Page 25 of Vengeance of Childhood Proportions

She stood up off the bar stool, her high-heeled boots making a light clicking on the floor. She moved, kneeling where Noah had been only a minute ago. “Yes, Sir.”

“Good girl. Now, before we head upstairs, I believe I owe your ass a spanking for taking a sip of your drink earlier when I told you not to.”

Chapter Fourteen

Holly

I swallowed nervously.I suppose it was too much to hope that he would forget about my one act of brat-ism.

I remained kneeling. Unsure if he wanted me to keep eye contact now, I sat up, keeping my back and neck straight, and placed my arms behind me. “Sir, I apologize for that sip of alcohol. I do not drink and I was upset over something that happened earlier tonight. I accept whatever punishment you see fit.”

He stood up. Coming to stand in front of me, he said, “Eyes on me, Little Owl.”

My eyes flew up to his.

“I don’t like hearing that something upset you today and I won’t punish you for not being in the right headspace. Do you wish to talk about what happened?”

God, no. Though the irony of that question was not lost on me after he promised not to put me in bondage.

“No, Sir. I appreciate the offer, but it is not something I am prepared to speak about.”

“That is your choice. However, while you are under my care, it is my responsibility to care for you, mind and body. The offer stands.”

I nodded once. “Thank you, Sir.”

“In place of a punishment, Little Owl, I would like you to tell me something, anything, real about yourself. Can be minor or a defining trait.”

“Will you tell me one too?” I asked without thinking. Then quickly added, “Sir?”

He caught my slip-up but chose to let it go. “Very well. You first, Little Owl.”

Something about me? I didn’t even know anymore. So much of my life centered around getting my revenge. Who would I be when it was over? When everyone on my list was dead, would there even be anything ofmeleft?

I thought about who I was before my attack. I was the cliched nerdy girl, her nose always in a book. I’d wanted to go to college, maybe work in publishing. I’d had stories in my head but never dared to write them down. There’d been one about a teenage spy who was in love with the President’s grandson, another about a twist on the fairytale Cinderella with dragons instead of mice, and a lioness shifter who wanted nothing more than to attend high school because she was secretly in love with the town’s star football player.

I’d never written a single word of any of them, believing any story told by me would be not worth reading.

I used to love school. Math was always my favorite. It came so easily to me, like I could see the solutions before fully seeing the problems.

What would I be today if that fucking day hadn’t happened? Who would I be once my vengeance was over? I didn’t even have a high school diploma. I was thirty years old, and yet I couldn’t see beyond the next several months of my life.

What didIwant, besides my revenge?

Master Mal was waiting for an answer from me. Now that we’d verbally agreed to spend the evening together, I added his title to his name inside my head.

He said I could tell him something minor, but even that was tough to choose.

“I am not sure, Sir. I am not sure how interesting you would find me.”

Hetsked his tongue. “I didn’t ask for interesting, Little Owl. I asked forreal.”

Something real? Hadn’t I been questioning my own identity since the moment Sam had called me ‘Hailey’ earlier today? How could I tell him something real when I didn’t even know who I was?

“Um, my favorite food is pizza.”

Master Mal chuckled. “I think that’s everyone’s favorite food. Try again, Little Owl, or be more specific with what type of pizza.”

That was easy. I was eager to say because I actually knew that answer. “New York style white pizza with mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, and balsamic.”