by Lexi Blake
But that never stopped a good Dom. If he wanted, he could play with her. She had a lovely figure, very fashionable. She was slender with graceful breasts and slim hips. Her makeup was perfect and not a strand of platinum blonde hair was out of place.
So why was he thinking about a messy brunette?
He shook his head slightly to let Kallie know he had no interest. She shrugged and moved on.
He knew why he was thinking about Serena Brooks. Because she was far softer than Kallie. She was an adorable mess, with big green love-me-take-me-protect-me eyes. He’d taken a single look at Serena and wanted to take her into his arms and feel her soften against him. He’d wanted to get her in between him and Adam and not stop until one of them was buried in her pussy and the other in her ass.
And he didn’t trust that feeling.
“What has crawled up Adam’s ass and died a horrible death?” Liam’s musical accent brought Jake out of his thoughts.
“He’s pissed at me.” That was an understatement. Adam hadn’t talked to him all afternoon. Adam had shoved him out of his office and locked the door. Adam was having the grown man equivalent of a temper tantrum.
“Yeah, I got that. I asked where you were and he nearly bit my head off. He’s still at the office. What’s going on with that? He never works late.”
Liam was right. Adam was great on a case, but when they were in between, the man liked to play. That was the problem. Adam was already on a case. It didn’t matter that the group hadn’t taken the case yet. It only mattered that Adam was already engaged.
Damn it.
Adam fell too hard and too fast. No matter how many women they had tried and failed to connect with, Adam was still trying to find ‘the one.’ After the Grace debacle of six months before, Jake had been happy Adam had taken some time off from his search. But the minute he’d seen Serena, he’d known that Adam’s time off from his love search was at an end.
Sure enough, he’d been right. The minute Jake had walked into that room and seen the way Adam looked at Serena, his gut had clenched.
Couldn’t Adam see that there wasn’t one perfect woman for both of them? Women would play at ménage, but there wasn’t a woman in the world who would actually live the lifestyle they wanted. They had tried living with a couple of women, and they always left.
Or they utterly betrayed them. Like Jennifer. She’d wrecked their careers in the military just to get a step up. And she’d laughed while she did it. He’d asked her to marry him, and she’d told him he was a freak. No one would want him, she’d said, because he was only half a man.
No one would ever understand how much he needed Adam. And lately he was thinking that it was time to let that dream go. Maybe it was better to be half a man and have a wife then it was to feel complete when the whole of society thought they were wrong. And then Serena walked in the door and he’d just known he was going to get his heart ripped up all over again. He’d managed to stay out of the thing with Grace. He’d known she loved Sean Taggart, but Serena was a different story.
Eve St. James strode into the bar area, a frustrated look on her face. She carried her briefcase in hand. She was still dressed in a chic business suit, her hair perfect. “Does anyone know what the hell this is about?”
“What?” Jake wondered why half his team was here, but no one was dressed for play.
“You haven’t checked your cell?” Eve asked.
He hadn’t. He’d gotten to the club with every plan to find a sub and settle in for the night—with or without Adam. But he couldn’t get Serena out of his head. And he couldn’t stop thinking about her case.
The cops were wrong. He felt it deep in his gut. The cursory information led him to believe this was a jerk who liked to feel powerful. He hadn’t done anything beyond harass her on a social networking site and send her e-mails. But he would.
He would get sick of being ignored, and he would escalate.
Jake’s gut churned, acid building. He wasn’t going to be able to turn her away.
Adam walked into the bar. He’d ditched his tie, but he hadn’t put on his leathers. Alex was right behind him, carrying his briefcase. The gang was all here, it seemed.
“Did everyone get that terse message from Ian?” Liam asked.
Jake found his phone and noticed the text. It was simple. Ian Taggart, his boss, told him to be at Sanctum at eight pm.
What the hell was going on?
“Do you know anything about this?” Jake asked, looking at Adam. “Did you go to Ian about Serena?”
