Feeling even more tired than usual but also extremely satisfied with himself, Mitch headed home, Domi and her daughter foremost in his mind the entire way. Ana was an extremely cute miniature version of her mom, with the same energy and sass. He’d wondered where Ana’s dad was but hadn’t felt it was his place to ask.
Did he want it to be his place?
That was the question.
He and Domi had always gotten along well at the club. That had never been a problem. But how did he know whether he wanted more?
He missed her.
His friends all called the end of their arrangement a breakup.
But what did it all really mean?
The question plagued him all the way home, then out to Stronghold, where he was meeting up with the guys.
“Mitch. Earth to Mitch. Come in, Mitch.” Brian waved a hand in front of Mitch’s face, making him jerk back in surprise. “You okay, man?”
“Yeah. Yeah, just tired. It was a long day.” Mitch shook his head as if he was trying to shake away thoughts of Domi, not exactly something easy to do in Stronghold, even when she wasn’t there. He didn’t expect her to show up tonight.
“Are you gonna go play?” Zach asked, tipping his beer bottle toward the Lounge area, where the unattached submissives were gathered. He was leaning on the bar table next to Kincaid. The two of them were standing so close, they were almost touching, but not quite. The energy coming off them was almost enough to distract Mitch from his own thoughts.
Mitch glanced over at the subbies.
Any one of them could do a scene with him, scream for him, come for him.
It wouldn’t be the same.
The whisper threaded through his mind, and his chest tightened. Dammit. He didn’t want any of them. He wanted Domi.
“Hmmm, looks like Mitch is feeling conflicted.” A little smile on his lips, Zach half-turned to address the woman at one of the tables behind him. “Hey Sharon, what’s that term you use when a man whore starts wanting only one woman?”
“Magic pussy?” The petite sub half-pulled away from her boyfriend, whose arm was wrapped possessively around her, her eyes lighting up with interest. “Oooh, who got magic pussied?! Is it Mitch? Does Domi have the magic pussy?”
Her boyfriend, Jake, turned with her, eyes alight with curiosity, as were the rest of the group they’d been talking to.
Great. Mitch banged his head on the table. So much for privacy. Not that he had any huge expectations of it in Stronghold or Marquis—gossip central with no gender lines.
“We’re pretty sure Domi has magic pussy, though Mitch has yet to confirm,” Brian said, chuckling.
“Oooh, yay! Kate owes me five bucks!”
“There is no such thing as magic pussy!” Kate protested. “And he’s not confirming… he’s banging his head on the table. That’s not the same thing.”
“You okay, buddy?” Kincaid patted Mitch’s shoulder with false sympathy, his tone syrupy. “Do you need more time to come to terms with the magic pussy?”
Mitch straightened up.
“I hate all of you.”
“Woo-hoo!” Sharon cheered, and Mitch’s lips twitched. She turned back to Kate, pointing her finger. “You so owe me five bucks. I told you magic pussy is real. You are not an anomaly!”
Next to Kate, Andrew smirked, then winked at Mitch. With his fiancé by his side, he looked more content than ever. Would they be one of the couples who made it? Intellectually, Mitch knew not everyone was like his parents, but the odds were pretty stacked against them.
Sharon and Kate fell to bickering about magic pussy, while Zach turned expectantly back to Mitch, raising his eyebrows.
“Can we talk about something else? Literally anything else?” Mitch practically begged. “What about you, Kincaid, any special playmate?” Kincaid shook his head, eyes dancing with amusement. “Should we try talking about work?”
“My partner thinks his wife is cheating on him, which has been the main thing going on this week,” Kincaid said dryly. “Trust me, it’s not a fun conversation.”
Yeah, didn’t sound like it.
“Brian? Work? Women?”
Brian shook his head and took a sip of his beer, his dark eyes dancing with amusement.
Fine. He’d go for the low blow. Zach was the one who had started this, after all.
“Zach, what about you and Amy?”
Blinking in surprise, Zach stared back at him. Beside him, Kincaid stiffened. Yeah, well, he should have helped change the conversation instead of leaving Mitch out to dry.
“What about me and Amy?” Zach echoed.
Mitch shrugged.
“When was the last time you scened with someone other than Amy?” he asked. Zach scowled at him.
“She’s engaged.” Something in Zach’s tone, the prim way he stated the fact, caught Mitch’s attention. Uh oh. “I’m only scening with her so she can get what she needs since her fiancé isn’t kinky.”
Shit. He’d only meant to poke at Zach and Kincaid, and whatever was going on between them. He hadn’t realized Zach actually had a crush or some kind of feelings for Amy. The man was still scening with her, even though it was purely platonic. Everyone knew Amy didn’t do anything sexual at Stronghold.
“Then I guess we’re back around to Brian.” Mitch grinned easily as if he hadn’t realized Zach’s intensity meant anything. Kincaid was now eyeing Zach with speculation and worry. Good job, Mitch. Brian was going to have to suck it up and share the hot seat instead. “Are you going to find someone to scene with tonight?”
Brian glanced over at the Lounge area. As far as Mitch knew, he hadn’t scened with anyone since Rae at Marquis.
“Yeah,” Brian said slowly, putting his beer down, not looking away from the subs. It was the first one of the night, which meant he was free to play still. “Yeah, I think I will.” Nodding his head, he got to his feet, refocusing on Mitch. “Coming?”
He should.
He really should.
But he didn’t want to.
“Didn’t think so.”
A ghost of a smile crossed Brian’s lips.
Zach clapped Mitch on the shoulder and leaned in.
“Magic pussy,” he whispered in Mitch’s ear. After having accidentally revealed the man’s feelings for Amy, with Kincaid right there and who knows what going on between the two of them, Mitch let him have the jab.
Besides, he wasn’t entirely sure Zach was wrong.
Chapter Nine
Domi
Saturday night at Stronghold.
She took Ana over to Marcus and Julia’s in the morning, dropping off chicken soup for Julia at the same time, who had gratefully taken it before fussing over Ana’s arm. To Domi’s surprise and relief, like Marcus, Julia didn’t blame Domi for the injury.
Apparently, Domi was the only one who felt she was at fault. Unfortunately, the lack of blame from others did nothing to help ameliorate the guilt that was growing in her stomach. Which was why she’d let Rae convince her to come to Stronghold.
If she could find someone to scene with and let some of her emotions out, she’d feel better. But….
“This is a bad idea,” she muttered as she and Rae made their way to the Lounge area of the club. Though it looked like a massive warehouse on the outside, inside, Stronghold was elegantly decorated and had plenty of comfortable spots. After getting through the lobby, the main floor had a huge wooden bar on the right and a cocktail area to the left known as the Lounge before the wall where the locker rooms—the real ones, not like the kinky fantasy room upstairs—and the owner’s office were located. Gorgeous black-and-white photographs of domination and submission decorated the walls, adding to the atmosphere, though there wasn’t often much scening happening on this floor.