Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
Morgan
“It’s like the fake relationship, but better because it’s real.
” Morgan couldn’t keep the silly smile off her lips as she answered Mistress Julie’s question about how things had been going the past few days.
The first few days of being Asad’s girlfriend.
She’d overheard him calling her that when talking to a co-worker on the phone, and she was still giddy about it.
She felt giddy all the time now, like happy butterflies had taken up permanent residence in her stomach.
“Is there anything different?” Mistress Julie asked, looking Morgan over.
Sitting comfortably in her chair, wearing a pantsuit and her hair pulled back into a neat bun, the Dominatrix therapist looked professional and put together.
Morgan was… not. She had on her makeup, but she’d only had time to throw her hair into a messy bun before running out the door to get to her appointment, wearing yoga pants and one of Asad’s t-shirts because they were the only clean clothes she’d had at his place.
“I’m becoming more comfortable going out of the house in very casual clothing,” she said ruefully, tugging at the hem of the t-shirt.
She was sure that was what Mistress Julie was noticing.
Going by the size and that it was a Star Wars t-shirt, it was pretty clear it wasn’t hers.
Though Asad had shown her the first movie last night, and she’d liked it, graphic t-shirts weren’t really her thing, even in her downtime.
“That’s one thing. Are you okay with that, or was it out of necessity?”
Morgan hesitated a moment before answering.
“Both. It was out of necessity, but I don’t feel uncomfortable.
” She tugged on the hem of the shirt again.
“It’s not something I’d ever choose for myself, but I do like wearing Asad’s clothes when I’m not going out out.
” And he seemed to like seeing her in them.
Something about her walking around in his clothes turned him on.
She often didn’t get to wear them long unless they’d already had sex.
“I think I would be uncomfortable if I was going out to eat at a restaurant or with my friends.”
“That’s good to know. How is everything going with them? Is everyone being supportive?” Mistress Julie’s eyes twinkled with amusement. “Or at least accepting?”
“Accepting.” Morgan sighed. “Sometimes, I wish there was more support.”
“It’s only been a few days,” Mistress Julie pointed out. “You’ll get more acceptance as people see that things are going well and start to relax. They’re not used to you being in a relationship, and they’re definitely not used to seeing Asad in a relationship.”
“Right.” It felt natural to her, as if it had been going on for far longer, but she needed to remember that no one else had seen what they’d been like in Pittsburgh.
For all of them, it had only been a matter of days, and they were getting a very incomplete picture.
“My friends feel cautious but mostly supportive. Except Noelle. She keeps telling me to be careful and doesn’t think I should trust Asad’s turnaround. ”
“How does that make you feel?”
“Annoyed.” Morgan knew that question would be coming as soon as she mentioned Noelle, so she’d already thought a lot about it. “I talked to Amy about it, and she said she thinks Noelle is just worried about me, and that sometimes she can be a little overbearing without realizing it.”
“What do you think?”
“I think Amy likes to think the best of everyone. I understand what she’s saying, but I don’t understand why Noelle would be that worried or why she can’t accept my decisions.
We haven’t been friends that long, and she’s not as close to me as the others are.
” They all accepted her decisions. Carolyn was the most supportive, acting as if she’d achieved some kind of accomplishment.
Other than Noelle, Sam was the most cautious, but she wasn’t constantly bringing it up the way Noelle was.
“Have you asked Noelle about it?”
“No. Do you think I should? I don’t think she likes direct questions.
” That was another reason Morgan couldn’t entirely relax around Noelle.
Carolyn and Marissa found her bluntness entertaining, Sam encouraged her to say what she meant, and Amy thought she was wonderful just the way she was.
Noelle always acted like there was some deeper meaning behind what Morgan said or something she wasn’t saying, which Morgan didn’t understand.
Why bother saying something she didn’t mean?
“I think it matters what you want to do.”
She should have expected that answer. Mistress Julie smiled when Morgan sighed again.
“I don’t know what I want to do about Noelle. I just try not to spend too much time with her. Which I think will be harder as Amy’s wedding gets closer. I’m excited about being a bridesmaid, so I think that will help. We’ll be able to talk about wedding things instead of Asad or my relationship.”
“That should help, having a neutral conversation topic. How are things going with that?” Mistress Julie shifted in her chair, uncrossing and recrossing her legs, settling into a new comfortable position.
Morgan found herself doing the same, mimicking her and only noticing it once she was doing it. Well, her foot had been starting to fall asleep, anyway.
“Good.” She tugged at the hem of her shirt again. “Amy got her results back from the doctor. Her thyroid isn’t working the way it’s supposed to, so she just started medication. She said she’s already feeling like she has more energy, and she’s hoping it’ll mean she starts losing weight again.”
Raising her eyebrows, Mistress Julie cocked her head at Morgan. “You sound like you don’t approve.”
“It’s not that… it’s just, she doesn’t seem that unhappy with the way she looks.
I think if her fiancé wasn’t pressuring her, she wouldn’t be so worried about it.
But I don’t think it’s my place to say that.
” Morgan grimaced. Sometimes, it felt like there were more things she wasn’t supposed to talk about than there were things she could talk about.
“Probably not. People can be very protective of their relationships. Especially once they’ve committed to someone, as you’re finding out.” Mistress Julie smiled as Morgan frowned.
“Do you think there’s something bad about Asad that I’m not seeing?”
“Do you?”
She considered it for a moment before shaking her head.
