The Revelation (34 page)

She twists her mouth. “You’re a silly man.”

I laugh.

“You totally saw that movie, didn’t you?”

“Hell yeah. It was part of initiation in my
fraternity. I saw it during hell-week.”

She laughs. “You got
hazed
with
From
Justin to Kelly
?”

I nod. “It was brutal.”

She’s laughing her ass off. “Oh my God.”

“So, hey, babe, there’s something I wanna run past
you before we get started.”

“Okay.”

“In order to pull off some of your crazy-ass stuff,
I might need to enlist a little help occasionally from third
parties—not for anything sexual, obviously—never anything
sexual—just in setting the stage for a scenario.”

She makes a face. “Could you be more specific about
how you define ‘setting the stage’?”

“Not without giving things away.”

There’s a long beat.

“I promise you won’t be embarrassed or compromised
in any way,” I say. “You’ll always be fully dressed. I just wanna
make these imaginary-pornos as close as possible to what you
described to me—and occasionally I think I might need to cast an
extra or two to do it.”

She beams a huge smile at me.

“What?” I ask.

“You’re adorable.”

I scoff.

“You are.”

“So is that a yes?”

She nods. “I’ve got a safe word, right? If I’ve got
a problem with anything at any time, then I’ll use it.”

“That’s right, babe. You can always count on
From
Justin to Kelly
to protect you.”

She rolls her eyes. “Oh, Joshua. You’re a silly,
silly man.”

I laugh.

“And a very sweet one, too.”

Josh

“Why don’t you shower in my bathroom while I use the
shower in the guest room?” I suggest as Kat and I walk into my
house. We’ve just come in from an awesome day of hiking and
climbing rocks in Malibu and we’re both covered in a thick sheen of
sweat and dirt. “I’m gonna take a quick shower and answer a few
work emails before we head back out.”

“Okay,” she says. “Sounds good.”

“Feel free to use the sauna in my bathroom, if you
want.” I look at my watch. “We’ve got just under an hour before we
need to leave to make our reservation. This place is impossible to
get into, so we can’t be late.”

“Hey, you probably take longer than I do, Mr.
Exfoliate and Moisturize.”

“You’ve only got one skin, Kat,” I say.

She laughs.

I show her where the towels are and leave her to get
to it and then race out of my room to make a phone call in the
guest room.

“Hello?” the woman on the other end of the line
says.

My pulse is pounding in my ears. “Hey, Kaitlyn. This
is Josh Faraday. Just calling to confirm we’re still on for
tonight?”

“Yeah.” She exhales. “I really can’t emphasize
enough how much trepidation I have about this. I’m really putting
my faith in Reed. He said you’re a great guy and that I can trust
you completely, so I’m taking a gigantic leap of faith. Please
don’t make me regret this.”

“Oh, I know this is a huge favor—and I’m really
grateful. Reed isn’t steering you wrong. I’m totally trustworthy. I
paid close attention at our walk-through-orientation on Tuesday,
and I’ll be ridiculously careful and respectful with all your
stuff, just like you showed me, I promise. If I break
anything
, no matter how slightly, I’ll replace it with a
brand new model—and I won’t touch any of the stuff you told me is
off limits. Like I said, this is more for show than anything—I just
wanna set the stage for her—really wow her when she opens her eyes
for the first time.”

Kaitlyn clicks her tongue. “Just, please. This could
go horribly wrong a thousand ways.”

I don’t like the anxious tone in her voice. God help
me if this woman does an about-face and changes her mind. “Hey, how
’bout I throw another ten grand your way, just to say thank you and
put your mind at ease?”

“Whoa. Really?”

“Yeah. Maybe the price we originally agreed upon was
too low. It’s not like there’s a market for this kind of rental. I
don’t want you feeling taken advantage of.”

“Wow, thanks.” Her voice is noticeably warmer.
“Yeah, another ten grand would definitely put me at ease. Thanks.
You still want me to burst in on you at ten?”

I laugh. “Hell yeah, I do. That’s a critical part of
my girl’s fantasy. I’ll time everything on my end so we’ll be ready
for you exactly at ten. I’ll leave your plastic sword outside the
door.”

“Your girlfriend’s got quite the imagination.”

“Yeah, she does,” I say, smiling to myself. I like
hearing the words “your girlfriend” in reference to Kat.

