The Next Play: Part One Read online

  Table of Contents

  The Next Play: Part One

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  The Next Play: Part One

  the play series | book 1 | part 1 of 3

  Rhyannon Byrd

  *This eBook is meant for readers 18+ due to mature content.

  Contents

  Other Titles in the Play Series

  About the Story

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Newsletter

  A Thank You from Rhyannon

  About the Author

  Also by Rhyannon Byrd

  All rights reserved. This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook cannot be re-sold or given away to others. No parts of this eBook may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without the express, written consent of the author.

  Copyright © 2016 by Rhyannon Byrd

  This eBook is a work of fiction. Any references to actual events, persons, or locales are used fictitiously. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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  Created with Vellum

  Other Titles in the Play Series

  Triple Play

  About the Story

  HOW FAR?

  As Jonah Cartwright sets out to seduce the shy Jocelyn Brenna, he's determined to get one thing, and one thing only: his fill of her. Jocelyn, however, isn't so sure a scorching affair with the sexy player is something she can handle. With tension levels growing dangerously high, and emotions at the breaking point, their attraction becomes impossible to deny. But when Jonah starts to fear that Jocelyn is more than just another notch on his belt, will he push her so far into his world that she wants it all...or to the point that all she wants is out?

  Warning: This story contains a dirty-talking alpha with a filthy mind, some serious sexual tension, and a touch of kink.

  Dedication

  For the beautiful Joy Harris.

  Without her support and sheer awesomeness, this story might have never happened.

  Eternal hugs and kisses, Joy!!!

  PROLOGUE

  Jonah Cartwright was about to step out onto a stage, in front of hundreds of avid gazes. But he wasn’t in a theater. Or a music hall. Hell, it wasn’t even a cavernous high school auditorium. He was no actor, musician, or high school principal.

  This particular stage was the center attraction at Vane, San Francisco’s most elite, high-priced sex club. And Jonah was the one Vane’s members clambered to see.

  To the outside world, he was a successful businessman. A multi-millionaire. A notorious playboy.

  But to the wealthy crowds who gathered within Vane’s luxurious walls, Jonah Cartwright was the gorgeous, superbly built, well-hung sex god who got off on fucking for an audience.

  “You ready?” Hal, the valet standing on his left, asked him when he set the empty glass of Chivas on a small side table. Hal had been at the club for a year now and knew the drill. Jonah never walked through the black velvet curtains that separated the luxurious private waiting area from the Diamond—the only stage he used these days—until he’d finished his drink.

  The Diamond was aptly named because of its lavish design. A slightly elevated, twelve-by-twelve glass encased square on the three sides that extended into the club’s main viewing room, the back wall a heavy black curtain that separated the performance area from the private one. The floors were mahogany, stained a deep, luminous black, perfectly reflecting the crystal chandelier that hung suspended from the center of the vaulted ceiling. And while the furniture often changed, depending on the preferences of those who were booked to use the stage on any given night, it was always of the finest quality.

  At Jonah’s nod, Michael, the valet on his right, reached for the curtain, pulling back the heavy fall of fabric, and Jonah pushed the tight gray boxers he was wearing past his hips, letting them fall to the floor. Rolling his neck over his shoulders, he stepped through the parted curtain, and into a warm, golden glow of light. It bathed the long length of his nude body, and he almost laughed at the collective gasp that traveled through the crowd, the high-tech sound system allowing those on both sides of the glass to hear the other.

  James Vane, the club’s notorious owner, had warned him that there would be a considerable number of new members in tonight’s crowd, along with some seasoned regulars who were helping to guide the newcomers into the experience. Into this private, provocative world that catered to pleasure. With each step that Jonah took, women and men were rushing to get closer, pressing up against the Diamond’s glass walls to get a better look at him, their eagerness feeding his ego on a base level, while his head found the situation almost comical.

  After all, it’s not as if they’d never seen a naked man or a hard cock before. But within the hallowed walls at Vane, Jonah’s reputation was legendary, which served as the root of their fascination.

  That, and the fact that when it came to his physical looks and size, he had most definitely been blessed. He could say that without arrogance or conceit, because he knew that while it might make people desire him, it did shit when it came to the things that really mattered. Like trust, honesty, and respect. Warmth. Friendship.

  Even love.

  Yeah, that last emotion required far more than a pretty face and a big dick. Hell, it required even more than those things and a fat fucking bank account. It was a painful, eye-opening lesson that Jonah had learned the hard way, and one he wasn’t likely to forget.

  No, if anything, the older he got, the more that specific lesson burned like acid in his gut—which was why, at the age of thirty-five, he was still fucking beautiful women within the lust-fueled walls at Vane, for all the world to see. Or at least that part of the world that was lucky enough to receive an exclusive membership, and wealthy enough to afford it.

