Dominance Never Dies (Masters and Mercenaries Book 11) (2 page)

His brother. Case Taggart had recently lost his twin brother. She feared for a world that had two of him in it. And she had seen his pain the minute she’d met him.

She knew what it meant to lose family. It created an aching hole that would never be filled.

Case looked up at that moment and a brilliant smile crossed his face.

“Never mind. I take back everything I just said,” Kori whispered. “You make him smile like that and I say you can break every rule this club has. Now I understand why Big Tag was so eager to let you in.”

“You made his brother smile again.” Sarah sighed as if it was all too romantic.

Her heart was doing that thudding thing again, and suddenly the room felt electric. Case Taggart was walking her way. Walking? The man kind of swaggered in an “I saved the world and didn’t break a sweat doing it” kind of way. He’d been a Navy SEAL, one of the youngest. He’d been decorated during battle, recruited by the CIA, and then he’d dropped it all to work with the brothers he hadn’t known he had according to the work-up Riley had done on him.

Riley, her brother. Riley and Drew and Bran. Case sort of reminded her of them. It was there in his strength, his devotion to family.

Would he be so devoted to a woman? Would he take care of her, adore her? Would he let her adore him?

“Hi, Mia, welcome to Sanctum.” He grimaced. “That sounded stupid. You’ve been here.”

She was not about to let that man get awkward on her. “Not at all. It’s so different at night. I’ve been on the tour, but most of our classes are on the main stage and I’ve certainly never seen the place lit up like this. It’s amazing. I mean what I’ve seen is amazing so far.”

He was definitely amazing. So heartbreakingly beautiful.

He held a hand out. “Then please let me show you around. Kori, I talked to Javi earlier. He asked me to look after her for tonight.”

Kori frowned, but there was a twinkle in her eyes as though she knew she was playing the gatekeeper and was definitely going to have fun with the role. “She’s not allowed to play.”

“I’ll follow the rules. We’ll talk and watch some scenes and I’ll have her back to you before closing,” he promised.

She moved next to him. If she went with him, he would require her to stay close all night. Sanctum, she’d discovered, could be a little traditional in its roles. Until the submissive had completed the training course, there were rules about how the Doms would treat them. Even after, there would be politeness and courtesy, but until she proved she could handle the BDSM aspects she was only allowed to play with her vetted training Dom and only under certain circumstances.

She was a little like a debutante submissive.

She wanted to break those rules with this man. Mia let her hand slip into his. So big and strong. He tucked her arm beneath his as Kori and Sarah gave her a wave.

“Shall we?”

She nodded up, feeling like Cinderella and the prince had asked her to dance.

And like Cinderella, she was here under false pretenses, wearing a mask to hide her reality.

Let it go for one night. For one night just be Mia and he can be Case and we can see where it goes. He’ll forgive you. He’s that kind of man.

He had to be.

Two hours later, Mia let him lead her through a door at the top level of the club. To her right was the hall that led to the privacy rooms. When he’d first suggested they go upstairs, she’d worried a little that he was trying to hook up.

Her body was all kinds of ready to go, but she didn’t want him to be the kind of guy who hooked up with a girl before he’d even taken her on a proper date. And yet here she was, following him god only knew where. Was this his personal privacy room? She was confident she could handle him. She was well trained in self-defense, but beyond that, she was pretty sure this was a man who would take no for an answer.

She expected to be led into a bedroom, but a cool breeze hit her skin.

“This is a part of the club they won’t show you,” Case explained as he led her on to the rooftop. “I’m afraid the founding members keep this for themselves. I’m not a founding member, obviously, but they let all the McKay-Taggart guys up on the roof. Wait here for a sec while I get the lights on.”

She was left standing on the roof, the night soft around her. She’d ditched her shoes about an hour in while she and Case watched a couple of scenes and then had a drink in the bar. The scenes had been lovely, filled with a combination of heat and deep affection, and then they’d sat and talked. He’d told her about how he’d come to McKay-Taggart, complete with the craziest story of how he’d raided his own brother’s building on a helicopter and gotten his ass kicked.

