Grayson
Again, it seemed his Lexi was having private moments with other men.
The big smile on her mouth was beautiful - he wished she’d smile at him more often.
And her blush was rampant across her face, even down her neck as he came down the last couple of steps.
He wondered what he could do to stop this shit.
Jealousy wasn’t something he was accustomed to, and he didn’t care for it. He stared hard at Kris, who stared back with ambivalence. He snagged Lexi’s hand.
“Thank you for getting the door, Gaidar,” he said.
Jealousy or not, he was still one of their employees.
Lexi hadn’t said anything, and didn’t try to pull her hand away.
Good. That was progress. He didn’t want her blushing around other men.
That flush belonged to him, and maybe it was time he made that clear.
“Miss Alessandra, why don’t you go find us a table? I’ll be right behind you.”
He and Kris stared at each other as Lexi’s steps faded.
“Is there anything you and I should discuss?”
Kris stared at him, face impassive, but his eyes flicked down the hall after Lexi.
“Maybe,” he said, his accent making the quiet word short.
Grayson lifted a brow. If this guy thought he could try and scare Grayson away from Lexi-
“Two of your deliveries are late,” Kris said. “I left a message for Rio, but I have not heard from him.”
Grayson stared at him balefully. Could Kris really think that was what he wanted to talk about? He waited in silence.
Kris’ mouth lifted just a fraction.
“And Lex is important to me.”
Ah-ha. He knew it.
“Your interest in Lexi is pointless. She belongs to me now, and-”
Kris chuckled, and Grayson paused. It was a strangely dark laugh, without humor.
“It is not interest. We are not compat. We tried.”
Grayson compressed his lips in a thin line. Good employee or not, Kris Gaidarwas getting on his nerves.
“She is like little sister to me,” Kris said. His eyes flicked down the hall again, then back to Grayson. “And I am very protective of my family.”
Grayson rocked back on his heels. The thought hadn’t occurred to him. He wondered if Lexi knew. He quickly reevaluated his mental file on Kris, knowing he could count on one hand the exact number of people in his circle - hell, as an employee - that would stand up to him like this.
“Good,” Grayson said.
They nodded to each other before Kris turned back to his security station.
By the time Grayson caught up with Lexi, she was in a conversation with a couple around the corner, and he paused. It still felt like he knew nothing about her sometimes. The ladies exchanged little half-hugs.
Surprised, Grayson stood back while Lexi gushed with fake enthusiasm.
“I haven’t seen you guys in a while. How have you been? Did you get your braids redone? They’re so pretty. I was just telling Grayson-”
“I know, I’ve been busy,” the woman in front of her said.
“Here, let me get your number, that way-” Lexi started.
“I don’t really think that’s necessary,” the guy interrupted.
Grayson saw him put a hand over his sub’s phone so that she put it away.
“So Byron and I were talking, Alexis, and it would be a good idea if you guys met up somewhere to talk,” he offered.
“No.” Lexi’s answer was short.
The guy’s smile dimmed. A server came up to Grayson to ask if he wanted anything from the kitchen, and Grayson waved him off impatiently. Byron? Lord Asshole?
“I know you two had an issue-”
His Lexi let out a cold, humorless laugh.
“I’m with Grayson now. And even if I didn’t belong to someone else, it would still be a hell no. If you can’t understand the word no like Byron can’t, I’m sure Grayson would be happy to explain it to you,” she said with a smile.
“I see,” said the asshole.
Even from where Grayson stood, he could see the tension radiate from the man, and how tightly he was holding onto his sub’s arm. The woman winced as his fingers clamped onto her darker skin in a death vise. Grayson had heard enough.
He walked around the corner as the man and Lexi were staring each other down, and even though it was the least submissive thing he could think of, he was so damn proud of her. His Alessandra was submissive only for him. The realization made him almost cheerful as he stepped up to the group.
“Good evening. I see you’ve met my Miss Lexi.” He held out a hand. “Grayson de LaPonte. You are?”
“David,” he said shortly. He didn’t introduce the pretty black woman next to him and took Grayson’s hand for only a moment. Grayson dipped his head towards her in acknowledgment. She smiled just a little in reply, and Grayson wrapped his arm around Lexi.
“We’ll be going,” David said, and tugged hard on the woman’s arm. Lexi stepped up before the woman was dragged away and gave her another brief hug. David and Grayson measured each other before David dragged her down the hall.
Grayson turned to Lexi.
“Is there anything I should know there?” he asked, jerking his head toward where David and his sub disappeared.
Lexi frowned up at him.
“That’s Shayla, she’s… a friend,” she said. “I’m not sure, but I think she might be in trouble.”
Lips pressed into a stern line, Grayson made a mental note to check out David’s file.
There was nothing he could do - people’s private lives were their own.
Unless something untoward happened on LifeStyle grounds, he would have to wait and see.
He turned back to Lexi and amended his thoughts - they would wait and see. He hated to see her looking worried.
“I’ll see what I can find out about him,” he offered.
She gave him a small smile, and it mollified his irritation at the start to their evening. It felt like he was playing catch-up with her. There was her first fight to schedule, he wanted to discuss her official debut as his sub, not to even think of her training - he blew out a breath.
“Would you like to have a drink with me?” he asked.
It wasn’t a debut by any means, but it would make him happy to be seen with her in his club.
“Yeah, I could use a drink,” she said. She looked down at herself. “I’m not really dressed for it though.”
True, her ripped jeans, tank and sweatshirt weren’t strictly dress code, but he’d make an exception.
