STORY EXCERPT

As ready as she would ever be, she packed up her laptop bag, grabbed her purse, and headed for her dilapidated Mini, parked in the municipal lot a short walk away. She would ordinarily have taken the bus since parking in central Brighton was next to impossible, and ruinously expensive, even if a spot did open up. But in the world of Mr. Benson, no such inconveniences existed. She’d been told to drive up to the underground car park at his building and that she would be expected.

Sophie did as she was told, gave her name to a disembodied voice at the other end of the intercom, and the barrier swung open. She parked in a wide space designated as belonging to the penthouse, beside a Maserati and a Roller. She let out a low whistle, smiling as she climbed out of her car and realized how comprehensively it let the side down. She was confronted by a uniformed porter who actually tipped his hat at her. People still did things like that? Who knew?

“Morning, miss.” He put a key in a slot beside the elevator, and the doors immediately slid opened. “That’ll take you directly to the penthouse. The gentlemen are expecting you.”

Gentlemen? There’s more than one of them?

Unsurprisingly, the lift was luxurious. Her feet sank into a rich pile carpet, the walls were mahogany, with gilt mirrors, and it moved silently. Before she had time to adjust, or to allow nerves to get the better of her, it came to a smooth halt, the doors opened directly into a private hall, and two of the best-looking strangers she’d ever seen stood waiting to greet her.

Except they were no strangers. She had seen them before, as recently as yesterday.

“You two,” she said, her mouth falling open.

“Glad you recognized us with our clothes on,” light-brown said with an infectious smile.

The other man, black hair and piercing green eyes that assessed her with intelligence and a modicum of suspicion, smiled to reveal even, white teeth. “Ignore Clyde. I always do. He’s an idiot.” He stretched out a hand, confident and in control. “You must be Sophie Dawson. I’m Dale Benson, and this is my clown of a partner, Clyde Turner.”

He took her hand in a firm, cool grasp, and she reacted to his touch all the way down to her pussy. Shit, Rena was right! She should get out more and get laid occasionally, just to take the edge off. There again, this was a case of extreme provocation, she reasoned, attempting to justify her reaction. She’d been impressed by these two, even before she knew who they were. Her ‘low’ heels had pushed her up to six foot, but they both still topped her height. No small man complexes in this establishment, then.

“Come along in and we’ll talk. Can I take your coat?”

Sophie slipped her arms out of her jacket, and Clyde took it from her. It disappeared into a closet. Dale led the way into a spectacular living room that spanned the width of the building and offered a far-reaching view across the Channel. There was a wide terrace with flourishing plants and a hot tub, for goodness sake. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. How the other half lived.

“Wow!” she said. “Don’t you get distracted by the view?”

“All the time,” Dale replied softly, but he was looking at her, not the vista. “Let’s talk in my office.”

His office proved to be a surprisingly small room, albeit expensively and immaculately furnished in light oak at one end of the loft. It had a full-length window giving out to a side view and a small balcony. There was a top-end computer monitor on the desk and nothing else. No framed photographs, nothing of a personal nature. She wondered about that.  Dale indicated an arrangement of comfortable chairs, and she lowered herself into one of them, feeling her backside sink into the comfortable upholstery. She reminded herself why she was there and strove for an efficient expression, rather than gawping like a groupie. She opened her laptop bag and removed her iPad, on which she would take notes, if it proved to be necessary.

Dale took the chair on her right and leaned back casually in it, perfectly at ease as he crossed one denim-clad leg over his opposite knee in the way that men do. She noticed an impressive bulge behind his fly buttons. The denim in that area looked smooth and worn. She dragged her eyes away from the view as he leaned an elbow on the arm of his chair, rested his chin on his fist, and studied her intently. It felt as though he was trying to decide if she was up to the job. She bridled at the implied judgment, which helped to bring her mind back on track. She’d never been one to back away from a challenge and would show these two that she was equal to the task they had in mind for her—no matter what it was.

