Command Performance Read online

  “Are you okay with BDSM play too?” Mason asked.

  She nodded. “Yeah, sure.”

  He looked at the other two men. “Lollipops is our safeword.” Kai nodded soberly, and Jeremy looked faintly amused. “She hasn’t used it yet,” Mason added. “She’s pretty tough, but we haven’t done much hardcore stuff yet.”

  Jeremy scratched one cheek, his smile widening. “Me and Kai promise not to gun right for her limits.” He winked at her. “There are other ways to have fun.”

  She swallowed hard. Where was Nell with those damn straws?

  As if on cue she came back in, Constance at her heels. “Okay, here’s how it goes. There are only two straws, and Miri picks. Long is Jeremy, short is Kai.”

  “Hey,” Kai protested. “My cock is longer than his. Bigger too.”

  “In your dreams,” Jeremy shot back.

  “Boys, boys.” Nell held up a hand. “We knew you were going to fight about it. Jeremy’s the long straw because his name is longer.”

  “My real name is Kaivalyan,” Kai muttered. Constance gave him a quelling look.

  “Anyway,” Nell said. “Whoever Miri picks gets to play with her in the odella. Then Constance and I get whoever isn’t our spouse. One of the couples can grab some toys from the odella to play in the guest room, and the other couple gets to play downstairs in the bad girl room.”

  “You have a bad girl room?” Mason asked Kai. “Since when?”

  “Since two months ago when we ‘remodeled’ that creepy storage area in the basement.” Kai shot a lurid look at his wife. “For the record, it was Constance’s idea.”

  “I bet.” Jeremy laughed.

  “I call the bad girl room,” Mason said, “and I will fight anyone who opposes me.”

  Nell and Constance looked at each other and rolled their eyes. “Come on and pick,” Nell said to Miri. “Before a riot breaks out.”

  Miri swallowed one last sip of her champagne and set the glass on the table beside her. Long straw, Jeremy. Short straw, Kai. Okay. She took a deep breath and chose the straw on the left. It was clearly the long one. Nell smirked and did some flirty eyes at Kai. “You’re mine, lover boy.”

  And Constance was Mason’s, down in the bad girl room. Don’t be jealous. She’s married to someone else. This is just play. She lifted her eyes to look at Jeremy. He smiled at her, not moving, not approaching. Not rushing her. She was thankful for that. He really, really was handsome. Almost scarily handsome. His smile broadened and she melted a little bit. Wow, Jeremy Gray. Okay.

  “So, we’re upstairs in the odella?” she asked. She knew they were. She just said it to have something to say.

  “We’ll come too,” Nell said, taking her hand. “Me and Kai need to get some toys to take to the other room. Wait until you see the odella. It’s so cool.”

  Mason slid an arm around her waist and leaned to give her a kiss. “Have fun,” he whispered in her ear. “Jeremy’s really good at this stuff.” A little louder he said, “We’re off to the bad girl room. Later, peeps.”

  Constance grabbed a notebook off the counter and the two of them headed toward the back of the house. Don’t be jealous. Don’t be jealous!

  Nell guided her forward, up the stairs, while Jeremy and Kai trailed behind them. So this was what all the tabloids had screeched about. It felt about as sordid as a panty raid at summer camp. It felt fun and exciting, but pretty harmless. It really was okay.

  Nell threw open the door to the odella and Miri gasped. “Cool” didn’t even cover it. It was beautiful, breathtaking, ethereal, tricked out in burnt orange and aubergine scarves and wall hangings, with a large curtained bed in the center adorned with satin sheets. “There’s more over here,” Nell said, urging her to an adjoining room set up as a BDSM play room. She showed Miri around while Kai helped himself to an assortment of implements and toys from an armoire on the far wall. There was another bed...well...more of a platform with a smooth, taut black sheet. The headboard was a criss-cross lattice rigged with several bondage attachment points. The footboard was lower and padded. Miri could guess for what. It was perfect bending-over height.

  There was also a spanking bench, a cross, and an iron cage in the corner. Like their dungeon at home, there were random attachment points in the ceiling and walls. Miri guessed they all had a purpose.

