by Lexi Blake
“No. I have to apologize.” Seth took off after her.
Logan groaned. An apology wouldn’t work at this point. Seth should be ready for a full-on brat attack, with flying nails and screams. It was how Georgia dealt with this level of hurt. It actually didn’t bug him all that much. He kind of understood it. Georgia had never had real boundaries. She’d had land mines, but no firm and loving boundaries. She’d had men she worshipped like her brothers, and every other damn man in the world had been a douchebag asshole who let her down, including her father, according to Ben. Georgia was a textbook case of needing a firm but loving hand. He was sure Seth could give her loving, but he wasn’t so sure about the firm part.
He stopped at the edge of the deck, his boots hitting some encrusted dirt. Someone had been all over the deck the night before. Had he made that mess?
“Go to hell!” Georgia’s voice carried over the sound of the river.
Logan looked out as Georgia rounded on Seth, taking him down with one swing of her ridiculously oversized handbag. What the fuck did she carry in that thing? She said something he couldn’t hear but he would bet she was probably questioning Seth’s parentage, and then turned right back around and started across Henry and Nell’s yard.
Seth sat on his butt for a minute before getting up, obviously willing to give it another go. “Georgia, baby! Come on.”
Oh, he was asking for trouble. When Georgia got wound up like that, she was begging for some boundaries. She was desperate for someone to stand in front of her and say “no.” She wouldn’t feel safe with some weak apology. He would bet she’d heard a million of those lame-ass, “I won’t do it again, baby” apologies. What she hadn’t heard was her Dom telling her to stand down and act like the intelligent woman she was.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t her Dom. Seth was her Dom-in-training. Damn it.
He should let this play out. Georgia would likely leave, and then all of his problems would be gone. Well, all the ones he had tattooed on his chest.
Georgia turned, a look of unholy rage on that gorgeous face. Seth nearly tripped on his own feet.
Fuck. They needed him. Seth was being an idiot, and Georgia was too stubborn to let go of her anger. If he didn’t get involved, she would walk away and Seth would lie around like a mopey-ass billionaire.
And he would never know what it felt like to sink into Georgia Dawson’s body and lose himself there. He would never know what it felt like to share a woman who mattered with his best friend in the world. Seth was opening a door. He was letting Logan in without a real commitment beyond the training. The training could last as long as Logan said it did. And they would always need follow-up sessions. And play sessions. He could be fucking Georgia on a regular basis for the foreseeable future. They were young. Even if Seth married her, they probably wouldn’t have kids for a while. As long as there weren’t kids, he could come to their bed.
He would go back to Dallas because he wasn’t good for anyone, but he wouldn’t have to worry about Georgia. Seth could take care of her. At least financially. He’d done a shitastic job on the emotional stuff today.
“Georgia! You stop this right fucking now!” Seth shouted as she swung her purse around again. But he did a sissy thing where he ducked and tried not to let her hit him.
Logan growled. Yeah, he couldn’t watch another minute of this. Georgia was hurting, and she would lash out at anyone she could because she didn’t know how to handle it.
He was going to show her.
“You’re trying to make me into a prostitute!” Georgia screamed.
Nice. She was going there. It was a good play. Especially since Logan realized they had an audience.
Henry and Nell were sitting in lawn chairs. Each had a glass of what Logan suspected was organic wine in their hands, and they were watching the action. Nell sat forward the minute she heard the word prostitute.
“I’m not going to pay you.” Seth’s voice held the kind of horror Logan had heard before in victims of terrible crimes. “God. What do you think of me? I mean, I’ll pay your living expenses and you’ll have a credit card you can always use and you won’t have to work, but you’re not a prostitute.”
Yeah, that had been the right thing to say. God, Seth had gone to all the best schools, but they hadn’t taught him a damn thing about not pissing off a chick.
Georgia sort of primal screamed and started swinging her bag in a hard arc.
Logan took two steps and managed to do what Seth hadn’t. He caught the bag and pulled it away in one neat twist, leaving her without a weapon to beat them with. He tossed it away before she could protest. “Stand down, Georgia.”
