Not having many relatives and none in the U.S., I don’t know how it goes, but I nod and smile anyway and take a sip of my now-cold and bitter coffee.
“You’d better type up a note of our meeting so we have on record that I advised him against blackmail and explained that it’s illegal,” Amanda says. “The last thing we need is to be dragged through the mud with him. I can’t afford to have the firm’s reputation tarnished when we’re just starting out.”
Guilt spears me in the chest. I have to tell Amanda. She’s not just my boss, she’s my friend, and I wouldn’t want to do anything to hurt her or compromise her business. “Should we…warn the club about what he might do? I mean, if there are people there who don’t want to be outed, they should probably know.”
Amanda pushes back her chair. “Morally, yes. Legally, no. He gave that information to us in confidence and under attorney–client privilege. He didn’t tell us outright that’s what he was going to do, so there is no crime for me to report. And I can’t call up Stone’s attorney to warn him about something that might just be an emotional reaction to what happened in court today because it could have a significant financial impact on Stone’s business. Basically, that means unless we have evidence or a serious reason to believe he would carry out his threat, we can’t say anything to anyone.” She moves to leave, and I hold out my hand.
“I need to tell you something.” Bile rises in my throat, and I twist the ring on its chain. “I went back to the club after I served the documents. I’d never seen anything like it, and I was curious, and I figured it was my only chance to check it out because I thought we would win in court today and they would be evicted. I didn’t say anything about the case or tip anyone off, but now I’m worried I’ve compromised you somehow, especially after what happened today, and hurting you in any way is the last thing I would ever do. I’m so sorry.”
Amanda falls back in her chair and lets out a long breath. “Thank you for telling me. I trust you implicitly, Penny. I don’t believe for a second you would have discussed the case. Still, it would be better if you don’t go back while this case is going on. Appearances matter, and we don’t want to give Gerry any ammunition when it comes time to pay the bill.”
“Of course, I won’t.” I am both gutted and relieved, but mostly I am thankful I haven’t compromised Amanda or, worse, lost my job. But what about Jack?
“Anything else?” She gathers up her papers, and we push in our chairs. “You still look worried.”
“I know someone whose career could be damaged if he was caught on camera—”
Amanda cuts me off with a shake of her head. “I wish I didn’t have to put you in this position, but you can’t say anything. If he’s a friend or someone you care about, do what you can to keep him away from the club until the lawsuit is resolved, but you can’t tell him why.”
A friend or someone I care about.
Jack is both. And now I have to keep a secret that could destroy his career.
* * *
Cora meets me at the Redemption snack bar after I get out of my meeting with Amanda. We are taking another jiu-jitsu class, and I am both hoping and dreading that Jack will be there.
“I’m going to set up a double date for us on Thursday night,” she announces.
Since I can guess who my half of the double date might be, and since it is someone who spanked me, finger-fucked me, and then watched me run away with my proverbial tail between my legs, I am not overly enthusiastic about the idea.
“I’m busy. You and Blade Saw go out and have fun.”
“You have to come.” Cora grabs my arm, pulls me away from the counter. “I can’t be alone with Blade Saw. When we were rolling on the mats in jiu-jitsu class, I drooled every time he talked to me. It was too much. He has an amazing body, and he was lying on top of me, and then I was lying on him, and then my head was locked between his legs… I don’t know how people who do the sport aren’t horny all the time.”
“You have to pick the right partner,” I say. “If you partner with someone who hasn’t washed his cup or had a shower since Sunday, you aren’t thinking of anything except getting the beast off you.” I shake her off and order a blueberry acai wheatgrass shake, although what I really want is the big fat cinnamon bun with extra cream cheese frosting that I saw in the coffee shop across from Amanda’s office this morning. However, while tied to the spanking bench with my bare ass in the air, I had an epiphany of sorts and decided to follow a slightly lower-calorie eating regime.
