by Jana Downs
“You won’t. No worries,” Grayson reassured.
The doorbell sounded downstairs.
“I’ll get it,” Mustang said, pushing off the doorframe. He walked into the room and gave Steve a pat on the back. “You can do this, Steven. The club is a safe place for us. Everyone there is either pack, available, or a good friend of the pack. Regardless, you don’t have to worry about exposing us.”
That gave him little comfort. On some level, yes, he was concerned that he would expose them to the world and the Circle would come down on them like flaming hail, but on the other, more immediate side of things, he was much more concerned about hurting someone. He didn’t want to be a monster.
Mustang gave him one last pat before heading downstairs as the doorbell was hit again.
Steve turned from the mirror. “You know, you BDSM kids have weird tastes in clothing.” If he sweated at all they were going to have to peel his damn pants off his ass.
Gray grinned. “I don’t know, it’s not so bad. I actually enjoy dressing up.”
He hoped Hope wouldn’t take one look at him and think he was a fraud. He’d been telling the truth when he’d said BDSM wasn’t his thing. He’d been curious about it before but never took the time to test it out. After what had happened with the other wolves, he wasn’t sure if he could attempt to try something like that without losing his mind.
“You smell worried.”
“Hush you,” he said. “I’m nervous but I’m not close to losing it.”
Grayson smirked. “I think Hope will settle you.”
Steve couldn’t help but agree. Fortunately or unfortunately, he felt like he could quickly become addicted to the way Hope calmed everything in him. Whether it was from the fact that they were mates or the fact that Hope understood him better than anyone else, he didn’t know. Whatever the reason, he was glad something finally made his wolf settle into his skin.
He hadn’t even shifted into his feral form once since the full moon without willing it. It was a miracle that he had no intention of letting slip through his fingers.
After pushing his feet into his new pair of black boots, his outfit was complete. A final glance in the mirror was still odd but good enough that he was pretty confident that his date would think he was a good catch. He had no intention of being all cutesy submissive at the club though. He was going to walk into that place with his head held high and a swagger in his step. This world might have broken him in the beginning, but he was going to show them he didn’t need to get tied up and fucked to understand his own worth.
Grayson patted his back, and then he was on his way. He headed down the hallway and then the stairs beyond. About halfway down the steps he caught sight of Mustang and Hope in the living room, Mustang in his La-Z-Boy with his feet up and Hope sitting on the adjoining couch. They chatted casually as they waited on him.
“Speak of the devil,” Hope said, raising his head to meet his gaze. He pushed himself to his feet. “Hello, love.”
“Hi,” Steve said. “Sorry I made you wait. You ready to get going?”
“You didn’t make me late long. I’m actually late anyway, so no worries.” Hope extended his hand, and Steve blinked as he took in the bouquet of flowers he held out. No one had ever gotten him flowers before.
He took them from Hope’s hands. “They’re cool.” The blossoms were blue and yellow with little white pops randomly throughout. “I like all the colors.”
Hope laughed, the sound sexy as hell. “You’re not used to getting flowers, huh?”
Steve chuckled with him. “Uh, no. I’m usually the one dropping them off. I’ve always been bi but I’ve never dated a dude.”
“Some guys don’t do flowers,” Hope admitted. “I just like them.”
Steve filed that away for future gifts. When he got a job, he was going to buy Hope a big ole bouquet of roses with little white puffs throughout.
“I’ll stash these in my room, and then we can go.” Steve brought them to his face to smell. Their scent was faint, perfect for his sensitive nose. “They’re really perfect. Thank you.”
Hope beamed. “Glad you like them.”
“Hey, Steven,” Mustang said from his chair. “If all goes well this weekend, you’ll start your internship with Hope at the clinic next week. I’m signing you up for the Circle’s online classes tonight for your vet tech degree. Whatever you can’t learn online you’ll learn with Hope on the ground. I don’t think I’ll have any problem getting the approval.”
