Page 19 of Danger and Dominance (Black Fox Security Doms #1)

Cassidy

The Outlands weren’t much like Stronghold or Marquis.

Like Marquis, the location was downtown rather than being completely off the beaten track like Stronghold.

But, like Stronghold, there was no indication that this was a kink club.

The windows were covered with heavy curtains and dark glass to keep anyone from being able to see in, and there was no sign.

As soon as she and Jensen stepped inside, there was a small space between the door they had just come through and a second door, which she assumed led into the club. Anyone walking in who didn’t belong here would immediately be ejected by the big man standing at the other door.

“Hey, Gareth,” Jensen greeted the man cheerfully. “This is Cassidy. She’s not a member yet, but she probably will be soon. Tonight, she’s hanging out with Claudia, and Mason and David will probably be hovering.”

In some ways, Gareth reminded her of Jared, one of the Doms who guarded the foyer of Stronghold. He wasn’t quite as tall, but he was close, with shoulders nearly as broad. But he was white with very pale blond hair and bright blue eyes, like a mountain-sized Targaryen.

“Collecting all the Spice Doms?” Gareth asked, and it took Cassidy a moment to realize he was talking to her and making a joke. “You’re missing Sporty.”

“I think Naomi’s joining us, too,” she said quietly, smiling up at him. “Gotta catch ‘em all.”

Gareth burst out laughing while Jensen sighed a very deep sigh. Poor Baby. Out of all of them, he probably had the hardest nickname to deal with, especially since he was a Dom.

“You’ll do,” Gareth said, grinning as he opened the door for them.

That door led into a foyer that was another cross between Marquis and Stronghold.

Not as luxurious as Marquis, but not as bare-bones as Stronghold.

There was carpet, and the walls were painted a rich dark green.

The room was small but spacious enough to fit a small group of people.

There was a desk with a small rack of coats behind it.

A pretty black woman stood behind the desk, smiling as they walked in.

She had shoulder-length hair that had been pressed straight, the ends brushing the tops of the spaghetti straps of the shimmering green dress she was wearing.

Jensen introduced her as Eben, and she welcomed Cassidy to the club before taking the lightweight jacket Cassidy was wearing to cover up the corset and tight skirt she was wearing underneath.

The outfit wasn’t totally inappropriate for an evening out at a regular dance club, but she still felt more comfortable with something over it until she got to the club.

Even in the club, even after Mick and Jensen’s compliments, she was fighting the urge to cover up a little more.

Another difference from Stronghold and Marquis.

She hadn’t felt quite as exposed, quite as vulnerable, walking into either of those places as she did tonight because tonight she was facing mostly strangers.

Or maybe you’re feeling nervous because you know David is going to be watching over you.

Definitely another big difference between the clubs back home and the club here. Back home, there hadn’t been any Dom she was attracted to. There were plenty she found attractive, but she hadn’t felt a spark with any of them. Not like she had from the moment she met David.

So, it was no wonder she was feeling a bit like a nitwit.

Jensen held the door open to the club proper, and Cassidy stepped inside in front of him.

The club was full of people. Like Stronghold, it seemed that the main floor was dedicated to mingling and nonsexual activities.

The majority of it was taken up by a bar.

There were also tables and a small dance floor, much smaller than Stronghold had, and at the moment, no one was on it.

The tables were half full. The wooden bar was more ornately carved than any she’d seen before, with dragon heads carved into it at various intervals.

It would not have looked out of place at a regular restaurant, other than the submissives kneeling beside the tables rather than sitting at them with their partners. Also, most bars didn’t allow shirtless bartenders.

As she scanned the room, her gaze caught on David’s, and her breath arrested in her throat. He was looking right at her, his expression carved from stone, his eyes blazing as they met hers. Suddenly, she could barely breathe, and it wasn’t because of the corset.

Like Jensen, he was wearing leather pants.

Unlike Jensen, he was also wearing a black button-down shirt that somehow made him appear even more intimidating than if he’d gone shirtless.

It was also a little disappointing because part of her had been hoping to see a little more of him.

She couldn’t deny that it was a sexy-as-hell look, though.

“Oh, good, there’s Ginger,” Jensen said, coming up beside her. “I guess he’s on duty first.”

Right. Because he was here for her, just not in the fun way. Cassidy let out her breath with a long, silent sigh.

An older man stood behind David on the other side of the bar, watching her with interest as she came closer.

He looked like he might be naked since his lower half was covered by the bar, showing off a muscular upper body that defied the grey of his hair and beard.

Amusement curled the edges of his lips as he watched her come closer.

With her height, she was able to see that he was not totally naked behind the bar, though she was a bit dumbfounded by the red plaid fabric she could see around his hips. What was he wearing?

And was she focusing on him as a way to help her not focus on David?

Yes. Yes, she was.

“Hey, man,” Jensen said by way of greeting when they reached David. “Evening, Gavin.”

“Evening, Jensen,” Gavin said with a Scottish accent that had her staring at him, smiling easily at Jensen before transferring his gaze to her. “And this must be Cassidy.”