“You’re
sure
you wanna do the whole
sword-fight-thing? I still think it’s gonna be more comedic than
sexy, Josh.”

“Yeah, I gotta do it. My girlfriend’s gonna love
it.”

Kaitlyn exhales. “Okay. If you insist.”

“My girl’s got this bizarre little script in her
head. I’ve gotta stick to it.”

“Okay,” Kaitlyn says. “To each her own.”

“So we’re good, then?”

“Yep. We’re good.”

“What time can we come?”

“Any time. The place is ready for you now. I’ll text
the door-code to you. Oh, and I bought some brand new feather
ticklers for you to use. They’re on that rack I showed you to
use—the one next to the harness.”

“Thanks so much.”

“Please don’t touch anything but what I showed
you.”

“I won’t. I promise.”

She exhales audibly for the hundredth time during
this short conversation. “Josh, I know we already talked about
this, but it bears repeating: Don’t try to push things too far. You
don’t have a clue what you’re doing and she’s a total newbie. The
shock value of the place is gonna be the main thing, okay? Don’t
try anything other than what I explained to you or else you’re
gonna hurt or scare her.”

“I promise. Thank you. This is just gonna be about
role-play. Nothing hardcore, I promise.”

“Please don’t make me regret this.”

“I won’t.”

She pauses. “So can you bring the extra money
tonight? All cash?”

“Yup. No problem. I’ll put it outside the door with
your sword.”

“Thanks. You’re absolutely
sure
about that
damned sword?”

“Positive. It’s in the script. Gotta do it.” I
chuckle. “See you in a bit.”

“Okay. See you soon.”

Kat

I lean into the mirror to apply a light sheen of
gloss to my lips. I scrutinize my eye shadow. Maybe I should add a
little more shimmer to my—

The door to the bathroom bursts wide open.

A black-clad figure in a ski mask lunges at me.

I shriek at the top of my lungs.

But before I can move or react beyond screaming in
terror, the blackened figure grabs my hand and places something in
my palm. I look down, my throat burning and my hand trembling.
A
poker chip.
Holy shitballs. Every single drop of blood in my
body whooshes into my crotch, all at once. Is it possible to have a
heart attack and orgasm at the same time?

I look back up at the menacing figure in the ski
mask, but before I can react further, he wraps me into a stifling
bear hug, sending the unmistakable scent of Josh’s cologne into my
nostrils.

“No!” I shout, wiggling and squirming in my
deliciously scented attacker’s arms. “Let me go!”

But the brute won’t be deterred. He grabs my wrists
roughly and slaps soft cuffs on them, immobilizing me with his
strong arms as he does.

“No!” I shout again, trying desperately to free
myself from the dreaded cuffs. “Let me go!” I squirm and writhe
with all my might, but, goddammit, I can’t free myself from my
bindings or my attacker’s strong arms. (Yay!)

“No,” I choke out, even though every fiber of my
body wants to yell, “Yes, yes, yes!”

I feel something slipping over the top my head and
then over my eyes (soft satin!) and suddenly everything goes
completely black.

“Let me go!” I yell. “Right now!”

But the horrible man—or dare I say, the
horribly
sexy man?—doesn’t stop. He lifts me completely off
the ground, crushing my body against his, and, in a flash, I feel
myself being carried out of the bathroom in long, delicious,
cologne-infused strides.

“Please,” I whimper. “Let me go.”

He doesn’t reply. He’s carrying me in loping
movements. I nuzzle my face into him and breathe in his sexy scent,
my clit burning with intense arousal. This is incredible.

“Who are you? Why are you here?” I shout. Oh, God,
he smells good. I’m already twitching with desire.

I hear a door opening. The sound of shoes on hard
cement. There’s the sound of a car door opening followed by the
sensation of my body being laid down in an extremely small space.
Oh fuck, no—Josh isn’t putting me in the trunk of his car, is he?
Oh shit.

“
From Justin to Kelly
!” I shriek.

His movement freezes.

“You’re not putting me in the trunk of a car, are
you?”

“No, babe,” Josh’s voice says soothingly. “I’m
laying you down in the backseat of my Beemer.”

I exhale. “Oh, okay. Whew. I get really
claustrophobic—I should have mentioned that.”

“Babe, I’d never put you in the trunk of a car. You
could get hurt.”

