by Rayna Stone
“I found this all out when I turned twenty-one and a lawyer came to my door to tell me I had an inheritance. He said that everything my grandma had, she put in a trust for me and only me. My mother wasn’t ever allowed to touch it, and neither was her brother, my Uncle Pete.
“I didn’t even know I had an uncle. Turns out he pissed off good ole’ Grams by getting mixed up in drugs. He was in and out of jail and by the time she got cancer, she disowned him, too. Now he’s my problem.
“The first I heard from him was two weeks after I found out about the trust. He started writing me letters from prison telling me all about how nobody ever gave him a chance and all he needed was that break to get his life on track. I never figured out how he kept finding me since I moved so much, but the letters asking for money never stopped. If the fund managers ever get suspicious that I’m giving him money, they can audit me, and then I have to ask for money and give evidence as to where it’ll go before they let me have it. My grandmother seriously didn’t want him to have anything. He turned out to be a pretty bad guy I guess. Anyway, he knows all this, but he still asks. He usually wants me to invest in some business proposition.”
Ryan felt so warm and solid around her she couldn’t help but snuggle down and drape her legs over James. “I have no interest in helping him. I don’t even know him. And though I rarely ever use any of that money, I’d rather not have to jump through hoops to get it. I will not feel guilty for having it. The only person in that family that expressed an interest in me wanted to give me all the things she couldn’t while she was alive. It may sound greedy or self-centered, but I want that gift. And I’ve been able to use it to help other kids that age out of foster care. I won’t feel bad about not worrying where my next meal will come from because I’ve already had to do that. I’ve lived that.
“My uncle isn’t any different than he was when he was younger. I had PIs check into him because for a long time I felt bad that he had nothing. Then I found out he’s not only on drugs and dealing them, he’s still a right bastard, too. He doesn’t get a thing from me. But I’ll admit I’m starting to think he really won’t ever stop trying, and sometimes he scares me.”
James leaned over and cupped Alexa’s face in both hands. There was sadness, but also something fierce in his expression. “You do not have to deal with him on your own ever again. That man has to come through us to get to you now, do you understand? There is no shame in taking what your grandmother wanted you to have. Honor her memory by living the life you want. She couldn’t take care of you before, let her do that now. Let us do that. I want you to promise me that you’ll tell me if you hear from or see that bastard again. Can you do that? Can you give us the chance to protect you and be there for you?”
Wow. He really meant it. She could feel his determination in the strength of his grip. He wanted to shelter her from Uncle Pete. They wanted to take care of her. Like she belonged to them. Even the thought of having someone in her life to lean on made her feel faint. She’d been braced against the world for so long that it was like removing the wall she’d had to hold her whole life and finally feeling her arms again. If they rejected her later, she’d be devastated. She didn’t know how to recover from losing something like that since she never had it in the first place. But she’d survived a bullet even after years of neglect. If she had to, she’d find a way to survive losing them. Right now, she wanted to grab on. She wanted to live. She wanted to be held and cared for, and even if it made her worry she was weak, she wanted to know what it felt like to rely on someone.
“I’ll give you that,” Alexa whispered.
James pulled her out of Ryan’s arms far enough to wrap his own around her. He slid his hand up her back and fisted her messy hair in a tight grip. His other hand moved between her and Ryan until he was cupping her ass to haul her closer. “Angel,” came out as a growl against her lips before he sealed the space entirely. He wasn’t gentle like the few small kisses they’d shared before. He forced her mouth open to him with his own, demanding that she give in to him. She moaned as she felt his tongue glide over hers and then lick the roof of her mouth. It was like he was branding her, marking her, letting her know that it was his right to do so. Her stomach clenched at the gesture. The feeling of being so wanted by this man that he needed to invade her mouth and own it was overwhelming.
