by Zara Chase
“Hmm, I got the impression it was more personal than that. At least for Vasco.”
“Possibly, but you would need to ask him about that.”
She sighed. “I did. He wouldn’t say.”
“Okay, here’s the deal.” Ty scooted across and sat beside her on the settee. “You have so much going for you, so much to offer the world, and it’s killing us that you can’t see it.”
“Oh, come on! You’re surrounded by lovely, nubile young women in this place. Slim, nubile young women.”
“There you go again. You really are hung up on your appearance.” He ran a finger down the length of her upper arm, slowly, seductively. “Not many women over the age of twenty have perfect figures.” He shrugged. “Not that many under twenty for that matter. Fast food has seen to that. Fucking corn fructose. Don’t get me started on the damage it’s done. Do you have any idea of the obesity numbers in America? You are not close to being obese. In fact, you’re gorgeous.”
“Ty!” She shook her head, but a tiny grin invaded her lips. “Now you’re just being silly.”
“I tell it like I see it.”
“Having the perfect body matters to you guys. I get that part. I mean, that’s what all those scary machines downstairs do, isn’t it?”
“What we do here is encourage our members to make the best of what nature gave them. You could exercise for hours a day but if, say, you have big tits or a large butt, or a big waist, that situation would never change. Those areas would just become more toned, is all. The only way to permanently change your shape is to go to a plastic surgeon, and I wouldn’t recommend that in your case.” He flicked a finger fleetingly against the outside of one of her breasts, making her gasp. “It would be a crying shame.”
“My mom and sister both had their breasts enlarged. I’m sorely tempted to have mine reduced.”
“Please don’t.”
She blinked. “Why should it matter to you?”
“First off, silicone is a real turn off for most men.”
“Well, I won’t need any of that. Anything but. Mom and Maggie both say they invested in it for themselves, not to attract men.”
He elevated a brow. “You believe that?”
“Well, I’m not sure. There’s a lot of pressure for women to have…well, sizeable assets. Men, too, for that matter.” She giggled. “I get a lot of junk e-mails offering me penile extensions. I’m glad to say that’s one area that I don’t have to be concerned about.”
Ty laughed as he shifted his position, crossing one leg over his opposite thigh. He wondered if she would notice the size of his asset, which had sprung to attention and taken a keen interest in the turn the conversation had taken.
“Sure, I understand the pressure they must have felt, but natural is still better. Your tits are one of your best features. Never let anyone tell you otherwise.”
“We are none of us happy with the way we are, is what you’re saying?”
“Absolutely.” He sent her a slow, sexy smile. “And in your case, darlin’, you are pretty near perfect. How to make you understand that, though, that’s what Vasco and I have been trying to figure out.”
“I know you’re just being kind, but it’s okay. I’m learning to accept that I don’t have a lot going for me physically. Since I inherited money, how I look doesn’t seem to make a difference.” Her wounded expression damn near killed Ty. He would like to throttle her family, and her ex, for reinforcing her self-doubt. “Everyone wants a part of me now, whereas they couldn’t spare me the time of day before.”
“Oh, darlin’.” Ty shook his head. “Let’s take stock of the situation. Apart from your gorgeous tits, what else do you like about yourself?”
“Earth to Ty. I’ve told you that I hate, despise, and loathe my tits.”
“Well, just for the record, Vasco and I don’t.” He fixed her with a challenging look. “Come on, there must be something you like about yourself.”
“Well, I suppose my lower legs are okay, but my thighs are huge, so that leaves out short skirts.”
“That’s something else about you. You know how to dress to make the best of yourself.”
“All woman do.”
Ty laughed aloud. “Hardly. Okay, anything else?”
“My hair’s okay, I suppose.” She spread her hands. “But that’s about it.”
“You’ve forgotten your complexion, which is fresh and creamy. Your eyes are sensational. You have a tiny waist.”
“How do you know that?”
