Love and Let Die

Chapter Six

Charlie sat down on the bench in front of the locker she’d been assigned. The locker room at Sanctum was far more plush and luxurious than any club she’d been in before. Certainly nicer than Cuffs, the rattrap she’d been stuck in for months while she was working on the op that finally brought her to Dallas. That place had barely had lockers, much less carefully crafted full-length wooden ones with hangers for clothes and drawers for anything else a sub would need.

The bathroom section of the room held several tiled showers, vanities with various expensive-looking soaps and lotions, curling irons and hair dryers.

The subs at Sanctum were treated like queens.

“The men’s locker room has a row of recliners and a big screen TV. It’s one big mancave. I’ve caught Alex and Ian hiding in there from time to time with a case of beer. They think because it’s a men’s locker room that I won’t go in. They’re wrong.” Eve had the locker next to her. She adjusted the corset she was in. “That was a very nice spanking. Do you need me to lace you in?”

Ian had handed her a small stack of fet wear before sending her into the locker room with Eve. She’d soon found herself in a cozy world where Serena sat in a comfy chair, her feet up and a computer on her lap, while Avery O’Donnell sat in an equally comfy chair beside her knitting away on what looked like a very tiny sweater.

It was weird.

“Don’t mind the pregnant twins,” Eve said with a smile.

“It’s just not what I thought Sanctum would look like and I’ve been to a couple of clubs.”

Serena perked up. “Did Ian take you?”

Avery looked up from her knitting. “Oh, was it in Europe? I so want to go back, but when I mention it to Liam he gets a little green and says our next vacation is going to be in an RV because nothing bad ever happens in RVs. Has he not watched horror movies?”

Eve grinned. “I think he’s never seen an actual RV, honey. So, fess up, Charlotte. What clubs did Ian take you to?”

Should she answer that? Ian hadn’t exactly told her she couldn’t talk in the locker room. But then he’d sent her a nasty glare every time she even looked like she wanted to talk in the car.

“This is a Dom-free zone,” Serena said. “Unlike Eve, they really are terrified of coming in here. When I’m late, Jake stands outside and yells in.”

Avery nodded. “What happens in the locker room, stays in the locker room. This is where we plan most of our bratty behavior.”

Eve leaned against her locker. “They’re right, you know. We subs have to stick together. It’s just the three of us since Grace started staying home with Carys. We’ve started getting friendly with Jillian. She runs the bar here and is married to Ryan, the Dom in Residence. She has a sister who’s come in a couple of times, but she mostly just stands in the back and looks scared.”

“She’s not scared. She’s curious,” Serena said. “So have you been to The Garden?”

She shook her head. She knew about The Garden with its night-blooming flowers and its big bad Dom owner, MI6 agent Damon Knight. Knight had worked with Ian on a few cases, and he would probably very much like to haul her to London for questioning. “No. We didn’t go to any clubs in London. Ian was working. We went to a club in Paris, though. The Velvet Collar. It’s where I met Ian.”

Serena sighed. “See, you just get the sweetest look on your face whenever you mention his name.”

“It actually surprises me. He’s a little intimidating,” Avery admitted.

“He can be. But he can also be very sweet when we’re alone. Well, he used to be. Now, he’s mostly just an asshole, but he has his reasons.” She looked down at the corset and micro mini. He hadn’t left her shoes or undies, though she hadn’t really expected those. She was going to have to make a decision. Who was she kidding? “Can you help me into this? It’s been a while since I was in fet wear. I didn’t have to wear it at Cuffs.” She looked over at the pregnant contingent. “I didn’t have a Dom there.”

Serena tapped her keyboard. Multitasking seemed to be her default state. “I know. It’s where you were working to find the man who nearly killed Eve. I have it mostly written here, though names have been changed to protect the innocent.”

“He’s going to murder you,” Avery said in a singsong voice, as though she’d said it so many times it now had to be sung.

“He won’t read it. Ian doesn’t read anything but the newspaper and reports.” Serena waved her off. “And it’s not really about you and Ian. It’s just about a woman who’s been on the run for years and her spy husband thinks she’s dead but whoops, she’s not and she comes back for her man. Very little to do with you. What did they call the drug that made it look like you were dead?”

Yep, Ian was going to kill Serena, but Charlie kind of hoped she got to read that book. She definitely hoped it had a happy ending. She pulled her shirt over her head and tried not to think about how her boobs sagged a little. She wasn’t usually nervous. Ian had seen them earlier and he seemed to like them. Or at least his dick had liked them. She stood up a little straighter. She wasn’t a thin thing, but she was nicely curved and no one could accuse her of being fragile.

Eve was studying her carefully. “What just went on in your head?”

Honesty was the best policy, most of the time. “I was feeling self-conscious about being naked. I decided not to be.”

A little smile curled up Eve’s lips. “Good for you.”

“Could you teach me to do that?” Serena asked. “Because I’m always self-conscious.”

She didn’t tell Serena that she’d learned it in the harshest of ways. She’d learned to choose because if she hadn’t, she would have broken. Never forget. You are my daughter. You are Charlotte, and no one gets to take that from you. The last words her mother had told her.

Her father had tried. He’d beaten her. He’d denied food for a while. He could force her compliance, make her do things she normally wouldn’t do, but she hadn’t let him change that core piece of herself that remained Charlotte.

Only one man could do that. The one she’d chosen.

“Are you really always self-conscious? Because I’ve learned that most women aren’t really. Serena, do you like what you see in the mirror? Are you comfortable with your body when you’re alone?”

She thought about it for a moment. “Yes. Actually I really am. When I’m alone, I tend to dance around half naked, so yes.”

Most women were. They only started to hate themselves when other people became involved. “Sweetie, then what does it matter what anyone else thinks? You have to decide what’s good enough for you. If you spend your life trying to live up to everyone else, you’ll have a wasted life.”

“Holy shit. I’m totally writing that down.”

Avery smiled. “I like that. I like that a lot.”

“My sister is quite the philosopher,” a familiar voice said.

Wow. The absolute last person she thought she’d see here in Sanctum was Chelsea and yet there she stood in the doorway, a bag in hand. “Hey, Chels.”

Her sister glared at her and then broke down laughing. “I should have known you would be naked somewhere. You never did have body issues like the rest of us.”

