Master in Shining Armor (Masters Unleashed 4)

She raised her chin, staring him down. She was Will’s property, not a sideshow.

“She doesn’t look very submissive.” He chuckled.

Dexter crowed with laughter, which was probably a bad sign. Was she embarrassing Will by not looking more cowed?

Tarka grinned in apparent delight. “If you ever get tired of Will, pretty girl, give me a call.”

“I’m going to do you favor, Tak. I won’t tell Will that you just said that,” Dex said, standing so close to Juliet that she was almost on top of her.

With one last appreciative once-over for Juliet, and a cheeky wink, Tarka sauntered off.

Juliet was annoyed at herself for blushing. Again.

“I thought Dominants didn’t flirt with other people’s submissives,” Juliet said, confused.

“There are Dominants, then there’s Tarka. He’s an awesome guy, and a great Dominant, but he’s an incorrigible flirt. He’s charming and hot, and all the other Dominants love him, so he gets away with it.” Dex shook her head in amused exasperation. “Because it’s a small club, most people know each other pretty well. After a while, we tend not to be as hard-core about protocol. That and the Ellis boys are pretty chill. At least they were . . .” Dexter’s eyes widened and she jerked her chin at something behind Juliet’s shoulder.

Juliet turned her head just in time to see Will bearing down on them. His thunderous expression didn’t bode well. He looked like he was spoiling for a fight.

“What the hell was that?” he asked, but it was an accusation rather than a question.

“Oh, just Tarka being his usual, charming self. He tried to flirt with Juliet, but she wouldn’t give him the time of day.” Dex patted Juliet on the head, even though she had to reach up to do it.

“Fucking Tak.”

“Will, you fucking love Tak.”

He growled something, and for a moment Juliet thought he might go after the other man. He stared at Tarka from across the room, like a jealous teenage boy at a high school dance.

What the fuck? She had no interest in a man who couldn’t control his temper. He glanced down at Juliet and caught her expression.

“What?”

“Do you trust me or don’t you?”

He looked like he’d tasted something sour, but the aggressive energy seemed to drain out of him.

“So do I get orgasms for not flirting back and for not getting his number so I can call him when I get bored of you?”

“He told you to call him when you got bored of me?” His glare shifted back across the room to where Tarka had his arm around a pretty girl.

“Wow, would you look at that! He’s over me already,” Juliet pointed out.

Will gave one last menacing glare in Tarka’s direction and snatched Juliet’s leash out of Dexter’s hand as though her trustworthiness were also suspect.

“This is fantastic,” Dex said, laughing. “Can I pause this soap opera for a second until I make some popcorn? This is the most interesting drama that’s happened at Catacombs in at least three or four months.”

Dexter’s amusement failed to jolly Will out of his bad mood.

They made the rounds of the club for another couple of hours without incident, but Juliet could feel the tension in Will almost as though it were her own. No one else seemed to notice the way his jaw occasionally flexed as he talked with people and played host. He kept her on edge, touching her through the thin fabric of her gown with teasing grazes of his fingers when no one was paying attention.

He was in the middle of a conversation with a man he seemed to know relatively well when Juliet started shifting from foot to foot, tired of being teased, and losing patience with being on the leash. She also had to pee, and needing to ask for permission was too humiliating.

“If you’ll excuse me, Darren, I think my pet needs to relieve herself.”

Humiliation burned through her as Will strode off, not waiting to see if Juliet would follow. Then again, if he went too far, the leash would just tug her along in his wake. She trotted after him, not sure how she felt about him announcing her need to pee to a complete stranger. When reached the restrooms, rather than unclipping her leash he led her into the gender-free facilities and into a stall.

“I’m not peeing with you standing here,” she said stubbornly, glaring up at him and feeling ridiculously small.