The Protective Dominant

by Jan Irving

  Reluctantly Zane knelt behind Jenny. After a moment, he put tentative hands on her shoulders.

  Jenny acted like she didn’t even feel the gesture, continuing to dig.

  “If she doesn’t like this, I’m stopping,” Zane growled.

  Taz knelt in front of Jenny and as he had so many times before, he spoke softly to her. “Jenny. Look at me, baby.”

  It took a while but finally a slight frown furrowed her brow. Her hazy eyes focused on Taz’s face. Before she could speak, he pressed his lips hotly to hers, putting everything of himself into the kiss.

  At first her lips were cool, her touch as blank as her expression, but his fire ignited hers and her hands were in his hair and she moaned as his tongue penetrated her mouth, claiming her.

  She was pressing herself against him when Taz felt her abruptly stiffen.

  She’d felt Zane’s light touch on her shoulders.

  She broke away, gasping for breath. Taz saw the same confusion and fear…read her dejection at being here again in her garden.

  No, she hadn’t healed. Not yet.

  But maybe tonight he could finally find a way to help her.

  “It’s Zane,” Taz told her.

  “Zane?” Jenny looked over her shoulder at Zane, who was busy blushing again as if he’d never seen a couple share a passionate kiss.

  “Yeah, um, hi, Jen,” he said.

  “Uh, hi.” Jenny stared at him for a moment then turned to Taz. “Why is he out here?”

  “Because I asked him.”

  She made a growling sound and Taz found himself grinning. She lit him up. She could do that, break him one minute and light him up the next.

  “Jen, I figure if he’s there while I touch you, it might bring some things back.”

  Jenny paled.

  Taz swallowed, rubbing his chest. He hurt there, a hollow, unending ache. God, he couldn’t take this anymore. This had to work. “Your mind won’t let it go. I don’t know what else to do anymore, Jen, but try a similar but very different situation. Yes, we’ll be here, two men, but we’d die before we’d ever hurt you. And you have to give your consent. You have to give yourself.”

  He wanted to compel her, wished somehow that along with his experience at persuasion he somehow had magical powers because he would use them without hesitation to heal her.

  “When I…ran away from home, I had some hang-ups.” He swallowed, not sure he could go here, face this. “I had a lot of angry user sex. I punished the people who wanted to lie down with me. You think I’m a jerk now? I found people’s weaknesses and I was ruthless, tearing them down, making them feel shitty just because they found me hot.”

  Jen looked at him, simply looked, accepted, and another part of Taz’s dark history fell away like a shedding iceberg.

  “Yeah, I… I met another dominant and he was ruthless. He challenged me to submit to him and he did everything to me that I’d prided myself on doing to others.” Taz swallowed. “And it hurt, Jen. It wasn’t funny, it sure as fuck wasn’t sexy. But he helped me see myself. I know I still have problems with women. But I’m gonna work on that for you so can you try this with us tonight? Because it breaks me to see you like this and I just want to help you heal.” He squeezed his eyes shut, afraid of what she’d see there. “Please, Jen,” he asked very softly.

  “Okay.”

  His eyes snapped open and he felt the chasm open between them. Did he really know what he was doing? He had only the strength of purpose he’d honed as a dominant. It was scary, where he was taking her, but he’d be with her every step of the way.

  He kissed her again, using his mouth to try to give her comfort, to burn away the layers and get to her. She was stiff and cold but when he touched her, over and over, gentle as water lapping the beach, she began to warm for him again. She clutched his shoulders, losing herself.

  She loves me. Christ, she loves me.

  Knowing that he held a vulnerable woman in his arms made him shake. He was scared. If he hurt her, he’d feel it. He’d lay himself open and bleed.

  Her gown-covered breasts brushed against his bare chest and he groaned. For him, just that, her kiss, the brush of her body, and he was ready to have her. He burned to have her and knew that the dark part of himself was also getting off on the way that Zane was breathing harshly as he watched Taz pleasuring Jenny. The younger man’s cheeks were flushed, his eyes wide and dilated. Taz had the funny thought that maybe Jenny wasn’t the only inexperienced one here in her garden tonight. Could Zane actually be…a virgin?

