Beyond Control

chapter Fifteen



Someone was at her door.

Lex heard the latch and saw the door swing open, reflected in the large mirror backing her vanity. It had to be Dallas, a fleeting thought confirmed when he stepped across the threshold, dressed in jeans and a simple dark T-shirt.

Just as presumptuous as before, and she made him wait until she finished sweeping blush across her cheeks before speaking ruefully. "Come on in, O'Kane."

He leaned against the wall behind her and met her eyes in the mirror. "Not gonna throw something at my head and tell me to knock?"

"Have I ever?" She spun around on her stool. "Wait--don't answer that."

"Mmm, best not to." He studied her face for a silent moment as his smile settled into a more serious expression. "I need you to pull off one of your miracles this weekend."

That sounded ominous as hell. "It doesn't involve a trip to another sector, does it?"

"No. But it involves bringing people from another sector here."

It could only be one thing. "A party for the prospects from Three?"

"Yep." Dallas pushed away from the wall and strolled toward her with all the lazy arrogance of a man secure in his welcome. "We'll invite others. Allies and friends of the gang, a few fighters from all over. But they already know what we're about. The guys from Three are the ones who need the right first impression."

The ones who could round out Dallas's power base in their home sector. He could take over in Three and lead with fear alone, but if they could be trusted and useful, bringing some of Trent's former men into the fold would be smarter. "No problem," Lex agreed.

He traced one fingertip along her jaw before sinking his hand into her hair. "I want to close down the club for the night and hold it in the Broken Circle. Dancers, but not any of our girls. Everyone needs to be shined up pretty, but I want you to double-check the lieutenants and their women. And no sweet white lace for Noelle. The two of you will be front and center, and I want you both as fierce as you get."

"Dallas," she chided softly. "I know how recruitment works."

"I know. But this is a whole new playing field." His fingers curled around the back of her neck, commanding and possessive. "For all of us."

Lex shivered. "I'll get it done."

"Tomorrow." A word that allowed no argument, and he didn't give her a chance to make one. "You got plans tonight?"

"Asks the man who just barged into my bedroom," she whispered. "Would it matter if I did?"

"Maybe." His grin returned, edged in wicked promise this time. "But mine are better."

"Yeah? Why don't you tell me about them?"

He reached into his pocket and dragged out a two-foot length of black silk. "Were you telling the truth about your fantasy?"

Her mouth went dry as the implications of the silk hit her. "I wouldn't make something like that up."

"The blindfold is for me," he admitted, watching her with dangerous intent. "But the hands and the mouths and all that comes after... That'll be for you, if you trust me and take it."

If you trust me. There was no going back. If she denied him now, they'd lose the careful, fragile balance they'd fought so hard to find. And if she said yes...

Could she say yes?

Lex swallowed hard, held his gaze in the mirror, and nodded. "You won't let anything happen that I don't want."

He smiled and settled the silk over her eyes, dropping her world into darkness. His breath danced over her ear as he tied it, and his words...

Wicked words. Evil words. "Jasper and Noelle know all about what you want. They're waiting for you already, and you're right. She's so hungry to touch you. So are Ace and Mad. But they still know you're mine."

"Six of us?" she asked, her voice hitching over the question.

"Two of us." The knot pulled tight, and he dragged her head back. "Don't ever forget it, Lex. I don't care how many people are piled on a bed, in the end it's still about me giving you what you want and getting off on getting you off."

No, it would always come down to just them. Everyone else, no matter how cherished a companion, was secondary. No one else could compete because no one else was Dallas.

No one else was her.

Lex relaxed against him. "They can touch me," she murmured, "but they can't have me. Only you."

"Damn straight," he said, then hauled her out of her chair and into the air.

The world spun around her, all the more dizzying from behind the blindfold. She landed across his shoulder a heartbeat later, pinned by a strong, unforgiving hand dead center on her ass.

Lex dug her nails into the small of his back through his shirt. She could only track their progress through the disorienting dip of his steps and the sway of his turns. It seemed to take an eternity, but finally he paused, and she heard his boot thump against a door.

The next thing she heard was Noelle's familiar laughter, low and sultry. Dallas strode forward, and footsteps whispered past her to the right before the door clicked shut.

Were they all there already, watching? Waiting? Lex tried to slow her breathing, but the anticipation that prickled along her skin had kicked everything else into high gear, too.

He stopped after half a dozen paces--too few to be near his bed--and let her body slide along his as he lowered her to the floor. "Kitten, I know how you love to undress Lex. How about you crawl on over here and get started?"

Hands. A touch she would have recognized, even without Dallas's pet name, tugging at the belt on her robe. The satin slithered to the floor, and Noelle traced her fingers up Lex's sides. "You're so beautiful."

Lex opened her mouth, but the hot sensation of lips grazing her hipbone turned her words to a gasp. Not Noelle, not with the rough rasp of beard that chafed as the mouth moved, opened, followed by the wet heat of a tongue soothing her skin.

"Jasper thinks so, too." Noelle's fingertip brushed the edge of Lex's bra and followed the line of lace until she reached the bow nestled between her breasts. "I'm mad at him now. I wanted to taste you first."

If Dallas's goal was to fulfill her fantasy, they'd all get their chance. "Plenty of other things you could do," Lex said, catching Noelle's hand. "But you'd better hurry before the others beat you to it. There are others, right?"

"There's--"

A strong hand curled around the back of her neck, its touch so possessive and sure it had to be Dallas. "Don't answer that," he drawled, pressing his thumb over her pulse for a moment before sliding it under her chin to force her head back. "Are you doubting my word, Lexie?"

"Yes." The word escaped her before she could think to lie.

