by Avery Gale
“What’s Bode doing to you, Spitfire?” Without moving her fork, she turned to him, eyes wide and pupils dilating quickly. He loved that look. She might have taken the submissive training class in London, but she didn’t have any practical experience. It was going to be a joy to set the submissive in her free. “I asked you a question, Colbie, and I expect an answer.”
She took a deep breath as she visibly tried to push back against her growing arousal. With practice, it would be easier for her to focus while her body screamed for release. But right now, her brain was fogged to the point she couldn’t do more than blink at him like a deer caught in headlights.
Liam knew when Bode stilled his movements by the slight sagging of her shoulders. He knew the relief was a double-edged sword. A part of her regretted the loss of Bode’s touch, but the good girl in her knew she needed to answer his question. “His hand was… well, his fingers were… fuck-a-dilly circus.”
Without giving her a chance to finish, Liam turned her until she faced him. “Try again, Spitfire, and this time, without the foul language. You’ll earn yourself a lot of time over our laps if you don’t exorcise profanity from your speech.” Surprise and rebellion followed one another quickly in her eyes before he saw reluctant acceptance take their place.
“That must be a Dom thing. I’ve heard Tobi say her husbands get all bent out of shape about her language. Not that it seems to have made much difference to hear Gracie tell it. And Deacon always went off the deep end about cursing, too. What is that about anyway? Is it in the Dom handbook or something? Some sort of Universal Dominant Commandment? Holy hell….o, I should probably just not talk. I haven’t had to be a prissy debutante in a long time, and let’s face it, I never was any good at it, anyway.” Aside from her interrogation, this was the most he’d ever heard her say. When he glanced at Bode, he could see the other man was as surprised and amused as he was.
Liam couldn’t hold in his laughter any longer. “I promise we aren’t trying to turn you into a prissy debutant. What we want from you isn’t anything close to propriety. Foul language isn’t particularly becoming for anyone.”
“We won’t care if you use fuck in the proper context.” Bode grinned when she blinked her eyes in confusion. “For example, ‘Master, would you fuck me, please?’ would be perfectly acceptable.”
Liam was relieved to hear her giggle. The tinkling sound of joy was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard.
“I see. So, if it benefits you, then it’s okay?”
“Yes,” Bode agreed, “I’d say that about covers it.”
Chapter Six
COLBIE WAS GOING batshit crazy. The caretaker and his wife were out of town, so she hadn’t been able to start working in the garage. Liam and Bode had stopped discussing her return to Gus’ after she’d hounded them for three hours. And her attempt to circumvent them by pleading her cause to Kent West had proven to be a huge mistake. It turns out their claim to not be full-time Doms wasn’t entirely accurate.
After their talk last night, they’d refused to let her make a decision about exploring the lifestyle until she’d slept on it… alone. She didn’t know about them, but she hadn’t gotten much sleep after their discussion. Who could possibly sleep after discussing all manners of kink with two men so hot, she wondered if they’d burn her fingers? And she wasn’t ashamed to admit getting herself off had been more than a passing thought. But when she’d dug around in her bag, she’d discovered every single one of her toys missing. Bode had returned her freshly laundered clothing while she was rifling through the smallest bag. She hadn’t noticed him leaning against the doorframe until he chuckled.
“Problems?” When she growled in frustration, he set the basket aside and moved to stand in front of her. “If you’re looking for your toys, you aren’t going to find them.”
“I told you she’d be looking for those. It’s never good to wind up a sub and then leave them to their own devices. They tend to take matters in their own hands—literally.” Liam’s amused voice sounded from behind her. She turned and looked behind him, wondering how he’d gotten into the room without her seeing him enter. “There’s a second exit. You didn’t think Kent and Kyle would leave their most precious possession without a second means of escape, do you?”
“To be honest, I hadn’t had time to think about it, but I did wonder why neither of you used this room.” Bode was surprised the question hadn’t come up during their earlier conversation.
