Free Empowered [Sexual Magic 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) by Jennifer August

concerned gaze and cupped his chin. She rose on tiptoe and pressed a soft kiss to his tight mouth, remaining until he gradually relaxed.
    Then she turned to face Gabriel, keeping firmly within the safety of Noah’s arms.
    “How’d you meet up with her?”
    A tall man in a ridiculously small speedo interrupted their discussion. “Hey man, good save.” He grimaced and held out his hand to Gabriel, who took it warily. “I swear I had no idea she was a freaking loony tune.”
    Gabriel’s expression showed his skepticism. “Yeah, you seemed to enjoy it when she whipped you.”
    The man colored and scuffed at the sand, looking behind him at the few remaining bystanders. “I ain’t gonna lie, it was fucking awesome. I’ve never been whipped that hard. I liked it. A lot.” His face fell. “But I messed up when I asked to—” His dark brown eyes settled on Madelyn, and he blushed even deeper. “Well, I messed up.”
    “She was pretty tough on you,” Gabriel commented.
    Despite his obvious attempt at neutrality, Madelyn caught the tremor of distaste in his voice.
    “Yeah, but she was just getting started. I feel bad, ’cause if I’d held on, that girl wouldn’t have stepped up and Mistress would have finished me off.”
    Madelyn shuddered. The young man had no idea what Krista was capable of, that much was obvious.
    “You got off lucky,” Noah finally spoke. “My advice is to steer clear of her from now on. She’s off-kilter, dangerous.”
    “Nah, she just got a little into it.”
    “Oscar,” Gabriel said. “Trust him, he knows what he’s talking about. She ignored the most important tenet of the lifestyle by ignoring the girl’s safe word.”
    “I’m telling you, that was heat of the moment,” the young man said hotly.
    Madelyn stepped in and clasped his forearm. “ Non , it was not. Such things are the way she operates. I know because she did it to me, too.”
    Gabriel inhaled sharply, but she didn’t acknowledge him.
    “She would not stop when I used my safe word, continued to wail and hack at me until my back opened and I bled.” Her stomach lurched again.
    “The bitch is crazy, Oscar,” Noah cut in. “Stay away from her.”
    “How’s the girl?” Gabriel asked.
    Oscar’s gaze bounced from one man to the other and back to her. She gave him an encouraging smile, hoping he’d heed their advice.
    “Oscar, yo man, let’s go! There are some hotties up at the Port Plunder bar. I heard there’s a gorgeous switch up there.”
    He looked back at his friends and waved. “Yeah, look, I gotta go. The girl, her name is Winslet. She’s fine. A little shaken up, but I got her to the infirmary.” He turned away, and Madelyn sucked in a deep breath, shocked by the deep red stripes, some near to breaking the skin, littering his back.
    Krista was definitely on a tear when she whipped this one.
    Madelyn prayed the young man would truly stay away, but she had her doubts. Krista was incredibly charismatic. The characteristic was part of what made her so damn dangerous. A sub didn’t realize the danger they were in until it was too late.
    The remaining people left as soon as Oscar joined them, leaving Madelyn alone with two very tense men.
    She sighed. “You’re not going to be reasonable about this, are you?”
    Noah didn’t say anything, but a vein in his temple throbbed.
    “What about you?”
    Gabriel shrugged, hands shoved deep in his pockets. He looked slightly uncomfortable. “Are you okay?” he asked softly.
    She smiled. “I’m fine. Not a scratch on me.”
    Noah grunted.
    “Ignore him,” she said and looped her arm through Gabriel’s. “He’ll calm down in a little bit.”
    “This is no joke, Madelyn,” Noah snapped. “We need to contact Clarissa then get the hell off this island. I won’t be here while she is.”
    “No!” Madelyn said. She glared at him. “I will not live afraid of her, Noah. We know what she’s like. I’ll not be in a position again to be under her whip.