Essential Master (Doms of Napa Valley)

by Trace, Dakota

  * * * *

  Zebadiah was deep in thought as the car slowed down in front of home. Next to him on the seat was a cardboard carton with the contents from his safety deposit box. He was amazed they’d managed to get everything out of the bank before Allison had come back with her lawyers. He didn’t doubt for a moment she’d use legal jargon to get into the now empty box.

  “We’re home.” Ethan announced unneeded. “Need help carrying any of that in?”

  He shook his head. “I think I got it. As long as you’re not planning on making me lug it down to the pond and back before letting me put it down, because of some ancient Japanese tradition says I should.”

  Ethan chuckled. “You Americans love your movies. Tying pieces of meat to have the dog chase you, and now carrying a box to some other place?” He shook his head. “Come on, let’s get this stuff in before Davis comes looking for us.”

  “Okay.” Opening the door, he stood slowly, wincing as his knee protested. It still stiffened up when he sat for long periods of time, or stood for that matter. Leaning in to retrieve the box, he was just straightening and wasn’t prepared for the slamming of several car doors behind him, or the strident voice he’d hoped to never hear again. He did not need to see the petite red-headed dominatrix he’d been stupid enough to agree to serve, to recognize the tone. In reaction, he dropped the box.

  “Zebadiah Pellegrino, you worthless piece of shit, I don’t know what the hell you think you’re doing, but it’s gonna stop.” Allision Teelen, all five foot three of her, stomped towards the car. Unreasonable fear had him freezing as Ethan stepped between him and his former Mistress, blocking the well-dressed woman. If one didn’t know Allison was in the lifestyle, she’d have easily been mistaken for any other local business owner in Napa. Her family owned several wineries, and he didn’t have a prayer in hell of fighting their power and money in court, but he had to try.

  “Ms. Teelen, you can’t be here. In fact you cannot come within five hundred yards of Zeb because of the restraining order. I suggest you leave before Davis is aware you’re on our property and calls the police. It’d be shame to be tossed back into the clink as you American’s say, after you just made bail.”

  “You’re threatening me? My lawyers have assured me that neither my slave’s restraining order nor the charges against me will stick once I have proof of the contract we signed. Then my baby will be coming home where he belongs.”

  Zeb’s skin crawled as his mouth dried out. He wanted to protest. He wasn’t her baby anymore. He was Steph’s Sexy, and Nicky’s little hummingbird. He didn’t want to be her baby.

  “Well, until you can provide proof of this contract Ms. Teelen, I suggest you remove yourself from my property.” Ethan stood firm in the face of the woman’s fury. Behind him, Zebadiah began to hyperventilate. All she had to do was step around Ethan, and she’d have the proof she needed, and he’d have to go home with her. Dear Lord, she’ll kill me this time. Dark spots began to dance in front of his eyes as he swayed on his feet.

  “There is proof. It was in the safety deposit box he just cleaned out. Imagine my surprise when I returned to the bank, only to be informed my slave cleaned it out less than thirty minutes before?”

  “It was his safety deposit box, Allison. He has every right to it.”

  “Only if I give him the right! Which I didn’t. He’s an idiot when it comes to money!” She tried to shove past Ethan. “You’re going to pay for that, you worm. You know you’re not allowed access to that safety deposit box without my direct permission,” she screeched as Ethan caught her by the waist.

  Panic and the need to escape pooled in Zebadiah’s stomach as he tried to scramble back away from her. “No!” He tripped over the box he’d dropped and went down. Everything went black as he hit his head on the open car door.

  Chapter Five

  When he came to, Zebadiah’s head was pounding and he was in the hospital, or rather its emergency room again. The white walls, ceiling, and mauve looking privacy curtain were items he’d hope to never see again in his lifetime. He turned his head slowly to see the familiar IV drip connected to his arm. He was truly getting sick of these places.

  “Good, you’re finally awake. We were getting worried. You managed to wallop yourself on the head pretty hard, Zebadiah.” A familiar nurse appeared in front of him. He squinted as she blurred a bit before slowly coming into focus. “Amanda?”

