Page 73 of Kane

Katie began to explain what had happened.

How humiliated she felt stripping down until she was naked. Showing Lyle her body. Being made to pose and expose herself in a way that she didn’t like at all.

‘I can’t believe he made you do that, it sounds awful,’ Katie said, her voice full of emotion. ‘This Lyle sounds like the grossest guy ever. I hope he never gets to eat another ice cream. Ever!’

‘It was my choice. I chose to do it,’ Cassie said, sadly. ‘I just couldn’t handle the thought of him exposing me. I know most people would have been supportive. But the things trolls do. Urgh. It was too much to even contemplate risking.’

Katie nodded.

‘I know, I know,’ she said. ‘Cage has had to deal with people like this. It’s never nice. Bad guys like this always seem to find a way to justify it. They know how to manipulate people and play on their worst fears. This Lyle guy sounds like he’s done this before. He also sounds like a big poopy asshole.’

Cassie and Katie giggled.

Even in a moment like this, the pair of them couldn’t resist laughing at the termpoopy head.The two of them, and Sydney too, prided themselves on always being able to laugh at the most sill, fun things. Calling someone a poopy head definitely fell into that category.

But Cassie couldn’t hide how sad she felt for long.

The second the laughter stopped her mind was back on the events that had played out.

The way that Lyle had relished every second.

The stale air in Lyle’s apartment. The slightly off smell.

The obvious excitement that Lyle was experiencing as Cassie had posed and modelled her naked body for him.

Every single detail was gross.

And it might not have happened if she didn’t mess things up with Kane.

Cassie would never know now. She didn’t have a time machine to go back and see it play out another way. All she could do was imagine what would have happened had she not gone to meet with Lyle in the first place. Or even better, if she had not replied to Lyle’s message at all and waited for Kane to arrive home.

But this was the past.

It couldn’t be changed.

Cassie knew she had to live with what happened.

But even as upsetting as all of that was, it wasn’t as painful as her situation with Kane.

‘I do think Kane was too hard on me,’ Cassie said, happily accepting a refill on her warm milk. ‘But thinking about it, he was just looking after me. He was worried. Like, super-worried. I can’t blame him for losing his cool. I just struggle when people shout at me.’

‘I know, you can’t be too harsh on yourself,’ Katie said. ‘Everyone reacts differently. Especially when you consider the differences between Daddies and Littles. Cage can getverygrumpy sometimes. Like, seriously. But even though it can be a bit scary when someone big and powerful loses their cool, I know he’s my Daddy and he loves me. I always feel safe.’

Katie’s words made a lot of sense.

Cassie could see they were coming directly from experience.

And from Katie’s heart too.

But Katie and Cage had been together for a while now. Their relationship was on much more even ground than Cassie and Kane’s.

‘I don’t know… is it possible it’s all over between me and Kane?’ Cassie asked, the words sounding awful out loud. ‘I don’t know what I’d do if it was. I’d cry for days. I wouldn’t let go of Bouncer the whole time!’

‘I don’t think it’s all over between you and Kane,’ Katie said. ‘I can’t say too much but I know from how Cage talks about him that he’s a good man. Cage wouldn’t be friends with him if he wasn’t. There will be a way to work things out.’

Cassie wanted to share Katie’s optimism.

But her cup of optimistic thoughts was far from full at that moment.