Page 36 of Key of Kink

“That’s a dangerous word.”

“It’s not,” he said. “It’s a descriptive one.”

I scrubbed a hand over the back of my neck.

He smiled. “You’re very good at rules. I’m just wondering if you’re any good at choosing when to change them.”

“Where are you going with this?”

Theo studied me for a moment. “I don’t know what’s brought about a change in you, but I trust you to notice when something matters, and to decide—consciously—what to do with it.”

I narrowed my gaze. “That’s very vague.”

He shrugged. “Deliberately so. I’m not going to come out and voice my suspicions about what could have happened to you since I saw you last week, but it’s obvious to me that something has. And the one thing that comes to mind is that club of yours.”

I stared at him.

He smiled back. “I don’t hear you telling me I have it all wrong.”

I exhaled slowly. “You’re enjoying this,” I accused.

“Immensely. Watching you squirm is a perk of leadership.”

I snorted. “Is this where I remind you that I’m the co-founder of this group? I don’t recall appointing you its leader.”

“Max…”

Something in that single syllable stilled me.

“Love didn’t make me worse at control,” he said, his voice quiet. “It made me better at knowing when to use it.” He picked up his bag. “Now get out of here so I can lock up. Cameron’s waiting for me at Balan’s.”

I slipped past him and headed down the stairs.

Something had shifted, not dramatically or all at once, but enough to be noticed.

Which is exactly how it always starts.

Chapter Seven

Quinn

I knew I was in trouble when I burned the rice. Not too catastrophically, but enough that Maya narrowed her eyes at me from across the kitchen.

“You are distracted.”

“I am not.” I scraped the bottom of the pan with more force than necessary.

She ignored me. “I should know better than to accept help from you when your mind is elsewhere.”

“My mind is right here, along with the rest of me,” I protested.

“You put the lid on and then didn’t lower the heat.” Sam didn’t even look up from his laptop. “That’s statistically inconsistent with your usual behaviour.”

Jess glanced at me over her wine glass. “Ooh, look at you, glowing.”

“I am not glowing.” Any more of this, and I was seriously contemplating ordering a pizza and eating it in the safety of my room.

“You are,” Maya remonstrated. “It’s subtle. Annoying, but subtle.”