Assumed Master (26 page)

"What happened to keeping watch over her?
Making sure things were in her best interest?" Something akin to heartburn
ran up Dante’s chest and he rubbed a fist along his sternum willing it away,
but the ache persisted. Was this what a broken heart felt like?

"Look. I can no more control Julie than
the man in the moon. Personally, I wouldn’t even want to try. I love her just
the way she is and you should, too. Instead you’ve exerted a tyrant’s fist over
her and spit in the face of her generosity." Allen reached over and
slapped Nicki’s hand which was moving toward her mouth with her thumb extended.
"There’s a difference in being a brute tyrant and being a loving Dom."

So, Allen had a daddy’s girl on his hands.
Dante rolled his eyes and rubbed his forehead. "What does that mean? Spit
on her generosity?"

"Do you think I’ve not even spoken with
her these past few days? I have. I know all about the graffiti, Gav’s
girlfriend, the neighbor, whom she lovingly refers to as, and I quote, "that
infernal, overly swollen prick," and the argument that ensued between the
two of you." Allen stood and went to the liquor cabinet in the corner,
pouring himself a tumbler of Bushmill’s before holding up the bottle in
question to see if Dante wanted one. When he shook his head, Allen placed the bottle
back in the cabinet and returned to his seat. "Let me ask you something?
Do you remember how Julie reacted all those years ago when she found out how
much money I have? How much wealth Mason had amassed? Do you think for one
minute she’d ever intentionally make someone else feel the way she felt?
An outsider?
Less than worthy?
A poor outcast?
Unloved and unwanted?
Incapable?"

Allen paused and took a healthy swallow of his
drink, staring at Dante over the rim of the glass. "Do you even think it’s
possible that by denying her offer, you may have made
her
feel less than wanted?"

No, he hadn't thought of that possibility. He'd
only considered his own feelings of inadequacy. That still didn’t make up for
the fact he was the Master and she was the slave. No matter what, she should
have heeled to his wishes. Dante just needed time to think about their
predicament and figure out the most reasonable solution. She’d not given him
that courtesy. Instead, she’d done exactly what she was infamous for. She ran
away. She hid. She let her past dictate her present actions. It infuriated him.
Not to mention she now had Allen in her corner.

"So you’re blaming all this on me?" It
was all Dante could do to sit still and wait for an answer.

"No."

"No?"

"No, of course not.
While I understand her feelings were hurt,
I’m a Master first and foremost and hold no illusions that what she did was
right in any shape, form, or fashion." Slapping Nicki’s hand away from her
mouth a second time, he rose and refreshed his drink. "That’s twice, don’t
let there be a third, little girl." Once again holding the bottle up to
offer Dante some libation, he raised his eyebrows in question.

"D double," Dante answered,
realizing he needed a little something to take the edge off.

"I wanted you to see the other side of
the coin before I tell you what you really need to know. The thing that I was
hoping I’d never have to reveal in order for you to keep her under control. I
thought perhaps she’d grown enough this would never be necessary. Apparently I
was wrong." Back at his desk, Allen set his drink down, thrummed his
fingers on the hard oak surface a few times, then steepled his fingers beneath
his chin. "Do you know why Mason never had total control of her?"

"No, I don’t." Truth be told, he
never really saw their relationship that way. He always assumed Mason had as
much control as he wished and things were just as they wanted them.

"He never disciplined her."

"Never?"

"Only once," Allen said, holding up
his forefinger then taking a long swallow of his drink before he turned to
Nicki and snapped his fingers. "That’s three." He set his whiskey
down, pushed his chair back, planted his feet a few inches apart, and patted
his legs. "Up here, sunshine. Daddy’s had enough."

Nicki pulled her thumb from her mouth and
pouted then slowly found her feet. With a few grudging steps, she presented
herself before her…well, Dante wasn’t sure of their relationship status or what
Allen was to her. Nonetheless, the willing little sub with a daddy complex
draped
herself
across Allen’s knees, balancing
precariously, her fingertips straining to hold her body in place as her feet
dangled from the other side of his lap. Allen wasted no time flipping the end
of her plaid, school girl skirt up and landing the first blow across a very
ripe ass cheek, leaving a bright red imprint of his hand before rubbing his
palm over it. It appeared to Dante the girl may have gained a bit of weight
since being under Allen’s care and he had to admit, it agreed with her.

"How many times has Daddy told you no
thumb sucking?" Allen asked as though he spoke to a mere three year old.

"I don’t know, Daddy," Nicki whined
out in the voice of a tiny girl.

"Big girls don’t suck their thumbs, do they?"
His hand came down twice in rapid succession hitting one cheek then the other,
Nicki surging forward, a whimper floating out of her.

"No, Daddy. I’m sorry."

"If you’re so sorry, sunshine, you
wouldn’t repeatedly defy me," he said, smacking the backs of her legs then
running his hand up the insides of them while he held her down with his other
arm. "What happens to bad girls?"

"They get spanked," she squeaked out
over a sniffle.

"They get spanked, what?"

"They get spanked, Daddy," she
stuttered out as he administered a few more blows to her already cherry red
ass.

"What else?"

"Daddy gives them something else to suck."
Nicki’s voice went from shy little girl to sultry tease without a hitch.

Allen smiled and chuckled, leaned down and
kissed the marks on her creamy flesh, then looked back up at Dante as if she
wasn’t still hanging across his knees. "Have you forgotten how to
discipline, friend?"

"No, he hasn't," grumbled Blake
under his breath. It was the first thing that had come out of his mouth since
they’d crossed the South Carolina state line.

"Apparently he has if you think it’s okay
to speak without being spoken to, slave," Allen said right before cracking
Nicki two more swift ones right on the fleshy part of her backside, which
didn’t gain another cry but a moan of longing.

