“Here you go.” A dark anger reverberated through Mark’s voice, a threatening tone she’d heard only once before-when a suspect had attacked her from behind. She wished she could see his face, see into his eyes and know what he was thinking.
The sound of a scuffle and Mark’s explosive “What the fuck!” had her tugging at her restraints but they held fast. Her vulnerability slapped her harder than any flogging she’d had that night, squeezed the breath from her lungs.
Footsteps-shuffling noises, grunts-came from behind her.
“What the fuck are you doing, Watson? Get off me!”
There was a bang as if someone had been shoved into a wall and a rattling noise as something skittered across the floor.
“Mark! Mark?” Her breath came in short, quick gasps while her legs could barely support her. “Mark, what’s happening? What’s the matter? Sam, what are you doing? Let him go!”
“I’m doing this for your own good, buddy.”
“You hurt Jodi, I’ll fucking kill you, Watson.” The undercurrent of fear in Mark’s voice sent ice cubes tumbling down Jodi’s spine. “I’ll cut off your balls and shove ’em so far down your throat they’ll come out your ass.”
Flesh smacked on flesh and Sam grunted. “Goddamn it, buddy, you’re wrigglier than a greased pig. I’ve just changed up the plan, that’s all.”
Sam’s voice came closer. She pulled back as far as the restraints allowed her, which meant she could barely move.
“Now don’t you fuss there, sweet pea, if that boyfriend of yours would just shut his face for a minute, I think you’ll both agree to my little change of plan.”
Jodi blinked in the light as Sam gently peeled the blindfold from her face.
“It’s all right, honey, I’m not going to hurt you. But you’d better slow down your breathin’ before you pass out.” He cupped her face with his huge hand. “In through your nose and out through your mouth, all right?”
Somewhat dazed that she was trusting him, she followed his direction, forcing air into steel-banded lungs. The trembling in her legs and arms gradually subsided.
“That’s it, sweet pea. Remember, I would never do anything you didn’t want me to do. I’m going to let you free, but first you have to promise to listen to my proposal, all right?”
“Mark?” she asked, forcing air from her lungs. “What have you done with Mark?”
After a moment’s hesitation, Sam moved aside.
Her eyes widened to see Mark lying on a gargantuan bed. Heavy leather straps restrained his arms and legs, spread-eagled until he resembled a prisoner in the dungeon of a medieval castle. Except the bright room she found herself in resembled no medieval castle she’d ever seen.
Mirrors lining the walls and ceiling reflected the bed. Overstuffed multicolored pillows of various shapes were scattered across the floor, dislodged from the bed no doubt by Mark’s struggles. A giant flat-screen television loomed at the end of the bed, a second hung over the headboard, yet another was mounted flat within the mirrored ceiling for the ultimate viewing experience from any angle. A leather sling hung in one corner while chairs and a bench had been grouped by a large unlit fireplace. More cushions and wedges covered in leather and velvet and silk were heaped upon them but didn’t hide the leather restraints on the arms.
There was no ambiguity about the purpose of the room-it had been designed for every sexual position that she could have dreamed of-and several she couldn’t.
Mark glared at their captor as he continued cursing Sam, a look so fierce on his face that Jodi shivered. She’d seen Mark in action, seen how he could take down an armed opponent barehanded. To be chained, pinned, useless would be torture for him. And yet there was something so provocative, so compelling about having Mark bound. Would Sam let her have a say in what directions their games would now take?
“Trust me, Jodi. Please,” Sam said quietly. “I’m just changing the original plans Mark and I worked out, that’s all. But I think you’ll both enjoy what I’ve got planned.”
Mark’s scowl darkened. “Just what has that perverted mind of yours dreamed up this time, Watson?”
Sam smiled at Jodi, though a cautious look shadowed his eyes. “He calls me perverted after he suggested tonight’s entertainment.”
His light-hearted gibe belied the worry lines crinkling his forehead, and the way he kept glancing between her and Mark. He obviously wasn’t as sure they’d approve of his plan as his tone implied.
“Will you promise that when I let you go, you won’t attack me? Will you at least hear me out?”
She caught her bottom lip between her teeth, wondering how to interpret the dark look Mark shot her. He’d arranged the game, he’d trusted Sam. Now it was up to her to trust Mark’s judgment.
A slight nod of her head gave him her answer.
