Venus rising boxset, p.38
Venus Rising Boxset, page 38
“What about you?” Hilary's sudden question surprised him out of his contemplation why he couldn't find a sub who was compatible with him. Her glance at the obvious bulge in his pants made it clear what she was referring to. The beautiful honey blonde looked torn between wanting to offer to take care of him the way he had her and being terrified he might expect her to do so.
Laughing, Liam put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her from the dance floor. Placing his mouth next to her ear, he enjoyed the sweet smell of her hair while he whispered to her.
“That was all for you, honey-girl, but you're sweet to think of me.”
Tipping her head back with his fingers under her chin, he indulged himself in another kiss, tasting her mouth again. With her flushed face, the satisfied expression of a well-pleasured woman, and the sweet submissiveness of her offer, he couldn't resist—even if he wasn't going to take it further than this. For a moment, she hesitated, then responded like a flower opening under the sun, clinging to him as his tongue slipped into her mouth. When he finally pulled away and continued walking them to the bar, her expression slid into disappointment, followed by relief, then confusion.
The little looks she was giving both his face and his groin made it clear she didn't understand why he wasn't going to take things farther even though she was relieved by it. It was becoming more and more clear that Hilary was definitely submissive, but she was far too new to the scene and had no idea what she wanted or how far she'd be willing to go. For the first time in years, he was tempted to introduce someone to the pleasures of scening, but he knew it was a bad idea. He was already attracted to her—her obvious sweetness, her loyalty to her friend, and her bravery in the uncomfortable situation—and she was attracted to him. But he'd been down that road before and refused to get involved in another sub who was still learning about what she wanted.
Hilary was the kind of woman he could see himself getting involved with on a personal level, but BDSM relationships were more complex than that. If they didn't want the same things out of a sexual relationship, neither of them would feel complete or satisfied. Who knew if she was even going to come back to the club after tonight? She seemed pretty shaken by her experiences of the evening. Resolving not to try to convince her to return, Liam led her over to the bar, sitting her down. She could probably use one of the two drinks allowed since she wasn’t going to scene.
When Jessica, Chris, and Justin returned from the Locker Room, she was happy to find Hilary and Liam waiting for them at the bar. So far, the entire evening had been wonderful, and she could tell by the way Hilary was nervously twirling her hair and her small darting looks that she was attracted to Liam. Hilary only did that when she really liked a guy. Surprising because Liam didn't look at all like the preppy, pretty boys Hilary usually went for, but maybe that was a good thing—especially since Hilary had been expressing more interest in BDSM lately. There were probably people who only thought they were interested when they read about it, then changed their minds once they tried it, but Jessica wouldn't be surprised if Hilary really was at least a little sexually submissive.
As soon as Liam saw them, his expression hardened, and he pulled Chris and Justin aside. It almost looked like he was giving them a firm talking to.
“What's that about?” she asked Hilary although she wasn't sure Hilary would have the answer since she looked just as surprised as Jessica. Then suddenly, Hilary's expression changed as light dawned on her.
“Oh, ah... Liam kind of had to rescue me a little.”
“What?” Guilt immediately swamped Jessica for leaving her friend alone. “What happened?”
“It was nothing.” Hilary shook her head, blushing as she glared at Liam, not that he noticed. “Just an overeager Dom. Liam got there before he did more than talk at me. I don't know why he's haranguing Chris and Justin about it.”
“Because we should have taken better care of you,” Jessica said, shooting a guilty look over her shoulder at her men. Chris looked worried and slightly ashamed. Although Justin looked as stoic as ever, she could tell from the tense set of his shoulders, he was upset as well and not at Liam, or he'd be giving the other man what for. Reaching out, Jessica grabbed Hilary's hand. “I'm so sorry, we shouldn't have left you alone. Or I should have insisted one of the guys stay with you until we could send someone down.”
“It's okay,” Hilary said, rolling her eyes. “Honestly, I'm a big girl. I don't know why he thinks I can't take care of myself.” Another glare at Liam's back. Wow, Hilary must really like him; that or something happened between them she wasn't saying. Being rescued was right in line with Hilary's romantic, optimistic fantasies. Jessica could tell Hilary was attracted, but before she could quiz her friend on her odd behavior, the men returned.
It was kind of funny actually, watching Liam standing behind Chris and Justin like a stern father. Even though both Chris and Justin were taller than the muscular redhead, somehow, he still managed to loom over them as they apologized to Hilary for leaving her alone in a strange place. Although she tried to protest, they hadn't really done anything wrong, Justin just shook his head and informed her it was their responsibility to watch over anyone they brought into the club and had been remiss in their duties to her. Hilary didn't bother arguing with him, the stubborn set of his jaw and the firm tone in his voice made it clear that no matter what she thought, he and Chris still felt liable. Liam did too, apparently.
Hilary was very quiet the entire way home. Annoyed at herself—and a bit at Chris and Justin for insisting Hilary would be fine down in the Dungeon—and wanting to know what was going through her friend's head, Jessica sent the guys home, so she could have Hilary to herself for a while.
