Mastering Lexie (Stronghold Book 4) (9 page)

Patrick was going to train her!  She was finally not only
going to be one of the submissives of Stronghold, but
Patrick
 was
going to train her.  Okay, so it wasn't as good as being
his
 submissive,
but it was a start.  Getting to this point had already been a seriously
long haul, she wasn't going to lose patience now when the finish line was
finally in sight.

Hopefully her friends would also feel that whatever punishments
their Doms had come up with for them were worth it. 

She was very reassured when Angel opened the door and immediately
enveloped Lexie in her usual greeting hug.  "Hey honey!  Come on
in!"

"Hi," Lexie said, caught somewhere between guilt and
bursting with excitement to tell Angel her news.  Even though Angel didn't
seem upset that she'd been spanked last night on Lexie's behalf, Lexie still
couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

Glancing over her shoulder, Angel leaned in, her voice lowering to
a whisper.  "Leigh's already here, and she's not in a good
place.  Please tell me you have good news, she needs something to cheer
her up.  Or at least, distract her."

"Definitely good news," Lexie said, feeling her sparkle
come back to her eye, even though now she was worried about Leigh. 
Angel's best friend was a total sweetheart, but she didn't get to come around
Stronghold much because her boyfriend wasn't into the scene, and Leigh didn't
think he'd approve of it either.  Lexie knew that they'd been having some
trouble, although obviously she didn't know as much about it as Angel.  

"Great."

Not waiting for anything more, Angel latched on to Lexie's wrist
and practically dragged her through the front hall to the kitchen, where Leigh
was sitting at the breakfast bar.  Granted, all three of them were wearing
pajama pants and tank tops for girls’ night, but somehow Leigh still looked
listless, like she'd managed to put less effort into picking out her pajamas
than Angel.  It was just the way her body was slumped, her shoulders
rounded... everything about her looked defeated.

She did perk up a bit when she saw Lexie though. 

"Hey lady," she said, sliding off of her stool to give
Lexie a hug.  

She clung, just a little bit too long, but Lexie didn't
mind.  It was obvious that Leigh needed the nice long hug.  When they
pulled away, Angel was bustling around on the other side of the island, pulling
out a wine glass for Lexie and finishing up setting out the snacks, a worried smile
on her face.  

"Where's Adam?" Lexie asked, as Leigh slid back onto her
stool and Lexie pulled out her own.  She really wanted to share her good
news, especially if it would give Leigh something to think about other than
whatever was going on with her and Michael, but just how much Lexie shared
would depend on where the man of the house was.

Angel rolled her eyes.  "Downstairs, playing his guitar. 
He was
supposed
 to be out of the house tonight, but apparently I
need a babysitter now, so that I don't get into any more trouble."
 She smirked, obviously not at all repentant about getting into trouble
last night.  Which soothed Lexie's lingering guilt.

"What do you want to bet all the guys bailed on him?"
Leigh asked, smiling a little more genuinely and sitting a little bit
straighter.  For just a moment, Lexie had a flash of jealousy.  Leigh
was the quintessential girl next door, the one that all the guys wanted to
bring home to their moms.  She had long brown hair, a dusting of freckles across
her nose and cheeks, a slim and sexy figure, and the most interesting
eyes.  One eye was a hazel green and the other eye was brown; it wasn't
super noticeable unless you were actually looking at her, but it was
fascinating.  Even in her pajamas, everything about her screamed All-American
apple pie.  It was the kind of look Lexie couldn't ever pull off, even if
she wanted to. 

Then again, she'd never seen Patrick go out with a girl that
looked like All-American apple pie, so she needed to get her head out of her
ass.  At least she knew she wasn't the only one who felt that way. 
Angel's half-Asian ancestry made her look just a bit exotic, but she'd admitted
to Lexie before that sometimes she felt envious of Leigh's looks too. 

"I think he was supposed to be hanging out with Andrew and
Jared," Angel said, shaking her head.  "I'm pretty sure he
bailed on them.  Although I don't know exactly what trouble he thought we
could get into during a girls’ night in."

"Probably worried about more plotting," Lexie said.
 

