Page 41 of Vengeance of Childhood Proportions (Till Death Do Us Part #7)

Chapter Thirty-One

Holly

I was kneeling on the black carpeting of Room One with my hands on my knees in position two when the door opened. As soon as I heard him step inside, I raised my eyes—and shock had them gaping wide and my mouth dropping open.

“Master!” I jumped to my feet, rushing over.

Master Mal had not released me from my position, but I didn’t care.

I would take any punishment if he decided I deserved it.

Guilt seized me as I reached for him. The dark circles under his eyes made his face look pale, and he wasn’t standing in the doorway, so much as leaning on the doorway.

I wrapped my arms around his middle. As much as I weight-trained with Jason, I was still but so small.

Unless I put him in a fireman’s hold, there was no way I could lift him as he has done to me numerous times.

I threw his arm around my shoulders and wrapped my arm behind his back to help steady him.

“Little Owl.” For all that he looked like he was about to collapse, his voice was strong, and even a little amused that I was trying to lift him.

As we walked forward, I realized I might have overreacted. He wasn’t stumbling or sagging. I wasn’t carrying any of his weight. At the slight tickle at the top of my corset, I glanced down to see the fingers of the arm I’d put over my shoulders were playing with my cleavage.

“Are you not about to pass out, Sir?”

He chuckled, still allowing me to guide him towards the large bed in this room.

By the time Master Mal called me to inform me that he could meet up tonight, our usual room with the dance pole had already been reserved.

Though it wasn’t protocol, I had been the one to call Valentino because Master Mal was about to get on a ferry with spotty service.

Valentino had given me his number after he learned I had my own phone and made me swear that I would call him directly should I need anything and not the front desk.

Even though I had assured him that his public punishment of Dominique was more than sufficient to make up for the near hour when I thought Master Mal was standing me up, he still insisted.

Our only options for tonight were either Room One with the four-poster bed, chains, and sex swing or Room Three with the St. Andrew’s Cross.

I had chosen Room One immediately after Valentino informed me that there was a pillory accessory in Room Three as well.

Valentino had sent one of his employees upstairs to remove the chains from the four-poster bed.

I told him it wasn’t necessary, as the sight of bondage did not affect me, but he insisted.

Valentino had always been good to me, but this seemed extreme.

Maybe I should ask Master Mal to talk to him, Master to Master, to assure Valentino that his guilt was not necessary.

Sweet, but not necessary.

“Not quite, pet. Though I am loving this treatment. Perhaps we’ll do a naughty nurse and wounded warrior scene in our future.”

I shook my head, biting down on my lips to keep from laughing. I walked him over to the bed, where I unhooked us and then guided him to sit on the edge of the mattress. After hurrying back over to the door to close us inside, I came over and knelt by his feet.

About to pass out or not, the dark circles under his eyes were real—and they were my doing. Of all the people in the world to be chosen to work my murders, why did it have to be him ? Why couldn’t he have passed it by or been assigned a different case?

I didn’t care that he would learn my history. I wanted people to know. I’d done all of this to resurrect the past, to finally expose what they’d done and then lay it to rest.

Working to undo his laces, I said, “Is that the scene where only an orgasm can save you from the brink of death, Sir?”

He chuckled. I glanced up to see him leaning back on his hands on the mattress. “I was thinking more of that your mouth was the cure to what ails me.”

I smiled at him. Putting both of his boots by the poster at the end of the bed, I removed his socks before picking up his left foot to rub the sole.

“Fuck, pet, that feels amazing.”

“Caring for each other,” I reminded him softly. “You do such a wonderful job taking care of me, Sir. Will you allow me to take care of you tonight?”

“What did you have in mind?”

I bit my lip. I’d never taken the lead in anything before—well, except for avenging myself against my rapists and murdering those who should have protected me.

I was not so confident in this situation, but I was also comfortable with Master Mal.

I could make my offer and he would either accept or reject it.

He would not laugh cruelly at me or punish me for my own thoughts.

“Have you eaten, Sir?”

“I’ll be honest with you, pet, I can’t recall what my last meal was or how long ago I ate it.”

“Will you allow me to call down to the kitchen and order you dinner, Sir? I know you prefer to eat me, but I’m afraid I can’t offer you the correct nutrition you currently need.”

He stared down at me. “Fuck, I love how expressive your eyes are, Little Owl. Even with the contacts.” I felt my cheeks heat at his words, but I did not look away. “Good girl,” he murmured. “You may call down to order me a burger and fries. Have you eaten?”

“Yes, Sir. I had dinner earlier.”

“Order yourself something, too. Ice cream sundae or something sweet for you.”

I smiled my appreciation. “Thank you, Sir.”

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 investigating my murders. “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—but just to 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.

He tsk ’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 with anyone in 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 like Holly . 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.

He’d given me so much. Perhaps it was time to give something back to him.

I could be technical and say that claiming the alias of Phoebe Snetsinger wasn’t a lie because it was my name right now , but I knew it in my heart for what it was. And I couldn’t lie to Master Mal tonight, even a white one.

So instead, I reached behind my head for the pins that connected the string of my mask to my wig. Feeling my motions, he moved a step back.

Master Mal watched me in silence. He didn’t ask me if I was sure or if I felt pressured to do this. For some reason, his confidence in me that I knew what I was doing gave me even more assurance that I was doing the right thing.

He was about to discover who Holly Taylor Marteen was, but the girl I had been was not the woman before him now. Even if I took off the wig and the contacts, I wouldn’t look the same. The last identifying pictures of me were taken when I was sixteen and a gaunt, depressed version of myself.

Now I was full-grown and strong.

I lowered the owl mask, revealing my face for the first time. He stared at me for a long while, making me wonder what he saw, but then he stepped forward again. Taking my face between his hands, he kissed me softly.

“Thank you for this gift, Little Owl. It would be my absolute pleasure to hold you while sleeping tonight.”