Adam’s jaw firmed, a sure sign that he was irritated. “No. I wouldn’t go behind your back. I worked on the presentation of her case. Grace put it on the board for tomorrow’s morning meeting. I’ll convince everyone then. I’ll even convince you.”
Jake pulled him aside as everyone started talking amongst themselves. “You don’t have to convince me. I’ll recommend that we take the case.”
Adam’s whole body sagged in obvious relief. “Thank god. She’s in trouble. I can feel it. What did Brighton say? Did he convince you?”
Brighton had been a little dismissive. “No. The cops are sure this is a ploy for attention. Even if they believed her, they couldn’t do a lot.”
“Why would she make this up?”
It was a question that had been bothering him, too. “Publicity. Although if she wanted publicity, I don’t see why she’s kept it so quiet. And then there’s the fact that all of this started just as her ex-husband decided to go after her income. Brighton says Serena is very smart and incredibly creative. Apparently she wrote a book where something similar to this happened. Right down to the author’s stalker posing as one of her characters.”
Adam grimaced. “I just can’t see her doing this.”
Jake’s instincts told him she was innocent, but he’d been wrong before. “I think the best way to figure this out is to get close to her, but Adam, I think someone else should do it.”
“No.” Adam’s head shook. “We’re the best at close coverage. And this guy is using a computer. No one is better with communications than me. It has to be us.”
He was being put in a corner, and Jake didn’t like the feeling. “Tell me you’re going to keep your hands off her.”
Adam put on what Jake liked to call his “What, me? I would never do that” face. Adam usually had that look just before he did something stupid. “I know she’s the client. Am I attracted to her? Yes. But I’m more concerned for her safety than getting her into bed. Come on, man. We’ve worked hundreds of corporate cases. This is a woman who needs us. This is an actual person in real danger.”
“Fine. We’ll talk to Ian in the morning about it.”
“You’ll talk to Ian right now.” Ian Taggart strode into the room, a fierce frown on his face. The boss was six and a half feet of pure alpha male. Even though they had left the Army behind long ago, when Ian Taggart barked at Jake, Jake stood a little taller. Sometimes he still missed the Army. “Everyone in the conference room now.”
“There’s a conference room?” Adam asked.
Jake had to admit it was an odd place to have a business meeting. He could hear scenes going on in the dungeon. Moans and the snick of a whip floated into the bar.
Ian strode right past them, not looking back. The boss was pissed off.
Alex, Ian’s infinitely—to Jake’s mind—more reasonable partner, shook his head. “You two are in serious trouble.”
Thank god someone knew something. “What the hell did we do?”
Alex sighed and shook his head. “You pissed off someone important. Lara Anderson is a personal friend of Ian’s. She sent you a client today, a woman named Serena Brooks, and the client went home in tears. Lara’s brother served in Ian’s unit. He saved Ian’s life and died while doing it. He feels like he owes her. She’s never asked for anything before. She asks him to handle one fucking case for her—to protect one of her writers—and you two send her away.”
Fuck a duck. Yeah, he was in trou
“He didn’t think she was coming in until tomorrow. He’s distracted. He got a line on Mr. Black, and it didn’t pan out.”
Ian Taggart had a hard-on for bringing down one man. Eli Nelson, also known as Mr. Black, was a rogue CIA agent who had nearly killed Grace Taggart a few months back. Ian had vowed revenge. Jake thought Ian was looking for the man so hard for the simple fact that he didn’t want his brother to go after him. Sean Taggart had gotten out of the business. Jake was pretty sure Ian was happy about that. What he wasn’t happy about was the fact that Sean no longer spoke to him. It was obvious their little feud continued as Sean blew right past his brother. He was with his wife, Grace, who stopped and talked to Ian, but Sean didn’t seem to want to.
Sean held out a hand. “So, big brother’s finally done it. He’s moved his whole business into the dungeon. Well, I can’t say it’s surprising. He’s always felt more comfortable here. I just wish he would remember that his sister-in-law is pregnant and can use her rest.”
