Page 68 of Not Another Dark Romance

Tristian leaves, and I lock the door behind him before making my way over to the couch. My TV is no longer down here since I moved it upstairs for Mason, so the sectional is facing a blank wall.

I gesture beside me. “Sit, Pet. I’d like to look at you while we talk.”

Mason sits next to me on the couch, pulling his legs up until they’re folded under him, and turns to give me his full attention. We’ve both calmed down since the intense knife scene earlier. I held him for a while, we showered together, and then I made him breakfast all before Tristian got here. The intensity of the last twenty-four hours only seems to have brought us closer together.

“I think we’re both probably feeling a little off-balance after everything that’s happened in the last day. We should talk about next steps.” I take a deep breath, suddenly nervous. “I still want you here, Little Psycho, more than I probably should, but you are no longer my prisoner.”

He smiles. “Thank you, Master. For letting me stay. I want to be here too.”

I let out a big breath. I don’t know if I’ll ever grow tired of hearing him say that.

“As much as I’ve enjoyed locking you in my room while I’m away, I have worried about what would happen if there was a fire, or if you truly needed help for some other reason. Or if Pete did. So I thought that the cameras could be a good way for me to keep an eye on you while I’m away. If you need to leave for an emergency, you can, but I’ll be alerted by the lock app if you do. I can also watch what you’re doing whenever I feel like it.”

“I love that,” he admits with a grin. “It’ll be like you’re always with me.”

“You’re sure? This doesn’t feel too restrictive still? If you want to renegotiate your limits, now would be a good time.”

“I’m sure. If you want to take me on walks, I wouldn’t mind visiting that park again, maybe during the day next time, but I like it here. I like feeling like my only responsibility in the world is to make you happy and create art. You might think that you’ve trapped me, but I feel free in a way I didn’t think was possible. I haven’t had to choose what to eat for a single meal. I haven’t had to cook or do laundry or grocery shop. I haven’t had to pay a single bill. I haven’t even had to post my art for sale.”

I reach out to take his hand in mine. He smiles up at me, his face so full of joy that I can’t help but smile back as he continues.

“Zane, you’ve freed me from the everyday burdens that were weighing me down. When we met, I had such bad creative burnout. I hadn’t painted in weeks. Now, it’s like I get to just enjoy my art again. I like painting while I’m waiting for you to come home, wondering about your day and if I might have earned another present. And I really like when you get home and order me around and when you help me live out my fantasies. I love being your pet. I don’t need new limits. I just want you.”

I move up to my knees on the couch so I can lean in properly to take his face in my hands and kiss him. It turns into more of a tackle as we fall back onto the couch, but he kisses me desperately, so I don’t think he minds. We make out on the couch like this for a while, not trying to escalate things any further despite us both being hard. I’m aware that what we did earlier was pretty intense, and I don’t want to get too distracted from our important conversation.

Eventually, I force myself to break the kiss, pulling back just enough to meet his gaze as I shift so I’m straddling him while still supporting most of my own weight.

“Wait, don’t you want your phone back?”

He shrugs. “I guess. But mostly so I can message you when you’re gone. If that’s okay?”

“Of course,” I confirm easily. I love the idea of being able to text him throughout my day too. “And I can still run your socials if that will actually help you feel less stress.”

His eyes light up. “Oh my god, really? That would be amazing.”

“I can also move your paint supplies into a different room if you’d prefer,” I offer. “I have another bedroom upstairs you could maybe use.”

“Are you serious? You want to give me an art studio in your house?”

“Well, yeah. If you want one.”

“Yes, please. I’m going to be the very best pet ever to earn all these rewards, just you wait.”

I chuckle. “Somehow, I doubt that very much. But I want you to be happy here, so if you want something to change, you need to tell me, okay?”

“Okay, Zane. Thank you.”

I pull up the security cameras on my phone as soon as I park my truck in my driveway. I’m basically obsessed with watching them, but I don’t think anyone would blame me when I’ve caught Mason doing elaborate stripteases for the camera as he works on his latest painting.

It’d be interesting to know what the person who eventually buys it would think, knowing Mason was naked while working on it. Would that increase the value? It would if the buyer had any sense about them.

Closing the camera app after noting that Mason is still in the spare room he’s turned into his art studio, I grab the bag from the liquor store I stopped at on the way home and make my way inside. Apparently the lighting is much better in there than our room, so he was thrilled about the switch.

And it is our room. Mason might still technically have his own apartment that he’s paying for, but he told me he wants to stay here. I offered to go with him to get more of his clothes or personal belongings, and he shrugged before saying he likes wearing my clothes. I’m not complaining. Once his lease is up, I’m planning to officially move him in with me.

As soon as I open the door to his studio, I realize I’ve walked in on him listening to a “spicy scene,” as he calls them, in his audiobook and smile.

“Are the books more or less exciting now that you’ve lived through the real thing?” I ask, startling him. He clearly didn’t notice me coming in.