Theirs to Cherish

Chapter Three





STANDING in the shadows of Dominion’s dungeon, Mitchell Thorpe couldn’t miss the orgasm that wracked Callie’s body, the fact that she screamed another man’s name, or the unabashed way in which she shared herself with that f*cking suspicious Scot. As much as he wanted to deny it, the sight and sounds damn near felled Thorpe like a hatchet to the chest.

He’d hoped that insisting on so many restrictions when he’d allowed Sean Kirkpatrick to collar Callie would frustrate the man. That the a*shole would leave. Thorpe didn’t trust Kirkpatrick. Something was off about the guy . . . But no matter what he’d done, Sean had proven goddamn single-minded when it came to the girl.

Damn it! Thorpe hated the sight of the other man surging deep inside Callie, where he ached to be himself. Clutching the little silk robe he’d retrieved from her room the second he’d realized she meant to let Sean f*ck her, he closed his eyes, refusing to watch the bastard come inside her.

The reasons Thorpe could never have Callie were carved into his brain. And even though he’d beaten the dead horse mentally enough to recite the rationale in his sleep, he clenched his jaw and reminded himself again. There would always be fourteen years, two months, and three days’ difference in their ages. Besides, he knew Callie wasn’t likely to stay with him much longer. Forever was out of the question. More important, he could never give her the kind of love she craved and deserved.

Cursing under his breath, he dared to open his eyes and stare at the wild tangle of Callie’s black hair brushing the fair, flushed skin of her back. Desire gnawed at him, biting deep. He’d always believed that by walking away from her that December night two years ago, he could prevent her from breaking his heart. Thorpe didn’t find it comforting to be proven so wrong.

Kirkpatrick shouting out his love for her gouged him in the gut. Hearing the Scot admit his feelings for Callie aloud not only made him jealous as hell, but it proved the man had balls. Thorpe was almost in awe. But Sean obviously didn’t understand her at all. Thorpe had no doubt what Callie’s response to the man’s unexpected declaration would be.

Right on cue, she stiffened and shook her head, then scrambled off his lap. Kirkpatrick stood and tore off his condom, trying to zip up while reaching for her with an expression meant to be gentle and calm.

Thorpe snorted. Wrong approach again.

It didn’t surprise him at all when Callie whirled around, eyes squeezed shut tightly, arms over her breasts, and ran—straight into him.

When she would have stumbled back from their collision, he gripped her shoulders. Thorpe tried not to look at her breasts again. Why tempt himself with what he couldn’t have? She blinked up at him, fear and anguish mixed on her face. Guilt followed.

“Let go,” she begged. “Please.”

Those words alone told Thorpe how raw Kirkpatrick had scraped Callie. Normally, she’d try all kinds of foot stomping, demanding, and plain ol’ manipulation before she resorted to showing her soft, submissive side to anyone. Whatever the man’s game, Thorpe had to give Sean credit for opening her emotions far wider than expected.

Over her shoulders, he eased the robe he’d retrieved in case her second thoughts about having sex with the Scot set in. Nice to see that he still knew her so well.

He sent her a sharp shake of his head. “Not yet, pet.”

Callie shoved her arms through the holes and belted the robe tight, sending him a defiant glare. But tears still lurked under it. The f*cking Scot playing with her heart had rattled her. Thorpe hated the a*shole for it even more. His need to protect her growled, chomping at the bit to tear the collar from her neck and free her. He couldn’t do that, but he had every intention of having a “chat” with Kirkpatrick.


“Why are your hands on Callie?” Sean demanded. “She’s my sub.”

“You’re under my roof, and she’s obviously upset.”

“Which is why I need to talk to her. She and I should be sorting this out. Alone.”

Normally, he would agree. But he wouldn’t risk Callie by leaving her vulnerable with a man he swore had some hidden agenda. A fraud. Besides, Kirkpatrick didn’t know her like he did and never would. “At Dominion, my word is law. Play by my rules or you’re welcome to leave. Your choice.”

