The Men With the Golden Cuffs(42)
Jake was in front of her before she could make the back door. “Don’t you dare.”
He was a huge hunk of muscle blocking her way. “Jake, I know this guy.”
“No, you don’t,” he insisted. “You’ve met him a couple of times. You don’t really know him. And he doesn’t have an appointment.”
“Nope. I handle your schedule, sweetheart. I know for a fact he doesn’t have an appointment,” Adam said smoothly.
The doorbell rang. “You can’t expect me to ignore him. He’s been my contact with the BDSM world for months. He’s helping me with research.”
“You don’t need him anymore,” Adam said. “You have us. Ask us anything.”
“No,” Jake said, standing aside. “I think we let Master Storm in. Let’s vet the guy a little. After all, some of this stuff started after you met him, right?”
There was no way in hell Master Storm was behind the stalking. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
The doorbell rang again, and Jake moved out of her way. “Invite him in. Let Adam open the door, though. You don’t ever open that door.”
She let Adam go first and then followed, feeling Jake right behind her. The men seemed to put her in the middle whenever they could. Even the night before when they had sat down and watched TV, she’d found herself comfortably squished in between their big bodies. It had been a nice, peaceful night. She’d enjoyed the last few days despite the specter hanging over her. Having Adam and Jake around had made her almost feel like she had a family again.
Adam punched in the alarm code and unbolted the locks. He swung the door open, and there was Master Storm, looking majorly pissed.
He was a lean man, roughly six foot. He dressed casually, his long, slightly graying hair in a ponytail, though she would bet he called it a queue or had some Asian term for it. He was a black belt in some form of martial art. He seemed to like to consider himself dangerous, but now that he stood next to Adam and Jake, he seemed less lethal than he had in the past. At one point in time he’d seemed mysterious, but now he looked small compared to her men.
Stop it. They aren’t yours.
“Who are you?” Storm asked, his brows coming together in consternation.
Adam opened his mouth, most likely to say something sarcastic, but Serena stared him down. He unlocked the glass storm door and opened it.
“His name is Adam. He and his partner, Jake, are kind of my own little security force for the time being.” She stepped back to let him in. He’d been patient with her, answering all of her questions, putting her in touch with some people in the lifestyle he knew. Despite his somewhat pompous manner, he’d been an asset.
He stepped inside, eyeing Jake and Adam but dismissing them like he would a waiter at a restaurant. “Would you like to explain to me why you suddenly need security?”
He was using that deep voice on her. It was funny, but suddenly she found it a little irritating. Jake’s voice was deeper, and he’d been taking care of her. He was the one who checked out the house before she entered, who placed himself in front of her. He’d earned the right to use that voice on her. Master Storm had mostly just talked at her. Still, she owed him a bit of courtesy.
“I’ve had some trouble with a stalker,” she admitted, showing him into her living room. It was usually covered in notes and papers, but Adam had neatly organized everything. Yet another plus he’d brought into her life. She was rapidly discovering just how much easier it was to work when she could find things.
His nose wrinkled up as he looked around. “Is this to do with those books you write?”
He didn’t approve of her books, though not for the same reasons others did. She’d been disappointed, but he seemed to think romance was beneath him. He seemed to think that any book that featured BDSM should preach the lifestyle in intellectual terms.
“Yes, it seems I have an overzealous fan,” Serena explained. “Won’t you please have a seat?”
He stared at her. “Is that how you greet me, little one?”
“Excuse me?” Adam asked.
Jake put a hand on her elbow as though he knew what she had been planning on doing. “Don’t you dare get to your knees.”
She sighed. “It’s nothing serious. He’s just helping me with my form.”
“I don’t give a shit,” Jake admitted. “You’re not kneeling for him. You’re not wearing his collar.”
Master Storm laughed but it was a bitter little huff. “Well, now I understand what’s happening, dear. I was a bit upset at the tone of our last two exchanges. I felt the need to come out and speak to you about it in person.”