He buried his face in her neck and her breath caught. The growly, Dommy feeling was back, demanding that he have her again. There was something about her that he couldn’t get enough of.
She was making a joke about something, but he ignored it and rolled her onto her back. There was no struggle or objection, and when he kissed her, she kissed him back and pressed against him seductively.
Mercy.
He could spend all day in bed with this girl. In fact, he had. They kissed for a long while, but eventually, she pulled away.
“I’m sorry, but I think I’m too sore for you to fuck me again.” She grimaced ruefully, as though she needed to apologize.
“Hey, I’m not that easy. Just because we’re in bed and I’m hard for you, doesn’t mean you’re getting any.” He shook his head in mock dismay. “So greedy, this girl. So demanding.”
She laughed and hit him with a pillow. In response, he pinned her arms above her head, letting her feel how little control she had over what he did, then pinned her legs down with one of his own.
“What are you . . . ?” she gasped out, heat flaring in her eyes, her lips parting seductively.
“Whatever I want.” His hand drifted down her body, sketching over every welt, bite mark and hickey. The amount of pleasure he got from knowing how thoroughly he’d marked her probably wasn’t healthy, but he wasn’t about to admit it to anyone.
Her nipples hardened into points, and he rubbed his thumb across them. She hissed.
“They’re sore! Don’t be mean.”
“I thought you liked me mean.” He held her gaze and she squirmed in his grasp.
“Shh. You can’t know all my secrets yet.”
A long moment passed where her eyes became his world. He fell into them, losing himself and not caring if he found a way out again. His chest ached. She wasn’t close enough, so he moved closer, wanting to be inside her again but knowing even that wasn’t going to satisfy him.
Oh God.
He kissed her again, trying to break the spell, but even with his eyes closed he could still see her. The feeling wouldn’t go away.
Gently, he pulled back. Her face was submissive, docile, waiting for his direction. This wasn’t the theatrical submission of a girl who just wanted to play with a Dom. A connection had been made between them, somehow. Not something shallow, that would let them enjoy a scene together, but something that was going too far, too fast. His first instinct was to jump out of her bed, throw on his clothes, and bolt for the door.
“I wish I could stay, but I have to get going.” He kissed her forehead, the intimacy almost painful.
“Oh. Do you have to work or something?” Her smile was small. Disappointed but too polite to say so.
“Yeah.” Or something was right. He needed to get to a pharmacy and see if there was a pill for men who’d accidentally developed feelings for a girl. This wasn’t supposed to happen. If anyone knew better, it was Ambrose.
She ran her fingers through his hair, and he was almost a goner.
Out, out, out!
He got up and searched the apartment for his clothing, which was scattered in the most unlikely places, reminding him of when she’d brought her toys out for him. He almost groaned. Fuck, he had to leave.
Everly was deliberately avoiding his gaze, which made him feel guilty for panicking, but he couldn’t stop. Maybe she didn’t like him anyway. It wasn’t as though a girl like her would have trouble getting dates, right?
Everly handed him his shirt, and he tugged it on, but not before she trailed her fingers along the ridges of his chest. When he looked down at her, her lips were pressed together and her eyes sad.
He waited for her to ask if or when they’d see each other again, or when he’d call, but she didn’t say a thing.
Not knowing what else to do, he hugged her, then had trouble making himself let go.
Everly pulled away first, all of the spark gone from her eyes. “It’s been fun. See you around.”
When he stepped out into the hall, the lock immediately clicked behind him.
* * *
It was dark and damn cold, which suited him fine. He rang the bell then paced the well-lit walkway until he heard someone clear their throat. He turned. Anna was standing in the doorway.
“Oh, Banner. It’s you.”
“I’m Ambrose.”
The girl giggled. “Sorry, I keep forgetting which of you is which.”
With Anna it was hard to figure out whether the dumb thing was an act or not. Both she and Sindee seemed to delight in not knowing much about anything. How Konstantin could stand two of these was beyond him. Obviously, he didn’t keep them around for their scintillating conversational skills.