  “Yep. Good to see you still recognize me. I caught an E.R. shift and was definitely surprised to see you in here.” She picked up his wrist, feeling for his pulse. “Can you tell me your full name, sweetheart?”

  He licked his dry lips, his mouth feeling like Sahara Dessert. “Do I have to? Can’t I have a drink first? I don’t know why I’m so thirsty.”

  She sighed, placing the clipboard next to him on the bed, still monitoring his pulse. Twenty seconds dragged by before she released him. After scribbling on his chart, she finally looked up at him. “That’s because of the side effects of the lorazepam. Tell you what, you give me your name and I’ll get you a big cup of ice chips.”

  “Zebadiah Reynolds Pellegrino.” He winced at his hated middle name, but the promised ice chips were worth it - he was that thirsty.

  “Good.” She shuffled over to the counter and brought back a Styrofoam cup. Placing it in the hand not hooked up to the IV, she continued to record his vitals, taking his blood pressure this time as he sucked on an ice chip. Finally done, she smiled down at him. “Do you remember anything that happened?”

  He frowned. “Yeah. She was there. She wanted to hurt me.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I panicked, then everything went black.”

  She nodded. “It matches up with what your friend said when he brought you in. That blackness was you running into an open car door. You knocked yourself silly.”

  “It feels like it.” He lifted his hand to aching part at the back of his head.

  “Whoa, don’t touch that. The doctor just finished stitching you up fifteen minutes ago. He’ll be ticked if you pull them out. You caught the latch on the door and had to have fourteen stitches.” She took out a small penlight to check his pupils. He winced as the light caused new pain to shoot through his head and down his neck. “Sensitive to light still?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Not surprising. You managed to give yourself a nasty concussion along with your stitches.”

  His face flushed. “I was scared. I obviously underestimated my own strength.”

  “Fear can be a powerful motive. No worries, however as the woman was carted back off to jail, from my understanding for breaking the restraining order. Probably a good thing considering the size of the guys out in the waiting room. Your lawyer is freakin’ huge and the other guy with him isn’t a small man by any stretch of the imagination.”

  “Yeah, Davis is huge, but…Ethan may be shorter but he can kick some serious butt, if you know what I mean?”

  “Oh yes, he’s one of those silent but deadly types, but I was talking about our local celebrity author, Nicholaus Tarquinio. I stopped on my lunch hour earlier today and had him sign my copy of His Reluctant Desire. Nice man, but the woman…she scares me. She stood behind him and dared anyone to even think about touching her man.”

  “Stephanie,” he croaked out, his scrambled brains trying to make sense of Steph and Nicholaus being here. Ethan must’ve called them after the attack. He wasn’t sure if he was happy or pissed his friend had done so.

  “Yep that’s her name. You think Mr. Tarquinio was pissed about you being hurt, she was seething with fury.”

  “She was?”

  She nodded. “Okay, if you don’t have any more questions, your doctor will be in to see you in just a bit.” She moved to leave, when he shifted and pain shot up his arm as he inadvertently pulled on the IV.

  “Actually I do.” He lifted his arm. “Why the hell am I hooked up to an IV if all they did was put stitches in me.”

  “Because they had to sedate you in the em
ergency room. You tried to stab the doctor with a pair of medical shears.”

  Shock washed over him. “I did what?”

  Her face expression softened. “No harm happened. You were upset when you first came to. The drip is giving you a light but steady dose of lorazepam to keep you on a steady keel. You had a very traumatic experience.” A light knock on the door had her turning. “Yes? Let me see if he’s up to company, Mr. Tarquinio.” She pivoted towards him with a question in her eyes.

  “I guess.” He toyed with the blanket covering his legs as Nicky walked into the exam room.

  “How are you feeling, il mio colibrì?” Nicholaus came to a stop next to the bed.

  “My head hurts like a bastard.”

  “I imagine it does.” He pulled up the plastic chair and sank down into it. “I hear you had a visit from your ex?”

  Zebadiah nodded, and then winced as more pain shot through his head.

  “Hey, no more nodding if it hurts.” Nicholaus picked up Zeb’s hand, but kept his voice soft.

