The Training of Toby (Masters of the Mansion Book 2)

by Steele, Suzanne

  “Are you jealous, David, or are you aggravated about your schedule being interrupted?”

  “Both,” his tone came out cold and clipped.

  “This is going to be the last time I’ll have to deal with the boy. I’m certain Mistress Diamond has her hands quite full dealing with Master William, even more so than with training Toby.” Rene answered.

  David chuckled thinking about how Master William would probably loathe the kid due to how possessive he was towards Mistress Diamond. He knew enough about sub traits to know that Toby would bond with Mistress Diamond for the simple fact that she’s his first and your first of anything is something that stays with you for life. You always remember your first.

  “Park here,” she pointed. “I already have his keys. I got them from him the day we dropped him off at The Mansion and this will make it quicker to load up the car.”

  Agent Turner resisted the urge to slam the car into park as an outward show of his aggravation. They exited the car and bound up the steps, ready to hurry up and be finished with packing and moving the boy.

  David watched Rene jiggle the keys in the makeshift lock that looked like it wouldn’t provide very much protection if a criminal wanted in badly enough. She reached down and grabbed a manila envelope that was laying on the floor in the entrance as they walked into Toby’s small apartment. Agent Turner tutted in her direction and reached into his pocket to grab one of the latex gloves he always kept handy.

  “You know better than that, Agent,” he reprimanded her. “This isn’t mail, Rene. This was pushed under the door.” He carefully opened the envelope to reveal a disk. A small TV with a built-in DVD player provided them with a way to watch the homemade movie.

  They stared intently at the screen as snow and static suddenly morphed into a masked man with a very sinister voice. As he began to speak to the camera, Agent Turner was certain the man had set it up on a tripod.

  “I blame you for taking my innocent Toby away from me. He is gone because of you.” The man’s voice went from a sinister but calm tone to a full-blown, enraged scream. “These whores on the streets defile society with their acts of depravity. They sell their bodies to the highest bidder.”

  Agent Turner and Rene jumped when the man flicked the business card he had found and began addressing them directly. “Do you think you can protect him from me, Agents? You couldn’t protect Allyn. What makes you think you can protect Toby?”

  The agents watched, horrified, as the man began to blame Allyn for corrupting Toby. “I know he brought that boy out on the streets to turn tricks. He informed me that he was his best friend and that he was helping him. Of course, it was necessary to subject him to hours of torture in order to retrieve the information I desired. Losing fingernails has a way of making even the most determined person give up information.

  “I have to admit that is my favorite part of the job—torture. I’m a sadist, of sorts. There is nothing I enjoy more than a good interrogation session with an unwilling victim. I find it to be a very enjoyable experience, especially when the party being tortured starts out all tight lipped and determined to withhold the information I seek. By the time I’m finished, they’re screaming out details they swore they would never release.”

  His rant then began to focus on the agents. “I don’t think that by hiding Toby, you’re helping him. I’ve clearly shown you what I will do to anyone who gets in my way. Your badges cannot protect you. Let’s just say this… I know much more about you than you do about me.” The man stood and turned the camera off. The screen went back to the snowy background the agents first viewed.

  “How in the world can someone justify such hate? This man will continue to go after anyone who shows any interest in Toby. That puts not only Mistress Diamond at risk, but also everyone else at The Mansion. We’re going to have to warn them. We saved that boy’s life when we sent him there.”

  “No, you saved his life, Mistress.” David found himself feeling ashamed of how he felt earlier about helping the boy. He also found himself being grateful that he hadn’t argued too much with his Mistress’ decision to send the young man to The Mansion.

  He noted her voice was filled with ironclad determination as she made her next statement. “This just turned into our investigation. There is no way in hell I’m letting a vanilla deal with this case. They don’t know the ins and outs of BDSM and relevant clues will get past them. It will take you and me to break this case. There is no doubt that this man will commit more crimes to provide us with the three it takes to legitimate the serial killer label. It’s not a matter of if he’ll strike again, just when. I’m pursuing this like I would pursue any serial killer case.”

  “We will pursue this, not you, Rene. I’m in complete agreement with you. I believe this isn’t the first time this man has killed. I think he has already reached serial killer status. I’m certain there have already been three kills, enough to classify him as a serial killer. We need to look for past cases with the same M.O. and we need to go and see the coroner to get a closer look at that body. Details on the torture he used will give us an idea of what kind of monster we are dealing with.”

  He chuckled as he made his next statement. “You still work for me, girl. I’ll be heading up this, and any other, investigation you work.”

  “Yeah, that may be true but the only place you will ever dominate me is at work.”

  They grabbed the DVD from the player along with Toby’s few belongings. They wouldn’t show the horrendous taping to anyone else but they would need it for evidence.

  “I want to wait to take his things to him, Rene. It will give us a chance to look through them and see if we can find any clues to this case.”

  “I agree. This isn’t something we were expecting.”

  Toby

  Toby’s senses went on high alert as soon as he heard the sound of his Mistress’ heels heading in his direction. He sat on his bed, nervously wondering if he should get down and kneel on the floor or stay where he was. He was still debating what to do when she entered the room. He was shocked to see her dressed in professional business attire, looking like she was heading to work for the day.

