by Dark,A. A.
“Call Dr. Cortez and have her watch over Master Kunken. It’s time we go crash this party before they get to bask anymore in their victory. It’s time to set this shit straight. I won’t have it said that a woman came in and saved my ass. All she did was fuck up my plans and they need to know that.”
I closed the laptop, unplugging it and carrying it at my side as I opened the door. With each step that took me closer to my father’s wing, I let the rage grow. It was all I had for emotions and they all needed to see it if they were going to follow me again. And that was imperative. I knew how the system here worked. They couldn’t be left with a choice. It was acceptance and nothing else.
The white hall opened up and I turned, nearly colliding with a guard. His mouth dropped opened and I raised my eyebrow, continuing on. As I approached the door, the man standing outside had the same reaction. His shock reflected on his features and he shifted uneasily at my nearness.
“M-Main Master,” he said, breathlessly. “I didn’t believe it was true. I …Good to have you back.”
“Thank you. Fredrick, I believe?” I smiled as he nodded, gesturing with my head to the entrance. “I’d have been back sooner, but a certain Main Mistress spoiled my plans of revenge. Do you mind?”
“No, of course. Go right in.”
I didn’t let him ponder on my words of returning. In truth, it was a lie, but he didn’t need to know that. All he needed to know was that his Master wasn’t hiding out for reasons he wouldn’t understand.
The door opened at his push, and he stepped back, allowing me entrance. The hum of laughter was loud. I rounded into the kitchen watching Everleigh’s smile melt at the glare I cast toward her. The men caught her change and turned, growing quiet and rigid as they took me in.
“Don’t stop celebrating on my behalf. You all only ruined the plans I’ve spend weeks orchestrating. Go ahead, laugh. Bask away in your arrest of my attempted murderer. I don’t mind.”
But I did, and it was clear as their eyes dropped.
“Main Mistress.” I half hissed. “You’re looking better than you did only hours ago.”
“You knew he lived?” Master Yahn’s head snapped toward her and her lips tightened under the numerous stares.
“She knew. Not that it matters. This is my fault. I should have made it clear before I allowed her to leave to not do anything stupid. I never expected her to play this card. Again, my mistake. So.” I placed my laptop down on the island, leaning against it as I kept my focus on her. “Now that I’m back, we’ll get everyone together. It appears we’re in need of a new leader of the board. We’ll also need a new member. I’m afraid Master Kunken didn’t quite make it to the White Room like was ordered. Sorry about that,” I said, lowering my lids even more at her. “I bet you didn’t even know he never arrived at his destination. Perhaps it was the laughter drowning out his screams. As temporary Main Mistress, did you not even think to check?” Before she could reply, I growled. “No, you did not. You were too busy celebrating a victory that should have been mine! What the fuck has happened here? This place has gone to shit. I almost can’t fucking believe my trusted leaders allowed this to happen.”
Master Yahn’s head shook and his mouth opened, only to close. “I tried to stop it. No one listens to anything I say. I—”
“Then you make them!” I exploded, even louder.
Everleigh jumped, and at the silence, the guards edged to leave the room and I let them. My finger pointed to Jarrett, who remained at my slave’s side. “You. You, I’m not mad at. You did your job.” I moved my hand back and forth between him and Derek. “This is my High Leader, Derek Berks. But I see we have a problem because I’ve watched you. I trust your judgment. You hold Whitlock first. That’s what I need. You’ll be second High Leader and official protector over Mistress …” I paused, nearly choking on her true title. It made me sick and triggered my hate and lack of love like a rabid wolf. “Harper. A name she will not use, come a few days. Mistress Davenport,” I corrected, “will keep the Whitlock Wing as her own. I will be staying to monitor her safety as well, and ... to borrow her dungeon.”
“I’ll be keeping the title, Mistress Harper, if you don’t mind. And before you go off spouting orders as our returned Main Master, I have to make my feelings clear. You are not ready. You are not well. I think you should go lie down and rest and let me handle this.”
