Stronghold (Stronghold 1)

by Angel, Golden

  If anything Adam scowled even more, as though there were hidden undercurrents to Patrick's rather bland statement that she just wasn't understanding. What was wrong with looking for more people to help out around the club if Patrick needed help? Angel was feeling increasingly out of her element. She realized that something had been slightly off when she'd first come into the club and now that Mike was here things had been thrown entirely off-kilter.

  "When I showed up at Angel's tonight, her housemates told me she'd gone out to a club. I figured they meant here and followed along," Mike said, sliding his arm around her shoulders. She looked up at him, slightly confused. While they'd always been physically affectionate, because that's the way she was, it almost seemed like the gesture was something other than casual for him. And he wasn't looking at her, he was looking at Adam. She looked at Master Adam too, but he wasn't looking at either of them. He was looking at the lounge area.

  Thinking about getting a sub to play with?

  Her stomach clenched. If he did, she was so leaving. While he might not be interested in her, she was way too attracted to him and way too emotionally tender after her Introduction Scene last week; she definitely didn't feel like being in the same building if he was playing with someone else. Give her a couple more weeks to get over her crush and she'd be fine, knowing that he was playing with others would help with that, but tonight she'd leave rather than be in the same building where it was happening.

  Deliberately she looked up at Mike, trying to ignore the big, blonde grouchy man that was taking up far too much of her focus.

  "Are you going to play tonight?"

  "No, pest, I only came here to catch up with you and get my bearings. That and I know what happens when I'm unchaperoned with your housemates," he teased. Angel laughed, although she couldn't blame him for not wanting to get sucked into video game land again. It was so hard to get back out again! Especially when the opponents were as engaging and skilled as her housemates. "You can go play if you want to."

  Angel hesitated for a moment and then shook her head. The only man she was currently interested in playing with was still eyeing the Lounge area and she didn't feel like joining the women over there. It would be way too obvious if he ended up going over there and picking out a sub for the evening and she wanted to leave right afterwards if she was over there too. "No. I'm not going to ditch Leigh."

  Smiling, she reached out to grasp her best friend's hand. Her best friend rolled her eyes. "I told you I'm fine. Especially if Mike's going to hang out for a bit."

  "Maybe tomorrow. If we come back."

  "In that case, I'm going to get a real drink," Mike said, sliding his arm off of Angel's shoulders and turning towards the bar.

  The rest of the night went surprisingly well. Andrew and Mike hit it off right away, talking about their preferences for various whips with Patrick’s occasional interjections, making Angel shiver a little. She and Leigh sat on two bar stools next to each other, chatting with Olivia and Mr. Grouchy. He didn't say much, but he didn't leave to go play with anyone either. And he ended up being not all that grouchy; he and Olivia were a little bit like brother and sister, constantly poking at and teasing each other. Eventually those who had gone off to do scenes came back, at which point Olivia headed over to the Lounge area to pick out a sub.

  By the end of the evening, she and Leigh were no longer sitting together. Instead, Leigh was chatting with Rick, Hilary and Liam, while Angel was seated between Adam and Justin, arguing with them and Chris about whether the old Batman movies were better than the new ones. She and Chris both liked the newer ones better, but Adam and Justin were holdouts for the originals - although even Chris turned on her when she said that her favorite old one was the Adam West version.

  "Come on! Bruce Wayne and Catwoman, tied up with their hands behind their backs, having a super sexy moment where he promises that he'll protect her? That was hot!"

  "You have issues," Chris said, shaking his head. "And you can't claim that as your initial interest in BDSM, because he was tied up too."

  "Just because I'm submissive doesn't mean I can't appreciate a hot man all tied up. I like to look, I'm not saying I'd know what to do with him. And yes, I do think that's where my interest in bondage started! Or at least, when I realized what might get me all hot and bothered."

  "With Adam West?" Master Adam groaned. "It kills me that he and I share a name."

  "Oh come on, you had to like that show when you were growing up."

  "When I was growing up? Yes. Now? Maybe if I'm really drunk."

  Angel giggled at the face that he made. He'd already had a couple of drinks at this point and it had definitely loosened him up. "Seriously though, the movie was brilliant! Shark repellant? The penguin submarine?"

  "Don't forget the sky riddles," Justin said. They all looked at him in surprise and he shrugged. "What? The Riddler was always my favorite."

  When it was finally time to leave, Angel was a little disappointed. She'd been having fun. Especially once Mister Grouchy stopped being so grouchy and had started actually talking to her. She'd really enjoyed their conversation. While he wasn't as lighthearted as Chris, that just made it even more of a triumph when she managed to make him laugh. And he seemed like he needed more laughter in his life, he was way too serious.

  All in all, even though she didn't get a chance to do any of the things she'd initially set out to do that evening... she couldn't help but feel like it had been a success.

  Tomorrow though, tomorrow she was going to go to the Lounge area and offer herself up as an available sub. While she really liked the new friends she was making, she was going to Stronghold to explore her sexuality not to make new friends.

  And if she was really lucky, maybe Mr. Grouchy would continue to be her tour guide.

