by Ivy Smoak
For a second no one moved.
Then Diablo reached for my breasts and Tanner growled, “Stop.” His voice was laced with danger. Diablo froze in his tracks.
Damn that was sexy. I needed to make Tanner jealous more often.
Tanner opened his tuxedo jacket. At first I thought he was gonna flash a gun holstered under his arm. But he didn’t have any weapons. Instead he just had a black onyx medallion in the shape of the Society logo dangling from his inside pocket on a thick black chain.
“Raven’s mine. Step away from her,” he demanded. “Now.”
Angel and Diablo each took a few steps back.
Then he walked over, lifted me over his shoulder, and carried me off the stage like a caveman. I’d never been so turned on in my life.
“Wait,” said Ocelot.
Tanner spun around. “What?!” he growled.
“You know I’m in love with you, Ryder, but this is highly irregular.”
Did Ocelot just say he’s in love with Tanner? This night just kept getting weirder and weirder.
“You took an oath when you received that medallion,” continued Ocelot. “To cockblock two of your fellow members is a sick perversion of that sacred oath.”
“Report me to the council if you must, but I’m leaving here with Raven. Goodnight, gentlemen.” He put his hand firmly on my ass as he carried me the rest of the way off stage. If that wasn’t a show of staking his claim, then I didn’t know what was. And he didn’t put me down until we were back in the hallway with all the secret doors.
“What the hell are you doing at Club Onyx, Ash?” he asked. He put his hand on the center of my chest and pushed me backward until my back collided with the wall. He was caging me in. And staring at me with his stormy eyes. And I was loving every second of it.
All I wanted to do was jump on him and kiss him all over for saving me, but I couldn’t ruin my momentum. I had to keep up this slutty charade until I was safely out of the wifey-zone. Because it was working. Chastity was a freaking genius.
“What do you mean what am I doing? Chastity and I got invited…” Kidnapped… “And then Ocelot bought us as sex slaves at the auction.”
“Sex slaves?! At the auction? Why the hell were you there? That is for experienced members only. There’s no way you were ready for that.” Then his eyes got big. “Please tell me you didn’t go to the sky box.”
That place that won best new room? “Nope.” I didn’t know what the hell the sky box room was, but if I ever needed to really make Tanner jealous, it sounded like that was the place to go. “We went straight to the auction room. When someone paid $250K for us I thought for sure we were gonna get gangbanged at a bachelor party, but it turned out that Ocelot needed us to help him present the Onyxies since his girlfriend’s plane got delayed.”
“And that presentation involved getting double-teamed?” He pulled his hand away from me. It looked like he wanted to start pacing but instead he just ran his hand down his face like the idea literally pained him.
“Yup. Actually, no. I was just supposed to choose one guy. But I got a little greedy. And really, I had no choice. You know… Single Girl Rule #8.”
“That’s not a thing.”
“It absolutely is. And if I’m not mistaken, both Angel and Diablo fit that criteria. Unless they have a fat day or something, then my body is at their mercy.”
“Even in front of that entire auditorium of people?”
“Rule 8 isn’t shy.”
“Why would that be part of girl code?”
“It’s not girl code. That’s for old ladies and tweens. These are the Single Girl Rules. They’re far superior. And of course Rule #8 is a part of them. Didn’t your parents ever tell you to eat all your food because there were starving children in Africa?”
“No. That would have been awfully strange of them to say...”
“They seriously never said that? Oh well. It doesn’t matter. The concept is the same. It’s wrong to waste food because it’s a valuable commodity that some people would kill for. The same goes for a man with an 8 pack and a huge cock. To refuse him would be an insult to women everywhere who can’t find themselves such a fine specimen.”
“I thought the rules were like: If you arrive together, leave together. And friends don’t let friends go to the bathroom alone. Things like that.”
