“He does BDSM scenes in the same clubs as you?”
“Sometimes. I mean, Chicago’s a big place, but I have a sense what he’s into by the maso bunnies he hooks up with.”
“Maso bunnies?”
“Kinky girls who are into pain and leather, dominance and punishment.” He chuckled at her shocked expression. “I did tell you that you knew more kinky people than you thought.”
Her imagination was going crazy. Pain and leather? She pictured whips, cuffs, and crying, orgasmic submissives willing to do anything for Jonathan. Why did she feel jealous of them? Oh God, she was so jealous. “Who are all these ‘maso bunnies’? I’ve never seen Jon with anyone.”
“You haven’t been in the right places,” he said with a laugh. “Speaking of maso bunnies…” He raised an eyebrow and tweaked one of her nipples through her top. “Based on our experiences together, I think you’d enjoy getting adventurous with Jonathan. I’m pretty sure he’d enjoy tormenting you.”
“I can’t hook up with Jonathan.”
“Why not?”
She laid back on Ethan’s bed and blew out a breath. She wanted to hook up with Jonathan, if what Ethan said was true, but…
“That would make me a slut, right? Getting busy with not one, but two members of your string quartet is classic slutbag behavior. I couldn’t do that.”
He tsked and laid beside her, propping his head on his hand. “You’re not a slut. I hate that word. Let’s substitute sexually curious, or sexually adventurous. Maybe sexually magnificent. Whatever you are, I adore you.”
She studied his intent blue eyes, looking for his angle. There wasn’t one. “You wouldn’t be jealous if I hooked up with Jonathan?”
“Hell yeah, I’d be jealous, because I’d rather you hook up with me when you’re in one of your moods.” He slipped a hand between her legs, caressing her cleft through her sleep pants. “But I wouldn’t be angry-jealous.”
“Are you telling the truth? Because I don’t want to mess up our quartet. Remember? We had that conversation when you and I first got together.”
“Yes, I remember, and we didn’t mess up the quartet, did we?”
She squirmed as his roving hands stroked up to her breasts. “No, Sir, we didn’t.”
“In fact, we’re doing better than ever. More bookings, more reviews, more exposure. We just came from a Hollywood party. We’re comped in thousand-dollar-a-night hotel rooms in freaking L.A.”
“Okay, okay,” she admitted as he pushed her legs apart. “My fears were unfounded.”
“Honestly, I think speaking each other’s sexual language is good for the quartet. If a chance with Jonathan comes up, you should take it. As for your current horniness…” He rested his hand over her pussy, teasing but not quite touching her clit. “We could do something about that right now, if you like.”
She smiled at the seductive glint in his eyes. “What a kind offer. I guess you brought your rope?”
“I never go anywhere without my rope, babe. Never know when I’ll find a horny girl to torment. I think you could use a tight, scratchy knot right against your clit tonight, for starters. We’ll see where that leads.”
“Oh, no. A scratchy knot sounds so cruel.” She meant that it sounded delicious, and she spread her legs wider to let him press his thumb against her throbbing button.
Soon, Ethan was relieving some of the horniness she’d built up over Jonathan. She didn’t get back to her room until morning, and when she plugged in her phone, she found a message from her “pretend” conquest.
Thanks again for the help tonight, he wrote. I forgot to tell you that you’re fun to kiss, too.
* * *
The four of them flew back to Chicago that afternoon, and everything went back to normal. Daily practices, the normal arguments about musical interpretation or thematic phrasing, and the comfortable camaraderie they’d always shared. Jonathan was back to being the leader and occasional slave driver, coming down hardest on Ruby for any missed notes in their practices. It was as if the party in Hollywood had never happened, which was probably for the best.
But Ruby remembered their shared moments vividly, at the worst possible times. She remembered the way his body had felt against hers when they’d danced, and the way he’d massaged her nape when they kissed. She thought about what Ethan had told her, about Jonathan’s passion for bondage and sexual obedience. She’d wanted to ask for more information about that fetish—sexual obedience. It could encompass so many things. So many delectable things…
Nothing can happen between you and Jonathan, she reminded herself. You don’t like him. You don’t.
But she did like him, especially when she fantasized about him being a leather-and-bondage Dominant. His curt authority, his scolding and commands during rehearsals took on a whole new suggestive element that made her squirm. She wondered what he was like when he demanded sexual obedience.
A week later, when Jonathan asked her to stay after practice, he sounded dominant as hell. Not only that, he made the request while pinning her with his deep amber gaze.