Lori wrapped her arms around her current lover and tugged her down next to her. She needed human contact. It wasn't fair and she had no idea what was going to become of them, but she needed skin on skin to make her feel alive.

Margaret easily complied, wrapping herself around Lori, stretching a leg across her body and kissing her temple. "It's going to be okay."

Lori didn't believe a word of it and she doubted Margaret did either, but she slowed her breathing and eventually fell asleep in her lover's arms.

Carlton sat in one of the plush, comfortable chairs in Jason's office. It was noon and Jason hadn't made an appearance yet. He was on his way, though. This, Carlton knew from a brief text that didn't indicate whether or not Jason was already informed about last night's antics or not.

In either case, Carlton was right where he needed to be. Waiting. Either he was going to be the informant or he was about to get an earful from Jason, filled with questions to which Carlton had no answers.

Sure enough, the door at the rear entrance opened and shut in just moments. Jason hustled around the corner into the office and paused when he saw Carlton lounging away in his s.p.a.ce.

"Hey." He smiled as he dropped his briefcase on the end of the table and rounded to his chair. "The traffic was crazy out there this morning. There was some kind of accident on the highway and-"

He stopped talking and lowered himself to his seat as he stared at Carlton. "You weren't sitting in my office alone because you like the decor, were you?"

Carlton smiled, or tried to anyway. "Nope." Clearly Jason was privy to nothing yet, which meant Lori hadn't called him last night or this morning. Neither had Jude. Interesting.

Carlton sat up straighter, steepled his fingers in front of him and leaned on the desk. There was no easy way to start, so he jumped. "Jude was here last night."

"Jude?" Jason froze. "Our Jude?"

"Do you know any other?"

"Holy s.h.i.t. What did he say? How is he? Wait. Was Lori here?"

Carlton nodded. "She was here all right. She enacted a shibari scene with Maggie. Or tried to anyway."

"What do you mean?" Jason shook his head.

"When Jude came in, he more or less took over." Carlton flattened his hands on the mahogany surface in front of him as though it would ground him in some way.

"Oh, that doesn't sound good."

"It wasn't. Well, to anyone else standing around, it seemed rather normal I suppose, but nothing about Jude's presence was run of the mill."

"When you say he 'took over'..."

"I mean he stepped onto the mat and directed the entire scene as though he were Dom to both women."

"s.h.i.t."

"Exactly."

"And you let him get away with that?"

Carlton rolled his eyes. "I wasn't happy. Believe me. But Lori insisted. I think she was trying to save face. Half the club watched."

"How did Lori take that?"

Carlton shook his head. "That's the thing. It was weird. At first she rebuffed Jude, but then it was like she fell into a trance. She followed his demands just as she had years ago. Anyone who didn't know them would never believe the three of them didn't do this sort of thing every weekend."

"How did Margaret react? I bet she was p.i.s.sed."

Carlton swallowed. He gripped his thighs with both hands and then shook his head. "Not really. She looked a little stunned and confused at first, but then Lori rea.s.sured her and she went along. A little too easily for a woman who doesn't do men."

Carlton stood and began to pace. He ran his hands through his hair and then swiped them down his face. He was tired. He hadn't slept more than a few hours. His heart pounded from the visualization of what he'd witnessed. "Jude has a way..."

Jason chuckled sardonically. "Yes, he does. He's a powerful Dom."

A shiver made Carlton shake. "I'm kicking myself for not stopping him. Even though Lori gave me the evil eye."

"Don't be too hard on yourself. When Jude is in a room, everyone takes heed."

Carlton shook his head. "Not me."

"And yet?"

"Okay, me too. But I didn't like it. I didn't watch the entire scene. I was needed at the front door. Besides, Lori brushed me off, making it clear she wanted no interference from me."

"G.o.d. Lori must be stomping angry. They didn't fight after?"

Carlton shook his head again. "Nope. Jude disappeared the second the scene ended. Never saw him again."

"I better go check on Lori." Jason stood.

Carlton bit his tongue to keep from saying the next words, but they came out anyway. "And Maggie. I'm sure it was the weirdest night of her life. Please...make sure she's okay."

Jason nodded. "Of course. You know I will. I think of her like my own daughter." He paused. "Remind me why you call her Maggie exactly?" He grinned at Carlton.

Carlton shrugged. "Suits her. I like it."

"Okay. Whatever." Jason exited as quickly as he'd entered, leaving Carlton standing in the office alone. It was so quiet.

What he wanted to do was go check on the women himself, but that wouldn't be appropriate since Jason was closer to them and the club owner.

Instead he slumped back into the chair he'd occupied before Jason arrived and tried to gather his thoughts.

Chapter Four.

A rhythmic pounding noise shook Lori awake. She opened her eyes with a start and then squinted at the brightness of the room. What time was it?

The pounding happened again.

Lori rolled over and glanced at the clock. Twelve thirty. Lord. She never slept that late.

