A bottle of water was held up to her lips and she drunk thirstily.
“Sorry about that, Sir.”
Duncan glanced down at her. “Don’t be. I love that you felt safe enough, first to reach subspace and then to fall asleep in my arms. I want you to lie here a bit longer, though, until I’m sure you’ve come back a bit more.”
Although she felt slightly shy about lying here in his arms, the comfort it gave her far outweighed any embarrassment. She glanced around as Duncan went back to speaking to a Dom sitting to his right. She saw Rusty James sitting across from them. Duncan was talking to Rusty’s brother, Brand. A slight brunette kneeled between the two men. Occasionally, Rusty would pat her head then Brand.
That didn’t surprise Laken; many citizens of Haven shared their women. After all, she had two dads and Lila had three fiancées. She wondered what their visitors thought, though, as she spotted Marc and Tarin making their way over. Jake walked with them, a curvy blonde behind him.
Urgh, Madison Simpson. Laken had gone to high school with her and Madison had been one of those perfect, perky cheerleaders who was a complete and utter bitch on the inside.
What was Jake doing with her? He could do way better.
“Evening everyone, Duncan, Rusty, Brand.” Jake sat and pointed at the ground beside his feet. Madison kneeled gracefully. Of course she did. Was there anything she did that wasn’t graceful? Laken could barely walk down the street without tripping up over her own feet.
“Everything okay?” Duncan whispered.
She nodded. “Yes, Sir.”
“I’d like to introduce you to my old friend, Marc,” Jake said casually as Marc sat beside him, Tarin kneeling between his legs. “Marc is here visiting.”
Madison sent Laken a look of disgust. Laken barely managed to refrain from sticking her tongue out, the only thing stopping her was the knowledge that others might see. She didn’t want to embarrass Duncan.
She wiggled slightly and Duncan helped her sit, pulling away the blanket.
“Okay, now?” he said.
“Yes, Sir, but I need to go to the bathroom.” She said it loud enough for Tarin to hear.
“All right. Straight there and straight back, though,” he ordered, taking his time to help her stand as Tarin asked Marc for permission to go with her.
Unfortunately, Laken heard Madison ask Jake for permission to go as well. Damn her, what did she want?
Madison flounced ahead of them which suited Laken just fine. Tarin chatted away and Laken answered her absentmindedly, trying to keep her nervousness under control.
Stop being a wimp! You can go to the bathroom without him holding your hand.
Laken used the toilet then stepped out of the cubicle to see Madison looking in the mirror.
“You’re just a plaything for him, you know,” she said to Laken.
“Excuse me?” Laken said coldly as she washed her hands.
“Duncan. I don’t know what he sees in you but he’ll soon lose interest. He always does.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Laken said with false sympathy. “Is that what happened to you? Did he reject you?”
Madison glared at her. “No, I’ve never played with him.”
Laken gave her a fake smile. “Wow, that must hurt, to have never even been noticed by him.”
Madison scowled. “Don’t get too attached. He’ll dump you too.”
“I’ll be sure to wait with bated breath,” Laken assured her as the blonde turned with a huff and strode from the bathroom.
“Wow, lovely, isn’t she?” Tarin said, coming up to watch her hands.
Laken sighed. “We went to school together. She was the popular cheerleader. My friend Lila and I were tomboys. We never got along.”