Queen (Mistress & Master of Restraint) (34 page)

“We can always hope that you’ll take your throne someday.” The creepy quality to her voice is scaring me.
“You have a Whittenhower stashed away somewhere I don’t know about? Whitt’s still a minor for the few months yet and I’m not his type, and the heir to the throne is my child. Snap out of your fantasy and join reality, Adelaide, you’re frightening me.”

“I love you. I’d kiss you goodbye, but I made you a promise I intend to keep. Good night, Regina.”

I watch as she stands, straighten her dress, and leaves my room in a cloud of her own satisfaction.

I lie as sensations bombard me: Ade’s taste on my lips, the feel of the
pillowy mattress beneath me, the sound of the central-air whirling, the compressive nature of darkness, and lastly the aching pit of despair I’ve kept in check. In the absence of numbness is pain. I remember why I locked my emotions in a lead-lined box- pain, unadulterated torture, bottomless loneliness, an infinite emptiness, and lastly, fury.

I grab my pillow and scream until my throat no longer spills my pain. I hate Grant for leaving me. I hate my parents for leaving me. I hate Ade for watching Niel grow up and for her ability to have unlimited access to Whitt. I hate her the most. She can use all of her senses to touch their soft skin, hear the tone of their voices, see their changing forms, experience their love, and lastly, feel their embrace. My hate is equal to the love I feel for her.

My heart tears itself from my chest and the only relief I’ll ever find is in death.

Chapter Nine

My hand hovers over the gargoyle, refusing to tap on the red door.

My night of despair is evident in my appearance. I wanted to make a good second impression on the Master. I’ll make an impression alright. My eyes look huge with dark shadows beneath them from never having a full night’s sleep since I was sixteen-years-old. Tonight I’ve lined them in kohl to cover the shadows. I’m wearing a form-fitting, sheer, black dress and flats.

When I went shopping I longingly stared at the awesome array of heels knowing I couldn’t buy them. They came in my size, but I didn’t think towering over the Master at six-five in heels was a good idea.

My biggest problem of the night is the fact that I have laryngitis thanks to my screaming uncontrollably into my pillow.

The door magically opens just as I touch the knocker.

“Regina,” Marcus purrs in a pleasant voice. His face twists in worry. “What happened?”
“I’m fine,” I try to rasp out, but it sounds broken. I tap my throat, “Laryngitis.”

“Are you ill? Do you want me to fetch a Doctor?” His concern warms me.

“Not ill,” I push from my lips.

“Come in, the nights are starting to chill. I’ll get you a bottle of water for your throat. The sofa’s uncovered in the impact room.” He disappear
s from sight down the hallway.

I lock the door behind me and walk to the room we sat in last night. I get comfortable on the sofa and look at what surrounds me.

The room is hardwood from floor to ceiling. Wooden frames are attached to the walls and restraints hang from the ceiling. A wall is dedicated to showcasing objects. I understand the meaning of
impact room
. Paddles, floggers, whips, canes, household items, and tools I have no name for hang in groups by type. I shiver and wish I’d brought a sweater.

“Here you go,” he hands me a glass bottle of water. I unscrew the cap, take a small sip, and wince when the sparkling bubbles stings my aching throat.

“Thank you,” I say stronger. My voice works when it’s wet. This morning I couldn’t speak at all.
“Are you cold? Here,” he pulls off his suit jacket and hands it to me. I don’t want to take it since I worry it won’t fit me, but I don’t want to insult him. He helps me tug it on and smiles down at me when it fits perfectly.

“I’m sorry about how last night played out.” He squeezes my knee and then his face clouds. “Could you switch seats with me?”

He doesn’t wait for my agreement. He stands up and takes my elbow so I have to move or fight him. After a few seconds of my confusion, understanding finally dawns. He wants my back to the room, just as he did last night. I settle on the couch waiting for more intrigue.

