Unleashed (40 page)

“Katya, dear,” Diane says from the veranda doors. “The ladies are ready to do the lineup. I don’t want the guys to see you before the wedding. They need to stand on the dais now.”

Marcus kisses me on the cheek and I’m surprised at the look of relief that flashes across Diane’s face. I try to wipe the confusion from my expression but both of them see it. Diane holds her hand out to escort me in the house. I warily take what’s offered.

***

The tinkling of champagne flutes is almost as loud as the helicopter overhead. I smile as I remember how beautiful Kayla looked as she stood next to Aaron and pledged her undying devotion. I personally would have removed the obey from the vows, but Kayla is a true submissive.

The sight of my daughter dressed in her bride’s maid
’s gown brought tears to my eyes. Ezra and Cort’s eyes weren’t dry either as they stood beside the man who they’d walk through fire for. I could feel the sadness and happiness radiating off the pair.

The dance floor is filled with family and friends. Ava and her father share their very first dance. The happy couple is melded together and never letting go, neither allowing anyone to dance with the other. Cort is dancing with his mother-in-law, Pearl. Divina is dancing with a striking man for the third time. Diane looks like an angel in a pale pink gown waltzing aro
und the floor in Marcus’ arms.

“May I have this dance?” A pleasant voice asks.
I look up to see if the face matches the voice, and it does. A blond man in his early twenties holds his hand out to me, requesting a dance. I broadly smile at the man. I want to say Ah-ha!

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the elusive Wh
itt,” I tease.

“You found me out, Kat.” His bright
, blue eyes twinkle with good humor. “Shall we,” he politely says as he gestures to the dance floor. I take Whitt’s hand and follow him to the dance floor. We dance for a few songs, laughing as he regales me with stories of his youth and his hero worship of Cort and Ezra. I smile, laugh, and feel lighter than I have in weeks. I look to my friends and family as they enjoy dancing with one another. I catch both Cort and Ezra’s eyes as they sweetly dance together.

“Wow, you’re a
whore,” breaks into the conversation Whitt and I were having about the first time he got drunk, thanks to the Ezes.

I look up in shock, standing before me is Adelaide. She hadn’t been invited
. And thanks to the press, she’s been ostracized from the elite. Adelaide looks crazed, eyes narrowed in anger, and face flushed red.

“You have to fuck every person in this group. I think you add a whole new level to being a whore.” She hisses so loudly that the band cuts off. Two hu
ndred party guests turn to us as a unit.

“Adelaide, leave,” I quietly say,
trying to defuse the situation.

“You’re trying to get back at me by
screwing my baby brother, you little bitch.” I look back and forth between my dance partner and the devil. My face blanches when I notice all the similarities.

“What’s your actual name,
Whitt?” My voice sounds dead.

“Daniel Whittenhower,” he
quietly says. I step away from the pair of snakes. I shake my head back and forth over and over.

“You were just playing with me, weren’t you, Daniel? You were doing this for your sister.”
My voice breaks from the betrayal.

“No-” Whitt
tries to reach for me and I sidestep out of his way. “My sister is a psycho. The family disinherited her after this last stunt. She makes us all look bad, too.” I can see the sincerity and sadness on his expression. “Ezra and Cortez are my friends, Katya. They’ve known me since I was a boy.”

“Everything is your fault, Katya
,” Adelaide twists my name until it sounds like pure evil. “I had a good life. I was going to be a Zeitler wife and make him lots of heirs. You messed that all up as you fucked your way through the population. I bet you begged Ray Hunter to rape you, hoping to snag a Zeitler. I bet you have sex in front of that bastard daughter of yours.”

Adelaide’s head flings to the side before I can
even register what happened. A small palm print blooms red against her cheek and a drizzle of blood escapes the corner of her mouth. I look around in shock, wondering who could have slapped her face. Slowly sensation returns to my body as the crowd watches me in shock. My hand starts to sting, and I know I was the one who snapped and hit her.

