Stronghold (Stronghold 1) (7 page)

So they went back out into the
room where Owen was waiting by the door, chatting with a good looking guy in
his early thirties.  Michael was still over talking to the businessmen,
apparently completely unaware that his girlfriend of five years had been upset
enough to cry in the bathroom.  Going by the concerned look that Owen shot
Leigh, he'd noticed.  Too bad Owen wasn't single.  He was a pretty
fantastic guy.
 

"Ladies this is my friend
Jordan, Jordan this is Angel and Leigh."  After introductions were
completed Owen smiled genially at all of them.  "Angel, I was hoping for a
dance perhaps?  And Leigh, would you mind accompanying Jordan to the dance
floor so that I don't have to worry that I've abandoned him?"

"Thank you," Angel said
to Owen as he led her onto the dance floor.  Glancing over at Leigh she
could see that her friend actually had a genuine smile on her face as she
looked up at Jordan.  He was a pretty attractive guy, seemed just as
friendly and nice as Owen, and this would give Leigh something to do other than
standing next to Michael smiling like some kind of Stepford Wife.
 

"No problem.  Is she
okay?" 
 

"Sort of.  But I
shouldn't talk about it."

"Ah, I see," Owen
nodded as he began to move her around the dance floor.   Although he
didn't know any fancy moves, he was good enough that he didn't step on her feet
and Angel didn't feel the need to constantly look over her shoulder to see
where she was going.  She did look around at some of the other guests
anyway.   All the beautifully attired wealthy people, smiling and
talking.  There were politicians, minor celebrities like Owen, CEOs and trust
fund babies, all packed into the same room like glittering ornaments. 
Such a huge different from the dark, kinky atmosphere of Chained last night.  If
this were one of her romance novels, Master Adam would be here watching her
dance with Owen and he'd feel such jealousy at the sight that he'd come and
claim her.
 

Now that was a thought that did
devilish things to her lady bits.  Too bad things like that didn’t happen in
real life.  And even if he was here, he thought she was a Domme so it’s not like
he’d claim her anyway.  That would be rude.  Still.  It was a fun little
fantasy to have.

"What's that smile
for?"  Owen asked, giving her a slightly puzzled smile of his own.
 

"Oh," Angel said,
covering her lips with her hand immediately and then laughing before placing
her fingers back on his bicep.  "I was just thinking about
something."

"Another man?"  He
pouted at her.  "Figures, I have a beautiful woman in my arms and she's
thinking about another man."

"Better watch those
compliments Mister or I'll think you're trying to turn my pretty little head
with your celebrity ways."

"And what if I am?" he
teased.
 
Angel mock glared at him. "Then I‘ll tell your wife on you."

“Aaahhhh, she pulls out the big
guns!”

They both laughed.  Angel really
enjoyed hanging out with him, even if she was somewhat disappointed at missing
out on a Saturday night at Chained.  They danced, they mingled, and Owen kept
both Leigh and Angel on his arms.   Leigh danced with Jordan again and
with a couple other men who were also attending the benefit, giving Michael
plenty of time to make his own connections and conversations.  All in all
it was a pretty fantastic night, even though she found her thoughts constantly
wandering to Chained and wondering if the group of men she had met last week
had returned. 

Wondering what her night would be
like if she had gone there instead.

They'd ended up taking a van down
to Chained because Chris, Justin, Jessica, Liam and Hilary had all decided to
come with Adam to "see Rick."   Although obviously the main goal
was to see the Domme that Chris, Andrew and Rick had told everyone else
about.  All in all, Adam was almost surprised it wasn't a larger party.  They
were having a pretty good time razzing him.  Well, the guys were.  Jessica
and Hilary just seemed honestly intrigued.  He really liked both of them and he
thought his friends were pretty lucky to have found them.  They all had
the kind of relationship he’d started thinking he would like.  Which is
why he wondered, for the umpteenth him, why he was wasting his time by going to
Chained again tonight.  Despite the many questions his friends kept asking
about Angela, Adam just kept replying that she was nice and that she was not
the reason he was going there again.

Liar.

Although the look on the others'
faces when they got their first good look at the tacky decor inside Chained was
almost worth the drive just for itself.  Chris just sighed as he looked
around.

"I kept thinking that maybe
I was misremembering when I thought about the decor, but if anything it's worse
than I remembered," Chris said, his fingers wound firmly through Jessica's
hand as she looked around the space with an expression caught between horror
and amusement as she took in her surroundings.  Hilary was snuggled up under
Liam's arm, giggling to herself with wide eyes.  He shot her a smile.  She'd
come a long way from being the terrified little tourist who had practically run
for the hills after her first night at Stronghold.  Liam was a lucky man.
 

