Beyond Control

chapter Three



No one knew how to put on a party like Lex. Hell, no one knew how to put on a show like Lex.

The party room had never been subtle, because Dallas had never been a subtle man. It was a room furnished for sin--for one kind in particular--and he spared no expense in indulging this vice. He'd built a playground for adults, with a hundred accessories to spice up sex and every surface begging to be defiled.

Lex had turned that blatant offer into a silken promise. Dallas wasn't sure how--something with the softer lighting, new decorations. Hard leather benches with heavy D-rings were now buried in soft cushions, the sumptuous fabrics alongside the harsh silver chains somehow a perfect celebration of the couple of honor.

Noelle and Jasper were enthroned next to Dallas on the plush couch that dominated the raised dais. Jasper looked smug as hell in leather and denim, and Noelle was taunting every man in the room with a frilly scrap of white lace that bared endless skin, framed her gorgeous tits, and showed off the intricate black tattoo wrapped around her throat.

Ace had outdone himself with that one, working Jasper's name into a delicate web of lacy curls that looked like an expensive choker from ten feet away. Every time Dallas glanced to his left, Jasper was staring at the damn thing like a dying man catching a glimpse of salvation.

Jealousy formed an ugly knot in Dallas's gut, especially with Lex holding down the opposite end of the couch, sleekly beautiful in a little red dress and acting like Dallas didn't f*cking exist.

That was fine. That was just f*cking fine. Dallas could have any woman in the room on her knees for him by twitching a damn finger. For all the soft-focus lighting and pretty hors d'oeuvres, the night would devolve into f*cking soon enough, and that would take the edge off his temper.

It was an O'Kane party, after all.

Noelle's soft laughter washed over him from where she leaned away from Jasper, her head tucked close to Lex's. Dallas nudged his friend. "How you holding up, old man?"

Jasper finished his drink before answering. "Parties aren't my thing. But this is Noelle's night."

Dallas eyed the fresh ink on the inside of Jasper's arm. Noelle's name, in Ace's inimitable style. "Not just hers."

Jasper followed his gaze and nodded, though his words contradicted Dallas's. "The ink is mine. The party's hers."

That, Dallas supposed, wasn't worth arguing. People had been drifting up to the dais all evening long with congratulations and gifts, and most of it had been heaped on a glowing Noelle. "Fair enough."

Movement at the door caught Dallas's eye--Bren, with his seemingly ever-present shadow trailing him. Jasper was Dallas's right-hand man, and Brendan Donnelly was Jas's mirror. The strong, silent man who stood at Dallas's left, his cold-blooded intellect a good balance for Jasper's more tempered compassion.

The girl hovering just behind Bren's left shoulder might as well have been Noelle's mirror. They'd come under Dallas's protection within a week of one another, but Noelle had fallen from the privileged grace of the city, and Six--if the girl had another name, she refused to give it--had been dragged out of the hell of Sector Three. Noelle was sweet softness in white ruffles, and Six was nothing but wary, hard edges and baggy clothes that covered her from her chin to her borrowed boots.

Her eyes were wounded. Broken, maybe. Sometimes Dallas woke from nightmares where Lex stared at him like that, shattered and hurt because the need inside him had crushed her.

Bren grinned as he approached the dais, one arm behind his back. "Especially for you, Noelle," he said, presenting her with a small flogger festooned with a red bow.

It had a multitude of tails, all light, butter-soft suede, and Noelle flushed a pretty pink as she caught one of the tails and rubbed it between her thumb and forefinger. "It's beautiful."

Lex leaned forward to peer at the whip. "Stuart make this?"

"He did." Bren dipped his head. "Thanks for recommending him."

"No problem." She brushed the back of her hand over the braided handle, her expression contemplative. "He does good work."

"That he does," Dallas agreed, watching one tail slither over Lex's skin. Wrapping leather around that woman's body could be a full-time hobby, one to which he'd gladly devote himself. It was an effort to tear his gaze away and smile at Noelle. "Bren knows his toys, kitten. I think you'll like this one." Jasper would like it too, once he had Noelle stretched in front of him, writhing through the pleasure she took from pain.

Jasper set aside the flogger and folded his hand around Noelle's. "Should we ask Bren to dance?"

"It's only polite." Noelle dropped a kiss to Lex's cheek before hauling Jasper to his feet. "Six, do you want to dance?"

Her dark eyes widened just a fraction, and then she was giving Noelle that look, the one Dallas had seen on the poor girl's face a dozen times. It screamed, You cannot be for real, and sometimes it seemed like that was the only look anyone got from Six.

Except Bren.

Dallas gestured to a chair tucked in a dark corner on the dais. It was far enough out of the way to give the wary woman a little privacy, but not situated so that she'd have to worry about being cornered. Not with him--and Lex--between her and the rest of the room. "Why don't you park yourself over there, Six? Watch until you feel like joining in, eh?"

