Beneath the Scars (Masters of the Shadowlands #13)(28)

Holt tightened his jaw, trying to conquer the need to warn the guy to watch his step or better yet, tell Josie to say no. Getting a bit overprotective here, dumbass?

She was fine. Even if the two didn’t negotiate, she’d been quite clear she wanted only an introduction. Smart girl.

Sitting beside Holt, Marcus said under his breath, “This should be interesting.” He raised his voice. “Darlin’, I’ll cover your break.”

She glanced around the bar. “It’s pretty busy. I don’t—”

“I can draft Holt to help out. He needs to move some.”

Hands on on delightfully curvy hips, she scowled. “No, he doesn’t. He should be taking it easy, not working.”

Now, just listen to her. As the sweetness of her concern warmed him, Holt smiled and gave his Aussie buddy’s favorite retort, “No worries, love. I’ll let the lawyer do most of the work.”

“I guess that’ll be all right.” She frowned at Marcus. “You’ll watch him?”

“Certainly.” After Josie had exited the bar space, Marcus glanced at Holt. “I do like this one.”

“Z did well.” And Holt liked her a bit too much for his own comfort.

He followed Marcus through the pass-through and started filling drinks on one side. He was doing fairly well until one submissive ordered a mojito. For fuck’s sake. He didn’t have the time to squish up mint, mess with the sticky shit, or do the shaking crap. He gave her a frown. “For that, you’ll have to wait for the real bartender.”

“Sure,” she said. “She made me a couple last night, and they were the best.”

Holt eyed her. Two drinks at once? “Did you play afterward?”

“No. Josie said if I even looked like playing, she’d rat on me to Master Z.” The subbie grinned, so Josie had apparently delivered the warning without upsetting the young woman.

“Good girl.” Holt smiled at the subbie, saw Marcus had overheard, and they exchanged satisfied glances.

Holt understood Z’s affection for the socializing effect of drinking; however, alcohol was a risk in a BDSM club. When Cullen—who had a cutting-edge memory—decreased his hours, they’d had a few problems.

But apparently, pretty Josie could and would police the bar.

Finished with open drink orders, Holt looked around. Where had Peter set up with Josie? He wanted to be sure the Dom wasn’t pushing her too much.

Hey, she was a neighbor—under his protection, in a way. All right, that might be over the top, but dammit, she was.

And he wanted to see how she reacted to a scene.

No, be honest. He wanted to be the one tying her to a cross…dammit.

Near the dance floor, a handful of people watched a Domme doing knife play with an older male submissive. Next was a standard spanking scene on a sawhorse-type bench. Then wax play, a caning, a…

“North wall,” Marcus murmured as he walked past to deliver a drink.

Holt moved to the other side of the bar. Near the munchie area, Vance and Galen were playing with their submissive, Sally. Holt watched for a minute. Although he’d never been interested in sharing a woman, the two Doms made co-topping look like a dance. Very nice work.

The next scene was a Master with two slaves. The two females waited on their knees as he chose the toys he’d use.

In the adjacent roped-off area…there she was.

She’d removed only her vest and shirt.

Well, that probably made sense. She and Peter weren’t on intimate terms.

She had gorgeous shoulders and upper arms. Creamy skin. Did she have freckles sprinkled over the tops of her shoulders?

As Marcus joined him, Holt muttered, “Did you see? She still has her shoes on.”

She was talking to Peter as he tied her wrists to the upper bars of the X-shaped St. Andrew’s cross. Her head was up, posture erect, eyes bright with interest.

No signs of submission.

“Interesting dynamic,” Marcus commented.

“She’s not anywhere close to the right headspace.” Holt glanced around the bar, saw no one waiting for a drink, and continued watching.

Peter did a hasty warmup of her skin before starting in with a fairly heavy flogger.

Holt exchanged frowns with Marcus, before shrugging. “He is on a time limit.”

“True enough. A half-hour timeframe won’t give her more than a taste.” Marcus frowned. “Is he more to her than a casual friend?”

“Doubtful. Her great-aunt told me today our little bartender hasn’t dated anyone in years. Not since her son was a toddler.” And hadn’t that been a surprise? What the hell was wrong with his fellow males that they’d let her isolate herself?

Marcus glanced at him. “How is it that you’re acquainted with the great-aunt of our new bartender?”

“Stella lives in the other half of my duplex, and I drop over now and then to check her blood pressure.” Damned if he’d let the sweet old woman stroke out on his watch. “She worries about the lack of men in Josie’s life.” Holt grinned. “From what I’ve seen, Stella isn’t lacking for male admirers. She could probably teach Josie how to get on.”

Marcus chuckled. “And why doesn’t our Josie date?”

“She has a son.”

After a second, Marcus glanced at Holt. “That’s it?”