Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
Iris
“I’m glad everyone got the memo,” Domi said mock-seriously as Iris walked up, gesturing at Iris’ outfit. Looking at all of them, Iris had to laugh. She’d decided to forego the usual clubwear and stay comfortable in a purple negligee.
Apparently, she hadn’t been alone feeling that way. Avery, Domi, and Rae were all also wearing lingerie rather than corsets, PVC, or leather.
“I guess everyone wanted to feel comfortable?” she asked teasingly.
Even though they were in lingerie, they looked completely different.
Iris had opted for sheer purple with lace, whereas Domi was wearing a black all-lace teddy.
Rae was wearing a soft pink baby doll with a furry hem and bra, while Avery was in red silk with embroidery.
“Nick’s not here, so why stuff myself into a corset?” Avery grinned. “Besides, he’ll be tired when he gets home. This will be much easier for him to work with than trying to get me out of a corset.”
“Rae didn’t feel like dressing up, so I got lazy, too,” Domi said, her eyes twinkling with mischief. Rae snorted, tossing her long braids over her shoulder.
“I wanted to do something different.” Her gaze skittered across the room, and Iris had to work not to turn around to wherever Rae was looking, but she would bet Morgan, Master Brian, or both were over there.
Poor Rae. Though maybe this was a good thing if it brought Rae to a tipping point, and she finally made a move or got over Brian.
“Where’s Mitch?” Iris asked, settling herself on a barstool.
“Bathroom,” Domi answered, lifting her drink to her lips for a sip. “What time is Master Law supposed to be arriving?”
“In about half an hour.” Iris grinned. “So, we have some time to hang out.”
“Perfect.” Rae elbowed her. “Now that we’re all here, update us on the roommate situation.”
Groaning, she gave them the rundown of everything Noelle had said, only pausing to order some water when the server came by. Rae listened expressionlessly while Domi and Avery nodded several times.
“It’s possible I’m reading way too much into it,” she finished up. “I mean, I could be taking it the wrong way. It sounds a lot worse than it is when I say it out loud.”
“Actually, if anything, I’m pretty sure you’re downplaying how bad it is,” Rae said, glancing at the other two.
“Look, we weren’t sure if we should say anything because you two have been friends for a long time and live together, but a few of the things she said about you when you were out of the room were kinda fucked up. ”
Blinking in surprise, Iris turned to look at Domi and Avery, who nodded in confirmation. The expression on Avery’s face was one of pure sympathy, while Domi’s lips were pressed together in disapproval. The disapproval wasn’t directed at Rae, which meant it was for whatever Noelle had said.
“Like what?”
“She made a ‘joke’ about how needy you are,” Rae said bluntly. “And how you think you’re so much better than everyone. It was all ‘joking,’ which was why we weren’t sure we should say anything, but it didn’t feel like she was actually joking.”
“More like she was waiting for us to agree,” Domi muttered.
“Oh. I mean… that’s just how she is.” Though it hurt to hear Noelle had been saying things like that. “She doesn’t realize how she sounds.”
“I think she does, hun,” Avery said, reaching over to take Iris’ hand. “She’s like the epitome of a mean girl. She does it in a way that makes it hard for anyone to say anything, so she can hide behind it being ‘just a joke,’ but that doesn’t make what she says okay.”
“Just… think about how she’s making you feel. We don’t want to mess with your friendship, but we don’t like seeing her mess with your head.” Domi nodded firmly before looking past Iris and rolling her eyes. “I was wondering what was taking Mitch so long.”
Twisting in her seat, Iris looked over her shoulder. Mitch had stopped to talk to Brian and Morgan, confirming her guess about who Rae had been looking for.
“Anybody want to take a walkabout?” Rae asked as Mitch and Brian both lifted their heads, as though they sensed the eyes on them, and looked over at their table.
“Sure,” Iris said, glancing at the clock. Her brother and Kate hadn’t come in, so it would be safe. “I have about fifteen minutes before Law gets here.”
“I’ll hang out here with Domi.” Avery smiled as Domi relaxed. Clearly, she’d wanted to wait for Mitch to return but didn’t want to make Rae interact with Brian when she didn’t want to. “You two stay out of trouble.”
Rae and Iris snorted in unison.
“What kind of trouble could we possibly get into here?” Rae asked as she got up from her seat. Iris nodded.