After an awkward moment, she nodded jerkily and mumbled something that sounded like a congratulations as she slipped past Jasper. Dallas arched an eyebrow at Bren, who threw a wave over his shoulder as he followed Noelle out onto the floor.

"They left you alone with me," Lex muttered. "I guess you'll be making them pay for that later."

Dallas laughed and stretched his arm across the back of the couch. "How do you know this wasn't part of my plan?"

She moved fast, and her hair spilled over her shoulders to tickle his cheek as she straddled his thigh. "Was it?"

It didn't matter what his plan had been. When Lex's perfume hit him, his cock got hard and his plans got muddled. He slid one hand up her leg, edging his fingers under the hem of her dress. "It sure as f*ck is now, love."

She slapped his hand away.

He couldn't help his grin. "What's the matter, Lex? Don't want to ride my fingers?"

"Mmm." She leaned down until her lips grazed his ear. "I'm not that easy."

Nothing about Lex ever was. "Congratulations on your protégé's big debut. You were right, back when we took her in. She's gonna settle down and make Jasper real happy."

"Told you so." Lex slipped a hand between them, pressing her fingernails to his chest through his shirt.

Her dress rode up her thighs, and Dallas braced both hands on her hips and raised his leg, grinding up against her. "And you don't get tired of being right, do you?"

"With you? I've learned to take what I can get."

It was a challenge, one he couldn't keep himself from answering with one hand cuffing her throat. Gently, so gently, but he liked the way his fingers looked wrapped around her neck, with his thumb along the opposite side. A collar of his own making and a gesture of dominance, even with his grip soft enough to caress. "You should be careful what you wish for."

For some reason, it made her laugh, though the sound melted into a moan.

That was better. "Keep rocking. I like having you squirming on my thigh."

Her eyes drifted open, oddly intent as they focused on his, and the rest of the room vanished. Lex's clever, intimate lighting, her carefully set stage, the heat in his blood--all of it conspired to melt everyone else into the background. "Gonna slap my fingers again?"

"I think..." Her throat worked under his hand. "I think I'm going to go dance."

He could tighten his fingers. Keep her with him. That was the eternal battle, the constant temptation. "You could do that."

"What do you want?" Lex reached down and rubbed her palm over the hard bulge of his cock through his pants.

People were watching them. Friends, members of his gang that might as well be family but would always be his. He was Dallas O'Kane, leader of Sector Four, and he was expected to get everything he wanted.

Which meant he was only allowed to want what he could get. Easy things. Casual things. Her fingers around his dick, her mouth, sucking him deep.

Not enough. Not tonight. "I want you to take off your panties."

She rose with a shiver, hesitating only a heartbeat before easing her thumbs under her skirt. The fabric rucked up a little, and she dragged her panties down. The skimpy black lace fell to her knees and then her ankles, tangling around the high spike heels on her shoes.

For one breathless moment, Dallas could only stare at her, high on the thrill of this woman's obedience.

"Hell, yeah! Throw me your underwear, Lex!"

Lex started, as if Ace's drunken words had drawn her out of a fantasy, and she threw him a glare that was more flustered than angry as she kicked free of the lace. "You don't deserve my panties, jackass."

When Ace jerked to a halt two steps from the dais, Dallas realized he was glaring at him, too. Belatedly, he smoothed his features, but it didn't diminish his urge to smack the irreverent artist. "You're pushing your luck, Ace."

"I'm too pretty to kill," Ace drawled, full of fake bluster and confidence as he sprawled on the edge of the platform. "But if you two were having a private party..."

"If it were private, we'd go someplace else," Lex said quickly.

She was right, much as Dallas hated it in this moment. Just beyond Ace, Noelle was pinned between Jasper and Bren, their dance a slow grind. She looked blissful under their attentions, her skin already flushed with the slow heat of arousal.

The highlight of any party celebrating a couple taking marks tended to be the couple taking each other, a public consummation played out in loving, explicit detail. This wasn't a time for private moments. It was a time to celebrate Jas and Noelle and their crazy, dirty love.

Telling himself it was about them and not the buffer they provided, Dallas grinned up at Lex. "Think we can lure the happy couple back? Or should we start without them?"

But the moment was gone, and Lex's answer was light, breezy, with no hint of her previous intensity. "Why don't we just play it by ear?" she asked as she stepped off the dais and headed into the crowd.

Ace flashed him an apologetic look. "Sorry, boss."

Dallas sighed. "Get lost. Go find some woman dumb enough to let your face between her legs."

"Oh, you mean damn near all of them?" Ace sprawled back on his elbows. "The trick is having a dexterous tongue, you know. If you brooded less and talked more, yours might--"

Dallas raised an eyebrow and dared Ace to finish the thought.