"You think I only invited Noelle and Jas, because they're safe."

"Aren't they?"

No answer, just that firm hand curved around her throat--and another hand, a different one, grazing the small of her back. Long, graceful fingers instead of blunt and rough like Dallas's, clever fingers that twisted the catch on her bra free in one deft move. And those were different still from the strong, work-hardened hands sliding up her leg toward her panties.

Noelle's fingers were the softest, and they stroked her cheek. "We're all safe," she whispered as the two new pairs of hands set to stripping her bare. "He knows what's his."

Lex's knees went weak. "Do you know, Dallas?"

"Every f*cking thing I see," he replied, close enough for his breath to stir the hair at her temple. "But you most of all. You above everyone."

Her bra fell away, and Jasper--it had to be Jasper, with that same scratch of beard she'd felt on her hip--licked her nipple. Once, twice, then he drew it into his mouth and sucked hard.

Lex whimpered and tried to lift her hands, but someone caught them. She didn't know who held her arms out to the side, but it was Noelle who buckled the cuffs around each wrist, and Dallas who stripped her collar from her throat only to replace it with something heavier. Leather closed around her throat, a collar that latched in the back with a long, narrow strip that settled over her spine like a promise.

Cool metal tickled, D-rings that brushed her skin as someone folded her arms at the small of her back. Noelle claimed her other nipple as the cuffs snapped into place, leaving her unable to move.

Helpless.

Her panties slid down her legs, and she lifted each foot automatically to allow the fabric to be stripped away. The air in the room felt heavy, heavy enough to press in on her as surely as all the hands.

"Like this." A low whisper, one she recognized as Jasper instructing Noelle. A moment later, their tongues tangled together around one of her nipples in a wet, open kiss--with her between them.

The low buzz of anticipation turned to a very real buzz of pleasure in her ears, and Lex exhaled slowly. "F*ck."

Wood scraped the floor behind her, something weighty being shifted into place. Fingers twisted in her hair, and Dallas's voice skittered over her. "Spread her legs."

A masculine pair of hands obeyed, dragging her legs apart. Sure, strong, but with enough deference to identify it as Mad who buckled her into a pair of ankle cuffs. Someone caught her shoulders, someone else gripped her waist, every touch designed to tease as they urged her back and down until her thighs touched padded leather.

Plenty of surfaces in Dallas's room fit that description, but when Mad's hands returned to coax her legs apart, she knew what she was sitting on. The custom-built chair Dallas usually kept in the corner, the one designed to hold its occupant captive, exposed, legs wide open.

Jasper's ever-present leather wrist cuff brushed her collarbone as he guided her to lie on the reclined chair, midway between sitting straight up and lying flat on her back. In moments she was trapped, ankles locked to the base of the chair, her arms folded behind her.

And all of the touch stopped.

Lex clenched her teeth. Dallas wanted her to break--to squirm, even beg, What startled her was how much she wanted to, to hear the catch in his breathing when she finally gave in.

She bit her lip and arched on the chair. "Please."

Someone pulled off her blindfold, and at first all she could see was Dallas.

He sprawled a few feet away, his arms resting along the back of the couch and his legs stretched out in front of him. He'd lost the black T-shirt at some point, leaving him in dark jeans, a heavy belt and not a goddamn thing else except his ink and his arrogance.

And his smile... God, his smile. Slow and lazy, but the edge beneath it matched the one in his eyes, matched the leashed tension that made all his attempts at laziness a lie. Already he was digging his fingers into the leather of the couch, as if he needed a reminder to keep from lunging for her.

Or lunging at the people who surrounded her. Four of them, with Noelle already kneeling between Lex's thighs, Jasper looming behind her, and Mad and Ace standing to either side. No one moved to touch her, not yet, and she knew they were waiting on Dallas's command.

It came soon enough, low, hoarse words that started a dangerous game. "Jas. Get her ready for her new adornments."

"Yeah?" He rubbed his thumb over the corner of Ace's mouth, then slipped it between his lips. Ace licked it, swirling his tongue around and around until it was wet and gleaming.

Lex sucked in a breath as Jasper dropped his hand to her breast and flicked his wet thumb across her nipple. It tightened, tingling under his touch.

But he shook his head. "Not enough, sweetheart." He cupped her breast, spread his fingers wide and then closed them, pinching her nipple to the point of pain.

She didn't moan, but Noelle did. And then slender, soft fingers closed on Lex's other nipple, Noelle mirroring Jasper with breathless glee. She tugged gently--too gently until Mad's hand slid over hers, pressing her fingers together hard enough to drag a cry from Lex.

Jasper rumbled his approval. "Ace, get the rings."

He melted away, and Dallas caught Lex's gaze, holding it through intensity alone. "Not just for your nipples, love. Not this time. I bet Jasper's trying to decide whether he's going to shove Noelle's face between your thighs or just suck your * himself. Someone's got to get it nice and hard."

But Jasper didn't do either. He bent close to Lex and licked her cheek before whispering in her ear. "Your man doesn't have enough faith in my creativity."

Lex shuddered as he straightened. "You--"

The words dissolved into a groan as Jasper landed a sharp slap on her p-ssy. Lex shifted on the chair, the warm haze of pleasure already solidifying into a throb of need as she lifted her hips and waited for him to do it again.

He grabbed Noelle's hair and pulled instead. "Spread her open and spank her *, just like I did. And get your ass in the air so Dallas can watch how wet it makes you."

Noelle's hands trembled as she petted Lex. Slow, soothing strokes at first, then deeper. As exposed as Lex had been before, this was a hundred times more intense. Noelle's ass might have been on display, but Dallas's burning gaze fixed on her fingers as they parted Lex's p-ssy lips.

