Siren Unleashed

Chapter Two

Ben Dawson stared across the table in the small diner. “So you’re looking for a submissive?”

Cole Roberts was a big man whose casual clothes couldn’t hide his obvious success. Even if Ben didn’t know Cole’s net worth, he would still guess this was a wealthy man. His alpha male status oozed out of Cole’s pores. “I’ve been looking for a while. I have a membership at The Club. I’m only in Dallas about half the year, but I attend regularly when I’m there. I was a little offended Mr. Lodge didn’t think about me when he was dispensing this sub.”

Mr. Lodge probably hadn’t thought of him because he talked about Julian’s matchmaking as a doling out of human property. Roberts was known to be a bit on the hard side. “He’s being very careful with Kitten. She’s family. You’ve heard about her background?”

Roberts had been sent a complete file including a full psych evaluation on Kitten Taylor. He’d submitted to his own psych evaluation, too. He nodded, a certain gravity in the gesture. “Yes, I read the file. I was very sorry to hear that happened to her. Is Lodge attempting to shift her out of the lifestyle? Because if that’s what he’s trying to do, then I’m not the Dom for her. I’m looking for a full-time submissive. I’m willing to exchange room and board and discuss the possibility of a legal entanglement in exchange for service.”

And that was the only damn reason Ben was sitting here. Roberts was willing to talk long term, and Kitten needed that. He wasn’t much of a romantic, though, if he considered marriage a legal entanglement. “How many full-time submissives have you kept in the past?”

“Only one. Emily Yarborough.” Roberts went still, only his lips moving. “She died. Car accident. She was being driven home by a friend and they took a curve too fast. You don’t take curves fast on the pass, Mr. Dawson.”

Elk Creek Pass, the same mountain passage Roberts’s ski resort was named after, was one of America’s more dangerous passes, but then Roberts lived in one of America’s more dangerous towns. “I’m sorry to hear that.” But he had something else to address. “So you didn’t consider Mason Scott to be a submissive?”

Roberts remained perfectly calm. The only sign that the name had an effect was the tightening of his eyes. “Mason Scott is my partner. We have business interests together. I won’t lie to you. In the past we had a sexual relationship. Mason is a switch. We met at The Club, but that part of my life is over. Miss Taylor doesn’t need to worry that she would be second. I will put her first.”

Ben was pretty sure Kitten would find the idea of bisexual Masters delightful, but Roberts seemed firm. Ben moved on to other problems. “So if you did sign a contract with Katherine Taylor, you would continue to live here in Bliss?”

Roberts took a long drink of his coffee. “I stay here half the year, as I said. If my submissive needed to be in the city in order to find her peace, then I would consider staying in Dallas for longer, but I would always need to come here. This resort doesn’t run itself. I would prefer she come with me. I have no intention of leaving my sub at home.”

Another point in his favor. He was also recommended by Stefan Talbot, a friend of Lodge’s, and he’d passed Leo’s tests.

Ben closed his notebook. “Do you really want another sub? It’s only been a year since Emily’s death. I like Kitten. She’s a whack job, but she’s a truly sweet girl who’s had to overcome some horrific things. I don’t want her to get involved with a man who won’t care about her.”

“How will I know if I don’t try?” The words came out in a flat monotone.

“You could date. You don’t have to sign a six-month contract on an unseen sub.”

Roberts laughed, the first sign that he could look anything but grim. “Have you seen the women around here? They’re beautiful and sexy and they like to shoot people. Seriously, I’ve heard rumors that they have a club.” He sobered a bit. “No. I don’t need to date. Dating is a false thing. It’s two people dancing around the truth. A contract is more effective. We know we’ll be together for six months so we can relax and give the relationship a real go.”

“Kitten can be a handful. I’m not trying to say she isn’t sweet, but she can push some boundaries.”

Roberts pulled out a file of his own. “Here’s my list of rules and punishments. If they fall outside of her hard limits, we can discuss alternatives, but I prefer my way. I can handle a bit of manipulation. She wouldn’t have a brain if she didn’t try. I prefer to use pleasure as a reward, though I admit to sometimes viewing my submissive as stress relief. I would never harm her sexually, but I will use her to my own ends and sometimes without thought to her pleasure.”

And he sounded perfect for Kitten. Kitten wanted to be necessary. Roberts could give her what she wanted. The question was would he be what she needed? “Please come to The Club next month and I’ll introduce you.”

