All the Dominants in the group chuckled. Beth’s tension seemed to be ebbing. She was no longer holding herself rigid. Drew rested his left arm along the back of the love seat, and placed his right hand on hers where it lay on her leg. Beth flipped her palm over and grasped his fingers. She leaned back against his chest, and he inhaled the scent of her shampoo.
He was so caught up in Beth that he almost missed the switch in conversation. “There haven’t been any more sightings of you know who, have there?”
Beth shook her head. “No.”
“Do you think he’ll show up again?” Daniel asked.
Nicole jumped in before Beth could answer. “You can pretty much count on it. Ben isn’t one to give up.”
Drew’s head was spinning with this new information. Beth’s ex had contacted her—or tried to, at least? Why hadn’t she said anything?
Eventually, the conversation shifted again but he lost track of what they were saying. He was too busy mulling over the realization that his girlfriend’s lying ex had made contact with her. Drew wasn’t sure if he was hurt or angry that she hadn’t told him—maybe a little of both. Sure, they had only started dating in the last week, but they were supposed to be friends. Her other friends knew about it. Why hadn’t he?
It was hard to tell how much time had passed when he felt Beth elbow him. Drew found her staring at him with a strange expression. “What? Something wrong?”
“I was going to ask you the same question.”
He frowned. “You didn’t tell me about your ex coming to see you.”
Beth shifted to face him. She cradled his hand in her lap, caressing the ridge where his palm and wrist met. It was distracting, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask her to stop.
“I didn’t mean to keep it from you. It just never came up.”
“When did he come to see you?” he asked.
“It was almost a month ago. And then I was told that he showed up here at the club two months before that. Katrina kicked him out.”
He blew out a breath. “Good.”
“I don’t know what he wants. But if he’s already tried twice, he’s likely to do it again.”
“I don’t like it.” That was the understatement of the year. Drew hated it. Although he hadn’t known Beth back then, he knew that if he had, he would have wanted to rearrange Ben’s face for him. Even thinking the man’s name made him see red. He wasn’t sure he could be held responsible for his actions if he ever saw him face-to-face.
“I don’t like it either. Trust me, I’d much rather go the rest of my life without ever having to see or talk to him again. Unfortunately, I doubt that’s going to happen. The first time he caught me off guard. That won’t happen next time.”
Drew saw movement out of the corner of his eye and realized that their little group had broken away to give them privacy. He glanced down at their hands. “How did this night turn out to be about your ex?”
“Because my best friend doesn’t have a filter.”
Despite the seriousness of their conversation, he chuckled. Everything he knew about Nicole supported Beth’s assertion. “She’s worried about you. So am I.”
She kissed him. It was one of those barely there kisses, but it still had his heart kicking up a notch.
“You don’t have to worry about me,” she whispered against his lips. “I can handle Ben.”
Their eyes locked, and he was reminded of the night before when she’d been looking up at him as he’d filled her. “I don’t think it’s possible not to worry about you, Beth.”
Neither of them moved until the music changed from the slow sultry number to something with a driving beat that reminded Drew of sex. The air around them began to change, and thoughts of Ben took a backseat to his desire to get his hands on the woman right in front of him.
Beth stood, and Drew followed.
Without a word, she led him by the hand up to the second floor. Had she changed her mind about playing?
They stopped briefly for Beth to talk to Cooper, one of the Dungeon Monitors. It didn’t consist of much more than her checking to see if a room was available. He nodded, instructed them to give him ten minutes, and then disappeared through a side door that Drew hadn’t noticed before. Less than two minutes later, he reappeared with a large bag and entered one of the playrooms. When he returned to the hall several minutes later, he gave Beth another nod, and she led Drew into the room Cooper had vacated.
He felt he needed to ask. “Did you change your mind?”
She released his hand and strolled over to peruse the implements hanging on the wall. “I thought we needed a distraction. Tonight was supposed to be about you and me.”