Stronghold (Stronghold 1)

by Angel, Golden

  Her lips twitched before she could stop it. Dammit, he wasn't going to make her smile. Especially since he wasn't even looking at her. Damn Michael too, for not giving her a heads up.

  Having Adam looking at her personal things was unnerving, but she told herself that she shouldn't care. After all, it's not like he meant anything to her. Angel went back to her sewing machine and picked up where she'd left off when she'd thought she was jumping up for something important. She kept the music off so that she could keep asking him questions though.

  "Are Lexie and Patrick okay?" That was good. Casual.

  "Yeah, they're both fine," he said, with a subtle emphasis on the pronoun. Angel's lips twitched again. Apparently Trevor hadn't fared so well. She wondered what he'd done, not that she thought there would need to be much to bring down Patrick on his head. "I don't think Lexie helped her quest to get into the club though."

  "Well if Patrick would let her in with a Dom who knew what he was doing then things probably would have gone very differently," Angel said a little testily. Sometimes the way Adam and his friends reacted to Lexie was amusing, but only because she wasn't Lexie. If she were Lexie's shoes she'd be... well, she'd probably be doing a lot of the same things Lexie was if not more.

  Adam just sighed. "I didn't come here to talk about Patrick and Lexie."

  She refused to look up as he moved away from her vanity and walked over to where she was sitting at her work desk. For a long moment neither of them spoke as she finished the seam she was working on. When she glanced up at him, Adam had seated himself in the armchair that she used to read and was watching her, his expression somehow both blank and conveying his patience.

  She turned the machine off and neatly folded up the fabric.

  "So why did you come here?" It wasn't an idle question and definitely not one that she was asking just because it was expected - although he obviously did expect her to. She truly wanted to know. Because it just didn't make sense in her head.

  "We didn't get to finish talking last night. I told you to stay put and you left." Those blue eyes managed to look hard and accusing without appearing cold. It was all she could do not to squirm in her seat guiltily, even though she knew she shouldn't feel guilty. Frightening how good he was at that.

  After a night of contemplation and a morning of music, Angel knew how she felt and what had upset her. It wasn't his fault that her perceptions of the situation had been different, and now that she was confronted with him she felt her anger slide away. It said something good about him that he'd wanted to check up on her. He was a good guy. She hoped they could salvage a friendship after this and that, like Mike, her attraction to him would fade when she found someone else.

  "I didn't really feel like talking last night," she said. "I was kind of pissed, a little upset, and I needed some space." Adam shifted in the chair, looking like he was going to say something, but she kept going before he could interrupt her. "I liked you, not just as a Dom but I've really liked spending time with you, and since we'd arranged for a... a scene... well, it's not like I expected exclusivity because of that but I did kind of expect that at least I'd have your attention for the night, so when I came in and you saw me but you didn't seem to care that I was there because you were too busy talking to that other woman. And then you told that other sub that you would play with her on another night, right in front of me…" Hearing the slight bitterness that was creeping into her voice, Angel coughed and moderated it before continuing.

  "Anyway, it just hit me that individual scenes aren't really what I'm looking for. I was really enjoying scening with you and I wasn't really thinking about it before, but I'm just not really cut out for scening with multiple people or for scening with someone who does. I really appreciate the scenes we had and they were wonderful, but like I said, I really like you and I think we could be really good friends, but only if things don't get all confused with the physical stuff." The way Adam was looking at her now didn't give Angel a clue as to what he was thinking. And she felt like she was babbling.

  Nervously she flicked her tongue across her lower lip and then dragged her teeth across it, keeping any more words from spilling out of her mouth. She'd always been what her dad called a "straight-shooter," even when it made her uncomfortable. Maybe it was because she read so many books, but she always felt that issues between people could easily be solved with just telling the truth as they saw it, rather than hedging or trying to gloss over their feelings.

  Which might be why she tended to get along better with guys than girls, because they tended to handle bluntness better. Although not all girls were like that obviously, it was just that Angel's experience had found her in more friendships with men then with women.

  The silence stretched between her and Adam until she was starting to think that maybe he was one of those guys that didn't appreciate bluntness either. Which would surprise her, but it wouldn't be the first time that it happened.

  Finally he sat forward, resting his elbows on his thighs with his hands hanging between them. "I think that, perhaps, you're working from a misconception," he said. "I haven't scened with anyone but you since I met you. Even though I thought you were a Domme at first."

  "Oh."

  Angel cast about after her emotions, trying to figure out how to react to that straightforward and surprising statement. He was right, because if that was true then she'd definitely been harboring a major misconception. The amount of emotions rushing into her - surprise, guilt, hope - along with the quick review going on in her head of every interaction she'd had and assumption she'd made, left her feeling surprisingly blank. Although an embarrassing heat rose in her cheeks as she realized some of the things she'd just implied about him that were obviously not true and, while they might not be deliberately insulting, could definitely be considered unflattering.

  "I'm sorry... I just thought that because of the kind of club it was... I didn't want to assume one thing and so I ended up assuming something else and... I'm sorry," she finished a little lamely.

