by Lexi Blake
Adam hovered near her. He was so damn close. And Jake. He was so perfect. Each called to her in their own way.
“Come with us.”
She was just about to answer when the doorbell rang again.
“Damn it.” Jake crossed the space, his hand going for the door. “If it’s that jerk, he’s going to see my gun. ‘My body is a weapon.’ Dumb shit. I bet my gun can take out his body really damn quick.”
She turned, Adam’s hand on her shoulder. He leaned in, his lips close to her ear. “Give us a chance, baby. We can show you a whole new world.”
It was the right thing to say. It was exactly what she needed to hear. The world she was in was hard. It would be nice to have some place to sink into.
“Say yes.”
She nodded. She didn’t have anything better to do.
Jake turned back, a box in his hand. “It was a courier. Were you expecting some books?”
She shook her head. “No. I have to order prints. I haven’t ordered any. I have a signing coming up, but Lara ordered those and they went straight to the bookstore.”
“There’s a return address.” He carefully pulled off the label and started to open the box. He pulled out a book. She recognized it immediately. There was a sweet-looking blonde, her head turned submissively to the side, a hot Dom, and the cool as sin beta hero in a cowboy hat. Sweetheart in Chains.
“It’s just your books,” Jake said, passing it to her.
Serena picked it up. It was her book in trade paperback. Nothing out of the ordinary. She had a closet full of them. She flipped through and saw the difference.
Every dirty word, every pussy, cock, dick, fuck, and others, had been marked through. Someone had taken an enormous amount of time to mark through every part of the book that could be considered slightly controversial.
She flipped to the front.
Stop writing filth or my wrath will come down on you
“Someone sent you a copy of every book you’ve got in print.” Adam held up a copy of Two Men to Love. He started to flip through it, and his skin flushed. She knew they were all the same.
Someone hated her. It was all too fucking much. Between Storm’s criticism and this, she felt the tears begin. Too much. She’d just wanted to find a place, and she’d found so much rejection.
Jake put his arms around her. She was hauled to his chest as the sobs began.
Chapter Ten
Jake stood beside Adam, the soft throb of industrial music thudding in from the dungeon. He watched the women’s locker room, waiting for the moment Serena walked out with Eve. He’d been damn happy Eve was around. He worried that if he’d sent Serena in there alone, she might never have come out.
“She’s taking her time.” Adam watched, too.
“She’s nervous.” And afraid. And a little heartsick. He’d held her while she’d cried, and most of his damn defenses were sorely in need of shoring up. The last several days with Serena had been hard. It had been hard to keep his distance, hard to not like her, hard to just be hard every minute of the day. His cock had made its decision. His cock didn’t give a shit that this was a bad idea. His cock just knew that she was exactly his type and that her soft heart matched her curvy body. It was a dangerous combination.
“I went easy on her.” Adam’s mouth turned down. “I didn’t leave her completely naked.”
Jake turned. “Maybe I shouldn’t have left you in charge of her clothes.”
“Give me a little credit. I didn’t want to scare her away. I left her a miniskirt and a corset.”
Just like that Jake’s dick jumped. His leathers suddenly felt too confining. Fuck. How the hell was he supposed to keep his hands off her? He had a hard time when she was fully dressed. What the fuck was he going to do when she walked out wearing next to nothing and looking like his wet dream?
Adam put a hand on his shoulder. He was still in street clothes. He had a job to do. “You can handle this. It’s one very curious woman who is likely to also be deeply shy. You’ll probably stand at the edge of the crowd the whole time.”
Jake threw his partner a look. Serena could be deeply shy, but Jake had the feeling that once she got in the dungeon, her shyness would battle with curiosity, and there was no way shy won. Serena was too interested in everything. He’d watched her corner a waiter who’d mentioned he’d spent some time in Iraq. She’d had a million questions. She hadn’t been too shy to talk to him.
“So, where’s the client who no one here is fucking?” Ian stepped beside Jake, his massive body crowding the space. Ian was dressed for play in motorcycle boots and his leathers.
“She’s in the locker room with Eve. I’m pretty sure Eve’s not fucking her, either.” Adam just had to push it with Ian.
Ian just smiled and one eyebrow cocked up. “Let’s not be hasty. I might actually watch that show.” He sighed. “So, I heard from Liam there was some movement today. I got a frantic call from Lara. She’s really worried about this. She also said she got a call from a local TV station. It seems someone’s smelling blood in the water, and they think it might make a good story.”
A hard knot formed in the pit of Jake’s stomach. This was what he’d been worried about. Serena didn’t seem to want the publicity. She hadn’t called the press. So who had?
“Cool it, Dean. Don’t you know reporters routinely pump police for interesting cases?” Ian always could read his mind.
Adam jumped on that little fact like it was a lifeline. “Of course. It’s an interesting story. Writer’s private life mirrors her books. I can see a reporter wanting a piece of that. And I’ve checked her phone. The only people she’s talked to are her friends and her agent. She’s practically a damn nun.”
