Finding Jaime (17 page)

“Jai…
Jai—”
 

“Hmm? Oh, sorry, Sadie, I was miles away.” My face flames as four pairs of eyes are staring at me. “What did you say?”

“We were just talking about your mom,” she replies. “And that she’s invited you over for the weekend.”

“More like demanded.” I take a sip of my now cold cappuccino.
Oh, God, this is disgusting.
“I didn’t get a choice in the matter.” I sense them waiting for me to elaborate. “My cousin, Joseph, is coming, and she wants me to spend time with the family. She called me again today to make sure I bring something ‘nice to wear’ because he’s taking us all out for dinner.”

“Don’t take your precious shoes!” Sadie’s horrified expression makes me snort loudly. “You know how she got last time you took an expensive pair with you.”

I lean forward and lower my voice. “Yeah, she’d been walking around the living room in my Jimmy’s last time I was there.”

“Seriously?” Cade asks, cupping her mouth to stop her giggle. “What did you do?”

“Oh, she denied it, of course. I’d been looking for them, thinking I’d left them out after I’d been drinking the night before. After an hour she suggested I look in my suitcase. Lo and behold, there they were. It was only later when I put them on that my dad said that my mom had been walking around in a pair just like them earlier on.”

It was the same when I grew up, too. Always wondering where I’d misplaced jewelry, makeup, even clothes, only to have them turn up again days later.

I’m not looking forward to going to my parent’s house, but I know I’ll have to suck it up and hope that it’s another month before my mother calls again.

Sadie and Mitch took off not long after we got home. She’s meeting his parents tonight, and I know they’re going to love her. Who wouldn’t? She’s kind, caring, considerate… She’s my best friend in the whole world and, even though we have to adult much more than we’d like, we try to make time for one another as often as we can. That’s why I’ve crossed everything off my imaginary ‘to-do’ list to spend some time with her before I leave to visit my family.
 

I think about what we could do. Maybe go shopping, catch a movie, even stay at home and pamper ourselves with face-masks, painting our nails, doing each other’s hair.

“
God,
no,” I say out loud to myself. “Sadie is
not
touching my hair.”

The last time she was let loose on my tresses she burned my neck with the straightener. I still have the small scar underneath my left earlobe.

My phone begins to ring, and I check the ID.
Joss.
I take a deep breath before I answer.

“Hey, Joss.”

“Hi!” she says cheerfully. I can hear music quietly playing in the background. “Are you busy?

I wonder why she’s asking; she never contacts me except for the occasional text. “Not at the moment. I’m just getting my stuff together for the weekend.”

She doesn’t say anything for a short moment. “You’re going away?” she asks, disappointment in her tone.

What’s going on with her?
I want to ask, but I decide against it. “I’m staying over at my parent’s on Friday and Saturday night,” I reply, and close my suitcase.

“Oh, well, I hope you have a lovely time.”

“What’s going on, Joss?” I blurt out, and the hesitation in her voice has me regretting my outburst.
 

“I, uh, was going to ask if you wanted to go out on Saturday, that’s all. I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were visiting your mom.”

A surge of adrenaline rushes through me and bursts inside my chest. I don’t miss the change in her tone at her mention of my mother, but that’s forgotten at the thought she wants to go out with me.

“I’ll be back on Sunday night,” I tell her. “Do you want to do something then?”

“Yes!” The sound of her breath as she sighs has my skin prickling. “We could go to the beach? I’ll bring us some food, and you can bring the blankets?”

I chuckle at her excitement. “Yeah, that sounds good, Joss. I’ll see you beforehand, won’t I?”

She laughs this time, darker than I’ve heard coming from her in the past. “Definitely, Jai.”

We say our goodbye’s and end the call. I like this new Joss more and more, even though it’s confusing me about my feelings towards Butterfly, but I’m now confident that Joss and I can be good friends despite my attraction to her.

Hang on, is this because the girls have boyfriends now?
And just like that, my mood has deflated once more.
 

“Fuck this,” I spit and then kick my suitcase beside my desk.

I open my closet and pick out my white, zipped corset—a new addition showing my ample cleavage—and my tiny ruffle skirt that matches the black ribbons on the heels of my new white shoes. I’m not staying in tonight, not that I was going to, but now my mindset isn’t something I would wish upon anybody, and I need to get out more than ever.
 

Chapter 15

I can’t believe how busy House is tonight. I can hardly squeeze into the main room with the amount of barely clothed bodies all taking part in each other’s guilty pleasures right there in the center.

“Bunny!” Madame holds her black elbow-length gloved arms out, and pulls me into her embrace. “You’re just in time. Come this way.”

People make room for Madame to pass, and I follow her with ease, holding her hand as she leads me in a winding pathway. We reach the outer edge of the circle, and she urges me forward.
 

“What’s going on?” I look around at the four men in the middle of a huge piece of apparatus.
 

“Would you like to try out some rope techniques?” she asks with a lop-sided smile. “You’re becoming quite the regular, Bunny, so I thought maybe you’d like to participate? It’s not required”—she leans closer to me—“but it sure is a hell of a lot of fun.” She pulls back and winks with her impossibly long lashes.

“I don’t know, Madame. I’m not comfortable with everybody watching.” I couldn’t prove it anymore even if I tried. Just the color of my flushed face is a dead giveaway.

A pair of small hands land on my waist and warm breath blows into my ear, sending shivers down my spine.
 

“I will if you will.” Butterfly’s sensual voice caresses me, and I close my eyes, savoring the rush of arousal that bursts from my core.

I turn to face her, and I’m almost floored at the simple, yet sexy pinstripe outfit she’s wearing. A white, deep V-neck shirt, and strapless, under-bust, front-zipped corset, with a matching skirt that’s a lot shorter than I’ve seen on her before. Her long legs go on for miles, and I can’t wait to touch them.