  A soft moan drew his attention away from the crowd, and Jonah shifted his gaze to the center of the Diamond, where he found a high, square bed covered in black satin sheets. A bed that was most definitely occupied. His partners for the night had taken to the stage several minutes before him and were lying in the middle of the mattress, already engaged in an act of sixty-nine that made their toned bodies look like a human jigsaw puzzle.

  Jenny Velasquez and Monica Kreskey were two of the most successful businesswomen in the San Francisco area, and while their companies competed in the marketplace, they could often be found performing together at Vane. They’d invited him to join them on more than a few occasions, but Jonah never had. They were beautiful women, and he admired their intellect and ambition, but Atlas—the company he ran with his four closest friends—often did business with both Jenny’s and Monica’s corporations. And though there weren’t many lines that Jonah didn’t cross when it came to sex, he generally steered away from screwing women he worked with.

  Today, though… Today he’d decided to cross that line and accepted tonight’s invitation. He couldn’t really explain why, except that he hadn’t been feeling like himself the past few weeks.

  Actually, he’d been bored out of hi
s head. Which meant this was likely nothing more than a grab at something different. Something that might shake him out of his funk and bring back the carefree, fun-loving persona that had become so easy for him to wear, it was like a second skin. One that hid the ugliness living inside him. The twisted, seething hatred that had become so much a part of him, it was like a physical organ in his body, giving him life.

  Or slowly killing him.

  So here I am, he thought, casting an appreciative look over the women, a slow smile kicking up the edge of his mouth. Monica currently had her tongue buried in Jenny’s waxed cunt, while Jenny sucked on Monica’s clit and fucked her with a silver vibrator. The cameras—there were several located within the Diamond, each controlled by a technician in the control booth located on the upper floor of the club—were zoomed in close on the women’s bodies, displaying tits and pussies on the elaborately framed screens that covered the room’s high walls.

  All right, ladies. Let’s shake this boredom off and get on with it.

  Looking out over the well-dressed crowd, recognizing several famous actors and musicians, Jonah bit back another low laugh. He knew that many of the patrons thought of what they were watching as performance art, justifying their kinky pastime by touting the way it pushed conservative social conventions of morality and sex. But to Jonah, this was simply the way he preferred to get his rocks off.

  And he called it what it was: an orgy for the senses. One that could be enjoyed without worrying someone would get clingy or emotional, misinterpreting good sex as something that should lead to a relationship.

  Not that he only fucked for the greedy members at Vane. He didn’t need the watching eyes to make his dick hard. Jonah had even dated a few women over the years, though the casual relationships had never been purely monogamous. It wasn’t common knowledge, but he’d shared each of those women more than once with his friend Lucas Bennett, a fellow Atlas co-owner and a regular at Vane.

  And three weeks ago, on an unusually cold summer’s evening, Jonah had shared a woman within the quiet walls of a downtown apartment. But that had been different, because he’d been doing a solid for his best friend, Gabriel Harrison. Had been helping the guy shake loose of his past, so that he could finally get off his ass and admit that he was crazy in love with his administrative assistant, Denny Abbott.

  That night, Jonah had honestly felt a spark of emotion during the sexual play—but had come to realize that it was grounded in friendship. He was happy as hell for Gabe and Denny, and he had no designs on the beautiful brunette for himself. Not when she so clearly belonged with Gabe. The event, however, had left a lasting impression on him, highlighting just how cold and calculating these little scenes of his had become, no matter how hot or explicit they played out in the Diamond.

  The club dripped of luxury and sexual decadence, but in many ways it was still his own personal version of Hell. And just like those poor souls he could remember hearing about in church when he was a little boy, Jonah was most definitely writhing in the flames.

  Carefree? Fun-loving? Yeah, that goddamn ship had frustratingly sailed, and its departure made him want to throw back his head and howl like a madman. But that couldn’t happen. Not here. Vane was the absolute last place where he could lose his cool. Because while many of those who chose to perform at the club wore masks to conceal their identities, Jonah had never bothered. No, he wanted everyone out there—all those hungry, prying eyes—to know exactly who he was. To see a man who didn’t give a shit about convention. A man who, in their eyes, didn’t give a shit about anything but his next hard screw.

  If they couldn’t see him, see Jonah Cartwright, the estranged son of the famous Carter Cartwright, then what was the point besides fucking? And while he loved sex as much as the next guy—hell, probably even more—it was something he could do in private just as well as inside this three-ring circus of expensive, elitist lust.

  It might have been a treacherous bitch from his past who had compelled him to first set foot in the place, but it was knowing that so many of the members out there watching were people who his old man kissed ass with on a daily basis that kept him coming back, year after year.

  It was often said that Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, but fuck with a man’s soul, and Jonah knew that man could be just as destructive.

