Seventeen

Sloan watched Janine’s expression grow guarded as he gazed down at her. What had happened to throw up her barriers?

“Sloan, what are we doing?” Janine asked.

He kissed her shoulder and rolled onto his side. “Well, I think we’re basking in afterglow.”

“I mean this. You and me. We want different things from a relationship.”

Damn, he didn’t like the sound of this.

“All I want is you.”

“No, you don’t. You want a woman who will be true to you. Who wants to be with you alone.”

He sat up. “What’s wrong with that?”

“That’s not me, that’s what.”

“It could be if you’d give it a chance.”

She waved her finger at him. “That’s the problem right there. You believe I just have to fall in love with you and I’ll give up my wanton ways to be with you.”

“I didn’t say your ways were wanton.”

“No, but you have been hoping I’ll fall madly in love with you and want to be with you exclusively. Admit it.”

He crossed his legs and gazed down at her. “Okay, I really do believe you have feelings for me. That if you’d just let yourself, you’d fall in love with me.”

She pushed herself up on one elbow and stared at him with earnest blue eyes. “That’s the thing. I am in love with you.”

He stared at her and blinked.

“You’re in love with me?” His heart wanted to soar, but caution gripped him.

“I’ve known I loved you since that first kiss years ago,” she continued. “But I knew it wouldn’t work then and I know it won’t work now.”

“But … why not?”

“Face it, Sloan. We want different things. But mostly, you want me to change, and I can’t change for you. Neither of us would ever be happy.”

“Try me.”

“Sloan, we need to end this now, before either of us gets hurt.”

When he gazed into her eyes, he saw the pain there and realized he wasn’t the only one fighting for what he wanted. She wanted him, too, but she couldn’t give up herself to have him.

His chest compressed. And he shouldn’t expect her to.

Damn it, what the hell was wrong with him? She had to be who she was, not who he wanted her to be, otherwise she could never be truly happy. And neither would he.

“Okay, you’re right. I have been hoping you’d choose to give up seeing other guys and just be with me. I love you. What else could you expect? But I understand that you need to be who you are. I respect that.”

He took her hand. “Give me another chance to prove that I do accept you for who you are … and I’ll give you all the space you need.”

*   *   *

Janine wasn’t quite sure what to expect when she walked down the steps to the dungeon area of the cabin they’d rented for this weekend fantasy. A dungeon-and-breakfast. She’d never heard of such a thing before. Sloan certainly was getting good at being a little kinky.

Sloan had told her she’d be serving in a bar, but he hadn’t explained how she’d be serving. Was she to be a barmaid? A love slave? A stripper doing lap dances?

At the bottom of the steps she found a hallway. In front of her was a door with a sheet of white paper taped to it. The word BAR was written in bold black letters. She opened the door, then stepped into a softly lit room with two round tables like you’d find in a café, a bar at the end, a stripper pole in the center and … four cops in uniform. Her knees felt weak as she glanced around at Jonas, Derek, Liam and Sloan in full uniform, hats and all, sitting at the two tables talking.

“Ah, there’s our waitress,” Sloan said, and all the men turned to stare at her.

“Waitress, bring us beers all around,” Jonas said.

She smiled. “Of course.”

She walked to the bar and opened the small fridge under the counter. All she could find were cans of root beer. She pulled out four cans and placed them on the counter. Next to an insulated bucket were four tall glasses on a round brown tray. She filled each glass with ice, then opened each can and poured it into a glass to the sound of cracking ice and fizz.

She carried the tray to one of the tables and raised an eyebrow. “Root beer?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Liam said. “We’re on duty.”

“I see.” She set a glass in front of each of them.

Sloan tossed a couple of bills on the tray, with a slip of white paper between them. She took the bills, pretending not to notice the paper, and slid them into her neckline, then stowed them in her bra cup. When she returned to the bar to set down the tray, she pulled out the note.

Go to the staff room.

She glanced across the room and noticed a white piece of paper taped to a door with the words STAFF ONLY written on it. She crossed to the door and stepped inside. A large bed with a big wooden headboard dominated the room. Around the room were various pieces of equipment. A St. Andrew’s cross stood in the corner, chains near the ends of the X for attaching wrists and ankles. On the other side of the room was a spanking bench with padded knee and chest rests. There was even a suspension hook on the ceiling and an array of floggers, whips, and crops along one wall.

