Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Late Sunday afternoon, Anne followed the hostess through the Chinese restaurant in downtown St. Pete.
Ben’s call an hour before had come as a surprise, since he’d left for the Everglades yesterday after spending the day with Marcus’s boys. He hadn’t planned to be back until late tonight.
“My sisters and brother-in-law are here from New York. Camille got a special deal to come down for a long weekend and decided to surprise me. I came back early to take them to the Dali Museum, and now we’re going to get something to eat.
If you’re off work, can you join us? Be nice to let them meet you.
” His voice had dropped. “And I’ve missed you. ”
She understood. She’d missed him last night, more than she found comfortable.
Happily, her skip assignment for today had turned out to be more absent-minded than criminal and had been an easy recovery. She was free to join them.
What was annoying was the amount of anxiety simmering inside her. Since when had she been worried about meeting anyone?
The Chinese restaurant smelled like garlic and ginger, and Anne’s stomach growled as she crossed the room. She’d skipped breakfast—eating early hadn’t appealed—and had a granola bar for lunch. Now, she was starving.
The red-and-gold Oriental décor barely registered as she approached the far end. Ben sat at a round table with three women about Anne’s age and one black-haired man.
Both men rose. Ben was a good six inches taller than his brother-in-law, and, as always, Anne’s heart lifted at the sight of him.
His white, short-sleeved shirt set off his wide shoulders and dark tan, and his jeans cupped his ass delightfully.
He’d worn his caramel-colored hair loose over his shoulders, tempting her to perform ill-mannered public displays of affection.
When she stepped close and smiled in permission to touch, Ben put an arm around her waist. “Anne, here are my sisters and brother-in-law.” He motioned toward a tall honey-blonde in a pale green blouse and white capris. “Camille and her husband Leon manage a boutique tourist agency.”
“Which is how we managed to score this trip.” Camille’s wide smile was totally Ben’s. “It’s wonderful to meet you.”
“Pleased to meet you.” Leon had a faint lilting Cajun accent.
“And you,” Anne said, meaning it. Ben had told her a few stories of this sister. He was very proud of her.
“My sister, Deanna,” Ben said.
The striking platinum blonde in an emerald tank top nodded with no warmth. “Anne.”
Before Anne could respond, Ben nodded at the last woman seated to his left. “Sheena is a friend of Deanna’s.”
“Oh, and surely yours as well, Ben,” the brunette said in a throaty voice and touched the back of his hand.
Her hand lingered on his as she gave Anne an insincere smile.
“Deanna had raved about her big brother for years, so I was delighted to finally spend time with him last Christmas.” The subtext was obvious.
She and Ben had done more than “spend time.”
“We had so much fun,” Deanna agreed. “Remember that day we went sledding?”
“Oh, such a day.” Sheena caressed Ben’s hand and gazed up at him with big eyes. “I’d have broken my neck if you hadn’t caught me at the top of the hill.”
The woman had probably flung herself into his arms. Charming. Anne glanced at her chair—the empty one to Ben’s right—and Ben moved to hold it for her.
Deal with this, Sheena. Anne edged her chair to the right toward Deanna.
After sitting, Ben scooted close enough to brush his leg against Anne’s. She’d expected his move. Her slave had very assertive behavior, yet she could hardly reprimand him for claiming gestures she enjoyed.
Even better, he now was far enough away from Sheena-the-slut that her irritating, touchy-feely maneuvers would be blazingly obvious.
Leon noted the distance between Sheena and her prey, and the corners of his mouth tipped up. “So, Anne, Ben tells us you’re a bounty hunter. What’s that like?”
“I’m afraid what I do isn’t as exciting as what’s shown on television.
Technically, in Florida, the job is called fugitive recovery, because an agent isn’t independent, but employed by a bail bond company.
Mostly I do paperwork, computer searching, knocking on doors, and diplomacy. Occasionally, we see some action.”
“Action. I can’t imagine why a woman would want to put herself in danger.” Although Sheena’s eyelashes held enough mascara to resemble hairy tarantula legs, she still managed to look up at Ben through them. “Men are so much stronger.”
“They are?” Anne ran her hand over Ben’s biceps and gasped. “Oh, my. How strong you are! Who knew?”
Ben, Leon, and Camille broke out laughing. Unfortunately, Deanna’s glare was a match for Sheena’s. Naughty Anne. Not good to piss off relatives.
Time to defuse the situation. “Actually, Sheena, I like the action and the satisfaction of tossing the bad guys back in jail.” As Ben put his arm over the back of her chair, Anne turned to her right, put on her company smile, and asked Deanna, “What do you do for a living?”
