Page 30 of Vengeance of Childhood Proportions (Till Death Do Us Part #7)

Chapter Twenty

Holly

I was laughing at something Joey said when the door to the private room opened.

Turning, I saw Master Mal stride into the room.

His muscular hips under the open flaps of his suit jacket drew my attention.

He hadn’t even de-FBI’ed before he’d come inside.

For some reason, I found that extremely appealing.

I was fine, perfectly safe, but I’d been the first person he looked for upon entering the main room.

Master Mal took off his jacket and tossed it onto the cushion next to where I was sitting.

There was a faint sound when it landed, almost like a jingle.

I saw his cell phone on his belt and my eyes widened as I realized that he hadn’t even stopped by the lockers on the way in.

Valentino better not catch him with that. It might cost him his membership.

“Get out,” he said to Joey, but his dark green eyes were completely fixed on me.

Joey jumped to his feet, picking up the pizza box.

“Leave the box.” Again, his eyes did not leave mine.

“Oh, um,” Joey cleared his throat. “Dani said I could?—”

“I don’t care what Dani said. It’s her pizza and she will eat all of it, whether it’s today, tomorrow, or next week.”

Joey placed the box back on the cushion where it had been between us. “Yes, sir. Sorry.” And then rushed from the room, closing the door behind him.

Master Mal put a knee up on the cushion by my hip. He leaned over me, his opposite arm on the back of the horseshoe couch by my ear. “When I come into a room, Little Owl, you are to kneel. Do you understand?”

I swallowed hard, but nodded. “Yes, Sir.”

“You’re allowed one,” he held up a single finger, “mistake. Once we go over expectations and limits in a few minutes, I expect you to adhere to my rules.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Did you eat enough?”

“Yes, Sir. Thank you again for the pizza, but I really can’t eat all of it on my own. That’s why I offered the rest to Joey.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I do not feed Joey, Little Owl. You are my priority. I provide for you , not Joey.”

I licked my lips, tasting residual traces of tomato, spices, and cheese. “That’s very sweet of you, Sir.”

Master Mal shook his head. “Not sweet. In a standard arrangement, it is my job.” He bent down lower to press his lips gently to mine. “In your case, it’s my privilege.”

I felt my cheeks heat and was a bit embarrassed to form a reply.

“Tell me why you wanted to come upstairs instead of witnessing Dominique’s punishment. It was you she hurt after all.”

I shook my head. “She didn’t hurt me. She just?—”

“She nearly made you cry,” he interrupted through gritted teeth.

My eyes widened when I saw anger rolling off him in waves.

In our short time together, I had seen a more laidback side of him, stern but playful.

Now, I was seeing the Dom. The man with the reputation, per Joey, for being demanding, domineering, and challenging.

Many subs wanted him because he did not play games, a straightshooter.

That was not the impression I’d gotten from him.

Or I guess it was, because he was all those things, but I also saw a softer side. Beyond the provider and protector was a caretaker.

I had to look away from him, feeling like he was able to see into my soul. “I did not need to see it,” I answered him.

“Eyes on me, Little Owl.”

My eyes snapped over to him. I wasn’t entirely comfortable with how deeply he was looking at me, but he’d demanded it. I wanted to look away but did not have to. “I did not want to see her like that,” I answered truthfully.

“Why?”

A lump got stuck in my throat. “Because I knew she would like it.”

Master Mal nodded slowly, like he was understanding something unspoken. “I can assure you that she did not. Master Valentino is putting her in chastity and, at my request, it will be for two months.”

My eyes widened. I’d never been interested in trying chastity. Maybe short term, for a punishment, but long term would definitely be a hard limit for me. “Do you enjoy chastity? Is that something you like to do?”

Master Mal shook his head. “Chastity keeps me away from my prize too. I want full access to you, Little Owl, at all times.”

I nodded because I desperately wanted that too. I didn’t know what it was about Master Mal that drew me like a moth to a flame. I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t be meeting with him again. I shouldn’t be about to discuss an arrangement to him.

But there was one core fact that I just couldn’t overlook when it came to this man: I felt safe with him.

