Chapter 24 #3
“Absolutely.” The Boston accent made Justine easily identifiable. “He must be getting tired of that loud and bitchy drama queen by now.”
“For sure. How long since she stole him from you—months, right?”
Months? Ray wrinkled her nose. Maybe a month and a half. Or seven weeks?
And what was this “steal him” stuff?
“Yes, months,” Justine said. “That snarky beeotch took advantage of the troubles we were having last winter.”
Anger rose, hot and heart-pounding. Justine’s name-calling was bad enough, but lying? Ray’s hands fisted.
Then she took a step back. A confrontation, here? No, uh-uh. Even the thought made her stomach churn.
But…
Why is it so hard to defend myself. Dammit, I’d confront someone if they called Hope nasty names, let alone lied about her.
She pulled in a breath. Hadn’t she promised herself she’d stop running? Yet, after taking several steps in that direction, her feet stopped and refused to go farther.
“Ray.” Tess, Bear’s submissive, stood at the bar. “You got this.”
“Sure.” Nope, I really don’t.
“Chin up and get in there, girl.”
Ray sighed. Nodded.
Hey, you bastard Elder Gods, is this supposed to be a test? I don’t want it.
But…I faced down six rapists. One obnoxious—jealous—woman? I can do this.
Ray straightened and strode with firm steps to the group of women. The WBA lightweight champion enters the ring; the crowd goes wild!
The fetwear-clad women were in a cluster near the center of the bar.
Not in the group, farther down was slender Faylee, the cookie-loving little who’d filled swag bags with Ray. Faylee glanced between Ray and Justine, frowned, and without a word, walked away.
Ouch. Guess we’re not going to be friends. Ray tried to shrug off the blow.
So, four women and Justine. Not the greatest of odds.
But oops, I can’t simply punch them out. Use your words, Lanigan.
Back to Ray, Justine hadn’t seen her, although one woman did, and her eyes widened.
“I hear Ray-Ray gets off on stealing men who are in relationships. It’s her thing,” Justine said.
“Simply disgusting,” a brunette in red Fetwear said.
“And I hear Justine is a liar,” Ray said loudly.
The women turned—as did several others nearby.
Justine flushed—then sneered. “Oh, if it isn’t the noisy skank.”
“You know, Justine, I don’t know you, but I heard you say I’m loud and a drama-queen. And a snarky beeotch. It hurts to have someone calling me names, especially since everyone else here has been really welcoming.”
Justine blinked. “You should—”
“Along with name-calling, you’re lying about me.” Ray’s heart seemed to be pressing against her lungs, making it difficult to breathe.
Justine’s face reddened, and she drew herself up. “I don’t lie.”
“You’re telling people I stole Drake from you and caused your breakup last winter.”
The women around her all nodded, looking angry.
“That’d be difficult since I was in Indiana all winter for college and didn’t return here until I graduated in May.”
Mouths dropped open.
Justine’s eyes widened. “That’s not—”
“I didn’t meet Drake until the end of July when Hope and MacKensie invited me to Chains because George, my foster-father, was a woodworker and made some of the equipment here. The pretty spiderweb?”
There were surprised looks and low comments from people.
“When they said he was into BDSM”—Ray half-smiled at the memory—“I didn’t believe them, and so I came here to see the equipment.”
“I knew George.” The brunette in red fetwear gave Ray a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you.” Ray blinked the moisture from her eyes before narrowing her eyes at Justine.
“Anyway, stop lying about me. Your losing Drake had nothing to do with me. Drake says you broke up due to the fact you want an only-in-the-bedroom Dom, and he didn’t want those limits.
That dating you was worth a try but didn’t work for him. ”
“It could have.” Justine’s voice rose. “If he’d tried harder.” She slapped her hand on the bar top and screeched, “If he loved me more, he could have made it work.”
Gods, the woman was deluded. Pitiful and deluded. Was she even going to listen? “Justine, honesty is required between a Dom and submissive. It’s also needed in a BDSM community, any community, and you are outright lying to the club members.”
The woman glared at Ray. “You fucking bitch, I am going to—”
“Excusez-moi.” Drake’s smooth voice stopped all conversation. He moved forward through the onlookers.
Oh wonderful, her perfectly good catfight interrupted by the king of the pride.
Behind Master Drake, Faylee winked at Ray with a half-smile.
Ooooh, she’d fetched him.
And his eyes were snapping with anger.
Justine took a step forward. “Um, Master Drake, we were just talking. Girl-talk, you know.” Her voice was so soft and sweet she didn’t sound like the same person.
“I believe I heard most of your girl talk.”
