Chapter 5

brADY

Since when did Grace have a boyfriend?

Lying in bed, I couldn’t stop imagining Grace with that bug-eyed little guy she called a boyfriend. When I’d shaken his hand, I’d half expected I’d break his weak paper bones if I squeezed too hard.

I growled under my breath. I was being fucking ridiculous. But my mind was stuck on who this Will guy was. Maybe I’d missed something about him. Something that made Grace think he should be her first lover.

She’s still a virgin. Fucking hell.

I didn’t want to think about that. If I did, I’d lose my goddamn mind. Because the thought of another man kissing her, touching her, pushing inside her—

I got up and grabbed my phone, which I’d left charging in the living room. Then I proceeded to fall down an internet rabbit hole to learn everything I could about Will.

I didn’t even know his last name. But it didn’t take long for me to find his Instagram account, which followed Grace’s. He’d posted three photos in the past three years, all of which were pictures of the insides of computers.

I snorted. What a fucking dweeb.

I had nothing against nerdy dudes. Hell, plenty of my friends played shit like D&D and loved video games.

But Will just seemed fucking boring . Did he even know how to please a woman? Make her moan his name and beg to let her come?

I doubted it. He was probably a sad sack in bed. I bet he cries when he orgasms, I thought darkly.

I then went to Grace’s profile, where I found a recently posted photo of her and Will. They were side-hugging. Will appeared vaguely constipated, while Grace looked stunning—as usual.

But they looked like siblings. Despite Grace’s impromptu kiss, I hadn’t detected any chemistry between them last night. Will had seemed like his head was going to explode when she’d kissed him suddenly.

How is she still a virgin? I couldn’t believe it. She was gorgeous: tall, blond, with legs for days. She could have any guy she wanted. How had she attended college and never slept with anyone?

It made zero sense. I scrolled through her photos, going back to when she first left for college four years ago. She was the Grace I’d known best: the Grace I’d made a point to avoid as much as possible.

In one photo, she posed with duck lips. In another, she was making some goofy pose with a bunch of her friends from high school. But that goofiness had disappeared from her latest posts, which I found intriguing.

Then again, it’d been four years. Grace wasn’t a teenager anymore. She was a grown woman, moving up in the world.

And I was some hockey punk who didn’t deserve to so much as kiss the bottoms of her feet. No matter how much my body screamed to take her and make her mine.

I hated the thought of Will fucking her. But I also knew that I couldn’t keep lusting after her either. Nothing could come of this attraction I had for my coach’s daughter.

So I tossed my phone aside and forced myself to stop thinking about the woman who’d haunted me for too many damn years.

Practice later that afternoon was a joke. I’d thought I’d gotten Grace out of my head until the woman appeared in the arena.

We had a big game with the Blizzards in a few weeks,, and we’d lost the last time we’d played them. Coach had been drilling us hard. He told us if we lost again, he’d skin our hides.

“Carmichael!” Coach roared from the stands. “Did you hear what I said, or are you too busy daydreaming?”

I scowled. Mac shot me a grin, and I could tell he was stifling a laugh.

“Yeah, I heard you,” I shot back, making sure Coach couldn’t see me rolling my eyes.

Even though we were all grown-ass men, Coach Dallas never failed to make us feel like kids sometimes. There were some occasions when I half expected the old man to put us over his knee if we dared to sass him.

I passed the puck to Riley when I saw Grace. At first, I just saw a woman with blond hair, but when we stopped to regroup, I heard her laugh.

I’d know that laughter anywhere. It sounded like wind chimes. Which I knew was fucking bonkers, but it was true.

I couldn’t help but watch Grace, who was with what looked like a small camera crew, as she pointed and gave directions. I thought she was supposed to be in some dim office, posting on Twitter or some shit?

“Dude, get into position,” Mac said in a low voice.

It took every bit of strength to pay attention to practice instead of to Grace. It didn’t help that whatever she was doing seemed to take fucking forever. She was still filming and talking to her group when we’d finished practice.

“You doing okay?” Mac asked me after we’d showered and changed. He sat on the bench across from me with a strange expression.

“Yeah. Why?” I made a point to stare at my feet.

“You were totally off your game today. Is there something going on between you and Grace?”

I whipped my head up, looking around. “Don’t be so fucking loud,” I hissed. “What if Coach heard you?”

Mac leaned back, crossing his arms. “What if he did? Is there something going on?”

