Snapping herself out of her thoughts, she offered him a smile. Ill be okay. Get a little coffee in me and Ill perk right up.

Ba-dum-b.u.mp-chshh, Mac joked.

Why am I letting this get to me? Im the luckiest woman on the face of the planet.

And she knew it. Mac had made a full and remarkable recovery, which Clarisse knew was due in no small part to his devotion to both of them. Sullys writing and speaking career was going well, the boat was making them money, their kids were gorgeous and happy and healthy, and I feel guilty.

Well, it wouldnt kill her to feel guilty for a little longer. Until tonight, when she had her best friends to emotionally back her up while she came clean.

What, exactly, shed be coming clean about remained to be seen.

Her hand rested on her tummy as she stared out the window at the pa.s.sing scenery.

Chapter Four.

Shayla stood by the front door and"barely"resisted the urge to nervously tap her foot on the floor in agitation. Five thirty on Sat.u.r.day evening, and Tony was still back in the bedroom.

The last time shed called out a time check to him fifteen minutes earlier, hed threatened to give her fifty hard smacks with a paddle and not let her come all night long if she did it again. That when she was ready, she was to stand and wait for him by the front door, and if she wasnt there when he was ready to go, shed get twenty-five hard smacks with the paddle.

And no o.r.g.a.s.ms.

Sometimes, she wondered if he deliberately tried to bait her in certain situations. Normally he was a fairly punctual man.

But then there were nights like this which tried her patience.

The sound of footsteps in the hall preceded his appearance in the living room.

From his playful smirk, she knew this time, at least, shed been dead on the money.

I guess pet wants to come tonight after all, hmm?

Yes, Sir.

His smirk widened to a full-on grin. Oh, come on, pet. You wouldnt want me to let you get bored now, would you?

No, Sir.

He joined her by the front door and opened it. Hed already loaded their bag in the car earlier, before he took his shower. Now she realized hed carefully planned his timeline.

She stepped through the door. I thought you said youd warn me if you were going to give me a mindf.u.c.k.

Did I? His grin widened even further. Hmm. Seems to me like someone agreed that Sir sets the rules.

She knew this was a no-win situation. Yes, Sir. She headed to the car, unable to remain aggravated at the man. Because she loved him, yes, but even more because he kept her on her toes. It was never dull around their home.

Complacency wasnt a word Tony Daniels believed in.

It looked like he d.a.m.n sure wasnt about to let his slave believe in it, either.

Good girl, he said as he set the alarm before following her out the door.

They were the second arrivals at John and Abbeys just a little before six. Tilly and her men, Landry and Cris, were already there. Tony and Shayla were just getting out of their car when Loren and Ross pulled up and parked behind them in front of the house. Askel and Mallory would have dibs on one of the spots in the driveway, since he was bringing his portable suspension frame.

Loren wore a long, black trench coat that reached mid-calf over her stiletto heels. Tony held back.

Whatd you do to her? he asked Ross.

What? Ross knowing smirk didnt fool Tony in the least.

Its seventy-five out and shes in a trench coat. Whats up?

Oh, shes sporting a lovely rope harness under there.

Dammit. I should have thought of that.

Youre not eligible for your own prize.

Eh, true, Tony said. I guess that would be unfair. I still should have thought of that, he said, glancing at Shayla, who suddenly found the sidewalk interesting. Taken my time and gotten you properly tied up and then perp-walked you inside.

Youre just on a s.a.d.i.s.tic streak tonight, arent you, Sir? Shayla asked.

You sweet-talkin slave you. Lets get you inside before I strip you right here.

They all knew Tony wouldnt do that, and Shayla especially knew it. But it did get her cute a.s.s in gear and get her headed toward John and Abbeys front door.

Now if this was Seth and Leahs house, where the line of cars parked in the driveway and the surrounding vegetation provided enough cover, however Idea. Noted.

Hey, is that against the rules, prepping in advance? Tony asked.

No one said it was, Ross countered. And I made the rules.

What are the rules? Tony asked.

Ross grinned. What rules?

Both women chuckled. You guys are too much, Loren said.

Sometimes, Tony pushed Shayla hard, even farther than he knew shed willingly go, for the sole purpose of making sure shed safeword. He never wanted her to reach the point where shed do anything he said and have total disregard for the consequences later, physically or emotionally. It was one thing to hear her say she would safeword.

It was more a.s.suring to him for her to actually do it.

Hed seen too many instances over the years of couples going completely off the rails, one of the pair dragging the other along"and it wasnt always the Dominant partner doing the dragging, either"and then the other one finally snapping and ending the relationship instead of putting the brakes on miles earlier and stopping the runaway train before it achieved terminal velocity.

He refused to let that be them.

And if Shayla ever failed to safeword for a circ.u.mstance where hed deliberately put her in a no-win situation of that kind, it would be cause for him stopping the metaphorical car and having a very long, very detailed series of discussions with her about it.

So far, shed never let him down. Shed always made him proud, even in those times when shed had to bite the bullet and safeword.

Especially so, in those cases.

Because he never punished her for that, never punitively struck back. If anything, he rewarded her even more, wanting her to have that a.s.surance that hed meant it when he said slave did not equate doormat, in his mind.

