Chapter Nine
Silas couldn’t holdback his laughter.Fallon was perfect for them.It seemed the Universe had been listening to their litany of requests after all.She was bright, interested in the lifestyle, witty, and gorgeous.There wasn’t a doubt in his mind she was going to be fast friends with Tobi and the other submissives at the club.He couldn’t wait until they organized a ‘Welcome to the Crew’ party for her.If he had to guess, Silas would put his money on a soiree already being planned.Tobi and Gracie never missed an opportunity to host a party for their friends.
I wonder if they’d be willing to take suggestions.A pool party sounds excellent.The subs always end up naked, and all the Doms do is show up and pluck their wayward, horny women out of the water.
“You are amazing, sweetheart.Your sense of humor is perfectly aligned with ours.You and Tobi are going to be great friends.”When he saw her shoulders relax, Silas realized how much his bark of laughter had alarmed her.
“While the two of you chit-chat, I’m going to stand right here and enjoy the view.Hell, I’m not sure I’ve ever enjoyed a mini-rant more.”Carson’s words were all it took for Fallon to remember she was naked.
Silas bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling when her eyes went wide, and she looked frantically around her in a futile attempt to make certain no one was watching.She’d learn soon enough, someone was always watching at Prairie Winds—every nook and cranny of the damned place was wired for sight and sound.
When she bent to retrieve her dress, Carson shook his head and growled, “Don’t even think about it.”They needed to make it clear they didn’t want her hiding what they were rapidly considering theirs.
“I derailed this whole encounter, didn’t I?I swear I could submarine a battleship without even trying.Maybe we should just call it a day.I’ll go upstairs and get ready for work, and we can give it another shot tomorrow.How many bedrooms are in the Wests’ apartment?There must be several.The place is huge.Do you live nearby, or would you prefer to stay in a guest room?Or I can move to a smaller room, and you can have the main suite.”
Fallon’s sudden look of awareness told Silas she’d recognized how disconnected she sounded.He saw Carson smile when she clamped her mouth shut.This was the sort of thing Carson lived for—the challenge of keeping up with a running commentary was a game he excelled at, so Silas need only stand back and enjoy the show.
“No.I doubt it.No.Four.Indeed, it is.Yes.Not a chance.Not necessary.”
Fallon stood mute, blinking as her mind scrambled to remember the questions she’d ask and match them to the answers Carson rattled off.Silas fought to keep a straight face as she sorted through the jumble of words, but Carson made no attempt to hide his amusement.
“We are not that easy to shake, Cher.If we werederailedby every little distraction, we’d be poor businessmen and pathetic Doms.You will have to go a lot further over the edge to discourage us.”She started to respond, but Carson’s pointed look had the desired effect, silencing any protest she’d planned to voice.
“Enough talking.We’ll have plenty of time to rehash everything later… a lot later.Back in position, sweet sub, and do yourself a favor and stop thinking.”Silas wasn’t sure Fallon fully understood how much strength it took to submit.
“True submission relies on trust, Fallon.As we spend more time together, you’ll learn to trust us, and you’ll become more confident in ways you can’t begin to understand now.And we’ll learn to trust you.Remember, we are relying on your honesty to help us meet all your needs.”Seeing the light of understanding flash in her eyes, Silas was relieved she wasn’t becoming so lost in the details that she’d lost sight of the end goal.It only took her a few seconds to get back into position, the upward tilt of her chin hinting at the confidence he’d mentioned earlier.
“Perfect.Damn, I love quick studies.Your posture is regal.Your position is perfect.”
Silas could hear the admiration in Carson’s voice.His friend was damned hard to impress, and Fallon was blowing them away at every turn.
Trailing the pads of his fingers down her arm, Carson smiled when her nipples drew into peaks so tight, Silas wasn’t surprised to see her shift her shoulders forward a fraction of an inch before self-correcting.New subs were often shocked by their body’s reactions.Professional women were accustomed to being in control, and discovering their bodies responded, no matter if their head was on board, was alarming at first.Subs mentioned how eye-opening and humbling the experience was in the beginning.
