Safeword: Mayday by Candace Blevins

Chapter 4

Two hours later, Heather pulled into Marcus’s driveway with Marcus and Kyle following her. She’d watched the video and then agreed to come back to Marcus’s house for a massage, with Kyle doing most of the actual touching. She parked, quickly got out, and retrieved her bag from the back seat — she planned to change into yoga pants and a t-shirt because she was tired of being dressed up. Kyle’s massages almost always put her to sleep, so she wasn’t sure how one was going to suddenly make her all horny and shit, but she figured it couldn’t hurt to let them try.

Kyle walked to her car, pulled her into his embrace, and her heart settled in her chest. He kissed her cheek, and she took a moment to just breathe.

“Still okay?” he asked.

She smiled, not completely certain she was even a tiny bit okay, and she leaned into his embrace. “You’re sure you aren’t going to accuse me of getting it on with your best friend later? What if he can get a reaction out of me and you can’t? Not that it’s likely, because no one has before, but I don’t want to do anything to screw us up. I know you think this’ll help; I just wish I could be as sure as you are.”

His hand moved up to stroke her hair and then caressed down her back. “Whatever it takes to figure out how to pleasure you will make me happy. If it’s Marcus who does it instead of me, that’s fine because if he can do it then I can learn. Marcus and I aren’t competitive.”

He kissed the top of her head, pulled her in closer, and Heather’s pulse slowed as she relaxed in his strong, comforting arms. She’d never wanted anyone to shield her from the world before, but Kyle didn’t do it because she was weak and needed protecting, but because he wanted to give her some time to let go and relax.

“He told you we used to share a girlfriend. The proper terminology is that we were a threesome, or a ménage, which is a three-way relationship with lots of communication and no jealousy. Julie and Marcus played rough, and Julie and I played our own way, much differently. She needed both things, and between the two of us we could satisfy her. Please, don’t worry about me being jealous of Marcus, okay? Marcus and I are fine, you and I are fine. If you’re okay with Marcus and he’s okay with you, then we’re good. If not, we’ll back up and regroup. Right?”

“I feel like I’m climbing without a rope.”

“If you want to leave and go to my place, we will. Just say the word. I love you, and I think Marcus can help, but I don’t want to push you into something you aren’t comfortable with.”

“Have you and Marcus ever... were the two of you sexual with each other? Or just with the girl?”

He paused a moment before answering. “We have no problems with inadvertent physical intimacy with each other as part of a threesome, but we’ve agreed to keep it at that.”

“Have the two of you looked for someone else to share?” Was this the plan all along, and she was just now finding out?

Kyle pulled away until they had eye contact, and he shook his head. “No. We’ve played with a few switches here and there, but we assumed the relationship we had in college was a one-time thing where all the stars and planets just happened to align in a certain way, and aren’t likely to again.”

“Switches?”

“It’s complicated, and a long explanation. Nothing bad, nothing to hide from you, but I’d rather wait and explain it when you have more of a vocabulary?”

Heather took a deep breath, let it out, and did it again. “All right. Let’s do this. I love you Kyle Richardson. I like Marcus well enough, and I respect that he’s important to you, but I love you. Got it?”

He touched the tip of her nose. “Got it. Marcus has already gone in. Shall we?”

Heather followed Kyle into Marcus’s gigantic house and upstairs to the party floor. Kyle took her hand and led her to a door she’d had never seen open before. She looked inquisitively at Kyle, but he just grinned and urged her into the room. She went in and stopped, trying to make sense of what she saw. There was a big wooden X near the back corner, and a large leather covered table in the center of the room. A fancy pegboard on one wall held a variety of menacing whips. She turned to leave, but Kyle blocked her way. He wrapped his arms around her and assured her, “It’s okay. You’re in control. You decide what happens. No one will do anything to you that you don’t want done.”

“I don’t think I like this room.”

“You’re safe. I understand it might seem a little frightening at first glance, but you like scary as long as it’s safe, don’t you?”

She looked up, met his gaze, and gave him a nervous grin. “Sometimes. I’m not sure this qualifies.”

“Today’s just a massage, and we already know you like my massages, so it’s a good place to start. The goal is for us to all get comfortable with each other. When the massage is over, if you’re up to it, Marcus and I’ll give you some sensations you haven’t felt before — but nothing will happen unless you want it to. You can tell us to stop at any time, and we will.”

Heather suddenly felt as if she were being handled with kid gloves, and it pissed her off. She stepped back from Kyle and straightened her spine. “Alright, I get it. Where’s this massage table?”

Kyle reached for her hand and led her out the door. “Marcus is setting it up in another room. He thought this room might be a bit much for you to relax in, but we wanted you to see it — it’s kind of important for you to understand a little more about who Marcus is, and the kinds of things he likes to do. It was supposed to make you feel better about his skills, but I’m not sure it did. Can you tell me what you’re thinking, what you’re feeling?”

“I’m thinking the two of you are crazy, and you’re trying to drag me to crazyville too.” She sighed again. “Crap, let’s find Marcus and get started on whatever it is we’re doing. I’m telling you right now that if I have to get naked then so do the two of you. I’m not going to be the only one without clothes on. If I have a sheet then ya’ll can have robes, or maybe boxers, but not clothes.”

Marcus laughed as he rounded a corner and came into view. “I think it’s looking more and more like there’s not a chance in hell she’s going to be submissive, Kyle. Looks like you’re in luck.”

Kyle gave him a bit of a dirty look and turned back to Heather. “Babe, I’ll strip down to nothing if you want me to, but I’m betting you won’t get Marcus down to less than a pair of pants at this point.”

Marcus reached for the top button on his shirt. “Kyle’s right. I’ll take my shirt, shoes, and socks off so I’m just in pants, but that’s it. Kyle will likely do anything you tell him to, so make sure you give orders responsibly.”

