Dungeon Daddy by Golden Angel

Chapter 25

Esther

Something had changed since she and Jax had come home, Esther realized. A good thing. Everyone at C&C night was a lot more relaxed. She hadn’t realized how much the tension between them had affected everyone else until it was gone.

So that was good.

“I walk forward down the hall.” Jax stared at the map as Gavin uncovered a little from where his character now stood, allowing him to see farther and revealing yellow splotches on some of the newly exposed areas. Aiden let out a low whistle.

“That looks like gold.”

“Yes, it does,” Jax said, shaking his head.

“Okay, who’s next. Morag?” Gavin asked, naming Aiden’s character, probably because it looked like he was about to jump out of his seat.

“I walk this way.” Aiden moved his character down one of the side passages, making a satisfied sound as Gavin uncovered more of the map, showing more gold. They still couldn’t see most of what was in the chamber they’d entered, but that was an awful lot of gold.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Cyana muttered.

“You have bad feelings about everything,” Aiden countered, then leered at her. “You could always let me give you some good feelings.”

“Focus.” Cyana pointed back at the board. Esther giggled, and Leah shook her head in amusement.

“Are you doing anything else?” Gavin asked Aiden, clearly joining Cyana’s effort to get him back on track.

“No one can see me, right?” Aiden looked around the map. Since he’d moved down a side passage from where everyone else was, no one would have a direct line of sight.

“I definitely have a bad feeling about this.” Glaring at him from across the table, Cyana looked as if she wanted to throw something at Aiden’s head. She hated it when he got off task, especially when he did something stupid. Which was fairly often. He was playing a barbarian.

“I pick up some gold without anyone noticing.”

“Roll stealth,” Gavin said over Cyana’s groan. Honestly, sometimes half the fun of playing was watching Cyana and Aiden’s interactions. Esther was heroically doing her best not to crack up.

“Twenty-four.”

“You pick up a handful of gold without anyone noticing. Everyone rolls for initiative.”

Groans erupted around the table, and Gavin grinned sadistically. Aiden had set something off by picking up the gold. They were entering combat and needed to know who was going to go first, which meant they were about to be attacked. And because of the way he’d done it, none of their characters knew he’d done it, so they were going to be attacked out of nowhere.

“I’m gonna kill you,” Cyana growled as she rolled her dice into her tray.

“If he gets Dog killed, I’m going to kill him,” Esther said. They’d had a few close calls already, and right now, they didn’t know what they were facing.

“Dog will be fine.” Aiden clapped his hands together, clearly undeterred. He glanced at the clock. “Anyone want to take a break before we get started? We’re getting close to time.”

“That’s a good idea,” Gavin concurred. “Everyone, give me your numbers, then we’ll break.”

* * *

Jax

The night air was warm and muggy, and crickets were chirping all around them. Leaning against the railing, Jax studied Aiden as his friend flopped down into one of the patio chairs. He looked tired, and although he had plenty of grey hair sprinkled among the black, Aiden didn’t usually look old. Right now, he did.

“Everything okay?” Jax asked, trying to keep most of the worry out of his voice. If he sounded too concerned, Aiden was more likely to prevaricate or even lie.

“Tired. How was Marquis? Was it everything you hoped it would be?”

“Yeah, was it?” Gavin asked, joining them outside, scotch glass in one hand. He’d taken the opportunity to freshen up his drink. Sitting down next to Aiden, the differences between them were starker than usual.

They’d always looked alike—about the same age, close to the same height, same build, white guys with salt-and-pepper hair and goatees, same aura of confidence—but now, they held themselves differently.

Gavin looked relaxed. Happy. Settled. Aiden was jiggling his knee, something he only did when he wasn’t at the top of his game. Jax was surprised Aiden had asked. He’d seemed to lose interest when he’d been reminded the place was for couples. Maybe he was looking for a distraction from whatever was bothering him or wanted so badly not to talk about what was bothering him, he was willing to distract Jax by asking about something he wasn’t interested in.