Shock blossomed into surprise and then instantaneous joy. “Seriously?”
Mustang nodded. “If you want to. It’s all in your court.”
“Awesome!”
The Alpha laughed. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
* * * *
Riders was crowded when they arrived, but Steve didn’t seem the least bit bothered by the growing numbers of familiar faces they encountered in the line to get into the club. Hope kept a close eye on him and, despite how well things went, he breathed a sigh of relief when they were ushered through the doors and into the dark space of the club.
The lighting had been turned down, so the smoky, sexy interior seemed even more so. Along with the pulsing base and the display on the main stage, a boy in chains took the loving lashing his Dom administered with the kiss of a crop with a heart-shaped end.
“Is he all right?” Steve asked, leaning hard into his side.
“He’s fine. He even asked for this,” Hope reassured. Damn. He hadn’t thought the displays would rile him up. “If this is too much for you, we can skip it entirely and go somewhere else. I don’t mind.”
Steve took a deep breath. “Nah. I’m fine. I’ve seen worse in pornos. It’s just… I don’t know. In person it’s different.”
Slowly, Hope nodded. “All right. If anything bothers you, just let me know.”
“I will.”
He took Hope’s hand and gently pulled him through the crowd toward the back rooms where they did the demos and where the private rooms were at, the ones the club allowed to be rented out by the members. The ones that Hope sincerely wanted to take Steve to someday.
The bouncer at the entrance to the private rooms checked the list to ensure they had a pass to the exhibition and then ushered the two of them toward exhibit room three. They were running a little late, so the warning to hurry along wasn’t unexpected.
He pushed open the door to room three and the two of them slipped in behind the crowd of people accumulating near the raised platform where presenters usually did their thing. Steve stayed glued to his side, and the telltale smell of fear wafted up over the scent of sweat and people in the space.
He met Steve’s gaze. “Are you all right?”
Steve nodded, but he was starting to tremble. “There are a lot of wolves in here.”
Hope raised his hand and placed it on the back of Steve’s neck. “Settle down, love. None of them will hurt you. I promise.”
“What if—”
“No ‘what ifs.’ They’re family. We would protect you with our lives.” He knew every wolf in the place, and none of them would dare make an untoward move. The wolves from the other pack were still reluctant to come to Riders, so only a few of them hung out here and none of them typically signed up for the extras that Riders offered.
“I don’t trust them.”
“You trust me,” Hope said. “I won’t let you down.” He leaned down and pressed his lips to Steve’s. “Let me take control for a little while, huh?” It took every bit of self-control he possessed not to just take control of the situation and force Steve to accept his dominance. However, consent was something that had been stolen from Steve before. Hope knew he needed it to feel secure again.
Steve took a deep breath. “I don’t know if I can.”
“Will you try?”
“I’ll try,” Steve said, nibbling his bottom lip.
Hope let out the breath he hadn’t been aware until that moment he was holding. “Good boy.” He pau
sed. “Steve?”
“Yeah?”
“I talked to another of the captives you were housed with recently. He said you took a lot for them. What did you take?”
Steve shuddered, muscles bunching again as irritation rose.
“You don’t have to tell me if it’s too painful,” he hurried to say. He didn’t want to send Steve back into panic mode.
The muscles slowly relaxed as Steve took another deep breath. “I took a lot of punishments for them. Some of them couldn’t take it. I couldn’t take watching them suffer. It was a win win.” “Jesus,” Hope whispered. “Baby—”
A booming Scottish voice interrupted whatever else Hope had been planning on saying next. “Ladies and gents, if you’re here for sex and submission demo, you’re in the right place. If you’re not, get your butt out of the room because you’re in the wrong place. The rest of you, please take your seats and we’ll get started.”
His mate leaned up and pressed a kiss to his throat. “It’s okay, man. I don’t want to think about it though, okay?”