Roberts frowned. “And what will she be doing until then?”

Possessive. Not a bad thing in a Dom, but a little out of bounds with a woman he didn’t know yet. “She’s being cared for by a Dom in training. A young man from these parts. It’s a pure training relationship. No sex involved.”

Roberts cracked a smile. “Logan Green is training my potential sub? Well, that’s something I never thought I would say. Tell Logan hello and he better take care of her. If Lodge doesn’t mind, I would appreciate being able to send her a few things. Just some small gifts.”

Clothing most likely. Ben understood the impulse. When he was involved with a woman, he liked to know she was wearing something he’d bought for her. Of course, Ben usually liked to actually meet the woman first, but hey, he was used to being around eccentrics. Hell, his other half was about as eccentric as a person could be.

Roberts stood and shook his hand, and Ben sat back down, glancing at his watch. He had all night. His plane wasn’t supposed to leave until tomorrow morning. He had a room at something called a Movie Motel and plans to eat dinner with a couple of old clients. Jesse McCann and Cade Sinclair were ready to show off their fiancée, Gemma.

Ben was never going to get married because his other half was a brooding, paranoid, borderline-psychotic weirdo who wouldn’t even get on a plane.

Ben sighed and looked up at the specials. He wasn’t sure he wanted to try escargot in Bliss, Colorado.

He sipped his Coke and wondered what the fuck he was doing. He was thirty-five years old. He’d thought he would still be in the military. Then Ada had been murdered.

He could still see her, but now it was more of a gauzy image than the former sharp picture that assaulted his brain on a nightly basis.

She hadn’t loved him. She’d enjoyed him. She’d loved Leo. It was far past time to let her go.

The trouble was he didn’t have anything to hold on to. Sometimes he thought he held on to Ada because he needed to believe he could have had a relationship. It wouldn’t have been with Ada. Even at the time he’d known it, but she’d been so sweet, so brave. He couldn’t resist the fantasy that she would understand him.

But she’d wanted Leo. Perfectly sane Leo. Leo, who could have a relationship with a woman on his own. Oh, he was marrying a woman and sharing her with his brother, but that was by choice and not because he felt like he had half a soul.

The bell over the door jingled. This town was getting to him. It was weird. Happy trios were everywhere, just taunting him with their families and marriages. A big scarred guy was sitting two tables over with his sweet-looking wife and a dude in law enforcement khakis who didn’t look like a family friend since they both kept kissing the brunette and passing their twins around.

He couldn’t see Chase with a kid.

“Hi, Benny!”

A cold wind seemed to run through him, and he closed his eyes because just maybe he was dreaming and he could shift the dream into something good and sweet, and his very nice but completely chaotic mess of a little sister hadn’t magically shown up in small-town Colorado because she was still in Los Angeles where he was safe from her curse.

“Benny, you’re doing that thing again. I’m not going away. Do you think the burgers here are good? I’ve been a vegan for the last six months, well, mostly, except for steak. I can’t live without a little steak but other than that, totally veggie.”

He cracked open one eye and there she sat, Georgia Ophelia Dawson.

She gave him a little wave. “Hi, brother. I knew you were in there.” Her face went all puppy dog eyes and toddler pout. “Please feed me. I had to hitchhike in from LA, and the trucker only had jerky and you know how I feel about dehydrated meat.”

His blood pressure pulsed. “You hitchhiked? What happened to the BMW I bought you because Dad wouldn’t splurge past an Accord?”

Her eyes went even wider, and he would swear she managed to squeeze a tear out. “I had to sell it to pay for my acting classes.”

“If you paid for your classes, then why aren’t you in LA going to class?”

“I had to leave acting class because I’m really, really bad at it, Benny. And Daddy wouldn’t pay for my rent either because I decided to become an actress instead of that boring businessy thing.”

It was called a bachelor’s degree. Georgia had a degree in management, for all the good it had done her. “Georgie, why are you here?”

Now the tears started in earnest. “Daddy cut me off.”

No big surprise there. His father had married five times, producing six children with four different women. Georgia was the youngest of his siblings. He and Chase had an older brother and two younger ones, and then there was Georgia. The only female in the group. She’d lasted the longest. The rest of them had been shoved out in the world with nothing at the age of eighteen. Ben often wondered if it was because she was a girl or because she was as beautiful as her mother had been. “Dad cuts everyone off. Chase and I have been cut off since we graduated from high school.”

