else had entered the store. Jace glanced up briefly in what was probably an automatic gesture, but returned his attention to her.
“There are also your multitaskers.” He grabbed a box off the top shelf. The picture of the device looked like a C. “This one can be inserted to hit the G-spot and will press against the clitoris simultaneously. It also allows for intercourse while inserted, which can give your partner some fun, too.”
Well, that sounded interesting. But there was no partner involved for her. She shook her head.
“Then there are anal—”
“I think the first one will probably be fine,” she said quickly.
He smiled good-naturedly and grabbed the one she’d selected. “Excellent. And I’d be a bad business owner if I didn’t mention that this one works great in tandem with one of our realistic dildos, which are twenty-five percent off today.”
She laughed at the bizarre conversation. “I feel like I’m in some X-rated infomercial. Buy a vibrator and get a fake penis for only nineteen ninety-nine!”
He chuckled. “Welcome to my life.”
She shook her head, any awkwardness she’d had early on fading now. The guy seemed well-practiced at putting a woman at ease. “Thanks. I’ll go take a look and see if there’s anything else I want.”
“Holler if you need me.”
She turned her back to him to wander over to the next aisle and look at the display of colorful dildos. It’s what Pike had suggested the other night—something more than her fingers. She’d avoided the aisle because she hadn’t wanted to give in to his suggestion. Hadn’t wanted to think about Pike. But now it seemed stupid not to get one while she was here. Plus, they were on sale. If she was going to take care of herself, she might as well do it right.
She heard Jace greet the other customers and then tuned them out, picking up an entirely too big hot pink rubber dong and wagging it in her hand.
She pressed her lips together, stifling a giggle at the wonky swinging motion. You could pound a chicken breast flat with the thing.
No, thank you.
Pike waited until his best friend, Foster, had exchanged a half-hug and slap on the back with their buddy, then he put his hand out to Jace. “How ya doin’, man?”
Jace shook his hand in a firm grasp. “Oh, you know, crazy in the best way possible.”
Pike stepped back. “Yeah, I haven’t seen you around much lately.”
Meaning he hadn’t seen him at The Ranch. Jace was a regular with his wife, Evan, and his husband, Andre—the threesome a fixture at the kink resort they all belonged to. But Pike couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen the three out and about.
Jace crossed his arms, light in his eyes. “Yeah. Fatherhood is keeping me busy. Lucy’s started to crawl and is attempting to disassemble the entire house. But we’ve got Foster and Cela lined up to watch Luce soon so we can get a little grown-up time.”
Pike turned to Foster with a raised brow. “You’re babysitting?”
Foster tucked his hands into his slacks, a smirk on his face. “Unlike you, I don’t have baby-phobia.”
“Since when?” Pike asked.
Foster shrugged, all cool businessman.
“Fuck me, y’all are all going over to the dark side,” Pike said, shaking his head. Jace having kids. His best friend setting up house with his woman, and babysitting. “The Ranch is going to have to open a daycare.”
Jace snorted. “Don’t put it past Grant. If he knocks up Charli, which I’m pretty sure he’s trying to do on a regular basis, I guarantee you, he’ll have five-star nannies on-site.”
Pike sighed dramatically. “I guess that’ll leave all those lonely, single women at The Ranch to me and Gibson. We’re going to have to play relay to keep up.”
The guys laughed, but Pike didn’t really have any excitement at the thought. He had his fun at The Ranch, but he hadn’t hooked up with anyone the last few times he’d gone. He’d watched, but no one had caught his interest. The problem was that he didn’t fit into a neat category like his friends.
Foster and Jace were both sexual dominants. The Ranch catered best to those who fell into those roles—dominant or submissive, masochist or sadist. People wore their labels there with pride. But Pike couldn’t slap one of those stickers on himself. Like most things in his life, he didn’t quite fit in. All his edges were messy, the wires tangled.
Once upon a time, he thought he’d become a dominant. He certainly could enjoy tying a woman up and playing some obedience games. He also didn’t mind dishing out a little pain. There wasn’t much out there hotter than his bright red handprint on a beautiful woman’s ass. But he’d lived with Foster for many years and had shared women with him. He’d seen his best friend when the suit and tie came off and the dominant sadist came out. Dominating a woman was like breathing for Foster—natural and absolute.
Pike had never felt it in his blood like that. He didn’t need the dominance to get off. And frankly, he knew if a woman wanted to turn the tables and tie him to the bed and beat on him for a while, he could have fun with that, too. Shit, he’d done it before.
Bottom line: He liked sex. He liked it rough and tumble without a lot of rules. And he’d try almost anything once. A sexual omnivore.
But that didn’t fly as well at The Ranch because he couldn’t give a true submissive what she’d need long-term and he couldn’t give a dominant that either. So he hung out in purgatory—comfortable with his preferences but vaguely jealous of those who had discovered so clearly what would light them up. He knew for a fact he’d never tapped into that level that Jace and Foster had reached with their partners. He’d watched both of them scene and that shit looked transcendent.
“So what are y’all doing here? Need some supplies?” Jace leaned against the checkout counter.
“We were in the neighborhood for lunch. But Foster wants to buy a violet wand and needs you to swear that you won’t tell Andre.”
Jace sniffed. “Andre can’t throw stones. He’s a big fan of the violet wand.”
“Not for his baby sister,” Foster said. “He still winces anytime she mentions The Ranch in front of him. If I give him any more reason to think too hard about what I’m doing with Cela, he’s going to beat me with his nightstick.”
Jace sniffed. “The sadist in me wants to tell him he needs to get over himself. But I promise I won’t say anything and will leave him in his state of semi-denial for now. Come on, they’re over here.”
Jace led Foster to the back corner of the store, and Pike took the chance to browse around. He hadn’t been in Wicked for a while and always liked seeing what new, perverted things Jace stocked. Even with his dirty mind, Pike usually found something that surprised him.
But when he turned the corner of the third aisle,
