“Totally!” This came from Julia. “With Ashlynn, as the saying goes—if her lips are moving…”
“She’s jealous,” Gabriella concluded. “And angry because no matter how fast she chases after Master Alec, he’s always three steps ahead—and having none of it.”
Emily glanced up and found him watching her. “I can’t imagine Alec running from anyone—man or woman.”
“You’ve had a taste of her tonight. Would you blame him?” her rescuer asked. “My friends call me Gaby, by the way. Clearly, Ashlynn isn’t one of them.”
“Thanks for having Emily’s back in my absence,” Alec told her.
“Us subs have to stick together when there is a bad one in the mix.”
“You shouldn’t have to,” Alec replied. “Dev will want to know.”
Emily moved closer to him. “From the look on his face while speaking with her, I think he already does.”
“I’ll follow up with him in the morning, just to be sure.”
“She’s the worst of the lot,” Gaby said, her gaze tracking toward the sidewalk where Ashlynn had disappeared. “I can fill you in on others to watch out for, including some of the dominants you might want to steer clear of. Mistress Regina, for example.”
“I’ve already had the pleasure. Julia and I work for her catering company.”
Gaby’s smile didn’t slip, but she went very still—too still—for half a heartbeat. Then her head tilted—subtle, assessing—as if she was filing the information away before the easy grin returned. “You’re a braver woman than me. That mistress scares the ever-loving stuffing out of me. It’s late. I should head out myself. Master Alec,” she said with a little bob, before nodding to Emily. “I’ll look forward to seeing you the next time.”
Emily was about to offer her thanks again, but she was already gone. “Is stealth required for membership? People appear and disappear like smoke around here.”
“She’s right about one thing. Things are never dull,” Alec deadpanned, steering his two charges toward the front. “Would be nice if the excitement stuck to the scenes instead of detonating all over the damn patio.”
***
Julia didn’t say a word the entire way home. She sat staring out the window, silent and unmoving, every time Emily checked on her in the back seat. With Alec in the car, she couldn’t ask, but she was dying to know what happened.
They both walked her to her door. Emily gave her a tight hug, whispering, “I’ll call you in the morning.”
The drama with Ashlynn and Julia’s quiet unraveling left Emily more unsettled than she wanted to admit. The only small silver lining? Her anger at Alec—her outrage that he’d actually thought another dom’s kiss could solve things—had cooled.
At her own apartment door, he took her key, unlocked it, flipped on the light, then stepped aside. When he didn’t follow her in, she turned, confused. “You’re not coming?”
Despite everything, she wasn’t ready for him to leave.
“It’s late,” he said softly. “And you look exhausted.”
Her hands flew to her face. She hadn’t looked in a mirror since they had sex. She probably looked wild.
“Still beautiful,” he said, reading her thoughts as they formed. “Just tired.”
Some of the tension bled out of her. He wasn’t wrong. It had been a long twenty-four hours.
“You need rest,” he continued. “And I think we both need to process tonight. Do you have class tomorrow?”
“Skills lab, which is optional. But I’m working the breakfast shift—four to nine.”
He pulled out his phone, frowning at the screen. “It’s after one. How do you function on less than three hours of sleep?”
“I’m used to it.”
“I don’t like it. You can’t keep up that pace.”
“It’s not as though I have another choice.”