Ian’s face creased. “Yeah. See, that’s what I want to hear. Of course, she’s not exactly wearing a habit right now. Damn.” He growled a little as Serena walked out. “There’s no fucking way you don’t fuck her. Goddamn it. I was happier when you two were playing gay.”
Jake would never be able to play gay with this client. His cock jumped as he caught sight of Serena. To call the skirt she was wearing a mini was being deeply generous. It was more like a piece of spandex she’d wrapped around her luscious ass. It would be so easy to push it aside and bend her over. He could shove his cock deep without ever having to remove the thing. And her breasts looked like they would spill out of the corset. It was a vibrant red, her porcelain skin making a sharp contrast against it. Her hair cascaded down her shoulders. In her everyday life, she wore it in a ponytail or she would use a pen to form a loose, messy bun, but now the soft brown hair made a waterfall down her back. He could sink his hand into it and use the hold to guide her where he wanted her to go. He could force her to the floor, kneeling in front of him, that glorious mouth lined up to accept his cock.
“You look beautiful, Serena.” At least Adam still had the power of speech.
“You look like someone’s serving you up to a big bad Dom. Adam, did you forget to put the cherry on top?” Ian asked, sarcasm flowing.
Serena flushed.
“Not at all, boss. But little Serena there has a cherry of her own. It’s not on top, if you know what I mean.” Adam laughed, but the husky quality told Jake he wasn’t unaffected.
Serena shook her head. “I don’t know what you…oh, my god, you’re talking about my bottom.”
Ian laughed. “Look at the little sub blush. After reading some excerpts of your books, I would have sworn you didn’t have it in you. You use some rough language.”
Serena straightened up. Jake was just about to tell Ian to stuff it. She’d had a hard day, and the last thing she needed was Ian’s comments on her books. But Serena frowned and took it straight to the Dom. “If you can’t handle a little rough use, maybe you should stick to vanilla books.”
Ian laughed. “Oh, I like a brat, honey. I like to eat them for lunch. Mind your manners, sub, or you’ll find yourself over my lap. We’ll see if you turn your bratty mouth on me then.”
Ian shook his head. “This shit had better work out, Dean. I don’t want a lawsuit. You make sure she’s taken care of. And try to think with your brain and not your dick. Did she sign a contract?”
Jake could feel Serena behind him, her head peeking from behind his shoulders.
“I did, but they wouldn’t let me take a copy with me. I should get a copy, don’t you think?” Serena asked as though the man hadn’t just threatened to spank her ass.
Ian stared down at her. “So I could see it written into your next book? I don’t think so. Tell me something, Serena. Are you interested in the lifestyle because BDSM sells books, or are you interested for your own sake?”
“She’s interested, Ian,” Jake explained. “She’s been trying to find a mentor. Unfortunately, she found Dom Douchebag.”
“Yeah, I heard he turned out to be Stinchfield. I didn’t like the way he handled the subs I tested him on. He showed no real emotion toward them. There should be more there than mere service between a Dom and a sub. There should be some excitement. Some emotion. He was very interested in service from the submissive’s end. He wanted a total power exchange, but I didn’t think he would handle that in a way that served the sub.”
“I think you were right to turn him away,” Jake admitted. “But it doesn’t make me want to let you flirt with my sub.”
“Our sub,” Adam interjected.
“So you screen everyone?” Serena asked, her cheek against his bicep. “Do they sit down with Eve? Is there a form they have to fill out? Does everyone sign the same contract that I did? I have Jacob acting as my Dom. What happens if a sub doesn’t have a Dom? Do you find one for her?”
“Down, sub,” Ian barked. Jake had no doubt that if he wasn’t standing between them, Ian would be towering over Serena.
“She’s very curious.” Jake felt an irrational need to defend her. “But she’ll hold her questions for me.”
Ian’s eyes narrowed. “She can ask her questions, but I would rather she submitted them in written form, and I’ll decide what I will and won’t answer. There will be no negotiations about my answers. You will follow your contract and obey Jacob. If Adam has anything to say that is meaningful and helpful, you will obey him as well.”
Adam huffed behind him.
Ian ignored it. “And if this works out and you prove you truly are interested in this, then we can talk about giving you greater access to Sanctum, and I’ll speak with the other Doms and subs about talking to you.”
“Really?” Serena asked.
Ian nodded. “Yes, really. I’m not some monster. Well, not most of the time. I started this club to help little subs like you. And, hey, those excerpts I read were hot. You might want to tone down the whole ‘pussy Dom’ crap, but otherwise, I know a lot of the subs here would love your books. Maybe you could do a signing or something.”
Jake sighed. That would go an enormously long way to settling Serena down.
“I could totally do that. And I would love to talk to subs and Doms. I have a million and one questions. Like when did you know you were a Dom? What were your first indications?”
It was time to take control of his sub. “Serena, stop.”
She had the good sense to go quiet.
Ian looked back at Adam. “Do you need backup?”
