Chapter 12 #2
“I’m warning you. Master Alec always returns to me.”
“And you are?” Emily asked evenly.
“Ashlynn. His submissive.”
Not a submissive. His.
Emily didn’t believe her and opened her mouth to say something catty.
“Spinning your fairy tales again?” Another woman stepped out of the shadows—dark springy curls, high cheekbones, a no-nonsense stare aimed at Ashlynn.
“For God’s sake. He’s told you no more times than you’ve had hot dinners.
” She moved closer, putting herself between Emily and the blonde.
“Take your delusions elsewhere before someone reports you. Me, for instance.”
“Alec is mine,” she spat. “No matter what you haters say.”
“It’s not what we say. It’s what Master Alec does. Everyone here knows he’s not interested. You just refuse to listen.”
“This isn’t any of your business, Gabriella.”
“It is when you’re lying through your teeth!”
“Is there a problem here, ladies?” Devil seemed to appear out of nowhere. His laser-sharp gaze locked on Ashlynn, the instigator, which said a lot.
“No problem, Master D,” she gushed. “I was just heading out for the night.”
She bowed her head respectfully then fled up the sidewalk.
“Em, thank god,” Julia said, rushing up—eyes red, lashes spiky with tears. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere. We need to go. Now.”
Emily saw the strain in her face, the trembling of her lips. And she wasn’t the only one.
“Has something happened to upset you, Julia?” Devil asked.
She jumped, startled—clearly hadn’t seen him standing nearby. Dressed in all black, it wasn’t surprising.
“I... uh…” she stammered. “I’m not feeling well, sir.”
“Are you sure that’s it?”
“Yes, sir,” she said, nodding, but her quivering bottom lip didn’t convince anyone.
“What’s going on?” Alec asked as he returned.
“Julia needs to go, but we came with friends of hers by boat,” Emily explained. “I can’t run off and leave her. Can she ride with us? We live in the same building.”
“Certainly,” he replied, no hesitation. No annoyance. It saved her from an uncomfortable discussion on the way home. If he was disappointed with the missed opportunity, he did a good job disguising it.
Master Dev nodded his thanks and pretty much vanished as unexpectedly as he’d appeared.
Emily turned to Gabriella. “Thank you for rescuing me from her.”
“No worries. You handled Ashlynn like a pro. Good instincts. I’ve seen her reduce other subs to tears.”
“What’s this?” Alec asked, bristling with annoyance. “Did she say something to you?”
“Just the same old song and dance,” Gabriella answered for her. “She still thinks you’re her dom—even though no one else does. I saw her arrive tonight. When she saw you with someone else, I swear smoke came out of her ears. She stalked Emily all evening, waiting to pounce.”
“So, she lied?”
“Totally!” This came from Julia. “With Ashlynn, as the saying goes—if her lips are moving…”
“She’s jealous,” Gabriella concluded. “And angry because no matter how fast she chases after Master Alec, he’s always three steps ahead—and having none of it.”
Emily glanced up and found him watching her. “I can’t imagine Alec running from anyone—man or woman.”
“You’ve had a taste of her tonight. Would you blame him?” her rescuer asked. “My friends call me Gaby, by the way. Clearly, Ashlynn isn’t one of them.”
“Thanks for having Emily’s back in my absence,” Alec told her.
“Us subs have to stick together when there is a bad one in the mix.”
“You shouldn’t have to,” Alec replied. “Dev will want to know.”
Emily moved closer to him. “From the look on his face while speaking with her, I think he already does.”
“I’ll follow up with him in the morning, just to be sure.”
“She’s the worst of the lot,” Gaby said, her gaze tracking toward the sidewalk where Ashlynn had disappeared. “I can fill you in on others to watch out for, including some of the dominants you might want to steer clear of. Mistress Regina, for example.”
“I’ve already had the pleasure. Julia and I work for her catering company.”
Gaby’s smile didn’t slip, but she went very still—too still—for half a heartbeat.
Then her head tilted—subtle, assessing—as if she was filing the information away before the easy grin returned.
“You’re a braver woman than me. That mistress scares the ever-loving stuffing out of me.
It’s late. I should head out myself. Master Alec,” she said with a little bob, before nodding to Emily.
“I’ll look forward to seeing you the next time. ”
Emily was about to offer her thanks again, but she was already gone. “Is stealth required for membership? People appear and disappear like smoke around here.”
“She’s right about one thing. Things are never dull,” Alec deadpanned, steering his two charges toward the front. “Would be nice if the excitement stuck to the scenes instead of detonating all over the damn patio.”
***
Julia didn’t say a word the entire way home. She sat staring out the window, silent and unmoving, every time Emily checked on her in the back seat. With Alec in the car, she couldn’t ask, but she was dying to know what happened.
They both walked her to her door. Emily gave her a tight hug, whispering, “I’ll call you in the morning.”
The drama with Ashlynn and Julia’s quiet unraveling left Emily more unsettled than she wanted to admit. The only small silver lining? Her anger at Alec—her outrage that he’d actually thought another dom’s kiss could solve things—had cooled.
At her own apartment door, he took her key, unlocked it, flipped on the light, then stepped aside. When he didn’t follow her in, she turned, confused. “You’re not coming?”
Despite everything, she wasn’t ready for him to leave.
“It’s late,” he said softly. “And you look exhausted.”
Her hands flew to her face. She hadn’t looked in a mirror since they had sex. She probably looked wild.
“Still beautiful,” he said, reading her thoughts as they formed. “Just tired.”
Some of the tension bled out of her. He wasn’t wrong. It had been a long twenty-four hours.
“You need rest,” he continued. “And I think we both need to process tonight. Do you have class tomorrow?”
“Skills lab, which is optional. But I’m working the breakfast shift—four to nine.”
He pulled out his phone, frowning at the screen. “It’s after one. How do you function on less than three hours of sleep?”
“I’m used to it.”
“I don’t like it. You can’t keep up that pace.”
“It’s not as though I have another choice.”
“Yes, you do.” He stepped forward. His thumb brushed her cheek. “You could trust me to take care of you.”
“And do what—move in with you?” she joked, keeping it light, but it was awkward. “That’s a little fast, don’t you think?”
“You obviously do.” He didn’t push. “Let’s not make any decisions while emotions are high.” He kissed her—smoldering, but gentler than before. A promise, not a demand. “Tomorrow, we’ll grab some lunch after your shift and talk more.”
He wasn’t asking. He was in dom mode again.
“Yes, sir,” she replied, with a mock salute.
“‘Sir’ sounds almost as good as Alec,” he murmured, hauling her close with a hand wound in her hair. He gave it a little tug—a light reprimand as he warned, “I can do without the sarcasm, though.”
He lips claimed hers once more—slow, hot, dizzying—and a spark raced through her.
Tenderness was only nice, but pulling her hair made her tingle? She was seriously messed up.
“Stop thinking so much,” he whispered against her lips. “Just go with it.”
It was unsettling that he’d read her mind again, then it dawned on her. “The tell?”
“Yeah.” His chuckle rumbled through her, sending delicious shivers down her spine. His thumb stroked her cheek, fingers still warm at the nape of her neck. “Rest well, sweetheart.”
After a final kiss and a look that sent her heart tripping, he left. Emily locked the door, leaned her forehead against the cool wood, and exhaled a long breath. The night had been intense—emotionally, physically, unexpectedly. The scene with Alec still pulsed under her skin.
Maybe he was right. Maybe she was thinking too much. What was wrong with letting her baser instincts—and Alec—take the lead?
After all, living in her head all these years hadn’t gotten her anywhere.