On the bed was a note and a small overnight bag. She walked to the bed and read the note.

Put on the outfit in the bag, then return to the bar.

She unzipped the case. On top lay a short leather jacket and a pair of thigh-high, spike-heeled boots. She picked up the boots and set them on the bed, then the jacket. Underneath, she found a short black leather skirt with a silver zipper down the front edged with silver studs, and a sexy bra and thong in black lace with red lining. She slipped off her clothes and put on the bra and thong and glanced at herself in the mirror. The thong was basically a three-inch-wide lace band around her hips with a tiny bit of fabric covering her crotch. She put on the short skirt, then sat down and pulled on one of the boots and tugged the zipper tag to the top at mid-thigh, an inch below the hem of the skirt. She pulled on the other boot and zipped it up, then stood, grabbing the jacket and tugging it on. She gazed in the mirror, turning from side to side. Anticipation quivered through her as she thought of returning to the room with the four uniformed men.

She zipped up the jacket just enough to cover the bra, then walked to the door.

She opened it and walked across the room, then stood behind the bar. None of the men even glanced in her direction. They just talked and drank their root beers.

A moment later, the lights dimmed and an overhead light turned on, casting light on the pole. Then music began to play. One of the men must have started it with a remote control. The lights, too.

It was deep, jazzy strip music. Obviously, her cue.

She sauntered to the pole and smiled at the men. They watched her, keeping their expressions serious. She swayed her body to the music and unzipped her jacket slowly, then lowered the jacket over one shoulder then the other. Then she drew open the jacket to reveal her sexy bra. Leaving the jacket draped low on her shoulders, she unfastened the zipper down the front of her skirt and tossed it aside. She turned around and swayed her behind back and forth. When she turned around again, all four pairs of eyes stared at her with tremendous heat, despite the men’s carefully maintained, reserved expressions.

She smiled and allowed her jacket to drop off one arm, then the other, and she kicked it away. Grabbing the pole, she spun around, then stopped behind it, facing them. She arched toward the pole and stroked it lovingly, giving them an idea what she’d love to do to their swelling poles right now. Her lips met the cold, hard metal and she wrapped her hands around it and kissed it, then ran her tongue along it.

Jonas shifted in his seat and Derek’s gaze lingered on the swell of her breasts. She hooked her leg around the pole and drew her body close to it, then arched her pelvis against it. Liam watched her lower body as she pivoted forward and back against the pole. Sloan took a sip of his root beer, his gaze gliding up and down her body.

Her nipples hardened and her insides tightened at the anticipation of being touched and caressed very soon by these sexy, hunky men in uniform. She turned her body around the pole until her back was to them, then released the pole and reached behind her. A quick flick unhooked her bra and she glided the garment from her body and tossed it over her shoulder. She turned back, her hands covering her aching breasts. All eyes were on her hands as she squeezed her breasts together, then slowly glided away, finally baring them to view.

Derek licked his lips. Liam’s hand tightened around his glass. She stroked down her torso, then over her panties. She caressed the fabric, sliding her hand over her mound, up and down. She could feel the tension in the men, especially as they tried to keep their expressions solemn. She dipped her hand under the fabric and stroked her damp slit. God, she was hot for them. She could hardly wait to feel their hands on her, to feel their cocks inside her.

She glided her damp hand upward and pulled at the elastic, then hooked her other hand under the elastic, too, and drew it away from her body, teasing them. She turned around and pushed the thong downward, over her thigh-high boots to her ankles, then tipped one foot forward, lifting the heel from the floor.

“Freeze, ma’am,” Liam said.

At his words, she stopped moving, her naked butt high in the air, one knee bent forward and her fingers interrupted in the process of pushing the lacy thong over the high heel. She glanced between her ankles to see the upside-down forms of the uniformed men move toward her. One grasped her arm and drew her to her feet.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“Ma’am, you have just broken the law. This establishment is licensed for topless dancing only. Full nudity is not allowed.”

“I’m sorry, Officers. I didn’t know.”

“That’s no excuse, ma’am.”

“Lift your foot, ma’am,” Jonas said. When she did, he drew the thong over the boot heel and off her toe. “Now the other one.” He pulled the thong all the way off, then tucked it in his pocket.

