Page 123 of Lesson In Faith

“Please tell me that’s a euphemism.”

Shaking her head frantically, Tamsyn waved her hands in ano, no, nogesture. It was more of aplease, God, anyone but himmotion, but Anarchy’s grin just turned wicked as she ignored it.

“The club doctor is unfortunately having some personal issues, and poor Tamsyn is here with this cast stuck on her arm.” Coyly fluttering her eyelashes as though her sadistic husband could see her through the phone, Anarchy added a heap of sugar to her tone. “I’ll make it worth your while to come save her from her plight, Sir. If you’d be so kind.”

Scooting back her chair at the sound of laughter from the Master, Tamsyn prepared to bolt. She’d rather spend all day gnawing at the damn cast with her teeth than sit in an exam room withhim. She’d been anxious enough about letting Linnie remove it, but the white-blond demon Master was a different kettle of anxiety altogether.

“Have you cleared it with Merrick?” Jasper asked.

“Merrick’s currently caught up in the doc’s drama.”

“Hmm. Let me check with him. It’s not our place to interfere, kitten,” he reminded her when she huffed. “Our job is to purge the community, not thrust ourselves into other people’s business.”

A lascivious look gleamed in Anarchy’s eyes when he said the wordthrust. “You can thrust yourself into my business any day of the week, Sir.”

“Behave, Archie.”

“Never.”

Jasper laughed again. “No wonder I keep being told you’re a bad influence on other subs. Incorrigible kitten. I’ll check in with Merrick, see if he wants me to remove the cast. I need you back here soon, Archie; Atticus sent a load of new data through from Sonic.”

Brown eyes flicked toward Tamsyn. “Understood, Sir. Love you.”

“Love you too, troublemaker.” The line went dead.

“Do you call him Sir all the time?” Tamsyn wondered, speaking before she thought about it.

“Sir, Master, asshole. Always refer to your Dom with an honorific when you’re in a formal setting like the club—he’ll usually tell you what he prefers, or give you a choice. In private, in the comfort of your own home, most Doms let the formality slide, depending on what dynamic you have. Jasper and I…” Her sigh was happy, content. “Sirbecame a habit. I like acknowledging him as my Dom even when we’re in a crowd of vanillas. After almost losing him once, I guess it’s my comfort zone.”

“Vanillas?”

Sierra piped up. “Normal people who don’t get trussed up and their genitals flogged.”

Partway through taking a sip of juice, Anarchy snorted down her nose. “Christ, Sierra. I don’t know if it’s being married to two hunky Doms or the Denver air, but something’s different about you here.”

She glanced up from her sewing with a beatific smile. “I’m loved. There’s freedom in that. Liam’s loved me for who I am for years; Mack encourages me to be more. Between the two of them and Serenity… Archie, I feel whole again. It’s wonderful.”

Movement in the doorway dragged Tamsyn’s focus away from the strangely intimate conversation she didn’t really understand to the man pausing on the other side of the glass, lifting his phone to his ear before he pushed inside.

Merrick.

Her heart tripped over itself at the sight of him… until it dawned on her who, in all probability, was calling him. It was too much of a coincidence to believe it wasn’t Jasper.

Lunging from her chair, knocking the table and almost toppling the glasses, she streaked across the room as fast as her klutzy legs could carry her. Meeting his eyes through the glassed upper half of the doors, she barreled into him as he stepped through them to gather her close.

“Say no, say no, say no!” she whispered frantically, tugging at his arm in an attempt to snatch his phone away.

Merrick just tapped a finger on her lips. “Sorry, I missed that. Yeah, she’s gonna be unavailable for some time. No, Eli hasn’t mentioned finding a replacement, temporary or otherwise.” He paused, head cocking as his eyes dropped to her cast. “That’s kind of you, Jasper. I’d hate to impose on you… well, yeah, if you’re sure?”

Tamsyn’s hand slapped over his mouth before he doomed her to a fate worse than death. Pleading with her eyes, she tried to beam her thoughts into his head when her tongue tangled into a knot.

He lifted an eyebrow, then reached out to tickle her ribs with his free hand. While she squeaked and squirmed to defend herself, he regained control of the conversation. “That’s fine, we’ll meet you there. Thanks.”

“What have you done?” she whispered as he ended the call and pocketed his phone.

“What needed to be done,” Merrick whispered back, evidently amused by her horror. He cupped her cheek, studying her eyes. “Relax, little owl. Jasper has EMT training—emergency medical technician,” he explained helpfully. “He’s not going to slice your arm off.”

Tamsyn felt her eyes bug out. “That’s a possibility?”

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