Chapter 22 #2
Who did she think she was talking to? Her plaything that she didn’t want to share? Or… her girlfriend? Which one do I want to hear? None. Nala would assess her reaction and go from there. Oh, but she’s so jealous. So jealous.
That alone was kind of fun. Jealous Varen… she could be a lot of fun. And since Nala had already promised to go home with her after this…
“I am the epitome of good behavior, ma’am,” she said, batting her eyelashes. “You should eat your dinner, by the way. Wouldn’t want you to go hungry later. You might have to eat something low in nutritional value.” Her. She meant her.
“Uh-huh.” Although Varen returned to the conversation at hand, it was with furrowed brows – and a hand still protectively clutching Nala’s knee, as if she were going to leap up and run off somewhere. With Ira Mathison, probably. Nala picked at her meal with a smirk threatening to split her face.
Five minutes later, when the waiter returned to take away their dirty dishes and promise them the next round, Nala heard a familiar voice on the other side of her jealous date.
“Gale, dear?” Maggie sounded suspiciously sweet. “Would you mind running to the ladies’ room with me? Just for a few minutes. I seem to be having a… well, never mind that.”
With this situation forced upon her, Nala had only one possible thing to say.
“Oh, of course. Just a second.” She straightened her dress, touched her hair, and stood with nary a facial reaction.
Learning from Varen too well here. “We’ll be only a few minutes.”
She lightly touched Varen’s shoulder. “Don’t forget about me.”
She got the response she wanted – a hand brushing against her thigh, almost possessively.
Nala followed Maggie to the back of the restaurant, where a cordoned-off women’s restroom awaited, empty.
Although two stalls were available, Maggie turned and locked the main door behind her.
Nala spun on her heels, eyes widening and wondering if she should run. Oh, fuck, she’s Ravenwood’s assassin!
But Maggie did not lunge for Nala. Nor did she pull a gun out of her golden, glittering pouch. Instead, she sauntered to the nearest sink, pulling lipstick from her purse and touching up her hostile visage. Her eyes never left Nala’s reflection in the mirror.
I could leave right now. Nala was by the door. Not like she couldn’t unlock it and make a break for it. Jay wouldn’t try something funny out there, would he? Like kill Varen? Shit, Nala needed to check her paranoia!
“So, Gale,” Maggie said, that sweetness like salt in a wound. “How are things with your Mistress?” Why was she talking as if she didn’t believe a word coming out of Nala’s mouth?
Nala shifted on her feet, pretending to be unfazed by Maggie’s glare in the mirror. “Things are great. Wonderful, even. Yup. Everything’s good.”
“Now, hon.” Maggie stood up straight, plunking her tube of lipstick into her purse. “You don’t have to lie. I saw that display out there. Making her jealous so she would pay attention to you? That’s no way to keep a relationship. Especially with a woman like Var... Ms. Lake.”
The more Nala lurked around Maggie, the more suspicious she became.
She didn’t act like a submissive woman, either in The Aviary or out of it.
She had too many tells. Plus, she couldn’t keep her names straight.
Most of the girls from the club were reverent to the dominants, even if they didn’t date.
That meant no first names. So far, Maggie was doing a bang-up job calling Varen by her first name all the time.
Not to mention the sheer disdain and venom dripping from her canine teeth every time she said a word like Mistress.
“She likes feeling jealous.” Nala had to be quick with her words.
Don’t let her think we’re not a real couple…
or at least haven’t been together for a few months instead of weeks.
“So sometimes we play a game like that. It doesn’t mean anything serious, really.”
Was her smile real enough? Or was she no better than Maggie right now?
“You can drop the act. I know you and Ms. Lake haven’t been together long enough for her to even see you on your period.”
That’s not true. “I don’t know what you mean. Varen and I have been together for six months.” That was their story, right? Shit! Nala needed to write this stuff down!
Maggie faced her, leaning against the sink with her arms crossed. She looked too formidable to be anyone’s submissive, let alone to a docile man like Jay.
“Keep lying if you want, but I can guarantee that if you keep lying in the club, it will come back to bite you in the ass. Trust me. Ravenwood is very, very good at sniffing out a weasel, and he’s not afraid to take drastic measures to maintain harmony in his group of pervs.”
She is definitely not a sub. Nala didn’t know what to do. Not here, not later when she would be alone with Varen again and could relay everything that happened. What do I tell her? So far, Nala probably didn’t know anything that Varen didn’t already know.
“I certainly don’t want to get us kicked out, because it’s done so much for Var... my Mistress’s business.”
Maggie took two slow steps – steps big enough to bring her only a foot away from Nala.
“I’m not talking about getting kicked out of the group, Gale. There is a lot more going on behind closed doors than couples getting it on. A lot of people have gotten hurt for going against Ravenwood. You know it, don’t you?”
Nala checked to see if she was shaking. “I may have heard a few things, but what does that have to do with me? Varen?”
“I’m only going to tell you this once. You may be innocent. I dunno, but I do know that it doesn’t take much anymore for Ravenwood to decide you’re an enemy that must be dealt with. Tread carefully, Gale. If there’s a reason for you joining the club outside of Varen’s prospects… well,
keep them to yourself. Keep your head low and don’t say anything stupid. Follow the rules. Do things you may not want to do, because otherwise… I probably don’t have to tell you.”
She unlocked the door but did not open it yet. “I’d hate to see someone else hurt.”
Someone else? Who else did she mean? Let alone lately?
“Should I… tell Varen?”
Maggie let her hand linger on the door handle, her visage softening.
“Do whatever you want. I just wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to you and a simple warning from me could have stopped it. That’s all.”
The handle jostled under the weight of her hand.
“I don’t dislike you. You have a good head on your shoulders for someone your age, but I also remember what it’s like to be twenty. You’re brash and decisive, aren’t you?”
Nala didn’t say anything. I mean…
“Before you jump headfirst into anything, think long and hard about it. I’ve seen so many girls your age take a tumble that could have been prevented with some foresight. You are not invincible. Varen is not invincible, even if she seems like a superhero to you at times.
I don’t know how you really feel about each other, but if you care at all… yeah, perhaps you should tell her. Say the warning came from a friend you can trust.”
Maggie left the bathroom, letting the door latch behind her. Nala remained near the sinks, digesting the words.
“Say the warning came from a friend…”
Isn’t that what that note said? “You have friends.”
Nala decided to wait it out a few more minutes in the bathroom. Who knew what awaited her when she returned to the table? Who knew how Varen would react… to her? To the information she had to share?
Suddenly, Nala realized how much danger she might really be in.