Page 67 of Mob Knight

I listen as she finishes up the call and puts her phone back on the table. I remain quiet and just offer her a smile. But when she offers nothing to me, I can’t help asking before it gets awkward.

“Is everything all right?”

“Yeah. That was just my brother, Santiago, but it wasn’t anything important. I can talk to him tomorrow.”

“Is there somewhere else you need to be tonight or something else you need to do?”

I pray she says no, and I think she will from what I heard. But I also feel like I should offer her a way out if she needs it.

“No, absolutely not. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than here with you. And it’s not anything important. He wanted me to stop by to look at some new furniture he bought. He’s proud of his new living room set, but it’s hardly something I need to do at this time of night.”

“Is he worried about where you are?”

Did she tell him she’s entering a D/s relationship with a mobster? She wasn’t alone with her phone at any point between when we met at McGinty’s and when we got to the club. Did she go there on purpose to find me?

My mind whirls with suspiciousness ingrained in me practically since birth. However, I have no reason to question her, and the last time I did, I nearly fucked it all up. Once bitten, twice shy, so I won’t make the same mistake again. I’ve been cautious about that all evening.

“No, he just wants to brag, and he knows I don’t always go to bed early. So, he thought he’d try to catch me, see if he could get me to come over. He was going to bribe me with my favoritesopa.”

“He thinks soup would get you to go over at nearly one in the morning.”

“Yeah, well, he’s not always very time conscious. He may not have even realized how late it was.”

“Do you do that often? Do you go out to his place, wherever that is, in the middle of the night?”

“No, Cormac, I don’t. Usually at this time, I’m tucked away at home, even if I’m not asleep. I’m not out prowling the city in the wee hours of the morning.”

I shoot her a scowl that tells her I don’t appreciate her being flippant. Her gaze drops, and she places her hands in her lap.

“I’m sorry. I just know my brother, and no, it’s not that big a deal. But I get you’re trying to watch out for me.”

“I am, and I’ve already told you I want guards for you. If I’m concerned about you during the day, don’t you think finding out you go out on your own in the middle of the night in New York would bother me?”

“I suppose so.”

“You suppose? Joey, come on.”

“I know, but Cormac, you’ve got to realize this is a new relationship for us. There’re plenty of things I’ve been doing on my own since well before I met you. And it’s not that I don’t respect your wishes and your concern, but it’s going to take me a moment to adjust to making them as high a priority as I want them to be.”

“So, what do you want, Joey? Do you want to continue our D/s dynamic and add in being more of a romantic couple? What would that look like to you?”

“I think I want both. I mean, I know I want both, but I think...”

“What do you want? What do you need?”

She hesitates as she considers her explanation.

“I think you’re a man who thrives off control, and I think most of the time you have it, but not always. And when you don’t, it gets to you even if you don’t show it.”

She stumbles a little over some of her words, but I won’t deny she’s right, so I nod.

“I also have a stressful job that often leaves me feeling powerless to help families the way I’d like. That frustrates me with little emotional outlet. If I won’t have control over something, then I’d rather it be because I chose to give it up, rather than feeling like someone took it from me or I never had it.”

“That makes sense.”

“I want to date and do the same things a regular couple would as they get to know each other, but I want more out of our D/s dynamic than just one night a week and part of the weekend.”

“What are you suggesting?”

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