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Which was fine. Totally fine. I barely even knew her. I’d just made her come once. And witnessed her come a second time.

But there were plenty of women out there who I’d made come—more than once, I’d like to point out—during one-night stands who I’d never seen again. It wasn’t like I’d never had sex with someone once and never again before. And it wasn’t like I’d cared.

Besides, as Svyn had pointed out, it wasn’t even like Anita and I could actually have penetrative sex.

“Us cis men tend to be very phallocentric,” Svyn said conversationally as he dug into my hamstring like he was kneading dough. Tough, unyielding dough that had personally slighted him.

My head popped up from the table hole as I frowned through a wince. “I’m not phallocentric. Am I?” I added doubtfully, as if my massage therapist would have the answer.

“I’m just saying, it’s not the end of the world if penetrative sex is off the table. Plenty of other things you can do, my man. Have you ever had your prostate stimulated?” Svyn asked casually.

I choked on a breath, my ears fluttering wildly. “Dude.”

“Relax. It’s a simple question.”

Exhaling slowly, I dropped my face back into the hole. “Uh… no.”

“You should try it. Different kind of orgasm, but just as satisfying if you can achieve it. Maybe even more so.”

My head popped back up. “You can come just from… that?”

“Not always, and not everyone, but you should be more in touch with your body, boss.”

I struggled to answer, defensiveness rising back up at his slightly disapproving tone. Like I’d failed because I’d never shoved a finger up my ass.

“I’m in touch with my body,” I said snippily. “I take great care of my body. Look at me, bro.”

“I’m not saying you don’t take care of it. I’m just saying shake off that heteronormative mindset, man. Find out what else is out there sex-wise. You don’t have to do it with your human lady, but…”

“You just said you didn’t pursue anything with your human lady because demiurgus and human anatomy don’t mix well,” I shot back. “Who’s being phallocentric now?”

He chuckled. “Fair enough. Although that wouldn’t have bothered me, but she was… Let’s just say she was pretty phallocentric.”

Is Anita? The question popped into my head before I could stop it, and it made me feel kind of gross. I shouldn’t be thinking about that. I shouldn’t be wondering if she’d want to have my dick inside her. Wondering if she’d want me to fuck her until neither of us could speak or move or do anything but lie there in a daze as we stared up at the ceiling once we’d both come so hard that she’d be kicking herself for making us wait.

It wasn’t possible. Not just because of my barbed dick, but because Anita was frustratingly, admirably professional and I was her client. For now.

When I’d had that awkward phone call with her a couple of weeks ago, I’d almost asked her if she’d be interested in something once the event was over. Once we were no longer event-planner-and-client. But the question had sounded so pathetic in my head that I hadn’t let myself ask it out loud.

I was Nuni var Rorik, damn it. I didn’t wait around for sex. I didn’t trail after women like a lonely mutt without an owner. I was a proud, perfectly groomed, prize-winning hound who didn’t need an owner. Like a… handsome, eye-catching Dalmatian. No, a Siberian Husky. A majestic Siberian Husky that could just walk confidently up to a woman and be inundated with pets and belly scritches and treats.

“I know you’re routine-based, boss,” Svyn said as he moved on to taking his aggression out on my other hamstring. “But if I can offer you a bit of advice? Having a routine in the bedroom is a bad idea.”

For the hundredth time, my head popped up as my nostrils flared in outrage. “I don’t have a routine in the bedroom!”

“No? So you’re open to trying new things?”

“Yes,” I snapped. “Obviously. All the time. I’m adventurous as fuck, dude.”

I recently jerked off in a sauna! I almost blurted out, but decided that might not be the best idea.

“So stop thinking with your dick and just see what happens with your human lady.”

I rolled my eyes. It wasn’t even about my dick.

“That’s not why nothing’s happening,” I snapped. “It’s because—”

I stopped, wondering if I should really get into it. Svyn and I were friendly, clearly, but I didn’t know him all that well. We talked about my job a lot during my massages—I may have sometimes used him as a therapist, but he shouldn’t be so damn attentive and full of good advice if he didn’t want that. If I started talking about why Anita and I couldn’t have sex, he might somehow work out who she was. I’d probably already mentioned hiring Feris Events at some point in the past.