Midnight Playground (5 page)

“Jesus, Eve.” He clenched his fingers in his hair and looked away.

Fresh tears pooled in her eyes, but they held no comparison to the painful need throbbing between her thighs. “Touch me, Chase…” Her legs shook out of control. “I need more…”

Eve slipped her hand beneath her skirt. Trembling fingers slid along the soaking-wet flesh. “I swear it won’t take much. One touch…”

Chase grabbed her wrist and yanked it away from her pussy. The dark look in his eyes was like molten lava to her insides.

“No.” He placed her arm above her head and locked it in place with a tight grip. “If this is going to keep going, you need to learn right now that your pleasure will only come from Murphy or me. Never your own hand unless we’ve directed it.”

Eve cried out and squirmed against his hold. She was ready to crawl up his body like a cat in heat if that’s what it took. What the hell was pride at this point anyway?

Chase kissed his way from the edge of her shoulder to the shell of her ear while he caressed the inside of her thigh with his free hand mere inches from where she desperately needed him to be. But it was the rock-hard ridge pushing into her hip that commanded her attention. He was as turned on as she.

“Don’t touch your pussy tonight,” he whispered, the sound an unmistakable command. “You started this and I plan to finish it.” Chase chose that moment to drag one finger through her slit. Eve cried out from the overload of sensation. Her knees buckled. Thanks to the strong grip he maintained on her arm, she stayed right where he wanted her.

“Please…” She couldn’t have held back the plea if she’d wanted to. She’d known Chase and Murphy would play her body like a finely tuned instrument, but she’d underestimated her own response. Now she needed an orgasm as much as her next breath, and he’d just denied her.

“I intend to give you everything you need and then some.” He removed his finger and released her arm, and Eve barely caught herself from falling. “But not tonight.”

Eve had no idea what to do with that. The ache bordered on painful, and he’d just ordered her no satisfaction. Was he fucking crazy? As quickly as a flash fire in a pan of grease on the stove, her aching desire turned to anger.

“You’re being such an asshole. Is it really all that much to ask for some relief? Fuck, Chase. Have some pity.”

The smug smile that crossed his face fanned the flames. She suddenly wanted to knock that look from his face.

“Consider this a test. Or a last chance to say no if you need that. I could send the client the pictures we have already and I think he’d be pleased, although there were a few more shots I wanted to get tomorrow.” He took a step forward, putting her within arm’s reach again. “I’m not doing this to punish you. You were incredible today. But right now I need you to trust me. If you touch that pretty little cunt of yours tonight, don’t come in. You can take the day off with pay and return to your former position on Monday. No harm, no foul.”

With that he turned and walked in the direction of his office. No rebuttal permitted, no allowing her a response. Nothing. She slid to the floor, finally allowing the tears she’d held back to drip down her cheeks. With Chase gone, her emotions crashed down on her. Panic at the thought of Murphy or Chase finding her like that gripped her insides and pushed her to her feet. Home. She had to get there.

She was now certain she’d bitten off more than she expected and that any sane woman would leave and never return. By the same token she knew without a doubt she’d return in the morning.

Chapter Six

Chase stared at the images on his computer screen. He’d worked endlessly on these shots since he’d walked away from Eve. And walking away from her had been one of the hardest things he’d ever done. He’d seen the hurt in her eyes—the desperate need. The second he’d closed his office door he’d licked his finger clean. Not the smartest thing he’d ever done. Since then her taste and smell was all he’d thought of for the past nine hours.

He’d known going down this road would not be smart, and the minute he’d focused on her through his lens, the war was over. At least for him. There would be no more denial of what he wanted from Eve. The rock-hard erection in his pants proved that.

No, little Miss Eve would be his. Plain and simple. He’d offered her more than a fair share of outs, even though he’d known she wouldn’t take them. If he’d had a doubt of her intentions before, these pictures cleared up everything. Her words could lie, desire could tempt her where she didn’t really need to go, but the camera, it never lied.

There in the photos lay the perfect submissive. His submissive. Funny how life threw things at you when you least expected it. She’d stumbled into his life on a whim without a lick of secretarial experience, and Murphy had taken her in.

“Fuck, Chase. Have you been here all night again?”

Before he could respond, a white foam box landed on his desk, disturbing the organized chaos he had going on.

