Page 17 of Danger and Dominance (Black Fox Security Doms #1)

Cassidy

Learning Deadly Dowagers was fun, and thankfully, the game was fairly easy. Although, of course, that did mean that a lot of non-game talk happened.

“How’s the job hunt going?” Jennifer asked Cassidy. “Have you picked something?”

Cassidy hesitated before answering, and not just because she was trying to decide whether to kill her current husband or if she should wait another round. She didn’t want Jennifer to feel bad.

“I’ve been looking at them,” she said. “I called a couple of the places.” She should be grateful for any job, and she knew that, but part of her wished there was a way to do what she wanted to. So many other things were going her way, why not that one?

“I’ve got another job to add to the list if you want,” Jennifer said, looking up from her cards.

“It’s not a guarantee, but she’s doing interviews on Saturday.

An older woman who needs someone to help her out—driving her around, keeping her company, helping with meals and stuff like that. I don’t know if you’d be interested?—”

“I am!” Cassidy said quickly. Was it nursing? No, but it sounded a lot more like what she wanted to be doing than any of the other options that had been on the list.

“Great. I’ll set up the interview for you and send Jensen the information, okay?” Jennifer beamed at her.

“Thank you so much.”

“Awesome, glad you got that worked out… so, whose husband gets to live through this round?” Claudia asked.

Cassidy couldn’t help but laugh. Claudia was an absolutely ruthless game player.

It was good because she kept things on track; otherwise, it would take them forever to get through a game.

They were on their second round of Deadly Dowagers after a first play-through of learning how to do it, and Cassidy was pretty sure that they’d still be barely halfway through the first round if Claudia wasn’t there.

“I’m killing mine,” Naomi said, flipping the card for her current husband over to show his grave. “What are the options for the seventy-dollar husbands?” Claudia slid the cards her way so she could peruse them.

“I’m going to let mine live,” Cassidy decided. She wanted to grow her estate a little more before she took him out, so she got a better payout.

This game was brutal and hilarious.

“I’m going to kill mine, too…” Yasmine said. “Can you hand me the fifty-dollar husbands?”

Cassidy giggled. Claudia handed them over but muttered something under her breath, apparently unhappy with how her game was going in comparison to the others. Cassidy already knew she wasn’t going to win, but she was thoroughly enjoying just playing and hanging out with everyone.

“Anyone going to the Outlands tomorrow night?” Yasmine asked, picking out her new husband and handing over the money needed to secure him.

“Me,” Claudia said.

“Drew and I are going.”

“Not me,” Jennifer said immediately. Cassidy glanced at her, a little surprised because there was something in her tone, and Jennifer smiled reassuringly at her.

“No judgment. I would very much like to get my freak on, but my parents are members there, and I would rather die than run into them at a kink club. Especially if they’re…

doing something. And even if they aren’t there, their best friends are my honorary aunts and uncles, and they aren’t just members, but one of them owns it. ”

“Plus, your dad would probably have an aneurism,” Claudia pointed out, snickering.

Jennifer rolled her eyes.

“Not just him. I’m pretty sure Uncle Gavin and Uncle Aiden would stare down anyone who even tried to talk to me. I’m pretty sure my aunts would be cooler about it, but who knows.” She shrugged. “Eventually, maybe I’ll get out there, but in the meantime, I just read and fantasize.”

“That sucks, I’m sorry,” Cassidy said, completely honestly. She’d never thought about multi-generational kink. She had no idea if her parents had been kinky or not.

“It is what it is.” Jennifer took another sip of her drink. “You should definitely go through.”

“I… guess I could.” Cassidy wanted to but, at the same time, couldn’t help but feel nervous.

Yes, sometimes everyone knowing who she was and what she had been through meant they treated her like fragile glass.

But in the club, everyone knowing who she was had meant never having to explain her past. If she scened with someone new, that would mean talking about everything with them.

Doms needed to know that kind of thing before a scene, especially for any triggers she might have.

She did want to go, but ‘tomorrow’ seemed so soon.

On the other hand, left to her own devices, she was honest enough to admit that she would probably put it off and put it off and put it off…

“Yeah, I will.” She managed to say it with a bit of confidence. “I don’t know if I’ll scene though.”

“There’s absolutely no pressure to,” Claudia said.

“If you decide you want to, I can point you in the right direction and make introductions. I think it would be a good idea to get out and meet the local people, though. Most, if not all, of the team will be there in addition to us, so you won’t be totally alone. ”

Most, if not all?

Did that mean David would be there, too? Cassidy shifted uneasily in her seat. She wasn’t sure how she felt about watching him with someone else. On the other hand, maybe that would help her get over her crush.

“We can introduce you to more of the game night players, too.” Yasmine smiled at her. “And you can tell us the difference between the Outlands and Stronghold and Marquis.”

“Sounds good.” It really did. Other than maybe having to watch David with someone else. But that would probably be good for her, even if it didn’t sound like fun.

David

Eyeing Jensen, David frowned. The night was wrapping up, though it wasn’t quite time to leave yet, but even so, he wasn’t sure he should let Jensen take Cassidy home.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay to drive?”

