“JAKE, I GAVE YOU THE keys to my house so you could get in in case of emergency–not so you could walk in whenever you felt like it! What the hell were you thinking, coming into my dungeon unannounced?” Brian growled as soon as he saw his friend standing in his kitchen. Jake had the decency to blush and look down, shamefaced.
“I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “I came here looking for you, but then I heard screaming coming from downstairs, and I thought someone was getting hurt.”
“Someone was getting hurt, that’s the point of a dungeon,” Brian said, incredulous. “Why would that make you come down and interrupt our scene?”
“Brian, I’m really sorry,” Jake repeated. “Really, really sorry. I…I don’t know what to say.”
Brian sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know if Samantha will ever be able to look you in the eyes again,” he said. But his tone told Jake the peak of Brian’s anger had passed, and Jake was no longer in danger of getting his nose broken. Jake let out a breath of relief. The corners of his lips curved up.
“I’ll make it up to her, I promise,” he said. “In a few weeks, we’ll all be laughing about this. You’ll see.”
“Oh I don’t think so,” Samantha said, striding into the kitchen and going straight to Brian’s side. Brian put a protective arm around her and kissed her forehead while Samantha shot Jake a venomous look.
“Samantha, I’m really sorry,” Jake started again, putting his palms up. “I promise I’ll never enter Jake’s dungeon without permission ever again, no matter what horrible noises are coming from down here.”
“I did not sound horrible,” Samantha seethed, rounding on him.
“No, of course not, you sounded like you were having fun, and you looked like you were having fun, too–”
“Jake,” Brian warned.
“I only meant–Jesus, I’m an ass, and I know it, so please forgive me. Please?”
Samantha wanted to be able to stay mad at him, but he looked so shamefaced and apologetic, she felt like the only thing she could do was give in.
“Okay,” she said, moving away from Brian. “But only if you promise never to mention this happened ever again, to anyone.”
“I promise. We’ll forget this ever happened.”
“Not fucking likely,” Samantha muttered under her breath. She opened the fridge door and peered inside. “You want something to drink? We have juice.”
“Um…yeah, sure.” Jake gave Brian a questioning look, as if to say why is this woman offering me juice from your fridge like she lives here? But Brian just smiled.
“Since you risked so much coming to find me, why don’t you tell me what you want,” Brian said, motioning Jake to a chair. He and Jake sat down, and Samantha poured juice into three tall glasses. She did not join them at the table, but sipped from her glass standing up, leaning against the counter.
Jake passed her another glance, but decided to focus on the matter at hand.
“I’ve got an investment opportunity in Chicago,” he said. “If it works out, it’ll be big. I want you in charge.”
“Why didn’t you call me?” Brian asked.
“You didn’t think I tried? I’ve been calling you for an hour.”
“I’ve been kind of busy. You couldn’t have waited until I checked my phone?”
“No, that’s just it–I need you on a plane by tomorrow. Tonight, if possible.”
Brian’s eyebrows furrowed. “How long would this trip be for?”
“A month. Seven weeks, tops. Now Brian–” He put up his hands as Brian leaned back in his chair and shook his head.
“No way, Jake. No way. Find somebody else.”
“There is nobody else who can handle this deal. Now I understand you don’t want to leave Samantha behind–you two are obviously closer than I even thought,” he said, glancing Samantha’s way. “But here’s an idea: take her with you. You two will have fun in Chicago. Who knows, you might fall in love with the place. Not enough to stay there, of course–don’t stay there. But, enjoy it together. It could be like a working vacation.”
“A working vacation? Exactly how would that work?”
“You’ll have business meetings during the day, sure, but at night–at night you can enjoy the Chicago scene with your pretty sub here. You two can discover a whole new kinky town, take in the sights, visit the clubs.” Seeing the flame spark in Brian’s eyes, he lowered his voice, injecting a tone of allure.
“I hear Chicago has some pretty interesting characters, Brian. Lots of masochists to play with, lots of submissives waiting for someone with a new bag of tricks, someone with your experience. What do you say?” By the look on Brian’s face, Jake knew he had blundered. Brian and Samantha were now looking at each other with sobering expressions. “What did I say?”
“It’s not going to happen, Jake,” Brian said. “I’m no longer available to play with anyone else. And you haven’t asked Samantha if she can go.” Both men turned her way.
“I can’t,” she said. “I have a shop to run, remember? I can’t just close business for two months.” She looked at Brian. “But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go. You should go. This is your job.”
“And you are my sub,” Brian answered. “I’m not going without you. If you don’t go, I don’t go. End of discussion.”
Jake blustered. “Brian–”
“End of discussion, Jake.” Brian’s eyes narrowed, and he gave Jake a piercing stare. Jake had the sense to shut up.
“Fine, I’ll get someone else,” he said, rising from his chair. “But if you change your mind, let me know.”
“I thought I had to be on a plane by tomorrow.”
“Maybe that was my impatience talking. You can have a few days to decide. Let me know if you can make this happen.” He gave Samantha a look of appeal, then showed himself out.
As soon as she heard the front door close, Samantha said, “The trip does sound like fun, Brian.”
“Yeah, it does. But I’m not going without you.”
“But if I weren’t in the picture, you’d go, right?”
Brian turned around to stare at her. “Why would you even ask that? You are in the picture.”
“I don’t want you refusing to go on this trip on my account. If you want to go, don’t let me stop you.”
“We’ve talked about this, Sam.” He came up to stand in front of her, and leaned his hands against the counter on either side of her body to encircle her with his own. “You’re not stopping me. I’m making a choice.”
“But you’re making this choice because of me. If it wasn’t for me, you’d go to Chicago and visit all those clubs and play with all those women and have fun.”
“If it wasn’t for you, I’d be miserable. God, Samantha, why don’t you see that?” He leaned his head against hers and closed his eyes. “There is nothing worth pulling myself away from you for two months. Not all the women in the world would be able to cheer me up from missing you.”
Samantha hugged him around the waist. “But what about the deal? Jake made it sound so important,” she said against his chest.
“Jake has other people who can handle it. I’m not available at this time.” He swayed with her in his arms. Then he leaned his lips close to her ear. “How’s your ass?”
“Fine,” she said, smiling. “Doesn’t feel sore or anything.”
“Good,” Brian replied. “Then it’s up for round two?”
He laughed at Samantha’s look of astonished fright.
