The Barter System Companion: Volume One Read online

  Later that night, he escorted a formally dressed Loralee to the first-floor ballroom and knelt at her feet in front of the assembled guests and members.

  “You’re in control tonight, pet.”

  “I plan to fuck you and Tommy in every hole, in every position. Sometimes it will be like making love. Others, nothing but hate-fucking. I won’t stop until you beg me. Then I’m going to stand over you while you finger your pussy and I stroke my dick. When you give me permission, I’ll shoot my seed on your alabaster skin until I don’t have a drop left in my balls. How does that sound to you, Mistress?”

  Loralee and Tommy stared at him in shocked silence.

  The younger woman said, “Usually, the men want blowjobs and, you know, to watch women fucking each other.”

  “Not very imaginative.”

  “I mean…”

  He clapped his hands together and grinned. “We have a lot of ground to cover. Strip down and let’s get started.”

  To the beautiful woman with dove-gray eyes, he added, “No cost. We talk tomorrow about when and where you want me. I’ll work my life around your needs.”

  She stood frozen, panting softly.

  “Strip, Mistress. I have pleasure to deliver.”

  Lunch Break

  New York City - July 2013

  Riya took a break after the two-hour conference call with her publisher’s marketing department and did some deep stretches.

  She was exhausted…and starving.

  Glancing through the glass wall of her office, she was surprised and happy to see Max in the kitchen. Dashing from her office, she went to greet him properly.

  “What are you doing home so early? I can’t believe I didn’t hear you come in!” She wrapped her arms around him and was rewarded with one of his crushing hugs and a deep kiss.

  He tasted of crisp white wine and the delicious flavor that was all him. His tongue wrapped around hers and she reveled in the feel of him, the smell of him.

  When he broke the kiss, she opened her eyes with a sigh. He stared down, his blue eyes so stunning to her no matter how many times she looked into them.

  Both of her men were incredibly beautiful. She’d never, ever take their looks, personalities, or how well they treated her, loved her, for granted.

  Lifting one hand to smooth back her dark hair, he told her in his melting British accent, “I had nothing pressing so left early. I knew your call with your editor was this afternoon and you’d forget to eat as you so often do.”

  “You came home to cook for me?” He smiled. “Have I told you today how much I love you, Max?”

  “This morning, in fact.” He leaned down and whispered at her ear, “Right after you came so beautifully around my cock.” His teeth tugged her earlobe and she was already wet for him.

  They affected her on such a primal level. It didn’t matter if they were standing in front of her, on the phone, or simply drifted across her thoughts while they were at work.

  He chuckled at her full-body shiver and squeezed her tight. “You must eat, Riya.”

  Guiding her around the bar, he settled her on the stool with a glass of the same wine he was drinking. It would be the only one since she had no tolerance for alcohol.

  “Then I’ll ravish you for dessert.” The words made her laugh.

  Back in the kitchen he started chopping the assortment of peppers, shallots, and fresh garlic he’d already washed and prepped while she was oblivious in her office.

  “Micah comes back from LA today. We thought we’d take you dancing at the club tonight.”

  She nodded. “Thank god. I love when we all have our couple time but I have a two-day window of tolerance for either of you being away from me. It’s been four, Max.”

  He grinned. “I love how you love us.”

  “Only an idiot wouldn’t be obsessed, addicted, and completely in love with both of you. I’m not an idiot.”

  There was something about the three of them together that was exactly right. She’d stopped questioning it. To someone not involved in the ménage lifestyle, it would be difficult to explain. Fortunately, she spent the majority of her time with people who understood and accepted their dynamic.

  Max talked about his day while he sliced and diced. Riya tried to focus, she really did, but the sight of his beautiful hands skillfully preparing food made her zone out.

  “Riya…?”

  She blinked, glanced up, and returned his smile. “Yes?”

  “You’re doing it again, darling.”

  He dropped the veggies in the oiled wok and added thinly sliced chicken, wine, and a small dish of fresh herbs. The aroma filling the kitchen made her mouth water.

  Much like the effect her men had on her.

  “I love how focused you become on visuals, on touch. It makes you a very adventurous lover.”

  “That’s your charming way of telling me I go squirrel on you when you’re talking and I’m not paying attention.” Riya sighed. “If you weren’t so good at just about everything, I wouldn’t get distracted.”

  He laughed and concentrated on the food; plating the results with fresh, steamed rice and setting it in front of her a few minutes later.

  “Eat. You need the nutrition.”

  Tugging her lower lip between her teeth, she stroked her fingers over his face. “I know an excellent source, Max.”

  He stepped between her thighs. “You’re the most tempting woman I’ve ever met. You don’t eat nearly enough. Then I’ll take you upstairs and fuck you until you forget your name.”

  The kiss that followed was so good and Riya moaned into his mouth. It ended far too soon.

  “Now, darling. You aren’t pushing until you get the shakes. Eat.” He turned her to the bar and sat beside her.

  Max kept up a stream of conversation and she enjoyed food that was almost an orgasm on its’ own. She ate every bite.

