Mastering Lexie (Stronghold Book 4) (31 page)

A tiny smile
curved the side of Jake's lip.  "I can't believe you just said that with
a straight face."

"It's
true," Patrick insisted.

"Sure it
is."  Jake sighed.  "So, what... you've started training
her, figured out that she can handle what you need..."  He winced,
running his hand over his face again, obviously not wanting to think about that
too hard.  "Now you look like shit because you were this worried
about talking to me about it?  Because you were just so damn impatient you
couldn't wait?"

"Not
exactly.  I was fine waiting till you got home to talk to you."

Jake abruptly
sat completely upright, his brown eyes focused on Patrick's face on the screen.
 "You told Lex you had to talk to me first, didn't you.  You
dumbass."

"What,
you didn't want me to talk to you first?  You're my best friend."
 Patrick glared at him.

"Of
course I wanted you to talk to me first, asshole, but you shouldn't have told
her
 that
you needed to talk to me first."

"I wasn't
going to lie to her."

"So now
that you've got my permission to date her, you think she's just going to jump
into your arms?" Jake asked dryly.

"No,
she's too pissed that I wanted to talk to you first."

"You know
why, don't you?  What would you do if I said fuck no, stay the hell away
from my sister."

Patrick
sighed.  He knew what Jake was getting at.  "I'd try to talk you
around, and I'd tell you that you aren't ultimately responsible for our
decisions.  But I'd also try to talk her around to giving you more time to
get used to the idea."

"Good
answer.  Does she know that?"

"I don't
know... I don't know what's going on in her head, she won't talk to me."
 He growled as he admitted that, his hand fisting in frustration.

"And
you're letting her get away with that?"  Jake eyed him in surprise.
 "Although, she always was good at pushing you around, compared to
everyone else.  I wouldn't be surprised if she's waiting for you to come
to her."

"She's
been ignoring my calls and texts.  If she does wait till I come to her,
she's not going to like the consequences," he said darkly, meaning every
word of it.  He'd come to the realization that he wasn't prepared to let
Lexie go yet.  Not without knowing for sure that he really wasn't what she
wanted.  Which, he couldn't find out until she damn well talked to him.

Groaning
again, Jake pretended to cover his ears.  "Gah, I don't want to
know... I don't want to know..."

"Oh shut
up," Patrick said, grinning.  It was amazing how one little chat with
his best friend could completely change his mood around.  Although, that
was also because Jake was taken everything really well, all things considered.  "Don't
worry, I'm not going to say anything to ruin your virgin ears."

"Ha."
 Jake snorted, his smile fading just a bit.  "I'm trusting you
with this... because I know you care about her."

Patrick held
up his hand, placating.  "I swear, she wants this.  She's been
pushing for it, and she's got the same... ah, needs and desires that I
do.  Otherwise I'd reject her and give her the space to get over me."
 He hesitated, because they'd never really talked about this.
 "You know I love her."

Nodding
somberly, Jake seemed reassured.  "Good enough.  Good luck with
that though, especially because, I know you.  You'll tell her that you've
already talked to me."

"Yeah,
but she needs to understand that it's necessary.  She might get it. 
Olivia said she's already realizing that a relationship between us doesn't just
affect us."

"That's
good.  She's a good kid, but we all spoiled her a little too much. 
Just don't let her push you around the way she always has."

"I'm
not.  That's probably half of what's bothering her now," Patrick
admitted.  That was something else he'd realized when he'd been deep in
thought last night, trying to figure out Lexie's motivations.  "If
she's going to be my... ah, girlfriend," he said, hastily, replacing the
title “submissive” with the more vanilla equivalent, "I'm not going to put
up with a lot of what she used to get away with."

He'd always
been particularly indulgent with her, far more than he ever had been with any
of his girlfriends.  But not since he'd started training her.  There
was a difference between being friends and being his submissive, his
girlfriend, and it was probably going to take some getting used to for
her.  In the past, as her friend, he not only would have followed her home
from Stronghold, he would have gotten out of his car and confronted her
there.  Now, he'd had to respect her as a submissive, and he also had to
show his disapproval as her dominant.  The dynamic was completely
different.

