Jenna's Consent (39 page)

Everyone else seemed to have cleared out of The Library so
when the girls found Jared and Chris talking to Oscar at the main bar, they
pulled the twins over to a big table and they all sat down.

Jared looked over at Jenna without a smile. That never happened.
“You okay?”

“Mostly.”

“Those guys have their heads so far up their asses they’ll
likely never find their way out.” Chris spoke and Jenna snickered at his
narrowed gaze.

“And you wouldn’t have a clue what that’s like. Right?” Cyn
asked all sweet and peaches and then rolled her eyes.

“I figured it out.”

“Eventually.”

He yanked Cyn’s chair closer and bit her neck until she
squealed. “Red.”

He looked at her seriously for a second and then caught her
smile and relaxed. “You can take my whips but you red out on a little nibble?”

“Yes.” She angled her head away. “Kiss it?”

His eyes flared and he moved in close. “I’ll do you one
better.” He licked her neck and her eyelids fluttered closed on a sigh.

“Much better, Sir.”

“Good.” He kissed her throat and then pulled her face over
for a kiss.

Jared stared at Cyn, smiling at her pleasure.

Jenna wanted that. No jealousy. Just happiness.

“You wanted to talk to us.” Jenna blinked and realized Jared
was talking to her.

“Yes, I did. And I brought my fan club with me.”

“Always a smart move.” His smile was back on his face as he
added, “Whenever you’re ready. The floor is yours.”

Chris turned around. All business.

Jenna launched into what she wanted to do. What she told the
girls earlier but a little bit more details, especially about Aftercare, since
she didn’t know how much they knew about it.

They didn’t immediately fawn all over her with accolades.
They took it seriously and she really appreciated them for it.

“You’re basically looking for a dedicated rope night.”

“Yes.”

“What requirements are you going to place on people that
want to take your classes?”

She thought for a second but didn’t need long. “A desire to
learn and some rope. The good kind. Not the home improvement store kind. That’s
nasty.”

“Agreed. Smells like diesel.”

“Do you make it?”

The girls all looked at him like he was nuts. Cyn piped up,
“Make what?”

“Rope.”

“Yes,” Jenna answered.

“No way?” Cyn stared at her super hard.

“Made it for years.”

“Your own rope? Seriously?”

“Yep. Nawa taught me years ago. Been making it ever since.
Stopped for a bit in the middle to get my bearings again but it’s in my blood.
Not something I could stop for long.”

Skye continued. “So, what you’ve tied with all these years?
It’s really been your rope?”

“Every piece. Well, I still have a few pieces from Nawa when
he taught me but I don’t suspend with it anymore. It’s past the time I feel
safe using it for load-bearing ties.”

“So you know your rope. That’s good. You’ll know what people
have and what it’s good for and can make suggestions on different kinds,
depending on what they want to do.”

“I could even teach how to make it, actually. It’s really
not that hard.”

“You’re like a ninja.” Haleigh bounced in her seat and Jenna
had to laugh.

“We saw you self-tie on the main stage not too long ago with
Nick.”

“Yes. It’s how I learned. On myself and then I started tying
others. Just recently I’ve started tying others again but I couldn’t ever go
very long without self-tying. I need it. It’s therapy and exercise and
awesome.”

The twins looked at each other. Never spoke a word and then
turned back to her.

“We’d like to see a demo of what you can do. Content,
length, all of it is up to you.”

She nodded, expecting something like that to be required.
“I’ve been tying Oscar. He’s going to bottom for me. He’s tough as nails and
twice as sharp. Getting him to the breaking point is hot.”

“We’ve heard about your abilities. We want to see them in
action and not when punishment is the main attraction. Neither one of us have
much rope experience.” Chris looked up, over her shoulder and nodded. “But what
we have, we learned from the best.”

Jenna twisted in her seat just as Nawa walked up.

“There you are. I had a feeling I would find you here.”

“Hi.” She stood, giving him a big hug and all of the girls
came around the table to meet him.

As soon as all of the introductions had been made, she
turned back to Jared and Chris.

“It would be my pleasure. When would you like me to
perform?”

