Read Online Topping the Alpha: Trident Security Series by Samantha A. Cole - Free Book Online Page A

weren’t doing it for me, but there was no way I was coming out. Not to my family or my friends. I was too afraid of their reactions.” He paused and, for a moment, Nick thought he might not continue. “I…uh…I started doing community service at a food pantry during my sophomore year to pad my college applications. It’s where I met Max…Max Sterling. He started volunteering there just after New Year’s my senior year and became my first real boyfriend—you know, not just a one-night-stand or a friend-with-benefits. He also became my first Dom.”
    Nick’s head whipped up and he stared at Jake in shock. “You-you had a Dom? I mean, you were a submissive?”
    A low chuckle emanated from Jake chest. “What? You think Doms just wake up one morning and decide to be one? Think they instantly know how to be one?”
    Shrugging, he responded, “I never really thought about it.” And it was true, he hadn’t. And now that he had the idea in his head, he wondered if either of his Dominant brothers had been subs when they’d first started the lifestyle.
    “I know what’s going on in that mind of yours, Junior, and those are your brothers’ stories to tell—if they choose to. But I will tell you this, any Dom worth knowing has been a submissive at some point. They’ve at least submitted their way through a limit list. If a Dom hasn’t had it done to himself, then he shouldn’t be doing it to his submissive.”
    Nick’s jaw was now almost on the floor. He shifted in his seat until he was facing Jake. “You’ve been whipped?”
    “Several times. As a submissive and as a Dom, although it’s been a while.”
    A bolt of possessiveness passed through the younger man. He practically growled. “Who?”
    Jake’s eyes narrowed in confusion. “Who what?”
    “Who fucking whipped you?”
    Faster than a cobra striking, he grabbed Nick’s jaw and held him firm. The younger man tried to pull back, but it was useless. Jake’s angry green eyes were fixed on a pair of startled blue ones. “My past Doms and submissives are not up for discussion, if that’s where you’re going with this. We’ll have to be a lot further along in a relationship for that. I only brought up Max because…fuck, I don’t know why I brought him up. But as for the last two people who whipped my ass, they were Master Carl and Mistress China. It’s been a long time since I’ve been a submissive, but getting whipped every once in a while reminds me of where I’ve been and how far I’ve come. Now shove that jealousy back down where it belongs, Nicky-boy.”
    Shit, he’d fucked up big time. Jake had actually been opening up, but now he was pissed and shutting down again. Abruptly, the Dom stood and jerked a thumb toward the front of the cabin. Cain was stirring in his seat, so it was just as well their conversation was over. But he couldn’t let it end this way—he didn’t want Jake mad at him. Before their third impromptu teammate could get up to join them, Nick tilted his head up toward Jake and lowered his voice. “I’m sorry. I’m not normally a jealous person. I took that too far.”
    * * *
    A terse nod was Jake’s only response, but then he realized it wasn’t enough. This was going to be hard for the new submissive. He’d always been a non-lifestyle top, and learning to submit, without fighting it, was going to go against a lot of his ingrained emotions and practices. Yeah, Jake was a little pissed at the moment, but he had to set the rules and parameters before he expected them to be followed. “Yeah, you did. But we have other things to worry about at the moment, so we’ll shelve this discussion for later.”
    As Cain stood and stretched, Jake turned and strode into the bathroom, locking the door behind him. He needed a few minutes alone to get his head back on straight. What had he been thinking bringing up Max? After all these years, he still had affectionate feelings for the man who’d led him down a path of new