Hope twined their hands. “Okay. If you get uncomfortable or think you need a break, just say the word and we’ll take a step out.”
Steve looked relieved at the promise of a reprieve if he needed it. He made a mental note to sit in the back in case Steve needed a quick escape.
Some shuffling and a few “hellos” to a few pack members later, they were settled on the back row of chairs that had been lined up in front of the platform. Rich Davis really didn’t need the platform at six foot four and nearly three hundred pounds of pure muscle, but he jumped up on it nonetheless.
“I see a few familiar faces in the crowd but I see a few unfamiliar ones as well so I’ll go ahead and give introductions while my assistant Drew finishes getting ready. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Rich Davis. I’m an Omega who works exclusively for our governing body and have been doing demonstrations for around eleven years, give or take a few months. I’m not an official member of the pack, but I’ll be staying here courtesy of your Alpha until my next assignment, wherever that may be. So if you have any questions, just let me know.” He crossed the stage and picked up a water bottle that was sitting in a high bar chair.
“The thing most people who are new to the lifestyle or who enjoy being with someone who enjoys pain and restraint don’t realize is there is a compromise to be had if you don’t want all the strings that are associated with the lifestyle. They might not even be aware that BDSM relationships can be both twenty-four-seven and without all the bells and whistles that characterize a lot of the more dramatic elements that the typical person associates with a twenty-four-seven relationship.”
“Twenty-four-seven?” Steve whispered in Hope’s ear.
“Someone who never stops being in their chosen roles. Like when Grayson still calls Mustang ‘Sir’ or ‘Master’ whenever they’re not actively in a scene,” Hope explained.
“Sometimes,” Rich continued, “the most sensual, sexual, and satisfying submission can come from a submissive who doesn’t do anything but follow the commands meted out by his or her Dominant. Whether it’s to not remove their hands from the headboard or to serve you a drink while sitting on your lap, the actions can be quite fulfilling.”
The door behind them opened up and a small man stepped through the door. Hope recognized him instantly. It was one of the availables who volunteered at the club, Drew Breede. Hope didn’t know him from the club per se. He often shopped at Drew’s candle shop in the mall. The man had a way with candles that made them smell great and last forever.
His blond head bowed in submission, he walked the path between the rows to the stage. He gave Rich a sheepish smile. “Sorry for being late, Sir.”
“No problem, sweet lad,” Rich all but purred. Even Hope had to admit that the big enforcer with his accent was hot. “Come stand up here and assume position one for me.”
Drew stepped up and spread his thighs wide, tucking his arms behind his back.
Rich gave him a generous caress. “Hm, good boy.”
Hope watched Steve’s expression and saw a healthy bit of interest in those deep, chocolate eyes of his. Lust perfumed the air as the demo continued. The sweet scent gave him hope for what the rest of the night would hold for them.
* * * *
Steve was so hard he was going to burst the zipper on his leathers as the submissive on the stage came against Rich’s thigh with a groan of release and a look of absolute adoration. The chemistry between them was palpable as Rich growled and gave Drew a final kiss.
The audience erupted into a resounding applause, making Steve shift in his seat as he realized the rest of the people were still in the room. Hope’s deep chuckle beside him told Steve his focus hadn’t gone unnoticed. His mate put his hand on his thigh, “accidently” brushing the underside of his cock where it was positioned in his leathers.
Steve bit his tongue to keep from groaning.
Rich broke his kiss on stage and looked at the assembled crowd. “That’s pretty much it, folks. If you have any questions, I’ll be available for a few minutes after we break up. However, I’ll most likely be unavailable most of the night, so if you have any more after that, leave a question in the box outside this room and I’ll e-mail you answers.”
Hope leaned down and pressed his lips to the shell of Steve’s ear. “You want to go out into the main room and dance?”
Steve shivered. “No. I need to sex.” Not proper English but okay.
