Assumed Master (23 page)

"You wouldn’t dare," she challenged.

"Try me. We’re doing this my way.
Period."
Dante didn’t realize until that moment just
how pissed he was and how dangerous it was to be so.

"You’re telling me no."

"Yes, I am. I told you I would. Did you
choose to not really think on that part? I think I’ll sleep in the spare room
tonight." With that he spun on his heel and left her standing there, more
silent tears escaping the corners of her eyes.

It didn’t really surprise Dante when he found
Julie in the guest room later. She’d beat him to it. For as long as he’d known
her, she never failed to display her stubborn streak when it suited her.

What did surprise him was the note he found on
the bed the next morning.

I don’t know
if I can live without a voice. I’ve tried, I really have. Maybe I’m too old to
change or maybe I’m just not the person you believed I could be, but I can’t do
this your way. I need some time to sort. Please tell the boys I love them and
don’t mean to hurt them. In fact, I hope my absence makes their life easier.

I love you
all,

Julie

Dante crumpled the paper in his hand and threw
it against the wall then sank to the bed, taking her collar from her pillow and
clutching it.

Chapter Nineteen

 
"I
still don’t think this is a good idea," Allen said, handing Julie the keys
that would open up his Savannah home.

"I’m sure you’re not the only one who
won’t like it," she answered, taking what he offered and stepping back off
his porch. "But I need to clear my head and I can’t do that here. Not
where there are so many voices.
Living and dead."

"Are you sure you won’t let me drive you?
Stay with you a few days?" Allen asked, following her to her car.

"I’m sure. I haven’t stood on my own two
feet for so long, I need to make sure I still can," she said, climbing
behind the wheel. "In case I have to."

"My door’s always open."

"Are you sure about that?" Julie
pointed at the waif of a woman peeking out the front windows.
"Seems to me Nicki might not like to share you."

"We’re just servicing each other,"
Allen said as if trying to convince
himself
of it more
so than Julie.

"Right.
We’ll see." Starting the vehicle, she
put her little sportster in gear and started to roll. "I do love you,
Allen, just not like that."

With a backward wave, she was
off,
a sinking feeling unlike any she’d ever experienced
settling over her.

****

Julie had just come downstairs in her favorite
silk robe and made herself a cup of coffee when the doorbell rang. Glancing at
the clock, she wondered who the hell came so far out into the country to pay a
visit before eight a.m. Allen better not have told on her already and informed
Dante where she was. Disgusted that her first day of sorting things out was
already interrupted, she carried her steaming cup to the door and peered
through the peep hole.

"Oh, shit," she breathed, turning
her back to the door and pressing one palm to her forehead.
"Why,
why, why?"

A few seconds later the bell rang again, one
persistent, long buzzing which caused her to swing around, jerk the door open,
and stand face to face with Keegan D’Amato.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"
she hissed. "Better yet,
how
did
you know I was here?"

"Always this testy in the
morning?
You must be a
joy to wake up next to," he answered, pushing his way in. "Got any
more of that?"

"My mood tends to blow like the wind. You
never know what you’re going to get so it’s probably better to stay away and
play it safe. And no, I don’t." Julie realized her robe was gaping open
and clutched the front, pulling it together. For some reason, the thought of
Keegan seeing her assets made her blood run warm. "If Allen sent you to
check on me, tell him I’m just fine and not ready to come back yet."

"Well, I surely won’t be tendering a full
report until I make sure you’re telling the truth about that." Keegan
looked around as if this was the first time he was really seeing Allen’s
mansion.
"Too bad about the coffee.
I brought
breakfast."

He turned and smiled, holding up a brown paper
bag she’d failed to notice before. Then her nose picked up where her eyes
failed her and the most heavenly aroma drifted toward her.
Something
savory, sweet, spicy?

"What is that?" she asked, moving
toward him a few paces before stopping, realizing she was falling for a bribe.
Back peddling, she decided it was time for the young lad to go. "I said
I’m fine and I am. I do need to find a store today, but I have an app for that
so no need to worry
yourself
. Tell Allen to worry more
about Nicki and less about me."

Keegan made some sort of noise akin to a
snort, turned on his heel, and marched off toward the kitchen where Julie knew
he’d find her entire pot of Jamaica Blue Mountain and help himself. Damn man.
He was really beginning to call her dander to the surface. Darting along behind
him, she nearly ran into him headlong when he stopped abruptly at the island to
deposit the bag of whatever it was that smelled so good.

"Cups?" he asked, moving to the
cabinets, opening one then another. When she didn’t answer, he turned and gave
her a half-frown, but his eyes twinkled revealing he was teasing her. "You
can be a rude little thing when you want to be, can’t you?"

"So my Mas…" She stopped and ran her
fingers along her collar bone. A mixture of anger and fear swallowed her when
she realized her collar was no longer there and a sense of loss weighed heavy
on her heart. Needing to feel the weight of something there, she’d decided when
she woke this morning she might have to go find something to replace it until
she was used to the idea of being alone. "Dante and Blake say that all the
time. I don’t mean to be hateful. I’m sorry."

Finding what he’d been rummaging for, Keegan
poured a cup of the coffee, inhaled deeply of it, blew off the steam, and took
a loud, slurping swallow. A sound of satisfaction escaped him as he set the cup
down then began another quest through the cabinets.

"Plates?"

"Left of the sink."

"Thank you. I know the good girl in there
wants to like me," he said with a bit too much triumph for Julie’s liking.
Procuring two dessert size plates from the stack, he set them down then
unfurled the top of the sack. "Do you like spicy things?"