“Thank you.” Sam knelt beside her and began to unfasten the leather strap attaching her ankle to one of the two posts she’d been tied to. Despite her assurance she’d listen to him, he kept the post between them so she couldn’t easily kick him. But then why should he trust her given how he’d betrayed Mark’s trust?
After Sam freed both Jodi’s ankles, he flipped open the clasp restraining her right arm, took her wrist in his and chafed it between his palms. He freed her left hand, and massaged that wrist too. She glanced down and saw just how huge his hands were as they engulfed her small one, felt the power in them and knew they could snap her bones as easy as a dry twig. Yet he held her so gently she might have been a baby bird cradled in his palms.
“You go check for yourself that your boyfriend’s all right but don’t undo those restraints until I tell you. Will you promise me that?”
“All right,” she agreed finally.
“Good girl.” He patted her behind. “Climb up on the bed and rest your pretty ass. I’ll explain more in a second.”
She walked across the room, the mirrors reflecting every angle of her body. Being naked had never been a big concern for her, but there was definitely something erotic to being so exposed considering both men were still fully dressed.
“You okay, babe?” Mark asked quietly, calmer now she was free and sitting beside him, though his fierce frown toward Sam did not abate.
As she assured him she was, she looked back at the dais. She gasped at what had been behind her. Whips, floggers and paddles had been arranged in ornate patterns on the wall behind the two posts. Cock rings, nipple clamps, ball gags, hoods and masks filled the glass-fronted cabinets on each side.
“Sam’s got some…unusual tastes. That’s why I thought of him when I was planning this.” Mark jerked at the chains trapping him in place. “I thought I could trust him when I suggested it.”
Sam chuckled. “Still can, ol’ buddy, still can.”
“Mark,” she whispered. “Do you want me to let you go?”
He scrunched his eyes closed and exhaled. “You made the list-do you want to continue?”
Sam’s change of plans concerned her. But having Mark at her mercy, especially after the game they’d just played with her, was intriguing. “Can we trust him?”
He frowned as Sam walked over to a cabinet and opened a door, revealing a laptop computer. There was something at the back of his eyes, like he was waging a war within himself. His hands curled into fists, his shoulder muscles tightened and a muscle in his jaw twitched before he said, “Yeah, we can trust him.”
But she thought he heard him mutter I think under his breath.
Well, great. He obviously wasn’t comfortable with the change in plans despite his assurances.
“Now, I’ll bet you’re both wondering why I changed things up.” Sam ignored Mark’s growl. “You know we were roommates in college, right?”
Jodi nodded.
“Did he tell you how he used to watch me fucking my dates?”
She shook her head. From the corner of her eye, she saw Mark grimacing as he turned his head away from Sam. While she knew Mark loved to watch her play with herself with her vibrator, strangely the idea of Mark watching other women being fucked irritated her. So much for their little agreement not to become possessive with each other. Obviously Mark hadn’t the same problem, considering he was voluntarily sharing her with Sam.
His smile fading, Sam drummed his fingers on his thigh as if he were rethinking whatever he’d had planned.
“So he’d watch you with your dates…” she prompted.
After a moment, he continued, “We worked out a system where I’d pretend to sneak them into the room, telling them he was asleep-they’d get off on the idea of having to be so quiet and not wake him up. Liked the danger of getting caught, I guess.”
“But he’d really be awake the whole time, watching?”
“Sometimes he did more than just watch, sweet pea. Sometimes he’d join in. And then there were the times we reversed the game, and he brought his girlfriends for us to share.” Sam lifted a ball gag from its hook, hefted it in his hand as he eyed Mark. “I’m thinkin’ you deserve to be punished for not telling your girlfriend all this yourself.”
Mark narrowed his eyes, a fierce scowl on his face. “Try it and you’ll find that ball the only one you have left to play with tomorrow.”
“No? No.” Sam lobbed the ball gag back onto the table. “Anyway, to get to the point-”
“Too late,” Mark grumbled.
“Point is,” Sam continued as if he hadn’t heard Mark’s gibe, “since Mark didn’t give you a choice about who joined you in the threesome, I reckoned that you might enjoy helping me torture your boyfriend a little. Give him a real show of the two of us enjoyin’ ourselves. You know, a little turnabout being fair play and all. So are you up for my little change in plans, sweet pea?”