Page 176 of Masters of Pleasure
“Ugh, well, if you’re going to make me feel guilty…”
“No!”Iris dropped her e-reader onto her lap, holding up her hands and shaking her head.“I swear, I mean it.Don’t feel guilty.You and Tyler should go out.Have a good night.I didn’t mean that to sound accusatory.”
“Okay.As long as you’re okay with it.”Noelle eyed her.
“Yup.I’m good.”Iris picked her e-reader up again and held it up.“Gonna finish reading my book and have a nice chill night.”
“Okay, cool.”Noelle grinned at her.“Don’t wait up for me.”
Iris snickered.
“Have lots of filthy make-up sex!”she called as Noelle closed the door behind her.She heard Noelle laugh on the other side.
Grinning, Iris snuggled back against her headboard and started reading again.Having a night to herself wasn’t the worst thing in the world.
Law
Being at Stronghold felt… odd.He’d thought not having Iris there to watch over would be freeing, but instead, he was at loose ends.
Worse, he didn’t even want to try to scene with anyone else, even though he could.
The realization grated.
He was looking forward to going to Marquis with Iris next week, probably more than he should be, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t scene with someone else tonight.Heshouldscene with someone else tonight, if only to work off some of his built-up tension.
He didn’t want to.
He also didn’t want to sit alone at the bar, which was never a good spot for him, so he decided to do the rounds, even though he wasn’t on Dungeon Monitor duty tonight.It was sad to realize he didn’t know what else to do with himself.
Walking through the upstairs, he slowed as he looked through the open windows.Some scenes had spectators, some didn’t.Friday night was always busy, though Saturday was the busiest, as was true at most places for socializing.As he passed by one of the Dungeon Monitors, he nodded his greeting before moving on and heading to the Dungeon on the lowest floor.
There were a lot more people in the Dungeon since it was mostly open space and had a lot more room to play, though there were three private rooms.The private rooms at Marquis were a lotmoreprivate, though, since they were set up like hotel rooms, albeit with security for the occupants that normal hotels didn’t have.
“Hi, Master Law.”Two of the submissives he passed as he headed back to the main floor broke out in giggles when they greeted him.Inwardly, Law sighed as he nodded to them.Why the subs got such joy out of the nickname they’d given him, he didn’t know.Maybe because they felt as though they were getting away with something since he’d been the one to cave and give in on the nickname rather than continuing to fight what had clearly been a losing battle.
“Tori, Vicky.”He kept moving after greeting them.While he’d scened with both, he still wasn’t feeling the urge any more than when he first came in.
Walking into the main room, he looked around.No sign of Asad or Connor.He didn’t see Q, either.As he was about to head out, a flash of red caught his eye on the far side of the room.There was only one submissive with that color hair and that much of it.Automatically, he turned his head to see who Morgan was talking to.If watching out for Iris over the past month was his responsibility, watching over Morgan’s wasallthe Dominants’ responsibility.
Interestingly, it looked like she was arguing with Brian.Arms crossed over her chest, chewing on her lower lip… arguing but uncertain.While Law knew Brian was a good Dom, he still veered over to see what was going on.
“I don’t want anyone to hate me,” Morgan was saying as he approached.
“No one is going to hate you.”
Law’s eyebrows shot up.
“Why would they hate you?”he asked, coming up alongside them.Both turned to him with expectant expressions, which made him want to step back.He’d been ready to intervene, but he hadn’t expected to be welcomed.
“Morgan’s roommate is moving out, and she can’t afford her apartment on her own.I think she should move in with me,” Brian explained.
“Um…” Of all the things he might have guessed they were talking about, that hadn’t been on his list, and he didn’t really know how to respond.
“Half the subs here already hate me.I don’t want everyone to hate me.”Morgan blinked, tears filling her hazel eyes.
“They don’t hate you.They just don’t know how to relate to you,” Brian said soothingly.“You’ve made some friends.”
She had.Morgan’s social skills had gotten much better, although she still tended toward an almost abrasive bluntness and struggled with misconceptions she had about kink and people.However, she had been the object of envy from some of the other Stronghold subs, thanks to the special treatment and attention she received from the Dominants.
