by Tl Reeve
Thomas stared her for a moment. She shifted under his unwavering gaze. Those hard, green orbs bore into her and she feared he’d seen her deepest, darkest secrets. “Yes, we can adjust it. It’s a normal rule I have in all of my contracts. This is a mission so it’s different, not as stringent.”
AJ jerked, startled by his acquiescence. Then she scrunched up her nose in distaste. “You use these all the time?”
Thomas crossed his arms. “Get it all out of your system now.”
She blinked. “I asked a question. I think it’s something Scotty and I should know.”
It’s not a big deal. Scotty pinned her with a glare.
She rolled her eyes. “Because both of you have banged so many women you can’t even count them. Someone like me, if I ever attempted that, would be wearing a scarlet A for the rest of my life.”
It was irrational anger on her part. Deep down, she cringed at her behavior, but they were acting like this whole thing was no big deal and to her; it was. Thomas understood the dynamic he would be taking part in. Her? Not so much. And, past encounters with men who liked to control everything, didn’t end well for her.
“Let’s take a break,” Thomas said, standing.
“No, we need to finish this.” She looked up at him. “We have to get back to the base.”
We’re prepared to stay.
She let out an exasperated breath. “Fine. Whatever.”
Thomas walked over to the small fridge and grabbed two bottles of water out of it then brought them back to the table. “Whatever preconceived notion you have about me, Amelia, you need to put it out of your head. I am not that person.”
No, he wasn’t and it was wrong of her to put her fears on him. She cracked open her water and took a sip. “Please, call me AJ. It’s my name. I chose it. I use it now. If you want me to relax in your presence, do this one thing for me. Or else, you’re right. I can’t.”
“Your name is Amelia. I happen to like your given name. It’s beautiful and can grab a guy by his balls. You use AJ to keep people at arm’s length. You can’t do that with me. It won’t work. However, I will compromise with you.”
“What?” She looked up at him.
“I will only call you Amelia when we’re in private like now. At the base and in Mexico, you’re AJ. Fair?”
She grumbled under her breath, but begrudgingly gave over. “Fine.”
“Good. Then once we finish up here, we’ll get started.” Thomas flipped to the third to the last page. “This is the most important for us.”
AJ glanced down. “I don’t understand.” The page laid out a detailed plan about birth control, STI testing and general sexual health, like no enhancers.
“Are you on birth control?” Thomas asked.
AJ shook her head. “No.”
“Then we’ll go to Rae, get tested, and you’ll be put on some. I don’t care if it is pill or injection.”
“Why?” She didn’t understand his insistency. The testing, sure. It made sense. The other, not so much.
Thomas smirked. “Because, at some point, we will be having sexual relations.”
Chapter 2
Two Nights before they leave for Juarez, Mexico...
AJ stepped into the hotel room. The decor hadn’t changed in the three weeks since they’d been going there. Stupid to even care about what the damn room looked like. Wasn’t like any of them wanted to be there, anyway. They were running an op to help Murray. If they did it right, they’d pass for a couple. Triad? Ménage? Hell, she didn’t know what to call it still, other than the fact, Thomas Kaine liked to be called Daddy.
A shiver of anticipation rolled down her spine.
In the beginning, when they settled on a meeting spot, she’d been tempted to back out of the whole thing, correction, she’d been ready to quit the minute Thomas stopped them outside of C&C after their meeting with Murray and Jaqueline who’d explained the situation. She’d even pulled Wolf’s number up on her phone when they got into Thomas’ E-class while Scotty put everything in the trunk and was about to call him when Scotty got in. He convinced her to stay and try. It’d been what they were shooting for, after all—a position on a team where they’d be used in the field and behind the scenes. Plus, there were people inside a fucked-up club who needed them.
This, though?
She glanced over her shoulder at Scotty who'd worn a mask of indifference since they'd left the base a half-hour ago. Things were getting deeper by the second for them. In order for Murray’s plan to be successful, once they arrived, Scotty, she, and Thomas had to act as a cohesive partnership, even though they'd barely known each other for a handful of weeks.
