Titles by Sparrow Beckett
Masters Unleashed
Finding Master Right
Playing Hard to Master
To Have and to Master
Master in Shining Armor
All’s Fair in Love and Mastery
Masters of Adrenaline
Stealing His Thunder
Fueling His Hunger
Pushing Her Limits
All’s Fair in Love and Mastery
Sparrow Beckett
INTERMIX
NEW YORK
INTERMIX
Published by Berkley
An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC
1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
Copyright © 2019 by Sparrow Beckett
Penguin Random House supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin Random House to continue to publish books for every reader.
INTERMIX and the “IM” design are trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.
ISBN: 9780451492142
First Edition: February 2019
Cover art by Getty Images
Cover design by Judith Lagerman]
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Version_1
CONTENTS
Titles by Sparrow Beckett
Title Page
Copyright
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Chapter One
There was nothing wrong with casual sex—hell, Dexter loved that shit—but having it with her best friend had turned out to be a serious miscalculation.
Even if it had been the most mind-blowing sex of her life.
For some reason, Master Grant, he of the pretty red hair and intense green eyes, had been pissy with her ever since. One would think a guy would just be happy to get his dick wet and move on, right? But no, not Grant. Apparently nasty, hard-core Neanderthal sex was a reason to be distant and snappish for almost a year.
Dex watched her former BFF out of the corner of her eye as he tested out his new green and black dragon tail whip on Rosie. He’d taken off his shirt—god bless him.
Half naked, the man was always a treat.
Completely naked, the man had been a wet fucking dream. Not only was he hung, he had a sinfully sexy ass—not that he liked submissives biting it. She’d found that out the hard way.
The flex and slide of his lithely muscled back above the low-slung jeans always made her want to sneak up behind him and take a lick. Too bad he’d take it the wrong way. It was as though he’d forgotten how to be playful with her ever since they’d slept together. The teasing sparkle in his eyes was gone, leaving a hard intensity when it came to her.
Rosie wailed, and Dex winced in sympathy, even as she admired Grant’s form. She had to admit he knew his way around instruments of torture.
His long red hair was starting to escape the braid she’d put it in earlier, and tendrils curled against the sweat on his neck. She’d almost fainted when he’d asked her to braid it tonight. Back in the day, she’d played with his hair all the time. Now he’d gotten so twitchy about her touching him that she rarely had the opportunity to run her fingers through the silky mane. Hell, he only had long hair because of her—she should have visitation rights or something.
Rosie swore and whined and twisted under Grant’s attentions, and one last precision shot had her howling her safeword.
“Quit leering at other men. You’re making me jealous,” Tarka complained. The charming Australian sidled up to Dex, slipping a familiar arm around her shoulders. His dark eyes twinkled with mischief and he grinned at her, his teeth flashing against his dark skin.
“You jealous, Tak? Seriously? Weren’t you just making out with Echo?” she asked, still surprised. They hadn’t seemed interested in each other before tonight.
“I only made out with her a little.” He arched a brow. “I can’t be blamed. Her gum smelled good and she was willing to share.”
“Such a slut.”
He chuckled. “You’re blaming poor Echo for not being able to resist me?”
“You’re the slut, Master Tarka, not poor, innocent Echo.”
“Sluts shouldn’t slut shame, little pixie.” He tapped her nose, and she caught a whiff of something fruity on his breath.
She gasped in mock outrage and shook her head. “You stole Echo’s gum!”
“Want a taste, pretty girl?” His mouth curved seductively and he lowered his head, offering his mouth to her for a kiss.
She kissed his cheek instead, appreciating his clean, masculine scent, but not about to make out with Tak if Echo might have her eye on him tonight. “I draw the line at double-chewed gum.”
“Hmm . . . I don’t remember that from your list of hard limits.”
“Have it memorized, do you?”
“You’re special to me.”
“Every woman is special to you.”
“You’re not wrong.” Tarka squeezed her shoulder in a one-armed hug. “Hey, I know you’re still all cone of silence about what happened between you and baby boy Ellis, but you should do your best to try to fix it if you can. You two are more fun to hang out with when you’re friends—and yes, I’ve just made this about me.”
“You think I haven’t tried everything to fix it?” She shrugged. “I guess some things just can’t be undone.”
She sipped at her soda, using it as a cover to watch Grant stalking the room. Sadly, he’d put a shirt on. Hurting Rosie had turned him on—Dex could tell even from this distance—but the girl had gone back to her boyfriend.
Rosie wasn’t the one he was hunting for.
