by Lexi Blake
She felt so much more comfortable with a Dom. She knew how to behave. “I’m sure Sir is excellent.”
His smile turned slightly sad. “Sir is out of practice. Sir lost his club membership when he lost everything else. He really will be mad, you know.”
Master Cole. She hoped not, but then it wouldn’t be the first time she’d upset someone. She was getting better and better at handling the fallout. She was only human. “We’ll see.”
What would she do if Master Cole turned this man out? How would she handle it? He needed so very much, and he was a former submissive. She knew something had happened between the two and suspected it had to do with Emily’s death, but it would tell her a lot if Cole tossed him on the street. It would tell her much about the man she now called her Dom.
Out in the hallway, a door slammed open.
“Kitten? Honey, are you in here?” Cole’s voice rang through the small pool house.
Her gut knotted. She turned to the door. This was it. “I’ll be right out.”
She gave Mason her most positive smile, praying all the while she wasn’t about to get them both tossed out on their asses. She wasn’t entirely sure where she would go except that her newfound pride wouldn’t allow her to go back to The Club.
Her hands were actually shaking. What would Cole do? There seemed to be a deep calm in Cole Roberts, but she wondered what would happen when that calm was shaken away and she was left to deal with the man underneath.
God. She’d been through enough therapy to know why she’d done this. She was waiting for Cole to turn into Hawk. Hawk, the man who had kidnapped her from a campus party she knew she shouldn’t have been at. Hawk, the man who had beaten and raped her. Hawk, the man who had shown her how small she was.
“Are you all right?” Mason asked.
But she barely heard him. She was waiting for the pain, for the humiliation. Tears pricked at her eyes as she watched Cole walk through the door, but it wasn’t Cole she saw. Hawk was back and she wondered if she would survive.
Chapter Four
“Kitten?” Cole walked through the pool house doors. It was the only part of the house that hadn’t been redone since his parents passed away, his mother to cancer almost ten years before and his father to a heart attack shortly after that. He didn’t like to walk into the pool house. He could still see them in here, still remember that it was wrong that they weren’t still with him. It was also the place where Mason had stayed after his own parents had kicked him out.
He could still see Mason’s face, tears in his eyes as they’d led him in here and his dad had told him he was welcome to stay. His father had known damn well that they were close to being involved, and his dad had said that whoever Cole loved, well, he would love that person, too.
Damn, but he missed his dad.
“Are you all right?”
There was no way to mistake that voice. Mason had a melodic voice that had the power to bring men and women to their knees. In a courtroom, he commanded attention. Out of the courtroom, that voice turned into a siren call, all seduction and sweetness. He’d made a study of Mason over their long years together, and he heard the fine edge of worry in the question he asked.
Mason was here. In his house. And there was only one person who would have brought him here.
Kitten. Her errand had been to fetch Mason, and Cole wasn’t sure how he felt about that.
He stepped into the room and felt caught between a deep rage and sweet relief that he knew where Mason was. Mason was alone in his pool house with his sub, and it was obvious that she’d helped him. Mason didn’t have a shirt on. He was thinner than before, as though he hadn’t been eating well, but he still worked out. He was leaner, rawer, more defined.
Damn it. He’d been sure that he would never want a man again. Mason had been the only man he’d ever been attracted to. He’d blown through women in college and his early twenties, but there had only been Mason, and it was deep and true and done.
So why did his whole body tense at the idea of being in the same room with Mason? He was over that part of his life. He could have some normalcy. He’d simply needed to find the right female submissive and then he wouldn’t need Mason.
Why did it feel so right that he was standing in the same room with them both? “Mason, would you like to explain what you’re doing here?”
His eyes slid over Mason, taking in every inch of the man he once loved. He was down to his boxers. He was familiar and yet foreign now, as though the years they had spent apart had changed him in ways he couldn’t understand.