  Then she slid off the stool and said, “Don’t worry about the kitchen. I’ll take care of it…much later.”

  She took off running for the stairs and heard him in hot pursuit. Smaller and faster, she made it to the bedroom before he did and turned as Max carefully tackled her to the huge bed.

  Gasps and moans filled the silence of their home as he took care of their clothing. Only when he was pressing into her, filling her, did she breathe a sigh of relief.

  He kissed her, stroked her everywhere, sucked her nipples, and whispered to her. Dirty words and loving ones…until she wanted to crawl inside his skin with him.

  This. This was everything.

  The closeness, the chemistry, the fulfillment of her emotional and physical needs every moment of every day. Each of her men gave to her separately and they gave to her together.

  It was unlike anything she could’ve imagined in a relationship with one man…times two.

  She was very, very lucky.

  Max pushed her hard, drove into her body with the single determination to send her screaming over the first peak.

  When she happily gave him what he worked so hard for, he smiled down at her with smug satisfaction, and rolled to his back. Slightly disoriented from the climax still vibrating through her body, she started to sit up to ride him.

  She was surprised when he held her in place. Then she felt another pair of hands stroke down her back and whipped her head around to meet warm honey eyes.

  The sight of her other husband made her breathless. “Micah. I missed you.”

  Always the more dominant of the two lifelong friends, Micah took her face in his hands and kissed her aggressively. He controlled the kiss and Riya was unable to think as Max continued to lightly thrust into her body from below.

  Micah was already naked and Riya wondered how long he’d been watching before joining them on the bed.

  The understanding they often enjoyed watching her with each other sent tingles through her already over-stimulated body.

  He moved behind her now and she felt the coolness of the lubricated condom against the little p
ucker of her ass.

  They held her in place as Micah began to push into her. They were always careful when they took her together, allowing her time to adjust to the additional fullness. By the time he was fully seated, Riya trembled violently between them.

  Needing them, needing this, was as powerful as any drug.

  “There you are, my sweet Riya. How I’ve missed you.” Micah leaned forward and kissed her shoulder tenderly before whispering at her ear. “Now…scream for us, love.”

  And over the next several hours, she gave them what they wanted again…and again…and again.

  In Training

  Dallas – July 2013

  Freya Kline tightened the pulley and watched her latest protégé stretch up on the tips of his toes. His feet were bare, as was his torso. The position drew his body tight, his muscles beautifully defined.

  “Are you comfortable?” she asked him.

  “Of course, Mistress.” The depth of his voice was counter to his almost feminine face.

  When he first spoke to her several hours before, his head bowed, his demeanor subservient, the tone of it sent a shiver up her spine.

  He’d crossed the main room of The Playground and knelt at her feet. “Mistress. May I speak?”

  Taking a moment to center her thoughts, she stroked her fingers over soft strands of hair shot through with many shades of blonde. He leaned toward the touch.

  “Speak.”

  “I wish to serve you, Mistress.”

  “In what capacity?”

  Glancing up briefly, she caught sight of the deepest honey-brown eyes she’d ever seen surrounded by thick light brown lashes. They were so long they cast shadows on his cheeks from the track lighting placed around the room.

  “In any capacity you see fit, Mistress.”

  Allowing the silence to draw out between them, she bent and whispered at his ear. “I can be demanding, love. Should you wish to reconsider, I’ll not hold it against you.”

  Lifting his face enough to brush their cheeks against one another, he replied, “I’ve been in the lifestyle only a few months. My old college roommate told me you…train better than any Domme within a thousand miles. He serves a Mistress who is a close friend of yours.”

  “Do you speak of Gregory?”

  “I do, Mistress. He found his place. I wish to find mine. I admit, I know nothing, but I’m eager to learn.”

  She licked his ear and a tremor passed over him. “What is your availability?”

  “I work for myself. There’s nothing I can’t postpone in service to you.”

  “What is your name?”

  “Tobias Burch.”

  Sliding her palm over his neck and along his shoulder, she nudged him to the floor. “Sit. You’ll return home with me.”

  The club owner, Kikiama Espinoza passed and her eyes widened. Freya smiled in return with a wink.

  It was well known she hadn’t taken her own sub in more than a year. The scandal surrounding her last such relationship soured her on finding another.

  The family of her last pupil appeared at her home, appalled at the supposed abuse of the young man in her den.

  As her poor housekeeper was physically assaulted, a woman began to shout and shove the door wide as Freya laid her whip across the glorious back bared for her.

  Of all the days for her brother Royce to need their majordomo Cristof. The woman wouldn’t have made it one step into the house.

  The grown man’s mother had never in her life seen such depravity. The woman rushed to his side, against his shouts for her to leave immediately, and untied him from the St. Andrew’s Cross he preferred.

  “You’ll be hearing from my attorney!” the distraught mother threatened.

  Naturally, Freya hadn’t…but her connection to the man evaporated instantly. Frustrated he hadn’t better guarded her privacy, that he’d unwisely avoided his overbearing mother, she refused to reenter into their arrangement.

