In the Rough

by Sara Brookes

  Enver knew it was all just idle threats. Marcus had too much passion for the project to abandon it so easily. He had no idea what was going on inside Marcus’s head, but he knew exactly how to silence all that noise. Knew how to fix the folly of the other night when he should have returned Marcus’s kiss even though it could cost him years of hard work.

  He leaned in, not stopping until his lips connected with Marcus’s. The explosion of heat almost knocked him off his feet. He stepped closer, fitting their bodies together. Marcus growled softly. Enver tilted his head, deepening the kiss. This wasn’t foreplay. This was the main fucking event.

  As Enver pulled away, Marcus slowly opened his eyes. Glassy now, any trace of the tension clouding them had vanished. “Guess that answers that question,” he said quietly.

  “What question?”

  “Which way you swing.”

  “I swing any goddamn way I choose.” Enver wanted nothing more than to see those kiss-swollen lips wrapped securely around his cock. But he wouldn’t—couldn’t. He had too much to lose if he gave into that impulse. Instead, for the sake of his sanity, he took a breath, settled his libido and slowed down. “Sorry for taking off the other night. You took me by surprise.”

  “Sorry for getting drunk.” Marcus shrugged. “And for trying to make a stupid move on you.”

  Enver snorted softly. “Yeah, you had a lot to drink, but you know as well as I do that it wasn’t stupid. How about we call it even and you show me what you’ve been working on?”

  * * *

  Marcus blinked. The past few days had been a confusing, chaotic jumble of emotions and somehow, Enver made everything settle in an instant by asking to see his work. And kissing him. His mind was still reeling from how that kiss had made him feel and want something he’d been longing for since the instant they’d met in the crowded convention hall. He’d thought he screwed up with that embarrassment in the drag club parking lot. He wanted to thank Enver for resurrecting those feelings because he’d been so focused on work, he’d forgotten the beauty of human interaction.

  He licked his lips as he stepped back, tasting peppermint with an undercurrent of smoky muskiness as he watched Enver track the movement of his tongue. It had been a long time since he’d kissed a smoker. Never felt the compulsion to pick up the habit, but it felt right for Enver somehow.

  Marcus turned, praying his fingers wouldn’t shake as he pulled the case containing the viewing lenses closer. The pop of the lock echoed through the nearly empty room. “These are the receivers the user wears. Sort of like a pair of glasses.”

  “Lots of wires for glasses.”

  Marcus had thought the same thing since day one. “I’m working to eliminate them completely. The wireless tests haven’t panned out like I’d hoped, so it is what it is for the time being. The wires plug into the processor.” He grew more confident as he explained his setup, his familiarity with the equipment soothing him and focusing his mind on the task at hand. Enver would have no idea what Marcus was talking about, but he was committed to listening and that was enough. “Put these on.”

  Though Enver’s eyebrows lifted at the order, he took the glasses from Marcus. He grunted as he slipped them into place. “Lighter than I expected.”

  “Most people I’ve demo’d this to say the same thing. Eventually I want to strip away this kind of interface entirely. Remove anything that distracts the user from the program itself.”

  “How would you do that?” Enver shrugged off his jacket and draped it over the back of a nearby chair.

  “There are a few theories. It’s the same problem everyone else is working on, so at least I’m not alone there. One thought is injecting some kind of receiver underneath the user’s skin. Less invasive would be some kind of silicon patch. I’m leaning toward special contacts that could be worn and triggered when a user logs into the system. They could either wear them all the time or only when they want to interact with the tech. The possibilities are endless. The program just needs to be nailed down first and then all the fancy gadgets can follow. I’d also need more employees. I don’t have the expertise to be able to do all of that myself.”

  “The contacts would be more appealing to a larger group of individuals.” Enver took the lenses off to look them over. As he fingered the stems, Marcus forced himself to focus on what he was saying. “These would too. Sliding something under the skin... Too many people may not like such an invasion.”

  “That’s why I’m leaning toward the contacts. I have a few feelers out about that since that is a few levels above my skill set, like I said.” Marcus looked over Enver, carefully studying the way Enver was methodically breaking down the process with him. It aligned with the way he’d talked at the convention. “You know more about business than you’re letting on.”

  Enver set down the glasses, shoved his hands into his pockets. “I own a stake in the club.”

  “Okay,” Marcus said deliberately. “But it’s more than that. I’ve seen you interact with the members. You guard them as though you are personally responsible for each one. Kochran may have that same drive, but not to the level you do. He’s got a business to run and that’s always at the forefront of his mind. Your business savvy is due in part to something else.” Marcus just wished he could put his finger on it.

  “Like I told you at Boylesque, I make a lot of items the members use here. It’s a good idea to know your demographic.” Enver picked up the viewing unit again, this time handling it as though he was measuring the weight. “The glasses are a good start to your plan. It will make the transition to the contacts easier.”

  Marcus logged into the system and pulled up the beta program. He tested the view before pulling up the interface that would allow him to add additional users.

  “I’m going to need a trigger.” When Enver just stared at him, Marcus continued. “A safe word for the virtual world, so to speak. If you’re uncomfortable, can’t end your session through the usual means, I can program in a gesture, a word, anything that would immediately end the session. Same as during a play scene.”

