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  Leo smiled as a well-dressed servant placed a plate of bacon and eggs and pancakes in front of him. “Sounds like Dani’s in trouble.”

  “There’s a lot of trouble going around today,” Jack said, frustration evident in his tone. “Dani called Finn when she found out about what happened last night. That’s why Lucas showed up this morning when he was supposed to be in Chicago. Julian considers it gossiping. I believe Dani is arguing that she was talking to one of her husbands about a dear friend.”

  “This has been going on for twenty minutes,” Taggart said. “How exactly does he think he’s going to keep gossip out of his club? Clubs run on gossip.”

  “Danielle, you know the rules of this club,” Julian was saying into the phone. “A very bratty ‘I’m sorry’ isn’t going to do it. And while we’re at it, Finn is due some punishment, too. He passed on your snippet of information to Lucas, and Lucas nearly disrupted my plan.”

  Aidan felt his heart start to race as he had a sudden suspicion why he had been called in. Was it really time? He felt like he’d been waiting for years.

  “I love you, too, little one. And I am going to deeply enjoy spanking that gorgeous ass of yours tonight.” Julian’s normally placid face broke into a grin. “I’m glad you’re looking forward to it. Make sure our Finn knows he’s in trouble, too. Good-bye, Danielle.” He set the cell down and turned to Leo. “Make sure I have two whipping chairs in the dungeon tonight. My subs require a bit of public punishment.”

  “Julian, I’m glad you have something to look forward to. Could we move on? This is serious.” Jack leaned forward and stared at Taggart. “You’re satisfied there’s nothing in O’Malley’s background that I should know. No drugs? Nothing wrong with his ranch? I know you did a background check on him before I offered the partnership, but this is more important than money. This is my family. I want to be absolutely sure.”

  Jesus. Had Taggart been following him? How long had that been going on? He’d been put through the full McKay-Taggart treatment when he’d approached Julian in the beginning. “I don’t do drugs.”

  Taggart ignored him. “Aside from the occasional beer, he’s perfectly sober. Dude doesn’t even take the pain pills he’s been prescribed. The ranch is full of cows and cow shit and a baby brother who needs to get his head out of his ass. I don’t like a couple of his employees, but you won’t let me get up close and personal with them.”

  Jack sighed. “We can’t randomly snatch people off the streets and give them lie detector tests.”

  Taggart shrugged. “And that’s why we fail. One little lawsuit and Julian flips his shit.”

  Julian eyed his security head. “It was a big lawsuit, Taggart. However, I’m unconcerned about Aidan’s employees. If I had you run deep checks on everyone you thought was shady, I would be broke.” He turned to Aidan. “I apologize. Our Mr. Taggart is on the paranoid side. It actually makes him quite good at his job.”

  “He’s been following me?” Aidan wasn’t sure what to think of that.

  “Nah, I made Adam do it. His sense of smell was utterly destroyed by the amount of body spray he wears. I’m pretty sure he owns stock in several men’s cologne makers.” Taggart was known for his sarcasm. His eyes turned sharp and all that intimidation was turned on Aidan. “I’d like to know why you’ve been seeing Karen Wilcox though. She’s going to be trouble.”

  Whoa. Someone had been following him. “Karen is an old friend. When I first got home from the hospital, I couldn’t drive myself around and my brother isn’t always the most reliable person in the world. I had an appointment and no one else could take me. She offered.”

  “You dated her in high school.” Taggart watched him like a lion ready to pounce if the time was right. “She married an older gentleman and stuck it out until the old man died.”

  He shook his head. “There’s nothing going on. I don’t have feelings for her anymore. I honestly haven’t looked at another woman since the moment I laid eyes on Lexi. Like I said, Karen dropped me off at my therapy appointments a couple of times and we went to some business functions together. There’s no connection beyond that.”

  Taggart leaned back, apparently satisfied for the moment. “I believe you. But you’re wrong about the woman in question. Adam thinks she’s interested in you, and according to his report, she’s got the crazy eyes.”

  Crazy eyes? He kind of thought her eyes were normal, but he hadn’t really looked at them in a long time. He was too caught up in Lexi’s eyes, in eyes so blue he got lost in them. In the emerald green of Lucas’s eyes.

