Somehow, Thorpe managed to restrain himself and merely pressed his lips to her forehead. Sean grabbed her hand and nuzzled her neck. Callie held her breath and froze. Eyes closed, she appeared to drink in the moment. He inhaled her scent and did the same.

Why did this hurt so fucking bad, way beyond the pain of Melissa leaving him? Even more than what the terrible bitch before her had done? Callie had told him once that he would be her biggest regret, but damn it, she would be his.

The moment passed, and she left the room, head held high. A thousand thoughts crowded his head. Even more emotions crushed his chest. He clenched his fists, wanting to beat the fucking wall. But it wouldn’t do any good. Tomorrow was going to come.

“We can’t leave her alone for long or she’ll fall apart,” Sean murmured softly so Callie couldn’t overhear on the small boat.

“Agreed.”

The other man swallowed. “Let’s get down to it, then. She struggled for months before she allowed me to fully restrain her. If she wants to submit everything, we’ll have to push her.”

“I say we cut off most of her senses. There’s no way she can fully put herself in our hands until we take away her sight and sound. Force her to rely on touch, on what she’s feeling.”

“She’ll surrender every part of herself, I think.”

Thorpe nodded. “We have to give her this one night of freedom, really let her fly.”

“She’s asked us for almost nothing else. So if we can save her from whoever’s trying to kill her, I’ll probably never refuse her anything again.” Sean’s smile was self-deprecating.

“It will be to your detriment, I promise. She’ll fight you, but she will want to know that you have her firmly in hand.”

“Why won’t you stay and make sure she is?”

The truth was on the tip of his tongue, but even if he blurted it out, it would change nothing. And Sean wasn’t the one to whom he owed this truth. “It doesn’t matter.”

The fed looked ready to argue, but didn’t. “I think you’re making a grave mistake by walking away from Callie, a mistake you’ll regret to your dying day.”

“I’m sure of that. Why aren’t you calling your boss tonight and asking for an armored escort to safety come first light?”

Sean sighed, clearly not happy with the change of subject. “My boss hasn’t been forthcoming with information. He’s fed me some lines that set off my bullshit meter. I’m really not sure who we can trust, so I won’t give away our location until we have a plan B and a good escape route. I’d rather walk into the Vegas field office where there will be lots of witnesses. Trying to off Callie will be a lot more difficult then.”

“All good points. Let’s go find her.”

Sean nodded, but began digging around in the galley. He picked up a few items that made Thorpe smile faintly. “I need some damn ear buds.”

“I’ve got some in my briefcase, in the bedroom.”

“Perfect.” The other man headed out of the galley and toward the bedroom. “I’d like to surround her tonight. Make her feel the safest and most loved she’s ever been.”

Exactly what he’d been picturing. Thorpe nodded.

“We should make love to her together.” Sean stopped in the little hall and turned, his expression sober. “Not like we did before, not taking turns. At the same time. I want to fill her completely.”

God, he’d love that. But there were complications . . . “I don’t think she’s ever taken a man anally.”

“Probably not.” Sean pressed his lips together. “I’ve fucked a woman that way before, but not recently. I’m guessing you’ve had far more experience than me in that department.”

Lots and lots and lots. During the wild years of his adolescence. Even more during his angry postdivorce phase. And probably more than his fair share in his early thirties when he’d decided to control every damn facet of his life and lost his ability to really give a shit about anything.

Until Callie had walked through his door and changed everything.

“Not so much practice in the last few years.”

“The last four, maybe?” Sean asked knowingly.

Hell, he really was transparent.

He just smiled tightly. “Shut the fuck up and get to her.”

With a brittle laugh, Sean closed the distance to the bedroom. When they walked in, Callie knelt by the bed, head bowed, eyes down, dark hair cascading all around her slender body. She looked nervous but strangely at peace.

Thorpe retrieved his ear buds from his briefcase, along with his iPod. He kept it mostly for his visits to the gym, but he’d equipped it with some alternate playlists, including one for dungeon play. Without a word, he handed them to Sean, who’d already set the items from the galley on the nightstand.

It chafed to turn over control of Callie’s submission to another—not really because he couldn’t stand Sean touching her. Because he wanted to have her under his control at least once. But he hadn’t earned it. Nor did he deserve to take that much from her if he wasn’t going to stay.

