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That was what Adam and his friends aspired to. The relationship, not meekly trotting behind some woman. Although he’d noticed all three of his friends who were now in relationships had gotten... not softer exactly, but more indulgent of their submissives than they had been in any of their shorter relationships. He supposed it was a symptom of being in a relationship with a possible future.
Not all of them wanted a relationship yet, but the group dynamics were shifting. Rick was actively looking, Jared was still trying to make things work with Marissa and even Olivia seemed a little wistful when she looked at the couples lately. Of course, Patrick was resisting, but Adam was pretty sure that was because the woman he was most attracted to was off-limits.
The only real holdout was Andrew, and Adam sometimes thought Andrew would be a holdout until the end of time. The crash and burn of his first and last relationship had left layers of emotional scars on the man. Somehow, he’d managed to keep his sense of humor, but there was a darkness to him which had never lifted. During scenes he could be almost cruel, and while that left some of the submissives panting after him, none had ever managed to break through the wall he’d put up around himself.
Patrick nudged his elbow into Adam’s side and he looked up to see a large group of their friends walking past Will at the door, accompanied by Angel and another woman he didn’t recognize. She was drop dead gorgeous, with long flowing brown hair swinging freely down her back, slim, leggy, and big eyes that dominated her face. Yet he barely took a moment to appreciate her beauty and how intriguing she looked in her (comparatively) modest outfit before his eyes locked onto Angel.
She was wearing another one of those corsets which offered up her breasts, although the shirt she wore underneath it this time was much lower cut, showing a hint of cleavage. The corset was a deep violet, as was the shirt, worn with a black skirt and black high heels. The look of sultry innocence was completely absent from her attire, replaced with an inviting sensuality that had his blood thrumming through his veins.
They were surrounded by Jessica, Justin, Chris, Olivia, and Rick, apparently all having arrived at the same time. When Justin and Olivia headed in their direction, Angel finally looked his way and their eyes caught... and held.
Angel
What good was being in the middle of a herd when the wolf singled you out?
Master Adam’s eyes were practically drilling into hers and she yanked her gaze away, looking down and then peeking back at him. His hard gaze hadn’t wavered one iota. Was he still mad that she’d lied about being a Domme? He didn’t look particularly happy to see her. Again. But he didn’t look pissed this time either.
And it apparently didn’t matter to her body that he didn’t look particularly pleased, her heart had started beating in triple time the moment she spotted him.
It seemed to take forever to get across the room to where he was sitting with Master Patrick. Being in the center of such a group was kind of fascinating because she noticed Justin and Olivia immediately took point, leading them in the direction they wanted to go, whereas Chris and Rick sort of hung behind, as if they were going to rope in any stragglers. It did kind of feel like being in the middle of a herd.
When they got there Angel introduced Leigh to Master Patrick and Master Adam as everyone ordered their drinks, by which time Liam and Hilary had joined them as well and were chatting with Jessica and her boys. Mr. Serious But Not Yet Grouchy listened and watched Angel as Master Patrick welcomed Leigh to the club and ensured she’d read and signed the appropriate forms with Lexie when she’d come in. Master Adam looked over Leigh appreciatively for a few moments, but then his gaze returned to Angel.
She wasn’t sure if she felt relieved about that or not. If he’d switched his interest from her to Leigh, it wouldn’t be the first time a guy had done so. But it would have hurt a lot more than she liked to admit. Still, his unwavering focus on her was more than a little unnerving.
“What do you think?” Hilary asked Leigh, coming up beside them, her pretty brown eyes sparkling. “Do you want to see the private rooms?” Liam had one hand on the small of her back although he had to stretch to do it, since he was currently talking with Justin and Olivia. Chris and Jessica had moved to the bar, having a whispered conversation with Andrew as Rick looked on without contributing. Angel thought Liam’s desire for continuous contact with his girlfriend was incredibly sweet. In fact, it made her a little wistful.
Even though she was pretty sure a Dom would claim it was only about control, it was obvious he didn’t like Hilary being too far away from him.
“Um... I’m not sure...” Leigh confessed, her eyes drifting up to some of the black and white photos behind the bar. The one directly in front of where they were sitting was of a woman kneeling facing the camera, her hands were behind her back and a man standing beside her. The woman was completely naked, the man could only be seen from the waist down but he was obviously fully clothed since he was wearing a suit and the jacket could be seen in the photograph. His hand was cupped under her chin and she was looking up at him with such an expression of trust and desire it was breathtaking. “I’m mostly here because I didn’t want to keep Angel at home while I’m staying with her.”
“Oh, are you from out of town?”
“No,” Leigh grimaced, obviously not sure how much of her personal drama to throw down in the middle of this group.
“Us girls have to band together in times of men being assholes,” Angel said solemnly, throwing a supportive arm around Leigh’s waist. Her friend gave her a relieved smile. Hilary nodded knowingly as Patrick and Adam gave each other a look.
“Cheers to that,” Hilary said, holding out her glass. Angel and Leigh grinned and clinked theirs with hers. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Master Adam roll his eyes.
He was starting to look grouchier but she didn’t know why. After all, it wasn’t like she’d done anything.
Adam
Trying to rein in his patience as Angel and Hilary started informing Leigh about the various rooms in the club, as well as pointing out some of the areas and more interesting aspects to the decor in the main room, Adam kept quiet while he debated with himself. Angel bringing her friend tonight had thrown a kink in his plans. After all, he didn’t think Angel would ditch her friend to go participate in a scene.
Especially not since her friend was apparently having relationship trouble. That kind of thing broke girl-code. He wasn’t an expert on girl-code, but some things were universally understood.
Which left him in a bit of a quandary. Angel was unlikely to want to be separated from her friend while they were supporting each other, but he desperately wanted to have at least a few private moments with her. He’d wanted to apologize for the way her Introduction Scene ended. And if he couldn’t scene with her tonight, he could at least plant the idea of doing a future scene together in her mind.
Jessica and Olivia drifted over to join in the girl talk, making it even harder for him to interject and ask for a moment with Angel alone. Who could break through all the giggling?
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Chris and Andrew watching him with amusement, as if they could sense his frustration and were enjoying it. They probably were, the assholes. Justin and Patrick were both watching over the entire group with a benign eye, although Patrick’s attention wasn’t entirely focused on the group, but more on the club in general. And his gaze wandered to the door to the lobby every time it opened, as if he could see into there too. Olivia had positioned herself next to Leigh, although she was obviously keeping an eye on Angel as well.
Mother-henning, as usual. Now that Jessica and Hilary were safely taken care of, in the sense they were Justin, Chris, and Liam’s to deal with, she was obviously turning her attention elsewhere.
And Liam, as usual, was behind Hilary, with his hand stretched out to keep contact with her. Rick stood beside him, his eyes flicking back and forth between Angel and Leigh. Adam had to keep himself from shifting closer to Angel. He had absolutely no reason or right to feel possessive over her. Even if he had told Rick he was interested to keep his friend from propositioning her.
“You dominate men?” Leigh seemed fascinated by Olivia, which made Adam smirk. She was obviously, to him, submissive. Even more so than Angel, because she automatically positioned herself to follow Angel’s lead.
