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Best to shut him down. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“You know good and well who and what I’m talking about. I’ve grown tired of watching you quietly moon over Alicia for months.”
“You’re nuts.”
Seth laughed. “Am I? Then so is everyone else at the Chicago branch of Cerberus. And before you deny it, according to Miley there are any number of subs who have asked for and received discipline from you without providing you with any kind of sexual release. In fact, one of them even said you were very clear on the matter.”
“I don’t know what they’re complaining about. They asked me for a discipline session, and I provided them with one.”
“Let me be clear. They weren’t complaining. They were expressing disappointment. Why don’t you go back and see if you can’t get Alicia to change her mind and come with us? Maybe King and I can help you get things moving in the right direction.”
Brock couldn’t help but roll his eyes and was glad to know it was too dark for Seth to see. “I think this is where I bow out. You and King playing matchmaker is enough to make me vomit. See you in the morning,” he said, walking away.
“You’re no fun at all,” Seth called after him. “Killjoy.”
Without looking back, Brock waved Seth off and kept walking. Seth wasn’t wrong. He was wildly attracted to Alicia and had been from almost the first time he met her. But she’d made it perfectly clear that she had no interest in the lifestyle. Sometimes he wondered if she had much interest in life. Word around the office and the club was that she worked and went home and that was it. Occasionally she talked about spending an afternoon at a museum or down on Navy Pier, but that was the extent of it.
Maybe if he went back and she was still there, he could ask her for a drink. He’d thought about asking her several times if she wanted to grab a drink and maybe a quick meal in the lounge. The problem was if she didn’t even have a passing interest in the lifestyle, it would shock the hell out of her. Somehow, he couldn’t see her managing to ignore some of what went on even in the lounge. Doms and Dommes might be allowed street clothes, but subs were required to wear fet wear and some of the couples used it as an adjunct area of the dungeon without much difference in what went on.
On more than one occasion he’d wondered what it might be like to have Alicia dressed in a corset and boy shorts, micromini, or thong, either at his feet or curled up in his lap, coming down from the high of subspace. His groin tightened at the thought. It did every single time he allowed himself to think of her as anything other than a colleague.
He entered the building through the Cerberus entrance, using his keycard to bypass the alarm. He was a little surprised to find the offices dark and Alicia not there. He checked the security tapes behind the reception desk and saw that she’d gone through the door into the club. That was odd. Why would she do that? Switching the system, he was able to hear and see what went down next door.
He overheard the conversation and confrontation between Alicia and the new hire, Amber. He’d already learned to avoid Amber and hearing her speak so condescendingly to Alicia annoyed the hell out of him. Alicia was doing nothing wrong, and in fact, seemed to be handling things in a polite, professional, but firm manner. He didn’t want to undermine Alicia, but on the other hand, she didn’t need to put up with Amber’s bullshit.
Brock watched as she scooped up her coat and left the building. He watched on the security camera as her demeanor changed the instant she stepped outside, and she thought no one could see her. She glanced around as if checking to see if she was being watched or followed. Good girl. He wondered about where she might be heading and the change that had come over her.
You never really know about people. In the past, he’d always thought her introspective and a bit standoffish. He didn’t blame her. Those who worked for Cerberus were a lot to take. All of the men were Doms and ex-military, and they worked in security and private black ops. To say they reveled in adrenaline, sex, and dominance would be putting it mildly.
Brock couldn’t get over the change in her demeanor. She seemed to stand straighter, and her movements were far more confident and purposeful. Sometimes at Cerberus she reminded him of a deer, something to protect; but watching her now, he was reminded more of a female jaguar. Not as sleek as a leopard, but far more powerful. It was as if he was seeing an entirely different woman.
It tweaked his curiosity. He could hear his mother say, ‘curiosity killed the cat.’ While that might be true, it was also true that ‘satisfaction brought it back.’ He turned away from the monitors and headed back out the door. Maybe he’d go get that drink with Seth and King after all. Once on the street, he turned to make his way to the bar, but suddenly changed his mind and turned to follow Alicia.
Should he just catch up with her and ask her what she was up to? That seemed rude and absolutely none of his business. It might even piss her off to the point she quit working for Cerberus and if she did that, Seth and King would have his head on a platter. It had taken them forever to find Alicia and she truly was a gem. It was probably best to leave it alone and go have that drink, but something he didn’t want to name compelled him to act differently.
Spinning on his heel he moved in to follow her, and to do so surreptitiously. If she didn’t know he’d followed her, she’d have nothing to be pissed about and he’d be able to gather information—information that he had to admit he wanted just for himself. Alicia was becoming something of an enigma to him. And for a guy who made a living figuring out complex paradoxes, she was far too tempting a mystery.
Brock was able to get her back in sight fairly quickly, and noted the change in demeanor he’d noticed when she left the building became more pronounced the more distance she put between herself and her job.
She trotted up the stairs to the raised platform of the L with an almost unbridled joy. It was as if each stair she took lifted her out of her dull little life. Brock sprinted to the other end and was able to make it to the top and use a support pillar to hide his presence while still being able to observe her. By the time she reached the top of the stairs, she was almost gleeful. It was a startling transformation.
He only barely managed to get off the train at the same stop she did. It seemed to him that she’d waited until the last second to depart the train. She stopped and perused the crowd. He was afraid she’d seen him and breathed easier as she made her way back down to street level.
At the foot of the stairs, she stopped again, glanced around, and then made it across the street. From an alley entrance a guy who looked to be a bouncer called out to her, using two fingers in a mock, jaunty little salute.
“Miss Sonata,” he said in greeting.
Sonata? Who the hell was Sonata?
“Hey, Dewey,” she called back. Well, that answered that—sort of. “It’s cold out tonight. You should have on a scarf. I’ll have them bring you out a coffee—you like it with lots of cream and just a smidge of sugar, right?”
“You always remember. Thanks, I’d appreciate that.”
Dewey was right in that Alicia always did remember details like that, as well as people’s birthdays and anniversaries. She stopped long enough to remove her scarf and wrap it around his neck. It was nothing, just a kind gesture, but it made Brock angry. Who was this guy that he warranted that kind of caring? He realized if it had been a member of Cerberus, it probably wouldn’t have bothered him. His inner voice snorted. Okay, maybe not bothered him as much.
Alicia breezed past Dewey as a couple of other women did the same. The bouncer waved them past with a smile. When a couple of men tried to do the same, Dewey redirected them past the alley and down the street where they turned the corner. Keeping to the shadows, Brock followed. When he crossed the street, he could see a sign over a grand entrance that read, ‘The Majestic.’
He watched as numerous people made their way inside. They were a curious group. Although it was predominantly men, there were a number of women, as well, and everyone was dressed for a nice evening out. Curiosity thoroughly piqued, Brock followed them inside.
