[Quantum 01.0 - 03.0] Boxed Set

by Marie Force

  I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I didn’t anticipate a nightclub. Well-dressed attractive people in cocktail dresses and suits, others dressed in classy-looking leather, a few shirtless men, all of them with drinks in hand. There’s a crowded dance floor and a packed bar along with stand-up tables as well as booths. The low bass thump of dance music vibrates through the room, mixing with the conversations taking place. The thump reminds me of the bass drum of desire that I’ve experienced with Flynn, and my body begins to react to the familiar sound, my muscles contracting around the plug.

  The only thing that sets this apart from other nightclubs I’ve visited are the stages set in various spots throughout the room, the crosses, the benches and other equipment that identify this as not your average club. It’s early yet, or so Flynn tells me as he keeps a hold on my hand and leads us to the bar. Everyone seems happy to see him, and several people greet me by name even though I don’t recognize them. They all know me, which is something I still find bizarre even all these weeks later.

  A shriek to my left draws my attention, and Marlowe swoops in to hug me. “It’s so good to see you here, girlfriend.”

  “Thanks, Mo. It’s good to be here.”

  “You look amazing!”

  “Marlowe Sloane thinks I look amazing. Pinch me please.”

  “I’ll leave the pinching to your sexy Dom. But seriously, I’m thrilled to see you here, to know you’ve accepted this part of him. It’s so huge.”

  “It’s been an interesting couple of weeks.”

  “I can only imagine. You know you can talk to me anytime. If you need an outside perspective.”

  “That’s very sweet of you. So far, Flynn and I are doing pretty well with the talking. He loves to talk.”

  Her dirty laugh tells me she gets what I mean. “I remember that about him. We weren’t together long, but that’s one thing I remember.”

  I feel like I’ve been hit with a stun gun. Didn’t Flynn tell me he and Mo were only friends? How many times have I thought about what a beautiful couple they might’ve made?

  “Anyway, are you here to watch or to play?”

  “Watch.”

  “I might be doing a scene later with a new sub.” Adding with a wink, “He’s young and hung, just the way I like them. I hope you’ll be around to watch.”

  “I wouldn’t miss it after that introduction.” Though I’m still reeling from what she revealed to me, I can’t help but laugh at that. Whatever might’ve happened between her and Flynn, it’s long in the past. But I will ask him about it as soon as I get the chance.

  “We’ll see if he shows. I think he’s scared of me.”

  Flynn leads me to a table out of the fray and hands me a glass of wine. He’s got a glass of Bowmore, judging by the color of the liquid. “Enjoy it slowly. We’ve got a two-drink limit.”

  “How come?”

  “We want everyone clearheaded for any activities they might decide to participate in. No one is allowed to get drunk here.” He glances at me, his eyes soft but serious. “There’s no place for large quantities of booze in a safe, sane, consensual environment.”

  “Makes sense.”

  We’re interrupted by the arrival of a tall, gorgeous woman I recognize instantly as Cresley Dane, the supermodel.

  “Is this the famous Natalie who took our friend Flynn off the market in such dramatic fashion?” she asks with a warm smile for me and a hug for Flynn.

  “Cresley, meet my wife, Natalie.

  Cresley surprises me when she hugs me, too. “It’s so great to meet you. I’m an admirer.”

  “Oh. Thank you. That’s nice to hear. Likewise.”

  Hayden joins us, slipping an arm around Cresley, who leans into him. “Nice to see you here, Natalie,” he says.

  “Nice to be here.”

  “You ready?” he asks Cresley, who nods in response.

  “Let’s go.”

  “See you later?” Cresley asks us.

  “We’ll be here,” Flynn says. “We may even watch.”

  “Good,” Cresley says with a smile that encompasses both of us before she lets Hayden lead her away.

  “Where’re they going?”

  “To the dungeon.”