  Once the magic between a Dominant and their sub was disrupted, it was almost impossible to recover.

  Such relationships were built on trust. She’d faithfully guarded him throughout their time together, walked him carefully through the steps of the Lifestyle, and he’d been unable to keep his mommy from barging into her sanctuary.

  At first, she was angry. As the days passed and she calmed, she sent Cristof to check on him.

  After all, he’d been whisked away without a word. What if he was being prayed well or some damn thing?

  Cristof returned with the news the young man moved back in with his mother.

  Freya frowned. “Is he being held against his will?”

  If so, she would stop at nothing to have him released.

  Her fury increased as her longtime employee replied, “No, ma’am. He didn’t look the least upset as they lunched at a café a few blocks from his childhood home.”

  “I see.” Turning, she’d clasped her hands behind her back. “In that case, pack up everything that belongs to him and send it along to his mummy’s.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Cristof?”

  “Yes, ma’am?”

  “Include a cock ring and a self-flogger to the packages.”

  The big man grinned. “As you instruct.”

  Despite the distasteful experience, she stood staring at another beautiful young man in the converted attic.

  She enjoyed the open space of the top floor very much. The view of the rolling Texas countryside through the floor-to-ceiling windows was spectacular and the light was perfect.

  “Why do you wish to be a submissive?”

  Tobias inhaled carefully. “For a long time, it was the last thing I wanted. I’ve fought my nature all my life. It isn’t manly, you know. I need to know if this is my path. Gregory’s Domme spoke highly of you.” He lifted his golden honey eyes and met hers. “She said you could answer my questions. That you had a singular way of drawing out the truth behind the facades we wear. I wish for that.”

  There was no doubt he was intelligent, articulate, and beautiful. If he was a true submissive, she’d soon know.

  “Your safe word is carriage. Repeat it.” He did so. “Let us begin, Tobias.”

  The first lash was always the hardest. He bore it without a word. There was nothing more than a slight rock forward on his toes.

  She paused. “Excellent.”

  “Thank you, Mistress. I wish to please you.”

  For more than an hour, she welded the whip over his skin. Some strikes were harder, others gentle. All of them he endured. His cock was hard behind the fabric of his black leather pants.

  Finally, she returned the whip to her worktable and lowered the pulley. He went all the way to his knees before he could stop himself.

  Approaching, she crouched in front of him.

  He whispered, “Thank you, Mistress. You’re magnificent.”

  A little part of her stepped toward him. Necessity leashed it. “As are you, Tobias. Come, the night is young.”

  Hudson

  Published Book

  New York City - September 2013

  The Barter System Essay Directions:

  Please write an essay about one intangible thing that would change your life for the better if you were in possession of it. Complete all personal information.

  All essays are confidential – as is every piece of data shared by participants. Spelling, grammar, and technical writing are unimportant.

  The end result is what counts. ~Riya

  ESSAY

  Subject Name: Hudson

  Subject Age: 38

  Subject Career: Real Estate

  Marital Status: Single

  Children (Y/N): N

  Annual Income: $1M plus

  Location: Manhattan

  I’m not a writer.

  I have everything I need.

  I lack for nothing.

  I’m perfectly content.

  However, since I must write something, I will say since I was a young child, I fo
ught for everything I needed for my family and myself. I learned control. I learned tenacity. I learned discipline.

  I did not learn gentleness.

  I do not understand the nuances of gentle people and their behaviors. I equate the trait to weakness and do not believe I possess it.

  I sometimes – rarely – wonder what it would be like to treat a woman gently, to experience her gentle treatment in return. I do not think I need this in my life, but I admit to curiosity.

  Should I never have an opportunity to witness or feel gentleness that is not associated with weakness, I won’t consider my life incomplete.

  I have Domination.

  It’s a different breed of gentle. It’s outside the boundaries of what most would consider tender, kind, or loving. Most are unable to understand the care, the restraint, and the force of will involved in the full application of control.

  Having the ability to crush a woman’s will, to break her spirit – yet not doing so – while pushing her through pleasure so intense she’s rendered incoherent: that is power.

  Perhaps gentleness is not something I will know. It may not be meant for a man like me.

  In any case, your research interests me. Unlocking the male psyche? A substantial goal. I wish you success. Your brilliant mind is apparent.

  My curiosity is peaked.

  What specific information could I impart? Would you be too different from me? Would you enjoy the darkness?

  Read “Hudson” by clicking here.

  Legacy

  New York City – November 2013

  Carlo Larrosa worked in the building since he was eighteen years old. Originally hired by the new owner, his plan at the time was to help his mother and get a different sort of work experience than he was used to before considering college.

  Less than a year after taking the job, his mother slipped on wet marble and fell at her job.

  She’d been the long-time housekeeper for a wealthy family who lived less than two blocks from where he currently stood. They made sure she was well cared for until she could return to work.

  The blood clot that formed from a bump on her head – thought to be nothing – killed her a few days later.