Page 45 of Sunrise (Monarch Club #3)

Vault

Sophie escorts us both to room twelve. Her hips sashay with every step and there isn’t an ounce of trepidation in her body.

She owns us.

She owns herself.

She might as well own the Monarch.

I think she’s the only one, other than Ryker, who exudes this much confidence inside these walls. Ironic that he’s been untouchable, and she’s had a full roster of clients for years. This club saved them both in very different ways.

“After you,” she says, holding the door for us.

I’m about to make a major move, and it’s got my head splitting down the center. To take some of the pressure off, I’m submitting to Sophie for most of the night.

Knox’s expression reminds me of when he would bring his tests over for me to correct, so he could resubmit them for a slightly better grade. It’s a mix of insecurity and relief. He’s got this deep crease between his eyebrows, and he keeps clenching his jaw.

Sophie wipes that look off his face after five minutes of submission, though .

With the door partly open, she’s got us both on our knees. He’s naked. I’m only in my pants. We’re facing each other.

“Such a good boy,” she purrs in Knox’s ear before thwacking his back with a soft flogger.

My dick’s hard. I can’t see who might be watching from the doorway, but so far, only one couple has come inside. They were watching quietly against the back wall, but I don’t know if they’re still there or not.

“Do you want to make me happy?”

“Yes, Mistress.” Knox almost sounds robotic.

“Kiss him.”

He crawls over and presses his mouth to mine.

“No, no, no.” She pulls him away with his collar.

“You were too impatient and didn’t ask where I wanted you to kiss him.

Now I have to punish you.” She flogs his back three times and I can tell he absolutely loves it.

Our Mistress doesn’t hit him hard at all.

It’s beautiful to watch him relax into his trust with her.

“I’m sorry, Mistress. May I try again?”

“Such good manners.” She pets his head, running her fingers through his soft hair. There’s a bandage on his elbow I want to know about, but now isn’t the time to ask. “Yes. You may try to please your Mistress again, pup. Kiss him.”

“Where, Mistress?”

“His neck.”

I swallow hard as Knox crawls over, and I feel like a dog when I expose my throat to him. He latches on to the crook of my neck and suckles it. God, it’s fucking good.

“Do you like that, Vault? ”

“Yes, Mistress,” I growl. My whole body has caught on fire. I know this particular erogenous zone gets Sophie going, but I’ve not experienced it until now. I think it’s my new favorite thing.

“That’s enough, pup,” she says, and Knox pulls off and resumes his default position across from me.

I hear people shuffling into the room. Focusing on Knox’s breathing and body language, I gauge if he’s okay with this so far.

“What color are you?” she asks him.

“Green as a bean.”

His answer makes me smile. He’s okay.

“Kiss me, pup.”

“Where, Mistress?”

Sophie stands between us and lifts her dress, exposing her ass to those by the door. Spreading her legs just enough, she points, “Here.”

Knox moans when he licks her cunt.

“Can you taste him?” She holds his head and grinds gently against his mouth. “That’s Vault dripping out of my pussy. He fucked me at the Butterfly Ceremony.”

Knox’s hands sink into her ass cheeks when he grips her tighter and feasts more.

There are a few mumbles from the back of the room. It’s hard to tell what’s being said because the music overpowers their whispers.

“That’s it. Eat it, pup.” She rests her heel on his shoulder. “Don’t waste a goddamn drop.”

I watch in rapture as Knox obeys. That’s my cum he’s devouring. To know he’s so eager for it, and will take it however he can, makes the screaming in my head die out.

“Mmph.” Sophie’s head tips back. She almost loses her balance, but Knox holds her steady, ready to catch her if she should fall. He eats her out until she comes and it’s so fucking glorious. What I wouldn’t give to have a piece of that action.

To share her pussy together. Lick her and each other at the same time.

“That’s a good boy.” Our girl steps back and Knox’s mouth and chin glisten.

His gaze locks on mine and he licks his lips as if savoring our taste.

“Vault, I want you to stand over at the cross.”

Oh shit . Rising to my feet, I stalk over to the St. Andrews Cross and wait for instruction.

“Hold on to the cuffs.”

Easy enough.

“Pup, crawl to him and pull his pants down.”

My heart races a mile a minute while I count the seconds until I feel Knox’s hands work my zipper. He peels my pants down and my grip tightens on the cuffs. Thank god she didn’t lock me in place.

It’s why I love submitting to her.

She knows my hang ups and never pushes my boundaries.

I won’t let go for any reason, but I need to know that I can if I have to. I’m not able to wait until someone else can free me from any restraints. It’s a hard limit for me.

“Step out of them,” she orders.

I kick my pants off to the side.

“Spread your legs.” She slides a riding crop between my legs and presses it against my right thigh until I stand wider… wider… wider. My arms are taking most of my weight as I cling to the cuffs. It also drops me a little closer to Knox’s eye level with him rais ed on his knees.

“Look how beautiful he is,” Sophie sighs.

She runs the riding crop down my spine.

Crack ! She hits my ass with it. Crack! Crack !