"...I think Amira's flagging me down," Ace said instead, coming to his feet in a rush. Before Dallas could say another word, the smartass disappeared into the mass of dancing bodies, vanishing as surely as Lex had.

Dallas tensed to follow, but forced his muscles to relax. He stretched both arms across the back of the couch and sprawled out his legs, every inch the lazy king surveying his court. Dallas O'Kane didn't chase after women who ran. Dallas O'Kane lifted a finger and women came running.

"I don't know how you're still in charge," a quiet voice murmured from behind him.

Craning his head, Dallas met Six's gaze and stilled his angry retort when he saw the honest bafflement in her eyes. As clumsy as the words were, there was a bone-deep need to understand hidden beneath them.

She'd come into adulthood under the brutal hand of a man too weak to hold his people without abuse and violence. Of course she didn't understand the obedience that came from loyalty and respect instead of crippling fear.

So he tried to explain. "This is my family, sweetheart. These are my people. I'm in charge because they trust me to make life a hell of a lot better for them than it would be without me. I don't need to beat them into line, and I don't need to prove I'm the strongest."

She blinked at him, her eyes huge and painfully wary. "Everyone needs to prove they're strong."

"The truly strong only have to do it once." But no comprehension showed in her eyes. Maybe you couldn't explain safety to someone who'd never experienced it. Dallas contented himself with a smile and a shake of his head. "Stick around, Six. We'll revisit the topic every couple months and see if you've changed your mind."

From the way she watched him as she curled deeper into the chair, she thought he was insane. She probably wasn't wrong. As he settled facing forward again, his gaze caught on Lex moving toward Noelle, and his dick strained against his fly.

He was a liar. If he didn't have to prove he was in control, he'd be down there already, sliding a hand under Lex's dress while Noelle writhed against them both.

Strength. Control. Two things he needed more than life. Two things Lex shattered when she was around.

God help him, Six was right. He was insane.



"You're in my spot."

Bren laughed at Lex's words and lifted his head from Noelle's shoulder. "Pardon me."

"Lex, you have to share." Noelle's scolding tone was ruined by her smile as she stretched up and kissed Bren square on the lips. "But I've been waiting for my dance with you, so Bren and Jas will just have to deal with it."

"I don't share," Lex grumbled as the men melted away, headed for the bar in the corner.

Except the words weren't true. Share--that was one thing she always did, without fail. It was the secret to maintaining the harmony in their little gang, sexual freedom and pleasure without jealousy. Lex had always excelled at it, getting close but never too close.

So what the hell had happened?

She pressed her face to Noelle's cheek. "I'm losing my mind. I don't know if I'm cranky because I'm horny or because Dallas is driving me nuts."

"Aw, honey." Noelle wrapped her arms around her. "What did he do now?"

"I don't want to think about him." Lex drew her thumb over the new tattoo framing Noelle's throat. "This is beautiful on you. Did I tell you that?"

She shivered. "Ace works magic. I swear, it feels like more than just ink."

It must, because it seemed to have changed the way Noelle and Jasper looked at one another. "I'm happy for you."

Slender fingers tangled in Lex's hair, and Noelle pulled her down for a long, slow kiss. "I'm horny too," the other woman said against her lips. "You know Jasper's going to spend all night letting me stew before he gets around to f*cking me."

"And you'll love every second of it," Lex said. Noelle was already soft against her, open and hungry in a way she recognized.

"Especially if you help him." Noelle dug her teeth into Lex's lower lip. "Are you going to help him?"

The two of them together burned so hot, and it would be easy to fall into them, to borrow a little of that fire for a while. Easy to walk away when it was over, too, secure in the knowledge that Jasper and Noelle had each other to hold.

As simple as it was arousing, as satisfying as it was safe. "Help him f*ck you?" Lex asked softly, drawing aside the lacy white strap of Noelle's dress, baring her shoulder. "How would I do that?"

Noelle arched her neck, putting all of that gorgeous ink on display. "I was thinking we could be bad girls. Sometimes that inspires Jasper to hurry."

"So I'm a means to an end?" Lex couldn't keep her amusement out of the words. "I see how you are."

"I'm wretched." Noelle teased her hands over the curves of Lex's breasts. "A wicked, wicked girl."

"More like delicious." Lex watched as Noelle's dress slipped low enough to bare one hard nipple, then bent to circle it with her tongue.

"Oh, oh." Noelle clutched at her shoulders and moaned. "God, I love your tongue."

"More than mine?" Jasper stepped up behind Noelle, wrapped his arms around them both, and stroked Lex's cheek.

Noelle laughed and raised her arms, curling them around Jasper's neck. "Don't be jealous, baby."

"Oh, I'm not." He cupped her breast and met Lex's eyes. "Suck."

A command, but Lex was already so wound up she parted her lips without thinking. Pleasure thrummed in her body, a quick pulse that left her p-ssy aching as she drew Noelle's nipple deep into her mouth.

