Chapter 9

FRIDAY afternoon saw them on a tour around the club during what Mac called maintenance hours. Clients could arrive any time after five p.m. Monday through Friday, but they had to be out by ten a.m. the next morning so the housekeeping staff could do their jobs and have rooms ready for reopening.

Weekends were a bit more lenient. Saturdays started at three p.m. and clients could stay through until noon on Sunday. A double shift of staff then had two hours to get the job finished before the club opened at two p.m. for the early crowd.

When Tess asked why Mac employed a double cleaning shift on Sundays, he just winked and said, “No one likes working Sundays, baby. Two shifts working together means the job gets done faster, gets done right, and everyone gets home earlier.”

Which, she supposed, made perfect sense.

The ground floor was the admissions floor and bar she’d first seen on Tuesday. Hard to believe so much had happened. So much had been said and aired in three short days.

There was a floor below, set in the basement. Six massive rooms with various dungeon/BDSM themes, all kitted out with giant wooden crosses and full toy cupboards. Shackles on the wall, carabineers on the ceilings. Padded tables in some, metal ones in others. While they were all similar, each one varied in some way.

The second floor had been converted into ten smaller rooms than the basement, but they were still sufficiently large. Some thought and effort had gone into them. Doctor’s office, schoolroom, sheiks’ boudoir, a rather adventurous outdoor scene that included a very realistic fallen tree and tent, a wet room, a fantasy room that included a lot of mythical-figure masks and costumes, and a few others Tess didn’t really understand.

Mac told her she didn’t need to just yet.

The third floor was Mac’s where he worked and slept. Where Tess lost her virginity.

“Have you any room in particular as a favorite?”

She’d known the question was coming, so she’d paid special attention to every one they’d been in. The “TV Room” had given her pause for thought. There was just a huge fifty-inch flat screen TV on the wall opposite a boat of a sofa. Bookcases full of pornographic DVDs, labeled by genre, down either side wall.

“Maybe a couple I’d think about,” she muttered. It was different when she imagined rooms like these in use, but seeing them and the furnishings firsthand, with the knowledge she’d be stretched out, tied up, and God knew what in them…the curious side of her rejoiced in the search for knowledge. Her timid side quailed and dithered with uncertainty.

He grinned at her, lifting their joined hands to his lips to caress her knuckles. “Come on, darling, don’t be shy. Which little fantasy would you like to experience first? Tell me yours, and I’ll tell you mine…”

She leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder. “I like the TV room, just because of the DVDs. There’s so many of them, and they’re all different. But if I had to choose…” Tess slanted him a sideways glance, caught his suggestive nod. “I kind of like the room with all the bondage stuff. It…all those things in there made me feel…funny.”

Mac threw his head back and laughed. “Oh yes, they will when I’m through with them. Did you have a thought about a suitable candidate to try DP with, baby?”

Baffled, she shrugged. “DP?”

“Double penetration.”

Those two words struck like a lightning bolt. She suddenly felt energized and excited. Her sex quivered in anticipation. There was a moment of trepidation, too, and her ass clenched hard. She didn’t think it was fully recovered from Mac’s conquering.

“Now?” Tess asked semi-hopefully, semi-shit scared.

Mac chuckled and boosted her up so her arms looped around his neck, her legs around his hips, and she felt like she’d just shimmied up the tallest tree in the forest. He kissed her, nuzzled into her throat. “Not now, no. But soon, Tess, if you can tell me you’re one hundred percent positive you’re ready to take that step.”

“Any reason why I shouldn’t be?”

“You’ve only been with me, darling. You might believe you’re ready now, but who knows how your nerves might kick in. Do you have someone you’d like me to approach?”

She glanced around, careful of unseen eyes and ears. She nibbled along the outer curve of Mac’s ear and felt him shudder. “Mark?”

His head jerked back so he could see her, and his eyes searched her face. “Mark? As in my security personnel, Mark?”

Tess bit her bottom lip and nodded. “He seems like a sweetheart.”

Mac laughed again, something a little darker. She knew he couldn’t disguise the jealousy that came with hearing her speak another man’s name. The fact he was territorial over her gave Tess a lovely sensation in the heart. “Baby, that sweetheart can toss a sixteen-stone bruiser out the door with one hand. I’ll broach the subject with him. If he says yes, we’ll sit down together and get you used to him on a more personal basis.”

Tess gaped at him. “Like sex-personal or acquaintance-personal?”

“Both. There has to be a level of friendliness involved to make you feel comfortable. You need to make sure you can handle him, and that you’ll be at ease handling him, before you even think about taking us both. You have to have your head in the game, baby, every step of the way.”

