Page 84 of The Masquerade: Room 2

“Yes to the clothes. No to the pajamas.” I’m rewarded with a sly grin as I remove her restraints. She still wants to sleep with me. I heave a sigh of relief.

“As you wish, Sir.” That’s the first thing that we’re sorting out tonight. I’m done with this Sir crap. She’s tiptoeing around me like some fragile little bird about to break. I’m her fucking Dom. Her Daddy.

“In fact, why don’t we just sleep at your apartment? Then you can’t skip out on me in the middle of the night.”

Her expression sobers. “But you can skip out on me. If you want to sleep at my place, I only have one rule.”

“Name it.”

“You stay. I don’t want to wake up to an empty bed in the morning.” There it is—the vulnerability I fell in love with that she’s been hiding from me.

“Do you want to do your aftercare here or at your place?”

“My place,” she says as she shrugs into her jeans and Converse.

“Okay. Let me grab a few things, and we’ll go.”

I quickly dress and pull a bag from the chest of drawers. Throwing in a few items for aftercare, I slip a little something fun in there too.

The car ride to her place is longer than I expected as my driver navigates his way to the address she gave him. I know he’s driven her before, but I never thought much of it, having not been with her at the time.

Her neighborhood is a little sketchy as we pull up at her building. She opens the car door but stops to look back at me. “Are you coming?”

“Yeah.” I give my driver instructions to come and pick us up in the morning. Early.

I slide out of the back seat and take her hand in mine.

“You already hate it. We should just go to your apartment.” She chews on her bottom lip.

“I don’t hate it. Let me get in the door first before you decide how I feel about it.”

“I’m going to move soon.”

“I know.” As we head inside, it’s marginally better, but that’s not exactly an accolade.

“What?”

“You’re definitely moving out of here ASAP.”

“I know it’s not exactly the Upper East Side, but I have two hundred grand in student loans, and I’m a few years away from making the kind of money you do.” Fuck, I’ve offended her.

“You said you were moving. I’m just agreeing. I hate the thought of you walking alone at night in this part of town.”

“I’ve survived all these years by myself before you came along.”

“And I’m here now, and as your Dom, I want you safe and well cared for. I only agreed with your sentiment.”

“And in this ASAP scenario, when do I start shitting money to rent in an approved area?”

“You don’t. You move in with me.”

She stops outside what I assume is her apartment door and fumbles with her keys, her hands shaking. “Don’t be ridiculous. That’s absurd.” She hurries inside her tiny apartment, trying to put some distance between us. “I’ve slept at your place once, and you freaked out on me. My life isn’t a plaything for your whims.”

I grab her hands, standing in front of her, feeling more vulnerable than I have since I was that small little boy my dad tossed across the room like a ragdoll. “Look at me, Freya.”

I wait her out until she lifts her chin, staring up at me through hooded lashes, her eyes filled with unshed tears. “I can’t. I won’t survive when you’re done with me.”

My heart aches. Is this how nonchalant I’ve been lately that she believes my feelings for her are fleeting? I release her hands, sliding mine into her hair, my lips a hair’s breadth from hers. “I’ve been remiss if you think there will ever be a time I’ll be done with you, little one.” I dart my tongue out to lick the seam of her lips. “I am… unequivocally, madly in love with you. You’re everything I thought I’d never want and everything I now crave. I need you, little one. I can’t imagine my life without you. I don’t want to, and I’ll spend until my dying breath trying to be a man worthy of your love in return.”

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