Page 43 of Under His Command

“Have a bourbon while you wait, at least. It may not remove the glower from your ugly mug, but it might lessen it enough so the subs aren’t afraid to fetch their doms a damn beer.”

Flynn didn’t object when his friend raised his hand and signaled to Samson.

“Don’t worry, Commander.”

The softly spoken words got his attention despite the blaring music and the chattering, boisterous crowd. He turned to find Valerie, Eric’s subbie wife, gazing up at him with a smile. He’d been so obsessed with watching the front door, he hadn’t even noticed her presence.

“I saw the two of you dancing last Saturday. She was wearing a mask, but there was no mistaking the way she looked at you or how she melted in your arms. You weren’t wearing one, which means Cassie knew it was you from the beginning. She’ll be here.”

As if on cue, the doors opened. The bright-red wig and prim white shirt were hard to miss in the sea of pervasive black fetish wear. He stood, positioning himself so he could see all of her, from twin braids to the short skirt, and the fuck-me shoes that screamed anything but innocent schoolgirl.

He grinned, well pleased. She’d done as he asked, coming to him exactly as she was that night.

“You’ve got an eerie sense of prophecy, love.” This came from Eric, who looked on with his arm around Val’s waist. “Now the question is, will the commander make her come to him or meet her halfway?”

He didn’t have to wait long for an answer. Flynn stepped forward, his eyes not leaving Cassie as he watched her scan the room. When she spotted him, her shoulders slumped visibly, and he realized she’d been as anxious about this meeting as he was. Immediately, she started in his direction.

“In this crowd,” he told his companions, “waiting for her to come to me might take all night. I’m usually a patient man, but I burned through it all these last six days. I’m going to claim what is mine.”

With his eyes on her, he didn’t look before he surged ahead, which was unfortunate. So was the near-disastrous collision he had with the waitress who had the misfortune of passing by at that precise moment with a full tray of drinks. The young woman took the brunt of it, bouncing off Flynn’s hard, unyielding frame, which eclipsed hers in both momentum and sheer mass.

She staggered, and he reached out on reflex, steadying her with his hands on her waist. Somehow, she saved the teetering tray of sloshing glasses while she apologized. But he dismissed her, his mind circling back to Cassie as soon as Eric stepped in to calm his flustered employee. Not generally rude, he would have accepted the blame and stayed to ensure she was all right, but Flynn had a more urgent mission.

Glancing up, he searched for Cassie, who was no longer at the front doors. It took a moment, but he spotted the top of her bright head in the crowd.

“What the fuck?” he growled the next moment when bodies shifted. Another dom had stopped her and had his hand on her arm. From across the room, he could see the hold wasn’t gentle.

“What’s wrong?” Eric asked, instantly switching his focus and stepping up beside him.

“That bastard Charles has his hands on her. So help me, if he causes her to bolt again, I’ll break him in two.”

As he rushed into the crowd, he heard his friend’s drawled request. “Try not to get his blood on the floor, will you, Flynn? The grout in the tile costs a fortune to clean.”

***

Further testing Colt’spatience, Cassie had hopped out of the car before it fully stopped. Making matters worse, she rushed up the steps and into the lobby without an escort. But she’d waited long enough to see Flynn, and now that she was finally here, she refused to waste another precious minute.

Check-in delayed things with the scantily clad woman in reception unsure about allowing a guest in without a member. One of the security guards helped find her name on a guest list, and without too much fuss, had waved her through without making her wait for Colt and Jules who were still parking.

She rushed through the same doors where only a week earlier she’d fled, as Flynn had said, like her ass was on fire, then found herself at a standstill. Though not as busy as the last time, the bar area was standing room only. Anxiously scanning for him in the mass of wall-to-wall bodies, in seconds she spotted his dark-blond head by the bar on the opposite side of the room and addedeasily picked out in a crowdto her growing list of things she liked about Flynn.

With his height advantage, he had already noticed her arrival and was watching her. Their eyes met, and he lifted his chin, a cool acknowledgment of her presence. Cool as in badass, not indifferent, thankfully.

She smiled, and her chest felt like it might burst with happiness when, even from across the dimly lit room, she saw his face soften.

Excited, and not caring at all if she appeared overeager—which she so was—Cassie started forward. She hadn’t gotten more than a few steps before a man stepped into her path.

“I see the cunt has returned for more cock-teasing games.”

Startled by the scathing tone and vulgar words, her head snapped up. It was Elbow Patches. His lips twisted into a sneer as he glared at her. Where she had thought him of average attractiveness before, his hostility made him slide several notches down the ladder to subpar. Maybe it was time to get her eyes examined.

His anger was unjustified. She had never meant to lead him on, and hadn’t, not really. Too busy staring at her boobs, and spouting off at the mouth, he neglected to ask if she was interested, and took a ribbon without invitation. Thus, it was his ego at fault. But by unmasking her, he’d unwittingly started the ball rolling with Flynn. She supposed she should thank him, or at least try to appease him with an apology.

“I’m sorry if I gave the impression—”

“As you should be.” His eyes dipped down her body, lingering on her throat, then they shifted behind her. “Since you’re still available, you can make it up to me tonight.”

Without waiting for a response, his fingers curled around her arm, biting painfully into her soft flesh. He hauled her deeper into the room, moving away from Flynn at the bar and toward the dungeon. Oblivious to her struggles, or simply ignoring them, he began outlining his plans for her.

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