Her Master's Reckoning

by Lily White

  She grinned, a mischievous sparkle lighting her eyes.

  Leaning forward she gripped her fingers over Greyson’s shoulders. “When we leave, she’s all yours. Pussy, ass, whatever you want. You’ve earned it.”

  There went the sobbing tears again. Sarah was not happy in the slightest.

  Rebecca moved to put away the crop and I shook my head before she had the chance. “I think you should bring that with you.”

  Her smile would have lit the dark room had we been standing inside it.

  Taking Rebecca by the hand, I led her from the room, pausing when we reached the door. Her voice was like music when she said, “She’s all yours, Pet, but remember no teeth. Be a good boy and I’ll let you continue playing with your new toy. One bite and I’ll take her away.”

  The screams started almost immediately when we left the room. I ignored them, not caring about much other than getting Rebecca alone. Dragging her into a guest bedroom that was nothing more than a bed in the center of the room, I released her hand and stepped back, my eyes studying every inch of her beautiful body.

  Meeting my gaze with unwavering focus, she lightly tapped the crop against the side of her leg. “Did you want me to spank you too?”

  A grin stretched my lips. “I think we both know-“

  “That’s not going to happen,” she finished for me, laughter in her voice. Canting her head to the side, she teased, “What if I told you I’d let you do whatever you want to me if you let me have just one good whack?”

  Lifting a single eyebrow, I considered the request. “Anything?”

  She nodded, her fingers gripping the crop tighter.

  Jutting my chin her direction, I commanded, “Take off your clothes and we’ll discuss your offer.”

  She set the crop down to do as she was told. A stupid move on her part. I lunged forward to grab it before she finished pulling the dress over her head.

  Surprise widened her eyes as soon as she saw what I’d done. I didn’t give her even a second to complain before bending her over the bed and smacking the leather across to backs of her thighs. Her legs buckled and she sank down to her knees, the perfect place to remind her that when the two of us were alone, she was the obedient submissive.

  Dropping the crop, I unzipped my pants, thoroughly enjoying the desire I witnessed in her heated gaze.

  “I think I’ll start with your mouth first, my beautiful girl. Then we’ll get around to your tight ass and your perfect, precious cunt.”

  She licked the tip when I was near her, the gloss of her lips shimmering beneath the low light of the room. But before taking me fully into her mouth, the woman glanced up at me with defiant, damn near dangerous eyes. “Do you want to be in my mouth?”

  Considering my hard dick was practically butting up against her lips, I assumed the answer was obvious. “What do you think?”

  She clamped those gorgeous lips closed, her eyelids fluttering closed and open again. “First, you’ll have to call me Master.”

  Laughter shook my chest, my head falling back as anticipation ran over my body. “Please, Master, will you suck my cock?”

  Silence beneath me, I glanced down to see utter shock in her expression.

  Shaking her head, she laughed, beautiful white teeth flashing beneath perfect lips. “Yeah. That doesn’t work for me. I’d rather you tell me what to do.”

  Gripping my hand in her hair, I was all too willing to oblige. “Open the fuck up, Pet.”

  She took all of me with one sensuous thrust.

  I couldn’t begin to describe how enjoyable the wet heat of her body was, especially while listening to Sarah scream.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  REBECCA

  Two weeks passed quickly after Aiden brought home Sarah. As I’d demanded, Greyson refrained from injuring her, earning him a daily play date that kept him disciplined during our training sessions. I was proud of the Courtesan he’d become and I imagined the sexual release he gained from good behavior had groomed him into the mentality I preferred, even if his act had only been a game in the beginning.

  I would have been in a good mood to have successfully trained a Courtesan, the feat comparable to learning to master a marionette puppet with its multitude of strings, but while one facet of my life was coming along nicely, another, more important side was falling apart.

  With each day, my freedom crept closer, a date set for Greyson’s exhibition, the presentation where I would prove to the Society members in attendance that I had what it takes to mold a person into the perfect slave. Every day I came that much closer to walking away from this life, Aiden’s mood grew darker.

  It started with a burst of sexual frenzy, his constant need to touch, to spank, to graze his teeth over the parts that drove me crazy and to sink his cock so deep our bodies became one. Our desire for each other was renewed somehow, the secretive glances, the teasing remarks, the playful defiance that led to punishments that ended with ground shaking orgasms and carnal moans.

  I was once again enjoying the Master who’d managed to entrance me into falling in love, at times wondering if my freedom from this life would really be worth walking away if Aiden refused to go.

  Every time the thought crossed my mind, I shut down beneath the weight of it. To stay without demanding change would do nothing more than enslave me again, would lead to the same lonesome place I’d been before Greyson was brought to the house for me to train.

  We would return to going through the motions, and eventually Aiden would grow bored enough to begin bringing home new Courtesans.

  I knew how the story would play out because it’s the way it had always gone, and after reaching a point where change was so close I could reach out and touch it, I knew better than to give it up.

  Needless to say, the realization caused me to behave differently around Aiden when he was playing his part. Listening to him, watching him, truly paying attention to his mannerisms and thoughts, I realized that Aiden had led himself to believe I would never go, that I would buckle and beg to stay when the moment came for me to walk off.