“Only because I accept the whole sad package,” Charlie admitted. Chelsea was definitely one of those women who was comfortable up until the moment a man walked in the room. “What are you doing here? I thought you would be in Barbados by now.”

“And leave my big sis? No. I’m not going anywhere without you.” She walked into the room, the only sign of her bad leg a slight limp. “If we’re making a stand, then you have to know I’m standing with you. As to why I’m here in this den of iniquity, well, the British asshole and the American idiot decided I needed a little vacation from my very nice condo and they decided to bring me here. They actually got past security by claiming to be messengers. I’m complaining to management about the doorman. They were supposed to go to the fifth floor, but apparently one of them is damn good at rewiring elevators. He’s also quiet or I would have taken his head off. Your Neanderthal apparently wants to keep the family together.”

“He probably wants to keep an eye on both of us while the whole ‘assassins trying to kill us’ thing gets sorted out.” She had no real idea how they were going to sort it out. She’d kind of hoped she would have some time before they caught up to her. No such luck.

“Are you really an information broker?” Serena asked.

Chelsea’s eyes widened. “Did you pass out business cards?”

Charlie shrugged as Eve was working out the laces on the corset. She slipped the small band of spandex over her hips. It would barely cover her ass, but that was likely the point. She noted that someone had been a little kinder to her sister. It looked like she was holding PVC leggings and a matching tank top. “I don’t lie about what we do.”

Chelsea cleared her throat deliberately.

She took everything so seriously. “Well, of course I lie to the Feds. I was talking about our friends.”

“You’ll have to give me some time to figure out if they are our friends. Where can I get some privacy? As long as I’m here, I could use a workout. My leg is stiff. I’ve been sitting for days.”

“There are changing rooms and showers you can use,” Eve explained, gesturing toward the back of the locker room.

“Excellent.” Chelsea walked back to the dressing rooms, her left leg dragging just a bit. She was probably in extreme pain, but she wouldn’t show it. One of the ways she’d learned to deal with the pain was BDSM. Charlie might not have had a Dom since Ian, but she’d found several willing to help her sister out.

“So she seems oddly comfortable for a woman who was likely dragged out of her home and taken to a sex club. Arms up.” Eve held out the emerald green corset, stretching it around Charlie’s torso before she started in on the laces.

“She has some problems with her legs, especially her left one. A good long flogging gives her some relief. We normally had Doms come out to our place, but she’s been in a few clubs as well.” She took a deep breath because it would likely be her last of the evening.

The door to the locker room opened again and two women walked in. Both were blonde and looked in desperate need of a cheeseburger. One of the blondes had a nice rack and the other had a fake one. They carried in their fet wear in dress bags.

Eve groaned a little. So these girls were not friends. Eve seemed determined to ignore them.

“Hello. You must be the new girl,” the blonde with fake cans said. She was dressed conservatively, though she wore a ton of makeup and had left her blouse opened far past what could be considered professional. “My Master told me you would be here tonight.”

Serena looked up, frowning the blonde’s way. “I didn’t know you had taken a collar, Amanda.”

“I didn’t even know you were dating anyone,” Avery said.

Eve kept working on the laces, her hands moving smoothly.

“She’s had her eye on this particular Master for quite a while,” the other blonde said with a nasty little laugh. She picked a locker and hung up her clothes for the night. “We all should have known that Mandy would be the one to bring him down.”

“Mandy” winked her friend’s way. “You know it, Britney. It was inevitable. By the way, Serena, you look really nice today. I don’t know anyone else who could quite carry off that look the way you do. I didn’t know they made dresses like that anymore.”

Serena shut down, looking back at her computer.

“What did you just say?” Charlie asked.

Amanda shook her blonde head. “I was just complimenting her. Subs have to stick together. Isn’t that what you say, Eve? And you really have to give me the name of your moisturizer. You look so good for a woman your age.”

“I’ll get around to it, Amanda. I’m a little busy with my husband. We all are busy with our husbands and families.” Eve had some claws, but Charlie wasn’t sure she was going far enough.

Amanda glanced back at Charlie and then Eve. “Oh, honey, if you need any help getting that corset on her, I am actually really strong. Don’t worry about it. I think the Master will be busy with me tonight.” She leaned in. “Ryan explained it all to me. The Master needs to pretend to have something going with you so he has to have someone he’s really attracted to around or he probably won’t be able to pull it off. I always knew he would come back to me.”

Charlie wasn’t exactly sure what the blonde’s Master had to do with her, but she didn’t want to prolong the conversation. Amanda walked to the dressing rooms with a confidence most women didn’t have.

It was a confidence Charlie was pretty sure she didn’t deserve.

“Just ignore her,” Eve said, putting the finishing touches on the corset. “We all do.”

Serena was looking down at her screen, but Charlie could tell she was close to tears.

That little blonde bitch had told a pregnant woman she didn’t look nice. Among other things. “Is she always so nasty?”

Avery’s hands moved angrily now. She could probably do some damage with those knitting needles if she wanted to. “She’s hit on every one of our husbands. Even after the whole marriage thing. She also likes to tell me how pregnant I look. I can’t stand her.”

“She’s a brat. An actual real one. She’s really sweet when the men are around, but she’s hateful around the women. I’ve tried to get Alex to kick her out, but she won’t do anything to violate the rules,” Eve explained.

Being nice should be a rule. “Ian doesn’t care that she’s mean?”

“No one really talks to him about her. He’s always been standoffish. I don’t understand why he would…” Serena stopped midsentence.

Everything finally fell into place. “She was talking about Ian. When she talked about her Master. That rat-fink bastard. I knew he was up to something. This is his way of showing me he doesn’t care. Tell me honestly, Eve, has he ever touched her before?”

Eve turned a nice shade of pink. “Maybe once when she first came into the club, but you have to understand…”

She understood. “He screwed everything in a corset who would let him. I’m not worried about that. Tell me if they had a relationship. I want to know if he had a thing for her.”

“No. He can’t stand her. He’s the only one who sees through her bullshit. Charlotte, he hasn’t had a relationship with anyone.”

Serena shook her head. “He never spends more than a couple of nights with any sub, and all of his contracts state that he isn’t interested in anything permanent. The few times he’s trained new subs, he didn’t sleep with them.”

