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sure whether to be annoyed that he hadn’t come to me, or relieved that he’d respected me enough not to bet. I settled on pissed off with the whole situation. “Well, good… I guess. But damn it, Mel! If I play with him, someone gets cash from it. If I don’t, I could be missing the relationship of my life. What am I supposed to do?”
    She shrugged. “Play with him a few times away from the club, and don’t tell anyone about it until it’s impossible for anyone to figure out when you started?”
    “ You know Ben will just pay the person who bet closest to the time when everyone finds out.” Sighing, I checked my eye makeup for smudges, then headed for the door. “I’ll figure it out later.”
    Without stopping to say goodbye to anyone, I headed out onto the street and called a cab as I walked. I didn’t know what I’d have said to Josh if I’d seen him.
     
    * * * *
     
    Josh
     
    Once I’d settled Alex down in the social area of the club after our scene, I headed to the bar to get us both drinks, glancing around for Lena. She was nowhere near the bar, but she’d probably come over later.
    ‘ Later’ came and went, and Alex frowned at me. “Think Lena got jealous and went home?”
    God, I hope not. It seemed unlikely, given how many scenes she’d already watched us play, but sometimes people could be unpredictable. “You know her better than I do. You tell me.”
    “ I’ve never seen her have a drama fit before… but she’s pretty serious about you.” While I digested that statement, she spun and waved to catch Isabelle’s attention. “Izz! You seen Lena?”
    Frowning, Izzy crossed to sit at our table. “Saw her go outside a while ago, but she didn’t say goodbye, so I guess she just went to get some air. She’s not back yet?”
    What if something had happened to her out there? “Has anyone seen her come back in?”
    Before we could even stand up, Mel appeared at my side. “Don’t panic. She just skipped out early.”
    Her posture was defensive, and I reacted to it before I could stop myself. “ Why? ”
    She flinched at my harsh tone. “She knows about the betting pool.”
    Alex, Izzy and I shared a moment of silent realisation, and then I blanked them out, focusing on Mel with a scowl. “What the hell happened?”
    “ Ben… was a little too obvious in trying to figure out where the two of you were a couple of weeks ago. Lena knows about his gambling problem, and she put two and two together. I’m sorry, Josh.”
    “ When I get hold of him, he’s gonna have more than a gambling problem.”
    Mel shook her head. “Please… he doesn’t mean to be the way he is. Don’t hurt him.”
    Before I could answer, Alex chipped in. “How did Lena take it?”
    “ Bad,” Mel said, seeming genuinely guilty. “She wanted to know if you knew.”
    Her eyes were on me again, and I stared her out, waiting for her to come out with it. With a sigh, she continued, “I told her you did, but you wouldn’t bet. She wants to believe me, but I think she’s scared to, in case she gets hurt. Her guard’s way up, now.”
    “ Well geez, genius; wonder what gave you that idea?” Alex rolled her eyes. “Keep Ben away for a while, or I might kick his ass myself. Josh, you mind taking me home?”
    She’d been my sub tonight, and I wouldn’t abandon her, no matter how much I wanted to just get the hell home to think about the situation. Nodding, I headed past Mel and toward the exit, pausing only pick up my toy bag.
    Alex was quiet on the drive to her place, and when I pulled over on her street, she was frowning down at her hands.
    “ Hey.”
    She glanced up, trying a smile but not quite nailing it.
    “ Sub-drop, or just worrying about Lena?”
    “ A little of both,” she admitted, and I put an arm around her shoulders, offering whatever comfort I could as a temporary Dom. “Hope us playing tonight didn’t freak her out.”
    Something told me that was the last thing I needed to worry about.