Page 70 of Vengeance of Childhood Proportions (Till Death Do Us Part #7)

Chapter Sixty

Holly

I stared up into Master Mal’s dark green eyes.

My heart was racing and I felt queasy, but my legs were steady.

Master Mal had called me strong . This wasn’t the first time he’d done so, but maybe I should consider believing him.

I’d removed my owl mask, but the wigs meant more to me than concealing my face had.

But wasn’t this what I wanted? To be with him?

For him to see me , even if he never linked me with Holly Marteen?

I was so close to my finish line. If I could just cross it, I would be free to be me with Master Mal.

I would have to conceal my past from him, but maybe it was time to reveal a little more of me .

I closed my eyes, taking in deep centering breaths. His gaze was so intense, hiding depths I was not prepared to analyze tonight. I needed darkness to figure out what it was I was going to say. He knew too much about Holly Marteen to reveal the full truth.

I wasn’t prepared to give him details, anyway.

Neither of us would be able to handle that.

More and more lies. I felt like Pinocchio.

How long was my nose now? How long was too long?

Lying should be so natural to me by now.

I’d been doing it long enough. So why did it feel so wrong when it came to Master Mal?

I opened my eyes. He was still standing there, naked from fucking me up against the wall and completely unabashed.

He was the one currently exposed while I was fully dressed.

So why did it feel the reverse? Why was my heart screaming at me to tell him everything in that moment, and damn the consequences?

I needed to step back. I needed him to be not so… Master -y right now. I needed him to just be Mal. If I was going to do this, I needed it to not be an order. I needed to do this for us , to strengthen us . I couldn’t explain the distinction, but it made sense to me.

“Raven,” I said softly, still staring up into his eyes.

Immediately, he stepped back. He removed his hand from my chin, holding both out wide at his sides.

It reminded me of his posture at the bar the night of our reunion.

It wasn’t submissive, though he was showing himself to be unarmed and unassuming.

If anything, it was protective. Like he was opening himself to me completely to embrace, for him to guard.

My choice. Always my choice.

I stepped forward, reaching for one of his hands.

I held it tightly in my own, bringing it to my chest. “I need you to just be Mal right now, Sir. Please. If I’m going to…

I need you to be you .” I shook my head, knowing how utterly ridiculous that sounded.

Of course, he was him . Unlike me, he didn’t have any alter egos.

“I mean, I just… No rules right now. No Doms. No punishments. If I’m going to talk, I need to do it my way. ”

His other hand cupped my cheek. Slowly, he bent to kiss my mouth.

“How about this? I’ll go put our dinner in the fridge while you go start us a bath.

I’ll try to be less… Dom , and I can promise you no punishments.

The only rules I will insist on pertain to your safety and mental wellbeing.

I’ll hold you in the tub so I can still care for you, but you’ll face away from me, so you don’t need to worry so much about meeting my eyes.

Does that sound like a good compromise, Little Owl? ”

I let out a sigh. “Yes, Sir.”

He thumbed the black leather at my throat. “But I’m leaving this on. You need the reminder of who you belong to, even if you can’t see me.”

I didn’t have the words to describe the relief that filled me at those words. “Thank you, Sir.”

“You can drop the ‘Sir’ for now. You requested Just Mal,” his eyes held amusement, “and Just Mal I shall be.”

I smiled. “Thank you…Mal.”

He scrunched his nose. “I still don’t like it, but it’s survivable. Do you prefer ‘Little Owl’ or ‘Phe’—”

“Little Owl,” I answered immediately, not letting him finish my alias.

“Good.” He dropped his mouth to kiss me again. “My last order for the night, pet: lose the clothes!”