Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Kincaid
Waking up to a woman between him and Zach for the second morning in a row was an odd experience. Especially because it didn’t feel as odd as it probably should.
He turned his head to look at the woman in question.
She appeared much more peaceful this morning, though the skin around her eyes was mottled.
She’d cried so hard, she’d burst some of the capillaries in the delicate skin around her eyes.
But her breathing was deep and even, the lines on her forehead that she’d fallen asleep with had smoothed out overnight, and all the distress had been wiped away.
Which was a relief.
He didn’t think that was quite how her and Zach’s scenes normally went, though he knew she went to Zach to help her with emotional release. That had definitely been a huge pressure valve bursting last night.
Afterward, he and Zach hadn’t needed to talk to know that she was sleeping in their bed again.
There was no way either of them was going to leave her.
She’d dropped and dropped hard at the end of the scene.
Kincaid wouldn’t leave his worst enemy going through that all alone, much less someone he actually liked.
Quietly, he slipped out of bed, leaving her a robe to put on since they didn’t have any of her clothes in here, and went to get breakfast ready again.
Just like yesterday. He was just glad there was something he could do.
Last night, he’d felt helpless while she was crying her heart out because it was what she’d needed, and there had been nothing he or Zach could do to fix it.
They’d already done all they could.
She’d fallen asleep clinging to both of them, still shaking from her excess of emotion.
This morning, she would need coffee and something to help restore the energy she’d expended last night.
As he was getting breakfast ready, his phone beeped at him.
He glanced over at the display—Mitch was calling.
His best friend, outside of Zach. They hadn’t been at the wedding.
Amy was friendly with Mitch and his girlfriend Domi, but Domi and her group of friends didn’t get along that well with several of Amy’s other friends, especially not with Noelle.
Quickly rinsing off his hands from the eggs he’d been cracking, Kincaid swiped the answer button and put it on speaker.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“Pretty sure I should be asking you that.” As usual, Mitch’s voice was filled with amusement.
He walked through the world, finding the fun in it and constantly clowning around, right up until it was time to torment his submissive, at which point he turned into a sternly sadistic Dom. “I hear you have a new housemate.”
Kincaid wasn’t surprised. The gossip train at Stronghold and Marquis would be running strong.
It wasn’t just Amy’s bridesmaids who were members of the kink clubs; there had been plenty of them among the guests, too.
He bet the word had started spreading that something was happening—even though no one had known what—the moment Sam had come to get him and Zach.
“We do.” He hesitated. “What are people saying?”
“Oh, all sorts of crazy things, you know how it is. Everything from Amy and her groom had a big fight right before the wedding because she caught him cheating or he caught her cheating, to he was kidnapped, to he eloped to Vegas with one of her bridesmaids.” Mitch cracked up at that last one because it was so freaking unbelievable.
Even having witnessed it, Kincaid was still having trouble believing it. Because who the fuck even did that? Who thought that was an acceptable thing to do?
“It’s more of a combination of the first and last one.
Noelle convinced Jeremy that Amy was cheating on him, and apparently, the correct reaction to that was to fly to Vegas and elope with Noelle on what was supposed to be his and Amy’s wedding day.
” Kincaid stabbed the cantaloupe, which allowed him to vent his feelings a little.
“No fucking way.”
“Way. Marissa, of all people, said she’s going to talk to Patrick. Apparently, Noelle took pictures of Amy inside the club and shared them with Jeremy as proof.”
“Hell, I scened with Amy… in the past, before Domi and I got together. I fucking believe her when she said she told him what she was doing and that he’d consented to her being there.
She was very clear about the boundaries.
It was all platonic kink, nothing sexual at all.
” The indignation in Mitch’s voice matched how Kincaid felt about the whole situation.
“He’s an asshole,” Kincaid said flatly. Even though he’d never actually met the guy, that was clear.
His emotions were coming out in the way he was cutting up the cantaloupe, which did not need the aggressive movements he was using because it was actually very ripe and easy to cut.
But it helped him feel a little better. “Even if he didn’t truly understand what he was agreeing to, he deliberately chose to hurt and humiliate her in the worst way possible.
