Out of the Storm

by Avery Gale

  “Oh, um…hi, I was just looking for my clothes. Have you seen them?” Kyle just stood over her watching her intently as he was studying everything about her for so long she was beginning to wonder if he was even going to respond. She was starting to question what she should do when he cocked his head to one side and smiled.

  “Second thoughts, kitten? Do you always wake up with your thoughts all scattered about or is this an orgasm induced condition?” She didn’t see anything but sincerity in his face, but there was definitely amusement dancing in the depths of his dark eyes. He was so good looking that she couldn’t help but look at the contours of his face and wonder how God had managed to make two perfect looking men. And then she wondered what He was thinking by dangling them in front of her like a prize she could never really win.

  “Well, I….damn it to Denmark, no matter how I answer those questions I’m gonna be in trouble so maybe I should just plead the fifth and call it a day.” She hadn’t meant to be flip and she had learned a long time ago that it was a rare person who really appreciated her humor so she really should have given her response more thought. She quickly dropped her gaze to her lap and watched her fingers pinching and twisting the sheet as if her hand belonged to someone else.

  She hadn’t expected the chuckle she heard from him and when she slowly raised her eyes to him, she so was surprised to see not one but two intimidating men standing over her with towels casually wrapped around lean hips. When the little black dots clouding her view started dancing, she realized she was holding her breath but couldn’t seem to let it go. “Darlin’, I do believe you better take a breath.” She heard Kent’s voice, but her attention was on the matching six-packs directly in front of her. “Now!” The sharp tone of Kent’s command had her gasping in the oxygen her brain was desperately seeking and thankfully the black dots of death as she’d always called them dissipated into mist. Ever since she’d been a kid she would catch herself holding her breath when she was particularly nervous and it was a habit she’d always hated. She and her friend and neighbor had laughed when they had discovered they shared the bad habit. Gracie was one of the best friends Tobi had ever had and they were so much alike it was almost scary sometimes.

  Tobi took a couple of gulping breaths of air and when her head finally cleared enough to speak she looked up into the now stern looks on Kyle and Kent’s faces. “Sorry, I guess I sort of panicked there for a minute.”

  “Kitten, if that was panic in your eyes, I’m worried about what your real sexual hunger might look like. Don’t lie to us—ever. Now, I’m going to give you one chance to amend that statement so don’t blow it.” She was pretty sure he’d used that expression on purpose and her face heated to near scorching at the image that flashed through her mind.

  “Well, I really was panicking and it happens sometimes when I first wake up.” Even though what she’d said was true, she didn’t have any intention of explaining it. “And then I remembered where I was…and what I’ve done and I,” she felt the first tear race down her cheek, “and I can’t even imagine what you must think of me. Can you please tell me where my clothes are?”

  Kyle sat down on one side of her and pulled her onto his lap. “Kitten, I don’t know what you are thinking, but I can assure you that you haven’t been asleep long enough for all the adrenaline to have moved out of your system.” She didn’t know exactly what that meant and he must have noticed because his smile was filled with such compassion and understanding that she felt her heart clinch. “You are reacting in fear because of the hormones that are battling for supremacy in your system. And kitten, we’re not going to let you make a decision based on fear.” He pulled her close and kissed the tip of her nose before setting her on her feet. “Now, let’s get you up. We’ll let you primp a bit before we show you what our wild and wacky receptionist sent up for you to wear. By the way, you are going to love Regi, just try not to let her lead you into too much mischief, okay?”

  Feeling much more settled, Tobi found herself looking over at Kent and wondering if Kyle’s words applied to him as well. Kent’s sexy smile helped settle her nerves and she turned to walk to the bathroom when his hand wrapped around her upper arm. His grip wasn’t angry, but it was unyielding. “Sweetness, I saw the questions in your eyes and I want you to know that unless you are told otherwise, we will expect you to ask each of those questions respectfully. Don’t assume you know the answers to what we are thinking. If you wonder, then ask.” He didn’t release her, but just continued to watch and wait.

  Tobi barely resisted the urge to fidget and raised her eyes to his. “Well, I was just wondering if Kyle’s words were…well, if he was speaking for you as well. I don’t like feeling needy, but I really wondered, you know?” She had started out looking into his eyes but had let her gaze drift down because she didn’t want to see the disappointment she was sure was there.

  When he forced her face back up she saw his smile. “Now, that wasn’t really all that painful, was it? And yes, Kyle also was speaking for me. Unless we correct the other one, you will always know that we’re on the same page, got it?” The kiss he gave her made her knees weak and when he finally released her, she wasn’t sure she was going to be able to walk unassisted into the bathroom. Before she turned from him he smiled, “Drop the sheet, sweetness. We want to see what is ours for the weekend.” Even though she had been ready to leave just a few minutes ago, an odd sadness moved through her at the idea they only wanted her for two more days. But deciding this was likely the only chance she’d ever get to visit The Prairie Winds Club, she knew she had to suck it up and enjoy the time she had with them.

