Dani stroked his head. She thought she would like it, too.
Julian fumbled through the drawers in the bathroom before checking himself. He was behaving quite out of sorts. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. His hair was wild around his face, and there was a slightly desperate look in his eyes he didn’t recognize.
Wrong. He did recognize it. It had just been far too long since he’d seen it. Want. He wanted. Quite desperately. It had been so long since he really wanted sex. Sex was a pleasure, for sure, but it was a transitory thing. It was a bodily function. One did not long deep down for a bodily function.
Julian breathed deeply and forced himself to focus on the matter at hand. His little slaves had taken their discipline with grace, and Julian owed them his tender care. He calmly opened the drawers and found what he needed. A small tube of salve lay there along with other first aid items. Of course, Jackson would stock this place thoughtfully. As naughty as Samuel could be, Jackson would need to be ready to discipline him at all times. Julian rather thought Finn would be that way as well, though his Danielle was far more obedient than Abigail. Julian was surprised to discover he trusted Danielle. Sweet little thing. He’d seen the way her whole soul had sagged under the weight of Finn’s ridiculous shame. She was an accepting thing, tolerant beyond what most people understood, and yet the very thing that made her so attractive to Julian was also what made her vulnerable to shame. She needed to please those around her. She needed to fit in. It was Julian’s job to take that need and focus it. She would be trained to please her Master, herself, and those she truly loved. Everyone else would be secondary. Danielle’s first loyalty was to him and Finn.
Fuck. When had he started to think that way? An odd sense of irritation gnawed at him. He didn’t have a contract with them. He’d practically promised Jackson he wouldn’t push for a contract for at least a week. They hadn’t gone through any of his processes. Lucas hadn’t run a background check on them. His physician hadn’t checked them out. He hadn’t sent either one to Leo to be cleared on a psychological level. He always did that nowafter Jeremy.
That was a thought to hold on to. Jeremy was the perfect poster boy for why he shouldn’t walk back into that room. He should call Jackson and have him finish the aftercare. He should pack his things, head home, and begin proper procedures to find proper slaves. Two. One male and one female. That was the problem. After the incident with Jeremy, he’d kept Sally alone for far longer than he should have.
That was why Finn had gotten to him. He needed a man. Danielle was special. She was a natural submissive with a sweet disposition who still managed to have a backbone. It was a perfect combination of the traits he found attractive. Seeing the way they looked at each other, he knew that in order to keep Danielle, he would have to take Finn on, as well.
Or did he? He could take her from her friend. She was far too curious. Finn had hurt her. All it would take was a few well-placed words, some kindly logic, and Julian could drive off with Danielle. She would follow him because he was the first Dominant man to truly show an interest in her. The key would be to keep them away from each other. If he allowed Finn no sexual contact with Danielle, they couldn’t bond further.
He really was a sadistic son of a bitch.
“Sir.”
Julian started at the sound of Danielle’s voice. She stood there with a sheet wrapped around her lush form. Her lips were made for kissing, and for taking a man’s cock in between them. Her bright blue eyes were large and trusting as she looked up at him. His cock tightened. Walk away.
“You were gone for awhile. I was worried.”
She really was. He could see it in her face. She cared about him. She was on the precipice of falling in love with him. He felt a little sick at the thought that there was no contract between them. He had no real rights to her or Finn. There were no boundaries. There was nothing to tell them how to act or to inform them just how much he was willing to give. There was nothing to stop them from walking out…
Julian felt his heart clench. He couldn’t breathe. He shoved the salve at Danielle and pushed past her. “Rub that on Finn’s abrasions. He’ll probably need some form of analgesic. Jackson should have some. I’ll send him up in a moment. He’ll take care of you both.”
He needed to get dressed. He needed to leave.
“Julian?”
Finn sat up quickly from his reclining position. His handsome face was open with worry and confusion. He winced a little as his ass hit the bedding. He was on his feet quickly. “Is something wrong?”
They were both looking at him with that wide-eyed innocence that kicked him in the gut every single time.
“Did I do something wrong?” Finn’s voice suddenly sounded very small to Julian’s ears.
“No, sweetie. It wasn’t you.” Danielle was at Finn’s side. She clung to the sheet wrapped around her breasts, but her free hand smoothed over his shoulders. “It’s fine. Julian just changed his mind. It’ll be okay.”
“I’m sorry, Dani.” Finn was talking to her now. They turned in toward each other. Though he couldn’t see it, Julian could almost feel a wall being closed around them. Like they were the only people in the world.
“Like I said, I’ll send Jackson up. He knows what to do.” Jackson would see them like this. Jackson would be the one to care for them. Though he knew Jackson would never take advantage of them, a savage part of Julian rebelled at the idea of him coming in here at all. “Get dressed before he comes up.”
“Don’t send him. I’ll take care of Finn, and he can take care of me. That’s the way it’s always been, always will be.”
Well, he’d sent Danielle right back into Finn’s arms. She was already directing him to lie down. Julian picked up his shirt. It was wrinkled. He hadn’t had one of them take care of his clothes the way he normally would. He stood there for a moment, watching them. Dani tried to get Finn into the proper position, but she was obviously struggling with her own tender ass and the plug. Would Finn be able to get the plug out? Would he have to call Jackson? He couldn’t stand the thought of Jackson’s hands on Danielle. It made him…very angry.
“We’ll be fine, Julian.” Danielle sounded distant, all that softness and warmth seemed to be reserved for Finn now. When she turned to him, there was a dullness to her eyes, as though she was looking right through him. He’d been utterly dismissed.
As he’d dismissed her.
If he walked out, he wouldn’t be allowed back in. He could fool himself into thinking that he could have access to these two whenever he liked it. He was the Dom. They were the subs. They were supposed to accept what he wanted to give. Unfortunately the exchange only worked if the subs trusted the Dom. The subs had to love the Dom, even just a little. If he walked out, Danielle would place him in a long line of people who took advantage of her nature and walked on.
“Move out of the way, Danielle. You need it, too. Lie down beside him.” Julian allowed the shirt to drop once more. He would have to train them to see to his clothes, but now was not the time. Now he had to repair the damage his waffling had caused.
“I don’t think…” Danielle began.
“That’s right, Dani, don’t think.” Finn’s head came up, and Julian was surprised at the grin on his face. He gave Julian a beatific look and patted the place beside him. “Lie down with me and let the Dom take care of us. This is supposed to be our time. At least, that’s the way it was explained to me.”
Julian felt something calm come over him as he realized Finn was accepting him. That odd little irritation that could only be described as jealousy drifted away. He walked to Danielle and cupped her cheek. She stared up warily.