Master Nolan stood in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest. He was so big he seemed to fill the doorway. With the scar down his darkly tanned face making him look cruel, he’d always made her a bit nervous, but his wife insisted he was actually sweet.
Beth must be delusional. Seriously.
“How are you, Sir?” Sally asked politely. She’d decided, in honor of her Doms’ homecoming, she’d be super-supersweet and the best submissive in the world.
She could do it, right? At least for today?
“Before we left for New York, she helped me tile the laundry room,” Galen said from behind Nolan. “She finished while we were gone and started this room by herself. She’s even better at it than I am.” The pride in Galen’s face made her eyes burn.
“That’s fine work, Sally,” Nolan said. “If you don’t find a computer job, you can work for me.”
The contractor never bothered with politenesses, so if he said she’d done well, she had. She couldn’t keep her smile back. “Thank you, Sir.”
“If you’re at a good place to stop, Beth is downstairs,” Galen said. “I’m sure she’d like some company.”
“Yes, Sir!” G and V had asked Nolan over to advise them on tearing out a wall in a downstairs bedroom. She hadn’t realized Beth would come too. “I’ll go right down.”
Washing the gunk off her hands, Sally made a face at herself in the mirror. Company and just look at her. Her denim shorts were spattered with grout, her faded T-shirt had the sleeves ripped off, and she’d yanked her hair back into a ponytail to keep it out of her way.
Once downstairs, Sally set up a tray with a pitcher of iced tea, glasses, small plates, and a bowl of snack mix, and carried it with her as she searched for her guest.
In the game room, the cat sat on the fireplace mantel, imitating a statue of Bast, the feline God. Glock asserted that—no matter what humans believed—Bast was in charge of the universe. “Hey, Glock,” Sally said. “How goes it?”
Glock gave her a tail flick indicating he found the world satisfactory at the moment.
When Galen had overheard her having a theological discussion with a house cat, he’d laughed himself stupid.
No one but Glock was in the game room, so Sally moved on. The office was empty. She finally found Vance and Beth in the great room.
Sally felt better, seeing that Beth was still in working clothes—cutoff overalls and a white tank top, red hair pulled back in a ponytail.
“There she is,” Vance said as Sally entered the great room. “If you’ll entertain the lady, sweetheart, I’ll go talk with Nolan about manly subjects.” He pulled Sally close enough to kiss the top of her head before making his escape.
“Hey, Beth.” Sally set the tray down on the coffee table and winced at the clutter of combs and brushes, nail polish, and cotton balls. Early last night, while waiting for her men to get home, she’d needed to feel girlie and had played with new hairstyles and given herself a manicure and pedicure.
She should have a sign on her—hopeless at housekeeping. “Sorry about the mess.”
“Like I care?” Beth gave her a quick hug and dropped down on the sectional. “But I’d love some of that iced tea. My project is in full sun.”
“Where are you working?” Sally asked, pouring them both drinks and nudging the bowl within reach.
“Seminole Heights. A couple from Boston are having an old Victorian remodeled, and they want the grounds landscaped.” After drinking half a glass of tea, Beth gave a pleased sigh. “How’s job hunting?”
“Well.” Sally frowned. “I’ve had offers and interest from a few places up north, but nothing down here. And I’d like to stay in Tampa.” Because her friends were here. The Shadowlands was here.
The Feds were here. Odd how quickly she’d changed her mind about leaving town.
Beth patted her hand. “You’ll find something that’s perfect for you. Just be patient.”
“Patient isn’t exactly a word in my vocabulary,” Sally grumbled.
“So very, very true.”
Sally threw a pretzel at her for the insult. “At least only working part-time with no school lets me pretend to be a carpenter, and see you guys, and, even better, to play with Zane.”
“Zane is such a darling.” A shadow crossed Beth’s face. “Kari is so lucky to have him.”
What was that about? Beth and Nolan had been together about two years and had married last year. “Are you planning to follow Dan and Kari down the baby trail?”
When Beth flinched and averted her gaze, Sally wanted to hit herself on the forehead.
“I—” Beth bit her lip. “It’s okay, Sal. It’s just that I can’t have children. The damage from my previous marriage was too much.”
Her husband had been a sick, abusive bastard, and Beth had scars all over her body. But she had internal damage too? “Christ in a swamp, it’s not fair that the creep left you even more—” Unable to think of the right word, Sally sat and put her arm around the slender woman, needing to comfort at the same time she wanted to kill Beth’s ex.
But Nolan had already taken care of that little task.
Beth leaned against Sally’s shoulder. “I don’t mind as much for me, but Nolan…” A tear slid down her sunburned cheek. “He said he’d like children, and I can’t. I feel so
“But…” Sally opened her mouth, searching for the right words, needing just the ones, but nothing came. “You shouldn’t. It’s not right—”
“What’s not right is not telling me what the fuck has been bothering you.” Nolan stalked into the room. His eyes were black ice, and his mouth twisted into a threatening line.
For a moment all Sally could do was cringe. But then she jumped up to stand in front of Beth. Maybe she could hold him off until her Feds got there. “Don’t touch her.”
Nolan stopped, way too close.
Sally felt her muscles tighten; the memory of being backhanded was awfully clear still.
A corner of Nolan’s mouth tipped up. “The rabbit has a Chihuahua to protect her?” He grasped Sally’s upper arms, lifted, and set her to one side.
“Hey!” Her lunge forward was stopped by a steely arm around her waist.
Vance chuckled. “Easy there. He’s not going to hurt her.”
“I should.” Nolan went down on one knee, still tall enough that his eyes were even with Beth’s. With a scarred hand under her chin, he lifted her face. “I had a nasty scene planned to pull answers out of you. To find out what’s made you unhappy.”
Her lips quivered. “I’m sorry, Master. I wouldn’t have married you if I’d—”
“I would have.”
His blunt statement made her blink. “But—”
“My family has kids to carry our bloodline.” He released her chin and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “If you want children, we’ll adopt them.”
“Really?” she whispered. Her blue eyes filled with tears.
“Sugar, I love you. I’ll do about anything to make you happy.” He picked Beth up and sat down, cuddling her in his lap. She buried her face against his chest, her shoulders shaking as she cried.
With a sigh of happiness, Sally slumped back against Vance. Despite scaring the spit out of people, Nolan really was as sweet as Beth insisted.
Vance kissed the top of Sally’s head before whispering, “See what happens if a submissive keeps secrets from her Dom. She’s miserable although she doesn’t have to be. Why don’t you tell me what you’re hiding, Sally?”
She stiffened. Would the FBI special agent cuddle her sweetly after hearing she’d hacked into the Harvest Association’s e-mails? Oh yeah, and she could tell him she was acting as a modern-day Robin Hood. He’d definitely understand her reasoning.
Pulling out of his arms, she smiled politely. “Would you like some iced tea, Sir?”
