"That's so cool! Where do you teach them?" Hilary asked.
Immediately she was yanked backwards and into Liam's arms. Angel and Leigh looked surprised and almost a little alarmed before they realized that everyone else was either chuckling or observing the couple with amusement.
"You don't need self-defense classes, honey-girl," Liam said, frowning down at his girlfriend. "And if you do, you can come to the dojo."
"Women's self-defense is different from martial arts," Angel said, interrupting whatever response Hilary was about to give. She was giving Liam a rather hard look, not at all submissive. Adam watched with interest, an uneasy feeling starting in the pit of his stomach as he wondered if these were her true colors showing through. "It's about learning how to avoid situations where you'll be at risk and about getting away once you're in them. It's not the same as fighting, because the goal isn't to win, it's to escape. Every woman should take self-defense at some point in her life, because you never know when you might need it and it’s not like you can be right next to Hilary every second of every day. And a woman needs to know that she can make herself safe."
She said it so fiercely that even Adam, wrapped in his suspicions, realized that her rather forceful demeanor came from passion about the subject and not because she was now hiding dominant tendencies. Something angry and protective rose up in his chest as he wondered if there was a reason from her past that she was so fervent, if she had personal knowledge of why a woman should need to defend herself. He completely understood Liam's reaction; a Dom considered it his duty to care for his sub, and that included protecting her. For a martial arts master like Liam, that would go double.
But Angel's argument was also unassailable.
In fact, Angel's little speech had roused both Chris and Justin's protective instincts as well. Both were frowning and had shifted closer to Jessica, their too-alert stances indicating that they were suddenly searching for any threats that they might need to eradicate for her. Patrick was suddenly eyeing the door to the lobby as if questioning the wisdom of leaving Lexie out there without his personal protection, never mind the bouncer that was always guarding the door.
The feisty brunette looked around at the emotional havoc that she'd just created among the Doms and laughed. "Wow... sorry guys, I didn't mean to put everyone on alert."
Realizing that his hand had tensed around the drink he was holding, Adam consciously relaxed his grip. If someone had hurt Angel it was in the past and there wasn't anything he could do about it. As for the urge to make sure that she was never hurt again... well that wasn't his job. Although he was starting to consider making it one of them.
Hilary tapped Liam's forearm and twisted her head around to look up at him. "If I want to take self-defense classes, you aren't going to stop me."
"I know." He kissed her forehead gently. "I just don't like the idea that you might need them."
"Well neither do I," she teased, rolling her eyes. They both laughed and the tension around the group started to break. Adam looked back at Angel and saw that she was looking at the couple rather wistfully.
Off to the side Chris and Justin had both closed in around Jessica, who was smiling up at them reassuringly. She looked over at Angel. "I'd love to take some too, you'll have to let me know where and when you have a class."
"Right now I'm mid-session for all of them, but I can let you know the next time one starts. I'm always looking for new places to hold them, it's not the steadiest work except for the college courses that I teach."
Liam shifted and Hilary looked up at him with a demanding look. Covering his smile with his hand, Adam didn't give away that he'd seen the little blonde pinch her Dom. "You could hold one at my dojo," he said. "Advertise to the subs here, I bet a lot of them would be interested."
"Hell, we could have one here," Patrick said, gesturing at the stage. "Usually I rent the club out Sunday through Wednesday for other groups, but I can co-op one of those nights for classes. Especially since it's something that would help the subs."
Looking absolutely thrilled, Angel was practically bouncing on her feet. "That would be amazing! I'll have to think about ways to tweak the curriculum to apply it directly for people who are involved in the scene. Although it's usually best to do something like this twice a week, once a week doesn't really give people the time that they need, although outside practice is encouraged as well."
"Mondays and Wednesdays then. It can't hurt to have extra emphasis on how to be safe in the scene," Patrick said agreeably. "We try to have a class about that at least once a month, for both the Doms and the subs. Now, does it have to be just women's self-defense? We have a lot of male subs here that I think would also benefit from having some kind of self-defense class."