I groaned. I did not need Mac to grill me, but I also knew that being cagey would only make things worse.

“Nothing is going on,” I said. “I’m just messed up after I went to Coach’s house for dinner. Grace brought her boyfriend.”

“Ah.”

That single syllable made me want to growl. “Ah? That’s all you have to say?”

“Sounds like you’re jealous.”

I groaned. “It’s so fucking stupid. The guy was a total wet blanket. The boyfriend, I mean. But I can’t stop thinking about her. And him. What the fuck is wrong with me?”

“I still don’t get why you can’t just ask her out.”

I snorted. “She has a boyfriend.”

“Since when has that ever stopped you?”

He was right. If I wanted a woman, I never failed to get her. I’d pissed off plenty of dudes, but I’d never regretted it either. Besides, I’d only ever pursued women who obviously wanted me to pursue them. It was on them if they had shitty boyfriends.

“Nothing can happen between me and Grace,” I said. When Mac looked like he wanted to ask why, I cut in. “I can’t tell you why. It is what it is.”

Mac frowned. “Well, if that’s the case, you should get your mind off her. The invite to the Scarlet Rope is still open, you know.”

I’d forgotten about Mac’s invitation. I hadn’t been all that interested, but now it sounded like a great idea. Anything to take my mind off Grace and her dull-ass boyfriend.

“Since Elodie and I got together, we haven’t been going as much,” Mac was saying. “It’s kind of a waste not to have anyone use our membership. I know BDSM isn’t your thing, but there are lots of other kinks to explore there.”

Since Mac had “come out” as a Dom, he’d been more open to talking about his once-secret life. It’d caught me off guard the first time. Now it was like he was telling me about a new restaurant in town.

“And I met Elodie there,” said Mac. “You might meet somebody even better than Grace.”

I doubted it, but I wasn’t going to admit that out loud. “I guess it can’t hurt to try it once.” I grinned. “Fuck it. Give me the deets.”

Mac slapped me on the shoulder as we left the locker room. “I’ll email over everything you need to know. You’ll also need to sign some paperwork when you get there.”

“Seriously?”

“The club doesn’t fuck around. It also won’t hesitate to kick your ass out if you break the rules. Remember that.”

I held up my hands. “I do so solemnly swear I’ll keep my whips and chains to myself.”

“Probably a good idea until you get a lay of the land,” Mac replied wryly.

That night, I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I entered the foyer of the Scarlet Rope. I didn’t expect it to look classy, I had to admit.

Maybe I’d expected a dingy, underground club with carpets older than I was and a sticky film on the walls and furniture. But this place? It was like some ultra-fancy hotel, except everybody wore next to nothing, and sex was on the table with just about anyone you asked.

Not that different from hotels I’ve been to, I thought with a grin. Mac had explained that I could wear a mask to conceal my identity, but I had nothing to hide.

Besides, I was just here to see what this place was all about. I didn’t even know whether I wanted to partake yet.

Lush, scarlet carpets covered the foyer. A huge chandelier hung overhead, and sultry jazz made the entire atmosphere seem moody and intense.

Before I could begin to explore, though, a woman named Serena took me back to her office to sign my life away. When I joked about what would happen if I broke the rules, Serena told me in a serious voice that I’d forfeit my firstborn.

When I laughed but she didn’t, I wasn’t entirely sure she wasn’t serious.

I went to the bar, where multiple groups were drinking and talking. I’d noticed a few couples making out on settees, but no actual orgies right in the foyer.

A woman with bright-red hair flashed me a smile at the bar. “I’ve never seen you here before,” she purred.

She wasn’t my type—too much like a saloon girl, with her huge breasts and even bigger hair—but she looked like she’d be fun.

“It’s my first time. Popping my cherry tonight,” I said with a wink.

She laughed. “Well, if you need any help, let me know.”

I nodded and began to explore. Mac had explained the basic layout of the club, but when I came upon the first room, I had to admit I was a little stunned.

It was like a large, lush hotel room, except people could watch what was going on inside. This scene included three people—two women and a man—and the women were pleasuring the lucky guy. One woman had her hands tied around her back as she sucked the man’s cock. The other woman was kissing and licking the guy’s neck and chest.

I was riveted. I watched as the woman standing helped the kneeling woman up. Then the woman whose hands were free was kneeling and eating the bound woman’s pussy. The man stood and watched.

I shuddered. I took a swig of my beer and kept walking.

