“I heard a nasty rumor that you were here.” A man emerged from the doorway in front of them with a grin, holding out his hand. Tall and lean, with penetrating gray eyes. Though he wore an elegant suit that could have made him look scholarly, the man put off a vibe like he was carefully reining in a motherlode of power.

“Thorpe, man! How are you?” Xander stuck out his hand.

The two shook and bumped shoulders as he answered. “I’m all right. Keeping busy. You still finding trouble?”

“Every minute I can.” Xander turned toward her and his brother. “Thorpe, you remember Javier.”

Thorpe scowled. “I do. Are you sober?”

London sucked in a breath. Wow, that was direct.

Javier narrowed his eyes, looking as if he was trying to keep his expression polite. “Yes.”

“Glad to hear it.” When Thorpe turned those gray eyes on her and studied her intently, she tried not to shiver. “Who is this sweet little sub?”

She couldn’t make herself meet his gaze, so she dropped it to the floor. Was she supposed to answer? A flush crawled up her cheeks as she looked to Xander for direction.

“This is London. She’s the cousin of one of Logan’s extended family.” He nudged her. “It’s okay, belleza. You can speak to him.”

Grabbing her fortitude with both hands, she made herself look up. She focused on Thorpe’s brown hair, graying a bit at the temples. His direct gaze was too intense. “Hi.”

He smiled gently. His imposing factor didn’t go down that much, but at least she felt comfortable that he wouldn’t be unleashing whatever dark side he had on her.

Thorpe took her hand between both of his. “Your first time to a club like Dominion?”

“Yes, it is.”

“I recognized that wide-eyed look.” His smile deepened, and under his close-cropped beard, she saw a hint of dimples. “Have fun and make them earn every ounce of your submission. Xander deserves a challenge.”

“Don’t listen to him,” murmured a vixen who sauntered by in a lacy blue corset that showed off her lush breasts and tiny waist.

The woman’s black hair swept across her shoulders. She wore a little black ribbon around her neck and a saucy smile on her face. She was centerfold beautiful.

“That will get you a red ass. Not that you won’t enjoy it.” The minx winked.

Thorpe raised a brow at her, thunder rolling across his face. “Callie . . . You’re being disrespectful. Apologize now.”

“Sorry, Xander,” she tossed out lightly, lacking any sincerity. “You know how I am.”

“A brat through and through. A million spankings won’t cure you.”

“Nope. But you’re welcome to try.” She laughed.

London shouldn’t have liked her for propositioning her man, more or less. But she instantly liked the woman’s humor and admired her moxie.

“Callie!” Thorpe’s expression was nothing short of a rebuke.

She rolled her startlingly blue eyes, rimmed in dark kohl. “I’m going. I’m going.” The other woman flipped her gaze at London. “Seriously, watch this one. I’m sure he and the devil share a gene or two. Ta-ta!”

Callie stuck out her tongue at Thorpe, then sauntered off. The man watched her go with clenched fists. The moment she turned her back, a stark, hungry longing spread over his taut face, startling London. If he wanted Callie, why did he hide it from her?

With a laugh, Xander turned to Thorpe. “Damn, she’s taken bratty to a whole new level.”

“Particularly since this Dom who recently moved to Dallas put a training collar around her neck. He’s being far too lax with her.” Thorpe clasped his hands behind his back, looking entirely without levity.

Wiping the smile off his face, Xander stared at Thorpe in shock. “You removed your protection and let another Dom take your place?”

Judging from Xander’s tone, that was a big damn deal. And London understood. Thorpe obviously wanted the beautiful brunette fiercely.

Thorpe drew in a sharp, controlled breath. “I did.”

Xander shook his head as if he still couldn’t quite believe that. Then he turned to his brother. “Would you take London down the hall? Third door on the right.” He handed Javier a card key. “I’ll be right there.”

Javier nodded, then slid his arm around her waist. “Let’s go, little one.”

London didn’t want to leave. Curiosity as to why Thorpe would relinquish a woman he wanted lingered. Still, she followed Javier down the hall, into a private room.

He opened the door and admitted her, flipping on the light on the wall behind her and illuminating the wide array of BDSM implements inside. Whips, clamps, and restraints were coiled and gleaming all around the room. There was even an old-fashioned stockade inside. Suddenly, other people’s sex lives took a backseat, and she started worrying about her own. She was a woman with little experience in a sex club with not one—but two—Doms. London swallowed. Was she in way over her head?

Chapter Sixteen

“ARE you out of your fucking mind?” Xander asked.

Thorpe cut a furious stare over to him. Yeah, yeah, so the big Dom on campus didn’t appreciate his tone. His time with London was running short, and Xander wanted to make sure the guy knew that he—and likely a bunch of others around here—thought he’d lost his sanity.

“It’s best for Callie,” Thorpe said stiffly.

“Really? Or easier for you? If she’s not under your protection or in your bed, then you don’t have to try so hard not to care.”

“I do care, and she knows that.”

“Does she know that you love her?”

Thorpe reared back. “Now who’s lost their fucking mind?”

“I’m not blind, man. I see the way you watch her, the way you shelter her. Remind me who paid for her education?”

“She wanted to go to college and couldn’t afford it.” Thorpe bristled. “She learned a lot of skills that she’s brought to her job here.”

“Are you really thinking about skills she picked up in a classroom when you fuck her?”

The other Dom gritted his teeth, looking like he wanted to rip Xander limb from limb. “You’d know far more about fucking her than me. I’ve never had that privilege.”

So that’s what had Thorpe’s panties in a twist. “Me, either. The one time I had the opportunity, when Logan was trying to tame her . . . I suspected you were lurking around. Hell, you could have been watching for all I knew. I’ve always known how you feel about her. I wasn’t going to stab you in the back.”

