by Zoey Marcel
Brad was working tonight and her heart caught when she saw him. She shouldn’t feel any tenderness upon seeing him again after the way he treated her at their last meeting. She should only know the pain and resentment that accompanied the sight of him.
He didn’t notice her at first since the place was crowded and his expertise as a Dom was needed a few times, but once he spotted her, Chanel made certain to ignore him and put the flirting with other men into overdrive just to tick him off and show him that she no longer cared for him either and didn’t need him. She had moved on, or so he would believe.
Chanel saw Logan Weston and Judah Shaughnessy across the bar. The two men had been best friends for years and owned a lucrative cattle ranch together.
Logan was also best friends with her older sister, Jill, but Chanel sometimes wondered if he was secretly in love with Jill.
Judah had also been close friends with Jill and he’d made it more than obvious that he was crazy about her. Jill’s husband, Ben Easton hated him.
Chanel had heard rumors of some of the kink Judah and Logan were into. Some of their tastes mirrored the hardcore behavior of her former Master, Lucius.
Judah had been quite brazen about telling Jill that he wanted her in bed with Logan and him. Chanel always thought it would be interesting if the two Doms ever managed to get her feminist sister into bed with them. Who the hell would come out on top in that trio of die-hard alphas? They’d probably kill each other.
Sally swaggered over to the bar after her dance with a stranger. “Oh, this is so much fun. I’m glad I talked you into this. I should’ve brought Josh along with us and then we could’ve played with him.”
Chanel smiled and sipped her ice water. “That’s generous of you, Sally, but I’m not a dominatrix like you.”
“Oh, I think you’d make a fine one. I can’t really picture you as a bottom.”
“I can.”
Chanel turned to identify the man’s voice from behind her, smiling when she saw Judah standing there. “Get your mind out of the gutter, Judah.”
He flashed her that world-class grin of his. “You know you like it, otherwise you’d tell me to piss off like you do with some of the other guys.”
“Hm, true. Maybe I like you.”
He looked surprised and his countenance took on a lustful enthusiasm as his already sexy voice lowered and became husky. “It’s rather dangerous joking around about that kind of thing with a man who takes women seriously.”
She peeked to the side and caught Brad gawking at her from across the room out of the corner of her eye.
Good. Let him suffer.
She turned on the barstool so she faced Judah and her knees touched his body. “Maybe I wasn’t joking.”
Sally gasped. “But what about—”
“But nothing,” Chanel sternly countered. “I’m an adult and I’ve made my decision.”
Judah’s silver-blue irises shimmered with desire. His tone dropped even more and became serious. “You know what I want from you, don’t you? What we want from you, Jill?”
Chanel rolled her eyes. “You’re feeling your liquor I see. I’m not my sister, Judah, but yes, I know what you want.”
“Chanel,” Sally protested. “You already made Brad jealous, but this is—”
“I’m not scared,” Chanel insisted, meeting Judah’s ardent stare.
“Sally, if she wanted to be with Brad and his brothers she’d be with them,” Judah said, eyes never leaving Chanel’s.
“Exactly,” Chanel agreed, ignoring the bitter ache in her chest. “Brad’s an asshole and I want nothing to do with him.”
“Well, that’s good to hear,” Judah said with a smug smile. He stepped closer to her stool and placed his hands on her hips as he helped her down and smoothed his hands up and down her waist with a scorching whisper. “I’ll get Logan and we’ll take this somewhere more private.”
“Sounds good.”
* * * *
Brad had been watching Chanel all night, surprised she’d come into the club when she knew what sort of place it was and who it was geared toward.
He’d been irritated and insane with jealousy when he saw her flirting with other men and grinding on the dance floor. But then to see Judah Shaughnessy making a play for her had him even more pissed off.
Brad became thoroughly outraged when he saw Judah put his hands on her body and take her by the hand over to where Logan Weston sat with his drink. Judah whispered something into Logan’s ear and they led Chanel away to one of the private rooms.