Avery’s mouth dropped open. “How do you know about his contracts?”

“Oh, I really wanted to read one and he keeps copies on Ryan’s computer. Ryan never changes his password, so it was easy for Adam to grab me one. I totally used it as the basis for the contract in Sweetheart in Bloom.” She flushed a little. “Now might be a really good time to remind everyone that what happens in the locker room stays in the locker room.”

Eve rolled her eyes. “You are going to get in so much trouble one day.”

Charlie needed them to stay on track. So he’d picked someone he couldn’t stand in order to annoy her, to show her that he couldn’t be won back. Well, he picked the wrong girl to pull that shit with. If he’d picked someone sweet and nice, then Charlie would have trouble dealing with it, but Ian made everything easy. “So Ian is pretending to have two subs with him tonight. Me because of the whole shooting thing and trying to keep the cops from figuring out who I am, and skinny bitch because he wants to make sure I know he’s only topping me because of the shooting thing. You all let her talk to you like that?”

“She never says anything that can’t be taken two ways. She’s the queen of the backhanded compliment. If I called her out, she would say I took it wrong,” Avery explained.

“No one ever calls her on her shit?” Charlie was really shocked.

Eve sighed. “It’s the South. We all just kind of suck it up and say ‘Bless your heart.’”

Blessing wasn’t what Charlie was going to do with Blondie’s heart. Ripping it out and forcing it down her throat sounded like a much better idea. “Okay, I am going to show you how to deal with this.”

Eve’s eyes widened. “I don’t know if that is such a good plan.”

“Are you going to kill her?” Serena asked with a little smile.

Charlie turned. “No, I’m going to be honest with her. She was honest with me about where she thought my place with the Master was. I’m going to return the favor.”

She strode into the dressing rooms. A woman like Amanda got away with crap by following a very specific set of societal rules. Charlie had her own rules.

She caught sight of herself in the mirror. Amanda wanted her to think she was fat? She looked damn good. Eve had a nice hand with the laces. Her boobs looked huge.

Britney stepped out of the shower section with a towel wrapped around her skinny middle. That towel would likely barely cover Charlie’s boobs, but Britney had it wrapped around her twice. “Oh, god, there’s a chick in the shower with the gnarliest scar on her leg. First that Avery chick and now this one. We’ve become the dungeon for cripples.”

Britney was easy. Charlie walked straight up to her, standing over her. “That’s my sister. Would you like to call her a cripple to my face? Let me explain what will happen if you do.”

“You don’t have to do that.” Britney swallowed twice, obviously unused to anyone calling her on her shit. “Sorry. I’m sorry.”

She moved away and practically scampered out of the room.

“Wow, rude much?” Amanda asked. She was still dressed. She obviously hadn’t made it back to the changing rooms yet. “You’re not going to last long around here if the Master catches you doing that.”

“Are you talking about Ian Taggart?”

“Yes. I’m talking about the hot hunk of Dom I’ve already had a couple of times. I knew he would come back to me. Look, I was trying to be nice out there, but you should understand that he’s just letting you follow him around because you’re some sort of job to him.”

She towered over Amanda. Sometimes her height came in really handy. “I’m his wife.”

Amanda’s face screwed into an ugly mask. It was probably her thinking face. “He’s not married.”

“I have the paperwork that says otherwise, honey. I’m Charlotte Taggart and I have been for five years, so if you think I’m going to let you fuck my husband again, you’re totally wrong.”

Skin flushing to a mottled red, Amanda held her ground. “Well, he’s been cheating on you. With everyone. Hate to be the one to tell you, but your ‘husband’ is kind of a manwhore.”

“Oh, I think you love telling me, but you’re not saying anything I didn’t already know. I forgive him for the sleeping around. He didn’t know he was still married. Now he does. So he’s going to stop. I also forgive him for needing another sub to hide behind. He’s not very self-aware. He’s not good with the whole emotional thing, so I’m patient. But guess what? It’s not going to be you.”

“What are you talking about? Ian wants me.”

“Ian is going to have to live with disappointment because you are a rude, nasty piece of work, and your reign of terror stops now.”

Amanda laughed. “Who’s going to stop me? It’s sure not going to be Eve. Everyone thinks she’s the queen of the dungeon because she’s married to Alex, but she’s just an old hag. Alex married her because he feels sorry for her. And god, I don’t even know what Liam and Jake were thinking when they brought those fat little mice here.”

Charlie heard a gasp and realized Serena and Avery and Eve were standing in the background listening to all the crap Amanda was spewing.

It was time to take her place in the pecking order. Eve was a nice lady, but it was obvious to Charlie that she hadn’t been taking care of business the way she should have. “I like Eve, but Eve is not the queen. The queen is the sub who is married to the king, and there is only one king of Sanctum.”

“What are you going to do?” Amanda asked in a mocking voice. “Are you going to go to Ian and get me kicked out? It won’t work. Ian thinks I’m a sweetheart. All the Doms do. There’s not a lot any of you can do.”

“Oh shit.” Chelsea was standing in the hall that led to the showers. “You can’t kill her here, sis. We don’t have any acid. The showers would work. They’re nice and roomy, but where would we get a couple of gallons of acid at this time of night? And I don’t think even acid would work on those fake tits. We would have to bury them someplace. How are you going to explain walking around with two grade-D implants?”

Her sister was always cool in a crisis. Amanda was staring at her. It was one of those things that no one took seriously when it was said in anger, but Chelsea’s cool and calm demeanor had caught Amanda’s attention.

Charlie matched it. It was fairly easy to make up bullshit. They had never actually taken apart a body. Charlie had killed a couple of men, but she’d never had to bury anyone. Amanda didn’t have to know that. “Chels, she’s not worth killing. I mean the murder part would fun, yes, but there’s all that work we would have to do afterwards. Do you remember the last time we took apart a body? The smell was horrible and we had to wear all that protective gear and it smelled bad, too.”

“You’re joking.” Amanda’s voice trembled just a bit.

“Am I? Well, like I said, you’re not worth it.” Charlie reached up and grabbed a handful of bottle blonde hair. “But I am going to teach you who the queen is.”

