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“Mom, you know I had to work late. That’s the only reason I asked you to go.”
“He gets excellent grades. Why go? I would have had to shower and dress up.” She sighed as though the prospect of attending to her personal hygiene was exhausting.
“If we don’t go it looks like no one cares about him. You went to every single one of mine and Meadow’s. Why not Rook’s?”
She shuffled toward the master bath. “I’m old now. There are events in a person’s life that make them question meaningless social conventions. I don’t host dinner parties or send people birthday cards anymore either. It doesn’t make me a bad person.”
Once she reached the bathroom, Desiree shut the door between them and turned on the fan, most likely to show she wasn’t interested in his lecture.
He sighed. So much for patience. He shouldn’t have gone in grumping at her—it just made her shut down. Sometimes it was hard to take a step back and be the mature one, especially when it came to taking care of a parent.
Banner grabbed the picture he’d given her for Christmas off the dresser. In the photo, he, Meadow, and Rook smiled at the camera as though they were a normal, happy family. He brushed a thumb over Rook’s smiling face and put the picture in the middle of Desiree’s shrine to their dead father.
Maybe the next time she prayed to be with him, she’d remember she had three children who weren’t ready to be orphans.
Chapter 7
She stared at the monstrous door, working up the courage to knock. Why was this so difficult? For some reason, this was harder than the first time. At least then he hadn’t seen her naked, seen every vulnerable part of her. He hadn’t heard her beg, and scream, and call him Master.
Ugh. She was still embarrassed about that. Until yesterday she hadn’t even been able to text him.
All week she’d talked herself through how this session would go. She’d stay in control, making sure not to go as far. She should probably even keep her clothes on.
With a deep breath, she calmed her nerves and went to knock on the door. The gargoyle face with the knocker ring through its teeth made her smile. Only Banner would have something so ostentatious right on the front door.
The door opened before she touched it. Banner stood on the other side, wearing a gray suit and matching tie, looking all professional and fucking hot as hell.
It took effort to keep her jaw from dropping. She was pretty sure she stared much longer than was socially acceptable.
His eyes gleamed. “Sorry. I just got home from work. Meeting ran late.” The door opened wider as he stood to the side. “Come in.”
She floundered for words for a moment, then managed a husky, “Okay.” She forced her feet to move and walk inside. So much for keeping control. But it wasn’t her fault she was practically drooling on the man. He’d just stumbled onto her biggest fantasy.
Shit. Already warmth had started between her legs. She’d never be able to keep a distance this way. After she let him take her coat, she asked, “Um. Are you gonna change?”
Please say yes, then come back wearing a Hawaiian shirt and acid-wash jeans.
He’d probably make those look good too.
“Do you want me to?”
She gulped. “It’s up to you, of course. It just looks . . .” Sexy, amazing, fuckable . . . “confining.”
“Don’t worry about me, Trouble.” His gaze slid down her body. He seemed pleased. “I didn’t give you guidelines about what to wear today.”
Her nipples rubbed against her T-shirt, sensitive already. Wanting to prove she could be a good submissive, she’d followed his instructions from last time—no underwear or bra and hair down.
He made a circle motion with his finger, signaling for her to turn around.
She did, feeling her cheeks heat. Was he looking for panty lines? He wouldn’t find them.
“Very nice.”
There was a strange satisfaction in making him happy. It’d happened last time they were together too. She didn’t normally put what other people thought of her high on her priority list. Her aunt and uncle had built her up enough to not need other people’s approval. But pleasing Banner was starting to feel disturbingly good.
“Yeah, well, I figured it was a fair bet that you’d like it.”
