Page 54 of The Dom with the Kink Monsters

Mack gave a surprised laugh. “No latex body suit?”

Ramsay raised his brows and looked at Mack, unimpressed.

Mack ignored him and went on. “Cross has all sorts of things. If you’re not looking for a leather and chain chest harness or PVC chaps, he has t-shirts and shit like that. If there’s nothing you like just wear something you’ve got. Jeans and no shirt works just fine for you.”

“Uh...thanks?” What was he supposed to say to that? Maybe he’d meant it innocently, but the tension was there again, hissing between them like water on a grill. Ignoring it seemed to be the easiest thing to do. Refraining from dragging Mack into another back alley sometime this afternoon was going to be difficult. Tonight, they had to share the green room with the other bands, so they’d all have to behave. Hopefully Saya could sing without being wound up.

Ramsay parked the car not far from the coffee shop where they’d first met. Winter’s shop was across the street.

When the engine shut off, the backseat denizens stirred and looked around blearily. They both had sex hair. Saya noticed Winter’s and smiled, then tried to comb it down with her fingers.

“Come on. I think Steph is working today.” Winter gave Saya a lingering kiss and her eyes held promise for mischief to come. Ramsay had always hated shopping, but this had the potential to be interesting.

The bell rang as they entered. The shop was tidy and held a huge assortment of punk, goth and fetish clothes. There was no difficulty in picturing Winter there, working. For that matter, he saw a shirt and a belt that he’d seen duplicates of on her before. They looked way better on her than on the mannequin. Winter was a scrawny thing, but what she lacked in soft curves, she made up for with presence and attitude.

Winter talked to a heavily pierced girl behind the counter for a few minutes then beckoned for Saya to follow. Moving around the store with a comfort that spoke of hours of stocking the merchandise, she pulled outfits off the racks and pushed them into Saya’s arms.

There was a stirring at his elbow and Mack was there.

“Are you getting the giggling girl sleepover vibe from this or is it just me?” Mack murmured.

“If this is Winter giggling, I’d hate to see her on a mission.”

The bell rang behind them and Mack turned and backed up to make room. Two guys came in, one big as a house, the other built more like Mack – both covered in tats. They scanned the room for a moment and when they saw Mack they went over to him, clasped hands, and greeted him warmly.

“Mack, you crazy fuck! Where the hell has Winter been keeping you?” The hulk slapped Mack on the shoulder, grinning.

“Other than the show we played last night, I haven’t left the house much lately.”

“I read your last update online when I was up with Emmanuel the other night. Excellent illustration. I can’t wait to see how Rime gets out of this one.”

“I’d rather have another demonstration of how Rigg gets her tied like that.” The other guy laughed. “Then I need you to show me how to do the same with two girls instead of one.”

“Me too.”

“No problem. You both caught on pretty fast the last time.” Mack smiled leaned back on the display case, looking as though he’d hung out with these two a million times. “Cross, Malachi, this is our drummer, Ramsay.”

“You finally found one that’ll work, huh? I was starting to think that you’d be the only metal band I’ve heard of with no drums. Nice to meet you, Ramsay,” Cross said.

Malachi inclined his head too.

“Cobalt Harbor sucks ass for drummers.” Winter nodded at them from across the room. “If these two hadn’t moved into town, we might have had to start looking in Felix.”

“Hard to practice when people have evil day jobs and have to drive so far,” Malachi agreed.

“Winter! Is your day job evil?”

“Only when I’m here, Cross. I take the evil with me when I go home.” She raised her hand in a vague wave and towed Saya toward the changing room.

“I can attest to that.” Mack chuckled.

Cross leaned back on the counter beside Mack and, for a crazy moment, Ramsay was annoyed. Both of these guys reeked of dominance, and were acting very familiar. And if this Cross guy was up late with someone called Emmanuel, that left some questions open. If they were close to Mack, had one or both of them been interested in him in the past?

Had Mack slept with them?

Was it any of his damn business? It’s not like he’d even given the guy any indication that he was interested other than bossing him around a little this morning. Wait... Mack had told him that he and Winter hadn’t played with anyone else while they’d been dating. But watching him talk to these two made him feel...proprietorial.

“Ramsay, we need your opinion,” Winter called from the changing room area.

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