  Chapter 12

  So she had a close guy friend that she was sexually attracted to. Who was staying with her for the next two weeks.

  He was pretty sure he believed Leigh when she’d told him that nothing had actually ever happened between Angel and Mike. He was less sure that he believed the heavy sexual tension between them completely melted away when either of them was in a relationship with someone else.

  What it really came down to, was trust.

  As did so many other things. How much could he trust Angel? Well he couldn’t really know that without getting to know her better. So he’d started that last night, although he’d never gotten around to asking her if she’d want to do another scene with him at some point. Or apologizing. After “Pretty Boy” had shown up, he hadn’t been entirely sure that he wanted to jump right into doing that.

  But he’d really liked talking to her. It had also helped that Michael had spent more time getting to know the others in the group than he had catching up with Angel. Adam hated to think that the other Dom had picked up on the wave of jealousy that had engulfed him when he’d seen how easily Michael and Angel were physically affectionate with each other, but he was pretty sure that the other man had caught his glare and that’s why he’d finally moved away from her.

  Someone who was really interested in Angel wouldn’t do that, would he?

  Angel hadn't seemed upset that Michael wasn't spending any time with her. Then again, he was staying with her, so would she be? And could Adam really be sure that she wasn't just acting like she wasn't upset?

  The discordant sounds of his guitar strings as his fingers hit the wrong chord for the umpteenth time made him grit his teeth. He just couldn't get it together today, couldn't find peace of mind even in music and he knew exactly why. The woman had him all out of sorts, because for the first time in years he didn't know exactly what to do about a situation.

  Every time he made a decision, something would happen and he would be forced to reevaluate.

  His pocket began to vibrate and Nat King Cole started to sing to him. Although he didn't really feel like talking, at least he knew his mother would distract him from his current chaotic thoughts. Hell, she’d
probably give him some new chaotic ones.

  "Hey mom."

  "Hi honey! You picked up! How are you?" The surprise and pleasure in her voice that he hadn't let the call go to voicemail made him feel a little ashamed. While they talked on the phone on a pretty regular basis, it was always when he called her. He rarely picked up when she called. Having been so recently confronted with his issues, he wondered if that was really a control thing with him or just an emotional lashing out about keeping his relationship with her completely on his terms.

  "I'm good. How are you?" With anyone else he would have just asked why they were calling, but he knew it would hurt his mom's feelings. Especially with her all the way across the ocean, he tried to follow the social niceties that made her feel like he wasn't giving her the brush off. She'd gotten enough of that from his dad while they were still married. Not that she'd complained, which was the other part of the problem, but it didn't mean she didn't feel it.

  "Oh I'm wonderful, Samuel and I just got home from the river cruise we went on, which was marvelous. We'd been a little worried because we heard that sometimes all you can see from the boat is the trash in the river, but there wasn't anything like that on our cruise..." And she was off and running, not requiring anything more from him than a few non-committal responses. He could hear the joy in her voice as she described the various activities and excursions that she and Samuel had indulged in on their cruise.

  When he'd first met Samuel he'd rather resented that the Englishman had taken his mother away to another country, especially as it made the choice of which parent to spend the holidays with even more stressful. Then he'd realized what a blessing it was, not just because his mother was more understanding of the fact that he couldn't spend every holiday with her then she had been when she'd been in the States, but because of how happy Samuel made her.

  "That's great, Mom," he said when she finally finished her recap. "I'm glad that you had such a good trip."

  "We're thinking about coming out your way soon," she said brightly. "Can you believe Samuel's never seen the cherry blossoms in DC? Or been to the Natural History Museum?"

  "Do you need a place to stay?" he asked, trying to keep the cringing out of his voice. The last time his mother and step-father had come to town it had only been for a weekend, but they'd flitted around his house like two honeymooners. Some things, a child did not want to know about his parents. Even if he was an adult.

  "Oh, I don't think so this time," she said breezily. "We wouldn't want to impose on you for an entire week, especially when you'll be having to work. But I definitely want to spend some time with you."

  "And I definitely want to spend some time with you. I can take off a day or two for sight-seeing." The relief of knowing that they'd find somewhere else to stay made it easy for him to make the offer.

  "Oh that'd be wonderful!" his mother gushed. "And uh... you should feel free to bring someone along, if you have a someone to bring along."

  "Subtle, Mom."

  She made an exasperated sound. "Well I was trying to be."

  Laughing, Adam just shook his head, even though she couldn't see him. For some reason his mom had always had trouble coming right out and saying what she felt or wanted or asking what she wanted to know. It was the reason she and his Dad had ultimately not worked out. But at times like this, it was almost cute.

  "There's... there's no one at the moment."

  "Well you can always change your mind," she said, a hint of curiosity in her voice. Likely she was wondering about the sudden hesitation, although she wouldn't ask. Which was good because he wasn't sure how he would have answered.

  He was just suddenly wondering whether or not Angel and his mom would get along. It wasn't such an incongruous thought since he'd been thinking about Angel before his mom had called, and they were the only two women he'd ever met who were capable of throwing him for a loop on a regular basis.

