by Jane Jamison
“I don’t know where Ruthie is. We left the office at the same time and I’ve texted her a couple of times, but she hasn’t responded.”
“Huh. That’s strange. She called me a few minutes ago.” Seth pulled out his phone. “Yeah. About ten minutes ago.”
“Really?” Why would she call him, but not text her back?
“Beats me.”
As though she knew they were talking about her, Ruthie called. Beth put her finger in her ear to hear above the noise in the bar. She’d been right that Ruthie had told them where she lived, but what was she pulling now? “Where are you?”
“I’m sorry, but I’m not going to make it.”
“What?” They were watching her so intently that she had to twist around to put her back to Aaron and duck her head away from Seth. “Don’t you dare say that. I need you here.”
“I’m sorry. I just can’t. Something came up.”
“That’s bull, Ruthie. What happened? Did your grandmother die? Did your apartment flood? Did your dog get hit by a car?”
Those were a few of the reasons they’d used as fake “emergency” calls. Whenever one of them went on a first date, especially a blind date, the other would text her and give her an excuse to cut and run.
Ruthie didn’t even try to hide her lie. “Nope. None of those. The something that came up was Aaron and Seth.”
“What do you mean?” She couldn’t keep from looking at the men. Seth lifted his eyebrows, silently asking what was going on.
“I swear, Bethie, sometimes you are so oblivious. I saw how they looked at you at lunch. Girl, they want you bad.”
Beth could’ve melted into a pool of desire when she heard the words. Why hadn’t Ruthie told her before now? She could barely believe it even after hearing it directly from them. Again, she kept their appearance at her apartment to herself. They hadn’t contacted her since that night, and she’d been half-afraid they wouldn’t show up at the bar. What if they’d already changed their minds? “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, yes, I do. I know they dropped by your apartment the other night after I gave them your address. Way to go, girl.”
She should’ve known Ruthie would find out. She’d have loved to have told Ruthie about it the next day, but she’d held back, needing time to figure out how she felt about their offer first. If she’d told Ruthie anything about it, she might’ve let what they’d said slip out as well.
Beth dropped her voice to a whisper. “You could’ve at least told me they were coming. I had my worst clothes on.”
“I don’t think they cared about what you were wearing. Other than to get it off you.”
“Will you stop?” She’d tried to make up for her appearance of the other night. Today she’d taken great care with her makeup and had put on her favorite skirt and blouse.
“Tell me that they didn’t make a move.”
“No.”
They hadn’t. At least not in the way Ruthie meant it. Her thoughts jumped back to their proposal. Did she have it in her to be a submissive? No, not just anyone’s sub, but theirs? That was different.
“No, they didn’t make a move? Or no, you won’t tell me?”
No to both. Instead, she glanced at Aaron and saw the irritation he held in check. She had to get off the phone.
“Anyway, that’s why I decided I didn’t want to play fourth wheel tonight. Trust me. You three won’t miss me at all. I’m thinking you’ll probably thank me later.”
“Don’t bet on it.” She covered her phone with her hand. “Ruthie, you’d better get your skinny butt down here in record time.”
“Crssssh. Grzzz. What’d you say? I can’t hear you. Bethie, are you there? You’re breaking up.”
“Ruthie Morgenstern, don’t you dare—” But it was too late. Ruthie had already hung up.
She took a moment before she twisted back toward the table.
“Is anything wrong? Is Ruthie all right?”
He’d asked, but she got the impression that Aaron wasn’t all that concerned. At least he didn’t act like he was still irritated. She had to wonder if Ruthie had called him, too. Was she getting set up?
“Nothing’s wrong, but she can’t make it tonight.” What was she supposed to do now? She’d planned on letting Ruthie fill in more of the details about the calendar. Could she talk about the positions and toys involved in the poses without that bringing up the subject of her submitting to them?
“That’s okay. After all, you’re the creative mind behind the project. Did you say you’re hiring professional female models?”
