Page 82 of Stripping the Sub
Steely grey eyes pinned her in place. Olivia’s tight fitting leather pants, corset, and half jacket did nothing to soften the aura of menace emanating from her. She was the epitome of in-charge Domme on a mission, and Ellie quailed under that hard gaze.
“Let’s go inside,” Andrew said, putting his hand on Sharon’s back so she’d let go of Ellie long enough for Ellie to allow them past.
She retreated back into the apartment, sighing in exasperation as an orange blur zipped down the hall to hide in her bedroom. Sure, the only other person in the world he wasn’t shy with was Michael. That was… just great. It would have been nice to have a cat to hold. Something to put in between her and the others. Like a safety blanket.
Kate, Andrew, and Sharon sat down on her couch, while Olivia took the comfy armchair, looking an awful lot like a queen taking the throne. Ellie eyed the Domme warily. She was well known around the club, both as a mother hen and someone who doled out tough love.
“So are you here to tell me the hard truths?” she asked, using her defensiveness to go on the offensive. Olivia’s unblinking stare was unnerving her more than anything else could.
“Oh no,” Olivia said, her voice low and smooth. She gestured at the three on the couch. “You get them first. Unless you’re uncooperative. Then you get me.”
Ellie shuddered. Olivia smiled. It wasn’t a comforting smile. Then she sat back, looking over at Andrew as if passing the reins.
“Don’t look so scared, Ell, we’re just here to check on you and make sure you’re okay,” Andrew said as Ellie sank down into her other armchair on wobbly knees. “We would have been by earlier, but we were trying to give you space, and since you weren’t picking up your phone, we figured that’s what you needed.”
“You can’t just quit the club though!” Sharon jumped in, leaning forward earnestly. She looked upset, reflecting Ellie’s own unhappiness about leaving Stronghold. “You need it, Ellie.”
“I’ll be okay.” She inwardly cursed at the absolute lack of conviction in her voice. She was normally a better liar. Even though she wasn’t looking at Olivia, she could feel the Domme’s gaze, burning into her side.
“Michael’s promising he won’t come back to Stronghold, so you don’t have to quit,” Kate said quietly. Unlike Andrew and Sharon, she wasn’t leaning forward, she was sitting back against the couch, studying Ellie as if trying to gauge her reactions. “He’ll stay at Marquis.”
A jump of joy at the thought that she didn’t have to quit Stronghold was washed away with despair at the idea of going to Stronghold without Michael there. Of chasing him away. Of being there without him.
“He thinks you blame him for the rape,” Kate said, her voice just as quiet as before, but she sliced Ellie to the quick with that simple statement.
“What?! No! Of course not! I just… Of course it’s not his fault, how can hethinkthat?” Ellie’s mind whirled. She hadn’t meant to make Michael feel guilty or like she blamed him. How could she when he had nothing to do with it? He’d been out of her life by then.
Sharon answered, rather than Kate. “He thinks because he left, you were more vulnerable. That he wasn’t able to protect you, even from afar, because you two lost touch. He thinks if he’d stayed friends with you, if you’d kept talking, that you would have never dated Lawrence.”
Pressing her hands against her head, which was starting to hurt, Ellie groaned. That wasn’t what she’d wanted. She hadn’t meant to make him feel guilty or like she blamed him.
Did some part of her think it was kind of true though? She probably wouldn’t have dated Lawrence if she’d still been in touch with Michael. Because she would have beentoo busy crushing on Michael. Even if she’d gotten over her crush, she would have been too ashamed to tell him she was dating one of the guys he’d had to protect her from, no matter how much it seemed like Lawrence had changed.
But that didn’t make it Michael’s fault! She’dneverblamed him.
She’d only ever blamed herself.
Gentle hands lifted her up and the next thing Ellie knew, Andrew was sitting down in the chair and pulling her onto his lap. She immediately looked for Kate; the blonde was kneeling next to the chair, her hand on Andrew’s leg, concern on her face as she looked at Ellie. Kate had never been anything but generous with Andrew when it came to Ellie, something which caused Ellie no shortage of guilt. She hated feeling like a burden, and it was impossible not to when she was using someone else’s man for her own needs.
“Ellie, do you like Michael?” Andrew’s deep voice was firm but not stern, demanding an answer but not judging her.
“Of course I do!” She turned her face towards Andrew’s chest, not wanting to look at all the eyes on her. It wasn’t as good as cuddling with Michael. Andrew was broader. Harder. Didn’t smell right. “Michael’s amazing. He deserves… everything.”
Andrew’s familiar hand rubbed her shoulder. A softer, smaller hand came to rest on her knee. Comforting her. Warming her. Creeping through the defenses she’d spent the last few days trying to shore up again.
These people… it didn’t matter whether they were Doms or subs, this group of people didn’t leave a wall standing.
“You think Michael deserves everything he wants?” Andrew mused.
“Yes,” Ellie said, her voice breaking just a touch as her heart started to hurt again. Michael did deserve everything. Just thinking about him with someone else made her whole being ache, but she wanted it for him. Wanted him to have everything he deserved.
“So why aren’t you giving it to him?” Andrew’s voice had shifted to a hard demand for information, his Dom voice, insistent and unyielding.
“I- I’m not-” Ellie stammered as her thoughts skittered. She hadn’t been expecting a questioning demand from Andrew. Was left scrambling for an answer to his question. “He deserves better than me.”
The truth shriveled her and she curled up tighter on Andrew’s lap as tears, never far away these days, threatened again.
“You-”
