He smiled and kissed the top of her head, a little swell of satisfaction going through him. A dangerous swell. She’s not really mine, he reminded himself. He didn’t have the right to feel that pride.

“It’s okay. You can call me Grant or sir.” He traced a finger over her bottom lip. “I like hearing you say my name with that hint of Cajun accent you keep trying to hide.”

Her mouth curved under his touch. “Damn, I thought I’d lost that thing. And I can’t believe you are teasing me about my accent.”

“Watch it, freckles. And don’t lose it. I like it.” He put his arm around her waist and urged her down the hallway.

“Yeah, well, TV stations like their correspondents to sound non-regional.”

He tightened his grip on her hip, her words niggling at him. Why would she want some job that was going to strip her of all her flavor? Did she really want to be some generic talking head—a woman who could be interchanged with any of the other ones on different stations?

He’d taken her on for training with the promise that he’d help her refine her image, but if she thought he was going to help her become some cookie-cutter, soulless version of herself, she had another think coming. The more he found out about this job of hers, the more he wanted to yank her from it and put her up at The Ranch. She wouldn’t have to worry about her safety, her image, or anything in between. And she wouldn’t need a salary because she would never go without. He could provide everything she needed.

The dark part of his mind laughed at him. Yeah, asshole. Everything except what she deserves.

He glanced down at Charli—she was so full of life and fire and ambition. Beyond her career aspirations, she no doubt wanted to get married one day and probably have a family. Be someone’s soul mate. That was what she deserved. And that was the one thing he could never give.

All those years ago, when he’d knelt next to his wife’s lifeless body, his soul had died there with her. And those things didn’t grow back.

His fingers pressed against Charli’s hip, halting her as they reached the door at the far end. Charli peeked over at him, frowning, her instincts too damn keen. “You all right? You’ve gone broody.”

“I’m fine. Just deciding the best way to start your training.” The lie rolled off his tongue, and though she didn’t seem totally convinced, she gave a little nod of acceptance.

He needed to tamp down the ugly thoughts of the past. Charli deserved his full and undivided attention tonight. If he could slip fully into his dom role and do what he did best, he should be able to shake off all the riotous feelings Charli’s presence seemed to kick up inside him. She was just a woman looking for some training and some fun. He had to keep that at the forefront of his mind.

He gave her rear a light swat. “Okay, darlin’, ready to step into my world?”

Charli sent Grant a skeptical look. Something had darkened her cowboy’s mood, but clearly he wasn’t going to talk about it with her. His whole posture said trespassers will be shot on sight, so she fought her instinct to pry.

She reached out and grabbed his hand, lacing her fingers with his. “I’m ready if you are.”

He lifted her hand to his mouth and planted a kiss on top of it, his eyes not leaving hers. “Born ready, beautiful.”

A wash of heat went through her, radiating out from the simple touch. It was as if he knew some magic code that flipped her internal switch, lighting every erogenous zone in her body. Her nipples stiffened against the soft material of her dress, and a kernel of warmth gathered between her thighs. She shook her head, amazed at how instant her response was. “I bet you could walk into the grocery store and get a stranger to strip for you with that charm of yours.”

He chuckled and tugged her close, trapping her hand between them. “You have the urge to lose your clothes already, sweet Charlotte? I must really be on my game tonight.”

Having his body pressed up against hers sent her ability for witty retorts short-circuiting. She took a shuddering breath, enveloping her senses in his natural, grass-and-sun scent.

He brushed her hair away from her forehead and tucked it behind her ear. “When we walk through this door, I expect you to become my submissive. I know this is all new to you, but look to me for your cues. Speak and act only with my permission. I’m looking forward to showing you off.”

She swallowed hard. Showing her off? What exactly would that entail? Some weird combination of nerves and wild anticipation curled like vine around her stomach, but she found herself nodding. “Yes, Grant.”

He pressed a kiss to her forehead, then turned her, tucking her arm into his elbow, and led her through the door.

Soft music met her ears and she blinked, adjusting to the low lighting of the room. People were milling around or sitting at small tables, all in various states of undress. Some were sporting suits and dresses like she and Grant. Others were in leather and lingerie. And a handful had nothing on at all. The mix of refined and conservative next to blatantly sexual scrambled her brain for a moment—two worlds crashing together.

As Charli was taking it all in, a man shuffled by wearing nothing but a collar and the leash his domme was tugging him by. Each time the woman yanked at the leash, the man grunted with pleasure. Unable to stop herself, Charli glanced downward and saw that his penis was trapped in what looked to be a painful contraption made of progressively smaller metal rings; something that had to prevent him from getting a full erection.

A little gasp escaped her, and she quickly looked away, feeling as if she’d intruded on the couple’s privacy. She was no blushing virgin. But in this kind of environment, her sexual experiences were about the equivalent. There were probably more naked people in this room then she’d seen in her whole life. She actually had to fight the urge to put her hands over her eyes like some kid who knew she wasn’t supposed to be watching an R-rated movie.

