𝑒𝓈𝒸𝒶𝓅𝑒

@mccnphase​ | for Stevie

Once her drink was safely set on the table, Camille let out a sigh as she practically collapsed into her seat. Tucked away in a quieter corner, she was looking forward to a drink (or several) after a long day. There was so much going on in the wake of the ill-fated party, she hardly knew which way was up anymore. Everything seemed to pass in a blur. But now at least, all that could be put by the side. “God, I need this,” she muttered before lifting her glass and taking a long sip of the margarita she’d ordered. Looking up at Stevie, she couldn’t help the crooked grin that tugged at her lips. “I feel like a margarita machine wouldn’t be the most appropriate addition to the office, but I think it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, either.”

.

Adam + Open

Adam was used to spending most of his time alone. He welcomed it, really. It beat wasting his time with people that weren’t worthy of it — those men and women at Rosewood who think they want a real experience only to run away crying when he showed what his particular brand of Dominance is all about. His music was as loud as ever, his favorite way to cover the muffed chatter that he could hear from the dungeon when the guests decided to get loud, and he was distracted planning the next scene he’d try the next time he was lucky enough to come across a submissive willing to be his experiment …or when he trained one. He didn’t even notice them approach at first.

The Dominant didn’t bother to cover his groan when he caught the other person with the corner of his eye, moving to turn down the music (’Feels like the first time’ by Foreigner, 1977, a classic). He remained silent for a moment, eyes moving up and down his guest, studying them, looking for something about them to pique his interest. Nothing yet. “So?” Adam crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned against the wall closest to him. “Are you lost, or…?”

.

stevie didn’t like to wander. it showed a lack of direction and purpose. she liked to know where she was going and she liked to do it with confidence. unfortunately, if she wanted to do that she had to know where everything was, which required said wandering she so despised. she tried to look as nonchalant and bored as she could, eyes flicking from one thing to another as if she couldn’t care less when really she was making a mental note of everything. she knew there were darker parts to the manor that she wasn’t fully aware of or knew about. she hadn’t decided if she was going to explore those parts because she wasn’t sure that she would really need them, but it seemed as though her mindless wandering had made that decision for her.

THE YOUNGEST SON of the marchant family was prone to irritation and aggravation, since he held an arrogance within his personality that coated many of his characteristics. before he had left his home country and found stability within england, any associates of his knew of this arrogance all too well — he consistently turned situations and events into challenges or competitions, hating whenever someone attempted to challenge his judgement. even though he didn’t necessarily care for such small things, like a simple cup of black coffee he could’ve gotten anywhere, the other individual’s response to his actions caused a bit of an anger to rise within his body. of course, this is what would happen when augustin decided he wanted to get something for himself for the beginning of the day. the man who gave him such an attitude held no more of a commanding presence than augustin himself did, however he did assume the other to be dominant, judging from his appearance. regardless, this didn’t save the other from receiving just as much attitude back.

“are you that desperate for it, mon beau?” augustin responded, taking the drink within his rough hand, giving the individual a smirk as he did so. “it’s a shame, if you were sweeter i might’ve just let you have it. probably would’ve hit on you, too. so disappointing.” there was a hint of malice within his voice as he spoke, not caring if he insulted the other.

under normal circumstances, elias would’ve been much more courteous. he often wasn’t one who was unnecessarily unkind or indecent to those he was only just meeting, but this didn’t mean his temper was not a short one. he’d learned not to be quick to frustration and anger because he believed those to be features of a child something the man before him was not short of being. elias rolled his eyes at the other in utter disbelief. he just wanted to go to fucking work. couldn’t he just have one normal day? he almost wanted to back away and forget it all ever even happened, but he was all too eager for a chance to let out the rage and tension collecting inside of him. 

@mccnphase​

The bookstore wasn’t usually a place that Yadriel spent any amount of time in, Raphael and Luca could pretend all they liked that Rosewood Manor wasn’t just little more than a glorified fuck haven, but he found the sheer amount of effort they put into it exhausting. For god’s sake—he was a sub breaker, a dom that had been hired solely to punish and discipline the submissives at the estate that had been deemed ‘unruly’ by its heads, he didn’t even need to get started on the fucking human trafficking business they’d started on top of everything else. Still, it wasn’t the lure of working in a living and breathing sex mansion that had drawn him in, he was here for his own reasons and they had nothing to do with the wants and desires of Laurent and Melody Brodaire.

No. Just their gorgeous little daughter.