"I like food period," she confessed,
looking toward the floor.

For some reason self-consciousness decided to
tap on her ego at that moment and she wished she had on a pair of sweats and a
shirt. The robe she’d thrown on left everything to the imagination. Funny she
should worry about what he thought of her this morning when not just a few days
ago he’d seen her in all her naked glory taking a whipping the likes of which
few subs could have endured.

"Here, try this," he said, pushing a
plate toward her and taking a seat on one of the high chairs surrounding the
island.
"The breakfast of champions."

"What is it?" Julie asked, taking a
seat of her own, trying to tug her robe down past her ass cheeks when it rode
up her thighs. Her mouth watered at the sight of the delicate pastry that
appeared to be stuffed with some pretty delicious goodies. She did believe an
enormous shrimp was poking out of the top of the perfectly set eggs.

"Low country pastry. High octane cream,
eggs, shrimp, sausage, onions, cheese, spices, and Old Bay all neatly baked in
a cutesy pastry crust. If you’re nice to me I might take you to lunch later and
introduce you to some more low country cuisine."

"What are you doing here?" At this
point she figured blunt was the only way to go. "No bullshit either."

"Checking on you," he said, acting
like he was mortally wounded by her suspicion of his intentions.

"Yes, but why? Allen has other friends.
While I freely admit I no longer feel you to be an ass, I don’t know you that
well. Why would you extend this favor? What do you want?" Taking the fork
he offered, Julie picked at the crust of her pastry, waiting for a reply.

"I want to get to know you. Starting with
what happened?" Keegan ran a finger along her throat indicating that he
knew why she was here and it hadn’t escaped his notice she was no longer
collared. "Did he push too far?"

"Yes, but not like that. We had a
disagreement," Julie explained, cutting her pastry in two and picking the
middle out. When she took it in her mouth and it rested on her tongue, her
cheeks heated as a moan escaped her. "Where the hell did you get this? Did
you say something about lunch?"

Keegan chuckled and
freshened
her cup, noting its color and going to the refrigerator for creamer.

"Cinn…
mon
,"
Julie said over another mouthful of her breakfast. "Please."

****

"How long have you known Alan?" Keegan
asked as he helped Julie into her side of the booth then slid into his.

The small hole in the wall diner he’d chosen
for lunch was very much like a place Blake would take Julie for one of their
heart to hearts. It was homey and warm. The patrons all seemed to know each
other in some capacity, save the two of them. That didn’t seem to matter to the
older gentlemen keeping the red vinyl topped stools around the counter. They
all turned and waved as the pair entered the establishment.

"Twenty years," Julie answered
matter-of-factly, peering over the top of her menu. "He was the first
person to show any interest in me when I first started exploring. Well, the
first person outside of Dante, that is."

"Things didn’t work out?"

"Definitely not.
No chemistry.
Although he’d
gladly service me if I’d ever agree to bottom for him."

"Why don’t you?"

"I’m more of a committed relationship type
girl," Julie answered, closing the menu and laying it down. "I was in
one for a very long time. Aside from that, I do believe he may have met his
match in Nicki."

"I take it you’re not referring to your
relationship with Dante when you talk about committed?" Keegan leaned back
in his chair and laced his hands behind his head.

"No. Dante and I are complicated right
now, although I’m as committed to him as I can be."

"What happened to your committed
relationship?"

"Not open for discussion. Move along. What
about you?" she asked, avoiding his prying look. "Why isn’t there a
perfectly obedient subbie tagging along behind you? You’re young and
attractive."

"I move a lot," he said over a cocky
grin. "I’ve lived here for about a year. A friend from the last place I
lived hooked me up with a contact which led me to Allen and his network. I’ve
never seen you around Savannah before, though.
Why not?"

"I’m starved. Where’s the waitress?"
No matter how Keegan made her stomach flutter, she wasn’t giving up any more
information than she had to. He was fishing for a way to hook her and damn it
she wasn’t even unhooked from the last catch yet.

Keegan stayed anymore questions and waved down
the middle-aged woman taking care of them.

"You folks ready?" she asked in that
overly sappy,
we’re the happiest folks on
earth
tone Julie hated. No one could be that happy twenty-four-seven.

"Yes, I’d like…"

"We’ll have two bowls of she-crab soup,"
Keegan rudely interrupted.
"To start.
Then we’d
like two of the po’ boys with fries." He handed the menus to the woman who
was still busy jotting down their order. "And I know it’s not the norm
during lunch hours. I’ve had it several times during dinner service," he
whispered and winked at her. "I was wondering if you could arrange it so
we can have a double order of banana bread
pudding?
It’s a special occasion."

"Ooohhhh," she breathed and grinned,
creating great dimples in her ruddy cheeks.
"Anniversary?
Birthday?"

"Well, dear? What are we celebrating?"
Julie spat. "If it’s the fact we had breakfast together don’t flatter
yourself, I’d eat breakfast with the devil himself if I was hungry enough."

"Oh my," the woman squeaked and
rushed off.

"I have to wonder, Julie. Could it be
your attitude had more to do with your disagreement with Dante than his?"
Keegan looked like he was ready to pack her off and bust her ass. If he’d been
Dante, they’d have already been headed out the door.

"I’ll admit
,
I’m
having a hard time adjusting to my current situation. Dante is more demanding
in different ways than my previous Master." Julie had been grinning
through her entire answer because the usually casual Keegan had slipped and his
roots had shown for the split second he’d spoken to her so harshly. "Mississippi?
Louisiana?"