As they opened her.

He inhaled sharply, his fingers carving dents into the couch as Noelle's fingers fell in a gentle slap.

Jasper twisted his hand, pulling Noelle's hair so hard it had to hurt. "What did I say?"

She panted, her neck craned awkwardly back but her expression blissful. "I tried, I promise. Show me how, and I'll be good. I'll be so good."

Dallas laughed low enough to send shivers through Lex. "No one believes you, kitten. You're always bad. And you've got two seconds to work that * like you mean it, or I'll make sure no one punishes you tonight."

Noelle groaned, licked her fingers, and brought them down on Lex's p-ssy with a smack. The sensation buzzed through Lex, a pain so hot and sweet it left her heavy, aching.

Jasper moved, one shoulder brushing the inside of Lex's thigh as he knelt beside Noelle. "Touch her like you would if it were just the two of you," he commanded. "Let Mad and Ace see how you make her come when you're not putting on a show."

That made Noelle laugh as she nuzzled Lex's belly, her lips a warm tickle. "The only difference is how fast I make her come. Or how slow..."

"Is that true, Lex?" Mad's familiar face filled her vision, mischief in his dark eyes and his hair as rakishly disheveled as ever. He'd lost his shirt, too, revealing sinuous tattoos that started just below his collarbone on either side of his body and wrapped down his arms, arms that flexed as he tugged at her hair and grinned. "Did you teach her your trick? It's never about who's watching, is it?"

No, the shows were about the truth at the heart of desire. Fake was exactly that, and no amount of acting could make it real. But if you started with something honest--attraction, affection, lust--then all you had to do was dress it up in naughty little costumes and let them watch you get off.

The men and women watching might not know why it worked so well, but they sure as hell knew it did.

Two wet fingers--one delicate, one wide and blunt--circled her *, and Lex shuddered as the haze surged over her. "It is now," she whispered. "Dallas is watching."

"Yeah, he is." Mad traced a path down her throat and around one nipple, teasing it with touches just as soft as the ones between her thighs. "You can feel it, can't you? F*ck, I can feel it. If I make one wrong move, he'll be over here, breaking my fingers off one at a time."

"So make the right ones." Lex could feel it, the weight of Dallas's fierce stare, as she leaned up as far as she could reach and bit Mad's shoulder.

It drove a rasping curse from him as his fingers tightened in her hair, but Ace returned before she could savor her triumph. "I love these nipple rings," he said, dangling one in front of her. The delicate silver circle was decorated with stylized flames and the outline of a fierce-looking skull that almost matched the one inked on their wrists. He winked at her before addressing Dallas. "Tell me I get to be the one to put them on, boss."

Mad didn't loosen his grip on her hair, but Lex didn't need to see Dallas to imagine the look on his face, not when his voice carried such heat and promise. "Well, Lexie? Do you want Ace's mouth on your tits? That's how he wants to do it, you know. Nestle that ring around the tip of your nipple and suck until it's all snug and tight."

She tried to answer, but the sudden, wet rasp of a tongue over the hood of her * stole her breath. The constant stimulation coupled with the distraction had her spinning, struggling to keep up with her body's reactions.

The chains around her wrists rattled as she arched, seeking the promise of Dallas's words. "I want it." An answer to the question, and a declaration of so much more.

Cool silver nestled around the tip of one nipple and then the other with barely enough pressure to tingle. Her only warning was Mad's hand releasing her hair before two mouths latched on to her.

No, four. Noelle and Jasper licking her p-ssy, Mad and Ace sucking her nipples to aching, caged points. Panting, Lex lifted her head far enough to see Dallas.

He smiled and pressed one hand against his fly, where his cock strained his jeans. "They can lick you, darling. They can stroke you and suck you and pet you, but they can't have you. The only question now is how many times I'm gonna watch you come before I get my cock in you."

Lex didn't know what would be worse--if he made her wait through orgasm after orgasm, or if he jumped in before the others had wrung every ounce of pleasure from her limp body.

She swallowed hard, every nerve ending alive, electric. "You want me over the edge before you f*ck me. You know you do."

"Yeah. Doesn't make you any less greedy, but I like you that way." He slid his thumb over his belt, like he was considering unbuckling it, then stretched his arm out along the back of the couch again. "Jas? Show Noelle how to put on Lex's last bit of jewelry."

His answering rumble vibrated through Lex as he licked her one last time and sucked on her *. Not hard enough to get her off, but enough to make her muscles ache as she chased his retreating mouth with a buck of her hips. "F*ck, Jasper, don't stop."

He ignored her entreaty in favor of pinching the slick inner lips of her p-ssy. "Just...like this," he whispered, guiding Noelle's hesitant fingers.

A different sort of pinch sent a shudder ripping through Lex. Cool metal on hot flesh, the unyielding bite of the jewelry holding her * exposed and hard.

As if it wasn't intense enough, Ace slipped one hand down her body to tug gently on her new adornment. "Poor Lex. All dolled up, and no chance to come."

An honest-to-Christ whimper escaped her, and she bit her tongue.

"Lex." Dallas's voice, rough and commanding. "Look at me, Lex."

Her body moved, an instantaneous obedience that required no thought. No will but his.

He was leaning forward, almost straining toward her, his eyes glazed and heavy. Hungry. "Every touch is because of me. Their hands, their mouths. My gift to you. Let me see how much you love it, Lexie. Let me see you let go."

Ace bent his head to her breasts again, and Noelle teased Lex with another slow, leisurely lick. A rush of pleasure tilted her head back, but Mad clenched his hand in her hair and forced her gaze back to Dallas.

