Caged Songbird Page 8

  “Did she ever get him to sign one?” He could tell by the twinkle in her eyes she already knew the answer, but he decided to play along anyway.

  “Sage is a businessman, and as you might expect of any CEO of a large multi-faceted holding company, he is a superb negotiator.” Colt wrapped his hands around Josie’s small wrists shackling her and was thrilled to see her eyes dilate in response. Holding her arms at her sides as he continued, “My brother drew up a contract that looked a lot like a pre-nup—unless you actually read it.” He laughed at the way her nose wrinkled in frustration. “Let’s just say, the only thing ironclad about it was the fact it was completely unenforceable.”

  “I assume Coral didn’t miss that fact.” Oh, no, she definitely hadn’t missed it, but she’d made a deal with the devil before she’d read it—a mistake he doubted she would ever make again.

  “No, she didn’t sign it. But for reasons you’ll understand more fully later, I’m going to let her tell you about how it all played out.” Because they observed the same strict rules of confidentiality in their own play room that were enforced in BDSM clubs, Colt couldn’t tell Josie about the scene he watched play out between Sage and his fiancé. Nor could he tell her it had been one of the most erotic things he’d ever witnessed. But agreeing to submit if he’d draw up his own prenuptial agreement had been her downfall.

  “Right now I want to refocus on our date. We were enjoying each other’s company before this interruption. And while I am thrilled for my brother and sister-in-law, I’d very much like to get you naked and underneath me before dawn—which means we need to get started.” His plans for her could easily be moved to a nice comfortable bed—it meant he’d be able to bare every inch of her to his view since the cool night air wouldn’t be an issue. Pulling the small steel balls from his pocket, Colt turned her so his much larger body blocked hers from the view of anyone who might step into the solarium.

  Colt slid the tips of his fingers between the warm, silky bare skin of her stomach and the waistband of her jeans. “Let’s play, songbird.” He loved the sound of her breath hitching in response to his words, it sent blood rushing to his cock as desire began to cloud his thinking.

  “Anytime I say, ‘let’s play’ that’s your signal we’re starting a scene. And once we’re in a scene I’ll expect you to behave differently. We’ll go over all of the rules, but for now, I want you to know it simply means I’ll expect you to only speak when you are asked a direct question or to say one of your safe words.”

  Scrambling her thoughts was part of the plan. Keeping ahead of a woman as bright as the one standing in front of him was essential to ensuring she got the most out of the experience. He was anxious for Josie to truly experience the exhilarating high of sexual submission, and these few stolen moments were going to set the scene perfectly.

  “Tell me your safe words, songbird, and when are you supposed to use them?” He smiled when she’d finished recounting the stoplight system he’d taught her. She also had a clear grasp of when it was appropriate to use the yellow signal, something many submissives seemed to overlook.

  “Perfect. Now, let’s get back to things I think you’ll find much more interesting.” Colt loved the way her eyes went impossibly wide when she was aroused, and the pulse at the base of her throat beat erratically letting him know how turned on she was. Unsnapping her jeans and sliding the zipper down, Colt let his fingers slide south until their tips were poised just above the top of her bare mound. Holding up the small steel balls in his other hand, Colt watched her closely as he spoke. “I’m going to slide these inside until they tease your sweet spot with every step you take. Once they’re in place, I want you to say goodnight to my family, and then we’ll head upstairs.”

  He saw the gleam in her eyes and knew she was underestimating the task he’d laid out in front of her—and thank God in heaven because her mistake would play in his favor. “And, it’s just a suggestion, but you may want to begin your goodbyes with my parents.” Her brows drew together in question, and he wanted to kiss away the small wrinkle that formed between them. Knowing she didn’t have any preconceived expectations about the Ben Wa balls he slipped easily into place sent a flashfire of desire straight to his cock.

  “You are so wonderfully wet, songbird—absolutely fucking perfect. It pleases me more than I can tell you knowing your body is ready and waiting for my touch.” Circling her clit several times with the tip of his finger, Colt felt her muscles start to tremble. “Don’t come, Josie. You don’t have permission.”

