Stronghold (Stronghold 1)

by Angel, Golden

  Olivia snorted, glaring at him as she grabbed for napkins. “Don’t say things like that while I’m drinking. So what finally convinced her?”

  He smiled. “I gave her a bit of a ‘come to Jesus’ lecture, she was pretty determined.”

  “Lucky she didn’t end up with Andrew or me then.” Amusement quirked Olivia’s full lips. Andrew might have taken Stephanie at her word and gone right into something painful before realizing his mistake, Olivia would have done something similar to Adam but without the lecture. She was a big believer in letting people come to their own conclusions and considering how stubborn Stephanie had been…

  Ouch.

  “Is Jared still here?” he asked. The big Dom had been replaced at his post by the door by Patrick, who had looked so surly that Adam had bothered to do more than nod at him while he’d sent Stephanie on her way.

  “No.” Olivia’s voice was sour as she took another sip of her drink. “Truckstop decided to tell him that she’s going on yet another whirl-wind adventure to find herself, which resulted in them having an argument, which resulted in Patrick sending Jared home so they could ‘work things out.’”

  “Ah.”

  Not much to work out there. Marissa didn’t seem to like staying in one place and was constantly taking short-term out of state and out of country jobs to try and ‘find herself.’ A task which apparently usually involved having an open relationship with Jared so that she could try to ‘make sure’ he was the right man for her – which obviously she couldn’t do unless she tested out other men.

  A little smile played on Olivia’s face, surprising Adam. He raised his eyebrow at her.

  “That’s not why Patrick’s so grumpy though.”

  “It’s not?” He was surprised, the circumstances surrounding Jared and Marissa’s relationship (if it could even be called that) was normally more than enough to make any of their group pissy. Olivia’s statement and amusement intrigued him.

  Her smile broadened, her eyes sparkling blue with good humor. “Nope. Lexie called in to get Amy’s number so see if she could cover for Lexie this Saturday.”

  “So?”

  “Apparently Lexie has a date.”

  Adam was about to ask “so?” again before a number of factors suddenly collided in his mind with several observations that he’d made over the past few months. His mouth opened, closed and then a little smile curved his lips as well. “Interesting.”

  “I certainly thought so.”

  “Do you think anything’s going on there?”

  “No, Patrick promised Jake that he’d take care of Lexie. And so he will.” Olivia’s lips quirked. “Even if it kills him. And I don’t think he’d be open to alternate interpretations of ‘take care of’ even if part of him wants to be.”

  “Should be interesting to watch.”

  “Nearly as interesting as watching you pine away over a Domme?”

  Adam groaned and then glared. He’d almost managed to forget about Mistress Angela for a few minutes. “I’m not pining away.”

  “You’re not acting like yourself either. What happened to being more open-minded about the submissives in the club? You know that Patrick’s trying to play match-maker, putting you, Andrew and me in charge of the majority of the Introduction Scenes, but you barely glanced at the sub that you had tonight. What was wrong with her?”

  “Andrew’s never going to go for a newbie.” Not after what happened when he tried to introduce his now ex-girlfriend to the scene. The scars from that were still affecting him today.

  “You know that, I know that, even Patrick knows that, but I think he’s hoping that pushing Andrew will at least force him to confront his issues. Now stop avoiding the question.”

  “We just didn’t have any connection. Chemistry. Whatever you want to call it.” Stephanie had been perfectly nice, but he just hadn’t felt an interest. He glowered at Olivia, not particularly enjoying having his own issues questioned. He knew very well that his friends considered him too picky, but he was actively looking now. Really.

  “Sometimes you have to let that grow.”

  And sometimes it was just instant. The way it had been with Mistress Angela.

  Dammit. Maybe he should go see her show this weekend. See if that chemistry was still there or if he had just imagined it. Maybe he was just building it up to something bigger than it was in his head.

  “Ouch!” He glared at Olivia as he rubbed his side where she’d poked him. Hard.

  “What were you just thinking about?” she demanded.

  “My plans for the weekend,” he snapped back.

  Olivia rolled her eyes. The sparkling blue was slowly fading to a more neutral grey. “Please tell me you are not going back to Chained.”

  “No,” he said. They sat in silence for a moment because she knew him well enough to know that there was more he wasn’t saying. Adam sighed. Out of all of his friends he was most comfortable talking about women with Olivia. Not just because she was one, but because if he asked her not to tell anyone about their conversation she wouldn’t. The rest might say they wouldn’t, but eventually they’d either forget that they weren’t supposed to or they’d have a couple of drinks and tell someone else in confidence, and then it would spread around to everyone. He was guilty of the same thing so he didn’t get mad at them for it, but everyone knew that Olivia was really the only one to safely tell anything.

  She hadn’t even divulged that Justin and Chris had gone back to instruct at the Venus School because they’d been going after Jessica. That had come as a rather big surprise when the duo had come home.

  “Angela told me about a play that she’s in at a community theater. It opens this weekend.”

  “You’re going to drive to Virginia to see community theater?”

  “Nope. The theater is about twenty minutes away from where I live.”

