Sophie Oak - Siren in Bloom

Fuck him. Julian was putting him in a corner. “It’s not the same.”

“How is it not the same? You came to me two days ago and laid out the case for allowing Logan Green to become an ancillary member of this club. He doesn’t have the funds with which to join, but you feel he can benefit from training.”

Leo felt a stubborn look settle on his face. “You know my methods include impulse control. I believe Logan has a stress disorder brought on by an incident where he was almost killed. He was tortured. He needs to feel like he’s in control.”

“And Shelley wasn’t tortured?”

“She chose to marry that man. She chose to stay with him.”

“I am asking you to put aside your own strong feelings for Shelley and answer the question. Would you recommend that woman I described for training?”

Leo felt his fists clench. Julian wasn’t going to give up. He could lie, but Julian would see right through it. He was damned no matter which way he went. “Yes.”

“Excellent.” Julian looked back down at his paperwork. “That is all.”

What? “We’re not going to talk this through? You’re just going to tell me to train her and that’s all there is to it? Don’t you think you owe me a little more than an order, Julian?”

Julian’s eyes came back up. “I wasn’t ordering you to do anything.”

Leo huffed. “Then you’re not going to put Shelley into training?”

“Oh, I’m putting her in training.”

Frustration threatened to choke him. How the hell was he going to put impersonal hands on her body? The very thought of finally seeing that petite, curvy body naked had his unruly dick standing at full attention. He couldn’t walk into a room with her without his cock threatening to take over. She was dangerous. She’d burned him once, and he was not going to allow it to happen again. She’d made it plain she didn’t need a white knight. Not that he’d ever been good at that. His history with women proved it. “And she agreed to have me as her trainer?”

What kind of game was she playing? She couldn’t kick him out of her life and then turn around and draw him back in just because she suddenly found herself without a husband. Guilt gnawed at him. Bryce Hughes had been a monster. Maybe he wasn’t being fair. Maybe she had simply come here to explore herself. Maybe she had come here because she knew she’d made a mistake.

Julian shook his head. “Not at all. She was horrified at the thought. It was the one thing she required before she would agree. She wouldn’t have you.”

A little kernel of hurt flared to life. Well, he had his answer. He’d been pining for her, but she certainly hadn’t done the same for him. “I’m the resident Dom. Her training falls under my purview.”

“Are you?” Julian asked, standing up. He was dressed in his day clothes, a perfectly tailored suit and tie. Julian was immaculate, every stitch in perfect position as though the clothes wouldn’t dare do anything so gauche as to wrinkle. “A Dom usually takes a sub.”

Fuck, they were going into this? “Do you have a problem with the way I run this club?”

Julian held out a hand. “You’re perfect, Leo. You’re wonderful and you know it. I have no idea what I would do without you. I simply worry that you aren’t getting what you need. For the last year, you’ve held yourself apart.”

Because no one needed him. Julian was happily married. Most of the members of The Club he’d grown close to in his first years were settled and happy. Everyone was moving into a phase of their lives that Leo hadn’t gotten close to yet. “I’ve kept up my duties.”

Julian’s voice became hushed, softer. It was a tone Leo knew he only used on his family and friends. Julian’s circle was tight, but he would kill for someone he loved. “I know you, my friend. Leo, don’t think I don’t know what I owe you. I wouldn’t be the man I am without you and Jackson. The two of you have had an enormous influence on me. I truly consider you my brothers. And that’s why I worry. You loved that woman.”

“No.” He wasn’t going to admit that to anyone. “Julian, she was one in a long line of unavailable women I became attracted to. I hit on Abby Barnes, too. Hell, I hit on Dani.”

Julian smiled at the mention of his wife. “Please continue to do so. She’s worried the baby is making her unattractive.”

Leo smiled. “Do you have any idea how far you’ve come? A few years back, you would have beaten the shit out of anyone who hit on your sub.”

“But I trust my Danielle. That’s the difference. Don’t mistake my trust in her for a change in my possessive nature. I trust Danielle, and I trust you, Leo. You can hit on Danielle and Abigail all you like because you don’t mean anything by it. It was different with Shelley Hughes. She’s different. Tell me something, and I’m asking as a friend, not a boss. Have you slept with a woman in the last year?”

His stomach churned. “No.”

He’d thought about it, but it had seemed like cheating because he loved her. Fuck . He had to get over that woman. He couldn’t let his life be ruined because one woman couldn’t love him.

“Let her go, Leo. I don’t know what happened between the two of you, but you’re both miserable and neither of you is willing to deal with the situation. Are you willing to go after her?”

He shook his head.

“Then let her go. You’ll both be happier for it. Shelley is a lovely woman. You’re family. I want you both happy, and I think this is the way to do it. I’ve found the perfect man to train her. You have another sad-sack freak to fix. Let each other go.”

“He isn’t a freak.”

Julian shrugged. “I think I can joke about it. I was one of the sad-sack freaks you helped. Concentrate on your new charge. Shelley’s new Master will help her.”

It was actually an excellent plan. Perfectly logical. So why did the very thought of another man laying hands on her put him in a killing mood? “Who? Which Dom did you pick? Because I can’t think of a single one we have here who will work. Ben is too easy. Chase is too hard. And they like to work together.”

“She did mention that ménage was one of her fantasies,” Julian offered.

“Fuck no. Julian, Chase is hardcore. And he’ll be far too distant. She needs someone emotionally available or you’re putting her in the same position she was in before. She’s going to require a patience neither of those men has.”

“As it so happens, I agree with you.”

“Dane is a part-time Dom, and quite frankly, I hear he’s about to start on a big murder case. He’s not going to have time. Are you planning on setting her up with one of the married Doms? Greg would be perfect.” Greg was madly in love with his wife, Heather, but he enjoyed training a new sub from time to time. He wouldn’t fuck her. Actually, Greg was his best-case-scenario Dom. “It’s Greg.”

Julian shook his head. “No. I think she needs someone who is going to be utterly focused on her needs. I’m afraid I’m playing matchmaker here, Leo. I’m looking for someone who wants a permanent sub, who will go into this with an open heart. She’s been talking to him over the web and on the phone for a few weeks now. I think you’ll find these two are very suited to each other. I was careful.” Julian reached back and hit the button on his intercom. “Candice, you can send him in.”

He was here? Who the hell was he? Who was this Dom Julian was talking about? Had he put up a fucking classified ad? Seeking candy-ass Dom who will take sub under his wing and into his heart ? Vomit. No Dom in his right mind went into a training contract hoping to find a goddamn soul mate. And she’d been talking to him? She’d been sitting up late at night talking to some damn Dom while he’d been making himself sick over her?