Page 33 of Danger and Dominance

“Sometimes, I do, but it always goes downhill pretty fast.”Yasmine sighed.“Best boyfriend I ever had lasted a year.It ended when I ran into him with his wife and two children at a grocery store.”

“No!”Cassidy’s hands actually flew to her mouth to cover it, much to David’s simultaneous disappointment and relief.

“Yup.”Yasmine smiled, but it was obvious to David that this one still hurt.It had only happened about two years ago, and that was when she’d sworn off men.David had tried to get her interested in one of the guys on his team, to no avail.Again—no spark.“The good news is, when he tried to come to the Outlands about six months after that when his wife left him, he saw me, turned beet red, and hightailed it out of here.”

Mason sidled up to David’s other side, drawing his attention away from the conversation.

“Hey, do you know if Cassidy is up for scening tonight?”Mason asked, causing David to immediately go on high alert.

“I don’t know.Why?”He didn’t mean to bark out the question, but that’s how it came out.Mason eyed him with some curiosity and suspicion.

“Roger is interested in asking her to scene, but he noticed you watching over her and assumed she’s under your protection.”

Good.That was exactly the vibe David had been doing his best to give off.He pressed his lips together.

He couldn’t answer for her unilaterally, as much as he wanted to.Roger was a good Dom, a steady one, who was one of the club sub’s favorites.He was a deft hand at the whip, generous with aftercare, and a generally good guy.

Right now, David kind of hated him.

Clearing his throat, he nodded.“I’ll check and see if she wants to scene.”

God, he hoped she said no.

Cassidy

A flare of awareness tingled along her skin, sliding up the back of her neck, and she turned slightly to see David suddenly standing much closer to her.He’d been part of the group conversation but hanging back a bit and definitely not invading her personal space until this moment.She had almost been able to pretend like he didn’t affect her.

Almost.

Now, he was standing so close to her that if she just leaned a little, they would touch.

Notleaning was suddenly an effort.

“Are you interested in scening tonight?”he asked gruffly.

Immediately, Cassidy straightened to attention.

“With you?”She didn’t know why she asked because who else would he be asking for, but she needed a moment to get her brain back on track.That was the last thing she’d expected him to say.She sounded a lot more breathily hopeful than she would have liked, considering she wasn’t sure what her answer should be.

David blinked, a little furrow appearing between his eyebrows.

“Me?”

Oh.Maybe she hadn’t been wrong to ask.

“Who else?”Flustered, she drew back from him slightly.

“Ah, well…”

“This should be interesting,” Claudia said, softly laughing.“Yeah, David, who should Cassidy scene with?”

Looking over Cassidy’s shoulder at Claudia, David scowled at her before returning his focus to Cassidy.

“Maybe we should step away from the table for a minute to talk.”

“Sure,” Cassidy said, despite the round of protests that rose up behind her.Everyone was nosy.Which she appreciated on one level, but she also wanted David to be comfortable, and stepping away would help with that.Plus, she wasn’t sure she wanted everyone listening to him reject her.

They didn’t go far, only a few steps away, which gave them enough space to talk privately as long as they stood closely together.Very closely.With his head bent toward her in a manner that made her whole body flush.She tried not to squirm under his focused attention.