“Will I have to have sex with him? Like on a one-to-one basis?”

Mac scowled. “Remember what I said when we first raised this subject? Permission only party, Tess. If Mark is amenable to this, you will not be on your own with him, and nothing happens without your say-so and my confirmation. You are mine, end of story.”

And it was such a thrill to hear him say it in that possessive tone, every time. Mine. “Ask him. Today. He already knows I’m yours, Mac. He knows the rules, and he’ll take care of me because he knows.”

“Be absolutely sure, Tess.”

Tess swallowed hard. “I am.”

“All right then.” He kissed her again and then let her slide down to the floor, a full body caress sending tingles on a race over her skin. “We’ll go upstairs and ask him to come up.”

Tess gripped his hand tightly and let him lead her to the elevator.

Twenty minutes later, Tess sat on the firm sofa in Mac’s office, her thumbs twiddled nervously, a little bit restless and a lot nervous. Her gaze darted to the doorway, waiting for a broad-framed figure to appear, and then over to Mac.

He was like a king holding court, tall and straight in his chair behind the big desk. He busied himself with papers and the occasional brief phone call, sorted out supplies and emails. But Tess realized he’d placed himself exactly where he wanted Mark to see him.

The ultimate position of power.

She gave a brief thought to stripping and crawling beneath the desk, busying herself with his cock to clamp down the nerves. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to do it. There was nothing like that hard erect penis in her hand, the way his silky foreskin slid up and down the rigid length of steel beneath.

Great. Now she was wet and she ached, and she wanted to pant like a bitch in heat.

“Why don’t you go into the bedroom, baby? Go have a lie down?” he asked with his eyes on the screen. “Otherwise, I’ll end up taking you on the desk and Mark will have a right eyeful when he comes in.”

How did he know? Tess narrowed her eyes at him.

“You’re radiating fuck-me vibes,” he continued. “I’m trying to keep hold of my self-control over here.”

She grinned at him. “Tease.”

“Says the wanton nymphomaniac sitting on my sofa, indulging herself with some very worthwhile fantasies.”

“How do you know what I’m fantasizing about?”

Mac glanced up at her over the edge of his laptop and lifted an eyebrow. “Baby, if the hand gestures weren’t enough to give you away, the fact you’re flushed, nearly panting, and your eyes have a lovely, aroused glaze to them might.”

She dropped her gaze to her hands and felt heat rise up her neck. She thought she must look wonderful as she glowed with mortification. Her hands were frozen around an imaginary penis. Tess peeked back up at Mac, who had the biggest, smuggest smile on his face. “Shit.”

“As long as it’s my cock getting the attention, dream all you want.”

There was a cocky—pun intended—retort on her lips. It might have initiated another round of physical intimacy, but it slid away at the knock on the doorjamb. Nerves rolled back in like a tidal wave.

“Boss? You wanted to see me?” Mark acknowledged Tess with a polite nod, but kept his attention on his employer.

“Mark, thanks for coming. I know you and Paul are busy with the security updates. I won’t keep you long. Come in, close the door behind you, if you would.”

He did so, and locked the three of them in Mac’s office with a soft click that sounded to her ears like a gunshot. “Is there a problem, boss?”

Mac rose and came around the desk to lean back against it in the same position she’d first seen him. He gestured for Mark to take one of the chairs and then folded his arms, brought a hand up to his mouth, and rubbed his bottom lip thoughtfully.

“You’re not in trouble, Mark. Your work is exemplary. I’m more than happy on that score. This is a…private matter I’ve asked you to come here for. I have to insist the confidentiality agreement you signed when you started here cover this conversation, Mark.”

Mark frowned, obviously perplexed. “Of course, boss. Nothing said inside these walls ever gets repeated. It won’t change now.”

“Good man. I have a favor to ask of you. It is completely out of the range of anything I could ask you to do within employer-employee relations. It’s also a sensitive matter.” Mac fell silent for a moment. His eyes flicked to Tess, and he frowned slightly.

Suddenly, she realized he struggled to phrase what he needed to say in a way that wouldn’t scare her off. If she hadn’t been there, he probably would have broken out the beers and had a big man-to-man chat with Mark without the need to pussyfoot around.

“Let me ask the favor, but don’t answer until I tell you to. You’re going to need some background data to make an informed decision.”

“All right…” Mark said slowly.

Mac blew out a breath. Tess held hers. “I’ve persuaded Tess to attempt a session of double penetration in the future, when we’re sure she’s ready for that progression. I asked her to choose someone she trusted to join us when that time comes. She chose you, Mark.

