Finding You Bk. 02: Paradigm Shift

Tabby's eyes went wide at the thought of having two strong, beautiful men all to herself. Marcus' entrancing eyes and, surprisingly, Cooper's playful, surfer-boy smile drifted into her mind's eye and heat surged through her chest and settled like a pile of hot coals in her core.

Petra caught the dreamy expression that washed over Tabby's face and had to restrain the urge to jump up with a whoop of triumph. She stared at her friend with a cheeky, knowing grin splitting her face from ear to ear in delight until Tabby suddenly noticed and blushed. The pink colouring her cheeks told Petra all she need to know: Tabby wasn't adverse to the prospect of having two men in her life...or in her bed.

"What?" Tabby said sharply, embarrassed by being caught daydreaming, the delicious, deviant thoughts still swirling in her head. Two men? Holy cow, what was she thinking? Nevertheless, the idea had settled on her like planting a tiny seed into the fertile ground of her imagination - it had rapidly sprouted roots and anchored itself so securely, that she couldn't shake it loose.

"You like that idea, don't you?" Petra surmised from the look of arousal and interest that had made her quiet friend's face glow. Her reaction came as a surprise to Petra, a totally awesome surprise, but completely unexpected. She couldn't believe that her reserved best friend had kept her kinky side so well hidden all these years. Petra couldn't wait to report to Marcus that maybe getting Tabby to accept Cooper into their relationship wasn't going to be the minefield that he had feared. There was definite interest shining in Tabby's eyes, even if she was trying to hide it from Petra.

"No! Uhm...I'm not sure, Pet." Tabby gave her a shy grimace. "Does it make me a pervert if I said maybe?" She laughed uncertainly.

Petra reached for Tabby's hand and noticed the tiny tremors shaking it. Her poor friend was having her preconceived ideas of relationships and sex seriously shaken and rearranged with all sorts of new pieces added into the mix. She gave her a reassuring squeeze. "Oh sweetie, not at all! Threesomes are...well...pretty fucking awesome actually!"

Tabby gaped in shock. "You? Have you and Diego..."

Petra sat back looking smug. "Oh yeah," she drawled slowly. "We don't do it often, but once in a while, Diego likes to invite another Dom to come and play with us. It was a little intimidating the first time, but I quickly relaxed and enjoyed it. One guy is amazing, two is fun on a whole different level that you can't imagine. Just think...four pairs of hands, two talented tongues and two glorious cocks, all for you."

Tabby's mouth dropped open in wonder and she turned to look back at the woman. Both of the men had stood up and each took one of her hands and helped her to her feet. They both enveloped her in a hug and then they walked out of the lounge, the woman sandwiched between two slabs of male muscle. Tabby couldn't ignore the happy smile or the excited flush on the woman's face as her pair of men escorted her out of sight. Nor could Tabby ignore the way her imagination pulled a body switch and showed her a vision of herself leaving with Marcus and Cooper holding her hands.

Petra sighed. "Victoria chose well. Trevor and Taylor McManus are amazing Tops. She's in for a wild night."

"They're brothers?" Petra's words yanked Tabby back to reality and her daydream evaporated into mist.

"Fraternal twins to be precise, but they have always shared their subs. It's a shame that they haven't found their forever girl yet." She picked up her glass, thinking about two other Doms that were dear to her heart and their similar plight. She drained the last of her drink, said a silent prayer on their behalf, and then hopped to her feet. With any luck, the one that they sought was sitting right across from her and their search will finally be over. "C'mon! I need to dance! You ready, Tabs?"

Tabby finished her water and followed Petra through the crowd. She dropped her empty bottle into a recycling bin as they exited the bar area and made their way to the packed dance-floor. Petra's hand wrapped around hers and led her down the steps and into the writhing mass of bodies. The irresistible, thumping beat of the music took hold and before she knew it, Tabby's worries vanished as she began dancing to the music and laughing with Petra.

CHAPTER 17

Marcus sat behind his desk conducting a last minute review of the evening's schedule with Diego, Jaz and Cooper, trying not to let the promise of seeing his angel distract him from his job. Unfortunately, that simple feat was proving more difficult than he could have expected; the more he tried to focus on the details for that evening's celebration, the more his mind insisted on wandering back to its favourite subject...Tabitha.

