The Men With the Golden Cuffs

by Lexi Blake

  She wanted it more than anything. She just knew how much it meant. Doyle had committed. Her father had committed. Both had walked away when it became easier to do so than to stay. She knew she could be difficult. She lived in her head most of the time. It had been that way since she was a child. She could stop writing, but she couldn’t stop those voices in her head. Doyle had never understood that her inner life didn’t take away from her care for the outside world. It was just a part of her.

  Jake and Adam would get tired of her remoteness in the end.

  “I don’t want it. I just want the training.” The words sounded flat to her own ears, but he seemed to require an answer.

  “If all you want is some real-life experience for those books of yours, then you shall have it.” He turned, every muscle rigid. “Follow. Don’t look the other Doms in the eye. It’s rude. Keep your head down and don’t speak unless you’re directed to. Any infraction will cost your ass five swats. I’ll pull your skirt up and spank you publically. If you aren’t ready for that, I would behave.”

  Adam’s face was a careful blank as he took her elbow and started to walk her into the dungeon. The privacy rooms were to the side, but Jake walked past them, his long legs eating the distance between the entryway and the raised stage where a pretty sub with long, black hair was being strapped to a St. Andrew’s cross. Her naked flesh was on full display, her shoulders relaxed as she allowed Ian to tighten the cinches at her wrists and ankles.

  A second woman was already secured. She was a brunette with a curvy backside. Her head was thrown back as though simply waiting for her punishment to begin. There was a hushed air of expectancy that ran through the dungeon. A small crowd stood, almost all in some sort of fet wear. Serena took it all in. There was enough leather to start a mega store. Most of the women had on skirts and bustiers, but several wore nothing at all. There were Doms and Dommes with their submissives, both male and female.

  What were they like in their everyday lives? Her mind raced with the possibilities. Were they powerful in their own ways, each seeking a bit of peace that came with submission? Did they crave it because the stresses of responsibility ate away at their souls? Or were they like her? Did they need permission to let go, to trust in any circumstance?

  “She’s gone again.” Adam looked down at her, a ghost of a smile on his face.

  Yes, she’d done it again. “I apologize.”

  “I wasn’t mad,” Adam said, his hand coming out to sweep against her cheek. “I just wish I knew where you went. I envy you.”

  “Why?”

  “Because there’s a whole other world in your head. I’ve been reading your books. I’m not a huge romance fan, but I know a good story when I read it. I know that you sink into every book. In that head of yours you’ve already lived a hundred lives, seen things, felt them in a way the rest of us can’t. I wish you would understand that I know how precious a gift that is. I want to protect it, to nurture it. I want to take care of the little things so that beautiful brain of yours can have the adventures it was built for.”

  He really knew what to say to her. “You would get tired of it after a while. You would think I was ignoring you.”

  He shook his head. “I would know I was in there somewhere. I would read what you wrote at the end of the day to find out about the stories you weave about me. You would be writing about me. I would make sure of it. I would love you so long and so well that you would have to write about me.”

  Jake didn’t look her way. He kept his eyes on the stage, but there was an intimacy to his voice that gave away the fact that he wasn’t entirely unemotional. “And I would force you to come out of it from time to time. I would keep you with us. We could keep you grounded, Serena. You don’t have to hide all the time. I get that you love your work. I want you to. But you can love your reality, too.”

  Her reality was horrible right now. Her reality was someone trying to kill her and the men she loved being far away from her. She knew it was her choice. She knew she was being stubborn, but she couldn’t quite reach out and grab them. “You’ll pardon me if I don’t enjoy real life right now.”

  Jake looked down at her. “I didn’t mean enjoy, Serena. Enjoy is a lazy word. I know your life sucks right now. But your reality is you have a family around you. It might not be the one you wanted when you were six years old and had a child’s dreams that everything would be perfect, but it’s a family all the same. Bridget and Chris have been calling for days, and you’re ignoring them.”

