Brie Masters Love in Submission: Submissive in Love (91 page)

Master Anderson stared at the box for a moment, then called out to the man, “Wait! Why does this box have holes in it?”

Brie had to stifle her giggle as he cautiously set the box on the coffee table and sat down. He pulled out the note attached and read it aloud.

To Master Anderson

May you find your joy and delight in this box.

He looked warily at the cardboard box again, mumbling to himself, “What the hell…” After lifting the lid, he chuckled as a tiny orange tabby enthusiastically jumped out of the box but overshot it, meowing pitifully as it tumbled off the table. Luckily, Master Anderson had quick reflexes and caught the tiny thing in his large hands before it hit the floor.

“Brie!” he roared.

She left the safety of the room, approaching him slowly, unsure whether he liked her gift.

“Did you do this?” he asked in an accusatory tone.

She twisted nervously where she stood. “Maybe…”

“A kitten?”

“I know you have a thing for redheads, and she was a cute little redhead who needed a good man.”

The kitten attempted to climb up Master Anderson’s muscular arm as Brie was talking. He gave up trying to control the furball and let it crawl up his arm to his shoulder, where it stood fearlessly, surveying the new landscape from its high vantage point.

“The last thing I need is an animal to care for,” Master Anderson complained as he gently rubbed under the tiny creature’s chin.

“I couldn’t stand the thought of you coming home to an empty house anymore, Master Anderson. Besides, kittens make excellent chick magnets.”

“Did you forget I’m moving in two months?”

“She’ll make the move much more interesting for you. Trust me.”

The kitten rubbed up against Master Anderson’s handsome chin, purring loudly.

“Oh!” Brie cooed, putting her hands to her heart. “You two look so cute together.”

Master Anderson picked up the tiny kitten and looked it in the eyes. It let out a sweet little mew, and that was all it took—he was hooked. “Fine, I’ll keep her, but be assured I will do a far better job caring for
her
than Thane did with my innocent herb garden.”

Brie burst out laughing. “Well, that’s a relief.”

He passed the kitten to her. “Hold on to the little thing while I get your luggage into the truck. No reason she can’t take the ride with us.”

“What are you going to call her, Master Anderson?”

He looked at the tabby with an amused expression. “I haven’t decided yet. I want to get to know her first, so I can give her a title befitting her spunky personality.”

While he was carrying the luggage to the car, Brie kissed the kitten’s tiny pink nose. “Yep, you don’t know what a lucky little pussy you are.”

When Brie stepped off the plane in Chengdu, she was hit by culture shock as she made her way through the busy airport. There were not many foreigners, and few people, if any, seemed to speak English. Since she had not been able to reach Sir before she’d left, there was no one there to greet her. She was completely on her own, which was a real challenge, since she knew very little Chinese.

Luckily, both she and Sir had tracking devices on their phones. It allowed them to keep tabs on each other while traveling, and proved vitally important to her now. Knowing that his missing phone was still lost at the hotel, she was able to find the exact location.

Once she had all her luggage and had finally managed to hail a cab, she showed the driver the GPS map on her phone. He shook his head, indicating that he didn’t understand. She tried to pronounce the name of the hotel, but try as she might, the man could not understand her. Brie could tell he was getting frustrated and was afraid he would kick her out of his cab.

In a last-ditch effort, she googled the translation for the name of the hotel and showed him the Chinese characters. The man smiled, nodding his approval as he hit the gas. Although she was afraid the translation might be off, she grew more confident that they were headed in the right direction once the dot on her phone began to move.

Brie thought how terrifying it would be to get lost in this giant city of fourteen million people without knowing the language. She fervently prayed that Sir would be at the hotel when she arrived.

The drive took almost an hour and there were several heart-stopping moments. The streets were full of bicycles, motorbikes, pedestrians and buses, as well as regular cars and taxis. It took much weaving and braking to avoid hitting the different modes of transportation gathered on the same roadways, and the crazy intersections seemed like accidents waiting to happen. To Brie’s relief, they arrived at the hotel unscathed despite (or possibly because of) her cabbie’s haphazard driving.

The driver handed Brie her luggage and eagerly took the yuan Master Anderson had given her.

Thank you, Master Anderson!

Brie entered the hotel and walked up to the counter. “Sir Thane Davis?” she asked, hoping his name would ring a bell. The clerk said something in Chinese, so Brie said it again more slowly, pointing at the different room keys hanging behind the woman.

The clerk smiled and repeated Sir’s name with her thick accent. Brie nodded enthusiastically, thrilled the woman understood. She was surprised when the woman left her post to personally escort Brie to the room.

The clerk knocked on the door and called out his name, but it was not Sir who answered. Instead Lilly stood there, looking as surprised as Brie. The clerk seemed unhappy, looking at both women as if she was afraid she’d done something wrong by showing Brie to the room.

To alleviate the woman’s fears, she held out her hand to Lilly. “It’s good to see a familiar face.”

Lilly accepted the handshake, but failed to invite Brie in.

The front desk clerk was satisfied, however, and left them to return to her job.

“Is this Thane’s hotel room?” Brie asked, surprised to find her there.

“Yes. I’m waiting for him to return from his daily jog before we visit Mother again.”

“Good,” Brie answered, brushing past her to enter Sir’s room. She put down her luggage and collapsed in a nearby chair, sighing loudly. “It’s been a long flight and I’m totally exhausted, but if I take a quick shower to freshen up, I can join you two.”

When Lilly didn’t respond, Brie asked, “You don’t have a problem if I freshen up, do you?”

“Of course not,” Lilly answered, but she sounded less than pleased.

When Lilly made no move to leave, Brie asked bluntly, “Do you mind giving me a little privacy? I promise not to take long.”

