Page 7 of The Dom with the Clever Tongue

Cross left him to think for a while. No pressure, that was Cross’s MO.

A brown-and-white Fox Terrier broke loose from a gaggle of kids and ran toward them trailing its leash. As it trotted past Cross, he stopped it by putting his boot on the leash. Then he picked up the dog.

By the time a little girl in a pink dress arrived the dog was sitting on his lap panting happily and getting patted.

“Want your dog back?” Cross said, placing the dog on the ground before her and holding out the end of the leash.

The cute thing stared at him round-eyed. Malachi grinned, wondering what it was about Cross that had stunned her. The mad assortment of tats? His bigness? Or maybe the sun glinting off his biceps?

Then she bravely held out her hand and took the leash. “Thank you,” she whispered, before she twirled and sprinted off with the dog running at her side.

That was Cross to at. He looked scary but inside he’d do anything for people he liked.

“Okay, promise not to blab this all over hell’s half acre.”

“I do not blab.”

“One of the women was the butt of my jokes in high school. I used to be nasty to her.”

“No shit.”

“Yeah. Took me a while to figure out that I liked her.” He shook his head. “I teased her about being poor.”

“Dumbass. I was poor too.”

“Yeah, but I never thought you were cute, so I didn’t tease you. And now, she’s hotter than I even remember, and she and her girlfriend want me to...help them.”

Cross hissed in through his teeth and stuck his hands in his pockets. “So doessheremember you?”

“Definitely. She just about exploded when she saw me. She calmed down when she realized I wasn’t the same anymore. But I don’t think I’ve convinced heryet.”

“If you called her poor –”

“And worse probably. I can’t precisely remember all the insults.”

“You are so up shit creek. I don’t blame her if she thinks you’re a dickhead. When you’re a teenager those things hurt bad.”

“Uh. Thanks. Like I didn’t know that already.”

He studied Malachi. “She’s hot?”

“Reece? Yes, absolutely.” Whenever he recalled the party, he saw that hard-as-nails stance she’d taken against him. It had stirred something in him. He wanted to see if he could crack that defiance.

“Reece Duncan? Man, you’re so fucked. She was your prime target. And the girlfriend?”

“Scarlet?” Pale as sunshine hair, pretty figure. The challenging attitude that said, fuck you, I’m a girl who likes girls and you don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell. The idea of both of them together... Cross coughed and he looked over at the man. “What?”

“The look on your face. I never thought I’d see you this bad off after Ivy.”

“Fuck you.” But he grinned back. Cross had somehow put his finger on it. The two girls were getting under his skin. He hadn’t figured it out at all until now. “Guess you’re right. They are gorgeous. I need advice, though, not you rubbing my face in it. Should I get mixed up in this?”

“Reece. High school. Do you remember what I said to you at the time? That you’d regret being such a douche-canoe? Maybe this is karma.”

“Yeah. Yeah. Maybe. Do I have to string you up by your fingernails to get a serious answer?”

“No. Calm your tits.” Cross glanced at him. “They want you to help them figure out what kinks work for them?” He was obviously really thinking it through this time. Then he nodded. “Why not? You’re not a kid anymore. You’re a good man, a good Dom, even though you wander off when you should be disciplining your sub sometimes. I think you can do this. Just be very careful with Reece. Try it and see what happens.”

“You’re so helpful.”

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