He slid her off the countertop and let himself hold her. Her tiny fingers left painful divots in his flesh where she clung to him.
He hoped the marks would never fade.
Chapter 17
Banner helped her back into her dress, then tucked her into the crook of his arm. Maybe she should have gone looking for Ambrose, but she wasn’t willing to give up this last bit of time with Banner.
She was supposed to belong to Ambrose now. This was such a clusterfuck. They didn’t seem to be the type of guys who would let some girl come between them, which meant they’d probably send her away. This rejection shit was getting old.
She sniffled and willed herself not to start crying again.
Crap. Now his last memories of them together would be of her bawling and mascara streaking her face. It was hard to care about how she looked though. She just wanted to stop time so that he’d never walk her down the hall and give her back.
After being with Banner again, even without sex, she knew things would never work with Ambrose. He was a nice guy and a good Dom, but he wasn’t Banner. He wasn’t her Master.
Why had she fought it so hard?
She’d laid the blame at Banner’s feet earlier, but she’d been just as stubborn.
Ambrose had walked past them a few times, and she could feel him watching. She didn’t want to make a scene and end things with him tonight, but if she could politely get out of the sex he’d mentioned in front of Banner, she would. For ages she’d been wondering why Ambrose wasn’t interested in having sex with her, and now she was glad they hadn’t. Maybe it would make the breakup easier, although he hadn’t given the impression he liked her past the point of an almost brotherly affection before this. The fact that he’d made their relationship sound so intimate to Banner was weird. Maybe it was a guy thing, but he hadn’t even kissed her until tonight, let alone the possessive way he had when Banner was watching.
Had Ambrose been marking his territory, or was it some sort of weird one-sided competition? It almost seemed like a ploy to make Banner jealous, but why would he do that?
All too soon everyone left. Ambrose shut off the stereo, and suddenly, she could hear the two girls Konstantin had brought upstairs screaming in pleasure, or agony, or both. What the hell was he doing up there?
Banner pulled her to her feet and led her to Ambrose.
“I trust you had fun with my good little sub? She’s better trained than the last time you played with her, isn’t she?”
“She’s perfect.” Banner coaxed her forward, and Ambrose fished in his pocket again, pulled out the leash and clipped it back to her collar. This whole collar thing was weird too. Ambrose had never put one on her before.
“What did you do with her?” Ambrose led the way down the hall, then up the stairs to a bedroom.
“I spanked her for insulting her body right at the beginning. Later I tied her to your kitchen island and beat her thighs with sugarcane. She might be marked for a few days.”
The word “marked” seemed almost significant. Was he trying to say something, or was it all in her head? God, this was a mess.
Ambrose grunted. “Take off your dress and get on the bed. Present.”
Undress? He never made her undress for him, let alone in front of people. She didn’t want to have sex with Ambrose but curiosity as to where this was going made her stay quiet and obey.
Reluctantly, she drew the dress off over her head, struggling not to get tangled in the leash, which Ambrose had let go. Next she pulled off her underwear, but she was glad to be rid of them. They were still wet and uncomfortable from being in her mouth.
She crawled up onto the tall bed and knelt there as she’d been taught, knees apart, hands folded behind her head, and waited for the men to finish with whatever the hell they were doing. It was like a police standoff. Between the two of them they had quite the gun show.
Ambrose took up the leash again.
“Is that all you did?”
Banner frowned, grimacing. “No. I know I shouldn’t have, but I kissed her.”
Ambrose glared. “Yeah, so I heard. Was making a cuckold of me at my own party part of your entertainment for the evening?”
Banner winced but didn’t look away. “I’d like to say I lost control in the moment, but I knew exactly what I was doing.”
Ambrose paced back and forth at the foot of the bed.
“We’ve been friends since we were kids. I expected more from you. She’s mine now, and you need to respect that.”
Silence lay thick over the room. All of Kate’s counseling impulses told her to shut up and let them work through this, even though she felt a need to speak for herself. What about what she wanted? She wasn’t a pet, she was a person.
Banner sighed. “I know I gave her to you, Ambrose. That was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done. But you and I both know she isn’t yours.”
Ambrose whirled on Banner and punched him in the jaw.
Kate gasped and moved to hold Ambrose back, but he was calm again and ordered her back to her spot.
“You fucking dick,” Ambrose growled.
Banner watched him, rubbing at a quickly bruising spot on his jaw.
“That was for Kate.” Ambrose shook his head. He picked up the end of Kate’s leash and handed it to Banner. “If you ever do this to her again, I’ll strangle you, myself.”
What?
Banner looked down at the leash in his hand, then back at Ambrose.
“What are you doing? I don’t understand.”
“How am I friends with such an idiot?” Ambrose rolled his eyes, which looked funny on such a brute of a man. “I just spent the past several weeks training her, to show you that you were wrong about her and what she wanted. If you don’t want her back just say the word. I’ve been aching to fuck her since you gave her to me, but I knew you’d never forgive me if I did.”
What?
He’d been saving her for Banner, not rejecting her? Anger tried to surface, but she was also relieved. So many thoughts and questions swirled in her mind that she had no idea how to feel about any of it.
Banner seemed to be having trouble following the conversation too. “So you’re telling me you just kept her for me? You haven’t fucked her?”
“I hadn’t even kissed her until tonight. Do you have any idea what a crime against humanity this has been?” Ambrose turned and eyed her appreciatively. “A month of cold showers was cruel and unusual punishment.”
Ambrose turned back to Banner. “But if you don’t want her, by all means, get the fuck out of my house. I have a long list of depraved things I mean to do to her.”
As Kate watched, Banner seemed to grow a foot taller and sprout fangs and horns.
“Get out,” Banner growled.
“You’re kicking me out of the room?” Ambrose said in mock disapproval. “This is my house. You’re not even going to let me watch?”
“Out!” Banner bellowed.
Ambrose laughed loudly. “So does this mean you want her back, then? Because I have some ginger in the fridge with her name on it . . .”
Banner gave him a shove toward the door, then grabbed the other man in a bear hug.
“Yeah, I love you, too, asshat. Now let go of me. Your hard-on is weirding me out.” Ambrose pushed him away and started to pull the door closed behind him.
Down the hall, Konstantin was issuing stern commands in Russian, but as the door clicked shut all Kate could hear was the blood rushing in her ears.
When Banner turned back to her, she was pretty sure the fangs were still there.
“Did you know?”
“What? That he didn’t like me like that?” Kate asked, not sure she liked the look in his eye.
“Oh, he likes you like that. If I called him back in here he’d agree to double-team you in a heartbeat.” Banner’s smile was grim. “I’d offer you the chance to try DP, but if he ever touches you again, I’ll break his legs.”