Assumed Master

Assumed Master

written
by Lila Munro

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First Edition

©2012, Rebel Ink Press, LLC

www.rebelinkpress.com

Chapter One

"Is there anything I can get you, Mrs.
Seidler?" the nurse’s aide that came on duty at the shift change asked
while checking Mason’s PICC line.

It still seemed odd at times for Julie to be
called that. Mrs. Seidler. For fifteen years she’d been Mason’s wife but she’d
been his slave even longer. Angel was who she was first and foremost. For
seventeen years they’d been devoted to each other and now as Julie sat vigil in
this dimly lit hospital room, she felt her world slipping away with each
exhausted breath Mason took. Life as she knew it was changing and she was
terrified to think of what was at the end of this road they’d travelled
together.

Mason came into her life at a time when she
needed what he offered the most.
Comfort, safety, a place to
come unglued, and a place to be picked up.
Eighteen years her senior, he
was her everything and although she’d been fully prepared to take care of him
in his old age, she never expected him to be ripped from her by a relentless,
unforgiving disease. She didn’t know what she was going to do without him.

"No, thank you," Julie whispered. "I
appreciate the offer, though."

"There are two men waiting at the nurse’s
station. They wanted me to ask if you were up to company right now," the petite
young woman asked, taking Mason’s vitals. "What would you like me to tell
them?"

Dante and Blake.
For a moment Julie’s mind went back to that
day years ago when she’d been grateful she hadn’t followed her first instinct
to yield to Dante and wondered now if it wouldn’t have been the easier path. In
spite of his stricter way of running his household and relationship with Blake,
at least if she’d chosen to pursue a poly-relationship with them, she wouldn’t
be suffering this agonizing grief now. Would loss of self then have been easier
than complete loss now?

"I’d like the company." How could
they even think she’d turn them away?

"I’ll let them know."

"Thank you," she answered weakly.

A few minutes later, Dante knelt on one side
of her while Blake knelt on the other, both holding her as she continued to sit
as close to Mason’s bed as she could get, her head laying on the edge of the
mattress, her hand entwined with Mason's cold, near lifeless one.

"Jules, love, you’re exhausted. Let one
of us stay while the other takes you home to rest a while," Dante told
her, kissing the top of her head and rubbing her back. "Please. You know
Mason wouldn’t want you making yourself sick. And God forbid you should get so
wound you go home and alphabetize his library to your liking."

Julie couldn’t help the watery giggle that
spilled from her. It had been years since she’d had to organize anything to
deal with stress. Lately the urges were pulling at her like the moon pulled the
tide.

"I’d mess them up on purpose if it would
change things," she said over a choked sob.

"I know, love. I know," Dante
soothed. "Please. Let me take you home. You need to eat, you need to
sleep, and I hate to be the bearer of this sad news, but you need a shower."

Another clipped giggle left her. Julie knew
all those things were true.

"What if he leaves before I get back?"
she forced out.

Blake tucked a strand of her graying hair
behind her ear. "I’ll watch for you, pumpkin. And if he needs you, I’ll
call. I swear it."

"Okay," she reluctantly agreed. She
allowed Dante to help her to her feet and before she let him take her from Mason’s
side, she leaned in and kissed Mason’s dry lips. "I love you, Master,"
she said, her voice hitching.

She knew within reason it would be the last
time he’d hear those words spill out of her.

****

"Tell me what you need, Julie."
Mason’s oldest son, Drake, squatted in front of her taking her hands in his. "Do
you want them all gone? I’ll make them leave," he said.

"No, not yet.
They need this closure," she answered,
looking over his shoulder at the throng of people milling about her house.

Her house.
No longer Mason’s.
Hers.
God, how she hated this.

It had been four days since Dante had taken
her home. Only two hours into her fitful sleep Blake called them back to
Mason’s side. By the time they arrived, Mason was gone.

"What about what you need?" Drake
asked with concern.

He wasn’t the first one to question Julie’s needs
or voice worry over her state of mind. For three days she’d been the straight
backed, hold-it-together widow. Not a tear had been shed. Dante asked
repeatedly if she was okay as had Blake.

"I only need one thing," she said,
swallowing an unwanted and unwarranted lump in her chest.

"I wish I knew what to do for you,"
Drake said, tears welling up in his eyes. She knew her lack of visible misery
was a source of concern for him because he was one of only three other people
in the world that knew it was invisible misery that was most dangerous for Julie.

While all three of Mason’s children had come
to know and love her, Drake was the only one that had come to truly understand
her.

"I wish I knew, too," she told him,
smiling bravely at some cousin or other she’d never met until three days ago.

Funny how people went a lifetime without
speaking or making their presence known until it was time to say good-bye and
find out if they’d been left any of the goods. Such a notion set her jaw to
aching from grinding her teeth so tightly. How dare these leeches come here in
hopes Mason had left them a crumb when not a single one of them had bothered
with as much as a phone call while he was sick?
 

Hours later when Drake had seen the last
person that Julie didn’t recognize away, he sent his younger sister and brother
with Dante and Blake’s twins to wait in the kitchen while he led Julie, Dante,
and Blake to Mason’s den. Julie glanced at the chair that had stood in the
corner since Mason moved it from her apartment to where it now was. Her heart
lurched and twisted at the memory of him tying her to it and scaring the fear
right out of her.

"Dad wanted me to read this part of his
wishes with just the three of you. It involves his requests for Julie’s care,"
Drake said, sitting in Mason’s leather, high backed chair behind his mahogany
desk, another piece of furniture that held special significance for Julie. "I’ll
make this as
quick
as possible."

Dante helped Julie into one of the chairs
across from Drake then took the other while Blake stood behind them. With
trepidation, Julie watched as Drake pulled a letter from the folder that
contained Mason’s last will and testament. His hands shaking, he turned the
envelope and ran one finger under the seal, a sickening hiss of disengaging
glue filling the space between them. After skimming the contents, Drake blinked
twice, cleared his throat, and looked up.

"What is it?" Julie
whispered,
her heart pounding.

Drake cleared his throat again, took a
staggered breath, and began to read.

"My dearest Angel.
I’ve asked Drake to read this to you as I
knew it would be a very hard thing for anyone to do. Dante and Blake are with
you at my request as these instructions involve them as well. I’m so sorry I
left you alone. You know I’d never do anything to hurt you, but karma and fate
had a different plan and I was powerless to stop it. But I’m not powerless to
play a part in your future. When you gave yourself to me, you willingly gave me
the power to make your decisions for you, although I only did so in cases where
what was best for you was against what you thought was right. It never happened
often as I never wanted you to lose yourself or your voice. Angel, what I’m
about to do will go against all your instincts, but make no mistake. This is
one of the rare times I’m setting my foot down and doing what I know is best
for you regardless what you might think."

Drake stopped and wiped the sweat off his
brow, glancing at the three of them.

"Dante, there is a small black box on the
edge of my desk. Inside you’ll find the key that will open Julie’s collar. I
ask that you un-collar her and set her free of me. She’s yours now. Please put
a temporary sign of your ownership on her until she can accept what I’ve done
and wear a permanent symbol, to be chosen by her new Master."

Julie’s sharp intake of breath caused Drake to
stop again and Dante to reach for her hand which she promptly jerked away.