Little Tease (5 page)

“
Plenty of boxes left to check,” she said.

I shrugged. “Easier to figure out what to
un
check. Tell me what you don’t like.”

“
All the messy stuff.” She didn’t need to elaborate further on that one. “Pet-play. Age-play… and yeah, I know you think I’m into that.”

“
Lost that preconception the moment you stood toe-to-toe with me.” At her curious expression, I elaborated. “Lots of girls can wear pigtails. Only a few can wear them and look ready to kick your ass.”

She preened a little at the compliment. “So now you know.”

“
Mmm-hmm. Still working out what makes you tick, but I’m getting there… little tease.”

Lena bit her lip, watching me through her eyelashes. “You still wanna come inside?”

I reached out to run a finger up her thigh, from her knee to the hem of her dress, then a fraction higher. “Are you inviting me into your apartment, or just asking if I still want you?”

“
You’re toying with me,” she accused in a whisper.

I withdrew my finger from her thigh, and shrugged. “You started it. Why are you running from me?”

She drew a shaky breath, then leaned in to kiss my cheek. The brush of her lips across my skin was simultaneously not enough, and too much to bear. “Thanks for the ride home, Josh. Night.”

Before I could reply, she got out of the car and made for her apartment building, not sparing me a backward glance.

Picking up the paddle she’d left on the passenger seat, the wood still warm from her body heat, I tried to puzzle out this latest encounter. Every time I thought I had her figured out, she surprised me.

* * * *

I had to work the following club night, which pissed me off beyond all measure. If it had been any other week, I wouldn’t have minded so much, but since last week had ended on such an unfinished note…

I swallowed my irritation and called Heidi, ensuring that she knew why I wasn’t there so she could pass the message on to Lena.

Two weeks until I could see her again. It seemed like forever.

* * * *

Lena

Josh hadn’t been at Rack and Ruin two weeks ago, and I’d missed him. Heidi had assured me that he’d had to work, but part of me kept worrying that he was mad that I’d jumped ship in the middle of our conversation in his car. I’d left the club early, trying to tell myself I wasn’t moping about his absence.

I pulled on my slinky-kinky new dress and took a few minutes longer than usual over my make-up, then headed out to my car.

Half an hour later, I fiddled with the sleeve of my dress as I walked through the arch into Rack and Ruin’s social space, irrationally nervous and hating it.

He wasn’t here yet. I didn’t know whether I was disappointed or relieved. Either way, I let Izzy grab me and drag me to the bar, returning the greetings of a couple of friends on the way.

Around twenty minutes later, Josh walked in. My heart skipped, and I gave him a quick wave when he glanced our way. He relaxed a little, as if he’d been worried I wouldn’t show, and I tried not to grin like an idiot as he made his way over.

“
Hey,” he said softly, and leaned over to kiss my cheek. The gesture wasn’t lost on the people around us. Why was it that whenever we were together, all eyes were on us? “How’ve you been?”

“
Good. Still busy at work?”

“
Not so much now,” he said. “You want a drink?”

I accompanied him over to the bar to get the round in, and while we waited for the bartender to fill our order, I told him, “It was weird being here without you last time.”

Josh grinned. “Trying to tell me you missed me?”

“
Where were you both two weeks ago?” Ben wanted to know, butting in between us. “Having a little private scene somewhere?”

Josh’s eyes narrowed a little; he and Ben obviously didn’t get on, for some reason I wasn’t privy to. I decided not to ask.

“
No. Not that it’s any of your business, but I was working the night shift.” Josh’s words came out more biting than I’d expected.

Ben frowned and backed off. “Okay… Didn’t mean anything by it.”

We both watched him go back to his table, and then exchanged glances. “He’s the weirdest guy, sometimes,” I said.

“
Uh-huh,” Josh agreed, handing money to the bartender.

After a while, he took Smurfette into the dungeon for a scene, and I sat with Ben and Mel for a while. Something about the way Ben had been fishing made me suspicious.

“
So where were you last week, if Josh was working?”

The question came just a couple of minutes into our conversation, and when I saw Mel trying to discreetly nudge him into silence… that just slotted the puzzle piece into place. I’d seen this from them before, in more vanilla terms. “You’re getting people to bet on us?!”

“
Damn it, Ben,” Mel complained. “Now they’ll never do it.”

Rage and nausea warred within me, and I fought the urge to throw my drink at one of them. The only reason I didn’t do it was that I didn’t know which of them I should choose.

“
You two are unbelievable.” I bailed on them without another word and marched across the club and into the ladies’ room, figuring that at least I could get some space from
one
of them that way.

Mel gave me a couple of minutes to fume before joining me, and by the time she got there, my brain had already jumped to the next big question. The one that made my heart constrict.

“
Is Josh in on this?” I demanded, without giving her chance to speak. If he was… I couldn’t go any further with him. Not if he was laying bets on when I’d play with him. That was just one step away from betting on when he could get me into bed.

Mel’s eyes widened, and she shook her head emphatically, taking a step forward. “Oh, honey, no. Don’t even think that.”

The thought got to me more than it should have. He was just a guy. I could do without him. But after everything that had happened over the past couple of months, my giving in to him had started to become a matter of ‘when’ in my mind, rather than ‘if’. “Would you tell me if he
was
in on it? How much have
you
bet?”

