Page 137 of Entering Stronghold


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The words rang in his head like a taunt. If only, if only, if only...

Another Friday night at the club and being here was more frustrating than ever. After spending close to two weeks talking to Maria almost every morning, he didn’t feel the slightest glimmer of interest in any of the very attractive, very willing submissives who gave him inviting little looks. When he’d come in, Lexie had smirked at him and told him word had gotten out that he was looking for something more serious than just club play.

Just what he needed on a night when he couldn’t gather up any kind of interest in the women here at all.

“You look like shit.”

Great. More of just what he needed.

“Well thank you darling, and you look stunning, as usual,” he said, baring his teeth at Olivia in a poor imitation of a smile. He’d chatted with Andrew for a bit before settling down at one of the bar tables. Once Andrew had gotten too busy to talk, Rick had been keeping an eye on the submissives who were settling down in the lounge area, waiting for a Dom to ask them to play. Looking at a distance was more appealing at the moment. More than one of the subs was trying to catch his eye, but since he was sitting far away, he could pretend not to notice.

“As if I care what you think,” Olivia said, but she was smiling as she said it. She did look good, her breasts tucked into bright red vinyl, her favorite color, and the rest of her covered in black leather. The red should have looked terrible with her hair, but somehow it never did. Going by the tight fit of her clothing, he assumed she probably wasn’t there to do any serious play either. Not unless there were some hidden invisible flaps or something to allow easier access to her body. Maybe she was just in the mood to beat on some naughty subs. “Seriously though, you look like shit.”

“I’m feeling better and better by the minute with you here to cheer me up.” Sad, but true. Olivia’s ribbing had actually put a small smile on his face he couldn’t quite push back. “Just like shit in general or in a specific manner?”

“Well, before I sat down you had the vacant look of a stoner, combined with the circles under your eyes, the wrinkles on your forehead from scowling, and you don’t look remotely interested in playing with any of the subs who are trying so hard to get your attention. Which, considering all your talk about moving here so you can have an actual relationship with someone, is highly illogical. Oh, and you haven’t touched your drink in the past two minutes.”

“What are you, Sherlock Holmes?”

Olivia just smiled smugly, but her blue-gray eyes were concerned. “I hear you’re having woman troubles. Want to talk to an actual woman instead of those useless wankers we call friends?”

“Okay, now I know you’ve been watching BBC again, you only call us wankers when you’re on a British kick.”

“See? I’m not the only one with powers of deduction. So what’s up?”

Sighing, Rick leaned back slightly.

It was doubtful he’d be able to shake Olivia unless someone more interesting came in, which was unlikely at this point. Adam and Angel were upstairs in one of the private rooms. Downstairs in the Dungeon, Justin, Chris, and Jessica were scening; he’d watched the two Doms tie their girlfriend to a spanking bench before he’d wandered back upstairs. Watching the triad was always hot, but he hadn’t been able to shake the melancholy envy wrapped around him, stronger than ever, while they’d been starting their scene.

Liam and Hilary weren’t coming in, so at least he didn’t have to watch them, too. He wondered if Liam might propose this weekend. So far, they were all waiting for the announcement, but Liam was keeping them all on tenterhooks, waiting for him to actually get down on one knee. Jared was off for the night and Lexie was at the front desk which meant Patrick was probably barricaded in his office. Unless something really crazy happened at the bar with Andrew, he had Olivia’s undivided attention.

“How much did Jared tell you?”

“Pretty much everything you told him, I think,” Olivia said, her smile turning a little grim. “He really didn’t want to talk about Truckstop. I can’t blame him... if I ever get my hands on that little thundercunt...”

“You and me both,” Rick said, deciding it was best to distract Olivia from her line of thought. If she got pissed enough, and Jared and Marissa did happen to come to the club tonight, who knew what would happen. “So you know I have a neighbor and she’s not submissive. That’s not exactly what I would call a real problem.”

“So then why are you sitting here instead of finding someone to play with?”

Why indeed. Because compared to his level of connection with Maria every other woman here just didn’t seem as interesting. Because, even though they’d done nothing more than talk at the pool, for some stupid reason it felt like a betrayal of her. Because he was an idiot.

“What’s her name?”

“Maria.” It wasn’t that he said her name, it was the way he said it. He could hear it echoing in his ears, wistful and possessive at the same time. Dammit. Olivia smiled at him. “Nothing’s going on. I’ve just... chatted with her a bit.”

“How often is a bit?”

He took a sip of his beer, which had gotten warm while he’d been sitting there not drinking. Still, warm beer was better than no beer, especially if he was going to talk about Maria. “Every morning,” he admitted in a low voice. “She shows up at the pool when I’m finishing my work out and we talk.”

“Uh huh.”

“It’s nothing like what you’re thinking,” he said. “We’re not flirting. I mean, not really. She’s sweet and got a great sense of humor… she’s easy to talk to. Kind of sassy. Smart too, she manages a restaurant. But you know, neighborly. She brought me homemade granola.”

“Uh huh.”

“I just talk to her about day-to-day stuff. We’re getting to know each other, in a neighborly way. We just talk about normal things, like, she’s got three younger sisters and two of them are already married and the youngest, Lara, just got engaged. That doesn’t bother her though, just how her family and their friends treat her, like she should be bothered by it. But she’s not. She’s got incredible... strength of character. Which sounds boring, but it’s true.”

“Uh huh.”

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