by BJ Wane
“You look nervous,” Nan pointed out as the three of them reached the front door.
Lillian flicked a glance up at Dan before saying, “I’m hoping I don’t stick out like a sore thumb tonight since I’ll be the only one who isn’t a member of that club.”
“You won’t,” Dan assured her, placing a hand on her back as he opened the door.
She wanted to argue how he could be so sure and then let it go as she remembered the futility of questioning Mitchell after he would utter such an assertive comment. Entering the warm house, a pair of collies bounded up to her, tails wagging in greeting, followed by a smiling, pregnant red head with bright green eyes.
“You’re Lillian. Thanks so much for coming. I’m Sydney and this is Spike and Sadie.” Sydney reached down to stroke Spike’s black head.
Lillian returned her smile as she scratched Sadie behind the ears. “Nice to meet you, and these two.”
“Dan, the guys are in the den.” Sydney beckoned Nan and Lillian to follow her. “Avery and Tamara are in the kitchen with me.”
Following her host and the tantalizing aroma, Lillian caught a glimpse of several men gathered around a corner bar in a massive great room and recognized the back of Mitchell’s salt and pepper head. She shouldn’t feel so relieved at seeing he was here and not at his club, especially after the way he’d pawned her off on another doctor. Squaring her shoulders, she looked away and hardened her resolve to stay immune to his presence.
“You have a beautiful home,” she told Sydney as they entered a kitchen with every modern convenience, her mouth watering at the pan of homemade biscuits another heavily pregnant woman was sliding out of the oven.
“Thank you. Tamara, this is Doc’s Lillian.” Sydney flicked her a teasing grin as Lillian shook her head.
“No, I’m not. There’s nothing between us. Nice to meet you, Tamara.”
Tamara laughed and took the bottle of wine Lillian handed her. “You sound just like Connor a year ago. I swear, if that man had denied what was obvious to everyone else one more time, I would have washed my hands of him. Thanks for this.” She grabbed an opener off the counter. “I’ll pour for you and Nan.”
Avery smirked at Tamara as she handed her a glass of juice. “No, you wouldn’t have, and you know it. You might have smacked some sense into him, but you would have hung in there. Besides, once he caved to the inevitable, he’s hardly let you out of his sight for long.”
Tamara’s gray eyes shone with pleasure as she released an exaggerated dreamy sigh. “Yeah, I know.”
Sydney moved to the stove to stir the big pot of bubbling chili that was responsible for the aroma tickling Lillian’s senses as soon as she’d entered the house. Turning her head, she said, “Just you and Master Mitchell, alone for almost three days and then he invites you to stay in his spare room and there’s nothing between you? Are you sure you’re female?”
The others giggled and Lillian had to smile and admit Sydney had her there. Despite the doctor’s dominant personality waving red flags of undesirability, she’d failed to stay indifferent to him. Unlike at the cabin, there were no excuses for caving to his high-handedness in the apartment, or a reason for her uncharacteristic response other than she was female and he was so freaking male.
Because they had been so welcoming and friendly toward her, she felt she owed them the truth, or a small part of it. “Okay, but it’s not what you think. Nan mentioned he’s a member of your club, and I respect that’s a big part of your relationships, but those proclivities have never held an interest for me. Mitchell was nice at the cabin. I was in the first days of grieving for my sister and he helped me through a bad night. It didn’t mean anything beyond that, and neither did his offer to stay in the room above his garage while I’m here, since I’m just passing through.”
“One thing about dominant men, they tend to jump into protective mode and are damn good at helping when we’re going through a rough time. I’m glad Mitchell was there for you. Dealing with your sister’s death and your ex’s abuse must still haunt you, so I hope you won’t get in a hurry to leave,” Nan said, pouring herself a refill and leaning against the counter.
Tamara nodded. “What Nan said. We’re just teasing you, and we’ve all been in denial over the perks from the lifestyle when we first explored it, so don’t dismiss it out of hand just yet.”