  He noted that, once again, her hair was in a high ponytail, with blunt bangs accentuating her cat eyes rather than hiding them, and wondered what her hair would look like if she wore it down. Her make-up was the same as he had seen it before—Cleopatra black eyeliner with blood red lipstick. She wore a straight, black, pencil skirt with a high slit up one thigh and paired it with a ruffled, white, satin blouse unbuttoned enough to show her perfect breasts pushed up in a black bra. For shoes, she chose black, stiletto heels rather than the thigh-high boots he saw her wearing during his training.

  She sat in the chair and just eyed him, saying nothing. He scrambled from the bed and knelt beside her. She was gentle with him as she pulled his head over and laid it to rest on her lap.

  “I have some things I need to discuss with you.”

  Toby could feel his heart beginning to race. What if she didn’t want him anymore?

  “Don’t worry, pet. I have no intentions of getting rid of you.”

  He breathed a sigh of relief and listened as she continued. He didn’t know how it was possible that she always seemed to be able to read his mind; he was just glad that she did.

  “Being a sub doesn’t mean you don’t have choices, Toby. It actually means you hold all the power in the relationship. At any time, you can request a different Mistress, one more suited to your needs.”

  “But I don’t want a different Mistress,” he blurted out.

  “Silence! Stay quiet until I finish.”

  He made sure she felt his head nod in obedience and then he listened as she continued. “I am a Mistress, but I’m also a slave. I’m Master William’s slave.”

  Suddenly, it all made sense to Toby. She lifted his chin with one of her French manicured nails and looked him in the eye. “Still want me for your Mistress?”

  One single tear ran do
wn his cheek as he nodded in acceptance. When he looked into her eyes, she looked as if she could feel the tug of her heartstrings towards him. He was a young man whose life she held in her hands and he had gladly given it to her.

  “I’m not going to lie to you. I come with baggage. Disconnecting from my Master is not an option. The bond is just too deep. He has owned me since I was eighteen and he will own me until the day I die. You have the option of being trained by another…”

  Toby frantically shook his head in denial.

  She wiped the tear from his face and spoke, “You’ve chosen a hard thing, slave.” She breathed in deeply, as if releasing the tension she felt for him. He instinctively knew that this had been a hard conversation for her to initiate. He wondered if she’d been concerned that he would ask for another Mistress after she revealed her relationship with Master William. In the end, though Toby was glad she had given him a choice in the matter, he didn’t want a different Mistress.

  “There’s always your safeword…”

  With that, she stood and walked out of the room. He listened as the sound of her heels became more distant and he breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness she had chosen to keep him. If having Mistress meant dealing with Master William, then that’s what he’d have to do. He pushed away thoughts of hating the man. He had come here of his own volition and it wasn’t fair to expect that Mistress wouldn’t have had a life and obligations before she met him. Of course she had a life! There was the other option she presented; he could ask for a different Mistress but, for some inexplicable reason, Toby already felt a bond with Mistress Diamond. If keeping her as his Mistress meant accepting the accompanying baggage of a sadistic Master, then he would just have to grin and bear it. He couldn’t tolerate the thought of being without her. The only question now was, how much hell was Master William going to subject him to just to prove his ownership of Mistress Diamond? From what Toby had already seen, it’s pretty clear the Doms and Masters stop at nothing, publically staking their claims to leave no doubts as to whom their slaves belong. Toby could only hope he wouldn’t be subjected to an unnecessary amount of sadism from Master William. From what he had already witnessed of the man’s demeanor, he highly doubted that he would show any mercy when it came to Toby being so enamored with Mistress Diamond.

  Master William

  Master William listened as the sound of her heels became louder in the hallway. He hid behind a corner and wasted no time pouncing on his prey of choice. As soon as she came into view, his hand swiftly shot out and he grabbed her, pulling her into a dark alcove in The Mansion’s hallway. With the swiftness of a man on a mission, his hand clenched tightly around her throat and squeezed roughly enough that he could see true fear in her expression.

  He could see the question in her eyes of whether or not he would make her get rid of her pet. Clearly, it was the only thing plaguing her. He knew his slave and he knew that she wanted to ask if he was going to let her keep Toby.

  It was pure power to know that he had the opportunity to be so sadistic that he could make her give him away and subject her to watching him in the care of another. No one would care for him like she did. He would be nothing more than an object, a mere trainee, in the hands of another Mistress.

  “Baggage? When the fuck did I become baggage? You know the question is rhetorical. It would be very wise of you to resist answering me and don’t you dare say something sarcastic. The only thing saving your ass right now is the fact that you told him the truth, that not being my slave isn’t an option for you.”

  His hand moved from her throat to squeezing her face until he brought tears to her eyes. His sadism went far beyond just physical pain and his cock was already hard from the emotional pain he was causing her. She jerked her face away as he ran his thumb over her bottom lip, purposely smearing her lipstick. She hated when he did that and that is precisely why he did. She knew not to wipe the smeared red coloring from her face without his permission.