Pure lust burned in his eyes, a need that matched her own. His words were truth--others were touching her, bringing her pleasure, but every bit of it ultimately came from Dallas.

Everything.

Mad sucked a tiny line of kisses up the side of her neck, then closed his teeth in a sharp bite that shocked her into a shudder that didn't stop. It couldn't, not with every inch of her body on high alert and vibrating with the promise of a painfully intense orgasm.

Dallas inclined his head as if nodding permission, but his echoed words were nothing short of command. "Let go."

It wasn't until Jasper pushed her hips down that Lex realized she'd arched off the chair. Her muscles shook, everything throbbed--and then it all snapped in a screaming rush of relief and release. The almost electric shock of it sizzled through her in jagged, clutching waves, carried and prolonged by tongues, whispers. Groans.

"That's right," a feminine voice finally murmured against her cheek. Soft fingers stroked Lex's face as she trembled through the aftermath of pleasure. Bliss, warmth--and smooth skin sliding over hers. When she opened her eyes Noelle was there, straddling her lap and tracing Lex's lower lip with her thumb. "That was so hot."

Lex could barely breathe. "Christ. Dallas doesn't f*ck around."

"No, he doesn't." Noelle glanced over her shoulder, and Lex caught a hint of the teasing smile the younger woman flashed at him. "I wonder if we can get him off the couch if we play a little..."

Ace laughed from where he'd sprawled out on a cushion next to the chair. "Princess, no one's going to interrupt if you start giving Lex a lap dance. Except Jas, maybe, because he's a joy killer."

Jasper responded with a lazy stretch. "You know you want a piece of me, you jealous a*shole."

"Of course he does," Noelle said blithely. Her eyes lit with hungry excitement as she brushed her thumb over Lex's nipple, pinching it against the silver ring nestled around it. "Do you, Lex? Do you want Jas and Dallas to f*ck you at the same time?"

So much anticipation in those breathless words, but Lex didn't get a chance to respond. A low growl rumbled over them from the direction of the couch, and leather creaked. "Jas knows better than to get his dick anywhere near Lex."

"Someday, honey," she promised instead, the whisper as much for Dallas as it was for Noelle.

Laughing, Noelle ducked her head. Her tongue circled Lex's nipple, tracing the ring before flicking over the tight peak.

Lex shivered. If she'd had her hands free, she'd have cradled Noelle's head, though whether she would have pulled her closer or pushed her away, she didn't know. "I need a damn cigarette."

"Cigarettes are for afterwards," Dallas drawled. A tiny smile played at the corner of his mouth. "And if you've still got brains enough to string words together, then we're just getting started. Ace?"

"Yeah, boss?"

Dallas crooked a finger, and Ace rolled to his feet and padded toward the couch. The whispers they exchanged were low, too low for Lex to hear.

A renewed surge of heat distracted her as Mad dragged Noelle's head over to her other nipple and urged her to suck harder. She obeyed eagerly, and Mad laughed hoarsely when Lex cursed through clenched teeth. "God, girl. You were wasted in Eden. So much hunger. No wonder Lex snatched you up."

Noelle's lips curved into a smile against her breast, and a heartbeat later soft fingers stroked down her belly. "Dallas wants her to come," Noelle replied innocently. "I'm just being obedient."

But Lex recognized the look on Dallas's face, calculating and already smug. "Oh, he has plans for you, baby girl."

His grin widened. "Back off, Mad. I want Noelle to show us just how obedient she is. How long should we give her--two minutes? One?" Dallas's stare burned through Lex. "What do you say, Jas? How fast can your girl get Lex off?"

"Lex is revved up." Jasper surveyed her, his lazy appraisal raising goose bumps on her skin. "One minute, tops. Faster if you let Noelle use her fingers."

"No fingers," Dallas countered. "You feeling confident, kitten?"

Noelle hovered over Lex, their mouths barely an inch apart. "Do you want my fingers?" she whispered. "Do you want something inside you as badly as I do?"

"You know it," Lex answered, just as quietly. "Like I know you're hoping Dallas spanks your ass."

"As long as we're all getting what we want." She grinned before kissing Lex soundly. Her next kiss landed on Lex's chin, then her throat. She skated over the leather collar and worked her way down, leaving Lex with an unobstructed view of Dallas.

He was watching her. Not them--her, as if the woman sliding to her knees had ceased to exist. Dallas had never held himself back from admiring Noelle before, but there was something different in him tonight. He was holding himself back from everything, saving every scrap of intensity and every bit of focus for her.

His cock still strained his jeans, but he didn't touch it this time. Just held her gaze as Noelle made herself comfortable between Lex's thighs, then spoke a single word. "Go."

Noelle went. Slick. Wet. Hot and clever. Lex had taught her all the ways to tease arousal to life, and Noelle used them all, alternating firm licks with light flicks of her tongue, and making evil use of the fact that Lex's * was still pinched and exposed. In seconds, Lex was lifting her hips, rocking up to meet every clever, delicious caress.

But Dallas shook his head, and she saw the command in his eyes. Don't come.

"Oh, f*ck you," she moaned, stilling her movements. "You can't be serious."

He didn't get a chance to answer. Either Noelle guessed his game, or she'd simply had enough of behaving. Her lips closed around Lex's * as her fingers slipped inside. Two and then three, pumping fast and sure enough to drive Lex over the edge.

And yet.

Lex clenched her hands into fists that dug into her lower back, distracting her from the pleasure. She wanted to ignore his imperious, unspoken demand, but her body wouldn't let her. Any other time, she'd have been coming in Noelle's mouth already.

But here, now, all she could do was think, Dallas told me not to. In that moment she hated herself, hated him.

