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“She's frustrated and acting out,” Connie countered with a baleful glare. “The more she acts out, the busier she keeps Braun, which in turn means he's not worrying about things out of his control. She's taking care of him every bit as much as he's looking after her.”
“He won't stand for that for long,” Jasper pointed out. “I know a kitten who tries to top from the bottom on a regular basis. After several punishments, it's taken me a while to find one that doesn't turn her on. Isn't that right, kitten?”
Anarchy pursed her lips innocently, nonchalantly swinging her legs and dragging her toes back and forth over the carpet. “I believe I don't know what you're speaking of, Master Jasper. I am the embodiment of submissive perfection, incapable of the crime you accuse me of.” She pressed a dramatic hand to her heart. “I'm woundedyou would even think—”
“What's your fun new punishment, Anarchy?”
Her shoulders sagged as she pouted. “Lemon juice enema with a peppermint rinse. It's only fun for the sadist.”
Connie's eyes widened. “Jesus, Jasper.”
The fresh laugh lines around the sadist's eyes had only sprung up in the last few weeks, but they made a huge difference to his face. Made him look younger, lighter. Anarchy was his world, completely. “Lemon juice only creates mild irritation in the bowels. It's actually recommended for a healthy colon. It's a little more uncomfortable with the peppermint rinse.” His grin spread wickedly. “Wait until she's really bad and I let loose with the ginger.”
She swore on everything holy and sacred in her life that her own digestive tract shriveled up and barricadedher sphincter closed. “Okay, we need to get off this subject before it gets a life of its own. I called you for a reason, Jasper.”
He nodded and ran a hand through his hair. “Yes. I appreciate you giving us a heads up, Con.”
“It isn't a heads up. It's a request. If you don't agree, I won't say a word, and Thane will understand. Won't you?” she asked the man petting her thigh as though she was a cat. “We all know the value of secrets and privacy, and this isn't my story to tell.”
“No, it's mine,” Archie chimed in. She leaned back against Jasper's chest and played with his fingers as he linked his hand protectively over her abdomen. “And it's Jasper's. Hell, some of it belongs to Atticus too. I think everyone had a hand in the mess I made, trying to mop it up.”
Thane hummed quietly. “I told Connie last night to make me work for the secrets she could share. Make me jump through the biggest hoops she could find. While it would be nice to be in the loop, especially if it helps me understand Connie better, I can bide my time. I don't want anyone to feel pressured into divulging anything they're not ready to. I'm practically a stranger, regardless of how close Connie and I have become.”
“Boy, you wouldn't have your hands on her if I didn't trust you.” Atticus shifted in his chair, his foot on his opposite knee, stroking a fingertip over his lower lip thoughtfully. “The question is, where do we start? Braun's relationship with Bodie was thorny as fuck; yours with little bit was just a clusterfuck,” he admonished Jasper.
“Don't remind me,” Jasper fired back, eyes blazing. “I still want to deck you for putting your cock—”
“No!” Anarchy and Connie shouted together.
“How many times do we have to tell you two not to go there?” Connie snapped at Jasper, throwing her hands in the air. “Atticus was inside Archie for all of two seconds before she safeworded. You were being a dick, you don't get to whine about it. And you.” She jabbed a finger at the massive Master smirking in his chair. “You don't get to rub those two seconds in his face anymore. You know damn well it winds him up like a clock.”
“That's the fun part.” A slow, calculating smile replaced his smirk.
Connie growled. The pair of them might be skilled in the art of fighting and murder, but they could be such arrogant pricks at times. Shuffling on Thane's lap, she glowered at Atticus. “Friends do not taunt friends over submissives, Att. Of all the Doms in the fucking universe, you should know how territorial the breed is. You're the worst!”
“Harmless entertainment, Constance. Jasper knows I'd no more make a move on Archie than I'd cut my own damn arm off. Speaking of territorial…” Cunning calculation brewed in those sinful green eyes as they assessed Thane. “How are you getting on with Connie's aversion to anal?”
Connie hissed, torn between killing Atticus herself or letting Thane do it for her. As her Dom stiffened, his fingers biting possessively into her flesh, she refrained from launching across the short distance separating her from Atticus and giving him several kicks to his precious balls. She bared her teeth at him, only for Thane's hand to sneak around the side of her head and clamp over her mouth.
“What aversion?” her lover fired back casually. “Connie was the poster girl for the perfect anal submissive last week.”
Face burning with mortification, she tried to wrench herself free from Thane's makeshift gag. His other hand stroked her thigh as though her private boundary lines weren't being hacked off at the roots. Goddamn him, goddamn Atticus. Hating them both, she reached up and shoved at Thane's wrist, but he simply held her exactly where he wanted her.
“You'll find I don't respond to being baited, Atticus. When a stunning woman like Connie falls into my hands, I'm not thinking about whose hands have been on her or who has intimate knowledge about her—I'm just fucking thankful it's me who gets to do all the wicked, wonderful shit I want with her.” His thumb caressed the side of her cheek, still muting her with his palm. “Anything you ask me about the more delicate issues Connie's going through will be answered with a ridiculous response. She has the right to decide what she does and doesn't want to disclose, so if you want an honest reply, speak to the woman herself.”
Okay, so maybe she wasn't quite as inclined to murder Thane as she had been. In fact, she was pleased with his retort. It just showed how he wouldn't cave beneath the petty masculine banter fired back and forth between the Masters on a regular basis. Maybe, just maybe, he'd keep her secrets safe until she was ready to expose them.
When she stopped vibrating with fury and relaxed against his shoulder, Thane's hand drifted down from her mouth to collar her throat.
“Touché, Thane.” Atticus tilted his head in acknowledgement of the point scored. “Now we know where we stand, welcome to the inner circle. Little bit,” he addressed Archie, “why don't you fill Thane in on your escapades with Jasper.”
“Me? Oh, but…we should start with Braun and Bodie. Their story is what brought me and Jasper together.”
Connie's ears pricked up as she caught the nervous waver in her friend's voice. What was that about? Fuck, were they putting too much weight on those slim shoulders? Eyes narrowing on Archie's body language, she tried to read the stubborn little sub's mind. Anarchy had become adept at concealing herself from those around her if she didn't want to be seen as anything other than strong.
Apparently, Jasper had noticed the quiver in his kitten's tone, because his gaze narrowed too.
“I'm familiar with Braun's courtship of Bodie, and what happened to her, courtesy of her family.” Thane cradled Connie more firmly on his thighs, anchoring her with his arms as he rested all his attention on the blonde sitting on her Dom's lap in an almost identical position. “Atticus filled me in the night Connie went AWOL on the ridge. It sounds as though you and Jasper had a rougher time than even Bodie did.”
