Something Old

by Abigail Grey

  Matt’s finger slid under her chin, tipping it up again to meet his eyes. “Yeah,” he whispered at her lips before he captured them with his own.

  Claire clung to his biceps as he slid his arms around her waist. The kiss was sweet—too sweet. She retreated, ending the kiss and breathing unevenly. “Come to my hotel.” Her stare pleaded with his.

  He smirked ruefully. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “I understand.” Claire nodded weakly and stepped back farther. “I have to go. I’m leaving in the morning. Good night, Matty.” She spun on her heel then left him on the dance floor.

  Chapter Ten

  Matt plodded over to the table where Nick’s vigilant stare swept over the room. He nodded to Taryn and clapped Chas on the shoulder. “Hey, guys.”

  “Matt!” Kayla squealed. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell us you and Claire were getting back in the saddle?”

  “Watch it, Kayla,” Chas warned. “That mouth will get you in trouble.”

  “At least I’d have company then,” Taryn mentioned blithely. Kayla cackled loudly.

  Matt quirked an eyebrow. “Chas, did you get your wife drunk?”

  A purring noise came from the woman in question. “He wants to take advantage of my vulnerable state.” She smacked a loud kiss on her husband’s lips.

  Matt felt Nick shift uncomfortably next to him. Taryn murmured quietly to him, to which he responded with a sharp nod. The pair stood. “It’s time we were going,” Taryn announced. “Will we see you all tomorrow at the farm?”

  Kayla wrinkled her nose. “No babysitter,” she pouted.

  “Yeah, we exhausted Ma with reunion stuff this week, so she’s claiming she has some spa day to recover tomorrow. All the usual teenagers are going to be out at the grad parties, so that leaves us home,” Chas explained.

  “Plus Aaron and Marce will get all…you know. He and I don’t agree on much, but watching a sibling fucking or playing is kind of a hard limit.” Kayla faked a gag, earning a round of chuckles from the table.

  “I’ll be there,” Matt asserted. “And I’ll walk out with you. It’s getting late.” Shaking hands with Chas and accepting a quick squeeze hug from Kayla, Matt trailed behind Taryn and Nick as they all made their way to the exit.

  Taryn had looped her arm through Nick’s as they walked out to the parking lot. “So, Matt, you and Claire were a thing?”

  He strode next to them, hands in his pockets. “Yeah, right after graduation. But she left, went to the city and hasn’t been back since.”

  “Didn’t her parents pass not too long ago?” Nick recalled.

  “Yeah, a few years back. No one could get a hold of her, actually, so she wasn’t here for the funeral. She said she came up to visit the gravesites, but I never knew when.” Matt’s step faltered as he really considered the statement. Had Claire actually come back without telling him? Or had she just told him she had to appease him?

  “Is she going to be here for the party tomorrow?” Taryn inquired, a heavily leading tone to her voice.

  Matt chuckled. “I don’t think she’s up for finding out about the Sanctuary by surprise.”

  “Oh. About that…” Taryn cringed.

  Matt stopped next to Nick’s car as the others paused. “Wait…about what?”

  Nick sighed. “Taryn said something at the table earlier. She mistakenly assumed that Claire was part of the group, so there were connections made and she deduced that was how Taryn knew you.”

  Matt felt his stomach drop. “How did she—”

  “She laughed,” interrupted Taryn. “She thought it was great that we had our very own sex club.” The grin on the slim woman was infectious and inspiring.

  “You still shouldn’t be laughing at that,” Nick warned. “Get in the car.”

  They both called out goodbyes to Matt, with promises to see him the following night. He watched their car pull away, a plan forming as he pulled out his phone and dialed.

  Her outgoing message was professional as he’d expected, but as the tone sounded, he took a deep breath for courage.

  “Hey, Claire. I know you planned to leave in the morning, so I hope you check this first. I thought I might try to convince you to stay one more day. There’s a special event tomorrow, invitation only, and I could use a plus one. I’ll show you a bit of how our little town has grown up. Anyway, call me. I’ll be here.”