"So, how did everything go?" Leigh asked, leaning on one
elbow as she smiled at Lexie.  "Angel told me about Patrick coming
out of his office and going down to the Dungeon with you and Mike, but
obviously she was a bit distracted after that."  

Angel made a rude noise and Leigh just laughed.

Filling them in on everything that Master Michael - only Leigh and
Angel called him Mike, and only because Leigh's boyfriend was also named
Michael - had done during the scene didn't take long.  She took a lot more
time telling them about the way Patrick and cuddled her afterwards, the drive
back to her apartment, his demands, and then today's promise of training.

"Fuck yeah!"  Leigh and Angel were both practically
cheering as Lexie wound up the recitation of the past 24 hours' events. 
It felt like her face hurt from grinning, but she shouldn’t stop.  She was too
happy about the way things had gone.  

"I mean, it's not a total win," she said, trying to
retain a sense of caution and not get overly excited.  "He just said
he'd train me.  I don't actually have any idea what that means."

"It means that you're going to be in the club," Angel
said, her eyes shining.  She gesticulated with one hand, holding her glass
of wine in the other as she leaned on the counter.  The liquid sloshed precariously,
since she wasn't paying very much attention to it.  "It means that
he's going to be doing kinky, naughty things with you, because the man can't
bear to let anyone else touch you."

"He let Master Michael touch me," Lexie argued
back. 

"Yeah, and you should have seen the look on his face,"
Angel said, smirking again.  "Plus, he took over the aftercare, and
that's even more important.  Letting Pretty Boy scene with you was one
thing, since it doesn't sound like Mike really pushed any limits, but Patrick
didn't want him doing something as intimate as aftercare with you."

"I'm trying
not
 to get my hopes up too high over
here," Lexie said, making a face.  She really was, because it would
break her heart if Patrick decided he didn't want her.  "You're not
making that easy."

"Hope for the best, prepare for the worst," Leigh said,
a little morosely.  She smiled at Lexie, but the expression seemed forced.
 "It sounds to me like he's being pretty possessive and not in a big
brother way.  If he was going to let you play, but just watch over you, he
could just hand you off to someone he trusts.  Instead, he's getting
involved personally."

Hope lifted up inside Lexie's chest again, but she ruthlessly
pushed it down.  "Maybe," she said, noncommittally.  

Angel and Leigh just gave her the usual "we're older than you,
so we know better" looks.  Lexie was pretty used to getting those
from everyone around her, so it didn't faze her at all.  All of her
closest friends were older than her.  At least she had more female friends
now.  Most of her close female friends had drifted away after college, as
they all got busy with their own lives.  It hadn't bothered her, because
she was used to hanging out with the guys more than anything, but she really
loved having the girls to hang out with too.  

"So," said Leigh, picking up a handful of chips that
Angel had put out.  "Where's the cookie dough?"

"Weren't you just telling me earlier that you're supposed to
be watching what you eat?" Angel scolded, even as she headed to the fridge.
 

"Seriously?" asked Lexie, looking at Leigh's body. 
Lexie was probably the skinniest out of their girls group, but only because
Leigh had some serious junk in the trunk.  Otherwise, Leigh was just as slim as
Lexie was.  They were both part of the itty-bitty-titty committee, but
Leigh had a J-Lo ass and hips to make up for that.  "Please tell me
you're not trying to lose weight.  Where could you possibly lose it
from?"

"Uh, my ass?  But yeah, only about ten pounds, and only
because my doctor told me to," Leigh said, groaning. 

"She's pre-diabetic," Angel said.  Standing in
front of the fridge, she was holding the package of cookie dough and, now,
looking torn about whether or not to set it out.  

"I have no idea what that means," Lexie admitted. 
But it sure as shit didn't sound good. 

"I have high blood sugar, so I have to act like I'm diabetic
so that I don't get diabetes," Leigh said.  She glared at Angel.
 "But I'm not diabetic yet and I want to eat some cookie dough. 
I went for a run earlier."

"Oh big deal," Angel said, although she finally closed
the fridge door and grabbed a plate to put the cookie dough squares on.
 "You exercised earlier.  And now you're eating chips and cookie
dough.  You realize that negates the exercising right?"

"I'm going for balance."

"Should we be like... I don't know, making sure you don't
seizure or something?" Lexie asked, still feeling a bit worried.  She
didn't know anything about diabetes. 

