Maybe he should just do a punishment scene with her and get it over with. See where they could go from here. That was one of the perks of BDSM, being able to do a scene like that and then move on. Wipe the slate clean. There were some things a couple couldn’t move on from, but this wasn’t one of them.
For instance, there wasn’t a punishment scene in the world that could wipe Noelle’s slate clean.
Yas, on the other hand…
“That is so good.” Yas opened her eyes, which were shining with pleasure. “I’m going to have to check their delivery area and see if they come anywhere near my house.”
If not, she could always come to his house to get it… Zeus almost said the words but kept them back.
“They’re worth it.” He took another bite of his gyro to keep him from saying things he shouldn’t. Not when he and Yas hadn’t had an actual discussion about where they were going to go from here. “So, how was the afternoon with Sarah?”
They kept things to easy topics. Sarah. Hope. Yas’ business, which apparently included more people from the club. Her receptionist, Veronica, was a submissive at The Outlands, and the other financial advisor was Mistress Amara. In such a big city, Pittsburgh could sometimes feel very small. For a little bit, they did a bit of “do you know so-and-so” to find out where else their lives might intersect.
Other than club members and the Black Fox teams, they didn’t, really. And Zeus only knew so many of the members of The Outlands, whereas Yasmine knew all of his team at Black Fox, though she didn’t know everyone on Harris’ team.
“I can be kind of focused on my own little world sometimes,” she admitted. “It’s not that I don’t care, it’s just…” She blew out her breath. “Okay, I kind of don’t care sometimes.”
That made Zeus laugh as he helped her clear the table. “I don’t care sometimes, either. Which is probably how I missed the name of Mason’s fiancée. If he ever said it around me.”
“That does make me feel a little better.” She smiled shyly at him. “I don’t mean to be self-involved…”
“I think a little self-involvement is a good thing. Especially for women. I’ve seen a lot of women get sucked into the trap of taking care of everyone but themselves or even sacrificing everything because they think that’s what they’re supposed to do.” A sharp ache panged in his chest, and he turned away as he shoved the empty gyro and dolmades boxes in the trash. Yasmine was putting hers in the fridge since she’d only eaten about half her meal.
They were going to eat their desserts out on the back porch.
His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out to see who was calling and froze. It was like even the slightest inkling of a thought about his mother had summoned her. Again.
“What’s wrong? Who is it?” The tension in Yas’ voice snapped Zeus out of his freeze.
“It’s no one.” The reply was automatic and obviously a weak response.
To his surprise, Yas scowled, putting her hands on her hips.
“Is it Noelle? Is she still bothering you?” She took a step towards him, reaching out for the phone with one hand. “Here, let me talk to?—”
“It’s my parents.” He said the words, getting them out quickly before he could start thinking twice about sharing. If he thought about it too much, he might snap at her again. Like he did the last time they’d called.
Yas blinked, slowly lowering her hand as she absorbed his statement.
“Your parents?”
Letting out a long, slow breath that did nothing to ease the tension in his chest, Zeus nodded his head. He swiped to ignore.
“We… aren’t in touch.”
“But they want to be.”
He shrugged. “They’ve called a couple times recently. They’ll stop again, eventually.” Probably. Though this was the most persistent they’d ever been. Normally the most they tried was once or twice, usually around the holidays. Which was when they thought he should be coming home to play happy family.
There was a long moment, then Yas nodded.
“Okay. Are you ready for dessert?”
“Okay?” He asked, raising his eyebrows.
“Okay.”
For a long moment, he stared at her. “No questions? No encouraging me to see what they want? No wanting an explanation for why I’d cut my parents off?”