  A second later he shoved aside the insane thought. Nah. He was just so celibate it was no wonder that Jenny’s innocent fire aroused him. The way she went from stiff shyness to ardor. The way she grasped Taz’s cheeks in her hands and forced him to give her more of his kisses.

  He caressed her mouth with his, taking forever to savor, to lick and curl his tongue with hers, to tease her into melting submission.

  When he put his hand on her breast, she jumped as if she remembered they weren’t safely alone, that Zane was there, his hands tense on her shoulders. As if he couldn’t stop himself, Zane buried his face in Jenny’s long, tangled hair, inhaling her lush female scent.

  Zane’s arousal only fired Taz. This was his beautiful woman. His to heal, to protect, and in this moment to enjoy her flowering like one of her wild roses.

  On a primitive level, he also liked showing her off.

  Mine. Look at what’s mine. And you only touch her if I allow it, so eat your fucking heart out.

  He’d known his plan was insane, known he was sleep deprived, desperate… But somehow the insanity was working. Jenny breathed out a sigh as his mouth found her breast through her gown, sucking strongly while he kneaded the other one. She trembled, her body held upright only by the two men captivated by her, servicing her.

  Taz had always seen sex as a golden ribbon, a flow of energy that could move from one person into another. Sometimes that flow could be interrupted so that it was choppy, unsatisfying, and sometimes it moved like a storm overtaking the land, merciless, taking everything in its path.

  This was the stormy kind of flow, catching him and Zane and Jenny so they moved together like survivors of a shipwreck, alive, desperate to touch.

  Hands brushed over Taz’s where he was squeezing Jenny’s breasts. Zane. He wanted to touch, couldn’t hold back.

  Taz dragged his hands down to Jenny’s hips, testing them under his grip, and suddenly he was impatient that she was clothed at all.

  “Jen… Take off your gown.”

  Jenny’s eyes widened as she absorbed the situation. Zane’s hands on her, Taz’s eyes heavy with suggestion, Jenny crushed between them, wild. She bit her lip then gave a hesitant nod.

  He reached down and lifted the gown, pulling it free, revealing her pale, vulnerable body.

  Vulnerable. Why had he never seen a woman that way?

  Zane groaned, putting his open mouth against Jenny’s neck.

  Jenny gasped, her head falling back, her back arching so that Zane could play with her nipples. He wasn’t being gentle, too far gone. He left pinkish marks on her neck from whisker burn.

  Dark arousal curled in the base of Taz’s spine. He loved this, watching Zane and Jenny and being the one in control.

  For this moment, they belonged to him.

  His hands slid down Jenny’s thighs, spreading them. She leaned against Zane, her dazed eyes and dewy, well-kissed mouth.

  She looked like a woman pleasured by two men, not a woman who had ever been hurt by more than one man. Would she remember this the next time those shadows chased her? He could only feel that the physical, the touch of hands and mouths and need would do what all the talk, all the trying had never done.

  Heal her.

  “Watch me make you come, Jenny,” Taz commanded.

  He spread her and began to stroke her, merciless, experienced. He knew she liked to be forced to the edge, liked to be made to submit.

  “Oh, God,” Zane mutte
red and he reached down as if he couldn’t stop himself, brushing his fingers against Jenny’s slick heat. She was succulent, glistening.

  Jenny shuddered, pressing back against Zane. Her hand covered his as if she was loving this, two men pleasuring her, unscripted, slightly dangerous.

  “Come, Jenny,” Zane whispered. “Oh, Christ, come and let me watch you.”

  Her body rippled like a dancer moving under their touch. Two sets of hands ministered to her, stirring her—

  She climaxed, her body undulating. A low, hoarse sound broke the quiet of the night.

  Taz felt awe move through him, clench his chest and muscles until he was weak, staring into the radiance of Jenny’s face.

  Zane pushed aside her tangled, damp hair and kissed the side of her face fervently. “I’ve never… Thank you, Jenny. God, you are the most beautiful…”

  Jenny colored, her shyness returning, but her gaze went to Taz, sharpened, as if checking him out to make sure he was all right.

  His throat tightened.

  Worried. For him.

  “Do you want more?” he asked her.

  She nodded, a tiny smile on her lips. He’d pleased her and she knew damn well that whatever he had in mind would only please her more.

