Temporary Master (29 page)

“Because
I know your little submissive. I met her last summer at an art exhibit where I
accompanied my mother in San Francisco. Bella was showing a couple of her small
sculptures. To make a long story short, she came back here because of her
family, and now that I’m in Napa to stay, I’d like another chance with her. So
think of this as an audition in a way. I want to be in the running for when you
give her away, just like Balin was with Sheila. Some of the fellow Doms
suggested I approach you instead. They said you always pick your sub’s new
Master. I want a chance with Bella.”

She
cringed as her nickname rolled off Louis’s tongue. As a submissive, she was no
longer Bella. She was her Sir’s Sabella.
And there’s not a prayer in hell
I’ll go back to him - not now when I know what I can have with the right Dom.

“Indeed,
in the past that’s how it’s been.” Ethan sat back in his chair. “If I said yes
to this scene, what exactly would you do to her? I need to know before I even
think about agreeing. I know my sub’s limits, and while I have been known to
enjoy watching my subs please other men. I still have a responsibility to make
sure they are safe.”

Sabella’s
breath caught in her throat. He couldn’t actually be entertaining the idea of
sharing her with Louis could he?

“Some
light bondage, perhaps a paddling or two before having her suck my cock.
Nothing harsh, just simple play.”

Her
Sir made a show of thinking of about it, and Sabella’s unease grew.

“She
does seem to be orally fixated. Perhaps she’d enjoyed sucking you off. She
asked me tonight if she could suck me off after the demonstration.” Ethan gave
a wicked smile - the one which had always wet her panties in the past, but this
time it had her heart sinking to the bottom of her stomach.

“That
sounds like my Bella.”

“Of
course I denied her. I am the Dom after all. I pick when I let any sub touch my
cock.”

Louis
gave a bark of laughter.
“Of course.
We’re the
Masters, and they should be begging for every scrap we throw their way…”

“Some
think that way.” Ethan drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. “I tell you
what, I’ll let you scene with her when…”

Sabella’s
heart shattered. Eyes stinging, she moved away from the door, gently closing
it, before she burst into tears. Letting the blanket drop to the floor, she
caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and wanted to throw something at it.
In its reflection she saw only a fool. Fingers fumbling, she reached up and
unbuckled the collar at her throat. Letting it dangle from her grip, she looked
around the room for an exit which wouldn’t alert Sir…no Ethan… she was leaving.
Which left both doors out.
Finally looking up, she
spotted the open beams running across the top of the room. Obviously during the
remodeling they hadn’t enclosed the ceilings of the rooms, choosing instead to
keep the old winery’s ambiance and structure. Now they would provide her with
an exit. She could use the beams as an escape route. Judging the distance, she
decided it would have to work. Tossing the collar on the floor, she used the
counter to catch a hold of the crossbeam. Hauling herself up on the eight inch
wide beam, she quickly moved in the opposite direction of Ethan’s office and
playroom, leaving behind more than just the blanket and collar. She was done
with Dr. Ethan Tremaine. Let him find another submissive to help him with his
demonstration. There wasn’t a prayer in hell she’d allow him to touch her
again.

Ethan
wanted to howl in frustration. The son of bitch had cornered him when he had
gone out to get his Sabella a bottle of water. He’d insisted they needed to
talk. Ethan had finally given in, his curiosity finally trumping his discontent
about Louis even being in the same room with Sabella. Then the man had brought
up Ethan’s past relationships. Ethan would be having a talk with Iranski about
divulging his private matters to new members. But no matter what the man said,
there wasn’t a prayer in Hell he would ever share Sabella. She was his. Now the
fool in front of him was spouting some shit about just because they were Doms,
their subs should have to beg for every scrap of affection. If it wasn’t for
the fact he’d wanted to see if there was something he could eventually use
against the man, he’d have kicked him out of not only his office but his club
as well, after giving the fool a sound thrashing. Submissives were to be
cherished as the gift they were, and while some begging was acceptable, as a
Dom he’d never wanted to utterly humiliate his sub. He knew other Doms who did,
and as long as their subs were okay with it, he didn’t have an issue. Even as
submissive as his Sabella was, he couldn’t see her getting off on it.