Realizing he already knew her name gave her a jolt before she realized she recognized his, too.

Master Gavin Craig, owner of the Outlands, father of her friend Mitch back at Stronghold.

He knew her name because he was the owner, not because he was Mitch’s dad, but it still gave a feeling of relief to know they were related.

She hadn’t met him before, but he was familiar by proxy.

“Hello, Master Gavin.” She summoned a smile, trying to keep her focus on him and not on David, who was now standing close enough to her that all the little hairs on her arms were standing at attention, as if they could reach across the space to him.

Her body’s reactions to him were wildly embarrassing, considering he hadn’t given any indication that he returned her interest. She really hoped no one else noticed them. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“A pleasure, love,” Master Gavin said, reaching across the bar to shake her hand. Cassidy automatically put hers out to meet his, a little surprised by how firm and comforting just having him hold her hand was. He had that kind of aura, putting her immediately at ease and making her feel safe.

Beside her, David was glaring at the other man.

“Your accent is not normally that thick,” he accused.

Chuckling, Master Gavin dropped her hand as a woman appeared beside him. Blonde-haired and blue-eyed, it was clear where Master Mitch got most of his looks from. He might have the same eyes as his dad—and maybe he’d look more like him with facial hair—but he resembled his mother more.

“He likes to use it to impress the ladies,” the woman teased, smiling at Cassidy. Obviously secure in her relationship, she didn’t seem at all bothered by her husband’s mild flirting. She reached out her hand as well. “Hi, I’m Leah. I think you know our son Mitch?”

“I do. And Domi, of course,” Cassidy said, shaking Leah’s hand as well. Gavin put his arm around his wife, smiling down at her with pure love in his gaze. No wonder Leah didn’t care if Gavin was charming to everyone; it was clear where his heart lay.

Now, that was the kind of relationship Cassidy had always wanted. Watching them, it was all she could do not to sigh wistfully. She wondered if Mitch knew how lucky he was that his parents were still so deeply in love.

As the two stepped back, she could finally see that Master Gavin was wearing a kilt on his lower half. Damn. Lucky Leah. Tuck that under things I should definitely not ever say to Mitch unless I want to see his head explode.

Not that she was going to be seeing Mitch any time soon to say it to him.

Something that made her feel a little down, but she pushed the thought away.

Maybe he’d come up here to visit his parents, and she could see him and Domi then.

Though, then they’d know she was here, but she trusted them not to tell anyone.

Her brain tried to push an image of Don somehow finding out that they knew where she was and torturing them to get the information, but she shoved that away, too.

There was no reason to think Don was that crazy just because he’d been abusive and occasionally violent and fixated on her for over a year and stalked both her and her friends. Plus, some vandalism that had been escalating.

Stop it.

David’s hand touched her upper arm, the contact shocking her out of the spiraling thoughts and images flooding her brain and replacing them with sudden awareness of his nearness.

“Do you want a drink or anything?” he asked, his voice low and oddly intimate. Or maybe she was projecting, wishing it was.

“Water?”

He nodded, turning to Master Gavin to make sure the other man had caught that.

“Cassidy! There you are!” Yasmine’s voice made her jump, and David’s hand dropped away from her arm.

Cassidy turned toward the other woman, who was smiling widely.

She was holding out her hands, almost as if she wanted a hug, but instead of putting her arms around Cassidy, when Cassidy raised her hands, Yasmine caught them with hers and slid her hands up Cassidy’s arms to rest in her elbows.

Then she leaned forward to give Cassidy a kiss on each cheek.

Part of Cassidy felt like she should have known a hug wouldn’t be Yasmine’s style. Cheek kisses were much more in line with her elegance.

In her fetish clothing, she looked like she’d just stepped off the page of a kinky magazine. A high-end one.

Her PVC dress hugged her body, a huge cutout dipping low to show off her cleavage even though the fabric had a high neck and covered all of her shoulders.

There were more cutouts at her waist, showing off triangles of her skin, and the short skirt didn’t matter because her thigh-high boots nearly touched the hem of it.

On her wrists, she wore black leather bracers that laced up the insides of her forearms. Her eye makeup was smoky, and her lipstick was bright red.

Next to her, Cassidy felt plain in every way.

“You look wonderful,” Yasmine said, not letting go of Cassidy’s arms as she stepped back to look her up and down. “I love those shoes.”

“Thanks, they’re my favorite.” And that was why she couldn’t hate Yasmine.

It helped that David didn’t give Yasmine more than a casual hello, obviously not interested in her.

A moment later, Naomi and Drew walked in the door and joined them, then Claudia and Mason.

The growing crowd attracted more people, and Cassidy found herself being introduced to one person after another and hoping they didn’t expect her to remember all of their names.

Everyone’s friendly warmth, the lack of knowledge about who she was and why she was there, showed in their curious interest and helped her relax inch by inch until the only piece of disquiet was her hyperawareness of the redheaded man watching her.