Page 25 of Dance for Me
“Beside Loki is Master Atticus.”
Jesus Christ on a cracker. Mountain Man had obviously lost his sense of direction on his way to rip out a tree with his bare hands. Legs the length and thickness of a tree bough stretched in front of him, muscles straining the material of his black leather pants. His poor shirt was in the same predicament, stretched to capacity over shoulders and biceps that were not meant to be contained.
He wore a full beard, black like his hair but scattered through with flecks of silver. Neatly trimmed, well groomed. His full mouth smiled at her kindly, but his green eyes assessed her with the criticism of a rancher choosing which cow to send to slaughter.
Bodie wrenched her gaze away quickly as ice slithered down her spine. What did she care if he judged her? He didn’t know her, and she had no intentions of getting to know him.
“Atticus might look like someone who hauls heavy machinery around on his shoulders all day, but he’s the biggest softie we’ve got.” Braun’s hand ran up and down her thigh in reassurance. “As long as subbies follow the rules, he’s a gentle giant.”
And if they didn’t follow the rules? What did he become then?
“I don’t need to introduce you to Liam, of course. So that leaves our lovely Mistress Connie.” Braun inclined his head toward the woman reclining regally along the seating. “Connie is like the mother hen of subbies, Bodie. Takes everyone under her wing and guards them. If there’s something you need to talk about that you can’t with anyone else, Connie will listen.”
Connie was a full-figured, confident woman by Bodie’s guess. No one who lacked confidence would dream of stuffing themselves in a neon blue corset voluntarily, let alone torture their feet in six-inch needle-thin heels. The Mistress radiated sex with every breath.
Tawny blonde hair curled around her shoulders. The colors in the strands ranged from blonde to white, tan to brown. It looked like a deer pelt in sunlight. Her eyes were a virulent shade of gray, storm clouds on the brink of raining destruction down on an unsuspecting country, but there was a kindness in them when they pinned Bodie’s that eased the roiling tension inside her.
“Braun and Liam told us you’ve had a rough time lately,” Connie said with a sad smile. “We’re not miracle workers, but if you decide to hang around for a while, this place tends to make the outside world fade away. Especially with those two jokers,” she laughed throatily and jerked her head toward Loki and Atticus.
Dubiously, Bodie eyed Mountain Man. If he was a joker, she was a fish. Her gaze refused to loiter on him for more than a few seconds; he intimidated the hell out of her. Instead she found more comforting company in the shape of Liam—or thought she had.
Her friend stared across the room, obviously lost in thought.
“Connie, would you mind bringing Bodie’s present for me?” Braun asked pointedly. He tucked Bodie in closer and, for the moment, she was willing to allow it. She didn’t want to do anything to attract the attention of the people around her...oh, but wait, they were already suffocating her with their stares.
Connie slapped Liam’s shoulder and purred, “Would you do me a favor, big boy, and go fetch what his Lordship requires from behind the bar? I’m far too comfy to move.”
Startled from his reverie, Liam gave the Mistress a baleful glare. “Beg? your pardon, Mistress, but I’m not one of your whipping boys. But...I’ll consider it if you do me a favor in return.” He smiled wickedly. “You might not like it.”
Wow. Keeping her head tucked into the safety area beneath Braun’s jaw, Bodie observed the exchange between the two Dominants with wide-eyed fascination. It never occurred to her they might laugh and mess with each other like...well, like friends.
She thought they’d be more stilted, with sticks up their asses, and the stink of their dead sense of humor infecting everyone within a mile radius. Wasn’t that part of why she wanted nothing to do with this whole thing? Being around people with no personalities, no humanity, was what she wanted to avoid.
But Liam and Connie...
The Mistress narrowed her eyes at Liam. “What favor am I returning?”
“I need to blow off some steam tonight. Lacey’s coming earlier than usual as she has to leave before eleven. I’d appreciate it if you’d woman the bar for an hour while I take care of business.” Liam wiggled his eyebrows, pleased with his wordplay.
“That was poor, even for you, William,” she chastised, then sighed and rolled her eyes. “Fine. I’ll take care of your precious bar for an hour. But you owe me another favor. An hour in exchange for thirty seconds is unfair. Deal?”
Liam shrugged. “Yeah, I can live with that.”
They shook hands firmly. Liam winced as Connie’s hand squeezed hard enough for the woman’s knuckles to turn white, but the Mistress didn’t flinch. With a grunt, Liam pushed off his seat and stepped up and out of the pit to head for the bar.
“I asked some of these guys to pick some stuff up for you on their way here,” Braun explained in a quiet voice, drawing Bodie’s attention to him. “Loki and Atticus got you something fun to play with, and Connie brought you—”
“Pizza!” Liam announced, stepping off the edge of the pit and landing next to Braun. He had a pizza box balanced on the fingertips of one hand, and he offered it to Bodie with all the flair of a seasoned waiter. “For you, madame. Margherita. Stuffed crust. No anchovies, mushrooms, pineapple, or peppers. Just lots and lots of cheese.”
Her stomach perked right up, doing cartwheels of delight as the scent of food assaulted her where it hurt. Saliva pooled in her mouth. “This is for me?”
Liam crouched, still balancing the pizza, and smiled at her. “We felt bad we didn’t have any proper food for you earlier, so the boss here pulled some strings and got you takeout. It might be on the cold side, though; you were asleep for longer than we expected.”
Her muscles turned to stone. How much had Braun told them about what had happened in his office? Was that sort of thing kept in confidence or was it common knowledge now that she’d lost her shit and blubbered all over him like a pathetic loser?
Suddenly the blanket and his arms were claustrophobic. She desperately wanted space, air, distance. If he’d said anything to the others, if they knew how she’d broken down so quickly...she would have to hurt them.
“What happens in my office stays in my office, little one.”