The previous night…

Craig Eason stood in the shadows, his stomach tightening with a mixture of dread and excitement. He cracked his neck from side to side and then stepped toward the rear of the crowd gathered around the stage, his hands on his hips, waiting for his cue.

Where minutes ago, music had blared through the changing room door while he’d donned a thin pair of black cotton sweats, Club La Forge was now eerily quiet.

Lights from the crystal chandelier that lit the large main salon were dimmed. A spotlight shone above one stage, drawing all gazes.

The pretty little redhead who stood in the center of the raised stage looked poised and confident, but Craig knew the Domme was a quivering bundle of nerves, and he couldn’t help but smile. One of his best buds, Gus Taggert, was about to receive a hell of a sexy beating from his very own doughnut girl—a woman the big guy hadn’t stopped talking about since he’d been conned into buying sweets at her shop. Gus had fallen as hard as a stack of bricks the moment Aislinn Darby had told him to face the pastry shelf and spread ’em—and then firmly gripped his junk.

Craig understood how a moment like that could change a man. He hoped to have a moment like that of his own one day soon. Maybe it would happen here at the club. Maybe it would happen tonight, but he wasn’t holding his breath. Tonight was Gus’s night. Craig was only here for support, or so Aislinn had said. Although exactly what kind of support he wasn’t a hundred percent sure after she’d grilled him over the acts he’d be willing to perform, like a menu of spicy dishes, some so hot he’d gotten instantly hard. When she’d finished, he’d asked what exactly she had in mind.

Ever since he’d asked that question and gotten a cool smile, he’d been sweating. Aislinn, or Ash as she was called here, had plans, and he was just a tool. Just another switch willing to play sub to her Domme for a chance to get noticed by someone who might make a difference in his life. Craig had needs, dark needs that he wanted to have filled. He hoped for a connection, mind, body, and soul, but for now, he’d settle for someone steady. Someone who’d see him on a regular basis so he could get his freak on without having to negotiate each session like he was ordering a hamburger at a drive-thru.

He cast his glance around the large, high-ceilinged room. The crowd was larger than usual. Word was out that something special was happening tonight. Tonight was all about consequences—a reckoning Gus had earned for topping his sweet Domme from the bottom the previous Friday.

Craig couldn’t help but be a little jealous. Gus’s girl was one fine-looking woman. Ash was dressed in leather the color of a juicy orange and looked as tasty as a sherbet cone. Gus would take one look and want to lick her head to toe. Craig’s own mouth watered. The tiny top she wore looked like a bikini bra that had gone through a shredder. Skinny, strategically placed straps held it together. A tight little red leather skirt with darker flames licking at the short hem hugged her cute, round ass.

Her flame-red hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and her eyes were rimmed in black. Nothing of her nervousness showed in her pale face, but Craig had seen the quiver in her hands when she’d spoken with him earlier. She’d pulled it together. She faced the crowd with confidence now. When Gus strode nude toward the stage, Ash’s gaze locked on his buddy’s tall, thick frame and stayed there.

Craig’s sex started to stir, watching for that moment the couple’s gazes locked. Ash froze. Gus’s gaze never faltered, even though sweat gleamed on his chest and face. His cock stood erect, bobbing in front of him. Craig didn’t think Gus had ever looked prouder—like a man on a mission who wasn’t going to let fear or embarrassment get in the way of what he wanted. And not a person in La Forge had any doubts that the thing he wanted most was Ash.

Craig’s mind wandered a bit as Gus climbed the stage to stand in front of Ash, his head bent in submission. They spoke together, too quietly for their words to carry. Then Gus turned away and walked to the sawhorse set beneath chains draping from the ceiling.

The moment the Domme scanned the crowd and found Craig, his body stiffened. He was to be her helper this night, but Craig knew he’d have a more active role than just handing her implements. Not that he minded.

Since he’d first come to La Forge, he’d refused to let himself be labeled as a Dom-in-training or a sub in search of his own master. He’d played switch, shifting adroitly according to the situation, playing at bondage but learning to love punishment. Something Mondo, another of his inner circle of friends and a true Dom, had learned early on.

Ash gave him a nod, his cue, and he pushed his way through the crowd, ignoring Gus’s changing expression. The worry he saw reflected there only made Craig smirk. He was all for making Gus uncomfortable. If it meant he might have to give up a little pride, well, it was all for a worthy cause.

Gus gave him a frown, not understanding, until Craig climbed the steps onto the platform, strode straight for Gus where he stood in front of the sawhorse, then reached up to grab the first cuff.