Noelle's soft cry drowned under dark laughter. Familiar fingers slid around Lex's waist, strong hands that found the flare of her hips as if every curve belonged to him. "I love watching you make her writhe," Dallas murmured against Lex's ear.

She shuddered. Her and Noelle, sandwiched between Jasper and Dallas. Lex had been here before, and she knew how it would end--with all four of them naked on the floor.

And she was helpless to stop it, helpless in a way she never was when Dallas wasn't part of the equation. Lex tilted her head back on his shoulder, both making room and inviting him to lick the taste of her mouth from the tight, slick peak of Noelle's breast.

And he did, flicking his tongue over Noelle's nipple. When she gasped, he gave her teeth, more than Lex would have used so soon. But Dallas had a rougher touch, and Noelle seemed to like it.

"F*ck," Jasper rasped. He combed his fingers through Noelle's hair and urged her head to one side, baring her neck for a slow, lingering kiss. "I'll f*ck you, sweetheart. Nice and hard, the way you like it--" he glanced at Dallas, "--but only if you make Lex come."

Sleepy eyes met hers. "Do you want that?" Noelle asked, already tracing the neckline of Lex's dress. The words held a breathless undertone, a plea for her to play along with the fantasy, the one where Jasper withheld satisfaction until Noelle satisfied every one of their lurid demands.

Oh, the hunger. Lex swallowed a moan and nodded. "I won't make it easy, either," she lied. "You'll have to be so, so good."

Noelle actually shivered, and Dallas chuckled again as he caressed Lex's cheek. "She'll have to be so, so bad. Put her on her knees, Jasper."

He did it with nothing more than a twist of his hand in her hair, as if Noelle's body had been finely tuned to his touch. He sank to the floor behind her, one hand already sliding the ruffled hem of her skirt up. "Fingers or tongue?" he asked roughly, then swatted Noelle's ass without waiting for an answer. "Tongue tonight, I think."

No straight-faced adherence to fantasy could keep the glee from Noelle's eyes as she eased her hands under the hem of Lex's dress. But there was something else there too--awareness. Noelle bared only Lex's thighs, holding the fabric tight across Lex's hips, shielding the new tattoo on her lower abdomen.

If Dallas noticed Noelle's precision, he didn't understand the significance. He was too busy wrapping a hand around Lex's throat and whispering silky commands. "Part your legs, love. Let Noelle and her sweet tongue at you."

Lex knew she'd fall without Dallas holding her up. She leaned back, sliding her hands into his pants pockets and drawing in a shaky breath when her ass rubbed against his erection. "This makes you so damn hard," she said softly.

"Of course it does." Dallas stroked the top of Noelle's head. "I love watching her bury her face in your p-ssy. Tonight everyone's going to love watching it."

They'd drawn stares already. Part of it was the attention due Jasper and Noelle, but Lex knew the rest revolved around morbid curiosity. They were watching her and Dallas. Probably had a f*cking pool going. Fifty credits says they blow up tonight.

Lex laid her hand over Dallas's. "You feeling a little wild, Declan?"

He tensed behind her, and the fingers around her throat tightened. "When am I not?"

"Mmm." She eased her legs apart. Noelle was there in the next moment, lips soft on the skin of her inner thighs. A tease, nothing more, sweet kisses that tormented Lex and taunted Jasper with the barest hint of disobedience. When Noelle's gaze met hers, there was mischief there, an awareness of her own power.

Jasper pushed Noelle's dress higher, revealing the bare curves of her hips. His hand slipped past the fabric, up to her hair, and he turned her head, guiding her mouth.

Her tongue grazed Lex's *, wet and rasping. The sudden sensation rocked Lex onto her toes, arching against Noelle's mouth and Dallas's hand, which was still caged around her throat.

He laughed near her ear, breath tickling heat over sensitive skin. "Look at her, Lexie. Those big eyes aren't so innocent anymore." Dallas's fingers covered Jasper's, tangled in Noelle's hair, and he braced the back of her head before rocking his hips, forcing Lex closer to her tongue.

He was in control. The thought flitted through Lex's mind faster than the helpless zing of pleasure that shook her. And just like the pleasure, it circled around, tighter and tighter. Dallas had the control, and even though she reveled in it, she also wanted to take it.

One day, she would.

Noelle moaned helplessly, and Lex opened her eyes just in time to watch Jasper slide home, his jaw clenched. Noelle's eyes fluttered shut as bliss rolled over her features, and she renewed her attentions, slicking her tongue into Lex with quick, hungry thrusts before sliding up to work her * with newly inspired dedication.

Dallas flexed his fingers around Lex's throat, but his next rock was more of a grind, rubbing his caged erection against her ass. "They make a pretty picture, don't they? Except..." He moved his hand from Noelle's head to Lex's dress, winding the fabric higher, giving Lex an unobstructed view of Noelle's lust-clouded eyes.