He stalked up the steps and into the imposing foyer. Although neither Konstantin nor Banner rang the bell at his place, he’d gotten to the point where he did with them because there was just no knowing what he’d walk in on nowadays. But years of growing up together, then more years of playing around each other, had led to having very few boundaries between them.
Anna, dressed in a backless red minidress and stripper heels, led him to Konstantin’s home office. Ambrose found Konstantin’s place cold and impersonal—modern, sleek lines with lots of glass and stainless steel. Kon was sitting at his desk, reading over some paperwork. As for Sindee, she was lying across the far edge of the desk, her dress up around her hips, masturbating. If she was looking for attention she was out of luck, because Kon was ignoring her completely.
He looked up at Ambrose, his gaze seeming to take note of his disheveled state. Ambrose hadn’t even bothered going home yet.
“Hey, zasranets. You big shithead. I called you twice. Why didn’t you call me back?”
“I was . . . busy.” Ambrose stood there for a moment, not sure why he was waiting for Kon to tell him to sit. They usually treated each other’s places like they lived there.
Konstantin quirked a dark brow at him.
“Girls, get out. Go get some takeout or something. There’s money in my wallet.”
Anna nodded and walked out, but Sindee crawled across the desk, her pussy and jewel-plugged ass on shameless display to Ambrose.
“Master, please let me suck your cock,” she whined. “You’ve been ignoring us all day, and I’m sooo horny.” Like a cat, she butted her head against his chest, then arched up and whispered something in his ear.
Konstantin frowned. “No. Out.” He swatted her butt, and she reluctantly got off the desk and headed out the door, giving him a series of long pouty looks over her shoulder.
When she was gone, he chuckled. “I really need to stop dating nymphos.”
“Yes, I can see how this would be horrible for you.”
“Yesterday, I had to lock them in the kennel, just so I could get through a one-page document.”
“If you hated it that much, you could always just work at your office.”
Konstantin sighed. “It’s more efficient to go downtown, I suppose, but when I want a blowjob I have to come all the way back here. It’s inconvenient.”
“You poor bastard.”
“Maybe I need a woman who plays hard to get.”
“You keep picking women who play hard to get rid of.”
He chuckled. “We all have our burdens.”
“Somewhere a man is playing a tiny violin in sympathy for your plight.”
“He’s a good man, whoever he is.” Konstantin sipped from the highball glass on his desk. “You want a drink?”
“It’s too early for that.”
Kon snorted. “In what time zone? It’s nine thirty at night in this one.”
Ambrose sat in the chair across from Kon and buried his face in his hands. All he kept seeing was Everly’s face, her body, a sassy expression, the depth of submission hiding behind the brattiness. Some sort of sound escaped him, but he wasn’t even sure what it was.
“What’s wrong with you?”
When Ambrose took his hands from his face, Konstantin wa
s frowning at him.
“I think I’m in trouble.”
Kon stood and braced his hands on the desk. “What do you need? Money? I have most of mine tied up right now, but it won’t take long to liquidate some of my investments. Or do you need help kicking someone’s ass?”
Ambrose snorted. Typical Konstantin, ready to give him the shirt off his back. “Kicking ass? What, are we in high school again? We haven’t gotten in a scrap since that bar fight in Texas, like a million years ago.”
“I guess we should have just left when the bouncer said our IDs looked fake.” Kon grinned, settling back into his chair. “So what’s wrong?”
“It’s hard to explain.”
“Are you still moping around about Kate? You knew that wasn’t going to work out from the beginning. I don’t know why you let yourself get sucked into that mess.”
“If you trained her for a month, you wouldn’t be able to help yourself either.”
“I probably would have banged her in a million different ways so that when Banner regained his senses, I’d have her out of my system. Fair’s fair.” He smiled slyly. “Kate’s a doll, and superhot, but she’s not slutty enough for me. She’d never submit to half the stuff I’m into.”