“I only want Blade Saw.” She sighs. “I’ve never met anyone like him. The guys I hang out with are all about their brains, not their bodies. They’re pale, skinny, and hunched. Most of them have bad eyesight from staring at a computer for too long. They game all night long, and watch The Big Bang Theory for the science. They kiss like droids, and they get so excited about having a live woman in their bed, it’s over before it begins, if you know what I mean.”
“I get the picture.” I take the shake from the cashier and gag on the healthy taste. Maybe if I pretend it’s ice cream…
“On the other hand,” she continues, “I understand them. I like The Big Bang Theory. I love gaming all night long. Maybe I’m not cut out for an alpha male. Maybe I kiss like a droid, and he can sense that with his alpha senses.”
“Oh, honey. I’m pretty sure he likes you. He didn’t spend that much time with anyone else in class last week. I think he’s just gun-shy because he’s had a lot of really bad relationships. He’s always on the wrong end of a love triangle.”
“Does that mean you’ll come on the double date?” She gives me the big-eyed, pathetic puppy dog look that she uses when we’re kicking back and watching TV and she wants to watch shows with aliens and spaceships.
“Fine. I’ll come on the date if you put this shake out of its misery. I can’t drink something this healthy.”
Cora snatches it from my hand. “I thought you were into Jack. The two of you were pretty much going at it on the mats during the last class.”
My cheeks heat, and I give an indignant sniff. “We were not ‘going at it.’ He was teaching me some moves.”
“I wish Blade Saw would teach me those moves.”
We sit at the nearest table, and Cora sips the shake while I dream of soft, warm buns and cream cheese frosting. I take a quick glance around to make sure we won’t be overheard. “Those moves were moving things too fast.”
“You slept with him!” Her face lights up.
“No. Close. But before it got too out of control, I cut and ran.”
She claps her hand over her mouth. “You cut and ran? Poor guy.”
Annoyed, I frown. “What do you mean ‘poor guy’? It was getting too serious too fast. I didn’t want him to get any ideas.”
“He already had ideas,” Cora says. “I’ll bet if you’d been alone with him in class, his ideas would have included stripping off your clothes and doing you right there on the mats. You clearly weren’t paying attention, but a couple of the guys went over to break you two up ’cause you were supposed to be doing a drill, and he growled them away.”
“Well, now I’ve growled him away. So going out with him is going to be awkward.”
Cora makes a sad puppy dog face and I cave, like I always do. I can’t resist that face. “Fine. I’ll do it for you so you can have your own hot MMA fighter in your bed who I’m pretty sure doesn’t kiss like a droid.”
And I’ll be able to make sure he doesn’t go to the club that night. One down. Countless nights to go.
Unfortunately for Cora, Blade Saw isn’t teaching jiu-jitsu tonight. Instead, we get blond-haired, blue-eyed Renegade, Amanda’s fiancée, who is chill and laid-back unless he’s in the cage or another male is breathing in Amanda’s direction or we’re in class and I’m trying to avoid touching my sore ass to the mats. We also get his assistant and matching blond beauty, Redemptio
n’s own man whore, Doctor Death.
“Ladies.” Doctor Death kneels in front of me on the mat. “I’ll show you a trick for breaking the triangle submission. Penny, prepare to be mounted.”
“I’ll bet you say that to all your women.” I drop my legs so he can straddle my hips in full mount, while Cora drools beside me. If I didn’t know Doctor Death so well, I would be drooling, too. He’s soap-opera-doctor handsome, he’s in great shape, and he has a Ken-doll smile.
“I do say that to all my women.” He settles his weight and leans forward. “And some men. I don’t discriminate.”
Cora chokes back a laugh while I roll up into position for putting Doctor Death in a triangle choke submission, which entails tucking his head between my legs.
“This is good,” he says. “I can do a lot from down here. It makes me think we should go out sometime and play this game for real.”
