Page 141 of Masters of Control

They’d even had phone sex once during the week.

“Are you planning to do anything for Valentine’s Day?”

The big day was barely a week away, and Freddy was at a bit of a loss.

“She hasn’t said anything about it. I made a reservation at Marquis since those are filling up. She has a lot on her plate right now, so I don’t know if she’s up for planning everything. I figured I’d have that as a backup in case she wants to do something… but I don’t know if she will.”

“Maybe she’s not a Valentine’s Day person.” Lexie shrugged and rolled her eyes. “You know Patrick isn’t, which is why we have the party at Stronghold rather than going out on a date. A fancy date at an overly crowded restaurant is basically his worst nightmare.”

“It wouldn’t be my favorite way to celebrate, either, but I do like the idea of doing something. It’s a good excuse to have some extra fun. Marquis’ stage room can only hold so many people… or we could just spend the whole night in the hotel room.”

“That does sound nice.”

“But not something you want to do.”

“Not something I want to do. I’d prefer to throw the party and run around all night, making Patrick chase me until he catches me, then has his wicked way with me.”

Both of them laughed—and laughed even harder when their server swung by their table a moment later to check on them. He probably hadn’t heard anything, but… no guarantees. Covering up her giggles, Lexie made a Herculean effort to get herself under control after the server left.

“Aaaaaaaanyway,” she said once she’d stopped laughing. Freddy grinned, his mirth still barely restrained. “Did you hear the latest about Master Asad? Apparently, he’s looking for someone to be his date to his brother’s wedding and is having a bit of trouble.”

“Really? I would figure most of the subs at the club would jump at that chance.”

“Well, it’s up in Pittsburgh, so they’d have to travel and spend the week with him. Even though he’s looking for a fake date, he’s a little wary of the submissives who are interested in going, seeing as it’s a whole week. I don’t think it helped that Tracey mentioned to him that fake-dating romances where the couple ends up realizing their true feelings for each other are a thing.”

“Does he think commitment is catching or something?” Freddy didn’t bother to hide his amusement.

“I think he’s more worried about hurting anyone’s feelings, but also about ulterior motives. He asked Patrick to help him pick, figuring Patrick knows best who would make a good fake girlfriend without getting attached. I have an idea, but I wanted to run it by you.”

“If you try to play matchmaker, someone’s probably going to get hurt,” he said warningly. “Master Asad is definitely not interested in a relationship. I’m pretty sure he’s allergic to them.”

“Not wanting a relationship isn’t the problem.” Lexie took a deep breath. “I think he should take Morgan as his date. No, don’t say no right away without hearing me out.”

Since that was exactly what Freddy had been about to do, he clenched his jaw and nodded. He trusted Lexie. She knew Morgan’s full backstory. They were two of the few submissives who did, though Morgan had gotten more comfortable talking with others about it. Freddy sometimes wondered if he really knew all of it. Occasionally, Morgan still seemed like she was holding back.

Sending her in as Master Asad’s fake girlfriend sounded like a recipe for disaster.

“Alright. Convince me.” He might not agree, but he’d hear her out, then tell her why she was wrong.

“Morgan needs to get away from Stronghold for a bit. Everyone wants to protect her, which is admirable, but she’s getting better and starting to chafe at having everyone making her decisions for her.” Lexie gave him a half smile. “She’s not a twenty-four-seven submissive, even though she was forced to live like that for a while. She’s starting to really come into her own, but I think she needs some time away from the club and away from all the Doms she looks up to.”

“Okay, you’re not wrong there.” Freddy sighed. “I think a change of scenery could do Morgan some good, especially since I think you’re right about her wanting to spread her wings. She won’t say so because she doesn’t want to hurt any of the Doms feelings when they’ve been so good about taking care of her… but the baby bird is getting closer to wanting to leave the nest. But why Asad’s date to a wedding? Why not take her on a girl’s trip or something?”

“Because Asad needs it. This isn’t just someone deciding she should get out and spread her wings. He’s someone with a need she can fulfill. Helping him out will do more for her self-confidence than a girls’ trip would, and that’s if she even wanted to go. Her group of friends and my group of friends don’t really interact that much.”

Good point.

“Fuck.” Freddy ran his hand through his hair. “Okay, I can see it. That’s why she moved in with Master Brian, because he had a real need. It wasn’t just a whim.”

“Morgan wants to give back. She wants to help, and she gets so few opportunities to do so. I think this would accomplish multiple things. She’d get to help out a Dom, she’d get away from Stronghold and Brian’s house for a week, and she’d get to go where no one other than Asad knows her backstory. They’d be meeting her for the first time. She could be whoever she wants to be.”

“Fuuuuck.” He dragged out the word. “I hate how much sense you’re making right now.”

Lexie laughed.

“That’s almost word for word what Patrick said. Then he said I should talk to you and get your opinion, since you’re pretty close with her.”

“I won’t lie and say I’m not worried. If she started to develop feelings for Asad, that could go horribly wrong, but… it feels like there’s a lot of good that could come from this for her.”