Sensing my distress, she pulled me into a hug. I blinked back angry tears against her shoulder as she told me, “Ben has a problem. You know that. We’re seeing the therapist, but every now and then he can’t help himself. And I’d never hear the end of it if I didn’t play, so I put ten dollars on the end of next month, to shut him up.”

Ben could be a real asshole when he wanted to be. I’d never understood Mel’s fascination with him, but that was between them. I didn’t have the energy to get into
that
argument again. “I’ll give you twenty dollars myself, if you play straight with me. What does Josh know about this? Has he bet on me?”

Mel tugged one of my braids incredulously. “Oh, come on, Lee. I can see you’re upset. You don’t need to bribe the truth out of me…” Sighing, she leaned against the wall. “Josh knows what’s going on, but he wouldn’t touch it. He seemed more worried that if you found out what we were doing, you’d run from him just to avoid giving us the satisfaction.”

I wasn’t sure whether to be annoyed that he hadn’t come to me, or relieved that he’d respected me enough not to bet. I settled on pissed off with the whole situation. “Well, good… I guess. But damn it, Mel! If I play with him, someone gets cash from it. If I don’t, I could be missing the relationship of my life. What am I supposed to do?”

She shrugged. “Play with him a few times away from the club, and don’t tell anyone about it until it’s impossible for anyone to figure out when you started?”

“
You know Ben will just pay the person who bet closest to the time when everyone finds out.” Sighing, I checked my eye makeup for smudges, then headed for the door. “I’ll figure it out later.”

Without stopping to say goodbye to anyone, I headed out onto the street and called a cab as I walked. I didn’t know what I’d have said to Josh if I’d seen him.

* * * *

Josh

Once I’d settled Alex down in the social area of the club after our scene, I headed to the bar to get us both drinks, glancing around for Lena. She was nowhere near the bar, but she’d probably come over later.

‘
Later’ came and went, and Alex frowned at me. “Think Lena got jealous and went home?”

God, I hope not.
It seemed unlikely, given how many scenes she’d already watched us play, but sometimes people could be unpredictable. “You know her better than I do. You tell me.”

“
I’ve never seen her have a drama fit before… but she’s pretty serious about you.” While I digested that statement, she spun and waved to catch Isabelle’s attention. “Izz! You seen Lena?”

Frowning, Izzy crossed to sit at our table. “Saw her go outside a while ago, but she didn’t say goodbye, so I guess she just went to get some air. She’s not back yet?”

What if something had happened to her out there?
“Has
anyone
seen her come back in?”

Before we could even stand up, Mel appeared at my side. “Don’t panic. She just skipped out early.”

Her posture was defensive, and I reacted to it before I could stop myself. “
Why?
”

She flinched at my harsh tone. “She knows about the betting pool.”

Alex, Izzy and I shared a moment of silent realisation, and then I blanked them out, focusing on Mel with a scowl. “What the hell happened?”

“
Ben… was a little too obvious in trying to figure out where the two of you were a couple of weeks ago. Lena knows about his gambling problem, and she put two and two together. I’m sorry, Josh.”

“
When I get hold of him, he’s gonna have more than a gambling problem.”

Mel shook her head. “Please… he doesn’t mean to be the way he is. Don’t hurt him.”

Before I could answer, Alex chipped in. “How did Lena take it?”

“
Bad,” Mel said, seeming genuinely guilty. “She wanted to know if you knew.”

Her eyes were on me again, and I stared her out, waiting for her to come out with it. With a sigh, she continued, “I told her you did, but you wouldn’t bet. She wants to believe me, but I think she’s scared to, in case she gets hurt. Her guard’s way up, now.”

“
Well geez, genius; wonder what gave you that idea?” Alex rolled her eyes. “Keep Ben away for a while, or I might kick his ass myself. Josh, you mind taking me home?”

She’d been my sub tonight, and I wouldn’t abandon her, no matter how much I wanted to just get the hell home to think about the situation. Nodding, I headed past Mel and toward the exit, pausing only pick up my toy bag.

Alex was quiet on the drive to her place, and when I pulled over on her street, she was frowning down at her hands.

“
Hey.”

She glanced up, trying a smile but not quite nailing it.

“
Sub-drop, or just worrying about Lena?”

“
A little of both,” she admitted, and I put an arm around her shoulders, offering whatever comfort I could as a temporary Dom. “Hope us playing tonight didn’t freak her out.”

Something told me that was the last thing I needed to worry about. “We’ll see.”

“
You have a pen and paper?” Alex asked.

It took a second for me to process the request; I couldn’t contextualise it. “Sure.” Reaching into the glove box, I handed her the notebook I kept there, which was already turned to a fresh page.

She scribbled something down, then held it out to me. “Lena’s digits. Don’t call her tonight… but don’t leave it too long. She’s got an overactive imagination. If you give her too much time to think…” Ending the sentence with a shrug, she kissed my cheek. “Thanks for the scene, Josh. I had a blast. Well, before all this.”

“
Call if the drop gets bad,” I told her, and she smiled a little.

“
Looks like my roomie’s still awake. Don’t worry about me.”

“
Alex…”

“
I’ll call,” she agreed, if only to shut me up. “Goodnight.”

As she left the car and walked up the path to her front door, I stared down at the numbers scrawled across the page. Lena’s phone number. This hadn’t been the way I’d planned on getting it.

I just hoped I could come up with the right words when I called her.

* * * *