My eyes widened and words evaded me.
“You can have mine and West’s old room. First door to the left, just past the stairs. Or, if you prefer, you can stay in the guest room down the hall. Your choice. It doesn’t matter to me. I have a lot of work to do so I won’t really be sleeping anyway.”
“I think you forget who you’re talking to.” I took a step closer and she didn’t so much as cower at my presence, but everyone else did.
“Oh, no. I’m very well aware of who you are—Main Master Bram Whitlock. The man who’d rather let a Mistress of his making be tortured than send aid. If you ask me, I believe the events of your attack have clouded your judgment over right and wrong, therefor making you a risk to the safety of each and every one of us. Think about that. Really think on it. You’re a liability. Don’t let pride blind you of what we all know. You need time. I can give you that. I can run Whitlock until you’re ready.”
My hand rose in defensiveness and the need to strike her left my fingers balling into a fist so I wouldn’t. “I bet you’d love that. Not going to fucking happen. I’m back and Whitlock belongs to me. I can rule it just fine without your help.”
I turned my attention to Master Yahn. “You are to inform the rest of the board of my return and let them know we will convene the day after tomorrow. As for now, I do believe Everleigh and I need to have a heart to heart. Out. All of you.”
“Wait.” She reached for Jarrett as he began to leave. “Where is Eleven? I asked that he be brought to me. He’s not here yet.”
His eyes glanced to me, nervously, returning to her. “I’ll go check for you.”
“Thank you.” She threw him a grin and I looked between them, following him and Derek toward the front door. When we got to the entrance, both turned, awaiting their orders.
“I want West to undergo what Mistress … Harper instructed on the red lights. She deserves her revenge and I will let her have it. When I give the word, he will be brought to me. As for Eleven …” The order to kill him was on the tip of my tongue. I wanted to say it. Fuck, I was dying to after being faced with my past all over again. The footsteps behind me had me hesitating. “Take your time. The Mistress and I need to talk. It’s going to be a while.”
Derek’s jaw tightened, but he and Jarrett nodded. I pushed the door shut behind them, turning to take in the woman who my world use to revolve around. Why did I feel like she was my enemy now? This new emotional block I was suffering buffered my love for her. And her actions didn’t help. Truth was, we were two completely different people. Strangers in almost every sense. My mind knew that. My body did not.
Everleigh’s head went down and she peeked up at me through her thick lashes. Her anger was still there, yet something else was too. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. I couldn’t see anything but the way her action was almost submissive. With her being so severely beaten, I could almost make myself believe my slave was before me. Hadn’t I always thought her the prettiest when she was battered and bruised? The blood visible in the whites of her eyes was a clear indication of the hell she’d endured without me. It was also the biggest fucking turn-on I had ever seen.
“Main Mistress? Making it appear as if I’m incapable of leadership? Sending me to bed like a child! Tell me why I shouldn’t put you over my knee and tear into your ass for that?”
Her head shot up and she quickly back-stepped toward the sofa. For moments, she stayed quiet, composing herself while she blew at the steam that billowed from her refilled mug.
“I’m trying to do what’s right for everyone here. You can’t hold that against me.”
“You knew I was alive. Why would you try to take my title as your own? And before you go back into this, ‘what’s best for Whitlock’ bullshit, save it. What’s your real motive?”
I headed her way and she watched my every move like a spider tracking its prey. It left my skin crawling and my cock hardening even more. The distrust was something I wanted to crush in the most violent ways. It was a problem for the man who was still lurking behind the emotional wall he was entombed inside. I’d seen most of what she’d gone through. Not all, but enough. She loved me and had proven that with her actions. And she’d been so distraught at my death. Yet, here we were, and now she was different. Things weren’t the same.
