Jack was shown to the austere waiting room outside Julian’s office by a lovely young woman in her twenties. She kept her head down and her eyes averted, and he realized she probably spent a lot of time in the club downstairs. His eyes briefly skimmed her body. She was dressed conservatively, as Julian would have anyone working in the business end do. She wore a skirt, silk shirt, and a jacket. The only thing that marked her as anything other than an office drone was her shoes. They were a scarlet red, the heels at least five inches of pure stiletto. He had no idea how she managed to walk in them, but he admitted those shoes were hot. They would look nice on his Abby. On the blonde, he was merely able to appreciate them on an aesthetic level. The girl was pretty and obviously submissive. She probably never talked back or disobeyed. Julian wouldn’t have it.

He took a seat in one of the antique chairs Julian insisted gave the office an elegant feel. They always made him feel like a hulking beast perched on something fragile. He sighed, stretched, then pulled out his phone. There was one message, and he bet it was a doozy. He could almost hear Abigail tearing him a new asshole for leaving that note. He smiled at the thought of her face flushed with anger. Her whole face went red when she got really mad, and her eyes flashed fire. She was pretty when she was pissed. She could spout some seriously filthy language, too. When she got going, she could rack up the punishment time. He could give her five every time she cursed. That gorgeous ass of hers would get a lovely shade of pink. He frowned and tried to think of something else.

“Sir?”

He glanced up, surprised to see the secretary still there. He’d forgotten about her completely. His mind had been on his wife.

“Yes?” He found himself slightly annoyed. He didn’t want to be here in the first place, wanted to deal with Julian’s subs even less. There were always at least two, one male and one female. Julian believed in variety.

She sank to her knees, placing her slender body in between his legs. Her hands went to his denim-clad thighs, her perfectly manicured nails sinking in slightly. “Mr. Lodge told me to see to your every need, Mr. Barnes. Might I offer you the comfort of my mouth? Or would you prefer something else?”

“I would prefer it if you took your hands off me.” Even he could feel the room’s temperature drop by several degrees. He made no move to remove the offending hands. He didn’t need to do anything physical to put a sub in her place. “I didn’t ask you to put your hands on me, nor do I want your attentions. Do we understand each other?”

Her hands dropped to her thighs, palms up. She looked straight down. “Yes, Sir. I was—”

“Nor did I ask for an explanation.” He didn’t need one. She was only following orders. She didn’t have to spell it out. He also knew that a soft explanation wouldn’t work on her. “Move back, sub. You’re invading my space, and I do not like it.”

The blonde sub quickly moved back, though she found her position again. She remained still and silent.

“You are dismissed.” He wanted to be left alone. This was why he hadn’t come back in a while. He’d known exactly what he’d be offered the minute he walked into The Club again. Sex. Submission. Drama. So much damn drama.

The blonde’s head came up. Her mouth opened and closed as though she wanted to say something but couldn’t quite make it happen.

The door to the office opened. Julian took in the scene in front of him and shook his head. “He said you were dismissed, Sally. Are you so improperly trained that you don’t obey a direct order?”

“No, Master Julian.” She gracefully got to her feet and was back at her desk in a moment.

Jack stood up quickly. “And what was that scene about?”

He knew he should give the man who had mentored him some leeway, but he was feeling restless. That anger he held inside him was looking for an outlet, and Julian was a big boy. He could handle it.

Julian Lodge cocked a single aristocratic eyebrow. Jack could tell a lot about Julian’s mood from that one brow. Julian could say the same thing in exactly the same voice, but it held a different meaning when that dark brow was climbing off his face. “Am I not allowed to be hospitable, Jackson?”

He was annoyed. Well, good for Julian because Jack was annoyed, too. “I’m a married man. I doubt my wife would appreciate that scene you tried to play out.”

Julian shrugged in his custom-made Italian suit. If he followed the habits he’d had while Jack worked for him, Julian went to Milan once a year for a new crop of the slick suits. “As I have yet to be introduced to this paragon of virtue, I have no idea what she would find offensive and what would be acceptable to her. Would you care to join me in my office? Our guest will be here soon.”

It was posed as a question, but there was no way to mistake the inherent command behind it. He nodded shortly and followed his former mentor. The door closed behind him. It had been years since he’d been called into Julian’s office. He remembered the last time he was here. He had been informing Julian of his decision to quit. He was buying his ranch. He was taking Sam with him.

“Well, of course you are, Jackson,” Julian had said. “A Dom never leaves his favorite sub behind.”

“Please have a seat.” Julian indicated the dark leather chair in front of his large mahogany desk. Jack sank into the chair as he continued. “I give you permission to punish my slave. She questioned you. She shouldn’t have done that.”