The show had taken what he’d known about BDSM and completely turned it on its head. Their interaction hadn’t been about barked orders or ass beatings or anything else other than pleasure and serving the kinks and needs of each partner. Even though Rich had been in charge, there had been a service done for Drew as well.
“Hm, liked the demo did you?” Hope asked.
Steve nodded. “I didn’t think it could be like that.” His introduction to their world hadn’t been good. Maybe it could be something he could get behind.
Hope pushed himself to his feet and readjusted his hard dick. “Would you like to grab a cup of coffee?”
“Sex?”
“Come back to earth, Steve. We’ve talked about sex before,” Hope reminded.
Yeah, well, his dick didn’t quite understand or care about the message. He let Hope pull him to his feet and couldn’t resist leaning into him. Pressed against his mate from head to toe, he didn’t see anything wrong with committing to being his sex slave.
Steve breathed out from between his teeth. “I know. Let’s go. This place smells like sex.” His dick couldn’t take any more. Maybe he could grab some “me time” in the bathroom before he was subjected to more of Hope’s delicious smell and alluring bonding time.
“Steve,” Hope said. “Hope to Steve.” He waved his hand in front of Steve’s face.
Steve blinked. “What’s wrong?”
His mate chuckled. “I’ve said your name four times. If you want to go, we should go.”
His mind was so in the gutter at this point he wasn’t sure where he could go anywhere. He felt drunk on Hope’s scent.
Hope frowned. “Steve?”
“Which way?” He mentally shook himself. What was wrong with him? He felt all foggy.
Hope grabbed his wrist and tugged him toward the door. The crowd parted for them like they knew exactly how he was feeling and was giving him wide berth.
“Where are we going?”
Hope ignored him.
They stepped back into the hallway and then took the path back to the bouncer keeping watch at the entrance to the private spaces.
“What’s up, Hope?” he asked.
“I need a private room if there is one available, Tanner,” Hope said. “The soft room, if you have it.”
Tanner chuckled. “That’s not a popular room, Hope. You can have it for the next half hour. That work?”
Hope nodded.
“Great. I’ll knock when your time is up.”
H
e dragged Steve toward yet another room in the private hallway. With a few strokes of his hand, Hope plugged in a number at the keypad by the door.
“After we go in, only one of the bouncers or us can unlock the door. You have to decide, Steve, are you ready?”
Steve didn’t even have to think about it. “Yes, Hope. Jesus. Let’s go.” The idea of a joint quickie went to his head faster than a fifth of whisky and a beer bong at a frat party on Saturday night.
“All right.” He pressed the enter button, and the locks audibly popped, the door opening an inch to show that it had indeed unlatched. He motioned toward the door. “In.”
Steve stepped in front of him and then pushed the entrance wider so he could step inside.
The room was pure pleasure wrapped in a soft, flexible cotton. The walls looked like they were padded in some sort of supple cloth, and the long table with straps on it was equally padded as well. It looked comfortable as all get-out. And also nothing like the torture chamber he’d come to associate with BDSM.
“Will you obey me like Drew obeyed Rich, Steve?” Hope asked from somewhere behind him.
The answer was surprisingly easy to give. “Yes. I’ll obey you, Hope.” He wasn’t going to call him “Sir” or “Master” or any of that nonsense, but the type of obedience he’d seen in the other room, he could definitely get behind.
“Good boy.”
Steve beelined toward the risen padded platform, stripping as he went. Without preamble he hopped up onto the bed. Everything in him settled as his wolf swamped his senses, washing over him in a comforting blanket. This was exactly where he was meant to be.
“Grip the straps above your head, Steve,” Hope commanded. “I’m right here with you.”
“Sex?” His wolf bristled at the thought of Hope denying him this moment. They needed to mate, to join in a fundamental way that declared to the entire pack that their bond was sacred and unbreakable.
Whoa. Slow down, doggy. All the “sacred” and “unbreakable” talk sounded a lot like love to him.
“Yes, love. Soon. Playtime first.”