She’d told him very little and that hurt. Only a few more weeks and she would tell him everything. She would tell him about her brothers and the company they’d founded. He would see how alike they were.

She walked out onto the roof. Someone had used outdoor-style carpet to cover the floor. It was a little scratchy on her bare feet, but she liked it. The lights of downtown Dallas were soft around her. Most of the buildings in this area of town were businesses and dark, but a few had decorative lighting and the blues and greens and whites made the world seem a little hazy and surreal.

And then she was surrounded by twinkle lights.

She smiled because she was in one of the most romantic settings she’d ever seen.

To her left was what looked like a gorgeous outdoor living area complete with a fire pit. A pergola wound with the soft white twinkle lights covered the space.

“This is beautiful.”

Case walked over to the side of the building. The top was lined with sturdy walls that he leaned against as he looked out over the city. The taller buildings loomed over them, like giant trees in the middle of a concrete forest. “I like to come up here to think. It’s quiet at night. I don’t have a balcony at my apartment.”

“I don’t either.” She kept a small place in Austin, but she was on the road for her job so often she was rarely there. She’d rented an apartment here in Dallas and she’d brought up her favorite keepsakes. She’d told herself it was all about her cover, but she liked the city. The last six weeks she’d felt more settled than she had in years. “I have to admit, the older I get the more I think about buying a house.”

Case groaned as she joined him. “I don’t know about that. Theo bought a place and immediately had to replace all of the damn plumbing…well, Erin did. After…”

“She still lives there?” She asked the question in a quiet tone because he didn’t usually mention Theo.

“Yeah. I think she’s going to stay.” He stared out over the city. “It’s good, though we’ve got a bunch of legal stuff to deal with. Apparently dying brings up lots of stuff you need a lawyer for.”

“It should be simple. If he didn’t have a will, you would be his next of kin. You can sign everything over to her.”

He turned, a surprised look on his face. “That’s what I’m doing. Everyone outside my group thinks I’m crazy to do that.”

“From what I’ve been told he loved her. He would want you to take care of her and you’re the kind of man who would do it. I don’t think it’s crazy at all. It’s admirable.”

“He hadn’t paid off the house. Erin can afford it but I put everything I had into it so it’s easier for her. I’m pretty much back where I was before I joined the Navy. No savings.”

She would have next to nothing without her brother. Was he trying to explain that he wasn’t a great catch on the financial side? Because she couldn’t care less about that. She’d learned so long ago that money didn’t make a man. She reached out and put a hand on his arm. “You don’t need much, I’m sure. I know I don’t. I like a nice pair of shoes every now and then, but money isn’t everything, Case. Sometimes knowing you’ve done the right thing is worth all the money in the world.”

“I’m just trying to explain that while this club is beautiful and my brothers have made something of themselves, I’m kind of a work in progress.” He reached out, his hand cupping her cheek, thumb tracing the line of her jaw. “I’m not worth a lot and I understand that sometimes women want more than I can give them. I like you, Mia.”

She smiled because he was saying all the right things. Had he been burned before? Was that why he was being so forthright? “I like you too, Case. I’m not looking for a man to take care of me. Not financially anyway. I’m very independent. At least I try to be.”

“I’m making things awkward.” He didn’t move away though. He simply kept stroking her. “I want to kiss you but I also want to be honest. I don’t have a lot to give right now.”

“Then maybe you should find someone who doesn’t need to take from you. Why don’t you kiss me and we’ll go from there?” She wanted so badly to take some of his pain, to give him some peace.

“I knew from the minute I saw you something good might happen to me.” He stared down at her. “Is that silly? You walked out of the locker room and you smiled at me that first day of the training class and I thought maybe I could have one good thing.”

Sometimes one good thing was all a person needed to survive. She felt herself tearing up, the moment turning into something important. “I could use something good, too.”

He lowered his lips down to hers and she leaned into him. When he kissed her, she felt like melting in his arms. He was gentle, those sensual lips soft on her own. His hands held her face, framing it as he explored her mouth. He was so slow. So patient.

