Page 47 of Captive Heart

She only hoped that wasn't a mistaken perception on her part because it would hurt her to loose these new bonds she was creating. Friends were something Melody had never been able to claim at any point in her life before now, not even when she'd been growing up in foster care.

Families were too suspicious of kids in the system, saw them as a bad influence and encouraged their children to steer clear. And in the group home, it was always more about competition than camaraderie, everybody looking after number one.

What she had found at Club Risqué was wonderful on so many different levels. The people, the friendships, the things she had discovered, she didn't ever want to lose.

This evening was no exception. Melody was curled up at the side of one of the comfy couches in Trinity's office. Officially, the assistant manager was working, but she was on her break right now, and Charlotte, Laurel, and Luanna had piled into her room for some girl time and pulled Melody along with them.

Although they talked about her a lot, their other friend, Desi never joined them, but Melody had quickly picked up on the fact that the other woman was having a difficult pregnancy and required a lot of bed rest. And Charlotte had just had a baby, so she didn't play so much these days, either, though she did pop in quite often to meet up with the other girls.

But perhaps it was Trinity they visited. She supposed it must be difficult to keep up with each other when they all had such differing time commitments. Trinity, especially, since she worked long nights, slept in the daytime, and spent three or four nights a week living away, so she could be with her fiancé, Christian.

They were an eclectic mix. Trinity was tiny and pixie like, with dyed bright red hair, but her dainty appearance belied a strong character. Luanna was as tall and curvy as Trinity was petite and exuded an unmistakeable aura of calm maturity and serene elegance.

Though buxom, but not as tall, Laurel was completely the opposite in character, being a bubbly live-wire. Her chatter filled any silences.

But Charlotte was, perhaps, the one with whom Melody felt the most kinship. It wasn't just that she, too, was tall and thin with hair that reached her waist, albeit it brown, not grey, like hers. There was something about the travel writer—an empathy and understanding—which Melody somehow felt came more from personal experience than simple compassion, although she didn't like to ask.

They were all piled into the sitting area of Trinity's office, which suddenly seemed considerably smaller than usual with all of them packed in there. Luanna was sitting with Melody on the couch, while Charlotte took the tub seat, and Laurel had casually plonked herself on the coffee table in the centre, leaving Trinity to wheel her office chair across to join them, once she'd handed out hot drinks all around.

"So how are things going with Micah then, Melody?" asked Laurel. She wasn't the type to hold back if there was something she wanted to know.

Melody held her breath for a couple of beats, her face blooming. How could Laurel possibly know about her preoccupation with Micah?

It took her a couple more guilty seconds before she realised the other girl didn't know any such thing, she was just speaking generally. Unfortunately, Melody's silence and pink cheeks gave her away, and four heads turned to look at her with speculation.

"Umm…he's very…ah… nice, and um, pleasant," she stammered lamely, knowing she'd just made the whole thing worse.

Trinity raised an eyebrow, and Melody was aware of a suddenly sharpened, almost possessive, contemplation from both her and Charlotte, which she couldn't quite fathom since both women were in serious relationships with other men.

Laurel just snorted in a decidedly unladylike manner. "Aha!" she exclaimed. "So, you've got the hots for professor beefcake, eh?" She winked exaggeratedly. "Can't say I blame you. He's a whole yummy slab of muscled hunkiness!"

Melody didn't know where to look as her cheeks blazed even hotter. "I didn't mean…"

"Pfft!" Laurel cut her off. "Girl, you're not going to fool anyone with that act. Now spill! What's the deal with you and the good doctor?"

"Why do you call him doctor?" Melody asked instead. It wasn't quite a diversionary tactic, since she truly didn't understand the connotation.

"Because he's a psychologist. Now quit stalling." Laurel giggled, refusing to be distracted.

Melody looked at her and blinked. "He is? I thought he was the club manager?" She frowned, genuinely confused.

"Oh, he is," Trinity confirmed with a smile. "But he's also a qualified psychologist who used to have his own practice."

"Huh! Well, I guess that explains a lot," she conceded.

"He still does psyche evaluations on the members, to ensure we don't have any predators or dangerously unbalanced participants."

"So has he probed any other parts of you beyond your brain?" Laurel asked irreverently, rubbing her hands together in glee.

Could she confide in these women? Why the heck not? That's what friendship was all about, wasn't it? And when all was said and done, maybe they could offer her some insights, because she sure as hell wasn't getting very far on her own.

"Um, I don't think he wants to," she admitted shyly. "I offered to be his slave, but he refused and said he would only be my master in name only until I was able to stand on my own two feet."

Trinity pursed her lips and nodded sagely. "Yes, I imagine that scenario wouldn't have appealed to him."

All eyes were on the spiky haired pixie now, as if they realised there were secrets she might shed light on, but it was Melody who replied.

"Because of the ex-girlfriend who died?" she queried.

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