Angel hesitated, her tongue flicking out over her lower lip before her teeth dragged across it. Knowing that what they were talking about was serious, Adam tried not to find that erotic. "It really does change the dynamic to have any men there are all... especially when it comes to discussions. Maybe I could do two sessions? One all women, for those who feel more comfortable in that setting, and one mixed? They'd run for about an hour each, so two hours total each night."
And in the meantime, she'd have secured two full sessions of classes for herself rather than one. Adam had to admire her business sense along with her logic. Patrick nodded, apparently willing to concede the point - and an extra night.
"So, no men at the one session at all?" asked Justin, looking a little displeased. Having already been the object of censure, Liam just looked relieved that he hadn't been the one to have to ask the question.
"None," Angel said emphatically. "There are some things women can't talk about when men are around." Then she smiled and actually batted her eyes at Justin. "But we could certainly use some male assistance for the practical exams."
The big man looked at her suspiciously but there was no way he and the other Doms weren't going to butt in wherever they could. "You'll have it."
"Great!" She bounced on her feet a little bit, looking rather adorable. Adam wondered if he could convince her to go apart with him for a few minutes now that she was in such a good mood. Leigh and Hilary were talking quietly about the classes already and surely Angel wouldn't feel like she was completely abandoning the other woman if she went to have a private conversation with him for a few minutes.
But then Olivia asked if Dommes could come and Angel immediately said yes, which led to Justin looking disgruntled again about not being able to be included, which started a debate about whether or not the Dommes would inhibit the submissives even if they were fellow women. Adam wasn't sure why Olivia wanted to go, unless it was to play mother hen some more, since she could already kick ass when she wanted to, but that was her prerogative.
Justin eventually pulled Jessica away, he'd been so focused on Angel that he hadn't even noticed when Chris had disappeared to go set up a room. Rick was gone too, apparently having picked a sub out of the lounge, which made him relax a bit. He was just a little too aware of the other man's interest in Angel.
For once Liam didn't seem inclined to drag Hilary off to a room, probably because she was having too good of a time making new friends. Adam knew that some of the friendships she and Jessica had had become strained after Jessica started living with two men at the same time, since Hilary was very vocal about her support for the unconventional relationship. They had kept some of their old friends, but there weren't any that they could really talk to about this part of their life. Since they'd never had time in the Lounge area, they hadn't really been able to make friends with any of the unattached subs, and the attached subs were with Doms that weren't part of their group...
Adam suddenly realized that his friends were already integrating Angel into their group as if she belonged. Or was she just naturally working her way in there? It was hard to tell, because she was naturally pretty friendly. But he knew that his friends wouldn't have taken as much interest in her if it wasn't for his own inte
rest, despite what their girlfriends did.
He definitely needed to get her alone to talk for a bit. Apologize. Ask if he could see her again. Scene with her again. Get to know her better.
Just as he was shifting to move closer to her, to ask her to step aside more privately with him, she looked up towards the lobby door as it swung open. Her expression brightened, like the sun had just risen in her eyes as the biggest smile he'd ever seen lit up her face. And it wasn’t at him. Jealousy sliced through him as he turned to see who could possibly have put that expression on her face.
"Pretty boy!" she squealed, at a high enough pitch that everyone next to her winced, before she was pelting head-long across the club.
Adam stared. Olivia stared. Chris rubbed his ears, cringing dramatically. Leigh laughed.
"That's 'pretty boy?'" Adam asked in a strangled voice.
While he had longish straight brown hair, the ends of which brushed the sides of his square chin, there was nothing at all feminine about the man. He was tall, definitely over six feet and possibly approaching Jared's height although without the bulk of the other man; lanky but muscular, in the way that constant swimmers had long, lean muscles. Which was very evident when Angel literally launched herself at him from about two feet away and threw herself into his waiting arms. She wrapped her legs and arms around him, hugging him with her entire body. Dressed in black leather pants and a button down black shirt and with an aura of authority in his every movement, he was obviously a Dom.
