No Going Back (Siren Publishing Allure)

by Redrae Gunn

  Caleb was wearing a white, button-down shirt, and it was cuffed at his elbows. He had on dark-gray suit pants and a black tie that had golden threads weaved throughout. Tayen appreciated that David had most likely coordinated colors with Caleb.

  “Are we late?” Tayen asked Caleb. “I thought we were on time, but I haven’t seen David or Sean.”

  “They had to pick up Sean’s tux, and we are to meet them downstairs at the bar,” Caleb said, glancing at his watch. “We are right on time. Don’t you wear a watch?”

  “Never.” Tayen shook her head. “I can usually tell the time within fifteen minutes of the actual time by the sun and my natural clock.”

  “You look beautiful, by the way,” Caleb said as they left to go downstairs.

  Tayen blushed. “Thank you.” She raised her eyes to meet his. “You look”—Tayen paused, looking for the right word. Caleb raised his eyebrows, and Tayen finished with the only word that had come to mind—“edible.”

  Caleb laughed, and Tayen grimaced.

  “That’s not exactly what I…The shower earlier popped into my head, and it’s all I could think of. Would handsome or gorgeous be more appropriate?” Tayen stuttered as she flushed.

  “I think I like edible just fine.” Caleb led her into the elevator, smiling. He’d never been called edible before, and it stroked his ego softly. He’d prefer being edible to handsome any day, especially around Tayen. He stroked her chin with his finger and planted a soft kiss on her lips.

  Caleb pulled a small ring out of his pants pocket and held it out so Tayen could see it. “It’s just a toe ring, and I was hoping that you would wear it tonight.”

  Tayen nodded her head, and Caleb bent down to slip it on her middle, right toe. “You do have a foot fetish, don’t you?” Tayen asked.

  Caleb was still kneeling on the floor when he looked up at Tayen. “Foot, shoe, toe, arches, everything about your narrow, athletic foot is extremely erotic to me.” Caleb stood just as the elevator doors opened. “It gives me great pleasure to see that little piece of jewelry on your foot, Tayen.”

  “Master is pleased,” Tayen whispered and smiled, the look in her eyes clearly happy to give him a little tease. “Caleb, it makes me happy to please you.”

  “Keep it up,” Caleb said returning her teasing, “and I will have no problem taking my pleasure from you right here in the lobby.”

  Tayen sucked in a deep breath and placed her hand on her abdomen.

  “Exactly,” Caleb said, smiling at her response. “I reward good behavior as well. So be my good girl tonight.”

  Tayen leveled wide eyes at Caleb and locked her gaze on his. “As Master commands.”

  Caleb nearly missed a step at her honest reply. No teasing. Just willingness to give him what he had asked. No brattiness. No fake concern. No attempts to be reprimanded. Caleb exhaled slowly, composing himself.

  “Exactly,” Tayen replied, referring to Caleb’s response. She held Caleb’s gaze for a moment longer. She wasn’t teasing. She was dead serious. Her head was starting to spin again, but they had entered the bar, and Tayen followed obediently as Caleb led them to the table on the patio where David and Sean were sitting.

  Sean looked impressive standing next to David. Sean was only an inch or two taller than Tayen, so he was the shorter of the couple. His black hair curled slightly even though it was trimmed. Sean’s eyes were nearly as dark as Tayen’s, but his skin was much darker than hers. Sean was a half and half, like Tayen, part white and part brown. Sean’s ancestry was more south of the border, whereas Tayen’s was north of the border. Way north of the border.

  David and Sean rose as David made introductions. “Caleb Wilson, Sean Lopez, Sean Lopez, Caleb Wilson,” David said as the two shook hands. “Sean is my partner and will be my date for the celebrations tomorrow. Caleb is my neighbor and…”

  “…Tayen is my date for tomorrow’s celebrations,” Caleb finished without a hesitation. Caleb nodded at Tayen and to one of the chairs on the far side of the table just as David did the same to Sean.

  “David said you guys were more than friends,” Sean whispered to Tayen as they sat down.

  “We’re testing compatibility,” Tayen whispered back and glanced at Caleb, hoping that he hadn’t heard the exchange. Caleb’s tongue gliding slowly across his lips and the momentary glaze in his eyes told her that he had heard.