“But you have a trust fund from your mom. My mom was a stripper. All she left me was a legacy of body glitter and regret.”

He practically growled. It had been inevitable. His father was an asshole. It was only Georgia’s charm that had kept her in his good graces thus far. And she was right. Prudence had been an ill-named stripper and an even worse wife and mother. She’d left Georgie behind when she got her divorce settlement. When Carlton Dawson was the responsible, loving parent, Ben had known Georgie was in trouble. Luckily, she’d had a great nanny and boarding school—like five of them.

“Georgie, I hate to say this, but you have to grow up. You’re twenty-five years old and…how the hell did you find me? Why aren’t you in Dallas up Chase’s ass over this?”

He didn’t have to ask why she hadn’t sought out their other siblings. Win was too busy building an empire. And Mark and Drew were god only knew where. It was freaking classified. But Chase was right where he’d left him, safe in Dallas, where Georgia should have been able to find him and bug him about this.

“I called Chase. He told me to come find you, and I thought he was right. So I hopped on the first plane to Colorado and then found the trucker with the bad jerky. He dropped me off here. I’m glad I listened to him. You’re my favorite brother.”

He was her sanest brother, and the one who was quickest with the checkbook.

Still it didn’t explain everything. “Okay, so he knew I was going to be in Bliss, but how did he know to send you to the diner? I was supposed to go out to the lodge.”

Roberts had changed the plans at the last minute. Ben hadn’t informed Chase.

“Oh, he did that thing on your phone so he can always know where you are.”

Son of a bitch LoJacked him.

Georgie put a hand over his. “Don’t be mad. It’s how Chase says he loves you. Or how he says, ‘Hey you stole my stuff and I’m going to kill you.’ By the way, thanks for not letting him kill me when I took his wallet. I really needed the money, and he was being an ass.”

This was what Georgia did. She took a perfectly nice afternoon and filled it with chaos. There was one surefire way to get her back on a plane for LA. He reached for his checkbook. He wouldn’t miss the money. She was right about that. His mom’s parents had been pure old-school money. They’d set up very large trust funds for their only grandchildren. “How much do you need? Rent, classes, food, everything. I’m only writing one for the next six months.”

She sat back, a startled expression on her face. She bit her bottom lip, tears filling her eyes. “I can’t believe I’m saying this. Oh my god. I don’t like this feeling at all. It’s horrible.”

“What?” How much was this fit going to cost him? He was so glad his mother had been a wretchedly wealthy debutante and not a stripper.

She went the lightest shade of green. “I can’t take your money.”

Was there a doctor in town? “Are you all right?”

She shook her head. “No. Oh, Benny, I think I’m maturing. I think I need to get a job and be with my family.”

Now he was sure he was the one turning green. “You don’t have to do that. Look, I have a lot of checks.”

Those tears started up again, and he was pretty sure everyone was watching. “Come on, Benny. I haven’t been near my brothers in over ten years. Not since you left me all alone with a cold, distant father while you two went off and saw the world.”

“We weren’t seeing the world, Georgie. We were getting our asses shot off because Dad kicked us out and our trust fund didn’t kick in until we were twenty-five. We had to go into the Navy to eat.” There was an idea…

She cut him off at the pass. “I can’t. I’m a pacifist.”

A low hum started throughout the diner. He was well and truly fucked. “Fine. You can come back with me, but Georgie, Chase and I live in a club.”

She nodded, drying her tears with the paper napkins from a dispenser at the end of the table. “I know. Daddy calls it a den of inequality. Who’s the unequal one? It’s Chase, isn’t it?”

“Iniquity. It’s a den of iniquity.”

“Is that like a financial thing? Equity?”

Yep, there were times he wondered how she’d made it through school. “Sure.”

Her face brightened and her whole demeanor changed from “lost and damaged soul” to “life of the party.” “I’m so excited. This is going to be awesome. I need some fries. They’re vegan, right? Oh, and they have bacon. Nice. You can pick up the check, right, brother? I don’t have a job yet. I’m thinking about maybe trying to be a party planner. I can totally do that.”

He’d be picking up the check and all the bodies along the way because Georgia Dawson, while good-natured, was a force of chaos the world hadn’t seen since the last atomic bomb had been dropped. He was pretty sure Georgie had been the thing let out of Pandora’s Box. Bad shit followed her.

As though on perfect cue, a weird sense of joy went through him.