“Don’t worry about it,” he told her. He owned the place. If he couldn’t make an exception for his own sub, what was the point in owning it? He wanted to ask what her drink was, but figured he’d find out soon. Jesus. He felt like an overeager boyfriend.
It was early enough that no rooms were full, so he had his pick.
He chose the blue lounge where they met.
They walked hand in hand past the voyeur arena, where a man was practicing shibari.
The woman on display in front of him looked comfortable and content, wrapped in neon rope.
It criss-crossed over her breasts, around her neck, and wound down around her legs, tied splayed open.
Glancing at Lexi, Grayson wondered… he paused and faced Lexi towards the couple. Would she be into it? At all?
Only two other people watched, sipping their drinks and conversing in a corner. He leaned down to Lexi’s ear, stepping up behind her.
“What do you think?”
She didn’t react, but stared at the couple intently. For a couple of minutes, he watched her face for a change in expression. She had none. But he waited for her response.
“It makes me itchy,” she said finally.
Grayson huffed out a smal laugh, catching the attention of the Dom inside. His eyes met Grayson’s before settling on Lexi. He looked back to Grayson with his eyebrows up, asking if they were interested in joining the scene.
Possession corralled through him. He didn’t mean to, but he glared at the other Dom and shook his head slightly. The Dom dipped his head in acknowledgment. There would be no sharing of his Alessandra, especially not when he’d barely gotten a taste of her himself.
“Can we go get that drink?” Lexi asked quietly. “That guy is looking at me, and this is kinda making me uncomfortable.”
Pressing a kiss to the top of her head, Grayson stared the guy down again until he stepped back to his sub. She remained waiting, eyes only on her Dom. A pang of longing hit him; what would it take for Lexi to look at him like that?
“Yes, I promised you a drink.”
As he recalled, she liked the corner, but her favorite table was occupied. Three women dressed in - not much, consisting of strips of black leather and chains - huddled together in the round booth.
Lexi stopped at a table near them, but Grayson continued on, admittedly dragging her behind him.
“Ladies,” he said with a slight dip of his head. “Would you mind if we have this table? It’s her favorite.”
Two of the women looked at the black woman sitting between them. The only one not wearing a collar. This could be some type of poly or throuple situation, but since they deferred to her, so did he. He dipped his head to her specifically, and she returned the nod, looking past him to Lexi.
Still feeling possessive from the voyeur scene, Grayson shifted so his shoulder eclipsed the Domme’s view. He smiled, knowing he was baring just a few too many teeth.
“We need to discuss terms, and I’d like her to be as comfortable as possible.”
She smirked and nodded, gesturing for the women to leave the booth. As they walked past them, the Domme picked up a leash for each of the other women. Grayson gestured to the bartender. As he came to clean the table, Grayson ordered a neat whiskey for himself.
“The lady will have-?” he trailed off, looking at Lexi. He wished he knew the answer already. Wished he could order for her. Reminded himself to be patient.
“Manhattan please, with cherries?”
Grayson smiled and ordered for both of them.
“And an order of jalapeno poppers.”
Lexi smiled and scooched into the booth. He watched as she analyzed the room, her shoulders relaxing after a moment.
“I don’t want you to always be on guard like that,” he said.
Their drinks came, interrupting him. Alongside Lexi’s Manhattan, the bartender set down a small bowl of cherries. Grayson nodded his thanks.
“Around me, I mean,” he continued.
She looked at him from around the rim of her drink.
“I’m not on guard.”
He raised a brow.
“How many people are in this room?”
“Seven,” she answered immediately.
“How many exits?”
Lexi frowned.
“Three.”
Grayson thought about his next question.
“And… how many weapons are available to you right now?”
Lexi stilled completely, hand on her Manhattan. Then she looked at him sideways.
“Why would you ask that?”
Grayson took a healthy drink of his whiskey.
“You teach a women’s self defense class. I have to assume that would be part of it, no? To teach your ladies to get resourceful if they need it?”
Lexi shrugged.
“Seven maybe, including my Manhattan.”
Grayson did a quick count. He found four.
“Sorry, seven weapons?”
Lexi nodded.
“My Manhattan, the silverware on the table behind us, your own drink, your tie, the plate of poppers that are going to be here in a few seconds, the bottle opener the bartender has on his hip, and the ballpoint pen in my pocket.”
Grayson sat back, impressed. The bartender came over with their plate as predicted.
“The plate’s hot, be careful,” the bartender warned, and vanished again.
“You remember how hot these are, right?” she asked him, smiling.
Grayson grinned.
“Not as hot as you knocking that asshole to the ground.”
Lexi laughed.
“So now that we’ve settled the contracts, “ he said, and she sobered, looking at him intently. “I want to schedule you for your first fight. And…” he hesitated, green eyes sharp on hers in the dim light. “I want to debut you as my sub.”
“Debut?” she asked. “Like a debutante?”
Gray purposely reached for his patience and tamped down the desire to punish her. He weighed her voice - her inflection. Not disrespectful, per se…
“Yes,” he said, taking another sip of whiskey. “It’s not entirely dissimilar to a debutante situation, I suppose. We’ll host a party, likely here, and you’ll be introduced to a whole lot of people.”
Lexi rolled her eyes, and popped a cherry between her teeth. She left the stem dangling from her lips. Grayson leaned into her face.
“And you will not,” he whispered into her wide eyes, “on that evening,” he inched closer, “roll your beautiful fucking eyes at me, Miss.”
He tongued the seam of her mouth, and bit into the cherry stem. He brought it with him when he moved back, smirking at her around it. She stared at his mouth.