Page 66 of Nocere

The two of them burst out laughing together and I glanced between them. "What the heck is going on?"

"Rosie, this is Caroline. Caroline, my girlfriend Rosie." Sam ran her fingers through my hair before tucking a loose strand behind my ear.

"Good to meet you, pretty." Caroline pulled out a chair and sat beside me, then leaned her elbow on the table. Her presence, overwhelming at best, had me gulping down the nerves in my chest. I glanced to Sam, who snaked her hand over my knee and gave me a gentle squeeze.

"You, too," I said, my voice softer than I intended.

Samirah's hold on me remained while she lifted a carrot and took a bite, her eyes narrowed at Caroline. "Hands off, bean pole."

Caroline laughed and relaxed after that. "I'm just playing. How are you? I thought you were still in Olympia. Or was it Spokane?"

"I'm good. It was both, actually. Spokane, Tacoma, then Olympia." Sam poked around her plate, and I tended to the baked ziti on my plate while listening to them.

"That gypsy blood of yours still going strong." Caroline smirked, and folded her arms across her stomach.

"Rude." Sam pointed her fork in her direction. "What'd I tell you about that?"

"Not to be rude."

Sam's gaze fell to the weapon holstered at Caroline's hip and I stroked the arm that she had across my lap.

"Baby, why are you making Sami frown already?" The blonde woman, Nora, joined us at the table. She offered both me and Sam kind smiles before nudging Caroline's arms until she untangled them. Nora slid into her lap, and Caroline draped her arms around her.

"Her usual provocation. Hi, Nora," said Sam, before squeezing my knee again. "This is my girlfriend, Rosie."

"Hi." Nora met my gaze, her smile steadfast. "Nice to meet you."

"You look familiar," I said. "Nice to meet you, too."

"Agreed. Maybe from Wildrose?" asked Nora. Her arrival seemed to quell the tension between Sam and Caroline, or what I assumed to be tension.

"Maybe. How do all of you know each other?" I glanced between them, and all three suddenly adorned unusual smirks. "What?"

"It's complicated," said Caroline and Samirah at the same time.

"So...you like, dated?" My brow furrowed and they shook their heads. "Then what?"

"We used to scene together sometimes." Nora cocked an eyebrow as she looked to Sam. "You didn't tell her?"

"Not yet." Sam set her fork down, then took my hand when my concern grew. Discomfort swirled in my stomach and it must've shown in my expression.

"What's that mean?" I asked, keeping my gaze focused on Sam's hand in mine.

"Remember how we talked about BDSM?" she asked and I nodded. "We used to scene together sometimes."

"Oh." I looked between them again then back to Sam. "That makes sense."

"It does?"

"Well, yeah. You said most of the women you were with were from the BDSM scene," I reminded her.

"I did say that, didn't I?" She smiled as if relieved by my statement.

"Yes." I glanced to Caroline. "You're a Domme like Sam."

"I am, indeed. What gave it away?" Caroline grinned as she pretended to bite Nora's shoulder. Nora poked her nose and chuckled.

"Because you make me uncomfortable." My grip on Sam remained and she draped her arm across my middle.

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