Shame slams into me as I ruin Kayla and Aaron’s special day. I just allowed someone to take control of me when I lost my temper. So much for living by example, I can’t tell Ava to turn the other cheek
, and then slap Adelaide’s.

Marcus gets into Adelaide’s fa
ce and stares her down until she cowers under his gaze. She backs up and retreats from the reception area. “Whitt, find your father and tell him to escort his spawn from my property. I was assured that she wouldn’t try this shit.”

“I’m sorry, s
ir. I’ll go tell him.” Whitt hurries off, and then abruptly stops. “Kat, I apologize from our family to yours,” he formally says. “What Adelaide said is unforgivable and untrue.” He rushes off into the crowd.

“I’m sorry,” I meekly cry as
I run off to the bathroom. I’m not sure if the nausea is from the baby or from the shame and embarrassment. I run up to the suite that is Ezra and Cort’s. I am so angry that I don’t know what to do. I’m angry at Adelaide and myself. My nausea disappears the moment I’m away from the wedding crowd, letting me know it was from embarrassment, not from my little one complaining.

I
’m sitting at the foot of the bed with my head dejectedly resting in my hands when I hear the door snick open. “You know better than that, Katya. You let Adelaide take your control. Only I’m allowed to do that. I’m very disappointed in you, girl.” His voice is deadly quiet.

“I’m sorry, Master. I didn’t
realize I did it until moments later,” I make excuses to Marcus.

“I know,” he purrs in a deep tone. “I could tell.”
I hear the sound of the metal-on-metal of a zipper, and it draws me up.

“Sir, I- I don’t think that’s a good idea. Ezra didn’t give permission.”
My voice wavers.

“Ezra doesn’t give me permission for anything, girl. But in this I hav
e life rights. The guys know I’m here with you and why. You’ll feel better when you’re done. Your guilt and shame will vanish.”

My green eyes flash up fast
and connect with his brown. Marcus’ face is set in stern lines. He will not be disobeyed. I start to shiver. “What about your wife. I can’t do that to her,” I say matter-of-factly.

“Diane
knows, Katya. I will say that she passed the buck onto you. She is very relieved that she doesn’t have to play with me.”

“That do
esn’t make any sense, Master,” my voice wavers in fear. 

“Diane
is not my submissive or my lover. Diane Holden Zeitler is my wife in name only. I was shocked to find out that rich women can be gold diggers, too, and that they take impressionable young men and twist them into something unrecognizable,” he mumbles and shakes his head. “Diane is a lesbian,” Marcus admits to my shock. “I didn’t know until after we were married and she refused me in her bed.”

“Oh, Marcus,” I cry.

“Anyway, I don’t want a submissive.” Marc removes his pants and starts to unbutton his shirt.

“What? You want to be dominated?
” My voice shows my confusion.

“Oh- no, I don’t want to be dominated.
We all have our different kinks, what gets us off. My wife won’t allow me to take her as I dream.”

“What exactly is your kink?”
I murmur in shock, half curious to know, but frightened to find out. I slowly back away on the bed, trying to put some distance between us. Marcus Zeitler scares the shit out of me.

“Diane
is perfect for my favorite, but I don’t have the stomach to act on it. I loved her deeply. I was young, so very young, when we married. I didn’t know what I needed from a lover yet. She was my first. She has her issues and it ignited mine.”

“
With Diane’s sexual preferences, I’d understand the open marriage?” I calmly say, trying to take the crazed expression off of Marc’s face.

“No,
we don’t have an open marriage. I would think a hostage situation is more accurate of a term. I’d watch out for your mother-in-law, Katya. I’m only here to protect us all from her. I’m not supposed to have lovers. I’ve kept my partner a secret for many years for her own protection. I was shocked when Diane so kindly offered you as a suggestion to our issue. Such a loving woman, offering the mother of her grandchild up to the one person she despises. Very telling, is it not?”

“
You’re scaring the hell out of me, Marcus,” my voice cracks out of fear. 