  “Wow.” It was all she could think of to say. “Wow.”

  Nell squeezed her hand and smiled. “You’re going to have fun. And please don’t worry about, you know... Jeremy is my husband and I adore him, but I’m perfectly happy sharing him for the evening.”

  “You don’t—” Miri couldn’t keep the question back. “You don’t ever feel jealous?”

  Nell thought a moment. “In the beginning, sometimes I felt jealous. But it turned him on so much, and that turned me on, and then we brought all that excitement and tension home to our bedroom and it ended up bringing us closer. Once I let go of the jealousy, I was able to simply enjoy it. I’ve come to love the occasional variety, and it’s close friends, our little closed group, which makes it more okay to me. But in the end, of course...” She stole a glance at her husband, consulting at the armoire with Kai. “He’s the love of my life. We’re just that strong. Nothing will ever change it.”

  “That’s wonderful. Wow.”

  Nell blushed, looking a little embarrassed. “Well, enough blathering. In the end, you have to try it for yourself.”

  Then Nell was off, summoned by Kai’s beckoning finger. His other arm was laden with a set of cuffs, several whips, and a pretty scary paddle. The handsome dark-featured man took Nell’s hand as they sailed out the door. It closed behind them with a click that sounded really loud. When she turned back, Jeremy was undressing. “Music?” he asked. “Or silence? Which would you prefer?”

  “What do you prefer?”

  He smiled, draping his shirt over a wooden valet stand in the corner. Or maybe it was another spanking bench. “I prefer silence,” he said. “It will help me hear you better. It will help me gauge things, since we’ve never played before.”

  That sounded like a good thing, so she nodded. He started unbuckling his pants, and at that point she realized she was standing there totally dressed. “Do—Do you want me to—?”

  “Yes. Everything, if you don’t mind.”

  She unbuttoned her shirt, fumbling a little, and pulled it over her head. She could do this part. She was an actress. She’d gotten naked in front of people before. Hell, she’d gotten naked in front of Mason the first day they’d met on the set of Revelation. By the time she took off her pants, Jeremy was stark naked. He nodded toward the wooden valet thingie. “You can put your clothes over there.”

  To put them “over there” she had to walk right past him. As if sensing her shyness, he walked to the wall and played with the lights until they were dimmer, but still bright enough to see. She watched him furtively as she arranged her clothes over top of his jeans and cotton shirt. Apparently the man didn’t bother with underwear. Holy hell. He probably couldn’t fit them over his package. His cock was lying down but it was thick already. She was kind of afraid of what it would be like upstanding and hard.

  “So,” he said in a businesslike voice. “I’m going to start slow, since this is our first time playing together. I’ll try to make you feel good. I’d like you to trust me to do that.”

  “I do. I mean, I will. I mean...” Her gaze dropped to his cock again. “I mean, yes.”

  “Okay.” He smiled again. Somehow that smile was much brighter and more gorgeous in this half-lit room than emblazoned across a sixty-foot screen. “So, Miri. I would like you to bend over the foot of the bed and lace your hands at the back of your neck.”

  “Yes, Sir.” The words slipped out, prompted by nothing more than the voice he used to address her, the same type of voice Mason used when they played together. Apparently it was the right thing to say, because he replied, “Good girl.”

  Miri scurried forward and bent over the padded
edge of the quasi-bed. It was too firm to be a real bed. She rested her front on it and tried to figure out what it was made of. Foam rubber, maybe? She put her hands at the back of her neck while Jeremy visited the armoire again. God, she’d love an hour or so to look through those shelves and drawers. She closed her eyes and waited, her mind drifting to lurid places. A short time later, she felt the heat of him on the backs of her thighs. He said nothing, just nudged her legs wider. Through the nerves, through the curiosity, through yes, the embarrassment, she felt a pulse of erotic fear—erotic being the operative word.

  Jeremy started out with a riding crop. She recognized the fiery little slaps. Like Mason, he warmed her up first, landing slightly-ouchy-but-not-too-bad strikes on her ass and the backs of her thighs. When they started to feel harder she fidgeted, drawing her legs up at one particularly sting-y swat. God, the crop. Her nemesis.

