Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Mitch
With Domi insensible and cuddly on his lap, Mitch rubbed his cheek against her unruly curls.
The aftercare corner in the Dungeon had a few others sitting in it, but they were mostly private with a couch to themselves.
For the first time in days, since she’d ended their arrangement, he felt as if he could breathe properly again.
It was a relief to have her with him, in his arms. He didn’t want the moment to end.
The worry was still there, of course. Eventually, the moment would have to end. Then what?
Is that when things would start to fall apart?
Probably not yet. Maybe not at all.
Huh. He hadn’t ever expected to feel optimism about a relationship, but then, he hadn’t had Domi in his life before. She was the first person to make him want to try, and it would probably be a little weird if he didn’t feel at least a little optimistic.
There seemed to be an awful lot of successful relationships around Stronghold.
Maybe kink was the hidden factor. BDSM definitely required a level of communication and trust he hadn’t seen in the vanilla world.
His eyes skimmed over the Dungeon, falling on Walter and Marianne.
As far as he knew, they were the oldest members of Stronghold.
He had no idea how old they were, but he’d guess in their seventies, maybe eighties.
They never played at the club, but they came to be part of the community and occasionally to watch the scenes.
They were happy. So was the couple they were watching scene with the spanking bench, Master Adam and Angel.
Fairly new parents, they’d recently started coming back to the club on a semi-regular basis.
Just past them, using one of the St. Andrew’s Crosses, were Master Michael and Ellie, a sadist and masochist like him and Domi.
Like Domi, she’d had a reputation for never getting into a relationship—hell, she wouldn’t even accept a club contract or a regular playmate… until Master Michael had come along.
Magic penis, a little voice whispered in his head. It sounded a lot like Sharon’s voice.
Domi shifted in his arms, wincing when her arm brushed over her breasts.
Her nipples were back to their normal shape after being brutally crushed by the clamps, though they were still much darker than usual.
That little jolt of pain must have been enough to bring her back to herself because she sat up a little, and he could almost feel her becoming more focused.
Crap.
What did he say to her? Did he ask her out on a date now? Did he wait and call her later?
Why was this suddenly so complicated? Thankfully, she kept him from making a total ass of himself by speaking up first.
“Is that Rae with Master Eric?” she asked sleepily.
Turning his head in the direction she was looking, Mitch sighed.
Yeah, that was Rae being strapped down over a spanking bench with Master Eric.
There was nothing wrong with Master Eric, per se, but he wouldn’t be Mitch’s first choice.
Even if Brian wasn’t available for the pairing, he didn’t think Eric was particularly compatible with Rae.
There definitely wasn’t a spark between them.
Even from a distance, he could see Eric was going through the scene methodically, paddling her ass with calculated rather than truly interested precision.
Again, nothing wrong if that’s what both parties wanted, but Mitch knew Rae tended to need things far more hands-on and cuddlier.
Even though things had never become sexual between them when they’d scened during classes, they had been physically affectionate.
It was practically a requirement of scening with her.
“Why does she do that?” he asked before he thought about the question. Domi wasn’t the only one flying high after the scene, and his verbal filter wasn’t at its normal level.
Domi didn’t ask what he meant.
“Hey, she wasn’t even the one who wanted to join the club in the first place, she only came for me.
I don’t think she expected to like it. It’s hard enough to feel like a feminist when you want to be tied up and spanked, admitting you want someone to take care of you for more than sex stuff…
” Domi shrugged. “Plus, she still calls her actual dad ‘Daddy,’ so I think that weirds her out, too.”
“Do you think it would weird her out less if she could call him something else?” They both knew he was talking about Brian.
“Maybe, but I don’t know if she could let someone take care of her, and that seems to be a Daddy Dom thing. She’s pretty independent.”
She wasn’t the only one, though Domi had no problem submitting at the club or in the bedroom.
“So, ah…” Mitch cleared his throat, feeling awkward but determined. “I’d like to take you out sometime soon. Whenever you’re free.”
Domi
Wow, so they were really doing this. He’d said it, but there had still been a small part of her wallowing in disbelief, thinking maybe he would change his mind after the sex. He hadn’t. A rush of happiness swept through her.
“Ana is going to be at her dad’s the next few days.
I’ll have her Wednesday through Saturday, then she goes back to her dad’s Sunday morning.
” When Mitch blinked, his eyes going a little blank as he tried to figure out the complicated schedule, Domi grinned.
“Her stepmom was having really bad morning sickness earlier this week. Normally, we alternate weeks, but she had to come back to stay with me unexpectedly, so next week is going to be a little odd, then we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled program. ”
Mitch chuckled, his expression clearing.