“Ah, there you are.” Thomas lounged on the bed. In his hand, a glass filled halfway with an amber liquid—bourbon and two ice cubes. It’d been one of the things he expected both she and Scotty to learn, just in case ‘toys,’ were supposed to serve their Master... Ugh, she hated that word.
Unlike the last time they met up, he’d removed his shirt. For a forty-four-year-old agent, she had to admit, he had a nice body. Thomas had broad shoulders and a barrel-shaped, muscular chest. She even swore sometimes his muscles had muscles. It’d been something she noticed when he took off his suit coat and rolled up his sleeves, exposing his sinewy forearms during the conference call with Murray. He was tall, too. If she had to gauge, Thomas stood at least six-foot-two or three. He had dark hair, greying at the temples, and hard, determined green eyes. Everything about the man exuded power.
“Yeah, we were helping Asher. It went a little longer than we both expected.” She tugged off her jacket. “What are we doing tonight?”
A devious smile pulled at Thomas’ full lips. “Glad you asked.” He picked up a thin, black-leather collar lying next to him. “Things will get a bit interesting tonight.” He glanced at Scotty. “Don’t worry, I have a matching one for you, too.”
Scotty sucked in a breath. His gaze snapped to AJ’s. No.
“No?” Thomas stood up. “Look, we’re all doing this. We’ve grown closer over the last few weeks, too. Remember, we have to act like a sexually active trio.”
Yeah, that was another thing she didn’t understand about Thomas, he didn’t say fuck. He didn’t say bang. He called it sexual activity. However, when it came to naming body parts, he could be quite vulgar. She’d have laughed if she didn’t think the FBI agent wouldn’t take her over his knee and spank her ass—which he’d done a few days ago. Arousal spiked and sent warm tendrils of need through her body. It shouldn’t have turned her on. It shouldn’t have made her wet or ache for his touch. She shouldn’t have gotten turned on while Scotty watched.
None of it made sense.
Thomas stared down at her. “What are you thinking about?”
“Huh?” She glanced up at him.
“For a second you were unguarded, and I could get a read on you,” he said. “Then poof...gone.”
“It was nothing,” she answered, waving him off. “So, the collars. Do we just put them on?” She grabbed the one Thomas had in his hand. The butter-soft material sent another thrill of longing through her.
The first few nights they were together, Thomas did all the talking. Even though they had an idea of where they were going, and they’d been sent files on the whole operation, Thomas didn’t know the protocol of the club. In order for them to not stick out like sore thumbs, they had to practice everything.
The last three weeks, she realized, were building to this. The tension between them intensified as she stood there, waiting for the next set of instructions. Thomas cut his gaze over to Scotty who vibrated with anger. She didn’t understand him. Scotty had been the one to ease her into the case and helped settle her jangled nerves on the nights they went back to the base. Now, when she looked at him, she saw something else. He was scared but pissed, too.
No. I won’t wear it. I’m not a toy. Scotty’s chest heaved. I may be deaf, but I'm no man's submissive.
Thomas smirked before placing the glass
he held to his lips and took a drink. “Wondered how long it would take before you opened your mouth.”
AJ cut her gaze between both men. “Uh, what?” There was a power play happening between them, one she wasn’t sure she wanted any part of.
“Asher wanted you both to be my submissives. How the bastard knew about my proclivities, I still have no idea.”
Ears and eyes everywhere. Scotty signed.
Thomas chuckled. “Suppose so. Anyway, what he didn’t count on, is Scotty.”
AJ hated word games. “Spit it out.”
Thomas looked to Scotty then to AJ. “Do you want me to tell her, or you?”
Scotty narrowed his eyes. I’ll do it. He grabbed AJ by the shoulder and led her into the bathroom. Since they found out Thomas knew sign language, whenever they needed privacy, he’d take her to another room away from the man.
“What's going on?” she asked when Scotty closed the door behind her.
He paced while nibbling on the corner of his thumbnail. I haven’t wanted... Scotty blew out a breath. I have been giving you space for a long time.
