by Lexi Blake
“He mentioned there was a big celebration going on at the club.” He downed the rest of the sandwich.
“Sanctum.” She had to be precise.
He nodded. “Yeah, the club. Wait. Is this about the other club? It’s very confusing.”
She couldn’t help but grin. “I think Master Julian likes it that way.”
He smiled back. God, when that boy smiled he was brighter than the sun. “I’ll have to go see it sometime. The Club, that is. My friend has a membership there. He couldn’t get into Sanctum. I guess he didn’t know the right people.”
Oh, he could flirt. He could flirt for hours, and every word out of his mouth made her heart pound. “I don’t know. Some people think Julian Lodge is pretty powerful.”
“I’m too used to the way Big Tag does things,” he admitted. “I’m going to have to be Team Sanctum all the way. Maybe someday I’ll even be a regular.”
What if they could have a D/s relationship? What if they sat down and went over a very explicit contract that described their roles and what they could expect from the other? They could go over protocols of what had to happen if they chose to break up. If they went into it being honest and forthright, maybe she wouldn’t get hurt. Maybe. She needed time to think about it. She couldn’t make a decision here and now. “So do you want to try for the friends thing? For now?”
In a few weeks she would have a better handle on what her life would look like. She would have had time to examine how she felt. She would know what to tell him.
The most delicious expression crept across his face. It was a mischievous expression, the kind that said I’m going to tell you what you want and still try to have you. He held his hand out. “Friends it is.”
The minute she touched him her whole body seemed to spark. She knew it wasn’t real. It was nothing but her own reaction to his insane charm, but when she touched him it felt like the world lit up.
“Are you the guy from TV?”
She looked to her left and there was a full gang of kiddos standing in front of them. The Taggart twins were front and center, but they were joined by Olivia and Josh Barnes-Fleetwood, Carys Taggart and Chloe Lodge. A massive mutt of a dog sat beside them. Kenzie held his leash, but Bud was a well-trained pup. He simply followed the Taggart twins around, happily wagging his tail at everyone he greeted.
Unlike a lot of single guys she knew, Jared didn’t seem uncomfortable around a bunch of kids. He gave them a steady smile. “I was on TV for a while. I played a guy named Dart.”
“My dad says darts can’t kill people,” one of the Tag twins said. “But I think anything can kill if you hit something hard enough with it.”
She was pretty sure that was Kala. Kala scared her. One time she’d been at a Christmas party and someone had given the twins a matching set of bouncing giraffes to ride on. Kenzie had squealed with delight and promptly started bouncing around the party. Kala had taken the toy by the neck and disappeared like a lion dragging prey. She still wasn’t sure what had happened to that giraffe.
“What about marshmallows?” Olivia asked, looking at the younger girl, her arms crossed over her chest. Olivia looked an awful lot like her momma, Abby Barnes-Fleetwood. “I don’t think a marshmallow could kill anything.”
Jared shrugged. “It could if you were allergic to marshmallows. Or if you got a hundred thousand of them and drowned a person in them.”
Kala nodded as though the image was going through her young brain and she found it pleasing. “Yes, I can see that.”
“Do you know Spongebob?” Kenzie asked with a bright smile.
“I haven’t had the pleasure, but I do know a couple of Pokémon,” Jared replied.
“No way,” Carys said, obviously impressed.
“Yes, way.” Jared turned to Sarah, giving her a wink. “I know some of the actors who do the voices.”
Josh Barnes-Fleetwood had a cowboy hat on his head and a cynical look on his young face. She’d been told he was six, but he always seemed older to her. “Well, I don’t see what the fuss is about. He doesn’t look like a bull to me.”
Carys nodded. “He doesn’t. Momma said he was probably a bull in bed, but I don’t know what that means.”
Bud’s tail thumped against the ground as if he didn’t understand either.
Jared was overtaken by a sudden coughing fit.
“I think she means he’s probably really strong.” Sarah fought back a laugh. “He works out a lot.”
