Bunny waved a hand dismissively and said, “Pfft!” before she remembered she was supposed to be silent. She pressed her lips together and stilled, pretending as though she hadn’t just spoken. Samson gave her credit for knowing how to dispel the tension as everyone chuckled.
Randall said, “We won’t tell on you this once, Red.” He turned and spoke softly to Mona, who hurried off after kissing him.
Bunny mouthed thank you and then winked at Samson and made a hissing sound at Cassie and kitten claws with her hands.
Cassie turned to him and placed a hand over his thigh where Jillian had nailed him with her high heel. “Are you all right? You’re going to have a terrible bruise. I can feel how hot it is, and it’s swelling.”
He leaned forward and whispered, “You keep squirming around on my cock and I’ll let you attend to another swelling that’s also getting hot.” She stilled instantly, and he thoroughly enjoyed the bright shade of rose transforming her already pink cheeks. She glanced back at him with a reproving twist to her lips, but there was a sparkle in her eyes.
Randall said, “I’ve sent Mona for an ice pack and the first-aid kit so you can doctor Cassie’s arm. She’s bleeding. Jillian was the one with the claws, but I think you’ve got the fiery tigress in your lap, my friend.”
“That pretty much says it all,” Samson said with a chuckle as he squeezed her reassuringly and then looked at his brother. “It’s usually not this exciting up in the VIP section. Now down in the dungeon…”
Ivan frowned. “This isn’t the dungeon?”
Everyone laughed, and Samson eventually explained that there was another whole floor of BDSM beneath their feet. Ivan took it all in with relative nonchalance, seeming to purposely want Samson to know he accepted this aspect of his life.
The night might not have gone as he’d expected, but it had ended up better than he’d hoped. And there was a part of him that had ignited at seeing how fiery Cassie could be where her men were concerned.
* * * *
Cassie watched Samson wince when he applied the ice pack to the knot on his leg through his leather pants. While she was grateful he’d protected her from harm, she was worried he wasn’t being honest about how much pain he was in. If he’d been wearing slacks or jeans instead of those leather pants, Jillian’s stiletto heel might’ve done much more serious damage.
Anger flared at the uproar Jillian had caused, and Cassie’s cheeks flushed once more with heat at the reminder she’d literally lost control of her anger. She knew now that Jillian had manipulated her on purpose, which didn’t make it any easier for her to face the fact she’d lost it like a common street thug. She’d also made such territorial statements about Samson and Ivan. She doubted saying such things about a Dom was permissible in Hazelle House and could only imagine what Joseph and the others thought of her.
“Your thoughts show so easily in your eyes, chiquita,” Samson said softly as he brushed antibiotic ointment over her wounds and bandaged them. She smiled at him, appreciating the encouragement.
Ivan leaned over in his chair and kissed her shoulder. “You were speaking the truth, you know?” he said, and she turned to look into his kind blue eyes. “We are yours.”
“Mmmm, all yours,” Samson echoed.
“But I thought I’d be in big trouble, like huge trouble for saying something like that, especially here, where you’re supposed to be the one in control, the one in charge.”
Samson gave her a kiss and murmured, “Silly girl. The subs may be the ones on their knees, but even if they’ve given control to their Doms, they’re still the ones with all the power.”
She leaned back against her shoulder and shook her head. “I’ll never understand this world. Not fully.”
“You understand more than you realize,” Samson said as he settled back with her in the cushy chair, forcing her to practically recline on him. “You just need time to get settled in.”
She looked across the group, observing the way Bunny leaned against Joseph’s leg, with her cheek on his knee. She caught Cassie watching her and gave her an evil grin that meant she was up to no good. Cassie’s attention was drawn by the movement of Bunny’s hands, and Cassie slowly slid her gaze down Joseph’s pant leg, hoping she wasn’t being obvious. Bunny was slowly, and with painstaking care, tying his shoe laces in knots, over and over again, so that when he wanted to remove his shoes, he would first have to untie all the knots. Cassie snorted softly, figuring it was lucky for Bunny that she hadn’t tied his shoe laces together or her clitoral torture might never end.