Page 15 of Mastered By Lust

Leah gives me a pensive look. She’s considering my request. I hold my breath, waiting. All is quiet save the soft hum of the refrigerator in the kitchen, the quiet, hopeful thuds of my heartbeat.

“I want to pay rent,” she says in a rush. Before I can argue, she adds, “I can’t afford what I ought to pay for a place like this. But I don’t want to be, like, a sugar baby.”

“That was never my intention.” Although I would love nothing more than to spoil her silly. “How much do you think is fair?”

“I’ll give you double what I would have paid at the house I visited today. They didn’t want much because I would’ve been sharing a bedroom with one of the roommates.”

“And you won’t be sharing a bedroom with me?”

Her cheeks pinken. “Not officially, no. I…I want my own room sometimes. You’re intense, and I just got out of a bad relationship, and sometimes I might need space.”

“I’m intense. Interesting.” I touch the tip of her chin, tilting her face toward mine.

“Yes. Also, I like waking up to sunlight, not the cavern of eternal darkness vibes you have going on in your bedroom.”

I can’t help but laugh. “Understood.”

She stands on her tiptoes and kisses my cheek before whirling away. While she types something on her phone, I touch my face where her lips pressed. She is a force of light and laughter, and I’m certain I don’t deserve her.

“There.” She holds up her phone. “I turned down the housing offer. I’m staying here. We should hash out a rental agreement.”

“You’re my girlfriend. You don’t need a rental agreement.”

Her blush is deeper this time. I think she’s pleased that I called her my girlfriend.

Although “girlfriend” sounds too juvenile for what I feel. I’m two years from turning forty. I’d rather see her as a partner. But that sounds too much like a business arrangement. Betty and Margot are my partners.

Leah is simply…mine. My little girl.

Thinking of her that way makes my cock flex in interest. Do I want to take on adaddyrole?

I might.

Later, perhaps. She’s new to kink. I don’t want to frighten her off with this errant thought. I’ll consider it silently, in my own mind, and let our relationship develop naturally. I can wait to see how she responds to different cues. Already, she accepts the diminutive pet names. She loves praise.

“Gage?” Her voice is hesitant. “Are you okay?”

I refocus on her, on returning to the present moment. “I’m great. But I’ll be even better if you’re writhing on my fingers, baby girl.”

5

Leah

Have you talked to Danica?

Dmitri’s text sends a flare of guilt through me. Shit. I haven’t talked to her yet. I meant to text her on Monday, but it’s already Friday. I’m a horrible friend.

No. I’ll text her now.

She’s at work, but it’s probably slow.

Danica works at an ice cream shop here in Dorado Heights. Mostly she manages accounting, but she also works at the counter on busy days. I pile on the make-up needed to hide my bruises. They’ve faded and turned yellow, but I still want to hide them.

Gage arranged for me to have my own space in the private parking garage. My old sedan looks grossly out of place among the luxury vehicles. I stop short when I realize I don’t need to drive. I’ve never lived in Dorado Heights before. I’ve always needed to drive downtown from wherever else I was staying. Today, I can walk right out and find Isabelle’s Creamery a couple of blocks away.

Danica is standing at the counter when I walk in. She laughs with a coworker who wears her dark blond hair in braided pigtails. Danica’s lighter blond hair is up in a high ponytail, emphasizing her killer cheekbones. If she weren’t so short, she could’ve been a runway model.

“Leah!” Danica says. “Hey! This is my boss, Isabelle.”

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