"Thank you, Daddy."

"You’re welcome, sunshine, but we’re not
quite done." He slapped the backs of her thighs again then ran his hand
between them smiling at what Dante could only assume was a positive result.
"Funny thing about discipline.
Without it, we basically
turn into service Doms, only giving our subs half of what they need to be
completely nurtured." Allen’s arm worked forward and aft, as he apparently
had his fingers stuck up his wards pussy. "Yes, he only punished her one
time in the entire time they were together. I’m surprised you weren’t aware of
this. I bet slave knew. Didn’t you?"

"Yes, Master Allen. I knew that,"
Blake said, beginning to fidget. Normally at this point Dante would have
sympathy for his poor knees, but the fact that he’d withheld information stewed
his temper a bit and he didn’t offer relief.

"Stay still," Dante hissed, itching
to bust someone’s ass himself. "Are you going to divulge the details of
this alleged one time incident, Allen, or am I to guess? Whip it out of my
slave perhaps?"

"The day before Cassie was murdered she
called Julie repeatedly and left several messages asking for help. Julie was
with Mason, had been for a couple of days, playing. When they played, part of
their agreement was she was fully present, meaning no contact with the outside
world unless Mason approved it. Julie came downstairs to make Mason breakfast
and discovered the missed calls and messages and was going to leave without his
permission if she had to and go to Cassie. Mason cuffed her up in his play room
and refused to let her go until she acquiesced to his wishes that she not leave
citing basically Cassie was a big girl." Allen emphasized the last two
words and took the opportunity to give Nicki a few more swats then continued. "He
said no matter what, Cassie would never change unless it was what she wanted.
He spanked her that day. Not for her pleasure, not for his.
For
punishment.
As a disciplinary tactic.
It wasn’t
until some months later he admitted to me he would never strike her in an act
of discipline again. It seems he went to his grave feeling guilty over not
having let her see her sister
alive
one last time."

Dante couldn’t formulate a thought, let alone
a sentence. That’s what her wailing and thrashing had been about the next day
in her apartment. It was what she referred to when she went on about never
again letting someone have so much control she was unable to make a decision
for herself. In retaliation, she figured out how to top from the bottom so
subtlety no one figured it out. Her only sacrifice, which she must have felt
was worth it, was her giving up the hope of ever enduring pain at Mason’s
hands. Mason had compromised his own dominance to appease her, to have her in
his life. As a result, Julie had missed out on a key ingredient in the whole
dynamic of their relationship. She’d never truly relinquished herself
completely.
To anyone.

A spark bloomed in Dante’s soul. Be damned if
she topped him from the bottom in her sneaky little manipulative manner. She
was going to give him what she’d given no man.
Her complete
and total submission.
To a Master, this was the equivalent of popping a
virgin’s cherry. With his heart racing and his dick paying attention to its
current surroundings, Dante stood.

"I do believe it’s time for me to claim
and take what’s mine."

"Excellent," Allen declared. "Get
up little girl and take slave with you to the play room while Master Dante and
I go retrieve another little girl that’s been very, very bad." He swatted
her ass once more before standing and extending one hand palm up toward the
door.
"After you, friend.
Let’s go find her."

Chapter Twenty-Two

"Well, that’s most certainly not what I expected,"
Keegan said, taking Julie by the hand and leading her to one of the benches
that lined the back patio.

"Death rarely is expected," Julie
said, reeling in her emotions with her jaw set. Damned if he’d wheedle it out
of her then see her cry about it, too. "In his case it was totally
expected. He was much older than me and sick for a long time. It was what
happened afterward that was certainly not expected."

"Which was what?"

"I inherited her," Dante said.

Julie’s head snapped up to see him standing a
few feet away, his legs spread and stance firmly planted, arms folded across
his chest. A dark look emanated from his eyes and one muscle jumped in his
clenched jaw. There was so much emotion swirling and blending in his pupils
Julie couldn’t discern them all, let alone give them names. Anger, lust, hurt,
and relief all melded there, pouring out of the open window to his soul.

"You…excuse me?" Keegan asked.

"I inherited her," Dante repeated
slowly. "You see, our little Julie can’t be trusted at all. Apparently
Mason…That’s his name by the way, I’m quite certain it’s not graced her lips,
has it? Apparently Mason was a very good planner. He fully expected her to be
confused and scared and make some wrong decisions after being his part-time
bottom for so long. So, he entrusted her to my care." He stopped and
turned to Keegan, looking straight at him without so much as a flinch,
extending the first of what Julie was sure would be many warnings.
"Because I love her.
He knew I’d make all the right
decisions, even though at the time I had no idea I would or was even capable of
it. But then I thought I had. Until two weeks ago when I let her manipulate me
the same way she did Mason all those years."

"Manipulate him?" Julie gasped,
standing but unsure what else to do
stayed
rooted to
the spot, her hands in balls at her sides.
"Part-time
bottom?
What in God’s name are you talking about? I was Mason’s true and
faithful slave."

"You manipulated him, Jules. His guilt
kept him from ever punishing you. From that perspective you topped him from the
bottom.
For years."

"Well, well, well. You’re even more of a
brat than I anticipated," Keegan said, taking his feet. "I do believe
your more brat than I could ever handle."

"That’s good," Dante said.
"Because you’ll never have the chance to try."

"Look. I know you think I’ve been down
here for the past few days trying to hone in on your territory, but you’re
wrong," Keegan said evenly. "I do like Julie, quite a lot in fact,
but she’s in love with you. And if you don’t know that, you’re blind. I was in
fact threatening her just a few minutes ago with finding you and aiding you in
lashing her down for a throttling."