Queen (Mistress & Master of Restraint) (44 page)

“Do you want to sleep with him?” He asks seriously. I bark a laugh because he sounds just like Ezra. Wow, what it must be like to be Cortez, to have two men jealous to have you. Both jealous of me and he wouldn’t touch me with latex gloves.

“Why does it matter? It’s not going to happen.” My tone is laced with curiosity. 

“It matters,” he says deeply. The deeper his voice goes the angrier he is.

“I’m sure there’s a super-model out there you want; does it matter if you find her attractive when you’ll never have sex with her? That is my point.”

“You make no sense. Are you really comparing Cort to a super-model?” He spits in annoyance.
I can’t help it. I start to laugh until tears fall from my eyes. I wipe them away with my sleeve and try to blink my vision clear.

“Oh, I bet a lot of people at Restraint think he is.” I chuckle. “My point is that it doesn’t matter since it’s un
requited. It’ll never happen.”

“You a
re confusing me,” he grumbles.

“Forget it. No, I don’t wa
nt to sleep with Cort. Happy?”

“Not really,” he mumbles.

“Do you want me to want Cortez?” I scrunch my eyebrows and shrug in confusion.

“No!” He bellows in the confines of the car. It echoes and hurts my ears.

Yep, Master has a deep jealous streak when it comes to Cort. It amazes me that he wanted him to go home with Ezra.

“We need to talk about what happened with Roman last night. How did you handle it when your dominance erupted?” Marc changes the subject to a more uncomfortable one. 

“What?” I’m going to kill that mute nark. “I guess I know who not to talk to anymore. Thanks for the trust, Jamie,” I say under my breath.

“Seriously, you had to know he’d tell me. Just like I know how pissed you are at me for marking you and dressing you like a whore. How did you put it?” He taps his fingers on the steering wheel drawing information from his memory. “Fucked, Marked, and Whored by your Master and left to feel shame.”

He pulls the Spyder into a blind driveway and slowly drives down a dirt road that’s bordered by a tunnel of thick woods. It’s pitch-black except for the headlights leading our way.

“The dress was because it looked amazing on you. I wanted Roman to see what he’d missed out on. The marking was my territorial urges coming though. I didn’t mean to do it; I’d lost control. The brutal fucking was from my lack of control as well. I don’t want you to feel shame. You’re not a whore. You’re a woman with needs. He’s nothing to you. I am your Master, your lover, and friend. I am allowed to have sex with you as much as I want. I wanted him to know he isn’t as fortunate; that he’s left with scraps from Kristal’s well-used table. I wanted him to know you’re mine. I just didn’t count on Queen wanting to stalk prey. I know you want him. But if you have sex with him without my permission, I can’t be held accountable for my actions.” His voice is so deep I can barely hear him.

I look out the windshield and gasp. In front of us is a small lake and dock. Its crystalline waters glisten in the moonlight. It’s a deep blue, nearly black, that invites me to jump in and experience the freedom that only water can offer. I look over to Marcus to see his reaction to the water, but his eyes are on me.

“It’s beautiful.” I whisper of the
lake and the surrounding area.

“It is,” he whispers back, not taking his eyes from my face. If I were any other woman I’d think he wa
s speaking of me, but I am me.

“Would you really hurt me if I had sex with him?” I ask him jokingly to break the intensit
y that has fallen in the car. 

“No, not you,” he breathes.

“What?”

“I told Cort that if he touched you again, I’d break any part of his body that touched you. If Roman touches you, he’s dead. It’ll be your problem. I won’t be held accountable for my actions since I’ve given you fair warning. He received his warning this morning. Don’t worry, we just talked. If he wants to play with you, he has to come to me and ask permission. Don’t look at me like that,” he hisses and grabs my chin between his forefinger a
nd thumb. I wince at the pain.

“You’re mine.” His voice is low and menacing. It’s so deeply filled with possession that I tremor from its intensity.