More pounding. Someone was at the door. Where was Margaret?

The house was silent. Maybe Margaret had left and forgotten her keys.

Lori pulled herself to sitting, her body reacting as though she had a hangover. She tried to shake the ache from her neck and head, but to no avail.

The pounding again. She grabbed the quilt off the bed and wrapped it around her naked body in a dash to the front door. Anything to stop the knocking.

When she opened the door, she found Jason standing there. He was shuffling back and forth on both legs, his brow furrowed. He exhaled when she stepped back to let him in. "What's the matter?"

Worry crawled into her from every angle. He rarely showed up unannounced and certainly not with such insistence. Maybe something had happened at the club?

Jason looked her up and down, ignoring her question. "Were you still sleeping?"

"Yes." She pulled the blanket around her tighter.

"And you aren't even dressed?"

"Nope."

"Jeez, woman. Go put some clothes on."

"I would have if someone hadn't been banging on my door as though the apocalypse had occurred." Lori turned toward her room and left him standing in the entry.

She grabbed the first things she could lay her hands on, a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. Not bothering with a bra or panties, she shrugged into the clothes and returned to the living room, finger combing her mess of curls.

"So who died?" She found him wandering around the room, looking too disheveled for her taste.

He turned toward her, spinning on his heel, and narrowed his gaze at her. "You tell me. I heard Jude was back in town."

Lori opened her mouth and then closed it. She'd been ignoring that detail since the moment she'd opened her eyes, hoping it had all been a bad dream.

Of course Jason would have heard all the gory details first thing this morning.

"Did you talk to him?" Lori rounded the couch and plopped down, curling her legs under her.

Jason shook his head. "No. Otherwise I wouldn't be asking you the tough questions. Did you know he was back?"

"Nope. Not until he waltzed onto my scene and took over."

"That's what I heard." Jason took a seat across from her. "Was it bad? Are you okay?"

"It was... h.e.l.l, I don't even know what it was and I'm-" She decided not to lie. "Nope, not fine."

Jason glanced around. "Where's Margaret?"

Lori ducked her head. "No idea. You know as much as I do." Where was Margaret and why had she left without waking Lori? A chill went down her spine. How mad was Margaret in the light of day?

"Did he tell you what he was doing in town? Or how long he's planning to stay?"

"No." She lifted her gaze. "He didn't say a word, except of course to point out my inconsistencies as a Domme and set me straight."

"You know that was bulls.h.i.t, right?"

She nodded. "Intellectually." She looked away, trying to rein in her anger, fear, frustration...

"You're a solid Domme in a fantastic, perfectly suited relationship. You know that."

"Am I?" She looked around. "Are you sure? Where's my sub now?"

The door to the apartment opened, and Lori yanked her gaze to watch Margaret step inside as though on cue. She let out a long exhale she hadn't realized she'd been holding in. Thank G.o.d.

Lori stood, uncurling her legs and jumping up as though she'd done something wrong. She wiped her hands on her jeans. "Maggie." She rarely called Margaret by that nickname. It didn't suit their formal D/s relationship, but at the moment all she saw was her friend, who had to be hurting and possibly p.i.s.sed.

Margaret nodded. "I went for a run." She wiped her forehead with the tail of her shirt and kicked off her tennis shoes.

"Are you okay?" Jason asked.

"Of course." She walked through the room to the adjoining kitchen without making eye contact with either of them. Moments later she returned with a bottle of water. "What's the matter with you two? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Don't be coy, Margaret. The elephant has already stepped into the room and s.h.i.t on the floor."

Margaret plopped down on the couch next to Lori. Not close enough to touch, but at least in the same vicinity. "Sorry." She pulled her shirt over her head now and wiped her face with it. Sweat dripped down around her ears. Her hair was wet. She'd run hard.

While Margaret's face was hidden, Lori stared at the woman she'd shared a life with for over a year. She was movie-star gorgeous. Any man would be ecstatic to have her. Her long, lithe body was perfectly sculpted. Sitting there in only her sports bra and track shorts, Lori had no choice but to admire her features.

Except Margaret wasn't into men. Too bad for the male population. Many a man deflated in front of Lori's eyes when they realized the woman was hers and unavailable to them.

Normally on a Sat.u.r.day morning they would be in full-time D/s mode. Today was precarious.

"Have you seen him?" Margaret asked Jason.

"No. But I intend to."

"We don't even know where he is. Maybe that was it. Maybe he popped into Emergence last night, realized his stupidity and left town." Lori didn't believe that but she could hope.

h.e.l.l, the damage was probably already irrevocable. Even if none of them ever saw him again, he'd made his mark on their lives.

"I'll make some calls," Jason said.

"Don't," Lori responded. Margaret flinched at her side. "I mean, let it be. If he's back, we'll deal with it. If not..." What?

Jason stood. "Carlton is fit to be tied." He glanced at both of them.

"I'm sure he is," Margaret said. "Tell him we're fine and we don't blame him for what happened."