His words didn’t make sense. “Scotty?”
I won’t be a toy, but I’ll work with Thomas. Do you understand what I’m telling you?
AJ blinked. None of what was happening made sense. She wanted to rewind everything to when they’d left the base and start again. “No.” Her stomach knotted. Nervous energy skittered down her spine. “What are you saying, Scotty?”
“He’s trying to tell you he’s a top, or more specifically, he has a dominant streak. He wants to make you our submissive.” Thomas stood beside her. She’d been so focused on Scotty she hadn’t heard the door open or Thomas enter.
Scotty’s blue eyes darkened with arousal and resolve. The playful, unassuming veneer he wore like a second skin washed away, allowing AJ to see the truth she’d been denying for years. Scotty wanted her. Badly. She shook her head. “No. I can’t. I won’t... I won’t ruin our friendship.” She’d shoved away all of her feelings for Scotty since day one. They were all they had, and if something happened because—insert reason here—she didn’t know what she’d do.
“Why? Why would you do this to me now? After everything we’ve been through. After everything you did. You fucked girls in our living room with me home and you now you want to tell me you want me?” She shook her head. “No.”
“I’m thinking both of you are way beyond that,” Thomas murmured then glanced at Scotty.
“I don’t care what you think right now!” AJ yelled. “He doesn’t get to say that shit and act as if nothing has happened.”
Scotty held up his hands. How was I supposed to tell you?
“You say it. Not fuck every bimbo who crossed your path.”
When? His hands slashed through the air as he signed. When could I have told you? When we met? After you told me about Samael?
She shook her head. “Don’t. Don’t do this.” The sound of bees buzzing around her filled her ears.
“Who is Samael?” Thomas asked.
Tears stung AJ’s eyes. “I won’t do this now.”
Samael is the man who raped her.
“Fuck you, Scotty!” she screamed. “Fuck you. How dare you? You had no right. None!” Her vision blurred. Her chest tightened as her heart pounded against her ribs. She’d been exposed. She’d put up a front for a good portion of her life, wearing her cloak of indifference. Now, it, too, was stripped away.
“What?” Thomas’ deep snarl snapped her attention to the man hovering behind her.
“It’s nothing!” she yelled.
“The fuck it is!” He stepped into her personal space. “It all makes sense now. The stand-offish personality. The new name. The indifference.” He wrapped his arms around her. “You were violated. Stripped of all of your armor and left bare.”
As much as she loved the warmth of his body, she couldn’t stand being so close to him. He knew she was dirty. Spoiled. Broken. Her body and mind weren’t normal anymore. They were warped and sullied. She hated it. She hated the man who should have protected a child who’d lost her parents. Hated his wife even more. “You don’t get to make me feel better.”
“You’re wrong, baby girl. It’s my job to help you.” Thomas stepped back and tipped her chin up. “So defiant. You have a fire burning within you, Amelia. You have to prove everyone wrong about you when all you’re doing is keeping everyone away. Tell me, when you had sex with those bootcamp boys, did they cum inside you or did you orgasm first and get off, leaving them to finish on their own?”
Heat filled her cheeks. He was so crass, but so on point. She didn’t. Couldn’t. The idea of even a condom filling with semen while inside her made her stomach churn. It brought back all the memories of Samael. “Why are you doing this to me?”
“You’re deflecting,” Thomas murmured.
She blew out a breath. This was so wrong on so many levels. He didn’t get a say in how she handled sex. If she did get off on a guy’s dick then left him, how is it any different than a guy doing the same to a woman? “Guys do it all the time.”
Thomas made a disgruntled sound. “Guys who don’t like intimacy or are selfish, sure. Guys who are inept at satisfying women are just as bad.”
She rolled her eyes. “Tell me about it.”
“No, this is all about you right now.” He guided her over to the toilet. Thomas closed the lid then sat down.
“What are you doing?” She nibbled on her bottom lip before tucking it between her teeth.
“We’re going to have a conversation.” He tugged her down onto his lap.