“Trust me, Cort wants you. I see that you don’t believe me. I’m the one that decides who you sleep with and when. You chose this path a long time ago when you answered that phone call outside of the Brownstone. Own it!” He pushes me away and slides from the car. I sit in shock knowing I’m to follow him but can’t force myself to move.

I close my eyes and breathe through the jumble of thoughts flashing though my mind. Abruptly my door is opened and my arm is wrenched until my body follows it out the car. Marc traps me against the car and growls. I gaze into his normally soft, brown eyes. Tonight they swirl as a storm brews. He isn’t in control, his version of my Queen is- Master. He’s in animal-mode, primal and instinctive.

He stares at me reading every thought that flashes across my face, as only he can. I’ve learned to school my true emotions after years in my neighborhood, followed by Hillbrook, and finally Misery Castle. The only way to survive the Whittenhowers was to suppress all emotion. Marcus, or rather, Master knows me to my soul.

“You controlled Queen nicely. I’m proud of you. Jamie said you channeled all those sensations into your control and it made you feel high. There are three ways we feel alive: one is to do as you did. Another is to completely let the beast out to play and lose all control, people may get hurt in the process, but it feels fantastic- freeing. And lastly, to channel it all and dominate
your submissive with absolute control. The rest of the time we feel off kilter. That’s why you don’t feel right most of the time. This is why you’d rather command your programs- you get a sense of power in a world that makes no sense, in a world where you feel powerless. I understand you. We’re one in the same, you and I. Trust me,” he whispers.

His lips latch onto my neck and suck. My knees give way and he holds me up by pinning me to the car with his hips. My eyes roll back and I quiver uncontrollably. I hiss his name in ecstasy.
“You don’t like my marks on your neck?” He teases and I whimper when he nips a tender spot. “I think you do.” He pulls harder on the spots he ravished the night before. I groan and my head falls back against the car to give him greater access. He fingers are busy pulling off my jeans. I stay passive as he undresses me and suckles at my neck.

“Marcus,” I breathe reverently.

“You have no idea how much I love the sound of my name from you lips. I hear Mr. Zeitler all day by associates, Master by everyone, and Marc by my family. When you say my name it melts me.” His voice is heated, nearly scalding me with its intensity.
His warm lips follow the path of his fingers as he unbuttons my blouse. He slides it free of my arms and tosses it into the car. My jeans follow the arc my shirt took. I’m left standing in flip-flops and a lacey bra and panty set.

His teeth bite my necklace and he shakes his prize like a dog with a bone. He rolls his eyes up to me
and gives me a devious smile.

“I like that you wear these around your neck. It makes you feel close to those you lost.” He lifts the necklace over my head and fondles the three bands that hang from it. My parent’s wedding bands and the infinity ring that Grant gave me when he asked me to marry him. It was my last moment with him.

“Ah- now… no sadness. They all loved you, too. I bet they miss you as much as you do them. I miss my parents and Dexter’s parents. I miss my grandmother. The only people left of the Zeitler line are me and Dexter and my unnamed daughter. I was thrilled to adopt Ezra; it made me feel less alone.”

He slides the infinity band over his pinky and smiles. I know that wicked grin; he’s going
to say something I’ll regret.

“Did you like this ring?” He teases me and since I don’t know where he’s leading with the questi
on, I can’t do damage control.

“I love it. It’s perfect.” I murmur in awe.

He slides the band on my left ring-finger and makes a pleased sound in his throat. I gaze up at him in suspicion. I’m not going to like what he’s up to.

“I love it, too. It’s perfect on your finger. It looks right at home. I should make you wear it for me,” he teases wi
th a voice heavy with emotion.

“Are you trying to make my heart bleed?” I murmur as m
y breath hitches in my throat.

“I picked it out for you and bought it. I knew it would be perfect. It was from me,” he confesses. 
My heart jackhammers in my chest. I think I’m going to be sick. The only possession I have of Grant’s is this ring and it isn’t even his. They tossed me from Whittenhower Estates directly after his death. I wasn’t allowed to gather my things. The only things I left with were the clothes on my back, the ring on my finger, and the necklace holding my parents’ bands. I didn’t even get the album from my childhood. According to Ade, Whitt stole it and hid it for Niel to have.

