The Men with the Golden Cuffs (Masters and Mercenaries #2)(96)

But he couldn’t tonight. Tonight he was too raw on the inside. He should never have brought her back here. He shouldn’t have laid a hand on her. He should have watched the demonstration, and then they all should have sat down and talked about it the way he would have with a sub he was training.

He needed things on the proper footing.

“Thank you, Serena.” No more endearments. He had to take it slow. For her. For himself. And for Adam, too. If Jake let him, Adam would just fall to his knees. They’d tried that already. It was time to try a bit of toughness.

He tucked himself back in and took a long breath. “Pull your skirt down. Adam, we should probably get the clamps off her. She’s had them on for a while. Let’s see if we can catch the next punishment scene. I want to be out of here by eleven o’clock.”

“What?” Serena sounded a little dazed, her mouth slightly open as she obviously tried to catch her breath.

So she’d thought she could get everything she’d wanted? Well, at least he hadn’t lost every damn battle of the night. He would win this one. “Serena, I had no intention of satisfying you this evening. You had a safeword, and you agreed to punishment. I haven’t agreed to sex.”

She shook her head as if trying to clear it. “I don’t understand.”

It was said with a flat cadence that bugged the hell out of Jake. “Serena, this was punishment. Intercourse would be a reward. You haven’t earned it. You wanted a D/s relationship. Here it is, sweetheart. Now clean yourself up so we can get to the rest of the night. Leave the plug in. You can remove it when we get home.”

“All right.” She took Adam’s hand, but the minute she was on her feet, she turned away. “I’ll take the clamps off myself, please. Could I have moment to myself? I’d prefer to clean up in private. And could I have my shirt back? I promise not to misbehave again.”

It wasn’t an unreasonable request. And it would be easier for him to not stare at her breasts all night. “You can wear your shirt. But allow Adam to take off the clamps. It requires some finesse.”

“Please, Jacob.” The request came out in a little huff, a breathy plea.

“Don’t blame me when it hurts like hell.” She wouldn’t even let them take care of her.

He stalked out the door, Adam hard on his heels.

“What the holy f*ck was that?” Adam asked, pulling on Jake’s arm. “Dude, why didn’t you just beat the shit out of her? It would have hurt less.”

And his night was complete. Adam was pissed again. “We talked about this. We’re supposed to show her what a D/s relationship is like.”

“You’re never that harsh with a sub. Never.”

He’d never had his heart ripped out by one, either. “I was perfectly polite. She disobeyed. She was punished, and quite frankly, I went easy on the punishment. She’s just mad she didn’t get multiple orgasms. It’s what she really was looking for. Well, I don’t intend to be the stud she puts out to pasture the minute this mission is over.”

Adam leaned against the wall, his whole body sagging. “It’s not going to work, is it? She wants us. I know she does. But if she won’t let herself care, then it can’t work. I thought she would break down during the punishment. I thought she would finally cry, but she’s further away than ever.”

And there was no way to reach her.

She would walk out, her shirt on and her armor up. They would go through the motions and then in a day or a week, she would dismiss them and get on with her life.

He would be left behind again.

What the hell was taking her so long? He wanted to get this cluster f*ck of a night over with. He walked to the door, ready to tell her to get moving, and then he heard it. He heard the one thing he couldn’t bluster against, couldn’t fake his way through.

She was crying.

Jake opened the door, every thought of leaving her destroyed by that one tiny sound.





Serena unhooked the second clamp and managed to not scream. Yep. He’d been right. It hurt like hell when the blood rushed back into her nipples, but it couldn’t possibly hurt more than him dismissing her utterly.

She held her aching breast and was grateful they hadn’t given her a bra. It wouldn’t matter now. She could put on a parka and still feel naked.

For just a few moments, though, she’d lost herself in them. There had been a little while where nothing had mattered except pleasing them. She’d forgotten everything else. She’d gotten to her knees and looked up and they’d both been standing there. It was everything she could have wanted. They’d been so beautiful together, their cocks straining toward her like two delicious treats. When she’d had those hard cocks in her mouth, she’d felt powerful. That was the glory of submission. She’d found it on her knees. When she’d swallowed Adam and then Jake down, she’d forgotten anything else existed except them. She’d been ready to do just about anything to hold that feeling.

And now she knew that it had all been a lie. She didn’t have any power at all.

And she’d asked for it.

A little sob escaped her mouth. She couldn’t help it. It was all so wrong, and there was no damn way to fix it.

Her nipples hurt and she had a stupid plug in her ass, and she was just so stupid to even try. Why had she even tried? She stumbled a little to the bed. She needed to put her shirt on and straighten herself up. She needed to find a way to be calm again. She wanted to go home.