Brad clenched his fists, trying to steady himself as a newbie hounded him with every question under heaven about BDSM. He normally enjoyed teaching others about the lifestyle and was always patient, but seeing Chanel come here tonight had him wanting to run over and talk to her.
But he couldn’t do either, because he was on the clock. All he could do was watch her walk off with two other cowboys to go and do god only knew what behind closed doors.
He’d heard of the kinds of things that Judah and Logan participated in. They were into hardcore BDSM and some dangerous edge play, though they weren’t the sort of men to push a woman into doing anything she didn’t want.
Maybe Chanel was only trying to make him jealous. While flattering to think she still had feelings for him after the hasty way he’d sent her away when he found out she was mated to another shifter, Brad wanted to paddle her fanny for messing with his head and putting her attentions toward other men when she belonged to him and his brothers. It wasn’t right or fair, damn it.
His heart ached when the thought occurred to him that perhaps she never really cared for him as much as he’d originally thought. Maybe this was just her way of moving on and purging herself of the memory of him, or perhaps she’d already moved on and was simply enjoying the taste of BDSM and ménage that he’d introduced her to. It drove him crazy to think of anyone else topping her. She was his and Dawson’s and Cory’s.
Sally Moore marched over toward him, appearing concerned, determined, and more than a little annoyed. She stood with folded arms and waited until the newbie had gotten all the questions out of his system before walking off and leaving the two to converse.
“What can I do for you, Sally?” Brad asked, glancing anxiously toward the hall Chanel had disappeared down with Logan and Judah.
“You can start by pulling your head out of your ass and realizing how much bitches are worth. They see what they want and go after it until they have it. Yes, we may be stubborn, irritating, and at times downright vindictive, but you’ll never meet a stronger woman. We stand by our men and fight for what we believe in. Yes, we’re independent, but we have beautiful minds that no one can take away from us. Yes, we’ll challenge you and call you on all your bullshit, but if you respect us and cherish us you’ll have our love and loyalty forever,” Sally ranted. “Now I don’t know what sort of lame-ass fight you had with Chanel, but she’s too stubborn to let you see her cry and tell you how much she misses you and wants to be with you. I know you’re all alpha and stubborn, too, but if you don’t put aside your stupid male pride and go and talk to her soon, you’ll lose her. Probably forever.”
Brad became even more empowered by her speech. He had every intention of barging into whatever room they were in and getting Chanel, but the memory of another man’s mating mark on her gave him pause. He shook his head sadly. “She belongs to someone else.”
Sally rolled her eyes. “She belongs to you, knucklehead.”
True enough.
“Now go get her before they get to see her naked.”
He didn’t like the sound of that. The fear that another man would ever get to see her naked after him was enough to light the fire under his heels.
* * * *
Chanel’s heart pounded in her chest when she entered one of the private rooms with Logan and Judah. Certainly they were hot and undoubtedly skilled in bed, but despite their undeniable handsomeness and rumored expertise, she couldn’t help wishing
Brad, Dawson, and Cory were here with her instead.
She recalled with avid sorrow how they’d sent her away after using her just because she had a bite mark on her shoulder. Had they been a bit nicer, she might have put aside her apprehension and opened up to them.
The memory of what Brad had called her rekindled her anger toward him and strengthened her resolve. She would sleep with Logan and Judah and teach that high and mighty bastard a lesson. He would regret letting her go and watching her slip through his hands as other men savored what he would never have again. Served him right after what he did to her and how he hurt her.
Logan looked at her seriously. “Tell me the truth, Chanel. Are you doing this to make Brad Taylor jealous?”
Chanel tried to keep her face from conveying this truth to him. “Don’t sell yourself short, Logan. You know I like cowboys and everyone knows you boys are red hot.”
“Don’t misunderstand me. I’m flattered that you want us, but after the way Brad carried you out over his shoulder at Sally’s Christmas party, I thought maybe something had happened between you two and his brothers.”