Shaking, she opened her eyes. Dallas hissed out a sharp breath, and then he was there. He looped one arm around Noelle and hauled her out of the way, ignoring her startled noise.

Lex barely had time to draw in a breath before it was Dallas's hand between her thighs, Dallas's fingers pumping a fast, demanding rhythm. His other hand sank into her hair, dragging her head back until she stared up into his eyes. "It's okay, Lexie. Let go now."

He was beautiful, gorgeous--hers. "You suck," she managed, her voice hoarse from strain.

He smiled, feral and smug and somehow still fond. "I know."

Then he crooked his fingers inside her, rubbing over her G-spot, and a second orgasm crashed through her. No slow buildup, not this time. It was quick and hard, from start to finish, like getting thrown against the door of a car that was spinning out of control.

By the time the thundering waves began to recede, she was dizzy. Her jaw ached from clenching it, and she wanted to wrap her arms around Dallas and hold on tight. Instead he wrapped his arms around her, and someone must have unclipped her ankle cuffs from the chair, because he plucked her up and brought her back to the couch with him.

He settled down with her tucked sideways across his lap and her head resting under his chin. "Jas, do something about your little troublemaker."

"You knew what you were getting when you invited us," Jasper replied, idly stroking Noelle's hair. Suddenly, his hand followed the line of her back and landed on her ass in a quick, hard slap.

Noelle moaned, then turned to face Lex with a breathless laugh. "See? Everybody wins."

"Everybody," Lex agreed weakly. Her limbs felt heavy, her arms still trapped behind her back and her legs shaking.

Laughter tickled over Lex as Dallas's chest rumbled under her. He stroked her hair, trailing his fingers through the disheveled strands as if combing them into place. "I'm not finished with you, kitten. You're full of wicked ideas tonight. Putting your fingers where they don't belong, trying to get Jas to f*ck Lex with me. Like the idea, do you?"

Noelle flushed and squirmed self-consciously, but she didn't lie. "It sounds intense."

"Mmm." Dallas's next stroke smoothed past the end of Lex's hair, sliding down until his fingertips traced the curve of her breast. "Has Jas ever f*cked your ass, kitten?"

The pink in Noelle's cheeks deepened to red. "No."

Dallas laughed. "She has no idea, does she, Lexie?"

"Not yet." But she could, so easily.

"You'd like to watch that, wouldn't you?" Dallas caught Lex's chin and tilted her head back, forcing her to meet his gaze. "No," he amended after a moment. "You wouldn't want to just watch. You'd want to be the one preparing her, working her open, seeing how big you could make those eyes get."

Noelle's eyes still went wide when Lex could manage to shock her--big and blue, darkening all too soon with pleasure and newfound lust. "I'd help," she said. "If Noelle wanted me to be a part of it."

One brow jumped up, as if Dallas couldn't imagine that being a consideration. "Why wouldn't she?"

Noelle choked on a laugh, but her expression was more eager than amused. "Jas never seems to mind, does he?"

Lex licked her lips. "Only if I don't do it right."

Dallas curled a hand under one of her thighs and dragged it wide, twisting her in his lap until she sat with her back snug against his chest and her legs spread open, held apart by his knees. Her hands still nestled behind her, her fingers brushing his rock-hard erection.

"Tonight, you watch," he told her, cupping her breasts. The rings on her nipples weren't tight enough to hurt, but they were still sensitive, and the flick of his thumbs left her squirming. "If you can focus."

She flexed her hands and snagged his zipper with her fingertip. It would serve him right if she managed to get her hand around his dick and jerk him off. See how well he could focus then.

He stiffened, but he didn't stop her questing fingers. Now that she was facing forward again, she could see why Ace and Mad had fallen silent--and why Noelle seemed so flustered. Ace was sprawled out next to Jasper and Noelle, his head tilted back as Mad stroked a lazy hand over his cock. Noelle watched, wide-eyed, her lower lip caught between her teeth.

Jasper chuckled and spoke, close to her ear. "Want to help, sweetheart? Turn the tables on Ace and get your sweet little tongue on him?"

Oh, she wanted to. Belonging to Jasper had made her so bold. She rolled from his lap and crawled across the intervening space, turning what should have been a submissive movement into a fierce predator's stalk.

Lex had seen that promise in her long before anyone else had.

Mad greeted Noelle with a smile and gripped the base of Ace's shaft, holding his cock steady as Noelle flicked her tongue over the head. Ace groaned, his muscles standing out as he tensed, and Dallas chuckled. "Look at what you created, Lexie."

Lex curled her fingers around his erection through his pants. "I didn't create anything. I just set it free."

"Like you're trying to do with my cock?"

Who could blame her? She'd been teased and stroked to the brink and beyond--but he still hadn't given her what she really craved. "You know what I want."

"You don't want it yet." He licked his fingers before sliding them back to her nipple. Wet. Rough. He circled and tugged, building sensation slowly this time, as if he knew exactly what she could take and what was too much. "I'm gonna make you come. I'm gonna feel your ass squirming against my dick, and maybe I'll watch Jas f*ck Noelle into next week while I'm at it. I'm gonna hold on to my self-control as long as I f*cking can. And when I can't..."

She held her breath until her lungs burned, but he didn't elaborate. "When you can't? What happens then?"

His mouth brushed the sensitive spot where her neck joined her shoulder. Teeth grazed her skin. "Then Lord have mercy on you, Lexie love. Because I won't."

No, he wouldn't, because now she understood. He may have set out to fulfill this fantasy for her, but there was something he needed from it, too. Something beyond the bondage and the games, beyond the orgasms. Even beyond Jasper absently rubbing his thumb over the inside of Lex's ankle as Noelle and Mad traced their tongues up and down the glistening length of Ace's dick.