Georgia stopped her chatter long enough to stare. “Oh, you’re having one of those twin moments. I can always tell because you flush a little and look really surprised. Why are you so surprised? It happens all the time.”

His stomach turned. That was him, not Chase. “Chase is happy.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Oh, shit. Who died? Do you think he killed them?”

At least she knew her brother. His cell rang. Fresh hell. That was what Chase would bring. Ben had no doubt. “Just tell me.”

“We got a dead body, bro. We’re going to Hicksville. I already called and had your plane rescheduled. Murder. Awesome.”

Ben let his head hit the table. “Check, please.”

“This isn’t over, Natalie.”

Natalie sat in the back of Cal’s SUV. Cal was driving, but her other lawyer had his head turned back, a sympathetic gleam in his eyes. Finn Taylor had blown through the small sheriff’s department with a commanding presence that belied his submissive nature. She’d learned that about Finn long ago. He was deeply submissive until he got his “lawyer” on. The minute Finn started in on the legal crap, he shoved his betaness aside and took over the room. Even Cal, überDom, had stepped aside and allowed Finn to take over.

“I know.”

She was only out because Finn had scared the crap out of the sheriff. And she wasn’t supposed to go anywhere. Awesome. Like she had anywhere else to go.

“How long until they get all the DNA stuff back?” Nat asked.

Cal’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. “It’s not like TV, Natalie. It can take a very long time.”

“I’ll have Julian push some people around, see if we can get it done faster.” Finn turned back to her. “Unless there’s something you want to tell us. Was he hurting you? Did he try to rape you? Do you remember what happened, sweetie?”

She groaned. Just because she’d killed one asshole in a fit of rage and self-defense didn’t mean she went around doing it for fun. “I happily gave up the DNA, Finn. I didn’t screw the Furniture King. Yuck.”

It was building inside her. Damn it. It had been months and months since she’d felt the need to hurt herself. She didn’t want to go through that again. She didn’t want to fall back into that terribly dark place she’d been in after freeing herself from Hawk.

Finn reached back and touched her knee. “I’m sorry, Nat. I just wouldn’t have blamed you if you had. So, I’ll have Julian apply a little pressure, and we’ll get this cleared up. Whoever had sex with the bastard is probably the one who killed him.”

It didn’t make a lick of sense. “I locked the door.”

“And he unlocked it.” Cal turned up the long drive that would take them to the resort. Normally the gorgeous, tree-lined drive made her calm, but her head wouldn’t stop working. “I made sure they dusted for prints on the inside of the door. He didn’t need a key to get out or to let someone in.”

“But who? I didn’t see anyone.” Of course she’d gone back to her office. She hadn’t sat outside the door.

Finn patted her knee. “Don’t worry about this, Nat. You didn’t do it. I don’t trust the police here so I’m bringing in my own investigator. Two of them, in fact. They’re brilliant. Well, one of them is, and the other one is the, well, human one. You’ll see. When he shows up, just answer their questions and this will all go away soon.”

“Why does she let you do that, but she cringes when I try to comfort her?” Cal asked.

Cal had been good to her. She liked Cal. She hated the fact that he was hurt by her quirks. She clenched her fists. The need to pinch herself or scrape her skin until she drew blood was so close to the surface. “I’m sorry, Cal. It’s nothing against you.”

“She knows I’m not a Dom. She knows damn well I’ve never held a whip or crop, just felt one against my ass.” Finn turned back, facing the front.

“I would never hurt you, Natalie,” Cal said. “My wife loves you. That means you’re practically part of my family. I just wish you would let me help.”

Because Cal was one of the good ones. Cal was an actual Dom and not a sadistic bastard. He wanted to help the subs around him, needed to be needed for the unique protections he could offer. She knew damn well he had zero sexual interest in her, but she was close to his wife so he would want to help her. And she couldn’t let him. “I’m just…sorry.”

She could lock herself in and no one would have to know. Her thigh. Just a little cut and the pain would float away.

“I have to get back to Dallas, Cal. Ben is in Colorado on an errand for Julian, so don’t expect them until maybe midafternoon.” She watched Finn stiffen, his body hardening as though he hated what he was about to do. “Nat, I’m so sorry. I have to tell him. She’s going to lock herself in her room and cut her legs. You can’t let her do that.”

Cal stopped the car, the SUV jerking. “What?”