He could have called off the wedding beforehand.
He didn’t. And he didn’t have to elope with Noelle on the wedding day.
He did it because he wanted to be cruel. ”
“Noelle, too. I know we’re not supposed to speak badly about the submissives, but…” Mitch’s voice trailed off. “Between what she did to Iris and what she’s done now to Amy…” Suddenly, he laughed, startling Kincaid. “Domi just called her a cuntcake.”
Obviously, Mitch wasn’t on speaker because Kincaid hadn’t been able to hear Domi at all. He couldn’t help but laugh, too, despite the situation.
Maybe the Dominants weren’t supposed to speak badly of the submissives, but that wasn’t going to stop the submissives from doing so.
He doubted Noelle was going to find any welcome at Stronghold, even if Patrick didn’t revoke her membership.
Everyone loved Amy. On top of that, no one was going to take it well that Noelle had secretly been taking pictures inside the club.
She’d broken trust on just about every possible level.
“I mean…”
“She’s a total cuntcake,” Amy said from behind him, making him jump about a foot in the air and spin around, knife held up high, heart racing from the surprise.
He hadn’t heard her moving around. She smiled at him. Her eyes were still puffy and red, but the smile looked more real than any of the ones she’d worn on her lips yesterday. His navy-blue robe was far too large on her and yet she looked like she was happy to be snuggled into it.
“Is that Amy?” Mitch asked from the phone. “Hey, sweetie, how are you feeling?”
“Better than yesterday,” she said, which was a good non-answer. Considering she’d been as low as a person could be yesterday, it wasn’t like that was a high bar to clear. “I’ll be even better if that’s fresh coffee I smell.” Her hazel eyes met his with pleading hope.
“It is. Mugs are in there.” He nodded his head toward the correct cabinet, then turned around to finish cutting up the cantaloupe.
“Thanks. Sorry for interrupting, but I woke up, and my stomach was growling,” she said apologetically. He heard the cabinet opening behind him.
“Well, we are talking about you,” Mitch said, back to his normal cheerful tone.
“Might as well have you join in, right? For some reason Domi is telling me she’s got a shovel as if that has some sort of special significance.
However, I have to tell you that I do not approve of any plans that involve actual body burial, no matter how a person might, theoretically, deserve it. ”
As always, Mitch got the laugh he was looking for. It was one of his superpowers and one that Kincaid was rather envious of, especially right now. He was happy to see Amy genuinely laughing.
“So, make any murder and body burial plans when you’re not around, got it,” she said teasingly as she poured herself a cup of coffee.
“Hey, now, I can’t be hearing this either. Former police officer, remember?” Kincaid protested. He knew they were joking.
Probably.
“Since it’s ‘former,’ it’s not really an issue though, right?” Mitch asked. “You’ve moved into personal security, and as long as it’s not a client…”
“Oh, yes, that automatically is going to stop me from doing the right thing.” Kincaid shook his head. “If she gets caught, she’ll be in jail. The best revenge is living happily.”
“Oh, so it’s for practical reasons and not just because you’re Dudley Do-Right,” Mitch teased, making Amy laugh and Kincaid grimace.
He did try to do the right thing, always, and it had bitten him in the ass more than once. It was a large part of the reason he’d made the job move into personal security, but that was his burden and not something Amy needed to hear about when she was actually laughing and smiling.
“But if they get caught, you’ll be the first in line with bail money, right?”
“Of course.” He winked at Amy, pushing aside his own issues. “It would be the right thing to do.”
She laughed again, bringing the coffee cup up to her lips to hide her smile.
Kincaid grinned at her. For this moment, at least, he was pretty sure she actually was okay.
Zach
No one was in bed with him and the sound of laughter was trickling down the hall and into the bedroom as he hit his alarm. Zach frowned grumpily. Apparently, everyone was having a great time without him.
What was with both Amy and Kincaid being early morning risers?
He wanted as much sleep as he could get.
He was tempted to call out of work again today because he was a little worried about how Amy would be doing after last night, but since he could actually hear her laughing, maybe it wasn’t going to be a problem.
That or she was faking it again.
Which he thought was the far more likely scenario.