  “She’s Aidan’s problem, then. Crazy eyes and all,” Julian replied, waving the issue off.

  Jack looked at Leo. “All right, I’m comfortable that Aidan’s clean and he’s not playing around. But I need to know something from you, too. Is he ready for this?”

  Fuck yeah, he was ready. He wanted to shout it from the rooftops, but that might prove to Jack that he wasn’t ready. He sat calmly and tried to give off an air of confidence. He was confident. He was prepared. He’d been ready for eighteen months in his heart. His body finally had the discipline to catch up. He’d been studying under Leo for the past six months. He’d worked with several submissives, and each one had claimed he was an excellent Dom. He was ready to move on to someone he genuinely cared about.

  Leo paused in his wolfing down of breakfast. “He’s absolutely one of the best students I’ve ever taught. I would trust him with my own sub.”

  Jack’s eyes rolled. He looked so much like Lucas at times like this, it made Aidan’s heart hurt a little. “You don’t have a permanent sub. And this is my stepdaughter we’re talking about. I have to make sure. My wife is already going to have my head for this. She doesn’t exactly like you, Aidan.”

  “I’m supposed to make sure she doesn’t put out a hit on you,” Taggart added helpfully. “But what she doesn’t know is my brother, Sean, would shoot you for free. He’s got a thing for Abby. She’s kind of his type.” When he realized Jack was staring at him, he put a hand up as though trying to show he was harmless. “I didn’t let him or anything. And Abby merely curses O’Malley’s name. From what I can tell she hasn’t actually tried to hire someone to murder him.”

  “That’s good to know,” Jack said with a frown.

  Aidan leaned Jack’s way, trying to get this conversation back on track. “I understand, sir.” Abigail Barnes was a bridge he would have to cross when he got to her. If she didn’t shoot him first. “I promise you that I will do whatever it takes to win Lexi’s mom over.”

  At one point, she’d been an ally. Abby Barnes had been thrilled when he’d asked Lexi to marry him. She and Lexi had planned that wedding, their heads together as they looked at the bridal books. He’d been on a plane to South Carolina the day he was supposed to get married. His honeymoon had been spent at Fort Jackson getting his ass handed to him when he should have been in Hawaii with Lexi and Lucas. He should have married Lexi and worked Lucas into his life, but he’d been too scared.

  His mind didn’t even cringe now at the thought of Lucas. At the time, he’d been so bound by convention that the night he’d spent with the two of them had seemed like a direct line to perdition. Now he’d seen hell, and damn it, he wanted heaven.

  Jack Barnes looked like he had known a bit of both, too. “Just watch your balls, son. I’m afraid my wife won’t hesitate to cut them off and she won’t need to hire someone to do it.”

  Julian smiled, a bright, open smile Aidan wasn’t used to seeing on the Dom’s face. “She took Samuel’s, after all.”

  Jack shook his head. “You were easier to deal with when you didn’t have a sense of humor.”

  “Well, Jackson, you are being a bit gloom and doom about this whole thing. I, for one, am glad Alexis gave me the perfect opportunity to fix her. She and Lucas have been in limbo for far too long. Now she can face Aidan and move on—with him or without him. It’s up to Aidan, but I’m doing it for Alexis and Lucas. Never forget that.” Julian tur
ned to Aidan, and his previous happy expression was suddenly dark and dangerous. It reminded Aidan of his reputation as a man who didn’t mind doing the dirty work. “If you hurt them again, I assure you, no one will find the body. I personally don’t mind getting my hands dirty and Mr. Taggart hasn’t killed anyone lately.”

  “Not that you know about,” Taggart replied with a smile that showed a lot of teeth. It was probably how a shark smiled.

  “Exactly my point.” Julian nodded at his pit bull/security head. “If Aidan screws up no one will find his body.”

  He believed Julian. He’d learned a few things about Julian Lodge, and he didn’t want to fuck with the man. “I’m in this for the right reasons. And I have no intention of allowing either one of them to move on without me. We’re going to be together. I’m going to make this work.”

