Just One Taste(17)

“I think he’s trying to take it slow with you,” Tiffany said, again proving she had more sense than his sub. “I think it’s sweet.”

“I’ve done everything I can to get that man to spank me again.” He could practically see Deena shaking her dark hair.

“Did you try asking him?” Charlotte sounded harsher than before, as though she disapproved of what she’d heard.

There was a long pause. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that, but I’m not sure how to ask a man to spank me. I was acting out and trying to get a reaction from Eric that I’m not going to get. At the end of this six weeks, I’ll let Captain America find his perfect sub and I’ll find my hot, dirty Dom. But I do get what you’re saying. I’m trying to turn him into something he’s not and I’ll apologize to him.”

Oh, yes she would. She would apologize very sweetly once he’d given her every fucking thing she wanted.

Eric nodded back toward the living room before turning on his heels and walking quietly down the hallway. Sean followed. When Eric was sure they couldn’t be heard, he looked at Sean. “I’m going to need to leave a little early.”

Sean shook his head as he fished around in his pocket. He came up with a key chain and quickly drew off a small gold key. “Nope. I think you handle that shit right here and right now. You mad?”

Angry? Not precisely. “I’m quite calm, but I’m very interested in showing my sub that she’s wrong about a few areas of our relationship. She’s got a safe word. I would never refuse to honor it. I don’t think she’ll use it. I actually think I’m falling into her trap and giving her everything she wants.”

Sean grinned. “Oh, but sometimes traps can be fun. If you’re serious about her, I would shut that bratty shit down now. Oh, she’ll still try to manipulate you. Charlotte’s high if she thinks she doesn’t manipulate Ian.”

“My skull’s too thick to be manipulated,” Big Tag said, walking up with what looked like a slice of lemon pie. “At least that’s what my Charlie says when she’s giving the newbies her talk. Damn, Vail, is she talking to your girl? Shut that shit down now. We went wrong when we decided to let the subs talk amongst themselves. Keep quiet. That’s what I say.”

Sean rolled his blue eyes. “Sure, you do. Your wife is the ringleader and that pie was supposed to be for dessert, asshole.”

“Macon made two.” Eric was not unaware of Big Tag’s habit of stealing the desserts. He was always prepared—a fact Deena was about to learn the hard way. “I put one in the fridge for the big guy to find and the other in the…well, Macon knows where it is.”

“It’s in the beer fridge in the garage behind the wine bottles,” Big Tag said. “Hey, dude, I do this for a living. And I left the second pie totally unmolested. Well, I might have licked it, but what are a few germs amongst friends?”

Sean looked back at Eric. “He’s joking and don’t bother trying to hide pies from him. He can find anything.”

“That is unfortunately not true.” Tag’s smile dropped from his face and he seemed to lose his appetite, setting the pie on the table in the hall. “Should I go and talk to Charlie? If she’s putting ideas in Deena’s head, I’ll talk to her about it.”

“I’ll take care of it. I was telling Sean I’m going to take my sub home and have a long discussion with her. I won’t do anything that’s not in our contract, but I am planning on using an implement you haven’t signed me off on,” Eric said honestly.

Ian waved him off. “I’ve talked to the patrons of the clubs you’ve been at before. You’ve been playing for a decade.” That horrible guilt he’d seen slide across Big Tag’s face seemed to lift for a moment. “Anything particularly dangerous?”

“Only to her asshole,” he replied. He’d bought her a very nice plug yesterday. It looked like it was time for him to use it.

Big Tag slapped him on the shoulder. “Go forth and plug away, man. You know we’ve all turned into a bunch of pussies. We should plug our subs more often. And we should use the exotic lubes. A tiny bit of ginger, some jalapeño. That will get ’em moving. I’m going to have Grace put that on the calendar so I won’t forget. It’s important to keep up with the little things. Just because we’ve got two tiny humans who require our attention twenty-four seven doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t make time for an old-fashioned anal plugging. And why go home when you could use Sean’s dungeon? Er, excuse me, the present room. He tells his kid that. Seriously, you’re going to make her want to get in there even more than she normally would.”