When he did
come to her, because he was pretty sure that's what was going to happen at this
point, he wasn't going to be coaxing and placating her.  He'd apologize
for his reaction to her kiss and for blurting out the wrong words, but he was
also going to hold her accountable for her behavior.  It would be her
first punishment scene.

That is, if
she didn't completely reject him.

******

The doorbell
rang.  Once.  Twice.  Three times.  Four times.  In rapid
succession.

"Oh my
god, I'm coming!"  Lexie yelled, wrapping her bathrobe around her as
she launched herself off her bed.  Yeah, that's right, she had a bed
now.  Something else that made her think of Patrick.  Damn him and
his disdain for her lack of furniture.

She'd been
lying on it, awake, but uninterested in getting up.  Eventually hunger
would have motivated her, but she hadn't gotten there yet.  Lolling in
bed, just resting and not thinking, had been wonderful until someone decided to
go bananas on her doorbell.

It rang again.

Worst alarm
clock ever.

Yanking the
door open, she scowled fiercely up at the big, brown man filling her doorway, a
stupid grin on his face as he shoved a paper bag at her.

"Good
morning, sunshine," Andrew said, pushing past her as she clutched the
delicious smelling bag to her chest.  In his other hand he was holding a
beverage tray with two carryout cups on it, wafting the tantalizing scent of
coffee her way.  "Hungry?"

"Not yet
I wasn't," Lexie muttered, pushing the door closed before yanking open the
bag.  Mmmm, bagels.  Already sliced and toasted with cream cheese
smothered on and then made into a kind of bagel sandwich.  Yum.  Her
stomach growled, making a liar out of her.  She reached in and pulled one
out as Andrew set down the coffee and plopped onto her love seat.

He was so big
that he took up two thirds of the seating space.  Good thing she was such
a skinny little thing or they'd be squished up together.  Even so...

"Scoot
over," she said, nudging him with her foot before she sat down.  He
shifted slightly but it didn't really make more room for her.  Giving him
the bag, so that he could take a bagel sandwich for himself, she picked up one
of the coffee cups, popping off the top so it could cool faster.  "So
what are you doing here?  Olivia said you all were trying to stay out of
my business."

"Contrary
to belief, Olivia doesn't know everything," Andrew said cheerfully.
 "I'm just here to tell you to grow up and stop being such a selfish
bitch."  The way he said it made the sting less severe, but she could
tell that he was serious too.  He just didn't seem to be angry with her, like
he had been last night.  Sometimes Lexie didn't get him.

"I've
been trying for months to get you assholes to treat me like a grown-up,"
Lexie said, watching him take a huge bite of his sandwich.  One of his
bites was like three of hers.  Cream cheese decorated the top and sides of
his lips, and she snickered before he gave her a look and licked it away.
 "I don't know why everyone keeps insisting I'm not acting like
one.  I'm trying to have a relationship with Patrick, he's the one that's
still treating me like a kid who needs permission to go out on a date with
him."

"That's
what I mean about being selfish," Andrew said with a dramatic sigh, giving
her a pitying look.  Somehow, coming from him, in his silly manner, didn't
piss her off the way it would have if anyone else had said it.  Probably
because he didn't seem judgmental about it, or like he thought she was doing it
on purpose.  "You aren't thinking about him at all."

Okay, now
that
 pissed
her off a bit.  "Of course I am, I do nothing but think about
him.  I've been bending over backward trying to show him that I want the
same things he does, that I'm the kind of submissive he needs and he's the kind
of dominant I need.  I've practically been doing flips for months trying to
get his attention."