Grace stepped up, playfully slapping her husband. “Don’t put words in my mouth. I’m happy to be here.”
Sean’s eyes got hard. “Do you forget where we are, little one?”
Grace’s eyes slid submissively to the floor. “I am sorry, Master. I would get on my knees, but I might never get back up.”
“Forgiven, love.” He sank one hand in her hair and his other went to the swell of her belly. He leaned in, their connection palpable. “You know why we haven’t been here. I’m worried about the baby and you. I’ll talk to friends while you deal with my brother. And maybe we can walk the dungeon when you get out.”
Grace’s face lit up. “Thank you, Master.”
Sean took her hand in his. It was obvious he wasn’t going anywhere until he absolutely had to. Jake wondered what it felt like to be that connected to a woman. Grace wore Sean’s ring, and a delicate gold chain around her neck marked her as his submissive. What would it be like to have a woman trust him the way Grace trusted Sean?
He must be getting old. He tried to get his brain back in work mode since it seemed he wouldn’t be playing tonight. Jake turned to Grace.
“Who is this Serena person?” Jake asked. He didn’t want to walk into that room without knowing a thing or two. Grace had been the one to bring her to his office, the unholy gleam of a matchmaker in her eyes.
Grace shrugged. “I don’t know. Ian sent me a message this afternoon that I should prepare the VIP treatment for her, but she’d already come and gone by then. I tried calling her place and leaving a message asking her to come back, but I got voice mail.”
Alex, Eve, and Liam walked past them, filing into what seemed to be the conference room.
Adam stayed behind. “What do you know about her? She said she was a writer. Have you heard of Amber Rose? I didn’t get a chance to look her up yet. She said she writes romances.”
Jake hadn’t had time to look at her work either, but he could bet they were sweet little books about true love where the couple consummated their union with a simple kiss. Amber Rose would never go for what they wanted. She would be shocked and horrified. It was their burden to bear that a woman like Serena was exactly what they wanted and exactly the type who couldn’t handle them.
Grace stopped and looked like she was about to hyperventilate. Her face flushed, and her mouth dropped open. “Serena Brooks is Amber Rose? Are you kidding me? Oh, my god! I have all her books.”
Sean’s brows rose on his face. “Amber Rose—as in Texas Sweethearts?”
Even the title was sugary sweet. “She writes a series called Texas Sweethearts? Is it an old-fashioned western?”
Grace shook her head. “No. It’s amazing. I’ve read them all at least four times. Sweetheart in Chains is my favorite. I’ve heard that Their Sweetheart Slave is coming out soon. I can’t wait. It’s Alexa, Caden, and Duke’s story. I’ve been waiting for it forever.”
“What?” Adam said, leaning in. “Are you telling me that sweet little woman who was in my office this afternoon writes porn?”
Sean winced. “Dear god, don’t call it porn.”
Grace frowned, a single finger pointed straight at Adam. “It isn’t porn. It’s erotic romance. There is a huge difference. Amber Rose writes hot love stories. And if you can’t handle it, then I don’t care. I love her books, and I wish I had known who she was when I met her. Erotic romance helped me figure out what I wanted.”
Jake shook his head. Grace read some rough stuff. He’d never actually read them himself, but he’d glanced through them when Grace had been under investigation. “Are you serious? Those books you read are all about BDSM.”
It was a little incomprehensible, but according to Grace there was a whole category of books that claimed to be BDSM romances. Female fantasies about bondage and pussy Doms who fell to their knees and let their subs walk all over them. Yeah, Jake hadn’t read those.
Grace nodded. “Yes, they have BDSM elements.” A little smile crept over her face. “And she also writes a lot of ménage.”
Sean laughed. “I forgot about that. Wow. That’s interesting.”
“You’ve read these books?” Jake asked. Ménage? There was no way. This was a joke.