Josh stared at Jared like he might or might not be a threat. “My dads work out in the gym. Not the bedroom.”
“Oh, I bet your dads…” She was going to say that she was pretty sure there was some serious working out going down at the ranch, but a big hand covered her mouth and Jared was laughing as he held her close.
“She was going to say that all dads work out in their gyms,” Jared managed over his laughter. He had one arm wrapped around her waist and the other over her mouth. “That’s all, and I am pretty strong. From working out. In a gym.”
“Nicely done, Johns.” Big Tag strode up, a football in his hand. “Kids, leave the civvies alone. They have no idea how to handle you. Go on. I think you’ll find the hot dogs are ready and there’s brownies for you afterward. Let me take Bud or he’ll end up eating a bunch of the hot dogs and barfing everywhere.”
Kenzie handed over the leash and the kids raced off, with the exception of Kala who stood in front of her dad. He knelt down and gave her a smile. “You okay, kid?”
Her lips turned up and she leaned over and whispered something in her dad’s ear.
Big Tag nodded. “I’ll think about it. It’s an interesting idea. Go on, kiddo.”
She ran off to join her sister.
Big Tag stood up, looming over them. “Why does my daughter now want to find a way to weaponize marshmallows?”
Jared, eased back, his arms loosening. “I think that’s my fault. She was trying to convince the other kids that anything could be a weapon if placed in the right hands. I was kind of backing her up.”
Tag nodded. “That’s a good move on your part. I’m pretty sure she’s keeping a list. It wasn’t such a big deal when I thought she would forget, but now that she can write, it’s getting real, if you know what I mean. Let’s go, Johns. We’re going to get this game going. You’re my secret weapon.”
Jared scrambled to get up. “You know I haven’t played in a long time.”
“Yeah, that’s okay. You’re the new guy and our wives watch your work-out porn. While the other team chases you around trying to rough you up, we’re going to score. This is going to be the best year ever.”
Jared stared at the big guy. “Maybe we should talk about this.”
“I think you’ll be great,” Sarah said. If he was going to play, the game had just gotten way more interesting.
He glanced down and she watched as his face became resolute. “I’ll see you after?”
What was she going to do about him? “I’ll save some cookies.”
“I would love that.”
He looked like he might have stayed, but Big Tag started to drag him along with the dog. “Cookies are for after. I need you hungry on the field. Let’s go kick some ass. Well, I’ll kick ass. You’ll probably get your ass kicked.”
Jared looked back at her, his eyes almost pleading.
He was even sexy when he was desperate.
“Where’s Jared going?” Kori walked up, three dogs on her heels. They were on leashes and kind of running every which way they wanted. “I thought he was planning on trying to talk to you. He told me he would ask your permission to sit with us. I texted you a heads-up. Are you mad at me?”
How could she be mad when there were French bulldogs? She pulled Gideon onto her lap. “Hello, sweetheart. How are you? And no, I’m not mad at your mom.” She held the dog close to her heart as she looked up at her bestie. “It’s fine. We’ve decided to be friends.”
Kori sighed and dropped down to the blanket. “I’m so glad.
He’s lonely. I don’t want to have to ask him to stay away.”
It wasn’t fair to make him keep his distance. It was his family. Was she doing the right thing keeping her secret from them all? Was she doing it for the reason she told herself she was—to spare them the worry? Or was she doing it because she was worried they wouldn’t worry much at all?
“You think I won’t wear this, Lodge?” Big Tag’s voice boomed across the field. “Because this is a damn badge of honor, asshole!”
“Ian, children!” Charlotte yelled, just as loud.
He turned and grinned. “Yeah, baby, this is where they come from.”
He pointed to his shirt.
Kori squinted. “Does that say what I think it says?”
Sarah nodded. “Yep. Yep, it does. Someone doesn’t know how to spell.”