  “Yeah, I’m figuring that out. Man it feels like someone took a pick ax to my head.” Zebadiah relaxed back against the bed. “I was surprised when Amanda told me you and Steph were here.” He yawned. “Did Ethan call you?”

  “We came because Bella called us.”

  Another mystery solved, Zebadiah thought as his eyes grew heavy once more. Whatever was in the sedative was making him sleepy. He was drifting when a thought occurred to him. “Where’s Stephanie?”

  “She decided to wait with Ethan and Davis in the waiting room. She’s pretty upset about the attack.”

  Unable to open his eyes, he mumbled. “No attack…I was clumsy…no need for her to be upset…” Darkness consumed him once more.

  * * * *

  “And her being upset, is like you being clumsy - nothing is further from the truth.” Nicholaus watched the man, who he’d just begun to get to know, drift back to sleep. Zebadiah had been so scared he’d tried to run, and Steph was pissed to the point she thought it might scare Zeb even more if she’d come in. Both he and Steph were falling fast for Zebadiah, but it didn’t surprise him. He was a romantic at heart and believed in love at first sight. It’d taken only ten minutes in Steph’s company before he had fallen and he had never regretted it. She completed him in ways he hadn’t expected. Her sassy mouth kept him on his toes, her sexy body fit up next to his nearly perfectly, and her love for life in general kept him from becoming too set in his routine.

  Tracing his fingers across the calloused palm he was holding, he idly wondered what part of their lives Zebadiah would fill. He longed to feel the man in bed with them. He loved nothing more than being sandwiched between two people he loved. He froze. Had it happened already? He studied Zeb’s sleeping face as he tried to examine his feelings. Worry and concern about his il mio colibrì’s physical and mental well-being, anger at the woman responsible for putting Zebadiah back in the hospital, and fear this would drive the man away from him and Steph. Yep, he was screwed. He’d fallen lock, stock and barrel for the man just as he had Steph. Now he’d have to hope Steph felt the same way towards Zebadiah, and they would be able to work past this newest wrinkle. Sometimes he wondered if he’d ever be able to do anything the easy way.

  A light knock proceeded Ethan slipping into the room. The other man looked none worse for the wear from his encounter with Allison.

  “Hey, Ethan.” He continued to hold Zeb’s hand. “Did the war council get too bloody for you?”

  A smile tugged at the other man’s mouth. “Your sub is quite blood-thirsty. I dare say that bitch should be glad she’s in jail at the moment for breaking the restraining order.”

  “Yeah, she is.” He gave a mock shudder. “You should’ve seen what she did to the deranged woman who was stalking me when we first met. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything as terrifying in my life as seeing her go medieval on the poor woman.”

  Ethan came to a stop next to the bed. “I’m just glad he didn’t reinjure his knee again in the fall. He’s already had two surgeries and massive amount of rehab. I don’t think he could handle another round.”

  Nicholaus stared down at Zeb. “Somehow I think he’s a lot stronger than we give him credit for, Ethan. How long was he with Allison?”

  “About two years.” Sinking into the other plastic chair, Ethan sighed. “I don’t know how he handled it. I suspect it was his cooking that saved him. He loves to bake. I’m surprised I haven’t gained ten pounds since he moved in. He’s constantly baking breads, sweets and cakes. His Black Forest Cake is to die for. I can understand why he wants to open his own bakery and coffee shop.”

  Nicholaus cocked his head. “He wants to open his own shop?”

  Ethan nodded. “Yes. He’s been saving for several years since he finished culinary school. He even has a piece of land his grandmother left him, which would be ideal for the type of bakery he wants to have. It’s on the edge of town right off of Highway 12. With his skills and the really good location, it could be a success. I’ve even offered to back him financially, but so far he’s resisted.”

  “I wonder why? If he loves baking as much as he says and has a willing backer, I don’t understand why he hasn’t…”

  “I suspect pride. He’s offered several times to pay room and board until I told him I’d paddle him if he offered again. His baking more than covers anything I’d even dream of accepting from him.” Ethan’s eyes glazed over. “He has the best damn bread I’ve ever tasted. We haven’t had store bought bread once since he got back on his feet. If I could afford to keep him on as a full time baker, I’d tell him to quit his job and come to work for me.”