"Better." Dallas slid the slinky fabric over Lex's skin.

Jasper wrapped his fingers around Noelle's wrists, one after the other, and pulled them behind her back. It left her balanced on her knees, rocking precariously as he eased his cock in and out of her p-ssy. Every thrust jolted her just a little, pressing her mouth more firmly to Lex's wet flesh, turning her gentle, eager caresses into hard swipes of tongue and the barest graze of teeth.

The room might as well have dissolved in a haze. The mounting heat reduced Lex's vision into a series of flashes--ink on skin, pink lips, the wet glisten of Jasper's dick as he f*cked Noelle faster. Harder.

"So f*cking beautiful." Dallas muttered the words against her cheek, his lips brushing the corner of her mouth. He had her pinned against his chest, her legs splayed wide, held up by the brutally gentle hand at her throat and one iron forearm across her hips. "Come for her, Lexie," he whispered. "Show her she's a good girl and come all over her hungry tongue."

"No." The denial was as much for her as it was for Noelle.

His growl vibrated through his chest, more amused than irritated. "Are you teaching her to be as disobedient as you are?"

"Never," Lex panted. For Noelle, disobedience was a means to an end, a reason for Jasper to punish her until she came.

Jas slowed his thrusts and shifted both of Noelle's wrists to one hand. He leaned over her, pausing to slip his thumb into her mouth before massaging it in a firm circle over Lex's *. "Get her off. Now."

Noelle hummed her agreement, her tongue slicking over and around Jasper's thumb and then lower, moving in the rhythm Lex had taught her over lazy nights curled together, with or without him, the one Noelle knew twisted her into dizzy knots.

Lex gave up trying to still her hips. They rocked in anticipation of every lick, and the world narrowed even more, shrank until the only things that existed were touching her. Her dress, chafing her nipples with every movement. Noelle's mouth. Jasper's fingers. Dallas.

She came with a cry she could barely hear through the buzz in her ears, but it had to be loud because it burned her throat like whiskey. Like a scream. Pleasure and relief, and beyond it all a hunger Lex couldn't quite understand. A need for more, for less, for something.

The world tilted and took her along for the ride, and she realized belatedly that Dallas had spilled them both to the floor. He knelt a foot in front of Noelle and Jasper, with Lex sprawled across his lap, her knees on either side of his and her face level with Noelle's.

Noelle licked her own lips with a husky laugh before straining forward to kiss Lex. "You didn't make me work for it."

"I tried." Dallas's hands were sliding up Lex's thighs, and she tried to wiggle away.

He laughed and hauled her back, splaying one hand across her belly as he lifted the other to Noelle's mouth. "Jasper?"

"His turn," Jasper whispered, and Noelle parted her lips without looking away from Lex, even as she swirled her tongue around Dallas's fingers until they were slick and wet.

Lex was still squirming when he dropped his hand and stroked her *. "I told you you'd get a chance to ride my hand. Think you can come again before Jas f*cks her over the edge?"

He knew the answer. Sometimes she felt like he knew everything--the only explanation for his raging arrogance. Lex spun around and crawled onto his lap, folding her arms tight around his neck. "You have to make me," she challenged, her mouth close to his. "Can you?"

Hunger tightened his eyes. And something else, too--a hint of danger. She'd challenged him, and he wouldn't back down. Not here, surrounded by his people. It wouldn't matter that most were glued to the spectacle of whatever Jasper was doing to drive those crazy, desperate noises from Noelle's throat.

Dallas O'Kane never let a challenge lie.

He gripped her bare hips and dragged her against him, aligning the unforgiving steel of his cock with her *. There was nothing slow or easy about his movements as he caught her gaze, held it, and rolled her hips in even, brutally direct circles. "I could make you come so many ways."

"Not with a little dry humping," she lied. Her hands itched to slip between them, to open his pants and bare his cock and then ride him. "Noelle f*cked me with her tongue. You have to do better than this."

He just smiled and leaned closer, until his lips brushed hers. "Noelle needed her tongue and Jasper's thumb. I don't. All I need..." He caught both of her arms and crossed her wrists at the small of her back before pinning them with his hands. "Just like this."

The silent, imperious command inherent in the position made her shiver as the ridge of his erection nestled between her p-ssy lips. Too much, too direct. If he'd been wearing denim, it would have hurt. But he'd donned soft, supple leather tonight, and she was wet, so wet. She took a deep, shaky breath, and even that was enough to slide her over the hard line of his cock through his slippery pants.

Her inhalation caught in her throat, turned into something low and hungry.

Dallas captured her lower lip between his teeth and teased his tongue over it. Nothing else--no movement, no rocking, just the tip of his tongue, sliding back and forth and back and forth, slick with suggestion even before he closed his mouth on her lip and sucked softly.

