When you end your day, respond to this message and let me know how it went. Let me take that burden from you. Then we will talk about an arrangement that would be beneficial for both of us.
-Sir.
It took only an hour to move my things from my cubicle upstairs. Micah stayed by my side the entire time, which helped because Stan was furious. He showed up halfway through, ready to make a scene, but Micah intercepted him before he could get a word out.
Technically, Micah still reported to Stan, but that didn’t mean Stan liked him. Micah’s team had outperformed Stan’s for months, and everyone knew it. It told everyone a lot when Mr. Hale went straight to Micah and skipped Stan entirely.
Stan had been the only one surprised I hadn’t been fired. Everyone else leaned into the “semi-promotion,” chalking it up to me saving the company, even if I’d done it the wrong way. I just wasn’t sure this felt like a reward.
An hour before I was scheduled to leave, Reid had dropped a stack of folders on my desk that had to have been a foot tall with instructions to go over everything like I had with the last one. He and Cross left for the day while I’d spent the next three hours skimming what I could and making a plan for the following day.
I should have asked when he needed it by, but when he leaned over me, with that strong leather and sandalwood scent of his, I couldn’t find my words.
Now I sat down across from Micah in his and Noah’s apartment, looking out across Seattle. Micah handed me a glass of wine and sat on the other side of the couch.
“You going to tell me what’s going on?” he asked. “Noah’s got the graveyard shift at the hospital tonight, so spill.”
“How much do you know about Sanctum?”
“The club?” He shrugged. “Noah and I have been members for a couple years. We try to go once a month.”
“The back rooms?” I pursed my lips together, my face heating.
He smiled and cocked his head. “We’ve walked through the gallery before. There’s themed rooms upstairs as well. Why do you ask?”
I reached down and pulled out the card Sir had given me Friday. “I ran into someone in the gallery.”
He took the card from me. “The gallery is members only or with guests, which you weren’t.”
“I know, another case of being somewhere I’m not supposed to be.” I sighed. “You’re into the whole kink thing?” The question slipped out before I could stop it.
Micah flipped the card over, studying it, then handed it back to me. “It’s not athing. And not something you get into lightly.”
“But… what if I’m curious?”
Micah leaned back, swirling the wine in his glass like he needed a moment to gather his thoughts. “Curious is one thing, love. Acting on it is another. You don’t dip a toe in and hope for the best. Not in this world.”
I traced the edge of the card. “He said…”
I stopped, heat rushing into my cheeks. God, how did I even explain it?
Sir is fine for now. I will call you Pet or Little one.
The words burned like a brand.
Micah’s eyes narrowed. “He said what?”
“Nothing,” I deflected too quickly.
Micah wasn’t buying it. He set his glass down, leaning forward. “Mira, I love you, and I’m the last person to tell you to turn your back on something you’re curious about. That was why we took you. Get you out of your head, try something new.”
“He wants to train me.”
He bit his bottom lip. “As a submissive?”
I turned the card over in my hand. “I?—”
Micah took my hand in his. “Okay, a few things.”