  Julian nodded and turned his attention back to his eggs. “See that you do, then. Lexi has an appointment with Leo this afternoon. If he clears her for play, you can begin tonight. The punishment is public, you understand?”

  And just like that, his cock got hard. Fuck, he would have to watch that. The thought of Lexi bound and waiting for his discipline was an image that tightened every muscle in his body. “And Lucas?”

  Julian studied him for a moment. “Lucas isn’t being punished.”

  “You don’t want Lucas involved?” Now Jack’s green eyes pinned him as well. “I thought you had pushed past your problems with bisexuality.”

  Taggart frowned. “I thought he was into the lawyer dude, too. They’re kind of a matched pair. It won’t work if he breaks them up. I should know. I’ve got two of my own who can’t figure out how to fuck a girl without the other one in the room.”

  “Whoa. You misunderstand me. I wanted to make sure Lucas is okay with all of this.” He felt like someone was shining a bright light in his face and interrogating him.

  “Lucas signed off,” Leo assured him before turning back to Jack. “Trust me, we’ve worked through this in session. He’s good to go.”

  Leo’s sessions usually involved getting him to talk while they worked out. Aidan had found himself pouring his heart out to the man before realizing it was a “session.” He’d rapidly realized that Leo was an odd psychotherapist, but an effective one. “I’m comfortable with it, Jack. More than comfortable.”

  “He is.” Leo smirked. “He’s all about the butt sex now.”

  And he was a sarcastic one. He didn’t miss the quick fist bump Taggart gave Leo. Aidan turned to stare at him in what he hoped was an intimidating fashion. Julian and Jack were already there.

  Leo simply shrugged and grinned. “Hey, it’s totally masculine. It’s cowboy butt sex.”

  Julian snorted, but Jack merely rolled his eyes. “Didn’t you fire that asshole?”

  Julian sighed and sat back. “More than once.” Julian went back to being the jovial host. “Excellent. If you’re ready, then we can proceed. You may punish Alexis after I get through with my naughty subs. Oh, and add some extra licks for her language last night. Is there a reason all the women in my life are concerned with sticks being up my ass?”

  Jack broke into a long laugh. “I can think of a couple, old friend.”

  “I suppose you can, Jackson.” Julian looked at Jack. “It’s going to be okay. Have I ever let you down?”

  Jack sobered quickly. “No. Not once. It’s not you I’m worried about.”

  The big cowboy finally picked up his fork, and Julian began talking about innocuous things. Aidan sat back and promised himself he was done with letting the people he loved down. He’d lost Lexi and Lucas. He’d lost his music career. He’d damn near lost his life. He stared down at his left hand. It didn’t work the way it used to. He couldn’t handle a guitar anymore, but he could wield a paddle and a whip. He could work his ranch and bring in money. He could give Lucas and Lexi what they needed.

  It was time to take his life back.

  * * * *

  Lexi relaxed back in the comfy chair Leo kept in his office. Despite being The Club’s resident leather-clad Dom, his office was an oasis of Zen. He kept bamboo plants around the space, and it was painted in soothing, muted colors. There was a fountain on the wall that made the whole thing look like a waterfall. Everything about the office said calm, cool, sane.

  Yep, Leo was a shrink.

  And she had to convince him she wasn’t crazy.

  “I’m not crazy, you know,” she said, hating the silence.

  Leo, on the other hand, seemed perfectly willing to let it go on forever. She felt stupid the moment the words left her mouth. Yeah, that was the way to work it. He’d never heard those words before.

  “I know.” Leo sat back in the chair across from her, negligently planting one leg over the other. He was dressed casually, and his hair was still wet as though he’d recently come from a shower. He was ridiculously handsome, with long dark hair that reached his shoulders and piercing blue eyes. He had a military bearing that no amount of letting his hair grow out could cover. He reminded her of…nope, she wasn’t going to go there.

  “Then why am I stuck in Shrinkville?” Sarcasm was a familiar hideaway.

  “I prefer to think of this as two friends talking a few things out.”

  Yeah, she wasn’t buying that. “Two friends, where one has the power to shut the other one out of a place that’s incredibly important to her. I don’t think there’s a balance of power here.”

