Chapter Four

“Having a good time?” Jake asked her as he stepped up to the wall overlooking the backyard, his hands wrapped around a whiskey glass as he leaned on his elbows, matching Valerie’s position. The night sky was clear, the stars twinkling overhead and the moon drifting across the dark expanse, casting its soft glow along the earth as it went. Valerie heard some night crickets in the distance, but other than that, it surprised her at how quiet the area was.

Valerie glanced over at him, her own drink in hand. She nodded once. “I am, actually. You have some interesting friends, I’ll say that.”

He chuckled, his head bouncing slightly. “They are a rare bunch. I don’t hang around with them that often, but every time I do, I learn something new about them. Some have pretty far out ideas about relationships and life.”

“I kind of noticed that from a conversation I had with the other ladies a bit ago.” She shook her head. “Seems some of your friends never left high school.”

“I’d say we’re more like the immature residents of a frat house,” Damien said as he slid up to Valerie’s other side, turning and leaning back against the waist-high wall. A playful grin decorated his lips as he glanced over at her, one hand shoved into his front pocket, and the other holding onto his drink. “Those were some carefree, crazy-ass days. Why wouldn’t we want to relive them?”

“I would think as you neared thirty, you’d be past the need to gawk at a woman changing clothes in a dressing room,” she said, disdain dripping from every word. “Seems kind of childish to me.”

Damien shrugged. “Probably, but then again, their little game hurt no one, so what’s wrong with being a little childish now and then. Besides, from what Ethan told us, Sally fucked the hell out of him once they got to the car again. She couldn’t even wait, apparently, dropping to her knees right there in the parking lot. He had to force her not to pull his cock out until they got in the car, she was so damn eager to go at it.”

She felt her brows pinch together. “What was the point of waiting after he already made her expose herself in the dressing room to anyone who glanced her way?”

“Big difference between forgetting to close a door and people accidentally seeing you strip and dropping to her knees and sucking her boyfriend off in a public parking lot.” Damien chuckled. “Of course, I would have hung around to watch that as well.” He shrugged. “Sally loves it, actually. Craves it even. They’ve been together almost three years now and playing these games the whole time. She says there’s a freedom to it, and Ethan loves making her do the wildest things.”

“And from what Holly said, you all pitch in with ideas as well,” Valerie said, still not believing a woman would allow herself to be taken advantage of in the way Sally allowed them to do to her. It seemed more like an adult game of Truth or Dare to Valerie.

“I’ve been missing out,” Jake said, grinning as he lifted his glass to his lips.

Valerie shot her brother a scathing look, but he simply shrugged it off.

“Hey, I’m just as much a male as these guys,” Jake said. “If she’s not being forced to do anything against her will, then who cares what she’s made to do. It’s their sex life.”

Turning her attention back to Damien, Valerie asked, “And does Holly allow you to order her to do these types of things?”

Damien shook his head. “Nah. Holly’s a tad too timid for displays of public nudity or sex. We have our fun in other areas. However, she pitches in with some ideas for Sally every once in a while. ”

Valerie stared at the dark-haired man, wondering what kind of fun he meant. If he enjoyed embarrassing and humiliating another woman, one who he wasn’t in a relationship with, what would he enjoy in a normal sexual relationship? She turned her gaze back out to the woods behind the apartments, disappointed that Damien had turned out to be such a schmuck. When she first met him, she thought he was something special, but with the things she discovered he got off on, she just couldn’t imagine herself being close friends with him. How Holly could date him was beyond Valerie’s comprehension. She wouldn’t want her boyfriend telling another woman what to do sexually and then going and watching it happen. What a couple did in the bedroom was between them, obviously, but it should remain in the bedroom and between them, not broadcasted all over town. She shook her head, her lips pressed together.

Damien laughed beside her, and Valerie stiffened, realizing that she had been having a conversation with herself in her head, and he knew it. “I take it you don’t approve?” he asked.

She shook her head, refusing to look at him and revealing the blush on her face from where he had caught her in the midst of her inner dialogue. “No, I don’t approve. I’ve had someone try to control me before. Never again. Relationships don’t work that way.”

Damien shrugged, turning his attention to the others on the roof. “They do if the people in them want them to. I’ve never been one to tell others how to behave in their own relationships, and I don’t appreciate it when others try to do it to me.” He turned back to Valerie, a smirk on his face as he bumped himself away from the wall with his ass. “Besides, everyone loves to be controlled a little, especially during sex.” He winked at her as he moved off to talk to someone else.

Valerie followed him with her gaze. “Can you believe the audacity of that man?” Yet, as she watched him walk away, she couldn’t help but allow her focus to drop to how his jeans cupped his firm ass. Her stomach clenched as she wondered what it would actually be like to have him control her in the bedroom. Yet, she knew a man like Damien Pressman would never be satisfied keeping things in the safety of the bedroom. He would want to take it out into the world, bars, cars,…dressing rooms.

Jake laughed as he turned to sit back on the wall. “Damien?” He shrugged. “He just knows what he likes. He’s always been an open-minded person since I’ve known him, always pushing society’s boundaries. If there’s something to explore, he’ll be the first to dive into it. It’s part of his charm.”

“I’m sure he thinks so.”

“Don’t let him get to you,” Jake said. “He’s not your guy, just your landlord, so it doesn’t matter. He’s Holly’s problem.”

She turned to Jake, one hand on her hip. “That’s part of it. Holly seems to love it just as much, even though he said she wouldn’t do any of it.”

“So? Some people prefer watching others do things. They’re either afraid, or that’s just what they enjoy. Either way, it’s between her and him, don’t you think? As he said, no one should butt into another person’s relationship.”

She gave a quick nod as she turned her attention back to Damien who stood over by Nick, both men laughing at something. Again, her mind drifted to what it would feel like to be controlled by Damien. He seemed to have a kinky streak that he enjoyed pushing onto others. And even though he spoke to her in a patronizing tone just now, she couldn’t deny how soaked her panties were thinking about the things he wanted the other woman to perform for their amusement, regardless of how wrong she thought it was.

“Need another drink?” Jake asked, pushing himself away from the wall.

She nodded, handing him her glass, but her gaze never strayed from Damien as her brother took it and walked off. Brent had tried to control her during their marriage, making her his domestic slave. He expected her to play the part of household drudge and be the obedient sexual toy while he did whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. A week ago, she had her fill of being both of those things and stormed out of the house. She swore then that she would never take orders from another man as long as she lived, and yet, here she was, her pussy dripping as she thought of Damien controlling her even a little. How twisted was that?  And the man even had a girlfriend!

As she stood there staring at Damien still, Nick broke away from his friend, waving at a couple of others on the roof and calling them to follow him. Her eyes widened when she realized he was bringing them over to meet her, her nerves suddenly twisting a knot in her stomach.

“Valerie, right?” Nick asked, smiling. After she told him it was, he motioned to the other two men with him, one a slender bald-headed man, and the other shorter with a little paunch around his belly. “I thought I’d introduce you to two of the other professors at Hampton. This here is Miles Jacobs, he’s in our mathematics department.” He pointed to the paunch-bellied man, who smiled as he reached out to shake her hand. “And Mr. Clean here is Keith Anders. He’s actually in administration. He’ll be the one to help you out Monday and get you all settled in.”

She shook Keith’s hand, smiling as she said she was looking forward to joining the Hampton team. Yet, her attention was still on the man who both infuriated her and intrigued her at the same time. She wouldn’t admit her attraction to anyone, especially with Damien’s viewpoint on how women should be treated, but she couldn’t help but fantasize about it just a little. What would Damien Pressman make her do if he possessed the reins to her life?