  She wasn’t ignoring them. She just didn’t know what to say. And she didn’t want them hurt. “I think they should stay away from me for a while.”

  “Adam.” The name came out of Jake’s mouth like a sharp command, and Adam seemed to know just what to do.

  “First turn of the screw, sweetheart,” Adam said, his hands going to the clamps on her breasts. He turned the screw, her nipples peaking as they were tweaked.

  She whimpered a little. Yeah, she felt that. “What was that for?”

  Jake leaned over and whispered in her ear. “First off, I didn’t ask you a direct question, so that’s five, though we’ll count this as a warning and leave it for the privacy room. The next time, it will be right here in public. Secondly, I’m attempting to do exactly what you just hired me for. You don’t want me as a lover. You want a Dom. Well, a Dom’s job is to correct the behaviors in his sub that cause her trouble and heartache. To instill discipline. You’re pushing away your friends. It’s going to cost you a couple of people you can’t afford to lose. You will call them in the morning. You will reach out to them. Permission to speak, but keep a civil tongue.”

  Oh, that permission to speak shit was bugging her, but Jake had that superior look on his face. The one that told her this was what she got from the pure Dom. Not a boyfriend. A hired Dom. Damn it, she hadn’t meant it that way, but she wasn’t sure how to fix it. “Jake, what if this guy decides to hurt me through my friends?”

  Adam turned her to face him. “Would you dump Bridget if she was in trouble?”

  “Never.” Bridget and Chris were her lifelines. And she would be devastated if they didn’t let her help. If this was happening to Bridget and Chris, she would want to be there, standing right beside them. “I’ll call them tomorrow.”

  “Excellent. Ah, Ian’s ready to start.” Adam turned her back to the stage. “Our little sub is finally thinking a bit.”

  “Good. I wasn’t certain she was educable. She’s very stubborn.”

  “I think she can learn. I also think she’ll require an enormous amount of punishment.”

  Neither man looked at her, their object lesson clear. This was how they treated a submissive they had been told specifically to have no attachment to. She’d told them it was what she’d wanted.

  She didn’t know what she wanted. Ian was on stage saying all sorts of formal protocol stuff that would probably be really good for her next novel, and all she could think about was how miserable she was. And how she didn’t know what to do about it.

  Ian held out his whip, presenting it to both subs who kissed it reverently before he stepped back. His muscular arm flipped back, and there was a cracking sound that split the air around her.

  “Does this do anything for you?” Adam asked. His arm wound around her waist, hauling her close so his mouth was right against her ear. She was nestled against him, back to front. One arm stayed around her waist, but the other was on her thigh, creeping up toward her unprotected-by-panties pussy.

  Yeah, that did something for her. It made her breath quicken, her pink parts pulse. She was half naked in a club full of other naked people watching a seriously hot dude whip two women, and one of the sexiest men she’d ever seen was cuddling her close, his hand hovering above her pussy.

  “Yes, Sir.” The scene was interesting, but more than anything, she was interested in the arm around her waist and his breath on her ear. She cuddled close to him. Yes, her pussy was fluttering, but she really wanted to feel close to
him, to both of them.

  Jake was suddenly in front of her. His hand went to the chain between her breasts. “Then why are your eyes half closed? You aren’t watching the scene at all. I thought you were curious. I thought you wanted to learn about D/s.”

  He pulled at the chain, and Serena felt her eyes water. Her nipples flared with a brief pain that turned to almost unbearable erotic stimulation.

  “I do, Sir.” But she wanted to learn it from them.

  In the low light of the dungeon, Jake looked harsh and unrelenting. “I think you’re more interested in an orgasm than you are in the lifestyle, little tourist. Do you know how we handle bratty tourists in this club? We show them the truth. By the end of the night, you’ll either be in or you’ll be out. I bet you’ll be out. I suspect you won’t be able to handle it.”

  He was challenging her? Well, she could be pretty stubborn herself. “Fuck you, Jake.”

  Adam chuckled low in her ear. “Now you’ve done it.”