  To her surprise, Adam gave her a rather encouraging smile. "I realize that you're new to the club scene, and I can't blame you for some of your assumptions. But, just to clear things up, I had no interest in Laurie last night. Patrick had asked me to stay out on the floor while he handled something in the office and when I saw you, I wanted to drag you off to a private room so that I could be the only one to enjoy that rather delightful outfit that you were wearing. Then I didn't want to interrupt your dance with Rick because it's not like I had a claim on you for anything other than scene, whatever I might want. So I stayed away for a bit longer than I probably should have. But I had no intention of scening with anyone else other than you, nor do I have any interest in scening with Laurie or any of the other submissives who approached me last night."

  At that, Angel couldn't help but giggle. He just sounded so affronted that the submissives had been approaching him last night rather than following the usual order of things. The look that he gave her as she covered her mouth with her hands was both sardonic and slightly amused at her amusement.

  "I did try to let them down easily, and when I told Amanda ‘not tonight,’ that’s all I was doing. And as soon as everything from the Lexie-Trevor-Patrick situation was settled, I went home."

  "Oh. Sooo...." She couldn't quite bring herself to ask if that meant he wanted more from her that just scening at the club, even though his actions and explanation seemed to indicate that. As brash and blunt as she could be, when it came to making the first move with a guy she was just terrible at it. She'd assumed it was something to do with being submissive because she was usually pretty good at sharing her thoughts and feelings but not very good at actively going after a guy.

  "So I would like to take you out to lunch." He glanced at his watch. "A late lunch. Or an early dinner. Where we can talk and get to know each other some more. Because, while we might make really good friends, that wasn't really my intention."

  "And... you aren't go
ing to scene with anyone else?" Man she hated the needy note that was in her voice, but that was definitely something that she didn't want to be making assumptions about.

  Adam shook his head, standing up.

  "No, and you aren't either." Go figure, any other guy in her life and that simple edict would have had her bristling. He said it and it made her feel all melty and special inside. The smile that he gave her was pure temptation as he held out his hand. "So, food?"

  Chapter 18

  Adam was in a damned good mood and it had nothing to do with the fantastic food he was eating. Well, maybe something to do with it. But it had a lot more to do with his current company. Taking her out of the house for dinner while her housemates looked at him with something approaching awe - even Q - had done wonders for him. While part of him still struggled with the whole three male housemates thing, he was working on that.

  The little speech that she'd given him back at her place hadn't been at all what he'd expected. After all, he'd gone there half thinking that maybe she was a little bit of a crazy drama queen, but it turned out that she had real reasons for calling things to a halt the way she had. They'd both made assumptions rather than talking things out, something that he'd meant to fix even before they had their scene last night but they hadn't gotten the chance. Because he'd been dense enough to stay away and keep talking to Laurie without thinking about how Angel might interpret that, and because he hadn't clarified with Angel exactly what he wanted their relationship to be, she'd ended up feeling insecure and rejected.

  Well he could definitely fix that over dinner tonight because every minute he was spending with her was making him want to spend even more time with her.

  She was bouncy entertainment outside of the club. While he'd gotten a glimpse of that when they'd been decorating for the Valentine's Day party, it became even more apparent when they were in the car. She laughed at signs that contained puns, giggled at funny bumper stickers that she read out loud, danced to the songs on the radio that she particularly liked and sang under her breath. As if he hadn't already heard her singing when he'd been at her house.

  While she'd never make a living with her voice, it was still a nice one to listen to. The only time she seemed self-conscious was when she'd catch him watching her dance or bounce. Then she'd blush, giggle and say she was sorry.

  "Don't apologize," he said, shaking his head. "It's cute."

  Some girls didn't like to be called cute. Most guys too. Adam wasn't too fond of it himself. But Angel just beamed at him like he'd told her that she was the most beautiful woman in the world. It took her a few minutes to get lost enough in the music and then she was bouncing again.

  Once they'd gotten to the restaurant it had been surprisingly full - surprising until he remembered that it was Valentine's Day weekend. Fortunately it was still early in the evening and Angel knew the hostess, so they'd managed to get a seat. Turned out she knew the waitress too, who had immediately come over with a plate of piping hot fresh bread, the kind that had obviously been made at the restaurant rather than ordered in. It was filled with herbs and spices and had a cheesy crust.

  And the way he and Angel were both going at it, they were going to have to ask for some more.

  "Did you use to work here?" he asked, after a third server stopped by their table to say hello.

  "No, Q did. He was a bartender here. Eventually he cut back to weekends and now he just comes in occasionally if he needs extra money or if someone needs a shift covered."

  "Oh... I didn't realize restaurants allowed things like that."

  "Normally they don't, but Q's uncle bought into the restaurant a couple of years ago and he's now married to one of the other owners," Angel said, grinning. "So we still come here all the time."

  Their server, a peppy blonde, appeared with a plate of piled fried food in her hand, setting it down on the table even though they hadn't ordered anything.

  "From Cara," she said, before briskly stepping off again.

