Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
Morgan
Being Asad’s girlfriend was fun, and it didn’t seem like he was getting tired of her, which had been her main concern the first few weeks they were dating.
After all, that was what everyone else was worried about—that he couldn’t commit.
During her last session with Mistress Julie, the Domme had made the comment that maybe he’d just never wanted to.
But he did want to with her.
Whenever they went to Stronghold, he didn’t seem to be interested in any other submissives—though a few had tried flirting with him at first. None of her friends, of course.
Asad had been polite, but it was as though there was a wall there that hadn’t been there before, and only Morgan was allowed on the other side of the wall.
They occasionally watched scenes together, but it didn’t seem as though he wished he was scening with anyone else. He was endlessly, sadistically creative with their scenes.
He invited her to spend time with him and his friends, which was a bit awkward the first time Domi and Rae were there, but Sam and Iris helped bridge the gap between them.
It didn’t hurt that they were very close to another submissive named Avery, who was very nice and whom Morgan hadn’t really interacted with until now.
Asad also spent time with her and her friends.
Q was there a lot, which didn’t hurt since now he had someone to talk to other than Jeremy and Carolyn’s husband, Chuck.
Neither of them was very talkative, and Q had been struggling to try to make friends with them.
Now, he didn’t have to, which made Sam more relaxed and happier, too.
It was all going really, really well until their one-month anniversary.
Which wasn’t really an anniversary as far as she knew, but Asad had pointed it out and was excited about it, which made her excited about it.
But when he got up to go to work that day, she struggled to open her eyes. She was so tired. And achy.
She felt his kiss on her forehead and his whispered goodbye, then she fell back asleep.
She didn’t feel any better when she woke up.
With a groan, she made herself get out of bed and stumble out to the kitchen. Brian was out there, to her surprise.
“Why are you here?” she grumbled, rubbing her eyes. Her throat felt scratchy and so sore, it was hard to even grumble. Brian frowned at her.
“I’m going on that work trip today, remember? I don’t leave for another hour.”
Oh, right.
No, she hadn’t remembered. She’d forgotten. Asad had been all excited about Brian being gone for a week because it meant they could fuck all over the house if they wanted to. They’d already had sex in every room of Asad’s apartment, and he wanted to do it at her place now.
Ugh, her brain felt foggy, like her thoughts were coming more slowly than usual.
“Sweetie, you don’t look so good,” Brian said with concern, coming around the side of the counter. He set his mug of coffee down on it as he passed by.
“I’m fine.”
She couldn’t be sick. Not today. It was her one-monthversary, and Asad was taking her to dinner and a show at Marquis. He’d even gotten one of the rooms for them to stay in. She was not going to ruin that for him by being sick.
Brian stepped in front of her, blocking her movement and bringing a hand up to her forehead. Morgan tried to duck, but the movement made her dizzy. He caught her, cursing under his breath, and put his hand on her forehead before making a hissing sound.
“You’re burning up, Morgan. We’re going to the doctor.”
“No!” Morgan stumbled away from him. “I’m not sick.
I’m fine. I just need to eat something.” She managed to straighten up and get to the fridge by sheer force of will.
She could feel herself swaying, not that she was going to admit it.
Nope. She had all day to get better, even if she wasn’t feeling that well.
“Morgan, sit down!” Brian barked out the order, and Morgan’s knees buckled immediately, her butt hitting the floor so fast, she cried out in surprise. “Shit.” A moment later, he was scooping her up and carrying her into the living room.
“You used your Daddy Dom voice on me,” she said accusingly.
“Damn right, I did. Now, you’re going to sit right here and not move an inch.
” He put her down sideways on the couch and stood over her, glaring down at her with an expression that meant business.
Morgan huffed, an odd feeling curling inside her.
She wasn’t sure what she felt, but she was close to bursting into tears.
“I need to eat something.”
“I’m going to make you some soup, and in the meantime I’m going to call Mitch to get over here and check you out. It’s his day off, so I know he’s around.”
Morgan huffed again, but she didn’t protest. Brian had gone into full overprotective Daddy Dom mode.
Hopefully, Mitch would be able to check her out and pronounce her as fine.