“How long do you need to get ready?”

“Couple weeks would be great. We’ve already been working on
something. I could have it ready to go by Friday next, as long as Oscar’s
free.”

“We’ll reserve the time and space for you on the main stage.
If you need to change anything just let us know. You’d like the custom frame
up? We can have Jackson work it, if he’s amenable.”

Skye smiled. “I’m sure he’d dig that.”

“Are you going to tie? For a crowd?” Nawa looked at her with
pride.

“Yes. I want to start a rope night here. Share the knowledge
you taught me. Pass it along so it goes forth and multiplies.”

“You make an old man very happy,
mago
.” He kissed her
forehead, beaming at her for all to see.

“What does that mean?” Haleigh inquired. “It sounds so
nice.”

He turned to Jenna. “Beloved granddaughter.” And then he
bowed slightly toward her. A huge sign of respect and love.

She sucked in a startled breath and latched on to him with
tears in her eyes. “I love you, you know that?”

“I know that. I love you too.”

“You didn’t know?” Skye asked. “What the name was, I mean?”

Jenna laughed, wiping a tear from her cheek and exhaustion
pulled at her all of a sudden. “No. I was always afraid to ask in case it
meant, ‘oh clumsy one’ or ‘thou pasty white girl’.”

Nawa chuckled, patting her on the back. “I should have told
you before.”

Jenna looked around, staring at some of the men and women
she considered her family. It was a wonderful thing to realize when she’d felt
alone for so long. “No, this was perfect.”

Almost perfect,
she thought to herself, wishing Ian
and Nick had been there.

“What’s perfect?” As if he’d heard her calling him, Nick
walked out of the hallway—with Ian right behind him.

Jenna’s smile fell, seeing them was just as hard as she
imagined. She wanted to go to them, to fall at their feet and tell them
everything. But her emotions were so chaotic from the last few days she didn’t
trust herself right then.

She stiffened as Ian approached and Nawa hugged her close.

“Why don’t you call it a night, Jenna? I’m sure you’re
exhausted and I’d like a moment or two alone with Ian and Nick.”

He wasn’t really giving any of them a choice. When he spoke,
people listened.

“We’re calling it a night too and hauling ours to bed.”
Everyone stood and moved toward Jenna, flanking her, protecting her.

Tears filled her eyes again and she couldn’t face the men.
Her men… Didn’t sound right. Not exactly.

“I’m glad you’re safe,” Ian told her. “We have a lot to talk
about.”

She took a deep breath and tried to keep her voice steady.
“Give me some time, okay? I need to work some stuff out first.”

Nick responded. “We’ll wait for when you’re ready, Jenna.”

She nodded and let Haleigh and Skye pull her toward the
hallways to a room they could sleep in. Cyn left down the other hall with Chris
and Jared. She winked at her across the distance as Chris lifted her, cradling
her in his arms. “Night,” she mouthed.

Jenna’s gaze shot back to Nick and Ian right before she
turned the corner into a room.

They were stoic, focused, steady.

She wanted to believe they would always be there. Needed
desperately to believe in the fact she could rely on them, but first?

She finally decided she had to believe those things in
herself first.

Putting it all on their shoulders was unfair to all of them
and dangerous to what she hoped they could still have.

Hope.

A very dangerous four-letter word.

Walking into the guest dungeon with her girls, an inkling of
an idea formed on what she could do to accomplish that.

She pulled her phone out to text Oscar and set in motion
something she should have owned up to a long time ago.

When one of the legends of Shibari looked at someone the way
he eyed Nick and Ian, Nick was fairly certain they were in for the ass-chewing
of a lifetime.

Once everyone else had cleared the space, silence grew into
a living thing between them.

Nick was a big dude, had fought and laid flat bigger dudes.
Confidence could have been his middle name but with Goshujin staring him down
he felt the first inkling of unease he’d had in years.

He refused to drop eye contact or hide or make excuses. He
fucked up,
they
fucked up. They knew it.

He opened his mouth to explain that but the master rigger
standing before him beat him to it.

“I mentored you both, did I not?”

