Sophie Oak - Siren Beloved

“Julian’s been having a fun night.” Lucas pointed out the front of the raised stage where Julian held his public punishment scenes.

There was a St. Andrew’s Cross and various torture devices across the stage. Lexi could see Julian was already into his scene. Danielle Lodge-Taylor and Finn Taylor were strapped to side-by-side whipping chairs, their naked asses in the air. Dani’s was a delicate pink, but Finn’s had a red sheen to it.

“Why is he always so much harder on Finn?” Lexi asked, shaking her head. Julian could be slightly brutal with his male partner. She turned her face up to see if Lucas was outraged by the treatment of his friend.

He was staring at the scene almost in rapture. Lexi followed the line of his sight. He wasn’t watching Dani. He was staring at Finn, and it had nothing to do with whether or not he found Finn attractive. He was watching the way Julian struck Finn’s flesh with the flogger. He was watching the way that line of red lashed across Finn’s skin.

Lucas’s eyes had an almost dreamy quality to them. Lexi felt her heart clench. How long had it been since he had gotten what he needed? How long had he suppressed his own needs for hers?

He came out of his little trance and looked down at her. “I’m sorry. Did you ask me something, Lexi?”

She managed to not smile at him. “I did, babe, but you got a bit distracted by the show. I asked why Julian is so hard on Finn when he barely spanks Dani.”

Lucas’s face softened, and his hands found her hair again. His voice was quiet in deference to the scene. “He needs it. Finn enjoys the pain. It frees something in him. You should understand that.”

“You are never that hard on me, Lucas.” Lucas had never broken her skin, but she would admit that sometimes the pain allowed her to cry about things she wouldn’t allow herself to release. She always felt unburdened after a session.

“You couldn’t handle it. Finn can. And don’t get pissy at Julian for treating Dani differently. They aren’t the same. Julian might be punishing them, but I assure you they enjoy it, too. The real punishment comes later, when he doesn’t allow her to come. That’s when Dani will feel the burn.” Lucas whispered in her ear, his breath a soft caress. “I’m afraid you might be in for a bit of that, too, baby. The word edging came up in my negotiations with Julian.”

Lexi groaned. She hated that. Edging. Edge play. It sometimes referred to a variety of play that tested the boundaries—blood play, knife play, wax play. That wasn’t what Lucas meant. He knew her hard boundaries better than she did. He was referring to the practice of keeping a sub right on the edge of orgasm and pulling back every time. It was frustrating, and Lucas could never do it. When she pleaded and begged, he would take out the vibrator or dildo and get her off quickly, as though he couldn’t stand to hear her frustrated. More than once Lexi knew the other Doms had taunted him for his lack of control. She had to hope this Master A was a softie.

Finn was counting out his punishment in a strong voice. The crowd watched in rapt attention, but Lexi couldn’t get her mind off the coming scene. Her heels gave her a little more height, and Lucas hunched over so it was easy to whisper to him.

“Why didn’t Master A negotiate the contract directly with you?” It was odd. Julian might sit in on contract negotiations, but he rarely butted in. She should have been there, but she preferred to leave it to Lucas. She’d had to work this afternoon despite her hangover. Her boss hadn’t been happy with her, but she’d let it all slide away the minute she entered The Club.

“I don’t know. You know he doesn’t consider me your permanent Dom because you aren’t wearing my collar. Possibly Julian did it because Master A is new. Julian is such a control freak. He considers you part of his family, and he’s trying to look out for you.”

And Lexi was fond of the man, too. Over the years, Julian had proven to be an amazing friend to her family. Lexi stopped watching the scene in front of her. A little frisson of heat sparked across her skin, and she was utterly certain that someone was watching her. She glanced around the crowd.

“What’s wrong?” Lucas asked.

“I don’t know. I just…feel like someone’s watching.”

She heard him chuckle in her ear. “Well, baby, that’s what happens when you’re a gorgeous woman wearing very little clothing. People tend to watch.”

But it was more than that. She looked to the left of the stage. Everyone else in the room was watching the punishment scene playing out, but one man faced the opposite direction of the stage. One very large, very built hunk of masculinity was staring right at her. His dark eyes were visible under the mask that covered the top half of his face. He looked like a man perfectly capable of all manner of dirty deeds.

“Oh, god,” she groaned. “I think that’s Master A.”

Lucas followed her line of sight. Suddenly she felt his hand tighten on hers. “Holy fuck, look at that.”

