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  He’d started to type a reply when he heard the station’s alarm sound out. He shoved his phone into his pocket and immediately grabbed the address, beating Wade out to the bay to get behind the wheel.

  “Is it a full moon?” Wade asked as they rolled.

  “I don’t think so. Why?”

  He shook his head. “The past twenty-four hours just seem particularly weird, for some reason. Even by Sarasota standards.”

  They did have an unusually high call load for this time of week, come to think of it. This call, unfortunately, was a DOA at an assisted living facility. At least they didn’t have to transport. They ran an EKG just to confirm, and then handed it off to the deputy, who’d also responded. He would then call in a funeral home or the coroner, depending on the circumstances.

  Not their problem, thankfully.

  They were only back fifteen minutes when another call hit.

  “Jesus,” Dexter muttered. “This is fricking insane.” He knew colleagues in larger cities like Tampa or Miami or Orlando were used to this kind of workload, but there in Sarasota, they usually weren’t this busy on a weekday morning, unless there was a massive weather event or something.

  Wade was head-down over his personal phone. “Full moon in a week.” He slipped it into his pocket. “So that’s not it.”

  “We’re just lucky, I guess?”

  “Must be.”

  Chapter Two

  All morning, Tamsin checked her e-mail on her personal phone any chance she had between teaching music classes at Sorrellson Academy. She knew Dex was working, and likely couldn’t respond right away, but Neil kept teasing her in texts.

  I’m thinking he’s going to let ME decide…

  Someone is in troooooouble.

  What are you going to trade me to make up for melting my gelato, hmm?

  She loved that fucking sadist, but if she had to take her chances, she hoped it was with Dex and not Neil.

  At least she could barter her way out of strokes with Dex by offering anal or a blowjob or something.

  Neil, not so much, since despite being her best friend and the only “family” she had, he was gay.

  And he fucking hit her harder than Dex did.

  A lot harder.

  Goddamned sadists.

  She loved both of them.

  Except right now, she was sort of pulling for Team Dex to save her ass.

  Literally.

  She’d first met Neil nearly eight years ago at a Suncoast Society munch. She’d just graduated college and landed herself a job teaching music at Sorrellson Academy, a private school in Sarasota. She and Neil had become play partners after immediately hitting it off. Neither of them had significant others at the time. She’d seen no reason not to have orgasm play be part of the deal.

  Although she felt it wasn’t exactly fair to Neil, because he never asked her to reciprocate, even though it was a negotiated green.

  Plenty of nights she’d masturbated to wishing Neil was just a tiny bit bi. The one time he had given in and let her blow him, she knew he really didn’t get much out of it.

  And then, six months after first meeting Neil, Tamsin’s roommate announced she was moving in with her boyfriend when their lease was up, meaning Tamsin would have to move or find another roommate. Neil had offered to let Tamsin move in with him.

  Seven years later, they were still roommates.

  It wasn’t like she had any family—no close family—she could turn to. A few cousins here and there. She didn’t know where her bastard of a birth father was, and her mom had died in a car accident right after Tamsin started college.

  Neil had become family by proxy. Twelve years older than her, he was like the older brother she’d never had…minus the BDSM stuff they did. Plus he worked for a bank, handling retirement accounts and stuff like that. He’d helped her make sure she was saving for her future, had the right kinds of disability insurance—all those things that she knew nothing about. Since he didn’t have any family either, they unofficially adopted each other. They had durable medical powers of attorney for each other, the annoying legalities that responsible adults were supposed to take care of.

  While both of them dated from time to time, Neil had been the one to carefully screen guys who showed too much interest of the wrong kind in Tamsin.

  So far, his track record of weeding out assholes had been one-hundred-percent.

  Then she’d met Dex, and even Neil grudgingly admitted he was a good guy after he hung in there while Neil put him through the wringer.

  Neil had pretty much run a full background check on Dex and gone through every mutual friend they had in the Suncoast Society to talk to others about him.

  The men’s relationship had been a tense one, at first, although Dex had shown great patience once Tamsin explained how protective Neil was of her.

  As Neil loosened up, so did Dex, until the two men became fast friends.

  It didn’t hurt that Dex still let Neil beat her ass, since Dex’s crazy schedule with the fire department meant sometimes they didn’t see each other for days at a time.

  Now if we could just find Neil someone.

  Tilly had even set the Frightful Five on the job. They had yet to turn up any subby gay male prospects for him. Tamsin felt a little guilty that she was getting to have her happily ever after and Neil was still single. Before she and Dex got married, once Dex’s apartment lease was up, he’d move in with them and they’d take their time to find a house together that was in their budget.

  Again, Neil’s suggestion.

  More a not-so-subtle demand, but she loved Dex even more for not bristling over it. She strongly suspected Neil was going to push for them to live with him long-term instead of moving out.

  It wasn’t like living at Neil’s put a crimp in their style. Sometimes, the men co-topped her. Or there were times Dex was playing with her and Neil might wander through the living room and watch or offer “helpful” sadistic suggestions to Dex. Dex was eight years younger than Neil, and they’d fallen into not only a dynamic of being buddies, but of mentor and student.