Well, Jax would let him continue to get away with it for now. If Aiden didn’t start talking to someone, they would have to have a talk.

“It was really good.” He’d already emailed Gavin on Monday, but he wasn’t surprised Gavin wanted the in-person report. This way, Jax was able to update Aiden as well. Even if Aiden wasn’t really interested in Marquis for himself, he was invested in Jax and Esther’s relationship as a friend. So, Jax gave them both a quick rundown of the weekend, only leaving out a few small things—like falling off the bed. Some things they didn’t need to know.

He went into more detail about the show and the pink room since it was one Gavin hadn’t stayed in. He’d had a tour, but there was a difference between looking and actually using the equipment.

“That rocking horse sounds fun,” Gavin said thoughtfully. “Maybe Leah wouldn’t mind doing a little roleplay.”

Jax and Aiden chuckled.

“I wouldn’t mind a ‘hotel’ setup,” Aiden said. “If it came with theme rooms.”

“I was thinking more along the lines of closing down the bar and restaurant on the main floor of the Outlands and setting up the theme rooms there,” Gavin confessed. Jax sat up. That was the first time Gavin had said anything like that.

“Really?” He hadn’t thought Gavin might change the top floor of the Outlands.

Gavin shrugged. “I’m getting old. Being on my feet all day with the bar and running a restaurant, plus the club on the main floor and the kink club underneath… the kinky part brings in enough that I don’t really need the restaurant anymore. Especially if I charged more for the use of the theme rooms.”

“I know Esther and I would go more frequently. We love to watch, but it would be nice not to have to go home to do anything fun since neither of us really wants to partake in public play. If there was somewhere to go at the Outlands, that would be preferable.”

“I like it.” Aiden gave them a wry smile when they both looked at him, surprised. Aiden had never seemed to mind putting on a show. “Something different to try, right? I never do much roleplay in the Dungeon.”

Hmmm, interesting.

“I’m still thinking about it. It wouldn’t happen till after our second wedding,” Gavin said, rubbing his hand over his goatee. His eyes were slightly unfocused, and Jax knew he was already planning things out in his head.

“Speaking of,” Jax said, clearing his throat, drawing his friends’ attention. “I’m going to ask Esther to renew her vows. Cyana’s helping me pick out a ring.” He’d also been looking at jewelry sites at work all week.

“That’s great!” Gavin grinned, leaning forward in his seat to clasp hands with Jax.

“Great,” Aiden echoed, although his brow was furrowed as though he was wondering what the point was. “So, you’re doing a full proposal and ceremony?”

“Yeah, I want to make it special. I feel like… we’re not starting over exactly, but we’re starting new, and I want to mark that.”

“We should do it together!” Gavin’s eyes were unfocused again, head tipped to the side as if he already pictured it. “That’s exactly how Leah and I feel—it’s more of a vow renewal than a ceremony.”

“Maybe… I’d need to talk to Esther first, and you should talk to Leah.” The idea appealed, making a second commitment for their lives alongside their friends as they did the same. “They might want to have their own celebrations.”

“My experience, not that it counts for much, is women rarely like to share the big events,” Aiden said dryly.

“Your opinion still counts. Cut it out.” Gavin kicked at Aiden’s shin, barely connecting. Aiden kicked him back.

“Behave, boys,” Jax intoned, using his best ‘professor’ voice, making both of them laugh. Aiden sounded so down on himself, which was not like him at all. Jax would have to talk to Cyana and Gavin when he got a chance, so they could figure out what to do about Aiden.

* * *

Esther

It was so nice to be back with her besties, chatting and not having them stare at her with sympathy and worry. They wanted to know all about her weekend with Jax, of course, but their questions were full of interest rather than concern. They laughed their asses off when she told them about falling off the bed. Leah liked the sound of the rocking horse.

“I wonder what the blue room is like,” Cyana mused, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

“Thinking about being a Mommy Domme?” Leah looked skeptical, and Esther didn’t blame her. For all the mother-henning Cyana liked to do, she didn’t really seem like a Mommy Domme.

