Bound to be Taken (Emergence) (14 page)

“Because…” Dane grabbed her chin and tilted her head back, “…you’re doing us an incredible favor by not only going with us Friday night, but also taking a huge chunk out of your daily schedule to learn the ropes. We owe you. The deal isn’t even. The least we can do is take you shopping and pamper you a bit.”

Stephanie glanced down at her outfit and cringed. It wasn’t as though she hadn’t known the truth of the words they spoke. Nope, they were right. It was all intentional. If she wore boring clothes that covered up most of her skin, she would attract fewer men and cause less heartache.

Until now. Now she feared her heart was in danger no matter what she wore. Neither Dane nor Aiden appeared to be hindered by her clothing. Too bad they were just humoring her.

“Okay. But don’t overdo it.”
What the hell am I going to do with this stuff after Saturday anyway?

Dane tugged on her hand. “Come on. You’re going to love Martin and Leon. They know their shit when it comes to making a woman feel beautiful.”

That’s the problem. I don’t want to feel beautiful.

A bell chimed overhead when they entered the boutique. Eclectic was the best word she could think of to describe the place. Something for everyone, and she hated to imagine the price tags.

“You’re here,” a high-pitched male voice shrieked. “Dane, Aiden. So glad to see you again. And who is this? Oh my. What a gorgeous woman. Wherever did you find her, you lucky bastards?” The man stepped into her space, his gaze appraising her from head to toe, not landing for a second on his friends. He clapped his hands as he spoke. His spiky blond hair, bright pink shirt and tight beige pants did not make her feel confident that he could “outfit” her.

He was as gay as they came. She smiled. He was so charismatic she couldn’t help but like him.

“Leon, come here. Look what our Dane and Aiden have gotten,” The blond shouted over his shoulder.

Stephanie flushed through her. She felt like a possession. With Dane on one side holding her hand and Aiden on the other doing the same, there was no denying she was theirs, but something about the way blondie described her made her think they were in the middle of role playing and she was most assuredly the sub.

“Martin, you’re embarrassing her,” Aiden said. “Tone it down a bit. We only met her this week.”

“Oh my.” He clapped again. “How fun. Can I please, please help outfit her?” Martin reached for her blouse and rubbed the material between two fingers. “Why is such a beauty as yourself dressed so frumpy?” He pouted.

Stephanie couldn’t begin to answer him. She should be angry at the insults, but somehow coming from Martin, the words weren’t meant to insult. He apparently found her beautiful and honestly wanted to help.

The man who had to be Leon gave two sharp claps of his hands behind his partner—were they lovers?—and turned to the back of the store. “Follow Leon and Martin, love. We’ll have these two oafs eating out of your palm within the hour. Ha! We might even keep you for ourselves.” His chuckle filled the air and made her smile.

Leon was the opposite of Martin. His hair was long, black and pin-straight. His skin tone was darker than Martin’s. And he wore a tight cream sweater over well-worn jeans.

“He’s kidding, babe,” Dane said. “Leon and Martin don’t go both ways.”

Stephanie shook her head. Right now her life didn’t remotely resemble the life she’d led last week at this time. Two gay guys were about to outfit her with sexy clothing? She didn’t do sexy.

Aiden and Dane led her through the shop to the back. No one stopped to pick out anything on the way. Stephanie glanced both ways, noticing the variety of interesting attire, but she barely got a glimpse before she found herself in a rear fitting room.

A huge fitting room. Not like any she’d ever seen before. A floor-to-ceiling mirror lined the back wall and two upholstered benches sat on either side. The carpet was plush, thick, cream-colored luxuriousness. The walls were wallpapered in wide stripes in a variety of earth tones.

“Leon will be right back. Make yourselves comfortable.” Stephanie had to stifle a giggle when Leon referred to himself in third person. She felt as if she’d stepped onto the set of a sitcom.

