Page 43 of S is for…

He felt stupid, standing alone in the parking lot, but he didn’t go in.Not yet.He was hesitant, gun-shy after last week.He and Diann had cleared the air, he’d apologized, and that was followed up by the punishment.Emotionally, he should be done with what happened last week, but Peter found he was uncharacteristically hesitant.

It had taken him a long time to find his footing again as a Dom after Diann ended their Master-sub relationship, and once again the ground beneath him felt shaky.

There was only one thing he could do now.

Research.

Taking the folded stack of paper from his pocket, Peter leaned back against the car and set out to study Delaney’s checklist.

Chapter12

Peter and Laney

Disappointment and deja vu—ormaybe this feeling was better described as deja vu-induced disappointment—slowed Laney’s steps as she approached the Constellation Court playroom.

Laney had to take a few breaths and brace herself before stepping through the door of the Aquila room for the second time in as many weeks.

Once she was inside, the sense of repetition ended, the deja-vu cut off abruptly in a sensation there was probably a term for, though Laney didn’t know it.

The house lights weren’t on tonight, leaving the room awash in gold, pink, and pale blue light.It reminded her of dawn.

Above, the navy ceiling was studded with pinpricks of white light that replicated the constellation the room was named for.Because she’d googled each of the constellations represented in the club, she knew that in reality the stars of Aquila—the eagle in Greek mythology—formed a T in the sky.Here though, the club designers had added additional lights, creating an outline of an eagle in flight around the core stars of the actual constellation.

She couldn’t see the gymnastics horse, metal frames, or St.Andrew’s cross.Maybe they’d been removed, though that seemed like too much work.They were probably hidden in the shadows and dark corners.

A comfortable-looking seating arrangement in one corner was illuminated with a mix of blue and gold light.There was a love seat—similar to the ones in the courtyard, with a heavy wood frame and weatherproof fabric cushions.A wing-backed chair was positioned kitty-corner to the small couch, with a leather ottoman serving as a coffee table.

Or maybe she should call it a tea table, because there was a large tray on the ottoman bearing a teapot and teacups.Laney stared at the tea, surprised to the point of confusion.

“Hello, Delaney.”

She whipped around, watching as a man emerged from the shadows.

Peter, not Master Morton.

The lingering disappointment and faint dread evaporated.Same room, but not the same Dom.

When she heard the summons, she’d worried she was being called by Master Morton, and that he’d want to redo their scene from last weekend and improve upon it.Prove he could do it right and better.

She wasn’t so traumatized by last weekend that she rejected the idea of rope play.A good suspension scene was usually very fulfilling, but tonight she wanted both someone different and something different.

Remembering what Diann had said about her scene with her ex-Master, tonight was probably going to be very, very different from what she’d done with Master Morton.

Laney shivered while her emotions bounced around like ping-pong balls, to the point she didn’t know if what she was feeling was anticipation or anxiety.She should probably be worrying what Peter was going to do to her, but…

Her gaze slid back to the tea service.

“There’s tea.”For once she actually said what she was thinking.

“I can get coffee, if you’re a coffee person,” Peter said.

“No, I love tea.I’m just…surprised.”

“Shall we?”Peter gestured towards the seating.

Feeling off balance, Laney took a seat.

“It’s Lady Gray.”Peter sat on the edge of the armchair, then bent forward, reaching for the tray.His long-sleeved black t-shirt pulled tight over his shoulder and arm muscles.“I don’t recommend sugar with this tea, though I have it, but a bit of milk can be nice.”

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