“Do you really expect me to answer that?” Chase popped open the box and sighed at the gourmet omelet from his favorite all-night café. He hadn’t thought of anything other than Eve for so many hours that he’d forgotten to eat, and now his stomach growled furiously for nourishment.

“See, there is a God. And he called up you, Murphy Young, to deliver me the finest food I’ve seen in too long.” Chase grabbed the plastic silverware and ripped into the bag it came in. He freed the fork and dug into the food. The fluffy egg and cheese crossed his taste buds in a ridiculously delightful experience. “Oh yeah, now that’s what I’m talking about.”

“You should try leaving the office every once in a while. You might be surprised by what you find out there.” Murphy settled into the leather couch across from his desk and placed his feet on the coffee table.

“Yeah, fuck you too.”

Rich laughter erupted from his best friend and provider of decent food. “So, I take it you like the shots from yesterday.”

“You tell me.” He grabbed up one of the 8 x 10s he’d already printed in high resolution and handed it over.

Chase knew the instant Murphy’s facial expression turned serious, he’d been right. He’d captured some of his best work with Eve. Once she’d given in to the bindings, everything about her had begun to change. A low whistle from the couch shook Chase from his thoughts and brought his attention back to Murphy.

“This is pretty unbelievable. And why do I have a sudden hunch we’re not getting paid enough for these photos?” Murphy handed the photo back to Chase, who stared into the eyes of the woman he craved more than ever. The combination of fear, lust, and crazy want in her gaze tore into his gut every time he looked.

“What happened when she left? Please tell me you talked to her.”

“Yeah I talked to her all right, but she was pretty damn pissed at me the last time I saw her.”

“Chaaase.” The exasperated sound of Murphy’s voice when he spoke his name amused him. If his friend didn’t know him by now, he never would. “You were mean to her, weren’t you?”

He couldn’t tear his gaze from her photo. Her skin practically glowed against the ropes. Full breasts topped with the perfect berry red nipples drew his attention here, almost as much as they did in person. Oh what he could do with tits like those.

“Are you even listening to me?”

“Yeah, I hear you just fine.”

“Then what the hell? I know you’ve had a bug up your ass since she started working here, but looking at those photos and after her performance yesterday, I thought you’d be thrilled.”

Chase slammed down the picture and turned a hard look to his friend. “That’s exactly the problem, isn’t it? It’s not a performance. Our little receptionist has a submissive streak a mile wide.”

“Even better.” Murphy sat up straight and placed his feet on the floor. “You’ve been out of the play scene for a while, and it’s high time you got on with finding someone new.”

“Don’t try to force this on me. I won’t put up with bullshit like that.”

Murphy barked in laughter. “Force you. Are you fucking kidding me? Your tongue was practically hanging out when I walked in here, and don’t think I missed your reactions yesterday. You want her. So what exactly is the problem?”

“You know, you can go now. I do still have some more work to do this morning, just in case our new protégée decides to show up.”

“What do you mean? Why wouldn’t she? Did you purposely try to scare her off last night?”

Chase rolled his eyes and stood. Movement. He needed movement. Murphy grilling him about Eve was getting under his skin. “I was truthful, goddammit, so quit giving me shit about it. If Eve comes in today, it won’t just be for pictures.”

“Did you even bother to explain why we held her back from the orgasm she begged for?”

He kept silent. He didn’t have to answer to Murphy if he didn’t want to. They were business partners first, play partners second. Although the fact they’d been best friends since childhood probably superseded it all.

“You are one hard man, Chase. Even I couldn’t have resisted her soft pleas for a second more. If I’d held her for two minutes longer, that hot cunt of hers would have been in my mouth. It’s all I thought about last night after I went home. I mean, hell, don’t even ask how many times I jacked off.”

“You know if she obeyed, and kept her hands away from herself, the pictures I’ll get today will be off the fucking charts. I really might have to ask the client for more.” Chase paced across the room and willed his hands to stay at his sides. The zipper pressing against his engorged dick was going to leave marks. But if he expected her to exercise control, then he’d sure do the same. It was the least he could do.

“You’re waiting for her, aren’t you?” Murphy looked at him with a narrowed gaze. “Yep, I can see it. The Chase Miller legendary control is hard at work and clawing up your back, isn’t it?”

“I need her to come back.”

Murphy sighed deeply. “She’ll be back, and we both know it. Hell, I hope so. I’ve never experienced anyone quite like her. I know she’s not completely innocent, but she has a quality about her. Someone just needs to work through her control issues. It’s no wonder she’s so curious about bondage. Nothing like a little forced helplessness to bring out the inner slut.”