Sean clenched his fists and ignored him, focusing on Callie. “Talk to me, lovely. If I upset you, help me understand why.”

Thorpe felt her stiffen in his grip, then she looked up at him, her gaze imploring. He understood instantly. She’d developed feelings for this man and hated to hurt him. But he also knew that she didn’t dare let him close.

“Callie, go to your room. I’ll be in to see you in a minute.” Thorpe motioned for Zeb, one of the dungeon monitors.

“You can’t send her from me. I didn’t hurt her,” Kirkpatrick protested.

With a shrug, Thorpe blew Sean off and addressed the approaching DM. “Take Callie to her room. No one enters until I say otherwise. And she doesn’t leave.” When Callie gasped, he sent her a knowing look. “Do you have something to say, pet?”

Since she wasn’t about to admit that she’d plotted to flee the club, she remained silent. But he knew it as sure as he knew himself. Kilpatrick hadn’t just plumbed her physically. He’d pried her heart open, and she was preparing to react to that in the only way she knew—by running. Already, she’d mentally packed her bags. Thorpe forced down his panic and reminded himself that as long as she was still here, he could fix the situation. The easiest solution would be to toss the damn Scot out on his ear.

Callie looked ready to grind her teeth as she stomped off. Zeb followed with a grin and a wink.

Thorpe vowed to deal with her little fit of pique as soon as he’d unmasked this fraud and rid him from her life. “My office. Now.”

He didn’t wait to see if Kirkpatrick followed. He’d rather the f*cker find the exit and save him the breath. But when he reached his personal domain and rounded his desk, the Scot stood in the portal, all but foaming at the mouth.

Sean slammed the door, enclosing them in a privacy steeped in thick air. “You have no right to separate me from Callie.”

“I’m responsible for the welfare of all the subs under this roof. Until I know why she was running away from you in tears, then yes, I do.”

“That’s a piss-poor excuse. You’re jealous because you want her for your own.”

Thorpe took his time answering, sitting in his leather chair and staring the charlatan down. Idly, he wondered when and how he’d been stupid enough to tip Sean off. Xander had pointed it out, too, a few months ago. Maybe he was getting sloppy.

“I have not laid a single finger on the girl for any reason in nearly two years. So what you believe I want is irrelevant. Let’s talk about what actually happened.”

Sean sat, poised on the edge of his chair as if he’d rather fight. “I restrained and blindfolded her, then I flogged her. She reached a peaceful subspace. Then when she came out, I made love to her. It’s been an emotional night. That’s all.”

Is that what the idiot thought? “That’s not how Callie works. Have you been too busy f*cking her to get to know her?”

“You’ve watched me like you’re her bloody keeper, so I suspect you know that’s not true.” Kirkpatrick raised a brow at him. “Just like I suspect you’ve been too busy getting to know her to f*ck her. Your knickers are in a twist now that you’ve lost your chance. Be warned. I mean to make her mine in every way.”

Thorpe wanted to rip the guy’s face off, but managed to keep his composure. “She’s wearing your collar already.”

“I want more, and you’re standing in my way.”

“I’m standing in the way because her teary dash away from you didn’t indicate happiness. I’ll confess that Callie is special to me. I’ve protected her since she came to Dominion. I know her inside and out. She’s not a girl prone to crying jags. So her behavior tonight has to be a direct reflection of something you’ve done.”

Sean pounded his fist on the desk. “I’m telling you, I finally reached her. I broke through that mile-thick armor of hers and saw the woman inside. Every minute you keep me from her is another minute she has to rebuild her walls. And to escape. I think she’s planning to run.”

Thorpe drew in a steadying breath, then forced himself to look at Kirkpatrick with a calm he didn’t feel. The man didn’t understand all the bits of Callie . . . but he was catching on fast. “What makes you think that?”

“Don’t play games. If you know the girl, then you know I’m right.”