  Matt ended the call, sending up a rare prayer that she would listen to the message before she left him again.

  * * * *

  Matt scrubbed his hand down his face as the ringing phone jolted him from slumber. “Hello?” he mumbled, half into his pillow.

  “Special event, huh?”

  The husky, sleep-laden voice that came over the line catapulted him up to sitting, wide awake. “Claire?”

  “Made a lot of invitations last night, did you?” Her chuckle sounded raspy, bringing images to mind of her lounging in the hotel room bed. The tightening below the waistband of his boxers made him groan. “Or was it too much to drink that made you call and now you don’t remember? Matty, did you drunk dial me?”

  “No!” he protested. “No, you just— Well, honestly, you just woke me up. Give me a second.” He stretched, then adjusted so he had more room for the hardening of his cock. “Okay, yeah. Special event. What do you think?”

  “Well,” she hemmed. “What kind of event? Is it something from work or the reunion or…”

  Matt barreled ahead, hoping his openness would earn some credit. “At the Sanctuary. Taryn mentioned the conversation, so I thought that maybe you might want to come see. You’ll know a few people, maybe learn something new, have some fun.” After the silence stretched a full minute, Matt hedged, “Um, Claire? You there?”

  “Yeah.” Her voice sounded distant. “You…um… You want to take me to a kink club?”

  Matt cringed. “Yes?”

  “O-okay.”

  “So you’ll stay? I mean, for the event, of course.”

  “Yeah, okay. Could be educational, right?” The laugh sounded nervous. “I’m not sure I have anything to wear.”

  “Just go with casual and comfortable. That’s usually best. A lot of people go for flash, thinking it’s somewhere to impress people, so you’ll probably see a lot of lingerie and leather. But most of us who have been around are more laid back.” Matt felt his smile growing by the moment.

  “That’s the part I’m not so sure about. I have stuff for dinner parties, but I didn’t plan on attending a fetish ball.” Matt could hear a scant hint of teasing in her statement.

  “Well, how about I give my brother a call? He and his wife have been to a lot of the events. I’m sure she’ll have something you could borrow.”

  He heard her low chuckle. “That’s not weird? Going to sex parties with your siblings? Kayla said Aaron goes, too. I would think that would be really awkward.”

  Matt grimaced. “It can be. But with them being into different things than I am, it’s less weird than you’d think. Plus, it isn’t always about sex.” He pulled a pillow up and reclined back against his headboard comfortably. “Jen and David haven’t been out in a while, not since Marcy was getting involved, so maybe we’ll convince them to tag along.”

  “You’re sure she won’t mind if I borrow something?”

  “I’m sure of it. Even if she doesn’t have something of her own, she’ll have some studio piece that would work from all her photography sessions. So I’ll text you when I talk to them, and we can head out there, probably sometime this afternoon, okay?”

  “Okay. I’ll see you then.” The phone beeped in his hand as she hung up.

  Matt ran his thumb over the phone screen, scrolling through to find David’s name. Noting the time—a bit early on a weekend to be calling the notorious night owls—he fired off a quick text to inquire about their plans for the day. Matt swung his legs off the bed, unfolding his frame slowly to stretch and stand. He stood over his drafting desk, looking down at the plans fo
r the house he was determined to build, and his mind filled with speculative images. He sat at the desk, pencil in hand, and drafted more changes as the fantasies played in his head.

  Claire in his kitchen, sitting on the granite counter-topped island, wearing one of his shirts and laughing at him over her coffee. Bubbles filling the claw-footed tub where she would wait for him to join her. The bedroom closet half filled with those expensive clothes of hers. A rope tied around her wrists, anchored to the braces on the bed they would share.

  Matt chuckled, calling himself stupid and sentimental. He put the pencil down and he eyed the plans. Satisfaction filled him as he walked to the bathroom, shucking his boxers and climbing in the shower.