  The startled look in her eyes had him biting back a smile. “Don’t come? You’re kidding, right? Oh, God, please tell me you’re kidding.” So damned perfect it’s as if I scripted it myself. She’d just given him the perfect excuse to distract her. Reaching around her small frame was easy and the sharp swat he gave her rocked Josie up onto her toes.

  “Watch your words closely, love. Those didn’t sound like your safe words to me, nor did they sound even remotely respectful.” He knew the swat would have set the balls in motion, and he didn’t even try to hold back his smile when her eyes went as wide as a kid at Christmas. “Feel good, songbird?” He didn’t bother to wait for her answer because he could see her mind was already starting to fog with desire. Hopefully, his parents would chalk up her dreamy expression to fatigue. “Like I said, you should probably start your good nights with mom and dad because those little balls are filled with fluid—which means they are going to pick up and amplify every little move you make.”

  Even though she was looking at him and appeared to be listening, he’d been a Dom long enough to know she wasn’t processing anything he was saying. He led her into the family room and watched Josie morph into Josephine Alta right in front of his eyes. She switched into the gifted performer the world knew and something about the ease with which she’d made the shift was damned unsettling. He didn’t want her to feel the need to be Josephine, the singer when she was in his home.

  Standing back he watched as small fissures began to form in the veneer. The longer she tried to hold on to that persona the more difficult it was becoming—what he didn’t know was why. Were the balls disrupting her thinking enough to cause the shaking in her hands and the sway he saw when she’d turned from his parents?

  Ryan took one look at Josie and turned his attention to Colt with one brow raised high in question. Brandt stepped forward and gave her a quick hug before turning her to Kip. Moving to Colt’s side, Brandt whispered, “Keep your hands on her going up the stairs. I don’t want to have to explain to the press why international singing sensation Josephine Alta took a header down the stairs of my family’s home.”

  “Brandt Morgan, that was ice cold…even for you.” Joelle rolled her eyes and smiled at Colt. “Don’t mind him, he’s under the mistaken impression since we’ve gotten married he doesn’t have to be romantic anymore. But, I think I should edit the press release a bit. Maybe the local news outlets would be interested in a story about a former Navy SEAL who mysteriously tumbled down a stairway as international singing sensation, Josephine Alta, looked on?”

  When Colt laughed, Joelle tapped her chin with her finger as if lost in a brainstorming session. “It could work. I can see the headline now, International Star Witnesses Sheriff’s Tumble into Celibacy. Yes, indeed, someone call the Associated Press, I’ve got a hot tip for them.”

  “Here’s a hot tip for you, my darling wife, unless you want to spend the rest of the night over my knee, you’ll be very, very careful.” Brandt’s growled words didn’t seem to have much of an effect on Joelle. But Colt didn’t think either Brandt or Ryan had missed the way her eyes sparkled at the mention of a session over Brandt’s knee. It was still hard for Colt to imagine any woman being brave enough to marry Brandt and Ryan, and he was glad to see Joelle appeared to be holding her own with his taciturn younger brother.

  Brandt Morgan had been an entirely different man when he returned home. His final mission had been disastrous, the emotional scars la
sting far longer than the superficial injuries he’d sustained. The Morgan family worried they’d never again see the son and brother they’d once known, and no one had been particularly fond of the man Brandt was when he came home. That didn’t mean they didn’t still love him—but no one liked him. They were finally beginning to see glimpses of the old Brandt since Joelle entered his life, and for that, they were all deeply grateful.

  Phoenix took one look at Josie when Colt escorted her back into the family room and knew she was struggling to stay focused as she talked to his parents. Ben Wa balls and clit clips were Colt’s favorite devices for submissives leaving Phoenix to wonder which one his brother had used. By the time Kip moved her to stand in front of him, her hands were trembling, and her eyes were shiny with unshed tears. He sent a quick glare in Colt’s direction as he took her trembling hands in his.

