watch me come out of it.”
But Jace wasn’t watching. He was staring intently at the floor. His face was so red, Aggie was surprised it didn’t burst into flames.
Starr started making her obviously practiced porn sounds, moaning and groaning far more than the action of her fingers dictated. When she began to fuck herself with the handle of Aggie’s whip, Jace turned on the stool so he was facing the opposite direction and crammed his fingers into both ears.
Starr’s mantra of, “I’m coming, I’m coming, I’m coming, oh yeah, I’m coming,” didn’t faze Aggie in the least, but she found Jace’s reaction of chanting “La la la la la, la la la la la,” amusing.
She grinned to herself as she saturated his cut with antiseptic spray. Jace’s spine straightened involuntarily, and his fingers slipped out of his ears just as Starr let out a final cry of release and then slowed her motions to bring herself down.
“Hope you like your new whip,” Aggie remarked. Even if she could easily clean the remnants of Starr’s orgasm from the handle, she’d never be able to hold it in her hand without thinking about where it had been.
“It’s not as good as cock, but sometimes you have to improvise.”
Jace snorted and then curled toward his knees as he was captured by an incontrollable case of the giggles. “Eric is never going to believe this,” he said.
“What he’s not going to believe is that you didn’t watch her come, Tripod,” Aggie teased, using Eric’s nickname for Jace.
“He’ll take away my man card if he ever finds out.”
Aggie slipped her arms around his neck and kissed his ear, missing the closeness they usually shared after sex. “Love you,” she whispered.
He glanced over his shoulder to observe Starr, who was still playing with herself, but a bit less enthusiastically than before. “Yeah,” he murmured. “I’m just… tired.”
She hadn’t expected him to vocally return the sentiment—not with Starr as a witness—so she didn’t press. Later, when they were alone, she’d make him say it a hundred times.
“Then you’d better head upstairs and take a nap,” she said. “I’ll need you well rested for what I have in mind for later tonight.”
He reached up and clasped her wrist. “Just us,” he said firmly.
She smiled and kissed his ear again. “Just us,” she whispered.
His body relaxed before her. She hadn’t realized he’d been so tense until his muscles went lax. While their experience with Starr had been incredibly intense and sexually satisfying, it had lacked the intimacy she and Jace usually shared. It warmed her heart to realize he craved those moments of connection—of tenderness and love—as much as she did.
Maybe she should marry the guy. He’d told her he was ready whenever she was, but something about being labeled as someone’s wife didn’t sit well with her. It seemed too ordinary for what they shared. Too conventional. Too… subservient.
Jace stood from the stool and stretched his arms over his head, ending with a wide yawn. “It was nice to meet you, Starr. Thanks for not taking it easy on me. I’m going to head upstairs for a nap.”
“Nice to meet you as well, babydoll,” Starr said and lifted her hand from her very exposed pussy to offer Jace a shake.
He took a step backward and nodded at her. “Yeah,” he said to the floor, avoiding Starr’s amused eyes. He opened the door to the small lobby where clients waited for their turn in the dungeon. Today it was empty except for a black and white cat who released a piteous meow the moment she laid eyes on her long absent human. Jace scooped Brownie off the floor and cradled her against his bare chest as he carried her to the stairs.
“Did you miss me?” he asked the cat.
“Brow rowww rown,” the cat responded.
“No shit?” he said, as if he and the cat had a shared language only they understood. “No tuna at all? That sucks. I’ll have words with her about that.”
“Browww—” Brownie’s unusual meow was cut off by her loud and persistent purr as she rubbed her face against Jace’s jaw, one of her claws caught securely in his gold hoop earring so he couldn’t escape her affection.
Through the dungeon doorway, Aggie watched them ascend the stairs until they were no longer visible. Starr’s hand on her shoulder wiped the tender smile from Aggie’s face.
“He’s a cutie pie,” Starr said, her breath hot against Aggie’s shoulder. “No wonder you gave up your independence and career to serve his needs.”
Aggie stiffened. She hadn’t given up her independence or her career. Well, she didn’t strip for a living anymore, but she didn’t really have time for it when following Jace around the world as he toured. And maybe the number of clients she served in the dungeon had been reduced to a trickle, but any time she wanted to take on a dominatrix job, Jace didn’t complain. The weird thing was, she no longer got the same joy out of being domme to those who’d pay her tribute. Not unless it was Jace under her lash. He gave her everything she needed to feel complete. Shit, maybe Starr was right. Maybe she had gone soft. Maybe she had given up her independence and career to serve Jace. And maybe it wasn’t any of Starr’s business, because for the first time in her life she was happy.
“Shut up,” was the only retort Aggie could muster.
Starr’s lips brushed her shoulder and her arm circled Aggie’s waist so she could splay a hand over her lower belly. Aggie’s brow furrowed with confusion. Why did this touch feel intimate and at the same time creepy?