Leigh laughed.  "No, seriously, I'm fine.  I just
have to start exercising more regularly, eat balanced meals, and get my blood
tested every three months so that they can make sure my blood sugar levels are
going down.  Eating treats every now and then isn't going to be a big
deal.  It's girls' night, I get to splurge."

"That is disgusting."  Adam's deep voice made all
three of them jump and squeak in surprise, before bursting into giggles.  Wearing
one of his signature blue button down shirts, he strolled through the kitchen
and over to Angel, making a face at the cookie dough she'd just set out.

"All hail the Viking Overlord, Thwarter of Raw Cookie Dough
Delights," Angel intoned, grinning goofily at him as he bent his head down
to kiss her, one hand on her hip.  Looking at them right now, no one would
ever guess that he'd spanked the shit out of her ass last night.  Because
of his blonde hair and goatee, Angel always teased him about looking like a
Viking.

Lexie sighed internally, wistfully, and turned away from what
seemed like an inherently private moment.  As she turned her head, she
caught a glimpse of Leigh's wistful, longing expression as well.  Since
Leigh was in a pretty serious, long-term relationship and lived with her
boyfriend, that really didn't bode well for where she was mentally right
now.  Lexie's heart went out to the other woman.  Here she was, high
on happiness and hope that she and Patrick might finally be moving forward,
while Leigh was obviously having the opposite experience. 

Both of them reached for a square of cookie dough at the same
time, just as Adam lifted his head up and frowned at them.  

"Seriously you two, that's disgusting. You shouldn't be
eating that shit raw."

"It's fine," Angel said, poking him in the side. 
Her finger basically bounced off of his stomach.  Lucky bitch.  Once
Lexie had started noticing her brother's friends, it had been pretty hard to
miss what a seriously hot group of guys they all were.  Each in their own
way.  It was Lexie's misfortune to be attracted to the biggest, baddest,
pushiest and most infuriating of the lot.  Although, in her opinion, Adam
ran a fairly close second.  He was nearly as bad as Patrick with the
demanding over-protectiveness, although he'd eased up a bit since he and Angel
got together.  Probably distracted by having to keep her in line.  "I
eat it all the time and I've never gotten sick."

"
Yet.
  You haven't gotten sick
yet.
"
 He scowled and poked his finger at the discarded plastic wrapping.
 "It even says on the packaging not to eat it."

"That's just so we don't sue them
if
we get
sick," Leigh said.  Her eyes were sparkling as she grinned at Adam,
any hints of envy or wistfulness completely wiped away by the bantering.
 "So far, we haven't."

"It's still disgusting."  Adam's gaze took in all
three of their expressions and he shook his head, giving up a fight that he
obviously wasn't going to win, and turning his attention back to Angel.
 "Patrick called, he needs an extra Dungeon Monitor for tonight, so
I'm going over.  Are you three going to behave yourselves?"

"Sure."

"Uh huh."

"Nope."  Angel grinned up at him, the only honest
one in the bunch.  "But we'll keep the trouble contained to the
house."

"Good."  He looked up and pointed his finger at
Lexie.  "You especially.  No more talking your friends into
crazy schemes."

Angel elbowed him in the side before Lexie could even respond.
 "Hey, she didn't talk us into anything.  I was the one who
thought of calling Pretty Boy."

"Of course you did."  Adam suddenly looked
decidedly more grouchy, making Lexie want to giggle.  She thought it was
hilarious that, out of all the guys, it was Adam who had ended up with someone
like Angel.  Lexie wasn't the only one with mostly guy friends, but Adam
hadn't known just how many close male friends Angel had when he first met
her.  In fact, Leigh had been Angel's only close female friend before
she'd met the Stronghold girls.  She'd been living with three male
housemates, something that had definitely gotten under Adam's skin until he'd
finally convinced Angel to move in with him.  Even though he respected her
friendships, and did his best to tolerate the fact that she tended to be
extremely affectionate with all her friends, certain male friends definitely
got under his skin more than others.  Master Michael being at the top of
that heap.  Considering how possessive Adam was, watching his discomfort
as he tried not to be an asshole for Angel’s sake was highly entertaining.