“You see it as taking your title. You believe my intentions toward you are not honorable. I don’t blame you for that. You obviously don’t trust me and that’s fine. I don’t trust you either. But all I was trying to do was straighten West’s mess out and give you time. He went too far. I tried to tell him that on numerous occasions, but I’m sure you’ve seen his reaction to my opinions. I may have been his wife, but I had little say. It was the main reason I had to set the children free. I couldn’t let him sell them off to endure the perversions that they’d surely be bought into.”
“So it’s true, then. You conspired against Whitlock’s Main Master and killed the High Leader?”
Everleigh’s lips parted and she saw her mistake the moment I led her into my trap. “West was not the real Main Master.”
“You didn’t know that at the time. You had no idea I was alive, then. What you did is punishable by death, plain and simple. Take morality out of it. Distance yourself from what you felt was right, or even who led this place. You freed slaves of Whitlock and you killed a High Leader. It doesn’t matter that he was in on this plan. You murdered a man in cold blood, Everleigh.”
Tears shone in her eyes as her lids narrowed at me. Although she tried to stay strong, her bottom lip trembled. It brought back my innocent slave. My scared little mouse. For a split second, my heart jumped, but the stirred sensations was gone just as fast.
“Yes, I murdered Eli. I killed him for Lyle and for you. He told me he helped in your attack. He deserved to die. If that means I have to face execution or the White Room for avenging you, so be it. I knew the consequences way before I stabbed him those three times and slit his fucking throat. I’d do it, again. He helped take you away from me.” Her stare moved over my face and her lip pouted even more at my silence. She placed the hot tea down on the coffee table, giving her head a shake while she looked down. “I guess it really doesn’t change anything. Eli may be dead, but we all died that day. Some of us, maybe more than others.”
Aching cramped in my chest as she turned, leaving the living room. Before I could stop myself, I was lunging forward to pull her into me. My arms tightened around her shoulders and where I expected her to break down at the affection of my hold, she didn’t. Her head dropped back and blue eyes met mine head-on. Love? Lust? Hatred? For the first time, I had absolutely no idea where my slave stood. If I had to choose, I would have said none. She was frightened. Yet, she spun it on me.
“Are you sure you want to be so close to such a cold killer, Master Whitlock? I see your apprehension. Aren’t you afraid?”
“Do I have reason to be?”
Everleigh’s eyes flickered. “As long as your intentions are good and you don’t plan to hurt me, then no. But if you do, in any way, I promise you nothing.”
The cold look and tone—she was being honest. That should have had me breaking away from her after what I’d been through, but I couldn’t. Despite that I emotionally felt little for the woman in my arms, my mind said I didn’t want to let her go.
“We should probably clarify where we stand, Main Master. You meant to keep me once. Even when I didn’t consent. Do you still?”
Her question was one I had been asking myself since I’d seen her change. Even at the beginning when I suspected she had to be pretending with West, I meant to keep her. But then she got sick with the flu. That’s when it took a turn. Something happened between them—with her. Fuck, I couldn’t think about the way they were together. They had passion. Even if it was that of the violent kind. And maybe that was worse to me. She’d beaten the hell out of him, but then she’d wanted him…Really wanted him, like she had wanted me.
“Why would I want to keep someone I don’t know or trust?” I tightened my grip at the fury that came with my memories. When she added pressure, testing my strength, I could see her confliction. She was defensive and she couldn’t hide her need to lash out in any way she could. “Don’t get mad or offended at me for speaking the truth. You know I’m right. You’re different now and so am I. Aside from that, tell me why I’d want to keep a slave who’s in love with my enemy?”
The slap was so swift that by the time I felt the sting, I was barely registering that she had broken the connection on my hold. Her speed and strength surprised me. The hit had me growling through the spark of lust that consumed me. I dove forward, locking my fist in her hair so she couldn’t escape. The small cry had my lips crushing into hers and my arm wrapping around the small of her back. She fought as I pulled her body into mine. For the first time, familiarity soared. Everleigh had always felt so perfect in my arms. Like she’d been made to fit me. And this moment was no different. Although she hit into my sides, she was softening. Molding to me as I thrust my tongue into her mouth.