  “What about you, Zane?” There was an edge to his voice, one he couldn’t help. Command. Direction. Dominance. He was the alpha male here.

  Zane met Taz’s gaze despite his blush. “I…don’t want to leave.”

  Taz nodded. “Not until I’ve satisfied you.”

  Zane’s eyes flashed to Taz’s, widening.

  “Come here, Zane,” Taz demanded. “I want to thank you for the extra set of hands tonight.” He knew that his tone made it clear, not unkindly, that that was how he saw Zane.

  “Jen?” Taz raised an eyebrow, watching his girl.

  She’d pulled on her nightgown again, but that was all right. He knew how bashful she was. She was not like the women he’d shared in the past, ready to take any cock. She was his only.

  He’d never owned a woman before, not as a master. He knew Jenny would probably baulk at the way he phrased it, but it gave him a secret sense of satisfaction. He wouldn’t spell it out to Jenny—not now—but sometime in the future when she was confident in his love, when he’d mastered her many times, he’d whisper to her about how he saw her, enslaved as soon as he touched her, willingly, warmly.

  His.

  “What are you going to do?” she asked and he saw curiosity in her gaze but no jealousy. The little vixen found it hot, two men.

  “Just a little fooling around. Kind of like the calendar,” he said, wanting to clearly reassure her that he wasn’t reverting to his fuck-of-the-night days.

  Jenny would learn he was a hot, insatiable man. Soon he’d teach her how much she’d enjoy being spread out on his tufted spanking bench. How she’d learn to love her hands locked above her head in padded cuffs, her legs spread for him whenever he came home and needed her very female body.

  Jenny Ann Green was going to learn to please her man and, in doing so, please the hell out of herself.

  He cupped the back of Zane’s neck and led him to the hot tub. Jenny followed, arms wrapped around herself. Taz directed Zane to sit on the same lounger where he’d pleasured Jenny.

  “Are you going to do dirty things to him?” Jenny asked.

  Taz laughed at the anticipation in her voice.

  Zane looked nervous, but when Taz ran a fingernail down the other man’s spine, he shuddered. “Careful. I’ve never—”

  “Not with anyone?” Taz took a handful of hair then kissed Zane erotically for Jenny’s benefit. And, he admitted, Zane wasn’t so bad. If he was still the bad boy he’d been, he’d do him.

  Now he was hyper aware of Jenny watching, of the way her breathing had picked up.

  “You want to see him without his shirt? I agree.” In Zane’s ear, Taz muttered. “Perform for her, pretty boy. She’s getting so hot watching us. Can you see it?”

  Zane ripped off his T-shirt. His gaze was glued to Jenny, who was shifting restlessly.

  “Jenny, watch me,” Zane whispered. “Baby… You are so beautiful. You turn me on when you watch us.”

  “And she’s mine.” Taz jerked Zane by the hair, making his point. “Say it.”

  Zane’s lips twisted. “She’s yours, Taz. Christ, she’s been yours for months.”

  Taz felt like laughing again. Well, Zane had a backbone. “Shut up. You’ve got your own problems.”

  He unzipped Zane’s fly and Zane’s long, elegant cock fell out. Taz saw Jenny’s eyes grow huge, as if she couldn’t believe what was happening. He knew he was bringing a fantasy to life for her, two gorgeous, sweaty firemen together.

  He grasped Zane’s cock firmly, and Zane’s back arched in reflex. His hands fisted as if to keep himself from trying to direct Taz’s actions.

  “Aren’t you a good boy?” Taz murmured.

  “Fuck you,” Zane gasped. “Uh!”

  Taz squeezed him harder in retaliation, but Zane lived for it.

  “Come here, Jen,” Taz purred. His eyes were heavy lidded as he watched his innocent woman creep tentatively closer, her gaze glued to his hands on Zane. Oh, she liked it. She would never have admitted it, good girl that she was, but she probably had wondered about what Taz had done to all the people he’d spent the night with. Now he was giving her a look-see.

  “Can you lose the gown, baby?”

  She clutched it so he let her think about it. Then her spine straightened and she flung it off defiantly.

  Both he and Zane stared, hungry.

