Page 200 of Masters of Control

Morgan made a mental note to bring up her discomfort during her appointment with Mistress Julie tomorrow. She had a feeling the therapist would want to unpack that instinct. It was a good thing she was discovering these things with Asad. She would feel awful if he was her real boyfriend, but since he was just her fake boyfriend and secret lover, it didn’t feel like as big a deal that she clearly still had some things to work through.

Doing her nightly routine helped get her into a better frame of mind—the mind of someone who didn’t think it was weird to sleep in the bed with their lover. This was good practice, and that was exactly what Asad was supposed to be. Her fake practice boyfriend.

Squaring her shoulders, Morgan looked at herself in the mirror. She hadn’t put any clothes on—it seemed pointless, and she was always most comfortable in her own skin, anyway. Well, she was wearing her bonnet, but that was it. Looking at the welts across her breasts and turning to see the lines across her ass made her feel a little better.

She couldn’t say why it comforted her to see those marks; she just knew that it did. Maybe one day she and Mistress Julie could work through why, but so far, there had been a lot of other important topics to focus on during their sessions.

Lifting her chin, she headed back out the door into the hotel room—where she was going to sleep in the bed with Asad. Although she hoped she didn’t end up wrapped around him again in the middle of the night. She didn’t want him to get the wrong idea, especially since they were having sex now.

Especially since everyone else seemed to think she would get the wrong idea if she had sex with him this week. If he thought she was getting attached or emotionally involved, he would probably cut off the orgasms. So, no extra cuddling. Just a practice relationship and real orgasms.

Asad was laying in the bed on his back, his hands behind his head, propping it up along with his pillow. He opened one eye as she walked back into the room, then the other, his gaze traveling over her body with admiration.

“I have to admit, I like that look,” he said, grinning. “There’s something about the silky head thing and no clothes that is very appealing.”

Giggling, Morgan got into the bed. It did feel weird, but she pushed those feelings away. That was half the point of this fake relationship—getting to practice so when she had a real relationship, she knew what to do and was used to things like this. Settling onto her side of the bed, she tried to push away the uncomfortable feelings and just relax.

Turning onto his side, Asad stroked her bonnet after she’d pulled the sheets up over herself. There really was an intimacy to being in bed together, doing nothing. No wonder Master Richard hadn’t wanted it.

“So, why do you wear this?” he asked.

“It’s called a bonnet. Naomi introduced me to them.” She reached up to touch it. “It helps keep my curls from getting frizzy or wild while I’m sleeping.” Curly hair was a pain in the butt, and Naomi’s hair was far curlier than hers. She’d never known about bonnets until Naomi, and they had made her life and morning routine a lot easier.

“Huh. Well, it’s cute.” Asad looked at her. She looked at him.

Awkward.

She didn’t know what to do. It didn’t seem like he really did, either. Maybe because he didn’t normally do sleepovers with his lovers. That actually seemed very likely and made her feel better. She wasn’t the only one out of her depth. Sure, Asad’s reasons for not sleeping with the people he had sex with were different from hers, but it was something they had in common.

Yawning, she stretched and smiled up at him.

“It was a nice day, thank you,” she said. “Good night.”

The expression on his face made her giggle, then his lips quirked into a smile. He shook his head at her.

“Good night.”

Pulling away, he turned over to turn off the light. Snuggling down into the sheets, Morgan was very aware of the large, hot body on the other side of the bed. She wondered if he was naked as well or if he’d put something on while she was in the bathroom. She couldn’t exactly reach over to find out.

Yawning again, she closed her eyes. The soreness of her body, the cool sheets against the warm welts, and the satisfaction of having her needs satisfied lulled her off to sleep in record time. In her dreams, she moved across a great expanse to snuggle up against a hot man who curled his arms around her and held her tight.

Chapter Fourteen

Morgan

“I keep cuddling Asad in my sleep. I don’t mean to. It just keeps happening. He called it ‘cuddle migrating’ this morning.” Morgan stared glumly at the computer screen where Mistress Julie stared back at her.

“Did he seem upset?”

“No, but…” Morgan couldn’t quite put her finger on what bothered her about it. It had been a good morning. She’d woken up wrapped around Asad again. He’d chuckled and patted her hand, which she’d quickly removed from his body before he got up.

He’d been fine.

She’d been disturbed.

Mostly because she couldn’t figure out why she kept doing it and why she didn’t wake up once she did.

“Are you upset?”