I hook my leg around his neck and grab his arm, pulling him forward. “I can’t go out with you,” I say, huffing with the effort of holding him in place. “I know you too well. I wouldn’t be able to take you seriously. If you tried to kiss me, I’d probably laugh and damage your fragile ego.”
He twists to the side, easily loosening my grip, and I make a mental note to remember that escape trick next time I’m caught in a triangle submission when out with friends.
“I have a very robust ego, and as long as your lips are in the right place, I don’t care what they are doing. Now, stop trying to submit me, and submit me.”
“I know that movie,” Cora says with delight. “He’s a geek.”
“Damn it, Cora. I’m a doctor, not a geek.” He and Cora share a laugh at their private geek jokes while I untwist myself from his grasp.
After we’ve practiced our submissions, Renegade lines the class up along the wall. “Rampage is joining us today to show us the gogoplata submission that he used to win his last fight. He only just volunteered to help at the start of class, so he’s not wearing his gi. Go easy on him.”
An excited murmur fills the dojo, mingled with laughter, but this time, mercifully, there are no screams when he gestures to the corner where Jack—I can’t think of him as Rampage after what we did together in the club—is waiting. Usually, he would smile at the class and make a joke, but today he is all scowls. He seems particularly irritated with Doctor Death from the way he’s trying to burn a hole through him with his eyes.
Renegade clears his throat. “Who wants to volunteer to be Rampage’s partner for the demo?”
Silence. No one wants to be his bitch, especially when he looks like he’s about to eat someone for lunch.
“Doctor Death,” Jack barks. “On the mat.”
If I was a suspicious kind of person, I might think that he picked Doctor Death for a reason related to the scowl on his face and not because Doctor Death needs some practice with the gogoplata submission, but since I’m not, I assume he picked him at random.
“Go go gadget,” Cora whispers.
Doctor Death grins at her and drops into a low crouch, facing Jack.
At a signal from Renegade, now standing beside me, he rushes Jack, who pretends to go down. Doctor Death grabs him around the middle. Jack mumbles something to him, and Doctor Death freezes and shoots a panicked glance at me. He tries to pull away, but it’s too late. Seconds later, his head is trapped under Jack’s foot, and he’s locked up in a pretzel twist on the ground.
Renegade explains the submission and the different ways to escape. Doctor Death taps out, but Jack doesn’t release him. Doctor Death taps again, flails. Renegade looks over and frowns.
“Let him go.”
With a lazy stretch, Jack releases Doctor Death, lifting one massive leg, then the other, until Doctor Death collapses on all fours on the mat.
Jack gives a satisfied snort and joins Renegade, Cora, and me, his chest puffed out like he just won a fight.
“What the fuck was that about?” Renegade says quietly to Jack.
“Message.”
“What message?”
Jack’s gaze flicks to me and then away. “The usual message he gets when he’s out of fucking line. Same message you gave him when he was messing with Amanda.”
Cora jabs me indiscreetly in the side, and I shoot her a dirty look. “Friends,” I whisper. “We’re just friends.”
Renegade sends us back to our sections to practice the new submission. Jack comes over to our newbie section and watches Cora and me struggle with the move. His thick, broad fingers tap against his thigh, and a rush of longing runs over me as I imagine what those fingers did two nights ago.
God, this is ridiculous. This is Rampage. Redemption’s mascot. Everybody’s best friend. And a professional athlete. So he has a dark side. That doesn’t mean anything will change between us. He’s still a nice guy, except he’s a sadist who spanked me so hard I came on his hand.
“Did you watch what I did?”
My body pulses at the sound of his voice, and I force my eyes up, over his thick, muscular thighs, the fight shorts hanging low on his hips, the bulge of his cup, the chiseled abs, broad chest… Oh, and there’s his ridiculously handsome face. “Yes.”
He gives a cocky smile, his eyes glittering. “Then you know you’ll need to lie back on the mat.”
