Independence: #4 Hayley

by Karen Nichols

  “I…I have spent my adult years in school. Working…working on my degree and then working as an apprentice to my uncle to make sure I was doing things right. I have never…this isn’t the kind of place…” she hissed out, clamping her mouth shut and trying to glue her feet to the floor. It didn’t work. He lifted her and positioned her in the center of the large aisle.

  “This is a good place. A nice place with high class and great things for playing.” Dane moved to one side, his hand sliding beneath her jacket to the seat of her jeans. “You came to the club to play, Hayley. This is part of it. All of this is part of having an open mind and not judging the choices of others. And not giving a fuck if someone choses to judge you. We get a great deal of pleasure out of dressing you…”

  “And undressing you,” Jack murmured from the other side. “I visited another shop near here on one of our exploring trips over eight months back. This is new and Claire designs clothing and oils and lotions.”

  “I’m going to get a few other things,” Dane said, glancing pointedly at Jack. “Start gathering clothes and I’ll meet you in the try on area.”

  “Done,” Jack took her hand and he began leading her among the low racks of selections. “See anything you like?”

  “I’m allowed to speak?”

  Jack only lifted a brow. “You really want to chalk up those swats, don’t you? It’s a little like you said, Hayley. Dane and I have different personalities,” he commented casually as they roamed the racks, things on hangers pulled free and handed to her. “Make sure I have your size. I guessed. But I only brook so much mouth after a warning. I still think it’s cute that you fight it, but it gets you a little deeper each time. The sarcasm in the tone…not a good thing, pet.”

  “I’ve never been in a place like this before,” she said after taking a deep breath and swallowing hard. She hastily checked the size on the narrow red…skirt? Her ass cheeks wouldn’t even…oh god…she swayed and put the skirt back, meeting his gaze when his hand came up. “I’m a little bigger than that guess. An eleven or twelve.”

  “Alright,” Jack waited while she found the correct size and continued on.

  After five more hangers made it into her hands she sighed. “I see a theme.”

  “You’ll look good in red, trust us,” Jack remarked.

  She held several very mini-dresses in a variety of material and styles; two skirts and some kind of tops that she was positive she’d have to become a contortionist to get into, let alone out of. A lacy pair of boy type shorts, a bustier that zipped, one that tied and another that had snaps. She gaped at one – dress? – he handed her and then she gaped at him.

  “There’s no…” she looked at the back again and then at the straps down the back and front that held the garters. “There’s no…”

  “You’ve got a gorgeous ass, Hayley…it’ll be nice framed in the red,” Jack shrugged. “For a little while, at least. Consider yourself art and we’re framing you for display.”

  “Why do you like it? The display thing?” She asked softly, lost in curiosity.

  He stopped running his hand over a collection of black and red lace corsets and met her gaze.

  “At first I didn’t. I thought it was invasive and…voyeuristic. I didn’t start out this way, Hayley,” he grinned and put his fingers around her chin. He lowered his head, their lips brushing once and once again before he took a long, deep kiss that made her gasp for breath when he lifted his head. “Then I discovered how erotic it all was. How much it heightened the pleasures that came at the end and spread. It’s not like vanilla sex. The pleasure begins and maybe, if it’s done right, it’s always there between us. The tension and pleasure flows around you like a current. And that’s another part of the club play: the energy playing off everyone there, builds and bounces around. And if we do our part correctly,” his thumb rubbed over her lower lip before kissing her again. “You don’t even notice where you are. All you do is feel, Hayley.”

  She couldn’t argue with him on that. When either of them kissed her, the world outside seemed to disappear and that had never happened to her before. She was still trying to decide if she liked that or if it was too frightening to pursue. Then she realized his hand had moved to her nipple, stroking it until it thrust forward, demanding more. She jerked back before thinking, gasping and looking to see if anyone had been watching them.

