Page 49 of Masked in Deception

He fills me in on all the things she’s been up to lately. As excited as I am to be meeting with her soon as my masked persona, I miss just having her in my life. “I’m proud of her.”

“She’s certainly the best of us all,” he agrees, pride flashing in his eyes.

“It’s nice to see the two of you getting so close,” I say when he finishes his spiel about her recent accolades. “I feel like between all of us, you two spent the least amount of time together.”

His brows furrow as that pride in his eyes changes to regret. “Well, by the time she was old enough to do anything, I was hardly home. And I was too busy keeping an eye on Ledger. Heaven knows he needed it. Anyway, she always had you to look out for her.”

He’s going to kill me.

Chapter forty-three

Sir:

Good morning, pet.

Pet:

Creepy that you gave me this phone. What do you want?

Sir:

Disappointed but not surprised by your attitude.

I was hoping that you’d want to continue seeing me at the club.

I certainly want to continue seeing you.

As such, I think it’s best for us to have an open line of communication.

A place to debrief, plan, and discuss our preferences without breaking a scene to do so.

Pet:

I think the questionnaires the club provides are pretty comprehensive.

I don’t think we need anything else.

Sir:

Really?

Because the club questionnaire told me you were highly interested in degradation before our first meeting. Then, after our second scene, you confirmed it as a ‘five out of five’ on your scale of things you have experience with and enjoy.

Pet:

I’m aware of the ranking system, and that’s correct.

I gave degradation a five on purpose. I love it. Are you happy?

I still don’t see the point in this.

Sir:

The point is, pet, that I might know you like degradation, but I’d prefer to know more about howyou like it. Would you like it if I called you a dumb, good-for-nothing slut that nobody ever loved, for example?

Pet:

…no. I can’t say I would. I don’t like that. It feels different. Meaner.