by Sherri Hayes
I was afraid Diane would try to approach Brianna again about her mother, so I made excuses to leave as soon as possible. After helping Brianna into the car, I turned to find Richard standing in the driveway only a few yards away. Sighing, I closed the distance between us knowing he would have his say one way or the other. He did not disappoint. “Is that necklace what I think it is?”
“Yes,” I said, keeping my answer simple.
This time there was no question as to the emotion behind his eyes; he was disappointed in me. His next words put voice to that fact. “Stephan, that girl is obviously in need of help. I don’t know what’s happened to her, but what you’re doing to her can’t be helping. You have to know that.”
My temper broke at that moment, and I did not restrain my words. “You have no idea what she’s been through, not the slightest clue.” I saw him start to speak and cut him off. “Just because you examined her does not mean you know anything about her. You haven’t lived with her for the last two weeks. I have. So don’t go trying to tell me what she does and doesn’t need.”
“Stephan, she needs help. I have people . . .”
“You don’t have people. Your people would corner her and make her talk about what happened to her. You’ve seen her, Richard. She’s talked more in the last twenty-four hours than she has in the last ten days. Brianna is making progress, and I will not have you ruin that. Don’t try to get in the middle of something you don’t understand.”
Just then, I saw Diane come through the door. I was hoping she hadn’t heard anything I’d said, but my hopes were dashed when I saw her face. Turning to her, I said in the calmest voice I could manage, “Thank-you for dinner, it was delicious as always.”
Without saying another word to my uncle, I walked to my car and got in.
Brianna sensed my mood and was incredibly still. I waited until I’d settled my emotions before saying, “You did well today, Brianna. I’m very proud of you.”
“Thank-you, Master,” she said, but I noticed her posture had not relaxed in the least.
“What’s on your mind?”
“Did I . . .” She paused. “Did I do something to upset him?”
With her question, I felt my anger at my uncle come to the surface once again. She did not need this. “No. He was upset with me. You did nothing wrong.” She seemed to relax a little after that, and we finished our drive home in a comfortable silence.
The next morning, I went into the office expecting to find a load of paperwork on my desk, and I was not disappointed. What I hadn’t expected to find was Lily. “Good morning, Lily. What brings you to my office first thing on a Monday morning?”
She pushed her small body off my desk with a flair that only she could pull off and turned to continually face me as I rounded my desk and took a seat. “How’s Brianna?”
I looked at her closely, trying to find out what she was getting at when I realized that Logan must have told her my plans. “She’s fine. And yes, to answer your question.”
Lily tilted her head as she considered that. “So did it help?” she asked.
“Yes, I think it did,” I answered. “At least, she hasn’t woken me up screaming for the past two nights. I’d say that’s progress.”
She frowned. “I want to help her, Stephan.”
Although I had tons of work in front of me, I needed to talk. “I know, and I want you to. I’m just not sure how to accomplish it.”
“Bring her over to our place for dinner Thursday night.” I looked at her skeptically. Lily was not a very good cook. It was something she was working on, but I wasn’t sure if I was as brave as Logan. She must have read the look on my face because she sighed and said, “Logan will cook. I promise I’ll stay out of the kitchen.”
I pressed my thumb and forefinger to my temples as I considered my options. I knew I couldn’t keep Brianna under lock and key the entire time. She needed to get out and socialize, especially since she’d be starting school in the fall. She knew Lily, and both Lily and Logan knew the situation. “Sure,” I said with a sigh and turned back to the stack of paper on my desk. “Now, I need to get to work. Somehow I’ve got to manage to get out of here early.”
“Anything I can do? I mean I’m waiting for some quotes to come back so everything is at a standstill for me right now.”
A wave of protectiveness surged through me at the thought of someone other than me going with Brianna today, although I knew it was irrational. How had I become so attached to a woman in such a short time? The reality, however, was that if Lily was offering, I needed to take the help. Besides, I told myself, Brianna needed a friend and who better than Lily? “That would be great, Lily. Thank-you. Are you free this afternoon?”
Lily’s face broke out into a huge smile, and I could see the excitement radiating from her. “What do you need?”
The sight before me was just so funny that I couldn’t help but laugh. “I haven’t been able to get her a vehicle yet, and she needs to go to the lab near my uncle’s office for some blood work.”
“No problem,” she said.
“She’s also in charge of dinner and will need to pick up supplies.” I paused before asking, “Are you sure you don’t mind? She’s still really unsure around people, and I don’t know . . .”
“We’ll be fine, Stephan. Don’t worry.”
I held my tongue, bottled up all the worries floating through my mind, and just said, “Thank-you.”
As soon as Lily left my office, I asked Jamie to come in. I knew she had work of her own to do, but there were certain things that could not be put off. She took down the list of things I needed done, including getting both my lawyer and Brad on the phone, adding an additional user to my cell phone plan, and getting another phone, along with setting up temporary transportation for Brianna. They were things I’d normally do myself, but I was not used to having a submissive 24/7 either.
