Sophie Oak - Siren Beloved

He’d been in the lifestyle since the day he’d met his half brother, Jack Barnes. Everything about his brother’s life fascinated him, including his D/s relationship with his lovers, Sam Fleetwood and their wife, Abigail Barnes. Lucas had emulated his brother from the day he’d met him.

Master A’s head shook. “No, you’ve played at it for years. You’re no Dom, or you wouldn’t be over here telling me what she will or won’t accept and expecting me to change my plans for her. You agreed to allow me to top both of you, and here you are making demands. Here is the bottom line. She will accept her punishment meted out my way with respect to her hard limits, or she will leave. And you will cease cursing at me, or we will have some trouble, you and I.”

Lucas started to move forward, ready for a little trouble, but before he could make the first move, Master A had a hand in his hair. That big hand pulled his hair back and drew Lucas close enough that he could feel the heat pouring off the other man’s body. Master A towered over him, and at Lucas’s six foot one, that wasn’t an easy feat. He’d rarely met a man who could utterly overpower him.

Master A’s voice was a low, gravely growl in his ear. “Don’t test me here, Lucas. I don’t want to start this way. I want it to be easy with us. We should be partners in her pleasure, but I’m the Dom, and I won’t accept being treated like your lackey. I am not some hired hand brought in here for your convenience. I’m here for a reason, and I won’t allow you to disrespect me.”

Put like that, it did sound bad. Lucas had signed the contract. It was reasonable for Master A to expect that he wouldn’t have to deal with a bratty switch. Lucas was close enough to see that his hair was a sandy color. It was cut in a close crop military style that highlighted the Master’s rough hewn bone structure. His face was marked, a long jagged line running from under his mask down to his neck.

“I’m just looking out for her,” Lucas tried to explain.

The hand in his hair softened, and the tension ratcheted down. When Master A spoke again, it was in a cajoling tone. “I know you’re doing the best you can, but this isn’t your strong suit, Lucas. You’re a nurturer. You’re the one to take care of all the small details that make a life run smoothly. You’re smart and strong, and you’ll do anything for someone you love, but not this. You’re too soft for this. I can give her what she needs. I can give you what you need if you let me.”

Lucas wanted to take a step back. It seemed this Master had done a lot of homework on him. Master A sounded almost as though he admired Lucas. It wasn’t something he was used to. Lucas had been admired for his money and his connections. He’d been looked up to for being one of the Camerons, even if he was the black sheep of the political family. Only Lexi and his small, cobbled together family ever admired him for what he could do, for the care he gave to the people around him. Lucas felt like the stranger had seen far too much of him.

“What’s wrong?” Lexi’s voice pulled Lucas out of his panic. He looked down at her, so beautiful and vulnerable.

Master A’s hand came out of his hair, and Lucas felt strangely cold as the large man stepped back, taking his body heat with him. It had been oddly comforting to be held like that. It had been so, so long since he’d felt like someone else was in control and he could relax.

“There’s nothing wrong, Lexi,” Master A said. Lucas could see their small encounter wasn’t completely lost on the Dom. He was sporting an impressive erection in his leathers. Apparently Leo had been right. Master A liked it both ways. “Lucas and I were having a slight disagreement over the equipment we’ll use for this evening’s scene. We’ve settled it now. Go back to your place and get into slave position. I’ll call on you in a minute.”

Lucas saw the moment they got into serious trouble. Lexi’s eyes flared, and her hands came up on her hips. The world moved in a strange slow motion as her gorgeous, painted red mouth came open.

“Fuck you. I’m not getting on that sawhorse. It’s uncomfortable. And what right do you have to put a hand on Lucas?”

Lucas felt the room go ice cold as all that intimidation turned on Lexi’s petite, curvy body. Master A stared at her for a moment. The room had gone deadly quiet as though the crowd realized the scene had started without the traditional opening. Everyone was watching as the universally acknowledged problem child of The Club turned her bratty mouth on the new guy.

Even Lexi seemed to realize she’d gone too far, but she held her ground. His girl wouldn’t sweetly apologize. Not to a Dom she hadn’t felt had earned her respect.

“Lucas, I need to know if you’re in or you’re out.” The words rang from the Master’s mouth and seemed to swell in the otherwise silent room.

Master A hadn’t turned to him. Those cold eyes held Lexi in their snare like a cobra waiting to strike at a pretty little bird he’d caught in a trap. But Lucas understood. He was the one who was really trapped. He could take his girl and leave this world they had come to love. He and Lexi had played at the edges of this particular ocean, but they’d never waded into deep waters. He could scoop her up and walk away and never know if they could have been happy if they had only learned how to swim.

Or he could do what every switch had to do from time to time. He could gamble and give up control and hope that he found paradise for his trouble. Lucas Cameron might have grown more stable and settled in the past few years, but he hadn’t forgotten what it meant to take a risk.

“I’m in.”

Lexi realized she was in serious trouble the minute the words left Lucas’s mouth. Hell, she’d realized she was in trouble the minute she opened her own damn mouth. What was she thinking? She knew damn well how to behave in a dungeon, but something about this Master made her want to push him. Damn it . She’d been this way all of her life. She just had to push. She thought about taking a step back, but before she could make her feet move, Master A had her in a fireman’s hold.

“Hey!” Lexi shouted as her world upended. She turned her head up to throw a desperate look Lucas’s way.

Lucas stood there, a stony cold look on his face. In that moment, he was all Dom, and Lexi had never seen him look hotter. There was a confidence about him Lexi had rarely seen when he was around her. Lucas was utterly in command at work, but his confidence faltered when she walked into the room. Even when he performed a scene with her, she knew he worried about her comfort. He didn’t look worried now. He looked ready.

Lexi’s heart started to pound as Master A turned, and she lost sight of Lucas.

“I need a chair, Lucas.” The words came out of the Master’s mouth like a judge delivering a sentence.

“Yes, Sir.” Lucas’s words were silky smooth. There was not a hint of hesitation now. Lexi could hear him moving to do Master A’s bidding.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Lexi asked, though she was a bit less hostile now. She’d fucked up. She was just glad Julian wasn’t around to witness it, though Leo would probably tell him. Tears pricked her eyes. Damn, she was proving to Leo she couldn’t handle it. “Look, Sir, I’m sorry. It was very wrong of me to be rude to you, but I was just pointing out that Lucas and I had a plan for tonight.”

Reason . She could reason with him, surely. It worked on all the men in her life. Of course, usually she was looking at them instead of trying to plead her case to a group of back muscles. The muscles were unbelievably tight, but his skin—oh, his skin had been decimated in his lower back. It was a mess of white, puckered flesh, and she could see both neat, surgical lines, and jagged edges. Lexi reached out to touch the mass of scars, but she was jerked back over his shoulder and set on her feet before she could make it. She wobbled on her heels, but Master A’s big hands held her shoulders.