Page 91 of Key of Kink

“Wobbly,” I repeated.

“Yeah. Like when my brain won’t sit still.” He shrugged, suddenly a little self-conscious, then covered it with a grin. “Kids are the best part, though. They hide biscuits in books and ask wildly inappropriate questions. One of them asked if I ‘live there’ because I’m always behind the desk.”

I couldn’t hold back my smile. “And do you?”

“Basically. I spend more time there than in my room.” He tilted his head. “It’s quiet. Everything has a place.”

“And you like that.”

“Yeah, I do.” Then he grinned. “Also, I get to shush people legally. It’s a power rush.” He tilted his head to one side. “And speaking of not living where I work… Until about an hour ago I sort of assumed you lived at Obsidian.”

I blinked. “I do not live at Obsidian.”

He grinned. “I know that now. But you have that energy.”

“What kind of energy?”

His eyes gleamed. “You know, as if you materialise out of the shadows when someone needs correcting.”

“I’m not sure if that’s supposed to be flattering or not.” I folded my arms. “And what exactly did you think I did during daylight hours?”

He shrugged. “I have no idea. Recharge in a velvet-lined coffin? Haunt misbehaving Doms?”

I rolled my eyes. “I have a job.”

“And that was going to be my next question.” He leaned forward. “What do you actually do?”

I hesitated, not because I didn’t want to answer, but because I didn’t want to answer all of it.

“I write musical arrangements for vocal groups, orchestras, ensembles… ”

His eyebrows shot up. “Like… professionally?”

“Yes.”

“That’s really cool.”

It was my turn to shrug. “It pays some bills.”

“And what pays the rest of them?”

I didn’t answer that. “I’m also in an a cappella group. Rough Harmony. I co-founded it, actually. Ten queer guys.”

Quinn stared at me. “I remember seeing your name on a poster at Obsidian. Are you famous?”

I laughed. “Not in the slightest. The nearest we’ve got to a performance is Theo—he’s the other co-founder—singing a song he’d written for his boyfriend, at a public art show. We’re working on our debut.”

He smiled. “So you tie people up at night and harmonise by day.”

“That’s a gross simplification.”

“But accurate.”

“We rehearse in Soho two evenings a week.”

Quinn beamed. “This is really impressive.”

“It’s just music.”