Then Brian would leave for his trip, and she could rest up and be better for Asad this evening.
Crossing her arms over her chest, she leaned against the back of the couch, her head and knees resting on it, and sighed.
Her throat really did hurt a lot.
She shivered.
A moment later, something heavy and warm covered her, and she opened her eyes to see Brian already walking back to the kitchen after having dropped one of their throw blankets over her.
It felt good being curled up under it. Also, strange.
She felt she was supposed to be up and doing something, but she could hear pans clattering in the kitchen as he started to get the soup ready, then his phone beeping with incoming texts.
“Mitch will be here soon.”
“Okay.” Morgan sighed, and it turned into a yawn.
There was no point arguing with a bossy Daddy Dom once he hit Daddy mode, and she knew it.
Mitch wasn’t as strict, even though he was a sadist. He was a lot like Asad in that way.
Maybe he could give her something to help her feel better and get through the night.
There was no way she was disappointing Asad.
Asad
Brian: Morgan’s sick—she’s running a fever and she won’t go to the doctor. Mitch is coming over to check her out. I have to leave in an hour for my trip.
Asad stared at the text, his mind completely blank. His thoughts were whirling so fast that none of them made sense. He couldn’t focus on anything but the words on the screen.
“Asad? Everything okay?” Duke, the manager of the company whose project he was currently on, was looking at him with concern.
“Um. Yeah. I mean, no. I… I have to go.”
“Okay.” Duke’s blue eyes looked more concerned than ever.
“I’ll be back tomorrow, but I just… I have to go.”
“Sure, man, take the afternoon. It’s no problem.”
“Thanks.” He managed to nod, his jaw clenched so hard, he could feel his teeth grinding together as he turned and walked out of the plant. Power walked, basically. Everything was going by in a blur as the words beat a mental drum in his head.
Morgan’s sick. Morgan’s sick. Morgan’s sick.
By the time he slid into the front seat of his car, his heart was beating so fast, he could feel it in his throat, and his palms were sweaty enough to slide on his steering wheel. Shit. He had to get himself together. He needed to get home to Morgan, he needed to make sure she was okay, he needed…
He needed to stop panicking.
I need fucking therapy.
Mistress Julie.
He hadn’t gone with Morgan yet, but she’d told him about Mistress Julie’s offer. Grabbing his phone, he quickly found the Domme’s number and crossed his fingers she’d be able to pick up. The phone rang once. Twice.
“Hello?”
His voice caught in his throat. He couldn’t respond. He felt like he was choking.
“Hello? Asad?”
“Morgan’s sick.” That’s what he meant to say, but it came out more like a croak.
“What?”
Somehow, he managed to get a hold of himself and actually form the words in a voice that was understandable.
“Morgan’s sick. Brian just texted me that Morgan’s sick, and I’m… fuck, I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“Okay, hold on, I’m going to switch you to video chat. I’m out at lunch with Olivia and Camille. Is it okay if they can hear you? Or I can walk outside.”
“It’s fine if they hear.” He didn’t really care. Maybe they would have some advice. He needed to get to Morgan, but he couldn’t fucking think, much less move. He was sitting in his car, and he hadn’t even started it. He was frozen. He needed someone to smack him into movement.
If one Dominatrix couldn’t do it, maybe three would.
The phone beeped at him to accept the switch to video call, and he made his muscles move, holding the phone away from him as he switched over. Which was the first time he’d gotten to see his face. He looked ashy under his normally tanned skin, his eyes wide and blank, and sweat beaded his forehead.
Oh. It was hot in the car.
Fuck, he really should start the car. He turned the key in the ignition. Starting it didn’t mean driving it. He needed to drive to get to Morgan, but he just couldn’t make himself move.
Julie appeared on screen, and her eyes widened as she got a good look at him before a neutral expression swept over her face, wiping it all away.
“Hi, Asad, so Morgan’s sick? Do you know with what?”
“No. Brian texted me. He said she has a fever, and Mitch is on his way to see her. But Brian’s leaving for a trip, and I…
I need to go over there. I need to take care of her.
” He practically choked on the words, his emotions rising again, so intertwined that he wasn’t sure what he was feeling, only that he was feeling too much.