“We had a little fling and now it’s over.” She tried to keep the bitterness out of her tone. “Besides you guys don’t really want me. You wish it was my sister here tonight with you instead.”
Logan stiffened and his face became solemn. “How is Jill?”
“She’s good,” Chanel replied.
“Is she happy?” he asked.
“I think so.”
Logan seemed faintly pleased and deeply heartbroken at the same time.
Judah sounded jealous. “Is she still engaged to that douche bag?”
Chanel glanced behind her to see the tension on his face. “Joe seemed like a nice guy to me, but yes, she’s still engaged to him. If you like her so much, then why would you settle for me?”
“Why would you be willing to sleep with your sister’s best friends?” Logan retorted.
Chanel became defensive. “Believe me I wouldn’t be doing this if I thought Jill felt anything for either of you.”
Logan looked crushed before a wall of coldness rose to shield her from his true emotions.
She studied him curiously and turned to see the same look of devastation on Judah’s face. “You’re in love with her, aren’t you? You both are. How long have you felt that way about Jill?”
Logan turned. “This was a mistake. Let’s go, Judah.”
“No, wait,” Judah protested. He looked down at Chanel. “You’re trying to get over Brad and we’re stuck on Jill. We’re all lonely tonight, so why don’t we just comfort each other?”
Chanel stared at him thoughtfully. “You’re not worried about ruining your chances with my sister?”
Judah’s eyes saddened with misery. “If I thought I had any kind of chance with Jill I wouldn’t be doing this.”
Chanel sighed. “Okay.”
“You’ll let us do whatever we want with you?” Judah asked.
“Yes, within reason.” She turned to face Logan when he walked up to her.
Judah ran his hands over her hips from behind her as he murmured in her ear. “You’ll take us both at once and let us dominate you?”
Memories of her three loves and of Lucius flooded her mind. Having a ménage tonight would remind her of her cowboys and being dominated would bring up old memories of her former Master. The flashbacks of any of those men were bound to be bittersweet.
“Do your worst,” she said confidently, shoving aside her grief and apprehension.
Logan’s eyes reflected sorrow and she knew he would see only Jill’s face tonight. The same was undoubtedly true of Judah.
Logan put his arms around Chanel, mouth swooping down over hers. The kiss was damned good, but it felt wrong to have another man’s lips on her. Why did she have to feel disloyal to the Taylors? They turned her out. She didn’t owe them anything.
She felt Judah’s kiss in between her shoulder blades just before he brought both her arms behind her back.
“You miss it, don’t you?” a voice queried from within her mind. “The lifestyle. The things I did to you. The way I made you feel.”
Lucius.
“Get out of my head. You’re not real. You’re just a haunting memory,” Chanel shot back.
“Oh, I’m very real, Chanel. Make no mistake about it. And I have not yet begun to haunt you.”
She shivered at his threat, plunging into raw panic when she felt Judah shackle her wrists together from behind. Who the hell started off with handcuffs?
Images of Lucius’s glowing yellow eyes passed through her mind. The sound of Trevor crying, the feel of cold metal prohibiting her from reaching the son who needed her and the agonizing feel of bones fracturing in a desperate struggle were all very real to her as they returned to the forefront of her mind. Darkness. Betrayal. Ultimate suffering.
Chanel’s spirit screamed inside her, becoming even more troubled and despondent when she felt Logan’s fingers at the fly of her jeans as he loosened the button and lowered her zipper. They weren’t her men. She wanted her men.
“No!” She yanked her head back, freeing herself from Logan’s thieving mouth as her head made impact with Judah’s solid chest. “I can’t do this! I’m sorry. Take the fucking cuffs off me now.”
Damn Brad, damn Dawson, and damn Cory. But most of all, damn Lucius.
Once she was free of the cuffs, Chanel rushed out of the room, colliding with Brad on her way out.
“They’re just handcuffs, baby,” Judah called after her.
