by Cara Adams
And where the fuck was Tegan? If everything at the lake was under control, why wasn’t she back here?
For a moment pain drove a knife deep into his chest. What if she was hurt? What if one of the kids had a knife or even a gun? He couldn’t bear the thought of her in pain, maybe lying somewhere bleeding to death. Everything inside him wanted to run and find her, but he forced himself to stay where he was. Oscar was there and the police were likely there by now. His job was to stay here.
And why do I even care? She’s just a useless female wolf anyway.
She’s not useless. She’s mine. I love her. No I don’t. I hate her. She’s trouble. She might be trouble but I still love her. Hate? Love? Oh, I’m so fucked.
Chapter Six
Mr. Vukic, the Alpha of the wolf pack, insisted on sending out several teams to patrol the grounds of the clinic for the next day.
“Oscar, I insist. You’re all exhausted. You all need to sleep for at least eight hours. Then you need to spend time with your patients and your family. Your security team needs to get away and have a break. My wolves will patrol the fence line inside and outside the property and staff your gate for the next twenty-four hours. After that we’ll extend the time if everyone isn’t fully recovered. It’s a pity that getaway SUV was stolen, but I’m sure we’ll catch George soon.”
Harry, Jayden, and Tegan were in Oscar’s office listening to the call on speakerphone.
“I’ve already had a nap,” complained Harry.
Behind him he could hear a muffled cough from Tegan and a snort from Jayden. Okay, so he was just a tiny bit grumpy, but still, he was ready to take the next shift and let them sleep a while longer.
Oscar made shooing motions with his hands. “The Alpha’s reserved a room for you three at the BDSM club. The walls are soundproof, so you should have no trouble sleeping, if that’s what you want to do.”
This time what Harry heard from Tegan was a definite snicker. Their boss was suggesting they—Well, hell. Who could say no to that. “Yes, sir.”
Harry led the way up to their room on the top floor. He picked up his luggage and stood and waited while they both did the same, then he led the way out to the parking lot and his car. He popped the trunk and they dropped their bags inside then climbed into the car, before he drove slowly down the driveway.
He noted the deep scratches on the concrete where the gate had been taken off its hinges to be repaired, and the even deeper scrapes where a giant specialist tow truck had removed the dump truck.
He recognized one of the wolves on guard duty as Sam and waved as they left the property and turned toward town.
“Do you think everyone knows we’ve been told to visit the BDSM club for a day?” asked Tegan.
But Harry noted her voice was filled with laughter, not horror.
“Well that’s not so bad. I’m human, so word won’t get out among my friends,” teased Jayden.
“I expect the BDSM club bit is Oscar’s idea. The Alpha was only saying we needed a day off,” said Harry.
“I wouldn’t mind having a nice long nap. But then I’d kind of like a swim. I’d rather stay at Wolf Central and work out,” said Tegan.
Harry would promise her a workout all right. Just not the kind that happened in a gym. He still couldn’t decide if what he felt for her was just lust or something stronger, but he now knew it wasn’t hate. Maybe there’d been an element of jealousy at someone who was so very good at her job, as well as someone who had his libido spiking into the red zone every time she came into the room. But at least he was over the “hate” feelings toward her. His dick was mighty keen on getting to know her better though. At least there were always plenty of condoms at the BDSM club. If she wanted to use them, that was. Personally, bareback suited him even better.
The clusterfuck at the gate had taken hours to sort out, as he’d guessed it would. By the time everyone had given statements to the police and crime scene people had walked all over the property, then the shutter service had made the gate safe, the day shift had arrived, the Alpha had sent a security team to take over, and Harry was beyond exhausted. How Tegan and Jayden were still on their feet he couldn’t imagine. The first plan for the day was sleep for all of them. Maybe after that he’d entice them into the dungeon.
He’d seen an amazing toy at the club which he’d like to try out on them both, and other ideas for the night were buzzing in his head. But mostly right now what they needed was sleep.
The guard on duty at the BDSM club recognized Harry and waved him through. He parked on the lowest level of the basement parking lot, then they each grabbed their luggage and headed for the elevator. Often Harry took the stairs as a sort of cheap fitness program, but he was too tired to consider that today.
The young man on the duty desk in the foyer nodded pleasantly at them. “Mr. Vukic’s compliments, sirs and madam. Your reservation has been upgraded to the top floor. If you need anything, dial nine and your request will be answered immediately.”
Harry wondered if he was so tired his brain had gone into hibernation mode, but he took the keycard and led his team over to the elevator.
“Did he say the top floor?” asked Jayden, pressing the Up button.
“Room 610, so I assume that means the sixth floor.”
“I’ve never been there before,” said Tegan.
Well, that was interesting. It meant she’d been other places here and that she wasn’t completely a novice at BDSM. That was good information to know. Or it would be if he could get his sluggish brain to string two consecutive thoughts together.
He had to swipe the keycard for the elevator to accept his request for the sixth floor. That was different. Anyone could press the buttons for the public floors, and that included the rooms on a couple of the floors. Hmm, maybe they were the third and fourth floors though. Now that he thought about it, he was pretty sure he’d never been above the fourth floor before, either.