She had to show up. She just had to or else Marcus didn't know what he was going to do. He'd been patient, waiting for her to recover, but it was taking every ounce of his willpower for him to keep the driving need to hunt her down and make her his, under control. He would have her - one way or another - and once he had her in his arms, he vowed that he would never let her get away from him again.

It would break him.

"The demonstrators are all preparing for their displays. I left Bram and Trina setting up their Kinbaku suspension, he's already started tying her and we will highlight the finale. Ethan and Marcia were getting their station ready for their fire play show - people are already talking about that one. Those two always put on a good show. Jackson will be doing a whipping demo and brought a new face with him." Cooper glanced down at his notes. "Her name is Shirina - Saul's got her papers and waiver signed and filed so we're covered. And I've got Trey handling the flogging demo. Everyone else knows where they need to be and when. It should go off without a hitch," Cooper announced dragging Marcus' attention back to the men assembled in his office. Cooper shifted his weight on the sofa, making the springs whine alarmingly, and rearranged his kilt over his bare knees.

All four of the men were dressed in similar fashion - light-weight, white cotton tunics and kilts made from heavy, cotton duck cloth. The patterns on three of the men's kilts were generic, solid dark colours but Marcus' was made from wool in his family's hereditary tartan - dark blue with greens and reds - a tartan made specially to reflect the mixed Irish/Scots origins of the Callaghan family.

Their archaic choice in attire served the need for practical, non-restrictive garments rather than to make any fashion statements. The loose fitting tops allowed free movement of their arms and were breathable to keep them cool during strenuous scenes. The kilts served similar purposes; they were cool and permitted freedom of movement, in addition to convenient access to their cocks. No time needed to be wasted undoing restrictive pants and an erection in a kilt, wouldn't cause the unnecessary discomfort that trousers did.

That they also made the large, muscular men look oddly sexy in a medieval barbarian sort of way had absolutely nothing to do with their preference of attire.

None at all.

And who said men couldn't be practical?

Jaz spoke up, possessing information that he knew Marcus and Cooper needed to hear; a look of regret shadowed his handsome face as he began to talk. "FYI, Marcus...apparently that slag Lydia is floating around. You might want to avoid her if your Tabby shows up. You don't want to risk setting that powder keg off."

"Shit!" Marcus swore. Lydia was a complication he did not want to have to deal with tonight. With any luck, she'll find a Dom to torment and he won't have to worry about her. He wanted to focus his attention on Tabitha, not keep his guard up for a sneak attack by that vindictive bitch.

Marcus' listened to the banter between his partners, confident that the night's festivities were in capable hands. His cell phone startled him when it issued a little chirp as an incoming text message arrived. He tapped the screen and his heart took off like a frightened jackrabbit when he saw Scott's name as the sender. He pressed the message to read it and his stomach hit the deck, rebounded and felt like it ping-ponged in his chest.

...They're here. Come find them on the dance-floor...

Marcus' brain short-circuited as he absorbed the meaning of those words. Excitement zinged across his synapses as if he'd stuck a fork into an electrical outlet, and he was hard within seconds of reading Scott's text.

Tabitha was in the building!

His eyes stared hard at Scott's message; the intensity burning an image onto his retinas that he didn't even notice that beneath the text was a video. He pressed play and his heart and lungs froze in his chest.

There she was...his precious angel.

With her face healed, she was even more beautiful than the last time he had seen her. He brought the phone closer to his face, drinking in and committing every curve of her lovely body to memory. He intended to explore each of those curves with his mouth as soon as possible, just to see if they were as soft as they looked under that amazing dress.

The dress she wore was form fitted and the colour of sin itself. Seeing it called to something dark and possessive inside his soul that roared so loud in his mind that his ears rang from the imaginary sound.

Everyone would be looking at her! Other men would be looking at her...touching her. She was HIS.

He'd kill anyone who laid a hand on her.

He fidgeted in his chair suddenly anxious for the meeting to be over so that he could rush downstairs and seek her out. He was so engrossed in thoughts of Tabitha that he didn't notice that the other three men had stopped talking and were staring at him in amusement.

"Look how doe-eyed he is. You think he's okay?" Diego whispered sotto voce to Jaz.

Jaz chuckled. "I dunno, maybe he's had a stroke or something?"

