In his defense, it was all Chloe's ideas.
The dinner had been cleared away with only coffee cups, saucers, and spoons left, the last sips of dark liquid to combat the early drinks at the bar, and Nate was feeling satisfied and full, slightly tired though it was only about 9 o'clock.
Sully had taken the bill and made the same face he always made when it was time to pay. Nate was about to offer to pay, but he knew the reply would be something along the lines of "Save it, kid. You have no money."
Not true – Nate had some, but Sully wanted to control the finances. Chloe might have money, but Nate didn't know, having never asked because … money was awkward. That made no sense, he pondered as he tipped his coffee cup to swirl the last spoonful of coffee around before drinking it. They were thieves, heisters, kind of glorious pirates who went on treasure hunts but –
"We want to do things to you," Chloe said.
Nate nearly dropped the cup. He blinked, sure he had hurt wrong. "You want me to do something?"
"No," Chloe leaned over and put her hand on Nate's, her cold fingers resting on the top of his knuckles, "we want to do things to you."
Nate's eyes darted to Sully, expecting the man to laugh her off, but Sully had put a credit card over the bill and answered, "We do."
"I don't understand," Nate couldn't think of a quick reply.
"We want to play with you," Chloe trailed her fingers over his hand before pressing her nails into his skin. "Tie you down, mark you, make you laugh, make you cry – just play with our beautiful boy."
The blood hit Nate's face so hard his hearing nearly went.
"You were right," Chloe said to Sully. "His eyes did dilate."
"Told you so," Sully said.
"Oh," Nate gave a shaky laugh. "I thought you were serious. Ha-ha, good joke."
"Not a joke," Chloe took his thumb and started massaging it firmly, kneading into the muscle and joint that Nate didn't even know were sore.
"We're interested in tag-teaming you," Sully said. They all paused while the waiter came to collect the payment, but as soon as the efficient waiter left, Sully continued, "We'd be considerate. You get safe words. But we were talking," indicating Chloe, "and we realized how much you put into our missions. You run, fight, jump, rescue us, take all beatings – do all the activities. We want to reward you by letting us do things to you."
Nate's mouth opened, but he couldn't quite articulate how he felt. He had a major crush on Chloe, but he had considered Sully as an older brother, but the idea of both of them together –
"Is this a sex thing?" he managed to ask.
"No actual penetration," Chloe assured him. "You can keep shorts on if you want and we'll keep our clothes on. We want to top you, to dominate you, to make you feel and react, but not have to worry about safe sex and all that."
"And it's going to hurt?" he tried not to wince in worry.
"In a good way," Chloe assured him. "And we'll stop if you want."
"Okay," Nate said, trying to ignore his thudding heartbeat. "I kind of want … to see …"
It wasn't exactly enthusiastic consent, but when the receipt came, they all got up and walked out together.
Nate was scrambling to think of the right words to say, questions to ask, but his brain kept shorting out as the nerves in his body lit up with excitement. He felt slightly drunk on his anticipation and worry, and he didn't even realize that they were in the back of a cab with him situated between Sully and Chole.
Chloe, sitting behind the driver and in his sight through the rearview mirror, gave the address. The driver nodded and pulled into traffic; a light samba number was playing on the radio to create white noise with traffic outside.
"How long have you been living here?" Chloe asked in a polite voice. But she took Nate's left hand and tucked it between their bodies, keeping a tight hold on his wrist. Sully had his right hand in his iron grip and held it tight, leaving Nate to catch his breath suddenly at the impromptu bondage. He didn't try to pull free, but he stayed rigid as his sense of fear pounded through him.
Already they had overwhelmed and it had been so easy, so quick, that Nate could only wonder how long they had been planning their attack. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't figure out what he wanted to communicate.
Chloe kept up a light chat with the cabby, but Sully leaned against Nate to whisper in his ear, his breath tickling Nate's ear,
"When we get you home, we're going to tie your hands together and you won't get to use them for the rest of the night."
Nate felt his face turn even redder, and he sucked in a deep breath.
"And," Sully's whispering was making the hairs stand up on Nate's neck, "we are going to make you feel things you never thought possible. We're going to spank you, massage you, tickle you, make you feel every inch of your body until you scream."
Sweat was breaking out on Nate's forehead despite the cold night. Involuntarily, he clenched his fists against his legs, but their grips on his wrists did not move.
"But you won't scream because," Sully paused, and Nate felt a wild urge to beg him to go on, "because … you won't be able to think to speak clearly. And when you do speak, you will beg us for more."
"Please," Nate whispered, still not sure what he wanted.
"Driving for 12 years?" Chloe was keeping up the conversation with the cabby. "You must have had some crazy customers."
The cabby laughed and started talking about several drunk celebrities that he had taken around New York, but Chloe reached over with her free hand to straighten her dress. After she dropped the fabric, she quickly squeezed Nate's leg. Mid-thigh but closer to his knee than crouch, thumb and fingers pressing into the muscle (why was it also sore?) at such an angle that tickled, hurt, and spiked arousal all at once.
Nate swallowed a groan that might have been a moan, but Sully whispered in that same tingling hush,
"Shh, shh. No sounds out you, not yet. You're going to be a such good boy for us tonight. Unclench your fists and settle down. Relax, just relax."
"I – I can't," Nate whispered back, desperate to keep the cabby from noticing what they were doing to him.
"Yes, you can," Sully put his free hand on Nate's stomach, a possessive heaviness that pressed down, not hard enough to disturb the food he had just eaten at dinner but firm enough to let him know that Sully was in charge.
Nate forced himself to lean back against the seat, trapped and dizzy with the sensations buzzing over him. Anticipation had always been his particular need, a kink that preyed on him with every date, every mission, every theft he had. That heady buildup of what was about to happen seemed near foreplay to whatever eventually occurred. He enjoyed sex and successful heists, but that satisfaction rivaled the anticipation almost equally.
"Oh my gosh," Chloe gave a light laugh with her face still looking at the mirror to talk with the cabby, "I never thought the mayor of a town that size would be such a player. I tell you," she slid her hand towards Nate's knee and began gently squeezing the muscle just above the kneecap, "the more conservative the state, the wilder they are when they escape."
"You're speaking the truth, lady!" the cabby matched her laugh.
Nate swallowed hard, and his eyes filled with tears with the effort of staying still and quiet. The torturous sensations she was causing on his leg fought against the firm pressure and gentle circles Sully made on his stomach. Nate wanted to howl with laughter and knock her hand away, but he also wanted to sigh with enjoyment at Sully's attentions.
With his hands tucked away, and his body open to both of them on either side, Nate could only clamp his teeth together and breathe through his nose. He was sweating all through his black suit and crisp white shirt.
The light conversation, soft music, and rumble of traffic blended into a haze of jumbled sounds, and Nate's gaze had blurred with his tearing eyes. He could only feel whatever they wanted, and this was just the start of their plans.
His one coherent thought was a paradox to the utmost end: he wanted to get home as fast as possible so they would stop, and he wanted the car ride, and their intense attentions to his helpless body, to never end.