Even as the words came out of his mouth, he knew the likely reaction of everyone, and he was not wrong. Drew and Mason both looked at him with pure confusion while Jensen raised his eyebrow with bemusement.

“I’ve had two beers. I think I’m good, although I can have another glass of water if it will make you feel better.” Jensen snickered. “Why, is there a reason you’re extra worried about me tonight, Ginger?”

David scowled at him.

“There’s nothing wrong with being worried when you’re on guard duty. I’m just making sure.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Speaking of, Naomi just texted me,” Drew said, making both Jensen and David turn to look at him. He was staring down at the phone in his hand. “She says Cassidy is going to the Outlands tomorrow.”

Immediately, David frowned, digging in his pocket for his own phone.

“Why didn’t Claudia text me?”

“I’m sure she will. Or Cassidy will tell Jensen when he picks her up.” Drew smirked, his fingers moving over the screen of his phone, texting something back to his wife. “Naomi is telling me because she wanted to let me know that she wants to spend some time with Cassidy tomorrow.”

Which meant Drew needed a heads-up so that he knew he wouldn’t have his wife entirely to himself all evening and could adjust his plans accordingly. He and Naomi were in tune like that.

“Who wants guard duty tomorrow?” Mason asked. “I don’t mind taking it if you all want to go scene.”

David eyed him suspiciously. He’d expected everyone to try to ‘not it’ the duty. Why was Mason volunteering? Did he want to spend more time with Cassidy? Maybe see if she would scene with him? That would make it pretty easy to guard her.

Don’t get emotionally or physically involved with the client.

Mason knew the rule as well as David did… but sometimes, rules got broken. Did Mason have an interest in Cassidy that went beyond duty?

“Not me, obviously, although I can do it while she’s talking to Naomi, but we have plans for tomorrow night,” Drew replied, shifting where he was sitting on the couch so he could shove his phone back into his pocket.

“I’d like a break from guard duty, even if I don’t scene,” Jensen admitted. “Cassidy is great, but I was hoping to totally relax tomorrow night.”

“You don’t want to scene?” David asked Mason, doing his best to sound noncommittal rather than suspicious.

“I don’t not want to, but…” Mason shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t really been feeling it lately.”

“That’s not like you,” Drew said, frowning and twisting to take a closer look at him. David couldn’t help but frown, too. Mason was responsible for keeping the rest of them on an even keel, and he had his own therapist, but if he was struggling, David wanted to know about it. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know.” Mason leaned his head back against the couch. “My mom’s been bugging me about finding someone and settling down again lately.”

“That’s not anything new,” David pointed out. Mason’s mom was much more hands-on than any of their mothers. Not that his parents were a good example, but Drew and Jensen both had moms who were involved in their lives. Mason’s mom put them to shame, though, from the stories Mason told.

“Yeah, she suggested doing an arranged marriage since I’m having so much trouble finding a life partner.”

Point in case.

“Holy shit,” Jensen breathed out the words. “You aren’t actually considering that, are you?”

Silence. David sat up, staring at Mason, who was avoiding all of their gazes. Drew looked horrified. Jensen actually had his hand on his chest. If he’d been wearing pearls, he would have been clutching them.

“There is some appeal to it,” Mason admitted. “It’s also not that unheard of. My parents were introduced to each other by their parents, and they worked out great. There’s something to having someone who has known you since birth picking out someone they think would be good for you.”

“But what about the parts of you that they don’t know?” Drew asked.

“Yeah, what if they choose someone vanilla?” Not that vanilla was the worst thing to be, David supposed, but he also couldn’t imagine stopping being kinky just because his parents had chosen someone for him who wasn’t.

And his parents definitely would. They’d insist on it, probably, since they’d been so horrified by him being kinky.

“Well, you don’t just meet at the altar; this isn’t Married at First Sight or whatever.” Mason chuckled. “We’d meet ahead of time. Get to know each other over a few dates and decide if we suit.”

“So, more like 90 Day Fiancé . Sorta.” Drew shrugged when they all looked at him. He stretched his arms out and brought them down to rest on the back of the couch. “What? Naomi likes bad reality TV, and it’s hard to tune it out. Some of it’s actually fun to watch.”

“I’m not sure since I’ve never seen it, but that sounds closer,” Mason said dryly. “If we’re completely incompatible, we don’t get married. But if we seem compatible, we do, then we make it work. Might even fall in love. It happens more often than you think.”

Or maybe people were fooling themselves into thinking they were in love because they were stuck.

Not that it was any of David’s business why people did what they did.

It wasn’t like he was some paragon of successful relationships.

He also would never let his parents arrange his marriage. He’d rather die alone.

Maybe he’d let his sister…

“Anyway, I don’t mind keeping an eye on Cassidy. I’m not really in the mood to scene, and it’ll give me an excuse not to.”

“I’ll hang out with you just to keep an eye on things. If she does want to scene, I want to have a word with the Dom first. And I want to keep an eye on her for her first time in the club.”

Mason nodded in understanding. “Sounds good. We can both keep an eye on her.”

Great. And tomorrow, he’d make sure that he and Mason were on the same page about how to handle the Doms at the club in relation to Cassidy. The others didn’t need to hear about that for now.