Page 24 of Danger and Dominance (Black Fox Security Doms #1)

Cassidy

Cassidy missed friends.

To be perfectly honest, it wasn’t like she’d been best friends with any of the Stronghold girls. They’d all been welcoming, happy to include her, and watching out for her… but it had been more like they’d been protecting her, and she’d been worried as hell she was going to get one of them hurt.

So, it made her feel a little bad to know that what she was really missing was what they could do for her.

Namely, she wanted someone to talk to about last night.

With David.

Who had given her a mind-blowing orgasm, cuddled the fuck out of her, then put her in Jensen’s car without a second glance. To say she was confused was putting it mildly. Yes, they’d said it would be platonic before the scene even started, but…

But then, it hadn’t felt very platonic.

Then he’d held her like he cared. Though, from the way his cock had been pressed against her the whole time, maybe it had just been arousal?

Her instincts were telling her that he’d been as into her as she was into him.

She didn’t trust her instincts anymore, though. Not since Don.

A third party to talk things out with would be really helpful right now. Unfortunately, she didn’t have a therapy appointment until Monday.

Sighing, she forced herself to get out of bed and go downstairs, wondering if Jensen or Mick would be there.

Probably not Mick; it was after the time when he said he’d be going to the farmer’s market this morning…

Jensen had said he was going to go help him set up, and he’d be back after.

Someone was supposed to be downstairs to guard her until he did. She just didn’t know who.

Maybe it would be Claudia.

“Hello?” she called out as she went down the stairs, trying not to feel too much like she was in a horror movie. There was no reason to think that she was going to walk downstairs and find her guard in a puddle of blood, then be grabbed from behind by Don. No reason at all.

Thanks, brain.

“Good morning!” Jensen called out from the front room. Cassidy walked over to see him lying across the couch, yawning and rubbing his eyes. “You’re up.”

“I’m up. Are you up?” She couldn’t help but tease him; he’d obviously come back from helping Mick set up, then fallen right back asleep.

“I’m up. Sort of.” He groaned, not quite making it to sitting and falling right back down. “If you need me, I’ll be up.”

“You’re fine.” Since he wasn’t on the couch in a puddle of blood with a slit throat, Cassidy had every confidence that if Don did come barging into the house—somehow bypassing all the security systems—Jensen would be up immediately. “I wasn’t sure you’d be here.”

“Ah, well, I helped load up the car, then when David got here, he said it made more sense for him to go help Mick than for me to leave and come back since he had to be out and about, anyway.”

“Oh… that makes sense.” Cassidy tried to decide how she was feeling at hearing that David was supposed to be her guard this morning but had opted out of it.

If he was already going to be out and doing things, then it probably did make sense.

So, there was no reason to feel disappointed that he hadn’t stayed.

She’d been asleep, anyway; she wouldn’t have even known.

She gave her head a little shake. “I’m going to go eat some breakfast. Are you hungry? ”

“No, thanks, I grabbed a brownie this morning when I was helping load the truck.” Jensen yawned again, throwing his arm over his face to shade his eyes from the light that was coming in from the big window at the front of the house.

The couch he was on faced away from it, but there was still a fair amount of light coming into the room.

Amused, Cassidy wandered back to the kitchen.

She had to admit, Jensen’s relaxed stance made her feel more confident, too.

Sure, he felt safe here because it was his house, but his house also came with reinforced windows, a top-of-the-line security system, and he himself was deadly.

Cassidy was still learning how to defend herself, but she was determined to get better.

The kitchen was empty and clean. Last night it had been full of containers of baked goods, but she hadn’t eaten any. Hopefully, Mick wouldn’t sell out, and she’d get a chance to eat some later. Or she could make her own.

Maybe if she had a good job interview today.

She glanced at the clock on the oven. Oh, wow.

She’d slept later than she’d meant to. There were only a couple of hours before she needed to be there.

Which meant she needed to eat, get dressed, and get herself together, especially because this was a job she actually wanted. She needed to make a good impression.

If she didn’t get it, she didn’t get it, and she’d keep trying for one of the other jobs, but she also needed to know that she’d put her best foot forward.

Okay.

Breakfast.

Going to the fridge, she noticed a plastic container on the counter next to it that hadn’t been there the day before. The top was clear, and she peeked in.

Brownies.

Her stomach rumbled.

Oh, Mick was so sweet! He must have left the brownies there for her. He’d been up when she and Jensen had gotten home last night, and she’d gone right to bed. It was so incredibly thoughtful and so incredibly him. Hip against the counter, she picked up the container and popped it open.

Chocolate.

Screw it. It was Saturday morning, she was feeling good, she’d had a great if confusing night the night before, and she wanted a brownie for breakfast. She was an adult. She could do that.

Thinking about how disapproving Don would have been only made it even better. She could picture his scowl in her head.

