The Kool-Aid had to be laced with something. It was the only excuse I could think of as to why I wanted a key to her place. Claiming her as my girlfriend felt somewhat necessary, but this was something . . . else. I could lie to myself and say it was just so I could have access to her whenever I wanted, but that was pointless. Coming here to her place was stupid and dangerous, and I already knew I was going to do it again.
I ignored her stunned expression as I took the key from her ex’s hand. Ross went quickly after that, and the door shut with a bang.
The key dug into my hand as I closed my fist around it. “I know I said I wasn’t going to judge, but . . .”
Her shoulders pulled back as she braced for a comment.
“. . . I actually like the Kool-Aid.”
She exhaled and closed her eyes. “Did he even knock?”
“Sure didn’t.”
She shook her head. “He’s, like, completely unaware of anyone else. He didn’t used to be that way.”
“It’s too bad he didn’t show up thirty minutes ago when you were choking on my cock. He might have noticed that.”
Her eyes went completely white. “Oh my God.”
“Or maybe when we were fucking in front of the mirror. Would you have liked that, filthy girl? If he’d seen how hard I got you to come?”
I strolled to her, putting the glass I poured for her in her hand. In my other, the key burned.
“Is that what you would have liked?” she whispered. “Does my boyfriend want to rub it in my ex’s face?”
Instinct and logic wanted to push her away. She was Mr. Red’s daughter, and the lie I was keeping from her ate at me. I’d told her to trust me. No, fuck, I’d demanded it, even as I lied about who I was on the inside, although she’d definitely gotten a peek behind the curtain today. But as much as I knew I should back away, I wanted her too strongly.
I held out my hand and peeled back my fingers, both of us staring at the key, as I offered it to her. Maybe she’d take it and save me from this choice I’d made, which was probably a mistake.
She put her fingers over mine, closing my hand on the metal. “I thought I told you, Sir,” her voice was shaky, “I belong to you.”
Noemi had gotten her first taste of the wolf this afternoon, and it hadn’t sent her running. Perhaps she was attracted to the darkness in me.
Maybe someday I could show her more of it.
Choosing five clips to post back to her was surprisingly difficult, only because I felt like a kid in a candy store after the scene we’d done in her apartment. There was so much I wanted to watch her experience. So much I wanted us to enjoy together.
I sat behind my desk at the blindfold club, scrolling through the feed on Tumblr, trying not to think about the fact that Mr. Red had called and scheduled an extra visit with Claudia tonight. His standing appointment was typically Saturday. Was this because he was lonely? Fuck, don’t think about. I was already concerned about what to do when the actual event took place. It was her father. My girlfriend’s father. I was contemplating how fucked up it was when Payton appeared in the doorway.
“Hey,” she said, “Regan has a migraine, and asked me to fill in for her. Is that okay?”
Regan was one of my best sales assistants. Gorgeous, charming, yet slightly aloof, which proved to be a deadly combination for the johns’ wallets. She’d never once gotten on the table as the other sales assistants had. She lived for the thrill of negotiating and taking home lots of cash. Payton was better than most of the sales assistants, but she was also out of practice.
“Yeah, honey, that’s fine.” Although inside I grumbled about the money I’d potentially lose. “Thanks for helping out.”
She lingered in the doorway.
“And?” I asked.
“Dominic’s back from his business trip on Tuesday,” she said, then turned on her heel and marched away.
chapter
EIGHTEEN
NOEMI
It was crazy how quickly things escalated with Joseph. I didn’t know if there was a “honeymoon” phase of a Dom/sub relationship, but we were definitely experiencing some sort of high. Or maybe it would be like this all the time. Joseph would be quick to remind me that nothing lasted forever, good or bad.