Conviction by Leah Cook

hadn’t wanted to leave her in the state she was in and only his implicit trust in his oldest friend had him able to walk out of Xander's office and shut the door behind him.
    “Want to talk about it?” Kai asked startling James from his thoughts, he hadn't even noticed the large Maori move back to his end of the bar. For a man well over six foot, he moved like a damn ninja.
    “Not particularly,” he grumbled back.
    “Got anything to do with why Kelly didn’t show up tonight? That girl hasn’t had a sick day in the whole time she's been here. She’s pulled more extra shifts than any of the other girls combined and I heard it from Xande r that she wasn’t coming in. That kind of told me something was up, mate.” Kai rubbed another invisible spill on the already shiny bar top, waiting for James to either tell him to get lost or start talking.
    “Don’t ask any questions, Kai. It’s not worth it." He took another long pull on his bourbon, feeling the burn lessen with each passing second. "Trust me.”
    “Well, make sure you tell her that I missed her tonight, sass and all.” Kai moved off to serve another customer leaving James alone with his perturbing thoughts.
    James sat back on the stool and growled into his empty shot glass. If he was planning on playing tonight he knew he couldn’t have anymore. Club rules state that all members and guests were only allowed two alcoholic beverages. He’d put the limit into place himself. Tonight he wanted to get plastered. But he'd need the bottle that Xander hid in office if he wanted anymore. As a boss he had to uphold those rules and set the right example, even if none of the staff actually knew he was their boss. For the first time in a long time he didn’t know if he would be any good to a sub tonight. Not when his head was still with Kelly. No, he would just keep an eye on things tonight and make sure nobody got out of control. At least that would keep him busy.
    Looking over the where the available submissives were sitting chatting quietly he noticed Mikayla, one of the newest subs and smiled. She was a handful already. She needed a firm hand and a tender touch. It was a balance that he had only managed to get right with her recently, after scening with her at least a dozen times. Looking towards the bar he took in the Doms that were eyeing off the subs of offer. Darren was in for the night. He’d trained him as Dom for twelve months. Training twice a week at the club and one night a week in his own home. Training wasn’t just about teaching him how to read a sub and get them off, he had to teach him the psychological aspects as well. In the club they focused on what each sub enjoyed, what their limits were, and how to push them just that little bit further each time. At home they spoke about the mental side of things, for both the Dom and the sub. Sometimes the mental fuck was more important than anything a Dom could do to a sub's body.
    James stood up and walked over to Darren. There was nothing like a good match making to help keep his mind off a certain red head.
    “Darren, you tied up for the night?” He asked as he approached the group.
    “Nope, but I’m hoping to do some tying up myself soon. You got someone in mind?” Darren wasn’t bulky or broad. His six foot frame was wiry and lanky, but he had muscles on his muscles from his physical exertion as a bricklayer. James knew that he was built, but he wasn’t sure even he could take Darren on a bad day. Luckily for him, Darren was one of the most laid back Dom’s he had ever met. He’d never seen him have a bad word today say about anyone and he was good at diffusing potentially volatile situations before they spiralled out of control. His natural laid back nature often saw him as a dungeon moderator and achieved the respect of many of Momentum's staff and patrons.
    The two men walked towards the huddle of subs side by side until all talking ceased. The subs assumed their protocol positions