“Some
think that way.” Ethan drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. “I tell you
what, I’ll let you scene with her when…”

“But
what?
Tell me what
you need me to do and I’ll do it.” Louis leapt out of his chair in his
excitement, the scrape of the chair against the floor notoriously loud.

“Calm
down, Vayarti.” Ethan spoke calmly, even though he wanted to deck the asshole.
He waited until the man settled back into his seat.
“As I was
saying.
The only way I’ll let you scene with my submissive is if you
grow a pair of tits and allow Sabella to dominate you.”

Louis’s
expression was priceless, his mouth hanging open as if he were going to catch
flies. “Excuse me?”

Ethan
sighed. “You heard me. I don’t care what kind of relationship you might have
had with Sabella in the
past,
it’s been over for quite
some time. She’s mine now, and despite past transgressions,
I am
smart
enough to know when to hang on to the best thing
who’s
ever entered my life. It’ll be a cold day in hell before I let you within ten
feet of my submissive. Now if you’ll excuse me, I happen to have a beautifully
submissive woman I’ve neglected long enough. Can you find your way back to the
main room, or do I need to call my security to escort you there?”

The
man’s jaw closed with an audible snap. “You can’t keep me from talking to her,
Tremaine.”

Ethan
leaned forward, his hands splayed on the desk. “Don’t forget, Mr. Vayarti, I’m
your court-appointed psychiatrist. If you so much as make one move against
Sabella, which I happen to think may be stalking, I’ll have you slapped back in
cuffs so fast your head will spin.”

“You’ll
have to prove it!” He sneered at Ethan. “Besides you can’t keep Bella from
seeking me out.” Louis stood to leave. “This isn’t over, Dr. Tremaine. She was
mine long before she was yours.”

“Ah
but in the end it’s who keeps her that counts.” Ethan wanted to hurl something
after the man as Louis slammed the door to his office. Reaching for the phone
on the desk, he called Security. “Toby,
it’s
Ethan.
Mr. Vayarti just left my office more than pissed off. Please notify the DMs on
the floor to keep a close eye on him. If he does anything, and I mean
anything
,
that breaks club rules, have him escorted out.” He hung up the phone after Toby
agreed to relay the message and rubbed the back of his neck. He suddenly felt
very dirty and any centered-ness he’d felt after his session with Sabella was
now gone. If he thought he had the time he’d take a quick shower, but his
little one had been alone long enough. Picking up the bottle of now sweating
water, he opened the door between his office and his private playroom.

“Sabella?”
He glanced towards the couch,
expecting to find her still cuddled where he’d left her. Adrenaline flooded his
system as he took in the empty cushions. That’s when he noticed the crumpled
blanket at his feet. Stooping down to pick it up, he frowned. Where had his
little one run off to?
The bathroom perhaps?
But
surely she wouldn’t have left her blanket here and ventured across the hall to
use the amenities. Setting the blanket on the counter, he took a step forward
to go check when he stepped on something. Backing up, he frowned,
then
saw it, hidden in the shadows under of the edge of the
counter. Fury warred with disbelief as he picked up the collar. No sub had ever
removed his collar without his permission. “She took it off. I’m going to
paddle her little ass.”

Exiting
the playroom, he strode across the hall and pounded on the bathroom door.
“Sabella, don’t make me come in there after you.”

* * * *

Huddling
in the warm car, Sabella couldn’t quit shaking, but it had nothing to do with
the cold winter air. Even wearing a trench coat to cover her nudity and a heavy
blanket, Sabella still couldn’t get warm. She’d trusted Sir and his betrayal
reached her soul. Especially after the connection she could’ve sworn they had.
But she didn’t understand why he’d sneaked around behind her back. A low moan built
in her chest. She might have accepted another lover into their relationship, if
he’d asked, if they’d agreed upon it before hand, but he hadn’t. He’d taken
Louis into his office and made an arrangement without her consideration.
Submissive she may be, but she wasn’t a doormat. He could not use her to
welcome whomever he deemed to be worthy, at least not without discussion.
Another tear slid down her cheek and she brushed it away angrily. She needed to
put him out of her mind. In the driver seat, Lauren was slowly driving down the
long drive away from New Beginnings, noticed her movement.