Charlie started to haul Amanda out of the locker room. The girls had said that what happened in the locker room stayed in the locker room, but in this particular case, she couldn’t keep her problem secret. It would likely get her in trouble, but some things were worth a spanking. And probably a lecture. And more quiet time.

“Someone help me! Get this Amazon bitch off me!” Amanda was screaming as they hit the lobby.

“Hey!” Alex was standing just outside looking awfully nice in his leathers. “What the hell is going on here?”

Amanda cried out, obviously looking for a savior. “Master Alex, please help me. She’s gone crazy. Please.”

“Charlotte, you will let her go this instant.” Alex proved he had a damn fine Dom voice.

Yeah, he wanted to mediate, but Charlie didn’t have time for that. She definitely wasn’t going to allow Amanda to get him on her side. “She called Eve old and pathetic.”

Alex’s eyes flared. “Are you fucking with me?”

Eve was in the doorway, an amused expression on her face. “Nope. Amanda isn’t the nicest girl.”

“She called me fat,” Serena said.

“She said my scars were ugly,” Avery added. “They are, but it’s not nice to point it out.”

A big bouncer was standing at the front of the door. Charlie was sure he was probably a big bad Dom, but he stared at her, obviously having no idea what to do when one sub attacked another.

“You should open the door,” Charlie suggested. “Miss Amanda here has had her membership revoked.”

“It’s all right, Brian,” Alex said. “As of this moment, Amanda is no longer a member of this establishment.”

“You bastard!” Amanda yelled. Her feet moved fast or Charlie would have been dragging her skinny ass. “I’m going to sue everyone here. I’m going to let everyone know what a bunch of perverts you all are.”

“Really?” a dark voice asked. Charlie looked up, and a tall man with broad shoulders was staring at the scene. “Because I think you should probably consider your other job right about now.”

“Derek? Derek, don’t let them kick me out. You know I can cause trouble,” she threatened.

“I can murder you in a dark alley,” Charlie retorted.

“And I can ignore the murder entirely. You could make it look like a mugging,” the man named Derek offered before switching his stare back to Amanda. “I told you your mouth would get you in trouble. Don’t forget that the chief has a membership here. I don’t think that he’s going to like being outed as a pervert. We’ll have a talk in my office on Monday if you survive the weekend.”

With that the door was opened and Charlie hoisted her outside. She tossed Amanda out and then locked the door behind her. She turned back to Eve. “See, that was very simple.”

“Was it?” Ian was suddenly in the lobby, his massive body taking up most of the space. He was in his leathers, and Charlie fought hard not to actually drool.

She had just taken another one of those liberties Ian tended to object to. Sinking to her knees, she decided to play it safe. She let her head fall forward, her hair brushing the ground as she placed her palms up.

“Now you choose to obey me.” Ian’s boots came into view. God, even his boots were sexy. They weren’t polished or new. They were lived in, with little creases here and there. “Charlie, I want to know what just happened.”

She brought her eyes up. “I just took out the trash, Sir.”

He was so serious for a moment that she worried she might join Amanda on the outside looking in. And then his head fell back and he laughed. “God, I’ve been waiting for the subs to toss her on her ass. I should have known you would be the one to do it. Derek, this is my…” he sighed before continuing. “This is my submissive, Charlotte. She’s also a pain in my ass.”

“All the good ones are,” Derek said.

“Come on then.” Ian held a hand out, helping her up. “I need a drink. Finish up in the locker room and meet us in the bar.”

He turned and walked away, but she could tell by the way his head shook that he was still laughing a little.

That went better than expected.

“So have you really taken apart a body using acid?” Serena asked. “Because I would like to interview you about that. How much did you have to use? How messy does it get?”

God save her from writers. Charlie followed Eve back in to get ready for the evening.

* * * *

Ian stared out at the dungeon, trying not to think about the sub at his side. Trying not to think about just how right it felt to have her there. From his seat in the back of the bar, he could see everything that was happening, but they were far away enough that their conversation wouldn’t interrupt the scenes. “Should I assign a Dom to your sister or is she all right negotiating for herself?”

He’d been surprised at how comfortable the little sister was in the dungeon. He’d kind of expected tears and recriminations from the girl. He’d expected to have her hole up in the locker room or the conference room, but all she’d requested was something that covered her legs. He’d found some PVC leggings and she’d turned and walked away from him without another word.

“Chelsea?” Charlie asked from her place on the floor. She was sitting on one of the large fluffy pillows many of the Doms used when they had their subs kneel or recline at their feet for long periods of time. From this angle, Ian could see the curves of her breasts, perfectly pushed up by the tight corset. He’d picked green, an emerald color that set off her hair. She wore far too much black. She looked pretty in greens and blues. Vibrant colors, like the woman herself.

He liked the fact that she was flustered. She’d been an Amazon queen when she’d hauled the mean girl out, but she’d seemed a bit lost ever since. Like she didn’t trust anything he was doing. They had sat and talked with Derek Brighton for a good thirty minutes, or rather he’d talked to Derek while Charlie had sat at his feet and allowed him to feed her little snacks. She’d kept looking up at him like he was about to poison her. It was kind of fun. “Yes, unless you have another sister you haven’t told me about.”

“It’s not her first time in a dungeon.”

So they had been playing. That didn’t sit well. “So you were lying about not taking a Dom. It shouldn’t surprise me.”

Her head shook. “No, I didn’t have a Dom. I promise. I haven’t played in years. I just found a couple for Chelsea. Most of the time I hired them to come out to wherever we were living at the time, but a couple of times we were invited to dungeons.”

“I wouldn’t take her for a sub. If I had to make the determination, just glancing at her I would say she would prefer to top someone.” Chelsea Dennis wasn’t an unattractive woman. She was actually quite lovely, but she didn’t smile. There was a tightness to the way she held herself that let Ian know she wanted to be in control.

But maybe that wasn’t what she needed. Charlie had the same tightness in her bones all those years ago until that first week they were together. He’d watched as she’d fought to let go, to trust him. When she had, she’d fully let go, giving him everything she had.

Well, of her body. She’d never really trusted him or they wouldn’t be in this position. Adam was trying to track the known assassins, but they were damn good at their jobs. They had disappeared. There were definitely times Ian wished Dallas had more CCTVs. They would come after her again. The only question was when. He had to sit back and hope one of them took the bait. So far all he’d had was a text from Liam that all was quiet and he’d lost a hundred bucks to Karina while playing poker.