Dallas was testing himself.

Lex flexed her leg in Jasper's grip and opened her thighs wider.

Dallas laughed. "Legs up," he instructed, lifting her high enough for her to obey. She wound up kneeling, her knees pressing into the cushions as his legs urged hers wide.

As Dallas slid his hands up to her arms, Noelle raised her head and met Lex's gaze over the gleaming, wet head of Ace's cock. Ace protested wordlessly, tangling his fingers in loose strands of her dark hair, but Noelle ignored the insistent tugging and smiled. "Make her come, Jas. For me?"

Ace groaned. "You inked f*ckers are impossible. Can't even get through a blowjob without stopping to coo at each other. Where're your damn manners?"

Mad shut him up by swallowing half his dick, the strong column of his throat working. Lex held her breath until Ace flexed his hips with a groan, driving deeper into his mouth. "F*ck yeah, you clever bastard."

Clever. So was Dallas as he unfastened Lex's wrists only to guide them back toward her ankles. The metal clips on her cuffs hooked neatly onto the sturdy leather wrapped around her ankles, and suddenly she was trapped again, held not just open but motionless.

No leverage. No way to escape or even squirm as he curled hot, forceful hands around her inner thighs and scooted her forward, as if offering her to Jasper. "You heard your woman. But if you think you can get away with her trick with the fingers, I'll break your f*cking hand."

Jas turned his gaze up to Lex. "He's even bossier than usual when you're naked."

From his smug, easy smile, he knew exactly why. "Takes a possessive bastard to know one," she murmured.

"That's right." He smoothed both hands up the front of her body, plucking each silver ring off her nipples. Before she had a chance to recover from the stinging rush of sensation, he doubled it by dropping his fingers to the metal hugging her * and working it free, slowly and carefully. He tossed the metal aside and licked his lower lip.

Oh God. It was one thing to have Jasper lick her p-ssy, and another to have him do it with the hard heat of Dallas's body at her back. She could feel every movement, every intake of breath, and it twisted up inside her, forming a knot of anticipation.

Jasper eased his hands over Dallas's, then worked his thumb through her folds to nudge her *. "Nice and slow?"

It wasn't a question meant for her, and they all knew it. "Slow," Dallas agreed. "Don't push her over the edge until I tell you to."

Jasper had already bent his head, and his rumble of assent vibrated through her. Lex tensed and looked past him, over to where Noelle had completely abandoned Ace to Mad's deep-throating attentions. Noelle smiled at her as she knelt behind Jasper and stroked her hands up the flexing muscles of his back. "It feels good, doesn't it? His tongue? Sometimes it feels so good I think I'll die."

"It's not that good," Lex muttered, prompting Jasper to suck her *--hard. "F*ck!" Only Dallas's arms wrapped around her like unforgiving steel kept her from jerking straight off his lap as pleasure cut so sharp it teetered toward pain.

Noelle slipped her hand through Jasper's hair, cupping the back of his head. Urging him on. "He tied me up once and did this for hours. So slow, and I thought it was going to be sweet and gentle, but when I was panting and begging..." Her eyelids drooped, and Lex watched her nipples tighten beneath her frilly bra, as if the memory alone aroused her unbearably. "His fingers. God, Dallas, you've got to let him use his fingers."

Tension trembled in Dallas's arms, and Lex swore he growled. "I said no, girl."

Reckless--or just oblivious to the danger--Noelle gave Dallas a baffled look. "Why? What is there to be jealous about? Ace could put his fingers in me--"

"Anytime, princess," Ace broke in, voice coarse with mounting pleasure.

Noelle wrinkled her nose. "It doesn't mean he owns me. I already made that choice." Leaning against Jasper's back, she touched the heavy leather buckled around Lex's throat. Not her usual collar, but a symbol just the same. "So did Lex."

Jasper raised his arm and slipped his fingers into Noelle's hair. "Dallas is Dallas, sweetheart. Not me."

Noelle looked so earnest, and Dallas's rueful laughter shook through Lex. "Christ, now I'm getting sex advice from a city girl."

"Because I listened to you." Noelle turned her face into Jasper's hand, licking the inside of his wrist above his cuff with a delicate shiver. "Bodies are just bodies. They can feel so good, but they're not the part you should get jealous over."

Dallas cupped a hand under Lex's chin and tilted her head. "Do I have anything to be jealous about, love?"

It sounded lighthearted, almost like a joke, but it didn't look like one. He stared at her, darkly curious. Intense, as if her answer mattered beyond what Jas was allowed to do to her.

Lex exhaled shakily. No lies. No hiding, not when he'd opened himself to her with the question in the first place. "Never. If I could have anyone or anything, it'd be you."

Moving with painfully gentle precision, he stripped the leather from her throat and replaced it with his hand. Four strong fingers and his thumb riding the side of her neck. "Make her come, Jas. As hard as you f*cking can, whatever it takes."

Jasper moved, but only to put Noelle on her knees over the couch, right beside Lex's leg, her cheek pressed to the leather. He stripped off the pink panties she still wore and bit the curve of her ass with a growl, then dragged her arm back. "Give me your hand."

She stretched it out willingly, her thumb rubbing over Dallas's leg, and Jasper guided her fingers to Lex's p-ssy. "Just two," he instructed as he gripped Noelle's hips.

A soft touch. Noelle's fingers danced over her * before sliding lower. No disobedience this time, just the luscious slide of two fingers pushing deep.

Holy f*ck.

Lex jerked, pressing closer into Dallas's steely grip around her throat. The reminder of his dominance dragged a moan from her, but the sound was eclipsed by Noelle's grateful cry as Jasper drove into her.

