Page 72 of Crave Me

We pulled into the resort in Denton. I’d spent many summers coming to the beach in this area and I’d always loved the feel of Portsmouth Inn. It was familial and not overly touristy, and had a gorgeous view of the lake and sunsets. As a teenager, I’d first been kissed on a pier just down from the Inn while the sun had set and children had splashed in the water.

We walked into the Inn, Gabby going first and opening the door, calling out, “We’re here, Haley! Where are you?”

A beautiful brunette, leggy and willowy, gracefully walked around the corner wiping her hands on a white towel. “You don’t need to shout the house down, I do have some guests here this weekend.”

Gabby shrugged like it didn’t matter and waved her arm out to me. “Haley, this is Chloe. Chloe, this is Haley. She’s Jensen Rhodes’s sub and fiancée.”

I held out my hand but Haley embraced me in a hug like she’d known me for a decade. “It’s so lovely to meet you. I’ve gotten to know Simon in the last several months and I’m glad he’s finally found someone.”

I stiffened under her hold. She spoke like we were permanent and the reminder we weren’t made me ache.

“Thank you,” I replied. “It’s nice to meet you, too. Gabby says you’re new, too...to all of this?”

“Yeah, sort of. Follow me into the kitchen. I’ve got salad and soup and bread waiting for us.” She turned and walked through a dining room. “We have to eat in the kitchen, but there’s enough space. I figured it’d be more private in case the few guests I have this weekend interrupt us. And I’m sorry I had to work at all but my manager called in sick this morning.”

She tossed me a smile over her shoulder. “And I’m babbling, I apologize for it, but it tends to happen. Jensen’s working on breaking me of it, but well, I don’t mind the punishment so it’s a failing endeavor.”

I was stunned by the blatant discussion of being punished and quickly glanced around the room to make sure no one overheard. But it was then I understood the importance of why Gabby wanted to meet and why Simon encouraged it. Already, just being introduced to these women, I knew them on a level I didn’t know many people. There was something freeing about it and it made me comfortable around them while we filled our soup bowls and salad plates.

“So tell me how you met Simon,” Haley said once we’d dug into our soup.

I paused and figured out how much truth to give her. She covered her hand in mine, and smiled. “Forgive me for being forward, it’s normally not my style—”

Gabby snorted. “Please. Remember the night we met?” She grinned at me. “I was working behind the bar at G’s, which I own, and she saw my collar. Simply pointed at it and said, ‘Is that a collar?’ Like she didn’t care at all who heard.”

“I was new and curious,” Haley muttered. “Jensen and I had just started seeing each other and I didn’t know anyone in the lifestyle other than a couple of Doms I’d talked to on Kinklife. When I saw her collar, I was shocked a slave could work.” She blushed. “Anyway, it can be overwhelming and sometimes with Jensen, I never knew which end was up. Gabby helped me a lot.”

She sounded like she experienced something so similar to what I was currently feeling, I chose honesty. “Simon used to date my sister.” Haley’s eyes widened in surprise. “Cassie and I were out celebrating my twenty-first birthday when I pointed him out to her. We were giggling over how hot he was but when he came up to us, he wanted her.”

“And you liked him?”

I shrugged, but damn it, the memory still stung. “Yeah, but I was still in college, and he was enamored with Cassie from the very beginning.”

“Why’d they break up then?”

With my ass still burning from my flogging and the plug unforgettable every time I shifted on the wood chair, the last person I wanted to talk about was Cassie. I took a few bites of soup to stall. When I couldn’t without being rude, I explained. “They dated for years and at some point, Simon tried to bring some kink into their life. Needless to say, Cassie wasn’t thrilled.” I glanced between them to see both of them looking at me with worried eyes. “She threatened to have him arrested for assault if he ever came near her again. I had overheard her telling my mom about some of it and when I questioned her, she told me everything. All I could think of was how much I wanted the stuff she seemed to hate so much.”

I explained the rest, how upset Cassie had been, but how much I’d always enjoyed seeing Simon when I came home from breaks. I might not have seen him in three years before we began this D/s relationship, but we had a relationship before. I told them all of it, all of the times he was at our house for holidays with his mom and how much fun we had, and how betrayed my dad felt toward him when Cassie was so upset and vehement he’d abused her.

Haley tilted her head. “So your family hates Simon, then?”

A weight slammed into my stomach. “Yeah. They do.”

“Well, then it’s a good thing he’s just training you, isn’t it? Do you know what kind of Dom you’re looking for after? Gabby and I could help you.”

“Um.”

“Haley, you’re oblivious,” Gabby said.

I stared at my soup. I’d suddenly lost my appetite.

“What? Oh.” Her hand covered mine again and I forced myself to look at her. “Oh, no, you’re still in love with him.”

The truth, I imagined, was branded in my expression.

Haley cringed. “I’m so sorry. What do you think you’ll do?”

God. She was so kind. No wonder why Simon liked her. She hid nothing.

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