Ryan was still behind and under her, and now his arms were sliding up her belly and under her breasts. These touches were so different from before. No more tentative, questioning caresses. They were full of intent now. Taking what they wanted. She didn’t feel the pressure to assure them it was okay or ask any questions of her own using her body language. Shit, using English was hard enough for her in social situations. She had no idea how to ask for what she wanted with her body. The relief that she didn’t have to right now was incredibly intense. And so much better than anything she’d ever felt before.
Ryan bit into her shoulder and her pulse spiked. James released her mouth to let her catch her breath when Ryan whispered in her ear, “We’ll give you everything, angel. Give yourself to us and let us take care of you and we’ll give you everything.” She would have really liked to respond to that. A big-ass affirmative response, but right then he filled his hands with her breasts and she couldn’t speak. Her nipples had pebbled so tight they hurt, and all she could do was arch her back into his hands to try and relieve some of that pain. Had her nipples ever hurt before? No. Nothing had, but right now she was feeling aches and pains in quite a few places that she really wanted them to address. Like, now.
Oh God. James was squeezing her ass and Ryan was rubbing his palms all over her chest. She wanted someone to put just a little more force into it, and Jesus she needed someone between her legs. How much longer could they possibly just do this? They had to go further this time. She needed them to. But James was pulling away and looking at her and Ryan. Not moving things along. “Please, James,” spilled out of her mouth before the thought registered in her brain. It just, came right out. She was begging for it.
He was still not moving, but the look of joy was nice. Maybe if she begged a few more times and made him really fucking happy he’d take her to the floor and finally have at it.
“Tomorrow night, baby. I’m not waiting any longer than that. I want you to think about this all night, and I want you to ask the girls questions if you want tomorrow. But tomorrow night, you’re ours unless you tell us you don’t want this with us.”
Then he released Alexa’s hair and grabbed onto Ryan’s. The man had a thing for pulling hair. Which was good, because it really did something for her. With much less finesse, he angled Ryan’s head and they sort of devoured each other. She had only seen them kiss once before, and it was gentle. This was, well, this was primal and aggressive and so fucking hot she couldn’t stand it. She tipped her head up to lick at their mouths. She needed to feel this. Wanted to taste them together. They both opened to her, and in seconds she was passed between them and then she was a part of it all. They were sucking on her tongue and her lips, nipping her and taking her mouth like they would never stop. The sound of their panting, the moans when she rocked her pelvis, every touch sent her higher. Driving her insane. She wasn’t just going to think about this all night and tomorrow. She was going out to find some kind of vibrator to deal with it tonight. Yup, the minute they left, she was on a mission. Operation Orgasm was happening or she wouldn’t make it anywhere tomorrow, and her fingers just weren’t going to do. She really wanted to know what it felt like to have these men, so she was totally going to that club.
Chapter Thirteen
Hours of shopping, and eating a lunch that consisted of more courses than Alexa knew what to do with, and she was ready for a gun. These women took their feminine pursuits seriously. She had never had a girl’s day out, and her normal shopping routine was more like a planned military operation. She scanned from the outside, picked a place that had something she could handle wearing, and then proceeded to buy that item i
n every color they had. Walking into an upscale boutique with clothes that revealed far too much and could be classified as either evening wear or lingerie was way outside her wheelhouse.
Thankfully Kelly seemed to know what she was doing. Alexa didn’t even have to really look at the clothes. Kelly walked in and started grabbing things and shouting out directions for everyone. Alexa was hauled into a room, stripped, measured, and told to stand there while Kelly came back and forth and commenced in dressing her like a doll for an hour and a half. After a while, she didn’t even bother looking in the mirror. It was obvious that she wasn’t going to have a say in what she ended up buying, but that knowledge strangely relieved her stress. She didn’t have to worry if it looked good. She was blaming everything on Kelly if she ended up looking like a fool.