I exhale. “Okay. Whew.”

“
Babe
. Come on. I’ll never risk your
safety.”

I exhale with relief again. “Okay. Good. Thank you.
Proceed.”

“You okay?”

“Yeah. I’m great.” I grin. “This is so awesome,
Josh. Oh my God. When you burst into the bathroom, I had a freaking
heart attack.”

He laughs. “You should have seen the look on your
face. Sorry if I scared you.”

“No, no, it was a good kind of scared. I loved it.
My panties are already soaked—or, then again, maybe that’s
pee.”

He laughs. “Okay, you ready to keep going now?”

“Yeah. Sorry I pulled the safe word so fast. I won’t
do it again.”

“No, no. Use the safe word as much as you need.
That’s what it’s for. I never want you to be scared. This is
supposed to be fun.”

I exhale. “Okay. Thanks.”

“Don’t hesitate to use it if you need it, babe.”

“Okay.” I shake it off. “No more breaking character.
Go, baby. I’m already totally wet for you.”

He makes a sexual sound. “Don’t tempt me to fuck you
right here—I’m rock hard.” His fingertips graze my thigh and slip
inside my undies and then right into me. “Oh my God,” he says.
“You’re soaking wet.” His fingers massage me for a moment, making
me writhe and moan.

I spread my legs, inviting him to fuck me right here
and now.

“Oh my God,” he says. “What am I doing? I’ve got a
whole thing planned, babe. Stop being evil.”

His fingers retreat from me, leaving me aching and
wanting more.

I hear the unmistakable sound of him licking his
finger vigorously. “You taste like sugar, baby. So sweet.”

My clit jolts. “Josh,” I breathe. “Take me now.”

“Patience, babe,” he says, his voice low and sexy.
“You’re in for a wild ride.” The car door shuts and a moment later,
I hear a car engine start.

We’re unmistakably on the move.

After a few minutes of driving, music suddenly
blares in the car—Britney Spears, “I’m a Slave 4 U”—and I burst out
laughing.

Josh’s laughter joins mine.

“Hilare,” I say. “You’re so funny, babe.”

“Hey, you didn’t say
From Justin to Kelly
,”
Josh says. “You gotta stay in character unless you say it.”

“There’s no way I can stay in character if you’re
gonna make ‘I’m a Slave 4 U’ the soundtrack of my abduction into
sexual slavery.”

“Just to be clear, there’s no other circumstance
when I’d ever play this song—this song is a testament to just how
far I’ll go for a laugh.”

“Mission accomplished
,
” I say.

“Okay, back in character now.” The song switches to
“Fever” by the Black Keys.

I sigh happily. “This is so frickin’ awesome.”

After what seems like forever, the car stops and the
engine turns off. The driver’s door opens—and then the car door
nearest to me—and then I’m being lifted up by strong arms and
carried like a sack of potatoes, my cuffed wrists dangling
down.

Josh stops walking and shifts my body weight
slightly. There’s a beeping sound, and then the sound of a door
opening. He walks several paces and it’s clear to me we’re now
indoors.

Josh sets me down gently onto my feet. I wobble
slightly—the blackness of my blindfold is disorienting—and he
grasps my forearm just above my cuffs to steady me.

“You okay?” he whispers.

I nod.

“Hang on.” I sense him moving away briefly and then
returning to me. He grasps my forearm again and guides my body
down. “Kneel,” he commands at full voice, his tone menacing. My
knees are met with a soft cushion. “I saw you walking down the
sidewalk last week and I had to have you,” he continues in his
bad-guy voice. “I’ve brought you to a place far from civilization
where no one can hear you scream. Do as I say or else—” He stops
for a long beat. “Hey, babe.
From Justin to Kelly
. I can’t
do this part. It’s making me think about my mom. I feel sick.”

My stomach drops into my toes. “Oh, I didn’t even
think about that. I’m so sorry. Take off my blindfold.”

“No, I’ll be okay as long as we skip this first
part. Let’s just pretend I said all the shit necessary to get you
under control—that I already crushed your spirit like a
sex-slave-master would and made you totally submissive to me.
Okay?”

“Are you sure? We can stop.”

“No, I’m good as long as we skip this first part. I
don’t wanna threaten you.”

“Okay. No problem. But if you decide you wanna stop,
just lemme know.”