Lilly seemed reluctant to leave Sir’s room, but made her way out.

Brie shut the door behind her and headed into the tiny bathroom. Realizing she had little time, she quickly undressed and sponged herself, reapplying her makeup and fixing her hair. Before she dressed in new clothes, she spritzed herself with perfume and felt adequately refreshed.

Brie knelt at the door waiting for him. It was only a few minutes later when she heard him slipping the key into the door. She looked down, smiling to herself as it swung open, anticipating their reunion.

Sir entered the room and shut the door, stating only, “You came.”

She looked up and her heart skipped a beat. “I…I did, Sir.” He had a haunted, cruel look in his eyes that was unsettling to her soul.

What’s happened to him?

Rather than the normal protocol of releasing Brie to serve him, Sir stayed where he was. “I met with Lilly in the lobby. She let me know you were here.”

Brie wondered why Lilly had felt the need to tell him and spoil her surprise. She looked at his troubled face and asked, “Aren’t you happy to see me, Sir?”

There was a light knock on the door.

“Excuse me,” he said curtly. Sir answered it, telling Lilly, “Give me a minute. I’ll come get you when I’m ready to head out.”

He shut the door again and stared at Brie. The cold look in his eyes reminded of her of the song “Demons” that he’d sung to her back in Tokyo, and his warning:
“When I shared that I have my demons, it was not simply idle talk, Brie. I am my mother’s son.”

Brie could feel his hostility increasing. She was afraid she was about to meet his demons head on, but she held her kneeling pose as he approached, even though she felt like cowering.

In one solid motion, he lifted her from the ground and threw her over his shoulder, carrying her into the bathroom. There he stripped out of his jogging sweats and ripped her out of her clothes, pushing her against the shower wall. He turned on the hot water and let it cascade over them both.

Sir grabbed her hips so violently that she cried out. Instead of taking her, he wrapped his arms around her, holding Brie tightly against him—so tightly that she struggled to breathe. But she did not resist his restrictive embrace—she clung to him.

After several minutes, he began to shake as silent sobs wracked his body. Her own tears fell, her heart breaking for him.

Sir did not let go until the water became ice cold and Brie was shivering in his arms.

He shut off the shower and grabbed a towel, drying her in silence before taking care of himself. His expression remained just as tormented, but there were no telltale signs that he had been crying.

“We will leave when you’re ready,” he stated gruffly, exiting the bathroom.

Brie looked in the mirror, frightened by the change in him. With shaking hands, she wiped away her running mascara and applied her makeup for a second time. Brie slipped into her clothes and styled her hair simply.

She rejoined Sir, her hair still wet, hoping he would talk to her before they met up with Lilly again. It disturbed her that he would not look her in the eye.

“Sir…” she said, moving towards him.

He stopped her in her tracks with his accusatory tone. “What was the reason for the delay?” When she opened her mouth to answer, he snapped, “Never mind. Hand me your journal.”

Brie immediately dug through her luggage and handed it to him. She wanted to explain, but stood silently, feeling guilty of a crime she was unaware she’d committed.

Sir sat down, not inviting her to join him as he starting flipping through her journal. Brie watched his expression carefully, hoping to see compassion. To her dismay, his face remained impassive, even though Brie had poured out her heart to him on every page.

It pained her to see him so cold and uncaring.

After he’d finished, Sir closed the book. “I have many questions for you, but not now. I have an appointment with the Beast. You are to remain here until I get back.”

“But Si—”

He put up his hand to stop her protest. “Go to sleep. You’ve had a long day of travel. That’s an order, téa.”

Brie dutifully took off her clothes as he watched, and laid them in a pile on the nightstand before slipping under the covers of his bed.

She watched in disbelief as he walked out the door, leaving her alone in the hotel room while he joined Lilly.

What the hell is going on?

Brie felt certain Lilly was the cause of the disconnect with Sir. But the question she couldn’t answer was why. What possible motive could Lilly have to do such a terrible thing?

As much as Sir wouldn’t want to hear it, she knew it was time to voice her concerns about his sister, but Brie also understood that she’d have to tread lightly. Lilly was family and, in the short time he’d known her, Sir had grown to care about the girl.

Even though it was about to get ugly, as his submissive and future wife, Brie understood it was her duty.

Condors, Sir.

She eventually gave in to her exhaustion, falling into a fitful slumber. She dreamed of snakes and kittens, a wedding dress and black pearls…

Brie woke with a start. It took a moment to realize she was in Sir’s hotel room. Just when her heart was slowing down, an unpleasant masculine scent assaulted her senses and then she heard movement.

Someone else was in the room.

Before she could scream, a strong hand wrapped around her throat pinning her to the bed. Brie struggled for her life, but her cries were muffled as her assailant squeezed her windpipe. His grip was hard and unforgiving as he strangled the breath out of her.

As she became lightheaded, her spirited thrashing quickly became feeble movements. Once she stopped fighting, recognition slowly dawned—
Master’s touch
.

Even though his scent did not match because he was wearing the shirt of another man, it was Sir who held her by the throat.

Sir released the pressure of his grip but his hand remained tight around her neck. He growled ominously, “Don’t make a sound.” Sir ripped the blankets away, exposing her naked body.

He was playing out the scene she had written in her journal, but there was another element to it—a dangerous one that frightened Brie. She instinctively cried out, “Please don’t hurt me.”

Still keeping in character, he leaned down and whispered in her ear, “I won’t unless you force me to.”

Was it a threat or an invitation to play?

Sir’s hands were unusually rough as he caressed her body, bruising and clawing at her in his raging lust. Brie whimpered under his touch, both turned on and frightened by his harsh treatment. He seemed like a man possessed.