  “I knew you kept me around for a reason…you’re after my bread…” Zebadiah whispered, his eyes barely open a crack.

  “Did we wake you? Are we being too loud?” Ethan asked softly.

  “Naw…head hurts. Just…drifting in …and out,” he slurred, his eyes closing once more.

  There was another soft knock and the doctor entered, surprise on his face as he saw the two men surrounding his patient. “Which one of you is Ethan Tremaine?”

  Ethan rose. “I am.”

  “I’m Dr. Sanderton. As you’re Mr. Pellegrino’s representative, I need to go over a few things with you. Can we talk privately for a moment?” Nicholaus’s skin prickled as the doctor gave him a pointed look. Gently untangling their hands, he rose. “I’ll just step outside and see how Steph and Davis are doing.” As he walked out of the room, it was all he could do to not argue with the doctor. Damn H.I.P.A. laws.

  * * * *

  Steph was deep in discussion with Davis about what might hopefully happen to Allison when Nicky strode back into the room, heading for the vending machines. Her eyebrows rose. Between the frustrated look on his face and his pursuit of caffeine she knew he’d reached the end of his tether. The only time he drank soda or coffee was when something hadn’t gone his way. Obviously some doctor had kicked him out of Zeb’s room. She interrupted Davis when her Master stopped in front of the coffee machine.

  “Just a second, Davis. Gotta check on Nicky. A ‘strung out on coffee author’ is never a good thing.” Rising, she joined her Master. “Nicky?”

  He was shoving coins into the machine. “Yeah?”

  “Are you sure you want the coffee?” She kept her voice low and non-threatening. Sometimes it worked. He looked over his shoulder at her.

  “Relax, cara mia, I’m only going to have one cup. My nerves are shot.” He pulled her to him after he made his selection. She sighed in relief as she noticed he’d selected decaf. As the machine hissed and spit, she stood in his embrace, allowing him to hold her. Sometimes a good hug helped.

  Once the coffee was done, he released her to grab the small cardboard cup. Then they rejoined Davis, who was now on his cell phone. If the look on his face and tone of voice he was using were any indication, he obviously wasn’t happy with the person on the other end of the call.

  “I can’t belie
ve you’re doing this. I can sue your ass off for breach of contract and violating Zebadiah’s civil rights. The F.M.L.A. act covers this type of thing, Harmond.” He paused as she and Nicky settled onto one of the uncomfortable hospital couches. “I understand his absence has left you short-handed, but he has no control over the actions of others…” A scowl crossed Davis’s face before he snapped the phone shut with a growl. “That son of a bitch hung up on me.”

  “I take it that was Sexy’s boss?”

  Davis gave her a strange look. “If Zeb is Sexy, then yes, that was his boss…or rather his former boss. Dolly, Ethan’s secretary just called me to let me know he called the house and terminated Zeb’s employment. I want to take the bastard to court, but Zeb has been reluctant, considering he just returned to work a couple of weeks ago on a limited basis. Missing today’s shift because of the incident evidently was the last straw, and he fired him.”

  “Dammit. When it rains it pours. Steph and I were planning to stop by his place of employment to sample some of his deserts. From what Ethan was telling me, Zebadiah makes a killer Black Forest Cake.” Nicky shifted next to her. “We won’t be able to do that now, but perhaps now he’ll start his own bakery.”

  “What bakery?” Her curiosity was pricked. “Zebadiah didn’t mention he wanted to do that when we were talking to him earlier today.”

  “Ethan told me. Wonder why he didn’t mention it to us?”

  Davis shrugged. “Having his own bakery would be a perfect solution to this mess, but he’s been reluctant to accept help from anyone. Allison’s a control freak from hell. What little confidence he had, she destroyed with her constant criticisms. I think he’s afraid he’ll fail, even though both Ethan and I can see his passion for cooking.”

  Her brow furrowed. “Then why did he stay with her?”