  Tayen turned to Caleb and whispered in his ear, “I’m sorry, you haven’t said how to introduce you.” Her soft breath smelled of spearmint toothpaste and sweet berry wine. Caleb smiled.

  “Your honesty, once again, has pleased me, Tayen,” Caleb whispered back, causing a small shiver to run down Tayen’s spine. Caleb ran his thumb across the bare skin of her upper shoulder, causing more of a shiver. Tayen was happy that the dress had built-in padding for her breasts because her nipples had suddenly decided that standing at full attention was the best way to approach a night with Caleb.

  “You did fine,” Caleb said. Then he turned his attention to the other men at the table.

  “Sean,” Caleb started the conversation, “I heard that you’re a gynecologist.”

  “I’m actually an obstetrician,” Sean admitted, “however, it still means that, yes, I look at pussy all day long.” Sean turned to Tayen. “I’ll be in just the OB ward when I transfer to Omaha, but I can make an exception for you if you need.”

  Tayen reached across the table and patted Sean’s hand. “Thank you, Sean, but you’re practically family. That being said, I want a good referral, please.”

  “Absolutely,” Sean said. “We’ll chat later.” Tayen nodded her head in agreement. The last thing she needed was Sean seeing her crotch.

  The waitress came over to take their drink order. She stared appreciatively at the three men at the table and then glared at Tayen. Tayen straightened her shoulders, looking at the woman, sizing her up. Sean reached his hand under the table and grabbed Tayen’s. She squeezed Sean’s hand in response. Both Caleb and David turned to Tayen.

  “These two fine gentlemen will have a Corona with lime.” Tayen pointed to Caleb and David. “We will have a cranberry juice with vodka, please.” Tayen pointed to Sean and herself. “Top shelf please,” Tayen added. The woman sighed and left. With all the focus on Tayen none of the men at the table noticed her shake her ass as she left the table.

  “Awkward,” Sean said, looking at Tayen.

  “If I get glares from every female this entire night I’m going to scalp someone,” Tayen whispered to all the males at the table. “So”—she turned to Caleb—“do you like beer?”

  “Actually, Tayen”—Caleb smiled—“I choose beer over getting scalped.” Seeing the horror on Tayen’s face, Caleb continued, “Corona with lime is one of my choices, honestly.”

  Sean looked at Tayen. “He’s being honest, and you know I’m all about the cranberry juice, so you did right by me.”

  “Thanks,” Tayen replied to the three men at the table.

  When they had finished their first round of drinks, David looked at Tayen. “Where is Pris?”

  “I sold her,” Tayen replied, bowing her head, she knew her honesty would not be rewarded this time, but it was the only way she knew. “I paid it forward, to someone who looked at her the way I looked at her. She’s in good hands.”

  “You sold Pris?” Sean asked. “You love that car.”

  “It was time for Pris and I to part ways and to move on,” Tayen replied. “Seriously her upkeep is killing me. Come on, she’s only getting older, and honestly, she is in good hands. I sold her to Mr. Bergan for a hundred dollars.”

  “I knew you would pay it forward when I told you the spend-down amount,” David said, looking at Tayen, “but Pris, really?”

  “I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life,” Tayen replied. She set her jaw firmly, and David knew that the conversation was over.

  “Fine,” David said. “Moving on.”

  Sean picked up the small gap of silence. “Mr. Wilson, I hea
r that you are a music producer.”

  Conversation ensued. The small group bar hopped, having appetizers, conversation, and drinks at every bar that they encountered, and finally the destination was met. They were at The Cave. The Cave was the hottest dance spot, had live DJs, and had erotic scenery.

  The well-dressed quartet was plucked out of the line, and they were able to enter immediately. The enormous bouncers inside the entrance looked appreciatively at Tayen, and then they noticed her company.

  “Mr. Wilson, Mr. Gresham,” one of the burly men acknowledged both David and Caleb. “Are you here to enjoy the scenery or will you be performing?”

  “Scenery,” both Caleb and David said together. Sean grinned at David, but Tayen was confused as they were allowed inside.

