Page 5 of Defended
He doubted he'd see Urbanski at the club any time soon. Alexander had told him that the older gentleman and his wife were strictly vanilla, and more amused than intrigued by the standing membership all three partners had to Black Light. They'd never visited the club.
In respect of that, conversation didn't turn to Black Light until after Urbanski excused himself, needing to get back to the office to meet with a client.
"You're coming to the club this weekend with us, right?" Alexander asked. He was playing with Sienna's long braid while she finished the duck fat French fries she was eating slowly, obviously savoring them.
"That was my plan," Kawan said, grinning widely.
“I won’t be there,” Connor said, leaning back in his chair, only sounding slightly regretful. “Ella and I are going to New York for the weekend.” Ella was his fiancée, a sweet and sassy spitfire whose masochistic streak matched Connor’s sadistic one perfectly. They’d known each other for years, but got close after being matched at Black Light. Although, now that Kawan thought about it, both couples had come out of the yearly Valentine’s Day roulette game the club held.
Well, if he hadn’t found a match for himself by next Valentine’s Day, maybe he’d take a spin at the wheel and give himself over to the hands of fate.
“I’m sure this won’t be Kawan’s only visit,” Alexander said, giving him a sidelong look. He knew all about the implosion of Kawan’s last relationship and what Kawan was hoping to find with this move. “Even though he has his own membership now and doesn’t need either of us to get him through the door.”
"Itisthe best perk of moving here,” Kawan acknowledged mildly.
Connor chuckled and elbowed Alexander in the side. "I told you that's why he agreed to come work for us."
"It wasn't the only reason, but it definitely helped," Kawan said, winking at Sienna when she looked over at him. She giggled and Alexander mock-scowled at him.
"Stop flirting with my fiancée," he admonished, although it was clear to anyone who knew him that he wasn't actually bothered by it. Although he and Kawan could be competitive with each other, they'd always kept their competitions to grades, moot court, and mock trials during school. Their relationships were hands off, other than meaningless flirting, something that Sienna had at first been startled by, but which she now often played into in order to tease her dom.
"You're only engaged; she still has time to change her mind and come let Daddy Kawan spoil her." Kawan winked again and Sienna giggled harder, ducking her head when Alexander turned his gaze to her. "I promise to be a much nicer Daddy than Alexander is."
"Don't listen to him," Alexander instructed her sternly, but his blue eyes were dancing with amusement. "His girlfriends think they're going to be pampered and spoiled, and the next thing they know they're in a diaper with a bottle in their mouth."
The smile on Kawan’s face froze in place as he forced back the memory of Krissy’s accusations. Thatwasexactly what he was looking for. But he wanted someone who would enjoy it. Who would thrive under those circumstances. Fortunately, Connor didn’t notice anything wrong.
"Nothing wrong with that," Connor murmured, a little smile spreading on his lips, but they all knew that for Sienna, that kind of baby time would be more of a punishment than a pleasure. Not that Alexander couldn’t make it enjoyable if he wanted to, but ‘baby time’ wouldn’t be Sienna’s preference.
"Shhhh, Sir," Sienna said, holding her finger to her lips as their server approached, her cheeks bright pink from the conversation. She gave the young man a brilliant smile as he cleared their plates and offered the dessert menu.
Alexander really was lucky to have her.
Watching them gave Kawan a familiar pang of envy. Visiting Black Light was definitely going to be a priority. Hopefully he'd be able to meet someone who wanted the same things he did. Someone who wouldn’t feel the need to deceive him.
The wide, soft, doe-eyes of Melody Williams flashed through his mind again, and he pushed the image away. Their instant attraction aside, she wasn't what he was looking for, what he needed. He was sure by the time he got to the club this weekend, he'd have forgotten all about her.
* * *
No changes.
Sighing, Melody sat up and stretched, her back aching from all the time she'd spent bent over the microscope this afternoon. Comparing the new cultures to each patient’s bacterial profile was tedious but necessary work. Even a small change in their gut microbiome and blood sugar could be impactful to the research, if it were the right kind of change.
As much as she wanted her PhD, she also wanted her research to mean something. To make a difference. Her mom struggled with both diabetes and depression, which was what had drawn Melody to this particular study.
Not that her mom really understood how looking at her poop could affect her mental health, but the important thing was that Melody understood it.
All my reading material has butt stuff.
The thought made her smile.
Glancing at the clock, she winced as she realized it was actually no longer afternoon, it was almost evening. Everyone else had already gone home and she was the only one left in the lab. She needed to get her butt in gear if she was going to make dinner for herself and Peggy and then get ready to go out to Black Light tonight. Thankfully, she was almost done—and had almost caught up on everything she'd fallen behind in this week.
It had meant pulling some longer hours than normal, but it was worth it. For once, Melody didn't mind at all. Long hours were a hell of a lot better than being in jail.
Not for the first time, her mind wandered to Mr. Park again. She had found her thoughts straying to him quite often over the past few days. Every time she had to put down and pick up her purse.
I hope you've learned your lesson about leaving your belongings unattended.
