensen down first, and I follow suit, leading Ryan, with Titus and Danny bringing up the rear. Ryan leans down and places his lips against my ear.

  “The story there seems like a clusterfuck. Are you sure this is a good idea? It could be very dangerous for all of us.”

  “No UC mission is ever safe. I trust Briar. This is the place we need to be. I feel it in my gut,” I whisper back. I can tell he’s not one hundred percent satisfied with my answers, but he nods his acquiescence. Suddenly, I hear the sharp inhale of all the males in our group as they see the club for the first time. I elbow Ryan lightly, to remind him to keep his eyes on the floor. He grunts, but drops his gaze.

  Briar backtracks to me and grabs Titus. She leans in close to both of us.

  “We need to split up and try to find who is dealing. Between our three groups, we need to cover every room. There are a lot of rooms. Participate if you absolutely must, to blend in.” Titus snorts and Briar tilts her head. “Okay, maybe not you two, but try to act like you have some attraction towards each other or this won’t work. Stop acting like cops and act like the circus freaks we all are, deep down inside.”

  Briar stalks away as she grabs Jensen and pulls him along. His eyes quickly meet Ryan’s and I see their shared communication. Titus looks at me and blows out a long breath.

  “You both owe me for this so fucking big.” At my nod, he grabs Danny’s hand. “Come on, cupcake. Let’s go for some shock and awe. Maybe if you’re lucky, I’ll show you my dick later.” Ryan’s lips twitch and I blink several times to not react, but I hear Danny’s uttered words from my vantage point.

  “Try it, Masterson, and I’ll show you my dick. Guarantee I’m the bigger man.”

  I curse and Ryan starts clearing his throat to keep from laughing. “Well, sweets, it’s you and me. Let’s go explore. Maybe not the Wet Room though, we’ll let Danny and Titus handle that one. Hey, Master Gray! Start with the Wet Room; it’s your cup of tea.”

  I call the last part to Titus and he shoots me a nod while Ryan stares at me. I grab his hand and lead him through o
pposite curtains of the way I went last time. It feels wrong to lead the way when Stoney is very obviously the aggressor in the relationship.

  We walk through teal shimmering curtains and are greeted with the sight of what seems to be a drag show, but as we look closer, we notice it’s an auction. Men in the audience are bidding on the Queens on stage, and the Queens are loving it. After we observe for a moment, the winners head up on stage and start undressing the Queens. In no time, there are multiple people having sex on the stage as the crowd goes wild. Ryan leans closer to me to ward off the fray of people before I pull him to the fringe of the room.

  “Do you see anything in here? I don’t see anyone dealing, they’re all transfixed by what’s happening on the stage,” Stoney whispers to me, barely moving his lips, as my eyes scan the room. I shake my head negatively and lead us on.

  The black curtains have the sign “Free-for-all” printed above the door. As I walk through, hands wrap around my waist and before I can blink, Ryan has pushed the person away from me. Realizing it was another man dressed like a sub, I recover Ryan’s blunder by baring my teeth at the offending man.

  “On your knees. You don’t touch another Master or Mistress without their express permission. Stay on your knees until your owner retrieves you,” I hiss forcefully, and the sub quickly complies with a moan. Grabby hands are happening everywhere, and I realize why they call this room free-for-all. Everyone is trying to get everyone’s cookie. Another girl grabs for Ryan’s junk, and I pull her back by her black curls, slinging her towards the plush couch on my left. Before I can bare my teeth at her, two figures catch my attention.

  Nathaniel Crane is dragging a familiar-looking blonde girl towards a room to our right. He looks angry and she looks like she’s on something. Before I can point them out to Ryan, he starts leading us in their direction, having spotted the girl who so obviously looked high, not realizing it was Nathaniel with her.