Page 30 of Healing Hazel
She’d cut herself off in order to step forward and hold her arm out to stop the doors from closing. Her other arm was outstretched to me where her hand still held mine. “Well, you want to come now or what?”
My grin was far slower this time, my voice lower. “Believe me, I want tocomebut not particularly right now.”
“What? Why not?”
“Because, babygirl, I’d far rather have youcoming.” My wagging eyebrows had her blushing and she shook her head.
“I’m not sure I’ll ever find British humor to be actually funny, but what the heck, let’s give this a go.”
I stepped forward and together, we exited the elevator and after the briefest pause, Hazel took the next step toward the podium where security was always posted to sign guests in as well as make sure curious unescorted Littles remained ignorant of what lay behind those large, wooden doors with a rendition of a St. Andrew’s Cross across their broad planks, attesting to the fact the space beyond was meant for a far different type of play.
The man’s head lifted and he smiled as Hazel gasped. “Good evening, Hazel. It’s absolutely a delight to see you tonight.”
Hazel looked between him and up at me. “Did you set this up?”
“By this you mean?”
“Him!” she said, pointing at the man behind the podium. “What the hell is he doing here?”
My first initial thought was that this man was the one responsible for Hazel’s trauma, and I was already pulling her toward me, the intention to set her behind me while I dealt with the situation. But then I understood she wasn’t cowering in fear. She was acting as if I’d somehow betrayed her with a man I’d never ever set eyes on before.
Still, while I knew she’d not been inside the Dungeon, she’d been at the Ranch often enough and had friends who had been so I was puzzled over what the issue was. “Babygirl, I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking me. It’s my understanding that Ranch protocol requires guests to check in with whichever Dungeon Monitor is manning the doors. Did I get that wrong?”
Hazel blinked and again looked between the two of us. “No, I mean, yes, I know someone has to check you in. That’s standard security I suppose Master Derek put in place. But that’s not the point so if you’re asking me to believe you didn’t have a hand in this?—”
No more Mr. Nice Guy.
“Hazel, while I will always be ready to answer any questions you have, I don’t appreciate the tone. What exactly doesthisentail?”
Her mouth opened, then closed and then she shook her head as if to clear her thoughts.
“If I may?”
Her head snapped toward the podium where the man stood. When Hazel gave a jerky nod, he smiled.
“Thank you, and, Miss Waltman, your Dom had nothing to do with me being on duty tonight?—”
“So you just what, have some sort of telepathy and knew I’d be here on this particular night? Or is it that you lost the betstating the odds of me actually showing up at all?” she said, earning herself a sharp look from both me and the guard.
“Watch the disrespect, subbie.”
There was a good chance Hazel was going to have a slight case of whiplash if she didn’t stop jerking her head around. This time she stared at Wes as he and Mira walked off the elevator and came toward us.
“I personally requested that Ced be here tonight”—he lifted his hand when Hazel began to sputter—“and if you’ll recall, you not only informed Mira that tonight was going to be your first trip to the Dungeon, you told her you truly hoped you’d have the strength to not only go through with it, but to share more of your story. Baby steps are fine, but those can’t only be taken physically. Those steps forward require you shed the weight making it so damn hard to reach your goal.”
Mira offered Hazel a gentle smile. “And remember what we talked about? That you aren’t alone. And do you remember what you promised me? You have the power to stop anything at any time for any reason by simply doing what?”
Hazel’s shoulders loosened and the panic in her eyes dimmed. “By safewording.”
“That’s right. No one will ever question why you’ve used it, just respect the fact that you have,” Mira continued and the other men and I all nodded and wisely didn’t see a need to toss in our two cents. Not when it was clear the two women understood each other on a totally different level.
“Okay, I-I guess… I mean, maybe I overacted a bit,” Hazel admitted, her gaze taking in all of us until landing back on the guard. “And I’m very sorry. That was a horrible way to react to the man who saved me that night. I just assumed… well, to be honest, I’m not exactly sure what I assumed.”
The man gave her a smile, his eyes soft as he stepped from around the podium and held out his arms.
I was rather shocked when Hazel dropped my hand and walked into the arms of a man she’d looked ready to attack only moments before. But I was also replaying Hazel’s words:the man who saved me that night.I knew she’d been to the hospital, knew that Wes had seen to whatever injuries she’d sustained, but this was the first time I’d heard that another man had played a part in her story.
“It really is so good to see you again,” the man said. “And I also want to apologize.”