Lillian wasn’t sure how to reply to either of them. She appreciated the request for her to stick around, but the suggestion she might reserve judgment on whether she was interested in exploring their sexual preferences had never entered her mind. “I don’t go for the bossy type,” she stated, opting for blunt honesty.
“I didn’t think I did either, until Master Grayson helped me one night, his voice and commands alone sucking me in enough I tracked him down here to enlist his help and see if my response that one time was due to stress, a fluke or the real thing.” Avery rested a hand on her rounded stomach. “And I’ve never regretted taking that chance.”
A tightness spread around Lillian’s chest and coiled in her abdomen as she eyed the contented faces of these women. There was no denying they were happy with their spouses, and that included the alternative sex they indulged in, yet each one appeared to maintain their independence, working in their chosen careers and running their homes without dictation from their ‘Dom’ spouses. Surely it was envy of that special connection with someone that she once cherished with Liana she was experiencing, and not a yearning for a relationship such as theirs.
Before she could come up with anything to say, a deep voice drew the dogs’ attention toward the door.
“Spike, Sadie, go lie down.”
Lillian looked up at the man entering the kitchen, his enigmatic blue eyes zeroing in on Sydney with a possessive glint. Wow, was all she could think as he turned toward her and held out a large, calloused hand in greeting.
“You must be Lillian. I’m Caden. Welcome to our home.”
“Thank you.” His hand engulfed hers in a gentle grip but it was the man leading the others toward the kitchen who snagged her attention.
With the strong pull of a magnet, her gaze was drawn behind her host, toward Mitchell, who regarded her with a bland expression. He appeared relaxed holding a drink, those broad shoulders stretching his casual knit pullover.
Despite his neutral look, her pulse jumped, like always. With several eyes focused on them, she managed to throttle down the now familiar response, refusing to cave to this weird attraction again, especially after he’d dropped her as his patient.
“I’m glad Mitchell was around to help you out when that snowstorm struck. That one even caught us unaware,” Caden said as the men filed into the kitchen.
Shifting out of their way, Lillian sighed with a rueful grin, flicking Mitchell a questioning glance as she wondered how much he had told his friends. “I missed the turnoff for Billings, which is where I’d planned to stop for the night, and am grateful for the doctor’s hospitality.”
“It was no problem,” Mitchell interjected smoothly before turning toward Sydney. “Sydney, are you going to make us smell that much longer without feeding us?”
“Nope. It’s ready. Buffet style, so get in line and load up.”
To Lillian’s surprise, Mitchell moved to stand to the side with her as everyone filed in. “I didn’t know you were coming tonight or I would have offered you a ride.”
She brought her glass of wine to her mouth and sipped as she flicked her eyes up at him. Forcing a cool tone, she let her disgruntlement with him win out over self-preservation to keep her feelings to herself. “I find that hard to believe since you couldn’t bother telling me yourself about the x-rays you insisted I have taken.”
Before he could answer, a tall man sporting a sexy, bristled jaw and eyes as blue as Caden’s stopped in front of them. “Nice to meet you, Lillian. I’m Connor, Caden’s brother and this one’s lord and master.” He yanked Tamara against his side with a teasing grin.
“Ha, you lik
e to think so, don’t you? Don’t listen to a word he says, Lillian.”
Grinning, she shook Connor’s hand, not surprised Tamara had refused to give up on this man. What would it be like to spend years of your childhood with such a protective, close friend looking out for you and then reap the rewards of that special relationship growing into such a deep caring commitment? Sadness tugged at Lillian as she thought of the bond she and Liana had shared since birth, and the void her passing left that would always be with her.
“Everyone ignores Connor’s teasing.” Mitchell clasped her elbow and steered her toward the dwindling food line, confusing her with his continued attention. “You’re getting between me and food, Dunbar.”
