CHAPTER THREE
After a torturous Saturday afternoon spent at the Lexington Fall Fest with his parents, all three of his siblings, and Miss Julianne, Luke retreated to his garage apartment. He triple-checked that he’d locked the door and put the security chain in place. He thought he’d finally gotten his family trained not to burst in on him, but his mother and his sister Lisa—as the oldest she felt free to boss him around as much as or more than his mother—were still sketchy on the concept of privacy. How had he fooled himself that moving into the garage apartment they used to rent to farm hands would help him feel more independent? His mother acted like he still lived in the main house, expecting him to come to breakfast and dinner and letting herself in to collect his laundry.
Whenever he emphasized the need for some space, his mother had her favorite guilting-Luke phrases at the ready: “What if you’re having heart trouble and no one knows?” “If you don’t answer, I can’t be sure you’re okay.” “I just need to know my boy’s okay.” She’d been saying the same things since he started insisting on being able to leave the house alone at sixteen. His mother couldn’t believe he’d be safe going out with friends, driving, or living in his own apartment, even if it was only thirty-eight steps from the back door of the house. Yes, he’d counted.
Hence the need for the security chain. Even if his mother keyed in, she couldn’t get the door open. Which was good, because she did not need to witness what he was about to do. Surely she suspected he watched porn. Because, really, what guy his age didn’t? But she hadn’t given any hints to suggest she knew Luke was gay, and she sure as hell didn’t know what kind of porn he was into or where he was considering going later that night. Of course, he might not leave home at all; he’d already chickened out on going to the Edge several times since he’d discovered its existence thanks to an online group he’d joined.
Before he worried about working up courage, he needed to release some tension, so he brought up one of his favorite videos on his iPad, unzipped his jeans, and eased his cock out. He was already hard just from thinking about the Edge, a place where he could find a man who’d enjoy reenacting this video with him.
In the video, a muscular older man had wrapped a young blond in rope, spanked him until his ass was bright red, and then forced him to kneel. After inserting a spreader gag in his mouth, the man rubbed his cock over the blond’s face.
The younger man looked eager as hell for his partner’s cock, and he was so obedient, doing everything the man told him to without struggling a single time. Luke wasn’t sure he could do that, and yet it was so fucking hot to watch and think about how it would feel to submit like that. Without meaning to, he started imagining that the older man was Jack.
Shit! He needed to stop that, or he wasn’t going to be able to face Jack again without thinking about gazing up at him, mouth forced open, eyes begging for his cock. But he couldn’t banish the image. He began to imagine Jack making him do whatever Jack wanted, forcing him to beg, then fucking him deep and hard.
Would Luke actually like that? How was he ever going to know, if he was too damn scared to do anything about his desires, kinky or vanilla. He was twenty-one goddamn years old and still a virgin. That was fucking embarrassing. He stopped the video and turned off his iPad. He’d waited long enough. He was going to do something about this problem, and he was going to do it tonight.
***
Luke’s hand shook as he pulled out his ID at the door of the Edge. The bouncer scrutinized it but finally handed it back and sent him on inside. Luke was now in an entryway where club rules were posted. He’d read them online a zillion times, but he scanned over them again anyway. It was a good way to stall. Another sign told him there was a changing room where he could rent a locker. He imagined a lot of people came in street clothes and changed into fetish wear, but he intended to stay in the jeans and black T-shirt he’d worn.
He watched the doorway of the main club floor, but he couldn’t make himself take the necessary steps to get there. His heart was beating a mile a minute. Was it just nerves? If he keeled over here, his mother would never get over it.
No. Nothing was wrong. He was just scared, and he was tired of letting that hold him back.
“Your first time?” a man asked.
He turned, realizing the skinny man who was in charge of renting lockers was talking to him.
“Um…”
“You have that look—scared but determined.”
“Um…”
“Most of the people here are willing to answer questions, and we work hard to make sure everyone is comfortable. Just don’t talk to anyone while they’re involved in a scene.”
“I… I know. I read the rules.”
He smiled. “Of course you did. You’re the type who would.”
“What does that mean?”
“Nothing bad. I see a lot of people come in, and I can tell you’re not one we’ll have trouble with.”
“Do many people give you trouble?” Luke asked.
“A few don’t like to follow the rules, but we take that very seriously.”
“Oh.” Was Luke in over his head?
“Go on in and see what you think. Take it slow. You don’t even have to talk to anyone tonight if you’re not ready, okay?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I can do that.”
But he wasn’t here just to watch; he was here to…find the perfect man, who knew exactly what he needed. Right. Like that was going to happen.
Just losing his virginity would be a good start.
Wouldn’t that be better with that perfect man?
He walked slowly into the club. There was a bar, booths, and tables, a few small stages, and some curtained-off areas. Men of all shapes, sizes, and ages were everywhere, many of them shirtless, a few of them in far less.
Luke felt panic rise. He wasn’t good at starting conversations. How was he ever going to find his perfect match?
No. That was too much pressure. He didn’t need to fall prey to a bunch of romantic bullshit. Life didn’t work like that. He was horny and wanted sex. Well, he wanted sex and something a bit more complicated, but he was in a club dedicated to things like that. Surely he could meet someone.
He walked past the bar and to a spot where several men were gathered by a partitioned alcove.
He studied the strangers around him more closely, and oh, wow, a big man in leather pants and suspenders, standing with his legs apart, watching… Luke’s eyes followed his line of sight. Holy shit!
A dark-haired man was positioned in a sex swing. His arms and legs were cuffed to the ropes, and his ass was completely exposed. A smaller man sat in a chair between his legs, pushing an enormous dildo into him. The dark-haired man was whimpering and thrashing his head, but the smaller man talked to him in a calm, soothing voice, saying how proud he was of the dark-haired man’s efforts.
