Page 11 of Inhuman Natures #1

She just raised an eyebrow in response. She didn’t initiate a hug with Rake, but pressed a Tupperware container filled to the brim with slices of cake into his hands. “Can’t let you go without taking some,” she said.

Rake lifted one edge of the Tupperware and sniffed. “ Coconut?”

“Ugh, Mum, I’ll end up eating it all,” DJ said.

“It’s there to be eaten,” Femi insisted.

“Thanks, Femi,” Rake said.

Her eyes twinkled as she ushered them to the door. Bernie followed, getting stuck underfoot and almost tripping DJ. Tom came out to the hallway. “You boys leaving?”

“Yeah. We’ve got to drive back,” DJ said.

Tom came up alongside Femi, throwing a casual arm around her waist. “Come back and visit soon, kiddo. We’ll do a night just for us,” Tom said.

“Sure, Dad.”

“Thanks, Tom,” Rake said, then spotted Katie heading towards the living room. He took a few strides over to her. “Audi,” he blurted.

Her brows rose.

“You should get an Audi, not a BMW,” he continued. “Most people consider BMW drivers to be arseholes.”

She snorted a laugh. “Noted.”

He gave her a curt nod and followed DJ out to the driveway.

Rake sat in the passenger seat, mulling things over as they listened to some lo-fi. “We should ask Shaun’s Dom if we can play with him next time we’re at the club.”

DJ’s head whipped around. “What?”

“Pay attention to the road,” Rake said, waiting until DJ had turned his head again before saying more.

“I’ve been toying with the idea, trying to think of how we can get some time with him.

Shaun clearly wanted to join in when we saw him last, and we know from experience that they aren’t monogamous. ”

“You’d be up for that?” DJ asked.

“We’ve played with other subs before,” Rake said.

“Not for a while. I… think I’d be up for it, though. But only if it’s Shaun. Not his shitty Dom.”

“Same for me.” They’d tried to scene with another Dom once, and Rake had used his safe word after five minutes.

He couldn’t deal with not being the sole one in charge.

Watching someone else command DJ had led to a meltdown, and even the thought of having to share DJ with a Dom like Lawrence had him close to spiralling.

“Next weekend?” DJ asked.

“Yeah.”

DJ squirmed in his seat. “You got something in mind for us?”

“Mmm. We haven’t done any predicament bondage in a while. I saw some interesting stuff online.”

“‘Interesting’, you say,” DJ said with a laugh. “By that, you mean painful.”

“Potentially.”

“Do you not think it might be a bit hardcore for our first time playing with him?”

Rake shrugged. “You saw the setup Shaun was in the other day. That wasn’t beginner stuff.”

“True.”

“We’ll go over his limits. Don’t worry, sweetheart. I wouldn’t ever do anything either you or he didn’t want.”

DJ glanced over. “I know.”

“Maybe we’ll start off with something easier,” Rake said. He didn’t realise he’d insinuated they’d scene with Shaun more than once until he caught DJ looking at him with excitement dancing over his features. “Eyes on the road.”

“Yes, Sir,” DJ said, but Rake could see the sardonic smile twisting his lips. He couldn’t resist sending back one of his own.

They had a plan, and now all Rake had to do was figure out how the hell to convince Lawrence to agree to it.

Despite Rake’s intentions, a few weeks passed before they made it back to the club. Work was pushing them hard because of the upcoming release. After days of long hours spent staring at screens, they’d both been too knackered at the weekends to have sex, let alone scene.

But, if they delayed going to the club any longer, Rake would end up so stressed that he was at risk of inadvertently overstepping DJ’s boundaries in his need to regain control.

Over the years, they’d fallen into a happy medium with their relationship, where Rake could exert his dominance, but never to the extent that he suffocated DJ.

So all it took was one uttered, “Language,” from Rake whilst DJ played games online—an activity not covered by the no-swearing rule—for them to realise they needed to carve out some time for themselves.