  “The club owner has a submissive who works here and does the videos to music and stuff like that,” Caleb explained. “I produce the music. It has a BDSM theme on the dance floor. You’ll see soon, and members like myself, and it appears David as well, are allowed to bring their submissives to the rooms, for a performance or a scene. The owner and one of the other Dominants are two of my best friends from college.”

  “Scene?” Tayen asked. She had very limited knowledge of the sexual end of D/s relationships. All she knew was what David had taught her, and that didn’t include anything sexual.

  “A sexual performance done either in private, or here in front of a crowd,” Caleb explained, watching her expression carefully. When Tayen cringed, he knew that she was not up to being displayed in front of people, at least not this soon in the relationship.

  They headed through the tables and took the wide stairs that led down to the dance floor. The sound of the beat and music was thunderous. The old building had been completely stripped of the main floor above the basement dance floor. People were dancing to the intoxicating beat as the DJ spun records and the crowd cheered in approval.

  Tayen looked around the dance floor and saw the Plexiglas rooms hidden behind thick, red curtains that were pulled apart in the middle. People were actively doing scenes in every single room. Except for one. Tayen’s eyes stayed on that room for a moment.

  “It’s being cleaned,” Caleb said, answering her question before she even asked. Tayen nodded. The entire club smelled of leather, perfume, sweat, and sexual anticipation. The place was basically oozing sexuality. Tayen slowed for a moment and placed her hand on her abdomen. The three men she was with noticed her reaction immediately, and they headed for a table that was off of the dance floor.

  “It’s overwhelming the first time,” Sean said into Tayen’s ear. “David took me here a couple of times but never on a weekend. I was overwhelmed on a weekday. I’m a little nervous now.”

  Tayen smiled at Sean, silently thanking him for his honesty. If she was a normal person she wouldn’t be feeling this way. But she was submissive. She glanced at Caleb. He was watching her protectively. His possession of her was in his eyes, his stance, even the way that he guided her to a chair and placed her on the inside of him. She relaxed. Yes, Caleb was watching out for her. She was okay. The breath she had been holding slowly escaped from her lungs.

  Sean got Tayen out on the dance floor, and Tayen finally let loose and danced the night away. All three of her favorite men got a turn, and Tayen noticed that, out of the three of them, Caleb was the most fantastic dancer. She was even able to ignore the glares that occasionally came her way from other females on the dance floor.

  The group went upstairs after a couple of hours, and Tayen collapsed into a booth as the group ordered a round of drinks and some sushi appetizers.

  Sean yawned, and David suggested that they all head home. A cab was called, and when they reached the lobby of their homes, Caleb motioned for David and Sean to go up in the elevator before him and Tayen.

  “Tayen will be home in the morning,” Caleb said softly to the couple.

  As the elevator doors closed, Sean gave her a discreet thumbs-up sign, and Tayen returned the gesture.

  “I’d like to hold you tonight,” Caleb said to Tayen. “Nothing would please me more than having you wake up in my bed in the morning.”

  “You are happy, Caleb?” Tayen asked.

  Caleb nodded his approval as they entered the elevator. He was silent until they entered his home.

  “Tonight is for comfort and companionship,” Caleb said as he shut the door, his insides twisting just like the lock he secured behind them.

  At the sound of the lock clicking into place, Tayen backed against the door. Her fight or flight instinct kicked into full bore. She wanted to flee. Caleb had issues. She had issues. She tried to tell herself to run because this could only end badly for both of them.

  Caleb held out his hand to Tayen, his gaze soft, comforting on her wide eyes. “Balls to the wall?” he asked.

  Tayen nodded her head and placed her hand in his. She placed one foot in front of the other and followed Caleb upstairs.

  Chapter 5

  Caleb pulled a white T-shirt out of his drawer and then rummaged through his other drawers. He was not prepared for a woman spending the night. He had no other sleeping clothes, so he threw two pairs of his boxer briefs on the bed.

  “Pick whatever color you prefer.” Caleb shrugged at Tayen apologetically, and when she smirked at him, she melted his heart.