“You have a good relationship with her dad?”
“I do. It was an accidental pregnancy from a one-night stand, but he’s made a great co-parent, and his wife is a wonderful stepmom to Ana.
” Domi smiled. Even though Julia didn’t like Domi, she was polite about it, and Domi knew things could be so much worse.
She felt lucky they all had the relationship they did. Mitch’s body relaxed under hers.
“That’s good. I know having to come to the hospital can bring out the worst in people, but I’ve seen some things…” His voice trailed off, and he shook his head before giving her a wink. “I could tell you stories that would curl your hair.”
Domi laughed. He was such a goof, but at the same time, she was sure he was telling the truth.
“I’m not sure my hair can handle much more curl.”
“There is that.” He tugged on a loose piece, grinning down at her. He did love tugging her curls. Usually, Domi hated when people touched her hair, but with Mitch, she’d never minded—which probably should have clued her in to her feelings long before she’d figured them out.
“How about Tuesday? I have off that night.”
“Perfect.” A couple of days for her to adjust to the idea of going out on a date with him—and figure out what she was going to wear—and he took it as fact, she wouldn’t be going out with him while she had Ana.
Domi liked that he didn’t try to push his way in immediately, even though he’d already met her daughter.
They sat, cuddling and watching the rest of Stronghold’s goings-on. They’d done this before, but it had never felt like this… as though they were a couple, and it wasn’t just aftercare.
When Rae and Master Eric were done, and it was time to go, Mitch walked them out to the car and gave Domi the sweetest kiss.
Once they were in the car, Rae gave her a look.
“You sure you know what you’re doing?”
“Do you?” Domi retorted. “I thought you said Master Eric was nice but didn’t really do anything for you.”
Something she hadn’t shared with Mitch, of course. She’d known he was fishing for information to bring back to Master Brian, and she hadn’t objected because she knew Rae had a thing for him, even if she wouldn’t admit it. Domi wasn’t going to go around spilling secrets.
“He doesn’t, but…”
“But?” Domi prompted when Rae hesitated.
Sighing, Rae brought the car to a stop at a red light, turning to look at Domi.
“You know that bitchy sub, Caroline? Well, she made sure to make a big deal out of the fact Brian was at Stronghold last night and scened with Alina. For some reason, even though I don’t want him, it still pissed me off, so when Master Eric asked, I said yes.
” Rae’s lips twitched. “It might have had a little something to do with Caroline trying to get his attention before he asked me.”
Woah. Damn. Still, Domi couldn’t help laughing.
“You scened with him, so she couldn’t?”
“I am, one hundred percent, that petty.” Rae grinned, turning her attention back to the road when the light turned green. “It wasn’t a bad scene.”
“It just wasn’t as good as scening with Brian.”
The grin faded from Rae’s expression, and she sighed. She didn’t need to say it wasn’t; they both knew it was true.
“What if you didn’t have to call him Daddy?”
One shoulder lifted. From the side, it was harder to read Rae’s emotions, especially since she was clearly trying to keep her face blank.
“It’s still what he is. What he wants to be.
And he needs to have his needs met, too.
Which means he needs to find a submissive who wants that, and that submissive is not me…
no matter how good our chemistry is.” Even keeping her face neutral, she couldn’t disguise the sadness in her voice. Damn. The situation sucked.
Everyone knew Brian and Rae had a thing for each other, but Rae was right. If she couldn’t give him what he needed, it was better to let it go and find someone who would—could.
Domi hated seeing her bestie down.
“I have a date with Mitch on Tuesday.”
“What?!” Rae shrieked, slamming one of her hands on the wheel. She shot Domi a quick glance, shaking her head, and her braids danced around her shoulders. “Girl! And you didn’t lead with that?”
“I feel weird about it.” Unable to hide her grin, happiness bubbling up inside her, Domi half-shrugged. “We’ve been…” She tried to think of the right word.
“Fucking for so long, dating seems strange?”
“Yup. That.” Both of them cracked up.
It did feel weird. Not like a step backward, exactly… but a step she hadn’t ever intended to take—one from which there was no coming back. Still, they could take that part of things slowly. It wasn’t as if they’d needed to be dating for her to develop feelings for him.
Heck, maybe the more she got to know him, the fewer feelings she’d have. Maybe part of her crush was because of the mystery. A week ago, she hadn’t even known what his job was.
Depressingly, that seemed more likely than anything else.
Still, it was better to try than to sit around and wallow, right?