  I’m surprised by the pang of distress I feel in the area of my heart at knowing Hayden is going to have sex with Cresley when he’s so obviously in love with Addie. “What will they do there besides the obvious?”

  “He’s a practitioner of Kinbaku, the Japanese art of erotic tying.”

  “What does that mean? Tying?”

  “Ropes. It’s an intricate practice designed to stimulate all the pleasure points.”

  “Could I see it?”

  “Sure, we can go in there later. They’ll be there for hours.” He glances down at me, taking inventory in that intense way of his. “What’re you thinking?”

  “I just wonder how he can spend hours having sex with Cresley when he cares so much for Addie.”

  Flynn exhales a long deep breath. “It’s complicated for him. He and Addie are really close friends, and he’s not willing to risk what he has with her by exposing her to this. If she were to reject it—and him—the way Valerie did me, he’d never get over it.”

  “So he refuses to even try.” The reality of Hayden’s predicament saddens me.

  “Yeah. We’ve talked about it a few times recently, and he’s adamant.”

  “It’s sad.”

  “On that we agree. I don’t think he’s giving Addie enough credit.”

  “Do you think she’d be upset to find out about this? About the fact that all of you are involved and she doesn’t know?”

  “I have no idea, but it’s not something we share with just anyone. Other than you and my partners in Quantum, there’s no one I’m closer to than my parents, my sisters and Addie, and none of them knows.”

  “Can I ask you something else?”

  “Anything.”

  “Were you ever going to tell me that you were once with Marlowe?”

  “I told you that.”

  “Um, no, you didn’t. She did. She assumed I already knew.”

  “Oh. Shit. Are you pissed? It was years ago, before I married Val. And it was brief. We quickly discovered we’re much better friends than we are lovers.”

  I gesture to the room around us. “Did you do this with her?”

  “Some of it. We were all new to it then and in training. We practiced on each other on occasion. Does that make it weird for you with her?”

  “No, not really. Like you said, it was a long time ago, and I know you had a life before me. A busy life.”

  He roars with laughter and tweaks my nose. “Cute.”

  “True. What about Cresley?”

  “What about her?”

  “Have you been with her, too?”

  “I have, but only in threesomes with Hayden.”

  I take a drink of my wine, seeking fortification. That’s what I get for asking—the painful truth. “She’s beautiful.”

  “Yes, she is, but she’s no Natalie Godfrey.”

  “Right,” I say, laughing. “She’s a freaking supermodel.”

  “Did you look at the stack of inquiries from Danielle that I left in the kitchen?”

  “What about them?”

  “There’re about ten offers from some of the top modeling agencies in the country, along with cosmetic companies, couture houses and advertising agencies, all of whom are drooling over the idea of landing Natalie Godfrey to represent their products.”

  “They are not.”

  “They are, too! I told you to look through the stuff I left for you.”

  “I thought you meant my test results.”

  “That was only one of several things I left for you. Did I also mention the interest from the casting directors? Ever since the Globes, Danielle has been overrun by them, too.”

  “It’s insanity. What do I know about any of that?”

  “Maybe nothing, but they know true, raw beaut
y when they see it.” He kisses me. “And so do I.”

  “I’m not interested in any of that. I want to work on the foundation and be with you. That’s all I want right now.”

  “Then that’s all you have to do. But you have to know that the whole world is interested in you.”

  “I don’t care about the whole world. I only care about you, that you’re interested in me.”

  He hooks an arm around me and brings my back in tight against his front so I can feel his erection. “Suffice to say, I’m very interested.”

  “That’s all that matters.” The words are no sooner out of my mouth than the plug in my ass begins to vibrate. It’s a good thing his arm is around me so tightly, or I might’ve fallen off my four-inch heels.

  Pressing his cock against my bottom, he groans from the vibration that he can feel, too.

  “You’re making a scene,” I say when I notice people are watching us.

  “It’s what we do here.” He kisses my neck and continues to grind against me. His hand, which has been flat against my belly, moves down, his fingers splayed open. “We make scenes.”