“Kitten, sweetheart, what’s wrong? Cole, she shut down.” Mason was standing behind Kitten. His hands were out, but he didn’t touch her.
Cole felt a growl start in the back of his throat. “Sweetheart? Are you serious? You’ve known her for all of an hour and she’s your sweetheart?”
Mason was a terrible flirt. He’d never used charm on men before, but he would lavish a woman with affection. And they would fall right into bed with him. For the longest time, falling into bed with Mason meant falling into bed with Cole, too.
The thought of Kitten fucking Mason made him crazy. When had he gotten so possessive?
“Chuck the attitude, Cole. Look at her.”
That got his back up. “You come into my house and tell me what to do?”
Mason’s body stiffened, his eyes narrowing, and for a moment, Cole wondered if he was about to throw a punch. “Are you her Dom or not? I’m fucking asking you to be her Dom. Or have you forgotten how to do that? I understand that you toss everyone to the side when you’re done with them, but I didn’t realize you had started ignoring a sub when she still lives with you.”
He might have had something to say about Mason’s comments, but he was finally looking at Kitten.
Her eyes were open but there was a vacant look to them that he didn’t like. “Kitten, sweetheart. Could you tell me what’s wrong?”
Her lips curled up slightly, but it seemed like a practiced thing, like an automatic response to stimulus. Her eyes slid submissively to the floor, her shoulders hunching slightly, as though she was trying to make herself smaller. To become less of a target.
She’d gone somewhere deep inside herself.
“Kitten, it’s Cole and I need you to come back to me. I need you to come down from wherever it is you are.”
She seemed to only hear one word. Down. The minute the word left his mouth, she dropped to her knees, her hands coming up to work on the fastening of his waistband.
Shit. He backed away. “Kitten, no.”
Her hands began to shake.
“Hey, sweetheart.” Mason got to his knees behind her, his voice soft as silk. That charm that Mason used to work was being poured onto Kitten. “I’m not sure what’s going on, but I don’t think the Master is interested in a hummer right now.” He reached up and touched her hair, drawing her back against his chest with more delicacy than Cole could have managed. “Why don’t you come out of Crazyville and we can all sit down and talk. Cole and I promise to be on our best behavior from here on out. We’re not going to yell anymore. We’ll be polite, and there won’t be any reason for you to be scared.”
Kitten blinked a couple of times, Mason’s affection doing what Cole’s commands could not. “I…I am sorry. I got lost for a moment.”
Mason hugged her tight, rubbing their cheeks together with an ease that Cole envied. “It’s okay. You want to talk about where you went? Was it nice there?”
Mason didn’t know her history.
Kitten seemed to sink into Mason’s body, reveling in the contact. “No, Sir. It is not a good place, and I haven’t been there in so long I thought it was gone forever.” Her eyes came up, finding Cole’s and she stiffened again, pushing her way out of Mason’s arms. She got to her feet and the polite girl who had come into his home weeks before was back.
Cole missed the sensual thing who’d cuddled up to Mason.
Maybe he was handling her wrong. Maybe he
wasn’t the right Dom for Kitten.
Maybe he should grow some balls.
He stepped forward and put his arms around her. He remembered how to do this. Sort of. It had been a couple of years and he’d always been a little standoffish about pure affection, though he didn’t know why. His parents had been loving. He had this core part of himself that felt untouchable.
Except when he was with Mason.
It was awkward at first, Kitten stiff in his arms. And then Mason came in behind her, placing her between their bodies.
Kitten sighed, and her head came down on Cole’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Sir. I know you’re not him.”
But he reminded her of Hawk. He hated that. “I shouldn’t have yelled.”
He felt her chuckle. “Sir, I think I likely deserved a bit of yelling. I realized that I was pushing you to see if you would hit me and then I didn’t want to know.”
“Hit her?” Mason asked. “Why would Cole hit you?”