Luke was mesmerized. This was even better than the porn he’d watched, and it was happening right there in front of him.
“You’re too easy on him.” The words came from the big man Luke had noticed.
“Shut up, Sal,” another man said.
Sal didn’t say anything else, but Luke kept watching him for a moment. Damn, he was hot, and he exuded confidence—more like arrogance, actually, but it looked really good on him.
A moan drew Luke’s attention back to the man in the swing. The dildo was now deep inside him, his ass obscenely stretched.
“Can you take the next one?” the man between his legs asked.
“Y-yes, Sir.”
“Be sure about that.”
He nodded vigorously. “I… I can, Sir. I want to, for you.”
Luke bit his lip. Could he ever say something like that and mean it? Could he give himself to someone so completely that he’d let the man stretch his ass to— Oh my fucking God, that must hurt like hell. The man was pushing a dildo into his sub that was nearly as big as the man’s arm.
Luke didn’t think he’d ever want someone to do that to him, but watching still turned him on. His pulse ratcheted up. He could hardly believe he was really here, where people did the kinky things he’d fantasized about.
The closest he’d ever come to having sex was jacking off with a guy he’d been casual friends with in high school. They hadn’t even kissed, just unzipped and worked each other’s cock. Afterward, as Luke stood reveling in the glow of orgasm, the guy called him a fag and threatened to kill him if he ever told anyone about what they’d done. Just what one wanted for a first sexual encounter, right?
What he’d just seen, the way the man spoke to his submissive, the way he touched him, encouraged him, it was beautiful. That was what Luke craved.
He wasn’t sure he wanted to keep watching. The scene was almost painfully intimate, but they must be okay sharing themselves with others. They could’ve gotten one of the private rooms Luke had read about online.
He walked away anyway. There was a lot more to see. In the next curtained area, a red-haired man was sitting in a chair, completely naked. A man in a maid costume poured tea and arranged sweets on a tray. Then he took the tray to a table by the redhead’s chair. The redhead didn’t acknowledge him in any way, but without being told, the costumed man knelt. The other man widened his legs, and the costumed man started sucking him. Luke wasn’t sure what to think about the scene. The red-haired man sipped tea, ate cake, and acted as if nothing was happening.
“I don’t think that’s what you came here for.”
Luke turned to see Sal, the one who’d interrupted the scene.
“I came to check out the place, and that’s what I’m doing.”
The man snorted. “No one comes just to look. You want a man to put you on your knees, don’t you? I can give you what you need.”
Luke licked his lips without thinking, then realized the gesture seemed deliberately flirtatious. He wasn’t sure he liked how close the man was standing or the look in his eyes that said he knew what Luke needed even if Luke was too inexperienced to know himself. He’d been getting that look his whole life, and it had never been sexy.
The man took another step toward him, crowding him against the wall. He tried to step to the side, but the man pinned him with his arms. “You’re badly in need of a man to control you.”
“I said I came here to watch. Step aside.”
The man ignored Luke’s demand. “I haven’t seen you here before.”
“It’s my first time.”
The man chuckled. “An innocent boy like you? I might guess it’s your first time out of the house.”
Luke didn’t say a thing.
“I’m ready to teach you all about what you want.”
“I know what I want.” That was a lie. He had only vague ideas, but he did know he wanted nothing from Sal.
He tried to duck under Sal’s arm, but Sal grabbed him by the shoulders. “I didn’t tell you to move.”
“I’m not—”
“You need some discipline.”
“I’m not interested.”
Sal sneered. “You like to fight? Play the bratty sub?”
“What I’d like is for you to back the fuck off.”
Anger flashed in Sal’s eyes, and Luke braced himself for a fight, one he wasn’t going to win. This night was a huge mistake.
“Didn’t you hear what the boy said?”
Luke couldn’t see the man who spoke, but he was thankful for any help he could get.
Sal growled and squeezed Luke’s shoulders harder.
“Let him go.”
Suddenly Luke recognized his rescuer’s voice. He looked up over Sal’s shoulder and confirmed it. Jack Lawrence. This couldn’t be happening. Maybe Luke had fallen asleep after jerking off, and this was a dream. No way in hell was Jack in a fetish club.
“This ain’t any of your business.” Sal turned to face Jack, and Luke stepped aside.
“The boy asked you to back off.”
“He’s just playing. That’s part of our game.”
Jack glanced at Luke, and Luke saw the moment he realized exactly who Sal was fucking with. But he didn’t give any other indication he knew Luke. “Were you playing?”
Luke shook his head. “No. I told him I wasn’t interested.”
“Leave, Sal, or I’ll have security escort you out.”
“This fucking club’s gone to shit.” He stomped off.
A man walked up behind Jack. “Is everything okay?”
“I think so.”
“Are you all right?” the man asked Luke.
“Yes. Thank you.”
“I’m Richard, the club owner. Why don’t you come up to my office? You can have some water, maybe something to eat, take some time to recover.”
“Oh, thank you, but I was just going to go home.”
Jack glanced at Richard, and a silent message seemed to pass between them.
“Would you be more comfortable if Jack took care of you?”
“I really don’t need anything.”
“You’re shaken up,” Jack said. “At least let me get you some water.”
“If you’re sure you don’t mind.”
“Not at all. I want to take care of you.”
His words weakened Luke’s knees. That was exactly what he wanted, though he wasn’t sure Jack meant it the same way he did.
“I’d like to take you to Richard’s office. You seem like you could use a little reassurance and maybe some guidance.”
Luke nodded. “Okay.”
“If you’d rather go with Richard…”
“No, I want you. I mean I want to go with you.”
Jack smiled. “Then come on.”