Savage Hearts by Chloe Cox

to Mark Cheedham’s press conference on behalf of her brand new client, Soren Andersson? How could she think getting involved with a client was a good idea, no matter what the circumstances ?— but in the end, they were all just labels for this feeling of fear, and none of the labels really quite fit.
    The truth was that she had never been so raw as she had been in Soren’s arms. And that was freaking terrifying. For a woman who spent most of her life making sure she was well protected, it was unfathomable.
    And here she was again, in the very place where it had happened, the very place that had made it possible. Club Volare.
    What the hell was she thinking?
    “Post-initiation freak out?” someone asked.
    Startled, Cate looked to her left to find a smiling face. A pretty face, but not vacant; self-assured. And apparently also fairly perceptive.
    “Who are you?” Cate asked.
    “My name’s Adra,” the woman said.
    And then Adra’s sunny smile was interrupted. Something passed over Adra’s face in the split second it took for Cate to realize someone else was joining them, startling her from the other side—Ford.
    “I had meant to introduce you,” Ford said. “Cate, Adra is—”
    “I’m a sub,” Adra interjected. “And Ford thought it might be good if we talked. So did I.”
    Ford. What the hell was Ford doing?
    “Oh my God, this is beyond embarrassing,” Cate muttered. “No offense, Adra, but we don’t know each other, and—”
    “We do, actually,” Adra said gently. Somehow she was so…kind. And easy to talk to. Or she would be, without Ford standing on the other side of her.
    “Or at least we have a few important things in common,” Adra went on, raising one sly eyebrow. “Bet you’ve never had a friend to talk to about any of this, right? People usually don’t before they come here.”
    Cate could feel herself turning red. Adra was, of course, totally correct, but something about having this conversation in front of Ford, who was still, technically, a colleague, was sending her into a panic. An angry panic. Ford was putting her on the spot, and Cate was in no way ready for it.
    “Ford, this is one of those times when you should politely excuse yourself,” Adra said.
    And then she gave Ford what could only be described as a knowing look. A look Ford returned for altogether a little bit too long.
    Whatever passed between Adra and Ford was powerful. It was charged. It practically made Cate’s hair stand on end.
    “Understood,” he finally said, nodded at them both, and walked away.
    Cate wasn’t proud of it, but the fact that she’d just witnessed some obvious personal drama somehow made her feel slightly less embarrassed about the idea of Ford discussing her own life with strange women. At least she wasn’t the only one feeling raw and vulnerable. It was written all over Adra’s face.
    “You know, whatever that was shouldn’t make me feel better,” Cate said in the kindest way she could, “But it does. Are you ok, person who I don’t know at all?”
    “Yeah,” Adra said, though she didn’t look it. She sighed. “Ford and I are probably a pretty good example of why it’s good to have someone to talk to about your new D/s relationship so you don’t screw it up right away.” She shrugged, grinned. “You know, teach by example.”
    Cate grinned back. She liked this woman. This woman seemed to…get it.
    Even so, Cate had come here for a purpose, and every second spent wondering how her meeting with Soren would go was another opportunity for her crazy mind to twist a little tighter. She knew if she held out her hand, it would still be shaking.
    “Adra, I’m here to meet someone,” Cate began.
    “Right, I know. Soren. Just give me five minutes,” Adra said. “Humor me. Ford can be kind of clumsy in that way that men are, but he’s not wrong. Just…five minutes, ok?”
    Cate looked around anxiously. She didn’t see Soren immediately, but there were more people in the main