Jealous fury rose, only to be smashed down by more anger. Was this another way in which she'd lied? Did she already have a boyfriend? A Dom? He and Olivia had assumed that 'pretty boy' was her submissive when they thought she was a Domme. While he couldn't imagine a Dom willingly going by such a sobriquet, maybe Angel was actually a brat who said it to get herself in trouble.
"Well he is very pretty," Olivia murmured admiringly under her breath. Adam shot a glare at her. His temper was already dangerously roiling, he didn't need Olivia to feed the flames.
Cool fingers touched his hand, surprising him, and he whipped his head around to look down at Angel's friend. For the first time he noticed that Leigh had mismatched eyes; not immediately obvious when you first looked at her because one was hazel brown and the other was hazel green, blending just enough that only someone standing very close to her could see that they tended towards different hues.
"It's not what you think," she said in a soft voice that was barely audible over the music.
"What do you mean?"
She gave him a little smile and glanced down at his hands. Dammit. He unclenched his fists for the umpteenth time that night.
"It's not what you think," she repeated, and nodded towards Angel and Pretty Boy. Pretty Boy had set her down, although his hands were still on her waist and her head was tilted up towards him as if asking for a kiss, her hands gesticulating wildly between them as she chattered up at him. "They've never been an item. They never will be."
Adam raised his eyebrow at her naiveté. "There's enough sexual tension there to light a bonfire."
"I'm not saying that they never wanted to be an item in the past," she said. "But Angel had a boyfriend when she first met Mike. He ended up dating another friend of ours." Leigh's lips pursed. "Monica was our other best friend, until she decided that she didn't like Mike being so close to Angel, even though there was no tension between them once he started dating Monica."
"What do you mean?"
"It goes away. I don't know how or why, but it does. The second Mike started dating Monica, it was like Angel just lost interest in him that way while they were together. The next time she got a boyfriend it was the same thing. They're only like that when they're both single, but it's never going to happen because of Monica." She scowled at the skeptical look on Adam's face. "Look, I don't know if you can understand this, because I've heard it's different for guys, but Monica, Angel and I were like sisters. Once a guy's been inside your sister, you don't want him inside you."
He had no idea what the look on his face was, but it must have been hilarious because Olivia took one look at him and burst out laughing.
"How long ago was that?" he managed to ask, rather than continuing to gape like a total idiot. Besides, if Angel did happen to glance over here, he wanted her to see him involved in conversation. Not staring jealously.
"Years ago," Leigh said and shrugged. "But she and Mike sleep in the same bed all the time while he's visiting and nothing ever happens."
"And how do you know that for sure?" he asked, trying not to growl. Did that mean that Mike was going to be sleeping in Angel's bed for this visit? No, wait, Leigh was staying with her... dammit, the woman was getting him all turned around again! Just when he thought he had a grip on his emotions, just when he thought he had a plan on how to go forward, the woman shot them all to hell without even trying. The abrupt loss of control, again, made him feel panicky; no one had made him feel like this in years, maybe not ever. Definitely not since his mother left. He was a wreck and she hadn’t even meant to do it.
"You really have it bad, don't you?" Leigh asked, leaning in a bit and studying his face as if looking for confirmation. "Good, because I think she likes you a lot too."
Now what the hell was he supposed to do with that?
******
"Come on, pretty boy, I want to introduce you to everyone," Angel said, grabbing Mike's hand. She had been so relieved to see him walking in the door. Any extra support seemed beneficial at the moment.