“Would you be willing to consider it?”

Mark’s head whipped around to stare at her and then turned back to face Mac. His mouth worked soundlessly for a moment. Then, he snapped it shut and seemed to drift off into thought. He blinked to life again a minute later, after Mac and Tess exchanged several worried looks.

“Boss, are you sure about this? I mean, she’s your girl and everyone knows…” He dropped his voice to a whisper. “You ain’t the sharing kind, not when it comes to this. And I’m a big guy, a big guy,” he emphasized, “and Ms. Clifton, well she’s…tiny.”

“Tess chose you, Mark. I’m more than happy with her choice if you decide to say yes after I’ve filled you in. As for size, she’ll have to make the judgment call as to whether or not she can take you.”

Mark winced, obviously convinced that she wouldn’t be able to.

But, to his credit, he remained quiet while Mac quickly outlined Tess’ history, gave Mark the pertinent details. She wondered if she was a violent shade of crimson when Mac ran over what experience she had as of now, but Mark didn’t glance at her, didn’t say a word.

“The decision is entirely yours, Mark. I won’t pressure you into this, and Tess will understand, won’t you, baby?” Mac didn’t wait for a reply, just kept his eyes on Mark’s dark ones. “If you say no, there won’t be any repercussions. This isn’t business. This is a personal favor.”

“I’ve got some questions of my own I’d like to ask before I do anything,” Mark said pensively. He steepled his fingers together and, this time, perused Tess over good and proper. “Ms. Clifton, would you mind coming over here please?”

She blinked at Mac, who was calm, relaxed. He nodded and held his hand out to her. On unsteady legs, she rose and crossed over to them, set her hand in Mac’s, and held on tight. “Call me Tess, please.”

Mark nodded and stood. His broad frame dwarfed her. She cringed slightly. He was broader than Mac was and had muscle behind him. Mac was taller, leaner, and although muscled, he wasn’t muscled like a bouncer. Mark seemed to take some mental measurements before he settled back in his chair. “Why me, Tess?”

Shit, he wanted her to speak. The answers were in her head, ready to pop out and be heard. But when she opened her mouth, all that came out was a croak. She tried again, with the same horrible result.

Mac, fortunately, took pity on her. He rubbed a hand up and down her back gently. “While Tess is finding her tongue, do you fancy a drink, Mark?”

Those dark eyes shifted to Mac. “I’m on duty, boss.”

“At the moment,” Mac corrected smoothly, “you are on your own time. If you want a beer or whatever, have one.”

“Yeah. Yeah, a beer would be good. Thanks, boss.”

Mac went over to the little bar, popped the top off two bottles, and poured Tess a glass of coke. He came back, passed out the drinks, and resumed his position. “Take a drink, Tess, and relax.”

She sipped at the fizzy chilled drink, drew a long breath. “I belong to Mac. There will never be anyone else for me in respect of loving a man. You belong to Mac, too, as a friend and an employee. He trusts you with his business and his home. He knows he can trust you with me.

“You’ve always been nice to me. I’ve never felt that I had to be scared of you. That worked big in your favor. You know my past now. You know I have trust issues, bouts of claustrophobia, anxiety.”

Mark ran a hand over his stubbled jaw and sighed. “When are you thinking of doing this, boss?”

“When she’s ready. Only Tess can say for certain. But you’re getting bolder, aren’t you, baby? And more adventurous. There’s just the odd moment or two when panic sets in, but she overcomes it with a bit of time.”

“I’ve made my mind up,” he said carefully, almost gruffly. “Guess you want to see,” he added with a gesture to indicate his body under the smart black suit, “before you make yours.”

“Tess?”

“See him naked?” she whispered back at Mac.

“Well, yes,” he said patiently.

Tess gave an uncomfortable shrug. Mac was the only man she’d seen naked. She was more at ease with his nudity now. After all, his sheer male glory tended to blind one’s eyes. She refused to count three teenage boys to the total of men seen naked in her lifetime. “Is it necessary?”

He pulled her around in front of him, set his hands on her tense shoulders, and kissed her. The tension strangling her eased away, and she responded eagerly. She needed the peace he could bring her when she was troubled and upset. “Baby, if you don’t look, how do you know if he’s going to be right for you?”

“It’s embarrassing,” Tess murmured against his mouth. “Poor Mark’s having to display his body like a prized Thoroughbred stallion at stud.”

“I don’t think Mark has an issue with that,” Mac said, and turned her around. He laughed when she clapped a hand over her eyes, another over her mouth to stifle the squeal.

