Evie finally tore her eyes away from the ceiling tile. “I want to do my own research, with real resources, not blogs written by people bragging about how rough they can be.” She bit the inside of her cheek. “And after I’ve done that… I’d like to come back and ask you questions. So I know I’m not walking into something blind.”
“You can absolutely do that.” Dr. Lewis’s smile was soft, genuine. “In fact, I would encourage it. Ethical kink depends on informed partners. Education is part of safety.”
“I can give you vetted books, websites, even community guidelines used by professional educators,” he continued. “And if any of it confuses you or raises new concerns, you come back here, and we’ll talk it through.”
“Thank you.” She shifted, straightening her shoulders and raising her chin slightly. “That makes me feel a lot better.”
“It should,” Dr. Lewis said. “You’re taking ownership of your own safety and understanding. That’s exactly what a submissive needs to do before entering any dynamic, and it’s something Alex now understands as well.”
His voice softened. “There’s one more thing I want you to keep in mind, Evie. People who are naturally kind and eager to please can be vulnerable in dynamics like this. Not because there’s anything wrong with them, but because they’re willing to tolerate discomfort if they think it will make someone else happy. An uninformed submissive can slip into that patternwithout realizing it. And in the wrong hands, or even with a dominant who simply doesn’t know what he’s doing, that can be dangerous. True submission isn’t about silence or compliance—it’s about choosing to trust someone while staying connected to your own needs. You deserve to feel safe enough to speak up, to stop a scene, to say no. That isn’t a weakness. It’s what makes a healthy dynamic possible.”
Evie nodded slowly, a steady breath leaving her. “And you can be damn sure I’ll speak up next time.”
*********
In January, Tommy held a massive party at a nearby nightclub, where the successful candidates for each role were announced. Tommy gave a funny and touching speech about how hard everyone worked and how hard it had been for him and Thorn to choose who deserved each position.
When he began naming the positions and who had gotten the job, Alex’s grip on Evie’s hand tightened more and more as his name wasn’t called.
“Chief of Security Operations, Alex Turner,” Tommy called. Alex met Evie’s eyes, and for the briefest moment, she saw disappointment, but then he let out a cheer and hugged her before getting up and joining the others on the stage, beaming proudly. Evie cheered and clapped for him. He’d worked extremely hard, and she knew he had been very nervous that he wouldn’t get chosen for any of the positions. She also knew he would have preferred the Director position, but when Tommy announced Vanessa Gray as the Director of Security Services, she knew exactly why he hadn’t gotten it.
Vanessa was in her late forties and had over twenty years of experience working with one of the top security firms in the country. Tommy had poached her away three years previously,promising a generous salary and benefits package, and she had helped Thorn immensely as they worked out the kinks in the first few years. If Harvey had already been chosen for the Director of Protective Services position, then she was positive that Vanessa had been promised the top job in the Security division.
By the time midnight rolled around, Evie was beyond her limits for a night out socializing and told Alex she wanted to go home.
“What?” He was immediately upset and pouting, and Evie had to suppress her annoyance. He knew how much she hated it when he acted like this. “We can’t leave yet! This is my party!”
“You don’t have to leave.” She reminded him, the annoyance spiking before she could swallow back. He also knew her social battery didn’t work as his did. These types of things recharged him, while she was drained. “I’m pretty sure Thorn is ready to go, too.” She gestured to where Thorn was sitting in a dark corner, his face impassive and knew he would jump on the excuse that he had to escort her home so he could leave.
“Fine.” He grumbled, turning away from her. “Leave me by myself.”
“Okay.” She shrugged and spun on her heel, heading over to Thorn, her patience for his behaviour completely gone. Alex loved having her dress up and taking her to clubs to show her off, which made her uncomfortable, but he would pout for days if she disagreed, and she often just gave in so he would stop being so petulant. She found herself trying to keep him happy to avoid his moodiness, and right now, she was done with it.
She could feel his eyes on her as she told Thorn she wanted to leave, and he immediately nodded, looking relieved, but she knew he wouldn’t dare to say anything with Thornstanding there, and he had enough alcohol in him that she doubted he’d remember in the morning.
Following Thorn out into the cold January night and into the cab he’d called for them. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Her relationship with Alex had improved a lot over the last couple of months, but there were definitely things that they needed to work on.
Chapter Forty-Four: Cheeky Little Minx
Since Alex was named Chief of Security Operations, he began working closely with Tommy and, to Evie’s shock and dismay, they immediately hit it off. She wasn’t sure why it bothered her so much until Tommy’s birthday in February, when he told her he was planning a quiet get-together in the penthouse with just his closest friends. He never said Alex could come, and she hadn’t asked, figuring if Tommy wanted him there, he would have told her to bring him. Since she didn’t have plans with Alex that night, she never mentioned anything beyond the fact that she would be hanging out with Tommy and Nissa and that it might take her a little while to respond to texts.
It was a very small gathering: just Evie, Nissa, Thorn, Cole, Lana, Colton, and two couples Evie didn’t know very well but had met a few times before. She was sitting in the living room with Colton on her lap, talking to Lana about how eager she was to come back to work, when hands covered her eyes, and Alex’s teasing voice asked, “Guess who?”
Her whole body tensed, her grip on Colton tightening slightly as she pulled him protectively to her chest. “Alex? What are you doing here?”
“Tommy invited me.” He uncovered her eyes and leaned down to kiss her cheek. “We’ll talk about why you never later,” he murmured, just loud enough for her to hear. Her eyes flew to Tommy accusingly, but he was talking to Nissa and their friends and didn’t notice.
Alex squeezed her shoulders just a little too tightly before letting go and walking over to talk to Thorn and Cole. Evie forced a smile and turned her attention back to Lana, lowering her cheek to rest on Colton’s head as he snuggled into her.
“You okay?” Lana asked quietly.
“I didn’t know he was coming.” Evie shrugged, trying to play it off as nothing. “And I didn’t tell him why I was spending time with Tommy tonight, just that I was. He’s pissed I never invited him.”
“Ah.” Lana nodded. “So why didn’t you invite him?”
“Because I figured if Tommy wanted him here, he would have told me to bring him,” she explained quietly. “He didn’t, and rather than say that to Alex, I took the coward’s way out and didn’t mention anything.”
**********