Tears formed, Finn’s betrayal cutting her deeper than she ever cut herself. She didn’t respond. Didn’t need to. Now Gaby would know what a fucked-up piece of shit she was and her job would be toast. She wouldn’t be allowed around clients because no one wanted a psycho chick rubbing them down.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t let you do it.” Finn’s eyes were soft as he looked at her through the rearview mirror.

“No biggie.” It was huge, but Nat wouldn’t let him know. He was just one more asshole who watched out for himself. It was the way of the world. She’d kind of thought they were friends, but friends didn’t mean much when weighed against business interests. Maybe Julian had even told Finn to do it. She was trouble, and if it came to her or Julian Lodge’s business interests, well, she knew where she stood—on the outside. And he’d paid his debt to her. Julian and Finn had already gotten her off one murder rap. She couldn’t even be really pissed at them. They were clean.

“She’s a cutter?” Cal sort of breathed out the question. Nat could hear the horror in his voice.

“It’s left over from my time with Hawk.” Nat kept her own voice completely even. No one needed to know she was screaming on the inside. “And I haven’t done it in a long time.”

Six months, three days. Some people used alcohol to numb the pain. Nat used, well, pain to numb the pain.

Finn turned in his seat. “Tell me you aren’t thinking about it right now.”

“Not your problem, Taylor.” She turned her head, looking out over the peaceful grounds. She’d been safe here, but nothing was forever. “So this whole ‘don’t leave town’ thing? Was the sheriff serious about that?”

She would have to find a place in town. And a job. Maybe there was a fast-food place. She’d be qualified for that.

“What is she talking about?” Cal asked.

Finn sighed, scrubbing a hand across his face. “She is pissed at me and pulling back into her shell. She thinks I betrayed her and that you’re going to kick her out because she’s twelve kinds of fucked up. She thinks she just lost her job and her home. She won’t show you her pain. She’ll bottle it up until she just has to pull a knife across her skin because the other thing that would work she cannot allow herself to do.”

Rage boiled in her veins. He’d neatly summed her up in a couple of quick sentences. “Fuck you, Finn.”

“Ah, there’s the anger, Nat,” Finn replied. “I’ll take it, sweetie. It’s better than nothing. I would let you beat on me, but that’s not what you need and you know it. Let Cal find you a Dom.”

“Again with the fuck you.” She couldn’t do it. Except she’d been thinking about it. Thinking about asking one of the attached Doms if he wouldn’t just scene with her. Maybe she could find one she could trust if she trusted his sub enough and if Cal was watching. She’d thought about asking Cal, but it seemed weird to ask her boss’s hubby to beat her ass for a while so maybe she could cry. She’d tossed the idea because it was stupid. She could handle it, and now that she would be alone, she wouldn’t even have to worry about getting caught.

“Natalie, I’m so sorry.” Cal looked back.

Sure he was. He was probably sorry he’d let her watch his kids. He should have known. The pink hair should have told him all he needed to know. Then there was the pierced tongue. “I’ll be gone tonight. Hey, I don’t have a car. Do you think someone can give me a ride into town?”

Cal started driving again, his foot on the accelerator. “No one will give you a ride into town, Natalie. Nor will you be allowed to be alone for the next little bit. I’ll call your therapist, and she can come down for a while.”

Fuck. The last thing she needed was to involve Janine in this shit. “Dude, I can’t afford to haul Janine away from her family.”

“Well, the good news is, I can,” Cal replied. “And you’ll be in the dungeon tonight where I can keep an eye on you. You think I’m kicking you out? I’m doing something worse, Natalie. I’m taking responsibility until such time as your therapist signs off on your being alone or you select a proper Dom. You can take a Dom tonight or Janine will be here in the morning. Everyone else has treated you with kid gloves. I can understand that, but right now what you need is a firm hand.”

She felt her eyes widen. “You asshole.”

Cal’s eyes met hers in the rearview mirror. “Not the worst I’ve been called.”

“You can’t keep me here.”

Finn’s jaw firmed to a stubborn line. “What do you think the sheriff will do if he knows you no longer have a high-priced lawyer, Nat? I think he’ll sell you to the DA as the only possible suspect and try to railroad you.”

He was right. The sheriff just wanted to close the case and get back to fishing. If hauling Nat to jail was his ticket to getting out of real police work, then she would be in an orange jumpsuit lickety-split. “You little fucker.”

Finn flushed. “Yeah, well, if it keeps you alive, then I’ll let you hate me.” His eyes slid back to Cal. “We discovered her penchant for cutting when she went a little too deep and nearly bled out.”