Still, he had a job to do, and a role to uphold, and that was why he found himself at the onsite bookstore. Raphael Doefoot was pissed as all hell due to the fire that had broken out a few days ago, Yadriel’s duties as a sub breaker had been temporarily diverted so that Raphael could have him focus on his investigation instead. The man was damn certain that the inferno had been an act of arson (and for once, Yadriel found himself pleasantly surprised by his unusual show of intelligence), and he seemed to want nothing more than to find the culprit at large and string them up by their unmentionables. Torture and interrogation were two things that Yadriel had always taken to like a fish to water, if Raphael wanted to pay him to make his way from the bottom of the manor all the way to the very top, then who the hell was he to complain? 

Perhaps it would even allow him to seek out Sophia again, and the asshole whose arm and face he’d mangled just shortly before the fire had started. For now though, he entered the bookshop—startlingly quaint and out of place in an estate as darkly luxurious as Rosewood—and he approached the first employee he saw, a slender, dark-haired boy that Yadriel couldn’t recall having seen before. Certainly not a disobedient sub, then. “Hey—c’mere, would you?” He jutted his chin towards the other male, his brows arching expectantly, clearly he meant it as a direct order. “Got some questions to ask you—hızlı bir şekilde. I don’t need you wasting my time.”

elias didn’t deal with many people at his job the majority of the time. most people who came into the bookstore didn’t really ask him many questions unless they were his friends. most tended to keep to themselves and find what they were looking for on their own. often times, what they were looking for was a quiet corner to fuck in. elias didn’t mind those customers as long as they didn’t leave behind a mess for him to clean––then he despised them. he rarely bothered to stop those who wanted a exhibitionistic thrill, but he kept note of those who had no respect for the people who had to clean up after them. those ones he liked to embarrass (and sometimes, even then, that didn’t accomplish much). this meant that he was familiar with most of the people that came and went through the bookstore. he was even more so familiar with the ones who actually spoke to him.

elias had almost been late to work that morning, having slept through some of his alarms before fighting someone over a stupid cup of coffee. not only that, but the previous night had left him––and everyone else––pretty tense. he was really hoping today he wouldn’t have to interact with anyone. he didn’t know how easy it would be for him to put on his ‘happy customer service’ face and avoid getting himself in trouble by those who were particularly fond of establishing dominance. this was why he cringed internally when he heard the demand of another male.

@mccnphase​

After the whole fiasco that happened at the event. Jayden was grateful that Petal didn’t get severely hurt. He didn’t know what he would have done without her. In order to forget their troubles from earlier, he decides that maybe a full day with just the two of them would be something of Petal’s interest. Least he hoped that it would be anyway. Jayden picks up the picnic basket full of food and makes his way over to Petal’s room. He knocks on the door but even be for she was answering he was already calling out to her. “Did someone order room service?” Jayden questions as he even chuckles to himself at his little joke. 

-

          Charlie lingered around the edge of the forest, making small talk with anyone and everyone. She’d taken on a mission of her own invention and started to interview everyone about what they’d seen, where they thought the fire had started. She hadn’t actually learned much, but it gave her focus, instead of allowing her to wander around feeling scared and sorry for herself. 

           She’d just finished chatting with a couple when Stevie appeared, and Charlie quickly latched on to the other’s arm.  She was grateful for the company of someone she knew. “Yes, absolutely. I haven’t really heard any delicious gossip yet, but I have discovered where someone’s been hiding all the booze they could sneak out before the place exploded.”

seeing charlie was the comfort stevie needed. a familiar face among many strange ones in the aftermath of chaos. the sight of charlie’s bright features made stevie almost feel normal again. it took everything in stevie not to tug charlie away from everything and just run. when she spoke, stevie mouth broke into a grin.

~~

Marie shrugged, “who said it was someone? We don’t know until they stop this thing. It’s a waiting game after this, and if I were Luca and Raphael and it was someone. I damn sure wouldn’t let any of my guest know about it.” She smirked, “Life is a bitch and her kink is wearing a strap-on.” Marie nodded, “yeah, I know. It’s a lot going on right now fueling that but you can’t do anything dumb. It’s not worth it right now. Enough shit going on for people to worry about.”

