Read Mastering Lexie (Stronghold Book 4) Online
Authors: Golden Angel
Mastering Lexie (Stronghold Book 4) (48 page)
"No,"
he said, trying to remember who Taye Diggs was.
"Oo,
talkative, I like that in a man."
"I
thought you said you weren't looking to flirt," he said mildly, although
for some reason he didn't really mind. She didn't seem intent on
flirting. That was the difference. It was teasing, but without the
feel of an agenda.
"If all
you're going to give me is one word answers, how else am I supposed to fill my
time?" she asked, her eyes sparkling with mischief. Jared found
himself relaxing even further as he smiled back.
There was
something breathtakingly honest about her, it was refreshing. She wasn't
trying to start something with him, he realized, she just felt safe. Her
body language was much more relaxed now too, far more so than it had been when
she'd been talking to the Doms that had approached her. Because he'd
immediately declared that he wasn't interested, she knew that it was okay to
tease and flirt... no one was going to take it seriously.
For the first
time, Jared started to think that he might actually have some fun tonight.
******
"Oh my
god... would you look at that? He's
smiling,
" Jessica said,
sounding slightly awed as she nudged Angel with her elbow and gripped Hilary's
arm with her other hand. Immediately, all of them looked to where she
was.
Standing out,
stark against the dark wall in all white, was Leigh. Next to her was
Jared, looking down at her, talking, and - yes - actually smiling.
"Oh
no..." said Lexie, sounding incredibly disappointed. "She’s supposed
to be talking to Jake!"
"What's
wrong with Jared?" Maria asked, frowning at the younger woman.
"He's
still hung up on Marissa," Angel said in a tight voice, cutting off
whatever Lexie might have answered. "Leigh needs someone who will
put her first, not a guy that's still involved with his ex. They’re not
flirting, are they?"
"Jared
and Marissa broke up like two months ago," Hilary put in, although she
looked a bit worried too now, as she shot a look over at them.
"Yeah,
and he totally acts like he's over her," Angel said sarcastically.
She looked around the circle of women. "We're thrilled that he's
smiling. Does that sound like a guy that's over his ex?"
"Well
it's not like Leigh's completely over her ex either," Jessica pointed out,
grabbing Angel's arm before she could desert them and go over to interrupt
Jared and Leigh's conversation to make sure that Jared wasn’t flirting with
Leigh. She grinned. "Look, she's smiling too! And
laughing!"
Angel
hesitated, obviously a bit torn about whether she needed to go protect her
friend or give her the space to have some fun. Although Leigh had tried to put
herself out there and date, she hadn’t seemed very enthusiastic about talking
to any members of the opposite sex. Seeing her laughing and joking with
someone she’d just met…
“Jared might
be good for her,” Maria pointed out. “He’ll get where she’s coming from a lot
better than most men could.”
“Yeah, I don’t
care if they’re friends, as long as he’s not trying to rebound with her, you
know?” Angel said, still looking like she wanted to go over so that she could
personally watch over Leigh.
“I’d be more
worried about the other Doms,” Hilary said, with a little giggle. “Have you
noticed how many of them have approached her tonight?”
Lexie muttered
something uninterpretable under her breath before sighing loudly. “Okay, maybe
this isn’t so bad. Jared can keep the other Doms off of her, so that Jake
still has a chance.”
“I like Jake,”
Angel said, slowly, glancing over at Lexie’s brother, who was chatting and
laughing with Andrew and Chris. Tall, dark and handsome with those gorgeous
blue eyes and the obvious bearing of a military man, there were a lot of
submissives staring longingly at him. Too bad, all of the gang knew that Jake
wasn’t really interested in BDSM, for all that he was definitely an alpha
male. Angel grinned suddenly. “As long as he’s looking to treat a woman like
a goddess, that’s fine.”
“So you don’t
like Jared?” Jessica teased, looking between her and Lexie. “Poor Jared.”
“I like
Jared!” Lexie protested. “I’m just saying, I like the idea of Jake and Lexie!”
“If Jared
wasn’t still hung up on his ex, I’d be all about Jared and Leigh,” Angel said,
right on top of Lexie’s protests. “But since he is… they’d make good friends,
I think. But Leigh is
not
rebound material, dammit.”
Having stayed
silent during the brief discussion, Olivia now made a ruling, her gaze
thoughtful as she watched the chatting couple across the room. “They both need
someone who understands what they’re going through, and none of us really do.
None of us have had a similar enough experience to relate. If they become
friends, that’ll be a good thing. We should leave them alone for now. I don’t
want to accidentally cause either of them to crawl back into their shell.”
The small
group watched, speculating, as Leigh and Jared both laughed together on the
other side of the room.
About the Author
About
me? Right… I’m a writer, I should be able to do that, right?
I’m
a happily married young woman, no kids so far, and I like tater tots, small
fuzzy animals, naming my plants, hiking, reading, writing, sexy time, naked
time, shirtless o’clock, anything sparkly or shiny, and weirding people out
with my OCD food habits.
I
believe in Happy Endings. And fairies. And Santa Claus. Because without a
little magic, what’s the point of living?
I
write because I must. I live in several different worlds at any given moment.
And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Want
to know more about my other books and stories? Check out
http://goldeniangel.blogspot.com/
.
Thank
you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed the story… and don’t forget, the
best thing you can do in return for any author is to leave them feedback!
Stay
sassy.
Domestic Discipline Quartet
Venus Rising Quartet
Stronghold Series
Mastering Lexie
Poker Loser Trilogy