  “Time to try things on, pet,” Jack shook his head and took her hand, leading her to the area designated as the demo room. Mirrors adorned the walls and the lights were bright. There were a few chairs, one occupied by an older man watching a woman turn at his direction before she stripped and worked a bustier over her amble breasts.

  “I…Jack…”

  “Off with the shoes, jeans and t-shirt, Hayley.” Jack took the collection of hangers and hooked them on one of the handy racks. Then he sat down, stretching his legs out and raising his hands to cup his head. “Now, Hayley.”

  She knew it was the tone that made her jump, made her feet toe off her sneakers. She cast a quick glance at the other people in the shop; the man looked her way and went back to studying the woman changing outfits. The woman looked at her and she saw the small smile and maybe a little understanding.

  A yelp broke free when a sharp palm came across her behind, forcing her focus.

  “Focus is an apparent problem,” Dane commented, leaning against the arched, open doorway. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Nice selection. The other things are waiting at the desk for us.”

  “You said…” she dropped her voice even as her fingers worked the zipper of her jeans down. “That you didn’t want a slave.”

  “You’re not a slave,” Jack looked at her, surprised at her words. “We told you we’re Dominants. We like compliance. Especially when you’re being unreasonably stubborn. Shirt, next, Hayley. Then start trying these things on.”

  “You have me stripping in public!” She hissed, yanking the t-shirt over her head and throwing it to the floor. “How is that reasonable?”

  “This isn’t public. It’s a try-on area. Notice the other women trying on clothing?” Dane lifted one of the pieces of red material from the rack and handed it to her along with what looked like a skirt. “We’re allowing you your underwear,” he reminded her as if it were perfectly logical to him.

  She groaned and pulled the vest into place, glaring down at the hands that came out to help her fasten the loops. Most of her bra showed…and most of her showed. And neither of them did a thing to lower their voices when they spoke. How long would it take before she accepted it was a losing battle?

  Hayley stood gaping at herself in the mirrors. Each new outfit was more revealing. And if it wasn’t, she had two sets of very male hands adjusting things until her cheeks were almost as red as the clothing they were dressing her in.

  “I am not a Barbie doll!” She gasped as Jack’s hands stretched the elastic of the very short, frilly skirt lower on her hips. Her mouth clamped shut the next instant to avoid screaming in the shop when a strong open palm slapped across her ass. “Sorry, sorry, sorry!”

  “Stand still and don’t move,” Jack ordered flatly.

  And she thought he was the easy going one.

  “Looks good,” Dane nodded. “Strip, Hayley.”

  She sighed. She was a Barbie doll.

  Dane handed her the last piece…a dress? Her chest stuck out the top and her ass out the bottom. She tugged at the hem until the voice bit through the silence in the store.

  “Freeze, Hayley,” Dane moved forward, one hand taking a firm grip on her ponytail and lifting until her eyes were wide and she balanced on her toes. His other hand had wrapped around her middle, holding her arms in place. “First…bound hair only when we’re tying you up or you’re cooking, clear?” When she tried to nod he put his mouth next to her ear. “Verbal response, sub. Always verbal.”

  “Yes, Sir. Clear, Sir,” she answered instantly, feeling the floor beneath her feet again when he released her hair.
And he’d taken the thick cloth elastic band with his fingers. Long, partially dry hair tumbled around her face, shoulders and back. Since the dress began just at her breasts, the hair added a nice cover. But not for long.

  “Second…stand still and don’t move unless we tell you to,” Dane slowly opened his arm and stepped back. “Do not pull at the bottom of the dress. It’s where it’s supposed to be.”

  “But…”

  “And it’s a damn nice butt,” Jack responded with a chuckle. “I like it. Add it to the pile…she does look good in red.”

  Hayley slowly removed the dress and wandered to the opening of the try-on area. She hardly noticed that she was wearing just a little more than a bikini. But she liked that dress. It looked like nothing more than glossy spider webs all linked together somehow and it sparkled. She walked over and ran her hand over it. She thought it would be scratchy, but it was almost invisible, it was that soft and supple.

