“Jedrek. What kind of name is that?”
His eyes narrowed infinitesimally, but Shelby noticed his agitation. The man was scary with a capital scare. Why was Viola being so blunt with him? Hell, Shelby knew Viola got flack for her name, so one would think the woman wouldn’t comment on someone else’s.
“A family one. Why are you here?”
“To support my friend. What’s it to you?”
“Viola!” Shelby squeaked. She looked at Jedrek, but he was glaring at Viola still. “I’m sorry, Sir. She doesn’t mean anything by that. She’s just worried about me.” She looked at Viola and whispered, “Knock it off.”
“Why? I’m just being honest. It’s one thing to engage in kink in the privacy of your own room, but another to make someone do it in public.”
Jedrek raised an eyebrow. “No one is making Shelby do anything. She’s free to leave at any time.”
“Yes,” Shelby said. “And I don’t want to.” She looked at Viola, but her friend hadn’t taken her eyes off Jedrek.
“Whatever you say, Sir.” She sneered the title. Shelby blanched at the tick in Jedrek’s jaw.
“It’s Sir for her. Master for you.”
“In your dreams, buddy.”
Shelby had to defuse this situation before Jedrek snatched up her friend and hogtied her. He could do it. She knew first hand. “Viola, we should find Dave. Remember, you were the one who said maybe he will get inspired tonight,” she said, trying a different tactic by mentioning her husband and the interest she had in the lifestyle.
It worked. She finally gave Shelby her attention. Shelby watched Jedrek, though, as he covertly scanned the crowd. Probably looking for Dave, but she wasn’t sure if it was because he wanted to know where Shelby was headed since Mason wasn’t here…or if he wanted to scope out Viola’s husband. Not that it mattered if that was the case.
He looked at Shelby again, but she wasn’t sure if he’d found his target. “Does Master Mason know you’re drinking tonight?”
“No, Sir. Um, he didn’t say I couldn’t. He’s going to be late, so I thought it’d be okay.”
“And it’s a free country,” Viola said.
Jedrek growled. As in an I wouldn’t be surprised if he turned into a huge grizzly bear sound. She was so going to hurt Viola for poking him. His gaze snapped to Shelby. “You can have two. No more.”
Viola’s jaw dropped and she started to protest as he turned to leave, but Shelby grabbed her arm with her free hand and yanked her away. “Quit pissing off the big, bad Dom.”
“What a dick!”
“Cool it.”
They wound their way around the crowd to the table Dave had secured. He pocketed his phone and grabbed his beer as they sat.
“This was the best I could do,” he said before taking a sip.
“It’s fine, babe.” She pushed a shot toward Shelby. “Here. Drink as much as you want. That guy isn’t your boss.”
Shelby picked up the shot glass and downed it, enjoying the burn. “I’m not disobeying him. That’s one of Showalter’s friends. Besides, he was the one who tied me up last week. I don’t want on his bad side.”
Viola’s eyes grew wide, but Shelby shook her head, knowing where her thoughts were going. She knew Shelby had slept with Mason that night, but she’d never gone into any details with Viola or her team. “He wasn’t there for the other stuff.”
“Well, I still don’t like him.”
“Who?” Dave asked.
“Some jerk at the bar.”
“Drop it, Viola. We’re here to work, not bitch about the partners of Scene.”
“Fine,” she grumbled, picking up a shot glass. “I still say you should drink as much as you want.”
“Not if she knows what’s good for her,” another man said from the side, and they all snapped their heads in his direction. She gaped at him, another man she recognized, but this one wasn’t from a previous scene.
“Master Emory,” she breathed. He was her tormentor for tonight.
“Emory Strom,” he said, offering his hand to Dave. He looked at Shelby after shaking the man’s hand. “Mason called. He said for us to get started.”
She blinked, not understanding. “Huh?”
He smiled, and under different circumstances, she’d find him attractive in that pretty-boy kind of way. “He booked the main viewing room. If we start late, we might not finish before the next scheduled scene.”
Uh-oh. “He wants me to start without him?” Saying the words aloud didn’t help her grasp the concept. It was if she was talking about someone else, something totally different.
“Yes.” His eyes never left hers as she absorbed this. He was serious. She and Mason had not planned on her doing any scenes without him. That hadn’t been part of the deal. Could she do this? She looked at Viola who was watching the man acutely, taking him in and probably cataloging all his features. She was a hell of a field agent. Right. Because they were both here to do a job. Hell, I don’t have a choice.
Then her heart fell. Was Mason making her do this without him as part of her punishment? To prove to her that he could still control the situation without actually participating? Was this another sign that he didn’t want to have anything to do with her? How many times did he have to spell it out? If that was the reason, he was being loud and clear now.
“You’ll be in good hands,” Emory said softly. She got the feeling he was the one who coaxed the unwilling into the begging-for-more category. He was that convincing. She appreciated the sincerity since she had no other alternative but to follow through.
She slowly stood.
“You look lovely, by the way. Thank for you doing this for me.” He cocked his head to the side and smiled as he took in her outfit.
She nodded without saying anything. She feared no words would actually come out.
“Here,” Viola said, passing a shot of tequila to her.