Locking gazes with her, he nodded. “Evidence.”

Derek clamped a metal cuff around one wrist, snapped the cuff closed, then drew her wrist behind her back and cuffed the other wrist. He led her, still totally naked, except for the boots, to the bar’s entrance. He led her down the hall with the other three officers following behind, then opened another door.

She followed Derek into the room and across to a jail cell, which he unlocked and took her inside. He unfastened one cuff, then fastened it around one of the bars. Liam clamped his handcuffs around her other wrist and attached it to another bar. Jonas handcuffed one of her ankles to a bar, too, and Sloan grasped her other ankle and drew her legs apart, then cuffed her other ankle to a bar. The men then left the cell and Derek locked the door. She watched them each pour a cup of coffee and sit down in the room outside the cell, two of them on a couch and the other two in armchairs.

She stood naked, her arms and legs spread and chained. She curled her fingers around the cold metal bars and leaned forward, her breasts pushing between the bars, the nipples peaking outward.

“How about we take turns watching the prisoner?” Jonas said. “I’ll go first.”

“Sounds good,” Derek said, and stood up.

The others followed suit and filed from the room. As soon as the door closed, Jonas stood up and approached the cell. His hot gaze wandered up and down her body, and she could see the bulge in his dark blue pants.

“You look a little uncomfortable like that.” He dragged his finger down the metal bar near her left breast, then over her nipple.

She arched forward at his light touch.

“It is a little awkward,” she agreed.

He stroked over her other breast, then smiled and leaned down to lick her nipple. She drew in a deep breath at the feel of his tongue lapping over her sensitive nub. Then he wrapped his lips around it and drew on it. Thrilling sensations quivered through her.

“I could probably be persuaded to remove the cuffs.” He shifted to her other nipple and sucked lightly.

“Oh … yes?”

“That’s right.” He stood up again, but his hand stroked over one thigh, then around the bars, and his fingers slid between her legs.

He stroked, then glided his finger inside her. It swirled around and she ground her pelvis into the bars, opening to him as best she could.

“What … oh.” The feel of his finger inside her sent heat melting through her. “What persuasion?”

He smiled and stepped back, then unzipped his fly and drew out his erection. It was long and hard, and it curved to the right. She wanted to wrap her hands around it and stroke it, but her wrists were attached to the bars and too far from it. She sank downward until she crouched in front of him as he pressed his cock through the bars. Hungrily, she wrapped her lips around him and swallowed his cockhead.

“What’s going on?”

She glanced up to see Derek standing inside the open doorway. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

“The prisoner is trying to persuade me to release her from the handcuffs,” Jonas answered.

Derek stepped close to the bars and unzipped his pants. “Really? Well, she’ll have a little more persuading to do.”

He pressed his swollen cock through the bars, too. She gazed at his erection, the veins bulging along the sides, and withdrew from Jonas’ cock and wrapped her lips around Derek’s. She licked his cockhead, then glided down on him. She bobbed up and down a few times, then returned to Jonas’ cock and took him in her mouth, gliding down, taking all of him in her mouth.

Derek stroked her breast, then tweaked the nipple.

“Oh, yeah, honey. That’s great.” Jonas arched his hips forward, pushing his cock deeper into her mouth.

She sucked and squeezed him, then drew back and captured Derek again. His big cockhead filled her mouth and she glided down, taking him deep. She heard the cell door open, then clang closed again. With Derek’s big shaft still in her mouth, she glanced sideways to see Jonas inside the cell, walking toward her. He stepped behind her and stroked her shoulders, then drew her upward.

Derek’s cock slipped from her mouth as she stood up. Derek leaned forward and took one of her nipples in his mouth and sucked. Jonas stroked her shoulder with one hand and Derek switched to her other nipple and teased it with his lips and tongue, then began to suck. She arched against him and moaned at the pulsing sensation as he sucked harder. His other hand glided down her stomach, then his fingers slipped between her legs. He flicked over her clit and she gasped.

Jonas pressed his body against hers, his shaft pushing against her naked behind, then guided his cockhead between her cheeks. The slick head pushed against her opening. As he eased inside, she realized he’d applied lubricant. Derek stroked her clit again, sending heat thrumming through her, and Jonas glided all the way in, filling her.