  “Monster,” Enver said without further hesitation. “My safe word is, and always has been, monster. Use that.” He set the glasses in place, his lips forming a tight line as he waited.

  Marcus withheld a scowl, unsure what to say. He thought he was fucked up, but Enver was giving him a run for his money. He pressed on doling out instructions. “The switch to the virtual reality world can be jarring and you may feel a little sick for the first few minutes until your brain and body adjust to the change.”

  When Enver nodded, Marcus tapped the control button. In Marcus’s headset, a computer-generated rendering of Enver appeared out of thin air. He mentally made a note of the gaps in his work, but otherwise, he was pleased with the results of the scan. Thankfully, he’d had the foresight to add clothing to the model he’d been working on before Enver had donned the glasses. He’d already embarrassed himself in real life. No reason for the trend to continue inside a world he’d created.

  “Can you hear me?”

  Enver’s computer doppelgänger blinked. “Yeah.” He blinked again. “Whoa.”

  “Strange, isn’t it? I’ll give you a couple of minutes to acclimate while I make a few adjustments.”

  Chapter Nine

  Enver couldn’t believe what he was seeing. This digitally rendered world was...gorgeous.

  And familiar. As he turned, the view changed, providing him with a 360-degree view. Directly in front of him was the club. Or at least a duplicate of it. He took a few tentative steps forward, amazed at the swish of grass under his shoes. The gentle breeze swaying the trees. The warmth of the sun on his face.

  When he reached the large structure, he reached out and touched it, snatching his hand back when he connected with rough stone. It was as though he was actually touching the building. The cracks and crevices that gave the old structur
e character and life. But he knew he was tucked away inside a room of that building, hooked to a machine that was duplicating reality.

  He didn’t understand the hows or whys, but he certainly wanted to know more. What started as a way to distract Marcus from whatever was bothering him had turned into an education for Enver. He wanted to find out just how realistic this place was. How skilled Marcus was despite his assurance otherwise.

  He turned to find Marcus standing a few feet away. In this virtual rendition, Marcus wore the exact same clothes he’d been wearing in the real world, but something had changed. As Enver drew closer, he realized the difference. The scars weren’t there. Enver didn’t know whether to be angry or disappointed. He’d never got a sense Marcus was ashamed of the permanent markings, but he never would have guessed Marcus would use the virtual platform to hide them either.

  “Impressive place you have here.”

  “It could be smoother.”

  “Says every perfectionist alive.” Kochran and Saint were the same. Always striving for goals impossible to achieve. Enver had abandoned that futile hunt years ago about the same time he’d changed the path of his life. “Life would be easier if you didn’t give a fuck.”

  “Oh, I stopped giving a fuck a long time ago.” Marcus licked his lips. “All the shit I’ve been through? Makes it so I reserve my fucks for only the most fuck-worthy situations. I’m not afraid to fail. Rejection rolls right off me. All those unpleasant things humans have to endure are a hell of a lot easier and more pleasant ’cause I just don’t care what people think about me or these scars I stopped trying to hide a long fucking time ago. They don’t like ’em? Get over it or don’t look. Makes those unsavory shit sandwiches life doles up a little more palatable. Give a few less fucks and life is pretty fucking easy.”

  “Yet you used this simulation to alter your scars. That tells me you do give a fuck.”

  “I... There are other reasons.” Marcus turned on his heel and disappeared into the club. Enver followed, noting how similar the artificial structure was to the real one. There were subtle differences, but the layout and overall appearance was the same. He was torn between tracking Marcus down immediately, and exploring to see just how much of the club had been mapped out in the program.

  After a quick check of the replica of Court and the row of semi-private rooms lining the hallway leading to the second floor, Enver found Marcus standing at the top of the stairs. Somehow, he shouldn’t have been surprised to find Boyce’s photographs replicated in the virtual world. Marcus had appeared just as fascinated as the rest of the membership.

  Marcus gestured for him to follow, and they ducked into a room Enver hadn’t been in for quite some time.

  “Kochran said this is one of the most requested rooms at the club, second to Court. Thought it was only appropriate to immortalize in pixels early on.”

  “It is,” Enver said as he tipped his head back to look at the soaring ceiling of exposed wood beams. Dream Within a Dream had been designed to replicate a small house nestled among the sturdy branches of a soaring tree. Which mean it was essentially an adult treehouse with all the BDSM trimmings. It was also one of the few rooms at the club that spanned two stories.

  “The details on the walls are so intricate, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to replicate them effectively. You’re the expert—what are your thoughts?”

  The room was a lot to take it all at once, but Marcus had managed to capture the character of the space. Even down to the loose nails on the planks of the short staircase that led to a loft area. Ideas were already starting to form in Enver’s mind about the kinds of things he’d like to do in that particular part of the room.

  “It’s remarkable.” So much so, Enver wanted to reach out and touch everything. The soft blanket draped over the back of an overstuffed couch. The dull metal of the cast-iron stove. Even the pile of the area rug tucked into one corner.

