The Men With the Golden Cuffs(65)

She stopped, her eyes widening. “Be Serena? That’s rich, Jake. Serena is a little mouse.”

Jake scrubbed a hand through his hair. “No, she isn’t. She’s a fighter. She’s a woman who didn’t quit because her jerk of a husband told her to. She’s a woman who fights for her damn place. She’s a woman who doesn’t stop looking for what she needs just because she finds some douchebags along the way. Damn it, Serena, I’m not cut out for this shit. I don’t know how to argue. I would rather just punch things, but I’m asking you to be the woman I’ve spent days getting to know. That woman wouldn’t let him off the hook. That woman wouldn’t walk away. That woman would make him explain himself.”

Adam stared at him. “That’s the most words I’ve ever heard you use at one time.”

Serena smiled up at him like he was a toddler who’d just done something good. “You are very good with words, Jacob.” She went on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss, then turned to Adam. Jake was a little happy to see Adam had earned a frown. “Explain yourself, Adam.”

Adam’s face turned mulishly stubborn. “I don’t think there’s all that much to explain.”

“I think there is,” Serena shot back. “You put me in this position. You’re the one who talked endlessly about how you and Jake are trying to find one woman to share. You knew how I would feel about that. Were you lying? Were you just playing up to my fantasies? Did you find out I wrote about ménage and decide it was a way to control me?”

Adam’s brows came together. “No. That’s ridiculous, Serena. It’s the truth. Jake and I have shared women for years. We really are looking for something permanent.”

Serena’s foot tapped against the floor. It was something she seemed to do when she got impatient. “Then why the big dramatic moment? Did you not expect me to sleep with Jacob? Does a ménage work differently in your world?”

Adam was beginning to look a little cornered. “Jacob and I agreed that we would work together.”

“Fine. We screwed up. I wasn’t given a schedule. You’re good at that, Adam. Why don’t you shoot me off a schedule of who I’m supposed to screw and when and in what position? That way I’ll know.” She turned on her heels and started to walk off. “I’m going home now. You two can hash this out. I can see plainly it has nothing to do with me.”

Adam stared after her. “What the fuck just happened?”

Jake smiled. “I think the sub just took you down.” He looked at his partner. “I am sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you, but it felt right to be with her. I wasn’t trying to cut you out. She wouldn’t let me. I was in Dom space. That doesn’t mean I was tossing out ten years of friendship. But you seem really fast to. I have to change. Follow her. Whatever you plan to do about this, try to remember she’s still in danger.”

He turned and jogged for the locker room. He had a feeling Serena might take a cab if he didn’t hurry.







Adam watched Jake head off. How had he fucked things up so completely? He’d been happy when he’d found out they were in a privacy room. He’d taken the extra key from Glen and expected that he would walk in on a hot BDSM scene. He hadn’t expected the tenderness he’d found.

Serena had been wrapped around Jake so perfectly that he’d just known there wasn’t a place for him. The way she’d moaned Jake’s name and promised that she was Jake’s and Jake’s alone had cut through him, slicing him to the bone. He’d been the one to recognize her. He’d been the one to try to get them all together. He should have been the one she’d clung to as he’d made her come. His gut had curled with jealousy.

And he’d made an ass of himself. Now Serena was walking away, and he had to stop her. He wasn’t sure what the hell he was planning on saying, but he knew he’d better say it fast or she might try walking home. He took off for the front lobby.

She stood there, staring out into the dark parking lot. Her shoulders were hunched as though she was already drawing into herself. He’d done that to her. Jake was right about that. She’d been happy in the privacy room. She’d been passionate and uninhibited. Now she was busy putting up walls again.

He decided to start with the obvious. “Thank god. I was afraid you would leave.”

She didn’t look at him, simply continued to gaze through the windows. The street was dark, only a sliver of moonlight illuminating the world outside. “I’m not an idiot, Adam. I know that would be dangerous. I was just waiting for Jacob. The doors are locked and there’s security. I’m safe enough standing here. I’m not going to throw myself out into the night just to prove a point.”