That wasn’t going to happen. He had zero need to punish some sub he didn’t know. “Punish her yourself. I don’t intend to be here for long. I need to get home. I want to meet with this guy and hightail it out of here. If I get on the road fast enough, I can be home by midnight.”

He’d told them he might be gone a few days. Perhaps they would forgive him faster if he came home early.

Julian sat back in his chair, and his long hands steepled. “You’re in a hurry. Tell me, Jackson, why haven’t you brought your lovely bride to enjoy all the pleasures our club can provide? Is she not submissive? Do you not share her with Samuel?”

He was taken aback by the question. “Of course I share her with Sam. I wouldn’t have married a woman who couldn’t love both of us.”

He and Sam were a package deal and had been since they met.

“Then I must assume she is either not submissive or you’re ashamed of the time you spent here,” Julian mused. “Otherwise I can’t understand why you turned down my generous offer to host a honeymoon for you.”

He softened slightly. “It was a generous offer. I’m not ashamed. Abigail knows about what I did here. She certainly knows what I owe you, Julian. We haven’t taken a honeymoon. I was sick, and it’s been hard. The recovery…” Jack let the sentence trail off. He really didn’t want to go into this.

“Well, you were shot in the chest,” Julian pointed out. “You can’t expect to recover quickly from that, old friend. You should rest and recuperate.”

He shook his head. “It was six months ago. I’m fine.”

Silver eyes assessed him. “I doubt that very much. I’m sure you’re physically fine, but the emotional aspects of such an injury can have much longer-ranging consequences.”

“Like I said, I’m fine.” It was something that was best left completely in the past. He needed to work on his future and on controlling his darker impulses.

Julian’s long fingers drummed on the top of his desk. “It’s just as well you decided not to stay. The Platinum Suite was taken an hour ago. One of my wealthiest clients is bringing his wife in to play.” There was a secretive smile on Julian’s face that gave him pause. “Tell me, Jackson, how is Samuel?”

“He’s fine,” Jack responded automatically. He didn’t like to think about how annoyed Sam was with him. That restless feeling was back. Maybe he should stay the night. He wouldn’t have to face Abby and Sam and their questions if he spent the night here. He wouldn’t go down to The Club. He would order a bottle of Scotch and try to pass out. He wouldn’t sleep. He never slept alone. He’d spent far too long with another body in bed with him. Even Sam, who he didn’t cuddle, was a comforting presence in bed.

There was a trill from the phone. Julian pressed a button. “Yes, Sally?”

“Your five o’clock appointment is here, sir.” Sally’s voice was completely professional over the phone. She sounded nothing like a woman who had offered her boss’s old friend a blow job mere moments before.

“Send him in.” Julian stood and straightened his silk tie. A look of deep distaste crossed his features.

“Is this Lucas?” Jack asked. He didn’t mention the part about Lucas Cameron being his half-brother. He’d disavowed the Camerons a long time ago. He didn’t intend to make this a family reunion.

Julian shook his head as he smoothed out his tie. “No, this is Matthew Slater. He’s your father’s campaign manager.”

“Don’t call him that.” He didn’t have a father and never would.

Julian inclined his head in apology. “Of course. He’s the senator’s campaign manager. Lucas is due in tonight. You’ll be late getting home, I fear. Mr. Slater is here to attempt to talk some sense into Lucas. I thought he could shed some light on the situation.”

The door opened and a slender man in an immaculately cut suit strode into the office. He was in his prime and obviously a professional in every sense of the word.

He held his hand out to Julian, but Jack could see he didn’t want to touch the club owner. Julian’s handshake was brief.

“Mr. Lodge, I apologize for the inconvenience.” Slater’s hair was perfectly cut and graying on the sides. His dark eyes found Jack and immediately registered an awed kind of surprise. “My god, you have to be a Cameron. You look exactly like your father did at that age.”

His hands fisted. He didn’t like to be reminded that he had a father, much less one who he resembled. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. My father died before I was born.”

It was all in the paperwork he’d signed when he’d accepted the five million Cameron offered him to keep his mouth shut about his paternity.

Matthew Slater smiled slowly. “Of course, Mr. Barnes. I understand the situation well. I was the senator’s aide at the time. I typed up the agreement myself. You’ve been scrupulous about keeping your end of the bargain.”

“I got everything I wanted out of it,” Jack allowed.

“And you’ve made something of yourself.” Slater took the seat beside Jack. “Sadly, it seems the senator’s most successful offspring is the only one he can’t acknowledge.”

“He should remember that.” Jack checked his watch and wondered how long this was going to take. He didn’t want to be acknowledged by anyone, least of all Allen Cameron. “Does someone want to tell me why I got pulled into Senator Cameron’s crap?”

Julian shook his head. Yes, it was just as it had always been. Poor Julian, ever despairing of his lack of diplomacy. Julian liked to keep things civilized. Jack refused to act the part. Once, he would have tried for the sake of his job, but he didn’t work here anymore. He was a rancher and he would talk like one.