  Enver crossed the room, touching everything he could just to see if it was as realistic as it appeared. When he reached the other side, he stood in front of a large panoramic window and gazed out. Boyce would be pleased to see the photographs he’d mounted outside the windows to further add to the illusion had been perfectly replicated. Enver had always felt as though he’d been transported to another world inside the room and Marcus had managed to expertly duplicate that magic.

  “It’s like you’ve built your own personal Room of Requirement,” Enver said.

  Marcus stared, clearly stunned by the reference.

  Enver grinned. “I’ve got a niece and nephew who are big Harry Potter fans.”

  “Oh. Thought you were going to tell me you had a sub who was.”

  After making a slow circuit of the room, Enver came to stand directly in front of Marcus. “You said you had reasons. I’d be interested in hearing more.” Enver had his suspicions, but he wanted to hear them directly from him. When Marcus remained quiet, Enver knew it wasn’t the time to dig deeper. “How did you create all this? The work you’ve done in such a short time is amazing. With the right amount of help, I bet you’d have a working prototype inside a month.”

  “Ezra and Maddy did a lot of the work in the simulation they have. I used their stuff as a jumping off point, merging it with my programs and created my augmentation off of that. We’re going to keep both worlds because everyone has a preference for how they’d like to play, but the idea is to get members to come over to the dark side.”

  “Why do I get the feeling I’m supposed to know what that means?”

  “Really? You don’t know that’s from Star Wars? Aren’t you old enough—never mind.”

  Enver enjoyed the alluring flush that tinted Marcus’s cheeks a little too much. “I was two when Star Wars came out. My sister took me on a Saturday afternoon and couldn’t stop talking about it as we left. Neither could anyone else. I was too young to understand it then. I know what it means. Just wanted to give you a hard time.” He enjoyed teasing Marcus probably more than he should have. “Go on, talk geek to me.”

  Fuck if he knew why he didn’t mind hearing it from Marcus when he tuned Ezra and Saint out every damn time they spouted movie lines. His sister had long ago stopped trying to explain it to him because she was convinced he was hopeless. Something told Enver he just hadn’t found the right incentive.

  “You’ve already experienced touch. Smell is another feature. Though it still needs tweaking.” Marcus gestured toward the tiny kitchen area of the treehouse. “Take a whiff.”

  Enver inhaled a rich, decadent aroma that almost made his stomach growl. “Brownies.”

  “Excellent. It hasn’t worked every time. You’d think a hundred lines of code wouldn’t be giving me such a hassle.”

  Enver had no idea what the number of code lines had to do with any of this, but he wanted to know just how far the world had been expanded. “What about taste?”

  “Hold out your hand.”

  Enver did as instructed, and a dark brown square appeared on his palm. The heat of the dessert radiated against his hands and his lips as he opened his mouth to give it a taste. Rich chocolate fudge slipped over his tongue, the flavor exploding through his senses. “Jesus. These are worthy of the dark side.”

  Marcus blinked. “Wow. He can make a joke.”

  “Rare ’cause I save them for worthy adversaries.” He examined the treat in his hand after taking another bite. “How is this even possible?”

  “There’s an embedded code your brain picks up, tricking your brain into scent, feel and taste.”

  “Impressive.” He was certain the cheeks of Marcus’s avatar flushed a little. The same sensations that compelled him earlier made him move forward again. “So all five senses are in use. Given the idea is for members of a fetish club to engage in something other than baked goods, have you tested that aspect out yet?”

  Marcus’s throat worked as he swallowed, aver
ting his gaze to everywhere but Enver. “No. Haven’t been able to find anyone willing.”

  Good to know that bullshit meter of Enver’s worked even in virtual reality. Something told him Marcus hadn’t even tried.

  He spread his arms, gesturing to the room. “Plenty of test subjects around Noble House who will be more than accommodating.”

  Marcus met Enver’s glaze. “The one right in front of me would be a perfect candidate.”

  Enver admired his boldness. While he didn’t mind the docile sub, he preferred one with enough balls to ask for exactly what they wanted. “I’m probably the last one you should use.”

  “Best, actually,” Marcus countered. “You’re someone who isn’t familiar with the system. Won’t pick apart the technology and simply use the product as it was meant to be utilized. Since you shun tech like you do, that makes you the perfect candidate. You’ll ask the most questions. Just like your business partner said when he sent me to you.”

  Damn Kochran and his method of madness. He would have known Enver would make the best candidate to play guinea pig. But the fact of the matter was that Enver couldn’t participate no matter how much he longed to. He’d already fallen back into old habits.

  “You really want someone else. I can’t give you what you want.”

  “Thought I was supposed to be the judge of that.” Marcus titled his head. “I haven’t been out of the loop so long that I don’t remember who has the fucking power.”

  “Really,” Enver said calmly, despite Marcus’s ire. “I can’t give you the full package.”

  “I’ve already seen that.”

  Enver smirked. “Fine. Let me spell it out. My hard limit is sex.”

  “You’re celibate?”

  “Didn’t say that. No intercourse during a session. Virtual. Or real,” he added as a caveat.

  “Why?” Marcus fired back.

  Enver had gotten used to people being curious about his life. Knew how to deflect it. “You want my help or not?”