“Of all the people who ever claimed to love me, you’re the only one I regret hurting,” Starr said quietly.
Aggie threw off Starr’s hand and stalked across the room. “That’s the biggest load of bullshit you ever shoveled at me,” Aggie said, her heart twanging with pain. She’d gotten over Starr a long time ago, but the betrayal she’d suffered at Starr’s hand still hurt when she was reminded of it.
Starr sighed. “Believe what you must; I’m just stating facts. But your friendship means a lot to me, so I won’t ruin it again with sex. Even though all I could think about while you were whipping my cunt was your mouth on me.”
“I’m not interested.” As if Aggie would ever even consider hurting Jace by fooling around with someone like Starr. Or with anyone, for that matter.
“Are you going to tell him about us?” Starr asked.
“There’s nothing to tell,” Aggie said, striding purposely to the other room to retrieve the implements they’d used on Jace.
“Are you afraid of how he’ll react, knowing you once loved a woman?”
“No,” she said. Maybe, a little voice in her head countered. “I might tell him later.” If she wanted to send him back to that closed-off place he used to frequent.
She didn’t think he’d take her admission well. Mostly because she’d been hiding it from him for so long. He’d told her things about his past—about the deepest, darkest parts of himself—that no one else knew, and she couldn’t even tell him that she’d once been in love with a woman. Why? Would she have had the same reservations if Starr had been a man who’d broken her heart? She honestly didn’t know. A man had never broken Aggie’s heart. She’d never given one enough power over her to do so. Before Jace, she’d never loved a man. Never even considered loving a man. But she loved this man, and she refused to jeopardize their relationship. He meant everything to her. And he did have the power to break her heart. To destroy her.
“You’re afraid of losing him, aren’t you?” Starr interrupted Aggie’s turbulent thoughts.
She was surprised by the sudden tightness in her chest and the sting of tears in her eyes. “Terrified,” she said breathlessly.
“Then you should probably marry him.”
She was a touch terrified of that too. “Someday.”
Chapter Three
Aggie wrapped her arms around Jace and stole a kiss. Distracted, he kissed her back, but he didn’t seem to mean it. She gave his ass an appreciative squeeze and drew away to stare into his dark brown
eyes.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Just a bit…” His eyebrows drew together. “Cold.”
While June in London wasn’t as warm as June in southern California, it wasn’t cold. Not even close.
“Cold?”
“I’ve been cold since we left the Tower of London yesterday.” He pursed his lips and shook his head.
“Are you coming down with something?” She touched his forehead, then his cheeks. He didn’t feel feverish. “Jet lag maybe?” He’d been a bit off all day. She hadn’t even been able to convince him to join her in the shower that morning.
“Maybe,” he said and wrapped his arms around his body to hold in a hard shudder.
Because she’d wanted to play tourist, she and Jace had rented a car to make their way from London to Donington Park for Sinners’ stage performance at the Download Festival. The rest of the band had left on the tour bus the day before. Maybe Jace was just worried they wouldn’t make it to the show in time. Their set didn’t start until late that night and driving across England wasn’t quite the same as driving across the United States.
“We’ll make it. We just have one more castle I want to see, and it’s only an hour and a half to the venue from there.”
“Another castle?” He grinned crookedly. “I’ve seen a different side of you these past two days. I never knew you were such a history buff.”
“History is so dark.”
He chuckled. “Just the parts that interest you.”
At her insistence, they’d spent the night in Mailmaison Oxford Castle—a creepy castle that had been used as a prison; their room had once been a cell. Jace had been a bit skittish the entire time, claiming some presence was lurking around him. She’d laughed his claims off, and he’d gone quiet on her, internalizing as he did when he didn’t think anyone understood where he was coming from. She’d wanted to play tourist and had easily talked Jace into seeing some real dungeons, but while he’d started their adventure with enthusiasm yesterday morning, he’d been uneasy and listless the rest of the day. A restless night’s sleep hadn’t improved his disposition.
“Are you having any fun?” she asked.
“Do you really think I’d have fun touring the English countryside looking at old castles?”
“And dungeons,” she reminded him.
His gaze lowered, and he smiled. “But not the good kind of dungeons.”
“We don’t have to leave home for the good kind. If you want to go directly to Donington and skip our last stop—”
He tipped his head to rest his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. They stayed like that a long moment while he mulled over his thoughts. They’d been together long enough that she knew he wasn’t ignoring her when he was silent. He was merely thinking. At first, her natural instinct to demand a reaction had made it difficult for her to give him these quiet moments of contemplation, and they’d gotten into plenty of arguments over it, but she now understood if she gave him a moment to put his thoughts in order, he would share them with her. Eventually.
“I’m not having fun, not exactly,” he said.
Her heart sank with disappointment.
“But I am enjoying my time alone with you away from the insanity of the tour. Even if I have to listen to history lessons all day, at least the British accents are entertaining.”
