Page 22 of Stripping the Sub
“If you liked it,youshould have put a ring on it,” Adam said, as seriously as he could while reciting Beyoncé lyrics.
Their dynamic always entertained Michael. Adam was good for Angel in so many ways; not in the least that he could sometimes actually get the better of her when it came to teasing. Most of the time, he either ignored her attempts at riling him or spanked her for them, but sometimes he gave as good as he got, and watching Angel flounder when it happened was phenomenally enjoyable.
“Oh no, Mommy and Daddy are fighting,” Leigh managed to choke out between spurts of laughter. “Oh dear, what have I done?”
“Mommy and Daddy are engaged in foreplay,” Michael responded, draping his arm around Ellie’s shoulders with a casualness he didn’t feel. To his relief, she didn’t pull away; instead, she leaned into him, and his spirits lifted even higher, although he didn’t dare show any outward reaction. “They’ll probably thank you later.”
Angel’s head whipped around so she could glare at him. “You annoy me.”
Solemnly, Michael looked over her head at Adam. “She’s switching targets; that means you won the argument.”
The feisty little noise Angel made sounded an awful lot like a growl. Pulling her back against him, Adam gave her ass a little swat as he started whispering in her ear. Probably something dirty and distracting, going by the changing expression on her face.
******
Leaning against Michael, tucked under his arm as he teased Angel and Adam alternatively, felt weird but nice. Weird because she’d never allowed this kind of intimacy from another Dom - actually from another man in a really long time - and nice because… well, because his arm felt strong, and secure, and protective. She especially appreciated the last feeling because she was getting a few dirty looks from the Lounge area where the unattached submissives were gathered.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out why they were so pouty - Michael was hot, sweet, and excellent with a whip. A lot of the subbies had crushes on him. A lot of them had had crushes on Andrew too and had somewhat resented she’d been his only regular play partner. That resentment had been amelioratedwhen nothing more than play came from it, especially after Kate showed up, but now that she was playing with Michael for a second weekend in a row, she wasn’t entirely surprised some of the other submissives were a little disgruntled.
There were others who were cheering for her though. Tori gave her a thumbs up and a wink. They weren’t friends outside the club, but they hung out sometimes at Stronghold, and Tori had always been urging Ellie to do more than just play with the Doms. A few of the other submissives smiled encouragingly at her. So it wasn’t all jealousy and resentment, but she still liked having Michael’s arm around her.
Warm.
Secure.
The last time she’d felt like this…
Ellie stiffened as her breath caught in her throat. Choked her.
Fear and adrenaline surged as her heart jumped, pounding, white noise roaring in her ears as spiders crawled across her skin. Phantom fingers slid through her hair, gripped, and she jerked.
Jerked away.
“Ellie!”
“Step back, let her breathe!”
“Ellie? Honey, are you okay? Ellie?”
“I’m okay,” she said, gasping slightly, blinking rapidly as her sight started to clear.
Notice what’s around you, Ellie. Dr. Amy’s voice in Ellie’s head was calm, grounding, beginning the familiar routine she’d made for herself to help with her anxiety and panic attacks. What do you hear? What do you see? Where are you? Focus on what’s actually happening.
Music was playing.
She was sitting on a barstool, two arms around her back holding her stable, one coming from either side. The hard body of a man on her left, the soft press of female curves on her right. She leaned right, towards safety and the smell of vanilla.
On her left, a hand wrapped around hers, fingers sliding into hers, and Ellie immediately relaxed.
Safe. I’m safe.
She took in a deep, shuddering breath as the awful band around her chest dissipated, her fingers gripping the hand holding hers hard. It took her a moment to realize the person whose hand she had in a death grip was Michael’s, while she leaned on Leigh. Across the table, Angel looked like she was about to jump out of Adam’s arms to get to her.
Jake reappeared beside Adam, a short glass with amber liquid in his hand. He put it on the table in front of her. “Here, have a bit of a drink, you’re pale as a sheet.”
“Thanks,” Ellie said, her voice sounding slightly cracked. She blinked back sudden tears as humiliation swamped her.
She hadn’t felt like that in years.