  Dane nudged Jack, both men watching Hayley.

  “I’ll ask Claire if she has one in red or can get one,” Jack said easily, collecting the things and carrying them to the counter.

  “Hayley?” Dane waited until she was back, handing her the t-shirt and jeans. “Ready to go?”

  “Oh, sure,” she answered, dressing quickly.

  “There’s a sports store next door down, Hayley,” Dane said as she was working the jeans up her legs. He met the startled look in her eyes that changed to a bright smile.

  “I could use a new pair of runners,” she answered with a little nod. “And I always need new shorts and tops.”

  “You can go over there while we finish up here,” he suggested, surprise on his face when she came up to him and framed his face with her hands. His mouth had barely opened when she kissed him and danced away with a nod. “We’ll be over in a few.”

  “Should I ask?” Jack waited for the total, the clothing and toys bundled and bagged.

  “Running shoes and clothes,” Dane said, his hands in his pockets. He stood staring at the door. “She’s not what I expected.”

  “No kidding…and you’re just figuring that out?” Jack shook his head, signed the receipt and shoved one of the bags at Dane. “Here. Make yourself useful.”

  Hayley tapped in the code for her debit card when she looked up to see them striding into the store.

  “Wow…nice eye candy,” the girl behind the counter remarked with a little growl.

  “Yeah…they sure are.” Hayley slid her card back into the wallet and watched the girl fold the shorts and top she’d bought before putting them into the bag with her new shoes. She felt the hand on her hip and leaned toward it. Jack, she thought at the familiar scent seconds before his lips brushed her temple.

  “Found what you were after?”

  “New shoes,” she said with a grin, her body freezing when his hand slid free and Dane’s came from the other side. “So we can run in the morning.”

  “You’re both nuts. I’ll sleep in,” Jack took the bag and offered a grin at the girl staring at them. “Ready to go home?”

  “Yes,” Hayley murmured, unsure if she should be embarrassed or triumphant at the expression on the younger woman’s face.

  “Good. We have time for dinner before getting ready for tonight.”

  “Why did you do that?” But there wasn’t anger or embarrassment in her voice as she climbed into the back seat of the truck. Confusion etched her features, her gaze going from one to the other.

  Dane looked over at Jack. “Do what, Hayley? Come inside for you?”

  “I…no, no, of course not…” She scowled at the both. “That girl…the sales girl…looked at you both like…”

  “You don’t think we notice that?” Jack asked, his head shaking. “Some guys are like girls, Hayley, we like to be appreciated for more than our…muscles.”

  She thought about their conversations. About how they’d started their construction company and wanted better than just cheap in the buildings and tons of money in their bank accounts. About how it had taken a few years to find the right clients and the work they did in the meantime to keep eating. Yes, they had more than just their looks going for them. A lot more. And for some reason, they wanted to share it with her.

  Friends. And more.

  Heat flushed through her and she turned to look out the window as they rode through the streets and onto the highway. “It’s not far from the ranch…maybe twenty minutes down the highway.”

  “Did you need something from your place, Hayley?” Jack asked, meeting the gaze she turned from the window.

  “Oh, no…just thinking it wasn’t that far. Not by this area standards, at least,” she told him with a smile.

  “Claire included the hangers, so you can just remove all the tags and hang them in the closet.” Dane caught her gaze in the mirror and winked at her.

  “I can put groceries away,” she volunteered.

  “Jack’s pretty particular about his kitchen,” Dane warned after a little bit of a frosty silence.

  “Jack is organized, not particular,” came the prickly response.

  “I’ll open the cabinets and match things up,” she said with a laugh at Jack’s sarcastic tone.

  “A smart man doesn’t argue with help,” Jack returned with a grin at her. “Especially pretty help. We’ll haul for you. Leave the lunch stuff out and we’ll have big sandwiches.”

  “Good. I’m hungry,” Hayley decided she liked the idea and loved their kitchen. “You know the owner of the shop, don’t you?”