“You asshole. That’s a Prada bag.” She was in full-on crazy mode. “You want to make me a prostitute, too.”
“Logan.” Nell was standing up now, her mouth turned down. “Are you trying to turn this young woman into a prostitute? Because while I uphold a woman’s right to do what she wants with her body, I have to protest it when a young woman is forced into human trafficking. Not just young women. Any women. And men. And animals, too. Don’t think it doesn’t happen. I’ve seen it on the Internet.”
God, if he didn’t get this under control, they would all get a lecture on the evils of human trafficking. Still. He couldn’t resist. He’d grown so bitter and sarcastic in his old age. “I’m not planning on sending her around the world, Nell. And I’m not going to make her a prostitute. I’m going to teach her how to be my sub so she won’t smack me upside the head with purses anymore.”
“It’s a handbag, asshole.” Georgia turned to Nell, obviously sensing that Nell was the weak link. “He is totally trying to turn me into a prostitute. He wants to share me with his friend.”
Nell smiled as though deeply relieved. “Oh, thank god. I was worried for a minute. Welcome to Bliss.”
There were some advantages to living in America’s freakiest town.
“You should put a collar on that one, Logan. She looks like the type to run away.” Luckily Nell already had a Dom. Henry didn’t move from his chair. “Although she wasn’t going to get far in those heels. Still, you should get her a collar and a leash.”
Fuck. He’d just realized that. Henry fucking Flanders was a goddamn Dom. Now that he’d been properly trained, he recognized all the subtle signs. Henry was a quiet top, but Logan would bet he was nasty in the bedroom.
Nell sent Henry a look that could freeze the balls off a gorilla on testosterone. “You can’t put a woman on a leash. You would never do that to me.”
Henry simply sat back, a smile curling up his lips. “Oh, you have your leash, my love. Why do you think I buy you new Birkenstocks every couple of years? No one can run in Birkenstocks. They keep you tethered to me.”
“You’re a son of a bitch!” Georgia didn’t seem to care about the secondary conversation. She was going straight for the throat. “Did you think I would spread my legs? Did you think you could treat me like crap and I would still fuck you?”
She had a point there. He’d treated her like she didn’t exist because it hurt to look at her when he couldn’t touch her.
But he’d made a deal with Seth, and he could touch her now. She was in so much trouble. They all were. And honesty was the best policy.
“You’re right. I was an asshole and I’m sorry. I would go home and have the very lovely dinner you cooked if you hadn’t already tossed the whole damn thing in the trash. Now turn that sweet ass around and get back to the cabin so we can sit down and have an adult conversation about this because it’s serious. It’s not something we should be talking about on Nell and Henry’s front yard.”
Henry smiled. “Don’t mind us. We don’t have cable. This is the best entertainment I’ve had in a while.”
Nell frowned his way. “Henry!”
Henry shrugged. “Tell me you’re not taking notes, baby.”
Logan tried to ignore them. “Come with me and we can do all this privately.”
“Fuck you.” She said all the
right words, but she didn’t move. In fact, she leaned toward him, every action her body made calling to his senses.
His blood was pumping, thrumming pleasantly through his veins. This was where he wanted to be. And she was damn straight the woman he wanted to be here with. He had to give her every option. He couldn’t sit down and negotiate with her. Not yet. Not until Hurricane Georgia had passed. “I am giving you the rules right here and right now. You can walk back to our cabin and stand near my SUV and I’ll take you into town and find you a way out of here.”
“No,” Seth practically yelled. “No. She’s not leaving.”
Seth could be so dramatic. Of course she wasn’t leaving. She wasn’t going anywhere because she wanted this fight. She wanted to be taken down. She was practically begging for it. If she gave him one single tell that she didn’t want this, he would back off. All she had to do was say no, move away, turn her back, walk over to his SUV. But there was a glint in her eyes and worse, her nipples were rigid against that thin shirt she wore.
