Page 237 of Masters of Control

Ignoring her master’s glare, Lexie went and disappeared behind the desk, kneeling on the cushion that was kept there for her. Patrick closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose before opening them and focusing on Olivia and Julie.

“Do you need something?” he asked in a tightly controlled voice.

“Not yet.” Olivia smiled sunnily at him, her grey eyes flashing. “We’ll let you know.”

Mistress Julie just smiled.

Patrick shifted uncomfortably in his chair but refocused on Asad.

“Okay, well.” He cleared his throat. “I guess the question now is, what are your intentions with Morgan?”

At that, the tension in the room—which had dissipated at the entrance of the Dommes and Lexie—ramped right back up. Now, every eye in the room was on Asad, for good reason. He knew even though his friends would back him up, they were protective of Morgan, too. Rightfully so.

“I’m going to date her. We’re going to see what happens. You know, the way things normally happen when you’re dating someone.”

“How would you know? You don’t date.” Adam raised a blonde eyebrow at him. “You’ve always avoided dating. Or even scening too often with another submissive.”

“So did he.” Asad pointed at Andrew, who shrugged. “So did Mitch. Look at them now. I can’t promise I know where things are going with Morgan, but she and I deserve the chance to find out without a bunch of people hovering over us. I can tell you I would never deliberately harm her, and that includes emotionally. The only hurt I want to give her is the fun, sexual kind. And I will never cheat on her. If things don’t work out, they don’t work out, and I’ll end things as respectfully and compassionately as I can if the problem is on my end. Then I’ll come get one of you to be there to support her. That’s all I can promise.”

“That sounds reasonable.” Everyone’s head whipped to the side to look at Mistress Julie. She smiled back at them serenely. Next to her, Olivia smiled as well. Somehow, it was way scarier than anyone’s glare. “That’s all anyone can really ask of you. And I think it’s exactly what Morgan needs.”

Patrick cleared his throat again.

“Right. That’s all we needed to hear… I think. And if you do need support, we’re here, Julie is here, and I know Morgan’s friends will be there to support her.” A muscle ticked in Patrick’s cheek, and Jared’s head fell back as he stared up at the ceiling for a moment. Probably because his ex was among Morgan’s friends. “We just want what is best for her.”

“We all do,” Asad said.

A little niggle of doubt crawled into his chest. How could he really be what was best for her? Best sex, sure, but best boyfriend? This whole thing was probably fucked before he even tried.

Someone’s hand landed on his shoulder, and he jumped, looking up in surprise. Mistress Julie smiled at him, a real smile that was far more reassuring than her earlier one.

“Morgan told me she had a wonderful time with you last week,” she said, giving his shoulder a little squeeze. “She said having you as her fake boyfriend made her want a real one. Just keep that up, and you’ll do great.”

And just like that, his whole perspective shifted again.

Maybe he wouldn’t be as bad at it as he thought.

Chapter Thirty

Asad

It felt like every single eye was on him when he came out of Patrick’s office. Gritting his teeth, he pretended to ignore it, heading over to the bar area with his friends while the rest of the Doms scattered. Patrick and Lexie had stayed in the office, but everyone else had come back out into the main room with them.

“Come on,” Q murmured, tilting his head and leading the way over to a table where Iris, Domi, and Rae were waiting. All three of them perked up at the sight of the Doms, like they knew the answers to all their questions were coming.

Asad sighed inwardly. He wasn’t sure he wanted the third degree from them as well. It might be unavoidable, though. At the very least, they were going to want to know everything that was going on.

As soon as he reached the table, all the questions tumbled out.

“What happened?”

“What’s going on with you and Morgan?”

“Are you in trouble?”

“Are the Mistresses going to punish you?”

“Seriously?” he asked Rae, who had shot the final question at him. “You think they bring in the Dominatrixes to handle naughty Doms or something?”