"Jasper's getting creative," Dallas whispered against her cheek, the words warm and approving. "Or maybe he thinks you'll come faster if you're watching him ride Noelle. Will you?"

"I like to watch." It turned her on, being close enough to feel the other woman's skin heat as her arousal built, to feel the sharp exhalations of breath on her calf every time Jasper slammed home.

Jasper wound a hand in Noelle's hair, holding her still, then reached out to push her fingers deeper into Lex. "Make her come," he rasped. "Get her off and I'll f*ck you harder."

Noelle obeyed, stroking Lex with a determined rhythm that faltered when Jasper drove his cock into her and resumed with renewed effort when he pulled back. Dallas let Lex watch, but only for a moment before using his thumb to turn her head.

Ace met her gaze, his eyes full of sleepy, sated pleasure. Beside him, Mad stared at her intently, his dark eyes heavy with hunger and anticipation, a look that said it all. Ace might have been languishing in the warm aftermath of a hard orgasm, but Mad...

Mad would jump in. All Dallas had to do was say the word.

"How about being watched, love?" he asked instead, holding her chin tightly. "Do you like that?"

"I like--" The words cut off with a hissed curse as Jasper thrust two of his fingers into her along with Noelle's. It burned for a split second, but she was so wet, so ready that the pain faded almost instantly into bliss. She could feel every finger pressed tight against her inner walls, each individual movement as they moved and slicked over and against one another.

Dallas spoke his next words against her ear, low and dark. "Or would you like it more if you could get your lips around someone's cock?"

Debauchery. The kind of sex she'd told herself she'd have to give up to truly belong to Dallas--and here he was, offering it to her.

"I need it," she confessed in a rush. "I need to know." The words kept spilling out, and she was babbling, but she couldn't stop. It was all so much, too much, especially when Jasper growled and pushed at Noelle's fingers inside her, curving them to rub her G-spot with every rocking thrust.

Lex tensed, flexing her hands in the cuffs that still held her bound. Release was a heartbeat away, curling up in a dark wave that could crash at any moment. But it didn't matter, because this was what Dallas had wanted--her helpless, undeniable pleasure--and no way in hell would he let it stop now.

"Oh f*ck, yes." It started as a low cry but built to a scream as Lex shook through the first tremors of orgasm. Not the peak, not yet, but so, so good. "More. Christ, Dallas, please--"

"Come here."

A clear summons, and then Mad was there, looming above her, his usually playful exterior stripped away in a moment of naked intensity. His belt already hung open, and in seconds he had his pants jerked open and his cock in hand, his fist clenched around the shaft and the blunt head hovering just before her mouth.

"It's his lucky day," Dallas rasped as he smoothed his hand around her throat and up into her hair. He nudged her head forward, until her lips brushed the tip of Mad's dick. "Because when he's buried halfway down your throat, you'll know I gave you that. I'll give you anything you need."

Anything. Lex clenched around the fingers inside her as she sucked Mad into her mouth.

He was so hard it had to ache, the head of his erection already slick and hot, and he groaned his pleasure at the first touch of her tongue. As if the sound had electrified her, Noelle redoubled her efforts, sending another bolt of sensation shooting through Lex.

The couch dipped as Ace settled on the couch opposite of Jas and Noelle, leaving Lex surrounded. His clever artist's fingers stroked the curve of her breast as Dallas tightened his grip in her hair and pushed her head forward. "This is what you wanted all along, isn't it?" Ace asked softly. "Everyone tangled together. All getting off on each other, you getting off on all of them?"

They all belonged there, right alongside Lex. There wasn't a person in the room who didn't belong to Dallas. They wore his ink, fought for him, trusted him with their lives.

It hit her, really hit her, along with a dizzy rush of ecstasy. This fantasy, every last harsh, sweet moment, wasn't about her at all, but about him--her body for his pleasure, readied by those he trusted most. She'd known that, but not what it meant.

Her fantasies didn't mostly revolve around Dallas. They were Dallas, start to finish. Trust and belonging and a longing so razor-sharp it could carve you into a million pieces and leave you begging for more.

Love.

She moaned around Mad's cock as her shaking intensified, driven by the hard thrusts and soft caresses and possession. They were touching her everywhere, inside and out. Completely focused on her release, on an orgasm that finally seized her in its grip and twisted, wrenching a muffled scream from her throat.

Dallas moaned, as rough and desperate as the hand in her hair, and then his mouth was on the nape of her neck, teeth closing tight. "That's right, love. You're almost ready for me. Keep squirming. Keep coming."

She already couldn't separate the rise and fall of pleasure. Her vision blurred, and she clenched her fists until her nails bit into her palms. Distantly, she realized Mad had pulled away and Jas and Noelle's fingers were gone, but Dallas was still stroking her, still whispering filthy promises against her skin.

He gave her no chance to recover. She sobbed in a breath as Dallas released her wrists with two flicks of his thumbs, and then they were both moving, the room dipping dizzily as he rose and swung her up into his arms in the same graceful movement.

Lex hit the floor, carpet under her shoulders and one plush cushion under her hips. Dallas knelt between her thighs, sliding his belt free of the buckle.

Yes. Lex reached for him, but Mad caught her wrists in a firm grip. He guided them back to the floor above her head as Dallas jerked his belt loose, the leather rasping through each loop in turn. "What do you want, Lexie?"

She stared at him, at the flex and play of muscle beneath skin. "I want you."

"Damn right you do." He pulled open his jeans and spoke to Mad without releasing Lex's gaze. "Sharing time's over. Go make Noelle's night."

