Master No (Masters and Mercenaries, #9)(50)

She looked to her left and Theo’s brother was standing there. Ian Taggart was a wretchedly large man. The Taggarts seemed to only come in extra-large sizes. Still, he’d been sarcastic and personable this afternoon, and it was hard to feel really intimidated by a man who was so madly in love with his wife and two babies. She’d watched him nuzzle his babies and blow raspberries on their baby bellies. She beamed up at him. He was a safe Dom to talk to. He would respect the limits. “It’s like heaven, Sir.”

Taggart smiled. “It is that. I built this place to be a safe haven. For me and my wife and my friends. How’s my friend treating you?”

She didn’t even try to hold back the glow she felt. “Master T is wonderful. He’s been very good to me.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” His eyes were on the scene playing out to their left. They flared briefly, as though he was seeing something truly amazing, but she refused to look that way. Maybe Master T wouldn’t see it, but she wasn’t going to risk hurting him that way.

“Thank you so much for having me here. I know you don’t take many applicants.”

“Thank you for all your money. I hear you’re only going to use a portion of your yearly fee.”

That was something she was thinking about. “I don’t know. I’ve been ruminating on how to deal with it. I think I’m going to let it ride for now. We’ve got a month or so before I need to decide. I like Master T. He’s making me wonder if I shouldn’t stay here in the States.”

Taggart’s blue eyes were suddenly on her. “Are you serious?”

He didn’t believe her? “Yes. I really like him. I’m glad we had that three weeks to get to know each other. It’s made the rest of our time together so much easier. You did a very good job pairing us. I think we’re really compatible.”

“Of course. We consider a lot of factors when we pair Doms and subs.” His face split in a grin. “Actually we roll the dice and you two looked pretty hot together, so that seemed to be a good way to go.”

He was an ass, but a likable one. “Good to know.”

He was quiet for a moment, but it was an oddly companionable silence. Faith liked quiet. She could tell as much about a person from their silences as she could from their words. Ian Taggart was comfortable with himself, with his space. He owned the space around him, but not in a super-aggressive way. More like a benevolent king watching over his kingdom.

Up ahead, a woman approached Ten. She was dressed in what looked like a latex bodysuit.

“I thought you could be good for him,” Taggart said finally.

She looked over to the big blond Dom. “Really? How could you know?”

“Theo. I asked his opinion. I trust my brother’s instincts and I’ve read all the information on your background. In my business, you learn to size people up fairly quickly. I thought you could be very good for Master T. He’s had it rough.”

“I know. He had a hard start to life, but he seems fairly undamaged by it.” Master T seemed willing to accept affection in a way some people wouldn’t after being abandoned as a small child. He was charming and open.

“He buries a lot, Faith. Don’t think you see everything. There’s a hell of a lot of pain bubbling under his surface. Just take care.”

“Did he ever find her?” It was something she’d been wondering about.

“Who?”

“His mother.” She glanced back and the woman was still talking to Master T, thrusting out her chest.

“No,” Taggart said. “At least not that I know of. I don’t think he ever looked. He slipped through the cracks of the system, but he was adopted as a teenager. He has a sister. You met her this morning.”

And that adoption might have been what saved him. “Yes, Phoebe’s lovely. I like her a lot.”

“Has he mentioned his brother?”

She shook her head. “Brother? No. I didn’t know he had one. I only knew about Phoebe.”

“Ah, well, that would be one of those things bubbling under the surface. Forget I said anything. That’s his story to tell. Just know that you’re welcome here at Sanctum. Whatever happens between you and Master T, you’re a member now. You have rights. Oh, and you should probably go deal with that.”

Her jaw dropped. That woman was putting her hands on Master T. She was looking up at him and obviously pleading some kind of case because she was acting like a supplicant. Anger flared. God, she was jealous. She’d never been jealous before. Not like this, and she was stuck with the rules of the club. “I suppose I should let him handle it.”

“Only if you want every woman here to think you’re a door mat. Sorry, I mean that in the most politic way possible, but you should know the subs here at Sanctum aren’t exactly big on letting other women paw their men.”

That was good to know. The other clubs she’d been at had been a bit harder core, and the subs weren’t permitted to solve things on their own. It was the one thing she’d disliked. Sanctum, it seemed, valued its submissive members and their rights. And it was her right to kick some ass.

“Doc, if you break her, are you going to fix her?” Taggart was grinning from ear to ear as though he was really enjoying himself.

Damn Hippocratic Oath. “Yes. But I won’t use pain meds.”