“I can’t imagine her flicking a whip.” Charlie stared at her. “But she does love the flogger. Actually, I should probably be the one to negotiate. She’s not that great with Doms.”

Up on the stage, Alex was using a four-foot whip on Eve. He and the whip moved with the grace of long use. The cracking sound the whip made belied what Ian knew was nothing more than a sting along her skin followed by a lovely warmth. Charlie used to love the whip. He’d felt like a real Dom the first time she’d subbed out while he was working on her. He felt like he finally truly understood why he’d been attracted to this life. It wasn’t for the kink or because he wanted the control. It was because when she relaxed, he felt necessary. He felt like something beyond a highly paid piece of cannon fodder.

He forced himself away from dangerous thoughts.

“If she wants to find a Dom here, she’s going to have to talk to him herself or I’ll assign one. So she uses it as therapy? The endorphins help with the pain from her leg?” Ian asked, looking back at Chelsea.

“Yeah. She resisted at first, but after she tried it, she really saw a difference. It helps her in a way massage doesn’t.”

“Hidden sub?” Ian asked thoughtfully.

“I think so. I think Chelsea would be much happier if she could let go, but I doubt my sister ever will. She spent too many years without any control. She was very young when my father took us to Russia. She was barely nine. I know she remembers our mom but not like I do. My mom was wonderful. I worry Chelsea didn’t get enough of her.”

“I’m surprised she speaks English without an accent.” It occurred to him that he didn’t just have to worry about Charlie. He had to figure Chelsea out, too. Charlie had given up a lot for her sister.

“I made sure she kept up her English. When we were alone, we always spoke in English. We both speak fluent Russian though, and you wouldn’t be able to tell us from native speakers when we get going. My father hated the fact that he didn’t have a son, but he wasn’t about to be embarrassed by ignorant daughters. My dad had it in his head that he was a czar. Czar’s kids had tutors. Ours happened to be from LA. He was a really smart man, but he ran afoul of my dad’s gambling organization.”

“So he paid off his debt by teaching you and Chelsea.”

“When he wasn’t drunk, he was an excellent tutor,” Charlie admitted.

He hated to think about her childhood. His father might have walked out on them, but at least he and Sean had their mother. She hadn’t been the strongest woman and Ian had been forced to grow up fast, but she hadn’t left them alone with drunks or tortured them to make them strong.

The world could torture a man enough. He didn’t need family members to help the process along.

Chelsea left her spot at the back of the crowd and entered the lounge. She gave a fleeting nod her sister’s way, but seemed to have a goal in mind. She stared at the bar for a moment.

Simon was sitting on a stool beside Jesse, both men with beers in their hands. Jillian took Simon’s empty mug. She kept a stash of his favorite beer in the back and was soon returning with a pint glass. Jesse had what looked to be a Bud in his hand. Straight out of the can. God, he was going to have to work on that kid’s decorum.

“This should be interesting,” he murmured, his hand going to Charlie’s hair. He had to keep up the illusion after all. “It looks like little sister picked a Dom for the night.”

Chelsea was walking straight up to Simon. Simon was dressed in leather pants and a vest with no shirt. Most nights he didn’t take a sub, preferring to spend his time in the bar, but a couple of times he’d negotiated with single subs. He seemed to prefer bondage play, where his sub was completely tied down. Simon had completed his ropes course within weeks of joining the team and now he was studying shibari with Alex.

Ian preferred more extreme play, as Charlie would soon discover.

“I would like to talk to you, Sir.” Chelsea used all the right words, but there was a brattiness to her tone that made Ian frown. At least Charlie knew how to manipulate him. She’d gone right to her knees when he’d caught her tossing Amanda out on her ass.

He’d planned to use Amanda to show Charlie that she couldn’t have everything her way. He should have known better. He’d picked Amanda because she was the one most likely to annoy the holy shit out of Charlie. He was a dumbass because he should have picked someone sweet, someone Charlie couldn’t take on.

Or maybe he’d known what she would do. Maybe it had been there in the back of his head.

He wasn’t about to tell her that he’d been waiting for someone to make a case to get rid of her. He wasn’t stupid. He’d never really bought Amanda’s act. Sure he’d screwed her a couple of times because she was convenient and amenable, but that didn’t mean he thought she was an angel. The subs needed to stand up for themselves, so he’d backed off. He was kind of with Charlie on that one. He would have tossed her out on her ear the minute she opened her mouth, but Eve and Grace had done the Southern-lady thing.

Charlie’s head had come up, and she was watching her little sister. Ian gently forced it back to his lap.

“She’ll be fine.”

“Do you really think Simon is the right Dom for her?” Charlie asked.

He wasn’t sure the Brit was right for anyone. Simon was rigid and hid a wealth of self-consciousness under his perfect exterior. Simon had fucked up in the near past, and he wasn’t over it yet. Nope. Simon likely wasn’t right for anyone now. “I think it’s a single encounter and he’ll either handle it or he won’t. Now stop talking. I can’t hear them when you talk.”

He knew he was being a gossipy old lady, but he kind of wanted to see how Charlie’s sister handled the Brit.

Simon turned, that aristocratic eyebrow arching. “Yes? Do you need something else? I don’t think those leggings are what I selected for you.”

Jesse had turned, and it was obvious from the kid’s expression that he was watching As the Dungeon Turns, too. His eyes went from Simon to Chelsea and back again.

“I got the clothes you gave me, but I requested something different from Master Ian.” She knew all the right things to say, but somehow she put a twist on the polite words to give them a sarcastic edge.

Simon’s eyes trailed across the bar, finding Ian’s and narrowing. “And he gave them to you?”

Ian didn’t move a muscle. Chelsea wasn’t wearing a collar and she was Charlie’s sister, so that put her firmly under Ian’s control and protection. But just for the briefest of seconds, he thought Simon might call him out on it. Interesting.

Simon broke eye contact and went back to his beer. “What do you want?”

“I’m in need of a session.” There was nothing soft or submissive about the way Chelsea spoke. She could have been walking into a department store and ordering a salesperson to bring her a shirt.

“Shit,” Charlie said under her breath. “I’ve tried to teach her proper behavior.”