No matter what the topic of conversation had been or who was talking, she hadn't been able to shake the feeling that Master Adam's full attention was on her. And that he was slowly turning into Mr. Grouchy. It unnerved her as much as it excited her, but she didn't think it should excite her. Chances were he was just mad that she'd invaded his friend group, but she couldn't help it- they were just so friendly! And they seemed to think that there was something going on between her and Adam, but while she might like the idea, she thought it was just wishful thinking when it came to him.
Unless he always looked pissy when he was interested in someone?
Somehow she doubted it. At any rate, she'd been overjoyed to see Mike walking in the club, a day earlier than he said he'd arrive, as a distraction for her nerves. Especially because if Master Adam did ask her to do a scene she knew that she would want to say yes but she couldn't just ditch Leigh. With Mike here, maybe Leigh wouldn't mind as much...
"Angel, you can't just drag me around here," Mike said, refusing to be tugged along. Angel stopped pulling and looked up at him, confused. In a lot of ways her relationship with Mike consisted of her dragging and pushing him around as she pleased and him indulging her, right up until he got tired of it and put his foot down, which she thought was sexy, but he never did it so quickly. He laughed and ruffled her hair, ignoring her scowl as she pulled away, her hands automatically going to make sure he hadn't messed it up. "We're in a club, pest, one that I plan on coming to on a regular basis now that I'm back in the area. Which means I can't have you undermining me in front of everyone."
"Oh..." Well that made sense. After all, submissives weren't supposed to act the way she often did with him. She knew that it amused Mike, which was the only reason he put up with it. That, and she wasn't actually his submissive. She looked up at him, arranging her face into a solemn expression of reverence. "Would you like to come meet my new friends, Sir?"
"Brat," he said, chuckling, as he began to walk beside her towards the group. "If you were mine, I'd beat you."
Laughing, she turned and had to force herself to keep the smile on her face when she saw Master Adam and Leigh leaning close in to each other, engaged in what was obviously a private conversation. If she'd fooled herself into thinking that she was okay with Master Adam not being interested in her, the lurch in her stomach told her otherwise. Still, she'd done the whole "guy I'm interested in ends up dating one of my friends" and she'd eventually ended up losing a friend over it. She c
ouldn't lose Leigh... she'd go insane. Leigh was her rock, just like she was Leigh's.
"Is that Leigh? That's not Michael."
"No, that's Master Adam. And yes, that's Leigh. She and Michael are having some issues." Angel looked up at him. "She's actually staying with me too right now."
Mike sighed and put the back of his hand to his head in fake distress. "I guess this means I won't be sleeping on a bed tonight."
Stifling her giggle, Angel bumped him with her hip and nearly knocked him off balance. "Oops, sorry. Forgot."
"I should spank you," he muttered, just loud enough that Olivia obviously overheard him as she turned to greet them. "Often."
"Mistress Olivia, this is Master Mike," Angel said loudly, ignoring his threat.
"Michael, please," he said, looking pained. Angel made a face; she knew that he preferred to be called Michael by other people but she never called him that. Too confusing with Leigh's Michael.
"And this is Master Patrick, Master Liam and his girlfriend Hilary, and Master Adam."
Introductions all around, everyone but Mr. Grouchy smiled at Michael. Seeming to ignore the dark look he was getting from the big blonde, Mike turned and gave Leigh a big hug. "Hey beautiful. You're looking better than ever. Never thought I'd see you in one of these places."
"I didn't know we had any new Doms coming in," Adam said, looking rather antagonistically at Michael, Angel thought. Man, he really didn't like her mingling with his group of friends, or her bringing others to the table. Too bad, because no one else seemed to have a problem with it.
"Michael came with a recommendation from Brent," Patrick said easily. He grinned at Michael, who was looking at Adam with something almost like amusement. There was a tension between the two men that was growing uncomfortable although Angel didn't really know what to do with it. It wasn't antagonistic exactly, okay maybe a little on Adam's end, but more speculative than anything else. "He's a Master Sadist and has been in the scene for years now. And you know I've been looking for more single Doms to help with ah... club responsibilities."
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