An idea crawled into Chase’s head, and he hurried back to his desk. He sank into the deep leather chair and swiveled to the computer. The photo he’d been manipulating for the last few hours haunted him. With a computerized paintbrush, he painted on four simple letters and sat back to look at the results.

“What do you think?”

Murphy launched himself from the sofa and crossed the room. He peered over Chase’s shoulder and absorbed the last photo he’d taken. Now emblazoned with the word
slut.

“Perfect. It suits her to a tee.” The approval in Murphy’s voice was unmistakable. No wonder they did everything so well together. They’d discovered long ago that they were two sides of the same coin. And in this day and age it was all about balance.

“Did you already set up the studio?”

“You know I did.”

“Now she just needs to show up.” The both glanced at the clock, and Chase frowned. She was already twenty minutes late.

Chapter Seven

On Chase’s last words, Eve slipped around the corner and leaned heavily on the wall. Her heart raced and heat suffused her cheeks, not to mention all the other areas of her body. After a night of very little sleep, worrying over every little thing she’d done wrong, she’d planned to march right into his office and tell him no more.

Instead she’d overheard Murphy and him having a conversation. Curious, she’d hovered near the door and listened to every word. Every emotion she could think of had slammed through her during the course of the two men talking. She’d been so wrong.

They both wanted her as fiercely as she wanted them. Although from the sound of it, they had pretty high expectations of her. Expectations she wasn’t confident she could fulfill. For two years every minute of her life had been about someone else, and she’d somehow lost the ability to let it go. To relax and go with the flow. Instead, all she thought about were responsibilities. The work that never ended and the to-do list never more than a few feet from her side.

Even she knew how obsessive that sounded.

Still, every second she stood there her nipples grew tighter and the pulsing in her clit became insistent. Their voices had sounded so excited as they talked about pictures that she was dying to see.

But first she needed to stop thinking about touching herself and make an appearance. She could only imagine what Chase might cook up to punish her tardiness. And after what she’d overheard, she was certain it would be something.

Eve lifted from the wall and rose to her full height. Much more than normal thanks to the heels she wore. The red sandals she’d worn today matched the color of her hair exactly, as well as the bra and panty set she’d chosen. God, she loved her shoes and underwear. She might have to admit one day they’d become quite a fetish for her.

She moved toward Chase’s office, this time making sure her heels made as much noise as possible. By the time she turned into the doorway, both men stood glaring in her direction.

“You’re late.” This time the impatience came from Murphy, which startled her. He’d never seemed to care about rules and such.

“Traffic,” she lied.

For a few seconds no one said a word, and Eve held her breath. They probably knew she had lied, but she wasn’t about to tell them she’d overhead them discussing her. They’d just have to accept her excuse or punish her as they saw fit.

“Looks like today is going to be very interesting, wouldn’t you say, Murphy?”

“Looks like it.” Murphy reached her in two strides and whispered at her ear, “Did you sleep well, darlin’?”

“Not really.” She tried to steady her voice and failed. Having him so close, his warm breath caressed her skin, pebbled her nipples, and short-circuited her brain. God, what would it take to get them to finally have mercy on her?

Simply standing in this room, with Murphy’s tall, broad presence almost wrapped around her and Chase watching closely, did something to her feminine core. Her insides melted and the last of the uncertainty and anger she’d dealt with through the night faded away.

“Well, I have a hunch that you’re going to get everything you want and then some today. You ready to be a good little girl and pose for Chase’s camera?”

She nodded. Butterflies erupted at the thought of more of what they’d given her yesterday. Already she ached to have her arms bound, to be in a position of total reliance on these two virile men.

“Well then, pretty lady, let’s you and I head to the studio and get ready. I think Chase mentioned he had some more work to do here.”

She glanced at Chase and almost laughed out loud at the way he glared at Murphy. If she hadn’t known better, she might have read something more into that. But she knew this was a job. An incredibly sexy, screw-me-to-the-wall-when-we’re-done kind of job, but still a job.

Murphy grabbed her hand and led her from the room and away from Chase.

“I haven’t checked any of the messages that came in yesterday. Shouldn’t I do some of that first?” She prayed he’d say no. The thought of trying to sit at her desk, going about business as usual sounded like the worst possible scenario for her day.

