Annabeth's POV

I tapped my fingers on the wooden table while I waited for Tracy Alexander to show up. I hadn't been to a diner like this one since college, but I needed to pick a place away from potential prying eyes. If Octavian caught wind I was meeting her, there would definitely be trouble. I barely noticed Tracy as she came through the front door. The hood of her sweatshirt was pulled over her head. She clearly did not want to be recognized either. She spotted me in my chosen booth in the back corner and started to make her way over, weaving through the other tables. She didn't say a word as she sat opposite me. Instead, she just stared at me, a deer in the headlights.

"Thank you for coming," I said.

"I shouldn't be here."

"That's why I am so grateful that you came."

A waitress approached our table. "What do you ladies want?"

"I'll have a coffee," I replied.

She turned to Tracy. "What about you, sweetheart?"

Tracy just shook her head.

"Get something!" I interjected. "I hear the pancakes are good." I wanted her to settle in and feel comfortable.

"No, thanks," was her only answer.

The waitress nodded. "One coffee, coming right up."

Clearly, Tracy wanted this meeting to be over already, so I figured I would cut to the chase.

"Listen," I said, using my most maternal voice, though I was only five years older than her. "I know about everything."

"So, you know what…what did to me?" Her voice quaked as she said it.

"No. I know Octavian fed you a lie and is paying you to say it."

She shook her head and looked like she was ready to get up and walk out.

"That's not true." Her voice continued to shake with each word.

"Don't lie to me," I said, looking her dead in the eyes. I had recently learned a few things about dominating a situation…

Tracy buried her face in her hands. She was on the verge of cracking when the waitress returned with my coffee. I nodded at her, and she walked away.

I put my hand on Tracy's arm. "Talk to me," I said, in my best dom-voice.

With that, words started flooding out of her like a fire hydrant.

"I didn't know what to do. I thought if I said no to his offer, I would lose the internship. I worked so hard to get it, and I need the college credit if I'm going to graduate on time. My parents would kill me if I get fired. And he said he would keep me under his wing and would introduce me to a network of people if I helped them. But now…I don't know—"

Them?

"Shh," I offered. "It's okay. But I need to know…is someone else working with Octavian?"

"Percy's ex-wife. They approached me together. She wanted the press to see her as a victim, too."

Of course she does.

An awful thought suddenly occurred to me. This must have been why she decided to drop the custody battle: so she would seem more sympathetic in the eyes of the public.

"Tracy, you're cooperating with terrible people. I promise, everything will be fine, but you need to stop."

She peered up at me from her hands. "How? How will everything be fine?"

When I looked into her eyes, I saw something I did not expect to find: myself. I had been just like her when I was a sophomore—filled with blind ambition, wanting to succeed at any cost.

"Tracy, I get it. I would have done the same thing in your position. But I learned only recently that there are things more important than success," I said, thinking back to my conversation with Reyna.

"Like what?"

"The truth, for one."

"What else?"

"Well, love."

I was shocked to find that I said the L-word, I didn't picture my dad or my mom or my brother, but instead, Percy. Do I love—? Now is not the time to consider something so ridiculous. When I tuned back into my surroundings, Tracy was talking. I already took his money and used it towards my student loans. Now, I have to do what he told me to do."

"No you don't. What Octavian asked you to do is completely illegal. And if you follow through on your end of the bargain, then you are his accomplice."

Octavian had completely abused his power to manipulate Tracy, and I felt terrible for her.

I tried to reassure her one final time. "You don't need someone like Octavian as a boss or a mentor. He's a snake. What you need is a strong female role model. Maybe someone with red hair, sitting in front of you, sipping a cup of coffee." I smiled in her direction, and for the first time that day, she smiled back.

"I wish I had ordered those pancakes."

With that I knew Percy's reputation was safe.

Percy's POV

This whole unemployed thing was going to be a lot harder than I expected. Normally, at this time of day, I would have an assistant reading proposals to me or transcribing emails, but now, I was just sitting in an armchair, wasting precious seconds. I guess I needed to find a hobby now. Women always told me I was quite adept with my fingers. Maybe I should take up piano or guitar. My boredom and self-pity were interrupted by a surprise visit from Annabeth. She ran into the living room and crawled directly into my lap.

"Everything is going to be fine," she said. "Tracy is not going to talk."

I pulled her in close as we both breathed a sigh of relief.

"We just need to wait until Octavian is out of the picture.

"And when is that going to happen?"

"I think we have enough incriminating evidence to prove to the board, or any judge, that he is a liability."

"Turns out we are good spies after all."

She laughed, and I basked in the sound.

"It won't be long until Nico reinstates you and we can work together again!"

"Good. Because it turns out, I'm not very good at being a homebody. I need to find a way to keep busy until then."

"Oh, yeah?" she questioned. "I can think of a few things."

"Is that right?"

Annabeth's POV

In a flash, he changed from Percy to my master.

"Get up." I rose from his lap. "Take off your clothes. Don't keep me waiting."

I stripped down until I was standing stark naked in his living room. "I'm ready, sir."

"Good girl. Lay down on the couch and spread your legs. I'm going to fuck you now."

Finally.

On our first and only night together as dom and sub, he hadn't allowed me the pleasure of penetration—at least, not with his dick. I had fantasized about it enough. I was ready to live it. I positioned myself on the couch as I was instructed. His commands had created more than enough lubrication for him to easily slip inside me. He walked toward me at a tantalizing pace, unhooking his belt and letting his pants slip down to his ankles. He kicked them to the side. His penis was forming a tent with his boxers.

I reached out in his direction. "Can I touch you?"

"Not yet."

He pulled off his underwear and unleashed his throbbing cock. Then, he began to climb on top of me. It took all my strength to lay still, but I didn't have his permission to do anything else. He grabbed his member and started using it like a joystick, drawing small, perfect circles on my clit. Then, he moved his member along my folds until he arrived at my cunt.

"Percy—" I dared to interrupt him. "Condom."

"Don't tell me what to do."

He positioned his dick over my hole. "I want to feel the inside of your body. I want no separation. You are mine, remember?"

I nodded.

"Color?" He asked me.

I want to feel him too. And I took my birth control pill every morning like clockwork, so—What the hell?

"Green."

He thrust himself inside of me, and it was a perfect fit. He continued to move in and out while I screamed with satisfaction. As he fucked me hard, the sun began streaming in through the living room, warming my already flushed cheeks.

"Annabeth."

He stopped pumping.

"Yes, sir?"

I looked into his eyes but could see that, for some reason, had broken character.

"Something about the way the light is hitting you…I can see you better than ever before. The outline of your jaw. The shape of your eyes. The shadows in your hair."

"Really?" I moved my face further into the light.

"Wow." The corner of his eyes wrinkled as he strained to look at me. "You're absolutely beautiful.

I was filled to the brim with joy, though I sensed he was hurting.

"What's the matter?" I needed to know.

"I wish I could see all of you. Just once. It breaks my heart."

I reached up and pressed my hand into the left side of his chest.

"You see me," I reassured him. "You see the real me better than anyone."

He thrust his hips into mine again. But what felt like fucking only moments ago, suddenly felt like making love.

Please give feedback and tell me what you think of the story so far.