Page 57 of Dance for Me

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Chapter Ten

“Should I be worried?”

Braun asked the question as his friend pinched the bridge of her nose and walked over to the couch. The door still shuddered in its frame following Bodie’s hasty departure. He was relieved neither woman looked too worse for wear—he’d harbored concerns for their safety when time passed the fifty-minute mark and no one emerged from his office.

“That girl is so twisted up inside, it’s a wonder she can function.” Connie said wearily, letting her bubbly demeanor slide away to reveal the exhausted woman beneath. “I’m not at liberty to say too much, as you know, but I will warn you Bodie is likely to give your patience and your skills one hell of a workout. I’ll need your office a couple times a week for the foreseeable future.”

Impressed, Braun winged up an eyebrow. “You convinced her to see you as a patient?”

“She’s agreed to once a week, but I’d like to steer her toward more. However, she needs to believe that more is her idea. Not yours or mine.” She leaned forward and grabbed the pad, ripping off a page filled with her meticulous shorthand, folding it neatly, and shoving it into her cleavage. “You’ll want to sit down now, Braun.”

The world around him went very still, and he found himself not wanting to breathe in case one wrong exhale changed the outcome of what his friend was about to say. “Connie, if Bodie’s been molested or raped in the past, you don’t need to sugarcoat it. I can handle it so long as I know. It wouldn’t come as a surprise.”

What did surprise him, however, was the Domme's soft laugh. “Oh, it’s going to be a surprise, all right. I shouldn’t laugh, I’m sorry. Tiredness is catching up to me. The chaos inside her is mentally exhausting. Please, sit. My neck aches and trying to look at you up there isn’t alleviating it.”

With a grunt, he crossed to the couch and dropped onto the opposite end. “Bodie hasn’t been...damaged?”

“She has, in too many ways to guess. She hasn’t openly admitted to a specific incident, but there’s something lurking. Rape is a definite no; molestation hasn’t yet been discounted. I’ll get to the bottom of things eventually, but what I’ve been given permission to tell you takes higher precedence at the moment.” Heavy gray eyes met his, were serious down to the soul. “I need your word you’re not going to overreact, Braun. This is a very real, very delicate issue for Bodie, and I’ve assured her it won’t change the way you think about or treat her from here on out.”

For the life of him, he couldn’t think of anything that could change the way he felt about his raven-haired little subbie. “Hit me with it.”

Connie took a deep breath. “Boadicea is a virgin.”

Maybe he blinked. He knew he was still breathing, but the rest of him was numb. Good call on the sitting down part of the meeting. “I have it on good authority she’s not.”

“Unless that authority has personally had his cock inside the girl, you can disregard him. Liam didn’t lie to you,” she said quickly as his thoughts turned viciously to that possibility. “Liam doesn’t know. For reasons belonging to Bodie, it’s been safer for everyone to believe she’s...experienced.”

“Safer? What the fuck?”

“What I tell you goes no further than us and these walls, Braun. It falls under the boundaries of what I’m allowed to divulge, but barely. I hope Bodie will have the courage to explain it further when she’s ready, but perhaps it’s best for you to get the rage out of the way before she does.” Connie scrubbed at her eyes. “Bodie believes that her parents, if they find out she’s still innocent, will auction off her virginity to the highest bidders. We haven’t covered her parents too deeply tonight, but from the little she’s said, I think she’s right in her assumptions. Liam was kept out of the loop specifically.”

Blindsided, Braun blew out a long, long breath. Fuck, this was worse than he expected. Questions streamed into his head by the dozen, more piling up behind. They jammed up his ability to process and left him sitting in stunned silence.

Thank God I didn’t fuck her tonight.

He’d wanted to, had come perilously close to yanking his cock out of his pants and slamming home after she’d orgasmed on his tongue. If she’d had an ounce of perception left, any capability to consent to intercourse, he would have driven his cock inside her without hesitation. Hunger for her would have cast gentleness aside. The taste of her in his mouth had banished all thoughts from his head but claiming her.

Jesus Christ, he’d been so fucking close to ruining a beautiful thing.

“Would she have told me, do you think?”

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