“Nothing really happened,” Hilary insisted as they sat in front of the television in their pajamas, eating chocolate chip cookies and having a final glass of wine. It was their late-night talk ritual, for those times when they needed girl talk after midnight. The wine calmed, and the chocolate soothed—nothing better.
“Come on, Hilary,” Jessica said, rolling her eyes. “I know you better than that. You were doing that thing with your hair. Plus, you couldn’t stop looking at him. I could tell you liked him, so why were you upset?”
“I wasn't upset, exactly,” Hilary mumbled, averting her eyes as she picked up another cookie, and sighed. Jessica stayed silent, knowing Hilary was at the point where if she just waited it out, the truth would emerge. Hilary chewed the cookie, sending baleful glances at Jessica.
“Okay fine. I sort of... we had... a moment on the dance floor. And he kissed me.”
“That's great!” Jessica nearly felt like applauding. She would love it if Hilary started coming to Stronghold with them, and she had someone she could share this part of her life with. If Hilary got a boyfriend out of it, even better, especially someone like Liam, who was so different from the guys Hilary normally dated, although from what Jessica had seen, in good ways. He'd seemed very serious, very protective of Hilary and at the same time, very charming with a good sense of humor.
“Not really,” Hilary grumped. “Afterward, he took me back to the bar, then barely talked to me. We talked to Rick, Patrick, and the bartender, Andrew, but it was all him talking to them, not to me at all. He barely showed any interest in me until you guys came back, then it was only to lecture Chris and Justin on how they shouldn't have left me alone. Apparently, he really regretted meeting me.”
“What? How can you say that?”
Now, it was Hilary's turn to roll her eyes. “Why else tell them off for leaving me alone? If they hadn't, he wouldn't have met me.”
The logic was kind of skewed, but Jessica could see what Hilary was saying. On the other hand, she was pretty sure her friend was more miffed about Liam's attitude at the bar after kissing her than his lecturing Chris and Justin. Otherwise, she would haven't come up with such a twisted scenario.
“I don't think he regrets meeting you at all,” Jessica insisted. “Leaving you alone was really rude. I guess he didn't blame me since I'm the submissive and that means Justin and Chris are in charge, but the truth is, we did something kind of shitty.”
“And the kiss followed by the brush off? What's the logical reason for that?” Hilary curled her legs up in front of her, wrapping her arms around her knees. It was a purely defensive position, making Jessica's heart ache a little. She hadn't seen Hilary this into a guy in a while, especially not only after one night.
“Maybe he was just worried he was pushing you too fast,” she offered. “I can ask Justin and Chris about it.”
“No, don't,” said Hilary immediately, sitting straight up as her feet dropped to the floor. Jessica looked at her friend in surprise. Normally Hilary would utilize every means possible to get the down low on a guy. “You're probably right. I didn't even think about it that way.” She rubbed her face and then patted the top of her blonde hair, which was pulled back into a ponytail, a purely nervous gesture. Hilary's hands always went to her hair when she was nervous, for any reason. “I'm just tired. I think I'm going to bed.”
The easy capitulation was out of character, maybe just because Hilary hadn’t been comfortable at the club. Jessica wanted to talk about it further, but she was tired too and could tell she wasn't going to get anything more out of Hilary tonight. Besides, she had her own thinking to do, about Chris and Justin and where their relationship was going to go next. Tonight had been wonderful. Meeting their friends and being accepted had been even more so. It gave her hope maybe things wouldn't go as badly as she thought as they revealed themselves to the world.
Chapter 9
“So, which one do you like better?”
Jessica's mother was an older version of herself in looks with a similar body type and soft brown curls, although her mother's eyes had more of a greenish tint to their hazel. She was also a big proponent of fidelity, and it had always bothered her when Jessica or her brother dated casually rather than being in a settled relationship. For some reason, Jessica had decided it might be a good idea to test the waters by talking about Justin and Chris to her mother during their lunch date; her mother had come into the city for business and had wanted to meet up. Obviously, being at Stronghold had given her a slightly warped idea of how people might take it.
In some ways, Stronghold was a fantasy place, where erotic dreams came true. Now, in the harsh light of day, wearing business clothes and dining with her mother in the nation's capital, Jessica was reminded not everyone felt the same openness to sexual experiences and relationships as the people visiting a kink club on a Saturday night. She needed to get her head back on straight and remember most people in her life weren't going to understand her relationship with Chris and Justin, just because their friends did. Not that she'd told all her friends yet. Only Olivia and Hilary knew, but they were her two closest friends.
On Sunday, Chris and Justin came over, and after another round of apologies to Hilary, they sat and discussed how their relationship might work when it came to the other people in their lives. Both men had obviously been relieved at how well their friends had taken the dynamics of their relationship. The same way Jessica had been relieved by Hilary's acceptance. All their friends were concerned they might be hurt by the unusual arrangement but were also supportive of their attempt and doing their best to remain open-minded. Her men had confessed that they were more nervous about talking to their families than they had been about their friends.