“Got it.” Connor winked at Lillian and she forced the encroaching sorrow back before it could ruin the evening.
After getting their food, everyone filed into the dining room where Mitchell surprised her again by taking the seat next to her. She cast him a disapproving look, his nearness making it difficult for her to suppress the unaccustomed ache to be a part of this close-knit group instead of an outsider. It’s just because I miss Liana, not because I have anything in common with any of them. That was the only explanation she could come up with for the growing desire to stick around Willow Springs and get to know these people better.
Mitchell ignored her silent reproach, turning his attention to his food and the conversations going on around the table. Since she couldn’t figure out what was going on with him, she dug into the best chili she’d ever tasted, Sydney’s concoction outdoing the quick, simple pot she had thrown together at the cabin.
“What did you do different, Sydney?” Grayson took another bite, frowning as he tried to place the unique flavor. “This is good.”
Relief spread across Sydney’s face as she inched one hand under the table. “I’m glad you like it. I took a chance on trying a new recipe I saw on the Food Network, adding pork and pumpkin.”
“Sydney.”
Caden glared at his wife and she tossed him an innocent smile as she brought her hand up from under the table. Since Lillian felt the brush of both dogs against her legs, she guessed Caden disapproved of the pieces of cheese Sydney had snuck them.
“What?” She batted her eyes at her husband but it was clear he wasn’t fooled.
A few chuckled at their cook’s sweet smile before Connor sent his brother an amused grin. “You may as well give up, bro. How many rescues do you have now?”
“Not as many since Matilda died.” Sydney blinked back tears.
“Matilda was an old mule we brought back from auction last fall. She had more health issues than we thought,” Caden told Lillian as he squeezed Sydney’s hand, his rugged features softening as he ran his thumb over her knuckles.
“That’s too bad,” she murmured, her heart turning over.
Not so much for the poor animal, but for herself. The teasing comradery going on around the table coupled with the possessive, sometimes carnal looks the men sent their significant others, kept emphasizing how alone she was in the world now, and how much she missed Liana. She’d been more than her sister; she was her best friend and they were as close as these girls appeared. Not to mention the men who had come and gone in her life without leaving a lasting impression who’d never looked at her with a fraction of the caring and lust these guys weren’t shy about revealing.
Fighting back the encroaching despondency, she finished the meal listening more than conversing and then stood with Sydney and the other girls to collect the dishes. Her eyes clashed with Mitchell’s potent gaze as she reached for his empty bowl. After ignoring him for the last thirty minutes, the jolt from that look zapped her from head to toe in a lightning bolt of heat, catching her off guard. She shied away from acknowledging a flicker of awareness hinting at something other than simple lust.
“Excuse me,” she murmured. He circled her wrist, her heart pounding harder just from the swipe of his thumb across her pulse.
“Drive back with me.”
The way he tended to order instead of ask never failed to rub Lillian wrong, but at least it distracted her from the sensations his caressing thumb had triggered. Before she could reply, he added one word that was so unexpected, she found herself powerless to resist.
“Please.”
Lillian followed Sydney into the kitchen without answering and Mitchell struggled with the urge to go all Dom on her in front of everyone and insist she accept his offer. His uncharacteristic interest in her despite how unsuited she was for his preferences continued to plague him; the step away from being her doctor proving to have no effect on throttling back a desire he couldn’t label and was losing the battle fighting.
Tonight, it was that same spasm of sorrow crossing her face he had glimpsed at the cabin that crumbled his will to keep her at arm’s length. The downward turn of her lips accompanied a sheen in her purple eyes that gave away her thoughts, and her grief. Telling himself it was just his own experience with loss and bereavement that kept drawing him to her was no longer working and it was time he explored other ways to put an end to whatever this was.
“What’s up, Doc?”
Mitchell cut his gaze from watching Lillian’s shapely ass encased in snug denim toward Connor’s amused voice. He knew better than to ask the younger Dunbar what he meant. “Just trying to save Dan a trip back into town.”