  “I want your mouth on her,” Taz growled. “I want you to please her.”

  Zane made a growling sound. Jenny jumped when he reached out and jerked her forward, nuzzling her sex with his lips like he was starving for the taste of woman.

  Taz released him. “You’ll come without anyone’s hand on you,” he said, implanting the command.

  Zane didn’t seem to hear. His hands were digging into Jenny’s hips as he devoured her. A little clumsy on technique, but so hot it didn’t fucking matter. Jenny was moaning, her eyelashes quivering against her cheeks, her throat a beautiful arch.

  Taz stood behind her, deliberately putting his hands on her shoulders.

  Two men. Let her feel it. Let her feel how we worship her…

  Jenny was burning up. She’d never imagined she’d want this, two men. But Taz had pulled the curtain away from a yearning she’d never acknowledged—she didn’t just want the bad boy, she wanted to live some of his experiences.

  “I wish we were in my playroom now, Jenny. I wish it were months and months from now and you were used to all my dark, dirty ideas,” Taz whispered directly in her ear. He began to tease her breasts and she arched instinctively into his touch. Below, Zane’s whiskers abraded the sides of her open thighs deliciously as he fed from her, tasting, sampling, holding her still for the lash of his tongue.

  Oh, God…

  “I’d have you both, my two innocents. Zane would be tied to the spanking bench, his ass red from my welts.”

  Jenny’s breathing exploded from her chest.

  “And Zane would go down on you while I fucked him from behind.”

  Just like that, with Taz’s words, with his finger circling her backside she was…coming…

  Epilogue

  Taz woke up curled on the lavish bed in his playroom.

  He was not alone.

  Jenny was with him, her long hair rippling down his body.

  And Jet was sleeping on Taz’s feet. One of his ankles felt dead from the weight.

  In the three weeks since the threesome they’d experimented with to try to deal with Jenny’s demons, she’d had only one incident of sleepwalking. And that had been after she’d pushed herself at work and been exhausted. Taz intended to make sure that didn’t happen again anytime soon.

  Turned out that healing his woman was a sweet thing.

  She nuzzled closer to him and he glim
psed her ass, still pink from the spanking he’d given her the night before. The air was redolent of scented candles, firelight, oil paint and Jenny.

  Jenny sat up, her breasts a plump weight against his chest. “What are you thinking?” she asked in her typical hoarse morning voice. Jenny didn’t sound like her normal self until she’d had a couple of mugs of coffee, but he liked the gritty morning-after sound.

  He was planning to be the only man who ever heard it. He was working up to asking her to move in to his house. He didn’t care what she did with hers, sold it, kept it, whatever. He just wanted it clearly understood that she slept with him now. And maybe after they’d lived together a couple of weeks he’d be ready to ask her to marry him.

  He wasn’t whipped. He wasn’t going to want insta-kids or anything. And he was still, reassuringly, an asshole sometimes.

  But he loved Jenny so much he was gut sick with it.

  He was crazy for her hair, her laughter, her tits, her smile, the way she came, the way she slept in his arms with her little piggy grunts…

  “Don’t you know never to ask a man what he’s thinking?” Taz teased. “It’s usually with his dick.”

  She raised her brows. “You can’t always think about sex.”

  “Nah. Occasionally I think about food. And sports. But mainly it’s all T and A.”

  “Well, I was wondering how Zane’s smoke jumping season is going,” Jenny said.

  “Mmmm, I’m sure the rook will do okay.” Taz lifted a shoulder. He figured that the younger man had lit out right after their night together because he didn’t want to feel awkward around Jenny and Taz. Man, Zane was shy with a capital ‘S’.

  Taz wouldn’t have felt awkward, of course, but Jenny might have so he was grateful that Zane had taken off. Everything was still new with this relationship thing and he still screwed up and said something that pissed Jenny off and she still needed him to watch over her—though he had to be real careful to keep that to himself since that was one of the things that pissed her off.

  “Who’s going to take that great big beast of yours for a walk?” he asked her, wondering, if he walked their puppy, if she’d make him a salsa omelet. A lot of good days started with one of Jenny’s omelets. It had been a tradition with them, right from the start. Sun is rising, and today is going to be better than yesterday.