  Looking down into her glazed expression, Phoenix let out a sigh of frustration. “Balls or clip?” When she just blinked up at him without answering, he clarified, “Did Colt slide a pair of steel balls inside you, sweetness? Or did he use a clip that’s keeping your sweet little clit exposed?”

  “B…b…balls. I don’t know…it’s some sort of test I think. I can do this. The show must go on and all that.” God damn Colt’s dumb ass. There were times he wondered if he was the only one who’d actually listened during the Dom training classes they’d all attended. Sage tended to forget there was a difference between being a CEO and a Dom. Brandt was just a pain in the ass more often than not, and Kip didn’t give a flying fuck because he read women so well you’d swear he was inside their heads. Colt, on the other hand, had spent so many years on the rodeo circuit his competitive nature was often misinterpreted by submissives—like now for example.

  Colt had finally gotten the message and stepped up behind Josie just in time to hear Phoenix’s response. “Sweetness, this isn’t a test. This is all about Colt learning to gauge your responses to a couple of different BDSM elements. He should have explained that before he started the scene.” She was trembling more by the second. Hell, her own body’s movement would be exaggerating the stimulation she was receiving from the balls without her even taking a step.

  “No, I can do it. I can. I don’t want to fail. I hate letting people down, that’s why I let them extend the tour. I wanted to take a break, but…” her knees folded and Colt caught her before she’d dropped more than a few inches. Phoenix could see the frustration in his brother’s expression and hoped Colt spend some quality time with Josie to find out exactly how hard she was being pushed professionally.

  A submissive who continually put the desires of others before themselves would push until they were on the brink of exhaustion unless they learned how to say no. It certainly didn’t take someone with a Mensa I.Q. to see Josephine Alta was a textbook example of what Phoenix had heard many of his Dom friends at Mountain Mastery discussing on several occasions.

  Watching Colt lead Josie up the stairs, Phoenix wondered how his brother would ever be able to introduce her to the lifestyle in a club setting. Colt loved the club—it’s energy appealed to Colt more than it did Phoenix. He’d always assumed his brother loved the atmosphere because he’d spent a lot of time in bars when he first started on the rodeo circuit. That probably wasn’t all of it, but Colt hadn’t ever been able to articulate exactly what the appeal was.

  Josie’s celebrity status would make a trip to Mountain Mastery tricky at best. Even though the club had strict rules about confidentiality, that didn’t mean the temptation to expose Josephine Alta to the tabloids wouldn’t have members clamoring to make a fast buck. He’d touch base with Master Nate at Mountain Mastery to see if he had any ideas. As the owner of the club, he’d know whether or not there was a way to make it work. Nathanial Ledek might have started out as a friend of Brandt’s from their days as SEALs, but he’d quickly become friends with the rest of the Morgan brothers after moving to Montana.

  Checking in with Nate was the least Phoenix could do for the brother who’d taken over the investment portion of his business. Laughing to himself, Phoenix was anxious to see what his older brother could do with Josie’s portfolio. After an initial investigation, he’d uncovered some questionable accounting and Phoenix was fairly certain her manager was involved, but he was still compiling information.

  Rather than heading to bed, Phoenix made his way back to his office. Now that his mind was spinning with ideas, he’d might as well work on ways to help the woman who’d captured his brother’s heart. It was clear to anyone watching, Colt Morgan had fallen in love with Josie. She might not know it yet, but it didn’t matter because Colt had never been one to let anything stand between him and his goals. Hell, now that Phoenix thought about it—that bone-deep tenacity was a trait all five Morgan brothers shared.

  The flickering of his personal game screen caught his eye. He smiled when he noticed her profile picture. So you want to play, Athena? Well, my lovely foe, I’d love to match wits with you tonight. He didn’t know who she was—well, he didn’t know yet, but he and Mitch were closing in on her.

  He and Mitch Ames had become friends on-line long before they met recently in Texas. They’d worked together when everything with Joelle had come to a head. The two of them were now working together to back the lovely Greek goddess of wisdom and war strategy into a corner.