“Never let a friend go into the bathroom alone is Rule #3. But the rest of what you said is just classic girl code. Which I just told you is for basic bitches. Single Girl Rules are more sophisticated. You’re probably thinking of Rule #11. But you got it all wrong. It’s really: Only ditch your friends for a hot guy.”
Tanner stared at me. “There’s no way that’s right.”
“Sure it is. Anyway, where was I? Oh, right. So Ocelot would only let me choose two. But the others were all double 8s as well, so before they left, I told them they could come take a turn on me once Angel and Diablo were done.” Was that too much? That felt like way too much. Although if my goal had been to channel my inner-Chastity, then I’d totally nailed it.
“You’re a terrible liar, you know,” said Tanner.
“What makes you think I’m lying?”
“It’s pretty obvious.”
“You’re mistaken, sir. As a card-carrying member of the Single Girl Rules, I had no choice but to let Angel and Diablo have their way with me. It would have been a totally different story if I had a boyfriend, though.” Boom! That was it. I’d made my case: Un-wifey-zone me, or I’m gonna whore it up. And that was a promise.
Now the ball was in Tanner’s court.
“We’re leaving,” he said.
Yes, take me home with you!
“It’s late and there’s still lots to do to get ready for this launch party. You said Chastity was here too?”
“Yeah.” I’m not sure why he wanted Chastity to come home with him too. And why we were going to be ‘working.’ “I’m pretty sure she ran off with Karl after he won Best Gif.”
“Any idea where?”
I shook my head.
“Damn, okay.”
“Should we split up?” I asked.
“Not a chance.”
“But there are like…a bajillion rooms in this place.” I gestured to a nearby door labeled with a handcuff symbol.
“If tonight is Ocelot’s secret sex party, then all these rooms will be locked until the party begins. That leaves only a few places where they could be.”
Tanner grabbed my hand and guided me out of the never-ending hallway and into a ridiculously fancy foyer. Two stories. Double staircase. A chandelier the size of a car. It was insane. There were so many things to explore. Tanner picked up his pace.
We were going to go search one of the lounges, whatever that meant, but on our way down the grand staircase, we heard loud moans coming from the men’s locker room.
“Sounds like Chastity took Karl to a bathroom stall,” I said.
The moans got louder as we approached. And then I nearly slipped on her dress crumpled in a pile at the locker room entrance.
We walked in and…
“Ahhh!” I tried to hide my eyes. Because Chastity hadn’t taken him into a stall. She had just bent over and let him fuck her from behind right in the middle of the bathroom. But the really shocking part was that she was simultaneously giving head to some other guy.
Damn, girl! I’d walked in on Chastity plenty of times in college, but never with two guys.
The guys looked over but didn’t stop.
Tanner pulled out the same symbol he’d shown to Ocelot. “That’s enough, guys. Party’s over.”
The guy getting head pulled back immediately and ran away with his junk in his hands. Karl started to pull out too, but Chastity reached back and grabbed his ass.
“Wait,” she said. “Don’t stop.”
“Nope,” said Tanner. “It’s time to go.” He sounded so calm, like the scene in front of us was totally normal.
“Can’t he at least finish?”
asked Chastity. “I don’t want to leave him with blue balls. It goes against Single Girl Rule 24: No blue balls allowed. Finish what you start.”
“Fucking Single Girl Rules,” Tanner mumbled under his breath.
“Yeah man,” said Karl. “Just give me one more minute.”
“Out. Now,” growled Tanner.
Karl frowned and gave Chastity one more good thrust before pulling out.
“Boo,” said Chastity. “Why are you ruining all my fun?”
Tanner grabbed her dress off the floor and tossed it to her. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“They didn’t seem to mind that I was in the men’s room…”
“I meant at Club Onyx.”
“Who even was that second guy?” I asked.
“No idea. But he walked in on us and asked to join. He didn’t quite have 8 abs and 8 inches, but it was close enough.”
“See?” I said to Tanner. “I told you Rule #8 was a thing!”
Tanner shook his head. “It all makes sense now. You didn’t tell me that Chastity was the one who made the rules up.”