“Doesn’t mean you don’t still owe me for last time though.” She smirked though as he took it and nodded, “yeah, you need to unwind a bit.” Her brow raised, “what’s keeping you here? A half burnt fucking building?” She said a noiseless snort escaping her nose. “When some people are on edge and dealing with something like this, the last thing want is to get high. You get emotional already. Angry, scared, and anything else. And then you lose control of those sometimes. Seen it happen to one too many addicts in my day. Trying to feel numb, doesn’t help anyone.” She smirked taking the blunt and her own hit off it before passing it back. “Maybe we can call it even on the last time too.”

-

“what, like it was an entity that lit up the entire estate?” he quipped, dead set on believing something so horrible must’ve been premeditated. “do you think it was a guest? or someone pretending to be a guest tonight?” elias shivered, looking away for a moment. he snorted at her comment, “well, life needs to get better kinks. pegging is starting to become vanilla.” he pondered what ‘something dumb’ entailed. for him he could think of a whole list (crying in front of people, showing any semblance of fear, etc.), but he wasn’t sure she was thinking of the same general idea. “don’t worry, i will remain as healthy and alive as i was when i ran from that fire,” he promised.

@mccnphase​ jett x elias

Jett could feel the smallest bit of panic bubbling beneath the surface. He hadn’t seen him since their time hidden away from the party. When things gotten crazy, Jett was expected to help those out of the manor. He was so focused on it that he hadn’t seen if Elias had made it out or where he was. It was that thought that was bothering him the most, which wasn’t a surprise to him. They’d only known each other for a short amount of time, but in that time Jett had come to really feel protective of him. Especially considering the secret Elias carried around, and that he was able to figure out. In the middle of the garden, he stood, looking out for that familiar face when he saw a blur, a body running not far from where he was standing.

He recognized the costume, “Elias!” He shouted, but it didn’t seem like the other heard him or could hear him. Jett didn’t take long to react as he started running after him. “Elias!” He shouted even louder, trying to get his attention, but nothing was working. He was going to have to catch him, and so he did with his hand reaching out and grabbing onto his arm. He’d stopped him somewhere between the garden and the forest. “Hey! Hey.” He said, a bit breathless, his blue eyes scanning Elias’s face, he could see how scared he was. Of course, the other was trying to hide it, but Jett was pretty observant. He wished he had gotten to him sooner. “Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?” He asked out of clear concern for him.

elias’s blood pumped through his veins as he was fleeing the scene, nothing on his mind but to run. run. he was scared shitless and he didn’t want anyone to see him. god––if anyone saw him with fear written all over his face he’d feel so insecure. so exposed. he was tired of hiding, but he was even more tired of feeling weak. he wanted to be far away from everything. he wanted to hide and cower. he wanted to do everything he was afraid of showing to anyone else. he was so focused on escape, so determined to just get away that he didn’t hear jett.

Emilia smiled at the sentiment, even if she doubted she’d ever see a world in which all Dominants behaved like Petal. It was far too easy to maintain everything the way it is and continue to use submissives the way they did. Maybe it was a defeatist position, but she’d done far too much dreaming in her life before, and it was time for a little realism. It would be necessary if she wanted to stay in Rosewood a little longer to help out her other submissive friends free themselves the way she did. The Latina chuckled at Petal’s gesture, but quickly linked her pinky with hers, finding it all too endearing to resist, “it’s a promise, then. And don’t worry, I trust you. I’ve met some questionable people in my time, but I can’t possibly imagine you being as manipulative as you’d have to be to do all this only to betray me later.” Other people, sure, and maybe she was putting too much faith into a Dominant she’d just met, but the girl seemed far too genuine for something like that. “well, duh, who could ever resist a face like this, am I right?” She teased to distract them from the overall raw honesty of the moment. It was easier like that.

There’s another laugh, followed by a shake of her head, “you’re not tiny, you’re fun-sized,” she corrected the Domme, partially defending herself — she was almost as fun-sized as Petal was, anyway.  Emmy was extremely thankful for that moment, a monumental shift in her night that she badly needed but wasn’t all that hopeful for. How many times had a Dominant ever made her laugh so naturally before? “Careful with what you say or I might start taking advantage.”

“Training? Seriously? I doubt you ever needed training to charm a girl. Or anyone for that matter,” she said in slight disbelief, though perhaps she shouldn’t, If anyone knew all too well the lengths people would go to to teach the younger generation about the arts of BDSM, it was her. Emilia did notice the quick look coming from Petal, but she hardly felt the same she did back in the mansion. It was a different kind of look, more so of admiration than hunger. It was a good. “I loved these parties before I came here, I used to dream of going to all the greatest Hollywood parties and be the cause of envy of every other woman who looked at me… but I guess they feel too much like work now. Thank you do, you look beautiful too,” she smiled sincerely, eyes never leaving the Dominant. Emmy couldn’t help but chuckle at Petal slapping her shoulder playfully as the girl looked down, “why wouldn’t be okay, silly? It’s the best part of my night. If anything I wish I could have more moments like this.”

