Julian stopped. His hold on Finn’s neck loosened, and Finn slumped to the floor. “I won’t ever share you, Finn. As long as we are together it will be you and me and Danielle. I will parade you around the club naked because your body and Danielle’s body belong to me. I’ll show you off because I’m proud to own such beautiful slaves, but I will kill the man or woman who touches you. I will show no mercy and give no quarter. For as long as you belong to me, you are precious to me and under my protection. I will be honest with you, Finn, even if you asked me to, I would not share you nor would I share Danielle. At times, my needs will be more important than yours, and this is one of them. Luckily, in this case, our needs dovetail nicely. Now make your choice. Get into the chair and accept your punishment, or you may leave.”
Finn didn’t hesitate. Dani almost laughed at how quickly Finn assumed the position. He really liked to be spanked. Masochist. It defined Finn to a T.
“Danielle, please join your Master.” Julian made the request as he opened one of the closet doors. An array of floggers, paddles, and whips came into view. Dani scrambled to join them.
“Thank you for your trust, love.” Julian’s arms wound their way around her waist. He dipped his head and pressed his lips to hers. “I would never share you.”
“I know.” She didn’t need that. She needed him. She needed to be precious.
His lips curled up as he looked down at her. “What do you think we should use on poor Finn’s backside today, little one?”
It was deliciously decadent, like choosing a treat for a friend. It was, in a way. Finn would enjoy it. She let her hand rub along the array of tools laid out in precise order. Paddles and floggers and whips, oh, my! The leather tassels of the flogger caught her eye. She picked it up, testing the weight in her palm before handing it to Julian.
“Is that the one?” Julian asked, taking it from her.
Dani nodded and stared down at Finn. He looked so perfect hunched over the whipping bench, his spine perfectly curved in submission. His muscled ass stuck out as though waiting, pleading for attention.
“He’s beautiful, isn’t he?” Julian’s whisper caressed her skin.
“Yes.” This was what did it for Julian, Dani realized. This was the very reason he was a Dom. The trust Finn was showing him was a lovely thing.
“How many should we give him? He did misbehave.”
“Twenty,” Dani decided and was more than rewarded with the low groan that came from Finn.
“Twenty it is then,” Julian replied. He reached down and placed a hand on Finn’s back. “Danielle, I believe we’ll need a bit more than just the flogger. It’s twenty for disobeying, but I think a little torture is in order as well. We’re going to need some lubricant.”
Dani giggled as Finn swore. It looked like it would be an interesting afternoon.
Finn relaxed as the flogger hit his ass. It was odd, but the pain seemed to fill some need in him long neglected. The flogger’s little whips screamed along his skin, lashing fire on his nerves and leaving him strangely sensitized. He gripped the handles of the chair so he didn’t slip down. He counted as the flogger struck. One, two, three. The pain was king at first, but as it continued a lovely heat built, blocking the worst of the agony. Four, five, six, seven, and eight. Endurance was the key. It was a game. How much could he take? Finn was surprised that he put great pride on how much pain he could handle. Nine, ten, eleven, twelve, and thirteen. A sweet, floaty feeling invaded his veins. He forced himself to focus, to get the count out of his mouth. He’d rather just float here in this nice little cloud, but Julian would be disappointed.
The blows came quickly and without mercy. Finn counted to twenty. When the flogger stopped, it took everything he had not to beg for more.
“Up, Finn. You’re to place yourself on the ottoman and allow Danielle to bind your hands.”
On shaky legs, Finn managed to get up and out of the whipping chair. Dani was already standing at the upholstered ottoman. He noticed now that it had handcuffs attached. Where did these guys get their furniture? He had a sudden desire to see Julian’s club. Lucas had asked him to come several times, and Finn had always turned him down. He’d been too afraid to go down a path that seemed so dark. Now he realized it was only dark if he made it that way. What might have happened if he’d gone with Lucas and Lexi? Would he have been introduced to Julian?
As he knelt down and felt Dani’s soft hands work the cuffs around his wrists, he let the thought go. It happened as it should have happened. If he had gone to the club with Lucas, he would have rejected it. He hadn’t been ready to face himself. It’d taken Dani to get him to open up and accept himself for what he was.
A queer who couldn’t be happy without one woman in his life.
A pervert who needed a Dom to spank him to feel complete.
“You’re smiling, Finn. What is that about?” Julian stood looking down at him, his dark hair a waterfall around his face. He was the epitome of alpha male. Finn’s cock hardened as he thought about the bottle of lube in Julian’s hands. Fuck, he wanted that. Dani finished with his hands and went to stand beside Julian. They were so gorgeous to Finn.
“I just figured out I’m a freak, Sir.”
A single dark eyebrow arched, and Finn could tell he’d confused the Master. “I don’t know if I like that, Finn.”
“I do, Sir. I think I finally get it. We’re all freaks, aren’t we? Maybe what we do is wrong for other people, but it’s right for us.”
Dani grinned up at Julian, her blue eyes bright with mischief. Finn wondered when he’d last seen her so confident and vibrant. Maybe never. “I told you he could learn.”
“And I doubted you, little one,” Julian practically purred back at her. “Perhaps we should see if Finn really believes what he’s saying.”
Those silvery eyes turned back to Finn. From his position, he had to crane his neck up, but Finn could plainly see that the Master had other things on his mind. The pants he was wearing had tented, and Finn’s ass clenched at the thought of taking that monster deep.
“Have you ever seen two men have sex, Danielle?” Julian asked as his hands found the fly of his pants.
Dani’s face flushed. “Only on the Internet.”
“Dani?” Finn was slightly shocked. “You searched for porn on the Internet?”
She shrugged, obviously not willing to expend shame on it. “It’s the only way to get porn in Willow Fork. Even the video store here only carries PG-13 movies, and Harvey Mills frowns at you and shakes his head when you rent those.”
Julian chuckled. He shoved his pants off his hips and handed them to Danielle. He leaned over and planted a kiss on her cheek. “I am going to have so much fun introducing you to the filthy civilized world. What do you say, Finn? Will Danielle like Dallas?”
Now it was his heart that clenched. Dani would come home with him. He just knew she would. The only question was, where would she stay? Would she stay at Julian’s? Would he be the one left out? It didn’t matter for now. He pushed the thought aside. What mattered was making Dani happy and pleasing Julian.
“I think we’ll have a lot of fun showing her the X-rated world, Sir.”
A low growl came out of Julian’s throat, and Finn couldn’t keep his eyes off the enormous cock that sprung from Julian’s core. The man was a work of art. He was hard planes and perfect angles. Standing next to him was the softest, most heavenly bit of femininity Finn had ever seen. They were perfect together, and Finn had the sudden joyous suspicion he was going to be in the middle.
“Get me hard, little one. We need to punish Finn for a bit.”