Page 26 of Dance for Me

Bodie peered up at Braun, angling her head back to study his eyes. Eyes didn’t lie, not in the heart of them, and the expression in his...he understood exactly what she was thinking, didn’t he? She saw it, the compassion and the empathy gleaming in the blue.

Quietly, so quiet she barely heard herself, she asked, “Promise?”

The callouses on his palm sent a shiver scurrying down her spine when they brushed over her cheek. His fingers were firm, supportive, as they wrapped around the nape of her neck and squeezed. “My word on it, Boadicea. That stays between you and me.”

The things happening in her body would stay firmly between her and whatever god thought it was wise to incite the riot in her panties. The warmth and pressure of his fingers on her nape wreaked havoc on her from her ovaries to...well, other parts. She welcomed the cover of the blanket; her nipples were standing to attention, her breasts growing heavy and sensitive.

“Thank you.”

Braun nodded once, then his fingers directed her gaze back to Liam and the pizza he proudly displayed in its cardboard box. “Always, little one. Trust me to know what you need. Now, tuck into your pizza before these greedy bastards get their dirty paws in the box. Loki’s been known to inhale a pie before and it’s not a pretty sight.”

“Hey!” The quietest of the Dominants scowled.

“Deny it, Loki. Go on, I dare you.” Laughter shadowed Braun’s words.

Chocolate brown eyes gleamed with matching humor. “Shit. How’m I supposed to lie in the presence of a pretty lady?” Loki winked at her. “Liam told me not to get between Bodie and her pizza. More than my life’s worth.”

The expectant silence and numerous faces anticipating her response closed in around her. What was she meant to say now, I could kick your ass from here to next Sunday without breaking a sweat? That would go down swimmingly.

“Don’t overthink it, Bodie. Just be yourself.” God, that voice...

Wetting her lips, Bodie inhaled slowly. “Liam’s had more than his fair share of ass-kickings for stealing my food. Luckily for him, he learned his lesson before he spoke in a permanent soprano.”

The silence continued for several long seconds. Bodie dropped her eyes to the floor and wished she hadn’t said anything. Beneath her, Braun’s big body shook, and then Atticus snorted out a bullish laugh. Before she could blink, the Masters and Mistresses were roaring with laughter—Liam, the poor sod, included.

“Just for that, Bo,” her friend told her as he dangled a cheesy piece of pie in his fingers, “you’ve sentenced this slice to an evening of servitude to me.”

Slipping into easy banter with him was like stepping into comfortable shoes. She wiggled on Braun’s lap, heard him groan, and shot daggers at Liam. “Put. The. Pie. Down.”

Grinning evilly, Liam raised the slice above his head, tipped his head back, and took a bite. His moan of enjoyment was far too dramatic. “Mmm, mmmn, mmmn. Hold onto your girl, boss, she’s going to get real feisty in a second or two.”

“Son of a bitch,” Bodie snapped, trying to fight her way out of the blanket and Braun’s protective arms. “How many times have I told you not to eat my food, Liam? You’re so getting your ass kicked.”

“Braun will save me,” he replied, making short work of the slice and smacking his lips together. “I’m his favorite.”

Connie’s laugh rang out again. “From the way Bodie’s bouncing around on his lap and the look in his eyes, Braun’s got better things on his mind than saving your ass, Liam. I’d be tempted to let her go and see just how fast she takes you down.”

Braun cleared his throat. “None of that now. Liam, let the girl eat before she wastes away. She can annihilate you later once she’s got a full belly and the flames shooting from her ears die down. We open the doors in twenty and I’d rather not spend the time mopping up your blood.”

Ever the gentleman, Liam presented the box to her for a second time, lid open. “We’ve never drawn blood. Bo and I have bickered like this for years.”

Hands free of the blanket, Bodie snatched a triangle of pizza and devoured it. “There’s a first time for everything. Eating my damn pizza is punishable by...” She trailed off, wondering how safe it was to continue that sentence.

“We can take a joke, girl.” Atticus rumbled. His voice was the deepest of them all, like a truck speeding through a tunnel. A Mack truck, no less. “It’s wise to be respectful, but we do have a sense of humor.”

For how long? she wondered anxiously. They’d all have limits on their patience, on how far their humor would stretch. Sometimes she went overboard, forgetting herself and pushing people too far. If she pushed these people too far...as Braun said to her earlier, there would be consequences.

But where was that line?

“Confusing, isn’t it?” Jasper spoke up from her blind side, and she jerked. She’d forgotten the sadist was there. “This is where the beauty of submission comes in, poppet. Moments like this, when you don’t know what to do or what to say, and the stress of it piles on top of you, you hand it all over to your Dom. Give him control, he’ll protect you.”

“Jasper,” Braun growled in warning. “Stop trying to influence her decision. Bodie knows her own mind, she doesn’t need your help.” He patted her thigh gently under what she was coming to think of as her safety blanket. “Finish your pizza, darlin’. I think I see Loki drooling over there.”

“Some subbies need a firm hand, Braun. Your girl’s stuck on a high wire with no idea how to go back and worse, clueless how to go forward.”

The conversation carried on over her head as she dutifully selected another cheesy piece of heaven and ate quietly. Both Dominants were fiercely defending her in their own way, which few people had ever done, but Bodie couldn’t stop thinking about what Jasper said.

Stuck on a high wire...no idea how to go back...clueless how to go forward.

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