Sean handed over the key. “It’s up the stairs, the last door on the right.” He turned back to Ian. “I told her if she went into the present room, she wouldn’t get any presents. That will keep her out of there. You know I’ve been doing this longer than you.”

“I got double the kids, brother,” Tag shot back. “I’m already more of a pro.”

“Sure you are, asshole.” Sean seemed to relish arguing with his brother. It was as though sarcasm was their own personal language. “And Eric, go on and set up and I’ll send her to you in about ten minutes. You have your kit?”

“It’s in my truck.” He was a freaking BDSM Boy Scout and she was about to find that out.

She wanted a dirty Dom? He could give her one.



* * * *



Deena looked at Charlotte Taggart and wished she’d kept her damn mouth shut. Now the queen of the subs thought she was a brat. She kind of was. The last several weeks had been wonderful and frustrating all at the same time. She’d gotten to know Eric and it was as bad as she’d thought. He was practically perfect and the man could cook. She’d been out to his apartment for dinner on the night Top was closed. Naturally his apartment was neat and efficient, though she thought it was a bit bland. It needed some flair, but it was obvious the man took care of the place. He’d made her shrimp and grits and she’d nearly cried at how perfect they were. They’d laughed and talked and then he’d taken her home, walked her to her door and said good-bye.

The damn man hadn’t even kissed her. He’d only kissed her twice since they’d agreed to be partners. She was starting to think he never would again.

“So your ex was an asshole?” Charlotte asked. At least she seemed to have moved on from that moment when Deena had admitted she’d been trying to get her ass spanked.

“Serious asshole,” Tiffany said with a shake of her head.

That girl always had her back. “He dumped me, but only after I’d put him through law school.” Why had she ever hidden this? It was freeing to be open about it. “He left me for one of the junior partners at the firm he hired on with after he graduated. He also left me with the beautiful gift of half his debt.”

“Damn, I would have left him with a bullet to the balls,” Charlotte said.

“Sometimes I wish I had,” Deena replied with a sigh. “But it wasn’t always bad. He was a good guy at one point. He was the kind of guy who opened doors and took care of a girl.”

“No, that was his façade,” Charlotte argued. The gorgeous redhead leaned forward. “He was never a good guy. No good guy could do what he did to you. You got fooled, Holmes. He played you.”

“Yes, I guess he did.” Somehow it seemed easier to believe he’d changed, that she hadn’t been taken in so totally.

Charlotte’s voice softened. “But that doesn’t mean everyone’s faking it. It doesn’t mean there are no good guys in the world, and it definitely doesn’t mean you need to be alone for the rest of your life.”

“Who said I was going to be alone for the rest of my life?” They were venturing into dangerous territory. Maybe this was why she’d never talked about her past.

Tiffany raised her hand. She’d had more than a couple. Her cheeks were flushed a pretty pink from the rum punch Grace was serving. “That was me. Totally me.”

She gave her friend a stare that she hoped would penetrate the rum haze she seemed to be in. “Is there a reason you talked about my private life to Big Tag’s wife?”

Charlotte’s eyes widened. “Oooo, you’ve got the intimidating stare down. Very nice.”

Tiffany frowned. “I was worried about you. I think you’re going to let something special go. I think you and Eric work and you’re all ‘I want to find some scumbag Dom who’ll take me sexually and not care about me as a human being.’”

Wow, she was far gone. “Not once have I said those words. I have said I want to keep things casual and I would like to see what a bad boy can bring to the table, but that’s my business and not yours.”

“If she’s your friend it’s totally her business,” Charlotte explained. “That’s how friendship works. She can’t turn off caring about you because you have boundaries. I’ve discovered that the best of friendships are also the ones where no one understands personal boundaries. A real friend will get all up in your business.”