He was amazing. He was at least six foot five, maybe six. Lucas was tall, but this man had a couple of inches on him. He was corded with thick muscles, every inch of skin seemed sun-kissed, but something was wrong with it. Not wrong, exactly, but white wispy lines marred his physical perfection. Scars. He was covered in scars.

“What happened to him?” Lexi heard herself ask. She couldn’t take her eyes off him.

“Some sort of accident.” Lucas’s voice was hushed, smaller than it had been before, as though he was worried the man across the room might be able to listen in. “He was in the Army. He was injured in Iraq. The way Leo explains it, he’s lucky to be alive.”

Something about the huge man called to her. Seeing that man standing and staring so intently in their direction made her feel nervous. She wasn’t scared of him exactly, but she wasn’t calm at the thought of meeting him.

“Why the mask?” Lexi asked.

She wanted to see his face. All she could see from here was the hard, unrelenting line of his jaw. His hair was cut so short she couldn’t tell if it was blonde or brown. Everything about him seemed severe and unmoving. And then the corner of his lip ticked up just slightly. It wasn’t much, but that tiny little smile caused a dimple to form in one cheek.

Beside her, Lucas’s breath hitched. Lexi knew why. It was the same reason her own heart had skipped a beat. Aidan had the most perfect dimples. They had teased him about his smile. But Aidan was utterly unlike the man in the mask. Perhaps he’d been as tall, but Aidan had been lean. This man had at least fifty pounds on Aidan, all of it muscle. Aidan had been a slave to his music, not the gym. Aidan had been all-American handsome. This man just looked like sin.

He was a stranger, nothing more. And one she didn’t have to see again after tonight if she chose not to.

Still, when he smiled, he would be glorious.

“They’re done.” Lucas whispered in her ear as Julian began taking his loves off the chairs and preparing their aftercare.

It was time. Master A was already supervising the change of the scene in a deep voice. Nothing at all like Aidan’s musical, lyrical voice. She wouldn’t hear that voice again.

“Are you ready?”

She turned a smile up to the man who was her future and nodded her assent.

Lucas felt his cock pulsing as he walked Lexi toward the stage.

What the fuck was he doing?

He needed to keep it together. He needed to pretend like he wasn’t responding to the man in the mask. He didn’t want to. He wasn’t going to get involved with another man. He was with Lexi. Lexi was the only person who mattered now.

But god, that fucker reminded him of Aidan. It was the smile that did it. Aidan had the sweetest “aw-shucks-ma’am-weren’t-nothing” smile on the planet. He would look at a person, that one lip would tug up, making the smile all the more perfect for its lopsided nature, and Lucas couldn’t help but melt a little. Aidan was masculine perfection, and when he sang, no one could help but stop and listen.

God, as much as Lucas loved Aidan, he hated him now. Lucas hated him for the coward he was. He hated him for showing Lucas the edge of heaven and walking away. And he hated Aidan for leaving Lexi. So many times, Lucas wondered if she wouldn’t have been happier if she’d gone with Aidan.

She certainly wouldn’t be in this position. Even though Aidan hadn’t acknowledged it, he’d been the dominant partner. Aidan had been indulgent, but when he’d put his foot down, Lexi fell in line. So had Lucas, for that matter. Lucas had enjoyed having a partner to curb some of Lexi’s more wild tendencies. If Aidan had been around, Lexi wouldn’t have gotten into this trouble.

Dani winked at Lucas as she was carried off the stage in Julian’s arms. The curvy blonde looked perfect cuddled against her Master’s chest. Finn walked behind them, his body covered in a robe. Lucas remembered a time when all of Julian’s aftercare, including sex, occurred right there on the stage. Not anymore. He jealously guarded both Dani and Finn.

Lucas shook Finn’s hand. He felt a bit guilty. He was the reason Finn’s ass was red as hell. “Sorry I got you got in trouble, man.”

Finn shook his head, his face still flushed. “No way. I wouldn’t have missed that for the world. Julian has gotten to be a big old softie since we got married. Now I know how to get him to give it to me good. The next time I need it, I’ll just gossip a little. I moaned and cried enough that he won’t even withhold the sex. I’m looking forward to the evening.”

Lucas shook Finn’s hand, but he only half heard what Finn said because Lucas was staring at Master A. Two club employees were moving the whipping chairs off the stage in favor of a padded sawhorse. Finn waved goodbye and jogged after his lover and their shared wife.