  Jake picked her up, tossing her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Her whole world upended as he stalked out of the dungeon toward the privacy rooms.

  Serena went limp in his arms. He was right. She would know after tonight exactly what she could handle.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Jake’s cock was throbbing, but it was nothing compared to just how angry he was at her. He pushed through the door to the privacy room. He’d reserved a different one than the room they’d first made love in. He couldn’t go back in there. It wasn’t the same. This wasn’t about making love. She didn’t want to make love to him. She didn’t want a lover.

  All she wanted was a damn Dom.

  Well, he could be that for her.

  He set her on her feet, well aware that he was on the edge of his control. His eyes went to the clamps on her breasts. Adam had been a pussy about those clamps. They were barely hanging on. If she wanted a BDSM relationship, she was going to have to get used to her role. He was the sadist. And she was the masochist.

  Brusquely and as impersonally as he could, he tightened the screws.

  Her eyes dilated, those green orbs huge in the low light. Well, at least one of them had their roles down. Little Serena liked a bite of pain. Yeah, he could give that to her.

  “The red room?” Adam threw him a glance. “Really?”

  The red room was known as a torture chamber. It was slightly larger than the other privacy rooms and boasted a whipping bench and a sawhorse, a multitude of hooks in the walls and the ceiling, and a whole wall of never used before impact play toys.

  “She said she wanted a BDSM experience. I’ll give her one.” The first night they’d made love had been personal, intimate. He’d used his hand and then made love to her with the only thought being their mutual pleasure. It hadn’t worked. It hadn’t bound her to him. Days of lavishing affection on her hadn’t worked. All she wanted was his harshness. Perhaps it was the only thing of value he had to give.

  “Hold out your hands.” He picked up a shiny pair of handcuffs from the table. He’d thought about buying a kit for her, selecting everything himself. But she didn’t want that.

  She obediently put her hands out. Her face was closed off, her stance shutting him out even as she was on display for him. He pressed the cuffs around her wrists, snapping them on and tightening them. Still not a look from her. She simply stared at the handcuffs, probably cataloging the experience for some future book.

  “Take off the skirt, then turn around and place your hands flat on the sawhorse.” The cuffs had enough give that she could make do.

  “What are you going to do?” Serena asked.

  Adam groaned. “I’ll handle it.” He sat down on the edge of the bed, the only softness in the whole room. He hauled Serena over his lap, pulled her miniskirt up, and gave her five quick slaps. Serena’s legs kicked briefly and then she sagged down.

  So fucking submissive. Why couldn’t she see that they could be more than this?

  “You have a safeword, Serena. You have a safeword and a slow-down word. Use them. This is not going to go well, love. Both you and Jake seem to want to tear each other apart tonight.” Adam’s hand soothed across her pinkened flesh.

  Serena said nothing at all.

  Adam sighed and set her back on her feet. “Then you should do as he says.”

  Serena turned and leaned over the sawhorse, placing her palms down on the surface and lowering her back. She didn’t move to push her skirt down. It pooled at her waist, the only bit of clothing he’d left her.

  He was fine with it. It gave the whole scene a little edge of brutality. If he ordered her to take it off, she would be naked, utterly vulnerable, all of her soft skin there for his pleasure. She would look far too open and trusting when he knew damn well she was closed to him. Well, at least her heart was. She was perfectly willing to open her legs for him.

  He went to the toy rack and selected a new anal plug, this one larger than the itty bitty thing Adam had shoved up her ass. If she wanted a Dom, then she was going to find out that the Dom she’d selected enjoyed fucking submissive little assholes. She would learn to take his cock up her rectum. He washed the toy, scrubbing it with impatient hands and lubing it up.

  “Jacob, maybe you should have a safeword, too.”

  Adam was starting to get to him. “If you don’t like it, feel free to leave.”

  Adam sighed as he stared at them both. “You were the one who told me to be patient.”

  “I’m giving her exactly what she wants.”

