Julian had chuckled, and he’d ordered her to take care of Finn. Dani had taken Finn in her mouth and sucked until he’d filled her. Then it had been Julian’s turn. He’d settled her on his lap and told her to ride. Up and down. Up and down. She’d forced her pussy to take that enormous cock of his, every inch a pure pleasure. She’d shivered and cried when she came.
He’d still slept downstairs on the couch.
She’d been cozy in Finn’s arms. It had felt normal and natural to snuggle down with her best friend, but she’d missed Julian.
He was an enigma, but one she felt compelled to solve. Since the night when Finn had been bitten, she had stopped questioning the relationship. He’d needed her that night. Though she had no idea why, her submission settled something inside him, so she gave it to him. The night before, she’d wanted to call out to him when he’d rolled her out of his arms, kissed her forehead, and quietly left the room. She’d remained silent. He wouldn’t have answered her anyway. When she was sure he was asleep, she’d snuck down and made sure he had a blanket. She’d watched him restlessly shift, lost in some dream.
“Danielle, have we lost you?”
Julian’s deep voice brought her out of her thoughts. “Sorry, Sir. I was thinking.”
“I asked you to help Finn, little one. I had to ask three times. There’s no going into subspace without permission.”
“Subspace?” Dani asked, lifting her chin.
“Yes, subspace. It’s lingo for that nice floaty place you submissives find when doing a scene, though usually it takes some actual form of punishment to achieve. I was joking about the subspace. I believe you were simply finding the conversation between Finn and myself about proper positioning to be a bit dull. Let’s see if we can liven things up for you. Please stand.”
A little thrill went through Danielle. He used that voice that promised something filthy was about to happen.
“Danielle, part of being my submissive is to obey me, but more than that it is to know what I want. I can’t be with you every second of the day, nor do I suspect you would want that.”
“Probably not, Sir,” she answered honestly. Julian could be a lot to take.
He chuckled. “I can understand that. So when I am not with you, there have to be rules, as there are in any relationship. I expect you to behave in a manner that brings pride to yourself, Finn, and me. Part of pride in being a submissive is in your strict obedience. There are many times in play that a Master will loan his slaves out to another Dom. This is considered polite in BDSM society.”
Danielle brought her head up. Tears pricked the back of her eyes.
“That is not happening,” Finn said, getting to his feet in a hurry. Dani looked at him. His hand came down to haul her up. “Get your clothes on, Danielle. I’m not going to let him pimp you out.”
Julian simply stood, his face a blank mask. He wore a pair of leather trousers and nothing else. His long, dark hair hung around his shoulders. Dani wanted so much for him to argue, to tell her she was different, but he stood there as though simply waiting for her to decide.
“Have you passed your slaves around before?” Dani asked.
His answer was simple, nonemotional. “Yes.”
“Fuck that.” Finn began to pull her away, but Dani dug her heels in.
She studied Julian for a moment, much the same way he studied her. He wasn’t a man to wear his emotions on his sleeves. Hell, he buried them so deep in the back of that closet of a brain that sometimes she wondered if he had them. Then, the night at the hospital happened. He’d been a hurricane of emotion that night, though he’d never said a word. She’d felt it rolling off him in waves. He’d needed her. Was this something else he needed? Should she dismiss it totally if he needed it?
“Stop.” She tried to pull away from Finn.
“Dani, you can’t just let him tell you to fuck his friends.”
Dani sighed. “He doesn’t have friends. Haven’t you figured him out yet?” She turned back to Julian. “Why would you want me to do that, Sir?”
“I didn’t say I wanted you to do it, Danielle. I said it’s considered polite in some BDSM circles.”
Dani fell back into her position, perfectly content with his answer. She lowered her head, but not before she saw Julian’s face flush slightly. Happiness. She’d made him happy.
Finn sank down beside her. “Dani, you can’t do this because it’s polite. I get that you don’t like to make waves, but can’t you see this is wrong? I like the guy, too. Do you think I don’t want to please him? I’m a lot like you, but I can’t watch this. I can’t watch him treat you like some toy he can pass around to whoever asks for it. And I can’t let him do that to me, either.”
Julian sniffed, the aristocratic gesture amusing to Dani. “I would never pass you around, Finn. You’re far too obnoxious to foist off on someone else. Danielle isn’t demonstrating her submissiveness. She’s given me an enormous gift by giving me her trust.”
She sent Finn a little smile. He sometimes forgot to really listen to what people said. “He won’t share me. He’s too possessive. I suspect he passed around his other subs because they enjoyed it.”
She also suspected that he’d chosen them for just that reason. From what she’d surmised, Julian wasn’t one to get in too deep. He’d chosen his slaves with great care and studied caution. Until her.
“Precisely, little one,” Julian replied, lifting her chin up so their eyes met. “It was written into their contracts that I had the right to give them away at any time. I had one particular slave who wanted to be shared by many men. It made the slave feel wanted.”
“Poor girl,” Finn said.
“Oh, look, the morality police are here. He was a man, and, as it turned out, something of a criminal. I ended up turning him out when I discovered him conspiring with a guest against a friend of mine. I gave him what he required, and he still turned on me, though I’m sure you see me as the villain of the piece. Perhaps you should look him up. His name is Jeremy. You can start a little club.”
“So, you won’t share us?” Dani heard the confusion in Finn’s voice.
Julian’s eyes narrowed. His lips curled back. “What I said, Finn, was that it is considered polite in some BDSM circles to share your submissives.” He grabbed Finn by the neck and hoisted him up like he would an errant puppy. “I am not polite.”
He began pulling Finn along across the playroom floor. Dani turned her head to see what was happening.
“Hey, I’m sorry if I misunderstood.” Finn’s feet tried to find purchase, but he ended up just shuffling to keep up as Julian carted him to the little bench he called a whipping chair.
“You continue to believe the worst of me, Finn. I think you’re here because you want Danielle, not because you want to be part of our little ménage. I would prefer not to make Danielle choose. She’s had to make difficult decisions all of her life. Do you really want to force her to choose between the two of us? Perhaps you would win. You have known her for longer, but what would it cost her?”
Everything. It would cost her everything. God, how would she choose? She knew deep down, if she was forced to, she would choose Finn. He was her best friend, but she wanted Julian so much. She just needed time to show Finn that it could work. They could be like Abby, Jack, and Sam. They could be happy.
Finn stopped fighting and sagged down. “I don’t want Dani unhappy. I love her. I am here for her, but, damn it, I’m here for me, too. I want to find out where this goes. I just…I couldn’t stand the thought of you giving me away like I meant nothing. I can’t mean nothing.”