“You might be right,” she admitted. “I’m not sure if taking time off right now would be relaxing or stress me out even more but I’ll think about it.”
“You better mean it. Anything is better than burning out. Go home and see if you can come up with something to do for three or four days and we’ll talk about it tomorrow,” Iris suggested. Daphne opened her mouth to tell Iris not to get her hopes up but was cut off. “We’re between projects until you can create something you feel good about. There’s no reason you can’t give yourself a long weekend. And I’ll tell Addie. She might be a little distracted at the moment with Sutton but she’ll kick you out and send you away for weeks if I tell her you’re in danger.”
This wasn’t an idle threat. Daphne sent Addie to a resort for rest and therapy after her crisis. It was the best decision Daphne had ever made.
“I promise, we’re not there yet but I’ll see if I can come up with something.” She kissed Iris on the cheek and gave her another squeeze before they parted.
Daphne pondered Iris’s warning during the short ride home. She lived in a remodeled firehouse just a few blocks away from the office. Normally, that would have been all the effort Daphne would have given the matter but Iris’s words hit home a lot harder than she probably expected.
Because this time, it was about Addie.
While it was an understatement to say that Daphne was euphorically happy for Addie, she was also a little jealous. Not of Addie, but of Sutton. He was Addie’s best friend now and had taken responsibility for her health and happiness. He was a wonderful man and Addie had never been happier but Daphne missed the way they took care of and confided in each otherfirst.
She felt like the worst sister in the world and like the biggest brat ever so Daphne told herself to shut up and get back to work whenever she felt sorry for herself. Addie deserved a man just like Sutton and it was no one’s fault but Daphne’s if she was lonely.
The ReginaLingus had been a godsend because Daphne could take a break when she needed a release and human contact without complications. She usually broke things off with men as soon as there were grumbles about how much she worked or her lack of interest in starting a family. But Daphne didn’t even have a friend she could text for a booty call and that was pretty dire for a person her age in a city like LA. She was almost thirty and had a list of exes a mile long. While nearly all of her relationships ended on good terms, most of Daphne’s exes had moved on or moved away.
All in all, Daphne liked the lack of drama the club offered but it would have been nice to havesomeoneon a night like this. Her shoulders were tight and pinched as she dragged herself through her front door and dropped her bag on the white marble island in the kitchen. The first floor had been converted into one large living space with the long, wide island as the focal point. A custom-built light fixture served as a rack for one-hundred wine glasses because Daphne and Addie often hosted parties there but the firehouse felt empty and cold when it was just Daphne.
There were no noodles or sexy massages. Just cold pizza and champagne.
Daphne stepped out of her heels and asked herself if she’d change all that much. There were far worse things than eating cold pizza and drinking champagne by yourself, all things considered. She just wished she had someone she could eat cold pizza and get off in the tub with now and then. They could have kindly told her to get over herself and be happy for Addie after letting Daphne vent about being stuck and jealous of Sutton.
Would she have been this moody about Addie, Sutton, and the next collection if Daphne hadn’t gone so many weeks since her last visit to the club?
First, Daphne would have to addresswhyshe was avoiding the club.
Daphne winced into her glass as she remember her last encounter with the boy with the dragon tattoos.
He was her favorite consort and she’d almost crossed the line with him. She used work as an excuse to stay away until she could trust herself but Daphne was still mortified when she thought about it.
In the beginning, she was drawn to him because sheknewhim. She took a peek behind his curtain on her way to her boudoir and something about his…general presence was familiar. Then, she admired the way his back arched as another queen fucked him with a strap-on. Daphne came back at the same time the following week and looked on for a moment while he worshipped a trans queen’s cock.
Daphne became mildly obsessed with him after that. She adored the way he submitted to his queens and she coveted his devotion. It was in the way his eyelids fanned across the bits of his cheeks she could see through the holes in his mask and his sobs of ecstasy as he clawed at the mat. Daphne couldn’t hear them through the thick plexiglass but shefeltthem and wanted to touch herself every time she thought about him.
She felt a charge the first time she entered his chamber there was no going back after that. Like Sutton, Daphne’s consort was into just about everything with everyone, as indicated on the plaque by his door. Rough play and pegging were at the top of his “likes” so Daphne started with those. Unless she was tired or feeling raw and in the mood for something a little more soothing. He always understood her needs and left Daphne feeling cherished and balanced when she left his chamber.
Just like Addie, Daphne had fallen for her consort but she had almost violated his consent. Instead of discreetly whispering her number, Daphne almost ripped off his mask, she was so desperate to knowwhohe was. She couldn’t put her finger on how but she recognized her sweet, soft consort and she needed to know his name as he devastated her with his lips and his tongue. He was gentle yet deliberately sensual and he utterly wrecked Daphne. He lapped at her clit and made the sexiest sounds as he sucked his cum from the lips of her pussy.
Soft, sensitive, vulnerable men were off-limits outside of the club because Daphne could fall in love with a man like that. But she could have used an hour or two with the boy with the dragon tattoos tonight.
He wasn’t exactly a boy, though. He was tall and lean and his chest, stomach, and thighs were covered with a light dusting of warm brown hair. She put his age in the mid to late-twenties but there was something reassuring and and soothing about his strength. He wasn’t capable of being dominant but Daphne shivered as she recalled his strong, nurturing hands. Daphne didn’t enjoy the club’s thrones and preferred to sit directly on her consort’s face. She loved the feel of his hands on her ass and thighs as he supported her and the way he held onto her after she came, clinging untilshewas ready to sever their connection.
When Daphne was by herself she imagined riding him until he came inside her, then sitting on his face while he sucked his cum from her pussy and licked her clean. She could have done that at the ReginaLingus but Daphne didn’t think she could be that close to his face without ripping off his mask and kissing him.
“Oof! I have got to do something about this.”
Daphne dropped her half-eaten slice of pizza back in the box and headed for the stairs with the champagne bottle. She’d finish her sad dinner after she got off a few times.
“I have a feeling I’ll still be moody, though. I love my Hitachi wand but I miss him. And I’ll still miss Addie and I’ll still be stuck.”
ChapterTwo
“Here’s your chai latte, Hayley.”
It was the sixth chai latte and the third Hayley of the morning and Silas Mills had her latte ready before Hayley #3 asked for it. He had spottedthisHayley as she crossed the street and hurried because he needed her out of the coffee shop or he wouldn’t be able to make his move.
“You’re a sweetheart, Silas!” Her pillowy lips pushed out as she made a loud kissing sound. “I’m free after class if you want to ask me out.”