“What are we in the market for today? Anything specific?” Martin glanced from face to face, his hands folded in front of his chest. He leaned on one leg, the other foot situated at a ninety degree angle. “Are you going any place special? Or did you just want to treat the woman to a few nice things?”

“The latter. I mean, we are going someplace special tomorrow night, but not wearing anything you sell, Martin.” Aiden laughed, making Stephanie’s cheeks burn. He even winked.

Dane squeezed her hand. “Martin and Aiden have been friends since childhood. They don’t have many secrets.”

Still. She swallowed the lump in her throat. Everyone did not have to know she was their sub. Wait.
Shit.
This was all make-believe. The lines were blurring again.

“Fantastic.” Martin appraised her for the second time from top to bottom, tapping his pointers against his lips. “If I were a straight man, you wouldn’t have been available for these two hooligans to snatch up.” He laughed.

“We need lingerie, Martin. Something sexy. Some colorful sets maybe?” Aiden did most of the talking. Dane did the reassuring hand squeezing.

Stephanie felt like a commodity…and it made her pussy weep. The idea of these two men ordering people to make her sexy sent a shiver down her spine. Would they really be able to transform her into someone desirable? Part of her couldn’t wait.

“Wonderful. Consider it done. I’ll go handle that end, and I’m sure Leon is already making some lovely clothing selections. What are you, a size six? Maybe thirty-four C? We’ll just whip everything over this door when we find something you might like. Take your time.” Martin knew her sizes just by looking? He spun on his heel and pulled the door shut with a snick. A second clipped noise indicated Aiden had locked the door.

Stephanie gasped. “You’re going to stay? In here? With me?”

“Yes.” Aiden smiled. “We want to see the transformation.”

Stephanie shook her head. “I can’t change…in front of you.”
No fucking way.

Dane pulled her to the center of the room. “Of course you can.” His expression was quizzical. “We’ve already seen you completely naked. Why not?”

“It’s day.”

“It’s day?” Dane asked.

“That was night. I was tipsy. I was…”

“Horny?” Dane supplied.

Aiden spoke next. “Would it help if you pretended you were in sub mode?”

“Relax. We want to help. And we want to see you.” Dane unbuttoned her blouse while he spoke. “Please?” he pleaded. His eyes begged. His hands reached around her waist to unbutton her skirt. In seconds, the pleated material of her skirt fell to the floor and her shirt was whisked off her shoulders. Dane kneeled and tapped her ankle, and she stepped out of first one shoe and then the other.

She stood in the middle of the room in nothing but her white panties and bra. She might as well have been naked.

Dane kissed her ear. “You are so fucking sexy, Steph. Let us pamper you the best way we know how.” He nibbled a path to her mouth and took her lips in a searing display of ownership. His hands gripped her shoulders. His tongue demanded entrance.

She couldn’t deny him. Her lips parted of their own accord while her nipples pebbled against her functional bra.

How did these two manage to do this to her over and over again?

“First load over.” Martin’s voice jarred her back to reality, and she stepped back.

“Shit. This is crazy,” she muttered. “I can’t even think straight when I’m around you two, let alone when you’re mauling me.”

Aiden grabbed the hangers Martin flung over the door. “Don’t think. Feel.”

Right. Easy peasy.

“Let’s try this first.” Aiden held up a black lace bra and panty set that didn’t have enough material to be worthwhile.

Dane released her and sat on the bench seat on one wall. “Take your underwear off, babe. Give something new a try. I’m gonna bet you’ll feel incredibly sexy if you just put something sensual on under your clothes. That’s what I hear anyway.”

Stephanie stood still, her hands clenched at her sides. What she wanted to do was cover herself, not take more off. Sure, she’d been naked last night. In the heat of sex—well, near sex—she didn’t stop to consider her exposure, but now that they were standing in a well-lit room and she was the center of attention set to pose for two men, she couldn’t quite wrap her mind around the idea.

Aiden approached her. He took the black lace lingerie off the hanger and stared at her. “Need some help?”

