Page 24 of Doubling Down

Despite my conviction that I won’t really need it, I repeat “Starry Night” over and over in my head as the twins lead me to another wing of the mansion. The music piped into this area has a more subdued techno-dance theme that settles in my belly when we reach a glossy black door. There’s no big window looking into this room, and the knob has a shiny keycode entry pad at the top.

Jude taps in a code, and the lock disengages. He pushes the door open, and Simon grabs my hand, pulling me through when his twin steps aside to hold the door for us.

This machine is identical to the one in their shop, but the difference between the rooms is like night and day. This one is decorated in the style of a luxurious lounge, with dark silk damask wallpaper covering all but one wall, which is entirely paneled in mirrors. On the floor just past the threshold is an elaborate Turkish carpet that covers half the room, but the machine itself rests on an ebony wood floor, its platform just as polished as the floor.

Jude closes the door behind us and heads to the back corner, where he opens a hidden panel in the wall. The lights above us begin to shift on their tracks and move into new positions, spotlighting the machine. My palms have started to sweat, but I’m more excited than nervous.

Simon darts a hungry look my way and squeezes my hand. “It’s going to be so hard to take this slow.”

“Do you regret asking me to do this?” I ask.

“Not for a second. It’s a fantasy come true.”

“More so than what we already did?”

He lifts one shoulder and smiles. “Setting is everything, I guess. Back at the shop, it was more like when we were kids playing around, you know? Here it feels … official.”

“Like I’m really your submissive?”

He leads me to a door in the back of the room. “It isn’t like that for us. It isn’t about dominance; it’s about experimentation. We just want to play with the giant toy we built. The only reason we tie you up is because that’s how it works. That’s not to say it can’t be used by a Dom and a sub, but that’s not really what we get out of it.” He turns to me and his brows crease. “Unless that’s what you want…?”

I shake my head and laugh nervously. “No. I guess I’m still trying to wrap my head around it all. I’m all over the whole toy angle, though. I love toys. Would it be weird if I told you I have kind of a big collection of them back in California? I’ve tried out pretty much anything I could use on myself. I think I scared away a couple guys when I tried sharing with them.”

He gives me a wicked smirk and moves to stand in front of me. “They weren’t prepared for what a deviant you are, were they?” He lifts a hand and brushes my hair away from my cheek, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “I’d love to see all your toys sometime, Sarah. I know for a fact there’s nothing you could show me that would make me run.”

I search his gaze for any hint of hesitance at getting that close again, now that he knows my time here is limited. It hadn’t occurred to me until now that they could come visit, though, and it sounds like that’s what he’s promising.

“I would love that,” I say.

“But first, we need to get you ready for tonight.”

He steps away, and I take in the rest of the room, which is a large dressing room that opens into a spacious, marble-tiled bathroom. He opens a mahogany wardrobe and retrieves a black silk robe and a couple of bottles, tossing one of the bottles past me. I glance over my shoulder just as Jude catches it and slips up beside me with a grin.

“This is my favorite part,” he says.

“What part is that?”

Simon sets the bottle on a dressing table and drops to a squat, reaching up to unfasten the button on my shorts. “Getting you naked and oiling you up.”

Jude tugs at the hem of my tank top, and I let him peel it off, then divest me of my bra. He carefully removes the ribbons from my arm, then begins gathering my hair and braiding it. When he’s finished, he drapes the long plait over my shoulder, and I see that he wove my ribbons into the strands.

Once I’m undressed, they both strip and slip into silk pajama bottoms, then flip the caps on the little bottles and squirt golden oil into their palms.

Their hands are warm and slick as they smooth the oil over my skin. Simon begins at my feet, working his way carefully up each leg while Jude starts at my shoulders and back, working his way down.

Simply having their hands on me like this is enough to make me hot, and my nipples are pebbled peaks, even though Simon does no more than swipe his palms over them to coat them in the fragrant, glistening liquid.

Jude’s phone buzzes from inside his discarded pants pocket, and he quickly wipes his hands on a towel before retrieving it and tapping the screen.

“Sheridan’s here. Olivia just sent him our way. I’ll go meet him,” he says, then kisses me on the cheek. “You’re going to be amazing, Sarah.”

My knees are a little weak with both arousal and nerves. I take a deep breath, and it comes out as a shaky sigh. Simon slides his oiled palms back down to my hips and stares up at me from where he’s still crouched.

“You okay?” he asks, rising to his feet.

“Just nervous. Have you met this guy? What’s he like?”

“He’s a pro. Based on our research, he only invests in top-notch equipment—stuff rich kinksters are willing to pay a pretty penny for.”

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