“You’re still dressed,” Sean pointed out.

“I debated, Sir. But you didn’t tell me to strip.”

“So I didn’t. I think tonight we’d prefer to do it ourselves.”

“Definitely,” Thorpe added.

Sometimes, he and Sean were so thoroughly on the same page, it was scary.

“Stand for us,” the other man ordered softly.

Callie did so on wobbly legs. Now Thorpe could really see her nerves. It endeared her to him even more, knowing this meant so much to her.

Sean lifted the plain white shirt up her torso and over her head, exposing her bare breasts and their plump nipples.

Thorpe brushed his fingers over one peak. “Close your eyes, pet.”

She did so without hesitation, and Sean stepped up, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket. It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it was clean and useful.

As he knotted it at the back of her head, he walked a semicircle around her, then tilted her chin up to him. “Your safe word?”

“‘Summer,’ Sir.”

“After your childhood horse?”

“You knew that?” Surprise rang in her voice.

“I know so much about you on paper. I want to know everything about the real you for myself. Thank you for the beautiful gift of your submission. I know it isn’t easy for you.”

“No, but I need to do this.”

“I know,” Sean assured. “And I need to have it.”

“So do I,” Thorpe said thickly, walking behind her and grabbing her wrists. “Give me your hands.”

Callie took a deep breath, then as she let it out, she released all the tension from her body and gave herself over completely. She’d always been beautiful to him, but watching a woman who had never truly trusted anyone now surrender her all both stunned and humbled him.

Thorpe took her wrists in one hand. With the other, he reached around and tilted her head back so he could plant a soft kiss on her forehead. “You move me, pet. I can’t even tell you how much. Please don’t ever think otherwise.”

A soft smile lifted the corners of her lips. Thorpe bent to press his cheek to hers. So silky, so female. Callie was the woman he’d never dared to dream about.

As Sean passed him a couple of pillowcases knotted together, he tied off her wrists at the small of her back. Then he caressed her shoulders, lifted the hair from her neck, and kissed her soft nape. Every time he touched her, something swelled in his chest. Fuck, he hated that tonight would be the last time he had her.

In front of Callie, Sean gripped the ear buds and flipped through the iPod’s playlists. “Which one?”

Thorpe chose a classical mix, instrumentals that were both reflective and passionate, that throbbed and swelled before finally crashing to a dazzling end. He used it as drinking music when regret buried him. The words to tell Callie how he felt were stuck in his heart, but some part of him hoped that she would hear his feelings through these songs.

Sean nodded, then directed his attention back to Callie. “You can’t see?”

“No, Sir.”

“And you can’t move your arms?”

She wriggled her shoulders, attempting to work free. Thorpe smiled. He didn’t know everything, but he damn sure knew how to secure a sub’s wrists so that she’d be comfortable, but immobile, until he was ready to let her go.

“No, Sir.”

“I’m going to cut off your hearing now. You’ll hear music. But you’re not to use it to tune us out. It’s to quiet your head so you can feel what we’re doing to you. And feel how much we care.”

She tensed. “Sean—”

“No, lovely. Try again.” His voice, low and encouraging, was meant to soothe, but it was also full of backbone. “Will Thorpe and I hurt you in any way?”

Callie didn’t hesitate. “No, Sir.”

“After all we’ve done to keep you from harm, do you think we’ll let anything happen to you?”

Palming her shoulders, Thorpe gave her a little squeeze. “Pet?”

“Never. I just wanted to ask you not to make the music too loud. That usually gives me a headache.”

Her answer filled him with relief, and he glanced over at Sean, who shook his head ruefully and fitted the ear buds in place as the music started.

He let it play for a moment, then removed one. “How’s the volume?”

“Perfect,” she assured. “The music is beautiful.”

“Very good.”

After gently fitting the bud back in her ear, Sean affixed the iPod, attached to the armband he also used during his trips to the gym, around her delicate biceps. It looked far too big on her, but it held.

“She’s a damn amazing woman,” Sean mused aloud.

Thorpe had known that almost the instant she walked through Dominion’s door. He wanted to tell Sean how very lucky he’d be to have Callie in his life, if they could just get her past this danger. But he choked and barely managed a nod.