Right. But just spoiling her all the time could end in disaster. Especially for Tamsyn who didn’t always seem that conscious of her limits. Or that mindful of keeping herself healthy and safe.

“So you want to be her Daddy Dom, Salem,” Alexei said, pacing back and forth. “And Roman is exploring that side of himself.”

“If that’s also what she wants,” Roman said.

Salem was sure it would be, but he nodded. Consent was everything. Especially in a relationship where he would be in a position of power.

There had to be trust, communication, and caring.

“I’ve spanked her,” Alexei said.

“Wait. What?” Salem jumped to his feet. “You spanked her? Without her consent? Without going through her limits?”

Alexei waved his hand. “It wasn’t a hard spanking, just a few slaps on her ass. I told her not to bench-press without me. When I came into the gym, there she was lifting weights that were far too heavy for her. She got into trouble, she was losing control . . . if I hadn’t been there, she could have gotten seriously hurt.”

“Fuck,” Salem snapped. He didn’t blame Alexei for punishing her.

“The spanking just sort of happened. Won’t lie, I knew it was skirting a line. Hell, going right over that line. I’m her employer. Well, Roman is.”

“I think we have all skirted that line,” Roman said.

“You’ve spanked her too?” Salem asked.

“No, I thought I made it clear that isn’t something I am comfortable with. No, I mean, I, uh, the books we read together can be sexy and my body, uh, reacts.”

“You did not fuck her?” Alexei snarled.

“No. I just got . . . aroused.”

Right. Something that he was sure they’d all done on a regular basis. But obviously for Roman it felt like a big deal. And it was skirting over that line when they were her employers.

Alexei grunted. “I suppose I should confess to kissing her.”

Salem and Roman gaped at him.

“You what?” Salem snapped.

Alexei shrugged. “When I spanked her, I also kissed her.” His tone was challenging, as though he expected them to get angry. But Salem didn’t actually feel angry.

Maybe a bit jealous . . .

“We can’t be her bosses anymore,” Salem said. “That won’t work. And Evette is back next week anyway.”

“That doesn’t matter, I can support her,” Roman said.

Alexei and Salem shot Roman looks.

“What?” Roman asked.

“What if she doesn’t want you to just support her?” Alexei asked. “She might not want to rely on us for everything. That might make her feel . . . helpless.”

Salem blinked.

“What?” Alexei asked. “You don’t think I can be sensitive to her feelings?”

“Umm,” Salem replied.

“Until right now, no,” Roman told him. “Are you sure she’d feel that way? I don’t like the idea of her working for someone else, though. They might take advantage of her. She’d have to be away from us, where we can’t watch over her properly. Can’t we just . . . command her to be our full-time sub?”