  “Hmmm.” Olivia put her empty glass down on the bar and shook her head when Lisa came by and asked if she wanted another one. Adam continued to nurse his drink. “Why do you want to see her again so badly? I’m not going to condone you pushing a possible Domme into trying out being submissive just because she’s new to the scene and you’re a lot more overpowering than you realize.”

  If Olivia had been anyone else, Adam would never admit his conflicted feelings. But when Olivia wasn’t being a pain in the ass and mocking him, she was one of the most comforting and emotionally astute people he knew. “I want to know if the chemistry I felt with her is real. I want to know why I’m attracted to a Domme. I want to know if she is a Domme or if she’s just attracted to the scene and isn’t aware of her true inclinations.”

  “And you’re hoping that she’s wrong about her inclinations and is actually submissive,” Olivia said drily. He didn’t respond, knowing that she was going to be a little pissy about that aspect of it. While she knew that none of their group of friends were the type who thought that women should automatically be submissive, men like that did exist and Olivia’d had to deal with a few jackasses like that in the past. It made her rather touchy on the subject. So he just let her think things over until she was ready to say something. “Tell you what. Don’t go this weekend. Come here, talk to some of the subs. If, next week, you are still feeling hung up on Mistress Angela, then I will go see her play with you.”

  “And you won’t tell any of the guys?” He knew he sounded insecure and needy asking, but he just had to confirm.

  “I won’t tell any of the guys.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I do, however, reserve the right to mock you relentlessly in private.”

  Adam sighed. “Of course you do.”

  Chapter 5

  “This is The Gift of Fear by Gavin De Becker,” Angel said, holding up her personal and very worn copy of the book. “I want all of you to go out and get a copy as soon as you can or borrow it from the library, read it online… whatever. If you need to, you can borrow a copy from me, I have about five extra ones, but if you don’t return th
em to me by the end of the semester then I will hunt you down and all the self-defense skills I teach you won’t be enough to help you.” She grinned at the class of mostly young women who tittered a little bit at her joke.

  Teaching these classes tended to be the hardest for her; the ones done in community centers or at her parents’ dance studio usually had a broad mix of women, many of whom were coming from places of experience. They knew the value of what she was teaching. It hurt to know that they’d had those bad experiences, but at least she knew that what she was teaching them was going to help protect them in the future. Here, at a community college, she couldn’t always be sure. The majority of these girls were under 21 years old, they had just hit a seriously dangerous period of their development, and they didn’t even realize it.

  The worst had been when, halfway through a semester, a student came in with her smiles and sparkling eyes gone and a sudden and violent need for what Angel was teaching. Fortunately the school had counseling services, which she could recommend, but it never stopped her pain at having to deal with situations like that.

  "What this book will talk about, and what we'll discuss in class, has a lot to do with awareness. It's about not putting yourself into a dangerous situation, about being aware of when you are and about not putting your guard down. There are tons of little things that you can do, with your day to day life, to make yourself safer; oftentimes they're not even things that we think about." Angel looked around the room at the cheerful faces in front of her. "Raise your hands: how many of you, when you first get into your car, take the time to check your hair or your make-up or your cell phone?"

  Every girl in the room raised her hand and Angel nodded.

  "When you first get into your car is one of the most dangerous times for a woman if she's being followed or targeted. We aren't paying attention to our surroundings, we're distracted and concentrating on other things, and meanwhile we're sitting ducks. I'm willing to bet that most of you don't even lock your doors while you're sitting there." The expressions on all of their faces were sliding into seriousness, which relieved her. Sometimes the college girls were liable to try and make a joke out of everything, it looked like this class she actually had ones who were willing to think about their actions, which made everything easier. "This class isn't just about punches and kicks, it's also about raising your awareness in your day to day life."

  One of the students, a serious faced blonde who had been frowning almost as soon as Angel had begun speaking, raised her hand. "Miss Jones? You make it sound like we should always be worrying that someone's out to get us."

  "Not worry, no," Angel shook her head, feeling her pony tail bobbing behind her. "But it's good to always have a general state of awareness, to know in the back of your head that bad things sometimes happen to good people. This shouldn't make you frightened or stop you from doing the things that you want to do, it should just be an added factor to your life. For example, I'm going to assume that most of you have been to a party on campus." The majority of them nodded their heads. "While you're there, I hope you're retaining your awareness of where your drink is at all times and that you don't accept a drink from someone you don't know. Roofies are something that women didn't used to have to worry about, but now they are and it's, hopefully, second nature to all of us to be cautious about what we drink when we're in that kind of situation."

  The example was getting a lot of thoughtful nodding, a small revelation dawning on more than one face. Angel smiled. Thankfully she'd learned a lot since the first time she'd taught a class to college age girls, not that it had been that long ago since she'd been one, but they did require slightly different handling from her classes where the ages were more mixed. There the younger women could usually be expected to take their tone from the older women; for the college classes Angel usually had to impress the seriousness of what she was saying during the first couple of classes.

  "We'll talk more about this every class, especially once you all start reading. I'm not going to assign a certain amount of reading, but if you can try to read a chapter a week that would be great. Again, I'm not assigning this book for the class but because I truly think it can help you." She allowed her expression to show the earnestness that she felt. "Okay... now let's stand up and we're going to start stretching before we put on the gloves."