So here I was, looking up into his beautifully gruff face and dark green eyes, longing to be called his. If only for the night.

“Tell me about your aversion to bondage.” I stiffened, and of course, he noticed. “Did you have a bad experience?”

That time I had to look away. I could not face, did not want him to see my rage.

I was very aware that I was not to blame for my attack.

I knew there was nothing to be embarrassed or humiliated about.

I was a victim. More than that, I was a survivor.

I would never be held captive again, never be at someone else’s mercy. I was strong . I was powerful .

But that did not stop the memories from surging forward at his question.

Jason had trained me to work through the memories, to be stronger than they were.

But that didn’t mean I didn’t feel them.

The fear of waking up inside that fucking pillory…

and then the cold realization when I realized what they intended.

There was no forgetting that, but I was not letting those memories consume me. I would use them to fuel my revenge, to ensure I never forgot.

He mistook my posture as shame, though, and his voice softened. “Little Owl, I need to know. I can’t help you until I do.”

I knew the statistics. One out of four women would likely be sexually assaulted. By admitting what happened, I was not admitting to my crimes that he was investigating. However, strong as I was, I still did not want him to know. I did not want to see that pity in his eyes.

“I was placed in bondage without my consent,” I said as vaguely as I could. “Master Kade watches over me to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”

I did not add that he also did it to ensure I did not harm the person who tried.

Calloused fingers touched my chin. At the light pressure, I allowed him to bring my face back towards his. “Did it happen here?”

I shook my head. He knew where it had happened, even if he didn’t know he knew. “Everyone here has been good to me.”

“And where is Master Kade tonight?”

He was currently abducting my next two victims, Jesse Ritter-Hogan and Roman Fitzwilliam, but I wasn’t about to say that out loud. “I didn’t need him tonight,” I said instead because it was still true.

His hand went from my chin to my cheek. “And why is that, Little Owl?”

I held his gaze for a moment. “Because I feel safe with you, Sir.”

Master Mal stepped back, and I immediately missed the feeling of being caged in by him.

Bending down, he plucked me from the couch, turned, and then seated us with me straddling his lap.

We were face to face. I shifted my hips, feeling the bulge of his erection between my thighs and wished I had removed my jeans before he’d entered the room.

He took my face between his large hands.

“You are safe with me, Little Owl.” Lowering his hands, he reached for something in his jacket next to us with one hand while taking one of my wrists into his other hand.

He was so big that he could have held both of my wrists easily.

He placed something soft over my hand, like a bracelet.

Startled, I brought my wrist up to nose-height for a closer inspection. It was a hair scrunchie, like I used to wear as a kid. Since I did not have long enough hair now, I hadn’t seen or worn one in years. The soft fabric was slate gray with very small bells sewn all throughout the outer tube.

I shook my wrist, now understanding why I thought I’d heard bells earlier when Master Mal had tossed his jacket onto the cushion.

“Don’t get used to that sound, Little Owl,” Master Mal chuckled. “As soon as we’ve finished discussing terms and limits, you won’t be allowed to make it.”

Confused, I lowered my wrist. “I’m not sure I understand, Sir.”

“I called up my mentor, Master David. I wanted to discuss alternatives to bondage that could still restrain you.” I stiffened but did not interrupt. Master Mal lifted his hand and tapped my temple gently. “We worked out a plan to restrain you up here .”

He took my hand, placing my flat palm on his chest. “Once I put you in a position, Little Owl, you will have to stay there exactly. If you move,” he shook my arm, making the bells at my wrist jingle, “I’ll know and I will punish you.”

I swallowed, amazement filling me. “I won’t be…tied?” I clarified.

“You will not be restrained,” he assured me, “but that doesn’t mean you are allowed to move.” Master Mal held up a handful of more scrunchies. “One for each limb.” When I reached for them, he pulled his hand away. “Not yet, Little Owl. We have much to discuss first.”

He dropped the scrunchies, but my eyes stayed on them. I had an irrational fear that they would disappear before I even got a chance to try them out.