Chris didn't want to tell his family at all. Apparently, they were fairly wealthy and extremely conservative about everything. Plus, his father was in politics and was known for taking a strong stance on moral issues. They wouldn't understand him deigning to compete with another man for a woman's affection, much less sharing her. They knew nothing about his activities at Stronghold. From the little Chris said and the closed off expression on his usually expressive face as he'd talked about them, Jessica could tell they already disapproved of him without knowing all those other details. The bitterness in his voice when he'd said it was best if he kept them in the dark for as long as possible about everything to do with his life had shocked her.
The warmth of which he'd spoken about his childhood while they were at the school had been completely gone, and it didn't take her too long to remember that most of the fond memories he'd referred to had revolved around his grandparents, who were deceased, unfortunately. No wonder Chris yearned for Savannah in his art but had moved far enough away to escape his parents.
To her surprise, Justin had been just as reluctant but for a far more hilarious reason. He was scared spitless of his mother. At least, that was her interpretation of the situation. He denied it when Chris teased him, grinning, but she had seen the truth in his face. Lenore sounded like an incredible woman. After Justin's father had passed away when he was fifteen, she'd pulled herself together and continued to raise her grieving, rebellious teenage son “right.” Succeeded admirably too. When he'd brought home Chris, she'd practically adopted him as a second son.
Justin didn't want to disappoint her, and he was sure she would see their relationship as immoral. Although she knew about him being a Dom, apparently, they had a pretty open relationship. He was caught between lying to her—apparently just as terrifying a proposition as she was, according to him, a human lie detector—and revealing the truth and hoping she didn’t react badly. Jessica really hoped one day she'd get to meet his mom, to see what kind of woman could make Justin so worried.
But right now, the mother she had to worry about was her own. And she didn't particularly like lying to her mom because they'd always been close, but she knew she couldn't just tell all. Still, the three of them had realized they couldn't keep their relationship completely hidden forever. Chris had suggested he and Justin just introduce her to their parents separately because their parents didn't know each other. But where did that leave Jessica? Who did she choose to introduce to her parents? And would the one who was left out feel jealous or abandoned? Jessica didn't like that at all, especially since whoever she chose would be the only one able to accompany her to family events. Which had suddenly become more important since she got the save the date for her cousin's wedding in six months.
It felt like she was constantly being pressured to choose between them, and every time she managed to escape making a choice, another situation where she’d have to choose popped up. Talk about nerve-wracking.
“I like them both equally, but for different reasons,” she told her mother honestly. What was her mom thinking? If she'd known which one she liked better, she wouldn't be dating both of them.
“Well, you can't keep stringing them along forever, dear,” said her mother, winking at her. Jessica smiled back, feeling a little ill as she took another bite of her salad. Obviously, her mother found the idea humorous. Would she still be teasing if she knew the truth? Probably not. “That's not fair to them. Unless you're not serious about them?”
“I'm serious about them,” Jessica said slowly. “I don't want to string either of them along.” Both statements were true, but up for interpretation, which her mother did… incorrectly, of course.
“Well, then you'd better make the choice sooner rather than later, or you'll risk losing both of them. A worthwhile man isn't going to wait around forever to be chosen,” her mother said sagely. “He'll go and be with someone who wants him, not someone who can't decide what she wants.”
“Too bad I can't just keep both of them forever,” said Jessica in a joking tone, her stomach tightening with nerves. Her mother let out a peal of silvery laughter.
“Oh, if only it were a perfect world,” her mother replied, grinning widely.
Yes, Jessica thought wistfully. If only it were a perfect world, she could be brave enough to tell her mother she hadn't been joking.
The end of the week was Justin's last day at Boyd's and Company. He wasn't sad about leaving, other than wishing he could keep working with Chris. It was also nice being in the same building as Jessica, but they only saw each other at lunches during the workday and not every day, so that wouldn't be that big of a difference. He and Chris had worked together for a while, and he was used to relying on Chris. Now, he was going to be on his own. Not that Adam wouldn't be supportive, but Adam would be his boss, not his co-worker. Adam wouldn't be doing a lot of supervising, already assuring Justin he trusted Justin to see the job was done right. So, it was all on him.
It was for the best, though. People in the office had obviously started noticing there was something going on with him, Chris, Jessica, and Hilary, although it was obvious from the water cooler gossip and the sly questions, no one knew who was actually interested in who. He snorted to himself. They'd probably never believe the truth, which was for the best. Not he cared about their opinions, but Jessica did, and he wanted her to be happy.
Most of the people whose opinions he cared about had already accepted the relationship, the only one left to tell was his mother. Sure, his and Chris' friends were wary they were going to end up getting hurt and worried if things went badly, it could hurt their friendship and subsequently the entire group of friends, but they were going to be supportive of whatever decision Chris and Justin made. Which was good because the decision had already been made. Jessica was worth fighting for, and they were going to go into that fight as partners rather than adversaries.
In some ways, it made a perfect amount of sense, considering how much they'd leaned on each other throughout their friendship. Chris often felt like a part of Justin rather than a separate entity. With another girl, one who wanted two men because she needed attention or some other selfish reason, the arrangement would never work. But Jessica was independent, liked each of them for different reasons, and was one of the most giving people he'd ever met with more than enough love to go around—always thinking about others, rather than herself. He suspected going to the Venus School was the most 'selfish' thing she'd ever done.
