“Children, children. This is an adult party. Do I need to call your parents?” They paused, midgrapple, and Banner saw Ambrose looking down at him. “You never got back to me. I was wondering if you were going to come up with another lame excuse to bail on the festivities.”

“And miss rolling around with a sweaty man in your foyer? I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“If only there was Jell-O.” Kate sighed wistfully as she stepped out from behind Ambrose.

Ambrose and Konstantin guffawed, but Banner just stared.

Kate caught the way he was looking at her and reddened. She glanced at Ambrose, who had started talking to Konstantin about something and ignored her. She knelt at his side, out of the way.

Unlike the two girls Konstantin had been talking to, Kate wore a simple black dress that clung to her lush curves. Around her throat there was an elegant black leather collar. He wanted to rip it off of her neck and shove it down Ambrose’s throat.

His friends were discussing something, but their words weren’t registering. How could Ambrose ignore her for so long? Didn’t he want to touch her—or drag her off somewhere private?

Kate avoided his gaze, but her cheeks were pink, as though she knew he was watching. She shivered, even though it wasn’t cold. Her lips parted, and the urge to kiss her, take her, fuck her mouth, make her come, overwhelmed him.

As if Ambrose wasn’t all over her! Idiot. Although if he was, Banner probably would have wanted to hit him. Was this how things were between the two of them? Their connection seemed nonexistent, even though the relationship was still new. Ambrose should have been very attentive, but he was ignoring her. Banner had talked to them individually, and they both said they were crazy about each other, but seeing them together was telling him a different story.

What was the world coming to when he couldn’t trust his best friend to dom Kate properly?

Worried about what he might say if he stayed, he walked past them into the great room. People mingled, chatted, checked out the equipment Ambrose kept exclusively for parties. The music blaring from the sound system and the low lighting lent the room a dungeonish feel. Did Kate like playing in public or pseudopublic? Was Ambrose going to strip her down and flog her in front of guests? Sometimes Ambrose liked to show off.

“Hi, are you Banner?” A tiny slip of a girl appeared his elbow. Had Ambrose checked her ID? She looked like a teenager.

“Yes. Can I help you?” It came out colder than he’d meant it to, but there was no fixing that.

The girl flushed and bit her lip, which only made her look younger. Creepy. He knew Ambrose had a schoolgirl fetish, but even he wouldn’t play with a girl that looked this underage.

“I’m Gwen. Ambrose said I should introduce myself.” She looked around as though she hoped someone would save her. “Sorry, this is very forward of me.” Her gaze dropped, and he felt bad for being standoffish. She was a guest at Ambrose’s party. There was no need to be rude.

“Sorry, Gwen. I was off in my own little world. I don’t remember seeing you around before. Are you new to the area?” Keep it businesslike and maybe she’d wander off.

“I’m from D.C. I just moved here for work about a month ago. I was surprised there’s such a big kink community here.” She smiled carefully, exuding submission.

“No offense, but are you old enough to be here?”

Her chuckle was quiet and innocuous. “Yes, Sir. Sorry for laughing. I get asked that a lot, but I’m twenty-three. I graduated from Washington State and worked at government offices there before being relocated here.”

Smart, cute, apparently interested—so why wasn’t he even slightly interested in her? Because of how young she looked? If she was at the party, Ambrose had checked her background. If he’d suggested she introduce herself to Banner, she was probably deeply submissive and available. There was no harm in playing with her for a while, if she was into public play.

Banner opened his mouth to ask her if she wanted a soda. “I’m sorry. You seem really nice, but I’m not in a good place right now.” Where had that come from?

She smiled sympathetically and laid a hand on his arm. “Recent breakup?”

Automatically, he scanned the room and found Kate kneeling at Ambrose’s side. He was talking to yet another guest and when her gaze found Banner, she quickly looked away, as though he’d caught her. She bowed her head.

“Ah, that’s rough. She’s here with someone else?”

Damn, he’d forgotten about the girl. “Yeah. I fucked things up, and now she’s collared to my best friend. We were never really together, exactly.”

A more adventurous couple had claimed the biggest piece of equipment, and the man buckled the woman’s wrists and ankles to the solid wooden X. Watching kept him from oversharing all of the words that fought to free themselves from his mouth. This girl didn’t need to listen to his problems. She was there for a party. He refused to be the guy who got drunk and talked about his unrequited love all night—not that Ambrose served alcohol at this type of party.

“Well, maybe I’ll see you around. Nice to meet you.” Gwen nodded politely and walked off toward the kitchen.

He didn’t bother to watch her retreating back, or even check out her ass. Maybe he should just go home.

“What the fuck, man?” Ambrose was suddenly there, looking pissed. “That girl has been waiting to meet you for days. Did you blow her off?”

“She’s . . . not my type.”

“Is she too hot for you? Too submissive?” Kate was two steps behind Ambrose, which meant his friend couldn’t see the strained awkwardness on her face.

Ambrose followed Banner’s gaze to Kate. “Oh, for fucksakes.” He fished in the pocket of his cargo pants and pulled out a leash, then clipped the end to Kate’s collar and glared at Banner. “Don’t stare at my girl, unless you want a black eye. You had your chance.”

He led her away, and Banner noted the way she walked. Graceful, submissive, proud to be on Ambrose’s leash. Fuck, had he been wrong about her? The back of her little black dress was cut away, leaving her skin bare right down to just above the cleft of her ass. Ambrose slid his hand up her back. The small sign of affection seemed so much more intimate when it was skin on skin. She leaned into him and Banner groaned.

“You know, just because you’ve never asked for her back doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen.” Konstantin was watching them, too.

“You’ve been talking to Ambrose?”

“Ambrose picked me up at the airport. I know all of it. Maybe more than you.”

Of course. They didn’t keep many secrets from one another.

The noise was starting to give him a headache. Kate was leaning against Ambrose like a woman in love. He pulled her to where the girls were dancing and started to move suggestively with her.

“Look at her. She really likes him.”

“I don’t know about that. She really liked you more, from what he’s told me.”

“So what? I’m supposed to stroll over there and ask him to give her back? Like she doesn’t get to have an opinion?”

“Why don’t you try asking for permission to play with his sub, to start with? She is wearing his collar. Just because it’s Ambrose, doesn’t mean the rules change.”

“I never should have let her go. What the fuck is my problem?”

“I think you spend too much time worrying about other people.” Konstantin draped an arm around his shoulder and watched the two girls he’d been with earlier as they danced together provocatively and cast sidelong glances at him. Like always, Konstantin had an audience trying to keep his attention. “If you want something good in your life other than Rook, you can’t wait for someone else to hand it to you. You gave up art to be a good son. Ending things with a girl because you think you’re no good for her isn’t giving yourself, or her, much credit. Trust me—I’ve been watching her stare at you. I think you broke her heart.”