[Author's note: Eve has accompanied Aidan to Sanctuary Point to help him find his wife. When things went wrong, Eve acted on her own initiative, despite Adam's warnings not to get involved. Meanwhile, Cassie has talked Syn into going to Billie and Morgan's (
WWD07
) house for dinner. will she be able to bring both of her worlds together?
Warning: the latter part of this chapter contains strong non-consent themes.]
---
A LESSON ON SUBMISSION
Billie cackled with glee as she dropped the ace of clubs onto the table.
"Suck it," she exclaimed happily.
Cassie groaned, following with a Jack, looking despondently at the rest of her hand. Across the table from her, Morgan dropped a six of diamonds. Syn deposited the ten of clubs neatly on top of the others and pushed the hand across the table to Billie.
Billie gathered the cards, tapping them on the sides to straighten them up, and added the latest round to her collection. She took a generous mouthful of red wine and dropped her last cards on the table.
"King of hearts," she announced, "And then this lady. If I'm right, you can't beat them with what you're holding."
Reverently, she placed the Queen of Hearts onto the table.
Morgan dropped her cards with a snort of disgust and took a swig of her wine. Cassie and Syn conceded too.
"Mine, I think," Billie said.
"You're a terrible loser," Morgan replied, "But an even worse winner, especially after drinking."
Billie fixed her wife with a little knowing look and pouted, "I guess it brings out my inner alpha male, sweetheart."
"Refill?" Morgan asked.
"Of course. You need to slow me down somehow."
Billie began to gather the cards and shuffle them, dealing out the next round. Morgan sighed and let it happen, giving in to her wife, swirling the red wine absently in her glass. Morgan was fighting a losing battle, both trying to pace her drinking against her wife, and also against Billie's increasingly ebullient behaviour. Cassie didn't mind. She'd seen Billie stone cold sober and roaring drunk. This was pretty tame, and besides, after the last few weeks, it was nice to have been able to offload the kids, go to friends for dinner, open the wine, and for a moment just forget about everything else.
Syn was watching the proceedings carefully, sipping her wine. It didn't feel awkward, but she wasn't as relaxed as Billie. At least Billie hadn't opened her mouth and put her foot in it yet, though looking across at Morgan's face, Cassie got the impression that her wife was just waiting for the inevitable. Cassie knew that Billie was itching with curiosity about Cassie's new friend, and when the questions came, she hoped that Syn would take it all with good grace.
Syn had taken some convincing. She had suggested a postponement, that she was still exhausted from the party, then from bailing Aidan out of jail, and the underlying trauma of closing the doors on the Lost and Found. Eve's silence was also weighing heavily on her. When Aidan had told them about Eve booking herself into the spa in Aidan's place, they had expected a report back that evening. It had been two days now, and still no word. Stranger still, Adam was uncontactable too; Cassie had left him numerous messages but had received no reply.
On top of that, Cassie was worried about Syn again, and had talked her into staying with Cassie in the suburbs while it was Damian's turn to have the boys. She had also ended up accommodating Aidan too: Syn was adamant that she wanted him in sight at all times, especially since Syn had been the one who had put up the bond money to bail him out. To Cassie, a quiet dinner with close friends had seemed like the perfect respite from the bedlam.
They all picked up their cards and Billie called hearts again as trumps, grinning to herself. They began to play their hands, but Cassie could see Billie's sly glances. She braced herself for the inevitable broadside.
"So, Cassie, sounds like you got a full house at the moment," Billie commented.
"I guess."
Billie rolled her eyes. "Aidan of the abs. He's not wandering around in just a towel is he?"
"Yeah, he's staying for a few days and no, he's not naked. He's just gotta sort a few things out."
"For him or for you?"
"Billie," Morgan interjected, "Leave it."
Syn dropped an ace without comment, taking control of the game. She flashed Cassie a quick look. Cassie tensed. Yes, she thought, Syn was right. It was about time.
"Actually," Cassie began, "About that."
Billie paused, the card still in her fingers.
"I suppose I need to tell you something."
Cassie met Syn's gaze, and suddenly Billie slapped her card down onto the table, gasping.
"Cassidy Hayes, you dark horse," Billie chortled, "Have we gone on a trip to the Greek island?"
Cassie looked at her friend. Billie was beaming, cheeks flushed with the wine, but her eyes were sparkling with something else: mischief.
"Greek?" Cassie managed, before Billie launched into it.
"Or joined us on the Greek island, more to the point. Fuck, babe, remember in the bathroom at that bar, when Morgan fixed you up that time, and we sent you out? Remember what we said about more than men? Fucking hell. You dark horse."
She looked from Cassie to Syn. "So, tell me, come on, how did you meet?"
Cassie gaped, unprepared for the speed at which Billie turned the conversation. She realised too late that she hadn't thought it through: she didn't know what to say.
"Cynthia, you said you owned a nightclub," Billie continued, "I'm guessing there?"
"How about you let the woman get a word in?" Morgan chided, putting a warning hand on her wife's arm.
Syn drew herself straighter, fixing her attention on Cassie. "Billie wants the story. Shall I?"
The grey-blue eyes were searching her face, asking a much more profound question. Syn had never hidden who she was, had never pretended to be just another person in the shoe store or at the post office. Syn was, Cassie conceded, utterly remarkable. She didn't do ordinary, and now she was asking whether Cassie was ready to never do ordinary either, ever again.
Cassie nodded. Syn laid her cards on the table.
"I'm afraid I'm no longer in the club business. We had to close. There are laws coming into effect that would prevent us operating in the manner we wanted."
Billie frowned. "Oh," she said, "I'm sorry, what was the place?"
"It was called the Lost and Found. We, my husband and I, my late husband, had been running it for nearly twenty years."
"I imagine it's a big loss," Morgan interjected, sympathetically, "And now, I guess you're at a loose end?"
"Something like that," Syn agreed.
"Do you have anything to fall back on?", Billie asked, "What were you doing before?"
Syn laughed, "Oh, I couldn't do that again. I was in the hospitality business, let's say, but the lifestyle was relentless. Still, I did meet my husband, so it worked out in the end."
"You must have other skills?"
Syn's smile tightened fractionally, giving Cassie a subtle warning. She found that she was holding her breath.
"Oh, I do," Syn replied, "I'm a dominatrix."
Billie froze in shock. Morgan's eyes widened. Cassie felt a surge of panic as Syn revealed her secrets in front of the two women.
"As in...?" Billie fumbled, "Uh, how long?"
"Ah, that's probably more than a quick conversation," Syn continued, smoothly, "But the abridged version is that I was introduced to the lifestyle by my husband, Harvey. We discussed it, and he sent me away to Zurich, to a finishing school, to learn."
"There's a school?"
"Several, but the Institute is the finest. Harvey wanted me to experience the best."
Billie's mouth opened and closed, then she seemed to pull herself together. "So, you were trained? Like, with whips and stuff?"
Syn's lips curled into a wry smile. "Ah, not quite, Billie. It was a complete education. I emerged as a fully-rounded individual. There is so much more to it than whips."
"Really?" Billie gasped, reaching for her wine again, a look of fascination creeping over her face as the initial shock subsided. "What else did you learn?"
"Contemporary literature, geopolitics, economics," Syn replied, ticking items off on her fingers, "Sexual arousal response patterns, human biology, psychology, pain thresholds."