“I wouldn’t. Kitten, pet, I would never strike you in anger. I would never hit you. Mutually agreed upon spankings are different. I’m not the monster who kidnapped and caged you. I’ve been trying so hard to give you time to get used to me, but I’ve been screwing it up.” Watching how quickly she’d accepted Mason’s affection had made him understand that she didn’t need his distance. She needed to be close, to have gentle hands on her body even while she received the rough play and discipline she craved.
He wasn’t sure how to do that.
Kitten’s head came up, shaking in the negative. “No. Sir is very good at handling Kitten. Me. Sir has been good to me.”
Kitten liked to praise everyone. This time when he hugged her, he pulled her close, allowing himself for the first time to revel in her softness. “Sir is going to be better.”
He held her close for a long moment, breathing in her scent. She smelled like peaches and cream. His hand sank into her hair and he squeezed her tight. She didn’t complain, simply relaxed against him in a way she never had before.
After a long moment, he broke his hold. “Pet, why don’t you go and change for dinner? I think we’re having a nice roast. Is that all right?”
She nodded, but her smile was tight. “Of course.”
He’d noticed she didn’t love red meat. Perhaps it was time to soften a bit. Normally he followed a rigid schedule and never would change plans. Julian’s discussion with him had him thinking about the fact that he should bend to Kitten’s needs as well. “Actually, I think I’m in the mood for Chinese. Why don’t you go and order some takeout?”
Her eyes lit up. “I would love to. I know a great place. What would Sir like?”
He had no idea. He didn’t eat a lot of Chinese, but he was bending today. He knew Kitten loved it and tonight she would have anything she liked. “Surprise me. Order your favorites and I’ll try them.”
“And Mason?” Her eyes were wide with anticipation.
He sighed. She was going to force the situation, and he couldn’t work up the will to disappoint her. He’d already watched her sink into the past. And it did appear Mason could use a good meal. “Yes, of course. Order for three, please.”
He was such an idiot because the way she smiled up at him made him feel about twelve feet tall. God, she could manipulate him. He was supposed to be harder than this.
“Thank you, Sir.” She scampered off happily.
Mason shook his head. And then winced. “Wow, she changes moods quickly.”
Cole stared at him, taking in all the changes that the last few years had brought. He looked different, harder, older. Cole had the sudden need to peel away all those new layers to see the Mason he remembered, a frantic, almost panicked need. He didn’t know this person. This person was leaner than his Mason, colder. What had happened to him in the last two years? “What are you doing here, Mason?”
Mason’s hands went to his hips, his body on display. He’d always been lean but now he seemed to be all predatory angles. Every muscle was toned, but there was a hunger to them. If Mason was his sub, he would feed him, force him to rest, to put on some weight so he didn’t look like he would eat anyone who strayed onto his path. “The hospital fucked up. They called your house and Kitten answered. She came down and got me.”
“And you went with her?”
“I needed a ride.”
“You couldn’t have had her take you back to your place?” He was being perverse. He wasn’t exactly sure what he would do if Mason tried to leave. It was obvious he needed help and Cole couldn’t stand the thought of not understanding what had happened to his former love to bring out this side of the man.
A nasty smirk went across Mason’s face. “I’m afraid your submissive insisted on bringing me home with her.”
God, despite the fact that he was too thin, had a mean look to his eyes, and was obviously here for more than a ride, Cole’s cock was rock hard. This man did it for him. “She’s got a soft heart.”
“She’s got a soft everything.” Mason’s eyes trailed toward the door.
Yeah, Mason would be totally into her. Which was precisely why it was a horrible idea to keep him here. And yet he was curious. He couldn’t take his eyes off Mason, couldn’t stop wondering what had happened to him. Now that he was standing in the same room with the man, he was struggling to send him away again. “She’s been through a lot. You should try being kind to her.”
“I have no interest in being anything but kind to that woman,” Mason shot back. He faltered for the first time, taking a moment before speaking. “She’s very sweet. And she’s obviously had some sort of trauma. What did you mean when you talked about the man who kidnapped her?”
