Seduced by the Game (57 page)

The Domme returned to her
lineup of men. Madeline turned and headed toward the coat racks.

Tim hurried to catch up
with her. And to explain.

“I thought I could do it.
One night and this would be behind me. I could focus on your needs and—”

She spun around and
smacked his chest. “My needs? How in the world do you know what I need? You
assume I’m a sub because I responded to your brother pulling the big tough
alpha male routine?”

“Aren’t you?” He’d been
wrong. He wanted to be wrong. If either of them had to do without, it would be
him.

“I am, but right now I’m
tempted to strap you to the nearest cross and beat you! She could have hurt
you, and then what? I was supposed to be grateful that you’d taken a beating so
you could erase a huge part of the man I lo—” She growled when his lips curved.
“Don’t you dare look all pleased. I’m very close to hating you right now.”

“Let me say it first
then.” He bit back a laugh as he caught her wrist before she could smack him.
“I love you. But I was stupid and I’m sorry. Feel free to beat me.”

“Don’t tempt me.” She
crossed her arms behind his neck and grabbed a fistful of his hair. “I’ll do
it.”

His nostrils flared as her
eyes dilated. Not once during the scene with Silverfalls had he been even
remotely aroused, but now? Hell, he was fully erect and wanted nothing more
than to kneel for Madeline. She’d be magnificent with a whip in her hands…but
no. She’d never played with a whip. Not wielding one anyway. Actually, he had
no idea how experienced she really was.

He’d managed to make a
real mess of things.

Only, he hadn’t expected
her to show up here. How had she known to where to find him?

“You’re thinking hard and
I can guess why. Your brother ratted you out, Tim. And I’m glad he did. I
should thank him.” She lowered her hands, swiveling on her heels to walk away
from him yet again.

The cold seeping into the
warehouse slithered over him as he quickly trailed Madeline to a lounge type
setup at the far end of the room. Three large leather sofas on a gray shag rug
surrounded a sturdy wood coffee table. Two naked subs were entwined on the
table, both collared, making out for the amusement of the handful of Doms in
suits, watching them. Dean glanced up as Madeline approached.

Tim’s brother snorted as
he stood. “I take it you decided not to take my advice.”

“You’re a smart man, Dean.
But I’m glad you asked me to come here. Tim wanted to shut down one side of
himself. I won’t allow it.” She placed her hands on her hips. “But I’ve found
something I want to explore.”

Dean leaned forward,
elbows on his knees, shooting Tim a curious look before returning his focus to
Madeline. “I’m listening.”

Madeline inclined her
head. “Good. I won’t attempt a whip without proper training—which I’d like you
to give me—but maybe a flogger? I want to hurt him, but not so much that he’s
useless to the team.”

What?
Tim wet his lips with his
tongue. Tried to project a big “hell no” through some magical sibling bond.

Which he either didn’t
have with his brother, or Dean dismissed because he was a twisted fuck. His
brother stood and grabbed his large leather toy bag. “I misjudged you, sweetheart.
And I’d be more than happy to teach you how to hurt him.” Dean finally met
Tim’s eyes. And somewhere in there was the boy who’d melted Tim’s favorite G.I.
Joe with a magnifying glass when Tim had broken his drumsticks. The same boy
who’d grown into a man Tim could call on his worst days and simply listen if
that was all Tim needed, or throw a few punches if all went to hell.

Sometimes his worst enemy.
Always his best friend.

He trusted Madeline. And
yeah, Dean too. Kinda. He could count on leaving the club alive. In one piece.

But not much else if Dean
had anything to say about it.

* * * *

What in the world am I
doing?

Madeline stared at the
back of Dean’s head, the weight of the leash in her hand feeling so very…not
wrong, but off. Tim hadn’t knelt, or groveled, when she’d taken the collar from
his brother—a collar that didn’t mean much according to Dean—and placed it
around his neck. If Tim had behaved overly submissively, she would have
stopped, but she still saw him as the man she wanted. The man she’d fight for.