  Sometimes that was great…and sometimes Tamsin’s ass thought it wasn’t so great.

  Not that she was complaining.

  She worked her way through second-grade keyboard class, the third-grade baritone ukulele class, and the classical guitar class that was a mixed bag of students in the higher grades. Then the jazz band class, followed by orchestra.

  There was never a chance for her to become bored at her job. She’d even taught herself several wind instruments during her tenure at the school, and one of her older students had helped her learn the cello, since he was taking private lessons for that.

  He’d wanted to learn how to play electric guitar, but his parents wouldn’t pay for that. So she traded him lessons.

  This was her dream job, literally. Teaching music was her passion. She’d lucked into the job at Sorrellson, and was glad she hadn’t ended up going to work for the county school system, where they were slashing budgets for arts and activities.

  It was late in the afternoon before Dex finally replied to her e-mail.

  Sorry, busy day. Bad day. Neil’s choice. You know how much he loves his gelato. I’ll let him handle it.

  She hung her head with a sigh. Dammit.

  At the same time, she struggled not to let her body kick into autopilot. The last thing she wanted to do was be horny at work. As soon as Neil found out Dex’s decision, he would amp up his teasing.

  Dex still let Neil do orgasm play on her.

  One of these days, I will get those two drunk enough to want to do each other at least once.

  Well, get Dex drunk enough. She knew Neil wouldn’t need any coaxing, since he’d flat-out admitted to her he was attracted to Dex.

  That Dex both knew it and didn’t freak out over it spoke to how secure he was.

  No jealousy with him. Some normal envy that Neil got to spend more time with her on a regular basis than he did, but that was t
he nature of Dex’s job as a paramedic and he understood that.

  I’m a lucky woman.

  Her phone buzzed with an incoming text from Neil.

  Weeeeelllll? 3:)

  Her head drooped again. Dammit. I’m sooo screwed.

  * * * *

  Neil grinned as he set his personal cell on his desk and refocused on the computer screen in front of him.

  Yes, he was forty-three, and at some point he supposed being a “mature, responsible adult” should kick in, but this was sooo much fun.

  Did he wish he had a boyfriend? Of course he did. At least he could still get his sadistic urges met by torturing Tam.

  God, I love that girl.

  Dex wasn’t so bad, either.

  Actually, Dex was pretty damn hot. Thankfully, Neil had been able to sneak plenty of peeks at the dude’s ass and cock while Dex and Tamsin played, or skinny-dipped in the pool.

  No, of course the fact that Dex was the hunkiest guy Tamsin had brought home had played no role whatsoever in Neil finally accepting him.

  Well, okay, maybe a tiny little role, but that was just incidental and a happy coincidence.

  He was gay, not stupid.

  About a year into them being roomies, during a particularly intense scene one night at home, Tamsin had begged Neil to let her give him a blowjob in exchange for earning her own release. Both of them being single at the time, he’d given in and let her because, while he’d never let her do it before, it was within their negotiated limits.

  Hadn’t really done much for him, but that wasn’t any fault on her part. He’d ended up finally letting her come—solid A for effort and enthusiasm—and finishing himself off in the process while she was too busy moaning her way through the first of many forced orgasms to notice.

  He sometimes envied their friends who were bi, or at least heteroflexible enough that they could swing for the other team, even if on a limited, per-person basis.

  He didn’t even mind blowing his personal no-women track record for Tamsin, because, hellooo, he did love her.

  Just…not like that. Correction, he loved her intensely, but he wasn’t attracted to her like that.

  Lesson learned.

  Dex, on the other hand…

  Yeah, he would hit that, hard and repeatedly, if given a chance.

  Without hesitation.

  I really need to get out there more and try to find a boyfriend.

  Perving on his best friend’s straight fiancé—his submissive’s fiancé—was a long-term recipe for disaster. At the very least, it was a long-term recipe for his own disappointment.

  His phone finally vibrated with an incoming text from Tam.

  Sir said Your choice.

  Neil wondered if the slow smile he felt steadily engulfing his face made him look more like Anthony Perkins at the end of Psycho, or Jack Nicholson as the Joker in Batman.

  Then I suppose there’s a baby brat who can look forward to eating dinner with a well-warmed ass tonight.

  It took her a moment to reply. Yes, Sir.

  Now finally able to get his mind off that little matter, he forced his focus back to his work.

  Except it was difficult to focus when all he could think about was taking his belt to Tamsin’s ass when he got home.

  She texted him when she was leaving work.

  Good girl. Have dinner on the table when I get home. Naked. You can put a T-shirt on after. No bottoms. And get your towel ready.

  He leaned back in his chair, smiling.

  Waiting.

  Yes, Sir.

  That time, he did let a giggle escape as he set his phone aside. She’d both be nervous and horny as hell by the time he got home, begging for the belt to get it over with.

  And tonight he wouldn’t let her have her reward immediately. Dex was coming over after work. She could tackle him. Let her Dom handle her.

  Especially considering Neil had also wound her up yesterday and not let her come.