“Touch me, Mia.” He whispered the words on her lips. “Put your hands on me.”

The words were said in a soft tone, but she couldn’t mistake them for anything but a command. That soft place she’d found inside herself at Sanctum responded with glee. She let her hands find his chest and move down to his lean waist. So much warm skin, so masculine. Touching him made her feel alive.

She relaxed against him, letting his heat flow into her. Their bodies nestled together like they’d been made to fit. His hands moved down so he could wrap them around her.

All that mattered was being with him. Nothing in her life had ever felt as right as kissing Case Taggart in the moonlight.

When she thought he would deepen the kiss, he broke it off with a shake of his head.

Disappointment sparked through her and all her insecurities rose to the surface. “Is something wrong?”

He groaned softly and put his forehead to hers. “Nope. It’s all way too right, darlin’. I don’t want to start this the wrong way. And I have to have you downstairs in fifteen minutes. I’m too emotional right now. I’m sorry.”

He missed his brother. They had fifteen minutes. If he thought she would pout or complain that he wasn’t going to get more physical, he was in for a surprise.

“Come here, Sir.” She’d called him Case all night, but something had changed between them. She took his hand and led him back to the big, comfy-looking couch. “Why don’t you sit for a few minutes?”

He sat down, but he stared at her suspiciously. “Mia, I told you this isn’t a good time.”

But she thought it was. She’d seen how the subs soothed their Doms. She dropped to her knees and put her head in his lap, turned away from that part of him she really was interested in. It was just she was more interested in easing his pain tonight. In building something with him.

“What was Theo like, Sir?”

He was quiet for a moment and then his hand found her hair and he stroked her. She could feel him relax.

“He was a little insane,” he said with a shaky laugh. “I miss him.”

He started to talk and Mia listened.

* * * *

Case stepped into the locker room, hoping he didn’t have a goofy grin on his face.

He passed by one of the mirrors and realized his hope was dashed. He looked like a dumbass teenaged kid who’d just kissed his first girl.

Damn, but he kind of didn’t care. Mia was hot and sweet and so gorgeous his dick hurt.

The real trouble was something else kind of reacted to her, too. Like everything else. His whole soul kind of softened the minute she walked in the room the first time.

God, he wanted to talk to his brother about Mia. Theo would know what to do. Ian would talk to him, but only after he gagged a couple of times first. He could go to Sean. Sean would give him sage advice and shit, but it had always been Theo who knew what to say to him.

Mia had known what to do. He’d thought for a second that she was going to offer him sex. When she’d dropped to her knees in front of him, his cock had jumped in his pants, but the rest of him had been so disappointed because he’d wanted more from her. Then she’d laid her head on his lap and asked about his brother and for fifteen minutes he’d found some peace.

“Dude, that girl is hot,” a masculine voice said.

He turned and saw Michael Malone standing next to him. He hadn’t seen much of Michael all night. He’d been off with Bear and Boomer and a couple of the pretty new subs, but it was obvious they’d been watching him.

Or rather Mia. They’d watched Mia in her corset and leather boy shorts. Yeah, that bugged him. It wouldn’t if she was his, but their relationship was brand spanking new—as in he hadn’t even spanked her yet, much less put a collar around her throat.

Did he want that? He needed time with her. She was the most luscious thing he’d ever seen. And yet that wasn’t what had made him want to throw her over his shoulder and carry her off. It was her smile and how the world seemed a little lighter when she walked into a room. It was how easily she made friends. Kori and Sarah seemed to adore her and he knew it wasn’t easy getting into that tight-knit group. He hadn’t wanted to return her to them. He’d wanted to sit there with her, talking about his brother and stroking her hair. He could have sat there with her until dawn.

“She’s more than a piece of ass.”

Michael immediately backed off. “Whoa, sorry, man. I didn’t realize you were serious about her.”

Was he? Damn it. These were the kinds of things he would talk about with Theo. He wouldn’t even have to call him because Theo would be standing beside him. Theo would have been telling him how to deal with someone like Mia. Someone sweet and soft and kind.