"So where's Mistress Angela?"
Justin asked, scanning the people rather than the decor.  He dismissed
things like that as superfluous; his interest was in seeing "Adam's
Mistress" as he'd been calling her all week, not in seeing the club. 
Adam had a feeling that Justin had picked up the nickname for Angela from
Chris, but Chris would never use it in front of Adam because he knew he
probably wouldn't be able to get away with it.  Since Justin worked for Adam,
he had to show a little more restraint.  Beating up his employees didn't
exactly do much for morale, even if they deserved it.

"I don't see her,"
Chris said, scanning the room now for the same thing.  "I do see Rick
though.  Hey man!"

They all turned to the direction
where Chris was looking as Rick walked up to them, looking rather surprised at
the large grouping.  Of course it didn't take him long to figure out why.

"Well if I'd known a Domme
was all I needed to get you guys down here to Virginia I would have found one a
long time ago," he joked as they headed to a table near the bar.  Well,
some of them.  Justin and Chris split off to play with Jessica since
Angela wasn’t there yet, leaving him, Liam, Hilary and Rick to sit at the
table.  Liam pulled Hilary onto his lap, stroking her silky blonde hair as she
settled into him.  Both Rick and Adam watched somewhat enviously.
 

It had been way too long since
he'd had a relationship.  The last one had been Brooke, just after college, and
had lasted a little over a year.  They'd both been interested in BDSM but
it hadn't worked out because the more they'd learned the more they'd realized
they weren't really compatible.  Brooke was more of a masochist than Adam
was a sadist.  While he liked to see a pretty butt reddened from spanking
as much as the next Dom, Brooke wanted hard whippings and canings along with a
little bit of needle play.  Which was just a little too much for
him.  When Brooke had gotten a job across the country and had to move away
it had been a relief to end a relationship which had already been on its way
out.  After that, he'd taken the time to really learn about what he wanted. 
At Stronghold he often did erotic flogging demonstrations and he was one of the
Doms that Patrick used to help introduce new subs into scening.  Actually,
most of their group of friends helped with that, as well as occasionally
serving as Dungeon Monitors.
 

Now that he wanted to settle down
and find a woman to have a relationship, he was getting stuck on Mistress
Angela.  And why?  It couldn't just be pure physical attraction. There
were plenty of women who were physically attractive.  But there was just
something about her.  The confusing responses she gave him were
intriguing.  He'd enjoyed seeing her light up with excitement last week
after taking a tour of the club.  And there was the theater connection.  Not
that he'd been involved in that since high school, but there was always a
certain kindred spirit thing when it came to theater people.

The young male submissive serving
them caught his eye.  It was the same one as last week.
 

"Excuse me," he said,
catching his attention.

"Yes, Sir?" he asked,
keeping his eyes cast downwards in the proper manner.  Well trained.  Attractive.
 So why hadn't Angela had an interest?  Especially after the young man seemed
more than willing to bend over backwards for her?

"The woman who was with us
last week, have you seen her here tonight?"

"No, Sir.  Mistress Angela
was here last night."

"Thank you," Adam said
in dismissal, trying to stem the wave of disappointment that he felt.  Why had
she come last night instead of tonight?  Chance?  Or was she avoiding seeing
him in the same way that he was trying to see her?  As he turned back to his
friends he realized that the conversation had stopped and Rick, Liam and Hilary
were all grinning at him, obviously listening in on his questioning of the
server.
 

"What are you going to do if
she even shows up?" Rick asked, his eyes dancing with laughter.

Adam sighed and rubbed his
goatee.  "I don't know," he admitted.  Now that he was here he was
starting to think that coming had been a pretty dumb idea.  And that
letting his friends know was an even worse one.

"But you just had to
ask," said Liam.  "Man have you got it bad."

"Be nice," Hilary said,
looking up at Liam who raised his eyebrow reprovingly at her. She rolled her
eyes at him.  "Please be nice,
Master
." All of the Doms
smiled, hearing the gentle reproof in her voice.  Their relationship didn't
include the Master honorific and Hilary only called him that when she thought
he was being overbearing.  Liam's mouth quirked in the ghost of a smile and he
gave her ass a reproving slap, although not an overly harsh one, earning a
stunning smile from her.
 

"Thank you, Hilary,"
said Adam, glaring at his friends.  "At least someone at this table likes
me."

"We like you, which is why
we don't want to see you get involved with someone inappropriate again,"
Liam said.  He'd been at Stronghold when Adam and Brooke had first started
going so he knew why their relationship hadn't worked out.  And had seen all
the women Adam had dated since, which he’d ended up rejecting for one reason or
another along the way.  "Why are you so hooked on this Domme
anyway?"  Adam groaned.  Like he hadn't been asking himself that same
question over and over again.

"I don't know," he
muttered.  He seemed to be saying that a lot about Angela. 
"Don't worry about.  We won't be coming back here again."

"I'll say," said Liam.  "Sorry
Rick."

"No problem," Rick said
easily.  "I like Stronghold better anyway.  I'm starting to think
about moving – not just because of the club.  I've already put in a job
application to some of the school districts in Maryland."