Rope. She wanted to feel Murphy’s rough hands sliding across her flesh as he tied her up and had his way with her. Eve swallowed back the groan that would have given her away.

“Nope. Already taken care of. We asked the answering service to field all the calls for a couple of days. So you have nothing to worry about but doing the best you can for the last of these photos. In fact, I should have had Chase show you a couple from yesterday.” He held open the door of the studio for her, and she passed underneath his arm. “I think you’ll like them. Chase and I think they’re incredible.”

“Really?” She glanced down at her modest outfit, which did a good job of hiding her flaws and emphasizing some of her assets, like her boobs. She always went for the cleavage. But naked?
Naked
and
incredible
were two words she wouldn’t have thought to string together when referring to her appearance.

She didn’t hate her body, but she sure as hell didn’t live in some denial-warped bubble where she convinced herself she looked as good as their regular models. Lucky for her, plenty of men enjoyed generous curves and a woman who wasn’t ashamed of them.

Eve stopped short when she caught sight of the studio changes from yesterday. The couch had been removed and replaced with a bed. A big king-size whopper, covered in red silk sheets. Small tables were added to the side, and one of Chase’s erotic prints hung above the headboard. She could imagine between Chase’s skill with the camera and his computer software, the photos would look like they’d been taken in a private bedroom versus a photo studio.

“C’mon, don’t get nervous on me now.” Murphy pulled her closer to the set scene and let go of her hand a couple of feet from the wrought-iron footboard.

The bed looked incredibly heavy, and she wondered where it had come from. All the times she’d peeked in on their shoots, she’d never once seen this scene.

“You like it?” Murphy motioned to the furniture setup. “I found this at an estate sale not too far back, and we’ve been waiting for the perfect opportunity to use it.” He bent over the partition sectioning off the studio and pulled up a coil of black rope. With a wide grin on his face, he made his way back to her. “I think you are the perfect woman to christen this beauty.”

A wave of emotion rolled through her at being their first at anything. “It’s exquisite. I’d love to have a bed like that in my place.” Absentmindedly she reached for the iron and brushed her fingers across the cool metal curve. Tracing the patterns of the ironwork like she would a potential lover.

“An estate sale?” She couldn’t picture him scouring through estate and attic sales looking for treasures. But it made sense given their profession. Not every client wanted the traditional dungeon or industrial scene. And they certainly aimed to please.

“Take off your clothes, Eve.” His quiet demand flashed through her quick and hot. Getting lost in her thoughts about decorating, she’d momentarily forgotten why she was here. She turned away from the bed and faced him fully. She’d already bought into the assignment, and they’d seen everything she had yesterday, so there wasn’t a reason in the world to be shy today. One button at a time she revealed more and more of her skin, and in a way, of herself. If this last day of shooting was all she’d ever have, then she’d damn sure squeeze every ounce out of it that she could.

Staring into Murphy’s eyes, she watched them darken in appreciation as she swiftly removed her shirt. She’d gone for a shelf bra that merely hugged the undercurve of each breast and left her nipples uncovered and available. As much as she might like to blame the fact her nipples were already hard on the temperature of the room, they probably both knew better.

“Mmm. It’s a shame we have to take that off. But I’m going to remember that sexy bra, ‘cause I’m going to want to see that again.” Eve lifted her arms and unclasped the hook and eye fasteners behind her back and let the lacy garment fall away. As much as she wanted to see more of Murphy in the future, she knew enough to take everything he said with a grain of salt. Some of it had to be about the scene.

“Do you have something specific you want me to wear for today?”

“As a matter of fact, I do. But we’ll save that surprise for later.” His gaze traveled down the plane of her body, from her face all the way to the tips of her toes. “I really do like those shoes though, so let’s keep those on. Unless Chase says something else, those are staying on.” The corners of her lips curved into a small smile. He had no idea how much that pleased her. What more could a shoe fetishist ask for?

She reached behind her once again and unzipped the long, slim skirt she’d worn. With a couple of tugs, the fabric pooled at her feet, and she softly stepped away from the garment. When she bent to retrieve it, hot hands touched the bared flesh of her ass.

“Holy shit, woman. You really don’t make it easy to keep a mind on the job, do you? A G-string and those fucking shoes? I swear I’ve died and gone to heaven.”