“I put my arm around it just now, remember?”
“Oh, okay, but it’s kinda swallowed up by my belly and hips.”
“You also have really cute feet,” Ty said, shaking his head at her determination to remain negative.
“Feet!”
“Absolutely.” He leaned down, tore off one of her killer heels and rubbed the soul of her foot between both of her hands. “Feet are one of the most erogenous zones on the human body. Want me to prove it?”
Sorrel leaned her head back and closed her eyes. “Hmm, that does feel good.”
“I hardly got started yet.” Ty continued to rub her foot, pleased to see her gradually relax. “But quite apart from anything else, you have presence.”
“Presence?” Her eyes flew open again. “What the heck does that mean?”
“You didn’t understand what Vasco meant in the restaurant earlier when he told you never to walk like the hostess?”
“I thought he was kidding. She was gorgeous.”
“She was putting on a show. That wasn’t how she walks naturally, but you do.”
She looked astounded. “I do?”
“Sure. You move with natural elegance. That shit can’t be taught. It always comes across as fake, just like when that hostess wiggled her hips and expected a reaction from us. She wasted her time because it did nothing for us. You, on the other hand, have naturally good posture. You’d be amazed how many people don’t think about the difference it makes to their appearance if they hold their heads high and shoulders back. They spend a fortune on cosmetics, nips and tucks and a load of other shit, when simple good posture would make way more difference, and costs them nothing.”
“I suppose it does.” She stared off into the distance. “I’ve never really thought about it. I guess I started holding myself tall when my tits first started sprouting and I got teased about them. I figured if I breathed in and held myself upright, they would seem smaller. I’d seen other big-breasted women slouching, which drew attention to them.”
“There you go. You have natural elegance.”
“And a huge butt.”
“And that’s a bad thing because…”
“Ty, why do I want a backside that’s too big for an airplane seat?”
“But perfect for spanking,” he said softly.
“What is it with you and Vasco?” She puffed out her cheeks, embarrassed or exasperated, it was hard to tell which. “He kept banging on about spanking.”
Ty chuckled. “I guess he didn’t tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
“No, I didn’t.” They both turned to see Vasco and Marley appear at the top of the stairs. “And now isn’t the time.”
“Guys, you’re freaking me out here,” Sorrel said. “What is it precisely that you haven’t told me?”
Chapter Eight
Sorrel was unable to interpret the look that passed between Vasco and Ty. What was it they weren’t telling her, and why didn’t she feel more wary of them?
“Come on, babe,” Vasco said. “I’ll show you to your room. You must be beat.”
Sorrel met his gaze, and held it. “I’m not going anywhere until you answer my question.”
Another look passed between the guys. They both appeared uncomfortable, which ought to have put her on her guard. Instead, she felt safe and protected. It was the damnedest thing.
“We let our true colors show for a minute there. Don’t give it another thought.”
“
Vasco!”
“Best tell her, Vas, before her imagination gets the better of her.”
“She might think we brought her here for that purpose.”
“She knows better than that.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Er, guys. She is in the room and can make up her own mind.” She shared a smile between them, enjoying a confidence she seldom experienced because for some reason she felt in control of a situation she didn’t entirely understand. Make that didn’t even begin to understand.
“Okay darlin’, here’s the deal.” Ty was still seated beside her, watching her closely. Vasco parked his cute butt on the arm of the sofa on her opposite side and fixed her with a searching look. “I don’t want you to freak out, but what Ty and I haven’t told you is that we’re sexual Doms.”
“Oh.”
“Do you know what that is?” Ty asked.
“I’ve read 50 Shades.” She shrugged. “Spanking, domination, all sorts of pain and stuff.” She probably should have been appalled, disgusted, outraged…something appropriate like that. She should definitely be frightened. She was shacked up with two guys who had just admitted they enjoyed hurting and humiliating women, hadn’t they? Instead she felt intrigued, and very, very interested. “How extraordinary. You don’t look like the type to me.”