  “You might, too, Hayley,” Dane told her, snapping his belt open as they pulled before the house. “I don’t know how many people you know that go to the club, but I know Claire is a friend of Dianna’s and Bailey.”

  “The Helping Hands shelter,” she said softly, her head nodding. “I know Claire. I didn’t see her…she must be swamped with only a few days left before Christmas.”

  “She was bouncing between her office and customers while you were changing,” Jack told her. “Some things she hadn’t ordered were on the road…somewhere…and she was trying to locate them. She said she’d catch up with you tonight at the club.”

  Hayley swallowed hard. “Claire goes to the club?”

  “Hyperventilating,” Dane said softly, bringing his palm down sharply on her thigh. Her eyes went wide and her mouth opened seconds before it slammed shut. “Hayley, we have to deal with this thing about people uncovering your little secrets. It won’t make either of us terribly happy to scoop you off the floor if you pass you.”

  “I don’t know how,” she answered honestly when he stepped onto the concrete and waited for her to join him. Jack had the back of the truck open and was hauling bags to the front porch.

  “Let’s start with what are you afraid they’ll do to you? You’re over twenty-one.” Jack tapped in numbers to the key pad and then disarmed the alarm on the inside. He blocked the door wide and carried a load of bags to the counter in the kitchen. He stared for a long minute at his neatly arranged kitchen and hoped he knew what he was doing. It was one thing to have an OCD attack in front of your best friend, a completely different matter to let the girl you’re considering wooing to see you lose control over a misplaced box of cookies.

  He winced. He was an adult and could deal with someone else in his kitchen.

  “Jack?” Hayley came up behind him, the bags she carried set on the counter next to his. She placed a hand on his arm and offered a little smile. “I think I’m the same way when I let my uncle or Conner use my examining room. I used to spend hours worrying they’d put things in all the wrong places and I’d freak when I needed something and couldn’t immediately put my hands on it.”

  If he was still considering his decision to try, a bit of it slipped past consider when he looked down into a pair of doe-soft eyes.

  “I won’t…and if I don’t know, I’ll ask, okay?”

  Jack hadn’t moved or spoken when she went to her toes and kissed his cheek before returning to the truc
k for more bags.

  “I think she has you pegged,” Dane commented with a crinkle of plastic as his bags joined the others. It had been a few weeks since they actually did more than just ‘pick up a few things’ and the cabinets were fairly bare. No excuse, he thought, just other things to do than shop. “Maybe we should take our own advice and hire a part time housekeeper. We can make a list and they could shop for us when we’re too busy. Three people living and working together, need all the help they can get, especially if they’re as involved as we are.”

  “This is the last of it,” Hayley said, the door closing behind her. She shivered as the warmth caught up with her body. “Winter…” she stood near the counter, the bags in her hands and gazing around. “You don’t have a tree.”

  “Uhh…” Dane raised a brow, looking expectantly at Jack for ideas.

  “We’ve never had one,” Jack answered slowly. “This is the biggest place we’ve ever lived in…we had an apartment back east…but didn’t really spend much time there.”

  “We’d go off to relatives or hide out during the season,” Dane added, wincing when he realized she was staring at them both with confusion and a little sadness. “We’re okay with it, Hayley.”

  “Oh…then that’s a good thing,” she said quietly, setting the bags down and gazing to the hall. “What should I wear tonight?”

  Dane and Jack exchanged looks. “Pick something, Hayley. I’m pretty sure anything out of the collection will do very nicely.”

  “I have to go home for a while,” she said with a little nod, wandering to the back and looking at the packages they’d left on the bed for her. She lifted one and walked with it to the front, her keys dangling as she moved. “Promptly at six,” she said with a quick glance at each of them. When they nodded, she smiled. “Tonight. Thank you.”

  Dane and Jack stared but said nothing until the sound of the truck leaving.

  “The kitchen thing didn’t scare her off,” Dane finally said, emptying bags and leaving the items on the counter.