by Lexi Blake
What would she look like in a couple of weeks? Maybe look wasn’t the right word. Feel. How would she feel? About herself. About her sexuality. About her future. Would she even want to come back to Sanctum?
“Hey?”
She shook off the emotion. She couldn’t do that here and now. Nope. When she played, when whatever Dom they selected for her slapped her ass silly, then she could let herself cry. “Sorry, I spaced for a moment.”
Kori stared at her as though trying to figure out how to handle the situation. “Are you sure you’re okay? I heard you’re talking to Jared again. He’s making that documentary. I was surprised you were willing to discuss that time on camera.”
“Because I’m so shy and retiring?” Those were not words she would use to describe herself. She was the woman who dressed up for pretty much everything. Dinner date? Sarah Stevens showed up in full-on pinup mode, complete with perfectly done hair and five-inch stilettos. If you came by her place for brunch, you would find her in a peignoir set with kitten heels, like she woke up in a Doris Day film. “Come on. I’ve been waiting for this my whole life. I’ve already picked out my wardrobe and the makeup.”
Because in some ways it would be her armor.
“No, because you don’t like to talk about it at all.”
She sighed. “Just because I didn’t want to sit on the shrink couch doesn’t mean I’m unwilling to talk. I think it might be good for me to get it all out.”
A purge of her system and then a complete reboot. Then she would have to figure out what to do with the rest of her life.
“He’s totally worried about drones,” Serena was complaining. “Like Ian could have put tiny drones in the flowers and they’ll attack the office soon. I think it was just flowers. I think Ian was trying to be nice since it’s been six months since they moved in.”
“Or Ian’s being a total ass,” Eve replied.
Yeah, it was probably the latter. Sarah pulled out her clothes for the night. Ruby corset, check. Tiny thong, check. Sky-high heels and thigh-high hose, check and check.
What would Jared do if she showed up like that for her interview? He’d told her it would be an intimate interview, just the two of them and his camera. He was doing his own lighting.
Would he give up the icky love stuff and agree to simply do her?
“I’m glad you’re talking to him,” Kori said. “I think you’ll find out he’s changed a lot. I was surprised at how much. He’s more centered than he was before. I think he knows what he wants now. He’s ready to settle down. You know the last time we had dinner with him he was even talking about his biological clock. I have no idea why, but he wants kids. I tried to explain that there are lots of dogs out there, and they poop outside.”
Sarah swallowed down the bile that threatened to rise. Nope. She wasn’t going there. “Good for Jared. I think I’m going the same route you and Kai did. It’s puppies for me. Two. Two pretty Akitas, and I already have names for them.”
She shimmied out of her scrub pants. She wasn’t worried that she was totally naked in front of a bunch of women who were still debating whether or not a bouquet of flowers could be an agent of evil.
Would she feel the same in two weeks’ time?
A problem for another day. She eased her legs into the thong.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Kori stared at her like she knew she was missing something.
“Of course.” Her bestie had been married to a shrink for way too long. “Tell me about the new guys.”
“I can tell you that for the majority of the weekend, you won’t know who they are unless you’re really good at seeing through masks.”
“Masks?” She certainly wasn’t opposed. She liked the fantasy aspect.
Kori rolled her eyes because despite her job as a screenwriter, she actually wasn’t so much into the fantasy thing. “The whole weekend is supposed to be done in masks and then at midnight on the last night, we take them off and reveal our identities. It’s not so much fun for the married couples, but I think you’ll have a blast.”
“So I probably have sex with this person because I’m really horny and I can pretend I don’t know this dude, and then we get to the end and I find out I slept with Boomer and my spine is suddenly as bad as Liam’s.” It wasn’t that she thought a dude named Boomer was probably not a great lover. He probably was, and maybe he got his name because he made the ladies go boom. But still, it could be awkward.
“Just give it one night.”
One night. How bad could it be? After all, she might never come back after the weekend was over.
One last wild weekend.
Chapter Three
In which rules are put into place…
Jared stared down at the mask he’d been given. It was far bigger than the one he’d worn for years on his TV show. And it wasn’t green. He let his fingers brush over the ornate mask that would cover more than half his face. He’d been working on a deep tone he would have used on the film he’d gotten fired from. She shouldn’t know it was him.
Was he doing the right thing? Or was he tricking her into something she didn’t want?
But she’d been talking to him again. That first conversation, they’d ended up talking for hours. Nothing consequential. They’d talked about her day. He’d talked about the fact that he’d hiked the Solstice Canyon and how beautiful it was. It hadn’t been deep, but it had felt like a fresh start.
It had been like that for almost two months. They’d gotten close. They’d talked almost every day.
Then nothing except professionalism from her.
He couldn’t shake the thought that she was in trouble and she was hiding something. He couldn’t live with himself if he didn’t try.
“I don’t know about this mask stuff,” a deep voice said. “How does it even stay on? And honestly, my face is kind of my moneymaker when it comes to the ladies.”
He turned slightly and two men were at lockers at the end of the row. Two men who looked exactly alike. He knew one of them. Michael Malone worked at McKay-Taggart. But he wasn’t sure which one Michael was because they were absolutely identical.