“I don’t know. I don’t think he’s perfect, if that’s what you mean.”
“Good enough.” Mistress Julie chuckled. “If the two of you ever want to come in together, please know that he’s welcome to join you.”
“Thank you. Isn’t couple’s counseling something you do when you’re having problems though?”
“It can be. Or it can be something you do to help prevent problems.” Mistress Julie’s smile faded a little.
“Usually, by the time a couple comes in for counseling, it’s a last-ditch effort.
Those rarely work out because they’ve already basically given up, and usually there’s a lot of work to be done to save things. ”
That made sense. Maybe she’d ask Asad if he wanted to come with her next time. It couldn’t hurt to ask.
Asad
Damn, Morgan looked good in his clothes.
He would never have guessed he was a possessive person, especially since he’d never wanted a relationship, but seeing Morgan walking around in his shirt just flat out did something for him.
“I’m right here,” Brian growled at him from where he was sitting at the kitchen counter. Morgan and Asad were on the couch while she uploaded some recordings to her various channels, scheduling them for release. She looked up in confusion.
“I’m not doing anything,” Asad said innocently.
“You’re thinking about it, though.”
“Sorry, Daddy.” He chuckled as Brian growled again, his countenance darkening. Next to him, Morgan stifled a giggle and shot him a look.
“You don’t have to antagonize him, you know.”
“You could always distract me.” He leaned closer to her, his smile widening, his hand moving along the back of the couch. The soft t-shirt she was wearing didn’t show off any of her body, and it was the sexiest fucking thing he’d ever seen on her. He wanted to peel it off and—
“Still right here.”
Sighing as he straightened back up again, Asad shook his head.
“You know we’re scening at Stronghold tonight, right?
You can’t cockblock me there.” He smirked at Brian, who glowered at him.
It wasn’t a real glower, though. Asad felt he was slowly winning the other man over when it came to Morgan, which made him feel good.
They were just giving each other a hard time in a half-joking, half-serious manner that happened when two Doms were head-butting over something or someone.
“Is that a challenge?” Brian grinned at him. Yeah, he wouldn’t be giving Asad a hard time like this if he had a real problem.
“No, no, it is not.” Morgan looked up from her computer again, glaring across the room at Brian. “I will be very upset if you block his cock. I like his cock. I want it inside me.”
Brian groaned, scrubbing his hands over his face like he was trying to wash the words off. Asad cracked up. He loved it when Morgan got simultaneously sassy and blunt.
“Don’t worry, Red, no one’s going to keep my cock away from you.” He’d thought about taking her to Marquis, but he wanted to scene again at Stronghold. Publicly. Everyone needed to get used to seeing them together.
They needed to get used to being together around their friends.
It had been easier than he’d thought it would be to be Morgan’s boyfriend during the week.
Despite his reputation at the club, he really didn’t spend that much time pursuing anyone outside of it.
Last night, he and Morgan had gone to Marquis’ bar to hang out and spend some time with Freddy and Mistress Camille.
It had basically been a double date and surprisingly fun.
By the end of the night, Freddy had gone from wary to fully supportive.
That’s what had made him realize it was better to keep showing up where people were and letting them see him and Morgan together rather than trying to hide away until they got used to the idea.
It also made him feel as though maybe he wasn’t so bad at this boyfriend thing if Freddy approved after one evening with them.
Brian’s phone dinged, and he looked down at it. The air around him immediately changed as he frowned at it.
“What’s wrong?” Asad asked.
Morgan was still tapping away at the keys in front of her, back to fully focusing on her work.
“Cassidy got a weird note in her mail, telling her to ‘watch out.’ She told Kincaid, who passed it along to Patrick, who is passing it along to the other Doms. It might be nothing, but…”
“But it might be something.” Asad frowned, too. Poor Cassidy. She’d gotten away from her nightmare ex, thanks to Iris and Law, and she’d just started to relax. “Do you think it’s her ex? The time limit for Law to press charges against him just ran out, right?”
That was how they’d kept Douchebag Dom—Iris’ nickname for him—away from Cassidy for the past year. They hadn’t been sure they’d be able to make charges stick for any amount of time, and they hadn’t wanted him going after Cassidy or blaming her for anything that happened to him.
Law had hoped the threat of charges being brought against him would be enough to keep him in line and eventually forget about Cassidy and move on with his life.
They had blackballed him from any BDSM clubs in the area to keep him away from any other vulnerable submissives, and Asad was pretty sure that someone had been tasked with keeping an eye on him, though he wasn’t sure who. Kincaid maybe.
“Right,” Brian said grimly. “We can’t be sure it’s him. It’s not really a threat… it’s just concerning, especially because it’s anonymous.”
“Who else could it be?” Morgan asked, looking up from her computer. “Has she been having trouble with anyone else?”
“I don’t know, and Patrick didn’t say. I’ll talk to Kincaid later if I can catch him. He’s been busy with the job change.”
“Job change?” Asad echoed. He was clearly out of touch with the gossip… which was fair since he was usually the last to know things. Apparently, having a girlfriend wasn’t going to change that since Morgan was also not in the middle of the gossip train.
“Oh, yeah, he’s leaving the police department and going to work for a security firm that’s opening up a branch down here,” Brian said.
“The same firm Drew works for,” Morgan chimed in, still looking at her computer.
Okay, scratch that. Apparently, his girlfriend did know the gossip. She just hadn’t been sharing it. Well, at least now he had a good reason to punish her during their scene tonight. That was always fun.