Page 46 of Black Light: Cured

with him there as I get to know you.”

Looking back to the ground, I war within myself over letting Master Garreth watch. It’s certainly

more for my benefit than Master Aiden’s. I know he’s trying to offer me something, but deep down, I

worry that it’s not going to make him happy. Should I just say no and trust Master Aiden?

“I-I mean, if you want him there,” I add, not looking up.

Master Aiden’s warm fingers grip my chin and force my gaze up to him. “Now, listen here. As the

submissive in this equation, it’s far too easy for a Dominant to take advantage of you. It’s not a matter

of if I want him there. That makes no fucking difference to me. What does make a difference is if his

presence will bring you even a modicum of peace. Do I wish things started out differently between

us? Hell yeah, I do. But even if we started out on the best of terms, I would have honored your request

to have a monitor look out for our scenes. The type of play I do is certainly dangerous. I know what

I’m doing but having that type of backup just makes it all the safer. So, I will ask you again. Do you

want him there? Do not take me into consideration. What do you want?”

That is the question of the day, isn’t it? What exactly do I want? I try to look over at the gathering

crowd, to see what they would do, but Master Aiden doesn’t let my chin go. He doesn’t let me

escape. I have to buckle down and actually decide for myself, and it’s a scary thing. There’s still that

fear that I’ll choose wrong. That having Master Garreth there will somehow make things weird

between Master Aiden and me.

“I mean, it would certainly make me more comfortable if he was there. But—”

“Done. Garreth, if you’re available, I would like to have you nearby the first time Lila and I

play.”

He doesn’t say anything, but nods in agreement before heading back to sit with the others. I guess

it’s a done deal then. Looking up at Master Aiden’s face, I look for any traces of displeasure or any

vibes that tell me he’s upset. Instead, he smiles down at me, stealing my breath away.

“You know what you just did, don’t you?”

“No?” Unease starts to gnaw at my gut as his eyes twinkle down at me.

“You just negotiated to playing with me. There will be other negotiations between us, but this was

the first step. Now then. Permission to be your demo bottom? And you still remember our wager,

yes?”

“Yes, but I don’t think I can do that here. I don’t want to teach the class wrong techniques. This