How much should he tell Mason? Nothing. He should tell him absolutely nothing. He should turn and walk out and not come back in here again. All of his ghosts were in residence here. And yet it would be so good to talk to someone about her. Mason had been his sounding board, his second, often better brain.
“Do you remember the story a couple of years back about the man selling women in Central Texas? He kept them in his guesthouse. Trained them in order to sell them.” He remembered sitting in their living room watching the news reports and wondering about those girls.
Mason suddenly looked more like Mason than he had the entire time. His face softened and he shook his head. “Yeah. Are you telling me Kitten was one of those girls? That she was kidnapped?”
What he didn’t say, what sat there without explanation, was that Kitten hadn’t merely been kidnapped. She’d been tortured, raped, abused. He suspected something else. He suspected that she’d been a virgin when she’d been taken, that her only real experience with sex had been rape. “Yes.”
“Shit,” Mason breathed. “We were sitting in the main house when that story broke. I remember hoping my firm got to sue someone for those women.”
“Yes. You and me and Emily.” He was wistful at the thought, though the vision that ran through his head didn’t include Emily. It was Kitten who was sitting in between him and Mason as they lounged on the big couch watching TV.
God, he was lonely. Having Kitten around and now Mason clarified how singular his existence had become.
“Yes, I remember.” Mason’s tone turned hard again. “I remember that your girl laughed and said that the women who had been taken probably deserved it. What exactly did Emily say? Oh, yes. She said they should probably be grateful since it was likely the only way the bitches could get laid.”
“Keep your voice down.” The last thing he needed was for Kitten to hear shit like that. “And you know I spanked her for that.”
“Yes, because a spanking can change the nature of a human being. You never saw it.” Mason shook his head. “You’re still in denial. You still think she was some perfect flower who was damaged by daddy or some shit.”
“You never understood her.” He simply hadn’t had enough time with Emily. She was rough and could seem cruel, but surely she would have softened with plenty of affection and discipli
ne.
“You know what? It doesn’t fucking matter.” Mason held up a hand and sent him that look that let Cole know he no longer gave a shit. “You want to believe what you want to believe. Fine. So Kitten had a flashback? She thought you were the guy who kidnapped her?”
It was easier to talk about Kitten. Mason had been good with her. Unlike the way he’d been with Emily, but then time actually had lent Cole some wisdom about her. She had been wild. She’d been cruel. Had she been cruel to Mason? He hadn’t asked because Mason had never given him a reason. Cole had thought Mason had been jealous since his charm hadn’t seemed to work on Emily. What if it had been something more? “I have to think so. She’s been in therapy for the last several years. This is the first time she’s attempted to take a permanent Master. I worry I could be a bit rigid for her, but Julian says she’s had trouble with the more lenient Doms.”
Mason seemed to think about that. “I’m sure it’s a delicate balancing act. She seemed to respond to physical affection. She won’t get much of that from you.”
“I can be affectionate when I choose to be.” God knew he’d been that way with Mason, for all the good it had done him. He’d spent hours kissing Mason, their tongues tangling, limbs merging until they couldn’t take another second and he had to have him.
“You also work all the time. You’re leaving her here alone with that gloomy housekeeper of yours. Maybe that’s why she ran the moment she had something to do. She wanted to get out of this house and away from Mrs. Doom.”
He wanted to kick Mason out of the fucking house, but unfortunately, he might be right. Kitten wasn’t getting what she needed from his housekeeper. “You know I promised Ms. Hamilton a job until she was ready to retire. I promised my father I would take care of her.”
“Yeah, and you always keep your promises.” There was no way to ignore the bitterness in his tone.
“I try to. Sometimes it’s not possible because the person the promises were made to turns out to be unworthy of them.” He needed ice in his veins, but Mason was pushing his every button. It was something he’d always been able to do. No one could push his buttons like Mason.