AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I shook aside the thoughts, showered, and dressed so I could head downstairs.
Brandon was here, unloading lights from his SUV with Adam’s help. Watching them together over the last few months had been uncomfortable. When the fire happened at Adam’s, he originally went to his brother’s, but their relationship was already fragile, and a blow-out of a fight had broken a fractured bond.
Apologies had been made, and the two were working to repair years of pain, but frequently they didn’t say much when they were in the same space. Like now. It was still better than when they refused to see each other, though. That had hurt Adam more than he’d admitted.
As soon as Adam saw me, he grinned. “I thought you’d like to be here for any sharing or big reveals.”
“It’s more furniture, isn’t it?” Brandon asked. “How big a reveal is it?”
I pointed to two boxes of lights and grabbed a couple of portable screens. “Follow me and decide for yourself.” We trooped down the stairs, and I set my load aside and turned on the closest lamp we left down last night.
“Is that…” Brandon stared at the seatless chair, mouth slightly open.
“Apope chair.” Adam repeated Brooke’s response, a hint of amusement in his voice.
Brandon turned his stunned look on his brother. “You can’t actually think that.”
“He doesn’t.” I laughed. “We’ve only uncovered a few pieces so far, but…” I walked toward the next stopping point, shining a light on the various benches. I’d done a bit of research last night, in between fits of trying and failing to sleep, and confirmed that these were used for bending people over in various positions.
“Fuck me,” Brandon muttered.
I snorted. “Pretty sure that was the point, yes.”
He shook his head. “I need one of these. Talk about an amazing Valentine’s Day gift.”
“I don’t want to hear about that.” Adam stuck his fingers in his ears. “La, la, la, la, la.”
Brandon rolled his eyes. “Like you’re so sweet and innocent.”
“I’m not. But that doesn’t mean I want to picture you using one of those benches.”
“I wouldn’t be the oneonit,” Brandon said.
“La la la la la,” Adam sang louder.
Absolutely ridiculous. Maybe these two were getting along better than I’d realized. “I need to make sure none of them are part of a set, but you’re welcome to one if you want it,” I told Brandon.
“Perfect. I’ll pick it up with the lights.”
I didn’t expect him to ask for a price or let me give him one of the benches. He insisted I treat him like any paying customer, and he had a bigger budget than I did. But I would knock off something for him bringing us the lights, and just not mention it.
Once his SUV was unloaded, Brandon had to run, to make an appointment. Adam and I spent the rest of the morning setting up enough lights to get a good view of the entire basement. The space was larger than my shop, extending under Aubrey’s clothing shop next door.
With more light, Adam started recording as we uncovered and sifted through everything else. The furniture down here wasn’t tightly packed into the space. In fact, depending on how we positioned things, it was about enough to furnish this basement.
And most of it was similar to what we’d already found—benches, chaises, wicked chairs, bed frames, and a few sets of stocks—long wooden boards with holes in them for heads and wrists, meant to restrain and publicly humiliate.
Realization tickled my thoughts, but my brain was snagged on the refusal to put all these pieces into the picture they made.
Against the far wall, we found a series of silk privacy screens with delicate, gorgeous, and blatantly pornographic artwork on them. There were several chests and wooden wardrobes next to the screens, as well. Inside, we found corsets, garters, ruffled skirts, and high heels.
Aubrey was going to love this shit.
And I was picturing Brooke in the white corset with red trim, and nothing underneath it, maybe strapped to one of the crosses—
“Dude, I think there was a sex dungeon in your basement.” Adam’s comment forced me to admit what I’d been trying to ignore since we came down here.
Because— “My family built this place. My great-times-four grandfather and grandmother. No one else has owned it but my family.” And if Adam didn’t want to admit his brother had sex, Ireallydidn’t want to imagine my grandparents holding paid orgies in their basement. Besides, no one had ever mentioned it. Not my family, not the history books. I’d never even heard rumors. “I’d know if there used to be a secret brothel down here.”