Aggie chuckled. “What would you rather do?”
“Well, that would require one of those fun dungeons, but since I haven’t seen one of those since we arrived, I’m content following your evil guidebook.”
She pulled the dog-eared copy of Tour the Scandals of England from the back pocket of her jeans. “Not evil. Just a bit naughty.”
They were working their way through the Tudor period, visiting sites where noteworthy members of society had done their dirty deeds or been punished for them.
“What’s next?” he asked, his strong fingers sneaking under the hem of her T-shirt to stroke the bare skin of her back.
Pretending not to be affected by that simple touch, Aggie flipped to the next stop on their self-directed tour. “Sudeley Castle, once home of Queen Katherine Parr. Only six months after the death of her husband, King Henry the Eighth, she married Thomas Seymour.” She glanced up from her reading and met Jace’s eyes. “Any relation?”
He shrugged. “Not that I know of. My father’s family was originally from England, so maybe, but I really doubt it. Do I look like royalty to you?”
“You’re king of my domain.”
He chuckled. “That’s more power than the King of England could ever claim.”
She shifted on her feet. It was hard for her to admit that he held power over her. Not because he dominated her but because she loved him so much, she knew she’d do anything necessary to be with him. Not a comfortable position to find herself in, but Jace was worth the compromise. Unequivocally worth it.
“Let’s go check out your ancestral home,” she said and tapped his leather-encased arm with her book. “Maybe you’re a baron or a duke and never even knew it.”
He chuckled. “If I’m related to Thomas Seymour of Sudeley Castle, I’m sure my branch of the family tree was sawed off centuries ago.”
“We can pretend; it’ll be fun,” she said and kissed him gently before opening the rental car’s door and slipping inside. She inexplicably had a steering wheel in front of her. Crazy backwards cars. Grinning sheepishly, she slipped back out of the car and said, “I changed my mind. You should drive.”
“You meant to do that, did you?” He winked at her knowingly.
“Of course,” she said and hurried around to the other side of the car.
In her wrong-side-of-the-car passenger seat, she unfolded the large map of England and traced the road they’d be traveling to their next destination. “It’s about a hundred kilometers from Oxford,” she told him when he settled into the car beside her.
He scowled. “Which is how many miles?”
“Sixty or so.”
“That’s not far.”
Once they were on the main road, they settled into a comfortable silence for several miles. It had been weeks since they’d been completely alone without interruptions. She enjoyed touring with his band all over Europe, but she was looking forward to getting back home in October. She missed her dungeon and her customers, but mostly she missed quiet evenings with Jace and his silly cat, Brownie. They’d had to leave the feline behind when the tour had brought them to Europe.
“I’m glad I decided to take a day off,” she said, watching his face while he concentrated on driving on the wrong side of the road.
He glanced at her and smiled. “Me too. You’ve been working so hard on filling orders for corsets that I hardly see you without a needle in your hand.”
Her business was definitely keeping her busy. Too busy. She’d collected so many orders while the band was touring the U.S. that she had enough to keep her fingers sore for months. She was horribly behind in her embroidery work, but everyone needed a day off every now and then, so she didn’t feel too guilty.
“I’ve been thinking of working with some other fabrics. The silk corsets on display at that museum this morning were gorgeous.”
“I like yours better,” Jace said with a sheepish grin.
Hers were all made of leather, so of course he liked them better. He rarely went without his leather motorcycle jacket. And that was another thing she missed—riding behind him astride his rumbling Harley. But sitting on the wrong side of the car and taking in the sites was fun too. Smiling to herself as they passed through a quaint village, she caressed the platinum band of the solitaire engagement ring on her finger. Every moment with Jace brought her joy. She’d never thought she’d fall in love with a man. She definitely never thought one could hold her heart so completely and that she’d actually relish the feeling. She still pretended to be a badass dominatrix, but she’d come to terms with having an uncharacteristic soft spot for Sinners’ silent bass player the day he’d crump
led at her feet and begged for mercy.
They arrived at their destination without mishap. Jace parked in a small lot. Through the trees, Aggie caught a glimpse of the enormous sandstone castle.
“I’ve seen this place before,” Jace said.
“I thought you’d never been to England before.”
He shook his head. “I haven’t. I must have seen a picture of it or something. It looks familiar.”
He opened his door and climbed out. He paused before the car’s hood and stared up at the stone façade of the immense structure. Still inside the car, Aggie saw a shudder ripple through his entire body. He took a hesitant step in the direction of the castle. And then another.
He was halfway down the path to the gardens before Aggie opened the car door and climbed out. “Didn’t you forget something?” she called after him.
He froze and turned to look at her. His breathing was uncharacteristically rapid and shallow. For a second he seemed not to recognize her. He lifted a hand to massage the golden hoop in one ear and tilted his head. “What did I forget?”
Sinners on Tour Page 38