  It made me place distance between us, and as that distance grew, Aiden’s demeanor became more volatile, the punishments harsher, the joy he’d once had when he turned to look at me slowly replaced with such bitter resentment that he helped place more distance: two Masters who knew nothing but the need to compete with one another.

  On the morning of the presentation, we hadn’t spoken in several days. I woke up alone in our bed, his pillow crisp and untouched. I knew in my heart that it would be the last time I woke in a room that had been reserved solely for a Master and his Courtesan, four walls that kept the outside world at bay. Four walls I would never know again.

  My heart shattered just a little more at the realization, but despite the pain, I didn’t let go of my resolve to exhibit my Courtesan and earn the title that unclipped my leash.

  My plan was already in place. After secretly talking with Anthony several times, he’d agreed to let me move to his island. There was plenty of room to build a small house where I could live, plenty of space to build a life away from the demands of the Society, of Aiden, of the cruelties of an existence watching young women stolen away and sold into subservient lives.

  I couldn’t go back to who I’d been before Aiden. There would be questions I’d refuse to answer, secrets I’d die before revealing. My loyalty to the man I’d loved for five long years would never go away. If I were to talk, he’d be ruined. If I were to talk, even Anthony’s past could be trudged up for inspection. If I were to talk, I’d have to admit that I knew all the intricate details of a life of crime that would put dozens of men behind bars.

  It would be the right thing to do. I knew that. But I’d developed too many friendships to risk hurting the people who cared for me in their special way. I’d attached too many strings to my heart and soul that would tear me apart if the truth came out and I was pulled in a dozen different directions.

  I wasn’t a good enough pers
on to do what was right. I knew that about myself and I was willing to accept it.

  My Master’s reckoning wouldn’t come in the form of police raids and prison sentences.

  It wouldn’t come with seizure of his assets and examinations of his property.

  It would come with the loss of the one weak spot he’d ever admitted to having.

  It would come with him being left to live the life he chose, alone and unloved, so dark and dismal that Aiden would devolve into what he once was instead of continuing to grow into the man I knew he could become.

  He’d given me a life of sexual freedom, and in doing so he’d caged me. I’d given him a heart that he was never worthy to hold, and in doing so I’d changed him.

  He was losing every person that mattered, Anthony admitting to me that when he left Aiden’s house to return to the island with me, it would be the last time he spoke to his old friend. Anthony had a woman to love and a baby on the way. I had a new life to build with endless possibilities of what I could make of it.

  Aiden would have a large empty house, one that would be filled with the endless screaming of the women he enslaved.

  He would tell you he was happy with how it all turned out, but I knew the loneliness would eventually destroy him.

  Aiden Oliver was no longer the soulless man he was when he took me. By handing him my heart, I’d caged him in my own way.

  Today, both our cages would open, but while I flew free to move forward into the light, Aiden would refuse to budge, surrendering himself to a worthless and miserable life.

  Anthony agreed with me when I’d spoken of my fears, but there was nothing either of us could do for Aiden any longer.

  Either he changed, or he didn’t.

  Forcing myself out of bed, I went about my usual morning routine of getting a shower, drying my hair and applying my makeup. But something stopped me while brushing on my mascara, my eyes welling up as I glanced down at my bare neck to remember the collar that had once encircled it. Dropping the mascara wand to the counter, I reached up with tentative fingers to remember when he’d given me the jewelry, to remember the way my heart had swelled with love at the bare hint that Aiden truly did love me.

  He’d celebrated Christmas with me that year, a holiday he couldn’t stand, but rather than a strict refusal that was so typical of a man like him, he’d actually relented to the celebration, even if he did so in his own unique way.

  Aiden wasn’t the type to come out and openly admit his feelings, but I knew him well enough to look at what he’d done for me through the years and see the truth of his thoughts in his actions.

  Leaving him would not only crush me, it would crush him as well, and for a brief moment I reconsidered my decision, the competing thoughts in my head giving me whiplash.

  This would destroy him.

  The man who’d shown me love in the only way he knew how.

  The man who gone down on his knees with the guise of teaching me, but had still made himself vulnerable.

  Walking away would be like spitting in his face. I’m sure there are those who believe he deserves it, and they may be right. It’s too bad I wasn’t one of them.

  Despite my indecision, I knew, in the end, I couldn’t choose to stay. Doing so would only destroy me instead of him.

  With that thought in mind, I finished my makeup, got dressed and left the room. Anthony was waiting for me in the kitchen, his own cup of coffee steaming where it sat in front of him, the mug he’d poured for me sitting in front of an empty seat, as if he knew I would be coming.

  “How are you feeling?”

  Knowing eyes watched me as I took my seat, his voice soothing and calm.

  I took a sip of my coffee, forced a smile even if I didn’t feel it. Anthony must have known, his hopeful expression fading into soft sympathy. “Are you prepared to go forward with everything tonight?”

  I nodded while cradling the warm mug between my cold hands. “Have you seen him this morning?”

  Anthony shook his head. “No. I’m sorry. I’ve barely seen him for several days. Aiden appears…distracted, distant.”

