Just One Taste (Topped #2)(39)

“I’ll try to arrange that for you.” Maybe for her birthday. Certainly there had to be a place where he could rent puppies. Maybe. Her birthday was a couple of months away. He had some time. But he only had another couple of minutes to convince her to play his pet for the night. He’d been looking forward to it all week long. “But for tonight all you have to do is follow my lead and everything will be all right.”

She frowned his way. “Will I have to crawl around?”

“I think you’ll likely be a lap puppy.” He wouldn’t want her very far away. He’d gotten used to having her on his lap most of the time when they were in the club. “You might sit at my feet, but I promise I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to. Have I ever done that?”

“Well, I wasn’t thrilled about the plug.” She leaned against her side of the truck, her head resting pensively against the glass of the window. Her eyes stared out ahead, but he knew the expression. She got it when she was thinking too much, when she felt too much. “No, you haven’t. It’ll be fine. I’m sure I’ll enjoy it.”

Something was off with her. He’d noticed it when he’d picked her up. No plug for her tonight since she likely would end up in some odd positions. At first he’d wondered if she seemed off because he’d changed their routine. Now he wondered. “We don’t have to play at all tonight if you don’t want to.”

She gave him a half smile. “I can handle puppy play, Eric. Most of the BDSM stuff is weird at first and then I enjoy it. It’s opened me to a lot of new experiences.” She was quiet for a moment. “I’m enjoying myself. I don’t think I would be if you weren’t my Dom.”

And that scared her. He wasn’t a fool. “Well, I am. You’re doing very well. I think you’ll breeze through the rest of the class.”

She was suddenly interested in the view outside again. “I hope so. I’ve got a lot of changes coming up in my life. More than one graduation.”

He was well aware that she was going to graduate from college soon. He’d been looking into presents for his smart, hard-working sub. “Are you excited about it? You’ve worked very hard. Not many people can get through college in four years while working a full-time job. You should be very proud of yourself.”

She slid him a long look. “It was four and a half years, but who’s counting? And I haven’t graduated yet. It’s going to be odd to not go to school every day. It’s been a very long while since I had anything vaguely resembling free time.”

“Have you thought about taking some time for yourself?” He wondered if she would take a trip or do something to celebrate.

She shook her head. “No.” She was quiet for a moment. “There’s something I haven’t told you.”

He took the exit and turned right, his gut knotting. He didn’t like the tone of her voice, the sadness he heard behind it. “What is it? Deena, you can tell me anything. I would rather know.”

“I have a job lined up in Fort Worth.”

He breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that. Did he think she could tell Tiffany and Ally something and not have it get all around the restaurant? “Of course you do. I didn’t think you would stay working as a waitress after you finished college. It’s kind of the point of finishing college. No one expected you to stay on at Top.”

“Oh.” Her shoulders dropped as though that wasn’t the response she’d been expecting.

It was these moments that gave him hope. She didn’t like the fact that he wasn’t flipping out over the idea of her leaving. He had some news of his own. “I’m leaving Top, too.”

“What?” She turned fully in her seat as he pulled up to the gate and put in his access code. “You can’t leave Top. You’re the sous chef. Oh my god, is this because you had that drink with Tim Love?”

It was not freaking disloyal to have a damn Scotch with another chef. “No. I’m opening a franchise of Top in Fort Worth. I already found a space right off Sundance Square. I’d really like for you to take a look at it with me this weekend.”

He eased through the gated entrance. Before Eric had joined the club there had been some douchebag who had blown up the first building. Big Tag took no chances now. The entryway was closed with a super heavy gate that it would likely take a tank to get through, and Eric wouldn’t be surprised if there were snipers watching him right now. From what he’d heard, the newbies at McKay-Taggart had their own crap jobs to do before being deemed fit for the field, and one of them was working security for Sanctum.

“Are you serious?” Deena got the goofiest grin on her face. “You’re opening your own place?”

A little thrill went through him every time he thought about it. His place. It could be her place, too, though she wouldn’t be waiting tables. “I’m basically going into business with the Taggarts, but it’s going to be mine.”

She was quiet for a moment, her hands in her lap as he pulled into his parking space. He got out of the car but she stayed inside. Another thing he’d trained her to do. He opened her door and helped her down since his truck was a bit oversized and he didn’t want her to twist her ankle jumping out of it. That was a bit of a lie. He simply wanted that moment when she was in his arms, that second when she held on to him for support before finding her footing.