She was stuck, so why not make the best of it? “That’s right. I’ve saved enough money to hire some local models.”
“But not enough to get into nursing school?”
“No. That’s why I guess you could say that the calendar is going to a rather small charity. A charity of one. Me.” She cringed. Did that sound as bad to them as it did to her? “I feel a little guilty about it. I mean, you’re posing for free and Ruthie’s going to handle the business end of it for free. I’m the only one who’s going to benefit from the sales.”
Seth shrugged, then stood. “We said we’d help, so don’t worry about us. Do you want another drink? I’m going to get us a couple of beers.”
She checked the half-empty bottle. “No, thanks. I’m fine.” She watched as Seth moved toward the bar. His movements were graceful, almost cat-like. And his butt? Oh, Lord, God Himself must’ve have personally sculpted his firm, round ass.
“I’m not sure how we’re going to get the other male models. The Firemen for Hire teams are just getting underway here. We only have four teams. A couple of the teams have three firemen, but most are made up of two guys like Seth and me.”
She took another swig hoping to calm her nerves. Being seated near Seth and Aaron made her nervous. Yet the nerves soon morphed into another kind of nervousness that had not only her palms sweating, but other places getting moist, too. The funny thing was that the men didn’t seem to realize how sexy they were. They hadn’t given any of the other girls in the bar a second look.
“Are you saying you can’t get enough? Since a few of the months will have two or three men in them, we’re going to need more than twelve men. Lots more. Twenty-four, including you two.”
“That could be a problem,” said Seth as he set a beer in front of Aaron and took his seat. “We’ll have to do some fancy talking to get the other guys, the ones who aren’t on a team, to make up the difference. We might have to ask firemen at other stations, although I’d rather keep this within our group.”
“Either that or ask for some favors.”
“Favors that you’ll have to repay?” Was Aaron trying to back out? Or was he only bringing up the problems associated with their plan in order to fix them?
“Of course.” His dark eyes bored into her, searing her in all the right places. “We always repay our debts.”
Without warning, the image of Aaron and Seth ripping off her clothes, then lying her on top of the table, hit her. The crowd was still there and the women were going crazy with envy. She could see the men unbuttoning their shirts and tugging their jeans open. She gasped as Aaron pushed her onto her side, then rammed his cock inside her pussy. Seth dug his fingernails into her fleshy ass, then eased his shaft into her asshole.
“Hey, Beth. Did you hear what I said?”
She blinked, coming back to the here and now. One quick glance down told her that it had been nothing but a fantasy. “Oh, I’m sorry.”
“Is there anything wrong?” Seth touched her shoulder, sending off a shockwave of sensations that flooded through her like a hard rain through a gutter.
“No, no. I’m having a hard time concentrating, is all. What’d you say?” She swallowed, and barely kept from licking her lips. Did Seth have a bulge in his jeans? Jerking her gaze away, she forced her mind back on the business at hand. Or at least, she tried to.
“I said”—Aaron narrowed his eyes, a f
rown forming between his eyebrows—“that the guys might grumble a little, but unless they’re married or involved, I’m sure we can talk them into it one way or another. The only other choice would be to use the same men in more than one month.”
“I’d rather not, but if we have to, then we have to.”
“When do you think you’ll start shooting?” Seth scraped his chair along the floor as he came another inch toward her.
“I need to ask a friend to loan me his studio and some of his equipment. I have some of the things I’ll need, but not all. As far as when we can start shooting? The sooner, the better, since my tuition due date is coming up fast.”
Aaron edged his chair toward her, too. If they got any closer, they’d be sitting in her lap. Or her in theirs. The thought of rubbing her ass against their cocks had her squirming.
“Just let us know when so we can tell the other guys. Don’t worry about getting enough men. We’ll figure it out.”
She nodded at Seth, and did her best not to look down. “Thanks. I really appreciate all your help.”