Kyle gave him a look that obviously said, “Cool it,” and Heather realized there was an undercurrent she didn’t understand. However, she had a feeling it wasn’t information she wanted to add onto everything else right then, so she didn’t ask.

“Kyle says you like jasmine.” Marcus lifted a small bottle. “I have some sweet almond oil with a few drops of jasmine essential oil in it, is that good for you?”

“It’s perfect. Can you leave for a minute while I get undressed and under the sheet, please?”

“Of course, my little bird.”

“Your little bird?”

She could hear the smile in his voice as he walked out the door. “Yes, my little bird who took me on the most fantastic flight this morning, but if you don’t like that nickname, I’m sure I can come up with another.”

Heather turned to Kyle with what she was sure was a ‘what the hell was that?’ look on her face, and Kyle laughed and told her, “He likes you, and he wants you and I to live happily ever after. Come here, let’s get you undressed and under the sheet, shall we?”

Kyle gently helped remove her clothes, and she held her tongue rather than point out she could’ve done it faster without help. He was trying to be nice, and there was something endearing about the way he so reverently treated her body and clothing. When she was naked, he lifted her onto the table, even though she could’ve easily hopped up on her own.

Being four foot ten inches tall, she tended to get touchy about people picking her up like a child, but when Kyle did it, he did it with such devotion and respect, she didn’t feel the least bit irritated.

Marcus had looked through the music on her onboard hard drive while she drove, and she closed her eyes now as the haunting notes of Dead Can Dance came through surround-sound speakers. She marveled that he’d been able to look through her 5-gig collection and find the music most likely to help her chill out and enjoy something through her senses.

Kyle had directed her onto her stomach with her face in the cradle, and she took stock of what she should be feeling but wasn’t — she was lying on flannel sheets. Had Marcus used them in the hopes of giving her more sensory input? If so, he didn’t understand how far along the spectrum she fell.

However, if this was to work, she needed to stop thinking and just be, so she took a deep breath and focused on the music.

Marcus pulled a stool near her head and worked his skilled fingers at the top of her scalp while Kyle’s talented hands pressed into her right shoulder. It’d taken her a while to assure Kyle she’d only feel a deep tissue massage, and once he was certain he couldn’t hurt her, he’d probed into the muscles and nerves enough she felt it.

Most people who haven’t been through massage school are too hesitant, but Kyle seemed to know what he was doing. Of course, he’d learned where all the muscles and nerves are in med school, so he knows more than the average person. Plus, he has the strongest hands — she loved his hands.

Meanwhile, Marcus was giving attention to the pressure points on her head, but wasn’t massaging her scalp. She wasn’t sure she could have enjoyed both men massaging different parts of her body at once, but Marcus was just holding pressure on points that apparently needed some attention, while Kyle massaged. By the time Kyle worked his way to her feet, Marcus had worked his way down to her shoulders — but was still just finding a place with tension and holding pressure until it dissipated. When Kyle finished with her feet, Marcus walked to her side and held the sheet up so she could turn over without him seeing her body, and the sheet floated back over her once she was on her back.

Heather was in a dreamy, relaxed state despite her unease about what might happen next. She closed her eyes and drifted back into nirvana as they each took a shoulder and worked in tandem down her arm. They were almost perfectly in sync, and Heather opened her eyes to watch them. They were glancing at each other occasionally, but mostly they were paying attention to the arm in their hand.

“The two of you’ve done this before.”

Her voice sounded sleepy and dreamy, and she almost didn’t recognize it. It made her realize she was completely relaxed with them, and that the double input was working for her. She’d always enjoyed being massaged when the therapist went deep, but with two people working on her at once, it was more intense. More interesting. Just more.

The guys didn’t respond to her statement, but that was okay. Her eyes closed again and she floated in bliss. When they finished her arms, Marcus moved back to her head and found pressure points on her forehead she hadn’t known existed, while Kyle moved the sheet to bare her left breast. She tensed and he covered it back up, kissed her cheek, and spoke softly into her ear. “Marcus has seen breasts before. If you don’t want me to uncover you I won’t, but it’s okay with me if he sees you.”

He was right, of course, and her small breasts weren’t all that special anyway. If it weren’t for her oh-so-prominent nipples, she’d never even bother with the A cup bras she bought. She reached up with her right hand and pulled the sheet down so both breasts were bared, and she gave a little twirl with her hand as if to say continue.

Kyle calmly arranged the sheet below both breasts and began working on the muscles of her left chest. He could work on her chest muscles without having to skirt around her breasts too much, and she appreciated that he wasn’t trying for anything sexual but was merely giving her a deep tissue massage.

When he finished with her torso, he pulled the sheet back up, and she felt Marcus moving to her right side as Kyle walked around to her left. They both lifted the sheet at her knees and placed their side of the sheet between her legs, so she was bare from her hips down but her genitals were covered by the sheet.

Warm, strong hands grasped her feet and held for a few seconds before starting — a firm but gentle touch that quickly morphed into something deeper. She didn’t know how they were doing it, but they each focused on the same muscle in her foot and then calf at the same time, moving up her legs to the next muscle together.

Heather zoned out as they worked, enjoying the sensations and sinking deeper and deeper into relaxed bliss. By the time they reached the top of her thighs, she was an overcooked noodle. It was quite possibly the best massage she’d ever received, and she’d been massaged all her life as part of her sensory therapy.

Kyle stayed with her, his hands brushing long strokes down each leg, and once he finally drew everything to a stop, she opened her eyes when something was placed on her stomach over the top of the sheet.

She saw a clear plastic zip-lock bag full of clothespins, and she looked up to Marcus for an explanation.