She nodded again and then Cara was gone and she was left with a whole lot to think about.
The door to the balcony came open as she started to get up. She needed to lock the door.
“Hey, I’ll get it.” Hutch hurried to turn the dead bolt. “You okay? That looked intense.”
It had been for a moment, but now she felt a sense of warmth because she’d missed Cara, too. “She’s researching Jessica. She’s worried about me.”
“Or she’s working on a story.” Kyle closed the balcony door, the bottle of Scotch and a glass in his hands. “I want to look into her.”
“You do that.” Hutch sat down on the couch across from her. He didn’t look Kyle’s way, though the words were meant for him. “Now, I think it’s late for you to make cookies, but I did pick up some gummy bears, and I’ve heard they go with that wine.”
Damn, but he made her smile. “You’re an expert on wine now?”
He shook his head. “Not at all, but I do candy pairings. Let’s put our feet up and watch some TV. I sat in a chair all day, and I honestly think Kyle’s head is too thick to learn a board game tonight.”
“You know I went to college, right? I’m not dumb,” Kyle complained. “I can win games. But I would rather work. Are you two doing it tonight or do I have to sleep on the couch?”
Noelle felt her face flush.
Hutch stood. “I’ll sleep out here. Grandpa Kyle wants to go to bed, and I’m not sending us all to sleep because he needs his beauty rest. There’s a new Star Trek on tonight.”
She loved the new Star Trek show. Naturally he was a Star Trek guy. But she didn’t want him to give up his room. “It’s okay. I can watch it online.”
Hutch shook his head. “Kyle’s already gone. I won’t get that space back. It’s okay. I don’t sleep much anyway. All right. Let’s eat some gummy bears and watch some Trek.”
It was only later, when she was in her lonely bed, that she realized Hutch had suggested they stay on the couch because he’d figured out her back had ached from all the walking, that sitting in a chair and playing a game might stress it further.
She didn’t get much sleep that night either.
Chapter Ten
Hutch looked up from his laptop. He sat in one of the comfy chairs in the men’s locker room at Sanctum. Years ago, Big Tag had turned the communal space into a massive man cave. There were three different TVs that usually played various sports. There was a fridge that was filled with water, soda, and beer. He would often walk in and find his friends playing video games. Like Theo Taggart and Michael Malone were doing at this moment. They were happily shooting each other in the latest sci-fi game.
The locker room was buzzing for a nonplay night. Some of the more experienced Doms had come to help with the first night of training, and some had simply come to check out the dumbass newbies. The Doms, that was. There would be a hell of a lot of ribbing going on.
Wade Rycroft was currently helping his youngest brother, though he was sure West Rycroft could put on a set of leathers without the help. Wade was the head of the bodyguard unit at McKay-Taggart. He used to run Sanctum, but he’d given up that job years before when he took over the unit and needed more time to spend with his wife and daughter.
“I’m good, brother. I didn’t need you to come down here,” West insisted.
“It’s not a problem,” he heard Wade reply. “I’ll introduce you around and get you familiar with the place.”
“I thought that was why I’m taking the training class. Also, the tops went through orientation last week. The big guy showed us around and pretty much threatened to murder us if we did anything wrong.”
Ah, some things never changed. Sanctum ran one or two training classes a year, and Big Tag loved to fuck with the baby Doms.
West Rycroft rounded the corner, followed by his brother. The big cowboy had moved to Dallas recently. He was six foot three and all muscle, with longish sandy hair and a handsome face. He was all masculinity. He probably didn’t cook or play board games or watch Star Trek. He lassoed things, and women thought he was manly because of it.
Was West Rycroft what Noelle was looking for? Was he her training Dom, and she was about to lose her mind over her gorgeous, masculine partner?
The friend zone sucked, and he was pretty sure that was where he was now.
Hutch glanced up at Wade. “Do you want me to take a picture? Baby Boy’s first day at Dom school?”