  "I love this place," Angel said with a dreamy sigh, reaching out to snatch one of the little morsels off the top of the pile and dunk it in the creamy looking sauce. She glanced at Adam. "Fried artichoke hearts. I always order them, so now they just bring them to me without asking."

  "They look good," Adam said a little cautiously. Fried food wasn't normally his favorite thing, but he'd never had fried artichokes before so he figured it couldn't hurt to try. Following Angel's lead he dipped it in the sauce.

  Watching him, Angel smiled as he took a bite and then eyed the plate. Quickly he reached out and knocked over half the pile of fried hearts onto his bread plate.

  "Hey!"

  Laughing, Angel reached out to snatch some back, dragging the rest of the pile back onto her plate.

  "What? They're good!" They were more than good. Crispy on the outside, creamy textured on the insides, and the dipping sauce gave them a tangy taste that had his taste buds singing.

  "They're mine!"

  "Sharing means caring," he intoned piously, causing another outburst of laughter from her.

  "I've stabbed people for less," she threatened. "Mike had fork marks for a week."

  Although he laughed, Adam did feel another little spurt of jealousy. That was definitely something he was going to have to work on getting over. Angel had guy friends, including one that was an accomplished dominant. It was just a fact. And apparently she didn't share food with Mike, but she was sharing with him. Why that should make him feel so smug he was sure didn’t reflect well on him, but oh well.

  "They're worth the risk," he told her, shaking off his doubts.

  By the time they'd ordered and their food had come, at least half the servers and one of the managers in the restaurant had swung by their table to say hello. The rest had waved to Angel. It didn't make for the steadiest flow of conversation, but it did give Adam an opportunity to observe her with other people. It was obvious that everyone at the restaurant liked her, she was friendly but not flirtatious with the guys, although more than one of them gave Adam a challenging look. From what he could tell, she was just a friendly, tactile, outgoing person. Some of the guys might misinterpret a hug from her, but they couldn't miss the fact that she was obviously out on a date.

  When they would try to engage her in conversation beyond a simple hello she would just smile politely, give a short answer, and tell them that it was great to see them but she was being rude to her date and would need to catch up with them later. And from how she acted after they were gone, she hadn't even noticed that they were being anything more than friendly with her.

  And contrary to what her housemates had said, the girls seemed just as happy to see her as the guys.

  "Why did your housemates say that you don't like girls?" he asked when it was just the two of them again.

  Angel shrugged; she was still smiling but he was pretty sure he could see a hint of sadness around her eyes. "Girls can be catty bitches."

  "And guys can't?"

  "Some of them, but if you confront them about it 90% of them will apologize and respect you for it. Girls will lie. Plus, it's not really that I don't like them, but I don't have as much in common with them." She shrugged. "I grew up with two brothers in a neighborhood that was mostly guys. I'm used to having one or two close girlfriends and the rest of my friends being guys because that's how it was when I was younger." She smiled and this time it reached her eyes. "Doing theater helped. People there are more accepting about personality quirks. And Leigh helps a lot, everyone likes her."

  "Everyone seems to like you, too," he said, waving his fork in a little circle to indicate the workers in the restaurant who kept stopping by to say hello.

  "I'm friendly with a lot of people," she said with a little shrug and another smile.

  Friendly with, not friends with. It was a small but important distinction.

  "Well, all of my friends like you," he said. "In fact, I'm pretty sure that you'll be hearing from one of the girls soon. Jessica and Hilary ar
e dying to spend more time with you."

  Immediately Angel's face brightened. Strange how that made him feel like a superhero when all he'd done was tell her the simple truth.

  ******

  She just barely managed to keep herself from saying "really?!"

  "I like them too," she said instead. "And Lexie. And Olivia."

  It wasn't that Angel didn't like girls, she just didn't always understand them. Sometimes it felt like they were speaking a secret language that no one had ever taught her. Heck, Leigh had been the one to teach her how to shave her legs and do her hair and make-up outside of theater. It wasn't that her mom wasn't a good role model, she was just busy and those weren't really things she thought about since she didn't wear make-up and her hair was usually back in a pony-tail.

  Actually, that was how Angel operated the majority of the time as well, but it was just one more thing that she didn't have in common with other girls. She'd rather play video games than watch a movie, she'd rather watch Star Wars than Bride Wars, and she'd rather spend an afternoon out hiking or playing football than at the mall. Not that she didn't enjoy the other things too, but just not as much as other girls seemed to.

  Pedicures - now those were something she could bond with other girls over. Unfortunately pedicures usually meant gossiping too, and most of them wanted to gossip about guys, and if they happened to be dating a guy that Angel knew they would sometimes get upset that Angel knew more about their boyfriends than they did. Like it was somehow her fault that guys found her easy to talk to.

  So far none of the girls in Adam's group of friends had made her feel that way, but she hadn't had much time to get to know them either. Still, they'd seemed pretty friendly and Jessica hadn't been at all upset when Justin had stayed with Angel while she and Chris went to set up their scene. Or maybe that was just the benefit of having two boyfriends. Still, Angel didn't think that could entirely be the case because she thought having two boyfriends would make a lot of girls even more insecure.