“I believe my associate would like to know a bit about the situation with Lucas Cameron, Mr. Slater.” Julian was a master at understatement.

Slater’s face became a mask of irritation. “Lucas is the senator’s youngest child. He’s the youngest of three and, undoubtedly, the most troubled. He’s twenty-three, and he barely made it out of college. He seems to have an addictive personality. He can’t stay away from booze and women…or men. He really doesn’t judge. If it has a pulse, Lucas will jump into bed with it. If there’s a camera around, all the better. He has no sense of decorum whatsoever. He’s the bane of his father’s existence.”

Julian smiled grimly. “I’m afraid Jackson doesn’t keep up with the latest gossip magazines.”

Jack shook his head. He didn’t. He couldn’t care less. Abigail did, though. She often came home from the grocery store with some ridiculous magazine she’d bought because the headlines were so atrocious. “Someone has to reward truly outlandish reporting, Jack,” she would say. She and Sam would laugh about the latest over-the-top hijinks. Jack would hold himself apart. He wondered if Abigail and Sam knew who Lucas Cameron was. “I don’t care about his reputation. I want to know why he’s decided to ruin mine.”

Slater let out a long-suffering sigh. “I’m afraid he’s decided to take after his older brother.” There was a long pause as Jack refused to take the obvious bait. He gave Slater his best “no bullshit” stare, and the older man caved. “Lucas found out about the deal you made with the senator years ago. He discovered the paperwork and made the proper assumptions. He might be a wretched addict, but he’s got a brilliant mind. Anyway, once he got it into his head that his father would cave to blackmail, he came up with this scheme.”

“Why is he involving me?” Jack’s entire manner was brusque. He couldn’t care less that the great Allen Cameron was, once again, being raked over the coals by his unfortunate offspring.

“His father won’t give him another dime,” Slater admitted. “Senator Cameron is currently in a power play with his son. He’s told Lucas that he will admit to the affair with your mother and claim you as his son before he’ll give in to blackmail again.”

He was out of his chair before he could take his next breath. The implications of that admission made his head want to explode. He could see it now. Reporters everywhere. They would come out to the ranch, besiege him at every turn. “Like hell he will!”

Julian held out a hand, gesturing toward a chair. “Jackson, please.” He turned to the older man. “I believe you will find that outcome is unacceptable to Mr. Barnes.”

“Damn straight,” he said, clenching his teeth. “I will not have my wife barraged by tabloid reporters. The senator and I had a deal. I’ve kept up my end of the bargain. I expect him to do the same.”

“The trouble isn’t with the senator.” Slater looked as though he was trying to placate a growling beast. He held his hands out in defense. “Lucas is the one pressing forward with his blackmail scheme. When he decided his father was serious, he did some research. It didn’t take him long to trace you, Mr. Barnes. It was a bit harder to find Mr. Lodge, but he decided that Lodge would be the easier mark.”

Julian snorted and somehow made it elegant. “He’s threatening to bring down The Club. He says he has evidence of illegal goings-on here that he intends to hand over to the tabloids.”

“What’s his asking price?” It didn’t matter. Lucas wouldn’t be making any money. He intended to take his little brother apart piece by piece. There wouldn’t be enough left of Lucas to collect blackmail. He merely asked because he was curious.

Julian sighed. “He wants ten million from me and twenty million from you.”

He actually felt his blood pressure tick up. “That little shit isn’t getting a dime from me. When does he get here?”

“He’s due to arrive at seven p.m. this evening.” Julian glanced down at his calendar. “I’ve sent a car to retrieve him. We’ll be dining with him at nine, if that’s all right with you.”

“I have no intention of sitting down to dinner with a boy who’s trying to blackmail me,” Jack swore.

“Now, Jackson.” Jack recognized the voice. Julian was in full-on teacher mode. “There’s no reason to leave civility behind.” Julian turned his attention to Slater. “Did you need a room, sir? Or were you planning to return to DC this evening?”

Slater looked slightly horrified at the thought of bunking down in a notorious club. He had to wonder what was going through the other man’s head. Did he envision himself sleeping in the equivalency of a bordello? Jack could have told him that Julian owned the entire building. The rooms on the upper floors made most five-star hotels look like a Motel 6.

“No.” Slater choked out the word. “I’ve taken a suite at the Fairmont, thank you. I thought I should be on hand in case I was needed. The senator is making this his top priority.”

Jack bet he was. Cameron was up for reelection soon, and he had his eye on the presidency in a couple of years. A scandal involving his sons, one legitimate and one not, wouldn’t do the politician any good. “I don’t give a crap about the senator, but I will protect my family. Do you understand?”