The next room was a BDSM room: a woman was whipping a man, and his moans filled the air. His ass was already bright red. I wondered how long the woman had been whipping him.

Other rooms had group orgies, men only, women only, whips and chains and gags and ropes and sex toys of all kinds. I’d never seen such a vast array of depravity.

No wonder Mac had loved this place. Even if you didn’t want to join the fun, watching it was fascinating.

My body was buzzed, my cock half-hard, as I noticed a blond woman. She wore a black mask, and when she smiled seductively at me, I couldn’t help but notice her resemblance to Grace.

What would Grace do if I bound and gagged her? I shuddered at the thought, both aroused and disgusted with myself.

“You look lost,” the blonde said to me, her tone caressing.

“Just exploring the place.”

“Is this your first time?”

I was tempted to lie, but I had a feeling this woman already knew the answer. “Something like that.”

“I’m Shayla.” She reached out a hand. “You?”

“Michael,” I lied, giving the woman my middle name.

“Michael. What do you like? Are you a sub or a Dom?”

I hadn’t ever thought about it, but I knew instantly I wasn’t a sub. “Dom. Definitely a Dom.”

“Oh, excellent.” She pressed a hand to my chest. “I’ll do whatever you want me to do. Does that excite you?”

It did. It really fucking did. When I wrapped my fingers in Shayla’s hair, pulling her head up and back, she let out a gasp of surprise.

“What if I told you to kiss my feet right now,” I growled.

Shayla smiled. “As you wish, Master.”

She kissed my feet, right and left, and then I hauled her up and pulled her into one of the nearby private rooms.

Before we got started, though, Shayla made sure to tell me her safe word and what her boundaries were. I gave her the safe word I’d thought up when Selena had asked me. I then told Shayla that since I’d never done something like this before, I didn’t know yet what I didn’t like.

“You mean I can peg you?” Shayla asked, grinning.

I snorted. “Fuck no.”

I didn’t want to have sex with Shayla. I wanted to see what it was like to dominate a woman. I had her strip and lie down on her stomach. I went to the wall of instruments, wondering which one I wanted to use.

“Do you have a preference?” I asked Shayla, curious now.

She looked at me over her shoulder. “The red whip. That’s my favorite.”

I grabbed the whip in question. I ran my fingers down the length of it. It seemed rather unassuming. Would this really give a woman like Shayla pleasure?

I tested it on her ass. She shivered, and I did it again.

After a few strokes, Shayla guided me on how hard she liked it. It didn’t take long before I was whipping her ass until it was a bright, cherry red. With each slap of the whip, Shayla moaned.

And then she was begging me to stop, which made me hesitate. But she wasn’t using her safe word. So when I kept going despite her feigned protests, I felt a strange sense of triumph.

I was also so turned on my cock was like an iron bar in my jeans. I’d never thought doing something like this would get me going.

Worse, Shayla’s blond hair and long legs reminded me so much of Grace that it was easy to imagine it was her moaning and begging.

Marking Grace like this, her ass jiggling, her cries filling the room—God, the thought alone was intoxicating. I increased the speed of my hits until Shayla’s yells turned to squeals.

My arm was tired by the time we finished. I hauled Shayla to her feet and gave her a smacking kiss.

“Thanks for that,” I said, breathing hard.

“Great job for your first time.” She kissed my cheek. “If you ever want a repeat, let me know.”

I was on a strange high as I drove home. It felt like my entire body was vibrating, and it wasn’t like I’d even fucked anybody. I hadn’t even wanted to.

I understood now why Mac had been so obsessed with the Scarlet Rope. You could lose yourself in a club like that.

You could also discover lots of new things about yourself. Although I’d always been the alpha in my relationships, I’d never done anything BDSM-related beyond a blindfold here and there.

After I arrived home, my phone buzzed. When I saw it was from Grace, I froze. I had the stupidest thought that she knew that I’d been thinking about her as I’d flogged Shayla.

I shook myself. And when I read the text, I felt like I’d entered an alternate universe.

I’ve been thinking about you, it read.

Christ, if she only knew what I’d been thinking about her tonight. She’d turn around and run in the opposite direction.

I almost replied to her. I almost told her that I couldn’t get her out of my fucking mind. I almost told her that I whipped a woman tonight just because she looked like Grace.

But I couldn’t text Grace any of that. So I didn’t reply at all, and I hoped this fever I had for this woman would go away.