“Yes,” they each answered, one right after another.

“Did I not teach you the ways a top can harm a bottom?”

A simple nod came from each of them.

“Is it all physical? Is that the only way you can hurt
someone in rope?”

“No, Sir.” Nick answered this time and Ian crossed his arms
over his chest.

“Is it even the worst way you can harm someone who has given
their control over to you? Anywhere close to the worst?”

“No.” Ian dropped his arms, planting them on his hips,
staring at the floor.

“I expected a big fight to get you to see reason and stop
being so pig-headed. This is not what I thought would happen.”

Ian dragged a hand down his face and Nick squeezed his
shoulder, then faced Nawa again. “We talked it out after Jenna left the other
night.”

Ian turned to him with an incredulous look on his face. “We
yelled at each other for almost an hour and then you decked me.”

Nick shrugged. “Finally got you to see reason, didn’t it?”

“And stars, you ass.”

“I’m not gonna have some therapy session with you. You were
being a dick. Don’t get all bent out of shape. I was being a prick too. But
we’re guys, not part of some hen party. I’m not here to snuggle your feelers.
It’s not in me.”

“Me neither but don’t bust me in the face anymore.” Ian
actually smiled. “I’m too pretty for that.”

“Pretty my ass.”

“You both realize you are acting like brothers, do you not?”

“He wished he was that cool.” Nick smirked at both of them
and ran his fingers through his hair. “All bullshit aside? If we’d met any
other way we’d be friends, no question. Jenna between us made that a hard place
to get to. But we’re there now, I think.” He raised an eyebrow in Ian’s direction
who nodded.

“Most of this is my fault. I get that. Past errors tainted
everything to start with. Now I…
we
have to hope Jenna can forgive us and
give us a chance to start over. Together.”

Nawa looked between them. “She is the only family I have.
The only family I have wanted in decades. If you are lucky enough to convince
her to see past your needless pride and insecurities, then I will be happy to
call you my own.”

Nick stood stunned, knowing the declaration wasn’t made or
given lightly. “I would be honored, Sir.”

“As would I.” Ian’s voice wavered for a moment but with how
much emotion had swirled in this building in the last forty-eight hours he
wasn’t surprised.

“You will both have to work at this. Starting a dynamic of
three can be very difficult.”

“But for Jenna it will be worth it.”

Nick nodded without anything to add to it. Ian said it all.

“Jenna’s happiness comes first and we’re both willing to
accept what she needs and we’ll blow her mind…if she’ll ever talk to us again.”

Nawa’s lips lifted into a knowing smile that settled Nick’s
uncertainty. “She’ll talk to you again for reasons that are hers to share. But
you both owe me.”

“For more than just this. We’re both better men for knowing
you.”

He bowed slightly and walked away.

“We’re going to owe him forever, aren’t we?”

“Yep.” Nick moved behind the bar and grabbed a beer, handing
one to Ian. “He’s never going to forget what dumbasses we’ve been. Can’t
imagine what we’ll have to do in the future to make it up to him. Especially
for hurting his girl.”

They both grew serious at the mention of Jenna.

“I hate knowing she’s so close, hurting ’cause of us and we
can’t go to her. It’s all I can do to keep my butt on this barstool instead of
barreling down the hall to let us into her room.”

Nick moved around and sat beside him. “I feel exactly the
same way.” They drank in silence for a couple minutes but it was an okay
silence, not one laced with violence. “I’ve been thinking about my dungeon
here.”

“What about?” Ian peeled the label off his bottle.

“It’s been mine since I’ve been here and I’ve had other
women submit to me in that room. The other room we had her in the other night
is tainted now. Do you honestly think she’s going to be able to walk in there
again and not remember us being complete douches to her when she needed us the
most?”

“No. Probably not.”

“Then I think we need to approach Chris and Jared about
changing rooms. New space. New start.”

Ian took a drink, thought for a minute and then nodded.
“Sounds like a plan. You know. When they stop giving us dirty looks.”

“Meh. I wanted them to fire your ass and they didn’t do it.
Said you were highly recommended or something. They’ll come around.”