“We’ll be back soon.” Iris linked her arm with Rae, and they headed for the Dungeon. Taking a look around the Dungeon was nothing new since it had been her homework for a month. Even if her Watch Dom wasn’t here to keep an eye on her, it wasn’t as if she needed it anymore.
Law
If it wasn’t for Iris’ plans to be at Stronghold tonight, Law wouldn’t go. He wasn’t in the right headspace. At least she wouldn’t expect to scene tonight. She just wanted to hang out with her friends and him, and he could do that.
He was hoping that seeing her would ease some of the unsettled feelings that had been niggling at him since talking to his mom earlier in the afternoon.
Going with the flow had sounded like a possibility, but now he was feeling in over his head.
His mom’s excitement hearing he had a girlfriend—her word, not his—had felt like moving into even deeper waters.
When he’d been with Iris last night, everything had felt right. He hadn’t questioned everything and was able to just be in the moment and enjoy it. He really needed that back.
“Hi, Master Law… are you okay?” Lexie, wife and submissive of Stronghold’s owner, was at the front desk.
She was a cute little pixie of a woman, with bright blue eyes and black hair cut short, and in her current outfit, she looked like a goth Tinker Bell.
As Master Patrick’s life partner, she got away with a lot of things other submissives wouldn’t dare—like nosy questions.
It didn’t hurt that she genuinely cared.
“Fine, just distracted. Is Iris here yet?” He knew the question would divert her attention, and he was right. Lexie brightened up. She was good friends with Iris’ older brother, which meant she was interested in what was going on with Iris, even beyond the usual club gossip.
“She is. She got here a while ago. Are you meeting her here tonight? Do you need a room?” Her eagerness almost made him laugh. She clearly approved of Iris dating him, even if Andrew didn’t, which was nice to know. Maybe some of her attitude would rub off on him.
“Yes and no. We don’t need a room for tonight, but thank you.” Law passed her his phone to be stored and waved as he headed to the main floor entrance. Master Will nodded a greeting from his position as a bouncer as Law passed to go through the door to the bar.
As always, the sounds of conversation and the smell of leather washed over Law as he walked inside, soothing his inner turmoil.
Walking into Stronghold, he was in a space where he was at his most comfortable.
Looking around for Iris, he frowned when he didn’t see her but caught sight of Master Mitch’s blond head among the bar tables and headed that way.
He turned out to be at a table with Domi, Avery, and Master Brian. Law’s eyebrows rose as he approached. This was where he would have expected to find Iris and Rae as well. Perhaps they were in the bathroom.
“Hello,” he said as he approached, feeling a sense of relieved satisfaction as he was welcomed to the table. Knowing Iris’ friends welcomed him, even when she wasn’t there, was a nice feeling. After he’d greeted everyone, he asked the obvious question. “Where’s Iris?”
“She and Rae went to walk around the Dungeon,” Avery said. “They should be back soon.” Domi glanced at Brian, but only for a moment before her eyes darted away. Law thought he knew why Rae and Iris had chosen to do a walk around, just from that one look.
He didn’t mind that she’d gone with her friend instead of waiting for him.
It was a very Iris thing to do, taking care of the person right in front of her.
She had a generous heart. But he was antsy to see her, so he didn’t care if it might be a little rude to immediately leave the table.
He wasn’t here for her friends—he was here for her.
He needed her to make him feel the way he had last night. Standing around with her friends, who all had a drink in front of them, wasn’t helping his mental state.
“If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to hunt her down.” He smiled, hoping it would take the sting out from him barely stopping by to say hello. Thankfully, none of them seemed to think it was odd.
“I’m sure we’ll see you later.” Domi grinned as they all waved him off with understanding.
Relieved, Law headed for the Dungeon… and Iris.
Iris
The dungeon was as busy as ever, with a scene at almost every station.
Dungeon monitors were roaming, along with everyone else.
Some scenes had small audiences; some didn’t.
When it came to watching scenes, Iris disliked Saturday nights.
There was just so much going on, it was hard to focus on any one scene.
Rae didn’t seem to mind as much, though she might be trying to distract herself, going from scene to scene with intense focus. That or she really was that focused and was taking notes for her book. She was working on her third book, and Iris knew it was a kinky romance.