Craig raised an eyebrow.

Gus muttered but complied, letting Craig fasten metal restraints to both his wrists.

Craig stepped close. “Grip the metal bars,” he said softly. “They’ll save your wrists.”

Gus gave him a tiny nod, and Craig backed away.

Ash drew closer and petted Gus like she would a horse, gliding her hands over his gleaming hide. Then she slid between Gus and the sawhorse, cupping his erection and gripping it firmly, pulling up on it until Gus lifted on his toes.

Craig’s balls tightened up against his groin. He enjoyed the rush of blood filling his cock and causing it to rise against the front of his pants.

Watching Ash, firm yet gentle, so small beside the quiet giant, Craig admired her control. She reached beside her, palm up. She’d told him how they’d start.

Craig stepped to the tray set atop a rolling stand and picked up a bundle of black straps, which he handed to Ash, a smile again quirking up one corner of his mouth. Gus wasn’t going to like this.

Ash formed a cup with the straps, which she slid down his buddy’s dick. Then she tightened the leather around the base of his cock.

Craig realized he’d watched his friend’s cock a little too long and forced his gaze away, only to have it land on a tall man sidling up beside the club’s manager, Jennifer Callum. His attention was caught. The man dwarfed Jenn even though she was tall. Reed-slim, leggy, with black hair that fell to her waist, her pale skin contrasted beautifully with the darkly tanned man.

Dressed in a black long-sleeved shirt with the cuffs rolled up and black leather pants, the man was every bit as large as Gus. But the angle of his chin and his assured swagger marked him as a Dom every bit as much as the shy, downcast glance Jenn gave him marked her as his sub a moment before the man bent and kissed her lips. Then he gripped her waist and turned her to face the stage, his gaze roaming over Ash and Gus.

Ash had begun to work Gus with a short, soft flogger, the brushstrokes hypnotic in their steady rhythm. The man’s dark eyes gleamed approvingly. Craig couldn’t have said why, but the look the man wore, his dark eyes glinting with interest and approval, did things to him. Made him want to beg for a session serving as sub to the large man. He’d subbed for Mondo more than once, submitting in order for Mondo to display a technique, never for sex, although Mondo had pushed him toward punishment so hard a few times he’d come. With Mondo, it wasn’t about sex but about learning his own limits.

From the corner of his eye, Ash lifted her arm and lashed down at an angle across the tops of Gus’s buttocks.

Craig stifled a moan, his gaze locking now on the motion of Ash’s arm as she stroked Gus’s ass while the big guy counted in a gruff voice.

Watching her, Craig imagined the dark-haired man brushing him with a cat-o’-nine tails with the same even strokes that trailed slowly off Gus’s skin. He imagined the fiery lash of the hard leather strands, the sting of the barbs as they dug into his flesh. Only when his cock began to grow painfully hard did Craig realize how excited he was becoming. He dragged in deep breaths, then let his gaze roam to the tall man. Dark eyes locked with his. A slight smile kicked up the corners of the other man’s mouth. Craig’s breath caught, and his face flushed.

The other man gave him a slow nod, then pointed his chin to Ash.

Craig turned.

Ash’s eyebrows lifted in question. “Craig, move the sawhorse closer.”

Craig leaped to obey, a bounce in his step as he approached and inched the heavy sawhorse closer to Gus’s hips. Then he walked to the wall, turned the wheel while the chain wound around it, and slowly lowered Gus’s arms.

Ash glided a hand up the center of Gus’s strong back, spread her fingers, and pushed. “Bend over it.”

A low growl rumbled through Gus.

Craig knew Gus was reluctant to point his ass to the crowd. He would be, too.

But Ash didn’t allow Gus time to gather his thoughts. She kicked apart his feet, exposing his parted buttocks and hanging sack to the audience.

Craig sucked in a deep breath, empathizing with Gus’s embarrassment until the moment Ash applied another flogger, one that gave a sharper sound as it met Gus’s reddened skin. And again, Craig imagined himself tied similarly, his arms and legs spread wide, his ass exposed…vulnerable in a way he’d never been with a man other than Mondo, who’d never made him wonder for even a moment whether he’d take advantage of that vulnerability.

The sharp crack of the flogger stopped, pulling Craig’s attention from his reverie.

Gus was still bent but was now trembling.

Ash traced his crack with a fingertip. “You’ve done well,” she said, her voice even. “But I want more. Will you give it to me?”