Derek stood up and pressed his tip to her wet opening. He moved forward and his cock glided inside her slowly but steadily, until he, too, filled her. He stopped, his body pressed against hers, Jonas against her back. They stood like that for a moment, her face pressed against the cold hard bars, two hot hard bodies pressing against her, two hot hard cocks inside her. Her hands still held the bars, thank heavens, or she’d have melted to the floor.

Derek drew back, slowly, his corona dragging against her inner passage, stroking the sensitive flesh. Then he glided forward. Jonas also drew back and slid forward. The two of them moved in and out of her, filling her, then drawing away, then filling her again. Their rhythm increased and she gasped for air as they filled her again and again. Hot hard bodies and cold metal bars bombarded her senses as they pounded her against the bars, and each other.

She sucked in air as pleasure bounded through her, then accelerated in time with their steadily increasing thrusts. She gasped and exploded in orgasm, stiffening and clinging to the bars as they continued to thrust. Jonas groaned in release, then Derek. They both collapsed against her.

After a moment, Jonas stroked her shoulder and kissed her neck before drawing away. He grasped her right wrist, and a second later she heard the lock unlatch and he opened the cuff. Derek found her lips and kissed her through the bars, then winked at her. Then he unfastened her other wrist and tucked his handcuffs into his leather pouch while Jonas freed her ankles.

“There you go, miss.” Jonas stood up, three pairs of handcuffs dangling from his hand. He opened the cell door and stepped out, then locked it behind him.

Derek crossed to a small fridge on one wall and pulled out a bottle of water, then handed it to her between the bars. She opened the bottle and took a deep swallow, then twisted the cap back on as she watched Derek and Jonas, their uniforms straightened up again, sit on the couch.

Would Liam and Sloan show up soon for their turn? Even though she’d just had a brilliant orgasm, she already anticipated their attention.

“If you’re cold, there’s a blanket on the cot.” Derek grinned as he stared at her nipples, already stiffening in arousal.

She turned and walked to the cot, but simply sat down and drank her water. Derek picked up a deck of cards from the rectangular table in front of the couch and dealt out a hand, then he and Jonas played for a while. Janine finished her water and unzipped her boots and tugged them off, then sank back against the wall. What were Sloan and Liam doing right now?

*   *   *

Sloan stared at the monitor with the image of Janine totally naked in the jail cell, his cock throbbing. It had been such a wild turn-on watching the two men fuck her silly. He wanted to race down the hall to the cell right now and satisfy the feral lust boiling through him.

God damn, but there were definite advantages to being in a relationship like this. The deeply tender moments he spent with her alone were something he cherished, but sharing these intensely erotic adventures added an electrifying element to the relationship.

Liam sat on the chair beside him, also watching while he sipped his beer.

“She’s one sensational woman.” Liam set down his beer bottle. “There aren’t a lot who are as open as she is to fun and games like this.”

“That’s true,” Sloan said in an even voice.

Sloan realized his attitude was changing. He had watched the whole scene with Derek and Jonas, and he’d been able to handle it just fine. In fact, from the time she’d taken their hard cocks in her mouth through the bars, he’d been sporting a huge hard-on as a result, aching to go in there and thrust into her himself.

Man, could he really accept a relationship with Janine and other men at the same time? For the first time, he started to believe it was possible.

Janine sat on the cot, her pert, round breasts so inviting, her pussy, with the golden star-shaped patch of curls, so incredibly tempting. Her fingers on her thigh seemed restless, as though she wanted to stroke between her legs. Of course, that was probably hopeful thinking on his part. On the other hand, her rosy nipples were hard and distended. It could be that she was cold, but it was more exciting to assume it was because she was turned-on and waiting for the next bit of action.

“Why don’t you go in there and relieve Derek and Jonas? Our girl looks like she’s getting a bit bored,” Sloan said.

Liam grinned. “You want me to go warm her up with a good cop routine, then you can come in with a badass attitude?”

“Sounds good to me.”

Sloan watched Liam leave the room, a little unnerved. Why was it that the glint in Liam’s eyes when he’d talked about warming up Janine had set Sloan’s teeth on edge?

*   *   *

Janine glanced at the door as it opened, then Liam stepped into the room, tall and devastatingly handsome in his uniform. Of course, they were all tall and sexy, but Liam set her heart thumping wildly.

“My turn to watch the prisoner,” Liam said.