Or they knew how to prank. It was exactly the type of thing she expected out of one of these events. She watched as Jared pulled his shirt over his head and for a moment his chest came into view. His stunningly sculpted chest with its ridiculous eight pack and notched hips that led to what she suspected was an amazingly beautiful penis. She couldn’t help but sigh.
“Let the games begin.”
* * * *
“You think about telling her the truth?” Big Tag asked as they walked toward the tent where it appeared the “team” had gathered.
Bud lumbered beside them and Jared was reminded again of how much he missed having a dog.
“About what I’m doing at night while I’m here? I’ve thought about it. I don’t know if it will make her think I’m honest or if she’ll kick my ass to the curb. I think I need more time. I still don’t know exactly what’s going on with her. She says she’s worried about what happens if we become a couple and then we break up. Kori and Kai are her only family.”
“That’s not true. She’s got a large family if she wants it. Sanctum is her family. She simply hasn’t figured that out yet and until she does, telling her won’t mean a thing.” Big Tag strode past the tent where a bunch of kids were now eating hot dogs and joined the big group of Sanctum guys who were tossing a football around or helping each other stretch. “Bud, stay.”
He put the leash down and Bud simply yawned and laid himself out on the grass. There was absolutely no thought in that dog’s head to running away. He was right where he wanted to be.
It must be nice.
“Have you tried telling her she has a family?” There was a large box sitting on one of the picnic tables that dotted the park.
“Do you think we don’t invite her to family functions? She’s always welcome,” Tag explained. “The problem is sometimes when you lose your family like Sarah did, it can be hard to get used to depending on people again. The sad truth of the human state is loneliness is easier for some of us. It feels right to be alone even when we hate it. When those people who cared about us most in the world are gone, it doesn’t matter how many people say they love us until we believe it for ourselves. You know she lost her mom at a pretty young age, right?”
Big Tag picked up a box cutter that had been left on the table and cut through the tape holding the box closed.
“I know she’s alone. Both of her parents died. Her mom before her dad.”
“Her mom died when Sarah was in her teens. Ovarian cancer,” Big Tag said. “Her father died a few years ago. He had a heart attack. She didn’t have any siblings and her blood family was spread out across the country. So she found her club family. That works most of the time, but I suspect holidays are rough on her. We can invite her, but she needs a place of her own. I think we’ll always be extended family to her and that’s great. But she needs a family of her own however she can get it.”
He wanted to be her family, but it made sense that she would be afraid she could lose the only one she had. Was that why she was going on this trip? Was she trying to figure out how to be alone? “I would never keep her from Kori and Kai.”
“No, but you’re blood and she’s not, and blood is a tricky thing.” Tag opened the box and pulled out a bunch of black T-shirts with purple lettering. “Personally, I think we put too much emphasis on it. Alex is as much my brother as Sean, Case, and Theo. I would do anything for him, and these kids we’re all raising, well, they’re my family, too. Sarah needs to understand she’s a part of this. She has been for years. She hides behind that Disney princess thing she’s got going. She’s afraid if she decides on what she wants, the evil queen will show up and take it away from her. After all, it’s already happened once.”
“There was an evil queen? Who? She never mentioned a woman trying to hurt her.”
Tag shook his head. “We’re lucky you’re so pretty, man. It’s a metaphor. Cancer is the evil queen, and she rears her head at the worst of times. Sarah was a perfectly happy teenager, from what I can tell, and then she was a daughter mourning her mom. Men don’t deal with things the way women do. I would bet her father distanced after her mother died and she felt like she was alone in the world. Not that I think about it a lot. Those are just surface opinions.”
Yeah, he wasn’t that dumb. Big Tag thought about his people all the time. He treated the members of his club like family, and the fact that Sarah didn’t have any blood relations would make him more protective of her. She’d been a sub at Sanctum for a very long time, had been one of the first to join who wasn’t a McKay-Taggart employee. Big Tag cared about her and that meant Jared should listen. “You think I should tell her I’m the man she spent last night with?”