“What do the type look like?” Vasco asked.
“Good point.”
“Because of what we are, we can’t help noticing…er, shall we say, certain aspects of a woman’s anatomy that indicate she would make a good sub,” Ty explained. “You exude sensuality. It’s one of the first things we noticed about you.”
“But we didn’t bring you here for that reason,” Vasco added quickly. “Don’t think that for one moment.”
“Why would you?” She shrugged, trying not to show how hurt she was because their interest in her was purely theoretical. She ought to be glad about that. She wasn’t big on pain or humiliation. Instead, their attitude only intensified her hatred of her body. “I dare say guys who look the way you do can take your pick from the lovely young things who use your gym.”
“Have you forgotten everything we just talked about?” Ty asked in a stirring voice, wagging a finger at her.
“We’re not saying we wouldn’t like to,” Vasco added gently. “Very much indeed, as it happens, but it would be inappropriate. We were called in to help you, not put pressure on you to do things that would probably disgust you.”
“Don’t I get a say?”
The guys shared another of their speaking looks. “You actually want to play with us?” Vasco asked slowly.
“I didn’t say that, but I am interested in what you do.” She grinned. “Call it idle curiosity. I always have had an inquisitive mind, and it tends to get me in trouble. Why break the habit of a lifetime?”
“Do you mean that?” Ty asked.
Did she? “Why do you feel the need to behave that way?” she asked instead.
“It fills a need in us. Actually it’s a need that’s more common than you might think,” Vasco said. “The most unlikely people are into BDSM. Dentists, doctors, lawyers, officers of the law. It’s a great way to get rid of stress, and since it all happens behind closed doors, between consenting adults, where’s the harm in it?”
“But why the need to inflict pain? That’s the part I don’t get.”
“It fuels the need Vas just talked about,” Ty replied. “We like to dominate, to have our sub do everything we ask of her without question. But in return her welfare is our responsibility, and a huge one at that. We must ensure she explores her sexual limits but that we don’t push her past them, or hurt her in ways she finds unacceptable.”
“Not hurt her!” Sorrel thought she must have misheard him. “You want to spank her, whip her, and I don’t want to think about what else. How can that not hurt her?”
“Oh, darlin’.” Vasco shook his head, his expression smoldering in such a sexy way that dampness seeped between her legs and she had to resist the urge to rub her thighs together in an effort to find relief for the burgeoning need blossoming within her. All this talk about weird practices, done so offhandedly, was definitely making her hot. “The dividing line between pain and pleasure is so thin as to be diaphanous.”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
“A good way to evaluate the relationship between pain and pleasure is to consider them as reward-punishment systems. You associate pleasure with reward, right?” Vasco asked.
Sorrel nodded. “I guess so.”
“Right, so it follows pain goes with punishment. Evolutionarily, this makes sense because actions that result in pleasure induce chemicals in the body called endorphins, which are pleasure receptors. How can I explain?” Vasco sent her a heated grin as he took a moment to choose words that, presumably, she would understand. “If the body’s hungry, the pleasure it receives from food restores it to a balanced state of replenished energy. Similarly, that theory can be applied to pain because the ability to perceive pain enhances both avoidance and defensive mechanisms necessary for survival. Get it?”
“I suppose.” She shook her head. “You guys are really into this stuff, aren’t you? You take it seriously.”
“It’s a serious business,” Ty replied. “And just so you know, we’re very selective, and we have never had a woman from the gym up here with us. Not once. In fact, we’ve never had any women at all. We go elsewhere if we feel the need to play.”
Sorrel widened her eyes. “Why not? I’m sure you’d get plenty of volunteers.”
“Just imagine what it would do for our business if word of our predilections got out to the competition,” Vasco said. “Not everyone is as broad-minded as you appear to be. Anyway, it’s no one else’s damned business what we do with our leisure time.”