Since the outfits that Kelly picked out for Lily and Kat were beyond amazing, she was going to have faith that she would look good. She knew she was short, but she didn’t have the worst body. Her boobs were a bit on the small side, and her ass decided to make up for that, but she always wondered if she could look sexy if she only knew how to dress for her body type. Since she had zero fashion sense, she just wore comfortable clothes that more times than not were a bit on the large size. Her new outfit was definitely not large, in fact, she wasn’t sure how she was going to walk without flashing people, but the girls assured her she looked classy and beyond sexy, so she’d just go with it. Nobody needed to know she was considering the various methods of poisoning someone should this little experiment turn into an epic fail.
She was also getting a better sense of her new friends. Kelly was bossy and called it like she saw it, but her only concern the whole day seemed to be making sure everyone had a good time and was taken care of. She could see why people were drawn to this woman. Once you got past her slightly intimidating exterior, Kelly was a loyal and loving friend. She had just been through hell, but her concern was for her girls. And even Alexa could see that they depended on her decision-making skills as much as she did. She heard the horror stories of dress shopping gone bad from all the students she’d been around. A bunch a women breaking out into tears over their bodies or the dresses and trying to one-up each other on their flaws. Kelly focused on the beauty she saw in her friends and didn’t allow any drama to even begin. There were no tears, only laughter, and she didn’t feel any stress, just an overwhelming need for a beer after being in that store and trying on so many dresses.
Kat was just cute as a button. She was very similar to Alexa in her social awkwardness. Where Alexa tended to analyze everything and voice her mental breakdown, Kat just seemed to spout out her observations without any filter. They tended to be the two that rambled on. Alexa was hoping that her thoughts came out as more organized, but it was getting hard to tell. She was using Kelly as her indicator. When Kat went off on a tangent, Kelly used her “aww, isn’t she just adorable” face. When Alexa finished her diatribe, Kelly just looked happily confused. She wasn’t sure which look was better, but she was surprised that she was talking this much at all. Usually when she was out with people, she observed. Unless they were talking about work, she rarely participated in the conversation. Somehow, these women made her feel comfortable in much the same way James and Ryan did. She found that she wasn’t just interested in what they said, it felt natural to be herself and join in.
Lily was her favorite. She was easily distracted, but she had a mind that was running on all cylinders at all times. She was interested in everything. Alexa found that one minute they were talking about military strategy for the Civil War, and the next, Lily was showing her what colors looked good on her skin and breaking down why they worked. She had a passion for making jewelry because she loved pretty things, but what she really loved was the challenge of working with metal and finding unique ways to anchor a stone in place. Her creativity was fascinating to Alexa, since she had virtually zero herself, and she found that the intelligent and organized way that Lily described how she saw the world actually made sense to her. She never used to be able to understand the shit that artists talked about, with their “flow” and “organic movement,” but Lily laid it out straight. Alexa could follow her logic and even give her own input.
Now Alexa found herself laid out like a marinating steak next to an equally trussed-up Lily. The spa was beautiful, no doubt about that. The massage was so good that she found herself making inappropriate noises and praying that the masseuse didn’t notice. But the mud she was currently encased in under the heated wrap left her a wee bit unnerved. She had no clue how long they were supposed to lay here, but she was not a fan of this portion of the program. She was getting itchy.
“So…mud, huh? They just slather that shit on and leave you here for a while I see. Is yours drying out? I think mine is drying out.” Alexa scrunched up her face and worked her jaw. If someone didn’t help a bitch out and scratch her nose soon she was going to full on freak out. “Yup, it’s cracking. Totally drying out.”
Lily was giggling, but Alexa could tell she was valiantly trying to rein it in. “They’ll only leave us here for another ten minutes or so. You’re into geology, all these minerals are supposed to be great for your skin. Just focus on the mineral aspect and you’ll be fine.”
Ten fucking minutes! With a nose itch! Alexa wasn’t sure of the statistics on this one, but she was pretty confident that a ten-minute nose itch could only have one of two outcomes. Either she was going to go homicidal on the spa staff, or she’d be a blathering psychotic mess when they unwrapped her and she’d need a padded room for the rest of her life. This was not relaxing in the slightest. Minerals my ass. There is nothing healthy about this.