  “Toes on the floor,” Jeremy said sternly. “Legs spread. Don’t make me say it again.”

  She felt a weird sense of guilt that his reprimand turned her on so much. The strap came next, a slap of fire against her already-aching cheeks. She was definitely feeling the sting now. Jeremy didn’t hit as hard as Mason, but they were solid cracks delivered right to the part of her ass that was most sensitive. He’d given her twenty with the crop, and now seemed to be building to another twenty. She’d taken as much or more from Mason during their sessions, so she could handle this. Miri cried out at the worst ones, but she tried hard not to move, an effort that was rewarded by a soft approving sound from Jeremy. Something about that small sound settled right between her legs in a warm, fuzzy throb. He ran his hands over her ass cheeks and then down between her legs. She tensed, she couldn’t help it.

  “It’s okay,” he said. He paused a moment and she knew he was giving her a chance to stop him if she wanted to. Uh, no. It was incredibly hot being spanked and groped by a near-stranger. A safe stranger, but still.

  Jeremy parted her pussy lips and delved forward with a light, skillful touch until he found her clitoris. She was so wet, engorged and sensitive to the lightest touch, and he clearly knew how to use his fingers. She moaned against the sheet, ashamed but helpless to stop it. That moan was followed by the first pangs of confusion. He was turning her on—but that scared her. She was afraid this man could very easily make her lose control.

  But you want that. Don’t you?

  “Come on. Up.” He helped her stand and walked her around to the other side of the bed, the scary metal-lattice part. He arranged her facing the bars and then stood behind her, pressing his front to her back. His chest felt warm, and she could feel his cock, hot and hard, rising between them, right against her ass. He traced his fingers down her front to delve into the ocean of wetness between her legs. She shivered, arching into his hand.

  “Horny little girl,” he whispered, his rough cheek brushing against hers. “How lovely you are. I can see why Mason was eager to show you off.” His words made her feel objectified, like she was Mason’s toy to share, to display to others. What surprised her is how much that turned her on. His hands sought hers. He lifted them and pressed them to the iron bars until she opened them and held on. “Now, I’ll give you a choice,” he said as she gripped the cool metal. “Would you like me to make your ass even redder, or would you like to be fucked in your hot little snatch?”

  She tried to think beyond the rasp of his breath at her ear, beyond his cock pushing against her sore ass cheeks, beyond the aching need between her legs. “I want to be fucked,” she whispered. She did. What was there to think about really?

  “Ask me nicely.”

  Oh, God. “Please fuck me, Sir.”

  “Try again.”

  Oh my fucking God. “Please fuck me in my hot little snatch, Sir.”

  “Much better.” His voice sounded like a caress. Miri shivered as he left her to roll on a condom. She got a look at him then, at how big he really was. What was it with these Hollywood types? She was glad Mason had broken her in first.

  Mason.

  What was Mason doing right now? Was he fucking Constance downstairs? Playing with her, spanking her? Kissing her? Jeremy returned, a stranger behind her, and yet not a stranger. She knew him from movies, from the party this evening, but that was it. He put his hands over hers, pressing her fingers against the metal lattice. “Don’t let go.”

  She wanted this. Didn’t she? She started feeling confusion again. She was horny from the crop and the strap, from Jeremy’s exemplary domliness. She wanted to be fucked and fucked hard. But...

  Jeremy’s arm came around her waist and he entered her from behind with a firm, deep stroke. Oh my God, Jeremy Gray was fucking her and it felt so damn good. He moved inside her, smoothly, forcefully, impaling her in a deliberate slide. His toned muscles felt like warm granite at her back as he withdrew and re-entered. He flexed his hands on her hips, controlling her movements as his cock stretched and invaded her walls. She pressed her forehead against the metal bar in front of her and gritted her teeth. She wanted to want this. She wanted so badly to want this...

  But she didn’t.

  Jeremy was hot—and yes, very good at this—but he wasn’t Mason. She didn’t know Jeremy at all, as a friend, as a lover. This was just sex. It felt awesome, but it also felt scary and empty and wrong.

  Jeremy must have sensed some change in her, some withdrawal. He slowed and asked, “Are you okay?” He leaned around to look at her. “No. Not okay.” He slid from her, drew away.