Thorpe neither confirmed nor denied. But Kirkpatrick’s uncanny perception troubled him. “Is that what you think?”

“I know. Her surrender was so sudden, as if she meant it as a good-bye.”

If Callie cared for the Scot, she would absolutely give a huge chunk of her soul to him as a parting gift.

Thorpe wondered what she’d planned on giving him. A note? An empty room where her scent would linger and haunt him? A hole in his heart?

Damn it, he sounded whiny and maudlin. He would not let Callie leave without cause. As far as he was concerned, no one here but him knew she was a fugitive. And Sean Kirkpatrick was nothing more than a blip on his radar.

“I won’t know if you’re right until I talk to her.”

The other Dom snorted. “And what good will that do? She’s lived under your roof for four years. The girl is broken, and you haven’t lifted a finger to heal her. Why start now?”

It took everything Thorpe had not to snarl and surge across the desk. God, he’d love to wrap his hands around the Scot’s neck. Instead, he tapped his fingers on the desktop, staring down Kirkpatrick as if he were lint from his underwear.

“Since you didn’t know her when she first arrived here, allow me to call bullshit.” But Thorpe understood well that while she’d made strides under his protection, she was nowhere near whole.

In order to take Callie’s hand and heal her, he’d have to share too much of himself with her—his heart, his truth, his secrets. He’d have to be a better man, the sort who could love her openly with every cell in his body. She wouldn’t accept less, nor should she.

It wasn’t that he didn’t care enough about Callie to try to conquer his demons. They were simply too big. And with her past . . . she’d only leave him. If his wife of three years could walk away so easily, how badly would a girl on the run who lit the flame in his heart burn him?

Hell, she had no idea that he’d figured out her identity. But she would run the moment she did. From what he could grasp, she did that any time she felt threatened or exposed. Exactly like Kirkpatrick was doing to her now.

A little digging proved that she’d abruptly left her last two hiding places, one after only a handful of weeks. The trail before that was stone cold, and he didn’t imagine that she’d stayed anywhere else for very long. If she had, she’d have left an indelible impression. She had on him almost instantly.

Sean shrugged. “I’ll admit that I don’t know what she was like four years ago. But if you call her ‘healed’ now, you need to pull your head from your arse. She needs someone to care about her, give her tender guidance.”

She did, and that was part of Thorpe’s rub. But he also knew something else about Callie with absolute certainty that Sean didn’t.

“She requires a firm hand.”

The Scot shook his head. “You’re daft, man. That just fuels her defiance. It’s love she needs.”

Thorpe sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. “I won’t disagree. Show me a woman who doesn’t need love. It’s the foundation Callie will build her life on—with the right man. But she needs boundaries, too. Craves them. They’ll make her feel safe. That’s what I’ve given her for the last four years.”

Kirkpatrick glared incredulously. “You’re wrong, man. She needs what I can give her. I intend to make her whole, and I won’t let you take her from me.”

At least some of that was bullshit, and Thorpe resisted the urge to spit his anger. Apparently, Sean didn’t understand that if he wanted to claim Callie, she’d already be in his bed with his collar around her neck.

“I have no intention of coming between you two, and I’d like to see her happy. I merely want to sort out this situation to my satisfaction before I decide whether to return her to your care.” In case Sean’s designs on Callie weren’t purely Dominant, as Thorpe suspected. “So this is how it’s going to go . . .” He stood and paced, happily taking the psychological advantage of standing over Kirkpatrick. Time to test the son of a bitch. “You’re going to give me fifteen minutes with Callie, alone. Gloves off.”


Sean jumped to his feet, fists clenched. “The hell I am!”

“Are you refusing?”

“You’re damn right.” The Scot turned red with anger.

“Well . . .” Thorpe smiled tightly. “Let’s review. By our agreement, you’re not allowed to see the girl off the premises without my permission. I haven’t granted that. You won’t be seeing Callie here, either, unless I deem it in her best interest. So if you’d like to continue taking her down the submissive path, then I’m afraid you don’t have many options.”