“I-I’m between jobs at the moment,” Deanna said.
The arm behind Anne tensed. “Seriously? You lost the sales position at the clothing store?” Ben growled. “Then why are you here instead of searching for another?”
“Ben.” Deanna snapped. A second later, she managed a pitiful-me expression, complete with teary eyes. “I should have stayed home. It’s just, I was s-so upset. I only wanted to get away.”
Anne turned to check out Ben’s response.
His expression was soft. “Now, Dee-dee, it’ll be all right,” he said gently.
Anne barely refrained from rolling her eyes. As a Domme, she’d seen far more skillful performances, but Deanna’s wasn’t bad. She definitely had her big brother fooled.
To top it off, Deanna added the tried-and-true lip quiver. “No, it won’t be all right. I can’t pay my rent and”—she half-sobbed—“Sheena was wonderful and lent me money for food, but I can’t ask her for more.”
“Of course not,” Ben said.
Anne had to smother a growl. During their time together, Ben had already received a couple of phone calls from this sister, hitting him up for money.
But…to pull this crap in front of other people and put Ben on the spot? That was purely manipulative. He obviously had no clue he was being played. Not surprising. Family could do that to a person.
Anne bit her lip. It wasn’t her money, wasn’t her family. As Sam would say, she didn’t have a dog in this fight.
Yet…she did. When Ben had given her his submission, he’d become hers to protect, even from his own family if needed. So be it.
“Asking for and giving money between family members is tricky, isn’t it?
” Anne said brightly to the table at large.
“Last week, my friend Linda cried after she said no to her grown son. She was heartbroken to have to refuse him, especially when a little money would help. But she says her parental goal is for her son to be independent, and if she constantly rescues him, he won’t exert the effort—or learn enough diplomacy—to keep a job. ”
Ben looked down at Anne, his brows together. “Did Sam agree?”
The gray-haired sadist had certainly had an opinion. “He thinks enabling a person like that is as detrimental as abuse.” Anne half-smiled. “He told Linda to envision the future. If she died in a car wreck tomorrow, would her adult son survive without her?”
Ben was silent.
Anne carefully didn’t look at Deanna, but the waves of fury coming from that direction were almost palpable. “Leon, have you run into such situations in your family?”
“Mais, yeah. Cajuns have big families. An’ whoever has money gets hit on by them that don’t.
” He eyed Ben. “You ever watched a mama dog when she decides the pups are old enough? They try to suckle, an’ she just walks away.
Sometimes she’ll have to nip the ones that won’t take a hint, otherwise some puppies’d be happy to suck the tit forever, yeah? ”
“Jesus Christ.” Deanne glared at Anne. “Who the hell do you think you are? This is between me and my brother. You—you just want to get your claws into his money and—”
“I don’t need Ben’s money, but it is my job to shield him.” She heard his startled grunt. After his time in the Shadowlands, had he missed learning that Mistresses as well as Masters protected their slaves? “How old are you, anyway?”
“She’s thirty-one.” Camille turned angry eyes on her sister.
“Mimi said you told your manager to fuck off because he instructed you to work with middle-class customers as well as the rich ones. God, Dee. Mimi stuck her neck out to get you that job. Now, she’s in trouble with her boss for recommending you. ”
Deanna slumped. Her expression indicated she blamed everyone except herself.
To Anne’s relief, Ben slid his arm across her shoulders and pulled her close.
“Thank you, Ma’am,” he whispered into her ear.
Then he looked around her at his sister.
“It hurts to think I’ve helped you turn into a fuck-up, Dee-dee, but I guess I have.
Camille and I already know that if we lose our jobs, we don’t eat.
Or we end up homeless. So we behave accordingly.
Time for you to learn the nasty facts of life, sis. ”
“But, Ben.” Sheena scooted her chair near enough to lay her hand on Ben’s forearm. “She’s your sister. She loves you because you have a big heart.” And then the woman actually leaned against him and stroked him.
Fury crackled across Anne’s nerves. So much for being tolerant. She didn’t share her slaves. She certainly didn’t share Ben. Never.
Anne picked up an unopened chopstick packet, slapped it on her palm to check the sting factor—very nice—then sharply smacked the back of Sheena’s trespassing hand.
Sheena jerked her hand away. “Hey!”
Anne gave her the stare that kept men on their knees and silent.
Sheena’s face paled, but she still…stupidly…tried to speak. “Listen, you—”