Ambrose was sure Konstantin was wrong—with the right training, Kate would do almost anything, but she wasn’t his anymore and he shouldn’t even be thinking of her that way. Besides, he’d deliberately kept the feelings he’d developed for Kate stunted, knowing that eventually Banner would demand he give her back.
This thing with Everly was different. Other than the fact that she was allergic to his money, there was nothing to stop him from pursuing her. That and the fact that he couldn’t handle another relationship as intense as what he’d had with Shae. Playing at D/s was fine, but serious, long-term D/s was on his list of hard limits.
If he and Everly got close and she ditched him, too . . .
Fuck. He ran a hand over his face.
“It’s not about Kate—or Shae, before you ask. I did something I shouldn’t have done.” He thought of the look of betrayal on Everly’s face and groaned. “I don’t know if I can fix it. I don’t know if I even want to fix it.”
Konstantin looked at him expectantly. “What are you saying? Do I need to get a shovel? Do we need to find a remote location?” With his thick Russian accent, whenever he said things like that Kon sounded like a villain from an eighties action movie.
“No. It’s Everly.”
“Shit. She seemed perfect for you, from what I saw at the club the other night. What’s wrong? Your kinks don’t match up? She’s got a Dom? She’s into pegging? You know, you might want to keep an open mind there. Some guys love it.”
“Shut up. It’s too damn close to pegging every time we double-team a girl and your dick slips out of her. I swear my life flashes before my eyes.”
“You’re such a baby.”
“You have a big dick!”
They both laughed, which made Ambrose feel a bit better. It was good to have friends. Especially crazy ones.
“Did you fuck her?”
Ambrose sighed and leaned his head back against the chair, which was one of the least comfortable versions of a chair he’d ever encountered. “Yes. I just left her place a little while ago.”
“It’s early. Why didn’t you stay? Did she kick you out?”
“No. We had amazing sex twice, then fell asleep, but then when we woke up I panicked and bolted.”
Konstantin snorted. “Smooth.”
“Fuck off,” Ambrose grumbled. “It’s not funny.”
“You’re damn right it’s funny. You knew I was going to laugh before you even walked in the door, so don’t be a whiny bitch. What happened?”
Ambrose groaned and tried not to think about the way Everly whimpered when he was deep inside her. “It’s complicated. The girls are all dressed up, so I assume you’re going out. Just never mind me, I’m going to go home and think.”
His friend twirled a pen between the fingers of one hand like he belonged in a circus act. Knowing he could do similar things with a knife made it sinister, but no less amazing. He’d tried to teach Ambrose, but he’d never gotten the knack.
“Do you seriously think I’m going to take my girls out to a club while you’ve got that look on your face? They can wait days, for all I care. They’ll take care of each other if I take too long with you.”
“It’s weird that they’ll sleep together even though they hate each other.”
“It’s not so much that they hate each other, they just both want to be my favorite.” He shrugged. “Even though they know I don’t pick favorites. When I’m not around they seem to like each other fine. But enough about my bits of fluff. Why did you run away? I thought you liked her.”
Fucked if he knew.
“I’m not sure. Something went wrong. We were in bed, goofing around, and the next thing I knew I was . . . I don’t know. I was looking at her and she was so hot and perfect and a complete goofball. I flipped out.”
Konstantin grunted. “Now I get it.” He put the pen down and steepled his fingers in front of his face.
“Do you? Well, I wish you’d explain it to me.”
“You like her too much. I think you’re over Shae, finally, but now you’re shutting people down before they get too close.” He cocked his head to the side, narrowing his dark eyes. “You know that’s why you used to fuck Banner’s exes, right? You thought they were safe because they were on the rebound, and you’d never get serious with a girl one of us had first.”
A pained noise escaped Ambrose, and he banged his forehead on Konstantin’s desk repeatedly. “You do realize I hate you?”