  “Well, David told me that horizontal stripes make me look bigger,” Tayen said hooking the black and gray striped pair with her finger and handing them back to Caleb. “So I will go with the maroon.”

  “Are you saying that I need horizontal stripes, down there?” Caleb pointed to his groin.

  Tayen had just finished taking off her shoes. She left the toe ring on, and then started laughing. Tayen’s laugh rolled over Caleb’s heart like a warm wave.

  “You don’t need anything else down there. You have already probably added too much,” she said as she untied her dress and slid it off with a little shimmy of her hips.

  Caleb noticed that she had turned away from him so she wasn’t showing off. She was just comfortable enough around him to not be completely modest and change in the bathroom. Caleb scolded himself for saying tonight was just for companionship when he saw that she was wearing a matching thong. She dressed quickly in his boxers, and too-big T-shirt then turned around.

  “I never said I didn’t like the piercing,” Tayen said and planted a kiss on his cheek. “I actually thought it was sexy.”

  Caleb smiled at her soft kiss. He saw that she had left on the toe ring, and it pleased him immensely.

  “I’m going to grab some popcorn. You pick the movie,” Caleb said. “Movies are in the closet of the operating room.”

  “Anything you would prefer?”

  “Of course,” Caleb said and then lowered his gaze at Tayen, “but I want to know what you like to watch before bed.”

  “You’d be surprised,” Tayen said softly to herself then looked up, hoping he hadn’t heard that slip.

  “I find I’ve been pleasantly surprised for the past”—Caleb checked his watch—“thirty-six hours.”

  Tayen’s mouth fell open. That was just about the time that she arrived in the garage and started her new life. She shut her jaw with an audible clinking of her teeth. It was Caleb’s turn to give Tayen a kiss on her cheek, and he left the room.

  Inside the closet of the operating room Tayen was overwhelmed. Rows upon rows of CDs, vinyl, cassettes, and every type of music she could have ever dreamed of. Same with the movies, thankfully he had them arranged alphabetically, so it was easy for her to find what she was looking for.

  Tayen ran back to the bedroom with the seven movies in her hands. The minute she entered the bedroom she regretted what she had done. There was no way that they would get through all the movies in one night, but that had been her point. She wanted to spend more companionship nights with Caleb, but that wasn’t her call, it was his. Her gut twisted, and she was going to run back to the operating room with the other movies, but Caleb had just ca
me up the stairs with the popcorn, and she didn’t have time to hide the movies.

  “I’m not choosing,” Caleb said when he saw the movies in Tayen’s hands. Then he noticed the absolutely terrified look in Tayen’s eyes. “What’s wrong?”

  Tayen looked at the movies in her hands, took a deep breath, and explained, “I want to start with the first one, and I’ve already arranged them in order. I just saw them and knew if we spent more companion nights together, these are the ones I would like to watch, in this order. Then I freaked out because I was scared that you would think I was trapping you into watching all of them with me and you might not want me around that much.”

  Caleb’s gut wrenched as Tayen once again told him the honest truth, no beating around the bush. Then she stood there, cradling the movies in her arms, waiting for his reaction, no matter what it might be.

  Caleb extended his hand. “May I see them please?” Tayen reluctantly handed over the movies to him and waited.

  “I was going to run the others back, but you were already here,” Tayen said and was going to apologize, but she closed her mouth as Caleb held up a finger and shook his head.

  “I am very pleased that you want to share this much of your time with me.” Caleb rubbed his chin as he laid the movies on the bed. “The order though, I may have some objections to these first four.”

  Tayen breathed a sigh of relief as Caleb motioned her to stand next to him. She looked at the movies and didn’t see a problem with the order. “Predator, then the second one. Why not do the first Predator and then the first Alien?” Caleb asked.

  “Because I like watching the Alien movies in order,” Tayen replied, “and you did say that I got to choose.”

  “That I did,” Caleb said, gathering the movies and setting them, in her order, next to his DVD player. He started the Predator movie, changed clothes, and patted the bed. Tayen hopped in and grabbed a handful of the popcorn as Caleb offered it to her.

  Twenty minutes into the movie Tayen curled against Caleb. She rested her head on his chest as he stroked her hair. Tayen sighed, content, and fell asleep.