Page 10 of The Dom with the Clever Tongue

Seeing Malachi sitting at a booth in the back corner of the café made her feel sick to her stomach. She lagged behind Scarlet a bit to work up some courage.

I’m not a chubby fifteen-year-old anymore. Even if shewasstill chubby, or poor, or ugly, no one had the right to make her feel like crap anyway. And putting her self-confidence in the hands of one man just wasn’t her style. Not since she’d grown into adulthood.

She still couldn’t believe she’d agreed to this. Sex therapy with her high school nemesis? What the hell was wrong with her?

Scarlet reached back and grabbed her hand. She gave it a squeeze and Reece knew it was a silent message. She was there for her. They were in this together. With a deep breath, she approached the table.

“Hey,” he said with a smile. Though he’d grown a beard, tattooed his body, and pierced his ears, she’d never forget that face. His mischievous eyes and wide smile took her straight back to high school.

Her stomach twisted and her heartbeat kicked up a pace. “I’m out.” She turned to leave but Scarlet caught her arm.

“Not so fast, kitten.”

Yeah, she figured it wouldn’t be so easy to get out of. She sighed and sat next to Scarlet in the booth.

“Kitten?” Malachi looked her over boldly from across the table.

Old wounds surfaced and she fought back a blush. Though she’d lost weightand learned how to dress her curves, she’d always have a little meat on her. In her experience, guys like him wanted a cute little size two. Bonus if they had porn star tits.

He nodded slowly as his grin widened. “Kitten. I like that.”

“Ugh!” She turned from him and looked at Scarlet. “Do we have to do this?”

Scarlet pushed a piece of hair back from her face tenderly. “You promised you’d try it. And it’s not as if we’re going to strip naked right this minute. We’re just going to...talk.”

“Exactly,” he agreed. “Though if you felt compelled to take your clothes off, I wouldn’t object.” This time he was eyeing Scarlet.

Men! In a burst of anger, she snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Your job isn’t to ogle us!”

He reached out and snatched her wrist, startling her. Somehow he managed to lean across the table and loom over her. When had Malachi Johansson ever looked so menacing? “If you snap in my face again, darling, you’ll be sorry.”

She opened her mouth to protest then stopped when he narrowed his eyes. Danger lurked just under the friendly surface. Something about his expression made her reconsider her smartass reply. Was he a “real Dom” like Sabrina had said? She held back a shudder. Messing with him felt like dancing with danger.

His brows shot up in question. “Are we clear?”

Though it stung her pride, she nodded stiffly. She just wanted his hands off of her.

A friendly smile replaced the stern look and he let her go. “Good,” he said as if nothing had happened.

Her mind raced. Something had happened, alright. She’d been caught up in some kind of spell. Where he’d held her wrist felt like a hot brand and his dark eyes had deflated her anger in a matter of seconds. Geez he was hot. Maybe this was a bad idea. It would be just her luck to develop a crush on him or something ridiculous. No. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. This was just a business relationship. Sex therapy. For Scarlet. It meant a lot to her and Reece would do anything to please her.

When she turned to check on her girlfriend, she found her staring wide-eyed at Malachi. “How’d you do that?” Awe was evident in her voice.

“Do what?” she demanded.

Scarlet motioned toward him. “He shut you up with a look.”

Malachi chuckled.

Oh crap. “No, he didn’t!” She could’ve kicked herself. Looking at Scarlet, she could see the wheels turning. Chances were she’d try that looming thing sometime in the near future. Too bad for her they were almost the same height. She’d have to get her kneeling before she could truly loom. Maybe that’d be lesson one. The Art of Looming. “Can we just get this over with?”

“Okay,” he agreed. “Why don’t you tell me what you’ve been doing and why you think it’s not working?”

“Well…” Scarlet shifted in her seat. “We know how things are supposed to work. We’ve read a lot about it. Our friends are into it. We both feel like we’re both Dom and sub so we take turns switching for each other.” She looked at Reece uncertainly.

“It’s not terrible,” she interjected. “It’s just...not great. Something is missing.”

He nodded empathetically. “What makes you think you’re switches?”

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