The Sassy Submissive

Ch. 15 - A Pleasurable Interlude at Stronghold

It was silly to feel relieved when Angel showed up at Stronghold without Michael, but that was exactly how Adam felt. Silly because they could really use another tall male. Lexie was being a little slave-driver about how many decorations she wanted hung from the ceiling above the bar and pretty much anywhere else she could find to hang things. Mostly hearts. Pink and red hearts. He was pretty sure she'd chosen the cheesy decor with no other goal in mind than antagonizing Patrick since Lexie was not a pink and red hearts kind of girl, but all of them were suffering for it.

Surprisingly Patrick seemed to be taking the decor in stride, something which seemed to be riling Lexie up. He was the only one not grumbling under his breath, which had Lexie muttering and shooting him suspicious glances. Adam wondered if Patrick was just relieved Lexie had only brought cheesy decorations and not her cheesy boyfriend.

"Angel! Oh good, you're here, did you bring the fabric?" Lexie sped over to give the other woman a hug, not even letting her strip off her coat. Angel hugged her back, her eyes flitting around the room, but even though he was only standing about five feet away she didn't look him in the eye. It wasn't exactly dismissive, it was more like being ignored. Either way he didn't particularly like it.

"Yeah, but I need help bringing it in. There's a lot of it."

Fabric? Dear god, what had they gotten themselves into now?

"I'll help," he heard himself saying, and had the satisfaction of seeing Angel look up at him with a startled and wary expression on her face.

"Oh good, thank you Adam!" Lexie beamed at him before her eyes focused over his shoulder. "Andrew, no! The strings are supposed to be long!"

Adam turned around to see Andrew, scissors in hand, about to cut the strings of the hearts Lexie had given him to decorate the bar with.

"They're hitting me in the head."

"They're supposed to look like they're floating around your head, you ding dong."

"I'm not hanging them so I get smacked in the face every time I turn around."

"Come on," Adam said, taking Angel by the elbow and turning her around. She looked cute in a squashy purple jacket, matching earmuffs over her ears and a pair of jeans which looked like they'd been broken-in to the point of comfortable perfection. It was so unlike the outfits he'd seen her wear to the clubs, but it fit her personality in a completely different way. Soft. Warm. Touchable. "You brought fabric?"

She gave him a little smile that could best be described as nervous as they walked back out into the February chill. "Yeah, Lexie said she wanted some fabric to hang from the doorways."

Adam sighed. "Of course she did. Where'd you get fabric from?"

"I do a lot of sewing and I have a bunch of reds and pinks I thought might work. Since we're just hanging it from stuff I figured I can always just wash it and make it into something later."

"That's nice of you. You're making a corset for her too, right?"

"I help where I can. And I like Lexie."

"Oh wow..." Adam was struck a little speechless when Angel's trunk popped open and he got a good look at her idea of suitable fabrics for doorway hangings. He'd been expecting pretty utilitarian pinks and reds, the kind of bright colors he associated with elementary school Valentine's Day parties and which Lexie was currently decorating the club with.

Instead the trunk was filled with swathes of deep burgundy, dusky rose, and other hues he didn't have names for. They looked rich and inviting. In fact, they kind of reminded him of the decorations in the Arabian Fantasy private room on the second floor of Stronghold. He had a sudden vision of entertaining Angel in that room, with her in one of the many harem girl outfits available, and suddenly he felt all too hot inside his skin, no matter the temperature of the air around him.