Derek tossed down his cards and grinned. “That’s okay with me. Jonas was winning anyway.”

Jonas and Derek stood up, then headed to the door. Derek flashed Janine a grin just before he closed the door behind him.

Liam walked toward the cell, his gaze locked on her face. “So you got yourself arrested after all.”

An allusion to the previous time they’d played cop and prisoner. She smiled. “Officer O’Neill.”

“I tried to talk the captain into letting you go, but he ran a check on your license and found you have a slew of unpaid traffic tickets. In addition to the nudity charge, he thinks you should stay put.”

“So”—she stroked her hand along her upper arm, then under her breast—“there’s nothing I can do to convince you to let me out of here?”

“Well, I didn’t say that. Maybe if you’re very cooperative, I could convince him to reconsider.”

Hormones flooded through her and she widened her legs and cupped her breast. “I can be very cooperative.”

He smiled. “Yes, I remember.”

*   *   *

Liam’s gaze locked on her breasts as she squeezed them, then pressed them together. Her soft flesh swelled forward, and her nipples peeked out from between her fingers. She drew her hands down her torso, stroking her silky flesh, then stroked up over her breasts, continuing over her shoulders and back down her arms.

She turned and lay down on the cot. His cock swelled painfully in his pants as she stroked up and down her body, teasing her nipples, then stroking down her stomach, then back up. She pinched her hard nipples. He could imagine the tight little buds between his own fingertips and almost groaned. As she cupped a breast with one hand, the other traveled down to her golden pubic hairs, trimmed into that cute little star shape, and petted for a moment before drifting lower. He sucked in a breath as her fingers glided over the folds between her legs.

He watched as the tip of her finger dipped into her slit, then pushed inside. As she pressed her finger in and out, he could imagine her soft, velvety opening around his fingers.

“What does it feel like?” His gaze, locked on her moving finger, left no doubt what he was asking.

“Hot and wet.”

Unable to stand it any longer, he grabbed the key Derek had left on the coffee table and opened the door, then walked toward her. She watched him approach with half-lidded eyes. She slid a second finger inside as he sat on the cot beside her.

“Are you going to touch me, Officer O’Neill?” she asked in a throaty voice.

“Yes.” He cupped her breast. The soft flesh filled his hand and the tight bud pressed into his palm.

God, she had a delightful body. He watched her two fingers push in and out of her slit as he dragged his hand from her warm breast and trailed it down her stomach. Then he stroked the star with his fingertips. He longed to be inside that sweet pussy of hers.

He leaned down and captured a distended nipple in his mouth. His tongue found the tight, pebbly aureola and stroked it. She moaned softly. He licked, then sucked, drawing the hard nub deep into his mouth. Her fingers forked through his hair as he continued to pull on her nipple, and soft sounds emanated from her throat.

He ached to be inside her … but first he wanted to taste her. He stood up and moved to the end of the cot. He knelt down and wrapped his hands around her legs, then pulled her downward until her calves draped over the end, her feet resting on the floor. He pressed her thighs wide and leaned toward her. He grasped her hand and drew it from her depths, then wrapped his lips around her slick fingers and sucked. Releasing them, he leaned forward and licked the length of her slick folds. He pressed his tongue to her opening and pushed it inside, tasting her sweet femininity.

He probed along her slit with his fingers until he found her clit, then pulled the fleshy folds apart so he could see it. He dragged his tongue toward it, then lapped over the tiny button. She sucked in air, her fingers moving through his hair as she arched against him.

He drew away and smiled up at her. “You like that?”

“Yes, Officer O’Neill.”

“You want me to keep doing it?”

“Yes, please, Officer O’Neill.”

He chuckled, then licked her again. At her soft moan, his gut tightened. He loved giving her pleasure.

He stroked her clitoris with his tongue, savoring her murmurs of delight. His fingers slipped inside her and he stroked as he continued to tease her sensitive nub with his mouth. She arched against him, her fingers twisting in his hair. He stroked faster and sucked on her clit. She moaned, then writhed beneath him as he twirled his fingers inside and flicked his tongue rapidly over her clit.

Finally, she wailed her release.

Once she collapsed on the cot, he stood up and moved to the side of it. She smiled and sat up, then ran her fingers over the straining bulge in his pants. She tugged his zipper down and reached inside.