“We’ve been waiting for you, Storeen.” Bode knew his words surprised her, but sometimes the truth is very simple.
“We are looking forward to sharing this room with you, Spitfire, but we are men of our word, and despite the fact I’m fucking dying to get my hands on you, it’s not happening tonight. We want you to think about what we’ll expect from you.” Liam’s posture might have looked relaxed, but she could sense the tension pulsing around him.
“Not everyone is cut out for this life, sweetness. We aren’t interested in a 24/7 arrangement, but we’re Doms, and that will likely affect all of our interactions.”
She was wound too tight to temper the snark in her tone when she asked, “So, what exactly does that mean? What’s the difference?”
“Careful, Spitfire, we might decide to keep track of punishments, and you’d be racking them up at a remarkable rate if you’d already said yes.” If she’d already said yes, he and Bode would have been providing the relief she’d been seeking from her battery-operated boyfriend.
They’d shown her the second exit, then left her alone to fume over their high-handed behavior. She’d finally fallen asleep just as the sun was coming up. They’d been gone before she made her way into the kitchen. She was edgy from the lack of sleep and from being stuck inside all morning. The note they’d left telling her to take it easy had been the icing on her pissy-attitude cake.
She changed into her running clothes and made her way downstairs midafternoon. Before she could reach the front door, a man she was sure must be seven feet tall stepped in front of her.
“Going somewhere, Colbie?” His deep voice had a rich Texas drawl she’d learned was unique to locals. Whoever he was, he’d been born and raised in the Lone Star state. He loomed over her and she took a step back to save herself a strained neck.
“Yes, I’m going to run off some of my extra energy. It’s running or drinking; this seemed like the healthier choice.”
He raised a brow at her snarky tone, but she wasn’t in the mode to apologize. “Darlin’, I’m not the enemy.”
“I’ll reserve judgement since I don’t know you.” Okay, so now she was just being a bitch, but her sanity was hanging by a thread and if she had to climb him like a damned tree to get to the door, she would.
“I suppose that’s true though I believe you know my wife, Gracie. I’m Jax McDonald.” The man’s blue eyes sparkled with something close to amusement until his wife’s name crossed his lips and then they softened. She’d always been a sucker for a man who loved his wife and immediately felt bad for sniping at him.
“Yes, I’ve met your wife, she’s beautiful… inside and out. I’ve also heard a lot about her business success. I’m sure you’re very proud.” He smiled and Colbie was shocked by the transformation. The formidable giant had suddenly turned into an enormous teddy bear.
“Micah and I are both very proud of her. Now that we’ve made each other’s acquaintance, I hope you won’t be so averse to taking some advice. Your men aren’t going to be pleased with you leaving the building, but I don’t see the harm in you running within the compound.”
That wasn’t going to be a problem because she’d planned to stay close. She had no desire to meet up with the two men who’d been at the garage asking about her. Bored didn’t equal suicidal. He shrugged nonchalantly and she saw the corners of his mouth curve up slightly.
“There’s a gym at the back of the property with several treadmills. There are several guys in there training, so I doubt the place smells great.”
The whole estate was bathed in bright sunlight, making it look much warmer than it was. Summer was finally over and she was grateful for the break from the stifling heat. At the bottom of the stairs, Colbie began stretching out her muscles, no easy task when her muscles were teaming with tension.
The sound of an approaching vehicle made her stand to see who was approaching. When she recognized the truck, she relaxed and waved at the two men climbing from the one ton dually. Dean and Dell West whistled as they approached her.
“Damn, brother, look what we found. Our favorite mechanic, and it looks like she’s getting ready to make a break for it.”
“We can’t have that. Who’ll fix our truck. Gus didn’t have a clue what was wrong with it last time. Suppose we should load her up and take her home with us? Once she gets some of that peach cobbler Lilly’s making, she’ll be happy as a clam at our place.” Dell leaned back against the door of their truck and grinned.