“Jesus,” Gus whispered. When she prodded the opening and then slipped inside, his head sagged between his shoulders.

She raised her gaze to Craig. “The blindfold, please.”

Caught gawking, he turned to the tray again, picked up the folded blindfold, and tied it around Gus’s head, blinding him. It made what he knew instinctively was about to happen so much easier to contemplate.

Craig was worried about Gus’s reaction. Wondered how their friends would react, but Ash had been insistent that she needed Gus’s complete submission. As a further incentive to Craig, she’d said that Mondo would be watching all of them, assessing how they all performed. Craig’s role would be judged.

Ash gave Craig a wink—and he knew without being told what she wanted him to do. Dragging air into a tightening chest, he rolled down the band of his sweats, not stopping until he freed his cock and balls. Then he blew out a deep breath because, hey, he was out there, balls and dick hard and heavy for anyone to see.

His gaze darted to the man standing behind Jenn. His dark gaze smoldered. Excited for reasons he’d rather not admit, Craig gave himself several gliding pumps before looking back to Ash and giving her a nod that he was ready.

She pulled her finger from Gus’s ass, wiped it clean with a wet wipe, then strode toward Gus’s head. She dug a finger under his chin and raised his face. “Do you belong to me?” she asked, her voice carrying over the crowd.

Gus gave a tense. “Yes, Mistress.”

Craig shared a smile with Ash. Gus was getting worried about what was coming next.

“Then open your mouth,” Ash said in a throaty voice. “Take what I give you. Know that it pleases me to watch.”

Craig grimaced but moved in front of Gus.

She poked his side. “You wanted to be my helper,” she whispered.

He’d wanted a lot of things. To be there when Gus unraveled. To have permission to play with another man—something he never did outside a scene. “Buddy…bite me,” Craig whispered harshly, “and I swear…”

Gus clamped his lips tight. Craig wasn’t disappointed. His sense of humor resurfaced and sliced through his embarrassment.

Ash bent to Gus’s ear. “You refuse. This ends.”

Gus gave a groan, but then he opened his mouth, even as his shoulders and chest tightened so much his muscles trembled.

On an upstroke, Craig gripped his shaft just beneath the cap and placed the head of his cock against Gus’s mouth, pushing gently to slowly feed it inside.

Gus growled around it, loudly at first. The sound died away the deeper Craig pushed toward the back of his throat.

Ash leaned toward Gus’s ear. “Baby, suck it. For me.”

Even before the firm mouth locked around his dick began to pull, Craig was counting silently to himself, trying every trick he knew to keep from blowing straight down Gus’s throat.

The feel of Gus sucking his dick, not just giving it a token tug but drawing deeply, his jaw working to deepen the sensation, evoked a hard shudder that shook Craig from head to toe.

His eyelids began to dip, his body swayed forward and back, but then he glanced up and caught the dark-haired man’s own lambent gaze. The man’s eyes narrowed, then he gave a short side-to-side shake of his head.

Don’t come. Don’t come, Craig imagined a rough voice say.

Feeling as though he was being tested, Craig widened his eyes, dug deep inside himself, and thought of crime-scene photos, autopsies, anything to keep from giving into the delicious sensation of one of his best friends blowing him.

Soft applause sounded around them. It wasn’t for him but for the couple at the center of the scene. For Gus’s willingness to submit everything to his Domme. Still, Craig appreciated the clapping and used it to keep himself distracted.

Ash walked quietly back to the tray, unzipped her skirt, let it fall, and kicked it to the side. Naked below, she stepped into a harness, then fitted a dildo to the front.

Craig groaned under his breath, then shot the other man another look. Again, the dark-haired man shook his head.

Craig started to sweat and increased the speed of his hips, deepening and quickening the strokes he gave Gus’s hot mouth. Not that Gus seemed to notice because his jaw slackened the moment Ash lubed his back hole, then worked her fingers inside him.

Craig cradled Gus’s cheeks to ease the strain on his neck as Ash worked three fingers inside, then pulled free to ease the dildo up her lover’s ass.

Gus’s body shuddered. Deep, desperate moans vibrated all around Craig’s cock.

“It’s okay, Gus,” she whispered. “It’s okay. Come for me. Do it now, baby.”

Gus clamped hard around Craig, sucking him in deeper.

Craig met the dark man’s gaze again and received a short nod.

Thanking God, he let his head fall back as he slammed deep until the first hot spurt of come ripped through his dick.