  She didn’t know they were working together, and so far it was working to their advantage. The closer they got to identifying her, the more he worried he was going to be disappointed—that the reality wouldn’t match the woman he’d built up in his mind, or of the let down at the end of a chase, he wasn’t sure.

  Sitting in front of his gaming computer, Phoenix smiled at Athena’s taunting invitation to play. Tapping out his response, he smiled when she quipped, Good evening, Game Master. How would you like to lose tonight? Choose your challenge, Sir. She had no way to know how her words called to the sexual Dominant in him, but his body didn’t care—it responded to her despite the fact he was simply reading the words on a screen.

  Someday soon, you and I are going to meet face-to-face, sweet Athena—someday very soon.

  Chapter Nine

  Josie leaned against the lounger’s padded cushion and looked over the Morgan’s spectacular indoor pool. She wondered how Colt’s mom and dad had ever gotten their sons to work when they’d had this spectacular oasis in their home. Closing her eyes, Josie let the sound of the waterfall soothe her frayed nerves. God, she wished she could forego the meeting she’d set up for later in the afternoon. Staying sequestered among the lush tropical plants and looking out at the snowcapped Rocky Mountains was far better for her soul than dealing with the ugliness she knew was coming.

  After spending a cold night in their car, her manager, and his girlfriend had finally found their way into Missoula. If Josie had her way, Phoenix would have led them both off the end of the Earth. She was still monumentally pissed they’d hidden trackers in her purse, and she needed to find a way rein in her anger before the meeting.

  Phoenix’s preliminary investigation turned up a number of what Colt referred to as significant financial anomalies. It hadn’t taken Josie long to figure out he was trying hard not to alarm her by telling her how badly she was being screwed by the man she’d hired to help further her career and protect her interests. Every time she thought about it, the betrayal cut a little deeper, and she became even more determined to track down what appeared to be a substantial amount of missing money.

  Colt and Sage had spent a lot of time familiarizing her with the financial aspects of the problem, while Brandt coached her on ways to ask questions to minimize the appearance she was onto them. The theory was Todd and Marie would speak more openly if they felt protected by her ignorance. The biggest issue was going to be whether or not she’d be able to stick to the plan without launching herself at Todd’s gold digging girlfriend.

  Maria Randall had been hired as a backup singer, but she’d been a nightmare to work with from the start
. She’d resented the fact she wasn’t the one in the spotlight and had done everything she could to undermine Josie’s success. Despite all of Josie’s complaints, Todd had resisted firing her for obvious reasons.

  Everyone who’d looked at the report Phoenix had compiled agreed she was likely the mastermind behind the thefts. In Josie’s mind, Todd wasn’t driven enough to make the effort. She’d known she needed to make a change but by the time she’d reached the mid-point of her recent tour she hadn’t been able to focus on anything but surviving to the end. After making the trip to Montana for Coral and Sage’s wedding…and meeting Colt, Josie realized what all she was missing. She’d become numb to how empty her life had become, but those two days opened her eyes and made her long for what her friend had found.

  During the past week, she’d written more music than she had during the entire past year. Josie wasn’t sure if her burst of creativity was due to the beautiful setting or the fact she felt safe for the first time in months, but either way, it was a relief to know her muse hadn’t deserted her.

  The song she was working on now was a follow up of sorts to The Feather, and she couldn’t wait to get into the studio with her band and put on the finishing touches. Mirrors was a soulful ballad about finding yourself by watching your friends. Seeing what they’d found, whether it was good or bad, provided mirrors for people to examine what was important in their own lives.

  She’d written the music and the lyrics at the same time, something she usually found very difficult. But this time, Josie felt like the song had almost written itself. When she’d played the beginning for Colt earlier that morning, she’d been thrilled with his suggestions. Teasing him about missing his calling, she believed he’d make a hell of a record producer. She’d silently vowed to list him as a co-writer because his contributions had certainly been substantive.