  He pinned her with what she was coming to think of as his shrink gaze. It was slightly different from his Dom gaze. The shrink gaze made her feel dumb. The Dom gaze made her feel like a dummy who was about to get her ass whipped. “Is it? Is The Club important to you? Or is it just Lucas?”

  Wasn’t that a question she’d asked herself a lot in the beginning? She’d been curious but unsure of what she wanted. Aidan walking out on her had made her question a lot of things. “When I started coming here, I came because Lucas loved it.”

  “Was that the only reason?”

  Honesty. It was all he would accept, and she’d known Leo for too long to expect to be able to lie to him. He was known as a human lie detector. Nothing got past those blue eyes. “No. I was curious, but I wasn’t in love with the idea. Lucas and I met at my stepfather’s ranch. We quickly became friends, best friends. I relied on Lucas like I’ve never relied on anyone else. After we became closer, I wanted to be in every part of his life. He loved this place, so I decided I should give it a try. I came because I needed him, and I was worried if I didn’t come with him, he would meet someone.”

  Leo nodded as though pleased with her answer. “I can see where that would worry you. Do you feel more secure in the way Lucas feels about you now?”

  She felt a smile cross her face. Lucas was her anchor. “I feel secure with Lucas.”

  Those eyes of his widened expectantly. “But?”

  There was always that nasty “but.” “But I have to wonder if I’m what Lucas needs.”

  “In what way?”

  Oh, so many ways. How did she even start to count them? Lucas was a professional. He was an up-and-coming lawyer. She worked in a gallery because she couldn’t make herself do what she truly wanted to do. She settled on the obvious. “Lucas is a switch. I can’t top him. I don’t even want to, Leo.”

  “Of course you don’t. You’re a sub, sweetheart. At least you are when it comes to sex.” He leaned forward. “Would it help at all to know that I fully believe Lucas would bury those needs in order to be with you?”

  Lucas had already given up too much for her. “No. I don’t want Lucas to compromise himself for me.”

  Leo laughed, a warm sound. “I sometimes forget how young you are, then you say something like that and I’m reminded. Much of life is about compromise, but that word is anathema to the young folks.”

  “I’m not exactly a baby. I’m twenty-five and, quite frankly, I’ve been through enough stinking trauma in my life that I’m practically a walking tabloid. First, I get my poor mom kicke
d out of town by simply being conceived. I had to watch her scrimp and fight for everything she gave me. When we finally find a comfortable place, my stepdad gets cancer, and I have to watch her lose him. Then she finds a crazy threesome, and my new stepdad gets shot by my grandma, who has a heart attack and dies on the spot. My fiancé leaves me, but only after telling me I’m a freak and then I lose—well, I lose my damn mind.” God, she’d almost said it. She couldn’t say it. Her heart pounded as she shoved the memory aside. She forced herself to continue. “It didn’t help that last year some asswipe kidnapped me to get to Lucas. For once I would love to be kidnapped and nearly killed on my own merits. I can be a bitch, you know. I get fired all the time.”

  He laughed out loud. “I know the feeling. You’ve been through a lot. I get that. What I want to know is how playing with Lucas helps you deal with that.”

  This whole conversation was starting to irritate her. She’d thought this would be the easy portion of her penance. Taking a few licks from the mysterious Master A was starting to look like a breeze compared to dealing with Leo. “Shouldn’t you be the one telling me that? Isn’t this like your specialty?”

  “I would rather hear it from you.”

  “Fine.” She groped for words. How did she say this without sounding like a lunatic? “Look, when I’m here, I don’t have to think. I don’t have to worry. I don’t even have to be me if I don’t want to. That came out wrong. I don’t have to be the me I have to be all day.”

  “I understand that. Your mask can come off. We all feel like that. Contrary to popular belief, I think being able to feel safe enough to be the person we enjoy being is the number one reason people get involved with the lifestyle, but I think it’s more than simple pleasure for you. I’ve watched your sessions with Lucas.”

  Damn him. “Lucas can be intense.”

  “Lucas isn’t the intense one. You push him. There have been times you’ve pushed him to the point that I was ready to stop the scene. Have you ever used your safe word?”