  “I’m sorry,” she said.

  “No, don’t apologize. There’s no need.” He helped her step away from the bed frame on her shaky legs, put his arms around her and held her until the worst of her panic diminished. Then he pulled away and studied her face. “I’m sorry if it’s something I did.”

  “No, it was nothing you did. Everything felt great. I liked it for a while but then... I just...”

  “It’s okay. You don’t have to explain. It isn’t for everyone,” he said, rubbing her arms.

  “Thank you for stopping. You know, right in the middle. That must have sucked for you.”

  He shook his head. “I would never in a million years have kept going once I realized you weren’t into it. Come on. We’ll go find Mason.”

  He brought her clothes, and put his back on while she dressed. He took her hand and they went downstairs, then down another flight of stairs to a finished basement. They crossed to a heavy door that she assumed led to the bad girl room. She couldn’t hear anything, any screams or impact, or she probably would have run away. Maybe Jeremy understood that, because he held her hand tight as he knocked with his other hand.

  Mason opened it. He looked at Jeremy and then Miri. “Oh, honey,” he sighed, pulling her to him and hugging her. That’s when the tears finally erupted, overcoming her control.

  “I’ll take care of Constance,” Jeremy said. “You stay with Miri.”

  “I’m messing up everyone’s fun,” Miri sobbed as Mason ducked back in the room for a moment to grab his shirt and pants. She caught a glimpse of Constance peering out from a cage. “I’m ruining everything!” Both men shushed her gently and then Mason guided her up the stairs.

  *** *** ***

  Mason wanted to hold her, but she didn’t want to be held. At least she’d stopped crying. They were out on Kai’s rooftop patio under the summer stars. In the moonlight she looked so innocent to him. So troubled.

  “You don’t have to stay out here with me,” she said. “Go back in there with Jeremy and Constance. It’s your birthday. Have fun.”

  He shook his head. “It’s not fun if you’re not there. The point of a night like this isn’t to have sex with other people. It’s not to cheat on you. It’s for us to have sexual adventures together. For both of us to have pleasure.”

  “That’s what Nell said.” Miri frowned. “I guess I’m not cut out for this. It’s not pleasurable for me to know you’re having sex with other women.” She swallowed hard. “I actually hate it.”

>   “Then we won’t do it anymore. It’s not a big deal.”

  “It is a big deal. You enjoy it. It’s something you’ve done many times.”

  She turned away, hunched over in her chair. He felt awful he’d exposed her to this, even though she’d claimed to be curious. She insisted Jeremy had been a perfect gentleman. But, she’d told Mason, it didn’t feel right.

  That was fine with him. She’d been willing to try it once, and okay, she hadn’t liked it. “It’s okay, baby,” he said for the twentieth time. “I’m not upset. I’m not disappointed. I’m proud that you tried. Now we know it’s not your thing, so we won’t do it anymore.”

  “It’s just...” She raked her fingers through her hair, her voice small and wistful. “I won’t ever be like you. Like your friends. Like those women in there.”

  “I don’t care about that, I told you.”

  “It’s not just that.” She got up and started to pace, and then he knew. He just knew where this was going. No, Miri, please. Really? On my birthday?

  “See, here’s the thing,” she said in a trembling voice. “You’ve— You’ve eclipsed me. It’s like your star is so bright that no one can see me from the glare. I haven’t gotten any decent auditions, any good work since we started dating. You know it’s true.”

  Mason was silent. Yes, it was true and it was awful. “I tried,” he said. “I tried to make things happen for you.”

  “I know you did, but I think the problem wasn’t opportunities. It was that I was with you, and that was all anyone could think about.”

  Mason’s throat tightened, started to ache. “So what do you want me to do? I’m trying, Miri. I’m trying to make you happy anyway.”

  She hugged her arms around her waist, her eyes pools of misery. “I know. I know you’ve tried and I love you so much for that, but do you know what it’s like to stand next to someone and have people look right through you like you’re not even there? Like you’ve disappeared? It feels awful. It’s like everyone can only see me as your girlfriend.”

  “I thought you liked being my girlfriend.”