Mark stood in Mac’s office, clothes neatly folded on the chair he’d been on, and he was—for lack of a more ladylike expression—stark bollocks naked.

“Stop being prudish. You’ll hurt his feelings.”

Mac tugged her hands down. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut despite the rather insistent curiosity. He tickled her ribs until she squirmed and laughed…and her eyes popped open of their own accord.

The bodyguard was built like a mountainside. Definitely more muscled than Mac, but in an almost over-the-top way. Mac’s were defined, like a sculpture, but Mark was rough and rugged, like a mature bull. Those broad shoulders, wide chest. Narrow waist with a thick V of muscle at the hips.

Determinedly, she kept her eyes above his waistline.

“Baby, stop avoiding the inevitable and just look. Mark, would you come a bit closer please? Tess can be stubborn when she has an aversion to doing something.”

“The last time you called me stubborn…” She trailed off, remembering just exactly what had happened.

“On your knees, Tess.” His hands on her shoulders urged her down. She resisted as much as she could, but his lips pressed to her nape. “You don’t have to do anything but look at Mark’s cock, baby. You don’t have to do anything else.”

So, Tess succumbed and knelt on the floor at Mac’s feet, her shoulders braced against his legs. She squinted her eyes open slowly, gasped when she realized just how close Mark had come. In front of her was a semi-erect penis, not as long as Mac’s nor as smooth. But it was bloody wide.

Tess jerked back quickly and rapped sharply into Mac. His hands came to her shoulders and rubbed gently as he held her in place. “Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no, no. No way in hell, Mac!”

“You’re overreacting, Tess. Just let it sink in and re-evaluate.”

Mark crouched in front of her, but now she was in a pickle. Her gaze locked onto that beast of a cock, all the more intimidating now that it was fully aroused. His impressive set of balls hung below the straining length like a pendulum.

“I won’t hurt you, Tess.”

“Maybe you won’t,” she said in a very high-pitched voice, and gulped. “That promises to have quite a few after effects in the pain department.”

“He’s not all that much bigger than me,” Mac assured her.

Tess dropped her head into her hands. “That’s not helpful, Mac, considering you’re hung like a fucking horse!”

His hands massaged her neck and shoulders. “Can you or can you not take every inch of me?”

Trapped, Tess nodded miserably.

“How big are you?” Mark asked his boss with interest.

Oh God, now they were going to start with the penis talk. Did it not embarrass the hell out of them to discuss size and length and stamina? Did it not make them feel inadequate or less like a man when they came upon another male with a superior penis?

Tess’s head spun and she felt sick as they started to discuss length and girth. Where the hell was she supposed to put that much cock without exploding like an overstuffed mushroom? She leaned forward, put her hands flat on the floor, and wheezed for air. Her chest was tight, constricted. Inside it, her heart pounded like a Scottish drum on fast forward.

“Shit, Tess. Breathe, baby.” Mac rubbed her back as he crouched beside her. She jerked his hand off angrily, shook her head in a very clear Do Not Touch Me.

It cost her time, too much time, to get the panic attack and herself back under control. She was such an idiot to get so worked up over something she’d wanted to experience for a long time. She felt shaky and stupid, and like she’d let both men down by being a hysterical Muppet.

“Sorry. Christ, I’m so sorry.”

“Ssssh, baby. Don’t be daft.” His hand came down on her back tentatively and then rubbed gently when it wasn’t snapped off at the wrist. “What set this one off?”

Tess managed to get herself upright and felt herself blush. From the heat in her cheeks, she’d reached stoplight red. “Just freaked myself out for a minute. Overactive imagination, you know? I’m okay now, issue resolved.” For now, she thought with dread. “Sorry, Mark.”

“Don’t apologize,” he insisted and smiled kindly at her. “Scared you, I think.”

“Just a little bit,” Tess admitted. She braced herself before she risked another peek at his tackle. Her head buzzed somewhat, but it was clearer and ready to face this situation logically. “Mark, would you mind if I…if I touched you?”

It was his turn to go pink at the ears. He silently asked Mac for the go ahead. Mac’s hand fisted on her back. She noticed it took him some effort to relax it. This could be the sticking point, she thought. Would Mac be too jealous to allow her to touch another man intimately?

“Be gentle with him, Tess.”

She leaned back against his legs again, rubbed her head over his thigh. He was her number one, always. As much as curiosity drove her to see what Mark felt like in her hands, it was only basic curiosity. There wasn’t even really that much attraction to his body, he was too macho and over-muscled. What drew her to him was his kind nature.