“You hate me most when you know I can see through your bullshit. You, my friend, spend a lot of time in denial.”
“Maybe. So what do I do now?”
“Well, you can either avoid her until she hates you, which is the safe and cowardly thing to do, or you can go apologize and see if you can turn it into a real relationship.” Kon smiled sympathetically, then got up and poured Ambrose a tumbler of something that was probably scotch. It smelled like paint thinner.
Ambrose took a sip. Tasted like paint thinner.
“You seem happy enough in your . . . relationships.” What did he call what Kon had anyway? “You keep them a few months and then give them the boot. You never have time to get attached.” He took another drink, wishing the fumes from it weren’t making his eyes water.
“Ah, but soon things will change. You and Banner need to throw me a party.”
“Why?”
“I’m getting engaged.”
“What?” Ambrose swung his head in the direction the girls had gone but they weren’t in view. “To which one?”
Konstantin smiled grimly. “Neither of those two.” He flicked a dismissive finger at the door. “They’re fun, but I don’t want to marry them. I don’t know who I’m marrying yet. You remember how my babushka has been sending me résumés for different girls, and making me visit there, that sort of thing?”
“Yes?”
“Banner’s wedding got me to thinking. We’re not getting any younger—if we don’t marry soon, many of the girls worth marrying will already be spoken for. I’ve decided to grant my grandmother’s dying wish and marry a girl from her village. I’ve told her to choose one for me.”
“What?” Ambrose realized his mouth was hanging open, and he closed it.
He shrugged. “One’s as good as another. It’s time I had a wife.”
Ambrose sat immobile, staring at his friend. This was crazy talk. The Konstantin he thought he knew would never settle down, let alone with some girl his grandmother chose. She didn’t know anything about his . . . proclivities, so how could she pick him a suitable wife?
“Most of the girls she favors are in school. I have about a year until I can send for one.”
“A year isn’t very long.” A thoughtful silence fell between them. Ambrose didn’t know what to say. “I
’m sorry to hear about your grandmother.”
“Oh, she’s not really dying. At least not anytime soon, I don’t think. She’s just melodramatic.” Konstantin drained the rest of his glass and set it aside. “So anyway, I need to make the most of my time until then.”
Ambrose ran a hand over his face. “You’re not going to keep a girl on the side or anything?”
Konstantin raised an eyebrow in disgust. “I would never disrespect my wife that way.”
“What if she’s vanilla?”
He shrugged. “Is anyone, really? I’ll lay my cards on the table with her when she arrives. If she can’t bring herself to like what I like, at least in part, I won’t marry her.”
Ambrose mulled over this turn of events. It was hard to picture any of them married—even Banner, but particularly Konstantin. Although Kon never stepped out on the women he was in a sexual relationship with, he got bored quickly and always wanted newer, shinier toys.
“Of course, you and Banner will have to stand up for me at the wedding, and promise not to frighten my new little wife.”
Ambrose was vaguely insulted. “I’m a gentleman.” Well, maybe that wasn’t entirely true, but when it came to girls outside of a consensual D/s relationship he did his best to be the man his mother had raised him to be. Everly, though . . . Everly made it very hard to think like a gentleman.
The way she responded to him, the clever gleam in her eye, the curve of her hip—the way she sucked cock. Fuck. He shifted in his chair and realized Kon hadn’t missed a thing.
Konstantin’s smile was salacious. “So . . . when are you bringing Everly by for some fun?”
Territorial hackles rose, surprising even Ambrose. “If you ever so much as touch her, I’ll strangle you with your own intestines.”
His friend threw his head back and laughed. “A simple ‘never’ would have sufficed.” He got to his feet. “Interesting how you’ve only had her twice and you’re already acting like a jealous ass. Now get out. I have women to screw, and you need to make up your own mind.” He waved him away. “Talking to me isn’t going to fix what you did. Just make sure you don’t grovel. Masters who grovel give their power to their slaves. Not a good tone to set in a relationship.”
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