Page 26 of Mastered By Desire

I don’t get to round the corner of the bar before I spot Leah. She’s wearing jeans and a button-up blouse, looking entirely wrong for the club, yet utterly, heartbreakingly gorgeous all the same. She walks toward me, a sheepish expression on her face.

“You can’t get enough of this place, huh?” I say.

“Hey.” Her cheeks turn pink with an adorable blush. “Uh, no. I forgot to get a house key from you.”

“Oh shit, I’m sorry.” I reach for my keys. “What have you been doing since your last tutoring session?”

“I went to a coffee shop, but they finally closed and I hoped I might find you here before your shift.”

“This place is my home away from home.”

She peeks at Room Two before quickly glancing away. The blush on her cheeks darkens. “I can see why.”

It’s not the best look for me to be hanging out here. But she knew I worked here all along and that didn’t stop her from accepting a lot of money to get naked and let me fuck her mouth, so I guess I shouldn’t be too ashamed.

“I had an hour in between Rachel’s birthday and my shift.” I free the house key from the ring.

“It’s okay, you can be a lecherous old man, I won’t tell anyone.” Leah grins and pockets my key. “Just knock when you get home and I’ll wake up to let you in. I’ll be on the couch, after all.”

I want to tell her to take my bed, but we have to havesomeboundaries.

“Sounds good,” I say. “See you later—I’ll be home around three.”

As she flounces off, looking every inch the sweet little after-school tutor, I spot a shadowy form moving to the side.

When he melts back toward the hallway leading to the offices, light reveals his features. He’s watching Leah—no, he’s watching me watch Leah—and a cryptic, satisfied smile appears.

If Friday night was my first hint, his expression now only clinches my suspicion:

My boss is a supervillain and he wants to have his wicked way with my little sister’s best friend.

9

Gage

Ididn’t expect to see her back so soon.

But there’s no denying I’m absolutely delighted.

A low, sensuous beat fills the club. I picked this track, and many others. Some, I commissioned directly from the artists, wanting suggestive slow-downs of old favorites.

Members might come to Low Vice for the power exchange, but they stay for the atmosphere. They keep coming back, too. That’s important. I wanted a club that’s as addictive as the scene itself. I think we’ve succeeded.

Betty is the heart. Margot is the brains.

And me? I’ve no idea. Perhaps I’m the dark rope that ties everything together.

I wonder how a dark rope would look looped over Leah’s arms and legs, how it would frame her breasts. I wonder if she would like being restrained in such a way.

Unfortunately, it seems she isn’t here to play. Her clothing is casual and not at all like what members are wearing. I enjoy this new view of her. It makes her more real. Everyone here ispretending to be something, behaving as characters in a scene, and she isn’t.

She’s here to see Dmitri. I watch their interaction from the hall. His desire, his hesitation. So fierce. Awkward.

It’s the moment when his resolve snaps—that’s the moment I’m most interested in. What will it take? What will he do to her, and what heights will he take her to?

I want—no, Ineed—to see it happen.

She holds out her hand and he gives her something—a key?

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