Slater gave him a nervous glance. “Yes, I believe you will, Mr. Barnes.” The campaign manager took a deep breath, and his shoulders came down, relaxing slightly. He stood and straightened his jacket. “I will leave it to you, then.”

He passed a card across the desk to Julian and handed one to Jack. Jack glanced down. It contained Slater’s contact numbers and the Cameron campaign slogan, “Family First.” Jack rolled his eyes as the officious man left the office.

“I’m going to need a room after all.” He wasn’t leaving until he was sure this mess wouldn’t come back to haunt him. Every protective instinct in him was on full alert. He had to make sure that nothing hurt Abigail or Sam.

Julian nodded as he pressed a button on his phone. “Yes, of course. I’ll have you settled in one of the smaller rooms.”

Sally the sub walked briskly into the room. She had a notebook in her hand, ready to work. “Yes, sir?”

Julian stood, so Jack did as well. He glanced over at the clock on the wall. There were a few hours left before the meeting with his soon-to-be-dead baby brother. He would clean up and call home to apologize. He would come up with some excuse that didn’t involve worrying his wife or partner.

“Please get Mr. Barnes checked in to one of the rooms on the fifteenth floor. I think there’s one open next to the Platinum Suite,” Julian ordered. “I believe he’s going to need clothing.”

“Sorry, I didn’t bring a suit,” he groused. Julian insisted on dressing for dinner.

Julian’s hands ran down the lapels of his suit. His mouth curved up fondly. “I doubt you wear them often on that ranch of yours.” He looked back to his secretary. “Call Neiman’s, please.”

Sally bounced slightly up and down in her heels. There was an expectant air surrounding her. Julian nodded slightly and her eyes lit up.

“We should have called them sooner. They could have sent the suit over with the stuff the clients in the Platinum Suite ordered,” Sally said, a cheerful grin on her face. Her earlier debacle with Jack seemed completely forgotten.

“Have you met our latest guests, pet?” Julian’s smile was smooth.

So smooth that Jack wondered for a moment if he might be missing something.

Sally nodded vigorously. “She’s very pretty. She wanted to know where she could buy some hot shoes for tonight. She’s never been in The Club before so she’s not sure what to wear. She’s really nice, though.”

“And her husband?”

Jack fought to keep control of his temper. He didn’t want to listen to Club gossip. He wanted to get to his room and get Abigail or Sam on the phone. He had some explaining to do.

“He’s incredibly hot. The valet was super excited. They roared in on a brand-new motorcycle.” Sally’s face turned serious for a moment.

Julian watched her, curiosity plain in his expression. “Yes, pet? Do you see a problem?”

She thought for a moment and obviously decided to press on. “She’s a sub. At least sexually, she is. She’s very soft and gives off an air of innocence that will have every Dom in the club panting after her.”

“No Dom in this club will go after a collared sub.” He’d worked here for years, and that rule had always been in place.

“She’s not wearing a collar, at least not now.” Sally tapped her pen against her red lips. “And there’s something about her husband.”

“Yes,” Julian urged her on. He seemed pleased with his sub, as though she were figuring out a problem he already knew the answer to.

“I don’t think he’s a Dom.” She twirled her pen in her hand as she thought. “He’s playing at it, but if I had to guess, he’s a sub, too.”

“Then he’s an idiot.” Jack was done. “If he walks into the dungeon with a gorgeous sub, he’s going to lose her. The Doms here will sense weakness. Hell, the man already proved himself to be a dumbass. He drives a motorcycle. That’s a death trap. He lets his wife on that thing? He deserves to lose her. I’m going up to my room. I need to make a call.”

He stalked out of the office and into the waiting room. He was surprised to be assaulted by boxes and sacks with the names of Dallas’s most exclusive stores.

“I had them bring it up here,” Sally explained.

Julian stared at the bounty crowding out his waiting room. “And why is all this not up in the Platinum Suite?”

Sally’s smile was small and secretive. “There’s a Do Not Disturb sign on the door, sir.”

Julian laughed. “Well, after giving her husband’s credit card a good workout, she should spend some time pleasing the man.”

Jack stared at the ridiculous indulgence around him. Who needed that many pairs of shoes? “That man definitely isn’t a Dom, Julian. You’re going to have trouble tonight. He has no control over his sub, if this is any indication. She’s walking all over him.”

“She does seem to be making a statement, doesn’t she?” Julian mused. “Perhaps you could speak with him. You used to be excellent at teaching a Dom how to behave. He might need advice from someone who knows how to maintain control over his household.”

This man obviously needed some help. “Sure, if I have the time, I’ll have a drink with him.”

“It’s good to have your help, Jackson.” Julian’s eyes looked a little wistful. “It’s good to simply see you again. We’ll handle the Lucas Cameron situation.”

Jack nodded. He’d definitely handle it.