“Maintenance is already all over it. A couple hours and you’ll never know the local wildlife came for an impromptu visit.” Levi offered an innocent, schoolboy-esque grin that cut no mustard whatsoever with the Mistress. “Guess you’ll just have to pass some time with the strangers who love you most.”
Reaux grimaced, sensing Violet’s fury cranking up to record levels.
“Do you honestly expect me to believe some cockamamie bullshit about a damn deer crashing through my window, Levi?” Violet tsked in disappointment, patting him on the arm in a way that suggested sympathy, yet conveyed barely-restrained violence. “Why not grow a pair of balls and tell me you’re staging an intervention?”
He grinned, shifting his hips so his thigh protected his groin in case of an attack. “My balls are whole and hale, Vi. I’d like them to stay that way for the foreseeable future.”
“Everyone knows how big mine are,” Merrick grumbled. “Can’t keep a secret in this place regardless of how many NDAs are floating around with signatures on.”
“Might not help that Tamsyn brags about you to every sub she feels safe with, buddy. The few subs you’ve played with in the past are feeling bitter that you’re off the market, while the rest are just jealous they’ll never get the chance to discover the truth for themselves.” Idiotic grin spreading, Levi reached around behind Violet’s back to thump Merrick companionably on the upper arm. “Never fear, my tamed friend. I have no qualms about picking up the slack on your behalf.”
Voice drier than the desert, Merrick replied, “How can I ever repay you?”
“I’ll think of something—”
“Oh, for God’s sake. Do your male bonding exercises somewhere else.” Tossing her head, Violet shoved them aside. “I’m not in the mood for a group heart-to-heart. Boudreaux can stay if he wishes, but I’m bidding you two idiots goodnight.”
“Are you gonna do it?” Merrick asked Levi.
“You’re the bigger asshole,” Levi fired back.
They both swung their gaze to Boudreaux at the same time.
Fuck. Violet’s ire was going to scald all of them down to the bone, but if he actively participated in demanding her compliance… well, sometimes the sacrifices a man needed to make were painful and absolutely necessary.
She was going to kill him in his sleep.
Stepping up behind her, Reaux spun her around and bent, tucking his shoulder against her midriff. With a grunt of effort to keep hold of her as she wriggled, he straightened with her draped down his back. “Lead the way, gentlemen, before she gouges out my kidney with her bare hands.”
She kneed him awkwardly in the chest, her leather pants squeaking in protest. “When I’m done with you, UNOS is goingto be very grateful for my donation of all your fucking organs, Fontenot. Put me down!”
He grunted again as her knee connected clumsily with his sternum, stealing his breath. “Been bingeingGrey’s Anatomyagain, Bennie?”
“Enough times I can perform the damn surgery myself,” she snapped, thumping her fist on his lower back. “Boudreaux, you have three seconds to put me down before—”
The doors to the bar swung open and Elias stepped out. Rather than his usual spit and polish attire, he was dressed casually in black jeans and a thick, cable-knit dark gray sweater. The overall appearance could have landed him a cover spot on a men’s fashion magazine. “What’s the delay?”
At the sound of his voice, Violet simply deflated. “Shit.”
Reaux patted her ass. “Figured we needed to break out the big guns, Bennie.”
“That’s not a weapon; he’s the devil.”
“Better the one you know, right?” She didn’t feel anxious, and her anger was dying. If he had to describe her emotional state, he’d say she was simply resigned to spending the evening doing something she’d avoided for a while now. “Give them an hour, Violet. That’s all they’ve been asking for—they miss you.”
“I’m not in the mood.”
“Seems like you’re never in the mood for anything. What’s got you so depressed?”
“Dangling over your shoulder like a dead deer while you stand here yammering isn’t helping my current mood.”
He laughed, then nipped her thigh. “Dead deer don’t talk, Bennie. On the plus side, just in case you’re wondering, I’ve got the best view in the house. Good enough reason for me not to go anywhere right now.”
“This is not submissive behavior, Boudreaux.”
“I’ll be sure to reprimand my trainer later with a thorough spanking for her lapse in discipline. Now,” he continued when she groaned, “are you done sulking? Think you can muster up a smile for your friends, some conversation that won’t send those two sweet Littles running when they’ve been begging to see you?”
Violet squirmed. “Fine. Whatever. Just put me down before I embarrass us both by peeing on you.”