In an effort to maintain her sanity, she decided to ask Lily about the club. Whenever she made a comment throughout the day in an effort to find out more about it, her new girl posse turned into the crypt keepers of what she now referred to as Club Secret Sex. If she heard someone tell her one more time that she “just had to see it,” she would scream. What was the big deal? It wasn’t like she wasn’t going to find out in a few hours anyway.
“So, Lily”—if she could move her fingers, she’d be fiddling them right now—“maybe you could tell me a bit about the plan for tonight. You know, so I don’t make an idiot out of myself and gawk at people.” Or scream. Hopefully she asked in a rational, nonchalant way and Lily would finally give up the goods.
The patronizing sigh she heard from the other mud mound was not encouraging. She knew that sigh. She’d given that sigh before.
“Okay, here’s the deal. It’s not that we’re trying to be assholes with all the evasion, it’s just that James and Ryan really want you to see the place first. They don’t want you thinking about it and freaking out over what you think we mean if we tell you stuff. But I can see that you’re already doing wonders with what you think goes on there so I’ll give you a little information.
“The downstairs is just a bar and restaurant. That’s where we’ll have dinner and get our dance on. Almost everyone in town goes there, and it’s just a laid-back, fun place to hang out. The upstairs is for the members. There will be people acting out their full-on BDSM roles there, but the important thing for you to know is that it’s not some seedy sex club. There are no strobe lights or dirty floors. The club members aren’t a bunch of disrespectful drunk college kids groping their way through the room.
“It’s set up like an upscale club, and it’s where we can go to be ourselves. Most of the actual sex that happens at the club is in closed-off rooms on the third floor. Some are open for people to see, but it isn’t like you’re going to be forced to watch anything that might make you uncomfortable. You can relax. It’s a place for you to observe and learn tonight. If you don’t want to be there, or if there’s something that bothers you, all you have to do is tell James and they’ll take you home.
“Just remember that nobody is there doing anything that they don’t want to do, okay? And if you let James and Ryan take care of you, you just might fi
nd that it’s the most liberating and amazing experience you’ve ever had. It’s the only place I’m ever utterly content. I don’t have to worry about my next move. I don’t have to fit in. I’m not ‘different’ there. Even if it turns out not to be your thing, these are good people who just want you to be happy in your life, so give them a chance, okay?”
Aw, shit. The burn in Alexa’s nose told her she needed to lock the emotions down now or she’d be sniffling in a minute. She had never, not once, been to a place where people didn’t make her feel like she was an outsider looking in. Until she moved here. For the first time in her life, she was meeting people who made her feel accepted. And the thought that Lily understood what that was like was almost too much. She didn’t feel so alone anymore, and that feeling was one she couldn’t even describe. She had hoped for it. She had imagined what it would be like to have friends and a place to call home, but she hadn’t known what it would actually feel like. If this sense of happiness and peace was any indicator, it was better than her dreams. Better than any book she’d read. It was everything. She’d hold on to it with fierce determination. So if this club was a part of that, if it was a place someone as awesome as Lily found her happiness, Alexa was honored to go. Even if she never went again, she would respect whatever she saw because it was part of Lily and Lily had made her feel like she mattered.
When she was sure her voice wouldn’t waver, she turned her head as much as the mud would allow. “I can do that, Lily.” The beaming smile she received in return made her want to tear up again. Lily looked like a mud-wrapped tortilla, but Alexa had just made her happy and she really liked that she had the ability to do that.
“Good. Now, I think our time’s up, so I just need you to remember right now that Kelly had your best interests in mind when she scheduled this appointment. You’re headed to room three to meet with Jane. Just try to relax and keep in mind there’s a reason for this next part.” Uh-oh. That did not sound good. What the hell is Jane’s job?