Ian stroked her hair. “Hush. You can’t save her from this.”

“Are you asking me to play with you?” Simon asked. Even from where Ian was sitting he could see the cool appraisal in the way Simon looked Chelsea up and down.

She didn’t have her sister’s height. Chelsea was average, probably five foot six, and she wasn’t some starved supermodel. Ian was sure a crazed bitch like Amanda would likely call Chelsea fat, but Ian just thought she looked healthy. Amanda would be happier if someone fed her. Women got mean when they didn’t eat. Even Eve was much happier now that Alex was stuffing her with chocolates.

“Not at all,” Chelsea returned with a brisk shake of her head. “I’m asking you to flog me. I would need roughly thirty to forty minutes of your time. I prefer a thump to a sting. I would rather use deerskin falls, and I won’t be tied down.”

Ian groaned a little. Most subs knew not to sound like they were ordering a burger at a fast-food place.

Charlie was trying to see again. “I told you. I need to do the negotiating. She’s not good at this. She’s been in front of that computer so long she’s forgotten how to deal with actual human beings.”

“Get up here.” It was useless to not let her watch. She would wiggle and twist and probably get a crick in her neck. It was easier to pull her into his lap.

She sat herself right over his cock, and that damn little bit of spandex had already ridden up on her hips so that all that prevented penetration was his leathers. Because his cock knew what it wanted. It had been hard since the moment she’d dropped to her knees. Hell, he’d gotten aroused watching her haul Amanda out on her ass. If he didn’t have his leathers on, he knew damn well his cock would be trying hard to work its way inside her. He could let her sit on his cock and watch the world go by.

“Really?” Simon was asking, his voice low and sarcastic. “You have a list of demands for me, sub?”

Chelsea shrugged a little. “No. I assumed you were intelligent enough to remember what I wanted.”

Charlie buried her head in Ian’s shoulder. “I don’t want to see it.”

But Ian totally did. Fuck, he kind of lived for this shit. It was sad, but he accepted it. He was a voyeur in all things. He liked to watch people fuck when they did it well, and he sure liked to watch people fuck up. It was funny.

Simon stood, towering over Chelsea. “What did you say, sub?”

Chelsea seemed caught on the big Brit’s chest, her eyes staring at the place where his leather vest parted and showed off skin. “I was simply trying to explain what I need, Sir.”

“That’s so not going to work,” Ian said.

Charlie was looking again, her face hopeful. “Maybe she can pull it off.”

He grinned because there was no fucking way. “Wanna bet?”

Charlie shook her head and ducked in again. “No. I would lose.”

Simon brought his hand to Chelsea’s chin, forcing her to look up at his face, but there was a stubborn set to her eyes.

“No, Chels, come on. Soften up,” Charlie was saying.

“Nah, she’s about to commit assault and brattery on him. We should call Derek back,” Ian said.

Charlie made a vomiting sound. “That’s awful.”

It was. He was full of bad puns, but they almost never came out.

If he were sitting here with Grace or Eve, they would have already pointed out how rude it was to intrude on Simon and Chelsea’s conversation by listening in. Avery would already have begged him to intervene because her tender heart couldn’t stand conflict. Serena would be taking notes. Only Charlie was in the moment with him. Only she understood that the dramas playing out around them might not be meant for their entertainment, but damn they were fun to watch. Other subs would just sit quietly and would likely have laughed at his terrible joke, never calling him on his bad sense of humor. Not Charlie.

Why did the one woman he was comfortable with have to turn out to be the enemy?

“Maybe I have a few demands of my own,” Simon said.

Chelsea’s shoulders squared. “Fine. I’m willing to listen.”

“I’ll use the deerskin flogger. I have a very nice one I’ve been wanting to break in. Thud not sting, though I think you might like a little sting if you tried it. You will be naked and tied down.”

“She won’t do it,” Charlie whispered. “She was tied down when she had her legs broken. She can’t stand it.”

“All the more reason for her to face it with someone she trusts,” Ian replied. “I don’t think that’s going to be Simon.”

Chelsea’s jaw clenched, and she took a moment to reply. “Loose bindings, I keep my clothes.”

He looked down, and Charlie’s eyes had gone wide. Looked like Chelsea had a thing for Simon.

The Brit ran his fingertips from her neck to the collar of the tank top Chelsea was wearing. “I’ll give on the bindings, but no clothes.”

Ah, the Brit wanted to see some skin.

“Why? Do you want to see the cripple naked?” Chelsea asked, her voice hard.

“Ouch.” Charlie flinched.

“Yeah, that will get her in serious trouble,” Ian allowed. Self-mockery was brutally unappealing. He would rather be around a plain woman who thought she was beautiful than a beautiful one who complained she was plain.

“No. I want to see you naked, and if you keep talking like that it’s not a flogging you’ll get, it’s a spanking, and I promise you it will sting.” Every word out of his mouth was clipped and angry.

A long moment passed where they seemed connected. Maybe he’d been wrong about Simon not being ready. The big Dom was looking down at the computer-geek cutie like he could eat her alive.

Chelsea, for her part, seemed determined to prove she didn’t need to breathe.

Finally, she took a step back and turned to Jesse. “How about you?”

Simon stepped into her line of sight. “No.”

“What do you mean no? He can’t speak for himself?”

“Not if he wants to live he won’t.”

Jesse wisely kept his mouth shut.

“So if I don’t do what you want, I don’t get a Dom?” Chelsea’s hands went to her hips.

Simon shook his head. “You don’t get him no matter what you do, love. He’s in training. If you want to get what you need, you’ll negotiate. I’m willing to give up one of my usual demands.”

“And I was willing to allow you to tie me down,” she shot back. “You have no idea how hard that would be for me.”

“Then I’ll make it easy on you. All you have to do is take off what little clothes you’re wearing and I’ll take care of you. No bindings. Everything else your way.”

Chelsea simply turned and started to walk away. Simon watched as she left.

“Damn it.” Charlie leaned back into him again. “Now she’ll be in pain. She has a couple of scars. Who around here doesn’t? I don’t get what problem she has with being naked.”

“Because you’re a dreadful exhibitionist.” Charlie didn’t mind walking around in her own gorgeous skin. It was one of the things that attracted him. “She’s more normal, you know.”