He shook his head. “I have it. It’s a simple trace, and I need to go through the tapes I got from the libraries. I have hours of footage from the two libraries with CCTV. I think I found a way to use facial profiling technology to compare the two. I’m looking for some connection, and the time stamps should help me. It shouldn’t be difficult, just time consuming. I could actually do it in the morning.”
“Do it now, Adam,” Ian barked and then walked away.
Jake turned and looked at Serena. “You’re going to be trouble.”
Adam’s hand found her hip. They were crowding her, her half-naked body in the middle. “Which is precisely why I should stay. She needs two Masters. She’s too much trouble for just one.”
“Or we could all go home and you could do the job we’re getting paid to do.” Jake stared at his partner.
After everything that had happened today, how could he possibly be thinking about putting off the case? Jake had looked at those books, and they had turned his stomach. Whoever had sent that package had a deep need to hurt Serena. Every dirty word, every pussy, fuck, cock, cunt, even damn had been marked through. There was no note. No words on the page. The books had simply been cleaned of anything the reader thought of as filth. Nothing this stalker had done before had scared Jacob the way this little stunt had. The attention to detail had made his hair stand on end. How long had he sat at a desk with his marker, decimating Serena’s books? How far would he go to hurt the woman herself?
He locked eyes with his partner, felt Serena tense beside him.
“I’ll go get changed.”
“No,” Adam said quickly. “Stay. Enjoy the club. Have a good time with Jake.” Adam leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I’ll still be here. I set up my gear in the conference room. I can work from there so if you need anything at all, I can be here.”
That was what Jake wanted to hear. The whole computer search thing was Adam’s stock-in-trade. And tonight, Jake’s job was to keep their sub’s mind off all the bad shit. Client, he corrected himself. Client. She didn’t belong to them. He had to remember that.
Adam winked at her and walked toward the conference room.
“We don’t have to do this,” Serena said after a long moment of silence. “We can go and help Adam. Or we could just go home. I know this wasn’t your idea.”
Jake took a deep breath and really looked at her. Despite the sexy clothes, there was still an air of innocence that clung to her. And there was definitely an air of self-doubt. Her husband had turned her away for wanting to be dominated sexually. She’d written down her deeply held fantasies, and yes, they involved sex, but more than that all of her fantasies involved true love and acceptance. She’d been looking for that acceptance for years, and if she didn’t find it soon, she might stop looking altogether. It might occur to her that it would be easier to shove that part of herself away, to bury it deep down where it no longer mattered. He didn’t want that for her. She was beautiful, and it went bone deep. He wanted her to be free.
“You don’t want to play? I thought you would at least want to watch a few scenes.” He still found it hard to simply say what he wanted.
She smiled, a wan little thing. “I want to try it all. I want the whole experience, Jacob, but I know you don’t think of me like that. It’s okay. We can just watch. I promise not to be too obnoxious with the questions.” Her eyes trailed after Adam. The longing there made Jake jealous. “Adam said he would help with the rest of it.”
Had he? How very fucking nice of Adam to offer to help with “the rest of it.” Something nasty took root in Jake’s gut. It wasn’t fair. He knew it. He’d been the one who’d tried to push her away in the beginning, but living with her these past few days had made him draw close to her. He couldn’t help it. He’d watched her, grown to care. And now Adam wanted him to stand beside her, watching scenes while he plotted and scheduled her training? Adam wasn’t half the Dom Jake was. He wasn’t as vested in the lifestyle, but he thought he would train the sexy little wide-eyed natural sub?
Fuck no.
“Wh
at exactly is the other stuff, Serena?” The words came out in a harsh grind.
Serena flushed, her fair skin pinkening prettily. She would look so fucking good draped over his knee. His cock settled into a deep, throbbing rhythm.
Her eyes slid away from him. “The protocol stuff.”
He cupped her neck, his palm on her spine, forcing her gently to look up. He slipped the collar around her neck, adjusting it to a comfortable length. He touched the collar as he spoke. “I’m responsible for you. Not Adam. I’m the one with rights here. If you want to learn something about the lifestyle, you’ll go through me. Let’s start at the beginning. Show me how you greet your Master.”
He couldn’t resist. He knew he should just nod and walk her through the dungeon, but the temptation of seeing her kneel at his feet was too much. She bit into her bottom lip, looking around the area as though trying to decide if it was safe. But that wasn’t her call.
“Now, Serena. On your knees. You want a Dom for the night? Well, that’s my collar around your neck. You will obey me, or we’ll do exactly what you said. We’ll go home and sit and wait for Adam. Hell, we’ll watch some incredibly boring TV and you can sink into your safe-as-pie vanilla life, and you never have to really know what it means to submit. You can just write about it.”
A fire lit her eyes, and she fell to her knees. Yes, that was what he wanted. She wasn’t thinking about the fact that her skirt was too short or that people might see her. She was thinking about him and proving him wrong. It wasn’t the exact place he wanted her. He would rather she was merely thinking about pleasing him, but he would take it.
He studied her for a moment. She had the basics down. Her brunette head was bent submissively toward the floor. Her hands were on her knees, shoulders back. If she had been naked, her breasts would have been on full, glorious display.