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Chapter Four
Carting his enraged armful of squirming submissive back to his office was not helping his erection in the slightest. Watching Bodie dance had encouraged his cock to life, but when she’d defied his direct order and come flying down the steps from the stage like a raven-haired warrior, her face furiously focused, her rage palpable as she attacked Jacob...
There was more blood in his lap right now than in the rest of his body.
Magnificent. It was the only word to describe her.
Bucking, kicking, snarling, she fought him every step of the way. Something had snapped inside her, releasing some of that pent-up shit she kept hidden away, and she wasn’t showing any signs of cooling off anytime soon.
No matter. He had his ways and means of subduing a riled female.
His shins were bruised and throbbing before he reached his office, and he had a good mind to reciprocate the discomfort on her ass. He shoved open the door and all but tossed the spitting woman into his office before slamming the door hard enough to rattle the frame.
There, that got her attention.
Braun flipped the lock and leaned back against the jamb, assessing Bodie’s condition and his own. The little spitfire was seething with rage, and he couldn’t blame her—the vile vitriol Jacob spewed out there had ignited his own need to defend Liam.
Not that the lad couldn’t take care of himself, but goddamn it, Avalon was Braun’s pride and joy, and as its caretaker, Liam was more than an employee. He was a fucking good friend and part of the family. Braun reserved the right to brawl for moments just like these, which were thankfully few and far between.
Jacob had passed the vetting with flying colors. References had been glowing. Braun’s friend on the force had confirmed no criminal record, no suspicious activity, but the longer the Dom had been in Avalon, the more aggressive and belligerent he’d become as the months went on.
The events of tonight had been brewing for a while; Braun just wished Bodie hadn’t been witness to the nastiness. He definitely wouldn’t have put her in the position of taking on a one-hundred-and-eighty-pound asshole to defend her best friend’s honor.
Not that she’d hesitated to do so.
Rubbing his thumb thoughtfully over his mouth, Braun bided his time and observed her as she paced like a trapped tiger around his office. The profanity coming from her lips warranted a good soaping, and her disobedience would ordinarily be punished with a good belting, but she wasn’t his. He had no right to take her over his knee and spank her until she couldn’t sit down for a week or wash that dirty mouth out with soap before he fucked the bad words back down her throat.
More’s the pity.
“Boadicea.” He used his Master’s voice, the one every submissive in the club knew and respected. One subbie claimed her orgasm had stopped in mid-climax when he’d wielded it to admonish another errant sub. He doubted it, but it added to his reputation. “The threat is over now; you can calm down and take a seat.”
She glanced at him, her eyes wild. “Your hand is bleeding.” She continued to stalk the room, every step vibrating with anger. “Should have let me at him.”
Idly, he studied his hand and noted the bruising beginning to show and the trickle of blood where one of Jacob’s teeth had nicked the skin. Braun’s smile was slow and vicious; the bastard would need a trip to the dentist to replace his two front teeth. “If I’d let you at him, I’d have had to kill him if he landed a single blow on you, little one. I’m too busy to go to prison.”
“That’s where he belongs, the scum-sucking asshole.”
“Not our call to make, darlin’. I can promise you he’s in a world of hurt right now, and I have no doubts Liam will get his licks in before they drop him off at the road.”
That seemed to mollify her somewhat; her pacing slowed, and the profanities dried up. She was shaking now, adrenaline rocketing through her veins, but her fury wasn’t quite as lethal. “Good. Liam deserves a chance to kick his ass.”
Braun let silence blanket the room for several minutes. After five long ones passed, Bodie stopped walking about and flopped bonelessly into the visitor’s chair, evidently exhausted by her exertion.