Page 53 of Key of Kink

I had just built a bridge, and what shocked the hell out of me was that it didn’t feel like a loss of control. It didn’t scare me either.

That might be the biggest shift of all.

Chapter Nine

Max

“Hey, Rivers. Earth calling, come in.”

I jumped. Callum stood next to me, smirking, his eyebrows quirked.

“Sorry. I was miles away.”

Callum’s eyes sparkled. “Yeah, and I know where you were too. I’d be the same if I’d just had a scene like that.” He cocked his head. “That makes two scenes with him, right?”

I took a drink from my water bottle before answering. “Yes.”

Callum hummed low in his throat. “You don’t usually repeat.”

“No.” Mentally I cursed myself. It didn’t matter that I’d only responded with one-syllable answers. That was all the ammunition Callum needed. Across the floor, a few of the regulars were pretending not to watch us and failing miserably. Apparently, Max Rivers repeating a scene was noteworthy. Repeating with the same sub?

That was conversation material.

Callum folded his arms. “You looked pretty invested in it.”

Shit.

“I don’t invest.” I kept my tone even.

Callum raised one brow. “Rivers, I’ve known you a long time. Well, for as long as you’ve been a member here. When you’re done with someone, you look bored before they do. Tonight, however?” He studied me. “You looked… alert.”

That was close to the truth. I wasn’t restlessly scanning the room for the next scene.

I was still tuned to Quinn.

“Two scenes is not a pattern.”

Not yet.

Callum leaned closer, lowering his voice. “He’s young. I looked him up. Twenty. Are you going to train him?”

The old question, the old assumption.

I watched a rope scene unfolding near the back wall, noting the careful hands, deliberate knots, the quiet trust.

“I’m not training anyone,” I said calmly.

Callum glanced sideways at me. “Then what are you doing?”

That was the part I didn’t have language for yet.

“So what is it about Quinn that gets you all fired up?”

“Who says I’m fired up?” I retorted. I took a breath to regain my composure. “He negotiates properly.”

Callum barked a laugh. “That’s your bar now? Paperwork competence?”

“And he listens.”