Virtuous(26)

I already know that nothing about her or how she makes me feel can be classified as “usual.”

Hayden and Cresley interrupt my musings with their sharp, high-pitched cries of fulfillment as they finally let go and give in to the desire that’s probably been building between them for hours at this point, if I know Hayden. Their releases are epic and loud, and under normal circumstances, I’d be hard as a rock watching Cresley get off. Not tonight. Tonight I feel nothing but confusion, agitation and anxious desire to see Natalie again—as soon as possible. As if she might slip through my fingers if I don’t act quickly. I’m unaccustomed to feeling desperate when it comes to women.

Hayden slowly unties Cresley, wraps her in a blanket and holds a bottle of cold water to her lips.

She drinks greedily. “Thank you.” Her voice is hoarse from hours of screaming.

“We’ve got company.” Hayden nods in my direction.

She’s not at all surprised to see me. “Oh hey, Flynn. How long have you been there?”

I step out of the shadows to join them in the middle of the enormous room. “I got here just in time for the big finish.”

“It was a big finish,” Cresley agrees.

“You know me,” Hayden says with a cocky, satisfied smile, “go big or go home.”

“You’ve certainly got the big part covered. I may never walk properly again.” Cresley gathers the blanket around her and stands on trembling legs.

“Why thank you, darlin’.” Hayden reaches out to steady her, and I step closer out of habit. Protecting and caring for subs, especially after a scene, is essential to who we are as Doms.

“I’m okay,” she says, waving us off. “I’ve got to get home. My sitter can’t spend the night.” She leans in to kiss Hayden’s cheek. “Thanks for the lesson.”

“Any time.”

She pats me on the chest. “Flynn, nice to see you as always.”

“You, too, Cresley. Say hi to my little buddy for me.”

“I will.”

Her son, Ty, is one of my favorite kids, right up there with my own nieces and nephews.

As she heads to the elevator, Hayden pulls on a pair of sweatpants and gets busy cleaning the equipment and coiling his ropes. “I wondered if we’d see you tonight.”

“I had a thing.”

“A thing.” Hayden glances at me disdainfully. “With the child you met earlier?”

I love Hayden. He’s the closest thing I have to a brother, but damn, he pisses me off sometimes, mostly because he knows me better than anyone on earth—and never fails to remind me of that. “She’s hardly a child.” I make my way over to the bar in the corner and refill my glass. Arguing with Hayden requires reinforcements.

“You can’t be seriously considering starting something with her.”

“So what if I am?”

“Flynn, for the love of God and all that’s holy, what the f*ck are you thinking?”

I nearly snort whisky out my nose at his choice of words. Only he can mix religion and f*cking with such powerful effect. “I like her. She’s different.”

“You’re goddamned right she’s different. I took one look at her and could tell she’s pure as the driven snow. How do you plan to tell her about all this?” His wide gesture takes in the dungeon, the implements hanging from the wall, the hooks and cables extended from the ceiling, the spanking bench, the St. Andrew’s cross and the cabinet that contains every sex toy known to mankind.

“I don’t plan to tell her. We’re not about that.”

“You’re not about what? Sex? Since when are you not about sex?”

Since about ten o’clock this morning. I wisely decide to keep the thought to myself. Hayden is right. Everything he’s saying is true, but none of it changes how I already feel about Natalie.

Hayden stores his ropes in a cabinet that he locks with the only key. Then he turns to me, hands on his hips, the muscular chest and abs that make the ladies drool on full display. “You need to stop this before it goes any further. Didn’t you learn anything from what happened with Val?”

The mention of her name is a flashpoint for me, as he well knows. “Don’t bring her into this. She has nothing to do with it.”

“She has everything to do with it! And you know it.”

I do know it, but I don’t want to think about her now or ever. I especially don’t want to think about her in relation to Natalie.