“You controlling wanker. You have her so tightly under your thumb—”

“I keep her protected. I’ll find out why she’s upset, if she’s truly planning to leave, and whether she wants to wear your collar anymore. I’m a safe authority figure for her. She’ll tell me what I want to know.”

Kirkpatrick looked like he was torn between violent disagreement and a desire to commit murder. “I want to observe, then. Certainly you have a room or two here that allows for voyeurs.”

Thorpe worked hard not to roll his eyes. “I do. Callie has lived and worked here for four years. She knows each and every one of those rooms. She knows where our conversations won’t be overheard. The girl is cautious and clever, as I’m sure you’re aware. She’s not going to compromise her privacy. That I can tell you unequivocally.”

After a long sigh, Sean looked around the room like it held the answers to his burning questions. Or like he’d rather look anywhere but at his rival. Thorpe smiled.

“You’re a pushy bastard.”

“Isn’t that part of being a Dom?” He shrugged. “Do we have a deal, or can I escort you to the door?”

“You’d like that,” Sean accused.

Very much. But Thorpe held his tongue. “This isn’t about me at all. It isn’t about you, either. If you care for Callie’s welfare, then you won’t mind me checking in with her to make sure she’s all right and ready to see you again.”

The man’s blue eyes narrowed. “If you were anyone else, I wouldn’t. But what do you mean ‘gloves off’?”

“Certainly, you’ve noticed that Callie has . . . let’s call it a strong will.”

Sean snorted. “Stubborn as a mule, that one.”

Thorpe tried not to smile. “Precisely. Given that obvious fact, for my conversation to have any effect on her, I need to have a full array of options available.”

“You’re asking my permission to discipline her?” The other man raised a dark brow.

“No, I’m not asking permission. I’m telling you I’ll need to keep that as a possibility.” He shrugged with mock regret. “Might as well be honest. With Callie, it’s a probability.”

And Thorpe wasn’t lying to himself. He would thoroughly enjoy it. Anytime he got to touch the girl was a sublime thrill.

“I don’t like it and I don’t trust you.” Sean crossed his arms over his chest in challenge.

“Let’s cut to the chase. You don’t like me. Likewise,” he said bluntly. “But we’re both motivated by Callie and her well-being. So let’s stay on task, shall we? You want to know if she’s planning to leave. I want to ensure that she’s in a good mental and emotional place before I allow her to scene with you again. These don’t have to be mutually incompatible goals. Give me fifteen minutes. I’ll give you answers.”

Everything about Sean’s body language said that he used all his restraint not to throw a punch. Pity. Knocking the a*shole into next week would significantly improve Thorpe’s mood. The man knew the feel of Callie’s body intimately. He’d had the opportunity to experience her surrender. He’d had the luxury of telling the beautiful girl how he felt.

So yes, Thorpe felt every bit of his jealousy.

“I don’t like being backed in a corner, but you haven’t given me much choice. If you don’t have answers in fifteen minutes, you give her back to me. I’ll soothe her and set her right.”

Thorpe headed for the door. “Mr. Kirkpatrick, the first rule of negotiation is that you must have some bargaining power. At the moment, you don’t. Wait for my return.”

He didn’t let the Scot get a word in before he strode out of his office and grabbed his phone from his pocket. His first text was to Axel, probably holed up in the security booth with a few of his compadres. He told the other Dom to get to his office ASAP and that he was free to f*ck with Sean’s head if he could get any answers about why the Scot had come to Dominion.

After an enthusiastic yes in reply, he tapped a message to Zeb asking what Callie was doing. The reply came quickly. Sounds like she’s in the shower.

Bullshit. Thorpe knew Callie’s habits well. She’d showered just before Sean’s arrival. She wouldn’t want to undo all that makeup when there was a chance she might see the man again. If there was one thing Callie didn’t allow, it was for anyone to see her with a bare face.