“About what?” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Intimacy and if you answer all of my questions, I’ll give you a reward.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What kind of reward.”
“You’ll find out,” Thomas mumbled. “Scotty, come closer as well. You’re part of this, too.”
“You’re both freaking me out.” Her gaze darted between Scotty and Thomas.
“Don’t be,” Thomas said. “I won’t do anything you don’t want to do or won’t beg me to do to you.”
“Really reassuring,” she muttered.
Thomas laughed, this time it’d been a jovial sound. “Scotty in my black bag is a case, bring it here.”
Her friend nodded. On it.
While Scotty had been gone, Thomas repositioned her, so she was straddling his lap. The short schoolgirl skirt she put on, because Thomas required it, rode up her thighs, exposing more of her flesh to his gaze. “Tell me, do you wax or shave?”
Her lungs seized. A lump formed in her throat as warmth filled her cheeks. “I—” She choked. “I wax. I guess.”
“You guess, you don’t know?”
“It’s whoever Rae uses when she can leave base.” AJ wanted to curl up into a little ball and die. “Why do you really want to know all this stuff? Why does it turn you on so much?” Already she could feel the thickening bulge pushing at her upper thigh.
He shrugged. “Another kink. I love seeing bare vaginas. I love how smooth they are. I love seeing pussies all pink and swollen. Wet and hungry for a good dicking.” He leaned forward and his lips brushed the shell of her ear. “Do you love good dick, Amelia?”
She whimpered.
“Are you already creamy for me?” He skimmed his fingertips up the inside of her thighs then brushed his knuckles across her sex. “You are. Naughty baby girl. Are you getting off on Daddy’s words?”
She was drowning, sinking into a sensation she chased vigorously every time she had sex, but was left empty instead. She did everything he accused her of. She got off on the ‘base boys,’ and left them to finish on their own. It cut off any chance of cuddling or pillow talk. It cut off catching feelings or a false sense of finding home. It also kept the memories at bay. Plus, if she were honest with herself, which she was still pissed at him to say the least, they weren’t Scotty, and now, it seemed, they weren’t Thomas, either. All of it left her con
fused but hypersensitive and more open to his touch. She rolled her hips, trying to obtain the barest contact only for him to tighten his grip on her thighs, stopping her.
“In due time, Amelia.” He pinned her with his lust-filled green eyes. “Remember, I’m in charge.”
“You’re so mean.” AJ crossed her arms and pouted. “How do you do this—” she motioned between them— “whatever this is, anyway?”
“What?” He tilted his head.
“Go from being dickish agent to a super dick Dom,” she replied.
He laughed again. “You mean, how do I go from being myself to Daddy?” He gave a nonchalant shoulder. “It’s who I am. I embrace myself.” He paused and ran his tongue over his bottom lip as though he took a moment to scrutinize her. “Amelia, I’m forty-four, not eighteen. I don’t have time to play games. I also have no inhibitions when it comes to my sexuality or my proclivities as you’ve seen before. I know what I want, and I take it. However, you getting off on me is just as important. The high I receive when you call me Daddy—when you obey me—when you come on my dick after I’ve put you through my brand of paces, is indescribable.”
“What ar—”
“Ah.” Scotty handed Thomas the box, drawing his attention from her. “There you are. Thank you for grabbing this. Now, get comfortable. We’re going to have fun tonight. You ready?”
Scotty grunted and gave a curt nod.
“Good. Tonight, Amelia, you’re going to strip for us and then...” A salacious smile pulled at the corners of Thomas’ mouth, transforming his features from debonair to downright dangerous. “We’re going to get naked and fuck.”
She gasped. “What?”
“First, you’re going to answer my questions.” Thomas opened the case Scotty handed him. “In here is a special toy Daddy bought for his baby girl.”
“You’re serious?” She wiggled on his lap, trying to get down.
Thomas pinned her with a glare filled with all types of debauched punishments if she didn’t sit still. Instead of putting the fear of God into her, it turned her on. Great. I have a fucked-up psyche like him too.
