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Yeah, but what did he have for Lutrell? He needed to have his clothes cleaned and make
some arrangements. He had work to do.
Dent leaned in, took a single, chaste kiss. Thank you for the rest.
Then he turned and headed back to his life.
Chapter Five
Lutrell came up from his fiftieth lap and pulled himself out of the pool with a sigh. He
just wasn t enjoying his swimming as much as he used to.
The fact was, he wasn t enjoying much like he used to. And really, it was his own fault.
He knew better than to fall in love with, much less to get to know and like the clients. They came
to him for a particular purpose, and many were ashamed of their need. They thought those needs
strange and perverse. It wasn t easy being the Master of the perverse in this place built upon
perversity.
But he was good at what he did, and his clients left satisfied, and, if he d done it right, no
longer ashamed of their needs. It was, after all, just another need, like whipping or binding or
body-mods. Just not as common or as well-known.
They would come to him. He would do his thing. They would leave happy and satisfied.
Many returned for regular sessions, others never did or only came back occasionally. It didn t
matter to him. He loved what he did, took great joy in it and was pleased to have a place in
which to do it.
Which brought him back to his recent lack of enjoyment. He hadn t laughed in & well, it
might have been days.
Lutrell wrapped his towel around his waist and pulled on a tunic to cover himself he
knew he scared a few of the sweet little subs with his gauntness and wasn t in the mood to tease
them with it and headed for the lift. He just didn t have the heart to share the change room with
people today.
He kicked himself mentally as he made his way down the corridor. Really, this was quite
enough of this. Just because he d grown to have feelings for Dent didn t mean the man owed him
anything. Heavens, it wasn t like Dent even wanted to be with him. The man came merely to
assuage his needs, ones that he wished he didn t have, then left to pretend they didn t exist, that
Lutrell himself didn t exist.
Lutrell knew this. He knew that wishing things were otherwise, and falling in & growing
fond of Dent was a stupid thing to do.
Lutrell was not a stupid man. Nor was he as crazy as some and he wouldn t name
names, even in his own thoughts might think.
So, he decided, he would stop torturing himself with what could not be. Yes, Dent had
touched him, physically and emotionally, and no one had done either in quite some time. Yes,
the man had come back, and would come back again, Lutrell was sure of it, but this was not for
Lutrell himself, but for the needs that haunted Dent so.
He resolved that today he would laugh again, he would find something he could take joy
in, and he would forget about clients caring for him, touching him, seeing him. Those things
were not his and they never had been.
With that settled in his mind, he pulled off his tunic. He would tease the timid ones with
his strangeness. And he would call Mal and tell him it was time for one or two of those same
subs to experience his specialty. He was sure Mal could find at least one who would be
interested.
His comm rang, startling him.
He had to search for it because he wasn t wearing his pants, only carrying them, and by
the time he d dropped all his clothes and his towel once, he was giggling, just a little, at himself.
He finally rescued the comm from his pants pocket and spoke into it. Lutrell.
Mal. I want you in my office. Now.
Oh, dear. That didn t sound very promising. Mal s mood might impede his effort to find
his joy again. I will be right there, he replied nevertheless, turning the comm off.
The lift arrived and he grabbed his clothes and stepped in, pulling his pants on as quickly
as possible, as he only had a couple of stories to travel. He tugged on his tunic, trying to figure
out what to do with his towel, and as he knocked on Mal s door wondered idly why that tone had
been used with him. Had he missed an appointment in his moping? No, he thought not. He was
meticulous about such things.
Kestrel opened the door, ushered him in, nearly vibrating. Come in. Come in. Mal, he s
here. Come in. Sit.
Mal stalked in, looking as serious as Lutrell d ever seen him. Lutrell. We have a serious
problem.
Kestrel and Mal. Oh dear.
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