Seeing him coming, Leigh, Jared, Angel, Adam, Maria, and Rick - who had exited the aisle ahead of Ellie - all grinned. Internally, Michael sighed. It had become very apparent to him that the small group of friends was more gossip prone than high school teenage girls, and not just the women or the submissives either. All of them were guilty of it. Even the ones who claimed they tried to stay out of it, like Jared and Andrew.

It was just part of having friends though, and Michael liked having a stable group of friends again.

The aisle was clearing up by the time Michael made it to Ellie, but the others kept her trapped there by not moving, waiting for Michael’s approach. Having nosy friends wasn’t so bad when they were trapping a reluctant submissive for him.

Michael shoved his hands into his pockets to keep from reaching out and touching her. Even though she’d held hands with him, indicating she didn’t want him completely taken out of her life, he wasn’t going to rush in. He’d tried that when he’d first recognized her, and it had set him back months.

Slow and steady wins the race.

Catching her dark eyes with his, he held her gaze, ignoring the others. He stood close enough to her to loom but without touching her, making her aware of his presence without completely overpowering her with it.

“Play with me, tomorrow at Stronghold.” He didn’t phrase it as a question, but they both knew it was a request. Fear and excitement flared in her eyes. Still biting her lower lip, she nodded. Michael smiled at her. “Good girl.”

Then, for the first time, he retreated.