“Stop.”
It wasn’t clear who Macalister’s order was for, but he’d twisted the hourglass onto its side, cutting off the flow of sand and stopping the timer. Mr. Lynch paused.
“Do you not like what he’s doing?” Macalister asked me.
“Uh . . .” I blinked. Once again, inappropriate laughter threatened. Was I supposed to like any of this? An evil voice whispered in my head that I already did.
“Who is in control?” he demanded.
I didn’t believe the answer until I gave it. “I am.”
“You’re an equal. Your opinion matters, but only if you express it.”
I licked my dry lips and struggled to catch my breath. If I was an equal, why were my wrists pinned to the tabletop? I wanted to ask the question but thought better of it. If the men let go of me, I’d have no excuse about why I stayed and let this happen, accept that I wanted Royce.
Also, I didn’t feel restrained. The board members’ hands rested on me, but it was more about connection versus dominance. This tradition was supposed to bind us all together. I wondered though . . . was this initiation for Royce, or for me? Both of us?
Macalister was waiting for me to prove I would speak up.
“It’s just, um,” I stammered, “a little rough.”
“Oh.” Mr. Lynch straightened, and embarrassment darted in his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
When he nodded, the hourglass was righted, and Mr. Lynch’s mouth returned to me. I bit my bottom lip as his tongue spun circles. It caressed and massaged, and all the heat that had dissipated when he’d sat down began anew.
“Time,” Macalister said.
I exhaled a long breath. I’d only endured two of the nine minutes and I was already fracturing. How was I going to last until the end?
Mr. Scoffield didn’t take a seat. He stood at the edge of the table, and when his time started, he placed his hands on my hips and dragged them upward. His thumbs splayed out while he caressed me. His touch was sensual . . . until his palms inched to my breasts and his gold wedding band caught the light.
I forced myself not to think about it. I had enough shit to deal with right now. I wasn’t going to feel guilty about his decision to cheat on his wife. Those were his actions, which he could stop at any time. Plus, how likely was it any of these men were faithful to their wives? Money and power could corrupt anyone.
I was fucking proof of that, wasn’t I?
My eyes drifted closed as he trailed fingertips over the curves of my breasts. I pictured Royce touching me this way. It was his fingers circling my nipple. It was his greedy mouth sucking at me and creating a knot of need deep between my legs.
“Time.”
It became a chant that I both dreaded and looked forward to. Each utterance of the word brought a new man before me, but one step closer to being done and Royce’s return.
As Macalister had said, they used their hands and mouths. I’d just been too naïve to understand at the time. Tongues teased. Fingers touched and stroked and squeezed. Their kisses never reached my mouth, but their lips and caresses always had the goal of pleasing me.
I knew their names and faces. Alice had given me backstories and details on each member, but sex hazed the room now. It descended on the table like a fog, making it impossible to distinguish one male from another. I hid behind closed eyelids most of the time anyway.
Close your eyes and it will be just us.
It became dangerous as the process wore on. My body could only be primed and left hanging so many times before it threatened revolt. The pleasure had left me trembling and breathless more than once, but I clamped down. Soon after this had started, I’d come to a decision. Seven other men could fuck me with their mouths and their hands, but Royce would be the only man who’d bring me to orgasm. So much of me was being shared, I’d do my best to keep that intimate experience between us.
He hadn’t asked me to wait for him specifically on this, but I would.
Mr. Shaunessy was the last board member to go before the cycle of men was over. He sat in the chair and brushed the pad of his thumb over my swollen clit before sliding it all the way inside me. I arched up at the intrusion, and when the other men gently nudged me back onto the table, Mr. Shaunessy set his lips where his thumb had just been.
His tongue flickered while his thumb thrust. Slow at first, then speeding along and the two working together felt . . .
Good.
Really, really good.
“Oh, fuck,” I whispered. I’d tried to hold it back, but I was breaking down.