KING (Mistress & Master of Restraint) (13 page)

“I placed Adelaide
in WinterCrest Asylum to protect her from Olivia’s wrath,” Grandfather admits. “But Ade didn’t want to leave after she was safe. I’m her father; I should have protected her from this insanity. I fear that it was too much and she broke under the strain.”

“Here’s the deal,” Niel says, getting down to business. “
Diane’s newest objective is Ava. How do you know, you ask? Well, because they don’t give a shit whether or not you’re eighteen. Olivia contacted me when she came to town. I was given an assignment to pass to Diane. So, Diane,” Niel smirks at the older woman. “There’s your assignment,” he says in a flair that is unique to Niel. I can’t help but laugh at his arrogance.

“I’m guessing you don’t want to harm your granddaughte
r, and I sure as shit don’t. Ava was a little kid when I met her. She’s younger than my sister. No fucking way am I hurting her. Since Diane’s only contact is me and mine is Olivia, we need to figure out who Olivia’s foundation is. And right now, we have no clue who the enforcers are. I will not be coerced,” Niel states, no longer looking like the boy I raised. Next to me sits a man.

“We need to break this cycle. Our only direction is Olivia,
” Marcus says, his logical mind already mapping out a course and taking the role of leadership. He starts pacing the study. “Pretty boy,” he calls to me in his Master of the Universe voice, “Batter up! You’re on Dalton. You’ll get to the mother via the son. Find out who Olivia was in close contact with. Niel and I will work on my daughter.”

“Holy shit!”
Niel expresses in surprise. “You called me Niel, not Daniel or Dim-Whitt or Mini-Whitt. You called me Niel!”

Marcus chuckles and flashes a dazzling smile. “Welcome to manhood, Niel. You’ve earned the right to be called anything you want. I’ll call you
Prince if it makes you happy, whatever you want.”

“How about you give me ten unattended minutes with your granddaughter so I can really become a man,” Niel taunts Marcus, pushing his luck.

Every derivative of Niel’s name is hissed from multiple sources. For the first time ever, Niel’s parents are a united front. Regina and Jamie hold Niel in his seat, giving Marcus unlimited access to the little shit.

“Eh- forget it,” Marcus says in dismissal. “It
was disrespectful as all hell, but Niel has a point. The kid needs to get laid.” Niel’s smile could power New York City with its brilliance. “Not with my Ava, though. Ya know how you think Ella is too young to date? Remember that when you want to touch someone who is a month younger than her. You can play with someone your own age.”

“The fuck?”
Niel hisses. “That’s a trap. You know Ava will cut my balls off if I touch someone else. I’m going to die a virgin. I’ll be twenty-one before Ava’s eighteen. No fucking fair!”

“Don’t be dramatic,” Regina chastises.
“The rule was sixteen. Eleven months from now. You’re not fooling anyone, kid. Nice try, though.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Marcus asks, looking between Regina and Niel. I hide my smile behind my hand.
I wouldn’t believe a word out of Niel’s mouth unless it was a life or death situation.  I’ve seen how close he’s come to losing his v-card. Ava’s no angel.

“Don’t you worry about
it. We have other shit to deal with. My kid’s sex life isn’t one of them.” Regina brushes off Marc’s annoyance like she doesn’t care. If it was directed at any of us, we’d cower in our seats. Our Queen is a strong woman.

“I’m more concerned now that you said, ‘my kid’s sex life.’ I was under th
e impression he didn’t have one,” Marcus says with thinly veiled anger.

Regina sputters out a curse and
rudely gestures with her hand. “Non-issue. Alright. I’ll get to hacking as soon as I get to my computer. Fate and Kristal are already setting up our offices. I’ll be in my old office- first floor, south wing, last door on the left. That’s where I’ll be. Don’t kill each other.”

Our Queen calls the meeting to a close by leaving. Suspiciously, Jamie gets up and follows her.

“Where ya going?”
Marc demands.

Jamie hastily signs
two fold
, and then
chases after Regina.

“What the hell did that mean?” I ask as Niel stalks out the door to spy on his parents.

“Diane,” Daniel says, taking the woman’s arm. “Shall we? I’d like to check on Adelaide.”

“I’ll work on Olivia without making her suspicious,” Diane says as she rises.

“Die, answer me this,” Marc says in suspicion. “Why the hell did you buy her that club next to Restraint if you have no money?”

“Who said I did? The loss of Kink was her punishment. French Kissed Kink was her reward. Instead of asking who bought it, you should be asking why it was purchased. What did Olivia do to earn it?”

“No shit?” Marc replies to her, cocking his head to the side in contemplation.

Marcus and I are quiet as we wait for the study to empty. The instant the door
s close us in, my legs kick up to rest on the desktop. “I’ve waited years to do this,” I murmur in pleasure, crossing my legs at the ankles. “Feels good to be KING,” sarcastically flows.

Marc chuckles while slumping in his chair and propping his feet on my desk. “I love how I thought I was Master of the Universe. I had all this shit figured out. I was working
myself into madness trying to save all the people who were secretly fucking me over. They didn’t even need saved. Come to find out, instead of being at the top of the evolutionary ladder, I’m at the bottom with the dog shit.”

“They needed saved from themselves,” I add.

“Damned straight. Jamie… I’m going to re-kill that sonofabitch,” Marc seethes.

“Hey, now, no calling my Grammy a bitch,” I tease. “Who would’ve thought
… Grant died a hero.”

“Shut it,” Marc warns. “Do you know how much I could have stopped if he would
have said something. But no, Jamie said take care of my family. Jamie said he was a coward that couldn’t deal with the stress of being a Whittenhower. Jamie said he wasn’t in love with Regina. Fucking Liar!”

“Jamie’s alone with Regina
right now. You know that, right?”