Tilly already had the front door open for them when they reached the porch. Hey, gang. Johns out back with the guys and getting the grill ready.

Theyd all just gotten inside and were putting their things down when Askel and Mallory arrived, Kel backing his truck into the drive. So the men trooped out to help unload and get the frame moved onto the lanai and set up.

Ross noted Loren was still wearing her trench coat. Well?

She arched an eyebrow at him.

Are you cold? If you are, you can keep the trench coat on all night and not get a single o.r.g.a.s.m out of it.

Loren rolled her eyes, but finally untied the belt and unb.u.t.toned the coat, shrugging it off.

From the rings on her pierced nipples hung little reflective red hearts. The rope harness"pink and red rope, of course"was an intricate macrame of symmetry and design. Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, not tied so tightly as to make them change color, but enough to support and emphasize them, stuck out. The ropes wound around her, between her legs, down to just below her knees where each rope ended in a gauntlet. It looked like hed tied the pattern functionally as well as decoratively, a secure hip harness having been worked in as part of the design.

Check this out, Ross said, a gleeful grin on his face. He walked over to Loren and grabbed both of the pink hearts hanging from her nipple rings. He pressed a b.u.t.ton on each one, and they started flashing. Isnt that great? I found them at the pet store. Theyre for dog collars.

Fantastic, Tilly drawled. Well make sure to screen everyone for epilepsy before letting them in.

Hold on, they have a steady on position. He clicked them a couple of times and the blinking pattern changed. Another click, this time they stayed on. And I have more stuff to add.

Marvelous, Tilly said. You realize everyones going to love that but not vote for you because theyll feel sorry for someone else who, I dont know, has a real life in addition to kinky s.h.i.t, right?

He pointed at Loren. That is art, right there.

Tilly crossed her arms over her chest. Oh, I agree, sensei. And you know I love you, but Im going to call you out on this one. I think you need to represent the exhibition category. She framed the term with air quotes. You know, so you dont unintentionally hurt anyones feelings?

Loren rested her hands on her hips. Told you, Sir, she said.

I thought you were just being snarky.

Tony bit the inside of his lip to keep from laughing. His friend looked like a kid whod had his favorite toy taken away, or his puppy got kicked, or something.

Tony had to hand it to Tilly. She knew how to a.s.suage the mans ego. She walked over to Ross and slung an arm around his shoulders. Hey, everyone knows youre aces with rope. Everyonell think youre being horribly magnanimous and all that s.h.i.t. And think of it this way, theyll think you a.s.sumed youd win, and look at her. Theyre right, you probably would have won in a fair fight amongst a s.h.i.t-ton of people who didnt know you. Meaning they would have sympathy for someone else and vote for them, she quickly added. Think of it as a good thing. We wont tell anyone.

What about Kel? He hooked a thumb at their friend. Hes a photographer. He rigs semi-professionally.

Kel smiled. I already told Tony that if we were the winners, he should give it to whoever got the next highest votes.

He did, Tony admitted. So did Scrye, although they had some drama with one of their daughters yesterday. They are now a positive maybe for the party, instead of a definitely possible, as June told me on the phone last night.

I thought Scrye was going to compete?

He was, Tilly said, until June reminded him of his professional status.

Dammit. What about Seth? He teaches shibari, for chrissake.

Hes not competing, Tilly told him. Leah is.

Ross blinked. Youre s.h.i.tting me?

She shook her head. Nope. Seths taking one for the team. Hes letting her tie him. He said he didnt want anyone to accuse him of trying to stack the deck.

Ross genuinely looked disappointed. Well, d.a.m.n. No one told me to eliminate myself in the rules.

What rules? Loren snarked.

Tilly snapped her fingers. Thats what we need, she said.

What? everyone asked in unison.

She held her hands up in disbelief, as if she couldnt understand why they hadnt followed her train of thought. A Sadie Hawkins rigging compet.i.tion. Duh.

Chapter Five.

I swear, Im going to send her to a convent and enroll her and tell them to keep her until she gets some sense. Mark knew June wasnt ranting at her own reflection in the car window as much as she was at him, who was driving.

Shes over eighteen, he said. You know as well as I do theres only so much we can do.

I thought getting them into college would be the point where we knew wed succeeded. I never expected her to do this. Her sister, yes. Who knew shed be the reasonable one?

Their older daughter, Sonya, had tearfully called June late yesterday afternoon from Gainesville, where she was attending college. Apparently, the boy Sonya had been dating was acting like an a.s.shat. Shed just turned twenty-one a few weeks earlier, and the boyfriend, who was just a couple of months into twenty, wanted her to buy him and some of his friends alcohol.

And Mark wouldnt let June, who had a concealed carry permit, drive up to Gainesville to confront the little s.h.i.t.

That meant Mark had left work early and driven straight up there from Sarasota, on Valentines Day night, instead of having a nice evening at home with his wife. When he reached Gainesville, he hadnt even gone to Sonyas apartment first, which she shared with three other girls. June had gotten the boys address from Sonya and Mark made him his first stop.

It turned out the scrawny little kid whod answered the door with a bit of swagger until he looked up and saw the man standing in the doorway was the jacka.s.s boyfriend in question. Mark outweighed him by a good hundred pounds, at least, and had nearly a foot in height on him. h.e.l.l, the kid was barely larger than June.