“No.” That would be worse. “Can’t you two wait outside or something? This is so…”

Dane leaned his elbows on his knees. “So what? Titillating?”

Stephanie bit her lip and crossed her arms.

Aiden stared down at her. “Baby, if I thought it was too much, I’d step out. But you’re aroused. Your chest is so pink and splotchy, and we can see the wetness on your panties. Let yourself go. Follow instructions when we give them. You know you love it when we push you past your comfort zone.”

“You know, Aid. I think we might need to introduce a little punishment to our sub here if she doesn’t comply a little quicker.” Dane, the bastard, smiled.

Aiden mimicked the action. “I agree. Let’s do this. I’m going to make it easier for you. Starting now, we
are
role playing. I know you find it easier to follow instructions when the choice is removed. For the rest of the day, you’re ours to command. Whatever we say, you’ll do without hesitation. Any infractions will be counted toward punishment at the end of the evening. Good behavior will receive its just reward. Got it?”

She hesitated, her stomach in a giant knot that pushed down on her sex and made her hyperaware of every single nerve ending in her clit and pussy. Even her ass. God, these two were infuriating. They read her so well. “Yes.”

Aiden leaned forward and lifted an eyebrow.

“Yes…Sir.” Why was it so hard to say those words? They were just words. But they meant so much more than two simple syllables when uttered together. In fact, the further she separated them, the less they meant as a unit.

“Good girl. Next time, don’t hesitate. It’s ‘yes, Sir’. We’ll be keeping a list of infractions. Now, take your bra and panties off.”

He was right. And it infuriated her to no end. All they had to do was switch to a Dom/sub relationship and she was putty in their hands. If they took away her free will, even though it was a consensual submission, she could not refuse them. Choosing to submit to them made her knees weak.

Her hands shook as she unclasped her bra from behind and let the boring white material fall to the ground. Next she lowered her panties and stepped out of them. She covered her crotch with her hands and kept her head down.

“Stephanie.” Dane’s voice was rough.

She flinched and looked up at him.

“Do not cover yourself with us, ever. Remove your hands and place them at your sides. We want to see your body at all times. As our sub, you’ll remain naked often, open to our view.”

Moisture pooled in her pussy when she dropped her hands to her sides, and she worried she would actually drip on the floor…or at least have a path running down her leg. What did he mean when he said, “As our sub”? This arrangement was going to end in two days. The men were acting as though this was not finite.

They couldn’t possibly be intending to carry on the farce. Did she dare hope? She wasn’t about to ask because she didn’t think she was ready to hear the answer no matter which it was. Part of her still thought this was wrong. It was all fun and games and she was willingly complying because she’d never been so aroused in her entire life. But doing this all the time was a different story. Submitting to these men after the week was up wasn’t on the agenda. If she did, she feared she’d lose herself in the role entirely.

Then there was the important detail that both Dane and Aiden were men. She didn’t do men. Not that she did women, just that she didn’t want a man in her life ever. Ironic since she was not only “doing” a man this week, but two of them, and her worst fears were to allow a man to control her. Ha. Control didn’t get much more intense than this.

Aiden circled her while she thought. A rush of emotions went through her mind. Fear. Desperation. Arousal. Need. Panic.

“I know this is hard, Steph. That’s part of D/s. Letting yourself be ruled by another. But the rewards are worth it. You already know that.” He rounded her to the front. “Do you remember the standing position we taught you last night?”

She nodded.

“Verbal, babe. Always answer out loud.” Dane stood and crowded into her space also.

“Yes, Sir.”

“Good,” Aiden said. “Assume the standing position.”

Stephanie’s hands trembled, something that happened a lot around these men. She raised her hands and locked her fingers behind her neck. Her breasts jutted out, her nipples pointing up as she gazed down at herself with her eyes lowered.

“You have a tendency to forget to spread your legs, babe.” Dane tapped her from behind between her thighs. “If you continue to forget that detail, we’ll have to use a spreader bar to remind you.”