Page 161 of Plaything

Both he and Niko gave my hand a comforting squeeze.

“Relax,” his voice was unusually soft. “We’ll be with you the entire time.”

Wyatt parked his truck, and he and Aiden unbuckled their seatbelts and turned to look at me. I knew they’d been here several times before, but I was in disbelief at how calm they were.

“Remember that when we’re in there, do as we say,” Dominic continued. “There will be intense scenes happening—maybe worse than what you saw at Jamie’s house. If you see something you’re not comfortable with, tell us. Tell us if someone makes you uncomfortable, even if it’s just a glance. Remember that everything you see will be consensual, even though it might not look like it. If you want to leave for any reason, tell us, and we’ll go,” he reminded.

“On the contrary,” Aiden smiled. “If you see anything you like or are interested in, tell us that too. You might surprise yourself with what catches your interest, Babydoll. I know this is overwhelming and new, but remember that these people are here because they want to be watched. You don’t have to be shy and look at your feet the whole time. Reesia will be there, and so will Jamie and Collin. I’m sure Vincent will be prowling around up to no good, too—and they all know how nervous you are, too. My point is that you have us and friends to lean on. This is supposed to be fun,” he gently touched my knee, giving it a little shake.

“We’ve got a lot of friends who go to the club. They’ll be curious about you and might want to meet you,” Wyatt chimed in. “If that happens, let us do the talking if you don’t want to. I have a sneaking suspicion that we’ll draw some attention after being gone for six months, then walking in with the most gorgeous woman any of them have ever seen,” he gave me an encouraging smile.

Six months? I was under the impression that their hiatus began when they met me. It was comforting in a way, considering I didn’t know what their last relationship was like... I didn’t ask, and they’d never mentioned other women.

Less nervous about actually going in, now I worried about something completely different. Something I hadn’t thought of or considered before. I hated myself for asking the following question because it showed my true insecurities and my jealous tendencies. I had to know, though... for my own humility. I didn’t know where to look, so my eyes ended up shifting between each one of them. “Is there...” I widened my eyes, trying to think of the words. “I don’t know, am I going to run into like a crazy jealous ex or something?” I whispered.

“Not exactly an ex,” Aiden said slowly, each word calculated.

“Let me give you a fun fact, Cariño,” Niko started. He held out his hand to me, and I took it. He pulled me out of the car, and the others exited as well. We stood outside the truck, and I felt nervous about whatever he was about to say. “We have never brought another woman here. We have never wanted to share this with anyone,” he explained.

I was flattered, but my question remained unanswered. So where did the not exactly an ex fit in here...

“We’ve fucked women in the club before,” Dominic deadpanned. “We were never in a relationship; it wasn’t personal, it was purely transactional—we were single, and so were they.”

“It’s been years since then, Baby,” Wyatt chimed in. “We would never put you in that situation. If there was a chance of running into any former sex partner, we would have informed you long before you decided to come here,” he elaborated.

That made me feel better. Girls could be cruel sometimes, especially with four men as handsome as mine. I asked. They answered. I appreciated their honesty. That could have been a much more awkward conversation, and I was glad they got right to the point. I knew they had sex long before I was in their life, but I absolutely hated the thought of them with anyone else. “Okay,” I accepted.

“Any other questions?” Aiden prompted.

I pressed my lips together and shook my head. “I can think of a million, but you’re not going to let me stall for that long,” I nervously chuckled. “Just don’t let go of my hand, okay?” I insisted.

“Never,” Niko smiled, squeezing my hand before we started walking.

Here we go.

We got inside an elevator and selected the top floor. I clung to Niko’s arm, searching my body for courage, which I desperately needed.

The door opened to a large area with a circular administration desk in the center and a red door on the side. There were chairs and tables with flowers on them. The space seemed inviting and clean—not at all what I expected the doors to open up to.

A man dressed in a security uniform with an earpiece stood by the desk, conversing with the man behind the desk. Their conversation was cut short when the man at reception saw us. He did a double take before he stood from his chair and clapped his hands. “My God, look what the cat dragged in!” he chuckled. He had a smile that didn’t match his tattooed neck and shaggy hair. The man walked around his desk and approached us. He was tall and built like a basketball player. He obviously had muscles, but they were subtle. “Holy shit, man, where the hell have you been?” He stuck his hand out and shook Aiden’s hand before doing the same to my other professors.

“Elliot, it’s good to see you,” Aiden returned the friendly gesture. “Are you working reception now, or does Jamie just have you here for the day?” He asked.

The man, Elliot, shook his head. “Definitely not; I’m bored out of my mind out here. Gina called in sick, so I got stuck with the boring job,” he explained. “Fuck, everyone thought you four died,” he looked down at me and back at my professors with a knowing grin. “Died and went to heaven, it turns out,” he added.

“Hello,” he greeted me with a smile, and I noticed the piercings on his lip.

“Hi,” I responded quietly, still holding Niko’s arm like a hostage. If Cat were here, I’d be squeezing him so hard it would probably hurt him. It was then that I noticed the small black bag in Niko’s free hand.

Elliot crossed his arms across his chest. “You know what? Jamie told me there would be a girl coming in today and to add you to the list. She didn’t mention that these four were the ones with you,” he said, giving Dominic a pointed look. I understand why she was so excited now.”

Wyatt placed his hand on the small of my back. “Odette, this is our friend Elliott. Elliott, this is Odette. This is her first time in a club,” he introduced.

He nodded several times. “That explains the deer in headlights look,” he winked at me. He turned and walked back to the desk, gesturing for us to follow. “Well, you’re in the best of hands. These four know their shit—but I probably don’t have to tell you that.”

My cheeks flushed crimson. The five of us leaned against the desk as Elliott pulled out some papers. Wyatt and the security guard knew each other, too, and they said a quick hello.

“So, I usually work inside as a Dungeon Master, so I’m a little rusty at giving the spiel; bare with me,” he said casually. He placed a few papers in front of me. “We could read this whole thing, but it would put us all to sleep,” he chuckled. “This just means that what happens behind those doors stays behind those doors. You’ll respect everyone’s privacy, and they respect yours. No touching anyone else without consent. Just... don’t be a dick in general, you know?” He shrugged.

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