Protege(66)

Fernweh was ripe with submissives awaiting their perfect Doms, but a perfect Dom was hard to find. There were a few unmatched members here and there who had established roots while they waited for their counterpart to arrive. Brys was one of them.

“He’s too damn eager.”

“So?” Ezra scoffed. “For all we know they’re meant to be. Why not let them test their chemistry?”

Jude ground his teeth. “Fine. I’ll ask him—”

“He’s already made it quite clear he’s onboard.”

Which was exactly why he didn’t want to give the man the satisfaction. Jude’s convoluted feelings for Collette were indeed complicating matters, further highlighting the fact that this needed to transpire. Jude could be the third, but that wasn’t happening. Not with her, not with anyone. It was nothing personal.

Yeah, keep telling yourself that.

“Tell him to expect an e-mail regarding the ground rules sometime tomorrow.”

“He’s not a bad choice, Jude. Lea enjoys him. Says he’s gentle with certain things that can’t be rushed.”

It wasn’t that he disliked Brys. It was just their difference in opinion on a few things that had him hesitating. He should take pity on the man. Other than himself, Brys was the only person to suffer a failed marriage in Fernweh. The guy deserved a shake of luck.

“Fine. I should be thinking about Collette anyway. I’ll trust your wife’s judgment.”

While orgies and the like used to excite him, this case didn’t have the usual effect. Perhaps it was Collette’s lingering concern that a lack of fidelity could trigger something unwanted inside her. He’d share her concerns in his e-mail to the others. If she had an undesirable reaction, the scene would end immediately. He’d remind her again not to hesitate if she wanted to use her safe word. Part of him wished she would.

***

Collette set the dishwasher to heavy and gathered the roasting pan to wash by hand.

“Dinner was delicious. You’re quite the chef.” Lea complimented her as she placed a few saucers in the sink.

“Thank you.”

Things had actually gone better than she’d planned. Her brisket was almost ruined when she realized she was out of fresh dill, but at the last minute she substituted rosemary and it turned out better than ever.

Jude hadn’t invited a large crowd. She’d expected a grouping of close to six couples, like when they visited his friends’ homes for dinner. Tonight, however, was much smaller, intimate in a way she preferred. It was only the five of them, her and Jude, Ezra and Lea, and that nice gentleman, Brys.

He’d been very flattering throughout dinner, continuously complimenting her skill in the kitchen and asking questions about her southern cooking habits. At one point Jude seemed a bit irritated by the other man’s attention, but that was silly. Jude was doing all of this so she could meet an available match. Since the beginning he’d made it clear that person wouldn’t be him.

It had taken a long time for her to accept he was unavailable, and part of her still believed he was fooling himself as much as she was lying to herself, but she needed to keep her head in this strange new world, and that meant keeping an open mind.

“Oops, I dropped a fork.” The silverware clattered to the floor and Collette looked over her shoulder as Lea’s dark head lowered. As she stood her hand ran up the inside of Collette’s leg until her hand cupped her bottom, causing her to still.

“Here you go,” Lea rasped in a throaty voice as the fork slid into the sink.

“Um.” Collette sidled away, cutting off the contact. “Thank you. I have it from here.”

Lea stepped behind her and reached to the faucet, shutting off the water. Her body pressed into Collette’s as the sponge left a trace of dry bubbles on her fingers. The soft scent of perfume met her nose as Lea’s mouth pressed a kiss to her neck. Collette’s eyes went wide.

What’s happening?

“This is what tonight is, you know? He arranged it for you.” The other woman’s tongue slowly traced her ear.

“W-what?” It was hard to concentrate with Lea touching her like that.

“Have you ever had your * licked by a woman, Collette? I bet you taste as sweet as southern apple pie.”

She spun out of the woman’s grip and backed into the corner of the kitchen. “Wait.”

Lea giggled. “Okay, but right this very minute those men are gearing up to take you. I figured we could do things our way before they come in with their big egos and steal all the thunder.” She sashayed closer and ran her fingers over Collette’s.

Jude had made several mentions of their guests, informing her a little about each one, but she didn’t recall him mentioning anything about them hooking up with her. However—damn it—he had been mentioning the portion of her application about sharing a lot lately and the fact that it still needed attention. Why hadn’t he given her more of a heads-up?

Or . . .

Her eyes narrowed on the other woman. Was this some sort of test? Feeling out of sorts and confused, she excused herself. “I need to speak to Jude. Pardon me.”

She found the men in the large room off the dining area. It wasn’t somewhere Jude normally visited, nor was she familiar with its contents. Tapping lightly on the door, the gentlemen quieted and turned. The look of hunger in Ezra and Brys’s eyes confirmed what Lea had said.