Sean shrugged, his face flushing slightly. “I wanted to know what my wife reads. I will admit Amber Rose’s books are actually kind of good. There are several of those authors who write some pretty hot stuff. It’s very different from what I imagined. Not my bag or anything, but the books have actual plots and stuff. Along with some pretty freaky sex…loving, freaky sex.” He grunted as his wife elbowed him. “You are going to get so tied up after this baby is born. I’m keeping a running tab of all your punishments.”
Grace smiled brightly at her husband. “I look forward to it.”
“Get in here now!” Ian’s bark resounded through the bar. Jake could have sworn every sub in a mile radius hit her knees, though Grace managed to stay standing.
Adam frowned. “I think we fucked this one up royally, brother.”
Jake followed Adam and Grace into the conference room. He thought about telling Adam that it hadn’t been his fault, but the truth was they had both mishandled the situation. Adam, in his own way, had come on far too strong. And Jake had pulled away too hard. Jake had misread the situation.
Ian Taggart stood in the center of the room, his arms across his massive chest. He might have let his hair grow out, but he still looked every inch the Lieutenant Commander of a Green Beret team. He hadn’t been in command of Jake and Adam’s team. That had been his brother, Sean, but there was enough military discipline ingrained into Jake’s brain that Ian’s stance had him at attention.
“What’s up, chief?” Adam had always had a bit of trouble with authority. Where Ian’s anger would make Jake more professional, it would bring out Adam’s sarcasm.
Jake sent Adam a stare. It was Jake’s “let me handle this” look. “I take it this is about the Serena Brooks case? We were planning on presenting it to the group in the morning.”
It was nothing less than the truth. He had all the notes on his laptop. He’d intended to go over everything later in the evening after he’d burned off some of his anger. He’d intended to run all of Serena’s information and have a perfectly polished PowerPoint presentation for the morning meeting. He’d planned on recommending that they take the case and then have Liam handle the whole thing.
He hated getting blindsided.
“Derek Anderson saved my life and the lives of three of my men, giving his own in the process. He was under my charge in Afghanistan. He was my responsibility. His sister was his only family. I owe her. She has asked me to do one thing in ten years. One fucking thing. She asked me to take care of her client who is being stalked and harassed. She asked me to take care of a single female in a professional fashion. Do you want to explain to me what the problem is?” No one in the whole world could ice over words the way Ian Taggart could.
“She did come in early,” Eve pointed out. “Not a one of us knew what was going on. You might have at least let Grace in on the situation.”
“I sent her an e-mail.”
Grace frowned, obviously not allowing Ian’s tone to intimidate her in the least. “Which I got about thirty minutes after Serena Brooks ran out of the office. Don’t you try to pin this one on me. I handled it the best way I knew how. The minute I found out she was dealing with a stalker, I called in Jake and Adam. They’re the close contact guys. They’re the only ones here who can do twenty-four seven since you put Liam on the Black case.”
Ian’s mouth turned down. “Well, the last information I have is that the bastard is in Europe. Liam has better contacts there than anyone else.”
“And I’ve contacted them. Now all we can do is be patient. But the big bastard here doesn’t do patient well. I can handle more than one case at a time. Especially when all I’m really required to do is keep my ear to the ground,” Liam complained.
Alex sat back in his chair, his hand scrubbing across his face. “I can handle it, especially if Liam can back me up.”
“Not the way we can,” Adam interjected. “And you have that corporate case you’re working on.”
Ian held out a hand and everyone shut up. “I always meant to put Jake and Adam on the case. Jake and Adam handle close contact, Eve profiles the asshole, and Liam can be the backup. From what I can tell, the cops assume this is a domestic dispute and are trying to stay out of it.”
Eve sat forward. The former FBI profiler pinned Ian with a stare. “Why do they think her husband is involved? Is there a history of violence? Do we have a file on him?”
Alexander McKay passed her a file folder. “I pulled together what I could after I talked to Ian. I knew you would be interested in this particular case. This is personal, more up your alley.”
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