-

emmy returning the childishly innocent gesture of a pinky promise made petal’s heart swell. she felt like this moment was completely separate from everything that had happened that entire night. like this was their little section of solace and no one could enter their bubble and ruin it. to hear that emilia trusted her was a relief. she didn’t expect that trust and emilia had no real reason to believe petal deserved that trust. sure, petal had been nice and hadn’t done anything to imply that she wasn’t worth trusting, but she was a dom. one didn’t need to do much as a dom to prove untrustworthy. “i guess if i wanted to be an awful person, i wouldn’t have to go through all the niceties. i mean that’s what dom’s do, right? take what they want and leave nothing in their wake? it’s a shame. i’ve never known things to be this way. i guess i’ve had the privilege of not paying attention,” she sighed sadly. she felt guilty for never noticing. it showed her ignorance and her unfair advantage. petal giggled at her words. “well, certainly not me. that’s for sure,” she responded.

“oh psh. same thing. fun-sized is like the worst candy size anyway. king-sized are the ones that are most desirable. i don’t mind being tiny anyway. if you haven’t yet noticed, it has many advantages. the only thing is, i’ve been picked up and thrown over shoulders my fair share of times. six foot and up people really love showing their leverage,” she shrugged. “advantage? oh please. as if.”

THERE’S SOMETHING    captivating about the other. like a siren she sings to elena and willingly she listens to her song. so easily elenas attention is short lived. often she finds herself shuffling through partners in a dizzying blur of faces and names. yet, one constant. small frame hovers over her now, stevie neatly tucked underneath her swallowed in a plush duvet. 

SHE LOOKS    angelic, untouched, it drives elena mad. for she’s a demon of the flesh. a slender finger hooks into the small gap of the bubblegum pink collar she wore and she gives a tug. her other hand reaches down to knit her fingers into her dark hair. the bell neatly hung on the collar giving a rattle of protest. “ you wouldn’t lie to me, would you? ” she begins dangerously. “ i saw you looking at her while you worked. i’ll fucking kill her. you know that. ” she murmurs. the threat festering from her own insecurities.  @mccnphase​ ft. stevie

stevie enjoyed the plush comfort of elena’s warm bed sheets, the ones she returned to most consistently. safe wasn’t quite the right word to describe the way the surroundings felt to her, rather familiar, which was a close second and often mistaken as the other. she was sleepy from a long day at work and elena’s place felt like the right direction to head in––stevie had a habit of avoiding her own bed as often as possible. she was surrounding herself with the familiarity, the cheap knock off of the safety she so craved, when the other’s finger looped into her collar. she was expecting it to be the initiation of round two––at least until the other began to speak.

elias’s day was already off to a poor start, which wasn’t saying much considering the male was very quick to irritation and dislike. it didn’t help that there was residual tension from the party he almost wished he didn’t attend. almost. he didn’t normally order black coffee with nothing in it (frankly he didn’t think there was anything wrong with sugary coffee), but he desperately needed pure caffeine. he hadn’t slept much and he was already running a bit late to his shift at the bookstore––of course. he was risking it with this coffee. he hoped since the shop seemed emptier than usual that it would go by quickly, but an empty shop meant less staff on duty. this meant it didn’t go much faster (which is no one’s fault but elias’s for assuming it would). he stood with his back against the wall and his eyes trained on his phone, eyes flicking from his messages to the time frantically. he needed this coffee now or else he was going to have to ditch it and head to work if he wanted to be on time. 

stevie’s night had been far from what she was hoping. she felt frustrated and she knew she wasn’t the only one who’s night had taken a turn for the worse. she figured she could use some time with someone she was close to and comfortable with––and she figured charlie needed the same. she was eager to see her friend and to maybe complain about everything in a judgement-free zone. hopefully even end the night at one of their places with face masks and bad tv. 

elias had finally calmed down from the events of the night, looking to make sure his friends and those he cared about were okay. he was mindlessly walking through the area, making his way back towards the woods. he stopped every once in a while if he saw someone he knew, checking in with them to see if they were alright. he was glad to see that they were alive and well, for their wellbeing had been a worry in the back of elias’s mind all night. as he came closer to the woods he saw someone who didn’t seem to be doing as well as the people he’d run into. he jogged to get closer, finding bambi hugged close to the woods and crying. he approached her calmly, hoping not to frighten her.