“We planned on having Lillian overnight,” Dan said, defusing Mitchell’s excuse with a small smirk that matched Connor’s.
The problem with getting close to people again was they got to know you well, sometimes too well. “Forget it, you two. It’s just an offer of a ride, nothing more.” He didn’t include Caden or Grayson in his rebuke as both remained silent. “She’s at her easel working first thing in the morning, I’m guessing to take advantage of the natural sunlight. You’re not going to want to get up early to bring her back into town.”
Mitchell had spotted Lillian sitting at the window as he’d left the house for work each morning this past week, but doubted she’d paid attention. Even though he’d made sure he wasn’t obvious about checking on her, he could tell she’d been absorbed in her craft. Until he figured out what it was that kept this one woman in the forefront of his thoughts and how to handle his unwanted preoccupation, he refused to let anyone believe there was anything starting between them.
The good thing about having close friends was they knew when to back off. Dan nodded and stood. “Whatever she wants to do is fine.”
“I’ll go check with her. Thanks.” Rising, he strode toward the kitchen, halting before entering as he heard the invitation Nan was issuing to Lillian.
“Come on, Lillian. What have you got to lose? You can come as our guest to socialize. There’s no rule stating you have to participate in a scene. Now that the guys have renovated the west side loft into three private rooms, we have several members who prefer private scenes, and some who come just to watch.”
He recognized Avery’s voice as she added her encouragement. “I was trying to learn as much about Grayson as I could before enlisting his help when I went the first time. It’s definitely something you have to experience firsthand before you’ll know if it’s your thing. You’re not out anything by appeasing your curiosity.”
“And,” Sydney piped in, “I can verify watching our doctor in Dom mode is time worth spending. If you’re still planning on leaving soon, what have you got to lose?”
“You’re very persuasive, so I’ll think about it.”
Every muscle in Mitchell’s body tightened upon hearing Lillian’s soft reply. It was way too easy to recall her hold on the fireplace mantle at his insistence and her response to his hands, including when he had added a touch of discomfort to the budding pleasure. He’d increased that painful stimulation as she lay over his lap last week, and his dreams were still disturbed by the way she lifted her lush ass for his swats and her strident cries as she’d splintered apart. He doubted he could keep her at arm’s length at the club as he
imagined her expression viewing some of the scenes. She wouldn’t judge or condemn, her quick friendship and acceptance of the girls was proof of that, but she would continue to deny she possessed any interest or an ounce of submissiveness. It might be best if he talked her out of going.
Pivoting, he walked to the entry and retrieved their coats as he contemplated the clutch in his gut when Sydney mentioned Lillian leaving soon, along with what to do if she agreed to an evening at the club. Something else he needed to give some serious thought to.
She entered the foyer as he started back toward the kitchen, eyeing her coat over his arm with a sardonic look that caused his palm to itch in reply. “I don’t recall agreeing to your offer.”
“So you want to put your friends out by asking them to take you home first thing in the morning?”
“Nan opens the tea shop by seven, so it won’t be an imposition,” she returned as smoothly as Mitchell realized Dan had set him up. “But I’ve already told her I’ll go back with you.”
“Then, if you’re ready, let’s go.” Holding out her coat, he didn’t ask why as the others filed into the entry on their way out.
Lillian couldn’t help it, the desire to spend time with Mitchell outweighed her determination to forget him following his desertion as her doctor. When all she could think about was her reaction every time he leveled that focused gaze on her after Nan invited her to visit their club, she decided to give in to his offer and work towards getting him out of her system. It wouldn’t do for her to leave in a week or two and still have these mind-consuming, libido stirring thoughts about a man she wouldn’t see again.
Once they hit the highway, they limited their conversation to the evening until they reached Willow Springs and then he surprised her with his abrupt change of subject. “Are you considering visiting The Barn tomorrow night?”