  The thoughts refused to stop completely, though, as he considered the plan for the day. If Jen was available and willing, Claire might end up trying a few things on to see what would feel comfortable for her. Comparing the two women, Matt realized there might be a challenge there. Claire was trim with a style that would be considered chic, but Jen was curvier and soft, more apt to dress in something bohemian and flowing. His previous idea of using the photo shoot items made him cringe. He recalled the photos he had seen as his cock swelled, imagining Claire in them. Corsets, silk, lace, leather… Matt couldn’t remember one that wasn’t a blatant statement of sexuality.

  Running his hands briskly over his limbs, soap streaming off under the shower’s spray, Matt started to rethink his idea. The idea of Claire’s slim legs encased in silk stockings made him groan. He hoped fervently that Jen wouldn’t take Claire too far into the fetish wear. The images of her in spandex straps covering only the most important parts, or slinky satin that would flirt with the curve of her breasts or a peekaboo style of lace were nearly driving him to distraction. With the suds on his hand, he stroked slowly over his stiff dick. The contact felt good, as usual, but he knew what was missing.

  Their make out session on the beach had left him wanting her again. He’d felt the warmth of her pussy grinding against him and that was what his cock now craved. He hadn’t lived like a monk for the ten years, but it had been a little while since he’d slept with anyone. The thought of being with Claire got him hard. The mental image of her in something skimpy made him harder, and he thrust into his fist more fervently, his other hand braced on the shower wall. His climax hit him with a fury, though, as he imagined her ankles bound with a coil of deep sapphire rope.

  Matt let his head tip back as his dick jerked in his fingers and the spill of cum flowed down the drain. He rinsed the remainder of the soap briskly, breathing heavily and hoping the fantasies would stay there in the shower and leave him in peace.

  Chapter Eleven

  Claire looked over at the display as the text message notification chimed at her that afternoon.

  See you in fifteen.

  Matt was on his way. She sighed, staring at the website she’d updated with her new schedule. Staying the additional day could have been problematic if she had any appointments to show the condo, but that would have required that she have them. At this point, she had none. Not one all week. As it stood, she’d already checked out of her room to avoid any additional charges to her account. The drive back to Chicago after the party would be late, but she couldn’t justify the additional expense of staying another night. Luckily, the hotel had a small eating area and café that had allowed her to work in peace on the quiet Saturday.

  Claire put her laptop in its case. Matt would likely insist on driving, so Claire carried her wardrobe out to the flashy little sports car she’d rented for the week. After stowing it all carefully in the trunk and returning to the hotel lobby, she settled on the bench Matt had reclined on the previous day. He entered shortly, his head bent to his phone. She smiled and stood, sure she was going to see a message from him any second. Her phone dinged as she stopped him in his tracks. He looked up and smiled as she made a show of pulling the phone from her purse and checked her message.

  “Yeah, okay.” He chuckled. “You know I’m here.” He turned, tilting his head to the door. “Ready to go?”

  “Sure,” Claire said, both thrilled and dismayed at the return of the warm glow she got whenever Matt was near. He cupped a hand under her elbow as they walked, a gesture that both scared and soothed her.

  Settled in the truck beside him, Claire felt the conflict inside her increase. She furrowed her brow, wondering why the emotions that should be simple felt so jumbled. She liked Matt. That much she knew. Her body definitely wanted to be near his again, and she liked the feeling of his lips and hands on her skin. Among the contented, yearning feelings, though, she also felt a pit open inside her. As they drove out toward the neighborhood Jen and David lived in, Claire had to admit the fear she felt and the loss she knew would linger when she left.

  “Jen is really looking forward to meeting you.”

  The statement, the first since they’d started the short journey, took Claire’s attention back to the man at the wheel. “She’s met me already,” Claire recalled. “Holidays and stuff, before we graduated.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I told her. She insists she doesn’t really know you, though. We were just kids then.”

  Claire smiled. “I always forget. David’s so much older. How old was their son when I met them?”

  Matt blew out a breath. “Gosh, Noah would have been…what? Nine? Maybe ten that year?” He shook his head. “The kid’s off at college now, out in California.”

