Page 80 of Our Unexpected Beginning
“Hey, I’ll be right back.” He kissed her cheek. “Don’t go running off with any Daddies.”
“Okay.” Julia turned to Melody. “Why, what did you do?”
Melody clenched her teeth and grinned guiltily. “The playground with Penelope and Sarah.” Melody had aggravated an old injury and had been placed on light activity by her doctor.
“What happened to painting? Wes came over for supplies on Tuesday.”
“I couldn’t stay cooped up anymore!” Mel leaned against the plush bench cushions. “He said to meet him here and be hydrated.”
“It seems both men have things up their sleeves today.” Julia pointed out, drinking a quarter of her bottle down.
She noticed Melody staring with a goofy look on her face.
Julia shot her a questioning glance. “What’s that face for?”
“Jules. You can’t tell me you don’t see it?”
“See what? What am I looking for?”
“One of the things I love about the club is that there’s naked everywhere. But Graham, his eyes never leave you. You’re all he sees. I love that for you. You’re my best friend and seeing you happy is amazing.”
“I.” Her voice faltered and Julia tugged on her J necklace out of habit. Melody was right. Graham only had eyes for her and it made her heart flutter. He’d been true to his word and has proved time and time again that he was in it with her.
“Julia?”
She turned her attention to the call of her name and spotted Claudia approaching. Julia stood to greet her.
“Hey!” She smiled and leaned in for a hug. “It’s been a while.”
Julia hugged her quickly and laughed nervously. “Yeah, there’s been a few, um, developments.”
“I see that.” She gestured to Julia’s growing bump.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah. Things are good. I haven’t been here to play in a while.” Julia wrung her hands. “Hey, listen. I think that I owe–”
Claudia placed her hand on Julia’s forearm. “No. Stop.”
“But?”
“You don’t. Owe anyone anything girly-pop.” She playfully popped her gum with a grin.
“I didn’t know until we were in it.” Julia admitted.
Claudia grinned, flashing her tongue ring. “So I was your ah-ha moment.”
“I don’t think that came until later, but you opened my eyes to realizing something was there.” Julia placed her hand over Claudia’s. “I’m sorry if I offended or upset you in any way. You went to the Dollhouse and agreed to play but that doesn’t mean you get to be treated like a piece of meat for a scene.”
“Not meat, a puzzle piece maybe.” Claudia shrugged and smiled. “I’m so glad you found your happiness and if you and your Sir want to play–within your boundaries–I’d be my honor to submit beside you.”
Graham
Graham gave Nolan his undivided attention as he demonstrated the simple ties. While most acts in the club and lifestyle were safe during pregnancy, he’d asked the fellow dominant for advice as he and Mia had two children under three and were active membersof the club.
“You can use the cotton rope for these knots, as well as a point of tension for the hook. For that you use a simple loop. You aren’t doing any suspension and minimal pressure so you’ll get the effect you want without causing too much strain.” Nolan explained, showing Graham how to create a soft loop that had minimal give.
“Thanks, I really appreciate it. I didn’t realize there were so many things left on the table during this.” He grinned, thinking about the scene he had planned for them tonight.