Well that news quickly turned the
conversation.  Everyone was glad to hear that Rick was moving closer,
although Adam found himself distracted as he looked around the room, thinking
about Angela.  Trying to pretend like he wasn't looking around in hopes that
she might come back again tonight.  Not that he had any idea what he would
say if she did show up.
 

Fortunately no one commented on
his distraction and he contributed to the conversation as best he could. 
Apparently Rick had been butting heads recently with his school and wanted a
place where he could have a more creative curriculum.  Good luck with that.

Once it got late enough that he
felt sure Angela wouldn't be coming he started to feel even more frustrated. 
The night had been a complete waste of time, for both him and his
friends.  Firmly he squashed down his irritation with her.  It was his own
damn fault for deciding to come here anyway.  And for getting hung up over
a Domme.  Even a gorgeous, mysterious one.  Besides, if he really
wanted to see her again, all he had to do was go see her show.

A smile spread across his face.  Now
why hadn't he thought of that before?  Maybe because it seemed a little
stalkerish. 
Like that thought has stopped you so far.
 But he did enjoy
theater at all levels.  And the show wasn't that far away from where he
lived. 
 

Feeling much better about the
night in general, Adam took another swig of his beer and joined back into the
conversation.

******

“Five minutes to start!”

“Thank you five!” Chorused the
women in the dressing room.  All of them were in the various finishing stages
of putting on their make-up and costumes or placing the last pins in their
hair.

Leaning forward, Angel smeared
her lips with pink that matched her pink capris exactly.  Pink capris, yellow
button down sleeveless shirt, pink high heels and a pink and yellow hairband. 
She giggled and tossed her hair back and forth; for this part she’d straightened
it and given it a little flip at the bottom.

“We look amaaaaaaazing,” sang out
Rhonda, the older woman who was playing the part of Lucy.  She was decked out
in bright purple skirt with blue flowers and a white button down top, with a
huge straw hat that had a purple ribbon and flower on it.  During rehearsals
she and Angel had become pretty close, because they were the two biggest
pranksters on the female side of the cast.

Angel grinned at her. “I feel
like we could be a Starburst commercial.”

“With Karen over there in the
green and Mrs. Malaprop in her orange and red, absolutely!”  Rhonda laughed,
gesturing to their other two cast-mates.  Karen laughed, but Susan, who was
playing Mrs. Malaprop, just rolled her eyes.  Covering a cough, Angel looked at
Rhonda with twinkling eyes.  They had both done other shows with the County
Players and so had worked with Susan before; she was a great actress but her
sense of humor was rather nil.  Which, funny enough, made her perfect for
comedies.

Leaning over, Angel licked
Rhonda’s bicep.

“Ew!  Stop!”

“I was just trying to taste the
rainbow!”  Angel looked at her with wide, innocent hazel eyes.  This time even
Susan couldn’t help but smile, although it was accompanied by another eye roll,
as the room filled with laughter.

“Are you decent?”  Nick, their
assistant director popped his head into the room without actually waiting for
an answer, scanning over them quickly.  “You ladies look fantastic.  God I love
dress rehearsals!”

“Me too!”  Angel bounced towards
him, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek and leaving a pink pair of lips on the
pale skin of his cheek before heading out the door and down the hall.  Even
though places hadn’t been called yet she was tired of being cooped up in the
dressing room.

It just wasn’t her natural state
to be enclosed in small spaces, she had too much energy to burn and her spirits
were too high!

Over the past couple of days
she’d made the decision that she was definitely going to go to Stronghold once
the show was over.  Going to Chained had been scary the first time, but by the
second time she had to admit that she didn’t really feel like a club was all
that dangerous of a situation.  She’d been able to see firsthand how many
checks and safety measures Chained had in place, and it was a new club which
meant that Stronghold would probably have even more due to years of trial and
error. 

So there was no point in going
all the way back to Chained and teasing herself with Doms that she couldn’t
actually try anything with because she’d lied to them.  Better to just go to
Stronghold and start something she could actually finish.  Plus she’d talked
with Mike last night and he’d reassured her that she would be just fine; he
hadn’t been to Stronghold in a while, but he knew that the owner was well known
for looking out for people who were new to the scene, especially unattached
subs.  Too bad Mike was in California or she’d be making him take her to the
club.

Sure, the sexy unattached Doms
that she’d met at Chained wouldn’t be at Stronghold, but there would be
other
sexy unattached Doms.  Maybe even more than there were at Chained – she’d heard
that there were usually more Doms than subs at clubs like these.  Or maybe
she’d just read that somewhere.  Sometimes she couldn’t remember what
information came from actual conversations that she’d had and what she just
remembered from internet research or the books that she was constantly
downloading on her e-reader.

“Places!”

“Thank you places!” she yelled
out, hearing the echo as the other cast members called their own
acknowledgments to the stage manager.