Page 22 of Their Wicked Ways

They gave me every opportunity to stop them, and even in my lust-induced haze, I trusted them when they said I was in control, and they’d stop if I asked or said no.

I had no fucking clue why I’d trusted a couple of random strangers I’d known for twenty minutes, but I had. And they’d delivered everything they’d promised.

I shuddered, once again forcing myself to focus on the road and not on the instant replay of my sexcapades that were running through my head in a constant loop.

The shit that had come out of their mouths affected me in ways I wasn’t ready to unpack or even really acknowledge. Getting hot and bothered because someone called me a good boy was one thing, but getting turned on because a stranger called me a cockslut? What the literal hell was wrong with me?

A laugh bubbled out of my chest.

I basically let a couple use me like a sex toy, but I didn’t feel used.

They delivered exactly what they promised, and they didn’t kick me out after.

I’d expected them to tell me to leave as soon as the afterglow faded, but Ezra had wrapped the spare blanket from the closet around my shoulders, and Wes had given me another bottle of water. Then they sat with me, making jokes and keeping things light while I got my head in order.

When I felt somewhat normal again, they offered me another shower and to call me an Uber when I was done.

They seemed relieved when I told them where I lived and that I’d driven to the club. Almost as relieved as I’d been whenthey told me about their hotel room. Locals wouldn’t bother renting a room just to go to a club, so the chances of seeing them again if I didn’t go back to Envy were practically zero.

Blowing out a breath, I exited the highway and headed toward my aunts’ neighborhood. Thank fuck they lived on the outskirts of town, and I could take the back roads. It wasn’t late, but with the college in session, the main streets would be packed, especially around the areas that were dedicated to student housing.

I had two choices about tonight. I could overthink and overanalyze every detail and come up with all sorts of reasons to convince myself it was a mistake and I was a horrible person for enjoying it. Or I could accept it for what it was—a consensual encounter between three adults.

At least I never had to see Ez and Wes again. That would help me move on and work on the next step in my sexual awakening—telling the people in my life the truth.

“How’s Aria?” I asked Noah, who was Becca’s older brother and roommate, as he leaned against the side of his truck. “Becks said she was feeling better yesterday.”

He sipped from the thermal cup in his hand. “She was. I left before she woke up this morning, but from what I can tell, she slept through the night.”

“That’s good.” I rocked on my feet awkwardly.

I’d worked on the crew for a few months now, but I still felt like the odd guy out, the perpetual new guy who didn’t quite fit in.

None of that was my coworkers' fault.

The contracting firm we all worked for was owned by a mutual friend, who was basically everyone’s bestie except mine.

I’d met Gray, Zane, River, and Quinn at the strip club we all worked at on the weekends. I was a bartender, and they were all dancers, which immediately created a divide between us because I spent my time behind the bar and only really hung out with them when they ventured out of the dancer areas and were in mine.

Noah didn’t work at the club, but he was Zane’s boyfriend and had started working on the crew with them almost a year ago. He was one of them, and I was the perpetual outsider.

Quinn, our boss, and I had gotten close when I first started at the club. He spent a lot of time hanging out with us at the bar after hours, back when there’d been some tension between him and the other dancers. I didn’t know all the details, but they’d worked things out, and now Quinn spent most of his time in the back room instead of the bar. We were still friends, and he included me whenever something social was going on outside work, the same as the other guys, but I felt like the little brother they put up with and not like a true equal.

Again, that was a me thing, not because of anything they’d said or done.

I was a few months older than Gray, who was the youngest in the group, but I felt like a kid compared to them. They’d all been on their own for years, had their own apartments, and had been working since they were teenagers.

Then there was me, the kid who’d moved from his parents’ house into a house with his wife, then in with his aunts. I’d never lived alone, and until I moved away, I’d only worked for family members.

Even my job here was thanks to my ex-father-in-law, who’d taken me on as an apprentice and taught me carpentry so I could provide for his daughter.

“Donut?” River shoved a half-full box of powdered donuts in front of me.

“Thanks.” I pulled one free and took a bite.

Zane leaned against the car next to Noah, a donut in his hand and powdered sugar around his mouth. “I still can’t believe you don’t drink coffee.”

“Right?” River asked, shaking the box under Noah’s nose. “You know you want another one.”