Fucking goddamn, motherfucking, traitor son of a bitch. Why did he have to go there? Gretchen had been the only person at the time who had known, and she’d been Nat’s friend, not giving up the secret. Gretchen had helped make sure the cuts didn’t get infected. Gretchen had understood. But Kitten had walked in that night. It hadn’t been so bad. Everyone overreacted.

She hadn’t stared at her own blood as it drained into the bathtub wondering when she could float again. She hadn’t hoped that she wouldn’t wake up. She hadn’t. That had been just another nightmare.

“Nat, I love you. I would do almost anything for you. I won’t watch you die because of what that fucker did to you. He’s still in your head. He’s still holding you back. And you’re letting him win.” Finn sighed. “Let’s get back to the resort. I’ll call Dani. She’ll understand. Nat doesn’t have to go to the dungeon. I’ll stay with her.”

Cal turned toward the residential section, and Nat wondered how long Hawk would be with her. He’d taken her dignity, raped her body, and left her with scars that never healed because she opened them up again and again.

She hadn’t had sex in years. She hadn’t played. She’d loved to play. Submission had been her outlet, her relaxation. He’d taken it from her.

What if she could take it back?

Cal parked the car. He got out and, like the gentleman he was, opened the door for her. His hand moved to help her out, but he immediately pulled it back.

She wouldn’t even let a man help her out of a car.

“Please.” A simple word, but she had to force it past her throat. Hawk had made her beg, plead. The simplest of polite language felt like ashes in her mouth.

But Cal smiled and a spark hit her. She’d pleased him. It was still there, deep down inside, that nature of hers. It was buried under a mile of abuse and crap, but it was there. It was hers. His hand came out, the briefest of touches to help her safely to the ground, and then he let her go. He didn’t paw her, didn’t force her to his side.

“Thank you.” That was easier.

Finn stood to the side, obviously waiting for her to bash him. It still stung, but she could understand why he’d told Cal. She’d killed to save a friend, to save herself. What if he really did care about her? She might not deserve it, but she wasn’t stupid enough to push it away. And he couldn’t miss his kid’s birth because she was a fucked-up weirdo. “I’ll be fine, Finn. I’ll do what Cal asks me. And you’re right. I was thinking about it. I was planning it out. I was going to go to the kitchens and palm a knife. Julian made me get lasered so I wouldn’t have the excuse of shaving. And Finn took all the knives when I moved here.”

“Because I love you.” Finn had obviously gone past his anger, and now she could see plainly that he was afraid to approach her. He’d gambled. He’d placed her safety above their friendship.

Friendship was an act of bravery. Janine had told her that once. It was seemingly simple, but required an open heart, and that was so much harder than it sounded. It would be easier to tell him to fuck off and hide again, but she wouldn’t have done that before. She would never be the Natalie she’d been before Hawk, but she finally understood what Janine had been telling her for years. Getting back her power would take a conscious act of will. It wasn’t something that would just happen. She had to take it back. She had to decide who she wanted to be.

She walked up to Finn and awkwardly put her arms around him. She hadn’t been that close to another human being in years, and it felt weird, but kind of nice. “Thanks for the save today, buddy.”

He held her, softly at first, and then tight, a nice bear hug. “You bet, Nat. Kitten’s coming down with the Dawson brothers.”

She took a deep breath and let go. “Good. I would love to see her. Kitten is pretty and sweet. Kitten will like to go to breakfast with this one.” She grinned a little. Kitten was so subby, she referred to herself in the third person.

Finn smiled back. “You’re in for a surprise, Nat.”

She hoped so. “Now go back to Dallas and get all daddyfied. That sounds kinkier than it should.”

“Are you sure? I could stay and we can watch movies and just get through the night.”

It was a sweet offer, but one she could no longer accept. “Nope. I’m going to try a little spanking tonight. Not from you, Cal. It would be weird. I’ll pick a Dom.”

Cal’s massive shoulders slumped in relief. “Thank god. It would be like spanking my daughter, and I don’t do that. I would rather give you a time-out.”

But sitting in a corner wouldn’t bring her the relief she needed. She had two options. She could run off and cut herself and disappoint every single person who still cared about her, or she could be brave and ask for what she needed. Her stomach turned at the second idea, but her heart hurt at the thought of the first.

She let Cal lead her inside. Tonight she was taking a Dom. Tomorrow she had to find a killer.

Her week was getting full.