Page 24 of Courting Danger

“You’re left-handed,” Ocean explained. “All the handlers I’ve played with always preferred me to walk on their nondominant side.”

“And you are very observant,” Pope pointed out. “Most people assume everyone is a righty and immediately move to my left side.”

“I try to be. Watching the waves, learning where and how they break, taught me to pay attention to other things too.”

Nodding his approval, Pope started to ask the questions he’d originally planned to, when he heard a soft sniffle to his left and immediately turned to see who’d made the sound. Ocean did too, spotting Kermit, in his sleek kitty suit, clutching a ball as he huddled against the wall near a St. Andrews Cross no one was using. Tucked where it was, in a small alcove, it was typically reserved for scenes involving the whip, so the recoil didn’t accidentally strike anyone. When Kermit spotted them, he let out a pitiful mew.

Pope immediately started looking around, seeking out Sunshine’s bright hair, while Ocean moved to Kermit’s side and offered him a paw.

“Did you lose your mama?” Ocean asked.

Kermit nodded and mewed again, tears shimmering in his eyes. He held up the ball, not in a way that indicated that he wanted to play, but like he was trying to communicate something else.

“You chased it through the crowd and got separated from her, didn’t you?” Pope surmised.

Another mew, Kermit’s body trembling, until Ocean stepped closer, not touching, just offering his presence as comfort, but he wrapped his paws around Kermit when the other man crashed against him and held on.

“Ocean,” Pope said, getting him to look up at him. “I’m going to find Sunshine; will you stay here with Kermit?”

“Yes, sir,” Ocean replied, bright eyes meeting his as he rubbed his paw in a circle on Kermit’s back to help sooth him.

There was something fierce and even protective in his gaze that Pope could appreciate. While Kermit was a patched member of the club, he was also in a very vulnerable headspace. Pope knew the trauma that kept him glued to Sunshine and Joker’s sides. That he’d bolted after the ball was both a positive thing, because it meant that for a moment, at least, he’d felt brave enough to wander away from her, and a negative one, because now she was nowhere to be seen. Pope used his size and stern visage to cut a swath through the crowd, moving with purpose, his gaze restlessly skimming past those in attendance, until he spotted Sunshine frantically searching in the wrong direction. Hurrying to her side, he touched her shoulder and saw the panic in her eyes when she whirled around.

“I found him,” Pope said. “Oceans with him. He’s terrified.”

That’s all he needed to say. She hurried beside him back to that spot, where Kong, Creature, and Wreck, three of the biggest guys in the club, now stood, backs to Ocean and Kermit, shielding them from prying eyes. They parted upon spotting them approach, allowing Sunshine to race to his side, then closed ranks behind Pope to maintain their privacy.

“Oh, sweet boy, I’m sorry; I couldn’t keep up with you, and then I lost track of which way you went,” she cooed, wrapping her arms around Kermit and Ocean until Kermit recognized her voice and immediately turned to huddle in her arms.

“Mewwww,” he meowed, hiccupped, then sniffled, having calmed some since Pope had left them together.

“I know,” she said, holding him while he buried his face against her hair.

Ocean stepped back, accidentally bumping into Pope, who placed his hands on his shoulders to steady him.

“Nicely done,” Pope praised, speaking low in his ear. “Let’s give them a moment. We still have a circuit to complete.”

His words made Ocean shiver and relax some of the rigidness in his posture. The pup had been on high alert and in protective mode, which Pope could appreciate, but he showed his vulnerability when he held out a paw to Pope, eyes beseeching him to hold it.

Pope clutched it immediately, giving his paw a squeeze before offering his arm instead, putting Ocean even closer to him in case something jumped off and he needed to wrap an arm around him to shield him. Not that he doubted Ocean wasn’t capable of holding his own, but helping to soothe Kermit had lulled Ocean closer to his pup headspace, and there was real fear there of being separated from Pope in a room full of people he was still getting to know.

Pope tapped Creature on the shoulder, and the man stepped aside to let them through, then closed the gap again, leaving Pope certain that Kermit and Sunshine would be given as much time as they needed in the privacy of that space to get their nerves settled before they continued their night.

“So, as I was saying earlier, we’re going to walk the room,” Pope explained, keeping his voice low and soothing. “What you just helped with back there is exactly why there are always at least two dungeon monitors patrolling at all times.”

“Arf,” Ocean replied, letting out a bark of understanding.

Yeah, definitely on the verge of being fully in his pup space.

As he always did when he reached the one space that required someone to sign in, Pope paused to speak with the attendant seated just inside, keeping a sharp eye on all the littles who were playing together.

“Any issues tonight?” He asked.

“Nope, they are all on their best behavior,” Finn replied, smiling fondly in his little girl’s direction.

Daisy was an absolute sweetheart until someone tried to take a toy from her; then she turned into a wailing banshee with a tendency to launch anything she could get her hands on. Others quickly learned that it was better to wait their turn than unleash the demon. Big, Daisy was a tattoo artist who’d apprenticed under Mark and was now one of the top-rated artists in the studio. She’d refused to ink littles who weren’t nice to her when they played, and from what Pope had seen, it was their own damn fault for not behaving.

“Puppy!” Lulu, Pumpkin’s little, squealed, leading the charge as the littles crawled across the floor, heading straight for Ocean, who dropped down on all fours and let out a yip, tail wagging joyfully.