  Letting the sheet slide softly down her body and puddle at the floor, Tobi stepped over it and started for the bathroom. She heard both men growl and she fought her own smile, because just knowing that she had been able to elicit that response from the two men behind her was immensely satisfying. They made her wet just by speaking to her and a little bit of turn-about was fair play after all.

  ****

  “Jesus. She has absolutely no fucking clue how gorgeous she is. It’s the damnedest thing I’ve ever seen and it’s positively electrifying.” Kent had meant every word he’d said after the door closed behind Tobi. Closing them out was something they would never allow her to do if she really was their submissive, but since she wasn’t really theirs—yet, there wasn’t much he could do about it. Turning back to his brother it wasn’t difficult to see the hunger in his eyes as he continued staring after Tobi. “Come on, you need to see what Regi sent up.”

  He had been thrilled when he’d seen the dress their friend had sent up for Tobi. The deep emerald color of the fabric had golden flecks in it that would set off her pale hair and green eyes as well as catch the lights. The halter dress was barely going to cover her generous breasts and it looked like the back was going to dip all the way to the top of her ass. And he loved placing his hand atop that particular erogenous zone, particularly when it was bare. The dress was also likely much shorter than what Tobi ordinarily wore so she would protest and that would give them the perfect excuse to use the small matching butt-plug Regi had included. He made a mental note to send Regi a basket of all those imported chocolates she loved so much. The dainty golden choker had small stones that would look perfect with the flowing dress along with the long dangling chain that would fall clear to the middle of Tobi’s bare back. The gold was highly reflective and the piece was going to look spectacular against her perfect skin.

  After he’d shown Kyle the bounty he’d laughed as his brother whispered, “Fuck, we aren’t paying that woman nearly enough. Christ, this stuff is beyond perfect.” Kent couldn’t have agreed more.

  “Let’s get dressed so we can dress her. I have to tell you, I’m really looking forward to the hissy I know she is going to throw about how short this dress is. That plug is the perfect funishment for what we already know is coming. Hell, I’m not too sure that Regi isn’t a closet dommé.” They quickly parted and went to their own sm
aller bedrooms. When they had designed to penthouse apartment atop the club, they had agreed that the master suite would be reserved for a time when they found a woman that they wanted to share. It struck Kent as ironic that by unspoken agreement they’d settled Tobi in that suite rather than taking her to one of their bedrooms like they had with the other women they’d played with. Granted they had only invited two women into their personal space since they’d moved in, but he still hadn’t missed the significance of their actions. Several minutes later they met back in the office and were checking the club’s scene schedule when Tobi’s soft knock sounded on the doorframe.

  ****

  Looking up to see Tobi completely covered in the silk robe he’d left on the bed for her was the sexiest thing Kyle had ever seen. It didn’t matter that she’d had to roll up the sleeves to find her hands and the damned thing hit her just above her ankles. She looked like a little girl wearing something her big brother had left unattended and still the picture was heart stopping. He held out his hand to her and was thrilled when she padded barefoot over to him and placed her small hand in his much larger one. “Kitten, I really like seeing you in my robe. And knowing that you are naked under it makes it even better.”

  Her nipples were already tight and displaying themselves beautifully through the silk, Kyle watched as Kent leaned forward and sucked one of the little beauties in without even baring it. He must have been biting down ever so softly because Tobi’s soft sighs had morphed into a needy moan. When Kent leaned back he smiled up at Tobi’s glazed over expression. “The robe does look lovely on her, but I prefer her without it. Hand it over, sweetness.” Kyle fought a smile as she seemed to be having trouble bringing herself back to the moment and focusing on Kent’s words. When Kent lifted an eyebrow in question she finally seemed to remember what he’d told her to do and slid the robe off her shoulders and handed it to him.

  In the future her hesitance would earn her a punishment, but for now they were more interested in building her trust and compliance would be a natural by-product. As the robe had slid off her shoulders Kyle could see that she’d found the lotion they’d left out for her because her skin looked almost dewy and the scent of citrus and sage wafted over his senses making every nerve ending sit up and take notice of the beautiful woman standing naked in front of him. Leaning forward, he slid his hand up the inside of her thigh forcing her to move her legs apart. “The first thing we want to explain is the use of safe words. Since you’ve researched the lifestyle some, I’m assuming you know what that means, is that right?” When she nodded and answered affirmatively, he continued. “We’ll use the club’s stop light system. Green means you are good to go. Yellow means you want things to slow down or you have a question about what’s happening. And if you say red everything stops. We’ll discuss what went wrong, but we won’t play again until we’ve all taken a break, rested, and talked it through. Now, we’re going to show you two poses, kitten. There are several more, but these are all you’ll need for tonight. You are going in as our guest tonight, but there are still some hard core members that won’t like the fact we have allowed you inside if they don’t think you are a sub at the very least.”

  He waited a couple of seconds until she’d had a chance to take in what he’d said before he continued. He’d learned years ago that when a sub’s senses were being bombarded with new sensations and their emotions were running high it often took them longer than normal to fully process information. That realization had saved him and the subs he’d played with a lot of grief over the years.