She turned her attention to Clyde, who’d taken the chair on her opposite side. The joker of the pack now looked surprisingly serious. His hazel eyes regarded her with an intensity to equal Dale’s. Then he spoiled the effect by winking at her.

“Can I get you something to drink before we get down to business?”

Dale’s voice recalled Sophie’s attention to him. “No, thanks. I’d prefer to know why I’m here. I looked you up, but you clearly like your privacy. Believe me, if there was something to find I would have found it. I don’t like going into a job blind.”

That statement appeared to amuse Clyde, who turned a chortle into a cough. Dale sent him a warning glower.

“What did you find out?” he asked.

“I suspect only what you want to the world to know.” She receipted what she’d learned about their computer games.

“We might make a living from the internet, but that doesn’t mean we live by it, if you see what I mean.”

Clyde’s statement was accompanied by another of his trademark sexy smiles. Dale seemed annoyed by his flirtatiousness and sent him another warning look. Sophie, intrigued by the way they communicated without the need for words, didn’t want to blow this chance so turned her full attention toward Dale.

“I hear you.” She folded her hands in her lap. “So, what can I do for you?”

She heard a sharp intake of breath from Clyde. Once again, Dale threw him a look of intense irritation.

“Before we go any further, I’m gonna need you to sign a disclaimer. Whether or not we decide to employ your services depends entirely upon your honest assessment of our problems and whether you think you can solve them.”

“How will you know if I’m being honest?”

He fixed her with a probing look that made it feel as though her soul had been stripped bare and he was privy to her innermost thoughts. “I’ll know,” he said.

ADULT EXCERPT

Dale reached out a hand as she got to the edge of the tub and helped her into it, smiling in a confidence-giving way as his gaze raked her body. God, but he was hot! Just looking at him made the promise of wicked pleasure threaten to short-circuit her brain. They both oozed machismo and were all hers for now, just so long as she played by Dale’s rules. She sensed that he would be demanding as he tested her limits but, unlike Gordon, wouldn’t push her past them.

He shifted along and made space for her between them, still erect, still in control. Oh, how she’d love to make him lose it, she thought with a mischievous smile. He said nothing, which made her nervous. She wondered what she was supposed to do now. The prim part of her brain demanded to know what the hell she thought she was doing, sitting stark naked in a hot tub with two equally naked men she hardly knew. She ignored its irritating presence and decided to enjoy herself. Rena brought a different man home most weekends and casually tested the durability of her bedsprings with him. No one called her a slut. Twenty-first century women played by their own rules, and she owed it to previous generations who’d bravely fought for women’s rights to keep the faith.

Clyde roused her from her annoying habit of mentally justifying everything she did by kissing her neck as he handed her a glass of champagne.

“A toast,” he said, raising his own glass. “To new experiences.”

“How so?” Sophie asked.

“You’re the first guest who’s ever shared this tub with us, is what he means,” Dale said. “We’re kinda selective.”

“Good to know.”

They clinked glasses and drank. Sophie threw her head back and glanced up at the sky. Leaning on braced arms, she belatedly realized, lifted her tits clear of the water and gave the guys an unimpeded view. She sensed them looking. Dale blew gently on one of her nipples, and it solidified. He chuckled, but said nothing.

“This is where you do your stargazing,” she said.

Clyde smiled at her. “Amongst other things. I’m betting you’ve never been fucked in a hot tub, but let me tell you it is the most incredible turn-on.”

“Aren’t you afraid that someone will see you?”

“You’re worrying about voyeurism again,” Dale replied, “but there’s no need. We’re completely private here, not overlooked by any windows. If I decide to fuck you out here, you’ll let me because you want to please me, but only I will see you.”

“Clyde’s not allowed to watch?”

“Your fella didn’t train you too well. Good subs only watch the action if given permission. And given that he’s been such an arse this evening, I very much doubt if he’ll be granted that privilege.”

“If I agree to play with you.”

Dale nodded. “Always assuming you do.” He flashed an annoyingly confident smile. “But you will.”