Dex hoped he wasn’t looking for her.
She also really hoped he was.
She could almost hear the hum of sexual tension vibrating through his body, and her own body was responding to it even though he didn’t know she was watching.
If only he didn’t want something serious, she’d make a beeline over there and rub up against him like a cat in heat.
Ugh. Why did things have to be so difficult?
Tak kissed her on the cheek and wandered off to work the room, never content to stay in one spot for long.
Somehow, she felt it when Grant caught sight of her, even though he made no outward sign. There was a su
btle change in his bearing and gait. A focus. He was making his way over to her, outwardly nonchalant, but there was no way Dex could miss what he was thinking about, or completely ignore the knot of desire that twisted low in her belly.
Being best friends with a hot dominant guy had never seemed like a big deal back when they hadn’t been into each other.
Back before she knew what he was capable of.
Back before she knew how his hands felt gripping her hair and how hard it was to take his whole cock.
The dance between them tonight was cat and mouse.
Her nipples tightened under the Xs she’d taped over them, and she forced herself not to watch him indirectly work his way over to her.
God only knew why he bothered. It was going to turn into a fight like it always did. Yet, even though they’d ruined their friendship, they couldn’t stay away from each other.
Ultimately, he approached her from behind. Every nerve ending in her body hummed with awareness of him, and the little hairs on the back of her neck rose. She struggled to control her breathing, not wanting to give away how close she was to bolting.
Predator and prey.
It was hot and awkward and uncomfortable. It made her want to scream and beat her fists against his ridiculously large chest. The whole situation was unfair. She wanted him, but she also wanted her best friend back. He’d made it clear she couldn’t have both without a commitment.
“What did Tarka want?” His low, quiet voice in her ear was almost a rolling in her belly rather than actual sound.
“What does Tak always want?” she rejoined, not looking at him. “Me. Every other woman in the room. To flirt and not be stuck fucking the same woman for the next ten years. He’s an open book.”
Grant grunted. He should know exactly what Tarka wanted. They were buddies and used to be on the same page—but now that came with the unspoken stipulation that Tak needed to keep his distance from Dex—not that he ever complied with that for long. As well he shouldn’t! Who Arabella talked to or who she fucked was none of Grant’s business.
“I’ve been pretty open about what I want, too, but for some reason it doesn’t meet with your approval, unlike what Tarka wants.”
“Because you want something from me that I’m not willing to give,” she replied. “You have to learn to be okay with that.” She turned and looked up at him, forcing her knees not to wobble. He got serious so fast these days. Good-time party Grant was completely buried under this intense angst-filled lust he kept aiming her way.
His jaw flexed and Dex could almost smell the gears in his mind screeching together in frustration.
“I didn’t come over here to fight with you.” At least this time he had the good grace to look sheepish. They’d discussed this to death and she really wasn’t interested in wasting yet another evening explaining things to him.
“So what did you come over here for if not to argue with me? It seems to be all we do lately. Everybody’s asking me why.”
“Yeah, me too. It’s none of their damn business, although sometimes I feel like our friends are dumber than we give them credit for.”
They both laughed, and in that moment it felt like old times. Maybe eventually things would go back to a semblance of normalcy, not that Will was around much anymore. The three of them used to be like the Three Musketeers, but now Will was busy with Juliet and baby Beau. Sure, Will came by to play at the club and to host, but the three of them weren’t constantly hanging out together like they once had. Now, with the wedding looming on the horizon, it looked like they’d never get him back.
It wasn’t that Dex had anything against Juliet. Far from it. She loved her. It just seemed like for the foreseeable future, they’d be busy doing married people stuff.
It was still weird to think of Will as a dad. His brush with death had changed him too.
As Dex struggled to scrape together small talk to use with Grant, Echo drifted over to them. Dex turned to her friend, grateful for the distraction.
Echo was tall, graceful, and beautiful, which made Dex feel like a corgi by comparison. A few months ago, when Echo had moved to the area, Dex had assumed the woman was a hard-core drug user because she always looked spacey. It turned out that she was a musician and composer who was usually a little out of touch with the world around her because she was so caught up in the music floating around her head.
Today, though, Echo’s dreamy gaze had a focus. Master Tarka.
“He stole your gum and your heart?” Dexter asked, trying to keep a straight face.
Even in the low light Dex was able to enjoy the blush that spread across Echo’s cheeks.
“He’s almost as much of a flirt as you are,” Echo mused. “If I thought for a moment he might be serious I’d be inviting you over for coffee so we could discuss how you felt about that.”