The visible relief on Thorpe’s face would have been comical if he didn’t understand how territorial a man in love could be. And the fact that he understood that after just a few days with London blew his mind.

“Thank you.”

“You never touched Callie, not once?” Xander couldn’t imagine the fortitude Thorpe must have to covet a woman for years yet never claim her.

“I’ve worked with Callie during a lot of training sessions, especially with new Dom/sub education classes. But that’s public. Alone with the intent to . . .” He sucked in a shaky breath. “Just once. I stopped it quickly and I have no intention of going down that path again. She’s twenty-five. I’m almost forty. She could do better.”

Xander shook his head. Love was love. Why did anyone think age mattered that much? “I doubt that, and I know you’re not fucking anyone else. Man, you ought to go after her. I think she’s got deep feelings for you.”

Dominion’s owner had squared off against some other big bad Doms. He’d once chased down a would-be rapist and beat the crap out of him. Now the guy flinched. So Callie’s feelings weren’t news to him. That others had noticed was, however. “She’s with someone else now, so drop the subject. Besides, when have you ever been a card-carrying member of love and fidelity?”

“Since London.” Xander shrugged. “Maybe I’m being naïve because I haven’t known her long. But I only know that I used to look at the world through jaded eyes and couldn’t care less about tomorrow. Somehow, I see everything as she does now. I think of tomorrow with hope. I’m actually excited. Something just . . . clicked. You can go ahead and laugh.”

Thorpe looked closer to crying, but he held it together with a manly grimace. “I’m happy for you. Treat her well and don’t ever let her go.”

Or you’ll live to regret it. Xander heard Thorpe’s unspoken words.

A moment later, the cell phone in Thorpe’s pocket chirped. He answered, raising his hand with a wave as he walked away. The stupid fuck had let Callie go for some misguided principle. Xander shook his head at the stupidity of that, determined not to make the same mistake.

He started down the hall when he caught sight of Callie peeking around the wall. She’d been watching his discussion with Thorpe. Given the distance and the background noise, she wouldn’t have heard a word, but the longing on her face spoke volumes. She wanted Thorpe just as badly. Knowing Callie, she’d done her very best to persuade him, too. That girl didn’t give up easily.

Another man stopped behind her, wrapping a possessive hand around her small waist and dropping a kiss on her bare shoulder. Tall, dark, and blue-eyed—and clearly smitten with Callie—he palmed her nape with a proprietary grip. The girl greeted him with a warm smile and allowed him to lead her away after one more lingering glance at Thorpe’s retreating figure.

Xander shook his head, feeling more than a little sorry for the lot of them. He’d never thought much about their mutually suppressed feelings before. He’d noticed them, but never cared much.

Maybe because, before London, he hadn’t really believed in love.

Hell, what a difference a week and one incredible woman could make.

There was a bounce in his step as he made his way to the room in which she waited with Javier. Amazing that a week ago, he’d wanted to throttle his brother, and now he saw perfectly how essential Javier was—they all were—to this crazy, beautiful relationship. She made them both better men. And they challenged one another in subtle ways to raise their game, too. It was always about London. Any good D/s relationship was about giving the sub what she needed, but this . . . talk about a whole new level of wanting to protect and cherish.

If all went well, tonight would ratchet it up again. And cement their intimacy. He couldn’t wait.

Xander stepped inside. He found London pacing on the far side of the room, the trench coat gone. She chewed on a ragged thumbnail. Javier watched her like a hungry, impatient predator.

When his brother’s gaze fell on him, a smile stretched across Javier’s face. Yeah, they were both more than ready to test the limits of her trust—and hopefully earn the opportunity to see every inch of lovely London naked, scars and all.

Xander approached her with a slow but relentless gait, stepping directly in her path. He gently grasped her shoulders, and she lifted her gaze to him. Anxiety tightened her face.

“London?”

“I don’t know if I’m ready for . . . all this.” She gestured to all the equipment around the room, giving a second nervous glance to the stockade.

He cradled her face in his hands. “Tonight isn’t about all the stuff in this room, belleza. It’s about us. Javier and I will be watching you carefully. You’re so precious.” He curled one palm around her nape. “We’d never do anything to truly hurt you. You always have your safe word, and we will always respect it. If I didn’t, Thorpe would kill me,” he joked. “He might look all sophisticated in a suit, but under that . . . He wouldn’t be anyone’s friend in a dark alley.”

She sent him a lopsided little smile.

“That’s our girl. What’s your safe word?”

The smile fell. “Ford.”

The word sounded raspy and uncertain, and Xander’s heart clenched. “Right. Don’t be afraid to use it if you need it. But tonight is about reaching what’s here.” He pointed to her head. “And here.” He laid a hand over her heart. “Just breathe and relax and remember that we want everything you can give.”

Javier joined him and took her hand in his, bringing it to his lips. “Exactly, little one.”

London gave them both a shaky nod. Usually, she was stunning and nearly fearless. She submitted with aplomb and a natural grace that sang from her soul like a haunting ballad. Tonight, she seemed to be a clash of incongruent notes.

Apprehension niggled at Xander as he cast his brother a glance, silently asking if maybe they should wait or relent altogether. Javier gave a small shake of his head. He was right, Xander realized. They’d discussed this. London needed to unburden herself. Sometimes, necessary lessons were the hardest to learn, and trusting in such a case could be especially difficult. She had ample reasons to be worried—surrendering to a womanizer and a seemingly high-functioning alcoholic. But she had one big reason to put herself in their hands: her heart.