Dominance Never Dies (Masters and Mercenaries #11)(4)

He missed his brother. They had fifteen minutes. If he thought she would pout or complain that he wasn’t going to get more physical, he was in for a surprise.

“Come here, Sir.” She’d called him Case all night, but something had changed between them. She took his hand and led him back to the big, comfy-looking couch. “Why don’t you sit for a few minutes?”

He sat down, but he stared at her suspiciously. “Mia, I told you this isn’t a good time.”

But she thought it was. She’d seen how the subs soothed their Doms. She dropped to her knees and put her head in his lap, turned away from that part of him she really was interested in. It was just she was more interested in easing his pain tonight. In building something with him.

“What was Theo like, Sir?”

He was quiet for a moment and then his hand found her hair and he stroked her. She could feel him relax.

“He was a little insane,” he said with a shaky laugh. “I miss him.”

He started to talk and Mia listened.





Case stepped into the locker room, hoping he didn’t have a goofy grin on his face.

He passed by one of the mirrors and realized his hope was dashed. He looked like a dumbass teenaged kid who’d just kissed his first girl.

Damn, but he kind of didn’t care. Mia was hot and sweet and so gorgeous his dick hurt.

The real trouble was something else kind of reacted to her, too. Like everything else. His whole soul kind of softened the minute she walked in the room the first time.

God, he wanted to talk to his brother about Mia. Theo would know what to do. Ian would talk to him, but only after he gagged a couple of times first. He could go to Sean. Sean would give him sage advice and shit, but it had always been Theo who knew what to say to him.

Mia had known what to do. He’d thought for a second that she was going to offer him sex. When she’d dropped to her knees in front of him, his cock had jumped in his pants, but the rest of him had been so disappointed because he’d wanted more from her. Then she’d laid her head on his lap and asked about his brother and for fifteen minutes he’d found some peace.

“Dude, that girl is hot,” a masculine voice said.

He turned and saw Michael Malone standing next to him. He hadn’t seen much of Michael all night. He’d been off with Bear and Boomer and a couple of the pretty new subs, but it was obvious they’d been watching him.

Or rather Mia. They’d watched Mia in her corset and leather boy shorts. Yeah, that bugged him. It wouldn’t if she was his, but their relationship was brand spanking new—as in he hadn’t even spanked her yet, much less put a collar around her throat.

Did he want that? He needed time with her. She was the most luscious thing he’d ever seen. And yet that wasn’t what had made him want to throw her over his shoulder and carry her off. It was her smile and how the world seemed a little lighter when she walked into a room. It was how easily she made friends. Kori and Sarah seemed to adore her and he knew it wasn’t easy getting into that tight-knit group. He hadn’t wanted to return her to them. He’d wanted to sit there with her, talking about his brother and stroking her hair. He could have sat there with her until dawn.

“She’s more than a piece of ass.”

Michael immediately backed off. “Whoa, sorry, man. I didn’t realize you were serious about her.”

Was he? Damn it. These were the kinds of things he would talk about with Theo. He wouldn’t even have to call him because Theo would be standing beside him. Theo would have been telling him how to deal with someone like Mia. Someone sweet and soft and kind.

Theo would have been standing there telling him that Mia was nothing at all like Courtney. Mia wouldn’t care that he didn’t have any damn money. He’d stood there like an idiot explaining he’d spent everything he had to make life easier on Erin because Theo was gone and it was all his responsibility now. So much f*cking responsibility because his brother was dead and Theo’s girl was pregnant and that left Case to make things right.

He couldn’t go into any relationship without the woman understanding he had to take care of his brother’s almost wife and kid, though he hadn’t mentioned the pregnancy. That was a surprise for another time. Until Erin actually acknowledged her condition, he wasn’t mentioning it to anyone outside the family. Mia hadn’t blinked. She’d told him he was doing the right thing and why the hell would he even question it.

Mia might be the one. The silly, stupid, romantic movie one.

One good f*cking thing in his life.

“I don’t know if I’m serious about her yet.” He definitely needed time. Time to get used to the fact that he was kind of serious about this woman. Way more serious than he’d been in forever.

He needed to know more about her. The couple of times they’d talked, she’d managed to turn everything around to him. It had been such a change from his usual girl that he was kind of in a fog when she was around. She seemed so interested in who he was as an actual person.

“So you’re cool if I ask her out?” Michael asked.

He felt his whole body swell in response. Like a caveman who’d been challenged.

Michael grinned at him in the mirror. “Message received.”

Case started for his locker. “You’re an ass.”

Michael followed after him. With the exception of Theo, Michael was his closest friend. Michael had been on the CIA black ops team with him. Ten’s Men, as they’d called themselves. Now they were Tag’s. “Maybe, but you’re completely delusional if you think you’re not crazy about that chick.”