“Not really, just wondering about the toy options.” The Domme grinned wickedly. Yeah, that made more sense. She did like to get creative. Esther shivered. Cyana was way too hardcore for her, but she was fun to watch, even if she scared Esther sometimes.

“So, now what?” Leah asked, bringing her attention back to Esther.

“Well, we keep working on things… and tomorrow, I’m going with him to meet his other C&C group and help them out.”

“What?!” Cyana sat up straight, surprise and interest flaring. She pointed at Esther with a demanding finger. “Talk. Now.”

“Bossy.” Esther stuck out her tongue, then explained about the invitation to join Suzie and her group, and that she and Jax had said yes. She didn’t hide her worry about whether the younger women would accept her presence or that she would feel like she didn’t belong. She was the interloper, crashing their party. Both Leah and Cyana did their best to reassure Esther, but she knew she wouldn’t feel better until after tomorrow night was over and done with.

The guys came back in a few minutes later, and they all returned to the table. Sitting down next to Jax, she smiled when his hand made its way over to rest on her thigh, fingers entwining with hers. Their eyes met, and he smiled, but she could see something in his expression.

Wordlessly, his gaze shifted to Aiden, and Esther’s followed. That was all it took for her to realize he was concerned about their friend—and giving him another look, she was worried as well. He looked… rough. He always looked ‘rough,’ actually, but normally in a sexy way, not in a ‘looks like he’s been up for three nights in a row and possibly drinking during all of them’ kind of way. Esther pressed her lips together. This wasn’t the time to ask him about it, but she’d be bugging Jax after they left for details.

In the meantime, they got back into the game. Esther kept a closer eye on Aiden, noticing he relaxed as the gameplay intensified. Hopefully, whatever was going on with him wouldn’t be too serious—the fact he was clearly enjoying fighting the dragon he’d pissed off by taking its gold soothed some of her worries.

Especially since he and Cyana sniped back and forth at each other the way they always did. Cyana wasn’t impressed with his decision to steal dragon’s gold, even if he hadn’t immediately realized that’s what it was. She was even less impressed when his character ran out of health, and Jax’s had to pick him up and carry him out as they fled the dungeon.

“I should just let you die,” Cyana muttered, scowling at him.

“Come on, Cyana, don’t make me start over with a new character,” Aiden wheedled. “You know Morag was growing on you. Besides, Ysolde doesn’t know he picked it up. You have to play to what your character knows.”

“If you could heal him, so I don’t have to carry his ass, it would be appreciated.” Jax hid his grin when Cyana shot a glare at him. “I’m just saying, it’s slowing down my speed.”

“Fine. I’ll cast Cheat Death,” Cyana said, sighing heavily and rolling her dice. She smirked when she added up the roll to her skill points. “Twenty-two.”

“That saves.” Gavin didn’t bother hiding his amusement.

“Great.” From the way she drawled the word, it didn’t sound as if she thought it was actually all that great. “I run up next to Doklos and slap Morag’s ass, transferring Cheat Death and waking him up.”

“Woo hoo!” Aiden pumped his fists, his previous melancholy from when he’d returned to the group gone. Esther cracked up as he grinned at Cyana, his voice dropping to Morag’s deeper tones. “I knew ya liked me, Ysolde. Feel free to slap my ass anytime.”

“Careful what you wish for, Morag,” Cyana taunted. “You might get a taste for it.”

“I’ve got a taste for whatever you’ll give me, sweetheart.”

“I put Morag down, so he can run on his own,” Jax said, interrupting Aiden’s flirtatious and overexaggerated winking. It was more hilarious than seductive, but considering how little charm his barbarian had, it fit.

Giggling, Esther ignored the twist in her stomach as she wondered what tomorrow’s game would be like, doubting it would be anything like this or that she’d feel this happy or comfortable.

She’d hope it was half as much fun and try to keep an open mind, the way Cyana and Leah had told her to.