Siren in Bloom [Texas Sirens 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (30 page)

Leo pressed the button to the very service elevator in question. “And I had men in the garage and at all the exits. The minute Finn called me, there was no way out of this building, Shelley. I had everyone in place before you could even make it to the elevator. Remember that the next time you decide to take things into your own hands.”

The only thing she could take into her own hands now was Wolf’s ass, and she thought that might be pushing things. “Please let me take care of this. It’s my problem. Did you not read that text? Don’t you get it?”

The elevator doors closed behind her, and Leo gently lifted her head up. “Do you know what they would call you in writing circles? I know a little about this. I’ve thought often of writing a novel of my own. You wouldn’t be the heroine because anyone who read it would say you’re too stupid to live.”

She felt herself flush. “Screw you, Leo. I was trying to protect you.”

Wolf put her down, her feet hitting the floor as the elevator shuddered to a stop. Wolf stared down at her. She barely reached the top of his shoulders. He outweighed her by a hundred pounds. He knew that guns had safeties.

Yeah, maybe she was too stupid to live, but she’d only been trying to make sure they didn’t die.

“I’m sorry.” She couldn’t look at him. “I didn’t want to drag you into this.”

Leo put a hand on his brother’s arm. “Don’t. The elevator will be infinitely harder to fix than the wall.”

“You got to punch something,” Wolf said with a frown.

“I’ll let you punch the hell out of the condo later. Or maybe Chase. He annoys me at times. Yes, punch Chase.” Leo actually smiled a little at his brother. “It’s all right. This is what she does. I let her get away with it once. Don’t make the same mistake I did.”

The doors opened.

“Guys, I know you’re mad. I know you think I’m stupid, but I had my reasons. This isn’t your fight.”

Wolf’s fists clenched. “She’s pushing me, Leo.”

“Yep,” Leo agreed. “It’s what she does. Of course, you’re her Dom. You know she’s going to require a bit of training. Come on, Shelley. Don’t give me any more trouble. You’ve already made us both look like idiots.”

She found herself following Leo down the hall, Wolf hard on her heels. “I didn’t mean to. And I don’t see how me trying to handle a situation makes the two of you look bad.”

Frustration was starting to crowd out her panic. There was nothing left to do now except convince them to let her go. Except they didn’t seem to want to listen to her.

Leo stopped, turning on his heels. It threw Shelley off balance and sent her stepping back, where she ran straight into Wolf. Wolf didn’t seem to feel the same need for personal space that she did. He was a brick wall.

“Wolf is your Dom,” Leo pointed out. “You signed a contract to obey him. Everyone in this club knows we slept together last night.”

“Everyone?”

Leo’s eyes rolled. “Yes, everyone. It’s a small club, and I have a housekeeper. She comes in early on Saturdays. She caught me coming out of Wolf’s room this morning. If Kristina knows, then everyone knows. And if everyone knows that I slept with you, then everyone will know that you’re a disobedient little brat who can’t mind her Dom or her lover. Every goddamn Dom in this place is questioning us right now. You reflect on your Master.”

Wolf’s voice was a low rumble. “And if I hear one more time that this isn’t my fight, I won’t care about the damage, Shelley. I’ll punch my way through something.”

She felt her fists clench. “I don’t understand.”

“Then let me explain it to you. I enjoyed your body last night. I took it over and over. I take that seriously, Shelley. We have a contract. You aren’t letting me do my job. I don’t have anything else. I can’t be a SEAL anymore. There wasn’t a place left for me in Bliss. For the last month, all I’ve thought about is you. I got that tat two days after we talked for the first time. You told me about growing up with Trev and how you weren’t sure of your place in the world anymore. I was in the same boat. I thought maybe we could find it together, and I made a choice. I gave up trying to fight my way back in. I was done because I had something else I wanted. You. So I want you to tell me here and now if you’re just using me for sex or fun or whatever the hell a woman like you wants from a man like me.”