Grant moved his hand to the small of her back and put his lips next to her ear. “You’re so damn sexy when you blush. But try to relax. No need to be embarrassed about anything here. You can look at what you want. Watching is half the fun.”

She wet her lips, trying to tamp down the knee-jerk reaction. “It’s just…a lot to take in. It feels awkward to look. And that seems…painful.”

His fingers drew lazy circles at the small of her back as he guided her through the arrangement of tables. “It only feels awkward because you’re seeing it through a preconceived filter, that shame response we’re all taught. But if you can learn to push past that, you’ll be able to see how beautiful all of this can be. Like how enthralled that male sub was with his wife.”

She looked up at him in surprise. “They’re married?”

He smiled. “For over ten years, I think.”

She chewed on that information, and Grant stopped at a large booth. There was a small, gold plate fastened on the wall above the table that read Master Grant, but a lanky blond man had already taken up residence on one side of the booth.

When the man noticed them standing there, a smile appeared, a dazzling grin that somehow put Charli at ease in an instant—as if this stranger was someone she’d known her whole life. He stood and put out his hand to Grant. “Long time no see, my friend.”

“And whose fault is that?” Grant pulled the man closer and clapped him on the back.

“Yeah, been busy. Wicked’s Internet division needed a lot of work. Plus, ya know, I’ve got a lot to keep me occupied at home these days.”

Grant laughed. “I just bet you do.”

The two men exchanged a knowing look, and Charli realized she’d missed some private joke.

Grant put his arm around Charli again and urged her forward a tick. “Charlotte, this is Jace. He owns the store that supplies a lot of The Ranch’s equipment, and he’s also a good friend of mine.”

“Nice to meet you,” she said, automatically putting her hand out.

Jace’s gaze dipped down to her collar, his eyebrow lifting a bit. He didn’t reach for her hand but looked to Grant. “May I?”

Grant nodded, and Jace took her hand. “A pleasure.”

The way Jace looked at her—not necessarily sexual, but appraising—clued her in that he was a dom, too. He released her hand and returned his attention to Grant. “She’s lovely. Glad to see you taking a night off for a change. I thought with all the workshops on the schedule tonight, you’d be doing some demos.”

Grant guided Charli into the booth as Jace returned to his seat on the other side. Grant slid in next to her and laid a hand on her thigh, idly rubbing his thumb along her bared skin. “No. It’s so busy tonight because we have a group from an out-of-town club here for training. I put Colby in charge of coordinating everything though.”

Jace leaned back in the booth, stretching his arm along the back of it. “That’s too bad. I always learn something from your demos.”

Charli looked back and forth between the two of them, having no idea what they were talking about. Her lips parted to ask, but Grant squeezed her thigh. A warning.

“I think that may have been too much for Charlotte’s first time here.”

Before Jace could respond, a couple stopped in front of their table. Jace turned his head and smiled at the petite dark-haired woman and the much taller Hispanic man. “Well, it’s about damn time. I thought I was going to have to go back to the cabin and drag y’all out.”

The woman rolled her eyes and crooked a thumb at her partner. “Not my fault. Andre got distracted by the new six-headed shower.” She looked over at Grant. “Nice addition, by the way.”

Grant nodded, an amused expression on his face. “Glad you enjoyed it, Evan.”

Jace rose and wrapped his arm around the woman’s waist, pulling her against him and laying a way-more-than-friendly kiss on her lips.

Charli watched them in confusion. She’d gotten the impression the two strangers were a couple. But the way the woman melted against Jace said otherwise.

When Jace released Evan, he moved around her and pressed a quick kiss to Andre’s mouth as well. “Don’t tell me she fell for the line—come and check out this new shower, baby?”

Andre’s smile was like lazy sex on summer night. “I don’t need lines, bro.”

Charli could only stare. All three of them were together?

Evan glanced over, her blue eyes widening when she noticed Charli there. “Good Lord, how rude are we? Grant has a guest.” She gently shoved Jace into the booth and slid in next to him. “I’m sorry. These two have a way of distracting me. I’m Evan. And this is Andre.”

As Andre sank into the booth, flanking Evan’s other side, Charli managed to introduce herself, her mind still absorbing the fact that this woman had managed to snag not just one but two freaking gorgeous men. And based on how Jace and Andre were looking at her, Evan hadn’t only snagged them but had their utter devotion.

Maybe Charli should take training from this chick. Was she a submissive? Her gaze drifted to Evan’s throat, but she saw no collar there.

Grant draped his arm along the back of the booth and idly played with a lock of Charli’s hair. “Go ahead and ask your questions, freckles. I see them all over your face.”

She shot a sharp look Grant’s way. Was he trying to make her look like a complete novice? Embarrass her?

He sighed. “These are my friends, Charlotte. I planned for us to sit with them so that you could see that the people who are part of this scene are just regular folks. That you don’t need to be intimidated or feel out of place.”

Evan gave her an understanding smile. “I was totally freaked out the first time I visited. I had no idea what to expect. I definitely didn’t expect to fall for these two.” She raised her arms, showing matching bracelets on each wrist. The delicate circles were pewter and aged copper woven together in a pretty pattern.