Andrew pointed
at her.  "Yeah, I, I, I... it's all about you.  Not about
him.  Yes, you two have the same desires, you can fulfill each other's
needs, but you're not thinking about
him.
  He never asked you to do
flips for him.  He never asked you to prove anything to him.  You've
been doing that yourself, because it's what
you
want.  And now
you're pissed that he wanted something from you that you weren't already
giving?  That he’s actually asking for something?  That's what I mean by
you're being selfish and being immature.  All the things you gave, he didn’t
ask for or require.  You
gave
them; that doesn’t give you the right to
demand whatever you want in return."

"What are
you talking about?  What does he want from me, he didn't say anything... if
he'd said he wanted something I would have given it to him," Lexie argued,
frustrated. 

"He did,
you just didn't want to hear it," Andrew said, looking so smug in his
knowledge.  Lexie would have kicked him, but she was too afraid of
spilling her coffee.  "He wanted time and patience, and he wanted you
to understand that he needed to talk to Jake first."

"I'm not
a little kid who needs permission to date him," Lexie growled, peeved that
she had to keep repeating this.  "I don't have the time or the patience
for that, and I shouldn't have to."

"Selfish,"
Andrew said, succinctly.  Lexie kicked him.  Fortunately, she didn't
spill any of her coffee, although it was a near thing.  She'd drunk just
enough that it sloshed almost to the brim but not quite.  "Let me put
it this way, let's say... Jake came home and one of your friends wanted to date
him.  Wouldn't you want a heads up from your friend, rather than hearing
about it from someone else?  Or hearing about it after they'd been dating
for a while?  Wouldn't you feel left out of the loop?"

She opened her
mouth and then closed it.  Point to Andrew.  Of course she'd want to
know before her brother started dating one of her friends.  Just because
she'd want to know, no other reason.  "It's not the same," she
said finally.  "I wouldn't make her ask permission."

"It's
doubtful she'd want to tie your brother up, whip him, and do all sorts of other
dirty things to him... not to mention, take control of his day-to-day
life.  The kind of submission that Patrick wants is intense.  Some
people would see it as too controlling or a loss of freedom.  They might
even worry that it's abusive.  Jake's your brother, he loves you, and he's
going to worry about you no matter who you date.  Knowing what kind of
relationship Patrick wants might make it even harder on him.  They're
friends.  Patrick's going to want to reassure him.  That's what
friends do.  You're not thinking about anyone but yourself and Patrick,
but what happens between you two affects all of us, because we're all friends
with both of you."

Silently,
Lexie took a bite of her bagel sandwich and chewed, thinking over what Andrew
had said.  He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, as if judging
how she was taking what he was putting down.  So far, she thought she was
taking it pretty well.  She could see what he was saying, and yeah... she
might have overreacted to Patrick wanting to talk to Jake.

"But what
if Jake said no and Patrick just accepted it?"  Even the idea made
her furious.  She took a ferocious bite of her bagel to vent some of her
feelings.  Andrew just snorted.

"Then he
wouldn't be worth your time anyway.  Come on, Lex, it's Patrick.  Do
you really think he'd just let something he wanted go?"

"He let
me go," she said, disgruntled.  "Even when I showed up at
Stronghold last night, he barely even looked at me before he went to his
office."

"Seriously
Lex... you were doing so well," Andrew said, shaking his head like he was
disappointed in her.  Except that he was smiling too.  "You ran
from him on Thursday and hid in the locker room, and then instead of going to
talk to him after you calmed down, you ran again.  When you came to Stronghold,
you weren't wearing the collar he gave you.  You disrespected him in his
own
club
.  Exactly what claim on you do you think he has?  What Dom do you
think would tolerate being treated like that?"

"He was
supposed to come after me, to prove to me that he cares about me more than he
cares about..."  Her voice trailed off.  Ugh.  Lexie shrank
down a bit, hunching her shoulders as her words echoed in her head.  No
wonder Andrew was calling her selfish and telling her to grow up.  No
wonder they all were.  She hadn't realized it until she'd said the words
out loud, but she was acting like a high school teenager with a crush, not like
an adult who wanted a relationship.