Dex could feel Grant drift away to talk to other people, and wasn’t sure she minded. She couldn’t think of anything to say to him tonight.
“Oh, you know I’m a love ’em and leave ’em kinda girl,” she assured Echo. “And as for Tak, unless you express a more serious interest in him all you’ll get is some harmless flirtation.”
The other woman chewed her plump bottom lip and seemed deep in thought.
Dex laughed and gave Echo’s arm an affectionate shove. “You had no problem approaching me to play a few weeks ago, so why are you having trouble with him? Obviously you gave him some indication you were interested or he wouldn’t have kissed you.”
“It was more like he let me kiss him. It was just getting good and then he stole my gum and took off.” She pushed a hand through her short brown hair, staring after Tarka in frustration.
“It’s just his way. If you follow him and keep flirting he’ll know you’re serious. It gives you a chance to think things over with a cool head.”
Echo groaned. “He’s so intimidating—so popular. As if he’d be interested in me.”
“Don’t sell yourself short, girl.”
“And the subtext in this place is so confusing—at least if you’re an outsider. The protocol and hierarchy is all so tangled and unspoken that it’s like being dropped in the middle of a Jane Austen novel.” Echo laughed her breathy, light laugh. Dex didn’t get the joke but there was no point in telling her friend that. Echo would just try to explain, which only served to remind Dex how many classics she’d never gotten around to reading.
“Besides, I’ve always found it easier approaching female switches rather than male Dominants. Although the Doms here don’t seem anywhere near as prickly as some of the guys I knew back at my old club. I swear they all competed for secret awards like ‘most convincing impersonation of the vampire Lestat’ and ‘who owns the subbiest submissive.’”
“There are a few of those Dominants around here, but they’re harder to come by if that’s what you’re looking for. This club is a lot more relaxed than some, which is great for bratty girls but not so good for people who are big on protocol.”
“Yeah.” Echo laughed. “You would have made my first Dominant squirrelly. Then again I wasn’t very popular with him either.” She sighed and rolled her eyes. “I’m not particularly bratty but apparently he didn’t approve of how often I used my safeword, of all things. I’m not much of a masochist.”
“He was mad about you safewording?” She could feel Grant moving closer again.
“Apparently me safewording was some sort of personal affront to him. It wasn’t until later that I realized I didn’t necessarily have to be a pain slut to please a Dominant.”
“Not every Dominant wants a pain slut,” Grant’s low voice cut in, making Dex shiver.
Echo whirled and smiled up at Grant, who was just behind her shoulder. They looked good together. Maybe Dex should try to set them up to get Grant out of her hair.
Then again, Grant was a bit of a sadist. Maybe she wouldn
’t be doing Echo any favors by setting them up together.
“If you’re not into pain, though, don’t play with Grant,” Dex teased. “He likes to play hard . . . or so the rumors would have us believe.” Oops. She’d almost blown their cover.
He slid his gaze to Dex then, and her breath caught. His brows drew down into a sexy scowl—the one that meant he was thinking about sex. Probably with Dex. Her heart sped up, and her body urged her to flee. He’d fucking chase her. She shuddered and had to clench her jaw to stop herself from chattering as her nerves kicked into high gear.
It was wrong, but the feelings he’d inspired in her ever since that night weren’t best friend feelings. The flare of possessive arousal in his eyes as they moved over her face and body was hardly platonic either. They’d opened the lid of Pandora’s box that night and Dexter was having a bitch of a time trying to close it again. Apparently Grant had completely given up on going back to just being friends . . . if that had ever been his intention in the first place.
“What about Master Tarka?” Echo asked Grant.
“What about him?” Grant’s brows rose. Apparently he’d missed part of the conversation.
“I think she’s asking whether Tak is as much of a sadist as you are.”
Grant met Dex’s gaze in challenge, probably thinking the same thing she was. It was hard not to. They’d been ridiculously compatible—completely, unexpectedly, and explosively compatible—to the point where no one else had managed to scratch her masochistic itch quite right since.
“You’d have better luck asking Dex rather than me,” Grant calmly replied. “I’ve never played with him.”
If Dex hadn’t known him so well she never would have noticed the annoyance in his tone.
Sure, she’d tried to get the taste of Grant out of her mouth by playing with Tak not long after she’d declined Grant’s first attempt to collar her. The point was that Grant didn’t own her. He had no right to dictate who she spent time with! Things between Grant and Tarka had been strained ever since then, and Tak could only guess why.
All's Fair in Love and Mastery Page 1