  He was living proof of it.

  Ready to prove it once again, he walked to the edge of the bed, reached down to grab Jenny by the hips, and pulled her toned body toward him.

  “You ready for me?” he asked in a low voice, enjoying the sight she made. Her skin was a lovely golden brown, her long hair so dark it looked blue beneath the shimmering glow of light from the chandelier.

  Jenny slid him a slow smile as Monica knelt behind her and started kneading her breasts, the redhead’s knees on either side of Jenny’s head. “Why don’t you see for yourself?” she purred, her legs parting wide as he tugged her right to the edge of the mattress. Her pussy was bright pink and dripping with moisture, so he pushed three fingers deep inside, the easy way she accepted him telling him she was more than ready. Pulling his fingers free, he reached into one of the discreet side pockets that bordered the mattress and grabbed a condom.

  Although all of Vane’s members were rigorously tested, Jonah never fucked without latex. The last thing he wanted in this world was to knock someone up, and he knew there had been one or two of his former partners at the club who would have liked nothing more than to trap him with an unwanted pregnancy.

  “Hold on,” he grated, reaching down and positioning his cock against Jenny’s slick opening. “This is gonna be rough.”

  She cried out as he gripped her hips and thrust himself deep, and he looked at Monica, who gave him a confident smile, knowing her own turn would be coming soon. And with Lucas set to join them the moment he’d finished meeting with James, Monica would definitely be getting her fair share of attention.

  “God, Jonah,” Jenny moaned, drawing his gaze back to her dark, heavy-lidded eyes as he started to move inside her, her body jolting with each hammering thrust of his cock. “I’ve wanted this forever.”

  For just a moment, soft blond curls and a shy green gaze flashed before his eyes, but Jonah shook the image away, wanting nothing to do with it. He didn’t even know why he’d thought about her—about the little mouse of a woman they belonged to—when she was nothing more to him than a fleeting presence at the office. One that didn’t have any place in his head, especially when he was buried balls deep inside an incredible woman like Jenny Velasquez.

  But even Jenny couldn’t get away with thinking they had any kind of future together.

  Giving her a gentle smile, he slowed his pace as he warned, “Don’t do that, beautiful.”

  She blinked up at him. “Do what?”

  He placed the callused pad of his thumb against her clit and rubbed in a firm circle, hoping it would take the sting out of what he was about to tell her. “This is a one-time deal, Jen. You know that.”

  Her lips parted, and he braced, thinking she was going to argue. But whatever she read on his face changed her mind. With a resigned sigh, she lifted her arms over her head, gripping Monica’s slim waist, and gave him a challenging look. “Then make it count. Fuck me all night, until I can’t take any more and I pass out from exhaustion.”

  Shit. He’d seen Jenny in action before, so he knew exactly how much she could take. Which meant that he and Lucas were in for one hell of a long fucking night. Literally.

  And, Christ, I sound like a damn pussy for whining about it, he silently muttered, wondering what his problem was. He had a beautiful woman begging him to screw her for hours on end while hundreds of the rich and famous watched. As far as Tuesday evenings went, there were sure as hell worse ways to spend his time. And while there were many who would say that he was wasting his life with nights like this, when he could have anyone or anything that he wanted, there was just one problem with that.

  Jonah didn’t want a goddamn thin
g beyond this cold, calculated emptiness.

  This was where he was comfortable. Where the dark, seething places inside him that he constantly fought to keep buried could finally come out and play. Where they could thrive.

  Despite what his friends thought was best for him, this was exactly where Jonah planned to stay. It was where he belonged.

  And fuck anything, or anyone, that tried to take him away.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Three months later…

  Sitting at the head of the long, gleaming table in one of the conference rooms at Atlas headquarters, in downtown San Francisco, Jonah closed his eyes and slowly counted to ten. On his left, he could hear Lucas choking back a quiet laugh, and he fought the urge to kick the idiot under the table.

  On his right, with her chair pushed as far from his as she could get it without coming up against the next chair at the table, Jocelyn Brenna was busy typing away on her company laptop.

  Despite the fact that everyone at Atlas loved her, she was the reason Jonah felt ready to come out of his fucking skin.

  And Lucas, who could read him like a book, thought it was hilarious.

  Jonah didn’t work with her often, since she primarily dealt with Gabe and Denny. But Lucas had asked her to join them today, while they looked over some possible technology acquisitions—a task Lucas seemed to think was perfect for the company’s newest administrative assistant.

  Jocelyn Brenna’s intelligence was a given, and she was efficient as hell, so Jonah could see why Lucas would think highly of her, and why she was respected within the company. But he didn’t get why everyone thought she was so much fun to be around, as well as a total sweetheart. The best way Jonah could think of to describe her was “uptight little prude”—and God only knew that meant they didn’t have a lot in common.