He needed this. His man needed this. And he wanted Sinead to see an experienced sub take a punishment. It hadn't been planned, but there it was. "Are you hard or flaccid, sub?"

"Hard, Sir."

"We'll take care of that. Remove everything from the waist down."

He noticed Sinead staring.

His manservant hurriedly stripped.

"Your erection is impressive."

"Aye, Sir."

Reaching out, he squeezed Logan's gorgeous cock in precisely the right spot and with the perfect amount of pressure to diminish the hardness.

Logan released a breath through his closed teeth before saying, "Thank you for dispensing with my undesired erection, Sir."

"You haven't masturbated without permission?"

"It's been a long time since I came last, Sir."

"Answer the question," he snapped, even though he knew the answer. It had, indeed, been a long time since he beat his man so hard he spurted on the bench.

"No, Master. I am not permitted to masturbate, and remaining true to Master's demands is important in proper submission."

"Well said." When the man was sufficiently softened, Jack rolled the cock ring down to the base of the shaft. "Good thing you're clean-shaven."

"Aye, Sir. Always in anticipation of your arrival."

He glanced over at Sinead. "I expect the same from you."

She nodded mutely.

He squeezed his man's balls, manipulating them as he placed the ring even farther down.

"Thank you, Sir. That ought to keep your sub's erection under control."

"If not, it will be terribly uncomfortable."

"If it pleases Master."

"It does." He was completely aware of Sinead's mixture of shock and awe. She'd remained strangely silent, though. "I'm going to blister your arse."

"Yes, Master. Thank you, Master."

The man's voice had taken on a hazy, distant quality. He hoped to one day hear something similar from Sinead. "We clamped Sinead's nipples."

"She has gorgeous tits, Master. Master should consider clamping her breasts as well as her nipples."

"I'll consider it. For now, I think it's only fair we weight your balls."

"If it pleases Master."

Jack crossed the room and selected a couple of weights. The idea of seeing his man's testicles dangling, pulled even lower for Jack's pleasure was nearly more than he could take.

If he didn't get on with it, he'd need to masturbate in another room. Two gorgeous subs, both awaiting his pleasure... He'd need less than a dozen strokes to shoot his load. What kind of restraint was that?

He affixed the weights, loving the way each of Logan's pebbles felt in their sack. The man sucked in a steadying breath before expressing his gratitude. "May the sub suck Master's cock to show his appreciation?"

"You can take your punishment. Reach for the floor." Jack focused his attention on his motions as he removed his belt, knowing if he didn't, he'd fumble like a first-time Dom. He wanted Sinead to see nothing but confidence. "How many? Be specific."

"Eight, if it pleases Master."

"Eight it is." He pulled the belt free of the last loop. He doubled it over. "Do you see, Sinead, how he answers direct questions?"

"Yes," she whispered.

He took a step back to admire Logan and his tight buttocks. He noticed Sinead watching.

The weights swung, pulling down Logan's balls.

"That has to hurt," Sinead said, shifting on the bench.

"Is it painful, sub?" he asked, tugging on the metal weights.

"Indeed, Sir. It is. But I find pleasure in Master's pleasure. If it pleases Sir to subject his lowly sub to pain, then your sub is pleased."

He knew the man meant it.

Logan hadn't broken position, despite the obvious pain, and his hands were firmly wrapped around his ankles.

Jack steadied himself. He never approached a sub without being in total control. "You may avert your gaze," he said to Sinead. "Or you may watch."

"I..."

He laid the leather blisteringly across his man's buttocks.

He sighed. "Thank you, Sir."

There was such a difference between Sinead's begrudging words of thanks and his man's heartfelt gratitude.

Jack placed the next searingly in the same spot.

"Sir is so masterful. Thank you."

He looked at Sinead. Her eyes were wide and unblinking. She seemed somewhat transfixed, and not at all in a bad way.

He moved the next lower then lower still. On the seventh, he caught Logan below his buttocks.

"Sir! Thank you! Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Sir, you make me want to come, cock ring or no."

"Mayhap this will help." He tempered the next one. And he knew Logan knew what to expect. With the tip of his belt, he caught Logan's testicles. Logan's knees buckled, but Jack saw his cock straining against its confining ring.

"Thank you, Sir." The man choked on a sob.

"Spread your legs wider."

Unquestioningly he did as instructed.

Jack was aware of Sinead following his every move as he placed his belt on a hook protruding from the wall. He washed his hands in the small sink before lubing his forefinger and returning to slowly sink deep in Logan's arse in order to manipulate the man's prostate.

"I need to come, Master."

