Essential Master (Doms of Napa Valley) (2 page)

Chapter
One

Napa Valley, Six months later

“I’m not helpless, dammit! It’s been months
since I’ve been laid. And your hovering is running off any potential partners I
might find.” Zebadiah placed his hands on his slender hips as he stared down
one of the two men who’d stuck by his side since the accident. Whether it was
through fighting with his boss about his FMLA, or as he’d gone through the most
agonizing therapy he’d ever experienced, Ethan and Davis hadn’t been far from
his side. Davis had gone to bat for him with Harmond, while Ethan had taken
time off from his busy psychology practice to go to his rehabilitative therapy.
He honestly appreciated it, but a sub had to draw a line in the sand. Enough
was enough.

Especially after they whisked me out of the room when Master
Nicholaus had been on the verge of approaching me.
His dick which had been half-hard at the mere thought of being
under the large dominating man, but it hadn’t had the opportunity to do more
than raise its head before Davis had jerked him out of the main playroom, then
dragged him to the security office where Ethan was waiting before disappearing
back into the main area of the club. It was enough to make him want to tear his
hair out in frustration.

Ethan continued to stare at him
thoughtfully, looking at ease in the traditional garb of his Asian homeland. It
drove Zebadiah nuts when the other man did that. It seemed as if nothing
bothered the man, or got under his skin, other than his submissive Bella. He
almost wished the woman was here, but knew she’d more than likely take her
Master’s side.

“I never said you were helpless, Zebadiah.
But you came to both Davis and I and asked for our guidance as you got back on
your feet. Neither of us believe you’re ready to take on a master such as
Master Nicholaus or his submissive, Stephanie. They’re good people but they’re
going to demand more than you’re ready for.”

Crossing his arms over his chest, he strove
for patience. “It’s been six months. How long am I supposed to go without
feeling the touch of a flogger against my skin, or experience the pleasure that
comes from serving another?”

“I know it’s frustrating. And we’ve found
several masters who were willing to scene with you - who understand your
limitations.” Ethan tucked one of his dreadlocks, the only outward sign of his
mixed heritage of Asian and black, behind his ear.

“Sure you have. You’ve found men who’ll take
it easy on me because you’ve told them the sordid story of my stupidity with
Allison.”

Ethan sighed. “Communication is a must,
Zebadiah. If you go into a scene and don’t disclose your past, bad things could
happen…”

Zebadiah wanted to scream. “I’m not going
to have a flashback! I know the difference between him and Allison. He’s a man,
not a woman who could viciously hurt me. I’ll be fine under his control. In
fact, I haven’t had a nightmare about that night in weeks. I feel like I’m
ready to burst out of my skin. Something has got to give before I go nuts.” He
raked his hand through his light colored hair. “I knew I should’ve moved out
after I got back on my feet. I feel like I’m trapped, unable to go back - but
unable to go forward either.”

For the first time since he’d come into the
room, Ethan actually flinched. “I wasn’t aware you viewed yourself as a
prisoner. If that’s the way you truly feel about it, I’ll have Bella pack up
your belongings, and you may return to your previous life. You’ll be able to do
as you wish, and neither Davis nor I will interfere in your choices - you’ll be
alone in your decisions.”

A panic hit Zebadiah at the finality of
Ethan’s words. Even as much as he hated the restrictions the men had put on
him, he wasn’t ready to be alone again. He’d settled into a comfortable routine
at the house up the hill from the club. One which had allowed his knee to heal
after the second reconstructive surgery he’d needed, when the first had failed
to fix the badly torn ligament. The same household that had given him structure
as he’d dealt with first the pain of his healing body, and then the emotional
upheaval Allison’s betrayal had caused. He wasn’t ready to give up the security
it offered just because he was horny.

“I didn’t mean to suggest I felt like a
prisoner, Ethan. I’m just frustrated. I need release and there’s something
about Master Nicholaus. Something that calls to me, even though I know he
already has a submissive.” His shoulders slumped. “I’d share with her if it
would allow me to bask in Master Nicholaus’s dominance.” Sinking into the chair
across from Ethan, he angled his bad knee to keep undo pressure off it.

