Chapter Thirteen #2
Quinn had been clear. No going without him. He’d said it plainly: protection when he was there, open territory when he wasn’t. She knew what that meant. Only with him. She’d agreed with it, even.
But she wouldn’t be alone. Richard would be there. Richard, whom Quinn trusted.
Except Quinn hadn’t said anything about Richard. He’d said without him.
She reached for another popper. The wedding arrangements had been suffocating her for weeks, and the last time she’d actually relaxed felt like a different year. She was tired in a way that sleep wasn’t fixing. Ashley was watching her, still smiling, waiting.
It wasn’t the same as going alone. It really wasn’t.
Even as she thought it, she knew. Quinn didn’t want other doms taking care of her—not even Richard, not even their closest friends — unless she truly needed the help.
Did she need help? She hesitated. The wedding arrangements had been relentless, and she hadn’t slept well in days, and she was so tired of being alone in their apartment with nothing but seating charts and vendor emails.
She didn’t need help, though. That was just being lonely and cranky. Wasn’t it?
But not wearing his collar, the one she couldn’t access because he locked it up when they weren’t going to the club, said ‘available’ and she wasn’t.
Quinn and Cheyenne hadn’t yet agreed if she would wear his collar.
It would be making a private yet public declaration of their modified lifestyle, so Quinn brought one for when they played and removed it when they left.
Quinn was the keeper of the collar. Quinn was out of town. She could hear his admonition even now.
Her brain recalled his previously spoken clarification, “So that means you don’t go alone.”
Her conscience begged her to listen to Quinn’s admonition.
The impulsive brain, the one that often got her spanked or worse, said he would never know.
In eager anticipation of some camaraderie, and reasoning no one would bother her when all the regulars knew she belonged to him, she would go.
She’d stay with her friends. Easy as pie, right?
That had been her mistake. While she had thought that the regulars would understand that she was with Quinn, any newbies would not.
It was the first Friday night after a four-week orientation process, so there were a good handful of people new to the club.
At least, they were new enough to understand the rules, and still not be familiar with the regulars.
The front door screener was a substitute that night and hadn’t immediately realized she wasn’t coming in with Richard and Ashley as the third in a ménage à trois.
She was coming in with them and did intend to stay close, but that was not the same thing.
The alarms going off in Cheyenne’s head made her hesitate, but she hadn’t been to the club in more than a few weeks because of Quinn’s business trips, or they were busy with the wedding. She was stressed and needed to relax.
She stated she didn’t come to play, so being a voyeur would be okay, surely.
No harm, no foul, as they say, or at least that’s what she told herself.
That’s until Richard and Ashley went to play, and while she could have gone, she lingered too long talking to one of the other women.
Cheyenne stood at the bar drinking her ginger ale alone, not seeing in which direction they had gone.
Maggie came up and began a conversation.
“You’re Cheyenne, right?”
“Yes, you’re Maggie.”
“Yep.” She stood as though she were a bit confused. “I thought Quinn said he would be here tonight.”
Cheyenne turned back quickly. “When did he say that?”
“Oh, Thursday when he called,” she took a sip of her juice.
“Really? He’s been gone since Monday,” Cheyenne said, hoping to jog the woman’s memory of when she spoke to him. Maggie didn’t change her statement, which put
Cheyenne on alert. “I know, he said as much, but he told me he expected to be back.”
“Well, he didn’t make it.” Cheyenne was steaming. “What did he call you for, anyway?”
Maggie turned to open her mouth and stopped cold, closing it quickly. “No reason; just to chat.” She had suddenly taken an interest in another person across the room and had taken off that fast.
Cheyenne looked around for a friend to help her work out the strange but upsetting conversation, but didn’t see anyone.
Jacquie and Ace were already playing, and Sue was waiting on Master Carter’s whims. She was Susie tonight with a cute little smile on her face.
Master Josh was nowhere to be seen. Quinn didn’t allow Cheyenne to drink at the club due to the possible ill effects on their play.
She decided, when the bartender brought her the standard ginger ale, she wouldn’t ask for stronger, no use alerting everyone to her lack of play partner and now lack of escort.
As she was finishing her beverage, a very nice-looking gentleman tried to encourage her to speak with him.
He was a local contractor, and she thought she recognized him from one of Shane’s sites.
She talked to him about Shane and Andrew for a little while.
Master Lars worked to help her relax and become at ease with him.
It worked. She relaxed in his company. A good dom at work should always be able to allay most surface irritations and reach for those beneath the surface. This one was good.
His personality was such that he allayed her worry so much that she missed the signals she was sending out might be interpreted as encouraging deeper contact.
Signals like discussing scenes she enjoyed.
She meant with Quinn, not with anyone else.
However, as she talked to him, they walked over to the other staged play to have a look.
After discussing her likes and dislikes and thoughts on the various scenes and hearing Cheyenne’s preferences, he began negotiating a scene with her.
“Oh. No. Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you didn’t know that I have a dom. Quinn O’Connor is my fiancé. I didn’t hear you ask me if I would like to scene with you.”
“I didn’t, but I thought that was why you were giving me all this information about you.”
“I guess we both crossed our wires. I don’t have an open relationship of any kind. I’m so sorry.”
Lars’ reaction was controlled irritation, and yet, some anger was bubbling around the edges.
He said something under his breath and abruptly left the area.
Cheyenne felt sorry that she had apparently missed his overtures and remembered why she was not supposed to be there.
She was a submissive in a sea of dominants.
Besides, finding out her Dom was up to something that might blow her submissiveness to bits was a little upsetting.
They were getting married in a matter of weeks.
Her warrior woman might have to make an appearance.
She had a man who was very possibly doing hinky things behind her back, and she had to redirect another Dom who was likely darned ticked off at her.
It did seem, though, that nothing would come of the misunderstanding until there was a tap on her shoulder.
Cheyenne turned around, worried it was Lars again, but when she looked up, she came face to face with Master Josh.
Normally he was jovial, but tonight he sported a stern face and carried a phone in his hand.
“There is a phone call for you, my dear, and I would recommend you take it.”
She was positive that the tone and look were something they taught in “dominant school” for Quinlan had that same face when she was in trouble.
But why would Master Josh be upset with her?
Cheyenne hadn’t had anything alcoholic, she had avoided the near disaster, and she was now close enough to the scene that Richard and Ashley were participating in that she would pass as being within Richard’s sight, sound, and protection.
Unless it was that dom incident. What a tattletale.
Cheyenne continued to have a puzzled look for a moment longer as her brain processed.
Realizing what had happened, she let out an annoyed sigh and prepared to do battle.