Page 185 of Masters of Control

Turned out his parents did care what he was doing, as long as he wasn’t doing what he was ‘supposed’ to do, but it was already too late.

“I’m sorry,” Morgan said quietly.

“It turned out for the best. I ended up getting my GED, then going to MIT a semester earlier than I would have otherwise, and I’m very happy with where my life is now. It probably wouldn’t have gone that way if I’d stayed.” He’d spent the fall semester of his ‘senior’ year couch surfing between his friends’ houses and working in fast food before heading to MIT.

His parents had paid for his degree, likely guilt money on their part or maybe because they’d been afraid he wouldn’t get a degree at all after he’d dropped out of high school. There had been a moment when he’d thought about rejecting their money, but he’d gotten over that pretty quickly. At that point, he figured they owed him something, and he wasn’t so stupid as to start his life with a mountain of debt when he didn’t have to. Pride wasn’t one of his vices, at least not when it came to being financially stable.

“It’s still hard.” Morgan leaned over, resting her head against his shoulder while they sat at the red light.

Considering her family life, the fact she was now offering him comfort wasn’t lost on him. He leaned his head against hers, before lifting it again, acknowledging her compassion and desire to soothe him. Strangely… he actually did feel soothed. Or, at least, the edges of his emotions felt less raw as she focused on him. It didn’t feel like pity, coming from Morgan. She’d been through worse, so why would she pity him? But the sympathy was there, the acknowledgment that what he’d gone through had sucked, and that helped a lot.

He found he couldn’t stop talking. The words spilled out of him like they’d been bubbling under the surface for far too long, and now that he’d started, he couldn’t hold them back anymore.

“I still love them. I do want to fix things. But when I’m around them, it feels like I just kind of revert back to high school. I’m glad my mom and dad like you, and I’m annoyed that part of me still wants their approval. I’m even more annoyed that the approval comes from a relationship with someone else and not just… me. I don’t know how to change it.”

The light turned green, and Morgan lifted her head. They sat in silence for a few long moments before she finally responded.

“Maybe it’s not up to you to change it,” she said. “Maybe it’s up to your parents.”

Maybe.

But Asad still felt a little guilty. Even if it was, he wasn’t exactly making it easy on them.

It didn’t help his mood that now he had to go back to his hotel room and sleep in the same bed as a beautiful woman without touching her rather than losing himself in her body and fucking her until he could forget why they were there.

This week was going to suck.

Chapter Eight

Morgan

Asad’s bad mood was like a black cloud following them back to the hotel. He didn’t let go of her hand, though, and he seemed more relaxed after they’d talked, but the bad mood still lingered. At least, she thought it did. Since they rode the rest of the way in silence, she figured it was still there.

She knew of one sure-fire way to get any man out of a bad mood. She thought about trying to do it in the car, but she wasn’t sure how he would react. She also wasn’t brave enough to just reach over and undo his pants. She wasn’t really his girlfriend, and even though they’d scened together before, that had been at Stronghold in the known quantity of the club.

“Well, at least that’s the family dinner over with,” Asad joked as they got out of the car. It seemed as if he was shaking off his bad mood, or trying to, returning to the charming joker he normally was. “Now we just have the rest of the week.”

Morgan giggled because he seemed to expect it, though her heart hurt for him. She hadn’t expected anything like the admissions he’d made in the car. She couldn’t help picturing a little boy, desperate for his parents’ attention, and so hurt when he finally thought he was going to get it only to have them prioritize his brother yet again.

Morgan hadn’t had siblings, but sometimes, it had felt like she was competing with the son her father wished he’d had instead of her. At least she’d been able to hate that figment of her father’s imagination. She thought it must be worse for someone who loved their brother and still had to compete.

“Let me know if there’s anything you want me to do,” she said, meeting him behind the car. This time he didn’t take her hand, and she felt the loss. The connection.

She was feeling even antsier because, after that dinner, she felt as if more was riding on this week for Asad than she’d realized. She didn’t want to mess it up for him, and she needed something to calm her nerves—like a really good spanking or even better, a flogger or whip.

“You’re already doing it,” he said as they headed inside to the elevators. “You were perfect tonight. Trust me, my parents loved you, and that really is a good thing, even though I’m all up in my feels about it.”

This time, Morgan truly laughed when he winked at her, just because he sounded so silly using the slang.

“Okay, good.”

As they got into the elevator and headed up to their floor, she could feel her nerves starting to rise. She wanted to comfort Asad, and she wanted a scene, or at least a spanking and an orgasm, but she couldn’t tell if that was what he wanted. She was starting to second-guess herself based on how distant he seemed, as though he was lost in his own thoughts.

He wasn’t holding her hand anymore or looking at her, even though he said she’d done a good job. It was hard to feel as though that was true. Morgan didn’t know what to do or say, so she waited quietly next to him as the elevator came to a halt, then followed him to their room.

“I’m going to go get changed in the bathroom,” he said once they were inside. Heading to his suitcase, he scooped out what looked like pajama pants.

“Oh… okay.” Morgan’s hands fluttered at her side. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to say or do. That wasn’t what she’d expected him to say. Maybe he needed a minute or two of privacy after the dinner. But she hadn’t expected him to get changed in there… she’d thought they’d…