“I will be blunt, mainly because I don’t know how to be anything else.” He paused, “Eyes on me, Little Owl.” I obeyed. “When I am speaking, you will look at me unless otherwise instructed.”

“Yes, Sir,” I answered, fighting the urge to look back at the scrunchies. “I apologize.”

He swatted my ass above his thighs once. “You are forgiven.”

I sat up straighter.

“What are your safe words or do you prefer to use the stoplights?”

“‘Crow’ to stop, ‘raven’ to slow down.”

He nodded once and then repeated the words back to me. “Good. Now, beyond no bondage, what are your hard limits?”

“It’s a rather long list,” I admitted.

“I have this room until five in the morning. Trust me, we have time.”

“Gangbangs.”

Master Mal frowned and I wondered if that was a disappointment to him. “All scenes involving multiple partners or one specifically of three or more?”

“All,” I clarified. “If I am with a Dom, he needs to be the only one. At all times. I don’t mean monogamy. If he wants to fuck someone else, that’s fine, but I won’t. One or none,” I added.

“You’re saying you wouldn’t mind if I fucked someone else?”

My cheeks heated, because I knew he was referring to my request earlier that he not fuck Dominique. “I meant other Doms, Sir,” I said in a low voice.

He raised an eyebrow. “And what is it you want from me, Little Owl?”

I swallowed, knowing I’d backed myself up into a corner. “I am assuming you wish this to be a normal occurrence? Us meeting up like this, I mean?”

“You would assume correctly,” he answered. And then swatted my ass. “You forgot to address me as ‘Sir’.”

Shit, I had. “I’m sorry, Sir. It won’t happen again.

” He gestured for me to continue. “Sir, I don’t want to share you.

I understand that I have no right to ask this of you.

Were you any other Dom, it wouldn’t matter.

I wouldn’t care, but…” I swallowed. “Feeling safe with you is a new feeling for me. I’ve only ever felt safe with Master Kade before. I don’t want to… lose that.”

“Before I respond to that, I need you to clarify one point. Master Kade has always been with you?”

“He watches, Sir,” I told him truthfully. “Nothing more. He is not… We are not…” I fought for the right words. “We’re just friends, Sir. I’ve never touched him sexually, nor has he me.”

Master Mal nodded. “Thank you for clarifying. Now, you do have a right to ask me to be only with you. That is allowed to be discussed and hopefully we can come to an agreement on it.” At my surprised expression, he asked, “Have you never been in negotiations with a Dom before, Little Owl?”

I shook my head. “I’ve never left the main room before, Sir. Generally, Master Kade arranges a…liaison with me and a Dom. It’s quick and in open view. I mostly come here to dance.”

Master Mal tilted his head to the side, studying me.

“That’s three times now you’ve said something that has been in complete contradiction to what I’ve experienced with you, and we’ve only had sex once.

Why is it you feel safe with me, Little Owl?

Did you know I was a federal agent the night we met? ”

“No!” I shouted, a little too loudly. Softer, I repeated, “No. Sir, I swear. I had no idea who you were.” Not until I’d seen him standing outside of Atelihai Valley High the morning Christopher’s body was discovered.

“Then tell me why?”

I bit my lip, because I didn’t have an answer for him. “I don’t know, Sir. Honest. When you approached me on the stage, I… wanted you. I wanted to be taken by you. I never expected to orgasm.”

“Do you not with other Doms?” His face scrunched like he hated to ask the question but needed to know the answer.

Blushing, I said, “Master Kade was not with me that night. Master Valentino was watching over me. I’ve never come before without Master Kade there to make me feel safe. That experience with you was a first for me.”

Something lit in his green eyes like molten fire. “And you feel safe now?”

I nodded. “Very much so, Sir.”

“Are there any other hard limits I need to know right this moment?” His large hands wrapped themselves around my hips, grinding me down on his erection. “I pride myself on my control, Little Owl, but that statement nearly did me in. I need to be inside you again.”

My breath hitched and moisture pooled between my legs. I held up my wrist. “Will you teach me how to bind myself with these?”

His smile was pure sex. “Abso-fucking-lutely.”