Oh, god, what had she done to Wolf? Her heart ached. He stood there, a big, glorious piece of masculinity. She’d been so stupid. She hadn’t really seen past his good looks and grace. He was a man, a man who could be hurt. She gave up fighting. She walked up to him and put her arms around his waist, placing her head over his heart. “A woman like me is crazy about a man like you. A woman like me can’t stand the thought of a man like you getting hurt.”

His hands came up, stroking her hair. “I would rather take a bullet than have you rip my heart out, baby. Leo made a huge mistake when he let you kick him out of your life. He won’t make it again. And I won’t make it at all. I don’t care how mad you get at me. I’m not allowing you to make this decision. I’m never going to let you walk into a dangerous situation alone. If that means that you won’t be with me anymore, then that’s what happens. But I won’t let you go until this situation is settled.”

She’d thought she was doing the right thing, but as she stood there hearing the beat of Wolf’s heart, she realized that maybe she’d been wrong. She’d spent so much time in a relationship that didn’t work that she no longer really knew what did work. Her parents had been in love and not once during their years together had one of them pushed the other away in the name of protection. They had been bound together, their troubles and their joys shared. The risk was shared, too.

It was what people in love did. Good. Bad. Life. Death. All shared.

She’d done this to Leo.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. If the positions had been reversed, she wouldn’t have wanted Leo to push her away. She would have wanted to stand by him. She would have demanded her place, as Wolf had. “I won’t do it again. I am sorry.”

Wolf’s arms tightened around her. “I’m glad to hear it, sweetheart. I don’t want to go through this again. We’re either in this together or we’re not.”

“Together.” She wanted them all together, but she might have burned that bridge with Leo. He was proud, and he might never again open his heart. Time. She needed a bit of time to show him that she understood now. Wolf had opened that door. It was up to her to make sure it didn’t shut. She sniffled and turned out of Wolf’s arms, looking to Leo. He stood, staring at her, his expression closed. She wanted to turn back to Wolf. He was safe and warm and secure, but she was done playing it safe. “I’m sorry, Sir.”

One of Leo’s brows lifted. “Are you? You might be more than sorry when you realize what Wolf is going to do to you.”

She’d known this was coming. “Only Wolf? I lied to you, too. I’ll take my punishment.”

“Both of us, Shelley. I think a breach of trust this big requires more than one Master’s hands. If you’re up for it,” Wolf offered.

Leo nodded slowly. “I will help you. I think she won’t like some of my suggestions, however. She’s going to get a rapid-fire education in what happens when a sub breaks her word.”

She took a deep breath, dread coming from more than one side now. She was absolutely certain that neither man would really hurt her, but Leo had a diabolical mind. She was in for some extreme discomfort.

And she would handle it. “I’ll be good.”

“Excellent,” Leo said. “And you’ll start in just a moment. You will be polite and obedient while we’re in my office. You will accept your bindings.”

“Bindings?” Was her punishment starting early?

“Yes.” Wolf put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m going to show you what happens to little subs who run from their Masters.” His lips cracked a bit, a little smile appearing. “But I will say that I’m surprised you managed to run as fast as you did. A lot of subs struggle with the plug in the beginning.”

Leo sighed. “You’re kidding right?”

Shelley chewed on her bottom lip, trying to look as sweet and vulnerable as possible because Wolf was going to be upset.

Wolf’s eyes narrowed. “You took out my plug?”

“I couldn’t run with it. I could barely walk with it. I’m so sorry.”

“Now you’ve done it,” Leo murmured. “He doesn’t explode when you nearly get yourself killed, but watch what happens when you take that plug out.”

Wolf’s face flushed, even white teeth flashing. “Move, Shelley. Leo’s office—now. Go into the bathroom and pull those pants down and spread you cheeks. I’ll make sure you remember to leave my plug where I put it.”

“Wolf, let’s talk about this,” Shelley stuttered.

Wolf wasn’t in the mood to talk. He picked her up, flipping her over his shoulder again.