  Leading the class through the stretches and then the basic punches and blocks that always comprised the first lesson, she couldn't help but laugh at the enthusiasm some of the students were showing. Since they had gloves on their hands and the blockers had pads that they were holding up there was no danger of anyone hurting themselves.

  "Remember," she called over the shouts and grunts. "Yell 'NO' as loud as you can every time!"

  "NO! NO! NO!" The girls chanted as they punched.

  "Remember, punch from the waist," Angel advised one of the girls. "You're still punching from your shoulder, you want to get your whole body into it... Good!" The blocker staggered a little under the force of the punch and the girl squealed and jumped. Angel laughed. "Just don't forget to say No!"

  She spent the rest of the class directing them on technique, going through one by one to watch their punches and blocks and giving them tips. Most of them were having a good time, enjoying both the exercise and the liberty to be so violently physical, and some of them were very serious about it. Angel didn't mind enthusiasm or enjoyment, as long as none of them were apathetic.

  ******

  After class Angel gathered her things together, hurrying out the door. She was supposed to be meeting Q for lunch since his job was so close to the college. Checking her phone she made a face as she saw that she had a missed call from her mom and no voicemail. If her mom was just calling to chat then she'd leave a lengthy and detailed messaged; if her mom needed something then she wouldn't leave a message at all, she'd just expect Angel to call back and found out what it was.

  The system didn't make any sense to her, but at this point in her life she was used to it. As she walked out of the gym building she hit the re-dial button.

  "Angel! Sweetheart!"

  "Hi Mom, what do you need?"

  "Oh you know me so well," her mother said with a cheerful laugh. "Are you free this Saturday?"

  "My show opens this weekend."

  "Oh I know sweetheart, I meant during the day. Robert's great-uncle passed away and he has to go home for the funeral, we need someone to cover his Beginner waltz, tango and swing classes."

  Angel made a face because she already knew she was going to say yes even though she preferred having nothing going on during the day when she had a show. She'd been looking forward to a Saturday of doing nothing; her tentative plans had included laundry, baking some cookies for the cast and possibly playing video games with her roommates. It had been a while since she'd had the opportunity to kick any of their asses since they'd been wrapped up in their latest computer game, but the past couple of days they'd been coming up for air more often so she had hopes they were about to join the world of the living again.

  But her parents needed her help and Robert deserved to be able to attend a family funeral without worrying that his absence was causing an undue burden on anyone.

  "Yeah mom, no problem. Tell Robert I'm sorry to hear about his great-uncle."

  "I will dear... thank you so much. Will you be over for dinner at all this week?"

  "No, we've got rehearsal every night until the show opens on Friday."

  "Okay sweetheart, well we'll see you on Saturday then. Maybe we can take you out after the matinee on Sunday?"

  "That sounds good Mom, thanks."

  Because her parents owned a dance studio where her mom did a large chunk of the teaching their schedules didn't allow them to come to come to any of her opening nights. They always had class and a social dance on Fridays. Sometimes they came to see her on Saturdays but this weekend her Dad was going to be out of town running a winter camping survival program for the nature center he worked at, which was
why her mother had to call her. Normally they didn't ask her to cover classes when she was in a show, but sometimes it just couldn't be avoided.

  Sighing, she put her phone away and went to her car before she did her customary glance around the parking lot before getting in. It was one of those little tricks that she'd been telling her students about that had become second nature to her by now.

  ******

  Flush with victory, Angel bowed, gripping the hands of the people on either side of her. They were all grinning like mad loons, humming with energy that was actually tangible.

  That was the effect of a successful Opening Night lauded with applause at the end.

  As soon as the curtain went down everyone started cheering and hugging each other, thrilled with their success.

  "Clear the stage! Clear the stage! Get out of your costumes and get out of here!"

  Angel laughed at the stage manager's exasperated tone, but she and the other actors quickly got out of the way so that the stagehands could break down what they needed to on the set so that they could leave as well. Chances were they'd beat the cast to the Opening Night party. Although, of course, everyone would get held up when they left, as they ran into the people they knew who were waiting for them out in the lobby.

  Her roommates had come tonight, her parents would be there on Saturday, and Leigh would be coming Friday night next week with her mother and Michael. Some of her other friends would show up at one point or another, although none of them had confirmed what night they'd be coming. She didn't mind that because it meant she got a nice surprise when they did show up.

  Quickly she scrubbed her face of the worst of the make-up, managing to do so without streaking the eyeliner or mascara, and changed into her regular clothing.

  "Where's the fire?" teased Rhonda.

  Grinning, Angel picked up her purse. "The faster I change, the faster I can collect my friends, the faster I can get to John's house and have a drink!"

  Their director had offered up his residence for the opening night party, which was brave of him since that was usually the most raucous party. It didn't seem to matter how old they were, theater people were theater people and after a successful opening night they wanted to stay up late talking, laughing and generally having a good time. Usually with a drink in hand. Angel had been at cast parties that had lasted until 4 or 5 in the morning with just a few hardcore hold-outs sitting around chatting about inconsequentials.