Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
The following Friday evening, Kate leaned against the back wall in Club Indigo’s main room, listening to Hurt by Nine Inch Nails. Fucking appropriate song. Kate had DM duty, but the club was practically deserted. The only attendees, Julie and Ruby, sat at the bar talking with Scott.
Could she join them? She mentally shook her head. Nah, the way she was feeling right now she shouldn’t drink alcohol and wouldn’t stick to water or pop if she went near the bar.
Jackson entered, she gave him a chin lift, and he sauntered over to her.
She did her best to smile. “Scoping out the room?”
Jackson didn’t seem any happier than she. “No one’s playing.”
She frowned. “We have unattached Tops and bottoms, but there aren’t any good fits. We need fresh blood and more single Doms.”
Jackson was quiet for a moment and rubbed his chin. The sandpapery sound of stubble reminded Kate of the shadow on Chris’s face in the morning.
She almost jumped when Jackson spoke. “I know someone who might be interested. I’m fairly certain he’s a Dominant and has lifestyle experience.”
Kate made an appreciative sound and leaned forward.
“Sounds interesting. I hope he isn’t a sadist; I don’t think any of the subs we have right now are serious masochists.
We have plenty of subs looking for Dominants.
Run it by Mitch or Scott.” She gave him another weak tilt of her lips.
Jackson was a good-looking man. Like Chris, he had blond hair and a muscled build.
Like Chris, he was a Dominant. Unlike Chris, Jackson didn’t deny his nature. Anger started forming in her again.
“What’s wrong?” Jackson’s words broke into her thoughts.
Kate sighed. “Since nobody is playing, I guess we can sit.” They went to the comfortable red couch, her favorite quiet spot in the club she used routinely for aftercare.
Jackson leaned back and studied her. Kate crossed her legs, uncrossed them, and sighed.
“I went home with Chris after the weddings.”
“Okay.”
Okay? Didn’t he see the problem?
“We’re both dominant,” she stated.
“Yes, you are.”
His easy acceptance amazed her. First Paula, now Jim. Nobody seemed to get how big a deal this was.
“It was the best night of my life,” Kate confessed. Jackson made an encouraging sound, and she continued. “He’s a player, a womanizer.”
The crease between Jackson’s eyebrows had deepened at the last few sentences, but now his face brightened. “You’re in love with him!”
The pain in her throat reached her lungs as she tried not to cry.
“I’ve been in lust with the man since the first time I laid eyes on him.
First, we were just friends, but I’ve been falling for him more every time we spoke, or I watched him with a sub.
Last weekend was the proverbial nail in my coffin.
He was perfect in almost every way. It’s more than lust now. It’s love.”
“Almost?”
“Yes.” Blood drummed in her ears as anger rose again, and she explained the real problem to Jim, “He faked submitting to me.”
Before Jackson could reply, someone growled out behind them. “I. Did. Not. Fake. Anything!”
Kate pressed her lips together and scowled. Slowly, she turned her head around. “You’re a Dom,” she practically spat at the looming figure behind them.
“Apparently not with you,” Chris threw back.
“How is that even possible?” she snarled. “You’ve never shown a tendency to switch before!”
“Guys.” Jackson made the universal sign of surrender, but before he could continue, Scott stepped between Chris and Kate.
“Jim, man the bar, will you?” Without waiting for an answer, Scott directed his focus to Chris and Kate. “You two come with me. This is not something you discuss where everyone can hear.” Scott marched away from the main room, and Chris and Kate followed him like two lost puppies.
Chris’s stomach hardened as anger boiled inside. Something in his chest tightened as Scott led them into the club’s dining room. No one was around, and Scott gestured toward the closest table.
“Want to share what that was about?” Scott inquired quietly.
Chris closed his eyes. His jaw ached from clenching his teeth. He replayed the night of the wedding repeatedly. It had been wonderful and exhilarating, but the cold shoulder he’d received the next morning had ruined it.
“We had a one-night stand. It was nice.” Kate evidently didn’t have the same problem.
Chris forcibly tried to rein in his emotions. “Nice? That’s all you can say? Really, Kate?” Chris gritted his teeth and hoped he hadn’t broken a molar. The best sex of his life, and it had been ‘nice’ for her?
She lifted one shoulder to her ear but refused to look him in the eye.
Scott sighed and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Great,” he muttered, “couples counseling on my day off. Give me a violent vet with PTSD any day.”
“There’s nothing to counsel, Scott, we’re not a couple.” Kate’s voice was lifeless, her eyes dull. Was she as tired as he was?
“Hush, Kate.” Scott tilted his head down while he made eye contact with her. “You’ll get your chance to speak, but for now the two of you are going to listen.”
Chris had been called to the principal’s office in high school when he and James changed the timers on the garden sprinklers at school.
They’d noticed their English teacher used the shortcut through the grass instead of taking the extra steps on the sidewalk.
The same teacher had reported multiple students for doing the exact same thing.
He and James had figured it was appropriate retribution, but the principal had given them detention anyway.
“Chris, are you listening?” Scott’s question reached through his memory and pulled him back to the present.
“Yes, Scott. Sorry. You reminded me of somebody.” Chris couldn’t contain his smirk.
“As I was saying”—Scott emphasized the words with a stern gaze—“you two have been circling around each other for months, if not years. Apparently, you did something about it last week.” Scott shot a stern look at Kate as she opened her mouth and continued before she could interrupt.
“Some of us have been talking about starting a pool on when you would act on the crazy attraction between you.”
Kate looked over to Scott with an open mouth.
“Come on, Kate. You’re not the only Domme/Dom couple in the world. You can work around it. If you want to.”
Chris cocked his head as he considered Scott’s words.
They were correct, of course—he hadn’t been dominant that night.
Hadn’t wanted to be the Top. He’d never enjoyed bottoming during his training, but he liked submitting to Kate.
He needed to talk about this, but now was not the time or the place.
He narrowed his eyes at the bearded figure who stood over them.
Scott was a switch. Chris rubbed the back of his neck.
Not only a switch but also a therapist. If anyone is going to understand me, it’s him.