Colby stepped through the doorway, his gaze landing on Charli, then darting back to Grant. “Everything’s all set up, Boss. Need anything else?”

When Grant didn’t respond immediately, Charli looked back to him, finding her cowboy smiling darkly.

“Perhaps.” Grant hooked a finger in her collar, guiding her upward. Her legs struggled to remember their function, and Grant had to grab her elbow to steady her. Once she’d regained her balance, he brushed the back of his hand along one of her nipples and she gasped at the sharp snap of sensation.

Fuck. She felt like a grenade with the pin stuck—ready to detonate, but unable to without that final pull.

“Do you need to come, Charlotte?”

God, yes. “Please.”

“By whatever means I deem appropriate?”

“Yes, sir,” she said quickly, too far gone to worry about details.

“Good girl.”

He grabbed the tie he’d discarded earlier from the arm of the couch and stepped behind her, fastening her wrists at the small of her back. The move had her breasts jutting out and fully exposed to Colby, who’d stayed near the doorway. The wolfish grin that crossed Colby’s face had her belly fluttering.

Grant slid a hot palm along her ass and sat his chin on her shoulder, his stubble sending goose bumps along her skin. “You know, Colby? Before I agreed to take her on myself, my lovely Charlotte asked to be trained by you.”

Colby’s eyebrow lifted. “Is that right? Well, color me flattered.”

“And she probably thinks that I’m way too possessive to share her.” Grant’s finger traced the cleft where her butt met her thigh. “But she doesn’t realize that one of the ultimate acts of ownership is having the say over who can and can’t touch your sub.”

Colby took a step toward them.

She forgot to breathe.

“I can’t have her this squirmy when I’m tying her up for the demo.” Grant traced his hand up her side and cupped her breast, plumping it. “Taste her, Colby. She’s very sweet. And very, very responsive. I bet between the two of us, we can have her coming without ever touching her pussy.”

Charli’s heart hammered hard against her ribs. Grant was going to let another man touch her. She could stop it. She could use the safe word. But the thought of them both was only making her wetter. It was the stuff of fantasies, but no one really acted on those, right?

Grant had told her to put trust in him, that whatever he told her to do was for their mutual benefit. And for some reason, she felt compelled to listen. Plus, in her world, men didn’t look at her like this. Having two potently handsome men treating her like she was some sort of siren was damn hot.

Colby’s hazel eyes searched hers, obviously double-checking that she was on board with this. When she didn’t say a word, he closed the distance between them and lowered his head. Moist heat wrapped around her nipple as Colby took her flesh into his mouth. She cried out at the sudden rush of sensation, her nerves humming like a power line ready to spark. Grant’s hand continued to cradle her breast, holding her in place for Colby’s attention, and he trailed kisses along the curve of her neck.

The sight of Colby’s lips moving over her skin and Grant’s long, tan fingers stroking her breast was erotic overload. Her clit pulsed between her thighs, blood pumping to all her most sensitive parts. Grant pressed his teeth into her shoulder until she felt the snap of pain race through her. “You’re so goddamned responsive, freckles. You’re getting me hard all over again.”

He licked the spot he’d bitten, then stepped out from behind her. His gaze branded her as he took in the full frontal view of her naked and bound, another man sucking her nipple to a hard, aching point. Grant reached out and pinched her other nipple. She bit back another yelp.

He smiled and nudged Colby over a bit. “You have permission to come.”

The hot cavern of Grant’s mouth closed over the other aching bud, sucking and nibbling without pretense of gentleness. Whereas Colby was playful and teasing, Grant was unrelenting intensity. Her body bucked and her arms strained to reach out and grab the two men, but the tie didn’t give.

Grant gripped her waist, steadying her. Moisture painted her thighs, her need for all of him turning her inside out. If he would just touch her clit, slide his fingers inside her, she’d be able to get there. She wriggled against his hand, trying to convey that message. But he smacked her thigh hard. Then, the two men bit down simultaneously, and every knotted part inside her came unraveled in one blissful moment.

She screamed, the combination of pain and wicked pleasure launching her into orgasm. Her sex pulsed in time with her pounding heart, and her breath came in sharp bursts. The sensation was different than a normal climax, sharp and fast, a release that somehow satisfied and made her ache for more at the same time.

The men switched to gentle licks and her knees wobbled beneath her.

“Grant,” she gasped, a plea.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got you. I won’t let you fall,” he whispered.

Colby backed off, and Grant gathered her to him. Her head sagged against his chest, his words crashing over her.

I won’t let you fall.

If only he could truly guarantee that. She already felt her world tilting, and it had nothing to do with her shaky legs.

FIFTEEN

Grant waited until Charli’s breathing returned to normal, then wrapped a silk robe around her shoulders and kissed the crown of her head. She gave him a faint smile as she tucked her arms into the robe.

“What’s that look for?” he asked.

She glanced at the doorway Colby had used to exit. “Nothing, really. I guess I just never would’ve pegged you as the sharing type.”

“Is that right?”

