Page 29 of My Playboy Neighbor

"It's fine.I understand.We both got what we wanted tonight—good sex and professional boundaries intact."Her smile was bright and utterly false."Just like we agreed."

He wanted to tell her that what they'd shared was so much more than good sex, that watching her surrender to him had been the most profound experience of his life.But she was already stepping out of the elevator, already putting distance between them.

"Goodnight," she said without looking back.

He stood in the hallway long after her door closed, staring at the space where she'd disappeared.He'd gotten exactly what he'd asked for—a no-strings arrangement with incredible sexual chemistry.So why did he feel like he'd just made the biggest mistake of his life?

***

IN HER SUITE, MAYAmoved through her nightly routine on autopilot, her mind replaying every moment of the evening.The club, the scene, the way Dom had looked at her like she was the most precious thing in the world—right up until the moment he'd remembered she wasn't supposed to matter.

The images from tonight were burned into her memory—the way Dom's hands had looked on her skin, the concentration on his face as he'd flogged her, the moment of vulnerability when he'd almost let his guard down completely.

She began sketching with her pencil first, rough compositions that captured the essence of what they'd shared.The power exchange, the trust, the way dominance and submission created its own form of art.These weren't meant for any gallery or client—they were for her, a way to process and preserve moments that were too important to lose.

As she worked, she made a decision.If he was determined to keep things casual, to pretend that what happened between them was just physical, then she would document it all.Every session, every moment of surrender, every glimpse of the real man behind the professional facade.

Maybe one day, when this arrangement inevitably ended, she'd have something left to remember what it was like to touch the soul of Dominic Valenti, even if he was too afraid to admit he had one.

Maya reached for her digital camera, scrolling through the photos she'd taken during their earlier sessions.Mixed in with the professional shots were more intimate images—Dom's hands on her skin, the concentration on his face during their scenes, moments of honesty that showed the man beneath the model.She'd been capturing their story without fully realizing it, documenting a relationship that he insisted didn't exist.Looking at the images now, she could see the progression—professional boundaries dissolving into something deeper, more real.

She stared at the photos from their session, particularly one candid shot where Dom's mask had completely slipped.This wasn't the polished model the world knew—this was the man who'd admitted he was "too damaged to be anything more than pretend."Her art professor's words echoed: "The camera sees what we're afraid to acknowledge.Your job is to preserve those moments of truth."Without fully realizing it, Maya created a new folder.Not "Truth"—that felt too presumptuous.Instead, she labeled it "Unguarded."These weren't for anyone else.They were for her—a way to understand the man who was systematically dismantling every wall she'd built around her heart.

These photos told a story that went beyond their official arrangement, beyond the friends-with-benefits facade Dom insisted on maintaining.He might be able to deny his feelings, might be able to pretend that what they shared was just sex.But the camera didn't lie.And someday, when he was ready to face the truth, Maya would have proof of what they'd really meant to each other.

She just hoped that day would come before it was too late.

Chapter Seven

Maya

Maya woke to silence in her own suite.

No warm body beside her, no lingering scent of Dom's cologne on her sheets.Just the pale morning light filtering through her windows and the hollow ache in her chest that had settled there after walking away from him the night before.

She'd barely slept.Every time she closed her eyes, she saw that moment at Club Inferno when Dom had held her so tenderly, when she'd felt him on the verge of saying something important.The way his voice had caught, the emotion in his eyes—and then the sudden retreat, the walls slamming back into place with almost audible force.

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