“Not. At. All,” was Ella’s reply.
Why is that? Kyler pondered.
Why had Ella run away from there, and, more important, whom was she avoiding? He knew all her family was deceased, but to hate a place so intensely seemed odd. He asked gently, “Do you not have friends there who are missing you?”
Ella glanced to him for a quick second before she cast her gaze downward. “Not really.” She lifted her head and gave him a fake smile. “Never had super-close friends there, I guess.”
He didn’t like that polite smile. She battled something intense inside her and he ached for her to lean on him. He wanted her to trust him. More than anything, he craved to protect her from whoever had hurt her. Besides, how could she have no friends from her past? She was so personable. Christ, he hardly knew her and she had him smitten.
His thought was confirmed when Presley scrunched her nose and said, “I find that hard to believe. You’re so fun.”
Ella smiled softly. “Well, thanks. I think you are, too.”
Kyler watched the sweet exchange. He believed Presley wasn’t placating Ella. Her face lit up around Ella, which it tended to do around most people Presley liked. She was a caring woman and showed her love for people. Kyler welcomed the idea of Ella and Presley becoming close. She couldn’t have found herself a better friend.
Ella sipped her wine, then asked Presley, “You’re also new to the club, right?”
Presley nodded, glancing at Dmitri with adoring eyes. “I’ve belonged for a few months n
ow.”
Kyler couldn’t look away from Ella. He noticed the slight arch of her brow in curiosity as she watched Dmitri and Presley. In fact, Kyler had seen interest cross her expression all damn night. He assumed she was trying to understand Dmitri and Presley’s relationship.
From the softness in her gaze, it seemed she liked what she saw. How could she not? Dmitri and Presley were a prime example of what a healthy D/s relationship looked like. That had been one of the reasons Kyler planned dinner tonight.
He wanted Ella to see that outside of the dungeon, Dmitri and Presley were a normal couple. It made the submission element to it all a little less daunting to know it wasn’t a 24/7 type of arrangement. The other reason: He liked the idea of his friends getting to know her.
“Did you enjoy your past weekend in the club?” Dmitri asked, grasping Presley’s hand on the table.
Ella chuckled. “That would be a giant yes!”
Dmitri and Presley laughed with her, but Kyler couldn’t find any amusement. He hated the façade that Ella put on. He detested that something was weighing on her, and that she hadn’t shared it with him. Or that she had no one to share it with at all.
He would’ve preferred that she had friends in Savannah. Friends she could talk to about her problems. More than ever, he wanted her submission to prove how safe she was with him. But her lack of sharing was exactly what stopped him. Until he talked to Aidan and got a little more insight into how to broach the subject with Ella, he’d tread lightly.
He cared for Ella.
That brought caution.
A warm hand pressed against his under the table. He turned to Ella, and her brows furrowed as she asked, “Are you okay? You’re pretty quiet tonight.”
“Of course I am.” He squeezed his fingers around her hand. “I’m here with you, aren’t I?”
Her face brightened and her smile was a little more honest. This he wanted for her: that free expression without hints of the tension or deep-rooted pain she kept bottled inside.
“Well, I’m glad,” she said. “This past week I’ve had more fun than I’ve had—”
Her words cut off and her eyes widened. As if she’d nearly said something that she would’ve regretted. So close. Yet not close enough. Leaning in toward her, he brushed his fingers over the soft edge of her cheek. “In a long time, I know.”
The side of her mouth arched. “It’s all because of you, you know that, right? Thank you for letting me be a part of all this and sharing your friends with me.”
He grinned and then lightly pressed his lips against hers before he whispered across them, “Ah, sweetheart, it’s all because of you, believe me.”
A dreary and rainy Tuesday morning came and went with a mountain of paperwork and e-mails. Aidan was due home from his honeymoon on Friday, and Ella began counting down the hours. Not to say she didn’t hope he was having a nice time with his new wife, but keeping the impatient lawyers and clients at bay called for some serious dodging techniques. Besides, she anticipated Friday for an entirely different reason.
She enjoyed the dinner with Presley and Dmitri, but last night, a stirring developed deep inside her. Which only increased with her late-night reading when she finished the BDSM book. She was starting to understand how the D/s relationship worked.
Somehow, seeing how normal Dmitri and Presley had been outside of Club Sin made it all a little easier to accept. Giving up control wasn’t so scary, knowing she wouldn’t have to do it all the time.