Mark shoved to his feet, stood straight, and moved close enough to her she could touch him without having to overextend. He linked his hands behind his back, spread his feet apart, and waited.

He had the same soft texture as Mac, that velvety skin. He had more veins, more ridges and his shaft was wider in her hand, but he wasn’t as long. His cock was more passionate in color, all red and purple.

He would hurt her whether he meant to or not. It would be inevitable with an intrusion of this size. And with Mac’s impressive erection, she would end up in a world of pain. She didn’t really want to ask them who would go where. The result would be the same either way. Tess would suffer.

“Are you clean, Mark?”

He nodded, his hips thrust forward into her hands. “Boss has my records. Been clean all my life.”

Tess wanted to tease him, taunt him, and knew it was wrong of her. She knew it when she did it, but curiosity was a very bad influence when it infected with no great store of willpower.

Mark hissed, his back arched, when Tess closed her mouth over the head of his cock. She heard Mac’s snarl of disapproval and wondered what punishment awaited her for giving another man a blowjob. “Boss?”

“Her choice,” Mac bit out and moaned in sync with Mark as she accepted him deeper. Tess struggled, unable to get more than a couple of inches in her mouth due to the thickness. So, she sucked on what she could, used her hands on the rest. “Don’t come in her mouth under any circumstances, Mark.”

Tess almost giggled. The way his hips twitched, Mark wasn’t really going to have much choice in where he released his orgasm. But if she didn’t…redirect him, Mac wouldn’t just fire him, Mac would kick his ass.

“Behave yourself, Tess. You’ll get a spanking for this.”

She pouted a little and worked up rhythmic suction. She alternated between long, hard draws and tender little soft nips. Just like Mac liked it. Apparently, Mark did, too. She’d hoped for a more inventive consequence for her very naughty behavior.

Maybe if Mark came without warning…oopsie…

“Don’t even think about it,” Mac said darkly as he crouched behind her. He reached to the front of her, undid her buttons and zipper, and then yanked her pants and underwear down to her knees. “You would pay too dear a price for it, baby.”

He knelt behind her, his knees on the outside of hers so his were spread wide. He eased her backward and sat her on his lap. “Mark, whip her trousers and panties off. She seems to want to be a very naughty girl today.”

Tess huffed when Mark pulled away from her, reached down to grab the cuffs of her trousers, and hauled them off. The panties were torn away by his massive hands. His face changed and held the same expression Mac got on his when he saw her sex on display.

“Christ Jesus, boss.”

Mac arranged her on his lap, positioned her legs over his, so she was well and truly sprawled open. Her wicked sense of play dwindled. This had gone beyond a blowjob, gone beyond an assessment.

“Mac, it’s the middle of a workday. Mark has to get back to work.”

“There was time enough for you to look your fill and give him a blowjob,” he muttered unhappily in her ear. “Only fair for him to see what he could get out of the deal.”

“I’m not ready. Mac, I’m not ready!”

“No one’s going to fuck you today but me,” he said and used his fingers to expose the wet pink inside of her pussy. “Unless, of course, you change your mind. There’s always a safe word or two, baby.”

The bastard knew if he made her hot enough, she would try anything he wanted her to. Last night with the clamps was proof enough. She’d battled, unsuccessfully, with the pain in an effort not to disappoint him. If he wanted to push ahead and try this, once her body was revved and in the game, all her brain would want was the bliss of an orgasm.

Tess was still sore from nearly a week of being intimate with Mac. She’d woken uncomfortable this morning, fire in her crotch. Her ass still throbbed occasionally from its deflowering. She could honestly hold her hands up and say, I’m not ready for this.

But she would do her best to please him because she loved him.

She just hoped to hell they’d be gentle. She still wasn’t one hundred percent sure just how she was going to react to another man touching her in private places. Mac was hers, and what was hers was now his. His touch could control her completely.

Mark was an unknown entity when it came to her body and her subconscious thoughts. While she liked him, trusted him because he was Mac’s, allowed herself to touch him…touching her was another matter entirely.

“Boss?” Mark, too, was on his knees between her legs. He sat back on his heels, held his cock in his big fist, absently stroked it, and stared at her open sex and the fingers Mac trailed around the puffy mound.

Mac’s hands stroked down her thighs, curled underneath them, and held them still. “She has safe words, Mark. Standard red and yellow. If Tess uses them, respect them.”

Shit. Shit. Tess knew for certain then the only way she’d get out of this unscathed would be to safe word. The men folk were too aroused, too excited at the prospect of a double whammy. Safe wording would be the only way to get their attention.