that would be rude. oh, she just wasn't comfortable saying no to people or hurting their feelings. she glanced at the diminishing group of singles and realized she didn't want to be with any of them. that solved her problem nicely. "i'm afraid i'm not staying for the practice part. but thank you for the offer."

nolan strolled into the club room and smiled at the underlying scent of sweat, fear, pain, and sex that z's fancy cleaning crew could never remove. muscles he didn't know had been tight started to loosen.

as he crossed to the bar, he checked out the changes. a few new pieces of equipment-a lacing table, a spiderweb. there'd probably be a few other things in the theme rooms. z liked toys.

"hey, nolan, welcome home!" rising from a bar stool, raoul shook nolan's hand, a grin on his swarthy face. he glanced at nolan's gold-trimmed vest. "i see z already tagged you for dm duty."

"nolan!" cullen's yell set his ears ringing as the bartender leaned across the bar to thump his shoulder. "damn, dude, where have you been?"

nolan thought on it for a minute. "here and there. mostly baghdad."

"no alcohol there, i bet." cullen slid a cold corona over.

nolan stared at it. nobody else drank corona around here. "that beer over a year old?"

"nah. z told me you were back. i stocked up," cullen said.

the welcome made nolan's chest tighten. "thanks."

"you still look like a nasty bastard," cullen commented, ignoring a couple of newbies signaling for his attention. "you're gonna have the subs all scared and clamoring for your attention. how's your pretty slave doing, by the way?"

"i uncollared felicia before i deployed," nolan said. and although he'd missed her, he hadn't realized how much of a strain being a master twenty-four/seven was until she was gone. "so it's been a while. i'm looking forward to playing again." he sucked down half the brew, something else he'd missed. "anything new?"

"z has a sub now, a cutie. grabbed her before she even made it through the door," cullen said. "hell, he had her before she even knew she was submissive, but she hooked him right back."

"z? hooked?" nolan set his beer down. "seriously?"

"looks like. good match," raoul said. "i thought for a minute dan was going to follow in his footsteps. he took on a beginner monday, a sweet little sub, and looked pretty involved, but he chilled out again."

"that the pretty sub jessica was talking to? kari?" cullen asked.

"yep." raoul nodded toward the group of beginners. "little, round, really polite."

"i like her." cullen scratched his cheek. "and dan needs someone to kick him out of his rut. when marion died, seems like she took him with her. the asshole hardly laughs anymore." he studied the beginner class. "yeah, she might be good for him."

"z must have thought so. he asked dan to take her on."

nolan listened idly. dan'd had a rough time there, losing his wife like that. it was time he came out of that dark shell. turning, he checked out the class. the singles had dwindled until only a few remained. he identified the sub whom raoul and cullen had mentioned, watched a wannabe dom brace her, try for her. she not only turned the guy down but left the group entirely, heading toward the bar. very pretty, short, and curvy like he preferred.

"heads up," he warned raoul. "incoming."

kari walked away from the other newbies, feeling like a failure. she'd made it here, attended the class, but she'd basically blown the final by not practicing what she'd learned. but she just couldn't. not with them. face it, she'd been hoping master dan would be here, would have changed his mind. dumb, kari. he'd made himself quite clear.

she started toward the door and then stopped. she should be polite and tell master raoul she was leaving. for all she knew, he might do a head count at the end of the night.

master raoul was at the bar like he'd said, talking with cullen. next to raoul, another dm, a big, darkly tanned man around forty, leaned on the bar, listening. with a white scar across one cheekbone and cold black eyes, the man just plain looked dangerous. she gave him a wide berth and stopped on raoul's other side.

cullen broke off in midsentence and smiled at her. "little kari, how are you?" the look he gave her warmed her right to her toes.

ignoring the quiver in her stomach, she nodded back. "i'm fine. and how are you?" oops. "ah...sir."

cullen and raoul chuckled. the other man didn't even smile.

"very nice," cullen said. "can i get you something to drink, or is someone waiting for you?"

"no, thank you." she turned to master raoul. "i'm going to call it an early night, but i enjoyed your class very much. thank you." she nodded and moved toward the door.

"stop." master raoul's command had a snap in it.

kari's feet froze before her brain had processed the word. she turned.

"are you having a problem with one of the other beginners?" master raoul's eyes narrowed as he inspected the class.

"no, not at all. i just am not-" she couldn't think of a way to say this politely. "i feel uncomfortable with-" with beginners. she shrugged rather than finish. "i see no need to practice, so i'll head out. i appreciate your concern."

he'd been studying her face. "going from master dan to a beginner... i see the problem. i'll find you an experienced dom."

"no, really, i'm-"

"you know, i've had a little experience," master cullen said mildly.

raoul snorted. "like fifteen years or so?"

"about that." cullen lifted his head and shouted toward the front of the room, "dan! man the bar. i'm taking some playtime." he ducked under the bar and towered over kari. "i'll top you tonight."

she managed to close her mouth. "well..." experienced, for sure. more easygoing than sir-or at least more talkative. the set of his jaw, the way he watched her expressions made her think he might be as intimidating as sir.

there wasn't the same sense of connection with him or the trust she'd felt with master dan. but so what. her reasons for being here were still valid. "thank you. i'd like that."

kari heard footsteps behind her, then master dan's voice with a hint of laughter. "you and your damned playtimes. i'll babysit the bar for a couple hours, but that's it, cullen."

sir's deep, rough voice singed through every pathway in kari's body, and her insides melted like a sun-warmed chocolate bar. she stiffened but didn't turn around. cowardly, but she didn't want to see his face turn cold again.

cullen looked down at her, and a smile flickered over his hard-hewn face. he put a heavy arm across her shoulders and mashed her against his side. and then, hand gripping her shoulder so she couldn't escape, he turned them both to face master dan.

"well, dan, i'm not sure i'm going to want to stop at two hours." cullen rubbed his knuckles gently across her cheek. "little kari looks like she's got more stamina than that."

master dan saw her, and his face turned to stone. even as his gaze dissected her like a bug, his mouth thinned. his anger hit her like a fist to the chest.

kari pulled in a shaky breath and tried to back away, despite the restraining arm around her shoulders. what had she done to make him so mad at her?

"dan, buddy, you got a problem?" cullen asked, his voice as easy as if sir didn't look murderous. raoul's eyes narrowed.

sir's gaze never left kari as his jaw tightened. he inhaled slowly as his iron will imposed control. when his eyes released kari, she almost staggered.

sir's gaze rested on the bartender and then a corner of his mouth curved upward. "you asshole. your fucking sense of humor is going to get you killed one of these days. maybe today."

kari wrapped her arms around herself. she'd seen quite a bit of fighting in the schools, but these two guys were huge. they'd destroy the whole bar.

"i haven't enjoyed anything so much in days." cullen's laugh boomed in the quiet room. "but you know, you're scaring my sub." his hand squeezed her shoulder, pulled her a little closer.

chapter eight

dan's hands fisted as possessiveness burned through him in a red-tinged wave. one more word and he'd knock his fucking friend across the room. "don't push me."

cullen grinned.

dan moved closer. when kari's big blue eyes lifted to meet his, his breath was sucked away. he couldn't keep from touching her long, wavy hair, running his fingers down her soft cheek. she trembled. he'd scared her, dammit.

cullen cleared his throat. "dan, i think-"

dan kept his eyes on kari. "go away, cullen. playtime's over. she's mine." he sucked in a breath and corrected himself. "mine for this evening."

"i should make you work a little harder, but okay." cullen dropped his arm. "kari, i'll be here if you need me." he moved away.