  While it was true they owned the club and as the owners they could easily override a member’s demand for punishment if Tobi was to act inappropriately, that wouldn’t serve any of them well in the end. Their plan for the club had always been not only that it would follow the cardinal rule of “Safe, Sane, and Consensual” at all times, but that everyone—even he and Kent—were subject to the “Rules of the House.”

  Some of their members weren’t people they personally liked, but they’d met the club’s criteria for membership and had made it through several levels of screening. Each new member was personally screened and investigated by Micah Drake. Micah caught a lot of guff about his looks, and Kyle had heard subs in the clubs refer to him as the Beefcake Dom. Standing well over six feet with shaggy blonde hair and crystal blue eyes, Micah was often mistaken for a southern California surfer even though he’d been born and raised in the Texas hill country. Micah had been the computer guru on their SEAL team so when he’d decided against re-upping, Kyle and Kent had talked him into moving back to Austin. They’d helped him open a private investigation firm and then promptly secured his services for Prairie Winds. If the prospective member passed Micah’s scrutiny, their references were called and interviewed at length. Passing that level meant they spent at least an hour being questioned by both he and Kent. Micah had managed to send through the cream of the crop, so he and Kent had really had a pretty easy time of it when it had come to the personal interviews. The great thing about their system was they knew each of their members personally—that didn’t mean they liked each member or necessarily that they respected them, but they did know each member on a first name basis. The familiarity had helped them know which members were sticklers for the smallest details of protocol and several of them were scheduled to be in attendance tonight.

  Kyle pushed Tobi’s legs further apart than he knew was comfortable for her and then showed her how to lace her fingers together at the small of her back. The position displayed her breasts perfectly. “Kitten, if one of us tells you to present, this is the position we’ll expect you to assume immediately. We won’t ask for this randomly so if we do, there is a compelling reason and you’ll need to do it quickly and without question. I’m reminding you of this because there are several members of the club that will be watching you closely and we don’t want to give them any reason to demand that either we take you in hand or that we allow them to mete out a punishment.”

  The change in her demeanor was almost immediate. She started shaking so violently at her core that Kyle actually placed his hands on her hips to keep her from falling. “Kitten, what’s this about?” Her reaction was so out of proportion to what he’d said that he couldn’t help but worry they were making a serious mistake by taking her downstairs. The frown on Kent’s face told Kyle that he was also concerned about Tobi’s reaction.

  “I…please, I don’t want anyone else besides you to touch me.” She was looking back and forth between the two of them with a desperation that spoke to the sincerity of her fear. True fear was something every Dom watched for and gently explored, but always respected. And since Tobi wasn’t really their sub or even a member of the club they would absolutely make sure no one touched her but the two of them.

  Kent leaned forward and put his hands on each side of her face, “No one will touch you, Tobi. Well, I’m sure you’ll get a hug from Regi and probably Tank, he’s the bouncer at the front door, but they are both staff and friends of ours.” This wasn’t what Tobi had meant and they all knew it, but Kyle understood why Kent was mentioning it. Regi was always a force to be reckoned with and Tank’s size alone was intimidating as hell. He wasn’t particularly into the lifestyle, but he was protective as hell of the subs and damned good at helping up front. Tank had played professional football for the Cowboys, but two serious concussions in one season had forced him to decide if his sports career was worth the risk to his life. Tank had told them that when the doctors had explained the likely consequences of a third head trauma the decision had been easy.

  Once Tobi seemed to have gotten her fear under control, they quickly taught her the kneeling pose. She was truly a natural with the positions and when they’d inquired about her flexibility she’d blushed. She explained she had been practicing yoga for years as a way to try to keep her weight down while staying toned and to control the stress in her life. Both of those were issues Kyle planned to address with her if their relationship worked out the way
he and Kent were hoping it would, but he let the comments go by for now.

  “Here’s the dress we want you to wear this evening, kitten.” He held up the dress and her eyes went impossibly wide with an expression of pure appreciation before it quickly changed to shock. Feigning confusion, he looked at her questionably, “What’s the matter? Don’t you like it?”

  “Oh don’t even try that hokey innocent nonsense with me, Kyle West. You know perfectly well what’s wrong with it. Where is the rest of it?” Oh, she was playing into their hands beautifully and he had to fight the urge to rub his hands together like some dastardly villain in an old melodrama.

  “Oh, sweetness, be very careful. You are skatin’ on very thin ice here. This is actually a fairly conservative dress as club-wear goes so you might want to check the attitude before you earn yourself a punishment.” Kent’s words sounded stern, but his eyes were alight with the humor of the situation and Kyle knew his brother was battling to keep from laughing as well.

  “But it’s obscenely short and there’s no back at all. Crapamolie, I’ll be lucky if the crack of my ass doesn’t show.” Kyle watched her look around before she refocused her attention on the two of them. “Where’s the panties? And shoes? You can’t expect me to go without underwear or shoes.”