He looked behind him and Alex was taking Eve off the cross, his hands moving gently across her body, their deep connection a palpable thing. Because they loved and trusted each other. Because they were in this life together until the end.

He could stroke Charlie’s hair all he liked. He could sit here and play with her, but he would always be waiting for her to walk away again. He didn’t like the hollow feeling it left in his gut, but there was a part of Ian that had begun pushing him to take everything from this time they had. Once the shit with Nelson shook down, he would have to let her go. But for now he could take her. He could revel in her.

“I’ll ask Ryan to take care of Chelsea. He’s married. He won’t have any interest in seeing her naked.” Ian wasn’t sure why he was doing this. Typically, he would allow the sub to flounder until she properly asked for what she wanted. It was part of the process. But Charlie would be worried about her sister, and he needed her calm and collected for what he was about to do. Brighton would be watching. Despite the fact that Derek thought they were a new couple, he also had to know damn well that Ian wouldn’t scene publically with someone he didn’t trust.

Well, until tonight.

Derek walked up and sat back down, his face a mask of frustration. “I just got a call from one of my men. They found a dead body at the hotel across from your office. Seventh floor.”

That happened faster than he would have liked. “That’s terrible. You can’t even trust five-star hotels anymore.”

“Cut the shit, Ian. I know I’m not telling you anything new. The seventh floor sounds just about perfect for taking a shot at you.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m keeping quiet for now. Give me something.”

He hated sharing. Sharing was for idiots, but right now sharing information would keep the woman on his lap from a likely waterboarding. Though she did look good wet…

Charlie wiggled in his lap, reminding him which part of his anatomy was actually in charge.

“We think the guy is Russian,” Ian offered. Sometimes offering up a little unimportant information could satisfy the authorities. “A man named Zhukov. He’s a known assassin. He’s professional, so you shouldn’t expect an unnecessary body count. The man in the hotel was unfortunate. He needed that specific room. I’ll try to stay off the street so he doesn’t do it again. I can send you a dossier on the fucker, if you like.”

“Why is he after you?” Brighton asked.

At least there was an easy answer for that. The key was not to outright lie. “I assume he’s being paid.”

Charlie let her head rest against his shoulder, but he could feel how tense she was. She understood the stakes, and he had no doubt that she would keep her mouth shut in this instance. She had a knack for self-preservation.

“By the man from the Fort Worth operation?” Brighton asked. “The rogue agent you’ve been pursuing?”

It was always better to let a person make their own assumptions. They tended to believe themselves, to feel smart for their deductions. “His name is Eli Nelson. He’s pissed at me for more than one reason. I cost him a very lucrative business deal a few months back. He knows damn well I won’t stop until I’ve crushed him.”

Not a lie in there. Just not the entire truth.

Brighton sat back, running a hand through his closely cropped hair. “I hate the spy shit. Give me a good clean murder any day of the week.”

“The good news is you totally have a murder on your hands now. You’re welcome.”

Dark brown eyes rolled. “I can’t solve that one, asshole. It’s going to be on my docket, and it’ll go unsolved.”

An unsolved case on his docket would hurt him. “Look, when I get this figured out, I’ll help you, okay? We can connect some dots and make sure this guy’s family knows why he was killed.”

Brighton’s eyes narrowed. “Or I can take you into protective custody. It would be the right thing to do. I can’t just let this guy run around. He’s killed once. He could do it again.”

“You could try. We’ll see if you have a safe house that can handle me.” Ian was well aware that his voice had gone positively frigid. “You know what will happen if you do that. This guy will disappear and he’ll resurface when I least expect it. Right now I know who’s coming after me. All you would do is waste months of my life, and I would lose the chance to make sure I’m right about who wants me dead.”

Brighton let his head fall back. “I should call the fucking Feds in. Hell, I should call in the Agency. They should be dealing with this shit.”

He couldn’t let that happen. The minute the Agency got involved, he would lose control of Charlie, and there were some places even he wasn’t sure he could get into. “I’m calling in that chip you owe me, Derek. For Kandahar.”

Ian had saved Derek’s life in Afghanistan and covered up a very substantial flub on the former sergeant’s part. It had been a messy bloody affair, and Ian had cleaned it up. He knew he was going straight for the throat. Brighton still hadn’t forgiven himself for what had happened, but Ian couldn’t afford to back down.

“Damn it.” Brighton leaned forward. “That is so fucking unfair.”

“You should know better than most that life isn’t fair, Derek.” Ian couldn’t back down. Didn’t even want to. Favors were meant to be called in, and he’d done Derek Brighton a big one.

Brighton held a hand up in surrender. “All right, but you have to keep me up to date. You should know that the minute this affects another civilian, I won’t care what I owe you. I’ll do my job, Ian.”

He would do it because once he hadn’t and that one incident had affected the rest of his life. Ian knew he should be damn happy he had that favor or Derek’s duty would screw them all. “I wouldn’t expect less.”

Charlie relaxed a little.

Brighton turned slightly and motioned toward the bar, holding up a single finger. Jillian nodded and started to pour him a beer. “I don’t think I’m in the mood to play tonight. The good news is that frees me up to drink.”

Two drinks were all anyone was allowed at Sanctum if they were playing, but all of his Doms were known to treat the bar like a bar when they weren’t. Derek, especially. Lately, Ian had noticed Derek didn’t play much. He seemed to prefer to watch scenes and drink and go home alone.

“This one’s on me.” It was the least he could do and besides, Ian wasn’t drinking this evening. For the scene he had planned, he wouldn’t touch alcohol.

Jillian brought over a frosty mug and sat it down in front of Brighton. Ian motioned her over and quietly asked that she find her Dom and request he take care of Chelsea. Jillian, who had also witnessed the scene, nodded her assent and went to look for her husband, Ryan.

Charlie’s face tilted up, and there were tears in her eyes.

“Don’t,” Ian said. He didn’t need a crying sub. “And don’t forget protocol. I’ve been lax. I won’t be now.”

There were advantages to being able to control her ability to talk. He didn’t have to listen to mushy thank yous. Actually, this was kind of the dream. Charlie couldn’t talk. She could only sit there and look pretty. If only there was a high protocol for not getting herself killed by assassins. He would definitely put that shit in place.