  “Flynn…”

  “Shhh, no one can see what we’re doing. It looks like we’re just standing here talking.”

  The tall table hits me just below the ribs, hiding my lower half. I suspect that’s the table’s secondary purpose. His middle finger dips lower, parting me and pressing against my clit through my pants. I gasp from the pleasure that zings through me. “We can’t do this here.”

  “We’re not doing anything.”

  “You’re touching me.”

  “You’re my wife. I’m expected to touch you.”

  “Flynn…”

  “What’s my name here?”

  Oh God. “S-sir.”

  “That’s right. And what’s your safe word?”

  “Fluff.”

  “Use it if you need it, otherwise I expect you to remember the rules.”

  He just changed the rules on me, but I understand what he’s doing. He’s showing me how incredibly hot it can be to experience desire in a room full of people, most of whom are paying us no mind. But there are a few who are watching us closely, and I suspect they know exactly what he’s doing to me.

  The vibration in the plug goes up a notch, and I grasp the edge of the table.

  “Let go of the table, Nat. I’ve got you.” His voice is low and intense against my ear. He’s asking me to trust him to know what’s best.

  I force my hands to relax their tight grip on the table.

  “Fold them and rest them on the tabletop.”

  When I bring my palms together, I realize they’re sweaty. With my hands settled where he can see them, he does nothing more than rock against me, his finger teasing my clit through my clothes. He takes me right to the edge of release in under a minute.

  My hands tighten around each other. I can’t possibly come here, in front of all these people. I can’t. I won’t. “Flynn…”

  “Call me that again, and you’ll earn a punishment at home.”

  “Sir… Please… Don’t do this to me here.”

  “What’s your safe word?”

  If I say it, even in reply to his question, he’ll stop. Is that what I want with my body primed to explode? This is insanity. It’s the craziest thing we’ve done yet. My heart is beating so hard, I’m afraid it will burst, and my lungs seem to have shrunk, making me feel like I’m hyperventilating.

  “Natalie?”

  I remain stubbornly quiet. If he wants this, I’ll give it to him, even if I didn’t intend to.

  My head starts to drop forward. I’m hiding behind my hair so no one can see me come apart.

  “Lay your head back on my shoulder.”

  I want to growl with frustration and embarrassment. Of course he knows I was trying to hide. Because I’m his submissive, I do as he asks and rest my head on his shoulder.

  “Don’t ever be ashamed of taking your pleasure.”

  “I told you I didn’t want this here.”

  His finger grazes my clit as his erection bumps up against the plug. “You know how to make it stop.”

  I’m not sure what makes me do it, whether it’s where we are or if I’m testing the system, but the word appears on my lips. “Fluff.”

  He withdraws immediately, and the plug ceases vibrating. Only his arm banded around my midsection keeps me from toppling over when my legs want to buckle under me. “Well done, sweetheart.”

  “So that was a test?”

  “Of sorts.” Nuzzling my neck, he says, “I want you to remember always that you have all the power. You say yes, you say no, you say not here, you say not that. It’s all about you.”

  “You’ve left me all revved up.”

  “That was your call, not mine.”

  “What’s the word for ‘game back on’?”

  “There isn’t a word for that, but if you’d like to take this somewhere private and finish what we started, I could make that happen.”

  I’m about to accept his offer when I see Kristian lead a naked woman to one of the crosses. He’s wearing only a pair of formfitting black leather pants, leaving his muscular chest, back and arms on full display. Part of me feels like I should look away, to respect the privacy of Flynn’s friend. But that’s not why we’re here. We’re here to watch, which is both titillating and embarrassing. I’m dying to see what will happen but embarrassed at the same time.

  “What’s the verdict?” Flynn asks, his lips close to my ear.

  “Could we find a private spot after we watch whatever Kristian is about to do?”

  “Yep. Do you want me to talk you through what’s going on?”

  Breathless and aroused and curious, I nod.