Not quite get your hands the f*ck off my woman, but the undertone was there, the dangerous edge that wasn't play at all. Dallas had gotten off on giving her what she wanted, but now he was ready to take what he needed.

She could struggle. He'd get off on that, too. But all she wanted was to open for him, body and soul.

She reached for him again, and he caught her hips and drove into her. Hard enough to hurt, and Lex bit her lip until it bled. "Don't stop--"

Another thrust cut her off. Rougher, almost violent. His fingers pressed bruises into her ass as he hoisted her hips higher. "Don't stop what? Don't stop f*cking you?"

She tried to nod but banged her head against the floor instead. He was already so deep, huge and stretching inside her, and then he stopped moving, just clutched her hips and shifted them in tiny rolling movements that taunted her with too little friction.

And his words... "You want my cock?" Another thrust, short and abrupt, but so much sharper because he hauled her hips to meet it, slapping their bodies together with a deliciously crude sound. "You want me to f*ck your p-ssy?"

Her ears were buzzing again. He could have made her come already, but he was holding back. Lex wrapped her hands around his wrists, digging her nails into his skin. "More. F*ck me hard."

"Quit giving orders." It took him forever to pull back, an eternity enduring the loss of him, and his return was almost as torturous. Deep, quick, but not hard at all. "What do you really want?"

"I want you."

"No." He lunged over her, hands splayed on either side of her head, pinning her hair, his body pressing down on hers with strength and heat. "You want whatever I wanna give you."

Lex caught her breath. He'd said he'd give her anything, the world...but she had to trust him to do it.

Did she?

Dallas's mouth descended on hers before she could decide. Hot, abrupt, teeth scraping her lips as his tongue plunged past them. A claiming kiss that turned gentle once she parted for him, turned lazy and warm, and he finished by licking her lower lip with a low groan. "When you admit it to yourself, you can admit it to me," he murmured.

And pulled away.

No. She reached blindly for him, only to have her hands brushed aside as he gripped her hips and flipped her onto her knees in one deft movement.

Pleasure jolted up her spine as he plunged two blunt fingers into her, but after two lazy pumps he slipped them down to rub her *. "You wanted me to lose control, love. Didn't know what you were asking for, did you?"

Somehow, she found her voice. "You haven't lost it. Not yet."

He laughed. Laughed and bent over her, cupping her jaw with one hand to force her face up and back. "Oh yes, I have. We left your fantasy back at the couch, darling. This is mine. And in this one, you don't get f*cked because you want it. You get f*cked because I want to f*ck you, and you take it because you love everything I do to you."

His mouth was close enough to lick. To bite. Lex focused on his lower lip and licked her own. "I do love it. More when you stop playing. When you give in."

"Look at me, Lex. Am I playing?"

She met his gaze. It burned with unsated lust--and something more. "You sure the hell seem to think this is funny. Leaving me waiting on my knees."

His chest rumbled--a growl or a laugh, she wasn't even sure. He rocked his hips, sliding his shaft against her p-ssy. Taunting her. "I'm not the one keeping you waiting."

Frustrated, she twisted in his grasp. Only a few feet away, Noelle and Jasper were tangled together again, rocking together in a slow, intense grind. Ace and Mad were wrapped around them both, licking and stroking even as they touched each other.

But it was Noelle who drew her gaze again and again. The look of sheer, utter abandon on the woman's face made Lex's heart seize, and she found herself whispering, "I don't know what else to give you, Declan. I don't know how."

His touch gentled as his fingers drifted from her jaw up toward her hair. It took him forever to wrap his fist in the strands, but abruptly he pulled his hand tight, dragging her head up until her back bowed. "All right, Lexie love. I'll take it."

That was all the warning she got before he kneed her thighs apart and thrust into her. Her hands slipped, and her teeth clacked shut as her elbows banged to the floor. Even that pain couldn't detract from the pleasure, the pure, goddamned satisfaction of it.

Of being taken.

"This is it. What you won't ask for." He punctuated every sentence with another vicious thrust, driving home the last word hard enough to wring a choked noise from her. He kept moving, kept talking, his words twisting her almost as tight as the sensation of his cock stretching her. "No choices. No responsibility. No having to admit you like being owned."

Because she didn't. No one else had ever come close to giving her a reason to want it, but Dallas was a force of nature, beautiful and brutal. Unstoppable. Only for him could she ever imagine opening herself up so completely.

No, Lex hated the thought of being owned. For him, she'd do it anyway.

"You." Her nails scratched over the floor. "Just you."

"Just me." Between one thrust and the next he was over her, hands planted on either side of her shoulders, the hair on his chest tickling over her back as he f*cked into her with long, rough strokes. Over and over again, in her and on her, surrounding her and taking her, all accompanied by a never-ending string of beautiful obscenities.

She quivered in the scant moments between thrusts and cried out when he came back to her, each time harder than before. Each time with less control, more naked need. There was no room left for fighting, herself or him.

Lex let go.

Above her, Dallas groaned. His mouth found her ear, teeth rough as they closed on the lobe, tongue wet and warm as he licked in time with his next demanding rock. "I'll give you everything," he promised, each word a panting rasp as his tempo increased. "Everyone. It's all yours, even me."

Especially him.

Lex was floating, awash in an incandescent heat that spread through her, all the way into her fingers and toes. It wasn't an orgasm--that, she could still feel building, growing stronger, like a voice lifting in a scream. This was warmth, safety, all the glimpses she'd allowed herself of what could be.

Dallas slipped one hand under her to cup the front of her shoulder. It shifted the angle of her hips, and one more thrust washed her away, drowning that warmth in a volcanic pleasure that curled her toes and went on and on, until he growled her name against the back of her shoulder and set his teeth in her skin as he came.