“I think you should tread carefully because something’s going on with her, something serious. If you care about her, you’ll be careful with her.”
“I love her.” He’d known for a long time, but it felt good to say it out loud.
“I did not need to know that, man.” Big Tag swallowed like he was containing his vomit. “Just think about it.”
“I can’t not think about it. I wonder if I’m being selfish. I didn’t take her with me when things were good. Now that they’re shitty, here I am trying to coax her to my side.”
“Or you could view it as you went out, got your money, and now you’re going to ditch the crappy stuff and have an awesome life with your lady. Do you worry about paparazzi anymore? Does it bother you that photographers don’t chase after you constantly?”
He shuddered. “That was cool for five minutes. I feel for my friend Josh. They’re all over him and Kay constantly. I didn’t want that for Sarah. She’s gorgeous, but I’ve seen those tabloids take down even the most confident of women.”
“Now you don’t have to worry about it.”
“But I do have to worry about other things. I’ve traded the paparazzi for trolls.”
One big shoulder shrugged. “She can handle it if she wants you. If she doesn’t, it’s a great excuse. What the fuck?”
He held up the T-shirt and frowned.
SANTCUM
Yeah, even he knew that wasn’t spelled right.
Big Tag pulled his shirt off and tugged the new one on before turning to where Julian Lodge stood. “You think I won’t wear this, Lodge? Because this is a damn badge of honor, asshole!”
Everyone stopped, looking their way.
“Ian, children!” Charlotte jogged up to them.
Big Tag turned to his wife. “Yeah, baby, this is where they come from.”
He pointed to his shirt and Charlotte slapped a hand over her mouth.
Julian Lodge strode up, two big men on either side of him. Twins. “Something is wrong with your shirts, Taggart. Did you have trouble spelling the name of your club correctly?”
Jared looked back and sure enough, Sarah had her eyes on him.
“I think Chase there hacked into the T-shirt place and replaced my perfectly spelled design with this one,” Tag shot back. “Bud, kill.”
Bud’s head came up but he merely started wagging his tail as the man named Chase knelt down in front of him. Bud popped up and started enthusiastically licking the man.
&nb
sp; “Yep, you got a killer here, Tag,” he said, petting the massive mutt.
“I know where his tongue has been. Don’t think death is off the table yet,” Tag replied. “And I like the shirt. It’s awesome.”
Sarah was still watching. Him. Maybe it was time to give her a little of what he knew she liked. He might have been eating a few more carbs, but he still looked good. He tugged at the back of his shirt and eased it over his head. The athletic pants he wore rode low on his hips, showing off the notches he’d worked so hard for. He stretched—after all he was about to perform athletic feats of getting his ass kicked, so he should stretch.
Sarah’s eyes had gone wide, and even from where he was standing he could see the way she bit her bottom lip.
He still had it.
“Ian, I didn’t have Chase screw up your shirts,” Julian said with a chuckle. “I have my own secret weapon. I certainly don’t need to misspell the name of your club.”
“Chase did it all on his own,” Ian accused.
“I did it.” Adam Miles stepped up, his hands on his hips. “And the rest of them are spelled correctly. Just yours is fucked up.”
The world seemed to still as though two long-term adversaries had finally met on the field of battle and war was about to rage.
Then Ian threw his head back and his laugh boomed across the field. “Oh, that’s awesome, man. Adam, this is a classic prank. Seriously, somebody get me a sharpie. I love this so much fucking much.”
Someone handed Big Tag a black pen and he quickly added and “i” so the shirt read—SAiNTCUM.
“Now I’m Saint Cum, and we know it’s true because Charlie’s knocked up again,” Ian said with a big grin.
Adam simply shook his head, his shoulders slumping. “Last week I sent him a giant chocolate dick with a card that said ‘eat a dick.’ Do you know what he did?”
“It was chocolate,” Ian replied. “It was delicious. Next time, make sure to fill it with cream so it kind of shoots out the head. It’s okay. You’ll get there, buddy.”