The leash tugged as they
reached an area with only a chair and a big metal bucket. She swallowed hard
and looked back at Tim. His lips were pressed together and he was glaring at
his brother.

Dean just laughed. “This
isn’t my scene, brother. No mind fucking. I’m here as a mentor, that’s all. And
even that is pushing my comfort limits, so don’t start freaking out or I’ll
have Silverfalls teach her the ropes.”

“You’re an asshole. You
know I hate this setup.” Tim moved closer to her and she reached back to take
his hand. His palm was damp. He’d done exactly the kind of scene he and Dean
were discussing. And she had a feeling it hadn’t gone well.

I may have to kill your
brother, love.
She gave Dean a hard look, sure her thoughts were projected when
his smirk disappeared. “You won’t push
his
limits in this scene. Unless
I’m wrong, I’m in control now.”

Tim straightened at her
side. She could sense his support and something more. He was proud of her.
Which gave her the strength she needed to face a Dom she’d usually surrender
to.

“I’m not the bastard you
both seem to think I am. Tim is comfortable with you, and this is the farthest
we can get from the main attractions.” Dean nodded toward the center of the
room where a beautiful, long-limbed woman was somehow binding herself with
graceful twists and flips, rising higher and higher on a rope slung over the
rafters. “Most of those in attendance have been doing this for years. You’re
both trying something new. Tim is a shitty sub, and I can’t see you even
playing at being a Top. Do either of you get off on humiliation?”

Tim squared his shoulders
and scowled at his brother. “Fuck you, Dean.”

“That kind of talk
wouldn’t be allowed if you weren’t my brother, Tim. Since you are, it’s even
worse. So just shut up.” Dean held his hand out toward the chair. “Have him
sit—I can tell you don’t want him kneeling for you yet, but you need him lower
than you to help your dynamics. Make sure he understands what he’s getting
into. Even though he’s a man, I would be a little more hands-on if we weren’t
related. Since that is a hard limit for me, you’ll just have to follow your
instincts and listen to my instructions.”

She nodded and stiffened
her spine as she looked at Tim. She noticed how his throat worked like he was
swallowing hard. His lips parted like he couldn’t get enough air. His fists
were clenched at his sides.

He certainly didn’t come
off as a sub. But his eyes held the same tenderness they always did when they
met hers. Which made it easier to give the leash a firm tug and lead him to the
chair. He wanted this.

And maybe she did too. She
wouldn’t know until she tried. “There were so many ways we could have started
this, Tim. I get not being into vanilla sex, only fucking those in the
lifestyle because you can’t stand the idea of plain old missionary after years
of kinky fun.”

Tim shook his head.
“That’s not why—”

“Quiet!” She pressed her
lips together when his jaw clenched. She hadn’t meant to raise her voice, but
she had no damn clue what she was doing. All she knew is that she’d lose her
nerve if she stopped. “You came here to submit, Tim. So do so. I’m disappointed
that you couldn’t talk to me first. If you had, I might have come with you and
we could have negotiated how this was going to work. Because I want to make it
work. Don’t you?”

He lowered his gaze.
Nodded once. “More than anything.”

“Good. Then this is what
we’re going to do. I’m going to let your brother show me how to use a flogger.
I’m pissed enough to use one to punish you, but that doesn’t feel right. So
you’re going to sit there, holding on to the seat by your hips.” She drew in a
sharp inhale and spun to face Dean. “And watch while your brother uses the
flogger on me. Not for pleasure, I’ve done that before. Show me how it can be
used for discipline.”

“
What?
No!” Tim
moved to stand, but she slapped her hand into his chest without shifting her
attention from Dean. Tim’s chest vibrated under her hand as he let out an angry
sound. “Dean, don’t you dare.”

“Silence, sub.” Dean’s
lips quirked. His eyes darkened as he folded his arms over his chest. “You’re
supposed to be negotiating with him, pet. If you want to play with me, I’d
suggest you ask nicely.”

