Page 93 of Serving the Maestro

Instinctively, I planted both feet on the floor, and she shimmied closer, now straddling my lap. With a knowing smile, she rubbed against me.

“Too bad that piece isn’t recorded yet,” she murmured. “It’s so...sexy. But I can dance for you anyway.”

I was hard—hell, we’d been lovers for years, and my body knew hers well.

But I gripped her hips as she started to rotate them.

“Do we really have to talk?” she asked, giving me a mock pout, her lips painted a rich shade of wine red. “I can think of a much better use for my tongue. Can’t you?”

“Enough,” I said, nudging her back. When she didn’t take the hint, I stood and put her down, then gripped her upper arms to keep her at a distance when she would have pressed close. “We’re not doing this, Avery. Okay?”

“Are you in the mood for something else, master?” She licked her lips. “I’m being bad. You should punish me. Please punish me. I’ll do anything you want.”

Fuck.

Staring into her eyes, I wondered if I’d ever seen a pleading look and confused it for something else. She needed...something, and it wasn’t just the release from good, hard sex or having me spank her before I fucked her.

I didn’t particularly like the answer I found, and I backed up another step, needing distance more than ever. “Avery, it’s over.”

She blinked, head cocked as if she didn’t understand.

“Do you hear me?” I started to lower my hands, but she pushed into my space again.

This time, I caught her shoulders. “Stop it, Avery. We’re done.”

Hurt and confusion slowly filled her hazel eyes.

Lowering my hands, I stepped around her and picked up the expensive fur she’d dropped, draping it around her shoulders. She caught at the lapels, clutching the coat to her.

“What did I do wrong, Trent?” she asked, watching me as I paced away. “Is it because I pushed too hard in New York? If that’s it, I’m sorry. I should have called you first. I should—”

“Avery, this isn’t about New York,” I said, cutting her off. “The two of us...hell, Avery. We’ve been over for a long time.”

The control room was suddenly too small, and I strode into the recording room, restless and frustrated with her, with myself for too many reasons to count.

“Things were—are good between us, Trent.” The words came out husky.

I made myself look at her, jaw tight. “They were, Avery. But we were only ever friends—and sex partners. That’s it. And now it’s in the past.”

“Why?” she half-shouted, letting go of the lapels of her fur to stride over and grab my shirt front in her fists. “Why are you doing this?”

“I met somebody,” I said quietly. “I love her. She’s the only one I want to be with.”

She curled her lip in a sneer, then reached down and wrapped her fingers around my erect cock. “This says otherwise.”

I caught her wrist and tugged her hand away, then stepped back. “I’m more than just my cock, Avery. I’ve never let him be the one making the important decisions in my life, and that’s not going to start now.”

“Oh, so you, one of the kinkiest Doms I know, will let a woman start making the decisions instead?” She spun away, her movements jerky as she shoved one arm, then the other into the sleeves of her coat. “I bet that will last a long time, honey.”

An irritated response leaped to my lips, but I bit it back.

Pulling her hair free from the coat, she turned to me. Although her face was flushed and her eyes glittered with emotion, her voice was cool as she said, “You go on and have fun playing the little game of house, Trent. You’ll get bored, and she won’t be happy, either. When you come crawling back, I might be nice enough to let you touch me again.”

“I’m sorry if I’ve hurt you, Avery,” I said, tucking my hands into my pockets.

She went stiff. “Hurt me?”

The laugh that followed was sharp and cold, an assault on the ears. I started to reach out a hand, to offer...comfort or something, but the glitter in her eyes stopped me.

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