Cooper hooted a laugh, recognizing the dumbstruck expression on Marcus' face from the last time he'd seen him with Tabitha. "Hell no! We are witnessing a man handing over his testicles, boys."

That comment percolated through the excitement and arousal simmering in Marcus's head. He held the phone and waggled it at Cooper. "If you could stop being a prick for a second, I might just tell you what the message was."

Diego chuckled. "No need, Sarge. The gobsmacked look on your puss says it all." He paused for dramatic effect. "The girls have arrived, haven't they?"

The reality that Tabitha was in the club and close by suddenly sunk in and had Cooper's face mirroring Marcus' expression as desire caught up with his brain. Diego and Jaz took one look between the two stunned men and burst out laughing.

"Fucking hell! Not you too?" Jaz laughed. "Blimey, I'm glad I'm married and don't have to go all doolally in the head over a bird anymore."

"Okay, okay...shut it already! Some of us aren't as lucky as you to have found our mate." Cooper snagged Marcus' phone and went wide-eyed when he saw the video.

"And there she is," he breathe in awe.

He traced a reverent finger over Tabitha's image, willing the expanding hope in his chest to stay locked down. It didn't matter how badly he wanted her, at this point, nothing was guaranteed...especially for him. All that could be waiting for him in the future was a massive heartbreak if Tabby couldn't accept the kind of relationship he and Marcus so desperately wanted with her.

Please God...let her want me too, he prayed silently.

In the video, she smiled at something Petra had said and Cooper thought that he had never seen a more beautiful expression on a woman's face before. He vowed at that moment, to make sure he put that look on her face as often as was possible.

It had just become his new goal in life.

Marcus was so right in calling her an angel. He couldn't think of a better description of her...she seemed to be made of sunlight and joy and Cooper wanted to bask in its warmth. Naked. With her wrapped around his body.

Marcus's patience abruptly ran out and he stood up and ended their meeting. "We all good here? Everyone knows what they need to be doing?" Three heads nodded in acknowledgement at him. "Alrighty then, the show starts at ten. That gives us an hour to bugger off and play."

As they filed out of Marcus' office, Diego stopped and grasped Marcus and Cooper by the shoulders, giving them a squeeze. "Good luck." He gave them a fatherly look.

"Try not fuck this one up, boys."

CHAPTER 18

Outside the club, the man in the truck drove slowly around to the back of the massive warehouse. He couldn't figure out why the fuck the girls had come out here, but in the half hour he had waited, a steady stream of vehicles had been arriving. There was obviously something going on in that building and he meant to find out what.

He scanned the exterior, looking for a sign or something that hinted at the building's mysterious purpose, but there was nothing. He finally made it to the rear and saw the lit driveway descending below ground level.

"What the fuck?" he muttered. A Rolls Royce passed by him followed by two Mercedes. He had seen dozens of high-end luxury cars and limousines arriving, so whatever was going on inside, it was attracting big, big money. He needed inside that building, but this beat up Ford F-150 stuck out like a herpes sore on a dick.

"Oh hell, what's the worst that could happen?" he said and threw the truck into gear. He needed answers and it seemed that the direct approach was the only one left to him.