“We’ll
be off their property in a few, Bella-mía.” Lauren picked up her hand and
squeezed.

 It
had been pure luck on Sabella’s part when she’d scaled down the beam into an
empty coatroom next to the check-in area. She’d been contemplating stealing a
person’s coat to leave, when Lauren had entered in the room to hang up her own
coat. Her friend had been shocked to see her in such a state, and when Sabella
had explained in rather jerky breaths what had happened, Lauren had wanted to
go give Ethan a piece of her mind. But she had managed to convince her all she
wanted was to go home to her father’s apartment. Lauren first tossed her trench
coat to her friend, then had made a production of distracting the Dom at the
door, after handing Sabella her car keys with a soft order to go wait in the
car. She hadn’t had long to wait, about five minutes, before Lauren had joined
her.

“So,
he actually told that rat’s ass that he’d share you with him?”

Sabella
had to think hard. Had he actually said he would? Or had there been a qualifier
on it? “It was pretty straight forward. He said he’d consider it as long as...”

Lauren
glanced over at as she turned out onto the highway.
“As long as
he what?”

Sabella
shrugged. “I didn’t take the time to find out.” Leaning her head back against
the rest, she allowed her eyes to drift shut. “I honestly didn’t think he’d do
something like this, Lauren.” Tears seeped out from behind closed lids. “Do you
know I actually figured out what the whole BDSM world was talking about
tonight? For the first time ever…”

“You
found sub-space?” Lauren slammed on the brakes. “You didn’t tell me that!”

Grabbing
the dashboard, Sabella scowled at her friend. “Well excuse me, I was kinda
freakin’ out after finding out the man
I
lov…I mean
the Dom I trusted…was going to give me back to the slime who screwed me over
before. It totally slipped my mind to tell you he’d managed what others hadn’t
been able to do. ”

Lauren
slowly pulled back onto the highway making a u-turn, heading in the opposite
direction of Sabella’s apartment with her dad. Sabella froze, thinking for a
moment her friend was going to take her back to the club. “Where are we going?”

She
spoke, while keeping her eyes on the road. “There’s not a prayer in hell, I’m
gonna leave you alone tonight - not after finding sub-space. I don’t want you
to do anything stupid.” Her fingers tightened on the steering wheel “What I
should be doing is marching you back to Ethan’s side. Because no matter what I
may happen to think of him personally at the moment, I know he’s an upstanding
Dom who wouldn’t screw a submissive over. He’d take care of you. But instead
I’m going to take you home, clean you up and tuck you into bed, where you’re
going to tell me everything that happened.” She looked at Sabella out of the
corner of her eye. “Then and only then - will I decide if Dr. Ethan Tremaine
needs to die, or if I need to take your ass back to him to be punished for
jumping to conclusions.”

Sabella’s
eyes widened. “You sure you’re not a Domme, Lauren? You could give some of the
club’s dominatrixes a run for their money.”

“Why?
Because I won’t let you hide behind bullshit excuses?” Lauren gave a snort.
“Girl, you
ought
be used to it by now.”

Sabella
was quiet for the rest of the short drive. They were just pulling into the
driveway in front of her friend’s shabby chic bungalow - a gift from Lauren’s
wealthy parents, when Lauren’s cell phone rang. Picking it up, Lauren glanced
at it, a grimace crossing her face. “It’s probably Ethan. The number comes up
as New Beginnings.”

“I
don’t want to talk to him…” Sabella curled in on herself. She couldn’t….no she
wouldn’t deal with him again. She knew exactly how vulnerable she was to him. It
wouldn’t take much to her to take him back.