Find out if she’s packing a suitcase, he replied. The door will be locked. Do what you have to do.

This time, the pause seemed to last forever. While he waited, Thorpe grabbed a few things he might need from around the dungeon to make his point with Callie and slipped them into his pocket. Then he let his long legs eat up the distance between the main part of the club and Callie’s room. Just before he reached her door, Zeb’s answer came. Picked the lock. She’s shoved most of her bathroom and closet into two bags.

“Son of a bitch,” Thorpe cursed roundly. Sean had scared the hell out of her. He wished now that he had punched the a*shole.

I’ll take it from here, he texted back, then pocketed his phone again.

The door to Callie’s room opened, and Zeb stepped out. With a passing nod, Thorpe greeted him, then strode inside, shutting and locking the door behind him. He shoved her desk chair against it for good measure.

The air was humid from her recent “shower.” She’d flung on every light. Her two hastily packed bags sat in the corner near the door.

Callie paced in her little red robe, her manic gait taking her from one side of the room to the other. Goddamn it, she wasn’t wearing a bra. He’d bet she hadn’t bothered with panties, either.

Most notably, she’d stripped off her collar and was clutching it in a tight grasp. His heart stuttered. Was she removing it for good?

As Thorpe cleared his throat, he tamped down encroaching relief and told himself to take things one step at a time.

She turned to spear him with a resolute stare. “You said you wanted to know when I’m leaving. It’s now. I quit.”

***

CALLIE stared at Thorpe. He had almost no reaction to her words. Gee, it would have been nice if you’d given a shit. Then she squashed the thought. It wasn’t his fault that she cared far more about him than he did for her. She’d known for years that Thorpe had the power to yank her heart out of her chest and crush it beneath his very expensive Salvatore Ferragamo loafers. It sucked that she’d been stupid enough to let him.

Even though she cared deeply for Sean and—if she could believe his passionate declaration—he loved her, that didn’t mitigate her attachment to Dominion’s owner. She’d always been a little screwed up. This just proved it.

Thorpe wandered farther into the room and sat on the edge of the bed. “I appreciate the notice, but I need a bit longer than ten minutes to replace you, pet.”

“Sorry.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder and stared out the dark window. He was far too beautiful to look at. “You’ll find someone else soon. You won’t miss me.”

“You have no idea how I’ll feel. Sit down, Callie.”

His tone told her that no wasn’t an acceptable answer. Damn it, he intended to interrogate her about Sean. Callie couldn’t take it now. Leaving them both was hard enough . . .

She fought down panic and turned back to him. “I can’t. I have to get away.”

“Not yet.” He pointed to a spot on the bed right beside him and didn’t say a word until she flopped down. “Good. Sean knows I’ve come and that I intend to understand what happened tonight. Tell me everything.”

If Thorpe was here with Sean’s blessing, she wasn’t going to worm out of this conversation, damn it.

As she set Sean’s collar down on her nightstand, Callie mentally sorted through everything she could tell him. He must know that she had feelings for her Sir. More feelings than she was comfortable with. Thorpe missed very little, so he was no doubt aware that Sean had never taken her past her limits, ignored her safe word, or acted in any way out of line. Besides, if she was going to skip out on Thorpe after he’d kept a roof over her and ensured her safety for four years, she owed him more than a flat-out lie.

Wringing her hands, she forced herself to meet his intent gray gaze and confessed something else that had been niggling in the back of her brain. “Something is . . . off about him.”

That clearly piqued Thorpe’s interest. “In what way?”

Callie tapped her toes. She had to express her concerns about Sean without giving her past away. Putting Thorpe in the terrible position of harboring a known fugitive wasn’t how she wanted to repay his kindness.


“He asks a lot of questions. I don’t like them.”

Thorpe sent her a wry smile. “If it’s about your limits, that’s to be expected. Pet, he’s a Dom. It’s his job to get in your head. Frankly, you need some untangling. You might find it uncomfortable—”

“He doesn’t need to know how many brothers and sisters I have, the name of my first pet, if I ever took special trips as a child . . . He seems really focused on things that shouldn’t matter if all he wants is a sub in a club.”