The one not holding the mask sighed as though they’d been over this a hundred times. “This is going to force the sub to get to know you and not just fall at your feet because you’re too pretty for words. And if you don’t want to play, there’s the door, buddy. Feel free to walk right out. If you decide to stay, you have to follow the rules. Don’t embarrass me.”
The huffy twin—who was definitely Michael—stalked away and he was left staring at a man with a completely familiar look on his face. Jared knew the look because he’d seen it in the mirror about a thousand times. “Brother trouble?”
The dark-haired man with emerald green eyes sighed and put the mask down. He was already in a set of leathers, his broad chest covered in a vest. “Yeah. I thought this could be something we could do together. How stupid is that? Brotherly activities should include golf or watching baseball. When we were growing up, we rode horses together. Now if I want to spend time with my brother, I have to spank ladies.”
He knew this well. “I got started in the lifestyle because my brother was involved, too. How do you actually feel about D/s? If you’re not invested, you might think about not going forward. The subs here are invested in this, even if it’s only for play.”
“I wasn’t saying I didn’t take it seriously. If anything, my brother doesn’t take me seriously.”
He knew how that went, too. “You younger or older?”
Not that he supposed it meant much with twins.
“I’m two minutes older than he is.”
“I’m a couple of years younger than mine and he definitely doesn’t take me seriously. Well, he does now, I guess. What I’m saying is we’re better now. Closer now. I didn’t know Michael had a twin.” He’d met Michael Malone back when he’d been doing research for the movie he hadn’t made. It was sad that he could think of more projects he hadn’t done th
an ones he had to look forward to.
The man held out of a hand. “JT Malone.”
“Jared Ferguson.” He probably should have called himself Master J since he intended to go by the name for the next three days, but somehow he didn’t want to be anyone but himself right now. It was odd since he’d spent so much time running away from Jared John Ferguson, the boy who’d spent most of his life fucking everything up. It was funny how his most horrific fuckup had finally led him back to his family.
“Ferguson? Like Kai?” JT asked.
Jared chuckled at the irony. “Kai’s my brother.”
“Well, it’s good to know I’m not alone.” JT leaned against the locker. “I’m wondering if I should even be here at all. I do like the lifestyle. There’s something easy about it. Everyone puts the rules on the table, and you have to talk about what you need. The talking part sucks. But having a woman tell me flat out what she needs and wants, that is refreshing.”
“If you like the lifestyle, then stay. You never know. You might find that bond you need with your brother. I did. I learned more about my brother by figuring out D/s than I ever would if I’d stayed in the vanilla world.”
A wistful smile crossed his face. “I used to think I knew everything there was to know about my brother. Maybe it’s time I gave him some space. When we got out of college, I thought we would help our father run the family business. He went into the Navy. He didn’t tell me until the night before he left for Great Lakes.”
They had a lot in common. “Mine went Army. Our mom had just passed away and he decided that would be the best way to take care of me. He left me with an aunt and sent back money. I would have done just about anything to have had my brother instead of the money. But we’re good now. He didn’t do it to hurt me, though I do think there was a part of him that wanted out of the situation.”
“I’m pretty sure Michael went into the Navy to get away from me or to get out from under the big old umbrella that came with our name. Our family runs a large oil company. It can be a lot of pressure. I always wanted it. He never did. Now I would give anything to feel like I had a brother at all.” He sighed and stood up, reaching for the mask. “I think I’ll give him some time. But that doesn’t mean I can’t play. I was joking about the mask. The truth is I’m a little intrigued at the idea of what a woman would think of me if she didn’t see this gorgeous face of mine or know what my name is. Maybe I’ll give baby brother a wide berth and start doing this just for me.”
Jared had made that decision a long time ago. “I think that’s a good idea. Let’s go and get the lowdown on how this is supposed to work. You can hang with me. I think you’ll be surprised what happens when you start ignoring your brother. Trust me. I know how to manipulate a hardass.”
“No manipulation.” Big Tag stepped out from behind the row of lockers. He was a massive slab of muscle and looked like he ate nails for breakfast. Jared still mourned the fact that he hadn’t been the one to play Pierce Craig, the character based on Taggart. “No manipulating the other Doms. It’s not manly.”
“It’s also not manipulation if they don’t know we’re doing it.” At least that was how he’d always seen it. “It’s just one dude doing something that might or might not make another dude do something else.”
“I don’t think that’s going to work,” JT whispered, shaking his head.
Ah, but he didn’t understand Pierce Craig, and therefore Ian Taggart. At the heart of that big kickass hero lay the soul of a man who loved to have the world entertain him.
Tag’s lips quirked up. “I like that. We’ll use that on Kai if he figures out how you got him to do your documentary. Yeah, I know exactly what you did. That was a brilliant move, man. Kai came in all upset that someone named Kenny Asswipe—odd name for a shrink—might be on his way and we needed to keep him out of Dallas. He was serious about that. But then I checked and this guy is not on his way to Dallas. He knew nothing about the documentary. So I think you did that thing.”
Jared couldn’t help but grin. “I said a thing. He did a thing. I can’t help it if the thing I said made him do the thing he did.”