“I’m not giving you
control of this scene, Dean. I am temporarily handing over control of myself so
you can teach me. And I can punish him.” She smiled when Dean’s brow furrowed.
This was actually fun. She enjoyed being flogged, hated being punished, but for
some reason even knowing this would hurt didn’t diminish the sense of power she
held. The punishment would be effective because Tim would hate her taking this
for him. Which was the point. And Dean? Well, she was serious about learning
from him. And maybe teaching him a thing or two while she was at it. After all,
Dom or not, he was still a man. “He has a choice. He can end the scene at any
time, which is more than he gave me when he agreed to submit to that Domme.”

“A very good point.” Now
Dean looked over at Tim. “So decide, brother. Are you going to end this?”

Tim gaped at him. “You
can’t be seriously considering—”

“She has potential. I
think she’ll make an excellent student. I’m willing to do things her way.”

Madeline had to fight not
to bounce and cheer at what she considered a huge win. She had Dean on her
side.
Finally.

Now if only Tim would give
it a chance. He’d been willing to go to an extreme to be with her. She was
offering him a far lesser evil.

Shaking his head, Tim held
out his hand. Sighed with relief when she took it in hers. “I can’t share you
with him, Madeline.”

“I’m not asking you to.”

“Then…then you only want
him to train you? You want to be my Domme?”

This time, she shook her
head. “No. Not all the time anyway. But I might learn to like it—is that what
you’re afraid of?”

“I’m afraid he’ll hurt
you.”

A lump rose in her throat
as she envisioned him standing in a line with other men, ready to serve that
woman. She wanted the bitterness and the anger from that image to go away and
not come back. And there was only one way she knew how to do that. “Nothing he
does will hurt as much as what you almost did. This is
your
punishment,
Tim. Then it will be forgotten. We can start fresh.”

He went still and she
could tell by the way his eyes widened, by the way his grip on her hand
tightened, that he understood. There were Doms who didn’t understand how
liberating a punishment that gave a clean slate could be.

But he wasn’t a Dom. He’d
stood on both sides of the leash, and he really, truly could appreciate what
she needed for them both.

“I agree.” Tim brought her
hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. Then he lowered his hands to his
sides and held on to the chair exactly as she’d instructed. “I’m sorry.”

“I know.” She bit her
bottom lip, nodding back at Dean before putting her hands on Tim’s knees to
brace herself. Dean placed his hand on the small of her back, a solid,
supportive gesture before he folded her skirt up to bare her ass and thighs.
She pressed her eyes shut, prepared for the heavy thud.

Tim cursed under his
breath.

The flogger cut through
the air with barely a sound. Hit the fleshy part of her thigh with a
Whack!
A vicious sting, slicing like a white-hot razor. Another on the other side. She
hissed through her teeth, her legs shaking as she fought not to drop to her
knees to escape the pain. By the fifth, the pain had shifted faster than it
ever did, with the dull pain of a leather flogger coming down with harder and
harder thuds. There was a sweet edge to the heat, tantalizing her nerves until
she was rising up to meet each strike of the falls.

Dean laughed and dropped
the flogger by her feet. A rubber flogger.

You son of a—

No, Madeline wouldn’t
insult his mother. She was Tim’s mother, too.

Asshole!

Tapping her butt lightly,
then taking hold of her wrist to pull her up straight, Dean spoke softly. “I
could have drawn that out a little longer, but I wanted to end it on a pleasant
note. And he’s suffered enough.”

Her behind throbbed, but
she dismissed it as she followed Dean’s gaze to where Tim was sitting at the
edge of the seat, his white-knuckled grip seeming to be the only thing that kept
him there. He looked like he wanted to kill his older brother.

“I’m all right.” She
pressed her hand to Tim’s cheek and kissed him, long and slow, relieved with
how quickly he responded to her. “I have been punished before.”