A taunt and a promise, and it wasn't fair that he could do this to her with the tiniest of touches. Lex trembled through another blinding spike of sensation and tried to free her hands.

He held tight.

She struggled without thinking, lightly but still enough to shift her on his lap. Wet leather stroked her *, and she bit her tongue trying to hold back a moan.

His gaze held more than a hint of danger now. His cool detachment had shattered, leaving behind a hot-eyed man who bared his teeth in a feral grin. "You want to get away, love?"

Yes. "No." Both answers were true, but neither was quite enough.

He tightened his grip on her wrists and watched her face as if the rest of the room had simply dissolved. Even Noelle's throaty cries of release drifted away as he lowered his mouth to her ear. "But you want to try."

Telling, not asking. The words shivered over her, his voice like fingers on her skin. Truth, but he didn't understand. "I want you to stop screwing around."

"You are so f*cking bossy." Rough words, but they came out edged with affection, and he started that steady rock again, grinding her * against slick leather. "Ask for it. Ask me to get you off."

She wouldn't. She would not. Then the vise twisted, a tense ache that enveloped her. "Please," she ground out. "Please--"

He soothed her with low murmurs against her cheek and moved faster, his fingers clenching every time he rocked her against his cock. He kissed her jaw and her cheek before his mouth found her throat, his lips parting only so he could close his teeth with a hiss of triumph.

The bite was just as delicious as the heat that swept through her. She wanted it all--pain, pleasure, even the anger.

The passion.

Lex closed her eyes as the sensations collided, blistering and undeniable. She came again, and this time it was with Dallas's name on her lips.

Her back hit the floor as pleasure ebbed, and Dallas loomed over her. Noelle sat curled in Jasper's lap a few feet away, both of them as lost in their own world as Dallas seemed lost in her.

He reared back and reached for his belt, but his hands froze as his gaze swept down her body. The ragged hunger gripping his features twisted as his lips curled down and his eyebrows drew together.

Lex followed his stare. Her dress had ridden up, revealing her new tattoo, dark and damning against her skin.

He didn't look happy. He didn't look anything but confused, and she swallowed, suddenly feeling just as spun.

Then she whispered the only words that came to mind. "Happy birthday."

He blinked, but that was the only reaction she got before his face smoothed into lazy amusement, the king of Sector Four at his finest. He might as well have been sprawled on a throne instead of kneeling over her, his hand still crushing his belt buckle. Arrogance rolled off him, and the dangerous promise from before seemed tiny and harmless next to what filled him now.

"You're a few months early," he drawled, tracing his finger over one of the thorny vines. "But that's all right." He lifted his gaze to hers, and the easy warmth in his voice didn't reach those predatory eyes. "I'll take it."

Oh, shit.



Seemed like miracles could happen outside the walls of Eden after all, because he'd rendered Lex speechless.

Not that she needed to talk. Her actions were speaking loud enough all on their own, and so was that ink etched from one hip to the other. Ace's work, without a doubt, recognizable not just by his skill and style but his stubborn adherence to the idea of truth in art.

Trust Ace to turn a simple name into a maze of subtext and hidden messages. Like the rosebuds, so tightly furled, except for the one wrapped around the s. That one looked like it was struggling to bloom in the shadow of his name. The vine climbing the D, on the other hand, was thick with thorns, more than one jabbing into the calligraphic letter. One thorn glistened with a barely visible drop of blood.

That felt about right. Sharp edges and blood, and dragging his gaze from the tattoo only showed him Lex, staring up at him in some confused tangle of brashness and nerves. She might well be too scared to speak--God knew she should be--but she wouldn't show terror with everyone watching.

She wouldn't scratch his face off, either. Probably. Without taking his eyes from hers, he unhooked the carabiner from his belt and held it out. "Bren. My desk, top drawer on the right. Bring what's there."

Bren moved to obey, and the jangle of keys almost eclipsed Lex's words, ground out between clenched teeth. "You wouldn't."

A glance around the room showed plenty of people scurrying to find a way to seem occupied. Half of them were probably straining to hear their words over the music, but most couldn't without edging closer than they were willing to get.

Well, they'd get their show soon enough. He stroked a lock of Lex's hair away from her cheek and wondered if he'd end up bitten for his trouble. "What wouldn't I do, Lexie?"

She struggled beneath him and tried to sit up. "It's not funny--"

He caught her throat, laying his thumb over her rapidly beating pulse as he closed his fingers. Not hard enough to choke, but the precise gentleness of it shut her up faster than roughness would have. She was frozen, half-raised on her elbows, and he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "I'm not joking."

Lex shuddered. "Don't," she rasped. "If you do, you can't take it back."

"Can you take the tattoo back?"

She bit her lip. "I guess I deserve it."

