With a courage she didn’t know she possessed, she stared him down, silently daring him to refute her in front of Clarise.
He stared back, eyes glittering with fury. If looks could kill, she would have crumpled lifelessly to the ground.
He only has as much power and control over you as you grant him.
Finally, his expression softened, a flash of genuine, raw pain moving through his eyes. The look was so sudden, and gone as quickly as it had occurred, that Rowan almost wondered if she’d imagined it.
Clarise was staring back and forth between them as if watching the end of a close tennis match.
His smile came out as a grimace. “All right, Rowan,” he said in a calm, pleasant voice that belied the hardness that had returned to his gaze. “We’ll reconnect later.”
Turning on his heel, he left the gallery.
A sense of vertigo washed over Rowan, and she swayed, trying not to topple over. Clarise was there a moment later, a hand on Rowan’s upper arm, a concerned expression on her face. “Hey, you okay? You look awfully pale.”
“No, I’m fine,” she asserted, if a little breathlessly. “Let’s go see the space.”
As they walked together toward the back of the gallery, the world righted itself. She was done allowing others to decide what was right for her. She’d stood up to a bully, and he’d backed down.
John Garfield was gone.
At least for now.
Chapter 16
“That’s it, Jeff. I think you’ve got the hang of it now.”
That Thursday night Eric was in his private dungeon space working with a Dom interested in developing his bondage skills. He’d given his usual spiel about bondage safety—having a safeword and signal, avoiding areas where nerves were too close to the skin, checking for any circulation issues, starting out loose and not attempting suspension on your own without proper training—and then they’d gotten down to business.
Because the guy had no partner, Eric had asked Katrina, one of the pleasure subs from the Masters Club, if she’d like to participate in the session. A bondage junkie and not currently in a relationship, Katrina had eagerly agreed.
It had been five days since he’d seen Rowan, and Eric felt like he was going to jump out of his skin. In the past, he’d never hesitated to pursue a sub when he was attracted, letting her know he was interested and available. But because of the way Rowan and he had met, and because he recognized she needed her space right now as she figured things out, he’d forced himself to remain on the sidelines.
Just being a friend was driving him nuts. He sensed she felt something for him, too, but he didn’t want to rush her. It mattered too much to him—she mattered too much to him.
He was grateful for his restoration work and his training business, as they distracted him from his thoughts, sometimes for hours at a time. And no question—Katrina was a nice distraction. She had stripped down to only a lacy thong, her arms extended in front of her as Jeff practiced his knotting skills. They were working on a Somerville bowline knot—a double column tie that worked well under tension.
Katrina was a pretty girl with pale skin that marked easily. Her large, doe eyes reminded Eric of Rowan’s, though they were blue instead of a rich, velvety brown. She even sounded a little bit like Rowan, her voice low and pleasing, though without Rowan’s sexy huskiness. If only it had been Rowan standing there, her gaze fixed on Eric as he slowly, sensually wrapped her body in silken ropes, restraining her for her pleasure and his.
He’d kept in touch with her daily via text, trying to balance his genuine concern for her safety and wellbeing with her need for space. He sensed he mustn’t press her, no matter how much he wanted to, no matter that it was killing him inside.
His primary concern at this point was that Master Fuckface watched his step and kept his distance. While Rowan continued to reassure him she was fine, she still hadn’t retrieved her things from that asshole’s house. Eric had half a mind to borrow the van and take a drive to Scarsdale on his own. If the guy put up even the slightest resistance, what a pleasure it would be to punch his lights out.
It was only a fantasy, of course. Eric had no intention of inserting himself in Rowan’s business to that degree, however much he wanted to. She didn’t need him going all gorilla he-man on her. It was ultimately her call, not his.
“This is awesome,” Jeff enthused, pulling Eric back to the moment as his trainee admired his own handiwork. “Let’s truss her up from head to toe and then suspend her. You down with that, sub girl?”
“Oh, yes,” Katrina agreed happily. “The tighter the better.”