“I should have told you where I was going. I’m sorry it was just a mess.” Eryk didn’t want to let go of her. He was afraid that when he did he would wake up and this reunion would just be a dream. His brain trying to make everything better. It had been a mess, when the scandal broke. He had left without saying goodbye to anyone. He figured it was what everyone had wanted. The news would forget about him, and slowly everyone else would too. He was glad that his sister wasn’t one of those people.  “He probably doesn’t even care, where his children are. He’s too worried about the election. Do you know mom told me that I should apologize to him?” 

-

“no! no, it’s okay! i completely understand. besides, i’m a sleuth. i found you anyway,” she teased. she was happy that he was glad to see her. she felt like her arrival here was more than worth it and that she’d made the right decision. she was even more happy that she would no longer have to spend time away from him, wondering if she could have done something to help.

~

Marie raised a brow and pointed to the inferno before them, “because that isn’t an attack against Luca and Raphael? The biggest way to hurt them is to make their customers and the people that trust their security team not feel safe. Whoever did this, they knew what they were doing. Life fucks everyone, and people that are angry about it, like whoever did this to Rosewood, that’s them trying to fuck life back by attacking someone. Life still fucked them and they didn’t win a damn thing back for themselves. Something to talk about that will eventually get back to Luca and believe… they don’t want their names to reach him.” She nodded but reached over patted him on the back. “Almost… that’s the key word. You’re still here and getting all pissed off about it isn’t going to do yourself or anyone any good right now.”

She pulled a joint from behind her ear and handed it to him. “Here, on the house. Don’t expect it again. That’s good shit I just handed you so don’t be ungrateful.” Her brows raised, “you’re not obligated to be here, if you wanna go… go.” Marie shrugged, “to get my mind off all of this, yeah I’d probably really enjoy a good fuck right now. My night was supposed to be pretty profitable and now no one’s going to want get fucked up anymore.” 

-

elias let out a heavy sigh. she was absolutely right and he hated it. he hated that an attack on them was an attack on him and his friends. it made him feel weary and unconfident, which of course he hated. “if this is what fucking life back means, then never mind. i don’t know anyone––who is objectively a good person––who would want to hurt innocent people. whatever, it’s just––” he huffed, shaking his head. his thoughts were so jumbled and he felt tired. “i hope they figure out who it is. this stinks,” he grumbled. of course she was right... again. she often was. this time, he admitted it. “you’re right, i guess. it’s just hard to come down from all the emotions, you know?” he replied, relaxing his shoulders a bit.

Roxana stood within the forest for some time now, easily slipping between the trees when a dom or anyone else came close to her. She wasn’t in the mood to deal with anyone, with the fire leaving her as uneasy as it was. It seemed most weren’t bothered by it, but this was her home, and thus she was very concerned for what would happen once it was put out. The worrying made her anxious as she fiddled with the ribbons on her outfit. Having forgotten she was dressed up for the party, though it wasn’t the best for standing out in the wood at night. The entire situation has left her in a really terrible mood, and cold. Of course, knowing her luck, things were bound to get worse for her.

When she heard the voice from behind her she knew just how low her luck had gotten. “Apparently.” She said, arms crossing over her chest. She just had to come and make her night even worse? “Don’t you have other people to bother? Like doms? I’m sure there are plenty waiting for their dicks to be sucked.”

maybe what stevie had said had come out a bit too harsh. unfortunately, she wasn’t one for apologizing. she hated admitting when she was wrong, just like the little brat she was. she crossed her arms over her chest and gave a bored sigh. she nearly laughed at the other’s comment. “it’s rich to me that you think that’s some sort of insult,” she smirked, looking the other up and down. “couldn’t i say the same to you?” she inquired, quirking a brow. she swished her hair over her shoulder and shrugged.

stevie had been drifting through clusters of people, trying to tune out their words. she no longer wanted to hear about the events of the night. she was tired and wound up and she hated when she showed fear. it made her feel weak. of all the emotions she harbored and shamelessly displayed, fear was not one of them. that one she hid. very few got to see it. tonight, she didn’t have control over it and this made her angry. she was brushing past groups, bumping into one person or another. these people were frazzled, energy too unstable for stevie’s liking, but it wasn’t their fault.