"A fate worse than death, huh?" She'd etched an invitation into her skin, but now he was the monster, dragging her to certain death by the hair. It stirred a dark frustration that spiked when Noelle made an angry noise and reached for them. Before she could open her mouth, Dallas jabbed a finger at Jasper. "You keep your woman out of shit that doesn't concern her."

Jasper locked an arm around her and pulled her back. "Not our thing, remember?" he whispered. "Theirs."

"That's right, baby girl. This is me and Dallas." Lex pushed up into his grip, challenging him not only with her movements but with a bold stare. If he didn't pull back, she'd end up grinding bruises into her own skin, forcing him to leave the mark of his hand around her throat.

No winning there. He loathed the idea of leaving marks on her flesh that weren't purposeful and planned. But the only other choice was retreat, and he didn't know if he could back down with her staring at him. Daring him. She'd get what she wanted one way or another...and maybe that wasn't a bad thing. Not with all he was about to take.

He gave her the lingering victory and locked his arm. He didn't need to tighten his fingers, not with her shoving up into his hand. If she wanted bruises, she'd get them.

After too many long moments, she relented, easing back to gasp for breath. The delicate skin of her throat was red, but she acted as though he'd answered a question. "The collar better not be one you've put on anyone else."

He smoothed his thumb over her ravaged skin. "Look at you, jumping to conclusions. You knew what would come of this tattoo, didn't you?"

"Am I wrong?"

"No. Am I?"

But she wouldn't give in, not that much. She averted her eyes. "Your boy's back."

Bren must have run and taken the stairs three at a time to get to Dallas's office and back so quickly. But he wasn't out of breath, and his expression remained calm as he held out the collar. Dallas accepted it with absent thanks and held it up.

It was some damn expensive custom work, made from smooth, supple leather. Flat at the back, it split into four narrow cords on each side, the top and bottom lengths forming a frame for the pieces woven in and out of sterling silver Celtic knots. And at the front, carved with amazing precision, the O'Kane logo, situated where it would nestle in the hollow of her throat.

A far cry from the plain black leather he'd buckled around women's throats in the past, and Lex would know it.

She swallowed hard and met his gaze. Waiting.

No one interfered. No one would, and that made him move slowly. He swept her hair aside, twisting it around his hand and then up. "Hold this, love."

She kept her eyes locked on his as she braced her hands on the cushion and crept out from under him just far enough to sit. She lifted her hands, fingers sliding over his as she took over holding up the mass of her hair.

He'd seen that look in her eyes. The one that said he'd pushed her past fear or anger into driving, vengeful lust. Never before had he taken what that look offered. Blowjobs and spankings were good clean fun, but he didn't f*ck a woman he had to share. Not even Lex.

If he wrapped this scrap of leather around her throat, he wouldn't have to share her--and if he dwelled on that, his hands would shake before he got it fastened. Still moving carefully, he laid the etched centerpiece against the hollow of her throat and admired it for a moment before fastening the collar.

"How does it look?" she asked--low, breathless.

He told her the truth. "Beautiful."

She glanced around, taking note of all the rapt stares, and her voice dropped even lower. "What now?"

Dallas smoothed her dress down before rising to offer the silent crowd a lazy smile. He held out one hand and waited for Lex to take it. She was still wary, unsure of what she'd gotten herself into.

Good. He wouldn't be the only one, he'd just hide it better. He tugged her to her feet and draped an arm over her shoulder. "Now we let Jasper and Noelle have their moment back."

"I don't think it'll matter. Noelle wants your blood." Lex shook her head. "I'll have to talk to her. Later."

A glance at Noelle proved the truth of that. She didn't look like a soft little city girl now. With ink around her throat and her eyes burning with protective anger, she looked like an O'Kane, one who might not be satisfied with his blood if she could get a knee--or something worse--close to his balls. Jasper was talking to her in a low, even voice, but the words didn't seem to be banking that inner fire.

Jasper was either going to have the hottest time of his life tonight trying to tame that, or he'd end up sleeping alone. If he found himself in a cold bed, Dallas really would owe him for f*cking up what should have been a good night. "Think Jas can handle her?"

Lex flashed him a look of sharp rebuke. "If you had any question about that, you should never have let him mark her."

He bit back his retort--that the girl who'd stumbled into their midst wasn't the same one slowly bending under Jasper's words and touches, and Lex should know since she'd been partly responsible for that transformation. But he'd seen the hints of this fierce tiger in the clumsy kitten Noelle had been a month ago, and he was confident Jasper could handle anything she threw at him.

It didn't mean he'd always enjoy it, though. "Collared all of two minutes and you're already second guessing my decisions, huh? You could at least get me a drink first."

She exhaled--it could have been a laugh or a scoff--and nodded once. "Yes, sir." Then she headed in the direction of the bar set up along one end of the room.

