I didn’t want to jinx it,” Abby said.
“We’ll be living here part-time. We’re not selling anything,” Nathaniel explained.
Everyone started talking at once. Dena let go of his hand and sat down beside Julie and Abby. Soon the women were talking with their heads together. Daniel shifted Julie so she could better talk with them while still keeping his arms around her.
Nathaniel was discussing the new house with Daniel, but Jeff couldn’t pay attention to the conversation. His focus kept slipping to Dena.
It was several minutes before he realized the two men weren’t talking anymore.
“Why do I have the feeling I’m going to have to find a new submissive for my mentees to work with?” Daniel asked.
A streak of possessiveness like nothing he’d experienced shot through Jeff’s body. It shocked him; he’d never had a problem with Dena helping with the mentor program before. And yet he heard himself answer, “Because you probably will.”
Daniel gave a resolved sigh. “Guess I better start looking through files.”
“Last I heard you were switching it up.” Jeff chuckled, thinking about Ron and Mistress K. “Literally.”
“Yeah, but that was just a onetime thing. Now there’s the potential I’ll have to look into replacing her permanently.”
Jeff crossed his arms and cocked his head. “If you’re waiting for me to say I’m sorry, you’ll be waiting a long damn time.”
“No way in hell am I wanting you to apologize. If that’s the way it turns out, it’ll just create a slight headache for me.”
A movement in the corner of his eye caught Jeff’s attention. “Speaking of mentees.”
Ron, Daniel’s mentee, approached the group and nodded at the men. “Excuse me, Master Covington, Master Parks, Master West. I wanted to speak to Dena.”
Something in the way he looked at Dena made Jeff want to pick him up by the nape of his neck and kick him out the door. It wasn’t necessarily a leer, but it wasn’t a look of honor and respect either. Not that Jeff could fault the young man. Dena looked fucking hot in the cream-colored outfit. Besides, he didn’t want to prove Dena’s Neanderthal comment right.
The two other men looked to Jeff, and Jeff nodded, appreciating the subtle request for his permission.
But apparently the request was too subtle for Ron to pick up on. “Ladies,” he said, interrupting whatever the women were talking about, and Jeff growled deep in his throat.
“Ron, hey,” Dena said, a slight look of irritation in her expression.
Ron didn’t seem to pick up on that either, though he did grimace a bit at the use of his first name. Too damn bad, Jeff thought. The term “Master” would never be bestowed upon someone still in the mentor program.
“I was wondering if you’d like to join me in the upper bedroom, Dena?” Ron asked.
Doesn’t he see she’s with someone? Jeff took a step forward, but Daniel held out a hand. Let her handle it, he seemed to say.
“Sorry, but I’m not playing tonight,” Dena said with a fake smile.
“Your outfit suggests otherwise.”
I’ll rip his—
Daniel’s fingers dug into Jeff’s upper thigh as if he knew what Jeff was about to do. It gave him momentary pause. “Control your mentee, Master Covington, before someone else does it for you,” Jeff ground out.
Daniel’s grip didn’t loosen. “Ron, you extended an invitation and you were refused. It may be cliché, but in this group no means no.”
“Yes, but—” Ron started.
“If you argue with me or disrespect a submissive again, you will be removed from the mentee program. Now apologize to Dena.”
He paused a bit too long for Jeff’s liking. “Now.”
“Sorry, Dena,” Ron said. There may have been concession in his voice, but there wasn’t a trace of remorse.
“It’s okay,” Dena replied.
“It sure as hell is not okay.” Jeff still didn’t like the look on Ron’s face or the halfhearted manner of his apology. If that made him a Neanderthal, so be it. “Dena, let’s leave.”
She gave Julie and Abby hugs, promised to call soon to set up a lunch date, and rose to her feet. “I arrived early, Master Parks. I’ll have to see if I can get my car out.”
Jeff kept his eyes on Ron as the younger man stalked off. “Leave it here. We’ll take my truck.”
They bade everyone a hasty farewell and then stopped back by Kelly’s office to get Dena’s coat.
“You really didn’t have a chance to talk to Nathaniel,” she said as they made their way outside. “I think they’re going to have dinner with Daniel and Julie. I could change and we could join them.”
“I’ll call him later,” he said, opening the door for her to get into the truck. “And no way. We’re spending the evening alone.”
She didn’t say anything, but she looked pleased they weren’t joining the other couples for dinner. Jeff pulled onto the street. “Mind if we go to your place? Mine’s still a mess.”
“Sure. Did you bring your bag?”
“Overnight bag or toy bag?”
“Either one. Both.”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t really answer my question.”
He grinned in the dark. “I know.”
She mumbled something under her breath but didn’t say anything else. As he drove away from Kelly’s house, he felt the tension of the night ease. No matter what happened at the party, he was with Dena and they were headed to the privacy of her home.
Because it’d been a while since she’d been at her apartment, Jeff insisted on looking over everything. Nothing appeared out of order, and there was no new note waiting.
When they made it inside, Dena hung up her coat.
“You need to put on a robe or something,” he said, looking over her outfit. “I want to talk for a bit, and it’ll be damn near impossible with you wearing that.”
She kicked her heels off. “If you insist.”
“I’ll pour us some wine,” he said, walking toward the kitchen while she disappeared into the bedroom. He didn’t know his way around Dena’s apartment since she’d rented it after they broke up, but he knew she had excellent taste in wine. Though he preferred a good craft beer, he had grown to appreciate some of her recommended vintages.
“Help yourself,” she called from the bedroom.
He opened the refrigerator, deciding he’d open a white wine, and found a four-pack of his favorite local brew sitting on the shelf.
“You’re a dream come true,” he said, taking out a bottle for him and a Riesling for her. “Has anyone ever told you that before?”
“Once or twice.”
He turned to find her standing in the doorway. She’d slipped a robe on that somehow matched what he knew lay underneath. Her feet were bare, and she’d rearranged her hair so it was swept to one side, the curls spilling over her shoulder.
“You want to talk?” she asked.
No, not really. Not with her looking like she did. But he knew they needed to. “I have to hear about you being a Domme.”
Her laugh was soft and seductive as she took the offered glass of wine and led him into the living room. She sat on the couch and patted the seat beside her. “Yesterday I went and had a little chat with my dad.”
He took the offered spot. He sat just close enough to feel her presence without actually touching her. “How is Senator Jenkins doing?”
He listened as she recalled her visit and her threats. When she got to the part about lying, he gave a low whistle. “You would actually do that?”
“Without thinking twice. Would it actually work?” She shrugged. “Who knows? He thought it would, and that’s all that really matters.”