Page 54 of Vengeance of Childhood Proportions

When I lowered his foot to the floor and made to stand, he stopped me by putting his ankle on my shoulder. “After you call down, strip. I prefer you fully naked when you give me a foot massage.”

“Garter belt too?” I asked, knowing he did not mind clarifying questions.

“Naked, pet. As much as I love your lingerie, I want you bare.”

“Yes, Sir.” He lowered his leg and I stood.

It took less than five minutes to use the phone on the wall next to the emergency button to call down to Joey at the bar and order our food. It took longer getting my corset off, and I even had Master Mal help loosen the back strings since I didn’t have my hooks with me.

Once completely naked but for my mask, I knelt again at his feet. “Are you getting enough sleep, Sir?”

“I doubt it since you thought I was on the verge of keeling over when I walked in here.”

I blushed, knowing part of my reaction came from the fact that he was exhausted from investigatingmymurders. “You’re as ruggedly handsome as ever, Sir.”

“Flirt,” he chastised without rebuke.

I continued his foot rub. “Sir, I want to suggest something…unusual.”

“Here?” Master Mal raised an eyebrow. “At a sex club? Fairly certain these walls have seen everything.”

I shook my head, enjoying our banter.

“What is your suggestion, pet?”

I did not look away from him. “I want you to eat your dinner, Sir. I will still finish your foot rub and I’ll even massage your back. And then I suggest we take advantage of this bed—butjustto sleep.”

“Sleep?”

I nodded. “No sex, Sir. Just much needed rest and cuddles.”

“Hm,” he pursed his lips, his eyes squinting like he was concentrating. “I can’t recall the last time I fell asleep with a beautiful woman in my bed.”

“It would be a first for me, Sir.”

“Falling asleep with a beautiful woman in your bed?”

My eyes nearly bugged out of my skull. “No! I mean, yes. Shit.” I dropped his foot, covering my heated cheeks with my hands.

Hetsk’ed his tongue at me, pushing his bare foot against my naked breasts. “Keep going, pet.”

I quickly scooped his foot back up, resuming the massage. “Sir, I meant that I’ve never slept withanyonein my bed, man or woman.”

Master Mal chuckled. “I’d be honored to be your first, Little Owl.”

Answering the knock on the door gave me a chance to soothe my flustered mind. I assumed Master Mal would eat while I continued his massage or that he would have me at least kneel next to the bed, but instead he patted the mattress beside him, inviting me to sit.

He was still dressed but for his shoes and socks. He placed the tray between us, hiking one leg up onto the mattress to face me. I sat cross-legged with my hot fudge sundae.

It was so…domestic and relaxing. I couldn’t remember a time when I didn’t feel like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders. He even insisted I call him ‘Mal’ while we eat, removing the formality from between us.

I felt likeHolly. It was so easy to forget I was wearing a mask.

After we finished, Master Mal stood with the tray, collecting our dishes, and placed it outside the room for one of the staff members to clean up. As he approached the bed, I scooted to the edge in anticipation of needing to kneel again.

Instead, he came right up to me, our legs touching, grabbed my face and kissed me.

I loved Master Mal’s kisses. They added a sweetness to our sessions that I craved like candy. I’d never really been into kissing before this. It seemed unnecessary, but since the moment he’d claimed my lips at the bar prior to assisting in Dominique’s punishment, I found myself always wanting another from him.