Prickly. That was fine. The full impact of what he'd just done was starting to catch up with him, which made the walk back to his couch take forever. The dais was empty, and even Six had abandoned her spot. No one would tread too near with his temper presumably still close to the surface.

If only they knew. The momentary flash of outrage at Lex's presumption had vanished under the gut instinct to turn it to his advantage. He'd missed his window of opportunity on collaring her during the Wilson Trent blow-up, but this time he wouldn't give her a chance to get skittish.

It was a pity that pressing this particular opportunity involved skipping a few key steps. Discussion. Negotiation. The setting of guidelines and the drawing of boundaries. Collaring was ownership, however temporary, and a smart man made sure his idea of ownership fit before trying to shove a woman into it. Doing otherwise tended to end badly.

Lex came back to the dais, a whiskey triple in one hand. The ice clinked as she held it out to him, the perfect picture of submission, ruined only by the glimpse of fire he caught before her lashes lowered.

She reached up, and the collar shifted as the top of her halter dress loosened and fell to bare her chest. The slinky red fabric slipped down to her hips, then the floor, and she stood there, clad only in his ink, his leather, and her high-heeled shoes.

So much for giving Noelle and Jasper back their spotlight. "Thanks," he drawled before patting his thigh. "Care to sit?"

"We can do better than that." She dropped to her knees.

He'd lost count of the number of times she'd blown him right here, just like this, and every memory paled beside the reality of having her on her knees. Burning, like that collar was the only thing holding back the kind of explosion that would singe a man to ash.

Sometimes she was a little scary when she looked at him like that, and f*ck if he didn't like it. "I don't know, love. The way you're looking at me, I don't trust you not to use your teeth."

She laid her hands on his knees, slid them up his thighs. "Has that ever stopped us before?"

"Not really." He rested the hand holding his glass on the back of the couch and slid the other into her unbound hair. "Is this what you were going for, Lexie? Is this what you wanted?"

"I always do." His belt buckle clicked, and leather whispered over leather as she drew open the belt. She reached for the button on his pants, the zipper--all by touch, as if she knew this moment too well to even look down.

He tightened his fingers in her hair, a quick tug of warning. "So you're going to swallow my dick like nothing's changed?"

"You want something else?" she asked, pulling against his grip as she leaned over his legs. Closer. "Is that why you asked me to sit on your lap? So I could ride you right here? Now?"

The first time he buried his cock in her, no one else would be watching. He'd been waiting too long to share any part of that first time, even the sight of her coming for him. "No," he murmured, pulling her hair hard enough to edge her chin up. "But being collared means you get my dick when I give it to you."

"Oh." Her hands stilled. "So that's how it's gonna be."

He left his drink balanced precariously on the back of the couch and stroked his thumb over her lips. His skin was chilled from the ice, and her breath burned as hot as her gaze. "Is that a surprise? I remember you saying you knew all about what gets me off."

"Of course." She smiled, easy and bland.

Sometimes it amazed him, how fast she could shutter her eyes. A product of her training from Sector Two, no doubt. Sighing, he released her hair. "That ain't it."

Lex sat back on her heels and folded her hands in her lap. Waiting, silent and obedient and so sweetly submissive they were attracting stares again. Lex on her knees was nothing new, but Lex in a posture of surrender...

This is what he got for trying to play the game without discussing the rules first. She was gazing at him like an empty-headed doll, and he had no one to blame but himself. "Get dressed, Lex. Tomorrow we'll have a talk."

She snatched up her dress but didn't bother slipping into it before she stalked off, through the crowd and out the door.

"Well done, old man," Dallas grumbled before draining his whiskey. The party would go on, and he'd sit and endure their looks and their barely concealed speculation, but by God if one of them dared pity him--

Well f*cking done, indeed.

Jasper stared at him in sympathy. It wasn't overt, but Dallas had known him long enough to see the commiseration beneath his seemingly impassive features. Then he broke the awkward near-silence with a muttered question to Noelle, one she answered with an eager nod.

At some point, the flogger had found its way from the dais to the main floor. Bren handed it over to Jasper, who tested its weight and balance in his hand before drawing the suede tails slowly through his fingers--and then across Noelle's bare, upraised ass.

The crowd fell silent, and even Dallas held his breath as Jasper began to twirl the flogger, rotating his wrist until the tails swirled in a smooth figure eight. The tense silence broke when he let the first hint of suede thud against Noelle's skin, and her grateful moan ripped through the room.

A show. The kind that would please his woman but also distract a drama-hungry crowd from gossiping about Lex's sudden departure.

It was working, too. By the time Jasper began to intensify his efforts, landing harder and faster blows on Noelle's reddening skin, people had either gone back to screwing each other, or they were watching with a rapt attentiveness that left no room for thoughts about Dallas.

And f*ck if Dallas didn't owe him for it. Big time.