Bunny and the Beast(Divine Creek Ranch 22)(67)

“When is the baby due?” Joseph asked.

“Six weeks. Doc said this was our last trip away from home until after the baby arrives. Before they come back, I want to ask. Is Bunny yours? She looked ready to swallow her tongue when I suggested she was a club submissive.”

Joseph smiled at that comment. She’d gone so still, and he’d almost been able to hear the gears grinding in her head, but she’d wisely chosen to let him set the record straight. If his little flame didn’t release some of the pressure she had herself under, she was going to explode. He looked forward to helping her with that.

“Yes, Hector. She’s mine.”

Hector nodded and grinned. “I thought as much, considering your rather proprietary hold on her and the way she looked up at you. It appears you have her under your spell.”

Samson snorted, and Joseph shrugged. “I’m not so sure it isn’t the other way around, sir. She’s a delight.”

“She hasn’t shown much of it yet tonight, but she’s a total sass-pot,” Samson added with a quiet chuckle.

Hector’s arched brows rose a fraction. “You’ve never favored impertinent subs before. What happened?”

“Bunny happened. She has an irrepressible personality, but she’s a natural sub.”

Samson nodded in agreement.

“Jillian will be disappointed,” Hector said mildly. “Juno hoped you might like her. She’s your type—or was.”

Joseph took a sip of the drink the waitress had just delivered, glad for the momentary distraction. He didn’t want to disappoint his mentor, but the tall blonde, with her calculating demeanor and surreptitious cutting glances at his sub, left him cold. Only the knowledge that Juno was a sweetheart and Bunny could handle herself kept him from worrying about her in the restroom with Jillian.

“Thank you, Hector. But Bunny and I have an agreement.”

Hector grinned and persisted. “Jillian was hoping to experience your expertise with a whip firsthand. She has a generous masochistic streak. Surely your little newbie wouldn’t mind that.”

“I know what you’re up to, old friend,” Joseph said with a chuckle. “No, but Samson might be willing to accommodate her.” Samson gave him a minute nod. He almost felt bad about shuffling the sub onto his friend.

Moments later, the three subs returned. Hector reached for Juno and helped her into his lap. Joseph enjoyed watching his former mentor coddle and arrange his sub, who was also his wife, into a comfortable position in his arms. Once she nodded and kissed his bearded jaw, he reached over the arm of the chair and gently removed the outrageously high heels she’d been wearing.

“Sir,” Juno said in a soft voice as she caressed his bearded chin, “I won’t be able to get those back on when it’s time to go upstairs. My feet will swell.”

“I’ll carry you, little mama. I’d rather you were comfortable. You didn’t have to wear those to make me happy.”

Juno giggled. “But I love the look in your eyes when I do.”

Hector looked across at him and shrugged as if to say, What can I say? I’m still a guy.

Joseph chuckled at their interaction, reached down to stroke Bunny, and found her stiff as a board beneath his hand. He massaged the rigid muscle gently, and when a waitress came to deliver the rest of the drinks, Joseph took the opportunity to lean down to her as she knelt beside him.

He slid his hand under her hair, cupped the back of her head, and whispered, “Everything okay?”

She swallowed and looked up at him. “Peachy, Sir.” The set of her lips in a straight line told him he’d been right. He glanced over at the other sub kneeling opposite of Bunny, at the side of the chair Hector sat in. She had positioned herself so she could chat with Juno if allowed. Her gaze, cold and challenging, averted from Bunny but not before he saw it.

“I see,” he murmured, making a point of stroking the delicate curve of Bunny’s head as he kissed her forehead. “Robert and Shae keep looking over here. Stay with me here a while longer, and then you can visit with them if you’d like. I’m sure they want to know if you’re okay after your encounter with Hunter last weekend.” He no longer gave the man the honor of the title “Master.” He didn’t deserve it.

“Only if it pleases you, Beastly,” she whispered back as she rubbed the tip of her nose against his.

“Was everything all right in the ladies’ room?”

Bunny nuzzled his cheek. “Nothing I couldn’t handle. Just mean-girl drama that’s not even worth mentioning. I’m a big girl. I can handle it. Want a lick?” she added as she held up her red-and-white striped lollipop to him.