“
Now, Katya, call me Master when we’re in private,” Master commands in that quiet voice that is scary as hell. He starts walking towards me again, and I’m not prepared to do what he’s threatening. I talk to distract him. Maybe Ezra will come looking for me and save me. Who am I kidding? I know damned well Ezra knows his adopted father is with me. Ezra probably sent him up here. Jesus Christ, I’m confused.

“What is your kink, Master?” I stammer out.

“One I try not to act on is force. I would love to force myself on my wife again. Diane’s past makes it so much sweeter, and not for the reason’s you’d think. Diane likes to cry wolf,” Marcus cryptically says. “You should ask Ray Hunter about that. The man snapped from what she did to him.”

“What happened?” My voice quivers with fright.

“Not yet, Katya, someday I will explain. I fear Ezra will never believe it, though. It’s best for you all not to know the truth just yet,” Marcus sighs. He sits on the edge of the bed and lies back. He looks like Marcus again, instead of the scary Master. My behavior must have flipped a switch within him, as it used to do with Master Ez.

“We’ll be together in a few short moments. We both need it. I need to blow off some steam and you need your guilt assuaged for allowing Adelaide to control you emotions.”
The mention of it draws me eyes to my master’s crotch, pulling a whimper from my throat. Marc’s cock isn’t a long as Cort’s, but what he lacks in length, he makes up in girth. I remember the sensation of him filling me, stretching me, and the expert precision of his kiss. I shudder as if experiencing aftershocks from an orgasm from weeks ago.

“Ezra loves control. Not controlling a submissive, he is in love with h
is own- controlling himself. I’m a different kind of dominant. I don’t want someone to submit to me who is submissive. Where’s the fun in that? I want to know I’m the most dominant person among my people. I want the strong to kneel at my feet. I want to make them move past their comfort zones. That is why the initiation is so sweet. After training someone for years, creating a perfect Master, I love to watch them grovel. I make them do things they would never do, and I do it for their own good. Not only do I bend them, I break them, and they will forever respect me for it.”

I roll Marcus’ admission around in my mind. I can see where he is coming from. It’s like the stronger you are, the stronger your need for resilient prey that will fight you back. At its core, BDSM is animal instinct.

“I made Cort take Ezra at his initiation. I find the one thing that is a hard limit for the new master and I push them past it. As you must know, Cort and Ezra have deep-seated issues they must work through, and I hope you help them. I used their initiation and their friendship for a fellow master to push them past their boundaries. When they were finished, they respect me more and thanked me for it. I’d hoped it would permanently move Cort and Ezra past their issues. Obviously I failed on that,” he sighs.

“What about Ezra, Whitt, and Dexter? What did you make them do?”
I ask out of curiosity. My initiation was stressful and I didn’t break. I realize the unprotected sex with Marcus was the hard limit he pushed me over.

“I
’m not evil, Katya. Blood or not, Ezra is my son. We played cards with Dexter, ate pizza, and got drunk during Ezra’s initiation. Whitt is so sweet that I couldn’t harm him in any way. I see Whitt as a son of mine, as well. Dexter is family. We just sat around and bullshitted for his initiation. Queen’s initiation was rather painful on many levels, and Cort and Syn’s as well. Katya, these people are my family. They depend on me and I on them. I only make them go past their limits so they can heal and become stronger. I just happen to get off on it while I do it.”

“Why do you make Cort suck you off?
” I accusingly demand. “I understand Ezra’s fury over it now.”

“Ezra’s problems run
deep, Katya. I hope you can help him. As for Cort and me, it’s complicated. I’m doing my damnedest not to make it more. For the longest time, Cort was my only sexual contact. I’m not lying, if Diane were to find out that I have a lover, she’d destroy her. Cort is safe because Diane thinks he walks on water. You’re safe because you’re you. I envy the three of you so much. I’d love to tell the world how in love I am. I want my partner to stand at my side in pride. But I fear that day will never come,” emotions have Marcus repeatedly clearing his throat of unshed tears.