Unconditional (Masters and Mercenaries #5.5)(11)

Hours had passed and she felt more comfortable here on the dungeon floor with him than she had in the months she’d worked here.

But it was easier to be a part of the crowd than to be one on one.

Especially when she wasn’t sure how to talk to him. She’d signed a contract with him that said he had power over her in this club. She had plenty of outs. She had chosen a safe word. Giraffe. It was Emily’s favorite toy. Soft giraffe. Jillian had bought it for her. Yeah, there was something wrong that her safe word was her baby girl’s stuffed animal.

Not that she would need it. Her Dom had been a perfect gentleman.

Keith led her through the club. She passed by a couple of people she knew, including the detective who preferred beer to liquor. The detective had moved back into the bar, though he was still frowning at Weston as he continued flicking the whip on Karina’s backside.

And Damon Knight. The “murder machine,” as her employer put it. He was standing on the outside of the scene area, leaning heavily on his cane. He was thinner than he needed to be, than she was sure he was when he was healthy. He was a tall man with broad shoulders and a hungry look, like a lion who had been injured but not killed. He would come back stronger than ever. Eventually.

She also saw Joe manning the bar. He gave her a wink and a lecherous look as she entered the lounge. It was easy to laugh at that because Joe had zero interest in her hot bod. He would likely fight her for Keith, though. She blew him a kiss and gave him a little leg lift. Joe was one of the few people she’d gotten close to since she’d moved to the city. She would have to tell him all the details the next time they worked together.

“Friend of yours?” Keith asked, his voice dark.

She looked up and his eyes were on Joe, who was hiding a grin as he pulled out the expensive Scotch for Ian Taggart. The owner was sitting at the bar with his wife.

“Yes,” she said. “We work together.”

“Are you in a relationship with him?”

“What?”

“It’s a simple question. On your entrance questionnaire you checked that you were single, but you seem to have something going with the bartender.”

She had to shake her head at the thought. “Uhm, he’s just a friend. I was playing with him.”

“You were flirting with him.”

Holy hell. How had she gone from zero to a hundred on the shit scale in two point three seconds flat? His face was shut down, no hint of a smile there now. “Don’t be ridiculous. Do you not have a gaydar, Keith? He’s not exactly drooling over me. Besides, you said you weren’t looking for anything more than a casual relationship.”

“First of all, I don’t know what that means, but it sounds bratty and sarcastic and we talked about your smart mouth, which I actually find quite charming, but gives me a great excuse to spank you. And I really don’t like a sub who is under my protection to flirt with another man.” He frowned. “Oh, it’s gay and radar.”

He was so serious. She had to cover her smile. “Yes. It’s not exactly a new term.”

“I spend a lot of time with lawyers,” he admitted. “Gaydar hasn’t come up in any of my contracts.”

She’d wondered what she could offer him. The contract had seemed very one-sided, tilting toward her. He offered his expertise, his care. She offered the not-so-real possibility of sex somewhere down the line.

But what if she could give him something else? What if she could make him smile?

“I am a font of slang knowledge. Ask me anything. I’ll tell you that the evening has been tots amazeballs and the look on your face is abso adorbs.”

No smile there, just a look of complete confusion. “I’m really f*cking old.”

“Nope, I’m just one of the oldest college freshmen in the world. Seriously, college students can mangle the English language like you wouldn’t believe.”

He took a seat on one of the plush chairs that marked the bar area. The rest of the club was stark and somewhat industrial looking. She hadn’t been in some of the rooms until earlier this evening when Keith had escorted her through. The medical room had been a bit of a shocker, but the privacy rooms looked nice and intimate. It would be the perfect place to spend some quiet time with a lover, if one was so inclined.

Which she wasn’t.

But she’d always liked the bar. Even the staff rooms were cozy. She sat down opposite Keith, her first time to be a guest instead of a server.

He frowned her way. “That’s not your place, Ashley.”

He pointed down to the plush pillow by his feet.

Yeah, she should have known that. Lord knew she’d watched more than one submissive resting near her Master. She just hadn’t thought she would do it herself.

She got to her feet, tugging at the tiny little skirt she was wearing. If she even breathed wrong her undies would show. Of course, if she breathed too much, her boobs might pop out and then Keith would definitely run the other way. Her boobs had fed a baby, and Emily hadn’t been the most delicate eater. Her breasts sagged more than a twenty-five-year-old’s should. Way more. And she had stretch marks. And the C-section scar.

She didn’t look like Karina or Eve McKay. Alex McKay’s sub was the most beautiful woman she’d ever seen. Eve walked into the bar on the arm of her muscular husband. Walked? Hell, she kind of glided even though she was wearing a pair of heels that would have made Ashley break an ankle.