Page 31 of Mastered By Desire

“Hey,” he says, then frowns. “Is that your Hamlet face or your Poe face?”

“Neither. It’s my Fitzgerald face. If I have to talk about the symbolism inThe Great Gatsbyto one more privileged teenager, I’m going to lose my fucking mind. On top of that, it cost five hundred dollars to get that paint stuff off my car.”

“Have a seat.” He gestures to my usual spot on the couch. “I’ll get you a beer and make you an omelet.”

“You don’t have to?—”

He gives me a withering look. “I know I don’t have to.”

Properly chastised, I settle into my spot. “You’re a good guy, you know.”

“Nope.” The burner clicks as he starts it.

I don’t tell him how much I appreciate him, how much it means that he’s caring for me even though I must be a hugethorn in his side. He doesn’t seem to like it when I call out the nice things he does.

I lean over the back of the couch and watch him in the kitchen. He chops spinach and cheese, starts the eggs, and brings me a beer.

“Thanks.” I clink my bottle against his.

A curt nod. “What do you want to watch?”

“Something mindless.”

“Did Danica ever convince you to startAcademy of Ghosts?”

“Ugh, no. It’s constant teen drama, isn’t it?”

He grins. “Mindless. Just like you wanted.”

“Fine.” I navigate through his streaming service and pull up Season 1, Episode 1.

The opening theme song begins. It’s an atmospheric, late nineties rock ballad. Characters appear on the screen in the most dramatic poses possible.

“Dmitri, this is so cheesy.”

“The omelet or the show?” He’s holding out my plate.

“Both?” I say, taking the food. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He falls back into his spot on the couch as the pilot episode finally starts.

I eat my omelet and drink my beer. It shouldn’t be possible to feel this comfortable around Dmitri, not after the auction. And yet there’s no weirdness, no awkwardness. Nothing like there’d been when he and Danica helped me move out.

Maybe we can do this, go back to how things were.

I peek at him from the corner of my eye. He brings his beer bottle to his lips and takes a sip, his strong throat moving. How is a neck so sexy?

Nope. Stop looking at his neck.

And those strong hands. I remember what they looked like when he played with one of my nipples and Gage played with the other.

I shake my head, trying to clear away the incoming lust haze.

“Everything okay?” Dmitri asks.

“Uh, yeah.” Quick. Think of something that doesn’t have to do with his strong, capable fingers or the glorious cock hidden by his gray sweatpants. The show—I can talk about the show. “The headmistress is horrible, talking down to Katy like that.”

“Yeah, she’s a little too bad to be believable.” He takes a swig of his beer. “Cartoon villain. I guess that’s what makes it fun.”

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