“You don’t have to keep thanking us.”
She wanted to thank them, but in a more personal way. But did she have the guts to do that?
“So this friend of yours, the one who’s going to loan you the studio and equipment, is he a good friend?” Aaron put his arm along the back of her chair. “A really good friend?”
She didn’t know what he was getting at, but did it matter? As long as he kept his arm on her chair, he could ask all the questions he wanted. The air thickened around her and her nostrils flared as their combined aromas hit her. Was it aftershave? Or did they smell that good all the time?
“Um, yeah. We’ve known each other for a few years. I met him while taking an advanced photography class. He was the instructor.”
“And are you two…?” Seth crossed two fingers. “Together?”
“Together? No. Not at all. Tyler Dilson is gay.”
Had they both visibly relaxed? “Why do you ask?” Asking that question was one of the bravest things she’d done in a long time.
“We wanted to make sure you’re free.” Seth’s tone was like a piece of soft velvet flowing across her skin. “In fact, we should’ve asked that night at your apartment.”
They were moving in even closer. She felt like they were sandwiching her between them. It wasn’t the sandwich she wanted, but it would do. Until…Until what? What was she thinking would happen? Or at least hoping would happen? “Free?”
Seth brushed back her hair. “Have you given some thought about what we talked about the other day, sweetheart?”
“Yes.” Should she tell him she’d thought of little else?
Aaron leaned over, putting his mouth next to her ear. “We want you, Beth. Both of us. Like we told you, you’re a natural submissive. You just don’t know it yet. We mean to have you and to teach you how to be our sub.”
She dragged in a breath. “Have me?” She didn’t care what she sounded like, asking stupid questions. They couldn’t have made it any clearer. They wanted to have sex with her. And yet, the insecurities that had plagued her all her life wouldn’t let her accept the idea that it was possible that two men like them would want her.
She was all right looking, but she wasn’t a bombshell. They could have any woman they wanted, so why her? They still wanted her, even after seeing her at her worst the other night. And damn, how she wanted them.
Seth rested his elbow on the table, then cradled his head. He stared at her, his focus never leaving her face. “We’ve waited a long time to find the woman we want to share and now we have. You’re the one, Beth. You’re our little sub.”
Little sub? The words would’ve sounded silly coming from anyone else. “So you really believe that I’m your submissive? And as your sub, we’re going to do BDSM?”
He chuckled, the sound traveling above the murmur of voices in the room to be picked up by the other women. She could sense their lust for the men who didn’t act as though they existed. “We like our toys and we expect our woman, you, to do whatever we need you to do. Safely, of course. We’re not into the full-time lifestyle and keeping the roles going all the time, but we do want our woman to know who’s in command in the bedroom.”
“And you’re sure that’s me?” She kept waiting for them to tell her they were joking.
Seth put his hand on hers, blazing a trail of heat up her arm. “We know it’s you. We’ve never been this attracted to anyone. We take one look at you and our balls tighten up.”
She took a quick drink to quench her suddenly parched throat. “That’s just attraction, chemistry, which is important, of course, but it’s not everything. Love is more important than sex.”
“Agreed. But with love comes the sex. As our little sub, you’d have both.”
Was Seth professing his love for her? She couldn’t help but scoff at him. “Isn’t it too soon to be talking about love?”
“Maybe. But that’s where we’re hoping this will take us. Are you game to give it a go and find out?”
He meant what he said, and Aaron didn’t disagree. It was safer to switch back to the other subject. “Just because I want a kinky firefighter calendar doesn’t mean that I get into that stuff in my personal life.”
“Is that so? Have you ever tried it?” Aaron’s smug smile worried her.
“No.” Was he happy that she was inexperienced? Or disappointed that she knew so little? “I’m strictly a vanilla kind of girl.” So far.
“We don’t think so,” whispered Seth. “We think you’re a natural. All you need is for us to show you that you are.”
