Page 102 of Masters of Secrets

“Thank you.”

“Of course. Are you ready to order?”

Ordering gave Camille a chance to come to terms with the new world order—really, Julie couldn’t blame her for her response. She hoped it wasn’t too indicative of how people would react when they found out, though. Connor was already on edge about that. She didn’t think anyone would really be upset with him, but she understood where the fear was coming from.

They put in their orders. By the time they were done, Camille was past her initial reaction, a contemplative look in her dark eyes.

“So… Connor is a sub. You know…”

“We might have realized it if we’d been looking at his behavior and not him,” Olivia said, finishing her sentence for her.

“Exactly.” Camille shook her head. “I can’t believe we all missed it.”

“Well, we also believe people when they say what they want and what they are. There was no real reason to look deeper when he was so certain that he was a Dom.” Julie had been thinking about that all night, especially since she’d been the instructor for his class. “He doesn’t make a bad one, though I think that’s partly because he’s dedicated to giving people what they need. So, when a submissive needed something from him, he was able to top her in order to fulfill that need.”

“That makes so much sense.” Camille tapped her finger against the table. “Freddy is going to be so mad he didn’t realize.”

Olivia chuckled.

“I think a lot of people are going to be mad they didn’t know.” The redhead rubbed her hands together gleefully. “When does Law find out?”

“Tonight. Connor is going to tell him.” Julie shot her a look. “And no one is going to give Law a hard time because I don’t want him giving Connor a hard time.”

“Aw, you’re no fun,” Olivia complained.

“That’s not what Connor said last night,” Julie retorted with a smirk.

“Wait, wait, wait, I’m behind.” Camille put her hands up in a ‘stop’ gesture. “I got the who but not the how—how did you find out Connor is your secret admirer?”

It took until their food got there to catch her up on the final note and Connor’s appearance, then both of the other women on what happened after she joined him in the booth. Not that she went into too much detail, but they were also Dommes, and she wanted their opinions.

Some of what she was doing with Connor was uncharted territory, just because she’d never been with a submissive who entered the lifestyle thinking he was a Dom before. Camille and Olivia listened, their reactions mirroring each other’s as she went into the night.

“So, you’re dating now?” Camille was the first to speak once Julie was done, she and Olivia glancing at each other in surprise. “Not that I’m against it, understand, but it just seems kind of fast.”

“Well, we’re not going straight into a committed relationship. We’re getting to know each other first, which is what dating is for.” Though, to be fair, it wasn’t as though Julie dated much. She was far more used to scening with no commitment than dating… and, truth be told, she tended to be a serial monogamist more than someone who dated a bunch.

“That’s true. I feel like the people around us just go from zero to full speed ahead very quickly, so that’s what I’m used to.” Olivia laughed. “On the other hand, all of them were in denial about how things would go in the beginning…”

“We’re just dating.”

“Okay.” But she said it with a smirk.

As Julie narrowed her eyes, Camille pressed her lips together in obvious amusement.

“He just admitted he’s submissive, and he hasn’t even told his friends yet.”

“Uh-huh.” Olivia picked up her drink to take a sip. She was saying all the right things, but her tone indicated otherwise.

“Is it okay to tell Freddy?” Camille asked, cutting things off before they could devolve. Which was probably a good thing. Sometimes, she had to play the role of peacemaker, but she didn’t seem to mind much.

“Yes, but ask him not to tell anyone else until tomorrow… and maybe check in before that.” Just in case Connor didn’t actually follow through with telling his friends.

Olivia frowned at her, as if reading her thoughts.

“He’s going to tell them.” She sounded very sure of it. Far more sure than Julie felt.

“I know he plans to, but…” Julie shrugged. She didn’t want to set herself up for disappointment. Just in case. She could remember the number of times her ex had said he’d do something, only to never follow through. Not that he’d ever said he would tell anyone he submitted to her. That was a secret he would probably prefer to take to his grave since it didn’t suit his idea of a ‘real’ man.