“What about you, Jayden? Have you been to the sixth floor before?” Tegan asked.
“Nope. I’ve visited the dungeons and the public levels but none of the rooms. In the past, mostly I’ve kept sex and BDSM separate. But I’m more and more liking the idea of uniting them.”
Well, that was good news. Harry wanted the three of them to be together, and it hadn’t occurred to him until just then Jayden might refuse.
To Harry’s tired eyes, the sixth floor looked exactly the same as the others, until he pushed open the door to 610 and they walked inside. The center of the room was filled with the biggest bed he’d ever seen. The ceiling, the headboard of the bed, and the wall opposite the bed were all mirrored. A glass wall showed a view out over the city.
Tegan had flipped the light on and walked into the bathroom. “Holy shit!”
He and Jayden followed her to the doorway.
Harry had more or less expected the bathroom would be like most hotel bathrooms. Room for one person at a time, maximum. But no. This room was on a grand scale, with a shower easily big enough for all three of them, and a Jacuzzi tub bubbling away on one side of the room.
“I bet that’s as good as the one in Wolf Central,” said Jayden.
“Better. Much, much better,” said Tegan.
“We can play in the hot tub later. Right now we all really need to sleep.” Harry gently pushed at the other two and turned the light off. He left his luggage where it stood, stripped off his clothes, and walked across to the bed. Tegan was still standing where he’d left her, fully dressed, but Jayden was pulling the quilt off the bed.
Harry climbed onto the bed, knowing the second his head touched the pillow he’d be asleep. He watched Tegan nod and turn her back on them to undress. That was good enough for him. She was going to obey him. Later they’d eat, check out the hot tub, then finally go down to the dungeon. But right now, sleep.
* * * *
Jayden woke and stretched. It took him a couple seconds to remember where he was, then his eyes sprang open and he stared into the mirr
or on the ceiling. Beside him Tegan was laying on her side, curled up with one hand under her face, and the other down by her side, hidden under the sheet. Her hair was partly covering her cheek, and he longed to brush it back and look at her properly but didn’t want to wake her. Across from her, Harry was sprawled on his back, arms flung out, taking up more than his fair share of the bed. It was lucky it was such a huge bed or there wouldn’t be enough space for all of them together.
Was this how it would be in the future? The three of them together like this in a relationship? Or was this just one of those weird things that happened sometimes when people worked together in a close-knit team?
No, he thought it was a sign of the future. Harry made no secret of being a Dom and he could definitely be bossy and demanding, but apart from those few times with Tegan, he was invariably fair and just, and almost always correct as well.
Wasn’t there some old saying about hate and love being opposite sides of the one coin? It seemed as though Tegan had gotten under Harry’s skin in a way he couldn’t deal with at first, but he’d settled down now. They were all getting along together much better now, and they really had worked as a team last night. Yesterday. Whenever it was. It had been getting on toward midnight near the end of his shift when it had started, and it had been midmorning by the time the last details were wrapped up. So what was the time now?
He turned his head to the window, and it was dark outside with the neon lights of the stores and businesses looking bright and pretty through the window. So, likely he had slept eight hours as Oscar had instructed. He was mighty hungry. He wasn’t sure how many meals he’d missed, but it felt like a lot. But if he ordered room service, would the smell of food wake the others up? Well, if they woke would it matter? Although, it seemed a bit cruel to wake them and he wouldn’t really know what to order for them anyway. But if they woke up when he was eating, that’d be even more cruel because likely they’d be every bit as hungry as he was.
Damn, this sharing a room thing was more complicated than he’d thought it would be. He’d figured he’d have to wait to use the bathroom, although it was so large they could all fit in there at once. But probably the others would want some privacy. But he’d never thought about the etiquette of eating.
Trying not to wake the others, he slid off the bed and headed for the bathroom. Maybe a shower would make him feel better. He was definitely overdue for one after all that running around last night. By the time he was done he was so hungry it wasn’t funny anymore, so he wrapped a towel around his waist and padded over to the tiny desk, picking up the nice leather booklet lying there. It looked just like any other hotel he’d ever stayed in, yet it wasn’t. He was in a BDSM club, not a hotel. Well, perhaps this floor was a hotel. Shaking his head in confusion, he opened the leather booklet and flicked through it, looking for the room service menu.
He was just about to pick up the telephone on the desk when Harry grunted and said, “Whatever you’re ordering, I’ll have two of them. And coffee.”
Jayden glanced at Tegan but she hadn’t moved. He pressed the button on the phone and asked for four burgers, two with fries and two with salads, plus a pot of coffee.
“That will be delivered in twenty minutes, sir,” said the person on the phone.
Jayden thanked them and hung up, then dug in his backpack for clean underwear and a fresh T-shirt. He was going to need to do a load of laundry soon. He hadn’t expected to be away from home too long.
Harry lumbered into the bathroom. Jayden wasn’t looking at the naked man, but he couldn’t help noticing the tattoo of a bear across his shoulders as he walked past. Well that’s fitting.
