Page 174 of Masters of Control

“She is, but not about this.” He shook his head. “Patrick and Lexie already gave me the ‘don’t sleep with her so things don’t get confused’ talk.”

“Oh, good,” Law chimed in. “With you pretending to be boyfriend and girlfriend, sex would likely only confuse things… at least while you’re away from the club, and there’s no one to help explain things to her if she gets the wrong idea.”

Ouch. That hurt, even though he knew Law didn’t mean it to. Asad tried not to take it personally. When it came to Morgan, pretty much all the Doms at the club were incredibly protective. Over-protective. It was no wonder she wanted to get away for a bit with someone who didn’t tiptoe around her. Asad wasn’t a bad Dom, but he wasn’t one of the Doms subbies in need went to. He wasn’t the kind of Dom anyone wanted to lean on, and he liked it that way.

A hot scene, a few orgasms, and a bit of aftercare, and he could send a happy subbie on their way. If they needed someone to coddle them, they could go to Connor or one of the other Service Doms or Daddy Doms. That wasn’t him.

And he was starting to think that was exactly what Morgan needed.

It wasn’t as if his reputation was unknown. That was why he called himself the Persian Excursion. He’d deliberately named himself as a ride, a short trip, not a place to settle down and stay.

“Did I just hear you say that Asad shouldn’t have sex with someone?”

All the men jumped as Iris opened the back door, coming out onto the porch, followed by Sam. They’d been so quiet, the men hadn’t heard them come in—and with the windows open for the warm air, they would have been able to hear everything that was being said.

“Hey, beautiful,” Law said, his expression mellowing. He reached out his arm, and Iris went to him, flipping her long brown hair off her shoulder as she settled onto his lap. Considering what a grump Law was, and how bright and sunny Iris was, it was amazing the two had managed to get together, but somehow, they fit perfectly.

“Move over,” Sam said to Q, making everyone laugh. He was taking up the entirety of a two-seat swing.

“As you wish,” he replied cheerfully, scooting over. He and Sam had an interesting relationship because they were both switches rather than Dom and sub. The power exchange between them was in constant flux. It looked like Sam was feeling a little bossier today, and Q was feeling a little more subbie.

“Oh my God, that feels good,” she said as she sat down with a huge sigh of relief.

Blonde and curvy, she and Q were pretty close to the same height, which made her a little taller than Asad. Not that it had stopped him from scening with her before she and Q had gotten together, though they’d never had sex. He’d never had sex with Iris, either. Thankfully. He was sure it would have been enjoyable, but not worth it now that they were dating his friends.

“I’d forgotten how exhausting shopping can be,” Sam said with a loud sigh.

Without a word, Q reached down to pull her legs onto his lap, turning her in the seat as he did so. Popping off her shoes, he started massaging her feet, and Sam groaned, leaning her head against the back of the seat.

“Hey,” Iris said, sitting up straight in Law’s lap and frowning down at him. “Why didn’t you offer me a foot massage?”

“Because I didn’t know you wanted one.” Rather than reaching for her feet, Law sat perfectly still, his gaze steady on Iris’ face as she pouted at him. After a moment, she huffed.

“Please, Sir, would you rub my feet?” She managed to make the request with complete sincerity, kicking her sandals off and lifting the feet in question up as she wriggled back to make the position more conducive to a foot rub. Asad and Connor exchanged an amused look as Law started to rub Iris’ feet.

A year ago, Asad would have said he didn’t think Law would ever let himself have another relationship, yet now here he was, happy and rubbing his submissive’s feet. Life could be strange that way. Was there a little ache of envy in Asad’s chest, watching his friends? Sure. But he also knew that wasn’t what he really wanted.

Having to be responsible for a girlfriend would be bad enough, but once he’d realized he was kinky… well, a submissive was a responsibility. No, thank you.

Connor was watching the two couples as well, his expression stoic, yet Asad was sure his friend was feeling the same yearning. Most likely even more so. Unlike Asad, Connor had no problem stating that he wanted a relationship. That was part of why he’d gone through the classes at Marquis. Once he’d realized he was kinky, he’d been hoping to meet someone he connected with.

“So, what’s this about Asad not having sex with someone? There aren’t that many subs who haven’t already hopped aboard the Persian Excursion,” Iris said, leaning her head against Law’s shoulder and smiling at Asad with true fondness. She found his nickname for himself particularly hilarious.

“Hey, you haven’t taken a ride yet… unless you want to ask Law for a threesome for your birthday?” He winked at her as Law snorted in derision.

Yeah, Law was not the sharing type.

Iris laughed delightedly, turning to look at her boyfriend.

“Oh, are threesomes on the table for birthday presents? I had no idea.” She grinned wickedly, poking Law in the side. “Maybe I need to get more creative with my wish list.”

“We’re talking about how Asad shouldn’t have sex with Morgan this week while they’re on their trip,” Law said, ignoring Iris’ teasing, which was really the only way to deter her most of the time. She was an epic brat and thrived on getting under Law’s skin.

“Shouldn’t that be Asad and Morgan’s decision?” Sam asked, frowning. “I’m pretty sure that’s not anyone else’s business.” Though her words were fairly mild, her tone wasn’t. Mistress Samantha was in the house—or on the back porch, in this case.

“Yes, but there’s also good reason for them not to,” Q said, not pausing in the foot rub as he countered her statement. “They’re going to be away from everyone and pretending to be a couple. Things get confusing. You can’t tell me that’s not the plot of at least a quarter of the romances you read. I know you love fake relationship romances.”

He raised his eyebrows at her, his fingers deftly stroking over the soles of her feet. Sam made a face at him, but didn’t argue.