  His eyes never left her defiant gaze as he slid his hand up the slit of her skirt and ripped her G-string from her body. His finger slid into her soaked opening and he leered at her, reading her innermost secrets the way he always did. “You look at me as if you hate me but your pussy drips for me and only me. It’s got to be such psychological torment for your body to betray you to a man you hate.” Her body melted into the wall as, once again, it submitted to a man who owned her in many more ways than just physically.

  She tore from his grasp and ran down the hallway to her room, doing her best to escape him. His sadistic laughter rang through the air as he bent down to pick up the G-string he had torn from her body and placed it in his pocket. Finally, he found a weakness that he could exploit in the strong, independent, and very capable woman. Only he held the key that could make this woman—a woman who needed no man—a slave, his slave. The power was fucking intoxicating.

  Chapter Nine

  Mistress Diamond

  Diamond ran through the hallway, trying to ensure that nobody saw her, as she made her way back to her large bedroom, which was more like a small apartment.

  She slammed the door and locked it, barring it with her body, as she tried to gather her wits. She’d succeeded in keeping Toby and that was all that mattered.

  She should have known he’d do this. His obsession with her mandated that he find her weaknesses and use them against her. His fucked up version of love dug its talons into her the very first day, the first moment he laid eyes on her. Her mind drifted back to the age of eighteen, when she’d come to The Mansion. Her intention had simply been to be trained and then leave. She had just wanted to experience what it was like to be a slave. The memories from that day assaulted her…

  She timidly picked at her non-existent fingernails as she sat in the chair in front of the man who would be training her. Though his cold blue gaze pierced through her, it wasn’t the first thing she noticed. No, that was his presence. It was like his presence had swallowed up the whole room and her along with it. There was no Diamond, no room. There was only him.

  She pulled at the thin, cotton dress she wore beneath her denim jacket, feeling very self-conscious.

  “Tell me about yourself, esclave.”

  The words flowed from his lips in a masculine, baritone melody that rolled over her and made her feel like he already owned her.

  “Esclave?”

  “It means slave and, from this day forward, you are my slave, esclave,” he repeated again as if solidifying his claim.

  “But I’m only here for six weeks of training.”

  “Yet fate has intervened… and you are mine.”

  Diamond brushed the tears away and shook her head, burying the memories of yesteryear. She pushed herself off the wall with determination and made her way to her bathroom, eyeing herself in the mirror.

  The only sign of her distress was the wet sheen of her eyes. Though her lipstick was smeared, she had learned long ago to always wear waterproof make-up around Master William.

  She grabbed a tissue and wiped the red stain from her lips and chin where he had purposely smeared her lipstick. It was just one of his many ways to mark her, to leave his stain on her soul, and his memory in her psyche.

  With the expertise of a woman who had been the slave of a sadistic Master for many years, she sponged on a dab of foundation and relined her lips. The defiance she carried like a torch in her chest reflected back in the mirror through her translucent green eyes.

  With her head held high and a mission on her mind, she made her way to her desk and booted up her laptop. She started flipping through her rolodex with the mindset of a woman who had done more than her fair share of business on her own for the last year.

  The clients who paid her did so quite well and she lived a life of exquisite means. The men who bowed at her feet did so willingly and with no reserve, and that included their bank accounts. She was the best in the business; she could thank her Master for that. They were the definition of It’s complicated whe
n it came to their relationship status, so much so that she had actually used it on the online profile her Master made her create. They took each other to such depths of depravity and dysfunction that even Master Richard shook his head at them.

  She dialed Rene’s number to check in with her and give her an update on Toby.

  “Hello, I’m shocked to hear from you so soon. There are no problems with Toby, are there?”

  “Absolutely not, I simply adore the boy. Can’t a Mistress call another fellow Mistress with no ulterior motives?”

  Rene chuckled, “Not when it’s Mistress Diamond.”

  “Very well, I do have an ulterior motive. I’d like to have Toby’s things sent here and wasn’t sure if I needed to meet you to have them picked up.”

  “We’ve already picked up his things from his apartment. We’d planned on bringing them before now but we’ve had some work issues. The poor boy doesn’t have much. The apartment was furnished, if you want to call it that. As far as we can tell, he only had an old, beat-up laptop and some clothing. I think he enjoys writing poetry so I’m sure he would like to have his journals. Let’s do this… my pet and I are attending the dinner this weekend so we’ll just bring all of it with us when we come.”

  “Lovely, darling, that will work out wonderfully. I want him to feel at home here.”

  “Are you keeping him?”

  “Well, mum is the word but I have every intention of doing just that.”

  “And Master William?”

  “He’s agreed,” Mistress Diamond lied. She didn’t want to talk about her personal problems and chose that moment to get off the phone. “I look forward to seeing the two of you. Goodbye, Rene.”

  “Bye, we’ll see you Saturday evening.”

  Mistress Diamond wasn’t in the habit of discussing herself and she wasn’t about to start now. She picked up the phone again and dialed her assistant.