I tense from the sting and melt when it starts to burn. “Thank you, Mistress.”

“Soothe him,” she orders Knox.

His warm hand caresses my ass cheeks, and he presses his mouth to my fevered skin. I groan as my head falls forward against the cross.

“This ass wants to be filled, doesn’t it?” Sophie cracks me with the crop again.

“Yes, Mistress.”

My head’s buzzing. I’m starting to shake with need. We’ve barely started and I’m already desperate for a lot of things I’m not sure I’m ready for.

“Everyone leave,” she suddenly orders. “This is now a closed session.”

I feel her disappear for a moment, and then she comes back and touches my side. “You did so good, guys.”

“If that was the case, Mistress,” Knox argues from his knees. “Why’d you make them leave?”

I’m wondering the same thing. We’ve only just begun.

“Because, pup, sometimes I don’t want to share either.” She bends down and kisses him sweetly. Then she runs her hand along my back. “What color are you, Alex?”

“Green.” I think I was borderline yellow a moment ago, only because I’m not sure I want others to see what I want. At least not for this first time. “It was the right call, closing the session. Thank you.”

“Of course.” She presses her mouth to my spine, right over the skeleton tattoo. “You’re mine to take care of. I’m not about to push us too far, too soon. What we just did was beautiful.” Her hands skate along my back. “I love that I’m a conduit between you two. That you use me to have each other.”

With my grip still firm on the cuffs, I let out a heavy sigh. Is that what we’ve been doing?

“Is that what you think you are?” Knox asks like she’s out of her mind.

Sophie gives a nonchalant shrug. “I am for every couple I see.” There’s something hidden in her voice. “I’m happy to play that role.”

Jesus, if she’s thought that this whole time, I’m going to beat the shit out of Knox and myself for failing to show her how significant she is to us.

Knox’s brow furrows like he’s offended. “Sophie, you mean more to us than… anything .” He grabs her hand and presses it to his chest. “You’re our fucking heartbeat.”

“He’s right.” Letting go of the cuffs, I turn to them both.

“You’re the reason we’re here.” I don’t necessarily mean in this room.

Or in this club. When I think of how hard life has been for both Knox and I, living in our separate miseries, while still trying to be in each other’s lives as best friends…

the burden of our hearts has nearly killed us.

Sophie has been our solace. Since the moment she stepped into our lives, she’s been the light at the end of our tunnels.

The air in our lungs.

The warmth on our cold faces.

Knox is right, she’s our heartbeat.

Sophie looks like she’s going to cry. “I didn’t…

I mean I…” A shaky exhale ripples out of her, and she holds her chest. “I’ve kept my heart locked up for so l ong.

You’ve never made me feel like a conduit between you.

It’s just what I kept telling myself I was because I was scared that one day you’d leave.

If I played the role of Mistress, like I do for other couples, then it wouldn’t hurt so badly when that day came.

” Her eyes are glassy from the tears she’s holding back.

“I want you two happy together. I just want… I want you happy . I’ve seen how hard things have been…

not just for you guys, but Ry and D too.

You’re my family. The only one I’ve got and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. ”

“Damn, Sophie.” Knox snags her arms and pulls her onto the floor, into his lap. Hugging her tight, he looks up at me like he’s at a loss for words.

“I love you both so much,” she says into the crook of his neck.

“We love you, too,” Knox and I say almost in unison.

I get on my knees and hold them both.

“You’re ours, baby.” I kiss her shoulder. “Ours to love and protect.”

“And take care of and spoil,” Knox adds.

She lets out a long sigh. “Wow, I’m so emotional lately,” she jokes, I guess to lighten the mood.

Knox goes along with it. “Brain chemical dumps are the best worst things ever.” He looks over at me and winks. “Is our Mistress pleased so far?”

“Your Mistress is pleased, always .” She runs her hands through his hair. I think it’s more comforting to her than him. “So, guys, did you like this scene?”

She’s switching the mood of our conversation, which is fine. Knox and I get onboard fast.

“Oh yeah. That was hot.” He looks so damn proud of himself. “What about you, Alex? ”

I rub the back of my neck, gearing up for what I want to really say.

“Yeah, that worked nicely.” It’s good that we’re talking about it now.

Knox needs to see how quickly we can communicate because we’re all on different wavelengths with our kinks and limits.

The only way to keep it safe and fun is to check in frequently until we get the hang of it.

“I’m relieved it’s over though,” I say, looking our girl. “I want something I wasn’t comfortable getting when the door was open.”

“Oh?” She stands and smiles at me. “What’s that?”

“I want you to peg me.”

She’s done it before. Tons of times. But not with Knox in the room. Not… for Knox.

“I want you to prep me, so I’m able to take him.”

Knox grows still on his knees. The silence in the room is deafening as the song switches to another sultry beat.

“Are you sure?” He stands, clearly nervous that I’m going to take this away from him any second.

“Definitely.” I snatch him by the throat and kiss him fiercely. “I did say you earned a reward, didn’t I?”