“Which is exactly what concerns us. You
want him to the point you’ll accept his submissive as part of the deal. Is that
fair to Stephanie - to share her master with another sub who’ll merely tolerate
her presence to get what he needs?”

Zebadiah lowered his eyes as confusion and
embarrassment set in. “She’s his sub. She has no say in what her master does.”

Ethan drew a sharp breath. “Not all masters
are like Allison!”

Ethan’s reaction shocked Zebadiah and he
looked up in surprise. “It’s just not Allison. I’ve heard it many times in the
clubs. A submissive has no claim on their master—”

“Other than the claim the master allows.
And in the case of Nicholaus and Stephanie, they’ve been together for a long
time. She wears his permanent collar and is very possessive of her Master. She
has been known to hiss at other submissives who approach Nicholaus.” Ethan
tapped his fingers on the desk. “And that possessiveness extends beyond the
scene. Did you know she is also his personal bodyguard in their vanilla life?
She protects him from harm when he does his book tours.”

His reply came out barely above a whisper.
“No, I didn’t. Perhaps you’re right. He’s not for me…I’d never hurt him, but
neither do I want to compete with her for a place in his life.”

“I didn’t say he wasn’t worth the effort,
Zebadiah. Just that you’re not ready yet for what they want.” A kindly light
shone from Ethan’s eyes. “However, once you’re ready, I could see you being a
perfect third for them.”

Zebadiah latched onto Ethan’s words like a
lifeline. “You think so?”

Ethan nodded. “Yes. You used to love to
submit to both sexes. You were and are a true bi-sexual submissive. I think you
can be active again with the right amount of training. Training is the key
because Master Nicholaus isn’t merely looking for another submissive for
himself. He’s looking for a male submissive to share with Stephanie. Whatever
third they end up taking, she’ll dominate him as much as Nicholaus will. So
when you give yourself over to Nicholaus you’ll be submitting to both of them.
Now the question is, at this time with your demons, could you give yourself
over to both of them?”

His blood ran cold at the idea of being
under the control of a woman again. True, at times they’d be together as a
threesome, and he couldn’t see Nicholaus allowing Stephanie to hurt him, but
what about when they were alone. She could push him too far…refuse to honor his
safeword. “I…no. I’m not ready for that.”

Ethan nodded. “And now that you’ve accepted
the idea you’re not ready, we can begin on your training and recovery.”

“Training?”

“Yes. It’ll take time and patience, but
Davis and I’ll make sure you’re ready to be what Nicholaus and Stephanie need.
It won’t be fast or easy, but neither of us will give up on you.”

“But what if they find a third before I get
there?” His true fear, more than anything else was that Nicholaus would find
another before he was ready, and he would lose his chance with the only Master
who’d appealed to him since his accident.

“Then he wasn’t the right Master for you.”
Ethan smiled for the first time since Zebadiah entered the room. “But somehow I
think Master Nicholaus will wait for you. If I can see the potential in you,
I’m sure he can as well.”

* * * *

Nicholaus
stared stonily at Davis. He had been so close to approaching the submissive who
he and Steph had noticed several times over the past month. There was something
about the slender blond which drew both of them. True, the little twink wasn
’t as tall as Nicholaus had imagined their third being, but
neither was he so short that he’d get a crick in his neck when he kissed him.
And more than anything, he’d been wanting to feel the smooth lips of Zebadiah
Pellegrino under his, ever since Steph had pointed him out as a potential
third. The sexual awareness between him and the little blond had flared each
time he captured the man’s pretty lapis-hued gaze with his.

“What do you mean he’s off-limits? I didn’t
see any collar around his throat, Davis.”

Davis sighed, looking around the room.
“He’s…shit I can’t have this conversation here. Would you and your submissive
like to join me in my office? I’ll explain everything there. I don’t mind
waiting while she comes back.”

