The one thing that pissed him off, however, was her reluctance to socialize with her friends and colleagues with him by her side.
Several people, obviously close to her, had invited her for drinks in the bar over the course of the past week, and she refused them all politely. There were a couple of Littles who continuously pestered her to come out, one of whom was quite adamant that Violet obey her demands, and he’d seen the longing on Violet’s face before she shut her expression down completely.
She missed her friends, the companionship, and the kicker was, he wasn’t sure if she was sidestepping them because of him, or because she was trying to sever ties now to make things easier on herself if she decided leaving was truly the right thing to do.
His gut told him it was a little of both.
Alone in the cabin, the situation was… intense compared to her indifferent act beyond the front door.
Despite the fact she’d lost his game, Violet violated the new rules he’d set in place. The moment she decided early evening had passed into nighttime, she retreated to the bedroom to read, watch TV, whatever the hell she did in there, and locked the door behind her.
They ate meals in the restaurant—all their meals, including breakfast—so she didn’t have to spend more time alone with him than necessary. She locked the bathroom door when she showered.
All in all, she was doing a damn good job of isolating herself not just from him, but her entire fucking life, which he found unacceptable on so many levels.
Tonight, however, he was determined to upset her perfect balance and restore some semblance of order before she did something stupid like permanently cut off all her friends.
The plan was already in motion, with help from the smitten little pixie, Tamsyn. She was incredibly sweet once she came out of her shell, and she’d been on board with his scheming after she recovered from his silent ambush outside the women’s bathroom.
Merrick had been drafted onto the team too, and in turn, he’d dragged a couple of other Masters into the fray. Liam, Fordham, and some guy named Levi were all stuck with their fingers in the conspiracy pie—Reaux was grateful they were all able to talk to each other freely and get things set in motion, even if he wasn’t.
On his knees beside the Mistress’s chair, Reaux glanced up when she cleared her throat. Her hand hovered in front of his face, the last piece of a delicious blueberry cheesecake poised on the fork just an inch from his lips. “Thank you, Mistress.”
She waited for him to take the bite, then dropped the fork back on the plate and dabbed her mouth with her napkin. Her mood had grown volatile over the past few days, broody and impatient, almost bristling at times with an unknown anger. “Do you require any gym time this week? If so, we’ll speak with Jennifer on our way out.”
Considering the amount of food—excellent, moreish food—he’d consumed recently, the gym was probably a good idea. Being her sexless puppy on a leash wasn’t doing his brain or hisbody any favors; boredom rotted his mind and idleness ruined his physical form. “I’d appreciate that, Mistress. I was thinking, maybe we could take a few minutes and have a drink—”
“No.” She dropped the dirty napkin on the empty plate, shoving her chair back and standing gracefully. Barely sparing him a glance, she gestured for him to get to his feet. “It’s late, I’m tired. We’re going home.”
That was bullshit at its finest, he thought. If the clock had struck eight, they’d be lucky. She was so entrenched in this new, debilitating routine, she’d lost all her spark.
While he was prepared to take some of the blame, he wasn’t responsible for all of it.
“Yes, Mistress.” Heaving a weary sigh, he gained his feet and immediately had to fall into step behind her as she crossed the restaurant at a brisk pace. He started humming under his breath, counting down the seconds before she pushed through the swing doors.
The moment she stepped into the hallway, two men flanked her, one on either side.
Almost as if they’d been waiting for her…
Reaux grinned and hung back on the threshold with the door open in case he needed a quick getaway. It wouldn’t—shouldn’t—take Violet long to figure out whose hand was manipulating this interruption to her evening.
“Have you been hiding from us, Vi?” Merrick eased in on her left.
“Nah, she wouldn’t do a thing like that.” The man on her right nudged her gently with his elbow—the elusive Levi, Reaux assumed. “She’s just been busy with her living, breathing Ken doll.”
Her back stiffened as though someone jammed a rod up her ass. She turned her head and shot Reaux a scathing glare—ohyes, she knew who was responsible for this ambush. “Hear that, Boudreaux? You’ve been upgraded to Barbie status.”
Adopting an innocent expression, he shrugged his shoulders. “Can think of worse things to be.”
She huffed irritably. “If you’ll excuse us, boys, we’re ready to go home.”
“Yeah, about that…” Levi clicked his tongue a few times. “There may be a slight issue with your cabin for an hour or two.”
“Oh?” The word was pure ice.
“Yeah, so… seems like there was a bear chasing some deer through the woods. One of them veered off, took a detour through the trees into the residential area, and it panicked. Vaulted onto the porch and dove straight through your living room window.” He held up one hand, flat and vertical, then smacked his clenched fist into it with an impressive imitation of the crash and breaking glass.
Her eyebrows twitched. “Mmm-hmm.”
