AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Since it's a size too small for those gorgeous breasts of yours, I'll look forward to seeing you in it."
She elbowed him but took his hand, threading back through the crowd toward their table. Marcus and Thomas watched them with observation skills an FBI behavioral analysis unit would envy. "Guys, this is Des. Desmond Hayes. Des, these are my best friends, Marcus Stanton and Thomas Wilder."
"Pleasure." Des shook Marcus's hand first, giving him and Thomas an equally assessing glance. "She's been so happy you guys were coming to see her."
Julie noticed Thomas was studying Des peculiarly, his head cocked. It wasn't unusual to see Thomas looking at someone with a particular intensity, because he was always composing future works in his head. Des would definitely qualify as appealing subject matter. She wondered what Des would think if he inspired Thomas's next masterpiece, since his focus was often gay erotic art. Des didn't have any problem being around gay men, but he was damn straight in his own preferences.
When he caught her looking, Thomas lifted a shoulder and his expression cleared. "We've only recently heard good things about you. You've been keeping her tied up these past few weeks."
"In more ways than one," Des said agreeably. He earned a sharp look from Marcus, which he met with a clear-eyed Dom-to-Dom look that gave Julie a little flutter. He'd taken that opening on purpose. It was a "Yeah, you're her friends and I hope we'll all get along, but I'm not going to walk on eggshells or kiss your ass to get your approval." It was also a not-so-subtle way to confirm she'd told them about his preferences, Dom and rigger. She'd told him she had.
Yet remembering his reaction at the party when they'd talked about Marcus and Thomas with Madison and Logan, she realized the message Des had just sent had been a reinforcement of that, as much for her as for them. She didn't know if that made her feel better or more nervous.
Des hadn't intended it as a juvenile joke, either. He'd delivered it with a straight look, tempered with the friendly handshake. Marcus was still considering him while Thomas moved in to smooth things.
"We've missed her, too," he told Des, and glanced at Julie. "New York needs your humor to keep it from taking itself too seriously."
"You were supposed to be holding up that end of things with your clear-eyed Southern perspective."
"Marcus has been keeping me too busy. Josh warned me what it would be like to be married to my manager and I just didn't listen."
"Now you're stuck with me for life," Marcus said lightly, caressing Thomas's nape.
Julie slid into the booth and Des took the seat next to her, his hand settling on her thigh as she curled her hands around his biceps to hold onto him. Under the lamp hanging over the table, he looked a little tired. The roofing job had been a big one, though. A couple of their usual guys had been unavailable, and the home was an eight thousand square foot estate with two guest houses they'd also wanted re-roofed.
The waitress arrived to take Des's drink order and he requested a Redd's Wicked Ale for Julie and an ice water with lemon for himself. Initial conversation was easy. Thomas asked Des about his day, and Des offered some high level details about the roofing job, which he confirmed had turned out to be a bear.
"Somebody married a Victorian monstrosity to a Cape Cod and it had a baby. That thing had about twenty different roof lines and steep peaks, dormers out the ass. We'll get good money for it, but I don't think the guys ever want to see one like it again. The lady who owns it is a theater buff, though." Des tapped his water against Julie's bottle. "I told her about Madison's new place. Made it sound very trendy and on the wild side so she'd bring her friends. Might make her hair fall out when she sees a show."
"Or she'll love it," Julie rebounded. "Middle-aged and older professional women are the ones who particularly love classy erotica. They just don't have a lot of places they can see it that are comfortable for them. That's part of what we're trying to change."
"You're doing great," Thomas said, and nodded to Des. "She showed us how things were going today at the theater."
"She and Madison have done a hell of a job bringing it all together," Des agreed. "They've created a lot of good buzz in the BDSM community here, because while no one cares about converting anyone, it'd be nice not to worry about so much ignorant backlash if it gets out a person is involved in the scene
. Not a problem for me, but I know it's a big issue for a lot of people, particularly those going through divorces and kid custody battles."
Marcus gestured with his beer. "Plenty of otherwise intelligent people used to think that the word homosexual was synonymous with pedophile. So, here's to things that are changing."
They clinked their drinks together for the toast, and Marcus shifted subjects. "So, your opening salvo aside, I understand you're quite a rigger. Did a little research on you. You've got a top notch reputation."
Des inclined his head. "I'd say sorry about the salvo, but I'm not, unless it made Julie feel uncomfortable. That wasn't my intention, love," he told her, as if it were just the two of them at the table.
"It's all right. Billie Dee warned me the three of you would have to do some yard dog circling stuff. Just warn me if anyone's going to try and mark me."
Thomas chuckled, but he looked at Des seriously. "That all may be true, but the real truth is we love her. We look out for her."
"With that common ground, it doesn't sound like we're going to have any problems." Des lifted a brow in Marcus's direction. "Will we?"
Green eyes held brown for a long moment. When Thomas's foot pressed on hers under the table, Julie caught his amused gaze, as he mouthed one word. Breathe.
Marcus inclined his head. "Sounding like we won't. So tell us more about your rigging work."
"Oh my God, he's amazing. You should have seen what he did in the first performance..."
Des didn't seem to mind that she jumped in to gush. He leaned back in the booth and adjusted his arm along the seat rest, his fingers playing in her hair and caressing her shoulder as she spoke. When he asked them to do so, Marcus and Thomas shared some of their experiences with the BDSM world in New York. At length, Marcus put her back in the hot seat.
"How about you, Jules? How are you doing in this brave new world?"