“Made it up?” asked Chastity as she put her lingerie back on. “I beg your pardon. The Single Girl Rules are a time-honored tradition among single women all over the world that aren’t basic.”
I’d described them just right. I gave myself a mental high-five. #NailedIt. Yas queen! I’d used a hashtag right!
“We can talk more about this later,” Tanner said. “But right now we’re leaving.”
I zipped Chastity into her dress. I was so excited to be finally going home with Tanner.
“Do we have to?” she asked.
“Yes.” Tanner snapped his fingers. Two men appeared, seemingly out of thin air, and bagged me and Chastity.
Chapter 57 - House(boy) Arrest
Wednesday
“Tanner,” I said into the thick fabric of the bag. I couldn’t see a thing. And my hands had been tied again. Now we were in the back of a car. “Tanner?” The car made a quick turn and I slid slightly in my seat.
Chastity yelped as she slammed into me. “Ow.”
You’d think that Tanner’s minions would have been a little more careful with the goods. “Tanner,” I hissed. He wouldn’t just leave us alone with strangers, would he? But I guess whoever bagged us weren’t strangers to him.
I felt a hand on my thigh.
“Don’t go to Club Onyx again without me,” he whispered.
I’d recognize Tanner’s voice anywhere.
“You need a proper guide to…” his voice trailed off. “Just…promise me you won’t. Please, Ash.”
But he’d sent me the letter saying to go there if he disappeared. Maybe that was the whole problem though. He hadn’t disappeared and I’d gone anyway. And I’d taken everything too far. Way too far. God, I’d touched two penises for Christ’s sake! My stomach was twisted in knots. “I promise.”
His hand fell off my thigh as the car came to a stop.
Someone lifted me over their shoulder again.
“Tanner?”
But there was no response.
“Stop touching my ass!” Chastity yelled. It sounded like she was right next to me. Whoever was carrying her was definitely carrying me too. A huge bodyguard probably, because he was able to carry us both up a flight of stairs.
“I need to talk to Tanner,” I said.
No response. He continued climbing up and up and up. We were either going to a penthouse or some cheap ass apartment with no elevator.
We came to a stop and I heard a door open.
“Let us go,” I said and tried to wriggle my way out of his grip, but the man’s hand was super firm around the backs of my knees.
But he answered my pleas. Because he dumped us unceremoniously on something soft and tore the bag off my head. We were sitting on…my couch? In my apartment? Not a penthouse then. Where the hell was Tanner? I’d thought he was taking me back to his place… Damn it he tricked me! Although, I guess he’d never actually said we were going back to his place. I just assumed because of all the sexual tension in the air that he wanted to be alone with me to ravish me. But instead he’d just dropped me off at my place. Wait…what the actual hell? How did he get in without a key?
“How did you get in here…” I demanded, but my voice trailed off. Because the man standing in front of us looked nothing like I’d expected. He was on the shorter side and decked out in lederhosen. And the strangest part…he looked vaguely familiar. I shook the thought away. There was seriously no way such a petite man could have fireman-carried us up to my apartment. Unless he was magical or something. I just stared at his tiny little arms.
“You’re both in timeout,” he said. “Until you can learn to behave yourselves. Master is very upset with you.”
His British accent finally helped me place him. “Nigel?” I asked. Why was he wearing lederhosen?
“The houseboy?” Chastity’s muffled voice sounded underneath the bag on her head.
Nigel looked like he’d been caught in a lie. Which was weird because he hadn’t been.
“Yes,” he said. “I’m Nigel. A normal boy. Now shut your whore mouths!”
“Nigel!” I said. “You can’t talk to women like that.”
“Oh.” He wrung his hands together. “I’m sorry…I heard Master say it once. I thought it was some of the new lingo he always makes me study. But I’m behind on my lessons. I’m very busy.”
What the what?
“Who did Tanner say the whore mouth thing about?” Chastity asked. “Was there a whore at his apartment?”