It was nothing Thorpe did or any change in his expression, but Callie had the distinct impression that he was enraged. “Has he always behaved this way with you?”

“Yeah.”

“You should have told me the first time,” Thorpe scolded.

“It’s not your problem.”

That only made him more forbidding. “You’re always my concern, Callie.”

The possession in his voice excited her more than she wanted to admit. “Well, I’m telling you now. What he wants to know seems weird.”

“I agree.”

“Just like it’s weird that he walked into Dominion and immediately had some sort of hard-on for me.”

“That’s not weird. That makes him a man.”

She rolled her eyes. “There are plenty of other subs here.”

“None of them are you.”

Damn it, sometimes Thorpe could—after weeks of being a giant pain in her ass—say the nicest things. She teared up. Gawd, she was really going to miss him.

“But . . .” he went on. “I don’t like the questions he’s asking you, either. I don’t see how they’re relevant to helping you down your submissive path.”

“Exactly. The other thing is . . . In almost every other way, he’s too good to be true.”

Thorpe regarded her intently. “Do you think he’s a player?”

“No.” But something wasn’t quite right. “I’m not sure what to make of him, though.”

Because if Sean was a cop, a bounty hunter, or an assassin, wouldn’t he have either dragged her in or done her in by now?

“What did he say to you tonight that made you want to run away from him?”

Oh. Ouch. Yeah, she needed to remember that Thorpe never hesitated to go for the jugular.

“Nothing he meant to be threatening or scary.”

“Good to know. Be more specific.” Thorpe’s tone sharpened.

“It’s . . . personal.”

“Dodging my question isn’t an option, pet.” That warning note in his voice made her shiver. “I’d rather not see you leave over whatever drivel he spewed. Tell me. Maybe I can fix the situation.”

It was embarrassing enough that he’d probably seen her and Sean having sex. He’d been so close, he couldn’t have missed their climatic finish. “You didn’t hear?”

“Callie, I’m not getting through to you, so let me be plain. You will tell me now or I will paddle your pretty little ass.”

“You can’t do that!”

His smile contradicted her. “I’ve informed Sean that it’s a distinct possibility. Besides, you’ve taken off his collar. If you think he’s being less than honest, you don’t intend to put it back on, do you?”

“Why would I? I already told you, I’m leaving.”

“Not until I know why.”

She jumped to her feet, gaping at him. “You’d keep me here against my will?”

Thorpe crossed an ankle over his knee and brushed an imaginary thread from his trousers. “Your tone suggests I should be uncomfortable with that idea. Until you’re honest with me, I assure you I’m not. Furthermore, if Kirkpatrick is troubling you, he’s nothing I can’t handle. Am I clear?”

Callie blinked at him, processing everything he’d delivered in that low, almost relaxed voice. She wasn’t fooled. Under his urbane, oh so cultured fa?ade beat the heart of a predator. She’d seen him take rivals apart both mentally and physically. Thorpe wasn’t someone a sane person crossed.

Callie weighed her words carefully. “Sean made me realize I’m not cut out for a Dom/sub relationship.”

“Really, pet?”

She sidestepped his question. “And I’m a little bored with Dallas. Los Angeles is calling my name. Every time Xander comes by and talks about his trips to the city, it sounds fabulous. It’s just time to move on.”

Thorpe said nothing for a long moment. He simply stood and towered over her, that charcoal stare boring into her. “There will be consequences for anything less than totally honesty, so think carefully, Callie. Would you like to recant or amend your statement in any way?”

Shit. Thorpe knew something. Or everything. Had he heard Sean’s declaration of love?

She tossed her head back and thrust her hands on her hips. This was going to be ugly no matter what. Might as well go for broke. “Butt out and stop acting like you’re my father.”

He stilled. “That’s one role I will never fill, but I have no problem putting you in your place.”

