Page 4 of The Dom with the Clever Tongue

“Just his hands? Man, I have to draw you a diagram or something.”

Cross raised a brow. “Hmm. I have what – two girls? And you have...” Cross looked around expectantly. “Oh right. You’re single again. Maybe I should be the one drawing the diagrams.”

“Thanks, Cross. The lot of you piss off while I talk to this pretty girl.” He wavedthem away.

Cross and his girls strolled off and the big man’s rumbling chuckle trailed in their wake.

“Well,” Sabrina began, sounding amused. “This wasn’t quite how I pictured this. Malachi, this is my best friend’s girlfriend, Scarlet.”

“Nice to meet you, Scarlet. Sabrina has told me a lot about your situation, although she didn’t name names, of course.”

Sabrina smiled. “You two get to know each other. I’m going to go mix more sangria before this mob starts sobering up. And don’t mind his tattoos, he’s mostly harmless.” She headed back into the house.

With difficulty, Scarlet ignored the urge to follow her. She wasn’t great at small talk – that was Reece’s job.

“I work in construction. I don’t know many people without tattoos.” She smiled, hoping she seemed friendly without seeming too eager.

“I own a tattoo shop downtown. The Ink Haven. Over the years, between myself and my apprentices, I’ve gotten pretty covered in them. He smiled at her and turned his arms over so she could see the extent of his ink. Every inch of his forearms were covered in traditional-type tattoos – some well done and some a bit amateurish. “Everyone needs to start somewhere, and I’d rather let the new kids use me as canvas than have them screw up on customers.” His grin was open and friendly.

Scarlet felt her smile widen. “That’s nice of you.”

“Yeah, I’m almost a saint. My application’s in and everything.” His eyes glinted mischievously. “Really though, it’s just a mix of good business and remembering what it was like starting out. Everyone needs people to practice on.”

The man eyed Scarlet speculatively for a minute, which surprised her. She wasn’t a snappy dresser, so she often faded into the background when Reece was around. Then again, Reece was still in the living room as far as she knew.

“I’m not into guys, Malachi. Just going to throw that out there now. Don’t think of me as a potential conquest because it’s not going to happen.”And the guy Sabrina wanted to help them walks off in 3... 2...

He shrugged and grinned. “Can’t blame a guy for hoping, pretty girl like you.”

“Yeah, if you like your girls to look like dudes.”

“You’re way too pretty to be a dude. Then again, so’s Jude over there. I’d probably flirt with him too if I liked guys and if I wasn’t so scared of Q.” His eyes shone and tilted up when he grinned.

Scarlet quelled a smile and cocked a brow at him, instead. “So that’s how you got picked to help us out? You’re known as a desperate man?”

“I’ll try not to hump your leg, but you might want to keep a spare pair of jeans on hand.” He twisted his mouth wryly.

“Leg humping is a hard limit.” She chuckled.

“In my defense, though, Sabrina’s explanation was intriguing. Most of the kinksters I meet have been into it for years, or are new but mostly know what they want.”

The crowd cheered at something, but she ignored them. “Yeah, I admit that when it comes to kink, we’re a bit of a mess. I’m not sure what you’d get from helping us out, though. We’re monogamous and I don’t do guys anyway.”

“You’re hot and I’m bored. Even if I potentially have a chance to watch, it’s worth my time.” Did he always look amused? Weren’t Doms supposed to be menacing-looking? “I don’t have trouble finding willing partners. This just seems more interesting than the other offers I’ve had lately. So what are you hoping for help with?”

Scarlet grimaced. Tell him everything now? Here? She glanced around, but everyone was busy watching the shenanigans. The second group of Doms and Dommes was competing and people were shouting, betting, and not even looking their way. “I’m not sure what’s going on with us. We’re both drawn to kink but it’s always frustrating when we play around. I think our ideas of what we should want and what we do want aren’t matching up. Or maybe our kinks just aren’t compatible.”

The panic welled up in her chest again. What if they found out that kink between them wouldn’t work? Vanilla just wasn’t good enough anymore, but if that was all they had would Reece stick around? Would they end up resenting each other? The idea of giving Reece up was like choosing to rip a gaping hole in her own chest. She was her match in every other way, except this. But sex was important, even though thinking that seemed shallow.

Malachi squeezed her shoulder and looked down at her, his expression kind. For some reason having this stranger’s hand on her didn’t seem weird. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but it doesn’t look like happy thoughts. Before you go off on a mental tangent, let’s try figuring out if we can fix this. Even if you two just need someone else there to offer suggestions while you talk it out, I’m okay with that.” The last vestiges of his cocky demeanor fell away, and his eyes were sad. “My last serious relationship went south because we couldn’t get our kink life sorted out. If I can help you two with this I think it’ll help me, too.”

“You’re not sure if you’re a Dom?”

“Oh, I’m a Dom, alright. I just wasn’t the right Dom for her. She needed someone more serious and consistent. I don’t do that well.” He shrugged. “I couldn’t meet her needs and she was miserable. I tried to change my domming style to match her, but faking it only worked so long. I’m not an uber Dom – I’m an attention deficit Dom.” His light words and small smile at the end didn’t mask the regret in his eyes. He’d obviously loved her, but love could only fix so much.

Which brought her back to thinking about Reece. “I’m sorry things didn’t work out. Was it recent?”

“If recent and a year ago match up in your world, then yes, it was recent. Cross’s girls have been kicking my ass, trying to get me to look for another relationship, but I’m still not over Ivy. I don’t think anyone chooses to be the rebound girl and I’d feel like a shithead doing that to someone.” He snorted then took a swig of his beer. “Why the hell am I telling you this?”

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