Ian had saved Derek’s life in Afghanistan and covered up a very substantial flub on the former sergeant’s part. It had been a messy bloody affair, and Ian had cleaned it up. He knew he was going straight for the throat. Brighton still hadn’t forgiven himself for what had happened, but Ian couldn’t afford to back down.
“Damn it.” Brighton leaned forward. “That is so fucking unfair.”
“You should know better than most that life isn’t fair, Derek.” Ian couldn’t back down. Didn’t even want to. Favors were meant to be called in, and he’d done Derek Brighton a big one.
Brighton held a hand up in surrender. “All right, but you have to keep me up to date. You should know that the minute this affects another civilian, I won’t care what I owe you. I’ll do my job, Ian.”
He would do it because once he hadn’t and that one incident had affected the rest of his life. Ian knew he should be damn happy he had that favor or Derek’s duty would screw them all. “I wouldn’t expect less.”
Charlie relaxed a little.
Brighton turned slightly and motioned toward the bar, holding up a single finger. Jillian nodded and started to pour him a beer. “I don’t think I’m in the mood to play tonight. The good news is that frees me up to drink.”
Two drinks were all anyone was allowed at Sanctum if they were playing, but all of his Doms were known to treat the bar like a bar when they weren’t. Derek, especially. Lately, Ian had noticed Derek didn’t play much. He seemed to prefer to watch scenes and drink and go home alone.
“This one’s on me.” It was the least he could do and besides, Ian wasn’t drinking this evening. For the scene he had planned, he wouldn’t touch alcohol.
Jillian brought over a frosty mug and sat it down in front of Brighton. Ian motioned her over and quietly asked that she find her Dom and request he take care of Chelsea. Jillian, who had also witnessed the scene, nodded her assent and went to look for her husband, Ryan.
Charlie’s face tilted up, and there were tears in her eyes.
“Don’t,” Ian said. He didn’t need a crying sub. “And don’t forget protocol. I’ve been lax. I won’t be now.”
There were advantages to being able to control her ability to talk. He didn’t have to listen to mushy thank yous. Actually, this was kind of the dream. Charlie couldn’t talk. She could only sit there and look pretty. If only there was a high protocol for not getting herself killed by assassins. He would definitely put that shit in place.
Brighton took a long sip of his beer, watching them carefully. “Are you sure it’s the right time to take a sub? Don’t get me wrong. I’m actually happy to see you with a sub, but aren’t you a little worried she could get caught in the cross fire?”
“She’s practically bulletproof.” He slapped her very juicy ass. “And she’s solid. She can take a lot of damage.”
Charlie’s mouth firmed to a stubborn line and her eyes narrowed, but she didn’t say a word. She just glared at him.
Yeah, he liked high protocol.
Alex chose that moment to carry in a very happy looking Eve. She was wrapped in a blanket and cuddled in her husband’s arms. Alex sat down on the couch beside Ian and Charlie. “Hey, Jillian, can you get me a beer? You want anything, baby?”
They were through with play for the evening, but Eve just shook her head and cuddled closer.
Alex grinned. “She’ll be asleep in a couple of minutes. She’ll be snoring away.”
Eve slapped at her husband’s chest affectionately. “I do not snore.”
“Of course, angel.” Alex mouthed a “wow” Ian’s way. “So how’s everything going tonight? Is Charlotte enjoying Sanctum?”
He wished he could put Alex in high protocol. “She loves it here. She’s really looking forward to her first scene.”
Charlie’s eyes widened. He hadn’t mentioned they would be playing together here. Her lips curled up and a grateful look came into her eyes. She very likely thought he was planning to spank her or flog her and then do what he used to do. Fuck her hard and long in front of an audience. Charlie didn’t mind other people watching. She didn’t demand it, but in a club environment, she wouldn’t shy away from it either. She would give as good as she got. She wouldn’t hold back for a minute.
But he didn’t intend to spank her. And he wasn’t going to fuck her. Probably. No. Definitely. Definitely probably not going to fuck her.
She wiggled in his lap.
Shit. He was going to fuck her.
“I saw Ryan getting the cotton ready. Are you sure about a fire play demo tonight?” Alex asked.
Charlie gasped. “Fire play?”
Fuck. Now he had to spank her, too. She was just set on getting her damn way. It wouldn’t work, but it looked like he would have to prove it to her. “Over my lap. That’s ten.”
“Ian, we should talk about this,” Charlie sputtered.
“That’s twenty. Are you sure you want to go for thirty? I have set up a very nice scene to introduce you to Sanctum as my sub. Of course, you have the power, sweetheart. You can always say no and then I can find a new Dom to show you around.” Maybe he wouldn’t be fucking her tonight. Maybe he could wriggle his way out of Alex’s trap. His life would be so much easier if she said no and he could dump her on someone else.
Simon and Jesse perhaps. They could handle close cover. Probably. Except Jesse had tried to shoot Alex and failed to hit his target. Oh, sure, Charlie had gotten in the way, but Jesse hadn’t even managed to get a second shot off or anything. Ian would have to work on that problem before he cleared him to watch someone important.
And Simon didn’t have a ton of field experience. Charlie could be slippery when she wanted to be.
No. He would still have to watch her.
“That’s so unfair, Ian,” she whispered the words, her voice breaking a little. “I’m scared. I’ve never seen it done before. It sounds a little extreme.”
“Then you can say no. That’s thirty, Charlie. Of course, if you say no, we can forget about the spanking, too. It’s your choice.” He was putting her in a corner, but then she’d put him in one by walking into his life. She needed to fully understand how this would work. It would be his way. All the way. Her only option was to say no and walk away and free him.