Page 57 of Midnight Dissonance

“Do you have a license?” he asked, ignoring her diatribe.

“Of course. I just don’t have a car or insurance. We can go out tonight. But it might be simpler—”

“Pack a bag. I’ll take care of your transportation for work this week,” he ordered with an imperious glare.

She opened her mouth to argue. Because, really, she’d been getting herself to work on her own for years without anyone’s help. Did he really think because she was becoming quite addicted to him that she would simply roll over and let him take charge? She might be submissive, but it was in the bedroom only.

Josh cupped her nape, drawing her face near his. “It’s nonnegotiable, so you might as well save your breath because it won’t do you any good.”

And then he planted a soul-devouring kiss on her that spun her head and made her feel punch drunk. Every thought, each argument she’d formulated, slid right out of her consciousness. It didn’t help that her brain melted under the deft, sure strokes of his tongue in her mouth.

He finally released her and murmured, “Pick you up at five. Be ready with a bag of your things.”

“Okay,” she replied with a grin, caving to his demands. There was no point in fighting him.

When she emerged from his Mercedes, she was unsteady. But it was all Josh’s fault, kissing her brainless like that before she had to go and walk.

She waved him off when she got inside and locked the door behind her. Her boss’s wife was already there.

“Hey Lexi, who’s the guy?” Sarah asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Um, just someone I started seeing. Which I guess makes him my boyfriend.” But that was too tame a word for him. There was nothing boyish about him.

He was the finest Dom she’d ever known. He had quickly inserted himself into her life. And she wondered if she had done the scene with him that night at the club if their relationship would have begun that much sooner.

He talked about their relationship as if it were inevitable that she would move in with him. He wanted to collar her.

And if, by the end of her club suspension, they were still chugging along, she would accept his collar. She pressed a hand against her belly to stop the riot of emotions tumbling through her.

She lifted her hand to her neck, wondering what it would feel like to wear the proof of his ownership every day. Then she had no more time for pondering life with Josh while she and Sarah readied the café to open.

And from the moment Sarah turned the open sign on and unlocked the front door, they were swamped. It was Sunday, but they had the before-church crowd, followed by the people who didn’t attend church. Then there was the after-church crowd and Sunday brunchers.

By the time she finished her shift at two, her feet ached. But she was filled with an air of excitement because she’d be seeing Josh again in a few hours. And because she felt on top of the world, she splurged on an Uber ride home instead of standing out in the cold and waiting for the bus.

The moment she was dropped off in front of her sister’s house, she grimaced. It was funny how much she enjoyed being away from this house. For all appearances, the sedate blue house was charming, if a bit cookie-cutter. But two nights away with Josh and this place just felt toxic.

She was already preparing herself mentally as she strode up the walkway and unlocked the door. Inside, there was a fire in the fireplace in deference to the chill outside. Which meant her sister was home. Unbuttoning her coat, she hung it up on a hook by the door. She figured she would take a brief shower and then get the stuff she wanted packed.

She headed for her room, wondering if she could get in and out without her sister noticing. It happened more often than not because her sister didn’t really care one way or the other if she was here.

She hotfooted it to her room, wasting no time once she reached it. She hopped in the shower, thankful she had her own bathroom attached to her bedroom.

Then she made herself look presentable with makeup, styled her hair, and dressed in a denim skirt, boots, and a low-cut top she had a feeling Josh would like. What had he done to her? She never dressed with a guy in mind. Even when she dated Travis or any of the other boys.

And it struck her as she packed up her makeup what set Josh apart from all the others, or at least one of the reasons. He was a man comfortable in his own skin and confident in who he was—a Dominant man who enjoyed kinky sex and made no bones about it.

Back in her bedroom, she packed two weeks’ worth of panties. They were something she splurged on. She liked wearing sexy underwear. It made her feel naughty, like she had a secret underneath her clothes that only a select few ever got to see. And she grabbed a few of the kinkier outfits she wore to the club. If she was going to be staying with him, maybe one night she could surprise him with dinner and a show.

She gathered everything she might need for the week, including her outfit for her band’s show Friday night.

Once she had everything she thought she would need, she hefted the duffel, which weighed a ton, and left her bedroom, flipping the light off. She carried the duffel to the front door.

“Haven’t seen you around all weekend,” Lisa said from the kitchen.

She stood at the counter chopping vegetables. Lisa meal prepped every Sunday like clockwork. If she ever became that boring and predictable, put her out of her misery.

“I’ve been busy.” She shrugged and continued her trek to the front door. She laid the duffel beneath the coat rack.

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