  “The name St. Andrew’s cross comes from the crux decussata, or the diagonal cross that Saint Andrew was supposedly martyred on. A sub can be attached facing forward or backward, and some of the crosses spin, allowing the sub to be inverted.”

  “I don’t think I’d like that,” I said.

  “I wouldn’t either. It would make me feel seasick. So if they’re facing forward with their backs against the cross, like Kristian’s sub is going to be, that’s more about teasing and slow seduction.”

  “What happens if they’re facing the other way?” I ask.

  “That’s about whipping or flogging.”

  I shudder at the thought of being whipped.

  “Don’t worry, sweetheart. That’s a hard limit for both of us. I don’t find whipping fun or arousing, although many people do.”

  “How can they find that kind of pain arousing?”

  “Some people get off on the pain of it, not to mention the humiliation.”

  “Do I know her from somewhere?” I ask of Kristian’s sub.

  “She’s been on TV.” He names a popular sitcom that has my mouth falling open. Of course! That’s how I know her. She’s tall and curvy, with long red hair and big breasts that look real, not that I’d know the difference. Since there’s no question I’m not allowed to ask, I pose that one to Flynn.

  “Yep, they’re real.”

  “How can you tell?”

  “Please, sweetheart. I grew up in LA. I could tell the difference between real boobs and fake ones by the time I was eight.”

  “Why am I not surprised? So what’s the difference?”

  “Real ones,” he says, cupping mine in his big hands, “move the way they’re supposed to. They’re softer, more pliable. Fake ones are harder, closer together and don’t move like real ones do.” As he speaks, he manipulates my breasts to make his point.

  I release a deep breath that I’ve been holding. His touch is always electrifying, but here, in public, it’s even more so. “Good to know.”

  Kristian blindfolds his sub and secures her to the cross at the wrists, ankles and waist. We are far enough away from them that I can’t hear what he’s saying to her, but he’s speaking to her constantly as he prepares her for their scene. Her color is high, as
if she’s nervous or excited or perhaps both. With her legs propped open, I can also see she’s totally bare between her legs.

  He begins by stimulating her nipples with his hands and mouth, working on her until both nipples are tight and red. Then he affixes something to each nipple that makes her cry out.

  “Clamps,” Flynn says from behind me. “They’re connected by a chain. See the third one, hanging from the chain?”

  I nod.

  “Watch what he does with that one.”

  I can’t look away as Kristian strokes between her legs before attaching the third clamp to her clit, making her scream and fight the restraints. The thought of what that must feel like goes through me like a bolt of electricity, leaving me tingling.

  “Doesn’t that hurt like crazy?”

  “For a second, but then it feels crazy good, or so I’m told. You want to try that sometime?”

  “I don’t know. Not sure I’d like it.”

  “Remember what we said? Everything once, twice if we like it?” He runs his finger down my arm, and I shudder, proving I’m nothing more than a giant nerve ending.

  “Do they have penis clamps? Because if we’re trying everything once…”

  His low rumble of laughter makes me smile. “Brat. There’re cock rings. We can try that sometime.”

  “I’ll look forward to that.”

  He tightens his hold on me. “I love you so much, Nat. That you’re here with me and asking questions and willing to explore this world with me… You can’t possibly know what it means to be myself, entirely, with you.”

  I squeeze the arm he has around me. I love that I’ve made him happy, which is so important to me.

  Kristian teases his sub with feathers until she’s writhing on the cross, begging for relief with every move of her body. But Kristian is in no apparent rush. He reaches for a large pink vibrator from the table that holds his supplies, and after applying lubricant, he teases her with it and then pushes it into her. He strokes the vibrator in and out of her and then releases the clamps one at a time. She comes with screams that echo through the club, and I hear them clear as anything, despite the voices and loud music.

  Watching the scene unfold has me right back on the edge again, my entire body tingling with the need for release.

  “You said something about private rooms?”