She didn’t take a step back. Her lower lip came out, and she moved even closer to him. She utterly ignored Seth’s outburst. “Fuck you, Logan. You can shove that SUV up your ass.”
Heat sizzled through his system. Why did this one woman make him crazy? Why couldn’t he find a nice, easy submissive and settle into a relationship where no one screamed at him or fought him like a scalded cat? He’d watched his moms and they never had moments like this. Their relationship was a placid lake of calm and a source of deep strength for both of them. What he and Georgia had was a flash fire that threatened to burn them both. He couldn’t see it lasting forever. He couldn’t live like that, but he also couldn’t let her go.
And if he couldn’t walk away, then it was time to take control. For all three of them.
“Georgia, are you sure?” He felt a certain peace come over him. Oh, his cock was hard as a rock, but he could see everything playing out now that he’d made the decision to take charge.
“I’m sure you’ve got a tiny dick hiding away in those khakis.” Georgia wasn’t calm. Georgia was completely out of control. That much was clear.
He gave her a slow smile, loving the way that gorgeous face kind of screwed up because she couldn’t seem to figure out why he was smiling. He had her confused, and it was about to get worse. “Your way, baby. Not mine. I was going to do this easy, but I think you like it rough.”
She opened her mouth, but before she could spit more bile at him, he lunged forward, sank his left shoulder right across her belly, folding her neatly in two for easy transportation.
“What the hell are you doing?” She screamed, and he felt her fists on his back. Maybe not so easy transportation, but it was quicker than dragging her caveman style. Though she’d be real cute that way. Especially if she was naked first. Yeah, they would have to try that later.
His cock approved of the image. Hell, his cock didn’t even mind that his back was being forced to take one for the team. He kept her off kilter, holding her thighs tight to his chest. Damn, but he could actually smell her arousal. She was as turned on as he was. Why the hell had he waited? She wasn’t some virginal priss who didn’t know the score. He and Georgia could have some nasty, filthy, gorgeous sex and then he would turn her over to Seth, who could handle loving her. “Nell, Henry, I hope you have a pleasant evening. You’ll excuse me, but I have a sub to discipline.”
“If you lay one hand on me, you fucking meathead, I will call the cops on you,” Georgia vowed.
“I am the cops, darlin’.” He smacked her ass hard with his free hand.
She gasped, a breathy, sexy sound. And then she seemed to remember that she was the victim here and screamed. “You pathetic, craphole, idiotic fuckmeister!”
Logan smiled at Seth, who was staring at her with wide eyes. Yeah, he hadn’t met Hurricane Georgia until now. “She has a way with words when she gets like this.” He smacked her ass again, this time harder. “But she’s going to learn to keep it sweet, aren’t you, baby? You wanted the bull? You gotta take the horns, too. You are going to get a whole lot of horn tonight.”
Logan winked at Henry and Nell as he walked off. The day had been a shitstorm of crap, but the evening was looking up.
Chapter Eight
Seth stared at Georgia, her blonde hair flying around as she yelled and tried to beat the shit out of his best friend’s backside. He felt like he’d been through a fight. She was so sweet, and she’d always been kind to everyone around her. His staff adored her. Never once had she thrown stuff around or tried to take his head off with a handbag.
Death via Prada. It was almost how he’d gone down.
Logan was walking away with her. Logan hadn’t been surprised at all. Logan had strode right in and tossed her over his shoulder and taken charge. Seth had stared down crabby investors and lawyers and bankers. He’d ruthlessly handled the sharks of Wall Street, and he’d been utterly at a loss with what to do with one blonde in high heels.
“Is that your girl?” Henry had moved up behind him, settling a hand on his shoulder.
Seth kept staring as his best friend and the love of his life moved away from him. “She’s never acted like that before.”
“What was she upset about? The idea of being shared?”
Seth shook his head. “No. I ignored her all day and then I hit her with the D/s stuff. I think I scared her. I was so sure she would be interested. Her brothers are all lifestylers.”