“Brad,” she breathed. His presence relieved her and made her feel ashamed at the same time.
Brad gripped her arms possessively, glaring at the other two men. “Don’t ever call her ‘baby’ again.”
Logan looked from Brad to Chanel and then back at Brad again. “She told us it was over between you two.”
“It’s not over,” Brad corrected him harshly. He looked as though it took every ounce of willpower from within him not to knock their heads clean off for daring to touch her and almost sleeping with her.
“You have our sincerest apology,” Logan told him before heading out of the room. He seemed relieved over the interruption.
Judah followed, looking annoyed and possibly relieved as well.
Chanel knew she was hot. If they were that pleased about getting out of this situation then they must have fallen hard for her sister. Too bad for them Ben wasn’t into sharing.
Brad looked down at Chanel, keeping his hands on her bare arms. “What the hell do you think you’re doing giving yourself to other men?”
“I didn’t sleep with them. Not that it’s any of your business.” She jerked free of his grasp, though her arms mourned the absence of his warm, powerful hands.
“I thought we made it perfectly clear that we wanted you.”
“Tell me, Brad, was this before or after you threw me out and insulted me?”
“It was a mistake and I’ve regretted it ever since. We all have.”
“Oh, you’re damned right it was a mistake and you can just keep on regretting it.”
Brad opened his mouth to speak.
Lucius chuckled in her mind. “That’s right, Chanel. You tell off the big bad Dom. I’m the only one you submit to.”
“Shut up!” she growled.
Brad’s eyes flashed with anger and his hands were on her again, gripping her arms tightly. “Don’t tell me to shut up. You had no right coming in here with them.”
“No right? Screw you, Brad. I have every right to do whatever the hell I want. You’re not in charge of me.”
“I’d like to be.”
“Over my dead body,” Lucius snarled in her head.
“Yeah, well, tough,” Chanel snapped. “Just because you don’t want me anymore, doesn’t mean other men don’t.”
“I still want you, Chanel. We all do.”
“But you don’t respect me. I’m just some bitchy little plaything to you. Well, guess what, mister, I ma
y not be good enough for you, but that doesn’t mean I’m not good enough for another man.”
“You’re perfect for me, Chanel, and my brothers. We want you bad and we’d show you just how bad if you’d ever give us a chance.”
“Oh, don’t try to blame me for any of this. It’s your fault we’re not together, not mine. I gave you and your freaky brothers a chance.”
“Hardly. The second we let you out of our sight, you went and got yourself mated to some stranger in Vegas. How the hell is that my fault?”
“Yes, she’s my mate, asshole. What happened in Vegas doesn’t concern you,” Lucius objected.
“I already told you I didn’t betray you. The claiming was an accident and I didn’t fuck anyone.” Chanel raised her voice and pulled free of Brad’s hold on her arms again.
“Well, you shouldn’t have gone to Vegas without us, or been drinking with a stranger.”
“Keep talking, Brad. You’ll never get me back now.” She tried to exit the room, but he followed her into the hall and pushed her up against the wall. The sudden motion turned her on and she felt her submissive side coming on.
“We’re having a conversation, Chanel. Don’t walk away from me when I’m talking to you.”
Chanel didn’t lash out at him. She stood paralyzed by the aggressive alpha in front of her and felt her will making way for his as she became trapped by his dark, hypnotic gaze.
“Are you really going to take that from him?” Lucius asked.
Brad’s tone became a mesmerizing whisper as he played with her hair. “If you want me to respect you then you have to respect me back.”
He was right. He was amazing. Her breath caught when his fingertips feathered over her heaving cleavage.
“For someone who wants nothing to do with the lifestyle, you sure seem fascinated by it,” he said in a hushed, sultry timbre as he crammed his finger down her corset top and groped her breast.
A feeble mewl slipped from her and she relaxed her body, feeling it come alive beneath his feverish touch and prepare for his will.
“You called me Master that time I took you in bed. Do you think of me that way, Chanel—as your Master?”