“Hey.” Iris elbowed Rae, curious now that she’d had the thought. “Are you planning on using this for inspiration?”
“Huh?” Rae tore her gaze away from the admittedly fascinating sight of Master Victor using a flogger in each hand while he worked over his submissive, Mark. “What?”
“Inspiration for your book.” Iris grinned. “Or are you just having fun?”
“A bit of both?” Rae giggled, her gaze moving on to the next scene, where a man was applying clothespins all over the submissive he had tied to the St. Andrew’s cross.
It looked both painful and fun, and from the submissive’s expression, she definitely agreed.
“It’s hard not to get ideas when I’m here. ”
Iris laughed. “I find that easy to believe.” Heck, if she thought she could write something, she’d be inspired, too. She was still inspired, just in a different way.
Inspired in my panties.
As Rae watched the clothespin scene, Iris’ gaze skipped to the next one, which didn’t seem to have an audience.
The submissive already had a few dark wheals across her breasts, and tears were streaming down her cheeks from pain-filled hazel eyes.
She didn’t look like she was sighing in masochistic pleasure…
and her Dom was picking up another cane.
Where were the DMs? Usually, when there was a more intense scene going on, they made sure to be nearby.
Iris turned her head, looking back and forth.
The DMs wore leather vests with bright orange or yellow trim to make sure they stood out.
Unfortunately, the dungeon was so crowded, she didn’t spot any immediately.
The sound of the cane hitting flesh didn’t stand out in the room, and neither did the submissive’s yelp, but her soft cry of “Red” did.
Iris’ head whipped around, relief flooding her that the submissive wouldn’t be taking anymore.
Except… the Dom was raising his arm again. Had someone else safe worded?
The submissive’s eyes darted back and forth, wide and panicked, and her gaze met Iris’.
“Red!” she said again, her voice strangled. Out of the corner of her eye, Iris could see Rae looking over, frowning as if she was trying to figure out what was going on. Iris was already moving because so was the Dom.
His arm was coming back, ready to flip the cane forward again, even though the safeword had been called.
Iris couldn’t see his face, so she didn’t know what he was thinking. All she knew was someone had to do something, and right now, but the only one who seemed to have noticed what was going on was her. She didn’t think. She moved.
“Red!” She screamed the word as she surged forward, hands stretching up to grab the cane. “She said red!”
The Dom faltered as her hands wrapped around the cane.
He tried to pull it forward and was strong enough to drag Iris partway with it.
As he realized someone had grabbed it, he turned, bringing his arm down, and Iris jerked back, letting go of the cane and barely managing to dodge the elbow that almost hit her in the face.
She didn’t recognize the Dom, but she could see his expression clearly enough to know he was pissed.
“What the hell?” He jerked the cane away from her.
Iris took the moment to dart around him to stand between him and the bound sub, protecting the woman with her own body.
“My question exactly,” Iris snapped, hands fisted by her side. How fucking dare he. “She called her safeword, you fucking dickhead, and you were ignoring it!”
Though his face was bright red with fury, she could tell he was probably a pretty attractive guy, maybe in his mid to late thirties, with blond hair and dark brown eyes that were spitting fire. Clearly, he hadn’t expected anyone to intervene, even though he’d ignored a safe word.
All around them, conversations and scenes were coming to a halt, but Iris kept her focus on the asshole, who looked as if he was about to have a coronary.
“You little bitch!” He raised the cane, but they would never know what his intention was.
Suddenly, Law appeared and grabbed the man’s wrist, like something out of a movie.
She hadn’t even known he was there. The so-called Dom—he was no Dom as far as Iris was concerned—cried out and dropped the cane, reaching for his wrist with his other hand.
Iris didn’t know what Law was doing with his grip, but it must have hurt.
Suddenly, DMs were shoving through the crowd surrounding them.
“What happened?” Master Jared, a friend of her brother, glanced at Iris, his brow furrowing as he recognized her.
His expression when he looked beyond her at the submissive still bound to the St. Andrew’s cross turned him from the normal giant teddy bear of a man she knew to a terrifying predator.
He shifted so he was partially in front of Iris, crossing his arms over his chest.
The dumb-dumb Dom had managed to snatch his arm away from Law and was cradling his wrist in front of him.
“That little bitch interrupted my scene! I want her fucking kicked out of here!”