Brighton took a long sip of his beer, watching them carefully. “Are you sure it’s the right time to take a sub? Don’t get me wrong. I’m actually happy to see you with a sub, but aren’t you a little worried she could get caught in the cross fire?”

“She’s practically bulletproof.” He slapped her very juicy ass. “And she’s solid. She can take a lot of damage.”

Charlie’s mouth firmed to a stubborn line and her eyes narrowed, but she didn’t say a word. She just glared at him.

Yeah, he liked high protocol.

Alex chose that moment to carry in a very happy looking Eve. She was wrapped in a blanket and cuddled in her husband’s arms. Alex sat down on the couch beside Ian and Charlie. “Hey, Jillian, can you get me a beer? You want anything, baby?”

They were through with play for the evening, but Eve just shook her head and cuddled closer.

Alex grinned. “She’ll be asleep in a couple of minutes. She’ll be snoring away.”

Eve slapped at her husband’s chest affectionately. “I do not snore.”

“Of course, angel.” Alex mouthed a “wow” Ian’s way. “So how’s everything going tonight? Is Charlotte enjoying Sanctum?”

He wished he could put Alex in high protocol. “She loves it here. She’s really looking forward to her first scene.”

Charlie’s eyes widened. He hadn’t mentioned they would be playing together here. Her lips curled up and a grateful look came into her eyes. She very likely thought he was planning to spank her or flog her and then do what he used to do. Fuck her hard and long in front of an audience. Charlie didn’t mind other people watching. She didn’t demand it, but in a club environment, she wouldn’t shy away from it either. She would give as good as she got. She wouldn’t hold back for a minute.

But he didn’t intend to spank her. And he wasn’t going to fuck her. Probably. No. Definitely. Definitely probably not going to fuck her.

She wiggled in his lap.

Shit. He was going to fuck her.

“I saw Ryan getting the cotton ready. Are you sure about a fire play demo tonight?” Alex asked.

Charlie gasped. “Fire play?”

Fuck. Now he had to spank her, too. She was just set on getting her damn way. It wouldn’t work, but it looked like he would have to prove it to her. “Over my lap. That’s ten.”

“Ian, we should talk about this,” Charlie sputtered.

“That’s twenty. Are you sure you want to go for thirty? I have set up a very nice scene to introduce you to Sanctum as my sub. Of course, you have the power, sweetheart. You can always say no and then I can find a new Dom to show you around.” Maybe he wouldn’t be fucking her tonight. Maybe he could wriggle his way out of Alex’s trap. His life would be so much easier if she said no and he could dump her on someone else.

Simon and Jesse perhaps. They could handle close cover. Probably. Except Jesse had tried to shoot Alex and failed to hit his target. Oh, sure, Charlie had gotten in the way, but Jesse hadn’t even managed to get a second shot off or anything. Ian would have to work on that problem before he cleared him to watch someone important.

And Simon didn’t have a ton of field experience. Charlie could be slippery when she wanted to be.

No. He would still have to watch her.

“That’s so unfair, Ian,” she whispered the words, her voice breaking a little. “I’m scared. I’ve never seen it done before. It sounds a little extreme.”

“Then you can say no. That’s thirty, Charlie. Of course, if you say no, we can forget about the spanking, too. It’s your choice.” He was putting her in a corner, but then she’d put him in one by walking into his life. She needed to fully understand how this would work. It would be his way. All the way. Her only option was to say no and walk away and free him.

He should have known she wouldn’t trust him. Deep down he had known and that was exactly why he’d planned the fire play scene. She’d resisted it before. He knew she was scared. He was a bastard, but he wasn’t going to change his plans now.

Charlie stood, her legs firm on the carpet beneath her. Her face showed no expression at all, and he was pretty sure he was about to get punched again. That would likely blow their cover with Derek.

Then she pulled up her skirt and placed herself over his lap.

Fuck. She was going to kill him. Her ass was so round and perfect and he couldn’t stop himself from caressing it. He ran his hands over those plump cheeks, the skin so smooth under his palm. There was still a little pink to those cheeks from his earlier spanking.

He slapped her ass lightly. Once, twice and then ten times rapidly. He was softer this time because he didn’t want her sore. Or maybe he was softer because she’d turned his fucking brain to mush. His cock was hard and pulsing with every smack to that sweet ass.

He counted in his head. It was part of letting her relax. By accepting his discipline, she was accepting the scene, and he needed her ready for it. Unless she was counting, she wouldn’t know when he would stop and she could concentrate on the pure sensation.

Sure enough, he felt her start to relax, her spine softening and body melting against his lap.

He continued smacking her cheeks in a soft rhythm. Her face rubbed against his leg and he…fuck…he could smell her arousal. She responded so openly, so honestly. He never doubted that she wanted him. It had always been there. Even when she was betraying him, her pussy knew who its Master was.

He finished off the final ten slaps, each one causing her to relax further. He used long strokes to hold the heat against her flesh. Her skin was warm and pink, her whole body like butter against him.

This was what he wanted, her quiet and trusting against him. He helped her up but didn’t bother to push her skirt back down. He liked the way she smelled, all tangy arousal and sweet woman. He pulled her into his lap, not giving a damn that she was wet and it would get on his leathers. It was a stain he would wear proudly. She cuddled against him, tucking her head under his chin, and he knew why he hadn’t held another sub like this in all these years. Because they didn’t fill his arms the way she did. They didn’t fit him, like a piece of a puzzle he’d always been missing. They didn’t surround him.

They didn’t make him feel.

He looked up at Alex, who was cuddling Eve and sending him an encouraging look. Like he’d just joined Alex’s fellowship of dipshit husbands.

Derek was staring at them, and then his eyes trailed away. He was alone and it was obvious that he was very aware of that fact.

Ian was more like Derek than Alex.

He couldn’t tell Alex how much he wished he could be like him or Sean or the rest of them. Eve had never betrayed Alex. Grace had never chosen someone else over Sean. Serena had been steadfast and loyal to Jake and Adam. Avery hadn’t cost Liam and his friends years of their lives.

He could admit deep inside that she was the woman for him. He’d never really denied it.

But he couldn’t forgive her, and he damn straight would never forgive himself.

Feelings sucked. And Alex was right. Eve did snore.