Page 15 of Danger and Dominance
He kept thinking abouther.
How was she spending her day?Was she feeling better after a night at Jensen’s?Was she scared when Kincaid left?If he’d left already.They hadn’t discussed what time he would be leaving.
Kincaid wasn’t too happy with him right now, so they hadn’t talked much.Kincaid would have to suck it up, though, because he might be right, but David had still made some good points.He wasn’t going to apologize for wanting things to work the way they were supposed to.Or for worrying about what would happen if Cassidy’s ex started dating someone else.
Were they just going to watch him for the rest of his life, trying to interfere with any relationship he had?
That didn’t sound feasible.He and Kincaid had both been right, in their way, whether Kincaid wanted to admit it or not.
They might be able to keep Don out of the clubs, but that didn’t mean keeping him out of the dating pool.There was only so much they could do about an adult woman deciding that she wanted to date him.And now that he was banned from the clubs, if he was even dumb enough to try going back to one after his last ex had been rescued from one, he would just keep his activities to himself.The next woman would have even fewer avenues for help than Cassidy had.
Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Which was easier said than done.
He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, ignoring the little look his grandmother shot him.
That he was worrying about Stronghold and Don’s possible future girlfriends was a measure of how safe he felt Cassidy was now.Which was good.She deserved to be safe.To live a little—within the parameters they’d set up until they were sure her ex had moved on and wasn’t looking for her.
She was a submissive, so she’d probably want to visit the Outlands, eventually.It would probably be best if David screened any Doms that she scened with.Or maybe she wouldn’t be interested in scening at first.Had Kincaid mentioned if she’d kept going to Stronghold after her rescue?
Even if she hadn’t, if she felt safe enough up here, she’d probably want to go.David would make sure he was familiar with her limits so he could keep an eye on her there.Just in case she panicked or had a flashback or needed anything.
Maybe he should scene with her first.That was probably a good idea.He’d be able to get a handle on her needs, her triggers, then he could watch out for them even when she was scening with other Doms.That way, he could make sure she chose Doms who would match well with her.Doms who would understand what she’d been through and not push her too hard.
Yes, that was a good idea.
Not exactly his purview as her security, but what kind of Dom would he be if he didn’t make sure a submissive under his protection in one way was protected in all ways?It wasn’t outlined in his responsibilities, but he wasn’t the kind of man who only took partial responsibility.All or nothing was more his speed—and ‘nothing’ tended to be a challenge, if he was being honest.He was far more comfortable taking on all responsibility.
A sharp elbow in his side made him flinch, and he looked down at his grandmother, frowning.
Her head only came up to his shoulder when they were sitting down.She was dressed in one of her “Sunday suits,” as she called them—today’s was powder blue—and a matching blue hat perched on top of her flossy white hair.The wrinkles around her laugh lines deepened as she grinned up at him unrepentantly.
“The church service is over, David.”Her voice, high and light, had a distinctive crackle to it that made it instantly recognizable in a crowd.
He blinked and looked around.Sure enough, the swelling music wasn’t another hymn or the choir; it was the recessional.All around them, people were gathering their things and starting to stand up… and he hadn’t even noticed.
Way to be aware of your surroundings, David.
But he couldn’t kick himself too hard.He always relaxed his guard during service.Normally, he wasn’t so lost in thought that he missed the end of it, though.In large part because he was usually eagerly awaiting the end so they could get to the part of their Sunday tradition that he liked the best—after church lunch with his grandmother.
“Right, sorry.”He got to his feet, holding out his hand to help her to hers.Her hazel eyes were still sharp, and she was eyeing him suspiciously.
“What were you thinking so hard about?”she asked.
“Work.”
It was technically the truth.Not one that she wholly bought, though, because she continued to eye him suspiciously as they made their way out of the sanctuary and through the greeting line to say hello to Pastor Nikeisha.David smiled, said the right things, and made sure he was focused on what was in front of him and not veering off to think about Cassidy.
Not that it helped his grandmother forget.She held her peace all through the car ride to the House of Starrett, their preferred Sunday lunch place, and until they were seated with their menus and had their drink orders in.Once he was lulled into complacency, that was when she struck.
“What are you working on right now?”The innocence in her voice didn’t fool him any more than his answer of ‘work’ earlier had apparently fooled her.
Sighing inwardly, David looked up from the menu.It wasn’t like he really needed it; he already knew he was going to get a salmon salad.The menu was just a prop to help him hide from this exact conversation.
“Well, there’s a fundraiser coming up to kick off Senator Marlin’s campaign for governor.We’re coordinating with OHS to provide security for the event.”High profile because not everyone was happy that an Indian woman was running for governor.Governor Williams had been exceptionally popular during his time in office, but he was ready to retire, as was his lieutenant governor, so the field was wide open.
Since Governor Williams and Senator Marlin were from the same party, everyone assumed she was the natural successor, but there were already rumblings from some areas about both her race and her gender.
