Beneath the Scars (Masters of the Shadowlands #13)(75)

Because she was reassessing what was between them.

Because of last night.

He’d never enjoyed an evening as much. She was a delight as a submissive and a lover, both responsive and intelligent. Not a pushover, but sweet and giving. Truly someone who took delight in serving. When she’d given him her trust and her body, he’d been honored. Last night, they’d been as close as two people could be.

And he had a feeling it had scared her.

Today, she’d pulled away. His sweet submissive was reestablishing her boundaries and shoring her defenses. That was her head talking. Her body—and her heart—disagreed, and today, every time she relaxed, she’d lean against him, all soft and submissive female. If he touched her, her eyes would heat…and then she’d take a step back.

Her trust in him was warring with her distrust of men. Yeah.

Trouble was, he was falling for her, hard and fast.

He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. Hell, it wasn’t as if he hadn’t known she had trust issues. That didn’t worry him. Working through problems was part of a Dom’s duties. Besides, he had a few potholes in his own past that’d keep life interesting.

“Here you go.” Returning from the kitchen, Jake handed over a Mountain Dew, then dropped onto the love seat next to Holt’s chair.

“Thanks.” Holt popped the top. He and Jake had been friends for a couple of years since the day Holt took a burned, bleeding poodle to the veterinarian’s not-yet-open clinic. A house fire had sent the dog’s family to the hospital. Rather than turning Holt away, Jake’d cared for the dog and taken it home with him until its owners recovered. The vet was good people.

Holt took a long swallow of the Dew. Cold carbonated caffeine—what could be better?

“I see our women are having a good walk.” Jake leaned back and stretched his legs out. “I like your subbie, by the way. Did you happen to see her with Anne?”

“No, did they talk?”

“While you were helping Ben repair the broken step.” Jake opened his soda. “After a few minutes with Josie, there Anne was, telling her about the difficulties of being pregnant and how Ben was driving her nuts, although she also loved being pampered.”

“Compared to your Rainie, Josie doesn’t talk much, but people open up to her.”

Jake took a sip of his drink. “It was impressive. The Mistress doesn’t share easily.”

“Josie’s amazing. People trust her.” Holt watched as Josie and Rainie climbed the deck steps. Bronx chose a corner to wait for Ben. Rhage, however, bounded across the deck, leaped, and landed in Jake’s lap. Obviously used to the maneuver, Jake had his drink out of the way and laughed as the fluffy black-and-white mutt frantically licked his neck, acting as if they’d been parted for years.

Smoothing down her blue sundress, Rainie settled beside Jake on the love seat. The Shadowlands submissive had colorful flower tats, brown hair streaked with red and blonde, and an equally lively personality.

She sure as hell had enlivened Jake’s life—and Holt thoroughly approved of her for his friend.

Now, he had his own submissive to capture and win.

Looking undecided, Josie stood in the center of the deck. He could see her desire to be with him…and her unease.

“Come here, Josie,” he said softly. When she got close enough, he took her hand—and pulled her firmly into his lap.

“Hey. There are other chairs.”

“I like having you here.” He molded her against him, loving the way she fit. She wasn’t tall and slender like Nadia. Wasn’t short and round either. Josie was what his father would have called sturdy Irish stock. Resilient in both body and personality.

After brushing the wind-whipped hair out of her eyes, he took himself a kiss, enjoying the quiver of her response.

“What was that for?” She blinked at him, her eyes a gorgeous green in the sunlight.

“Dom’s privilege,” he told her.

She gave him a wary look. “This isn’t a scene. Sir.”

“Very true.” He wrapped an arm around her waist, securing her nicely. “But you should know, for a lot of us, dominance isn’t something to turn on and off.”

“Does that mean you try to boss your fire chief around?”

“No.” He smiled. “But in the absence of someone officially in charge, I’ll take the reins. And when around a submissive”—he ran his finger over her full lower lip—“the need to take charge is difficult to shut off.”

She scowled at him.

Fucking cute.

“This submissive stuff…I’m a mother, and I give orders all the time. I don’t think I’m all that submissive.”

Oh, baby, yes, you are. Last night, she’d known and accepted her nature. Today, she was over-thinking it all. “Parents are in a whole separate category. When you work with other bartenders, do you give orders like you do with Carson or do you let someone else take the lead?”

Silence was his answer.

He took a moment to nibble on her neck and breathe in the musky smell of woman with the lingering fragrance of her soap.

She was slowly melting against him.

“As you probably noticed, I enjoy telling people what to do,” Holt murmured. “More than that, I like looking after people, making sure things are done right, and everyone is protected.”