“That outfit is hot,” I say and let my eyes roam over her. I’m past caring now. “I like how it looks on you.”

She moves closer to me, her lips dangerously close to mine. “You’re a vision,” she says, and her nose grazes the tip of mine.

“You have a choice to make, Bunny,” Madame speaks up, interrupting my trance. “Would you like to try it?”

Butterfly nods her head and bites on her lower lip. I can see how her chest is heaving as she breathes.
 

“Um… I don’t know.”

“I’ve never done this before, either,” she says and takes my hand. “Well, not on a person anyway.”

“Fuck it!” I give in when her dazzling grin begs me to accept. “Somebody get me a rope, I’m about to be tied down.”

“Here you go.” Madame pulls a rope from God-knows-where and hands it to me. “Have fun, my darlings. Let’s see what you got.”

Butterfly leads me to the center, and the room falls into silence. The music coming from the next room is louder in the stillness.

Fuchsia stands beside Madame, her red hair in a beehive and single curls at the sides that hook upwards onto her face. She claps once to gain the attention of the members.
 

“Show your support for Butterfly and Bunny. They’re performing their first rope restraint!”
 

The room erupts into applause and raucous cheer, chanting our names. We’re on the spot, but the supportive expressions on their faces put me at ease.

“I hope I don’t make an ass of myself,” I say to Butterfly, and she cups my face in her hands.

“It’s going to be okay,” she assures me. “If you don’t want to tie me, I can just tie you.”

“If that’s okay?” I can’t see her eyes, but I sense the emotion behind them. I relax, and my knees stop shaking long enough to stand in the center of the wooden
X
.

“I’m going to use a prusik shackle.” She speaks loud enough for everybody to hear. “It’s a simple, but effective restraint.”

I can’t help the laughter bubbling up. “I know that one,” I whisper as she takes my wrist.

“It’s a beginner’s favorite,” she replies.

Excitement ignites inside me, and my hot spot wakes up when she ties me to the thick post. Butterfly’s fingers gently caress my skin as she works her hands expertly. In less than five minutes, I’m tied up with my arms and legs out like I’m in the middle of doing the Time Warp. I just hope nobody can see up my skirt.

She stands in front of me; her skin flushed, and she places her hands on my waist. “How does that feel?” she whispers into my ear.

I take a breath through my nose and smell the same perfume as last night. “It’s okay,” I reply and pull my head back when I begin reaching for her. My lips are searching for hers, and I have to control my urge to kiss her in the crowded room.

She steps back and walks around behind me, and I feel exposed as all eyes are on me. I feel her hands touch my shoulders before smoothing down my back and around my waist. Her light touch has me clenching my fists.

“Are you okay?” Butterfly’s sultry voice has me closing my eyes; tiny tickles flowing over my heated skin.

“Yeah, I feel a bit on show, though,” I reply. She moves my loose hair back over my shoulder and softly kisses my cheek. “I can’t move.”

“I know.” She continues to hug me from behind, her unrestricted ladies pushing into me and I find that I like this more than I thought. “I’ll let you go now.”

She walks back round to the front, and when I see her, I also see Madame and Fuchsia watching us with interest. Fuchsia gives me a thumbs up from her folded arms, and Madame has her hands clasped in front of her like a proud mama.

It takes seconds for Butterfly to release me. I rub my wrists when I’m free, and I look down at Butterfly as she unties the ropes from my ankles. I can see down her shirt, and my pussy tightens at the view of her cleavage.

We’re given another round of applause and Butterfly hugs me tight to her chest. I wrap my arms around her small waist and bury my face into her long hair.

“That was hotter than I expected.”

I pull back sharply. “You got off on tying me up?” And just thinking that has me slick between my legs.

She nods. “I never thought it would, but yeah. Seeing you bound like that turned me on.”

She leads me away from the center and towards her mother and Fuchsia. We’re hugged and congratulated on our first performance.

“First? I don’t think I’ll make a habit of that,” I say, and glance at Butterfly. “I think I’d prefer a more private setting for that sort of thing.”

“Excuse us,” Butterfly says and grips my hand tightly. She leads me into the bar area. “We need drinks.”

We stop at the bar, and Blue comes over to us, her skimpy blue latex shorts have braces that run over her bare tits, just covering her nipples. “What can I get for you two stunning ladies?” she asks and pouts her bright red lips.

“Cherry Rum,” I say, and Butterfly holds two fingers up. Blue goes over to the optics to make our drinks. “I don’t think I’d ever get the courage to wear something like that.”

“You couldn’t anyway,” Butterfly chuckles and points to my chest. “Those straps wouldn’t contain you, Bunny.” She moves closer, and my breath hitches as her lips graze the outer shell of my ear. “Not that I would complain.”

Damn, this girl has me so fucking turned on!
 

She reminds me so much of Joss, and how such a simple thing she does makes me stop what I’m doing and pay attention to just her.

Blue comes back with our drinks and we down them immediately. “Let’s go.” Butterfly grabs my hand and rushes me out of the back, through the archway.

The closer we get to the rooms, the more my pulse throbs and my nub tingles, remembering last night and how she felt in my hands.

We reach
our
room, and as soon as the door closes, Butterfly walks over to the large armoire and opens the doors. She pulls out some pieces of black rope and the swirling in my stomach increases as she works them through her hands.

“How many knots do you know?” she asks on her way to the bed.

“Just the one.” I follow her and sit next to her.

She kicks off her shoes, and I see the purple nail polish on her elegant toes. I copy and sit further back.

“I’d like to show you another if that’s okay?” I assume she’s staring at me, waiting for my answer, but the lace covering her eyes is getting annoying. I want to look into them; see what color they are… “Bunny? It’s okay if you don’t want to.”