Letting out a sharp whistle to alert
Stephanie, who was at the bar fetching him a drink, he nodded his agreement to
the plan. “It won’t take more than a moment for Steph to join us.” True to his
word she appeared at his side less than a minute later, carrying his scotch.
“Master Davis wishes to speak to us in private.”

“Have we done something wrong, Master
Davis?” The leery tone in her voice didn’t surprise Nicholaus. Ever since the
night of their confrontation with Kitchner, she’d been waiting for their new
club to turn on them as well, despite Ethan’s assurances that no Dom who obeyed
the Safe, Sane, and Consensual rule would be turned away from his club.

“No, he wishes to explain to us why
Zebadiah is off-limits, but wishes to do it in private.”

She visibly relaxed. “All right. Let’s find
out why the owners of New Beginnings are protecting an un-collared sub. Lead
the way, Master. I’ll follow as always.” Then she took a step forward and to
his left. The same position she often took while protecting him. He suppressed
a chuckle. While she normally did follow him when at the club, he also enjoyed
when she took the point position. With her in front of him, it gave him a
spectacular view of her ass, and more than once he’d squeezed, rubbed, and even
patted said ass.

“I do believe that to follow me, you need
to be behind me,
cara mia.”

A flush crossed her face. “Of course,
Master.” She obediently stepped behind him. Davis’s muffled laugh a second
later confirmed what he already knew. The little wench had stuck her tongue out
at him. “Two swats for your impertinence.”

“Yes, Master.”

The barely contained laughter in her voice
had him shaking his head. “I swear there are times I don’t know whether I
should beat her or kiss her. Shall we go, Master Davis? I’d really like to
understand your reasoning behind the off-limits signs you’re attempting to post
around the submissive I crave to know.”

“Of course. Come with me.” Davis turned
towards the door, gesturing for them to follow him. Once they entered the narrow
hall, they had to move single file down the tight corridor. While Nicholaus had
overcome his fear of tight spaces most of the time, he did give a sigh of
relief as they stepped inside of what obviously was the business end of New
Beginnings. Two desks sat adjacent to one another. He was surprised to see how
cluttered the desk Davis slipped behind was, but didn’t comment on it. He
wasn’t here to speculate on how an upstanding attorney lived with such clutter.

“Have a seat, Master Nicholaus.” Davis gestured
to the two chairs facing his desk. “Would you like your sub to kneel? I do
believe Ethan has a throw pillow in here Bella uses to protect her knees.”

“No. This doesn’t require my sub kneeling.”
He sat down and patted his knee. “Come,
cara
mia.”

Davis waited until Steph was settled on his
lap before continuing. Wrapping an arm around his sub, he tucked her head under
his chin, savoring her closeness as he waited for the man to explain why he and
Steph weren’t allowed to approach Zebadiah.

“Do you want the short or long version?”

“Whichever gets us to point the fastest.
Lay it out for me, Davis,” Nicholaus replied.

Davis sighed before squeezing the bridge of
his nose. “Okay, this is the gist of it. The sub you’re interested in isn’t
prepared to handle what you and Steph want…”

“Excuse me, but shouldn’t he be the one to
tell us that?” Steph spoke softly.

Davis made eye contact with her. “That’s
just it. He’s impulsive when it comes to offering his submission, and he’s paid
for it in the past. So he asked Ethan and me to guide him back into the
lifestyle.”

“So you’re like his pseudo Doms for the
moment.” Anger at the thought of Davis having what he wanted made Nicholaus’s
voice raspy. “Why the hell doesn’t he have a service collar on then?”

“Because he’s not our sub,” Ethan answered
from the doorway.

Davis smiled at his business partner. “Did
it go well with Zebadiah?”

Ethan nodded. “Yes. After explaining to
him, he asked to go back up to the house. Seems he wants time alone to reflect
on our conversation.”

“Conversation?” Steph leaned away from him
to question Ethan. That was his sub, never afraid to tread where only angels
dared to go.