  “That’s my fault,” I assured him. “I don’t think he believed I would go through with this. Perhaps he thought I would buckle eventually, beg for my collar back while agreeing to whatever lifestyle he wanted to give me.” I got quiet, thoughtful. On a softer voice, I admitted, “I can’t do this anymore. I can’t be with a man who will never value me enough to walk away from the career he’s chosen. Doesn’t he have enough money, Anthony? At what point is anything enough?”

  Maybe that was the truth of it: there would never be enough for Aiden, his ambition far outweighing the blessings he’d been given.

  “How did you decide to walk away?”

  A sly grin pulled at Anthony’s lips, a memory flitting through his eyes that wiped it away. “It took the loss of someone I cared for to finally make me see I’d had it all. When Elise jumped from that cliff –“ His voice faded, the memory drowning him in the sorrow he’d once known. He cleared his throat. “Anyway, after losing her and then finding Sera, I knew not to make the same mistake again.”

  A chortle burst from my lips, harsh and raw. “Yeah, well, I’m not willing to toss myself off a cliff to make Aiden see the error of his ways.”

  “I’m not sure it would take that much, Rebecca. I think walking away will be sufficient enough. Either he follows, or he doesn’t. Your life will go on regardless of the direction he takes. As long as you know you can survive it, that’s all that matters.”

  Would I survive it?

  That was the ultimate question.

  Dropping the subject, I chose to focus on the task at hand. “What time will the Society members arrive? I need to get both Courtesans ready.”

  Arching a brow in surprise, Anthony asked, “Both?”

  It was my turn to smile. “Greyson enjoys Sarah. I can’t say that the enjoyment is two ways, but he deserves the only reward I can give him. Without her, there won’t be much for me to show tonight beyond a man who does what I tell him. But with her, at least I can make the presentation a little more interesting.”

  “She’ll scream,” Anthony said on a laugh. “I’m not sure how that woman has any vocal cords left. Not after the past two weeks.”

  Nodding, I knew he was only partially right in what he said. Sarah screamed every time someone besides Greyson touched her. Although Aiden hadn’t yet been interested enough to sleep with her, he’d invited other Masters and Owners over to take her for a ride. The way he explained it, they were only getting even for the amount of money she’d stolen from them through her extortion.

  At first, she’d hated having Greyson anywhere near her, but over the last few days, she’d tolerated our presence, even so much as enjoyed it, behaving for my commands as much as the man I trained. Perhaps she saw me as the only person who wasn’t outright hurting her in the process. I assumed the others weren’t gentle or concerned about whether she came in the moments they spent with her. I, at least, gave her that. Or Greyson did, I should say.

  Where others had treated her training as an act of violence, I was attempting to accomplish the same feat through sensual art.

  She would behave for me tonight. I was sure of it.

  “I should go. I want to make sure they’re both ready and willing to behave. It would be embarrassing if my presentation tonight exploded in my face.”

  “Go,” Anthony responded. “Tonight is important for them as well as you. Without their proper behavior we won’t be able to title you a Master. Then all the worrying about Aiden would have been for nothing.”

  I hadn’t considered that part of it.

  His reminder made preparing for the presentation all the more stressful.

  Standing from my seat, I inclined my head in a silent goodbye and left the room, my thoughts plagued by what tonight would mean for all of us.

  . . .

  The Society members arrived shortly after six that night, the sun outside set
tling over the horizon, painting the sky with ribbons of red and gold, hot spots of pink and brilliant white. It was a gorgeous day to be set free, but despite the weather, I couldn’t shake the pain of loss inside me.

  Aiden hadn’t shown his face at any point during the day. I’ll admit I’d hoped he would pull me aside, would beg me to rethink my decision. Rather than doing so, he’d left early that morning and didn’t return again until just before the other guests arrived.

  Playing the perfect host, he’d met them at the door and walked them to the large dining room where they would all have perfect seats to witness what I could do as a Master rather than a Courtesan.

  It killed me to watch him from a distance, to see how cold he’d become in the days leading up to the presentation. Rather than being the man I’d hoped would remember he loved me, he became a stranger enduring nothing more than a business transaction much like the others he’d achieved through the Society.

  A hand landed on my shoulder from where I stood out of sight and out of the way, the scent of Anthony’s cologne drifting up so that I didn’t need to turn to know who stood behind me.

  “Are you ready for this?”

  I almost cried to hear the question.

  Was I ready to present the Courtesans? Yes.

  Was I ready to say goodbye to the only man I’d loved. No. Not even in the slightest.

  My bottom lip quivered and Anthony softly reminded me, “Stay strong, Rebecca. All of this is for the best. You deserve more than he’s ever given you.”

  It was a tough truth to swallow. My throat worked it down regardless. “I’m ready.”

  Stepping up to stand beside me, Anthony nodded his head, his black hair swept back, the grey tailored suit he wore a beautiful contrast to the deep tan of his skin. “I’ll go take my seat. It’s time for you to get your Courtesans and walk them in. Don’t be nervous. You have one friend in the audience who supports you.”

  He moved to step away, but I grabbed his arm to pull him back, panic making it difficult to think or breathe. “What happens if they act out? If they misbehave?”