  Dex would have his hands full tonight.

  Maybe I should suggest to him to take a Viagra before he goes to sleep so she can ride him when she wants.

  He giggled again.

  When he pulled into the driveway next to her Hyundai, he took his time getting out. He knew she’d be watching for him, racing to drop into position just before he walked through the door.

  He’d know by the way she breathed, the way her pulse thrummed in her throat, that she’d been hurrying, watching.

  Waiting.

  Anticipating.

  He loved a good mindfuck, which he couldn’t do with most of his casual playpartners. Some basic mindfucks, sure.

  Tamsin thrived on that heavier level of play.

  He’d left his blazer and tie on, all business when he walked through the door with his laptop case over his shoulder.

  There she waited in the foyer, kneeling, head bowed, hands on her knees, naked except for the gold chain that was her day collar from him, and her engagement ring.

  He didn’t speak, struggling to wipe the smile off his face as he turned and closed the door behind him. He walked around her, knowing she wouldn’t dare move until he’d told her to.

  His baby brat wasn’t so brave when she knew she was up against the belt.

  Although she loved the belt and loved pulling that trigger, even unintentionally, to make him use it.

  He left his laptop case on the sofa and took his lunch bag into the kitchen, leaving it on the counter for her to take care of later.

  Returning to the foyer, he slowly walked around her, ending up standing in front of her.

  He let her spin out in the wild for another long minute before finally speaking. “Did you call the repair shop?”

  “Yes, Sir. First thing this morning when I got to work. They have to order the wheel and put a new tire on it.”

  “Hmm. That means you have to drive on the donut for how long?”

  “They hope it’ll be in by Friday. Once it’s in, I can schedule an appointment.”

  “Sit up.”

  She did, staring up at him with those gorgeous green eyes she had. He wasn’t into girls and never had been, but if he ever met a guy with that exact shade of green eyes, he might likely be a goner for them right off the bat.

  “I’m still not sure exactly how you managed to run over the curb. Explain.”

  Her face turned a lovely shade of red. “I got distracted, Sir.”

  “By?”

  “She had a cute purse.”

  Well, at least it wasn’t her phone. That was something she was really good about, keeping her phone in her purse when driving.

  But she had horrible luck with tires. There could be something in the middle of the road that everyone else managed to successfully drive around, and she could hit it with all four wheels without even trying.

  It wasn’t even that she was a bad driver. She was just…an unlucky one.

  “And how much is this going to set you back?”

  “Two hundred and fifty dollars, give or take.”

  “That turned out to be a pretty expensive purse you were staring at, huh?”

  Her face reddened even more. “Yes, Sir.”

  “Well, I’m going to go easy on you and go with twenty strokes. I was thinking about a ten-to-one ratio, but I’m starving and dinner smells great. You have your towel set out?”

  “Yes, Sir.” She’d need the towel or else there’d be a wet spot on the chair after she finished eating dinner.

  Especially since he wasn’t going to do orgasm play on her.

  Poor Dex. Hope he wasn’t expecting to get any sleep when he gets home.

  He slowly started unfastening his belt, knowing she couldn’t look away, deer in the headlights time. He took his time stripping it from the belt loops, holding the buckle in his right hand and taking several turns around his hand, the tail hanging down.

  “Why does Sir punish you for things like this?”

  “Because Sir loves me and wants me to be safe, and to remind m
e to be careful.”

  “That’s right. I love my baby brat very much. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you. Do you want Sir to keep you safe?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Do you want Sir to keep reminding you to pay attention?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Down.”

  She dropped into position, head and arms on the floor, ass high in the air.

  “Count.” He took the first stoke hard to make her gasp, his own cock twitching with the sound of her pain.

  “One, Sir…”

  She counted all twenty strokes, her body practically vibrating with need by the time he finished with her. Hell, if he reached between her legs right now, she’d probably come just from him touching her clit.

  But if she did that herself without permission, it would get her ten hard ones with a cane.

  “Sit up.”

  She did, her expression glazed, lower lip caught under her teeth.

  “That’s my good girl. All better.” He chuckled. “Until the next time you do something to get the belt.” He held his right hand out to her, the belt still wrapped around it.

  She leaned in and kissed the leather, lingering. Hell, once he’d let her keep doing it, just to see what she’d do, and she’d nearly given the thing a blowjob by the time he made her stop.

  If she’d been a guy, it would have been even sexier.

  He held out his left hand to help her up and pulled her in to kiss her forehead before enveloping her in a long, strong hug.

  “I’ll always protect my baby brat. I love you.”

  She practically melted in his arms. “I love you, too, Sir. Thank you.”

  “It’s my job to keep you safe, but I need you to work to keep yourself safe when I’m not there to protect you.” When they went out, he never let her drive.

  Ever. Dex usually didn’t, either. It wasn’t that she was a bad driver, she was just…

  Unlucky.

  He released her after a final kiss to the top of her head. “Dinner time. Put your T-shirt on. No panties.” He loosened his tie as he headed toward the kitchen, where she’d set the small eat-in table there.

  Slowly, she finally followed him.