Tag pointed his way. “I like you, Johns, but the last season of Dart sucked.”
He couldn’t win them all. “Yes, it did.”
“Do better next time. I liked the dart stuff,” Tag said. “So you two are going to have a beautiful bromance in an attempt to make both your brothers jealous? It feels like a modern rom com. Are you going to do a makeover sequence because my sister-in-law Erin promises me she’s got a soundtrack for that. My youngest brother is very much into manovers. First he talks to whatever sad-sack dude he’s managed to attract, and before you know it they’re crying and eating mint chocolate chip ice cream and talking about how they can be complete without a woman, and then what? Five minutes later they’re trying on clothes. Oh, they’ll say it’s to make themselves feel better, but all those clothes show off their abs.”
Yeah, he’d missed his chance to play that asshole. It hurt inside. The dumbass who’d gotten the role after he’d dropped out had made the character far too serious. “I think we’ll make it through without the soundtrack or the manover. I’m perfectly comfortable with my manliness. And I’m looking for a friend. I would not hate having a cool group of guys to hang with. My best friend recently got married, and now he’s focused on his wife, so I need a wingman. I figure these guys are one hundred percent murder free, right? I’m playing it safe this time.”
Taggart’s face lit with an unholy grin. “Oh, these are old-school deviants, but I assure you no one is a serial killer.” He stopped and thought about it. “I don’t think Erin can be considered a serial. They have a type, and Erin just kills assholes for fun. She doesn’t discriminate. Dark hair, light hair, any nationality. Man, woman, that girl does not care. If you’re an asshole and she can get away with it, she’s taking the shot. Definitely not a serial. I think you’re safe. Now come on and let’s get the rules out of the way. I’ve got crazy shit to do tonight. And if you hear someone scream, it’s only Adam. Don’t worry about it. And you don’t need the masks tonight. Those are for tomorrow. Tonight your identities are safe without the douchey costume thing. You’re welcome. And I expect you to play on Friday.”
He kind of thought that had been a given. Unless Tag thought he wouldn’t make it to Friday. “I can’t play Saturday if I don’t play Friday. I definitely wouldn’t miss the capture fantasy night. It’s kind of my big reveal.”
And then he would know if it could work between him and Sarah.
Tag shook his head. “I’m not talking about that. The throwdown is this weekend. It’s the annual football game between Sanctum and The Club.”
Jared wasn’t exactly sure what was going on.
Big Tag stared at him with an air of expectation. “Come on. Please say it. This is my favorite part of any conversation.”
Okay. He could say what he was thinking. “I thought Sanctum was the club.”
“Sanctum is a club. The best club,” Big Tag shot back.
Jared was still not understanding. “So we’re playing football against ourselves?”
JT shook his head as though this made some sense to him. “No, we’re playing against The Club.”
“Which club?”
Tag grinned like this was what he lived for. “The Club.”
Yes, he was definitely caught in Tag’s game. “I feel like I am missing something. So there’s a club called The Club?”
“Exactly, and it’s full of old rich dudes who think they can play football but they can’t because they’re old and rich and soft,” Tag pointed out. “And they’re not creative with names. We have to beat them or I’ll spend a year listening to Julian Lodge’s snide remarks about how my guys are pudgy and slow.”
“And if you win?”
Tag shrugged. “Oh, I’ll call his guys pudgy and slow no matter who wins. Pretty much Lodge will too.”
“So you play this game and nothing actually cha
nges if you win?” Jared asked.
“Exactly, and I expect you to play for Sanctum. Lodge won’t see it coming. I’ll bench Li since half the time he tries to kick the ball when he’s supposed to run with it. I blame Europe. You’re in, too, Malone. I can’t let Simon play either because he’s a terrible athlete and also because of Europe.”
Tag could be a mystery. “I think I’m safe playing a little flag football.”
Tag reached out and gave his shoulder a friendly pat. “Yeah. Flag football. You keep believing that one, buddy. See you out there.”
Tag strode away.
“Should I be worried?” He probably should be worried.
Jared’s new friend turned his way. “I don’t know. Should I be worried? Serial killer?”
Jared shrugged. “The documentary comes out next year. It’ll tell you everything you need to know. That part of my life is over, but I think we should stay away from the Erin chick. Let’s get this party started.”
* * * *
“So we’re going to meet our Doms for the weekend, but it’s completely dark and we can’t see them and they can’t see us? And we’re feeding each other a meal. In the dark?” Sarah asked, wondering how this was going to work. She gave herself one last glance in the mirror.
Charlotte Taggart nodded enthusiastically. “Yes. It’s a way to get to know your play partner without any expectations. We’ve fitted the room with chaise lounges you’ll share. You can sit apart or cuddle together. The food is finger food and not terrifically messy. I’ve made sure everyone has a glass of wine or cocktail of their choice. It’s going to be fun.”
It didn’t sound like fun. “Why am I in the corset then? If he can’t see me, why didn’t I stay in my scrubs?”
“You could if you want him to reach out and feel polyester,” Charlotte replied.
She had a point. “My scrubs are made of organic cotton, but still not sexy. Continue.”