“You know I was his Master. You also know that he couldn’t make a decision without one of our permission, even if it was an excellent decision. I picked it out at his request. I was thrilled to do it. I love knowing that you wear something around your neck that’s from Grant and me. It’s perfect symmetry. I think you should wear it.”

He starts to unhook the necklace to remove the band. I halt his hand. “Why?”

“I don’t think you’d like me marking your neck constantly, no matter how good it feels for both of us. You’re a professional woman. I want people to know you are taken. I don’t want anyone trying to take you from m
e,” he whispers possessively. 

“It hasn’t been an issue my entire life, I highly doubt it will turn into one. I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.” I hitch my chin up and g
lare at him.

“I like the looks of it on your finger. It’s where it
belongs,” he murmurs softly. 

“It hurts me to look at it,” I grit out between clenched teeth. It’s like he’s try
ing to emotionally torture me.

“It shouldn’t. I want your memories of Grant to be good ones. This is a good one
.” He taps the ring and grins.

“It’s also the last memory I had of him. Two minutes after that ring was slid onto my finger I fell into a pleasure induced coma. I woke and he was gone- dead. It’s not a good memory for me,” I hiss. 

“You’ll wear it for me.” He uses his end of negotiations voice.

He tosses my necklace on the seat with my shirt and jeans. A second later my bra, panties, and flip-flops join them.

“Why am I naked? Why are you getting naked? Not that I mind the view,” I nearly purr. 

He pulls off his shoes and tosses them into the car. His pants and socks are next. I watch his elegant, nimble fingers unbutton his shirt like an expert. Perfect, bronze skin is reveal. It glows in the moonlight and my mouth waters at the sight. I’ll never get used to seeing his skin. I know
I’m his and that he is my Master, but I can’t fathom why he would want me. I wish I could call him mine, but you can’t call a God among men yours.

He cockily smirks at the dumbfounded expression on my face. He gets amused when I watch him undress. It’s the same look Cort gives him and the look Marc gives Cort. I wonder what it feels like to have that kind of gaze directed at you, the kind of power it would possess.

“Come on, Regina,” he yells over his shoulder and nakedly jogs to the dock.

I giggle the entire way as I follow him. His ass-cheeks are bright red from his paddling. I watch the tight muscles contract and flex as he jogs. Other parts of his anatomy are visible as he runs. The heavy weight between his legs swings like a pendulum and drives me crazy with need.
He waits on the edge of the dock for me, glowing in the moonlight. He’s devastating to gaze upon.

I smack his ass as soon as I get within reach. He grunts and when he turns his eyes on me I wait for anger, but I receive none. Marc’s eyes are heated and his mouth is parted. He liked his swat. He shifts his hips to show me what’s waiting for me. He’s at attention, the firmest I’ve ever seen him. Even standing, he’s touching his belly. His gaze is pure animalistic hunger. If a brick wall was between him and the object of his desires, his cock could drill through it until it got what it wanted.

I clench my thighs against the need and ache in my lower belly. I feel a trickle of moisture slide down my leg, tickling the back of my knee. Nothing turns me on more than Marcus when he is Master.

“It’s October, be prepared.” He wickedly grins at me and jumps. His grunt of shock is loud and resembles the noise he makes when he comes. The sound rolls my eyes up in pleasure. I run and j
ump without a thought or care.

My scream cuts the night as the frigid water engulfs my body. I hastily swim to warm myself up. The temperature steals my breath. I kn
ow we can’t stay in here long.

“I bought this place not long ago. It’s one of Jamie’s favorite places to visit. He spends a lot of time here. He wanted me to show it to you tonight as
an
I’m sorry for telling Master what you’d said
. He didn’t tell me everything that you spoke of, only what he thought I should know. You can trust him.”