He tilts my face to the side and inspects the fingertip bruises he laid along my jawline. They’re faint, but noticeable. He frowns down at them. He tilts my head farther and sights in on Cort’s suck marks. He smirks as he traces an elegant fingertip from mark to mark, even finding the one hidden beneath the top of my dress. My body beads with goosebumps and I flush with embarrassment.

“Hmmm… these are very nice. He didn’t show much control, though. I’ll make him work on that.” He strokes my throat soothingly and listens to his own thoughts.

“I’m trying to figure out where to begin, Regina. You perplex me and this situation has been culminating for many years. I finally have you here and I’m not sure how to proceed. It’s not a position I find myself in often.”

“Why don’t you start at the beginning, Sir?” My voice is barely a whisper, but he hears it, nonetheless, since his hand surrounds the column of my throat.

“Very wise, Regina, truth is where I shall begin.  I’ll start with me. I know you know who I am in the community. Who my wife is, who my son is. And that leads me to you. I know everything about you,” he says assuredly.

I seriously doubt that.

His hand moves lightning fast. My chin is relentlessly gripped in his elegant fingers. His fingers splay to the side of my jaw and hit the bruises that formed last night. I didn’t think these meeting would be hazard
ous to my health- I was wrong.

“Don’t ever doubt what I say. We’ve already established this.” He
angrily stares into my eyes. Slowly his features return to softness. His mercurial emotions throw me.

“As I was saying, all roads lead back to you, Regina. I’ll show you how much you need to trust me,” he warns. 

He scrunches his eyes as he notices where his fingertips are gouging. He winces in pain for me. He tilts my head back again and examines me for a moment. He butterflies kisses on the bruises and starts to talk as if nothing happened.

“Regina Regal attended Hillbrook Prep on a four-year scholarship, where she befriended Adelaide Whittenhower and Fate Simpson. She was top of her class and the brightest in our country. After she graduated, her mother, Ella, died of lung cancer. Then Daniel Whittenhower I became a pestilence in her life. She was Grant Whittenhower’s Mistress and I don’t just mean that in the lover sense. She birthed a child, Daniel Whittenhower III- Niel. She, yet again, graduated at the top of the class and the country with her interest in the digital age, primarily in
the worldwide spread of the internet. Grant’s first and only attempt at independence ended tragically. Ms. Regal, Ms. Simpson, and Ms. Harris created
Empowerment
. The past six years she’s been raising a female child, Ella Grant Regal, which the majority of the Whittenhowers have no knowledge of. She came to Restraint at Ms. Whittenhower’s request to watch my son. She chose to say she was a lesbian in fear that the male population of Restraint would devour her. Ms. Simpson plays the dutiful submissive, also at Adelaide’s request. We need one more female to tempt my son- Kristal Harris, the new bartender at Restraint- a millionaire bartender. I hold all of your secrets, Regina, will you keep mine as well?” He reads my life history from his mind as if it’s written before him in a dossier.  

“How do you know all of this? Are you blackmailing me?” I accuse. I sit up and face him dead-on. I will not be intimidated.

His head strikes backwards as if I’ve verbally smacked him.

“No,” he draws out. His voice is hurt. “I’m showing you that you can trust me. I want to be your Master. I’ve waited for you for seven years. You need me to help you, Regina. Professionally you are thriving. Your life with your friends and daughter is thriving. It’s your soul that is dying,” he says so quietly under his breath that I’m not sure I hear him correctly.

He turns his face from me and looks far off into a place I cannot see. He’s in his own mind. Minutes pass and I debate leaving.

“She doesn’t want you all to tempt him because she fears he will cheat, she fears he will not.” Slowly he turns his face until our eyes meet. I nod in understanding. She wants proof that he isn’t gay. Her heart is set on it. She knows he’ll never love her-
that he can’t. With the threat of the unnamed female hanging over her head, she wants to know if he has it in him because if he only ever falls for one woman than she wasn’t good enough to tempt him. If he’s bi-sexual then maybe she just wasn’t his type.

