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“No, Sir.”

“Good.” Tony beckoned me forward. “Next time, talk to me alone before bringing someone else into the fold.”

“Yes, Sir.”

I had to bite my tongue not to grumble some more, but that wouldn’t help either of us.

TWENTY-FOUR

jaime

“So.” I cleared my throat so that it wasn’t obvious I was as giddy about this as I was. “Remember that time I complained about how long it would be until I could get an A-plus and how unfair it was?”

Tony quirked an eyebrow from his seat on the couch. He tried to look all composed. It was cute that he thought I’d miss how he’d frozen in place. “Yes?”

“And you added another condition to it?” I continued. I was probably talking too fast and giving away the whole thing. “That if I dealt with a professor the right way, without lashing out, your ass was mine?”

He didn’t use those words exactly, but the sentiment had been there. He knew it. I knew it.

“I’m the one who says if you actually dealt with it the right way.”

Cute.

I scoffed. “What do you want to do, go to the woman’s office and ask?”

If he did, I wanted cameras. There had to be a way to sneak something in.

Whatever.

After I’d toed off my shoes and grabbed the training collar from the tiny drawer he’d added to the entrance, I walked to him. Leisurely. I kept my grin in check, too. I didn’t at all look like I was ready to pounce on him—even though I one hundred percent was.

It wasn’t even about topping or anal. I didn’t care that we didn’t fuck as much as everyone assumed we did. I was a fuck rabbit within the walls of the club and with consenting power bottoms—and Cece when she was in the mood and/or needed to be reminded of the hierarchy there.

I wasn’t even doubting Tony’s intentions or antsy about it. It helped that I’d caught him fingering himself in the shower a couple of times. The rimming, too. He really was into me rimming him, and pups were good with their tongues, which was a reputation I needed to uphold, obviously.

“How about you sit and start talking from the beginning?”

“Yeah, yeah.” I perched on the arm of the couch only because I knew it would make him lookthat way. Teasing him was more fun when I was on his lap and I could hover over him and taunt him with the lack of distance between us, but I could behave. It was going to be so worth it. Speaking of… “Aren’t you going to collar me first?”

Technically, I could do it. If I arrived here before he did and I was feeling a certain type of way, I did. It made me blush stupidly hard, and it wasn’t something I felt comfortable discussing at length, but the weight of the collar made me feel more grounded and… closer to him?

Yeah, it sounded stupid to my own ears. That was why it would forever remain an inside thought.

Anyway, I digressed. The point was, if he was around, I’d rather he put it on. He just looked so hot and his gaze got so heated when I asked unprompted.

“Come closer, pup.”

I moved so that I was on my knees on the couch. As lavish as Tony’s house was, he thankfully didn’t have one of those giant couches that could hold a dozen people. Two wide seats were more than enough for me. Any more and it would ruin the cozy vibe. It wasn’t like he was game for entertaining the whole group here, so we didn’t need a lot more. And they could bring chairs and shit if it came to that.

“So.” Tony tucked my chin up before buckling the collar. I wasn’t sure why he always did it. He could wrap the thick leather around my throat without me giving him easier access. It had to be some fetish with my neck—not that I cared. “You behaved today?”

“Yeah.” I exhaled the word as he let go of the collar, his finger teasing the side of my neck before he was content with the look of it. I lifted my hand immediately to play with the O-ring in the center. It was becoming habit. “But see, giving me the right motivation works.”

Understatement of the year.

“Uh-huh.” Tony leaned back on the couch. Was it his way to appear more relaxed than he was, or was he getting better at getting himself in check around me? If it was the latter, the idea wasn’t as disappointing as I would’ve thought. It actually turned me on that he was. “I’m still waiting.”

“You’re just stalling,” I corrected, “but it’s okay.”