Callie didn’t even have a moment to wonder what his silky vow meant before he hauled her into his arms and dragged her, kicking and screaming, back to her bed. He sat, wrangling her with embarrassing ease, then spread his long legs and laid her over his lap, face down.

“You are not going to spank me!” she insisted.

Thorpe didn’t hesitate for an instant. “I am. I told you there would be consequences. You should know I always keep up my end of a bargain.”

He planted his huge palm in the small of her back, silently telling her how futile her struggles were. With his free hand, he slid the silk of her robe up and over her bare ass. Her entire body tensed. What was he seeing? Thinking? And why was the thought of his discipline so damn arousing?

There was definitely something wrong with her.

“Don’t I get a safe word?” she demanded.

“I’m not strapping you to a cross and unleashing a single tail on you, so don’t insult me. I know you. I’ve spanked you before.”

For demonstration purposes, yes. In fact, the first time, she’d giggled—until he landed a single smack on her ass. Then it hadn’t been funny anymore. By the fifth swat, she’d been uncomfortably wet. By the tenth, she’d had to bite back a plea to come. Thorpe had some mysterious effect on her that she didn’t understand.

“I’m not afraid. Last time you did this, you couldn’t get my clothes off fast enough. When you did, you couldn’t wait to run away. You’re not going to do anything to me now.”

Thorpe’s grip on her tightened.

Crap, she was taking a huge chance by throwing that night in his face. No doubt, she was pissing him off. She suspected she was also arousing him, because as she wriggled on his lap, Callie couldn’t miss the fact that he was hard as hell.

“Wrong,” he quipped in her ear. “I’m going to spank you until you answer my question and apologize for your disrespect.”

“You’re not my Dom.”

“But I am a Dom, and this behavior is unbecoming. Start counting, pet. Don’t stop until I do.”

Callie tried again to squirm away. She rubbed against his cock, and he hissed. Then his palm landed on her ass in a blistering blow.

“Ouch!” she protested, resisting the urge to rub her right cheek.

“Yes, that’s why it’s called punishment.”

“This is Sean’s right, not yours.” She grasped at straws.

“Not if you’ve rescinded his collar. Since you said you had, I’ll remind you that you live here, you work for me, and you’re being very bratty. That’s three strikes, pet.”

She had no chance to scrape together a reply before he hit her again. Her left cheek stung, but not as much as her pride. And it didn’t take long for tingles to dance across her skin. Her blood heated, and her body melted under his touch.

Damn it.

“You haven’t counted yet,” he pointed out. “Shall we start over?”

“I’ve never understand a Dom’s fascination with a sub counting. You’re educated. You can get to ten without me.”

“You think I’m stopping at ten?” he drawled.

Callie drew in a breath and tried to calm herself. “Thorpe, please . . . Can’t I have a little privacy? Isn’t it enough for you to know that Sean didn’t mean to upset me?”

“No. As long as you’re at Dominion, that’s my call. I’ve protected you for years and I don’t plan on stopping.” He paused. “It pleases me to know you’re safe, but I find all this defiance when I’m trying to help you deeply disappointing.”

The fight went out of her. Callie hated to let Thorpe down. Most everyone else could blow it out their ass for all she cared. But the big Dom mattered too much to her—and he knew it.

“You’re being manipulative,” she grumbled. “One. And two.”

“I’m always manipulative when you’re being both mouthy and dishonest. If Mr. Kirkpatrick didn’t show you the error of your ways, I will.” He punctuated the statement with another swat to her right cheek.

“Three.” She knew she sounded pouty.


Thorpe always got the best of her. Half the time she couldn’t decide if she resented that as much as the way their verbal fencing made her ache endlessly for him. It didn’t matter that she inevitably lost their battles of will. The power radiating off Thorpe aroused her like nothing else. It always had.

But Sean had a huge chunk of her heart. What sucked more was that caring about either—much less both—of them was not only futile, it could be deadly.