However, instead of getting straight into a scene when they made it to the club that weekend, Rake did some asking around.

He approached a couple of the other Doms, who gave him some well-needed information on Lawrence: his surname (Weston), he lived down near the seafront, that he attended the club at least once a week, and that he was likely to show up that night with Shaun.

The Doms knew little about Shaun, other than the fact that Lawrence was open to sharing him on occasion.

It was ideal, given what Rake would be proposing, but he couldn’t help feel conflicted, too.

He didn’t like the way the other Doms spoke about Shaun, as if he wasn’t someone to be given the same consideration as his Master.

Rake would never treat Shaun as anything other than an equal, and he intended to show him as much.

Information acquired, Rake and DJ perched on stools at the bar, sipping on Cokes as they both tried to avoid staring at every new patron who walked in the door.

It was a busy night, the sounds of sex drumming alluringly in the air. There were a few people Rake recognised, including the couple who’d recommended the place to him and DJ. After a quick catch up, the couple headed off towards the VIP area.

Rake watched as they then exchanged words with Lynette, who sat sprawled in an armchair in the centre of the room. The second the couple moved away, she became preoccupied with the woman in her lap once again. Rake noted, however, that the woman didn’t wear a collar.

One of the big bouncers, who’d been hovering close to Lynette like he was on an invisible leash, headed towards the main entrance. Rake drummed his fingers on his glass, waiting to see who would be let in next.

Lawrence—blond hair slicked back on his head, snooty expression fixed on his face—walked in. Shaun trailed after him, looking less enthused about being there. That was, until he caught sight of Rake and DJ. After a conspicuous glance at Lawrence’s back, Shaun smiled shyly in their direction.

Rake slid off his seat. “I’ll speak to Lawrence. You check in with Shaun.”

“Yes, Sir. Good luck,” DJ said before skipping away.

Rake knew the moment Lawrence saw him, because his lip curled into a sneer. But that was fine. Rake had planned for this—he’d played out the conversation several times in the shower to prepare. He set his drink down on the bar and went to meet Shaun’s Dom.

“Master Lawrence,” he greeted, even though the man deserved no such title.

Lawrence narrowed his eyes. “What was your name again?”

“Rake Mishra.”

“Hmm.” Lawrence left it at that.

This was all going extremely well. “I wanted to ask if you’d be interested in allowing me and my sub to play with Shaun. With his permission too, of course.”

“Just the three of you?”

“You’d be welcome to watch. I enjoy seeing DJ interact with other subs—it always makes predicaments more exciting.”

That seemed to pique Lawrence’s interest. “Predicament?”

“You know, playing them off against each other. If one of them does something, it affects the other. Some bondage, a bit of pain play. That sort of thing.”

“I do let others borrow my pet on occasion. But I’m not sure.” Lawrence stared into Rake’s eyes, unblinking. “Why do you want to play with him?”

“Because I like him.” That was the simple truth. He hadn’t expected to admit as much to Lawrence, but the words came out anyway.

Lawrence waited, then asked, “Is that all?”

“DJ likes him too.”

A line appeared between Lawrence’s brows. Other than that, his face bore no wrinkles. “So you both desire him, but you don’t think he will get between you?”

Rake shook his head. “No, he won’t.” Not in the way Lawrence was inferring, anyway.

“I suppose it might be fun to see if it does.”

Rake didn’t know how to respond to that. The statement matched nothing his shower-imagined version of Lawrence had said. “I think we’ll all have fun,” Rake emphasised, hoping that would be enough to fully convince Lawrence.

“Fine,” Lawrence said. “Mouth only, though, if you want to have him that way. The rest of his body is for my use alone.”

Rake nodded and tried not to tense his jaw. A lifetime of putting on ‘appropriate’ expressions helped to keep his face placid. “I’m sure you’ll enjoy the scene.”

“We’ll see.”

It wasn’t quite a ringing endorsement, but it would do.