Far too much. It felt as if he was going to explode at any moment.
He wanted to scream, but his throat was clogged.
“Asad. Look at me. Focus on me. Focus on my voice. Okay, good. Now, take a deep breath in. Hold it. Deep breath out.” Julie smiled at him as his breath came out in a whoosh.
He felt his shoulders relax. “Now another one… deep breath in, deep breath out. Good. Now, Morgan told me a little about your brother and your family; she said you gave her permission to. I want you to say out loud… Morgan doesn’t have cancer. ”
Dumb. That was his first thought. It was dumb because he knew Morgan didn’t have cancer.
If it’s so dumb, why don’t you just do it? His brain prodded him.
“Morgan—” His throat choked him off again.
Dammit. It was a simple sentence. It was true.
Brian hadn’t texted him because Morgan had gotten some kind of dire diagnosis.
He’d texted him because she wasn’t feeling well.
She had a fever. Brian had Mitch coming to check on her.
If he was really worried about something, if it was serious, he’d be taking her to the doctor or the hospital.
“Morgan doesn’t have cancer.”
The tight squeeze on his chest suddenly released, and he slumped in his seat.
“Aw, sweetie,” Camille was peering over Julie’s shoulder. “Do you want me to send Freddy over to check on her?”
“No. No.” He shook his head. “I’m going to go check on her. I just… I think I panicked.”
“I think you did, too.” Julie smiled at him. “I’m glad you’re going to check on her. I should warn you, I think you’re going to have a bit of a fight on your hands to take care of her.”
“What?” Asad stared blankly at the three women looking back at him.
“Morgan’s not used to being taken care of,” Olivia chimed in. “She tends to fight it. You might have to get bossy with her. But her former… hmmm. Well, let’s just say that was completely on her own any time she wasn’t feeling well prior to this. She doesn’t feel comfortable being taken care of.”
And Asad didn’t feel comfortable taking care of people because it reminded him of his brother. He’d spent a lot of childhood doing sick days with his brother, both in and out of the hospital.
He groaned.
“I… I really, really like Morgan, but sometimes, I think we’re the worst match-up in history,” he confessed. He wasn’t sure if the Dommes were following his thoughts, but they didn’t seem confused.
“Or one of the best. You challenge each other, and you’re in a good position to grow together. You also make her really happy, and that’s what matters the most.” Julie smiled at him.
That was good to hear. And they did challenge each other. This felt like a massive challenge.
“I feel like a shitty boyfriend because there’s a part of me that doesn’t want to go home and take care of her.” There. He’d said it out loud.
None of the women seemed particularly horrified at the confession, which took some of the wind out of his sails. Hadn’t they heard him?
“Is it that you don’t want to take care of her or that you don’t want to face the fact that sometimes people you care about get sick?”
“Ouch.” He rubbed the spot on his chest where it felt like Julie had just punched him. That one had hit like a physical blow.
“Suck it up, Asad,” Olivia said, leaning in.
“The Persian Excursion can’t be all smooth sailing.
Sometimes, things are going to get a little bumpy.
Then you have to decide—are you bailing or are you going to captain the fucking ship?
You get to control where you’re going. You just have to make the decision, then follow through. ”
Right. That made sense. Decision and follow through.
“I’m going to Morgan’s to check on her and spend the afternoon with her…
oh, um, can someone cancel our reservation for Marquis tonight?
” Damn. He’d almost forgotten they were supposed to be going out.
She was going to be disappointed, but he’d make it up to her, eventually.
“If she has a fever, we’re obviously staying in. ”
“No problem,” Olivia, manager of Marquis, said. Her grey eyes softened as she studied him through the screen. “You just go take care of your girl.”
“Let us know if you need anything else. Freddy and I are free this evening,” Camille chimed in.
Julie smiled at him. “You can do this, Asad. And please, feel free to come talk to me any time.”
“I might just have to do that. Thank you. I’ll… keep you updated.”
“You’d better.” Olivia winked at him, then they cut the phone off.
Asad took a deep breath… then another. He put the car in drive. It was time to go take care of his sick girlfriend.
He could do this.