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fork, so he put the last of the salad aside.
Safe Words: A Deviations Novel - 132
"All right, then." Tobias glanced at his watch and gave
Phan one last pat on his shoulder before crouching down
to undo the chain between Phan's wrists and ankles.
"Well done, both of you. Noah, would you please take
Phan to my office for me? He's a little subby at the
moment, so curling up on the couch might be a good
idea. Leave the cuffs on, though."
"Happy to, sir." Noah moved to Phan's side. "Come on,
hon." He held a hand down to help Phan to his feet.
"We'll wait for you in your office, sir. Good luck."
"Thanks." Tobias laughed and resisted the urge to roll
his eyes at his boys in front of a room full of others.
Instead, he lingered at the table for a moment while
Noah and Phan left, gathering smiles as they went.
Then he stood up and grinned. "Mine."
The men at the nearest tables chuckled -- the Doms,
anyway -- and Tobias left the dining room, crossed the
wide hallway, and went into the bar.
"Dave, I'd like a bottle of Perrier, please," Tobias said,
scanning the room for his quarry.
"Right away, sir."
Hayden had left his spot at the bar, so Tobias began to
examine the tables one by one. He recognized everyone,
apart from one or two subs, and knew something about
nearly every Dom present. Hayden, however, didn't
seem to be around at the moment.
Safe Words: A Deviations Novel - 133
Dave moved smoothly behind the bar, pulling an ice-
cold bottle from the fridge and setting it on the bar.
Beside it, he set a highball glass full of cubed ice and
garnished with orange, lemon, and lime on a cocktail
skewer with a curled up bullwhip adorning one end.
"Your drink, Master Tobias."
Tobias sighed, wondering if he'd missed his opportunity,
and turned back to the bar. "Thank you, Dave."
"Pleasure, sir."
"Dave, a ginger ale, if you please? Evening, Tobias."
Hayden appeared beside the bar suddenly.
"Right away, sir." Dave got to work again.
Tobias smiled. "Just the man I was looking for. How are
you, Hayden?"
Hayden raised an eyebrow. "That sounds ominous," he
answered, smiling. "I've been a good boy, sir, I
promise."
"Ginger ale, sir."
"Thank you, Dave."
Tobias tried very hard not to roll his eyes. It really was a
useful expression, and he could see why Phan was so
fond of it. "One of the hardest parts about having my
reputation is that I can't actually look for someone
without inducing trepidation," he said with a laugh. "Do
you have time to talk, or are you waiting for someone?"
Safe Words: A Deviations Novel - 134
Hayden nodded. "You do have a reputation, although I
have to say that I'm not intimidated by it so much as I
am impressed." He picked up his ginger ale. "I have an
hour or so -- I have a room reserved at nine. Shall we
sit?"
"Perfect." Tobias led the way to one of the tables at the
side of the room, taking his glass with him. "I suppose
impressive is good -- I'd hate to be unreachable,
however. I enjoy talking to people, and while I expect a
certain amount of deference from the subs, I'd hope that
any of the Doms would feel comfortable talking to me
about anything at all."
"Well, I do have to say that your screening process is
demanding and probably the source of a good part of
that reputation, at least among the newer Doms like me.
But I don't think you're unapproachable. Quite the
opposite. If I had an issue, you'd be the first person I'd
go to." Hayden pulled out a chair for himself and sat
down.
"Oh, good!" Tobias beamed at him and made himself
comfortable. "Of course, I like hearing the success
stories as well. Is your room at nine with someone
you've played with before? I know you don't have a
primary submissive, but I'm always hopeful for good
matches."
Hayden nodded. "I've made arrangements with Brian.
We've worked together before, as you know." He
grinned. "We've reserved the Sultan Room; he's
expressed a fondness for the pillow-covered floor."
Safe Words: A Deviations Novel - 135
Tobias laughed. "He likes soft surfaces after he's been
spanked." He nodded to himself and smiled at Hayden.
"It's nice to have someone take him seriously. He's been
here for a long, long time, and I wondered if his energy
was scaring people off."
"Mmm." Hayden nodded. "That can make things
difficult. His energy is something we worked on last
time -- being still, concentrating, putting his impulses to
better use. He's a challenge, that's for sure, but I kind of
like that about him. As you and I discussed, the heavy
hitting tools really aren't my style. I'm more into
bondage and domination than pain play. Brian seems to
respond well to that."
Oh, this was going well -- for all three of them. Tobias
nodded. "Absolutely. Brian's never really been one for
pain, but he definitely needs to be dominated. He gets
unsettled and upset if he's at loose ends for too long, I've
noticed."
"I'm sure that's hardly an issue for him, he seems quite
popular. Everyone I've spoken to says he's fun. He can't
possibly have much time on his hands."
Tobias felt an eyebrow go up and made a concerted
effort to bring it back down. That part wasn't really the
nice and easy he was hoping for. "Oh, I don't know
about that," he said casually. "There's a difference
between playing at submitting and actually doing it, as
you know. A few spankings can calm him, but it's not
really where he thrives."
Safe Words: A Deviations Novel - 136
"He's a flirt, Tobias; playing is what he does. I can't
imagine what it would take to bring him to heel full
time. That would have to be one dedicated Dom."
"Well, yes. Of course it would. But it can be done --
look at Phantom, after all." He smiled broadly. "The
rewards are intense."
Hayden regarded Tobias with interest. "Phantom is that
scattered?"
"Oh, my God, yes." Tobias sometimes forgot that the
new people didn't know Phan as well as the others. He
looked around the bar, hoping one of Phan's interim
playmates was about. "Eben?" He waved the man over.
"Would you describe Phantom as calm and centered on
a typical day?"
Eben snorted. "Only if you have him in chains," he said,
shaking his head. "Otherwise, he's got the attention span
of a flea on crack." Eben looked at Hayden. "Hi, I'm
Eben, I don't think we've met."
"Hayden."
"Welcome." They shook hands, and Eben looked at
Tobias. "Are you offering Phan around now? Because if
so, I'd like to get on the waiting list."
Tobias stared, actually speechless for a moment. "No,"
he finally said. "But I'll let him know he's still popular.
He'll be delighted, I'm sure." He'd float on that for days.
"This is where I'm trying not to snarl 'mine,' I'm sure you
both know."
Safe Words: A Deviations Novel - 137
Both of the other Doms laughed.
"Really, Tobias," Eben said in a friendly, jovial tone.
"You're so possessive of those boys. You're too easy to
tease."
"You have to admit he got you there, Tobias," Hayden
agreed, picking up his ginger ale and taking a long sip.
"But can you blame me?" Tobias asked as Eben excused
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