Page 12 of Seducing Serena

Kicking a piece of gravel down the road, she couldn’t look into either man’s face. “Thought I’d take a run to the entrance and back.”

“Not without us,” Ford said flatly. “A submissive doesn’t go off on their own around here. Especially not our submissive. Understand?”

Swallowing down her jealousy, Serena took a deep breath before nodding. Dropping her head forward, so they didn’t see the tears of hurt that were threatening to overflow her eyes, she stared at the toes of their sneakers as she answered, “Yes, Sir. I’m sorry, Sir.”

“When you apologize to me, I expect you to look me in the eye, honey,” Ford’s tone gentled as a single tear fell to the ground.

Blinking several times, Serena lifted her head and looked him in the eye. “I’m sorry, Master Ford.”

She sniffed as two more tears overflowed her eyes and raced down her cheeks. She focused on Ford because she wasn’t sure she could look at Noah and not let her jealousy show.

“Apology accepted. Now, let’s all jog to the gates and back,” Ford said as he reached out and wiped his thumbs over her face.

Serena nodded without a word and began jogging again, this time with Ford on one side of her and Noah a half step behind on her other side. She forced herself not to look in Noah’s direction. Instead, she focused on the road in front of her while she picked up her pace in order to keep up with Ford and his long legs.

By the time they returned to the drive that circled around in front of the main building, she had worked through her reaction to Noah talking to Sadie Hawkins. She slowed to a walk as she followed a path that apparently went around the entire place. The men stayed with her, one on each side, though neither said a word. They simply walked with her, two big, silent shadows.

“I’m sorry I was jealous, Master Noah,” she finally said as they passed by a play area that looked scaled to adults.

“I’m sorry you thought I was flirting with Sadie,” Noah responded, sounding sincere. “I would never do anything like that to you. I didn’t realize my being friendly would look like something so different to you.”

Serena took a deep breath and held it. The two men stepped around her before turning to face her.

She released the breath in a whoosh before admitting, “You know that asking others for help has always been a challenge for me. Especially when I’m not sure what I’m supposed to ask for.”

“I know, sugar. We’re going to work on that this week. Now give me a hug and let’s go find some dinner before we go exploring.” Noah held his arms open wide.

Serena stared at them a moment before stepping up and throwing hers around his back. She smiled when his arms wrapped around her and held her tight.

“All right, you, two. I declare this disagreement over. Let’s go get something to eat.”

CHAPTER8

“Are you really a fireman?”

Noah looked up from his dinner to find several people standing next to their table. He opened his mouth to speak when he realized they were not asking him but were focused on Serena.

Like a good subbie, she looked toward Ford and then in his direction asking for permission to speak to these strangers. They both nodded before sitting back and giving her the floor.

Noah looked over the small crowd and realized their inquisitors were Littles. They were actually adults, but their choice of clothing was a testament of their choosing to be identified by their Little personas. The young men were all dressed in brightly colored shorts and t-shirts with animals or trucks on the front, and the young women wore short floaty dresses with flowers and sparkles on them. They all looked at Serena as if she were a goddess who had come to life.

Serena smiled as her cheeks turned pink at the attention. “No, I’m not a fireman. I’m a firefighter, a trained paramedic and I drive the ambulance.”

She paused for a moment as the Littles gushed before continuing. “Master Noah and Master Ford are also firefighters.”

“Really?” Two Little boys stepped closer to Noah and began asking questions one after another.

“Do you drive the truck?”

“Do you work the water hose?”

“Does your station have one of those black and white dogs?”

“Do you get to slide down a pole to get to the trucks?”

Noah had to chuckle at the awe he heard in the Littles’ voices. “Yes, I am the engineer and get to drive the truck. I only work the hoses if we’re shorthanded. We don’t have a Dalmatian, but we do have a Rat Terrier who hangs out at the station and sometimes goes on calls with us. His name is Rufus.”

“What color is Rufus?” A Little girl asked before he could finish answering the Little boys’ questions.

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