  ******

  Going by the way Mike was adapting to the club, Angel was pretty sure that her friend wasn't going to be content with hanging out at the bar in the main room for long. She'd seen him looking over at the available subs more than once, although at the moment he seemed involved in his conversation with Adam, Andrew and Patrick. Tonight he'd said he'd come along so that she could play if she wanted to, without ditching Leigh, but she was still working up the courage to go over to the Lounge.

  Okay, let's be honest, she was waiting to see if Master Adam showed any indication of wanting to talk to her before she went over there.

  She, Leigh and Michael had arrived pretty early tonight and set themselves up at one of the bar tables; she'd wanted to give Leigh plenty of time to get settled in before she went over to the lounge. Her friend swore up and down that she was okay with Angel doing a scene and leaving her for a bit as long as Mike was willing to hang out and watch over her. And Mike swore up and down that he was fine with that as well.

  Unfortunately, her number one choice for Dom and the man she was most attracted to seemed more interested in talking to Mike than in talking to her.

  "Didn't you say you were going to play tonight?"

  "I am," Angel said, refocusing a little guiltily on Leigh. "I'm just... you know. Still deciding if it's really what I want."

  Leigh gave her a look. "And it doesn't have anything to do with the fact that you keep looking at Adam every couple of minutes?"

  "Mmmmm."

  "Uh huh. You could just ask him you know."

  "I'm not totally up on BDSM etiquette, but no, I'm pretty sure the sub isn't supposed to approach the Dom."

  "So go over to the Lounge and wait for him to come to you."

  "In a minute."

  "Oh my god." Leigh looked almost awed.

  "What?"

  "You're scared."

  "Am not."

  "Are too. You're scared that you'll ruin your chances with him if you go over to the Lounge. You're scared he won't follow you over there."

  "You get the weirdest ideas when you've been drinking."

  "One, I've had one drink. And don't try to change the subject. I bet he'll follow if you go over there."

  Angel rolled her eyes. "And on what evidence do you base that?"

  "The fact that when you're not looking at him, he keeps looking over at you."

  She glanced over at him, unable to help it. As usual, he wasn't looking at her. "Liar."

  "Only one way to find out if I'm right."

  "Who made you an expert on men?"

  Leigh's face fell and Angel immediately felt like complete and utter shit. Like she didn't already know that Leigh was having a hard enough time with the whole separation from Michael thing. Not only had she taken yesterday off work, and spent most of it trying to distract herself from crying, she'd barely been better off today. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I was just joking and it was stupid and insensitive and I'm sorry."

  Reaching out, Leigh placed her hand over Angel's. "It's okay, I know you didn't mean it that way." She smiled and her eyes regained a little bit of their sparkle. "But I still bet I'm right."

  Angel peeked at the guys again. "Five minutes. I'll go over there in five minutes."

  ******

  For the first time, he'd come to the club without knowing what he was going to be doing. Normally he knew exactly what he wanted to do at the club, whether it was a scene with a sub or just spend time with his friends. Tonight he'd decided to leave it open to a spur of the moment decision. It was not a comfortable feeling for him, but since he couldn't decide what he wanted before he left the house he figured that it was best to try and stay flexible.

  So far all he'd done was observe.

  Observe Angel. Observe Angel with Michael. Observe Angel with Leigh. Observe Angel as she sat with Leigh, separated from Michael.

  Somehow they'd ended up in gender groups, him, Patrick and Michael in one conversation at the bar while Angel and Leigh sat at a table only a few feet away having their own separate conversation. And Adam st
ill didn't know what he wanted.

  "So are you going to scene tonight?" Patrick asked Michael. "We've got a fair number of masochists in the Lounge area tonight. I'm sure Andrew can point you in the right direction."

  Well that got Adam's attention. For all that he'd been standing here getting to know Michael a little better, somehow the topic of his preferred kinks hadn't come up yet. Obviously Patrick already knew them. And that was definitely a little bonus tidbit of information for Adam, because he knew very well that Angel wasn't a painslut.

  "No, I'm just here so Angel can try a scene without feeling guilty about deserting Leigh," Michael said easily. Completely casual. Unaffected by the idea of Angel scening with someone else.

  "So you're not going to scene with Angel?" Andrew asked, with a sidelong glance for Adam. He ignored both of them and looked over to see Leigh glancing at her watch and tapping it while Angel gave her a dirty look. Damn they looked good together. More than one Dom was eyeing the two women like they were considering approaching, even though they weren't in the Lounge area.

  Michael looked right at Adam, catching his attention and holding it. "No, Angel and I like to flirt but nothing's ever going to happen between us. She's not ever going to be intimate with a guy that's been with one of her friends, and even if I somehow managed to convince her to move past that, I know that we're not actually compatible. The amount of pain that interests her is way too light for me and the amount that I like to dole out would be nothing but punishment for her."

  The words were said cleanly and succinctly, and he didn't look away from Adam once as he said them. Both Patrick and Andrew looked gleeful at Michael’s bluntness. Adam just kept his face impassive, not giving anything away. He didn't need everyone butting into his business when he hadn't even decided what he was going to do yet.