It had taken Silas longer than some to understand how submissives could be so enslaved by social mores.He’d always be grateful his parents raised him to be open-minded and to disregard society’s narrow parameters in favor of following his heart.The small enclave where he’d grown up was filled with the least judgmental people he knew.Over the years, the community’s mantra shifted from ‘Do what makes you feelgood’to ‘Do what you know isright.’The oft-repeated lesson served him well as a Dom, and he made it his mission to help others break free from the cumbersome rules they often felt obligated to abide by and live the life they deserve.
*
Fallon wasn’t surewhere she found the courage to stand naked—outside, for heaven’s sake—in front of two men she’d only just met.Her body seemed to have disconnected from her brain.Probably grew tired of your annoying habit of overanalyzing things.Her parents had often tried to get her out of her own head, even going so far as taking her to see the locations where her favorite books were set.They’d floated down the Mississippi River on a paddleboat when she readHuckleberry FinnandTom Sawyerand walked the streets of London, picturing what it looked like when Pip would have walked the cobblestone streets.Smiling to herself, Fallon remembered readingGreat Expectationsso many times, the pages started falling out of her book.
Their last trip had been a few months before they died.The whole trip was surreal because it centered aroundThe DaVinci Code, but her parents focused more on The Rose Line and cryptex puzzles than Paris.Before they returned home, her dad had taken her out for coffee.It wasn’t unusual for her to spend time with her parents individually, but something about his behavior that morning seemed off.She hadn’t been able to pinpoint the problem, but she still remembered the odd feeling she’d had the whole time they’d been alone.
After finding a secluded booth, her dad slid a long, slender box across the table and gave her a nervous smile she noted hadn’t reached his eyes.It was the one time she’d felt completely unnerved being alone with her dad.Fallon and her mother often butted heads as mothers and daughters often do, but she’d always felt as though she and her dad were two sides of the same coin.When she started to untie the ribbon, he’d stilled her hands and asked her to save it for a time when she felt particularly alone.
Before she could ask any of the questions racing through her mind, his phone rang.He was called away for an emergency at work, and Fallon was left to return home with her mom.It was the last time she saw them alive.They’d talked on the phone, but she’d never gotten another chance to feel their arms wrap around her or the comfort of being pulled into hugs that felt like the safest place in the world.Fallon didn’t realize she was crying until Carson lifted her chin, forcing her to meet his concerned eyes.
“Talk to us, Fallon.Where did you go, and what made you cry?”
Good grief, what on earth had she done?They were going to triple-bill her as a nut case, trouble magnet, and emotional train wreck… oh yeah, she was off to a great start.
“I started off wondering where I found the courage to stand naked in front of two men I just met because this is very out of character for me.Then I worried I was overanalyzing things.”She couldn’t hold back her giggle when they pasted on the phoniest shocked expressions she’d ever seen.“Don’t give up your day jobs.I don’t see Academy Awards in your immediate future.”She relaxed when she realized they’d done exactly what they’d intended—break the tension from a few seconds earlier.“Long story short, I ended up remembering the last trip I took with my parents and the strange way it ended.My dad gave me a puzzle and told me to save it until a time I felt most alone.In some ways, it seemed as if he was telling me to keep it until they were gone.”
Shaking her head at yet another peculiar shift in the energy around her, Fallon couldn’t imagine getting things back on track until she felt Silas kiss the top of her shoulder.The soft brush of his lips over her skin made her gasp.The simple touch was all it took for her to feel as though her skin was being electrified from the inside, and every cell in her body was suddenly alert and ready for more.
“So responsive.Your soft sighs and quick inhalations speak volumes, sweetheart,” Silas whispered against the sensitive spot behind her ear.The warm brush of air sent goosebumps racing down her arms.“We’ll talk about the puzzle and explore what it might mean after we enjoy the rest of our afternoon.You have a full evening in front of you, and things will look entirely different after a good night’s sleep.”
“And nothing ensures a great shift at work and a good night’s rest better than a few off-the-chart orgasms.”
A few?Is he serious?She’d worked hard for every release her little pink vibrator gave her.Hell, even with it working at top speed, she’d never been guaranteed to find her release.