The swings stopped and her fingers gripped into my suit’s jacket at my hips while I took control. The tip of my tongue teased against hers and I pressed my hard cock into the top of her stomach, knowing I should stop. But I couldn’t. “There you are,” I whispered against her lips. “There’s the slave that’s missing from me.”
Everleigh’s lids fluttered and the small moan that left her had me diving in and kissing her even more. It wasn’t hard to get lost in her passion. I held to it, savoring the nearly dead sensations. The emptiness I lived with now was too much. But suddenly, with us like this, I could almost remember why I loved her. Almost …
Chapter 17
24690
“Yes,” Bram whispered against my lips. “Come back to me, slave. I need to feel this.”
My fingers pushed harder into the sides of his back and I could barely focus on his words. As they began to sink in, I couldn’t help the way they seared into the damaged woman I was now. I jerked back, stumbling away.
Slave.
Memories of Bram’s darker side blinded me. They mixed with Eleven’s words and it brought West’s monster to the forefront. Even in all my calculations, I had never expected for things to get as bad as they had. It left me hesitant of the man who had held my heart. Bram could hurt me more than West ever had.
“I’m not a slave. I’ll never be a slave again.”
My words came out rushed and panicked. I barely recognized my own voice. It was the title and how it associated with the past. The status represented everything I never wanted to feel again—suppression, subjugation, defeat, abuse. I would never go back to that. Ever. I didn’t want to imagine surviving more horrors. And I’d have to as his slave. Here, right now, I had the perfect future set up. I was a Mistress and I was free of men. If I opened myself back up to Bram, who was to say we didn’t end up like me and West? Just because we shared passion before, it didn’t mean it would always be that way. I knew better. He wasn’t a good man. Eleven told me the truth. He’d seen what I had always dreaded in my core.
“You’re afraid of me. I saw what West did to you. Not all of it yet, but some. You’re smart to try to put a stop to this before it starts. Thing is, I’m not so sure I want to let you. You asked me where we stand. I don’t think I can give you that answer right now.”
Tears threatened, but I held them in. Faster, my mind worked.
“If you’re not sure, I’ll tell you what I want. You made me a Mistress. That can’t change; you made it so. And I don’t want you. I want to be alone. That’s my decision.”
/> Anger hardened his face. “The decision is not yours. It’s mine.”
“Not true.” My hand rose as I tried to calm the situation. Arguing was not going to get us anywhere. “I don’t want to fight with you. I just want you to know what I feel. I—”
“What you feel is scared. You still love me, but you think I’ll hurt you like he did.”
“You will. We both know that.”
“No, we don’t.”
My head shook as my mind told me to withdraw from getting too close. It wasn’t in the plans yet, if at all. There were multiple routes for my future. Until I decided which one to take, I had to steer clear.
“We’re not getting anywhere talking about this. Besides, there’re more important things to discuss. I noticed you’re in need of a new member. I have the money. I have the respect of at least two of the other Main Masters. If you’re not going to let me take care of Whitlock for you, I’d like to be on the board. I think I’m a good fit. I have the experience of how Whitlock works. I’ve seen and done things that make me prepared to handle any situation. If you could just give me a chance to—”
“The board?” he asked, cutting me off. “I see you’re not going to give up trying to weasel your way inside.”
“Weasel! I’m a better fit to run this place than any Master you have under you.”
He laughed. “Are you? It’s true you’ve got a taste of what this place is about. But what you do not have are the outside connections. Every Main Master under me plays a role not only here, but in the outside world.”
“That’s not my fault and you know it. If I can’t have pull out there, let me have it here. Make me in charge of overseeing conditions in the White Room, or God forbid, the Cradle if you’re sick enough to bring it back. Hell, I’ll oversee the guards. Jarrett is a great High Leader. We’re close, and I can get to know Derek. I can work with both of them. Together, we can watch out for conspiracies. Beef up security. Whatever needs to be done. Just give me a chance. I need to do something of worth or so help me …”