Pulling in behind a Porsche, he followed the sports car down the driveway. A guard checked the driver's ID against a list, nodded to the driver and pressed a button. The wooden gate arm rose, allowing the Porsche to pass into the underground garage.

~~~~~~~~~~

The man pulled his truck up to the guard and lowered his window.

"Good evening, mate," he called out and then adopted a sheepish look. "I think I might have gotten my directions crossed. Can you tell me where exactly I am?"

The guard gave him a wary smile in return. "Where were you hoping to be?"

"I was supposed to meet my girlfriend at a club but I forgot the instructions at home. I sort of remembered the address and ended up here. What's the name of this place?" Bluff. The man hoped the guard would fall for it.

"I'm sorry Sir, but without a member's card, you cannot enter Elysium. Perhaps you could contact your girlfriend and have her come out and vouch for you?"

Bingo! Now he had the name and could do a little digging. The guard raised a hand to halt an Audi at the top of the ramp. "You are going to have to back out, Sir. You can return once your partner comes out and vouches for you. Now, please clear the ramp."

Not wanting to cause a scene, the man put his truck in reverse and slowly backed up the driveway and into the lot behind the warehouse. He drove back out onto the street, parked and pulled his laptop out of his bag. He ran a search for the name "Elysium" and sifted through the results until he hit pay dirt...Elysium had its own website. He couldn't have asked for a better source.

The standard age restrictions popped up and he clicked okay and entered the site. His eyes went huge with delight when he saw what the nature of Elysium's business was.

"It's a fucking sex club! Holy shit!" He couldn't believe his luck. The potential fun they could have with the girl in a BDSM club was limitless. All he needed was to get him and his boss into the place. He looked up membership and choked when he saw the exorbitant cost of a membership. That put a damper on his hopes until he saw the "Guest Admittance" icon and clicked on it.

He read the blurb, which allowed interested parties to apply for a guided tour held during the club's off-hours and they offered limited drop-in passes for a reduced rate.

Exiting back to the homepage, the club's Events calendar caught his eye. There was going to be a huge Halloween masquerade party held on the 31^st. The gears in his head started spinning with plans. A masquerade party was the perfect cover to get his boss inside without being recognized.

He hurriedly filled out the application form for the tour, using one of his bogus identities and sent it off. All he could do now was wait for the response. Opening up his email, he sent a quick email to his boss.

...Followed her to a private BDSM club. I'm working on getting us in. Is this acceptable?...

He hit send and waited. The response from his employer appeared seconds later.

...Perfect! Keep me apprised...

The man powered his computer down and started his truck. There was no sense in him sitting out here in the dark. He decided to head back into town and check out a pub he'd driven by on the way here.

He'd catch up with the girl tomorrow.

CHAPTER 19

Cooper followed Marcus down the stairs and into the club proper. They waded through the masses of friends, acquaintances and strangers, all vying for their attention; politely excusing themselves from the well-wishers in their haste to search for Tabitha.

At the bar, Marcus flagged Scott down and waved him over.

"Howdy boss," Scott said cheerfully.

"Petra and her friend...where are they now?" Agitation and lust had Marcus' nerves strung tight as a bowstring and he practically jumped down Scott's throat with his barked request.

One of Scott's eyebrows shot for the ceiling in surprise. His normally cool-headed boss had a frighteningly feral look on his face. "Whoa," he pointed to the crowded dance-floor. "They're over there. Been dancing for about fifteen minutes." He gave a low whistle. "That friend of Petra's sure can m..."

Scott didn't get a chance to finish his sentence. Marcus lunged at him and would have had his hand wrapped around his throat if Cooper hadn't quickly stepped in between and blocked his access.

"Holy fuck, Marcus! What the hell?" Scott exclaimed, jumping back so fast that he rammed his back into the counter behind him, rattling the shelves of bottles.

Cooper glanced over his shoulder and growled at Scott. "Go. This is nothing to do with you but if you value breathing, I would suggest you refrain from commenting about Tabitha in Marcus'...or my hearing again."

Marcus was still growling threats and struggling in Cooper's grasp, trying to get to the retreating bartender. "Will you fucking cool it?" He hissed through clenched teeth. "Think, you idiot. Do you really want her to see you like this? Do you?" He gave Marcus' arms a hard shake, his fingers digging into the tense muscles of his biceps.

The possessive fury that had clouded Marcus' eyes slowly lifted and Cooper breathed out a long breath and waited for sanity to replace the primal madness that had gripped his friend.

"You good?" he asked, unwilling to release Marcus until he was positive the man wouldn't try to have another go at Scott.

The tension left Marcus' muscles and he gave Cooper a sharp nod. "Yeah. Thanks for keeping me from making an asshole out of myself."

Cooper snorted and turned Marcus to face the dance-floor. "That would be a full time job and you, buddy, don't pay nearly enough for me to take on that fool's errand." He dodged Marcus' fist, grinning cheekily at him. "Now, Mr. Drama Queen, how about we go find our girl? Preferably before you kill somebody."

They weaved through the crowds until both men stood at the top of the wide steps that led down to the dance-floor. They scanned the mass of humanity, looking for Tabby's face but the dim lighting and flashing strobe lights made the task nearly impossible.

After a few minutes of searching the sea of faces, Cooper slapped Marcus' arm excitedly. "I got her. She's over there, to the left of the podium. She dancing...oh shit!" he groaned with dread. Here we go again, he thought seeing the young man dancing with Tabby.