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For a moment she felt like running, but the second he recognized her his face lit up like it was Christmas. His big grin was so friendly and contagious she found herself smiling back at him.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t ‘Mistress’ Angela.” The way he said it made it sound like it was some kind of joke, rather than the personal affront Master Adam had taken it as.
Still, she shrugged a little uncomfortably. “It’s Angel. And not Mistress.”
Out of the corner of her eye she saw both of the women gaping at her.
“Wait, you’re the one?” the blonde squealed, reaching out to grab Angel’s hand. She was rather bouncy, dressed in hot pink and black, and incredibly friendly. The slightly curvier brunette standing behind her smiled at Angel, looking a little shyer than the more overtly friendly blonde. “Oh my god, you have no idea how excited I am to meet you!”
“You are?” Now Angel was really confused. She glanced around the circle of new faces. Chris—she thought she remembered it being his name—was the only one smiling overtly at her. The one who looked like he could be Chris’ brother was studying her like she was an amoeba under a microscope, and the redhead was looking at the blonde woman in front of her with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.
“Give her a chance to breathe before you bury her with questions,” Chris said, laughing. “Angel, this is Hilary, Jessica, Liam, and Justin. Everyone, this is Angel, formerly known as Mistress Angela. And I’m Chris, in case you didn’t remember my name.”
“I did, but I wasn’t sure I had it right,” she replied with a smile. Her eyes flickered around all of them again. “It’s nice to meet you all.”
“What’s with the ‘Mistress Angela’ thing?” Lexie wanted to know. She was the only one who was out of the loop. Angel explained what she’d done at Chained, how she’d wanted to get some insight into going to a club before she went in as a submissive and some of the things she’d heard online had made her feel like she needed a better handle on things. Everyone listened attentively. All three of the women nodded sympathetically which made her feel better. Chris snickered now and then as if it was all a big joke, Liam looked intrigued but not condemning, and Justin’s face was so blank he might as well have been Master Adam. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking at all.
“Oh you poor thing,” Hilary said when she was done, reaching out and grabbing Angel’s hand again to give it a squeeze. “I can’t imagine how hard it must have been to go in by yourself... if Jessica hadn’t dragged me out here, I never would have had the guts to come.”
Which was a startling sentence in and of itself, because Hilary seemed like the much more confident person between them. She was not as shy, which told Angel that Jessica probably had hidden depths.
“And I wouldn’t have had the courage to come on my own,” Jessica said with a little giggle, looking up at Justin and then Chris.
“You went to the Venus School on your own,” Hilary countered.
“Venus School?” Angel had never heard of it.
The door to the outside opened, admitting more patrons of Stronghold along with an icy blast of cold wind. The women all shivered, which wasn’t surprising since Lexie had already taken their coats which meant they were substantially less dressed than the men.
“Ok, time to go in the club,” Justin said, reaching out to snuggle a shivering Jessica under his arm, as Liam did the same with Hilary. “You can tell Angel all about the Venus School in there.”
“Yes, please come sit with us,” Hilary said enthusiastically, her big brown eyes shining. They were like Bambi eyes. Angel felt like saying no would be akin to kicking a puppy.
“Okay,” she said, gathering her confidence. It wasn’t quite the same as stepping into the club with friends, since she didn’t really know any of them. Except Chris had been with Mr. Grouchy at Chained so they must be friends... but he didn’t seem like he was mad at her. “Thank you.”
After saying goodbye to Lexie and feeling bad about having to leave her at the front desk, even though she put on a good show of not being envious, Angel went with the group into the club. The music was loud, but not loud enough to stifle conversation.
They sat around one of the tables by the bar, dragging up a couple of extra chairs so everyone could fit. The dynamics between them were fascinating; Liam was obviously with Hilary and she and Jessica were obviously very close, but Jessica seemed to be dividing her attention between both Justin and Chris. There was something between the two men as well, a connection almost sexual but not quite.
After they’d gotten their drinks and Jessica started explaining what the Venus School was and how she’d ended up there, with occasional interjections from Justin and Chris, Angel understood a little better. She’d never met anyone in a real ménage relationship before. It always seemed like the kind of thing that worked better in fiction than reality, but somehow it seemed to fit the three of them.
As much as they looked alike, Justin and Chris acted very differently. Justin was much quieter and more standoffish—not unfriendly, but not quite friendly either—while Chris was a bit of a jokester, very outgoing, and provided a good foil for his friend and partner. She noticed Justin seemed to tend to take the lead in the relationship, and everything else too. Whenever someone came by the table to say hi, he was the one to make sure she was introduced to them. When Jessica and Hilary’s drinks got low, he was the one to catch the bartender’s eye and get them water.
And after Hilary and Liam left to go to one of the playrooms, he was the one to stay behind while Jessica and Chris went to get their own playroom set up after one of the Dungeon Monitors came by to tell them the room they’d reserved was available. Angel got the distinct feeling he was watching over her, as if she’d somehow entered his sphere of responsibility by sitting down at the table with them.
“You don’t have to stay,” she said, feeling bad his lovers had left the area without him. “I’ll go hang out in the lounge with the other unattached submissives.”
For a long moment, he studied her again, as if thinking over what he wanted to say. It was a little unnerving being under his dark, steady gaze. “I’d feel better if I stayed.”
“You can’t hang out with me all night when you’re supposed to be with Jessica and Chris,” she said, with a hint of exasperation. She started to get up.
“Sit.”
Her butt hit the seat and she stared at him, startled. For the first time, she saw him smile at her obvious surprise. How the heck had he done that? Last night she’d responded to Adam’s orders almost from the very beginning, but she hadn’t felt the same compulsion with Justin until now. It was like his voice had deepened, hardened and become a heck of a lot more commanding. It didn’t turn her on, but it sure as hell got her attention and sent a little shiver through her.
“I won’t stay here all night,” he said calmly, as if he hadn’t commanded her like a dog and she hadn’t obeyed without hesitation. “Someone else should be along soon.”
“Do you mean Master Adam?” she asked, nervously running her fingers over the condensation on her glass. She’d gotten a bourbon and diet for her one drink but it had dwindled down to mostly ice. If she decided not to play tonight then she could have more. And if Master Adam was going to show up then she didn’t know which she wanted. “Because I’m not sure I’m his favorite person right now. I don’t think he wants to see me.”