By the time the morning was over, I’d given my lawyer all the information I had on Brianna, and he assured me he would have something to me no later than this afternoon. One of the things I loved about Oscar was that he didn’t ask more questions than necessary. I arranged for Brad to spend tomorrow morning at my home and gave him detailed instructions of what I wanted. And my last call had been to set up a checking account for Brianna. She’d need money to buy the food and pay for gas.
Jamie came in shortly before lunch to tell me that the car would be delivered this evening and the cell phone was arriving via courier this afternoon. Thankfully, everything was falling into place, except for the fact I’d not gotten much of my own work done. That was what my afternoon was for.
Brianna
I spent my morning cleaning. It wasn’t like Master’s home needed to be cleaned, but I didn’t know what else to do with myself. I missed my books.
There wasn’t anything I could do about that though. I knew where they were. I’d seen him place them on his nightstand when we’d come downstairs yesterday.
But I wasn’t stupid enough to go against the punishment he’d handed out. Although I hated not having my books, I knew it could have been much worse. And it wasn’t like he hadn’t warned me.
By the time noon rolled around, I couldn’t find anything else to clean so I sat down to watch some television. I found a local news station and watched them talk about all the horrors happening around the city.
My head whipped around as I heard a key in the front door. Jumping to my feet, I rounded the couch and took my position.
Soft clicks I recognized sounded on the hardwood floor, and I looked up. Lily.
“Hi,” she said, her grin nearly splitting her face.
“Hi,” I answered back.
I wasn’t sure what to do for a second. What was she doing here? Did Master send her?
Lily’s smile turned into a smirk as she looked down at me. “You can get up, you know. I’m not Stephan.”
Oh, right.
Quickly I stood and decided to go with the fact that she wasn’t my
Master and asked, “Did he send you here?”
“Yes,” she said, walking farther into the room. Picking up the remote, she turned off the television and turned back to me. “And you can call him Stephan.” She paused and then whispered, “I won’t tell him if you won’t.”
She giggled at the last part. I wasn’t sure if she was laughing at what she’d said or at me. And I didn’t know how I felt about calling Master by his given name out loud. Sure, I did it in my head sometimes, but voicing it was different. So instead I told her okay and left it at that.
“Well,” Lily said, coming back to stand in front of me. “Stephan said you needed to go get some blood work done today, and that I’m to take you to the grocery store.”
Master had mentioned the blood work last night, but he made it sound as if he was going to be the one to take me. It wasn’t that I had an aversion to Lily, it was just I’d been expecting him. Careful with my wording I asked, “So you’re going to be the one taking me?”
Her face sobered. “Is that okay?”
She looked almost sad. It just didn’t seem to fit her. “Yes,” I nodded.
Then the smile was back. “Well, okay then. Let’s get going, shall we?”
Having my blood drawn wasn’t as bad as I’d thought it would be. Lily stayed with me the whole time. And then, at the grocery store, she even held my hand when I started to panic after a man brushed against me.
I liked Lily. She was so nice to me even though she knew what I was. And she talked to me, asked me questions. There were so many things I wanted to ask her, but I didn’t know how.
She helped me put the groceries away and stayed while I started dinner. Lily carried most of the conversation as I worked, but I liked having her there and keeping me company.
Just before five, she said goodbye, promising to see me soon and left me to finish dinner on my own. I decided to make fettuccine alfredo with grilled chicken. The sauce took a little work but other than that, it was pretty straightforward. I just hoped he liked it.
Right on time, I heard the key in the door. With a flick of my wrist, I turned the sauce to simmer and took my place on the floor.
His steps were solid as he walked toward me. And just like Saturday, his hand found its way into my hair. “Good evening, Brianna.”
I took a chance and answered, “Good evening, Master.”
The fact that I’d answered seemed to please him as the tips of his fingers grazed my scalp before his hand left me. “Stand,” he said, his voice warm.
Lifting myself up, I stood, still keeping my eyes on the floor. I saw his right hand twitch slightly and thought he was going to touch me again, but it remained at his side.
“Dinner smells wonderful. Is it ready?”
I nodded. “Yes, Master.”
“Very good,” he said, taking a step back. “Set everything on the table, and I’ll be back in a minute.”
As soon as he disappeared into his room, I went into the kitchen and started putting everything in the serving dishes I’d found. He had such a well-stocked kitchen. Everything I needed was there and then some.
By the time he walked back into the main room, I had all the food on the table and was standing close by. Keeping my head lowered, I waited for him to approach me. He came to a stop in front of me and this time he did bring his hand up to touch my face very lightly before sitting down in his chair. “Join me, Brianna.”
I took a seat and waited for him to fill his plate before hesitantly reaching to fill my own. We ate in silence for a while, and he seemed to be enjoying what I’d prepared.
Sometimes I found myself watching his hands and remembering how often his touch had calmed me, but then the knowledge of the other things those same hands could do brought me back to reality. It was like he was tearing down my defenses and that scared me more than anything. He would hurt me just like Ian did; it was only a matter of time.