  Claire exhaled her own sigh. “Time sure does fly.”

  “It sure does.” Matt’s tone was wistful, making Claire’s heart ache as she realized he wasn’t speaking of his nephew.

  They pulled into the driveway of a pretty, modern house, surrounded by similar designs in a cookie-cutter neighborhood. Claire looked over at Matt’s quiet ‘harrumph’.

  “Gets to you, doesn’t it?” she asked.

  He smiled. “A little. I don’t like the idea that developers are buying up the area to turn it into this.”

  “I know what you mean. The old neighborhoods had character. The houses were all different, and they all felt like a home. This is…” Claire trailed off, recalling the feeling of sameness and tedium that the condos and apartments made her feel.

  “Boring.” Matt finished her thought, using the same word she’d been thinking.

  The front door opened before they were entirely out of the truck, and Jen came out to greet them. “Claire! It’s so nice to see you again!”

  Once again Claire was taken aback by the easy hug she received from the older woman. Jen continued on to hug Matt then direct him to the den where David was watching a sports game of some kind.

  “Lets us girls go have some fun, shall we?” Jen grinned at Claire, hooking an arm through hers and leading her into the house.

  Claire eyed her with a teasing dread as they passed an arch leading to the kitchen. “Should I be scared?”

  “Only a little.” The comment came from Matt as he closed the refrigerator, holding a soda. “Jen’s a steamroller, but she won’t steer you wrong.”

  “Hey!” Jen interjected. “I don’t steam roll. I nudge. Heavily.” The three shared a laugh and Jen invited Claire upstairs to the studio space.

  Claire sat on a large cushion as directed by the older woman. The large upper room had been transformed from a bedroom to a photography studio, complete with backdrops and furnishings for portraits. Watching Jen flip through racks she had pulled from the closet that held outfits from slinky to scary, Claire tried to stay calm. “So you guys have been there a lot?”

  Jen smiled, pulling out a black catsuit in a shiny rubbery material. “Not so much lately.” Claire picked up on a slight hitch in Jen’s voice, but she didn’t want to interrupt. “I love when someone gets to experience the Sanctuary for the first time, though. I got Marcy all dressed up for her first time too.”

  “I’m sure it’ll be unforgettable,” Claire observed. “The thought of people I knew back in school getting their freak on is a little�
�scary?” She and Jen shared another laugh. “I mean, I haven’t been to any real kink parties, but the idea of seeing Kayla strapped to a cross or Evie getting tied up or something just completely throws me for a loop.”

  This time Jen’s laugh was harder and lasted far longer, confusing Claire. “What did I say?”

  “Oh, honey,” Jen wiped her watering eyes. “You just picked the perfect people for those examples.” Once she composed herself, Jen explained, “Kayla and Evie are both Tops.”

  “Oh!” Claire hardly felt versed in BDSM, but she was pretty sure she understood that concept. “So they would be more likely to do those things to someone else, huh? Like…” Claire thought for a moment. “Oh, Taryn, right? And Marcy? But, wait. Does that mean Chas…?”

  Jen nodded, pulling another outfit from the rack and smoothing the marabou feathers on its collar. “Taryn and Marcy, yes. Chas, though, is a little different. He and Kayla have a fun arrangement, or so I’ve seen.” Turning to Claire, Jen gave her an assessing look. “What about you?”

  Claire lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “I think I’m just going to watch. I don’t know much about it.”

  Jen smiled. “Good. That’s the perfect way to go into it.” She handed Claire a pile of items. “So, what do you think?”

  Looking down at the options, Claire thought hard. She hated to turn them all down, but each one scared her more than the last, leaving precious bits of skin bare. “Well, none of these really seem like me. Maybe if I knew what sort of event it is?”

  “Sure. It’s a collaring ceremony, which can be sort of a big deal. It’s a little more private than the last one I attended, invite only, so I understand there will only be about thirty people there, and those I’ve talked to are less inclined to very flashy or risqué outfits.” Jen tapped her finger on her cheek. “Actually, I might have just the thing.”