Eve couldn’t speak or move. The rough feel of his big, strong hands stroking her backside robbed her of breath. Whatever happened, she desperately didn’t want him to stop. In slow motion, he pushed a couple of fingers under the skimpy fabric and peeled it down her legs all the way to the floor.

“Step out,” he instructed. Eagerly, she complied. Free of the lingerie, she moved to stand, and a firm hand at the back of her waist held her in the bent-over position. “Uh-uh. Not yet.”

Eve stilled and held her breath. There was something insanely arousing about standing vulnerable and open to a man like this. Especially one as dominant as Murphy. The weight of his hand holding her down might as well have been him touching her clit for the pleasure it gave her. He stroked down her flank and the back of her thighs, sending heat and fire streaking to her cunt. Before she could recover her wits, both hands grabbed the flesh of her globes and spread her backside apart.

“Spread your legs.” A booted foot nudged at her ankle. Eve moved her feet to a wider stance, opening herself even farther. The leg Murphy had wedged between her thighs moved deeper until the fabric of his pants nudged at her pussy. She gasped and dug her teeth into her bottom lip. It was too soon to beg. Based on what she’d heard in Chase’s office, there’d be no relief to the burning need now swelling her clit.

“I’d like a picture just like this. The pretty girl with sexy shoes bent over with her ass open and ready. I’d stare at a picture like that every night and dream about which hole I wanted to fill first.” He loosened the grip of one hand and a thick finger slid along her slit. “And wet too. Very nice.”

Jesus, he really was going to kill her. Eve fought to stay perfectly still when everything in her brain demanded she move against him. Only one touch of the blunt tip of his finger against her clit and she’d get off and her torture would finally be over. Instead the long digit moved to her entrance and tickled the opening.

“Murphy…please don’t.”

His movements halted. “You don’t want me to touch you today?”

“Of course I do. But I’m going out of my mind. All this teasing. I’ve never—I can’t take it.” Not without going out of her fucking mind anyway.

“Don’t worry too much, little one. Your wait is almost over.” He released her abruptly and Eve had to grab on to the railing of the bed to keep from toppling over. “I’ll give you a short respite, how’s that?”

Eve nodded. Her vocal cords didn’t want to work. Only her tear ducts seemed in perfect order these last twenty-four hours.

“Stand up, then, and let’s get you tied up.” Her stomach clenched. Not with I’m-scared nerves, but the oh-my-God-I-can’t-wait kind.

She stood on shaky legs and turned to Murphy’s voice. The smile from earlier had disappeared and had been replaced with the serious look of a man ready to work.

“We aren’t doing anything complex today. This client likes to see a girl tied up but doesn’t particularly care about anything too fancy. He’s definitely not a shibari kind of guy.” He lifted the rope and wrapped it around the back of her head. With the two loose ends dangling between her breasts, he lifted her hair and made sure none of it remained trapped underneath.

She’d seen many examples of his work with the incredible art of Japanese rope bondage. He practiced a lot, and more than once he’d called her in to the studio to show off his latest feat. Every single time she’d felt a jolt to her stomach and wished he’d try using her for a model one time.

He got a lot of regular phone calls requesting his services, and the word around the studio was that many submissives offered themselves to him in service on a regular basis. Of course she had no clue how many he took up on their offers. He and Chase remained intensely close-mouthed about any time they spent in their favorite club. Once, she’d gone so far as to call the club to inquire about membership, but to her dismay had learned that not only would she be required to have a sponsor, the fees were far outside her budget.

Murphy’s warm hands brushed underneath her breasts as he twisted the rope under and over them. After one pass, she realized he was making a rope halter that would leave her breasts exposed but tied tightly enough they would bulge a little at the bindings.

“Can you breathe okay like that? I want it to be tight, but I need you to let me know if it’s more than you can bear.” Tight was an understatement.

“I’ll be fine.” At least for now. Lastly he wrapped the rope back around her neck and looped it between her breasts with one final wrap underneath before tying it off in the back. He took a few steps back and admired his work.

“Not bad, if I do say so myself.” He circled around her. “You need one more thing, but we’ll wait till the last minute for that. On your knees, beautiful.”

Her hesitation only lasted a few seconds, but by the dark cloud that suddenly settled across his face…he noticed.

Eve sank to her knees not only because she’d been ordered to, but because she wanted to. A command from him or Chase sent a dark thrill into her hungry soul. She adjusted her feet and legs so that her shoes didn’t affect her comfort. Although her comfort was not of utmost importance at the moment.