“Oh, but I am. Vanilla, that is.” She nodded, emphasizing her conviction. Yet her resolve didn’t sound strong. If she didn’t want to experiment with bondage and sexual play, why did she fantasize about it so often?
“Have you ever gotten tied up? Had sex blindfolded? Maybe added a flogger or even gotten spankings before? I know you’ve thought about giving a man”—his eyebrow arched up in a challenge—“or men control to do whatever to your body. I saw the yearning for it in your eyes.”
She had allowed one man to blindfold her once, but she’d whipped the cloth off a moment later. She hadn’t trusted him. Could she trust Seth and Aaron enough to let them blindfold her? She bit her lower lip, then realized what she was doing and forced herself to stop.
“You don’t have to worry. We’d keep our play within reason, of course. We’d never force you to do anything that you didn’t like. And once you made it clear that you wanted us to stop, then we’d stop.”
“I don’t know where you’re getting this idea about me.” And then it hit her. The only person she’d ever told about her fantasies was their good friend. “Did Ruthie say something? About me and…you know?”
“About ‘you know’? It’s called sex, sweetheart.”
She scowled at Seth, but with a winning smile like his, it was hard to keep irritated at him. “I know what it’s called.” She glanced around her, and once again, noted that the other women’s passionate attentions were still fixed on them. “I just don’t like talking about it in a public place. Twice in one week is more than enough.”
“What about having sex in a public place?” Aaron slid his hand over the top of her leg. Seth grinned wider, then added his palm to her other leg.
Hell’s bells.
It had been a long time since she’d felt such a strong surge of desire. Was that why they affected her so much? Was it more about sexual deprivation than about them? She gave them another look.
No. It’s them.
She gripped her bottle as tightly as she could. Where else could she put her hands? She could, of course, shove their hands off her, but did she really want to?
“Sex in a public place? Of course not.”
And yet, hadn’t she thought about it often? Her gaze jumped to a beautiful brunette with a luscious body. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have the men make love to her while the woman watched? It w
as kind of mean to want to rub her good luck in the woman’s face, but after all, she wasn’t a saint. Not to mention having the other men in the room watch. She squirmed in her seat again, pressing her ass against its surface. If she didn’t take care, she’d lean forward and rub her pussy against the hard wood edge of the chair.
Hard wood. Oh, hell, yeah.
“What’s that old saying, bro?” Seth faked a confused expression. “Oh, yeah. Me thinketh she protesteth too much. Or however the saying goes.”
“Think about it, baby.” Aaron skimmed his hand up and down her leg. “I’ll bet you’ve wanted our kind of sex for a long time. Think how good it would be to just let go. No inhibition, no cares, giving up control.”
She flinched when he first moved, but now she had to keep from stretching out her legs and spreading them far apart.
“Come on, Beth.” Seth’s fingers pulled at her clothing until he found skin. “You know you want to. Besides, if nothing else, you should do it for creative integrity.”
Move your hand. Please. Touch me there.
She had to clear her throat before she could speak without her voice sounding strange. “Creative integrity?”
“If you’re going to do your photographs justice, you should’ve at least experienced some of the fun. That makes sense, doesn’t it?”
“I don’t need to get mauled by a lion to get a great shot of its teeth.” Yet hadn’t she been thinking the same thing?
Aaron laughed, the first boisterous sound she’d heard him make. She couldn’t help but enjoy the deep, rich tone of his voice. “Yeah. I think you’re right about that one. But we’re not going to eat you. Not unless you want us to.”
She sucked in another hard breath as he did what she’d silently begged Seth to do a moment earlier. With his eyes locked to hers, he tugged her skirt higher, then eased his fingers under the fabric. His fingertips tickled as they continued their path below the hem of her panties.
“What are you doing?” she whispered.
He nibbled on her lobe, then whispered back. “What I’ve been dying to do since I first laid eyes on you. And only what you want me to do. Stay still, sweetheart. Let your men take care of you.”