Brownies weren’t breakfast. They were empty calories. Treats to be earned, if she ever earned one—which she never did, according to him.

Picking up the brownie, she defiantly popped it into her mouth.

Yum.

Chocolate-y goodness.

There was another flavor there, too, something she couldn’t quite define.

It didn’t taste bad, just a little odd. Maybe these were gluten free or something?

Or maybe it had just been so long since she’d had a brownie.

She couldn’t remember the last time, in fact.

Even though she’d started eating some junk food again after leaving Don, she had mostly stuck to cakes and pies.

She should start eating more cookies and things.

Finishing off the piece, she decided to take a second one.

Two brownies for breakfast. Utter decadence. And another symbol of her brand-new life.

David

Having successfully avoided accidentally running into Cassidy this morning by helping Mick load up and unload at the farmer’s market instead, David headed over to pick up his grandmother.

Jennifer had helped fill up a whole slate of interviews for today, and he’d asked Jaxon to do the background checks.

He’d meant to do them himself, but he’d been so busy this week that he’d had to pass it off.

He'd bought a pack of cookies from Mick, knowing that his grandmother would be happy to have some sweet treats for the afternoon. Though he’d made triple sure they weren’t pot cookies before taking them. Mick had offered him some pot brownies this morning.

Mick insisted that his brownies were for personal use only and that he wasn’t going to try to get himself in trouble by selling them at the farmer’s market. Still. David had eyed the cookies with suspicion at first, no matter how Mick reassured him.

He was pretty sure they were okay because Mick knew David would be pissed as hell if they weren’t. Especially since they were for his grandmother.

Knocking on his grandmother’s door, he wasn’t surprised when she answered it, beaming, even though it was very different from how she usually looked when they had to interview new companions for her.

The fact that she was going to get to choose her own companion-for-hire obviously made her feel very happy.

He almost felt guilty about not letting her choose in the past.

Almost.

Until he remembered some of the people she’d been drawn to.

“David!” Beaming, she went up on her toes, and he bent down obligingly for a kiss on the cheek.

He did his best not to sigh at her outfit.

A t-shirt and track pants weren’t exactly inappropriate, but she wasn’t exactly dressed to impress either.

Her shirt was purple, had a stack of books on it, and said STFUATTDLAGG.

David was not going to ask. He had a feeling he did not want to know the answer.

“Hi, Grandma.”

“I’m so looking forward to this,” she said, chuckling and closing the door behind him.

She was practically rubbing her hands together with glee at the thought of choosing her own person.

Jaxon had better have done a really good job with those background checks because David was going to be stuck with whoever she chose.

“The temps the agency sent over were fine but boring.”

“Boring isn’t necessarily bad.”

“Not for you, but I refuse to be bored.” She shook her head, tutting. “Once you get to a certain age, you want to make sure you’re enjoying your life because you’ve only got so much of it left. It’s not like when you’re young and think you’re going to live forever.”

David couldn’t help but remember some of the missions he’d gone on where he’d been quite sure he wasn’t going to live another day, much less forever.

Definitely not things to say to his grandmother, though.

She’d had enough stress while he’d been overseas and completely out of touch, knowing she wouldn’t know what was happening to him until he either came home or she got the dreaded call.

Besides, things were a lot safer now. He didn’t think in terms of his life possibly ending precipitously anymore. In his head, he had a nice, long life laid out ahead of him still… one that included his grandmother.

He frowned at her as she sat down on the bench in the front hall to pull on her shoes. Her purse rested beside her on the wooden seat that his grandfather had carved.

“Is there something you’re not telling me?” he asked. Demanded to know, really. “Did you have a doctor’s appointment this week?”

“I’m fine. Stop fussing.” She waved one of her hands at him, putting her foot down and wiggling her leg back and forth to make sure her shoe was firmly on.

“I’m just aware of my age and what I want for the rest of my life.

My patience for everything has gone down.

I’m not going to spend all my time around someone whose company I don’t enjoy, whether they’re a boyfriend, a companion, or a friend. ”

“So, I guess you enjoy my company?”

“You’re my grandson. You’re different.”

David narrowed his eyes at her.

“So, you don’t enjoy my company.”

“I would if you’d get that stick out of your butt.” She smiled gleefully as he sighed, getting back to her feet. “Thankfully, you and your butt stick don’t get to choose my companion this time.”

David growled under his breath. Him and his butt stick… for fuck’s sake.

At the same time, he couldn’t help but think about the vapors his mom would have if she heard her stepmother talking like this, and that helped bring his sense of humor back online. He couldn’t blame his grandma for wanting someone she was more compatible with.

“Okay, Grandma, let’s get you and my butt stick to the coffee shop.” Which was where they’d be holding interviews.

She cackled when he said ‘butt stick’, even though she’d said it first.

Shaking his head, David couldn’t help his own small smile as he followed her out the door. He really hoped they could find someone she was happy with and who didn’t make his head want to explode.