Page 238 of Double Daddies
Taking a stab at what she was trying to say, Clay sighed happily. “It’s strange, at first. Same as anytime you move houseor state. Things are different, nothing’s where it’s s’posed to be, and all the faces are new. But after a few days, it feels like home on a deeper level, right down where it counts. You learn the layout of the cabins, put your stuff where it makes most sense, and those new faces become familiar real fast. Lots of friendly people here, sweetling.” He shot her a pointed stare, adding a smile. “Lots of people with the same kinks and interests.”
Her lip trembled, but she firmed it quickly. “More people like me?”
He chuckled. “We’ve got Littles coming out of the woodwork, Avery. If coming here is what you really want, you’ll fit in just fine.”
She inhaled shakily. “Is it safe?”
Clay’s phone pinged with a text; it was probably Evander checking to make sure he hadn’t got lost in the damn forest, as if that would ever happen. Ignoring it for the moment, he watched a bulldozer at the far side of the club shove a small mountain of earth out of the way. “You ain’t got nothing to worry about, Avery. The security team here is solid, and there isn’t a Dom on the property who wouldn’t step in if something went awry.”
She nodded, but her nerves were obviously starting to affect her.
“Any more questions, comments, concerns before I take you down to meet Evander?”
“This is a big step,” she said to herself. “How do I know it’s the right one?”
“No one knows that but you, sweetling. Is what you’ve got now—friends, family, job—making you happy where it counts? Is it worth leaving behind for a little while to see if you can be happier, more fulfilled on a different level?”
Those eyes studied his face. “Is that how you made the choice?”
“Pretty much. My old life was gone; it was done the minute I tangled with that cow. The friends I had at the ranch will always be my friends, but there’s no time for socializing outside the life. My family’s never approved of my choices, so we don’t stay in touch much.” Running a hand over his hair, he shrugged. “I still got my roping skills and I do love tying up ornery critters. Been a Dom most of my adult life, even when there was no time to play. It’s ingrained, so it’s always in me. Figured why not do something else I love, something I’m good at, and enjoy the views while I’m at it?”
Avery thought about that, chewing on her full bottom lip absently. When she spoke, her voice was quiet. “I hate my apartment. I’ve lived there for almost six years and loved it, but Adam tainted it and everything in it. I hate being in the city, knowing I could run into him on the street. My mom died when I was ten, my dad when I was eighteen. My only friend is my boss, and I love her, I love my job, but…”
Clay waited patiently.
“I’m alone. So alone.” Wearily, she rubbed her hands over her face. “Maybe that’s why I asked Adam to move in with me, so I wouldn’t be alone all the damn time. It sure as hell wasn’t because I loved him, but I thought… I hoped…”
“I get it, Avery. It’s okay.”
Suddenly, she sat straighter, squaring her shoulders. Inhaling deeply, she clenched her jaw and then relaxed. “I’m in a box, trapped in it. How do I break out?”
It was always an experience to be present when a submissive made a conscious decision about their immediate future, he thought. Whether it was in a scene or affected their everyday life, watching the internal struggle and then that moment of clarification was a gratifying, sometimes emotional experience.
He gestured to the buildings spreading out in front of them. “There’s a whole new world waiting for you down there if you’re brave enough to explore it.”
Nodding slowly, she surveyed the club.
Distant sounds from the construction site drifted toward them. Fallen trees were being loaded onto a lumber truck—Clay had subtly questioned Evander about how many were being removed in order for the new cabins to be built. A lot, was the answer, but twice the amount were being planted on an area of barren land he owned further up the valley.
Clay might have only been part of Serenity for six weeks, but the current volume of foot traffic into the club—pre-construction—stunned him. For an exclusive, expensive resort, it surprised him just how many kinky fuckers came to stay and play.
There were a half dozen new Masters and three new Mistresses due to start arriving once the building work was finished, simply to keep up with the demand now that several of the original team were shacked up or married.
He considered himself fortunate to be on that team now.
“Okay,” Avery said firmly. “I’m ready now.”
Yes, very fortunate indeed.
Avery
Clay smelled good, like really good.
Leather and sin and sunshine.
She kept watching his hands as he drove the golf cart, admiring how easily they handled the wheel. Big, strong, tanned. No rings, just a watch strapped around his thick wrist.Apparently, they were approved for cattle wrangling—was that weird or sexy?
Sexy, she decided as he swung the cart to a stop outside the porch steps of a massive, newly renovated ranch house.
