Page 229 of Masters of Control

Oh. Right. Submissives weren’t supposed to approach Doms for a scene. Morgan was one of the few exceptions to the rule, something she didn’t take advantage of often because she knew it was another way that set her apart from the other subs. They didn’t like her having the privilege.

But sometimes, she needed a scene, or she would try to hurt herself instead, so Mistress Julie had decreed when Morgan needed a scene, she could request one. She wasn’t the only submissive to have that exception, but they were few and far between.

Part of her wanted to run from Iris’ gaze, but she needed the scene too badly. She knew if she went home right now, it wouldn’t be good. There was too much energy, too much emotion bottled up inside her.

“Master Connor, can you scene with me?” The words came out in a rush as she avoided Iris’ gaze, focusing on the big master. Amy had called him the teddy bear of the Dom world, and he kind of resembled a giant teddy bear. He was one of the tallest, biggest Doms in the place, scary for those who didn’t know him, but a total gentle giant to those who did.

He blinked in surprise.

“Of course, if that’s what you need.”

“I do.” Some relief trickled through her, but she still felt like she was fizzing under her skin, emotions bubbling and demanding to be let out.

Master Connor carefully slid out of his seat, getting to his feet, which was head and shoulders above her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and she let out some of her tension on a sigh. The heavy weight of his arm helped her feel a little more grounded.

“Okay, Morgan, whatever you need.” He appeared a little worried, but Law nodded at them. Morgan wasn’t sure what the problem was, but at least Law was giving them the go-ahead.

She didn’t look back at the Lounge as she and Master Connor headed down to the Dungeon, so she missed Master Asad’s head snapping up to watch her and Master Connor walk away, his dark eyes boring a hole into her back.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Asad

“Master Asad? Are you okay?” Cassidy leaned forward, looking at him with concern. He’d stopped to chat with her, even though she wasn’t his type—not a masochist. In fact, she’d been abused by an abusive asshole masquerading as a sadist, which meant they would probably be terrible scene partners.

He wasn’t sure why he’d stopped to talk to her instead of any of the number of submissives who would have been happy to give him what he needed from a scene.

Then he’d looked up and saw Morgan walking toward the Dungeon with Connor. The anger that had erupted inside him had frozen him in place, which was probably better than his impulse to jump up and run after them. Connor could easily pound him into the ground if he wanted to. And that wasn’t how people conducted themselves in Stronghold.

It didn’t even make sense to want to do that. Neither did the feeling of betrayal that his friend was going off with his girl.

Morgan wasn’t his girl.

Maybe he was feeling the residual responsibility of having been in charge of her for a whole week. That made more sense. It wasn’t something he’d ever done before, not for that long, and he was just getting confused because he wasn’t used to being responsible for someone else. He was having some trouble letting go, even though it was what he wanted.

“Master Asad?” Cassidy peered at him, brushing a lock of dark hair out of her face, and he realized he hadn’t answered her yet.

She was very pretty. Very submissive. Very open to a scene, despite not being a masochist and also not expecting more than a single night. Yet… he didn’t want to be here with her right now, and not because she wasn’t a masochist—because she wasn’t Morgan.

“Sorry, I’m a little distracted tonight… um… I just have to go and check on someone. Something.”

“That’s okay. Thank you for talking to me.” She didn’t seem upset that he was going to walk away. If anything, she seemed relieved. Probably because he was a sadist, but she hadn’t wanted to tell him no. He made a mental note to tell Master Patrick. Someone needed to work with her on that.

Someone who wasn’t him. That was the kind of work a more invested Dom would do. But he would let Master Patrick know. Cassidy shouldn’t be afraid to turn down a Dom she didn’t want to scene with.

Those were the thoughts swirling through his head as he headed down to the Dungeon, loosening his jaw because there was no reason to clench it or feel uptight. He was just going to check on Connor and Morgan because he still felt some lingering responsibility for her. They’d become close while she was his fake girlfriend. He just wanted to make sure she was okay since Connor wasn’t the Dom he would have chosen to scene with her.

It didn’t have anything to do with the unjustified feeling of possessiveness that had settled in his chest. It was just that Connor couldn’t fulfill her needs the way she needed a Dom to.

Part of him wondered if she’d picked Connor because he was Asad’s friend, and she was trying to make him jealous, but his brain dismissed the thought as soon as it occurred to him. Morgan wouldn’t think to play that kind of game. If she wanted something, she would say so. She would also follow the rules, which meant not interrupting him while he was talking to Cassidy.

There was also the unspoken rule about submissives not approaching Doms, but every Dom in the club knew which subs were exceptions to that, and Morgan was among the few. Which meant she must have asked Connor for the scene. Connor wouldn’t have approached her for one.

Why Connor?

That’s what was bugging him. Connor wasn’t a good match for a scene for her. They were completely mismatched. He couldn’t give Morgan what she needed. Giving her the kind of pain she craved wouldn’t just be hard for Connor, it would be mentally painful for him.

So, why had she chosen him?