Colbie laughed. The two older Wests were born flirts. She suspected it didn’t matter if the woman was eight months or eighty, these men would charm them all.
“I was just going for a run. I’m sure escape would be impossible. Mr. McDonald already intercepted me. I’ve been properly warned off my sinister escape plan.”
Dell cupped his hand around his mouth like he was going to share an important conspiracy theory. “There are cameras everywhere, darlin’. Don’t even try to escape without our help. And for heaven’s sake don’t let our lovely wife or sweet daughter-in-law try to help you hatch a plan. God knows those always fail miserably.”
“Ain’t that the truth? But if you want to stay over at our place and fix up all our wheels, we’ll kidnap you. The boys over here may be Uncle Sam’s pick for all those top-secret missions, but you never want to forget where they got those smarts.” Dean’s phone rang and when he pulled it from his pocket, he burst out laughing. “Holy shit. That’s a new record.” She must have looked as confused as she felt, because he added, “It’s a message from Micah informing me kidnapping is a felony.”
“Their cameras all have sound, too?” She would have to remember to watch what she said if the place was wired for sight and sound.
“Nope. But he and Jax read lips like nobody’s business. Jax’s deaf sister taught them.” Dell shook his head as if it was the most inconvenient thing in the world.
“More like they learned to beat her at the television narration game. They’ve played that since they were kids. I kind of hated it when Jax started to get better.”
“Agreed. His narration was a lot more entertaining when he was making it up on the fly.” This time, Dell was chuckling, making Colbie wonder what sort of narration they’d come up with. “Well, we better get inside before the next wave of guards come out. That happens and you’ll never get that run.” When she looked around trying to decide the best route, Dean called back from the stairs.
“Head around the house and then down the lane to the river. That will be a quarter mile. And from the house to the gate is another quarter mile. That’ll make it easy for you to keep track if you’re so inclined.”
She gave them a wave of thanks and took off.
*
KENT MET HIS DADS at the top of the stairs. “You two are stone cold. Micah called you, didn’t he?”
“Yep. He wanted us to stall Colbie until they could get people in place to watch over her. I don’t usually like to play those games, but she’s one hell of a mechanic, and we can’t be having anything happen to her.”
“Besides, it gave us a chance to offer her a better deal. I’m no expert, but that little gal looked about ready to crawl right out of her skin. That tells me she isn’t being properly loved and the next best thing is your mama’s cobbler.” Kent shook his head at Dad Dell’s orneriness. Leave it to him to find the silver lining.
Kent heard a high-pitched squeal from behind him and stepped aside. His wife hadn’t seen her fathers-in-law for over a week, and he knew she would be coming in fast. As expected, the petite blonde bombshell he and Kyle called their own, launched herself into the first pair of waiting arms as her tablet clattered to the floor. Thank God they’d finally purchased one of the childproof cases for the high-tech device. She’d gone through several before they finally forced her to secure it in something “Tobi-proof.” Picking it up, he interrupted her chattering and asked, “Sweetness, did you walk through the club with this?”
She looked at him over his dad’s shoulder and shook her head. “Nope. Gracie did. She said her husbands work all the time, and she hasn’t had a good spanking in forever. Something about the two of them needing testosterone supplements. We were looking on-line for them earlier.” Kent rolled his eyes. He knew his wife inside and out, she wasn’t lying, but she was damned well over-dramatizing the truth. He’d bet his interest in the club she knew Jax was standing behind her.
“God dammit. I swear I don’t know which one of you is worse. In this case, the sum is greater than the parts.” Jax’s growled words made Kent bite the inside of his cheeks to keep from smiling.
“Oh, hi Jax. Guess you’ve been helping Deaga with her math homework again, huh?”
Kent expected steam to come out of Jax’s ears, but the man just shook his head. “It’s you. You’re the orneriest woman I know—and that’s saying a lot considering my wife and Lilly are also vying for the top spot.” Shaking his head, he looked up at one of the cameras and growled, “Find her and meet me in the dungeon.”
