Page 34 of Bear’s House

"Can I order some juice and dinosaur nuggets, please?" I asked.

"Of course, sweetheart."

I was pleased. This whole behaving thing paid off sometimes.

Chapter 13. JJ

I turned back to Max and Henry — and that was when I saw Max's expression.

He was staring. Fixed on someone.

Was it Daddy? I looked at Daddy, then back at Max. No. Not Daddy.

It was Dominic.

Max was looking at Dominic like he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing.

I frowned. Looked again to make sure. Yes. Unmistakable. That entire look was aimed directly at Dominic — the long blond hair, the sharp face, that imposing posture even just sitting down.

Interesting.

"Come on," I said, without mentioning it yet.

We stopped in front of Elizabeth on the way.

"Can Lucy come play with us, Ma'am?" I asked.

"No," she said. "She's my little doll tonight and she's staying in my lap."

I looked at Lucy. She didn't react — dolls don't talk, after all. I shrugged and moved on.

We went to the food counter. I ordered the dinosaur-shaped nuggets and a mango juice. Max just ordered water — I think he was too nervous to eat. Henry got another beer.

We sat at one of the tables near the stage. Unfortunately it was also near the spanking bench, where a girl was flogging a guy who was groaning and whimpering every time the flogger hit his back. The scene was fairly intense, and I thought it might be a bit much for Max right off the bat.

"You were looking at Dominic in a pretty impressed way," I said, trying to redirect his attention.

Henry laughed. "I noticed too."

"What?" Max went red. "No I wasn't. I just thought that man was very good-looking."

"Dude, you were basically hypnotized," I pushed.

He went even redder. "Do you think he noticed?" he asked, almost involuntarily.

"Probably," Henry said, making everything worse. "Dominic notices everything. He's one of those Doms."

"Really?" Max asked, looking alarmed. It was clear he wasn’t comfortable anymore.

I gave Henry a small signal — I thought we were pushing too far, and Max clearly wasn't comfortable with where the conversation was going.

"Don't worry about it," I said, and my nuggets arrived right at that moment.

The three of us ate in relative quiet. I offered nuggets around, Henry took some, Max picked one up carefully. The mood had gotten a little heavy and I was worried I'd ruined the night.

Then I had an idea.

"Do you want to see the sensory room?" I said to Max. "It's a separate space where you can get a break from the noise. Much more chill."