“Also, none of this was her idea. She could care less if he’s gay. She isn’t after his sex.” His fac
e pales. I fear he’ll be sick.

“I don’t understand?” I know everything there is to know about Ade. Our live
s have forged a bond of steel.

“You now have a Master, as does she. You can’t know everything about everyone, even those closest to you. The closer they are, the harder they are to truly see. It’s like looking through a window pane; you don’t see the glass, you see what is beyond it.” He says cryptically.

“You know my secrets, I need some of yours.” I lean forward and get into his personal space. He’s an intimidating bastard, but he said we are equals right now. I want equal.
His amber eyes capture me. I close my eyes to the naked pain that they reveal.

Pressure- gentle pressure has me gasping for air as the supplest lips I’ve ever felt connect with mine. His tongue slowly parts my lips. I groan as his intoxicating taste invades my mouth. The
kiss is slow and lingering. It isn’t fierce, but it holds no less passion. I fall into his embrace. It’s been years since I felt the gentle touch of a man- the comfort and the need. It was animalistic with Cortez. Marcus sips at my mouth, he speaks through his kiss. He pulls back reluctantly and settles comfortably on the sofa.

“I respect you, Regina. I know you better than you think. I don’t have many friends or allies. I love my boys; Ezra and Cortez are mine. As they age they will become equals with me, but they aren’t there yet. It’s hard to believe, but Cort is nearly there. My entire life I’ve accumulated one friend, but sadly, he isn’t my equal. He’s my submissive. Dexter’s my only living relative and he’s my equal. I don’t even expect him to listen to any command from me. My wife- well you know all about the inner-workings of the wealthy and influential. That leaves me with one friend, two potential equals that respect and love me, and someone I would trust to the grave. I do not add my wife to this list. Now, I know all your secrets- trust me to keep them. In time, we will become perfect allies. No one can know this of us. Do you understand, Regina? Some plays are made years in advance. They have no effect on the present, but greatly impact the future.”

“I…what are you asking of me, Marcus?” I ask in confusion.

“There’s someone close to me I don’t trust. It affects you greatly. It affects Adelaide. You can’t trust your friend because you can’t trust who she speaks with. This goes for
Fate and Kristal as well.”

“You’re being too cryptic. Just sp
it it out,” I say impatiently.

“Remember how it felt when Daniel made his family do things against their will and you couldn’t do anything about it? How they would do his bidding and it would frustrate you?” He speaks so calmly of a time in my life that brings
up feeling of murderous rage.

“How do you know that?” I hiss at him. He knows too much. He knows private things that I didn’t know anyone else knew. I never spoke of how it felt when they would just do his bidding, even when it wa
s wrong. How does he know this?

“I know a lot of things, Regina. Remember the hold Daniel had on Grant? How strong it was? Imagine a hold like that only stronger, one that is built on respect, love, and worship. A hold a God would have on a zealot. Adelaide is the zealot. You can’t trust her. You can’t trust your friends not to say something to her either. What happens between us has to be just between us,” his voice is quiet and tinged with sadness. I can hear the loneliness ring in it.

I pull my legs up and wrap my arms around my knees. Adelaide- strong Adelaide falling under someone’s spell, I can’t see it. I feel sick to my stomach because I can hear the honesty in his voice and my intuition has been screaming for months over Ade’s actions. I know he’s right. Last night’s behavior is evidence. I hear her telling me that if I have sex with Marcus I’m never to speak with her about. I had to promise never to tell.

“What am I to tell her then?” No sense lying about it. He knows I was sent to obtain information. I might as well ask what I can give her.

“You can give her information about the training except you have to tell her it isn’t sexual.” He looks unconcerned until he stresses the word sexual, then he looks frightened.

“Who’s doing this?” Who could be worse than
the Bastard?
Who’s stronger than Marcus Zeitler?

“I can’t tell you that yet. In time as our trust builds, I will tell you
. Not yet,” he earnestly says.