A smirk tugs at my lips as I watch her become Cesario andViola. Her delivery is flawless, making it evident that she understands each nuance, the duality of a woman playing two parts. She encapsulates Viola’s wit and intelligence.
“Disguise, I see, thou art a wickedness,
Wherein the pregnant enemy does much.
How easy is it for the proper-false
In women’s waxen hearts to set their forms!”
Her direct eye contact on that last line has my heart rate picking up. Does she know who I really am? Does she know I’m Daddy Dom? She can’t. She’d say something if she did.
I miss the rest of her monologue, too consumed in my thoughts. The audience claps when she finishes. I make an effort to appear interested in the next few auditions, but no one captures my attention like Emma. My body is keenly aware of her at all times, and I can feel her eyes on me.
Mackenzie slides a piece of paper with her casting notes on it, and I nod my approval, gesturing for her to proceed. I stand and close my notebook, clutching it against my chest as I turn to the students and lean back against the seat behind me.
I shouldn’t revel in her gaze, but fuck do I want to. No, I want her to look at me the way she looks at Daddy Dom. With adoration and trust. With so much fucking longing.
As Mackenzie explains the next steps to everyone, I quickly glance at Emma and grin when I catch her looking at me with a scowl on her face. It shouldn’t give me as much joy as it does.
Once the theatre is empty, I head backstage to turn off the stage lights, leaving a few work lamps on in the wings. My phone buzzes in my pocket when I push through the doors of the building, the bitter air assaulting my senses.
Mary
Can you spend the night over here tonight?
I wasn’t planning on coming into the city. I have classes tomorrow.
Sam is gone and I’m lonely.
I let out a deep sigh, knowing it’s going to be a long morning because I can’t refuse a friend in need.
I’ll be there.
Shoving my phone in my pocket, I make my way to the parking lot when I hear a familiar voice.
“Trent, stop.”
“C’mon, just one date. I heard you’re into all kinds of shit now.”
I pick up my pace, and as I round the corner, I see some pathetic fuck has Emma pinned against the side of a truck. It takes everything in me to restrain myself.
“Stop,” she pleads as he moves in close to the side of her face.
What the fuck.
I’m on him in seconds, pulling him off her and pinning his back against the truck, my forearm holding his throat in place. “She said stop, and when a woman says no, it means no.” I can feel her eyes on me as I work to calm my breathing. “Now get the fuck out of here and stay the fuck away from her,” I growl as I release him. He scampers away, slipping on a patch of ice in the parking lot before he rights himself and retreats without looking back.
When I look over, her eyes are glassy like she’s looking through me. It reminds me of that time after our first session when she cowered from me in the hallway. She slides down the car, but I grab her biceps before she can hit the ground. I pull her up, shifting my hold to her elbows as she leans back against the truck.
“Are you okay?”
She nods slightly, and I know she’s lying. “Do you havesomeone I can call for you?” I ask, knowing I can’t outright offer to call Alyx, or it’d blow my cover.
“The person I need hasn’t spoken to me in months,” she admits quietly, and a piece of my heart cracks. “I need him.”
“How do I contact him for you?” I ask, even though it kills me. I wish I could be that person for her. I wish we could be out in the open, but it’s not just my job keeping us apart. It’s a rule I cannot break, not right now, and even if I did, I can’t afford the scrutiny this religious school would unleash.
“I don’t think he wants to hear from me.” She looks down at her boots.