He made sure the sound was off, then switched the television on and began flicking through the channels until he found one with a ball game. He turned his chair to face the TV and settled back to watch while the food was prepared. I could get used to this, being waited on hand and foot. It’s a shame we’re only going to be living in luxury for one day, but it’ll sure be a nice experience.
Harry emerged from the bathroom and got dressed and was combing his hair when the doorbell rang.
Doorbell?
A voice said, “Your meal, sir.”
Jayden was stunned. He’d never stayed in a hotel with a doorbell before.
He opened the door and a waiter wheeled a cart into the room. Before he could get out his wallet the man turned and left.
That was a first, too. The remuneration here must be all right if the man wasn’t reliant on tips to make a decent living.
“Is that food?” Tegan’s voice was a bit slurred and she didn’t seem to have moved, but evidently she was at least partially awake.
“I ordered you a burger and salad. And coffee.”
“Be right back.”
Jayden smiled as Tegan wobbled off the bed and into the bathroom. He anticipated the food would be long gone cold before she returned, so he sat down and began lifting the lids off the various plates. When he found his own burger and salad, he set it on the table. Then he took out a burger and chips, put it in Harry’s place opposite him, and set the coffeepot and cups on the table.
Harry handed him cutlery, and they both sat down. They hadn’t even started eating before Tegan came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, with a cloud of floral-scented steam following her into the room. How could she do that? She hadn’t even been gone five minutes.
“You had a shower?” asked Harry, sounding as surprised as he felt.
“I perfected the three-minute shower when I was sharing a house with college students.” Tegan bent over the food trolley, picked up a plate, and carried it to the table.
“How do I know if this is mine?” she asked.
“I got you a burger with salad. If you want chips you need to ask Harry to go half and half with you.”
“Salad is fine, thank you.”
Jayden poured each of them a cup of coffee, pleased he knew how everyone liked their drink made, then settled down to eat his meal. Damn it was a long time since he’d eaten.
“This is divine,” mumbled Tegan, her mouth full.
And that was the last thing anyone said until every crumb had been eaten and the coffeepot was empty.
Tegan took her roll-along suitcase and disappeared back into the bathroom to get dressed, while Jayden stacked the empty plates on the cart, then wheeled it out into the hallway. When he got back Harry was sitting at the table with the little notepad and pen from beside the telephone in front of him.
“As soon as Tegan gets back I want us to walk through everything that happened last night, looking for clues and for threads we might be able to follow to lead us to George.”
“Good idea.”
They talked about every detail any of them could remember for the next hour. At the end of it Tegan said, “Apart from the fact that George was running true to form in using stupid gang wannabes, and that he or whoever was leading them ran away at the first sign of trouble, I can’t see that we’ve learned anything.”
Jayden wondered if he was going to sound stupid, but this was his team, his friends, so he said it anyway. “Do you think there was a reason why the second group came through by the lake? I mean, apart from the fact that it’s a long way from the gate, and to divide our attention. What I mean is, do you think the lake, or that corner of the property has any significance in and of itself?”
“It’s not near where they came over the wall the first time,” said Tegan.
“And it’s not especially close to the clinic itself either, so I’d say not, but it would be worth checking just in case. We need to look at anything at all that might be a lead,” said Harry.
“I assume Sierra Bond has checked for mineral rights and all that sort of thing on the property. I mean there’s not oil underground or something, is there?” asked Tegan.
Jayden laughed, but it was a valid point she was making. They’d all look pretty stupid if they were sitting on an oil well, and that was why George wanted the land.
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“Yes, that’s been checked, and no, there’s nothing valuable underground,” said Harry.
“Well, that kills that easy solution.” Tegan sighed.
“But perhaps we could have a closer look at the two areas where the break-ins have been attempted. Maybe there’s something we’ve missed. We’ll look twice, in the bright light of the middle of the day, and again at dawn or dusk just to be sure nothing shows up,” said Harry.
He laid his notepad and pen aside. “I’d like to do a dungeon scene with you both while we’re here. I know I haven’t treated you right, Tegan, accusing you of being George’s spy and not trusting you, and I apologize for that. I don’t know where my brains were the first day we met. I promise I’ll treat you, and you, too, Jayden, with the greatest respect in the dungeon, and I assure you both we won’t do anything you don’t want to do,” he said.
Hell yes. A dungeon scene with Harry and Tegan. Jayden’s cock stood up at that plan. He turned to look at Tegan. She was sitting quite still, her face thoughtful. Jayden held his breath. Harry had been rude to her, but it was obvious he really did care for her and that he’d been fighting his feelings for her. But did she know that? She was a damn smart woman. She must have worked it out by now.
Tegan nodded decisively. “Last night proved we can all work together properly as a team in a crisis. It’ll be interesting to see us as a team in the dungeon. I agree.”
* * * *
Harry had been aching to get these two people into the dungeon for hours. He stood completely still in the doorway of the dungeon memorizing the exact placement of everything there.