Page 81 of Taking Turns

“See?” I shake my head. “Everyone who goes down participates, Chella. It’s not a spectator sport.”

“But you just said you only watched. That you jerked off. So why can’t I watch with you?”

Because I won’t be able to control myself. Because I’ll end up pushing you into a corner and fucking you from behind. Because I’ll beat the shit out of anyone who comes near you, looks at you wrong—

“Smith?” she says, drawing me out of my thoughts. “Please take me down. I’ll do whatever you say. If you want to go dark, then don’t take a light, right?”

I smile. “Marcella Walcott wants to leave her light behind?”

“I’m yours tonight, Smith Baldwin,” she says back.

My evil idea is bigger now. Blossoming into something beautiful. “Take off your nightie. All the women have to enter naked.”

Chapter Twenty-One - Chella

“I’m not walking through the lobby naked.”

Smith gives me a look that says, Don’t be stupid. “We’re not going to the lobby, Chella. We’ll take the freight elevator.”

“What happened to ‘I’m Smith Baldwin and I’m too good for the freight elevator?’”

“Do you want to see it or not?” he asks. “Because you’re not supposed to be down there and if Bric and Quin see you…”

“Then what?” I ask. “What will they do?”

“They’ll just be pissed off. The reason we have you is to keep you separate from all that.”

“So why are you going to ruin it?”

“OK,” he says. “We won’t go.”

“I’m not saying that. I want to go—”

“Then shut the fuck up and take off your clothes,” Smith growls. “I’ll take you down in the freight elevator. It’ll bring us to the back end of the space and then I’ll give you a peek.”

“Just a peek?” I ask. “You guys seem to throw that word around a lot. ‘It’s just a peek, Chella. A little glimpse into the forbidden.’” He’s about to say fuck the whole thing, I can tell. But I have a point, so I get to it. “Why don’t you guys just admit it?”

“Admit what?” he asks.

“That it’s not a peek at all, it’s full immersion. It’s not dipping a toe in the water, Smith. It’s drowning in the dark depths.”

He lets out a small laugh and then that surly frown turns into a grin. “You want to live in it, Chella? Do you want me to invite you deeper?”

“Obviously that answer is yes, Smith.” I stare at him as he reassesses me. “If you think I don’t know what I’m getting into, you’re wrong.”

He rubs the stubble on his jaw. “Really? You’re an old pro at the fine art of sex club navigation, are you?”

“I’ve been to them before,” I say.

He cocks an eyebrow at me, as if intrigued. “When? Where? With who?”

Do I detect some jealousy in those questions? “It’s not important,” I say. But I’ve hit a nerve with Mr. Baldwin. “How cute that you think I’m so innocent, Smith.”

“I have never thought you innocent, Chella,” he says. “But a little inexperienced… yes,” he admits. “So you’re playing a game with us, as well?”

“I’m just along for the fun,” I say, slipping the chemise nightie up and over my head and dropping it to the floor. “So why don’t we stop talking and just do what we both know we want to do?”

“You want to get fucked down there tonight?” He laughs. Kinda loud. Like this is the most ridiculous thing he’s ever heard. “I can’t fuck you down there, Chella. And no one else will be allowed to get near you. You can walk into the ocean and drown yourself in the dark depths on someone else’s time. But when you’re with me, it’s just a peek.”