Keeping Karly (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

Keeping Karly

Karly James is determined to protect her sister from the BDSM community that almost got her killed. Anger fuels every word. The newspaper articles are just the beginning of her war against Doms and fetish clubs.

But Karly is a woman with a terrible secret. Everyone else sees a happy, loving marriage. Only she knows what it costs to maintain the illusion.

When Bryce and Grant Anderson stumble upon the truth, they move to protect her, vowing to keep her safe, forcing her to face reality, and giving her a chance at a new beginning. But when love starts to blossom, all three find themselves facing a difficult choice.

Can Karly truly set aside the hurts of the past and learn to trust again? Can Bryce and Grant deny their dominant tendencies even when it’s for a woman they love?

Perhaps, for some people, love never was meant to conquer all…

Note: There is no sexual relationship or touching for titillation between or among siblings.

Genre:
BDSM, Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre

Length:
32,834 words
 

Rachel Clark

MENAGE AMOUR

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

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IMPRINT: Ménage Amour

KEEPING KARLY

Copyright © 2013 by Rachel Clark

E-book ISBN:
978-1-62242-487-0

First E-book Publication: March 2013

Cover design by Harris Channing

All cover art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED:
This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

PUBLISHER

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

Letter to Readers

Dear Readers,

If you have purchased this copy of 
Keeping Karly
 by Rachel Clark from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

Regarding E-book Piracy

This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.

The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.

This is Rachel Clark’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Clark’s right to earn a living from her work.

Amanda Hilton, Publisher

www.SirenPublishing.com

www.BookStrand.com

For Jackie. Thanks, hun.

KEEPING KARLY

RACHEL CLARK

Copyright © 2013

Bryce Anderson watched the scene in front of him and tried to be pleased for Lachlan, Doug, and their soon-to-be-collared sub, Alicia. It was obvious that the three of them were happy together, despite the unusualness of their arrangement. It was actually the type of relationship Bryce and his brother, Grant, had one day hoped to find with that one special woman.

But today Bryce was no longer sure that he knew what he wanted. He used to enjoy spending time at the club, watching scenes, occasionally playing with one of the experienced subs, but not today. Today he felt hollow, gutted. Today he was questioning everything he thought he knew.

And it was all because of the behavior of a man he’d considered a friend.

If he’d misread Robert so badly, could he trust his own instincts when it came to other Doms? Was it possible that inside this club there lurked even more like Robert, men ready to explode, willing to risk a sub’s life just for their own enjoyment?

After all the training he’d done, Bryce had always felt confident that he was in control of his actions, and had assumed it was that way for the other Doms as well. Obviously it wasn’t that way for Robert.

“How’s Casey?” Lachlan asked as Bryce came to stand beside him. He was watching Doug flog the sub that they shared. His question wasn’t surprising. They were a close-knit community, and nearly every Dom and all of the subs had dropped by the hospital to visit Casey as she slowly recovered.

“The doctors are planning to release her in a few days. She’s decided to stay with her sister and her sister’s husband until she’s well enough to cope on her own.”

Lachlan watched Alicia and Doug together for a moment then turned his attention back to Bryce. “I suppose that’s good news,” he said quietly. It was clear that Casey’s heart attack had affected the way he viewed the lifestyle they all led as well. In fact it had been the catalyst for Lachlan to finally reveal his needs to the woman he loved. Lachlan stood beside him for a moment, watching the scene, perhaps also trying to process some of the emotional fallout from Robert’s behavior. Finally, with a smile for his lovely wife, he moved back onto the stage.

Bryce hadn’t needed to add that Casey had been given a list of restrictions as long as his arm. Predictably, the doctors had advised her to avoid any and all BDSM activities. Considering how badly bruised she’d been, Bryce could understand why someone not in the lifestyle would say that.

He’d gone to the hospital a few hours ago to check on her progress and make certain Casey had someone to take care of her when she was released. It was the first time he’d seen her out of bed since her heart attack and he’d struggled to hide his rage. Even after nearly three weeks in hospital, Casey’s legs were still covered in fading bruises. Not only had Robert caused her heart attack, but he’d beaten the hell out of her with a cane beforehand.

When Bryce had demanded to know how high the bruises went, Casey had burst into tears. He’d known the woman for years, had spoken to the little sub in the same tone many times, so her reaction had shaken him to the core.

He’d held her carefully, rocking her slightly in the same way he would with a sub after an intense scene, and silently promised the woman this would never happen again. Not in this club. Not by his friends. He’d never seen a sub so poorly treated by someone she should have been able to trust.

It didn’t lessen his annoyance, though, at being tarred with the same brush.

Thanks to one out-of-control, sadistic asshole who deserved whatever punishment the law could provide, the small amount of acceptance their lifestyle had been gaining in the wider community had been completely obliterated by a single news article.

The members of this club, both Doms and subs, people he and Grant considered their closest friends, had figuratively circled the wagons to protect the club and each other, but it hadn’t stopped the newspaper article from speculating on the mindset of men who would enslave women.

Enslave?

Hell. The writer had literally made them sound like the spawn of the devil, beating and raping brainwashed women. He’d ground his teeth so hard as he read the unfair, badly researched, biased writing that he’d cracked a damn tooth.

But it wasn’t until he’d run into Casey’s sister in the hallway of the hospital that he’d realized who’d written it.

Karly James.

It hadn’t even occurred to him that the woman would write under her maiden name until she’d launched a scathing verbal attack right there in the hallway. Some of the accusations she’d flung his way had been downright hateful. He understood her concern for her sister, but surely she’d seen how the BDSM community had gathered around Casey, supporting her, protecting her, risking their own privacy by suggesting she press charges against Robert.

The sub on stage screamed as her orgasm hit, drawing his attention back to the woman who’d once been Lachlan’s best friend and was about to be collared by both of her Doms. Doug pressed a kiss to her mouth, smoothing the hair away from her eyes as Lachlan released her from the Shibari rope. She collapsed into Doug’s arms, her smile tired but beautifully content as he wrapped her in a warm blanket and then moved to take a seat at the back of the room. Lachlan quickly joined them, and the three sat together talking quietly, obviously very happy with the way their lives had worked out.

Their relationship was a perfect example of what Bryce had wanted, but over the past few years he’d lost faith that he’d ever find it. He was nearly thirty-five and he wanted kids while he was still young enough to enjoy them. Maybe he should consider an ordinary life.

And maybe he should reconsider the offer he’d gotten to work in Hong Kong. It was only six months. Perhaps that would give him enough time away from everything to reconsider the direction of his life.

He glanced at the three people at the back of the room, their happiness clear in every touch.

Love. True, honest, perfect.

It was what Bryce wanted, but maybe he just wasn’t supposed to get it.

I miss my sister.

After five months of having her live under my roof, arguing almost every day, the house feels too quiet now that she’s moved out. Talking on the phone just doesn’t seem enough. Even though the circumstances that brought her to my door were terrifying, it has been wonderful to spend time with my younger sister again. It doesn’t mean we understand each other any better than we had when we were kids, but at least we’ve had the chance to bond again as adults.

I hadn’t even realized how far we’d grown apart until she’d almost died at the hands of a madman. Casey called him a Dom—an expression she learned from a sex club she visited. It’s a label that, in my opinion, is just a euphemism for woman-bashing asshole.

After what happened to Casey, there should be no way she could deny it.

But deny it, she does.

In fact, now that the doctor has cleared her for her usual activities she’s on the phone, excitedly filling me in on her plans for tonight.