“Yeah… I caught that.
Niel will report back to me,” Marc says with confidence.

“Yeah right,” I laugh. “Niel
does what profits him. When are you going to learn this? Niel let me worry for years over a plan he put into motion. Niel knew about the real Masters of the Universe game for months and said nothing. I’m telling you to watch out, and this is coming from someone that loves him.”

“Niel’s a good kid,” Marc
says with a shrug.

“Why don’t you go ask your granddaughter if she’s
still a virgin,” I taunt.

“Did they?” Marcus
leans forward, legs dropping off the edge of my desk. Marc scrutinizes my expression, trying to read me.

“Anybody’s guess,” I say noncommittally. “If I placed odds… I go with the ‘Niel’s already a man’ side of that bet.”

“I’ll kill him,” he growls.

“Ya got a long list there, buddy. I believe I was on that list last night. You just added Jamie moments ago. Let’s not eradicate the Whittenhower line. I don’t think Granddad Daniel is up to the challenge of procreation.”

“Last night you were the biggest obstacle in my path. This morning I had no obstacles when you said you’d divorce Regina. That half hour of relief was bliss. Now, Jamie pulls this ‘I sacrificed myself to save you and the children’ card out of his back pocket. Jamie will use undying love and heroism as a way to get back into Regina’s bed.”

“Ya better hope Niel doesn’t buy into that bullshit and
actually reports back to one of us. We need someone on team
Regus
. Jesus, I can’t believe I’m on that team,” I laugh. “What about Itsy?”

“
Regus
?” Marcus arches a perfect eyebrow. “Really?”

“What?” I smirk. “What about
Grina
or
Remie
? Works for whatever name he’s going by today.”

“
Regus
it is, because I’m going to annihilate whatever team you create with whatever Jamie’s name of the month is.”

“Marc?”

“Yeah,” he absently says, no doubt computing more acronyms.

“She’s yours,” I genuinely admit. “Or maybe you’re hers. Either way, you’ll be together. Forget about my father. Eventually he’ll tuck tail and hide.”

“Itsy is too soft to play spy,” Marc responds to my earlier question, and we share a laugh over that play on words.

“Ava,” we say together.

~Chapter Ten~

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to take your boyfriend on a date. Make him feel special
. Bring Dalton a boon, such as black eyeliner. –Ez

Now look who’s being a Dick! Dalton doesn’t wear eyeliner.

Really? Those peepers are natural. Jesus, he’s gorgeous. You’re a lucky fucker. –Ez

You’re screwing with me, aren’t you?

What do you think? –Ez

Hell, yeah…

Seriously, take him on a date. Have you ever been on one? –Ez

Nope. I’m a loser.

Do something he loves. Make it all about him. Hell, the gift you could give him is signed divorce papers. –Ez

Dick!

Don’t make me bring out Master Ez. He’s not as nice as me. You’re only getting me because he’s not fond of the lads. I’m training you, so you should listen. –Ez

Why are you training me
, again?

If I could go back and do it differently, I would. So I’m usin
g my do-over on you. What does Dalton like to do besides brood? Dinner? –Ez

Dalton
doesn’t like to eat. Dinner’s out. Basically we have sex and sleep. He was pretending to be someone else, remember. We have a lot of getting to know each other to do.

You could always smack the masochist around, but sadism isn’t your bag.
My wife is positively giddy at the thought of having Dalton under her impact toys. –Ez

Very funny!
So not happening. My BDSM training won’t be helpful. I don’t think manipulation is considered a kink- it’s a gift, really. I could tie him up and talk him to death.

What do you talk about? –Ez

Tattoos.

So give him another one!
It’s a date and a permanent gift in one. & you really need to talk to him and learn who he is. Shitty relationship, if you ask me. –Ez

No one asked you!

I love you, too! Tell your lover about our kiss. I want the details. If he cries, it’s all the better. –Ez

You really are a dick.

No, I suck dick. What I am is a psychiatrist. We eat emotions for breakfast. I need that kind of detail to analyze him. I’m sure your Emo lover would offer a plethora of sustenance for me. –Ez

I’m sure Dalton woul
d rather have you gobble his cock versus tearing into his psyche.

Don’t turn me on.
I’d love to do that simultaneously. Details! Midnight- tennis courts –Ez

I’ll be there.
I have to let you go- family therapy in ten. Wish it was you instead.

Conflict of interests.
Not a good idea to counsel your future son-in-law, especially on days when you feel like kicking his brawny ass. –Ez

Niel
would smash you to a pulp.

He would. Why d
o you think I give Niel a wide birth? Have fun with Roman! –Ez

I want to kiss him with my fists.

I’d pay to see that. I prefer your soft lips, though. Later. –Ez

Midnight

Pathetic, when the highlight of my day is texting with Ezra. Six hours of working side-by-side with Grandfather is making my brain bleed. If I could, I’d sell all of our businesses and properties, split the profits among us, and go on my way. I understand my father better. It must be freeing to do what you love, legacy be damned.

“I’ll be back in an hour. Roman likes to watch our ‘bond with daddy’ time,” I snidely say.

“I could join you. Three generations of Whittenhower men should intimidate Regina’s old boyfriend, Mr. Roman Alexander,” Grandfather drawls, smirking at me.

“Do you really want to sit through that?”

“Definitely not. I try to avoid Niel when he’s at his finest. Worst is more like it. Niel scares the shit out of me when he gets in a mood.”

“What tipped Niel
over the edge this time?” I shudder at the thought of Niel’s moods. He gets high from manipulation and coercion. The higher Niel is, the stronger his capacity to render you emotionally paralyzed.

“Grant,” my grandfather says sympathetically
, refusing to call his son Jamie. “I wouldn’t want to be around either one of them if they’re together.”