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The other woman chewed her plump bottom lip and seemed deep in thought.
Dex laughed and gave Echo’s arm an affectionate shove. “You had no problem approaching me to play a few weeks ago, so why are you having trouble with him? Obviously you gave him some indication you were interested or he wouldn’t have kissed you.”
“It was more like he let me kiss him. It was just getting good and then he stole my gum and took off.” She pushed a hand through her short brown hair, staring after Tarka in frustration.
“It’s just his way. If you follow him and keep flirting he’ll know you’re serious. It gives you a chance to think things over with a cool head.”
Echo groaned. “He’s so intimidating—so popular. As if he’d be interested in me.”
“Don’t sell yourself short, girl.”
“And the subtext in this place is so confusing—at least if you’re an outsider. The protocol and hierarchy is all so tangled and unspoken that it’s like being dropped in the middle of a Jane Austen novel.” Echo laughed her breathy, light laugh. Dex didn’t get the joke but there was no point in telling her friend that. Echo would just try to explain, which only served to remind Dex how many classics she’d never gotten around to reading.
“Besides, I’ve always found it easier approaching female switches rather than male Dominants. Although the Doms here don’t seem anywhere near as prickly as some of the guys I knew back at my old club. I swear they all competed for secret awards like ‘most convincing impersonation of the vampire Lestat’ and ‘who owns the subbiest submissive.’”
“There are a few of those Dominants around here, but they’re harder to come by if that’s what you’re looking for. This club is a lot more relaxed than some, which is great for bratty girls but not so good for people who are big on protocol.”
“Yeah.” Echo laughed. “You would have made my first Dominant squirrelly. Then again I wasn’t very popular with him either.” She sighed and rolled her eyes. “I’m not particularly bratty but apparently he didn’t approve of how often I used my safeword, of all things. I’m not much of a masochist.”
“He was mad about you safewording?” She could feel Grant moving closer again.
“Apparently me safewording was some sort of personal affront to him. It wasn’t until later that I realized I didn’t necessarily have to be a pain slut to please a Dominant.”
“Not every Dominant wants a pain slut,” Grant’s low voice cut in, making Dex shiver.
Echo whirled and smiled up at Grant, who was just behind her shoulder. They looked good together. Maybe Dex should try to set them up to get Grant out of her hair.
Then again, Grant was a bit of a sadist. Maybe she wouldn
’t be doing Echo any favors by setting them up together.
“If you’re not into pain, though, don’t play with Grant,” Dex teased. “He likes to play hard . . . or so the rumors would have us believe.” Oops. She’d almost blown their cover.
He slid his gaze to Dex then, and her breath caught. His brows drew down into a sexy scowl—the one that meant he was thinking about sex. Probably with Dex. Her heart sped up, and her body urged her to flee. He’d fucking chase her. She shuddered and had to clench her jaw to stop herself from chattering as her nerves kicked into high gear.
It was wrong, but the feelings he’d inspired in her ever since that night weren’t best friend feelings. The flare of possessive arousal in his eyes as they moved over her face and body was hardly platonic either. They’d opened the lid of Pandora’s box that night and Dexter was having a bitch of a time trying to close it again. Apparently Grant had completely given up on going back to just being friends . . . if that had ever been his intention in the first place.
“What about Master Tarka?” Echo asked Grant.
“What about him?” Grant’s brows rose. Apparently he’d missed part of the conversation.
“I think she’s asking whether Tak is as much of a sadist as you are.”
Grant met Dex’s gaze in challenge, probably thinking the same thing she was. It was hard not to. They’d been ridiculously compatible—completely, unexpectedly, and explosively compatible—to the point where no one else had managed to scratch her masochistic itch quite right since.
“You’d have better luck asking Dex rather than me,” Grant calmly replied. “I’ve never played with him.”
If Dex hadn’t known him so well she never would have noticed the annoyance in his tone.
Sure, she’d tried to get the taste of Grant out of her mouth by playing with Tak not long after she’d declined Grant’s first attempt to collar her. The point was that Grant didn’t own her. He had no right to dictate who she spent time with! Things between Grant and Tarka had been strained ever since then, and Tak could only guess why.
How was she supposed to answer Echo’s questions about Tarka with Grant standing there listening?
Oh well. He’s the one who threw me under the bus.
“Master Tarka is patient, but expects obedience. I think he also prefers partners who aren’t looking for pain. He likes to use a rewards-based system with the submissives he plays with.” She pretended not to notice the way Grant’s jaw tightened. “He loves aftercare, too, especially with a woman who will let him spoil her. If you ask me, I think he’s kind of a low-key daddy Dom.”
“Yummy!” Echo said with a sigh. “He’s never given me the time of day before this though. I probably shouldn’t set myself up for failure.”