“Damn it, Wolf, you have to stop treating me like a sack of flour.” Shelley squealed as he slapped her ass. It wasn’t a pansy-ass slap. It stung.

“No cussing. And I’m done talking.”

She caught a glimpse of Leo’s smile as Wolf stalked past. She was once again staring at Wolf’s perfectly perfect ass. This time she was wondering exactly what he was going to do to hers.

Leo had to stop himself from smiling as Shelley reappeared from the bathroom. She had tears in her eyes and that gorgeous bottom lip of hers quivered. Wolf had obviously chosen to forgo taking her clothing the way Leo would have, but now that he thought about it, Leo was actually happy with that decision. She could be naked in The Club, but in the confines of his office with so many men around, it seemed too intimate a thing to share.

But Wolf hadn’t been too kind. She walked in a stilted pattern that made him wonder just how pissed off baby brother had been.

“Did you shove an elephant plug up her rectum?” Leo asked, well aware that everyone was looking at their sub.
Fuck
. His brother’s sub.

Shelley nodded, but Wolf shook his head.

Again, the laughter bubbled up.

“He requested a plug that was slightly larger than a starter,” Julian explained. “She’s fine, Leo. It’s a perfectly appropriate punishment, and I asked her what her safe word was before Wolf shut the door. I believe what Miss McNamara is protesting is the lubricant your brother chose.”

Leo felt his jaw drop. His little brother was far more of a sadist than he’d believed. He felt almost paternalistically proud. “You used the ginger lube?”

“It didn’t sound so bad at first,” Shelley admitted, her breath puffing from her mouth. “It sounded a little exotic. It kind of sucks, Leo. It really sucks.”

It burned was what it did. And it appeared that Wolf wasn’t finished. Jack Barnes handed his brother a length of jute. The thin hemp rope was around Shelley’s arms before she could move.

His brother was damn good with a knot.

“I don’t get you people.” Holder looked on with a frown on his face. Leo could easily read the man’s disdain. “First that one and now this one.”

Kitten was still tied up. She’d been sitting serenely until the shit had hit the fan. The minute they got the news that Shelley was on the run the tears had started, and Jack had been forced to pet her while Ben and Chase had hightailed it to get to their positions, one in the garage and the other on the bottom floor. Leo had enjoyed the big cowboy’s obvious discomfort with being left to babysit a twenty-five-year-old woman.

Ben and Chase walked back into the room. Ben still looked a bit ashen, though he had control of himself again. Chase was silent, walking slightly behind his brother. Chase hadn’t known Ada. Was this a part of his brother’s life he couldn’t understand? It would be difficult. The two men now worked together with flawless precision. Any breach between them would be felt deeply.

Unlike his own brother. Wolf had been gone for years, and Leo was only now feeling the true distance.

He had missed his brother. He’d missed the loyal child Wolf had been and the steadfast man he’d become. Leo could never have handled Shelley the way Wolf had. They would have fought, and Shelley would have walked away again. Of course, Wolf was also far too soft until certain things were pointed out. If Leo hadn’t been there, Wolf might likely have ended up a pool of goo at her feet, believing every stupid excuse she gave him. And that would be dangerous for her.

Without the two of them, Shelley might likely have been in real trouble.

“You don’t have to understand it, Mr. Holder. You merely have to tell us everything you know,” Julian said, his eyes on the mercenary. When Finn had called down, it had been Julian who had kept his head long enough to realize that no one wanted to leave Holder in the office by himself.

Holder was the wild card.

“Ah, so the little sub gets what she deserves,” Chase said, watching as Wolf began winding the rope around Shelley’s body.

Wolf seemed infinitely calmer now that he’d begun his discipline. He worked slowly as though finding comfort from the intricate bindings he created. Leo understood. There was an elegant dance to Shibari. He found it soothing. How much more meaningful would it be to share it with someone he genuinely cared about? How long had it been since he’d been in love? He wondered now if what he’d had with Janine was even love. He’d let her go so easily. Of course, he’d let Shelley go as well, but he’d felt it like a kick in the gut every day he was away from her.