“He could be caught in the crossfire?”
Bunny nodded. “I just need to work harder and start looking for another place to live.” Before she discovered the neighbors were telling him he could help by earning an “income,” too.
“Let me know if I can help, Bunny.” He lifted her chin and raised his eyebrows when she looked up at him. “I mean it, fiammetta.”
Giving a tiny nod, she said, “I will not be a burden.”
Shaking his head, he muttered, “Stubborn woman.”
“You already have your hands full, Sir.”
He studied her with piercing gray eyes. “Yes, they are, and they can handle whatever comes my way. Promise me that, if you find yourself in a situation, you will call me first.”
Biting her lip, she smiled at him and nodded. “Sorry to ruin our romantic dance with my nonsense.”
“I’m the one who brought up the subject so it’s my fault. I suppose we’ll just have to stay out here until a better mood strikes, won’t we?”
“Camilla told me you have an extensive flogger collection. When are you going to show it to me?”
“Soon. I thought I’d give you more time in the club before playing privately. I could show you my personal dungeon if there is time tomorrow night.”
She nodded. “If you’re busy with your special guests, I thought I might also visit the club’s dungeon.”
He shook his head. “Not without me.”
“Why not?”
“You have a way of getting into mischief, little flame, and I’d just as soon you not get yourself in any situation you couldn’t get out of easily.”
“But I could use the club safeword if I had to.”
He caressed the back of her head, and the warmth from his hand seeped through her hair to her scalp. “Not without me, Bunny.”
“What if I wore that collar you put on my wrist? Wore it around my neck?”
He paused and looked down at her and then smiled. “We’ll see. Possibly.”
She didn’t know why it was so important to her, but he chuckled when she bounced on her toes happily. Now all she had to do was make sure she could follow through on putting that thing around her neck. Just the thought made it hard to swallow.
Chapter Thirteen
Joseph sighed heavily as he paused in his descent on the second-floor landing, with Jade following closely behind him, in tears. No matter how many times he’d reminded her that he didn’t expect it, she still chose to walk a pace and a half behind him. As distraught as she was, he didn’t feel it was worth reminding her again, especially since she was already upset at the changes he was proposing to her.
“Sir, Blake’s just not right for me.”
The mantle of a Dom presiding over a private club, with all the complicated human intricacies of Doms and subs interacting in possibly combustible ways, had always weighed on him, if not heavily then at least as something he’d never take lightly. Many subs came to Hazelle House actively looking for Doms, partly because he had a reputation as a protective Dom who placed a high priority on the safety and happiness of his subs. Lately, he’d felt more like a mother hen than a Dom in command of his part of the universe.
Jade’s face was pale and drenched with tears, and he didn’t bother to fuss when she collapsed to her knees by his side. He’d received Bunny’s text a few minutes before letting him know she was on her way so he could take her to visit the dungeon before the club got busy, but this situation needed to be addressed.
Blake was waiting in his office, and he deserved an answer.
Sighing, Joseph turned to her and gently said, “Look at me, Jade.”
Batting away her tears and sniffling, she looked up at him with miserable, bloodshot eyes, and the pain he saw in them made even him choke up a bit, and he was more than accustomed to teary-eyed subs. “Yes, sir?”
A member of the house staff turned down the corridor, walking toward the stairs, before pausing discreetly upon seeing them. This was no place to have a private discussion with her. “Come with me, please.”
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he walked down the hall with her following on bare feet behind him, silent every step of the way. She trailed him out of the French doors in the lounge leading out to the back veranda, currently deserted, except for groundkeepers who were finishing up for the day. They nodded when he gestured for privacy and made themselves scarce.
The sun had set moments before, and the lingering rays shone with a surreal pink light on the limestone blocks covering the mansion. It had been a hot day, but an errant and most welcome cold front had made its way far enough south that they were expecting unseasonably mild temperatures. Nothing cold, not in Texas this time of the year, but cool enough to bring a crisp, fall-like tinge to the air.