“Kitten, it’s a good thing you’re standing between our dads, or you might well be headed to the dungeon too.” Kyle stepped up and pulled her into his arms and Kent heard him whisper against her ear. “I do believe my brother and I proved last night that we aren’t in need of those supplements.” Tobi’s face flushed a brilliant crimson, and Kent couldn’t hold his laughter back any longer.
“You better be nice or I won’t share my cobbler with you.” Kent stopped laughing and focused his attention on his wife.
“Mom made you a cobbler?”
“Yep.” When all four of them stared at her with their mouths gaping open, she shrugged. “She likes me best.” Truer words were never spoken.
Chapter Seven
COLBIE ROUNDED THE CORNER of the mansion and followed the wide drive toward the back of the property. Holy cats, this place is a village. She was shocked at the number of buildings hidden by the enormous building housing the club and penthouse apartment. The forum shops caught her eye, and she made a mental note to check them out during her cool down. Picking up her pace, Colbie focused on following the edge of the winding road.
She passed a gazebo and wondered what sort of kinky uses the Wests had found for the innocent-looking structure. Snorting a laugh to herself, Colbie returned her attention to the road ahead and almost tripped over her own feet when she saw the boat dock. I wonder if they have jet skis? She’d always wanted to ride one, but like so many other fun things, her parents had shot the idea down immediately.
Rounding the corner at the end of the dock, Colbie sped up and concentrated on her breathing. She’d been pleasantly surprised to find the fresh air was helping to improve her mood tremendously, but she still needed to burn off some of the residual stress. There were people moving around the compound, but she blocked them out, focusing on the road and the gate by the highway.
A half hour later she was enjoying the rush of endorphins and mopping the sweat from her eyes. She was sprinting every other pass and relishing the burn in her muscles. Exhaustion was starting to take a toll. She considered slowing down, but pushed the idea to the back of her mind. I need to burn off all that damned lasagna and garlic bread. Turnin
g, she heard a loud crack as wood splinters from the dock lifted into the air. It took her fatigue soaked brain longer than it should have to register what was happening, and by the time she knew someone was shooting at her, a second shot sent a line of blistering fire along the outside of her shoulder.
Launching herself from the dock, Colbie dove into the water and prayed it was deep enough to keep her from breaking her damned neck. Frigid water engulfed her as she watched a streaking bullet missile through the dim sunlight penetrating the top layers of the river’s murky depths. She’d taken a gulping breath of air just before hitting the surface, so she had time to double back under the dock. The structure would offer some protection, and hopefully, whoever was using her as a target wouldn’t give her credit for being smart.
Surfacing beneath the dock, Colbie’s adrenaline drenched mind scrambled to calculate the trajectory of the bullet she’d seen. If her rusty geometry skills were right, the shooter was on the cliff across the river. She quickly moved behind one of the large pillars, putting the concrete piling between her and the jackass with the gun. Shouting in the distance gave her hope the Prairie Winds Team knew she was ass deep in alligators. Laughing to herself, Colbie wondered what her aristocratic parents would think of how quickly their wayward daughter had adopted Texas’ unique vernacular. She loved their colorful expressions, despite her frequent embarrassment when she misinterpreted their meanings. Asking Kent West why he thought she knew anyone who would strangle a toad had quickly become one of her boss’s favorite stories.
Trying to stave off hyperventilation, Colbie made a concentrated effort to slow her breathing. Her shoulder was burning, and when she skimmed her hand over the torn flesh, she flinched at the flash of pain. Looking down at her blood covered palm, the world started spinning around her. She’d never been able to cope with the sight of blood, but fainting now meant drowning, so she quickly averted her gaze. Gulping in several deep breaths, Colbie once again concentrated on calming down. Sending up a quick prayer the team found her sooner rather than later, she closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against the rough cement surface of the deck support to await rescue.