"Not a chance," he snapped. He reached between the man's legs and gave his cock another squeeze to discourage the erection. Between his grip and cock ring, the man's penis stayed mostly flaccid. Jack continued to press against Logan's most sensitive spot until he knew the man could take no more. "Stand up."

"Thank you, Sir." He moved gingerly, his shoulders slightly hunched against the pain from the weights.

"I'm going to remove the weights but leave the ring."

"If it pleases Master."

He held the man's testicles and removed the weight with care. Logan's knees buckled again, but he whispered, "Thank you."

"Your choice, Logan. You can kneel to one side while you recover or you can assist me in beating Sinead."

Chapter Nine.

Sinead's heart thundered.

She'd watched things between Jack and Logan, shocked, stunned, unable to look away. Logan's responsiveness had been elegant, something she doubted she'd ever achieve. Logan was a true submissive. She was definitely a novice with barely a toe in the water.

Jack came over to her. He crouched next to her.

Damn, with his dark hair and genuine concern in his deep blue eyes, she suddenly felt cared for. There was something about the way he looked at her, as if he could see all her secrets. "How're you doing?" he asked with his rich, deep voice.

If the devil were trying to entice a lass, he'd sound just like Jack.

Any other time, any other place, under any other circumstances, she'd have fallen for this man. If they'd met on the road and he'd introduced her to BDSM, she'd have been hooked. He was tough, unyielding, taking her where she wanted to go. He combined that with an amazing capacity for tenderness. She knew he was watching her completely, gauging her reaction.

He'd had his man clamp her nipples, and he'd encouraged Logan to apply more and more pressure before setting the clamps. There'd been safety in knowing how closely he was paying attention, looking for signs of genuine distress, but pushing when she might have otherwise said no out of fear of the unknown. With him, as closely as he kept an eye on her, she might never need to use her safe word.

She was learning to trust her nemesis.

"Sinead?"

She wanted to answer but suddenly couldn't find the words.

"Do you want to stop?"

She seriously considered her answer for a few seconds. On a scale of one to ten, she was close to a seven as far as being uncomfortable and out of her league. But there was another part of her that was turned on. Watching the interplay between the men had been erotic beyond anything she'd ever imagined.

"If you're too nervous, we can stop. Or you can utilise that uncertainty, those butterflies in your stomach, to increase the tension in this scene. Remember, you're always in control. Logan and I have played together for years. He knows his safe word and is free to use it. He's an experienced sub. We didn't start where we are. You'll progress as well. I'd never subject you to that type of beating. I don't expect that kind of response from you. It takes a while to get where Logan is. And I'll be as patient as you need."

"Sir?"

He brushed strands of hair back from her face.

That always undid her, the combination of ruthlessness and tenderness.

"Yes, little sub?"

"With all due respect... Can we damn well get on with it?"

He grinned.

Her heart did a funny little flutter in her chest.

He stood. "Right, then," he said, all business, all Dom.

He pulled his shirt over his head. His chest was a kilometre wide, and a smattering of hair trailed downward. His biceps were rippled. A very womanly part of her recognised that this man could protect her. That had never mattered to her before, but suddenly it did. What might it be like to not have to carry the load all alone?

He unfastened the button at the waist of his trousers. He wasn't wearing anything beneath the fabric. Heaven help her.

He dropped his pants and toed off his shoes, leaving them in a heap that Logan instantly gathered up.

Seeing Jack there, aroused in magnificent glory, his cock aggressively jutting towards her, she felt her pussy moisten.

"How many strokes for your impertinence, Miss?"

"Eight, Sir." That sounded like a good number...it was the same number he'd chosen for Logan's punishment.

"Ten it is. The two crimes aren't exactly the same," he continued as if reading her mind. "Logan simply moved a bit slow. You deliberately challenged my authority. Twelve or sixteen is more appropriate."

Following Logan's lead, she said, "If it pleases Sir."

"Quick learner," Logan approved.

She was terribly aware of everything from the warmth in the room to the slight discomfort of having her knees in their support, to having her wrists secured so tightly to the bench. Her arse was lewdly on display with a plug stuffed up there. Her nipples didn't hurt nearly as much as they had even a few minutes ago, probably because they were numb.

But the small discomforts seemed to heighten her arousal.

She felt rather than saw Jack move around to the rear of the bench and take the flogger from where he'd draped it across her shoulders. "I'm going to have Logan warm you up a bit," he told her. "You can trust him as much as you do me. I will be your disciplinarian, never anyone else. But since you've experienced something unusual today, I don't want to just begin your punishment. It's a mercy to be warmed up."