She tied the robe’s belt around her waist and sent him a sly look. “You have spoiled, only child written all over you.”

He smirked, though the words niggled a sore spot inside him. “I’m the eldest of four actually. Two sisters and a brother. And though my momma tried, my daddy would’ve never let her get away with spoiling us.”

She tilted her head, as if thrown by the revelation, and leaned against the wall. “Wow, one of four. Never would’ve guessed that. Are you close to your family?”

“Nope.” He headed over to a large cabinet in the corner of the room to dig for a few things for the demo and to avoid her inquisitive look.

“Is it because of this?”

He grabbed a switchblade sharp enough to cut through rope and hooked it to belt. “Last I checked this isn’t interview time, Ms. Reporter.”

The little huff she made would’ve brought a smile to his face under any other circumstance, but her line of questioning was sending him to that guilty place he didn’t like to visit.

“So you can strip me naked and tie me up, but I can’t ask you a little bit about yourself?”

He turned around, pinning her with a fierce look. “Yes. That’s how this works. We’re not on a date, Charli. This isn’t get-to-know-you time.”

Her jaw flexed, a wounded expression flitting over her features before she covered it.

Ah, hell. Now he felt like a dick. This is why he avoided pillow talk at all costs. It never led anywhere good. But Charli hadn’t earned his ire. “Fine. Yes, sometimes I like to share. Knowing someone is mine and I have the say on who can and can’t touch her turns me on. But that’s not to say I’m not possessive.”

“Meaning?”

“When I’m with a sub, I expect her to be exclusive to me while we’re involved. Me allowing someone else to touch her during play is different than her seeing other guys.”

She nodded, a little I-told-you-so playing at the corners of her mouth. “So, I was right. You are selfish.”

“Very.” He stepped forward and set his hands on her shoulders. “And as for your other question, my family is happy and successful and better off without me as part of it. Can we leave it at that?”

The sympathy that crossed over her face dug through him like a trowel. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her head to his chest. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pried.”

He rubbed her back, enjoying holding her maybe a little too much. “You don’t have to apologize. I should’ve expected it. You’re nosy by nature.”

“Hey.” She shoved at his chest, a laugh on her lips as she made a feeble attempt at escape.

He grabbed her belt and pulled, opening her robe and pressing her against him. “Nosy. And naughty as all get out, I might add.” He slipped his hands onto her bared waist. “Likes to be shared, gets off on a little fear, and has a body that responds like it was meant for this. You’re a surprise at every corner, freckles.”

“I’ve always been an overachiever,” she said with mock seriousness. “And clearly, you’re terrible at reading people.”

He pinched her hip, earning him a delicious yelp. “Come on, smart-ass. Let’s get this demo over with. If I have to wait much longer to get you in my dungeon, I’ll end up fucking you in front of everyone out there.”

There it was. That flare of heat and fear lighting her eyes. The desire in him swelled, feeding on it. It was a drug he could get used to imbibing.

She wet her lips, and he stared at her mouth, wanting to kiss her, to taste that need from her. The thought punched him in the sternum—the shock of that old, now-alien desire almost knocking him on his ass.

He didn’t do kissing. Beyond the occasional friendly peck, it was off limits. The act always seemed too tender, too personal, a betrayal to the memory of the last woman he kissed.

He cupped Charli’s cheek and brushed a thumb over her lips, but held back from putting his mouth on hers. What was it about this girl that made him want to break all his rules? He sighed and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Time to get you trussed up, darlin’.”

Grant led Charli out of the staging room and into one of the training rooms where a small audience waited for them. Charli tensed beneath his grip when she stepped into the spotlighted area. He’d anticipated some fear and kept her close to his side. “Breathe, freckles. You look beautiful. These people are lucky that they get the privilege of seeing you.”

She nodded, though he could feel the harried beat of her heart at her wrist. “Sorry. The last time I was paraded onstage like this was when I was eight and my mother forced me into a beauty pageant. I tripped, tore my dress, and all the other kids laughed at me.”

Her tone was light, but the pain he could hear beneath it twisted something in his chest. He halted her at the center of the small platform and pulled the tie he’d used to bind her arms earlier from his pocket. He put his knuckle beneath her chin, keeping her attention on him and not on the people in the crowd. “Charlotte, I’m going to blindfold you.”

Her eyes widened.

“Trust me. This will help you focus on my voice and the sensations, and let the fear go. Forget that the audience is here. It’s just you and me up here, okay?”

He watched her throat work as she swallowed. “But what if I mess something up?”

He frowned. Her desire to do everything exactly right was damn endearing, but he hated to see the stress creasing her brow. “Relax, darlin’. Nothing you could do up here will disappoint me. No one is here to judge you or laugh at you. You could safe word the minute the rope touches your skin and everyone would understand. All right?”

She nodded, though doubt still lingered in her eyes. “Yes, Grant.”

“Good girl.” He stepped around her and tied the silk over her eyes, hoping the sooner he visibly blocked the audience out, the sooner she’d be able to forget they were there. After giving her a minute to adjust to the blindfold, he removed her robe.