“I haven’t decided.”

He lightly tapped her thigh beneath the water. “No lying in this household, darlin’, otherwise there’ll be pain involved.”

“I simply pointed out that I haven’t agreed to anything at all yet.”

“You’re sitting here with us, stark naked, and not seeming especially self-conscious about it,” Clyde said. “Not that you should be.” He treated her to one of his sexy smiles. “You sure as hell have nothing to be ashamed of.”

“You’re curious as anything,” Dale added. “We’ve woken up instincts that you’d decided to bury because you felt…well, dirty by what Gordon needed you to do for him. We will make you feel feminine to your fingertips. Trust me on this. Besides, I’m guessing you’ve never seen two men fuck one another before, and you’re hoping to watch me pummel Clyde’s arse.”

“Well, there is that, but if you don’t give me permission, what’s in it for me?”

Dale threw back his head and laughed, a deep, rumbling sound that sent answering vibrations straight to Sophie’s pussy. “That’s for me to know and you to find out.” He flicked at her still hard nipple with two fingers. “This is not what you expected when you took the assignment here, I imagine.”

“Doesn’t mean that it’s an unwelcome surprise.”

Dale took a sip of his drink. “Good to know,” he said.

Sophie wished one of them would touch her. She needed reassurance. But apart from the brief kiss that Clyde had planted on her neck, and the flick at her nipple, neither of them had made a move.

“Do you want to join us later in the playroom,” Dale asked in a matter-of-fact tone, “or do you want to call it quits? Either way, as I already said, it won’t affect the work that we’ve hired you to carry out.”

“I think I’d like to play,” she said slowly.

“Thank fuck for that!” Clyde said, making them all smile. “I’m dying here.” He fisted his cock to emphasize his point.

“You know what that will mean?” Dale scrutinized her closely, his dark gaze intense. A sexually dominant god marking his territory by laying down his rules.

She nodded. “You’ll want to take me together.” She licked her lips with the tip of her tongue. “I think I want that, but…well, you’re both kinda large. Not sure I can accommodate you. My pussy hasn’t seen any action in a long time. It’s probably shriveled up.”

Dale shook his head. “There’s absolutely nothing shriveled about you, sweetheart, so stop fishing for compliments or there will be consequences.”

His dominant tone made her shiver with renewed awareness, and the desire to please him. “It’s a serious concern. Sir,” she hastily added.

“I understand, but we’ll take things slowly and build up to a threesome. You told me earlier that you take it up the arse.” His tone was all business again. “No problems with that?”

“Not once I got used to it and stopped tensing up.”

“Oh, man!” Clyde groaned.

“What level of spanking did you reach?”

She blinked at him. “What do you mean?”

“Hand only? Paddles? Whips? Floggers?”

“Hand and paddle. I didn’t like the idea of the flogger with all those tails.”

“Ah, but I like to use them and I know you want to make me happy,” Dale said in a soft, carnal tone. “I’m betting that cute backside of yours will look gorgeous with a few pink stripes decorating it. Clyde’s does. And think of the fun when I kiss it all better again. Tell her, Clyde.”

“Fuck yeah!” he replied without hesitation. “My Master has a magic tongue and does things with it that you would not believe.”

She gulped. “Very well.”

“What else? He tied you up.” Dale flapped a hand. “Tame stuff. Did you take clamps on your nipples and the lips of your cunt?”

“On my nipples. I liked those, but nowhere else.”

“You will,” Dale said in a tone that brooked no argument. “How about plugs? You said he made you go out with plugs inserted. I assume you meant in your vagina.”

“Yes. And sometimes in my butt, too. But never both at once.”

“Well then, seems to me you’ve only experienced the tip of the iceberg.” His fingers softly traced the curve of her face, making her shiver. “You have so much more to learn. So much pleasure to give me by doing whatever I ask of you.”

“Yes,” she said, swigging the last of her drink, tense and nervous. “Yes, I want you to teach me please.”