Tingles raced through him as her warm hand closed around his aching cock. She drew it out, then gazed at it lovingly as she stroked it. His heart thundered in his chest as she leaned forward and kissed his tip. She licked, then wrapped her soft lips around him and glided downward until her lips tucked under his corona, his whole cockhead in her mouth. Her tongue swirled over him. Intense need shuddered through him. He wanted to thrust forward, filling her with his cock, but he held still.

Her fingers found his balls and she stroked them. She glided down his cock, taking more and more of his shaft in her mouth, until she’d taken his whole length. God, she was good at this.

He stroked her hair as she bobbed up and down on his cock. Her hot mouth around him, her tongue teasing his shaft, her hands cradling his balls— all combined to send his senses soaring. Heat pumped through him. He sucked in a breath as she took him impossibly deep, then moved faster on him, squeezing him in her mouth. Pleasure speared through his entire body and he erupted into her mouth.

He stroked the long, blond hair back from her face and she released his spent cock.

Janine gazed up at him with impish blue eyes and the sheer beauty of her unabashedly sexy smile took his breath away. He pulled her to her feet and gazed into her eyes.

“You are incredible.”

Her eyes widened a little and her smile turned almost timid.

“Thank you, Officer O’Neill.”

He chuckled, then dragged her against his body and captured her lips, spearing his tongue into her sweet mouth. He kissed her deeply, and thoroughly.

“You know, you are a very cooperative prisoner.” He grabbed her wrists and backed her up against the cell wall, pinning her hands above her head. “You know, sometimes an uncooperative prisoner is more fun.”

A flicker of a smile crossed her lips, and she gazed up at him with wide eyes filled with mock concern. “What are you doing, Officer? I did what you wanted. Aren’t you going to let me go yet?”

“Why should I let you go when I can have all the fun with you I want right here?”

She arched her naked body against him. “No, you mustn’t take advantage of me.”

Despite his release only moments before, the feel of her naked body arching against him as she struggled sent his cock swelling. He drew her arms farther apart and leaned down to cover her nipple with his mouth. He dragged his tongue over her pebbly aureola and licked, then sucked mercilessly. She whimpered. Her hard bud swelled in his mouth. He licked and sucked again.

She writhed against him and his cock pressed against her stomach as it hardened even more.

“Officer, please. Don’t fuck me.”

He pressed his body tight against her. “Why not?”

*   *   *

Janine stared into Liam’s gleaming eyes as he asked her the question. She couldn’t think of a single reason, especially since she so sincerely wanted him to fuck her. Right now.

His rock-hard cock against her stomach made her insides ache with intense yearning.

“You just can’t,” she finally managed to say.

He leaned in close to her face. “Well, now, that sounds like a challenge.”

He pulled her wrists down and drew her across the cell, then twisted her around. Suddenly she felt cold metal against her wrists, and a second later she found herself pressed against the bars with her wrists cuffed through them. Liam’s body pressed against her thighs, and she felt his cockhead glide along her slick opening. The hard flesh burned against her and painful pleasure spiked through her as she longed for him to drive into her.

“You are a very bad girl, and I’m going to treat you like one,” he said, then thrust forward.

She gasped as his hard flesh invaded her body, thrilling her as it drove deep.

“Oh, God.” She wrapped her fingers around the bars as she stared unseeingly at the wall beyond, barely aware of anything but the huge shaft of flesh filling her.

He pulled back and drove forward again, crushing her naked body against the cold bars.

“Oh, Officer, you mustn’t—”

He pulled back and filled her again. She moaned.

He drove into her again and again, in accelerated thrusts. Pleasure rocketed through her, and she wailed as intense pleasure shot through her.

Finally she collapsed against the bars, his body tight against her, his cock still fully immersed in her … and still as hard as a rock.

He kissed her cheek, then drew back, his cockhead stroking along her inner channel almost setting her off again.

He unfastened her wrists and turned her around, then captured her lips in a sweet, passionate kiss.

*   *   *

Sloan stared at the camera, his gazed locked on the expression on Liam’s face. He looked like a man … oh, God … totally smitten by a woman.

As Liam continued to kiss Janine, he backed her toward the cot. He lay her down gently and prowled over her.

Suddenly, the scene seemed way too intimate for Sloan’s liking. Maybe he couldn’t handle this after all.