Nigel took a step away from us like he was scared we might bite.
And I got a fantastic idea. Nigel had all the answers we needed. “Scratch that question.” There were a million reasons why Tanner would tell someone to shut their whore mouths. They were either a whore or saying something saucy. I wasn’t concerned about that. Honestly, I wanted to start saying that more often. Just like I’d recently started trying to add yas queen into my vocabulary. “Nigel, we need your help.”
He perked up. “I’m ready to serve.”
Weird. “First, can you please take the bag off Chastity’s head?”
“Who?”
Who else could I possibly be talking about? I nodded to Chastity on the couch next to me. “My friend over there.”
“Oh. Yes, for you, of course.” He hurried over and unbagged Chastity. He turned to me like he was waiting for his next order.
Chastity blew her bubblegum-colored bangs out of her eyes. And then she just stared at Nigel like he was an alien. It was probably the lederhosen throwing her off.
“Back to the help I need,” I said. “It’s about Tanner’s secret closet.” I could finally get the answers about how he’d made it.
Nigel’s eyes grew round. “No. You can’t go in there!” He shook his head back and forth.
“What, why?” I asked.
“Not unless you want to get burned.”
“What?” Chastity said. “I’ve been in there dozens of times already.”
Nigel gasped. “But you can’t. He’ll…it’ll…” He put his hand over his mouth.
“Are you scared of normal clothing or something?” I asked.
Nigel looked so confused. He looked down at his outfit and then back at me. “No?” He smoothed down his suspenders. “I like lederhosen. They’re very comfortable. You got a problem with that?”
“Not at all. You look quite dapper.”
He smiled to himself.
“Please just tell us how Tanner made that closet.” I nodded over to the bookcase that doubled as a secret entrance to my new closet.
“Oh.” He put his hand to his chest. “That closet. I thought you meant his…” his eyes grew round again. “Stop talking. Both of you. Timeout! Those are the rules.”
“We’re grown women, Nigel.” Chastity batted her eyelashes at him. “You can’t put us in timeout. Now can you please untie us?”
It looked like Nigel was blu
shing. But then he frantically shook his head. “No.”
“Please?” she shimmied a little.
Nigel glanced down at her cleavage and then back at her face. “Never. I love to serve. But I only serve two men.”
I glanced at Chastity and then back to Nigel. “Two men? Who’s the other man besides Tanner?”
Nigel lit up at the mention of this other man. “Tanner’s best friend. I love serving him. Very much so.”
“Ah, Matt?” asked Chastity. “We’ve heard all about Tanner’s secret best friend. I’ve actually been dying to know more about him. Surely you can give us all the details about him.”
Nigel squinted at her. “Never.”
“But…can’t you tell us anything about him? Is he tall? Muscular? Handsome?”
Nigel squinted at her even more. It was a full-on glare now. “He’s all of the above. Not that it’s any of your concern, whoever you are.”
“Is his last name Caldwell?” she asked.
Please, God, no! If Tanner was best friends with Matthew Caldwell, I’d never be able to date him. It would just be way too freaking awkward. But I was dying to know the answer…
Nigel just glared at her.
Was that a ‘no’ or a ‘yes,’ Nigel? What did his glare mean?!
“Is he wealthy?” Chastity asked. “I bet he’s so wealthy. Nigel, please tell me everything about him. Maybe give us his address?”
Nigel slapped her across the face. “No! He’s mine!”
Chastity gaped at him.
“Nigel!” I said. “What has gotten into you?” I didn’t really know him that well. But he’d seemed so docile when he’d delivered the cookies.
Nigel pulled his hand back. “I mean…he’s…no. Don’t talk about Master Matthew. He’s not for you. I already have to share enough.” He took a step away from us, probably so he wouldn’t slap Chastity again. “Excuse me for a moment. I need to use the outhouse.” He scurried off.
“Outhouse?” I whispered. “What is up with him?”
