Page 214 of Masters of Control

“Okay.” Nodding, Cyrus loosened his grip on Asad’s shirt. “I know Mom and Dad didn’t really treat you fairly, especially when it came to showing up for you. I just don’t want you to resent me.”

“I don’t.” At least, he didn’t mean to. It wasn’t Cyrus’ fault he’d been sick or that their parents had focused on him above all else. It was a relief to hear his brother say their parents favored him, confirmation that it hadn’t all been in his head. Cyrus saw it, too. “Okay maybe that’s not entirely true, but I know it’s not your fault.”

He didn’t really know whose fault it was. His parents had been in a shit position. Sure, they eventually were making the choice to continue prioritizing Cyrus, even after he was better, but at the same time… Asad got it. They hadn’t known he would have a future. Seeing Cyrus have one had been miraculous. Asad just wished there had been room for him as well.

That wasn’t Cyrus’ fault—it really wasn’t—and hearing him address the elephant in the room made Asad feel a lot better than he would have thought.

He did want to be in Cyrus’ life more. He wanted them to be brothers in every sense of the word. His brother was now a fully-fledged adult, getting married, and in a lot of ways, Asad didn’t even know him.

Well, they could fix that now.

“So,” he drawled. “Let’s bond. What should we talk about?” Truthfully, he didn’t really know. He and his guy friends tended to talk about kink and the people they knew. That’s what they bonded over. They all liked the same kind of movies and doing nerdy shit like the Renaissance Fair, but his brother had always been more of a sports guy.

He wasn’t actually sure what they had in common. Which backed up Cyrus’ point. But it was okay.

They could start now.

Morgan

Friday evening… the second to last evening of her week being Asad’s fake girlfriend, and she wasn’t even getting to spend it with him. Which shouldn’t matter because he was her fake boyfriend, not her real one, yet…

Her phone buzzed, and she glanced at it. A text from Master Patrick.

Master Patrick: Just wanted to check in and see how the week is going. We’re looking forward to having you back in the club next week. You’ve been missed.

A strange tightness smacked her right in the chest. She hadn’t texted him to check in because she’d been mad about hearing that her activities for the week had been curtailed. Truthfully, she’d expected the text from him earlier in the week, then she’d been so distracted by all the activities, she’d forgotten to look for them. Besides, her friends had been checking in regularly, and she’d been lying to them about having sex with Asad, so she’d figured it was probably trickling back through the Stronghold and Marquis grapevine.

Doing great. I miss the club, too. It’s nice to be away for a while and do something different, though.

She wanted to confront him about the ‘no sex’ edict and the lack of communication with her, but that was better done in person than over the phone, especially over text message. Besides, it would be rude, considering she was being included in one of the more intimate events of the week. She wasn’t entirely sure why she’d been invited to this other than her dubious position as “Asad’s girlfriend.” Everyone else was one of Anna’s bridesmaids or family.

Anna, Anna’s sister, Anna’s mom, Asad’s mother, grandmother, and some of his aunts… she was the odd one out. She didn’t want to be disrespectful, so she sat quietly in her chair, sipped her drink, nibbled on the refreshments, and watched henna being carefully applied to Anna’s hands.

Asad had explained the evening would be based on a very old tradition called Hana Bandān. Cyrus hadn’t been interested, and he’d wanted Asad to be able to be there for his bachelor party, but Anna had wanted to indulge her almost mother-in-law—not to mention the grandmothers—so she’d had her bachelorette party the weekend before. Tonight, the night before the wedding, she was doing the henna. It was beautiful, the swirls and dots creating stunning, lacy patterns as it was applied.

“Can I get you something more to drink?” Asad’s mom asked, coming to stand next to Morgan.

“Oh, no, thank you.” She was already too full because she didn’t know what to do with herself other than eat and drink. “I’m enjoying watching.”

Rather than moving away, Lena sat down beside her, folding her hands on her lap. Morgan eyed her nervously. At the beginning of the week, knowing she would be attending a ‘ladies only’ event hadn’t felt daunting, but she hadn’t realized it would be just family and bridal party when Asad had told her.

She wasn’t sure he actually knew how intimate it was, to be perfectly honest, or if leaving her in ignorance was an oversight. The only thing she was certain of was that he wouldn’t have thinkingly put her in an awkward situation. He had been very distracted, though, so he might have just forgotten to tell her.

“I’m so glad you were able to come up this week,” Lena said. Her greying black hair was swept back from her face in a complicated-looking updo, giving Morgan a clear view of her profile as Lena watched Anna laughing at something one of the grandmothers said.

“Thank you. It’s been nice to meet everyone.”

“I’m so glad to hear that. We’re hoping to see Asad more often. We’ve missed him.” Lena turned to look at Morgan. There was something in her eyes, some emotion Morgan didn’t recognize. “We’d love it if you joined him, too.”

There were undercurrents to the conversation. This was one of those times where there were hidden meanings beneath the words being said. Morgan had learned to recognize when it happened because Carolyn and Marissa both did it a lot. Unfortunately, she wasn’t as good at figuring out what wasn’t being said. Usually, she had Amy explain it to her.

“Um,” was the only response that popped to her mind.

She didn’t think Asad would want to continue their fake relationship beyond this week. That was the deal, after all, which made her feel a little sad. She was enjoying this week. She was enjoying having a fake boyfriend. Even beyond the sex, she liked spending time with him and being his ‘girlfriend.’ She wouldn’t mind doing it again, but she had a feeling he would.

The plan was for them to ‘break up’ before he visited his family again, and there wasn’t much point in changing that.

“You don’t have to commit to anything, of course.” Lena smiled, but it was strained. “I just wanted you to know that you’re welcome. We’d love to get to know you better. This week has been such a whirlwind, I feel like I’ve barely been able to talk to you.”