  “She doesn’t know what she wants, Jake.”

  “Fuck you, Adam,” Serena said.

  “Or she’s too stubborn to admit what’s good for her.” Adam smacked her ass another five times, his hand swinging in an arc, leaving pink flesh where he slapped her. He took a deep breath in. “You know this is classic brat behavior. She’s topping from the bottom. I can smell her pussy right now. She’s trying to get what she wants without giving anything up for it.”

  “My ass is on fire, Adam. I think there’s an exchange here.” Serena didn’t move, but her sarcasm seemed to be flowing nicely.

  Adam grimaced, but did what needed to be done. Ten smacks this time, the last one right between her legs. “Keep your mouth closed, Serena. Unless you have something sweet to say or want to use your safeword and save us all a lot of heartache.”

  The little brat had nothing to say to that. God, he was still waiting for her to turn and ask him to kiss her, to hold her. He was still waiting for a forgiveness that wasn’t coming. He’d ruined everything with a few careless words, but he knew himself well. He would fuck up again. He could be cruel. He could try, but if she put him through hell every time he was an idiot, then he would spend the rest of his life walking on eggshells.

  Maybe she was right. Maybe this was the only way they could be together.

  “Hold her cheeks apart for me.” This wasn’t happiness, but fuck it, he couldn’t help himself. If this was all she would give him, he would take it and be everything she seemed to think he was.

  Adam’s hands caressed the cheeks of her ass briefly before pulling them apart, revealing the rosette of her ass. Jake’s cock jumped in his pants. He wanted to take her there. He wanted to take her in every way it was possible for a man to have a woman. He wanted to fill her up, to know she was walking around with his semen deep inside her body.

  Fuck. He wanted to get her pregnant. If she was pregnant, they would be tied together more tightly than any contract. Even if he managed to get her to sign a pure D/s contract with him, she could always walk away. He couldn’t hold her. He was very aware that his time with her was limited. When they found her stalker and she was safe, she would leave and likely never speak to them again, or their only contact would be in this club with him as her distant Dom.

  But a child would force them all together.

  He pressed the lubed plug to her ass, the idea playing in his brain. Serena would be beautiful all big and round and full of child. His kid.
Adam’s kid. It didn’t matter. The baby would be theirs, and they would have to find a way to function as a family. She would need him. She would need Adam.

  Serena gasped, the little sound going straight to his cock. He rimmed the rosette of her ass with the plug before starting to push in.

  “Breathe out, love,” Adam instructed her. “Flatten your back. Let the plug slide in.”

  Adam. Adam was the sweet one. Adam was the one she already needed. Adam took care of her everyday needs. Jake was just the muscle who was there to take any bullet that came her way. Who the fuck was he kidding? Serena already knew the score. He was good for this, for research, for fucking. He would never be able to sit down and talk about books with her the way Adam did.

  Something nasty took root in his gut. If he did get her pregnant, she still wouldn’t want him around.

  He pressed the plug in, forcing himself to be careful when all he really wanted to do was throw the fucking plug away and shove his cock inside. The plug finally moved, burying itself deep.

  “See, that wasn’t so bad,” Adam said, his hand tracing up and down her spine.

  Adam got to be the good guy. Jake was always put in the bad guy role. It was his place on the earth. He grabbed the crop off the wall.

  “No count is required this time, Serena. You’re getting fifteen for disobeying orders and protocol. Another ten for cursing me.”

  “But Adam already spanked me.”

  “And another five for questioning me.” She really didn’t understand the way this was going to go. “You wanted two Masters. Adam gave you his punishment. It’s time for mine.”

  She was stubbornly silent, her ass in the air.

  There was a little feeling of relief. He’d thought, for a moment, that she would tell him to leave. That he could lose both her and Adam in one moment.

  But it had passed. And she still wanted the dark art he could teach her. Without a warning, he struck, bringing the crop down on her ass.

  Serena yelped, her whole body shaking. Her cuffed hands held on to the sawhorse.