“I don’t think she’s afraid. Logan gave her every out he could, and she waited until he scooped her up.” Henry smiled as Georgia’s curse-laced screams carried across the yard. “I think that’s just the way those two are going to play. Did you see how relaxed Logan got? I’ve never seen that kid so confident and happy as he was when he tossed her over his shoulder. They have a connection.”
“A connection?” Seth was worried Henry had gone soft in the head.
“Yeah. She’ll come around. She wants this. She wants Logan to take charge. If he’s half the Dom I think he might be, he’ll have her purring by morning.” Henry turned to him. “You should think about this. You seem disturbed. Perhaps this isn’t the lifestyle for you. D/s can seem cruel to some people.”
He wasn’t exactly a tourist. “I’ve played before. I’ve done pretty much every sexually deviant thing a man can do.”
Henry winced. “I don’t know that I needed to hear that.”
“I love her.” He just wasn’t sure he knew every side of her. There hadn’t been anything deliberately cruel about Georgia’s rant. Well, the needle-dick charges leveled against Logan had been uncalled for and untrue. “It caught me off guard.”
Henry slapped his back in a gesture of manly affection. “All I’m saying is you should think about it because she obviously needs this. I don’t know that Logan is ready for anything on a full-time basis. That girl needs a Dom. She needs one so badly that I wouldn’t hesitate to find her one.”
An unholy rage filled Seth, churning his gut and making him stand taller. “She doesn’t need a goddamn thing. I swear we’re going to have trouble if you try to match her up with someone you know. I will make sure he’s not fucking breathing by the end of the night. Do you understand? She’s fucking mine. Head case or not. She belongs to me.”
His heart was pounding, blood beating through his system. The very thought of someone coming between him and Georgia made him goddamn insane. So, no, her hissy fit hadn’t thrown him off her. He’d been a bit surprised, yes. Her anger had shocked him, but it wasn’t truly anger, was it? It had been passion. Georgia was passionate. She gave a shit. Of course, she’d freaked out. He’d ignored her, and what woman worth her weight wouldn’t get pissed? His mother would have rolled her eyes and moved on to the next lover, but his Georgia had let her position be known, and Logan was handling that shit. It was completely unrealistic to think a relationship wouldn’t require work. A woman like Georgia deserved to have her man work for her.
Henry was smiling at him de
spite the fact that he was pretty sure he’d bared his teeth at his mentor like a damn mountain lion looking for a meal. “Excellent. You sound like a caveman. Go get your girl. Don’t let Logan have all that sugar. Come by for dinner sometime this week and bring your Georgia. I’m sure Nell wants to talk to her about those boots.”
He looked ahead. Logan was trying to open the door to the cabin, but Georgia was wiggling, her legs kicking and her hands reaching for…damn, it looked like she was trying to get at Logan’s dick with those gorgeous claws, and not in a hot, sensual way, more like a rip-it-off way. He felt his palm twitch. She was asking for the flat of his hand on her ass.
Fuck all. He might actually be a Dom. It had always been play before, but with Georgia, all those instincts were coming out.
“You thinking about spanking her?” Henry asked with a grin. “Because she’s begging for it.”
He felt his lip curl up, his shoulders straightening. He’d played in clubs, but this was the first time he’d felt a righteous indignation with a sub. She wanted to question him? Oh, he had some answers for her. She wanted to shock the fuck out of him with a side of her nature she hadn’t allowed him to see? Maybe it was time he showed her his inner shark. “Yeah, she is. We’ll come over for dinner sometime this week. I can’t promise you that Georgia will be able to sit down, though.”
Seth stalked the distance between them, his anger growing with every step. He’d done nothing but treat her like a precious angel up until this afternoon. Yes, he’d been an asshole, but his prior good behavior should have bought him something more than a Prada bag to the head.
He jogged the distance between Nell and Henry’s place and his own. Not just his. Theirs. His and Georgia’s and Logan’s, whether Logan wanted to admit it or not. His heart was pounding, adrenaline pumping as he walked through the door.
It was perfectly silent, and for a moment, he wondered if one of them was dead.