When he was finished, he patiently waited for me. As I lay the fork down on my empty plate, he reached out to lift my chin. Once I was looking at him, he released me. “I’ve arranged a vehicle for your use this week until we can find you something more permanent. I also spoke with Brad, and he’ll be here at eight thirty tomorrow morning. I expect you to give him your full cooperation,” he said, looking meaningfully at me. I nodded.
He looked like he was going to say something else, but the phone ringing cut him off.
Master stood, leaving me at the table waiting while he spoke with whoever was on the other line. When he hung up, he didn’t come back to the table. Instead, he instructed me to clean up and that he would be back in a few minutes.
I waited to get up and do as I was told until after he had walked out the door. It didn’t take long to put everything away and get the dishes into the dishwasher. When everything was done, I wasn’t sure what to do with myself; but only moments later, he came back through the door.
Instead of walking toward me or addressing me at all, he went to his bedroom and disappeared. He was gone for a couple of minutes and then walked back out as if nothing had happened.
Master walked over to the same plush chair he’d sat in the night we’d talked about my school paperwork. And just like that night, he told me to come to him. I went and he extended his hand indicating that, once again, I was to sit on his lap.
When I sat down, his arm came around me just as it had the other night. I was still nervous, but not as much as before. His touch was different when he was displeased with me; it was firm and almost detached. Right now, his touch was calm and gentle. I had no problems sitting here all night if that was what pleased him.
I kept my head lowered as he began to speak, “I have some things for you.”
His hand reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone and a key ring with a remote attached. He held them out for me, waiting for me to take them, so I did.
Looking them both over, I noticed the key was for a BMW. I wondered if it would be similar to the one he drove. The phone was nothing overly fancy, but it wasn’t a basic model either. Of course, it could have been just that for all I knew. I’d never owned a cell phone before, but this one fit his personality, if that made sense, and nothing I’d seen of his yet struck me as low end.
After allowing me a few minutes to look them both over, he had me open the cell phone and we went through how to use it. He’d already programmed his numbers into the phone for both cell and work, but he’d also put Lily’s in there.
I couldn’t help the smile that covered my face and he noticed. His free hand drew light patterns on my arm. “You like Lily? You enjoy spending time with her?”
“Yes, Master. Very much.”
“Well that’s good then. She has invited us over for dinner Thursday evening.” I smiled at the knowledge that I’d get to see Lily again in a few days.
“I also spoke with my lawyer. He was able to locate copies of your records and is sending them via messenger to my office tomorrow. I was hoping to have them today as well, but apparently he encountered a little trouble.”
My brow creased and the smile on my face disappeared. Trouble. Where would he have gone to get the information? Dallas or Two Harbors? I really hoped it was Dallas, but I was putting my money on Two Harbors. Dallas had no reason to give him trouble.
I felt Master shift his weight and suddenly I was flush against him with my head on his shoulder. But for once, I wasn’t scared of him. He wasn’t the monster I was afraid of.
Brianna
Over the next two days, a pattern started to form. Although my days varied, my nights were very much the same. When Master came home, I would be waiting by the door for him. After a brief greeting, he’d disappear into his bedroom while I put the food on the table. We’d eat dinner together, mostly in silence, and then we’d retire to the living room and his chair.
Every night when he’d have me sit in his lap, it was the same. First, he’d ask me about my day, what I’d done. Then he’d tell me about his.
I lea
rned a great deal about him. The Coleman Foundation raised money to help those who couldn’t afford medical treatment. They used the money to set up funds accessible through local hospitals. Master even told me several stories of how the money from the foundation had saved lives.
It was one more thing about my new Master that didn’t add up. I couldn’t see how a man who helped people every day could be like Ian. But he wasn’t like Ian, except for the fact that I was his property. I was beyond confused.
On Tuesday, he’d asked me about Brad and the fitness routine he’d set up. Wednesday, it was about the veal I’d made. Master always found something to question me about, and he expected me to talk. It always felt strange getting those first few sentences out, but after that it was easier.
And then he’d always end our talks with a kiss. Monday and Tuesday he kissed me. But then last night he’d asked for me to kiss him again. I’d still been nervous but not nearly as much as last time. His lips were familiar to me now.
Tonight would be different though. He’d called me during his lunch, on the cell phone he’d gotten me, to let me know he’d be home around four and to be ready to leave when he arrived. Master didn’t give me any details, but I had a feeling we were not only going to Lily’s tonight. None of that mattered however. I would do as he asked and be ready when he came home.
I walked out of the room I’d been given just after four, freshly showered and dressed in a pair of black slacks and a deep purple blouse. It was dressy, but not too fancy since I’d chosen to wear more casual flats. Taking a final look in the mirror, I took my place on the floor and waited.
Less than five minutes later, the lock turned in the door and Master entered. I heard some movement as he set something down on the floor, and then he walked over to me. “You may stand, Brianna.”
I stood up and closed my eyes as his hand found my hair as it always did. It was so strange how much I liked this moment when he came home. His fingers came down to lift my chin, and I raised my eyes to meet his. Something seemed to float behind the surface as he looked at me, but soon it was gone.