Far from feeling threatened by the high-intensity looks they fixed her with, Sorrel felt turned on in a way she hadn’t experienced for years. Perhaps not ever.
“Hang on,” she said as a thought occurred to her. “You’re both into this lifestyle, I get that, but are you saying you share a woman?”
“Oh yeah!” Ty’s smile was lethally sinful. “We like to fuck the same sub.”
Sorrel gulped. She would have had trouble selecting one of them over the other, but to take them both…well, she wasn’t so sure about that. “At the same time. That means—”
“Now you get why we’re so taken with your ass.”
“Ty!” Vasco cautioned.
“Sorry, babe. Just sayin’. We’re not asking you to do anything. All we’re doing is answering your questions because…well, because you asked, and because we trust you to keep it to yourself. You’re perfectly safe with us. We promise not to jump your bones during the night if that’s what concerns you.”
“Spoilsports!”
“You want to try it?” Ty asked.
“No, she doesn’t,” Vasco said.
“Yes, actually, I do,” Sorrel said at the same time.
“She’s only saying that because she feels obliged to us,” Vasco said. “Ignore her. She’ll see things differently after a good night’s sleep.”
“Would you please stop trying to pretend you understand me? You know nothing about me.” Sorrel stood up, hands on hips, and glared at Vasco. Sometimes he took the alpha male thing too far. She almost fell over because she only had one shoe on. With a squeal of annoyance she tore the other one off, threw it across the room, and continued to glare at Vasco. “I’m through with people telling me what is or isn’t good for me. I’ve spent my entire life being a good girl.” She made rabbit’s ears around the words good girl. “And look where it’s gotten me. Nearly all the men who asked me out spent our dates talking to my tits, not my face.” Both men tutted, but she ignored the interruption. “That’s why I stopped going out on dates. I only dated Jordi because he was tight with Pete and I thought he was different.” She snorted. “Much I knew. The moment he got hired on at Dynasty and got so much attention as a ce
lebrity chef, he dumped me so fast my feet didn’t touch the ground. One minute we were in a relationship, the next I was sitting by a phone that never rang. It took me a while to figure out he didn’t want to be seen with a girlfriend whose figure might imply his food turned people to fat.”
“He told you that?” Vasco asked, outraged.
“Not in so many words, but I know it’s what he was thinking. Besides, the sex was nothing to write home about, and I can’t say I miss it. Not that I have anything to compare his performance to, so it’s about time I put that situation right.”
“Jordi is the only guy you’ve had sex with?” Ty asked.
“Yeah.” She folded her arms again. “Don’t look at me like that. Just because you two sleep around, it doesn’t make me prudish because I choose not to.”
“We don’t think you’re prudish, darlin’,” Vasco replied with one of those slow, sexy smiles of his that instantly defused her anger. “We love it that you’ve held back.”
“So, what do I have to do to be a sub?” Sorrel felt herself blushing furiously, unable to believe she’d even asked the question. It must be the wine. She never had been a big drinker. But she also knew the wine had absolutely nothing to do with it. She really wanted to get it on with these guys. To let go of her inhibitions and have some fun. Her sex education was woefully inadequate and she had a feeling she’d just landed herself with two of the best teachers in the business. “And what must I call you?”
Vasco answered her question with one of his own. “Why do you want to do this, Sorrel?”
“Why?” She shrugged. “Well, why not? I’ve never done anything the least bit reckless before. I’m twenty-five years old. It’s high time I made up for lost time, don’t you think?”
“Oh man!” Ty muttered.
She glanced at him and noticed a huge bulge in the front of his jeans. Well, that made two of them who were turned on by all this talk of sex. Vasco was seated in such a way that she couldn’t be sure about him. She recalled how hard he had been when he’d kissed her back in her apartment, which seemed like another world away now. The memory bolstered her confidence, and she was fairly sure he had to be in the mood, too, but was trying to hide the evidence. Fuck it, this was no time to be noble!