Ray almost choked. He had? And, knowing Drake, he would have wanted to intervene. But he hadn’t. He let me stand up to Justine.
And I did. Go, me! Ms. Rocky raises her hands over her head in victory.
But now, the Dom was unleashed. Drake crossed his arms over his chest. Cold, terrifyingly unapproachable. “I told you last winter: I don’t love you. I enjoyed being with you—at first—but neither of us spoke of love.”
Breathing hard, Justine clenched her fists, then her expression changed. Turned sweet, her eyes soft. “But Drake…” She motioned to Ray. “That woman… Ray got between us. It’s her fault.”
“Hardly. I stopped seeing you last winter. I met Ray in July. You know this.” He looked entirely unmoved. “It appears you deliberately lied about another member to cause her harm.”
Justine’s face was turning pale.
“I am placing your membership on hold. I will consider reinstating you if you meet two conditions. First, you will get counseling, and your counselor must confirm you have discussed how you lied to yourself and others about breaking up. After that, you will provide me with an essay of how you will deal with breakups in the future.”
“You-you…” Justine’s voice rose. “That’s not fair! You’re only punishing me because we broke up.”
“Actually.” Faylee stepped forward to stand beside Ray.
“When I slandered someone in the club, Master Drake insisted on talking to my counselor before he let me return. Later he helped me make a video to apologize to the Dom I wronged.” She flipped her hand in a dismissive gesture.
“You’re not so special, Justine. Get over yourself. And get help.”
With their shoulders bumping, Ray could feel Faylee trembling. How much courage did it take to revive old, ugly memories? She put her arm around Faylee’s waist and felt the woman lean in.
“Thank you, Faylee,” Master Drake said softly, then beckoned to a stocky man in a dungeon monitor vest. “Shawn, please escort Justine to clear out her locker and to her car.”
“Yes, Master Drake.” Shawn motioned to Justine.
“But…but…” Justine looked at the other members. There were no sympathetic faces. Her friends turned away. Shoulders slumping, she walked over to Shawn, and the two headed for the restroom.
Ray bit her lip. This had escalated past what she’d wanted.
“You were really brave,” Faylee whispered.
As the woman stepped away, a tall man took her hand, pulling her into an encompassing hug. “You did good, baby girl. I’m proud of you.”
Aww, Faylee had a really cool Daddy Dom.
“You did good as well,” Drake murmured to Ray. His expression was soft, his black eyes holding hers. He held out his hand. “Come, mon c?ur.”
Ray took a step forward, and he gently but firmly pulled her against his side.
As they walked away, she heard the women whispering behind her.
“What did he call her?”
“My heart. Sooo romantic.”
“Lordie, do I feel stupid,” said a third. “Do you realize Justine lied to us about everything?”
Drake kept his arm around Ray as he fought his anger. Being a CEO, owning a BDSM club, and simply being a Dom meant he had a fair amount of tolerance for emotional upsets and shouting matches.
Not for this kind of misbehavior. People in the lifestyle often felt on the outskirts of society; they needed connection with others. But slander struck at the heart of the BDSM community.
“Now, ma chérie. Are you all right?”
“Oh, sure.” She looked up at him ruefully. “Sorry about the drama.”
“Zut, you simply defended yourself from her lies. I’m proud of you for standing up for yourself.” It had been difficult not to step in sooner. But she had stood up for herself most admirably.
“Huh. I’m proud of me, too, I guess.” Her lips curved. “Hey, do I get gold stickers?”
So adorable. Grinning, he bent down for a quick kiss.
Ray’s lips were still tingling as Master Drake guided her to the table with the others. “Hey, everyone. Sorry for the delay.” She sat down beside Drake.
Tess dropped down in a chair beside Bear. “Here, I grabbed drinks from Claudia for you two.” She handed Drake a sparkling water and Ray a Gatorade.
“It is appreciated.” Drake smiled at Tess as he opened the bottle for Ray.
“Thanks, Tess.” Ray drank a good portion of the bottle. “The sadist here made me drink one downstairs—and yet, I’m still dry.”
“All that panting…and coming,” Drake murmured. When she glared at him, he grinned.
Snickering, Mac added, “And screaming. Don’t forget the screaming.”
Oh gods, she had screamed. Loudly. And begged. Loudly. And…huffing out a breath, Ray straightened her shoulders. Straightened her spine. Because, dammit, this was who she was.
And Master Drake wasn’t complaining. Instead, he lifted her hand, kissing her fingers in that way he had, smiling at her. “The screaming was as magnificent as the begging.”
She blinked.
Across the table, Bob gave Lynn a noisy kiss. “It took you a couple of years before you felt comfortable enough to let loose with a good scream.”