“Okay.” I drop to sitting and suck in a sharp breath as my poor abused ass hits the mat.
Jack studies me for a long moment and then he bends down and presses his lips to my ear. “Does it hurt to sit, darlin’?”
My breath leaves me in a rush, and my pulse throbs between my thighs. “Ah. Yes.”
“Good.” His voice is low, rough, and sends an erotic shiver down my spine. “Stay like that. I’ll help Cora first.”
Breathe, Penny. Breathe. I inhale deeply and let it out slowly, like we do in yoga class. Is he playing mind games with me, or was that just an innocent “sit on the ass I bruised up the other night and remember every stroke of my hand while I help your friend”? My mind swirls with the possibilities while my insides clench, but there is no way for me to tell what he’s thinking, and if I don’t shut it down, I will twist myself up imagining things that might not be there.
He lies on the mat and coaches Cora through the move. I try not to notice the way his muscles bulge, his aura of pure, raw strength, and the ease with which he moves despite his size. After he sends Cora to practice with Doctor Death, he kneels in front of me, his eyes missing nothing. “How are you doing?”
“Good, thanks.” My voice rises in pitch, belying my cheerful words. I let my eyes drift down his powerful chest and arms. Until he went pro, he always wore a yellow tank top with a happy face on it. Now he wears his sponsor shirts advertising everything from gear to power bars to sports drinks. Although I understand the business, part of me misses the old days when he was just another guy in the gym and not on his way to becoming a star.
“If you’d stayed, I would have looked after you,” he whispers.
“I…you…did…look after me.” I lie on my back and part my legs so he can get in position. His massive forearms harden and clench beside me, the way they must have done when he spanked me on Friday night.
He cocks one dark eyebrow, amused. “You were embarrassed.”
“That wasn’t why I was there.”
“You were so fucking sexy.” He grabs my wrists and pins my hands to the mat above my head.
My blood rushes hot through my veins. “What?”
“Sexy.” He leans over me, makes a deep humming noise in the back of his throat. “I want you to come back.”
Adrenaline surges through my body. Jack thinks I’m sexy. He thought spanking me was sexy, making me come was sexy. “Tonight?” I try to keep the panic from my voice. “Don’t you have to train?”
He gives me a quizzical look. “You think I go there every day? It’s pretty intense, Pen. I go
on Saturday because Sunday is my day off training, and only sometimes during the week, usually if someone makes a specific request.”
“Do you…have any specific requests this week?”
A smile tugs at his lips. “Tomorrow night. But if you want…”
My stomach tightens, and I’m not sure if it’s the thought of him with another woman in his playroom or because I need to keep him away from the club. “No.” My hands fly up in a warding gesture, and his smile fades.
“I scared you.”
“You didn’t scare me. I just felt awkward because we’re friends and it…went somewhere I wasn’t expecting. I’m sorry.”
He studies me intently, like he’s searching for lies. “What if we weren’t friends?”
“I don’t think I could have done that with someone I don’t know,” I say honestly. “That night with Master Damien, I didn’t really understand what it was all about. I still don’t, but I’m pretty sure I need some kind of emotional connection—trust.”
Jack drops his weight, and I am deliciously enveloped in hot, hard, musky male.
“If I kissed you now,” he says softly, “we wouldn’t be friends.”
My brain fuzzes over. “What would we be?”
He dips his head down. His breath is warm on my cheek, his body hot and heavy on mine. “Not friends.”
Confused, aroused, desperately wanting to close that inch between us and press my lips against his, I whisper, “Oh.”
He shakes his head, frowns. “That wouldn’t be good.”
What? He wants to kiss me and then he doesn’t? He seems as confused as I am.
“Not sure I know that submission, but I’m willing to learn.” Renegade squats down beside us, a grin splitting his face. “Class is over, folks. You might want to take it outside. Torment is teaching next, and he’s not as forgiving about sexing it up in class as I am.”
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