Page 24 of Vengeance of Childhood Proportions (Till Death Do Us Part #7)

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 of me left?

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 did I want, 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.”

He tsk ed his tongue. “I didn’t ask for interesting, Little Owl. I asked for real .”

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.”

He touched my cheek. “Good girl. Each time we meet, I want you to tell me something about yourself.” His lips twitched, but not quite a smile. “Try to limit how many ‘favorite foods’ you have, Little Owl.”

My cheeks heated. “What about you, Sir? What’s something about you?”

“Well, not many people around here know this, but I work in law enforcement. I’m an FBI agent.”

Damn. I couldn’t tell him I already knew that. I felt disappointed, like I’d wasted a limited question. “That sounds very exciting.”

“It’s more boring than I care to admit, but it has its moments. Are you ready to go upstairs?”

Anticipation replaced my disappointment. “Yes, Sir.”

“Forgive my oversight. Do you need to change first?”

I glanced down myself at my mesh tunic and jeans. “No, Sir. With your permission, I’ll remove my shirt once upstairs, but I won’t need to remove anything else.”

“Very well. You will follow behind me by three steps, on my right. Hands behind your back, chin down. We will be going upstairs and you may hold the rail if you need to.”

I didn’t, but I appreciated the stipulation. “Yes, Sir.”

“And, Little Owl?” I looked up again, waiting. “I will never tell you not to take your clothes off.”

I smiled up at him, unable to help the lighthearted feeling inside me.

I tried to follow behind as close to the required three steps as I could.

I’d never gone through traditional training, like walking protocols.

My submission was so unique and specific to my needs that I’d never been involved in a scene or even served a Dom.

I was as amateurish as they came. Nerves started to make my belly quake.

Master Mal was obviously an experienced Dom.

He knew exactly what he was doing and what he wanted.

That confidence is what drew me to him when he’d approached me on stage two weeks ago, and it still affected me now.

More than that, he wasn’t demeaning in his domination.

Hell, he’d apologized to me . He’d tried to stand between me and Jason.

Mind, that was probably more suicidal than he’d ever realize, but he’d still done it.

One, two, three … I counted inside my head as I followed. I hoped the rhythm would help to calm me. Did he realize just how inexperienced I was? Should I tell him?

I barely even noticed Jason as we passed him in the hall.

Despite that he had his cock down Noah’s throat, to the point where Noah was a blubbering, gasping mess, Jason still put his hand out and snagged my knives from my belt in a swift motion that neither Noah nor Master Mal picked up on. I barely even felt it, it was so quick.

Once inside the room, Master Mal said, “You may look up now. You need to work on your walking pose. Are you out of practice or have you never done it before?”

“Never done it before, Sir,” I admitted.

“I require it of my submissive, but we’ll discuss that later.” He held out his large hand. “Your shirt, Little Owl.”

I removed the mesh shirt and handed it over to him. In just my bra, jeans, and boots, I took a moment to look around the room. I’d never known Valentino kept a private dancing pole up here. I might have asked Jason to reserve it on a nightly basis otherwise.

Two speakers were on a shelf behind the cushioned seating. I saw what looked like a note attached to one. “Sir,” I pointed, wanting to make sure he saw it.

Master Mal looked behind himself and then walked over to the note. “It says to call the security office when you’re ready to start. They have your playlist ready.”

“May I take a drink of water before I begin?”

“You may. Bring me one as well. I want you to drink a full bottle while I call down to the security desk.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

Minutes later, Earned It by The Weeknd came over the speakers.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and allowed the music to take me over.

Let the entire world fall away and simply was .

I was no longer a killer, no longer a victim or a survivor, no longer a fighter.

I was just me , a leaf in the wind, a snowflake in the breeze.

I was free .