Part of this was on me, I should have double checked.
Evan nodded. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. But what about Bren? He seemed pissed.”
I patted his shoulder. “Bren won’t stay pissed at you for long. Let’s rinse off, and you can go tell her that you’re sorry.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Brennan
Iheld Grace in my arms as I carried her out of the bathroom. She’d panicked again in the car. We had the little touch tank session in order to reassure her that they were fine. While now she was a little damp, I think it did the trick.
“Your bedroom is smaller than the other bedrooms in the house.” She looked around our bedroom.
“Yes. We had the suite gutted and rebuilt, and the other rooms were made smaller to make allowances for the third room in our suite.” We’d also had Evan’s room gutted and rebuilt, onlythey’d taken out the third room to add in his nest and expand the bathroom and closet.
Shifting her weight, I unlocked the playroom door.
“Secret room?” She eyed the numerical lock.
“No. The lock is for safety and privacy, not because it’s secret. Grace, youneverhave to participate in anything that you don’t want to in this house. But I don’t want you to be afraid of what happens. Questions are always welcome. This is our playroom. No one comes in here without me or Jett. That’s for safety reasons.” I kissed her forehead and brought her inside and turned on some lights and the air filter.
“Okay.” She looked around the room.
It smelled of Jett, Evan, lemon cleaner, sex, and desire. The walls were dark grey, with burgundy accents. We had both overhead lighting and recessed mood lighting that could change colors. That was all Jett. The floor was dark grey tile, and I heard Mr. Mopps running. I left the door cracked open.
“That’s what Jett attaches the ropes to when he suspends someone.” I pointed to the rigging on the ceiling. “It can hold the weight of two Evans. Though there are other places to attach ropes to.” I showed her rings on the wall, then we went over to the bed, which was made haphazardly.
Carefully, I watched her for any indication that our tour wasn’t okay. But she seemed curious, and I got no apprehension in her scent.
I sat her on the bed, hoping that their scents would calm her. “It’s just a bed, Grace. There are surprises, like the rings in the headboard.” Looping my finger around one, I showed her. “But they don’t need to be used. Lots of cuddling happens here.”
“Is that Evan?” She looked up at the black-and-white photograph on the wall above the bed.
“It is.” It was one of Jett’s more artistic ties that we’d had professionally photographed.
“Safe words still work here. Anyone can stop it at any time?”
“Yes. Also, we usually talk things out pretty clearly beforehand. Think of it like sheet music. We try to follow the music. Sure, improvisation happens sometimes, but there’s always checking in. A lot of times a variation happens because of a check in–something’s not working so we try something else. This is a spanking bench, but it’s also good just for sex, and takes the pressure off things, like when Evan broke his wrist.”
I brought her over to the spanking bench. Should I set her on it?
Her arms wrapped around my neck. “Oh. That makes sense.”
That would be ano.
“When Jett first asked to tie me up, I was literally like,What the fuck?But we talked it through, and I tried it. Turns out, it was freeing for me. It won’t be the same for everyone, and that’s okay. If I didn’t like it, Jett would never push me. No one will push you either. All that we ask is that you don’t shame anyone for liking something that you don’t. Not that you would.”
“I understand that.” She nodded.
“The same goes for you. Say, you’re really into banging in your doll room, so the dolls all watch you, but Wes isn’t. I’ll make sure he doesn’t make you feel bad about it.” I grinned at her.
Grace laughed, body relaxing. “Thank you. I’m not sure that’s on my list of things to try, but I appreciate it.”
“It’s all right if you never get to the point where you want to try anything here. It’s also fine if you do. Or if you want a demonstration. If we try at some point and you change your mind in the middle, that’s also perfectly okay. I just don’t want you to beafraid.” I carried her over to the wall where we had a small collection of floggers, paddles, and whips. We didn’t have anything like what was probably used on her at that awful place.
“Oh.” Her lower lip quivered.
“Jett and I know how to use them safely. Do you want to touch anything?” I brought her closer.
